Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW190021A
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:08 Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today Family Worship 01:12 and happy Sabbath to you. 01:14 I am Jason Bradley and here with me this evening 01:17 to discuss the wonderful topic, 01:19 "Depending on God" is JD Quinn... 01:23 My pleasure. 01:24 We have John Dinzey... 01:26 A blessing to be here. 01:27 We have Donald Owen... Yes. 01:29 And we have Eric Durant. 01:30 Happy to be here, yes. 01:32 Great to have all of you guys here and if you notice this, 01:34 this is an all guys Family Worship. 01:36 Praise the Lord. 01:38 And we're gonna be talking about depending on God 01:40 and you know typically as men, 01:43 we like to just take charge, 01:45 just jump in there and just do things on our own. 01:50 Yeah. 01:52 But we need to depend on God. 01:53 Amen. Yes. 01:54 So you know what? 01:57 Before we jump into the verses and all that stuff, 02:00 let's have a word of prayer to get started. 02:02 JD, would you pray for us? Most certainly. 02:04 Father, as we come together today in the name of Jesus, 02:08 this wonderful Sabbath day we dedicate to You, Lord, 02:10 please be with us, Lord, 02:12 that we may be able to do what You've called us to do. 02:16 Father, be with us during this topic, 02:18 we just ask Lord that 02:19 through the aid of the Holy Spirit 02:21 that the right words will come out of our mouths, 02:23 the right thoughts that we will be able to 02:25 not only have a good time together 02:27 'cause we are good friends, Lord, but praise Your name. 02:30 We love You and thank You in the name of Jesus, amen. 02:33 Amen. Amen. 02:35 So have you guys ever heard any, 02:37 like motivational speakers? 02:39 Yes. 02:40 Have you noticed that there's such an emphasis 02:43 placed on self. 02:44 Self awareness, 02:46 trust in yourself, 02:48 all of these things are placing the focus on self 02:52 and removing the focus from God. 02:55 Look into yourself, 02:56 very new age type of stuff 02:58 when really we should be depending on God. 03:01 So we have several verses here 03:04 that I'd like to go over 03:06 and, Brother Dinzey, 03:08 you have Jeremiah 17:9. 03:14 What was family worship like for you guys 03:17 growing up though? 03:18 Oh, okay. 03:20 Who we worship. 03:21 Well, family worship was, 03:25 for us something interesting you know, 03:28 my mother and father divorced when I was one. 03:30 So I don't have a recollection 03:32 of being with my mother and father 03:33 when we had family worship, 03:35 but I remember having worship with my mother 03:39 and worship with my father 03:41 and as it stands out with my father 03:44 because he used to like to sing a certain song 03:47 every time we had the family worship 03:49 and so, when I hear that song, 03:52 it reminds me of that family worship 03:54 and it really is something special. 03:57 Nice. Wow. 03:58 In the home that grew up on, I grew up in a Christian home. 04:02 And we didn't have family worship, 04:05 to be honest with you. 04:06 I don't know why. 04:09 But what we did have that on the days 04:11 where we'd get rained in, snowed in 04:13 and we lived out in the country, 04:14 we had bread clay. 04:17 Boy, you couldn't whenever it was wet, 04:20 it was everybody just come, pulling out of the ditch. 04:22 So on Sabbath, we just didn't go out. 04:25 But my dad always, 04:26 he had always served as our pastor. 04:29 And we'd always have a sermon on the days 04:31 that we were stuck at home 04:33 and I remember that. 04:35 Great question, that's one of the question, 04:37 my parents are passed away, 04:39 someday I want to ask him though, when I see him next, 04:41 why didn't we have family worship? 04:45 Yeah. Yeah. 04:47 What about your? 04:49 Well, I'm glad that I'm not alone. 04:52 We didn't really have family worship either. 04:55 My mother was a Christian. 04:56 My dad really wasn't a Christian, 04:59 and my mother could barely get us to go to Sunday school, 05:03 let alone have family worship. 05:04 So getting us all together for family worship 05:06 was more of a challenge at my home. 05:09 So we didn't really do family worship, 05:12 mainly we went to church on Sunday. 05:15 And then after church, 05:17 we went and played baseball or basketball 05:19 or went swimming or something like that. 05:20 We weren't really that dedicated 05:22 to the Word at the time. 05:23 So when did you become Adventist 05:26 and make that switch? 05:27 Well, my mother, praise the Lord, 05:30 she was Baptist. 05:31 Okay. 05:33 And she was a praying Baptist. 05:35 She grew up very challenged. 05:37 My father was rather difficult 05:40 and her prayers eventually got through 05:44 to the point where she gave me a Bible 05:46 when I was early teens, 05:49 and for years it just collected dust. 05:53 And one day, I decided to open up this Bible 05:57 and that started my journey towards Christianity. 06:00 It took years and years and years after that, 06:02 probably close to a decade 06:04 before I understood the Sabbath truth, 06:06 and the state of the dead, 06:07 and the sanctuary and things like that. 06:09 But I think the Lord blessed because I was interested. 06:13 He saw that I had an honest heart, 06:15 I was a seeker of truth. 06:16 And so He forgave me when I stumbled, 06:19 and He stuck with me through all my mistakes. 06:21 And my mother's prayers carried me through with all. 06:24 Amen. 06:25 That's what the topic's about, depending on God. 06:28 That's right. 06:30 My story is very, very similar to yours. 06:32 I didn't know that, well, that's strange. 06:34 Yeah, basically the same thing, 06:35 I guess, many of us didn't have family worship. 06:37 I didn't. 06:39 My dad was the same. 06:40 I wasn't going to church. 06:42 My mom did, we were Baptists. 06:43 Same, actually, I got baptized at 13 06:45 for my brother told me, I don't even remember it. 06:47 You think you remember your baptism 06:49 but I don't remember it. 06:50 So, but anyways, yeah, 06:52 I've kind of broken up just scattered here and there 06:54 really not trusting in God a whole lot and just... 06:57 Yeah, just remember my dad's line was always 06:59 if you're hungry you'll make yourself a bowl of cereal. 