Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW190003A
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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 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn, 01:12 and we want to welcome you once again 01:15 to 3ABN Family Worship. 01:17 Happy Sabbath. 01:18 You know, I have to say 01:19 I'm just a little out of the sorts 01:21 because I'm used to doing Family Worship 01:23 with my precious husband next to me, 01:26 and he's a little under the weather today. 01:27 So I've got the job all alone but let me introduce the family 01:34 'cause by no means, am I alone. 01:37 I have my brother and sister here to my left. 01:41 Almost said right, but, John Dinzey and Idalia Dinzey, 01:45 we're so glad that you can come. 01:46 And I'll be calling you Tita 01:48 because that's what I'm used to calling you. 01:51 And then here we have Tim Parton 01:53 and dear Brother Jason Bradley. 01:55 And we're so glad that you guys are here 01:58 so that I won't be alone. 01:59 Well, we're glad to be here, 02:01 I am at least if it comes behalf of myself. 02:03 It's always a pleasure to be with you. 02:04 I love your smile. I love your heart for the Lord. 02:06 I love your knowledge of the Word. 02:07 Amen. 02:09 And so I'm honored to be here with you. 02:10 Thank you, You know, it's always just fun 02:13 to open up the Bible and study the Bible together, 02:16 but let me ask you a question at home, 02:20 have you ever just wished you could start over? 02:24 I mean, I look back to my BC days 02:27 and I remember how many times I thought, 02:29 "Oh, I wished I could start over. 02:30 I wished I hadn't done that." 02:32 And when I say BC, before Christ. 02:34 You know, I went to church for many years 02:37 but I weren't a Christian. 02:39 I never really learned about heart conversion. 02:43 And so sometimes, 02:45 people feel like either they're too bad 02:49 for the Lord to accept them or they feel like, 02:52 if they have been a Christian and they made a mistake, 02:55 they feel like, "Oops, this is it." 02:58 But I want to tell you something, 03:00 God is the God of new beginnings, 03:02 and that's what we're going to be talking about tonight. 03:05 The God of new beginnings. 03:08 So, Johnny, you want to open in prayer? 03:10 Sure. 03:11 Let's go to the Lord in prayer. 03:14 Our loving heavenly Father, 03:15 we are grateful to You Lord for Your kindness 03:18 and Your mercy to us. 03:19 We thank You that You are the God of new beginnings 03:23 and that at anytime we can come to You, 03:26 and You will not turn us away. 03:28 We ask Lord that You will be with us 03:30 as we worship together. 03:31 And as a family, we are gathered here 03:34 and all around the world with our family members 03:37 wherever they may be. 03:39 We pray for Your blessing upon all 03:40 and we ask Lord 03:42 that Your children will be uplifted, 03:45 to Your throne of grace as we share together. 03:47 In Jesus holy and blessed name, amen. 03:50 Amen. Amen. 03:52 If you know somebody 03:55 that is feeling separated from the Lord 03:59 or just feeling down and out in the mouth, 04:02 please call them and tell them 04:04 you've got to watch this program 04:07 because God's got a better plan for your life 04:09 than the one you're living, 04:10 and we're going to look at that. 04:12 So our sweet Brother Tim has moved over to the piano, 04:17 and we're going to sing something 04:18 that most of you know. 04:20 If you want to follow along, 04:22 the words will be on the screen, 04:25 but you can also find it, 04:26 its hymn number 190 04:28 in the Seventh-day Adventist hymnal, 04:30 "Jesus loves me." 04:37 Jesus loves me this I know 04:41 For the Bible tells me so 04:45 Little ones to Him belong 04:49 They are weak but He is strong 04:53 Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! 05:00 Yes, Jesus loves me! 05:04 The Bible tells me so 05:08 Jesus loves me! 05:11 He who died 05:12 Heaven's gate to open wide 05:16 He will wash away my sin 05:20 Let His little child come in 05:24 Yes, Jesus loves me! 05:28 Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! 05:36 The Bible tells me so 05:40 Jesus, take this heart of mine 05:44 Make it pure and holy Thine 05:48 On the cross, You died for me 05:52 I will love and live for Thee 05:56 Yes, Jesus loves me! 06:00 Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! 06:07 The Bible tells me so 06:12 Amen. 06:14 Amen. Amen. 06:15 I think I was doing a holy dance to that. 06:18 I love that song. 06:20 It reminds me of when I was a little girl. 06:21 Resonate you. 06:22 Yes. Yes. 06:24 And the lyrics to the song are beautiful, 06:27 but let me ask you this question. 06:30 How do we know that God loves us? 06:32 How do we know? that Jesus loves us? 06:36 The Bible says because... 06:39 We love Him because He first loved us. 06:41 Amen. 06:43 So He had a plan all along. 06:46 You know, it's like going into a restaurant. 06:47 I would never go to a restaurant 06:49 that didn't have any food, 06:53 you know, it's like any kind of a business 06:56 that didn't have any product 06:58 that you were there for, 06:59 you know, and you just kind of had to wait around for a... 07:02 especially for a restaurant, you know? 07:05 I'm just saying God had a plan before it was... 07:08 And a smorgasbord. 07:09 And a smorgasbord, exactly right, right. 07:11 And so we love Him because He first loved us, 07:14 we had no capacity. 07:15 But how do we know He loves us? 07:17 Well, when you look... 07:19 Oh, okay. All right. 07:20 Well, when you look at John 3:16, 07:22 "For God so loved the world 07:25 that He gave His only begotten Son, 07:26 that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish 07:29 but have everlasting life." 07:31 I mean God gave His only begotten Son 07:34 so that we could have a second chance at life. 07:37 That's the ultimate love right there. 07:40 And when you think about it, Romans 5:8 says 07:43 that God demonstrated his life 07:47 and that He sent Christ to die for us, 07:49 to take our place while we were yet sinners. 07:54 So think about that. 07:55 It isn't that... 07:57 You've got to get your act together 08:00 to come to the Lord. 08:01 In fact, you can't get your act together 08:02 without coming to the Lord, can we? 08:05 The Bible says 08:07 that no man can change his heart, 08:10 no more than an Ethiopian can change his skin 08:13 and a leopard can change its spots. 08:15 So we've got to be fully dependent upon Him. 08:20 Have you ever had a time in your life 08:22 where you looked and thought 08:23 "Man, I wished I could start over?" 08:26 Yes. Yeah. 08:28 It's in the morning... "I better go back to bed. 08:31 I better go back to bed," 08:32 'cause I get up on the other side of the bed. 08:33 Exactly. 