07:02 I guess that would be my worship is, 07:03 eating a bowl of cereal. 07:05 Okay. Okay. 07:06 So no worship. 07:08 With me growing up, 07:10 my mom used to, 07:12 she was big on having family worship. 07:15 So she would, whether it was reading stories 07:18 or whatever the case may be, or if we sat down 07:21 and I read a verse and she took a verse 07:24 and my brother took a verse or whatever, 07:26 you know, she was big on that. 07:29 But one thing that I didn't like 07:30 that she would do when I was younger 07:32 and growing up is try and get me to sing 07:35 because I can't sing same like you. 07:39 You know, she would pick a song 07:41 and then we'd sing and then we'd read 07:42 and talk about what we read and stuff like that. 07:45 And so, yeah, I just, I was curious as to, 07:48 you know what family worship was like in your lives as well. 07:52 I think I found out that 07:55 since joining the church, 07:57 that there is a tremendous, 07:58 tremendous blessing in the family worship. 08:00 Amen to that. 08:02 Getting a family to come together 08:04 for a time of spiritual time, 08:06 it heals bonds, it heals wounds, 08:08 it gives the children an appreciation 08:10 for something greater than themselves 08:13 because they see their parents focusing on God. 08:16 And so eventually they grow up feeling that same way, 08:20 even though they probably face trials 08:22 but eventually they'll come back to the Lord, 08:24 I firmly believe that. 08:25 So this is just a tremendous blessing in the family worship 08:28 and every time we get together and do this, 08:30 I always think about what I missed 08:32 growing up without it. 08:33 Yep. 08:35 You know, one thing that I've heard many times 08:36 from different people is the reason that 08:39 this is one of the most favorite programs 08:41 on 3ABN Family Worship 08:43 is because it gives the Sabbath keepers a reason to gather, 08:49 so that they can sit down 08:51 and then start their Sabbath off. 08:52 I've heard that a number of times 08:55 and I know that we're always gather around, 08:59 it seems like that's our time, you know, finally, 09:01 you know, you put your weight behind you 09:03 and it gives us a reason 09:05 and then Shelley and I take it from there. 09:07 Yeah. 09:08 It's like you're missing a component in your home 09:09 that's really vitally important. 09:11 I mean worship is a vital important component in the home 09:14 and if you don't have it, you realize your day like 09:16 if you don't start with prayer in the morning, 09:17 you get out there and your enemy's dart 09:19 are already, shew! 09:20 Amen. Absolutely. 09:22 Tracking you so that worship is very vital. 09:24 Don't they say the family 09:26 that prays together stays together. 09:28 That's right. Amen. 09:29 Brother Dinzey, looks like, 09:30 he's ready to read that Jeremiah, 09:32 he is ready to jump in there. 09:34 Oh, that's good. 09:36 Okay, Jeremiah 17:9. 09:38 Jeremiah 17:9, the Bible tells us, 09:41 "The heart is deceitful above all things, 09:46 and desperately wicked, who can know it?" 09:50 This is a powerful scripture in a sense 09:52 that it helps us understand our true condition. 09:56 You know, some people may think 09:58 they're just wonderful human beings 10:00 and that they're better than that person 10:03 and that person and that person, 10:04 but the reality is that of our own, 10:11 we can be deceived by our own heart, 10:12 we may think we're okay 10:14 but we are not. 10:17 And this part where it says desperately wicked, 10:20 gives you an understanding that 10:22 it is in such a deplorable condition, 10:25 a condition that is, 10:28 as it says in the little line over here, incurably sick. 10:32 And so, 10:34 when you think of the heart, many times in the Bible, 10:37 it's talking about the mind. 10:39 So if our mind is desperately wicked, 10:43 it lets us know that we cannot save ourselves. 10:47 We need a savior 10:49 and the only savior is Jesus Christ. 10:51 I like the rest of that though you're talking about, 10:53 says, who can know it? 10:54 Who knows our heart? 10:56 He knows it. Sure. 10:57 There's only one that knows our heart, right? 10:59 Yeah. 11:00 And there is a scripture really touches with it 11:02 on Proverbs 4:23 says, 11:03 "Keep thy heart with all diligence 11:05 for out of it are the issues of life." 11:08 Goes right along with that same kind of mind frame, 11:11 you know, the idea of the heart or the mind, 11:13 keep your mind stayed on Him 11:16 because out of it the issues of life, 11:18 He's the one that holds the keys of life 11:20 so issue, yeah, important. 11:23 Nice. 11:25 You know, it's interesting 11:27 as we're talking about depending on God, 11:29 you know, how would you depend on God 11:32 if you didn't know that He was good? 11:34 How would you depend on Him 11:35 if you didn't have a relationship with Him, 11:38 like you don't, 11:39 you don't depend on people typically that you don't know. 11:44 You know, now there are times 11:47 and critical circumstances that may arise like, 11:51 let's say, 11:52 you need to call the cops for some reason or something. 11:54 You're being robbed or whatever the case may be. 11:58 You're the victim of some kind of crime, 12:00 and you call the cops 12:02 while you're trusting in somebody 12:04 that you don't know at that point, 12:07 but to really fully put your trust in somebody 12:11 you like to know them. 12:13 And, you know, 12:14 I want us to look at Psalm 34:8, 12:19 one thing you guys probably know 12:21 about me is I love to eat. 12:24 I love food, right? 12:26 So when I see this Bible verse, 12:29 I can see a couple different things, right so? 12:31 All I can say right there. 12:35 I am evidence of a guy that loves to eat. 12:39 So you might also bring some temperance in here certainly. 12:44 That's right. 12:45 You know, and so don't just look at one side. 12:47 That's right. 12:48 I think I just got a loving rebuke. 12:50 Loving rebuke. Great, lovingly. 12:55 We've got Psalm 34:8, and it says, 12:58 "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. 13:01 Blessed is the man who trusts in him." 13:05 Just like you know, 13:07 I can have that delicious vegan cuisine 13:12 or that my girlfriend might make 13:14 or whatever the case may be. 13:17 Eric won't be able to taste the vegan cuisine 13:21 unless he actually makes himself a plate. 