08:35 My mother used to make me do that 08:36 when I was a little girl. 08:37 Seriously? 08:39 If I ever woke up cranky, she'd say, 08:40 "You got up on the wrong side of the bed. 08:42 Go back to bed." 08:43 And I go get out on the other side... 08:47 Right. 08:49 You know, your question is very important question. 08:53 But looking at John 3:16, it's not Noah saying it, 08:58 it's not Adam saying it, it's not Peter, it's Jesus. 09:02 Amen. 09:03 And when you consider 09:05 that Jesus is the one saying that, 09:06 He has firsthand knowledge to say 09:10 "For God so loved the world 09:12 that He gave His only begotten Son," 09:14 Him, "that whosoever believes in Him 09:16 should not perish but have everlasting life." 09:18 It's a message that should be studied 09:21 not only today but throughout eternity. 09:23 And, you know, for me, 09:24 did you all grow up really understanding 09:26 that God loved you? 09:28 I had a very, very hard... Upbringing? 09:32 Time or, yeah, 09:34 upbringing being in a domestic violent home, 09:40 it was very hard to see that there was any love for us, 09:43 you know, for my mother 09:45 or whatever experiences we experience as kids. 09:49 And so it wasn't until, like, you're out of that environment 09:52 and you are learning to "live." 09:54 You're like, "Oh, it's safe. 09:56 My mom is not on the floor bleeding, you know? 09:59 So, yeah. Yeah, I know that. 10:01 It's just different things 10:02 that affects, it builds up, 10:08 or just smears God's love. 10:10 Yeah. 10:12 When you're a child, you know, it depends on the environment 10:15 that we choose to raise our kids. 10:18 For example, we wanted an environment 10:20 that they can be themselves and it was a safe zone. 10:25 And my kids, I tell them, 10:27 "You're blessed because you have a father, 10:28 I didn't have a father. 10:29 You know, he's just my biological father, 10:33 but he was never a father, you know?" 10:36 So my kids, 10:38 it's easier to show them that God loves you 10:43 because of the example Christ in my husband, 10:47 for being a godly man 10:49 that we can identify what love is in a home, 10:52 you know? 10:53 And a home is something that God blessed and ordained. 10:58 Yeah, you know, 10:59 not only is it what's modeled in the home, 11:01 sometimes it's what's said from the pulpit 11:04 because I grew up... 11:06 I had a love affair with Jesus but I was scared of the Father, 11:09 and all I ever heard, you know... 11:11 What I was taught is that there was a different God 11:14 in the Old Testament 11:16 and He was different in the new. 11:18 And you know, 11:19 now I know that's absolutely wrong. 11:21 God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 11:24 And when you see that... 11:25 But I remember once that I got so upset 11:29 with God that I shook my fist in His face 11:32 and I turned and walked away. 11:34 And then once you do that, you feel like... 11:36 "What did I just do?" 11:38 "Now what do I do?" You know? 11:40 And He loved me enough to chase me down. 11:43 But I just want you to know, at home, 11:46 if you don't know the love of God, 11:49 we're going to look at how God 11:50 is the God of new beginnings. 11:52 We've heard your story a several times. 11:54 He certainly gave you a new beginning. 11:55 Absolutely. 11:57 I know, for me, He gave me a new beginning. 12:00 And I don't know much about your childhood 12:03 other than you grew up in a musical family. 12:05 Right, yeah. 12:06 But did you know how much God loved you? 12:09 You know, I just don't think 12:10 that any of us can really grasp that, 12:12 I mean, because I grew up in church 12:16 and I was just understood, but only as you get older... 12:22 only as I got older 12:24 and do things that are just stupid, 12:27 you know, and things that, you know, you don't mean... 12:30 They're not necessarily sinful but I guess they're sin 12:34 if they turn against God in any way, 12:39 just even in the slightest thing. 12:40 I look back and think "Man, I was just dumb, 12:42 why did I do that?" 12:44 And yet knowing... 12:46 God allows U-turn, you know, and so you just... 12:47 Amen. 12:49 He more than allows, He creates it. 12:51 Right, exactly, exactly. 12:53 He wants you to. He grants us. 12:55 Yeah, exactly. Yeah. 12:56 So you know, I don't think any of us can grasp, 12:59 even if we are raised in a functional home 13:03 or in an atmosphere of love, there's just no way to... 13:06 God's love is just on a... 13:08 Right. 13:09 It's a supernatural level that we can't even grasp. 13:12 And it takes us a life, and we will spend eternity. 13:14 Amen. 13:16 All the things that He will show us, 13:17 I believe, in the eternity, 13:19 the films and the movies that He will be showing us 13:21 of where He loved us and we didn't even see it. 13:24 Yeah. Amen. 13:25 And so that's... 13:27 I'm blessed to be a part of it. 13:28 Well, I grew up in a Christian home 13:34 going to church, and I don't know... 13:37 I don't remember where I heard it 13:38 but I knew that God was good, God is love. 13:41 I understood that. 13:43 And I used to tell other little kids, 13:47 "God is good. God is really good. 13:50 And He created all the good things, 13:52 you know, the butterflies, and the flowers, 13:54 and all the fruits, God created those things. 13:56 But the bad things like the bees that sting you, 14:00 the devil created those." 14:02 I didn't know that. 14:03 And I used to say, "The ants, you know..." 14:04 Because in Dominican Republic, we have ants that bite you. 14:08 It was a shock to me to come to the US and ants are... 14:10 And I was, you know, getting ants of off me 14:13 thinking they're going to bite me, 14:14 but they didn't bite me. 14:17 In Chicago, they didn't bite us, 14:19 I said, "What's wrong with these ants? 14:20 They don't bite." 14:22 But anyway, that was my concept of God. 14:24 And I don't remember hearing it in a sermon or reading, 14:26 maybe my parents told me, but for some reason, 14:29 I knew that God was good, 14:31 and I thank the Lord for that. 14:32 I wanted to share also that when we are children 14:36 we are in a routine, you know? 14:39 We go to church and it's my mom and my dad's... 14:43 If you have a dad at home, it's your parent's God. 14:48 Yes, you're right. 14:49 When it comes to developing a relationship with God, 14:52 I mean it's a teeter totter, you know? 14:55 As you mature, you know, you're 10-12 years old, 14:59 you're understanding more, then you become a teenager, 15:02 and sometimes, you're too rebellious, 15:05 you know, and feeling bad, you pray at night, 15:07 "I'm sorry, Lord," and you carry on and carry up. 15:10 But as you mature, just like Tim was saying, 15:14 my love for God today is more greater, 15:18 bigger than it was, say, 10-20 years. 