13:24 You know, he can't. 13:25 If I'm biting into an apple, 13:27 none of you can taste that apple. 13:29 Same thing with our relationship with God. 13:32 Nobody else, 13:35 somebody has to have their... 13:37 Everybody has to have their own 13:38 individual relationship with God. 13:40 You know, character is not something 13:41 that's transferable and so, 13:44 in order to depend on God, 13:46 you have to taste and see that He's good. 13:47 So you have to study the Word for yourself 13:49 and have that relationship with Him yourself. 13:52 It's like an experience. 13:54 It's like I like to compare it to eating custard 13:59 or ice cream or something like that. 14:02 Who would know what the flavor tastes like 14:04 if they didn't try it? 14:06 You can describe ice cream as sweet. 14:08 You can describe as creamy, 14:10 but that's about where it stops. 14:11 You have to actually try 14:12 to know whether or not you like it. 14:15 And so when I do prison ministry, 14:16 I always tell the guys, 14:18 how do you know if you don't try this? 14:21 How do you know Jesus 14:22 if you don't at least give Him a chance? 14:25 You have to taste for yourself. 14:26 You have to taste for yourself. 14:27 Yeah, you know, because you said that 14:29 I'm going to have to share this story. 14:32 I remember when I was a little boy 14:35 and my sister came 14:37 and she bought an ice cream. 14:40 And it was one of those creamy ones, you know? 14:43 And she was eating this ice cream 14:44 and for some reason, 14:45 she took it upon herself to let me know 14:47 how wonderful it was. 14:49 And she was saying, "Oh, this is so delicious. 14:52 This is really good. 14:53 Oh, it's sweetest. 14:55 Oh, I love this ice cream. 14:56 This is wonderful." 14:58 And she created this desire in me 15:00 to taste the ice cream. 15:01 So I say what any little boy would say, "Let me taste it." 15:05 And she said, "No, 15:07 you're not going to taste this ice cream." 15:08 And she kept on eating it right in front of me 15:10 and devoured the whole ice cream 15:11 and I was like, 15:13 left with this desire to have ice cream. 15:15 And so, but for some reason, 15:17 I remember not being happy about that. 15:18 So another day, 15:22 I had ice cream and she didn't, 15:24 so I did the same thing to her that she did to me. 15:27 And so I started doing the same thing she was, 15:30 "Oh, this ice cream is really good. 15:32 It's delicious or it's the best you've ever tasted. 15:35 I wish you could taste it. 15:36 Oh, it's really good." 15:37 And she goes, "Let me have some." 15:39 And I said, "No, this is mine." 15:42 And she goes, "Give me that ice cream." 15:44 And so, she took my ice cream and start, 15:45 she was a little bigger than me. 15:48 So she took my ice cream and finished 15:50 and devoured in front of me. 15:51 Of course, I had already tasted, 15:53 I know it was good. 15:54 So then I wanted even more, you see. 15:56 So I didn't say that story to make my sister look bad 16:00 but it reminds me of... 16:03 It reminds me of, you know, as Christians, 16:06 we should live our lives in such a way 16:08 that people will say, 16:10 I want what you have. 16:12 That is so wonderful because I see your happiness, 16:15 I see your joy. 16:16 And you seem to have a peace. 16:18 I remember somebody saying that 16:20 when we were on a 3ABN trip 16:23 and there was the person I was traveling with 16:27 that worked at 3ABN many years ago. 16:30 The lady, there was a lady that says, 16:32 you know, you project peace, said to this person. 16:36 I said," Wow! 16:38 That is really good. 16:39 We should be able to, may the Lord help us all. 16:42 That as He says, 16:43 "Let your light so shine before men 16:46 that they may see your good works 16:47 and glorify your Father which is in heaven." 16:50 So it would be wonderful for us to live that way 16:53 so that people will say, "Wow! 16:56 It must be really good to be a Christian. 16:59 I want to be one." That's right. 17:00 So that's what I would like to. 17:02 Nice. Amen. 17:04 I think it's great because 17:05 with this there's enough ice cream for everyone, 17:09 yeah, no matter who you are. 17:11 And what I also like about God's word right here, 17:14 I didn't have it all marked here, 17:16 have lifted up. 17:17 But is that each time that you read through it 17:21 or perhaps just a verse, 17:22 as you mature that ice cream is still good, 17:27 this time, you know, 17:28 it may have a little walnut on top, 17:30 the next time it may have a little cherry on top, 17:33 but it grows with your maturity. 17:36 Gets better. 17:37 That makes me think of food 17:39 that you might not have liked as a kid, 17:43 you know, your palate has to change 17:46 and so does our desire for things, 17:48 so we don't like what God doesn't like. 17:52 You know the things that God doesn't like, 17:53 we don't like. 17:55 Amen. 17:56 You know, things that God loves and likes, 17:58 we like and we love and so, 18:00 yeah, so the palate changes. 18:03 Yes, yes. Amen. 18:05 Wow. 18:06 That's a beautiful thought. 18:07 Donald, you have Proverbs 3:5 and 6. 18:12 What does that say? 18:15 What does it say? 18:16 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart 18:18 and lean not unto thine own understanding, 18:21 in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths." 18:26 A very powerful. 18:28 Yeah, who do we really trust in? 18:30 Should we put our trust in princes or kings 18:33 or those who are? 18:35 Well, of course, you want to do it, 18:36 you know, government, 18:37 I'm not trying to say boycott government, 18:39 but I'm just saying the fact is we trust God, 18:41 don't take me in the wrong way now, 18:43 but the idea is that, you know, 18:44 trusting in the Lord and as we're mentioning, 18:47 as you mentioned, John, 18:48 about the idea of seeing a change in somebody. 18:50 Something's happening. 18:52 We just watched the story 18:53 about gentlemen Stephen Baldwin, 18:55 famous actor. 18:56 Kind of depending on God, 18:58 well, lady came in moved in there. 19:00 His wife's Brazilian. 