15:21 Amen. 15:23 But there may be somebody 15:24 who is joining us for worship tonight, 15:26 and maybe you don't even know God, 15:29 and you say, 15:30 "How can I know He really is the God of new beginnings? 15:33 How can I know that this is His pain? 15:35 You say he loves me. 15:36 How can I know that 15:38 because I am just mired in sin?" 15:40 Let's look at Ephesians 2. 15:44 Tim, would you take Ephesians 2:1-3? 15:47 This is one of my favorite passages, 15:50 Ephesians 2:1-3. 15:52 And let's look and see if these scriptures tell us 15:58 that God is the God of new beginnings. 16:02 "And you He made alive, 16:04 who were dead in trespasses and sins..." 16:06 Whoo! That's a new beginning. 16:08 Right. 16:09 "In which you once walked 16:11 according to the course of this world, 16:12 according to the prince of the power of the air, 16:16 the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 16:20 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves 16:22 in the lusts of our flesh, 16:24 fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, 16:27 and were by nature children of wrath, 16:30 just as the others." 16:31 So here what's Paul saying, 16:33 He's saying, "Hey, we were all there. 16:36 We were all children of wrath, sons of disobedience. 16:40 We've all been through that." 16:43 And, you know, what hurts me is when you find somebody 16:45 that's grown up in church 16:48 and they think, "Well, I don't commit any of the... 16:52 You know, I don't break any of the 10 Commandments," 16:55 so they don't have a real love for Jesus 16:57 'cause they don't recognize their need of a savior. 17:00 But here he says "We were dead in our trespasses and sin. 17:04 Yes. 17:06 And what did God do 17:07 by sending His Son to die for us 17:09 while we were yet sinners, He made us alive. 17:14 Why don't... 17:15 Jay, would you read Ephesians 2:4-7. 17:18 Sure. This is the Ephesians 2. 17:21 "But God, who is rich in mercy 17:23 because of His great love with which He loved us, 17:27 even when we were dead in trespasses, 17:29 made us alive together with Christ, 17:31 by grace you have been saved, and raised us up together, 17:36 and made us sit together 17:37 in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 17:40 that in the ages to come, 17:41 He might show the exceeding riches 17:44 of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." 17:47 So do you know that great love? 17:51 Where you dead in trespasses? 17:52 Oh, yeah. Absolutely. 17:54 Do you feel like you're alive in Christ? 17:56 I sure do. 17:57 God is the God of new beginnings, isn't He? 18:00 When you're born again, 18:02 I mean, that's what the Scripture calls it, 18:03 being born again that, 18:06 you know, how many people 18:10 look back on their life and think, 18:12 "Oh, I'd like a do over," 18:14 but you can have a new beginning. 18:17 Okay, Tita, would you read Chapter 2 verses 8-10. 18:21 Eight through ten, "For by grace 18:23 you have been saved through faith, 18:26 and that not of yourselves, 18:29 it is the gift of God, not of works, 18:32 lest anyone should boast. 18:34 For we are His workmanship, 18:37 created in Christ Jesus for good works, 18:40 which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." 18:45 Okay, so let's make sure we look at one point here. 18:49 By grace we're saved, it's a gift. 18:53 Yes, amen. 18:54 But does that mean that we're not going to do good works? 18:57 Oh. No, we do good words. 19:00 What does the Scripture say? 19:03 Well. 19:04 That we were created... 19:06 Created for good works, expound on that? 19:10 It's a marvelous thing, you know, that God can take us, 19:14 that we were once enemies broken. 19:21 Not only subject to death, 19:22 but we had a death penalty on us. 19:25 But this verse says 19:26 that God is rich in mercy and I... 19:29 Thinking about that word rich 19:30 is that he's not going to run out of mercy. 19:33 Nice. That's good. 19:34 He's rich in mercy, 19:36 He's not like, oh, I ran out of mercy, 19:37 sorry, sorry. 19:38 Wow. 19:40 No, He's rich in mercy 19:41 and He extends the invitation to all, 19:44 and we were created for good works 19:46 so, when we give ourselves to Christ 19:51 and we respond to His love, 19:55 we do that which He created us for, 19:59 we do good works. 20:01 And we do it ourself, do we? 20:03 It's what God's working in us to will and to do 20:08 but, you know, it's just like Romans 8:28, 29, 20:11 so many people will quote Romans 8:28, 20:15 "That all things work together for good 20:17 for those who love the Lord, 20:18 and are called according to His purpose," 20:20 and they stop there. 20:22 That's true. 20:24 But you can't separate Romans 8:28 from Romans 8:29 20:27 because what the scripture says 20:31 is that he works all things together, 20:33 and it goes on to say 20:34 to conform us to the image of Jesus, 20:38 so that's part of His plan is good works. 20:41 Christ came to destroy the works 20:43 of the devil. 20:45 He came to save us and to, 20:47 you know, He accepts us just as we are 20:49 but He loves us too much to leave us that way, right? 20:54 Hallelujah for that. 20:55 But, you know, 20:56 one of my other favorite scriptures 20:58 when we think about new beginnings is that 21:01 God is a covenant keeping God 21:03 and one of his covenant promises 21:05 for the new covenant 21:07 is found in Ezekiel 36:26, 27. 21:13 Who would like to read Ezekiel 36:26, 27? 21:18 I'll read it. Okay. 21:20 Based on promise of new covenant 21:24 ultimately fulfilled in Christ... 21:26 I'm reading the top part here. 21:27 Okay, yeah, let's get into 26," 21:30 I will give you a new heart 21:31 and put a new spirit within you..." 21:33 Who's talking here? 21:35 This is God, He's giving us a promise. 21:38 Amen. 21:40 "I will take the heart of stone, 21:42 that old hardened heart, 21:43 out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh, 21:47 sensitive and responsive to the God's touch, 21:52 so we can live in obedience 21:54 I will put My spirit within you 21:56 and cause you to walk in My statutes, 21:59 and you will keep My judgments, and do them." 22:02 You know, this is something 22:03 that I think I was talking to you earlier, Tim, 22:06 sometimes people will say Johnny, 22:10 "Oh, Lord, help me to do such and such." 22:14 And we can't change ourselves, so what we knew... 22:17 What is our part in cooperating with God? 22:21 It's all about yielding to His will, right? 22:25 Right. 22:27 And then we say to Him 22:28 as Acts 5:31, 32 talks about that, 22:31 God grants us repentance, 22:34 He's the one that turns us around. 22:36 So if you want a new beginning and you don't know the Lord, 22:40 all you've got to do is say 22:42 "Lord, I'm a sinner and I need a savior, 22:46 and oh, Jesus come into my heart." 22:49 And the way he does that, 22:50 you know, fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that... 22:53 Christ in Ephesians 3:16-20, 22:56 it says Christ lives in our heart by faith, 23:00 through the Holy Spirit and then what he does is, 23:03 He gives you a new heart, 23:05 it's God's work and it's such a beautiful thing 23:11 when you're born again to follow Him and... 23:16 You want, I mean, He gives you, 23:19 you know, when the Bible says 23:21 that He will give you the desires of your heart, 23:24 you know, what He does first? 23:25 When you are in love with Him, 23:27 His desires become your desires 23:28 so then you're praying according to the Lord. 23:30 That's right. 23:32 But, you know, wanted to share was that, 23:34 we need to invite God to do the work in us. 23:38 Absolutely 23:40 You know, that is the... 23:41 We need to acknowledge 23:42 and recognize the need of the Savior. 23:44 And give Him permission to come into our lives 23:47 and to fill us with His Holy Spirit, 23:49 and to do the work that He Has begun, 23:51 to give Him the permission to finish it in us. 23:54 Amen. 23:55 You know, and as we surrender to Him 23:57 and we start being our self-sufficient, 24:01 independent selves, right? 24:03 We acknowledge that God is the great God 24:05 of the universe 24:07 and with Him all things are possible. 24:08 Right. Amen and amen. 24:09 There is that great line 24:11 that a lot of people think in the Bible 24:13 God helps those who help themselves, 24:16 but God helps those who get out of the way. 24:19 Love themselves and but, 24:21 yeah, it's the new heart that He gives you 24:23 and then with that new heart 24:26 come those new desires to follow Him, 24:28 so it's God's doing. 24:30 So we all agree that each one of us 24:33 has had a new beginning. 24:34 That's right. Amen. 24:35 I mean, every one of us been born again, 24:37 that was a new beginning. 24:39 But what happens after you're born again 24:43 if you sinned, maybe even deliberately sin, 24:48 can you have another beginning? 24:50 Does God give second chances? 24:53 Thank you, Jesus. 24:55 Yeah, you can look at the story of the Israelites 24:57 and see He gives second... 24:59 How many chances? 25:00 Second, third, and fourth. 25:02 Yeah, that's right. 25:03 I can look in my life and say, 25:04 "Thank you, Lord" because, you know, 25:08 I started smoking when I was probably 25:10 four years old, right? 25:12 So it was interesting, it was, 25:16 you know, something different but I was the official, 25:19 you know, go turn on my cigar or my cigarette in the family, 25:23 so I would go and they're like, "Now don't you inhale" or, 25:27 you know, I don't know how you say it 25:29 when you put your mouth on that. 25:30 Inhale. 25:31 Okay, inhale it 25:33 so, you know, I started feeling so important. 25:37 Anyway, so praise the Lord that the Lord did not allow me 25:42 to fall into the funny things because when, 25:45 then when in my teen years I learned to do the chains 25:48 and, you know, blowing through my nose 25:49 and all these cool things. 25:51 I'm like wow! 25:53 It's like a dragon, 25:54 you know, so then when I tried marijuana, 25:57 it's like, "Oh, my goodness." 26:00 Thank you, Jesus, that passion was not in me 26:03 to continue using all these things. 26:07 Tita! 26:10 We have to start family worship, 26:12 you know too much family information, right? 26:16 No, that's the beauty of knowing, 26:18 you know, because a lot of people 26:20 watch us and believe, 26:22 well, we've got our act together. 26:24 Baloney, we're people, 26:26 we're real and that's what God uses real people, 26:30 He loves His people. 26:31 You look through the Bible and you check 26:32 all of the characters that God used 26:34 in the Word of God, 26:36 every one of them were flawed. 26:38 There were no stained glass saints 26:39 in the Word of God. 26:40 And, you know, something that's interesting, 26:42 God called me to full time ministry, 26:43 He told me to be transparent because like you, 26:46 I grew up in a very dysfunctional home 26:49 and you never, 26:50 I mean, you never mentioned it in public, 26:53 but God told me to be transparent 26:57 and you know something, 26:59 there's one sermon or one topic I've never preached on 27:02 and that's anger 27:03 'cause I've got a fuse that's this long, 27:06 it takes a lot to make me angry. 27:09 Bragger 27:10 Well, no, God gave that to me, you know, it just takes a gift. 27:15 It is a gift, I realized that. 27:18 So I don't preach on that because... 27:21 But everything I'm preaching on 27:23 is because it's what God changed, 27:26 yeah, you know, how He changed me, 27:29 and I do think that that's what makes it... 27:34 How God can... 27:35 It gives it power, 27:36 when you can say, hey, here's what I was, 27:39 I was a mess but here's what God did. 27:41 That's how we know He can give a new beginning 27:43 is because we needed it before. 27:44 Amen. 27:45 And He takes it from us, you know, 27:47 I didn't want to become a drug addict, 27:49 I didn't want to become... 27:51 And I felt so bad, 27:52 eventually when I was mature enough 27:54 and I realized what God has... 27:58 That's why I say the love for God grows 28:01 as you mature and as you accept it too 28:04 because sometimes we reject God's love. 28:06 Oh, absolutely. 28:08 We're in such a mess that is like, 28:09 no, no, no, forget it, 28:11 you know, God is not going to love me. 28:12 I give up, it's just too much up and down. 28:14 So one day I'm good, the next day I'm terrible, 28:16 the third day I'm worse so, you know, I better... 28:20 It's easier to give up than... 28:23 Go ahead, I'm sorry. 28:24 Than just surrender to God 28:25 and ask Him to take this from you. 28:28 What I was going to say 28:30 is that I'm looking at this through the... 28:32 As a child, a little, a young little girl, 28:35 a little boy that, 28:39 you know, the kids go through stages. 28:40 Right. 28:42 The parents are doing everything for them, 28:43 they need to eat you and feed them and all this 28:45 but eventually, 28:46 the child learns how to take that spoon 28:48 and grab out a little and put it in his mouth. 28:51 Of course, they make a mess but they're happy to be doing, 28:54 and they say these words "I'll do it myself." 28:58 Oh, yeah. 28:59 And see and as Christians also 29:01 we can sometimes get to the point where 29:04 "I can handle this, Lord, I can do this myself." 29:06 And we try to do it ourselves and we fail, 29:10 so we're always going to need the Lord, 29:12 we're always going to need the Lord 29:13 so that He can enable us to do those things 29:17 He wants us to do so that we can be happy. 29:20 Everything that God wants us to do 29:21 is so that we can be happy. 29:23 Amen. 29:24 You know, He doesn't do anything 29:26 to take happiness from us, 29:28 is to bring us happiness and unfortunately 29:31 some of us have been deceived by the devil to think 29:34 that the bad things bring us happiness, 29:38 but just about every individual, 29:40 every individual will tell you. 29:42 They come to their senses, 29:44 okay, that they're not really happy. 