19:01 She said as their culture is known to be, 19:03 they have maids so they brought this lady as a maid. 19:06 And the lady kept singing all the time these Jesus songs 19:08 and what was it? 19:10 What's the language there? 19:11 Not Spanish, but Portuguese. 19:13 Portuguese so she's singing 19:14 and the wife she comes up to Stephen, 19:15 "She's singing all the time of Jesus. 19:17 It's Jesus." 19:19 She's like whispering like, you know, 19:20 because she don't want her to know she's talking. 19:21 She goes, "Don't you have any other songs 19:23 to sing besides about Jesus?" 19:25 She asked the lady that real brash 19:26 and she said, "No, no." 19:28 And she started laughing 19:29 and they started laughing hysterically. 19:31 "Why are you laughing?" 19:32 She goes, "I am not laughing 19:33 'cause just you see Jesus in me. 19:35 It's amazing that you see Jesus in me." 19:36 And she said, "I am not here to do work for you. 19:38 I'm here for a different job." Amen. 19:40 And she said, "I'm here to tell you that 19:42 the Lord is going to change your life." 19:43 And He did. 19:45 Now Stephen and his wife are now in the ministries, 19:48 they have ministry so that's incredible story, 19:50 depending on God, it's just, you know, 19:53 you don't understand so trusting in Him. 19:58 That verse has always given me comfort 20:01 because every once in a while I come to a fork in the road, 20:04 do you go left, do you go right? 20:06 What do you do? 20:07 And there's no answer because both ways look 20:09 just perfectly okay. 20:11 And I ask myself, 20:13 "Do I acknowledge God in everything that I do, 20:16 everything that I say?" 20:17 I say, "Yes, I do." 20:19 Then He will direct my path 20:20 and I step out in faith in one direction or another. 20:23 So this is always, I've always liked this verse, 20:25 it's brought me comfort. 20:27 I've always loved but that's what we're talking about, 20:29 depending upon Jesus and so, 20:30 as you come to the T on the road, 20:33 you know, it's certainly nice 20:35 that you have 20:36 through the aid of the Holy Spirit 20:38 a direction, amen. 20:40 And talking about depending upon Jesus, 20:42 I love this, Philippians 4:6-8. 20:46 Because today, today that we live in today, 20:49 there's so much stress and anxiety. 20:51 People are just getting attacks right and left, 20:54 but it just jumps off the page here, 20:56 Philippians 4:6-7, 20:59 "Be anxious for nothing." 21:01 I mean, he's just coming right out here in front. 21:02 "Be anxious for nothing, 21:04 but in everything by prayer and supplication 21:07 with thanksgiving." 21:08 Wow, with thanksgiving. 21:10 You know, my life's going down the drain, 21:15 but yet I am supposed to give thanksgiving. 21:17 "Let your requests be made 21:18 known to God and the peace of God 21:20 which surpasses all understanding 21:22 will guard your heart and your mind 21:23 through Christ Jesus." 21:25 First time I read that, the first thing 21:27 I thought was little white picket fence 21:29 just comes up. 21:30 And that just kind of means safety in love, 21:32 you know, protection, and then anxiety. 21:35 Wow, I mean, I don't have to go through this anxiety. 21:39 And so here it says, yeah, 21:40 but you're gonna have to pray. 21:42 So now I get to get to be involved. 21:45 And then, in spite of the issue over here, 21:49 you need to thanks for that opportunity 21:51 to be able to see 21:52 what you're going through here, 21:54 because then I will intercede in your behalf 21:57 and we'll just kind of diffuse that. 22:01 And so, often myself today, 22:03 you know, as I'm praying, Lord, 22:05 I thank you for this opportunity 22:06 it's given me. 22:08 It certainly doesn't feel comfortable 22:09 but there has to be a reason here. 22:12 And this is what this depending on God is all about. 22:14 What can we do to be able to put those walls up, 22:18 you know, so that, 22:20 man can't get into and those create the issues. 22:24 And what I'm thinking about that I also love, 22:26 this is a favorite of so many people. 22:28 And that's Isaiah 26:3. 22:32 Isaiah 26:3. 22:35 Oh, man, Isaiah 26:3. 22:37 It's right here at my finger. 22:39 Here we go. 22:41 Because it's talking about over here perfect peace, 22:43 be anxious for them. 22:44 But, Eric, and it goes, "And the peace of God 22:46 which surpasses all understanding 22:48 will guard your heart, your mind to Christ Jesus." 22:50 In other words, he's there 22:52 to take that troublesome 22:54 and we're going to have some peace 22:55 and it tells us over here, its first cousin. 22:57 Isaiah 26:3, 22:59 "You will keep him in perfect peace 23:01 whose mind is focused or stayed on you." 23:04 And the reason being is why? 23:07 Because he trusts in you. 23:10 And that goes back to while ago 23:11 when we were talking about relationships, 23:13 if you have a relationship you can trust. 23:16 So with Jesus, the closer, the better our relationship is, 23:21 the more I can trust Him. 23:22 He accepts me unconditionally 23:24 because He sees the beginning from the end. 23:27 So anyway, fantastic. 23:29 Thank you, Jesus. 23:31 You know, what's great, JD, also, 23:34 through experience, when you see the Lord come 23:36 through time and time again, 23:39 it builds your trust in Him. 23:40 Because you know, when you look 23:42 and you're at the Red Sea, 23:44 and Pharaoh's armies coming in from behind 23:46 and the ocean's in front of you. 23:48 You say, "Well, the Lord came through 23:51 again and again and again and again in the past, 23:53 so he's going to come through now." 23:55 So it gives you that strength and that fortitude 23:57 to stand firm and say, 23:58 "He's going to come through, have faith." 24:00 And there's many times in our life 24:02 where that T in the road is just as important to you 24:05 at that time is looking over your shoulder. 24:08 And here comes an army after you. 24:10 Yeah. 24:11 And there's this big sea in front of me, that still, 24:13 I mean to this day, I mean, what a miracle that is. 24:16 How did that work even and I've heard, 24:18 well, 24:20 I'm gonna give you some fine print 24:21 about the scientific reason behind, you know, 24:24 and I mean, it gets so complicated, 24:27 my mind can't even go there. 24:28 All I know is that, that Jesus is present. 