29:46 They enjoy something for a moment 29:48 but then afterwards they're like, 29:49 "Oh, man, why did I do that?" 29:51 And they don't feel good about it. 29:53 They're not really happy, 29:55 it's when you come to the Lord 29:56 that you begin to understand what is true happiness, 29:59 what is true joy, 30:00 you know, and so as a little child 30:03 we come to the point... 30:04 I was always thinking about faith 30:06 because you mentioned something that, 30:07 by faith that we're saved. 30:09 And this thing about... 30:11 I remember talking to a... 30:12 A lady called and she said, "I really want more of faith." 30:16 She was an elderly lady, 30:18 "I just need more faith." 30:21 But it's just like a child also, 30:24 a child learns to trust the parents, 30:26 well how do they do that? 30:29 Well, because they were with them, 30:31 they spend time with them 30:34 and, you know, even when you spank a child, 30:37 which they don't do that today in these days. 30:40 When you spank a child, 30:42 they don't say, "Oh, man, I was spanked, 30:43 I'm leaving this house." 30:45 Why does the child stay there because they know, 30:48 "Oh, they feed me here, they love me here, 30:50 they hug me here, they do things for me, 30:53 they care for me, they hug me, 30:55 they learned that they are loved 30:57 and so, 30:58 of course, they are not able to go on their own 31:01 but anyway, 31:03 faith grows by exercise, 31:06 by the time we spend with the Lord. 31:08 You want more faith, spend time with the Lord. 31:10 Spend time with the Lord. 31:12 Yeah, I think developing that relationship is important, 31:14 you know, Tita, 31:15 you had mentioned earlier about routines 31:17 and how we get so caught up in our routines 31:19 and everything like that but... 31:21 And then we try 31:22 and have a relationship with Christ. 31:26 But through our parents' relationship 31:28 or through our grandparents relationship 31:30 but, you know, our character is not transferable 31:32 and the Bible says, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good." 31:35 You can't taste and see that the Lord is good, 31:37 if you don't get in the Word and to have that 31:41 and develop that relationship with Him for yourself, 31:44 and think about some of the experiences 31:46 that you've been delivered from 31:48 and things that you've gone through. 31:49 Amen. 31:51 You know I have to say this because when you said 31:52 that taste and see, some people are out there going, 31:54 "What do you mean, taste and see?" 31:57 But the ancient Hebrews... 32:00 This was a verbal language, 32:02 it was all about action 32:04 and they did everything by their senses, what you... 32:07 I mean, they experienced God. 32:09 I remember when we were at the Western Wall 32:12 in Jerusalem and J.D. 32:15 went in with, 32:17 you know, they separate the men and the women, 32:19 it was welcoming in the Sabbath. 32:22 And he came out just in tears, 32:25 and he was talking about this Jewish family, 32:28 that there was probably like four or five generations 32:31 and he said this very elderly man 32:33 with a very long beard, white beard 32:36 opened up 32:37 as they were welcoming in the Sabbath, 32:39 he opened up something first 32:41 that they could smell some kind of incense perfume 32:45 and was passing it, 32:46 they pass it from generation to generation. 32:49 There was a little three year old 32:50 and then he opened up a box 32:53 and they had him taste it 32:54 because they wanted him to associate with the Lord, 32:58 I mean, they used their senses. 33:00 Sometimes I think we don't use ours enough, 33:03 but let me go back to my question. 33:06 So let's say we've all been born again. 33:09 What happens if perhaps 33:12 we have sinned either through omission, 33:17 by not doing something we knew we should have done 33:20 or by co-mission if we've done something? 33:23 How can we know 33:26 that God is going to give us another chance? 33:30 To me, it's 1 John 1:9. 33:31 Yeah. Right. 33:33 That's what I was thinking. Which says what? 33:35 "If we confess our sins, 33:36 He is faithful and just to forgive our sins 33:40 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 33:42 So He doesn't always just forgive us, 33:45 He cleanses us from how much unrighteousness? 33:49 All. All. 33:51 1 John 1:9. 33:53 And you know, you guys are both fathers 33:56 and, of course, you're a mother but as a father if your son... 34:01 You both have two sons. 34:02 If your son has done something really stupid, or hurtful, 34:07 or maybe even mean spirited, 34:10 but suddenly they come to you in contrition 34:13 and say, "Daddy, I recognize how wrong I was, I'm sorry." 34:19 I will never forget the phone call I received... 34:21 My son lives in Florida, I have a 16-year-old 34:25 and he called me and told me that he had done something 34:29 that he said, "Dad, I know 34:31 you'll never look at me the same 34:32 and I know you will be ashamed of me." 34:36 And what an honor 34:38 that he would even come to me, 34:40 you know, the verse 8 of 1 John says, "Admit you're a sinner." 34:46 And if you don't admit you're a sinner, 34:47 then you're a liar because we've all sinned. 34:50 And so I told my son, "Are you kidding me. 34:53 I'm so proud to be your father right now 34:58 because you're admitting the situation, 35:02 and I'm not glad that you did it. 35:04 I'm not glad that you had to experience it, 35:07 but, you know, maybe God can use that in your future." 35:10 But the fact that God wants us to get, 35:14 you know, like you, like I said, He allows U-turns, 35:17 He longs for U-turns, 35:19 He wants you to come back in repentance. 35:22 So that's my experience of that being a father. 35:24 So, Johnny, what does Lamentations 3:22 say? 35:29 'Cause you were saying a while ago 35:31 that God is rich in mercy. 35:36 Yes. 35:38 He never runs out of mercy, 35:40 so what does Lamentations 3:22, 23 say? 35:46 Well, I have it here 35:48 and Lamentations 3:22, 23 35:51 has a wonderful message for us and it says, 35:54 "It is through the Lord's mercies 35:58 we are not consumed, 36:00 because His compassions fail not. 36:04 They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness." 36:09 His compassions are new every morning. 36:13 You know, I remember when the Lord was teaching me 36:15 to press into His presence, 36:17 and I've written a book about that experience 36:20 and what it was all about. 36:22 But as, you know, 36:24 when He first called me to it, 36:27 I'm saying, "Lord, 36:29 how can I walk so closely to You 36:32 that I feel Your heart." 36:33 And then I wake up one day and find that I've backslide. 36:37 Essentially what He impressed on my mind was pray... 36:40 I'm going, "How can I prevent this?" 36:42 Pray an hour a day 36:44 and you won't ever backslide again, 36:46 and I'm thinking, 36:48 well, well, you know, because, I mean, 36:52 if you spend an hour with God every day in prayer. 36:55 Even if you mess up by the end of that day, 37:00 the next morning you get up 37:01 and spend an hour in prayer with Him, 37:03 you're right back on track. 37:04 See, it's probably more, 37:06 and I don't do that every day now, 37:08 but the point I'm making is that, 37:12 it's God who's calling us 37:15 to Him in every day. 37:19 I don't care what you've done, 37:21 you may be sitting there saying, 37:23 you know, I used to go to church 37:25 but I got a divorce, 37:27 then I got messed up with the wrong crowd, 37:30 maybe you're doing drugs and you think, 37:33 I already accepted Christ as my savior, 37:35 I'm a mess now. 37:37 Let me tell you something, 37:38 His compassions are new every morning. 37:42 God is the God of new beginnings 37:46 and to me the one verse, 37:51 I'm going to ask you to read it, 37:53 Micah 7:7-9 37:57 'cause I really want to spend a little time. 38:01 If there's ever a passage, 38:03 if you're feeling down in the mouth 38:05 and that God can't bring you back up, 38:09 listen to what Micah says. 38:12 This is Micah 7:7-9. 38:17 "Therefore I will look to the Lord, 38:19 I will wait for the God of my salvation, 38:23 my God will hear me. 38:25 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy. 38:28 When I fall I will arise, when I sit in darkness, 38:32 the Lord will be a light to me. 38:36 I will bear the indignation of the Lord, 38:40 because I have sinned against Him, 38:43 until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. 38:47 He will bring me forth to the light, 38:50 I will see His righteousness." 38:53 Amen and Amen. 38:54 Don't you love that? 38:55 Wonderful. 38:57 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy. 39:00 When I fall I will rise because where am I looking to? 39:06 The God of my salvation. Amen. 39:09 What I like, of course, we've all been there 39:12 when you feel like you're sitting in darkness, 39:16 and then suddenly you get into Scripture 39:20 and God is a light to you 39:21 or you hear something on the TV or the radio, 39:24 and all of a sudden it's like, yes, Lord. 39:29 You're breathing in fresh air, 39:31 and so He's shining His light into your darkness, 39:34 but look at verse 9. 39:37 "I will bear the indignation of the Lord, 39:40 because I have sinned against Him." 39:42 Yeah. 39:43 You know, when you were talking 39:45 about spanking kids a while ago, 39:47 God will discipline us. 39:48 Amen. 39:50 And sometimes we need to accept that, 39:52 you know, I even pray for his discipline. 39:56 And some people go, oh! 39:57 And I say hey... 39:59 You're thanking for them. 40:00 As long as I'm praying for it, I'm expecting it and then, 40:03 because usually the way God starts us. 40:05 No, no, child, that soft little voice, 40:09 no, no, child and you know, okay, 40:11 I shouldn't be going in this way. 40:13 You keep on going 40:14 and its gets a little bit louder, 40:16 a little bit louder 40:18 and then you know, 40:19 I'm resisting the Holy Spirit. 40:22 That's right. But you keep on going. 40:25 You gonna... 40:26 Drawing in His mercy. 40:28 In His mercy, He is going to discipline us 40:32 because He says in Hebrews, 40:34 the writer says that 40:35 "God disciplines those whom He loves." 40:39 But it doesn't mean, look at the rest of that verse. 40:43 He says, "I will bear the indignation my Lord 40:47 because I have sinned against Him, 40:49 until He pleads my case." 40:51 Who is he talking about here? 40:53 Who's pleading our case? 40:54 Jesus. Jesus! 40:56 Our intercessor. 40:58 Yeah. Amen. 40:59 Standing at the right hand. 41:00 Praise the Lord. Yes, yes. 41:02 And executes justice for me. 41:04 He will bring me forth to the light. 41:07 I'm gonna see His righteousness.. 41:10 You talk about the life in verse, 41:12 that's just... 41:14 That's glorious. 41:17 This is where you begin to taste 41:19 and see it what He's like, 41:21 because I'm looking at the first verse 41:23 that we read, 41:24 that Idalia mentioned verse 7, 41:26 "Therefore I will look to the Lord, 41:29 I will wait for the God of my salvation, 41:32 my God will hear me." 41:34 A lot of positive statements there... 41:35 Yeah. 41:37 Where he has the confidence, the trust, 41:41 he knows God loves him, right? 41:43 And he says, I will look to the Lord. 41:46 I will go to the God of my salvation. 41:48 He will hear me. 41:50 he has no doubt, He will hear. 41:52 He will plead my case. 41:54 A lot of wonderful statements here 41:56 of someone that understands God is a loving God. 41:59 He's gonna give you a new beginning. 42:01 Go to the Lord, He will plead my case. 42:04 And He knows he's not alone, 42:06 so that's the experience we need. 42:08 These are all messages for us for today... 42:10 Amen. Yeah, yeah. 42:13 To understand 42:14 that we can go through the Lord 42:16 and He will hear us, He will hear us. 42:20 That's an excellent point. Yeah. 42:23 And like where he says, will, will, will, like, 42:28 I will look to the Lord. 42:29 I will wait for the God of my salvation. 42:32 My God will hear me like you were saying. 42:35 It's not, I'll try to... 42:38 It's not I'll try to look at, you know, to the Lord, 42:42 I'll try to wait for the God of my salvation. 42:45 He's like, like you're saying, he's confident in it, 42:47 I will do this, like, that is awesome. 42:50 To me that almost indicates 42:51 that he had been through this process 42:53 a few times before. 42:55 He knows. So been there, done that. 42:57 Believe me, I've got a testimony here. 42:59 This is what you need to do, go to the Father, 43:02 trust in Him and He'll help, you will relax. 43:06 You know, 2 Corinthians. 43:08 Excuse me, 2 Corinthians 5:17 43:11 says that "When we are in Christ, 43:13 we are new creations, the old is gone, 43:16 the new has come." 43:17 That's right. Well, let me ask you this. 43:20 How often does the old rear its ugly head? 43:25 Well, I know, I know your question, 43:28 I understand your question but the verse says, 43:32 "The old is passed away. 43:34 Our past sins have been forgiven." 43:35 God forgives us and He won't say, 43:38 hey remember what you did, 43:39 you know. 43:41 He forgives us, 43:42 and we are forgiven and cleansed. 43:44 But you're talking about that the things we used to do 43:47 before we try to do again. 43:49 That's what you're referring to and that's a good question. 43:53 You know, my thought is this, 43:56 and God showed me this 43:58 as I began to make affirmations from scripture, 44:02 praying the scripture back. 44:03 I mean, God totally changed my life in 2000 when... 44:07 Well, that was before 2000, I think that was '95. 