24:31 Amen. 24:32 They actually say that the Red Sea was a mile deep 24:33 where they figured it was a mile deep 24:35 that water and they walked in. 24:37 And what's really impressive, 24:38 I started thinking on this story is 24:39 how did the horses in the mud, 24:41 the chariots not get stuck in mud. 24:43 It had to be that dry 24:44 where they can actually literally, 24:46 I mean, that straight, isn't that deep? 24:48 That's a deep. That's a good point. 24:49 Yeah, it's like, wow, how do they not get stuck 24:50 because it had to be that dry. 24:52 I mean, that's, that's incredible. 24:53 So yeah, and I was just thinking 24:54 when you were touching or what you're kind of saying 24:56 is Elijah and his servant. 24:57 When they're in doubt, just two people. 24:59 I mean, they got this huge army going to, 25:00 come on two people. 25:02 And you know, Elijah says, you know, 25:03 open the eyes of my servant that he can see. 25:05 And so looks above 25:06 and there's all these chariots of fire all around like, 25:09 wow, okay, 25:10 we don't have to worry about this one. 25:13 Here again, dependency on God. 25:15 Just those little things He allows each of us 25:18 to see at the right time. 25:20 He is always on time. 25:22 And, you know, sometimes 25:23 there's difficult situations sometimes we, 25:26 in our humanness, 25:29 you know, sometimes we come to difficult situations 25:32 and we act like God won't see us 25:34 through sometimes. 25:35 You know, sometimes there's a little bit of doubt 25:37 that can come about and, and it's like, you know, 25:42 God's been faithful to you all this time. 25:44 Like when you look at the story of the Israelites. 25:45 Right. 25:47 I mean, how many times had God delivered them, 25:49 but yet, each time something, 25:51 any type of obstacle came in their path, 25:55 they're complaining, 25:57 you know, you brought us in the wilderness to die, 26:00 to starve, to die of thirst, 26:03 you know all of these things, 26:04 but God has brought them through time and time again. 26:07 And God continues to bring us 26:09 through situation after situation, 26:11 time and time again. 26:13 You know, it helps us to remember those things 26:16 that the Lord has done for us, 26:19 so that we don't forget them. 26:21 And this is why you'll see in the scriptures 26:23 where it says that 26:25 to tell the stories to your children 26:27 and have these little monuments 26:30 so they say, hey, what do these stones mean? 26:33 Oh, let me tell you, 26:35 the Lord delivered us in the Red Sea. 26:39 When the people of Israel, 26:42 the army of Israel were facing there 26:45 in the Valley of Elah, 26:47 you have Goliath, 26:50 you know, coming out every day and challenging somebody 26:53 to come and fight me, you know, 26:54 and here's this huge man, 26:57 a giant, 26:59 and every day he's coming out there to challenge the people. 27:03 Sometimes, I guess we may think 27:06 of where so and so that can help us. 27:08 But here's little David 27:11 and here's this giant blaring out this threat, 27:18 you know, come and fight me, 27:20 you know and what David is waiting, 27:21 okay, who's going to go out and fight this guy 27:24 and everybody standing just trembling, 27:26 and David is shocked, he goes, 27:28 where are these mighty men, 27:29 where are these warriors and even Saul 27:32 that was supposed to be one of the tallest individuals, 27:35 he was apparently doing the same thing. 27:38 And so, David says, "Who is this?" 27:42 Used in the Bible the uncircumcised, 27:43 who is this that dares to say that 27:45 against God's people. 27:47 And so, the Lord had taken David through steps, 27:51 just like He takes us through steps 27:54 so that when we faced bigger challenges, 27:58 we can say, the Lord helped us through that, 28:01 and through that, and through that, 28:02 and through that. 28:03 This is a bigger challenge than these others. 28:05 But the Lord helped us through those. 28:07 He's going to help us with this one as well. 28:09 That's where the Lord wants to take us. 28:11 So David was able to say, 28:13 "Hey, I fought a bear, 28:17 I fought a lion and I'm still here." 28:21 So Saul was saying, 28:23 "Wow you fought a bear and the lion. 28:25 Here's my sword, you know, 28:27 go out and fight this guy then." 28:28 So really, 28:31 when I preach on this message, 28:32 I said, you know any one of those soldiers 28:35 that were trembling in fear, 28:37 would have been able to do the same thing 28:39 as David did, 28:40 had he put his confidence in the Lord. 28:43 Because David went out there and said, 28:45 you know, you're coming to me with a sword and a spear, 28:48 but I'm coming to you, 28:50 in the name of the Lord. 28:51 Amen. Amen. 28:52 And that's the way we should face our trials 28:54 and our problems, 28:55 in the name of the Lord. 28:57 And that takes a lot of faith and a lot of surrendering, 29:01 submitting. 29:03 I'm gonna say, when we just recently, 29:05 praise the Lord, sold our house. 29:07 It's been three, four years in the making 29:10 and you know, having a house payment 29:12 and rent together 29:14 and you know, we don't, 29:15 obviously we're not wealthy and swimming in money. 29:17 But just knowing that God took care 29:19 and His timing was impeccable 29:21 and the young lady that ended up 29:23 with our house and she said, 29:24 I prayed over this home and I struggled 29:26 and I know that God has definitely blessed me 29:28 with this house 29:29 and just how the Lord opened the door. 29:31 You know, when you think that everything's falling in on you, 29:34 you're either financially mess or your health is you know, 29:38 at risk, or all these different things. 29:39 God knows how to step in at the right time. 29:41 You have just a faith of the size of a mustard seed. 29:43 He's gonna, I mean, 29:44 He's gonna do some miraculous stuff. 29:46 You know, I was just thinking the same thing. 29:49 God builds faith during the quiet times. 29:53 So I'm thinking, when it's quiet, 29:55 sometimes you reach out to God and you pray, 29:57 you say, where are you? 29:58 Then you don't get anything back. 30:00 And you do that again 30:02 and you don't get anything back. 30:03 And it seems to me that during that time my 30:05 faith is building up. 30:07 So when He comes through, 30:08 you throw your hands up in the air and you say, 30:09 there's my God. 30:11 You know, so when the quiet time has come, 30:13 I'm not as fearful for the quiet times anymore. 30:15 I just pray, I stay diligent in my prayer. 30:18 And I know He's going to come 30:20 through eventually in His own time. 30:21 Amen. 30:22 You know, really what's interesting 30:24 and I probably have thought about this 30:26 but you know, you forget things. 30:28 But it's a divine appointment when it's win-win. 30:33 Here you are with that house 30:34 and we all went through this house with you, 30:36 Thank You, Jesus, 30:37 we didn't have to pay the mortgage, 30:39 you know, 30:40 but every week, you know, or every two weeks you 30:43 and Janelle would have to go to Indiana 30:45 to keep that house up. 30:48 Always with a faith it's going to sell soon, 30:50 it's going to sell soon. 30:53 And here you got a lady over here 30:55 that's praying the same thing. 30:58 Oh, Lord, I know that house whenever I see it. 31:02 Thank You, Lord, I know you got a perfect house for me. 31:05 Here you're over here praying this, 31:07 here she's over. 31:08 You're both praying for the same property. 31:11 God is good. 31:13 Sometimes we forget, you know, just like, 31:15 well I guess that you know, I'm in this by myself now. 31:18 Nope. 31:20 Just had dependency. 31:21 Yeah. Amen. 31:23 You made me think of Peter 31:24 and this is kind of what the Lord put in my heart 31:26 when dealing with, studying this. 31:28 Luke 22:31-32, you know, 31:30 Jesus is somewhat really prominent. 31:33 He said in there, Simon, Simon says the Amplified Version 31:36 "Peter, listen, 31:37 Satan has asked excessively that 31:39 all of you be given up to him 31:41 out of the power and keeping of God 31:42 that He might sift you all, all of you like grain 31:45 but I have prayed especially for you, Peter, 31:48 that your own faith may not fail 31:49 when you yourself have turned again 31:51 or are converted, 31:53 strengthen and establish your brethren." 31:54 And I was just thinking on John, 31:56 I think it's 22, 31:57 talked about when Jesus died and you know, 31:59 and they thought, well, that's the end of our mission. 32:02 I guess, I'll go back to fishing. 32:03 So, you know, I'll just go back to fishing. 32:06 They didn't realize that God had a purpose 32:07 and He said that, you know 32:09 when you are converted go and strengthen your brother, 32:10 you see him in Acts, 32:12 he's a powerhouse for the Lord. 32:13 I mean, how did that happen? 32:15 It's just miraculously happen. 32:16 No, he was at stages, 32:18 it took stages for him to get there. 32:20 It's kind of like for us. 32:21 It makes me think of Philippians 4:13, 32:23 "I can do all things through Christ 32:25 who strength me." 32:27 You know, we don't have to rely on our own strength 32:30 because, you know, our Christ strength 32:34 is made perfect in our weakness. 32:36 Amen. Amen. 32:37 That's right. 32:38 And more it says in the Amplified 32:40 is that I have strength in Christ 32:42 who empowers me... 32:43 Empower, yep. 32:44 Infuses his inner strength into me. 32:48 And, boy, that helped me a lot because it's kind of like, 32:50 I can do all things through Christ, which I think. 32:52 Here, how he does it? 32:54 He empowers, 32:56 He infuses 32:58 and I know, 33:00 being a visual person, I can see that, 33:02 Oh, wow. 33:03 I mean, here's you got little David 33:05 slinging that slingshot. 33:07 Boy, that was a perfect shot. 33:10 But it wasn't, it wasn't just him. 33:13 It was God that directed that rock, 33:15 just hit the perfect place. 33:18 To know that, that God cares about us so much, 33:22 that while we were yet sinners, He died for us. 33:24 Amen. 33:26 I love that verse, 33:29 but then you know what other verses I love, 33:31 is Jeremiah 29:11 and 12. 33:38 Actually, let's go 11-13. 33:42 Let's take it to 11-13. 33:43 Jeremiah, 29:11-13, 33:48 and it says, 33:50 "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, 33:52 says the Lord, 33:53 thoughts of peace and not of evil 33:55 to give you a future and a hope, 33:57 then you will call upon me 33:59 and go and pray to me and I will listen to you 34:02 and you will seek Me and find me, 34:05 when you search for me with all your heart." 34:08 I mean, that's beautiful. 34:09 Why wouldn't you want to depend on the God like that? 34:11 Amen. Well, that's... 34:13 He's got such a wonderful future 34:17 and hope for you. 34:18 That is the story, 34:20 that verse is the story of my life. 34:23 When my mother gave me that Bible, 34:25 I knew very little about the Word. 34:28 But I sought God with all my heart 34:30 and God led me to a ministry 34:33 that has the truth. 34:34 But what are the odds with all the ministries 34:36 in the world, 34:38 both Christian and non Christian, 34:40 that I'd be led to a ministry 34:41 that carries God's undiluted truth. 34:44 And that's the key, 34:46 if you seek Him with all your heart, 34:48 He's going to direct you to the truth. 34:50 And like the Bible says, the truth will set you free. 34:53 Amen. 34:54 Yeah, this is kind of a scripture 34:55 almost connects what you're saying, 34:57 Ezekiel 16, I really like it. 34:59 It talks about we're in our own blood 35:00 and laying there and he said when he walked by us, 35:02 he saw us living our own blood and he said, live, yeah, 35:05 I said unto you 35:06 when thou was in my blood is verse 6, 35:09 Ezekiel16:6 but verse 8 is so powerful, 35:13 it says, "Now when I passed by thee and looked upon thee, 35:15 behold, thy time was the time of love, 35:17 and I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. 35:20 Yea, I swore unto thee 35:22 and entered into a covenant with thee, 35:24 saith the Lord God, and thou becamest Mine." 35:26 That beautiful, you know, 35:28 even our own mess and our own junk 35:30 and our own hurt and pain and addictions, 35:33 whatever we're into, 35:34 He sees us there and He cleans us up. 35:35 And then verse 9 says, "Then washed I thee with water, 35:39 yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, 35:41 and I anointed thee with oil." 35:42 So, He cleans you up, He washes you, 35:44 He anoints you with oil and brings you to a ministry 35:46 to go and work for ministry. 