44:10 When He taught me to pray the scripture. 44:12 But I'm praying and saying, "Oh, Father, 44:14 thank You that You made me a new creation in Christ Jesus. 44:18 Thank You that the old is gone and new is coming." 44:21 The next thing I knew, I'm just sobbing. 44:23 You know what? Lord. 44:25 Well, I don't feel like the old is gone. 44:29 If it were not for scriptures, I mean, 44:32 we feel like we fail the Lord, do we not? 44:34 Many times. 44:35 Many times, 44:37 but you see what the Bible says 44:41 is that God is the God 44:43 who gives life to the dead and He cause things 44:45 that are not 44:47 as though they already were. 44:49 So we just have to by faith accept we're new creation. 44:54 That's right. 44:55 And we can go back to Lamentations 3:22 44:58 and we can say, Oh, Lord, the old reared its ugly head, 45:04 but thank You that Your mercies are new every morning. 45:06 Thank You for Your faithfulness, 45:08 as Lamentations 3:22 and 23 says. 45:12 And, Lord, just as 1 John 1:9 says, 45:15 "I'm confessing my sin before You, 45:17 thank You that You're faithful 45:19 and just to forgive me of my sin. 45:21 And thank You that my enemies can't rejoice over me 45:26 because when I fall, I will arise." 45:28 Lord, it's You that's bringing me up. 45:31 Amen. 45:32 You know, but if it were not for these kind of promises. 45:36 See, we look to ourself sometimes 45:38 instead of looking to the Lord. 45:40 That's right. That is right. 45:42 What I wanted to share was that, 45:43 you know, we will pray this, 45:46 and we will read it 45:47 and then when you get up from that prayer, 45:51 you take three steps and you're feeling, 45:54 uh, why do I do that. 45:56 And then you are, you know, like the bugs, 45:59 you go back and you are nibbling on stuff 46:03 that the Lord has taken from you, 46:05 He's forgiven you, 46:06 leave it at the foot of the cross, 46:08 but we pick it up and we go with it. 46:11 Amen. 46:12 This is the thing of the nature, 46:14 you know, you're talking about the old nature 46:16 tries to come back again. 46:18 The devil tries to press the buttons 46:20 to make things happen for us to choose 46:25 to do the bad things 46:26 that what we used to do in the past. 46:29 He doesn't just try to push the buttons, 46:30 he is pushing those buttons all along. 46:34 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory. 46:37 We have a choice to make 46:39 and, you know, 46:41 when I was in high school I used to see... 46:44 There was somebody, 46:45 he wore these shirts with some degree of frequency 46:48 that devil made me do it. 46:51 You're walking on the hallway, there is a guy. 46:52 I went to public school by the way, 46:54 it wasn't a Christian school. 46:55 Ah, Christian high school. 46:56 Anyway, I see the guy, he's like, 46:58 "The devil made me do it." 47:00 But that's a fallacy, 47:01 that's a misunderstanding that people have. 47:03 The devil cannot make you do anything. 47:06 Thanks be to God for that, we have a choice. 47:09 Unfortunately we make the wrong choices 47:11 and we'd go back to that, 47:13 we make a decision to do those things 47:15 the old like you say, 47:17 wants to come back, but we have a choice. 47:20 And when we take our eyes off Jesus 47:22 is when we choose to do those things. 47:25 But it's a battle too, 47:26 because you don't want to do it 47:28 and you are moving away a little bit 47:30 and you are doing, 47:31 you know, this tugging and pulling 47:35 and you're like, Lord, 47:36 I mean it's happened to me at even in my age to say, 47:41 something will come up from the past, 47:42 it's like oh, 47:44 and I start thinking about that, 47:46 and it's like, oh, Lord, 47:48 I don't want to go there, 47:49 you know, please save me from myself, 47:51 you know, so I mean 47:52 I can identify with the people 47:54 who have that tug of war going on, 47:57 you know, when the past wants to come up. 47:59 So, you know, for the people who are watching that are in, 48:03 I'm just gonna go to the extreme, 48:05 you know, crack houses, if somebody's come upon. 48:08 While you taken it out, yeah. 48:09 Somebody's just pass through and flip into the channels 48:12 and had stopped and, 48:13 you know, you're in a situation 48:15 where you can't get out of this. 48:16 I mean this, you're in deep 48:18 and it's not just some of us 48:20 who have been Christians our lives 48:21 and we've fallen back into, 48:23 you know, the things that maybe 48:24 we don't want to enter in but we're talking... 48:26 And they might argue Johnny's point 48:27 that it's a choice 48:29 because at that time they are slaves. 48:30 Right, exactly, and furthermore, 48:32 if they, even if they do turn their life over to Christ 48:35 or for this new beginning. 48:37 This is their lifestyle, this is their living, this is, 48:41 you know, how they are paying the bills. 48:44 You know, and so it's difficult for me 48:47 to answer that question 48:48 or how do I get a new beginning out of that, 48:51 but I do know that even in this choice 48:53 like Johnny is saying, 48:54 you know, there's a sacrifice 48:57 for when we decide to follow Christ 48:59 for that to be able to follow in Him 49:02 in that new beginning, 49:03 we've got to not go back to those things. 49:07 We've got to make and say, okay, 49:08 I'm going to just give up my old life, 49:11 you know, and I know this, 49:14 I can't imagine the sacrifice 49:16 because I was not raised in a situation 49:18 where I, you know had... 49:20 Praying it up. 49:22 I just need... 49:23 Go and expound on this. 49:25 No, what I'm thinking is, 49:27 you know, you had mentioned God in the U-turn. 49:30 Yeah. 49:31 It's not just that God wants us to make a U-turn. 49:34 If He sees us 49:36 and we're heading off of the precipice, 49:38 we're getting ready to go overhead. 49:40 Look at what Acts 5 49:42 and we're going to look at verses 31 49:47 and 32 of Acts Chapter 5 49:51 because there probably 49:52 is someone listening to us right now 49:56 around the world 49:57 who's got this addict, addictive personality. 50:02 I mean, they are addictive to a substance. 50:04 We've all got an addiction to something. 50:07 And it's hard to break a habit, 50:08 but he is talking about Jesus here, 50:11 and it says, Him, talking about Jesus.. 50:15 What verse are you in? I'm sorry, Acts 5:31. 50:18 Thank you. 50:19 "Him God has exalted to his right hand 50:25 to be Prince and Savior," 50:26 so you have a Savior. 50:29 But listen then what he says, 50:31 and we, oh... 50:33 In verse, "To be Prince and Savior, 50:36 to give repentance and forgiveness of sin." 50:42 See, I want to encourage you. 50:45 All habit of sin is difficult to break 50:50 but how often do you... 50:51 I mean, I pray this all the time 50:53 after the Lord showed me the scripture. 