35:48 Amen. 35:50 As a friend says, even though 35:51 as you weren't looking for Jesus, He's there. 35:53 Jesus is there so. Amen. 35:55 Amen. Amen. 35:58 There's some wonderful examples clearly in the Bible of people 36:02 depending upon God 36:03 but one of them 36:05 that I think of is Daniel's friends, right? 36:10 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 36:13 If you look at Daniel Chapter 3 36:16 and you look at, 36:19 let's see here. 36:21 Basically, you know, 36:23 the King Nebuchadnezzar had built an image of gold 36:29 that he wanted everybody to bow down 36:31 to when the music came on and all of that. 36:34 Well, Daniel's friend Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 36:38 they worshiped the one true God 36:41 and they didn't worship men, 36:43 they didn't worship images. 36:45 They didn't, you know, they didn't do that, 36:46 they followed God. 36:49 And I love this, actually let start in verse 17. 36:53 So Chapter 3, verse 17. 36:55 This is in the Book of Daniel. 37:00 If that is the case, our God whom we... 37:03 Actually no, let's take that back to 16, 37:05 sorry guys, 37:06 "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered 37:08 and said to the King, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, 37:10 we have no need to answer you in this matter.' 37:12 " So he was basically he was asking him, 37:15 you know, 37:16 why didn't, why didn't you bow down? 37:19 Why didn't you do it? 37:21 "And so is if that is the case, 37:25 our God whom we serve is able to deliver us 37:29 from the burning fiery furnace 37:31 and he will deliver us from your hand, O king. 37:33 But if not, 37:35 let it be known to you O King, 37:37 that we do not serve your gods, 37:40 nor will we worship the gold image 37:42 which you have set up." 37:44 And then 19 and going on, 37:46 "Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury 37:48 and the expression on his face changed towards Shadrach, 37:51 Meshach, and Abednego. 37:53 He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace 37:55 seven times more than it was usually heated. 37:59 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor, 38:01 who were in his army to bind Shadrach, 38:04 Meshach, and Abednego 38:05 and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 38:08 Then these men were bound in their coats, 38:10 their trousers, their turbans, 38:12 and their other garments and were cast into the midst 38:14 of the burning fiery furnace. 38:16 Therefore, because the king's command was urgent, 38:20 and the furnace exceedingly hot, 38:22 the flame of the fire killed those men 38:25 who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 38:27 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 38:30 fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 38:35 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, 38:40 and he rose in haste and spoke, 38:43 saying to his counselors, 38:45 'Did we not cast three men bound 38:47 into the midst of the fire?' 38:49 They answered and said to the king, 'True, O king.' 38:52 'Look!' he answered, 'I see four men loose, 38:55 walking in the midst of the fire, 38:57 and they are not hurt, 38:58 and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.' 39:01 " Wow. 39:03 So they were not alone. 39:04 They were not alone. 39:06 They depended on God and you know what? 39:08 No matter the outcome, 39:09 and this is what's so deep and powerful to me 39:11 when I read this, I'm like, 39:14 here these guys are facing death, 39:17 you know, they're going into the fire, 39:22 literally going into the fire 39:24 and they're depending on God to see them through, 39:28 but if God does not deliver them 39:33 from this fire. 39:34 They're okay with it. They're fine with that. 39:36 They still serve God no matter what. 39:39 Wow. That is awesome. 39:41 That was interesting 39:42 is that they were actually bowing 39:44 when he says later that they were loose. 39:45 Yep. 39:46 So you know I think about like how does that happen? 39:48 And you know and I think about Isaiah 58 says 39:50 something really beautiful in Amplified, 39:52 it talks about what we are to do. 39:54 We're supposed to let the oppressed go free. 39:55 We undo the heavy burdens 39:58 and it talks about breaking every enslaving yoke, 40:02 every enslaving yoke. 40:03 So I'm thinking about these being bound, 40:05 but you're bound by your addiction 40:06 or you're bound by this hurt, 40:07 you're bound by this unforgiveness. 40:10 Whatever you're bound by that 40:11 Christ can get in that battle and He can break that. 40:13 So you are loosed of that burdens. 40:17 Go ahead. 40:18 I always visualize 40:19 that the fire is what broke their bonds. 40:22 So when God gets involved, 40:25 it's the trials and the fire that sets you free. 40:27 Wow, very good. 40:29 Good, good, good. 40:31 Go ahead. 40:33 I've got the ending. 40:38 Well, there are many things we can look at here. 40:41 But it's interesting that Nebuchadnezzar, 40:44 these guys were reported. 40:46 The music was played, 40:48 and imagine everyone bowing down. 40:52 But these three guys standing up 40:55 and they were reported, they had to be brought in, 41:00 and one of the things that in the face of trial, 41:03 sometimes people shrink 41:06 and become weak and they make excuses. 41:10 You know, I just wondered, 41:12 because of different things I've heard people say, 41:15 I just wondered if some of these people, 41:17 they heard what the command was, 41:18 they knew they had to bow and they were Israelites, 41:21 and they knew they should not bow 41:24 but perhaps because of the... 41:26 If you don't do this, you're going to die. 41:28 So I'll say, "Well, I'll pretend 41:29 that I'm bowing down to the image, 41:31 but in my mind, 41:32 I will pray to the real God." 41:33 You know, some people tried to make excuses like this. 41:37 So I wonder if they were any like this. 41:40 But anyway, I want to go to Nebuchadnezzar now 41:43 and it's interesting because he says, 41:45 I'm going to give you a second chance. 41:47 I don't know why he gave the second chance 41:50 but maybe he appreciated these guys 41:52 because they had served them. 41:53 You know, these were, 41:55 they were 10 times better than the others. 