50:55 How often do you pray for repentance? 50:59 See, I mean, we asked to confess... 51:02 I mean, we confess our sin, but I always said, 51:05 "Lord, grant me repentance, turn me around." 51:11 It's a gift. 51:12 Turn, yeah, it is repentance is a gift from God. 51:17 We can't do it on our own, 51:19 but when someone who might be in a crack house. 51:25 Let me tell you something. 51:26 I was shocked to learn this. 51:29 Did you know that being clean and sober 51:33 is one half of the first step to recovery? 51:40 I learned that from Cheri Peters. 51:42 We were doing a program with a live audience, 51:45 and somebody stood up and said, 51:47 "My husband was clean and sober for 18 months 51:51 and he's down the toilet again." 51:55 And they were so disappointed. 51:56 She just looked at him and said, "Hey, 51:58 that's one half of the first step to recovery. 52:02 You've got to let God 52:04 cleanse you from the inside out. 52:06 He's the God of new beginnings." 52:08 Amen. Right, yeah. 52:10 He's the one that will change your desires 52:14 and what you have to do is you think 52:16 about how you've been programmed through life. 52:19 If you've been programmed to think 52:21 you're not worth anything, 52:24 I wished I had never given birth to you, you know. 52:27 Let me tell you the truth. 52:29 You are worth nothing less than the price 52:33 that God paid for you... 52:34 Right, wonderful. 52:36 With the precious blood of His Son Jesus Christ. 52:38 So God puts great value on you, 52:41 but you can learn that and you can be going along, 52:46 and you know when you talked about the sacrifices. 52:48 Yeah, you, 52:50 really if you're coming out of that lifestyle, 52:52 the Bible says, 52:54 "Bad company corrupts good morals." 52:58 So sometimes it means, 52:59 you got to make a complete break with your past. 53:02 But let's say you're coming along, 53:04 and all of a sudden the next thing, 53:06 you know, you've been clean and sober 53:07 for six months and you do it again. 53:11 That's when you say, 53:12 do not rejoice over me my enemy. 53:14 Right, fall, I will arise. 53:16 "When I fall, I will arise," Micah 7. 53:20 That's the song right there, you need to write it. 53:22 That is a song. 53:24 Yeah, that is a song. 53:25 Yeah. 53:26 There is a song that talks about that, 53:28 run if you want to run... 53:29 It talk a little bit, when I fall down, 53:31 I'm going to try to get up 53:33 because I didn't start out that way 53:34 you know, but it's the idea of I will rise is just powerful. 53:37 And those things like 53:38 when you start thinking about the sacrifices 53:40 that you make when you come to Lord, 53:42 they're really not sacrifices. 53:44 They are at first. Yeah. 53:46 When you really think about it, it's yes, 53:48 you're going to get out of your comfort zone 53:51 but you had to get comfortable in that zone 53:53 that you were in any way at some point, 53:56 but what you've given up, okay, 53:57 let's take a look at premarital sex 53:59 and promiscuity, right? 54:01 So you're promiscuous 54:03 and now you're at a risk for AIDS for, 54:05 you know, all kinds of STDs and things like that. 54:08 So okay, so you've got to give, you've got to give that up. 54:11 Say, you know, I don't want AIDS, 54:12 I don't want, 54:14 you know, these different diseases 54:15 or say drugs, right? 54:17 So now you're giving up the potential overdose, 54:20 you know, let's say alcohol, 54:22 now you're giving up the potential alcohol 54:24 poisoning or damage to your liver or your organs. 54:28 Let's say, thou shalt not steal, 54:30 so you're... 54:32 Okay, you're not going to steal, 54:33 you're giving up a potential prison sentence. 54:35 Okay, now, 54:37 you know, you're talking about thou shalt not commit adultery. 54:40 So you are saying there are greater blessings. 54:41 Absolutely, it's all for our benefit 54:43 so what we're saying no to... 54:45 For our good. 54:46 Is and what we're giving up is just death over here 54:51 and stepping into life, you know, 54:53 so that's, 54:55 that's one of those things like I used to have. 54:56 I used to struggle with drugs and stuff like that 54:59 as I've talked about before, 55:01 and stepping out of that 55:03 is like so much better on this side, 55:06 you know, I don't have to spend any money 55:08 on that stuff anymore, I don't have, 55:10 you know, I'm not dealing with those types of things, 55:12 I'm not putting myself in messed up situations 55:16 and things like that, so I mean, 55:18 you're really stepping into blessings, 55:20 you know, we can block our own blessings. 55:23 So it's nice to give those things up, absolutely. 55:26 Take a risk. 55:28 You know, I think it's Ecclesiastes 3:11, 55:30 you might double check me on that 55:31 but, let's look at it. 55:33 While you're looking it up, 55:35 I just like to quote it really quick. 55:36 You know, we're talking about people 55:38 that were sinners, 55:40 they were sinners 55:41 and anybody in drug addiction whatever habit you have, 55:45 you know, when you give your life to the Lord 55:47 in 1 John 3:1, 55:48 it says, "Behold what manner of love 55:50 God has bestowed upon us." 55:52 You're children of God, 55:54 you can go from being an enemy of God 55:56 to a child of God. 55:57 Because He is the God of new beginnings. 55:59 That's right. All right. 56:00 so listen to this, Ecclesiastes 3:11, 56:05 "He has made everything beautiful in its time 56:09 and He will make you beautiful too." 56:11 Because when we were singing Jesus loves me. 56:13 Let me tell you something, Jesus loves you too. 56:15 Amen. 56:17 And then He says, 56:18 "Also, 56:19 He has put eternity in their hearts." 56:26 Every one of us is born 56:30 to be loved by God and to love God. 56:34 And when we don't... 56:36 I mean, God puts eternity, He wants, 56:39 we were born to spend eternity with Him. 56:42 But when we don't connect with Him, 56:47 it's that God shaped hole that 56:49 then you're talking about the sex, 56:52 or the drugs, or this or that, 56:56 but let me tell you. 56:58 There's times that we need a new beginning 57:01 because we're gossipers. 57:04 We need a new beginning 57:06 because we love to spread rumors. 57:08 We need a new beginning. 57:10 We can't, we're all sinners. 57:12 Aren't we? Absolutely. 57:14 Our time is all gone. 57:15 I can't believe, I just looked at the clock and saw that. 57:17 Tim, thank you so much. 57:19 Jay, thank you for being here. 57:22 And, oh, we love you Tita and Johnny. 57:25 It is such a blessing. 57:27 We want to thank each one of you at home 57:29 as well for joining us this day, 57:32 and our prayer for you 57:33 is that the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 57:36 the love of the Father, 57:37 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 57:39 will be with you always. |
Revised 2019-02-11