41:58 So I wonder if he gave him a second chance 42:00 because of the service they had done before. 42:02 I'm going to give you a second chance 42:03 just in case you didn't hear the instruments. 42:07 And so they say, hey, 42:09 you can play the instruments all you want, 42:10 we are not bowing down. 42:13 Amen. 42:14 This is a faith. 42:15 This is dependence on God. 42:17 And they didn't know 42:19 that God was gonna deliver them. 42:20 He said, "God is able to deliver us, 42:22 God is able, 42:23 but if He does not, 42:25 know O king that we will not bow down." 42:28 So, but the Lord have prepared them 42:32 for this great challenge, 42:34 not to say that they couldn't have say, 42:36 well, man, I have a plan for tomorrow, 42:38 if they put me in the furnace, 42:39 I won't be able to do such and such. 42:41 No, they depended on the Lord, 42:43 their relationship and this is where we need, 42:45 this dependence to depend on the Lord. 42:48 You have to have a daily relationship with Him. 42:52 So that, you know, He's providing for you 42:55 and this is why the modern prayer, 42:59 "Give us this day, our daily bread." 43:00 You know, every day you're relying upon the Lord, 43:02 every day we should look at what the Lord, 43:05 you know, then put yourself in the hands of the Lord. 43:07 And as the day ends, thank You, Lord, 43:09 You have done this, You have done this for us, 43:11 the things that we know 43:13 because God does things for us that we do not know. 43:16 And He's always working in our behalf. 43:18 And I thank the Lord for that. 43:20 I mean, there's 43:21 and now we're ready for the ending I think. 43:24 We read the end of the book, 43:27 and I wanna work on that because we've led up to this. 43:29 There may be some that are watching this program 43:32 that may not know the story. 43:34 Most people learn this as a little kid 43:36 because it builds our faith. 43:38 So whatever happens so you got Nebuchadnezzar, 43:40 the king is up here and he says, 43:42 "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, 43:44 Meshach, and Abednego." 43:46 Amen. 43:47 He says, who sent his Angel, that's with a capital A. 43:51 Okay. 43:53 Jesus, who sent Jesus 43:57 and delivered his servants who trusted in Him. 44:00 And then Nebuchadnezzar went on and says, 44:02 "There is no other God that can deliver like this." 44:06 And then how did it end? 44:10 "Then the king promoted 44:12 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 44:15 in the province of Babylon." 44:17 Praise the Lord. 44:18 So you assume that they lived happily ever after. 44:21 Okay, don't know. 44:23 That's very powerful. It's also interesting. 44:26 I remember when I read that verse 44:27 for the first time, 44:28 somebody said to me, so Jesus is an angel? 44:32 And I said, no it's a capital A, 44:34 Angel means messenger. 44:36 Amen. 44:37 And that's the title, 44:38 he's not a Cherubim or Seraphim, 44:40 he's a messenger. 44:41 Amen. 44:42 Well taken. 44:44 Yeah. Yes. 44:45 So there is any, No, this was Jesus. 44:46 Yeah. Amen. 44:48 You know, it's interesting. 44:49 I'm sorry, but these strong men 44:53 that put the guys into the fiery furnace, 44:58 the Bible is letting us know, 45:00 hey, this was a real fire. 45:02 It was so hot 45:04 that the people were just approaching the heat and died. 45:08 So it wasn't that people say, 45:09 oh, apparently that fire is not hot enough, 45:11 look, they're in there walking around 45:13 and they came out without any problem. 45:14 No, that was a hot. 45:17 They weren't in the sauna. They weren't in a hot tub. 45:23 And so... Yeah. 45:26 We face, we're going to face trials, 45:28 perhaps we're not going to be thrown 45:29 into a fiery furnace. 45:31 But we may be called upon to testify of our faith 45:36 and it may be a small test to some people. 45:40 I mean, it may look like a small test, 45:42 but you may be in a conversation, 45:44 and you're supposed to speak up for God 45:46 and you're not and you're keeping quiet 45:49 and so, different tests come to us, 45:52 you know, different kinds of tests 45:54 and you're at the job and they say, 45:55 well, we're going to have people... 45:59 Your boss may ask you to do something wrong. 46:03 It's a test of your faith, your boss may say, 46:05 go in there and grab me, 46:07 you know, we will pay for five, 46:09 but you come up with 10. 46:10 You know, you may be asked to do something 46:13 that will test your faith 46:14 and you'll do challenges will you stand up and say, 46:18 you know, I know you're my boss, 46:21 but I cannot do this 46:23 because I will be sinning against my God. 46:25 Amen. 46:26 We are going to face trials, 46:28 every one of us in different stages of life 46:33 and if you pass the little ones, 46:36 and you're going to consider them little ones 46:38 later on after you go through the big ones. 46:40 Hey, that was a little one compared to this one. 46:41 But when you're going through it, 46:43 it's a tough, tough situation. 46:44 Yeah. 46:46 But you depend on the Lord here, 46:48 you're going to depend on the Lord over there. 46:50 And over here and you thought, wow, 46:52 this is a giant of a problem 46:54 and now you're going to be facing that 46:55 other big one over there and you say, 46:57 wow, I thought that was big this, 46:59 you know, but the Lord carried you through. 47:01 Amen. 47:02 Yeah, I had something similar like that 47:04 at my workplace actually, 47:05 they knew I was really religious and I, 47:07 you know, kept the Sabbath and I made sure I told him, 47:09 I said, "Look, I'm not gonna work you 47:10 unless you let me have Friday and Saturday off." 47:12 And they honored, that's thankful. 47:14 But one time I was cleaning this 47:15 or rearranging some low shelf, 47:18 and my manager came to me, 47:19 "Let me guess you're praying, right? 47:20 You know, mocked me like, let me guess you're praying. 47:23 You're praying or you're doing something. 47:25 I just kind of kept doing my thing and it wasn't 47:27 but maybe a few months later. 47:29 I came into work and we had, 47:31 there's nobody in our parking lot 47:33 like this is weird, why is it empty, 47:34 it's like the middle afternoon. 47:35 I'm like, what's going on? 47:37 And when the guys pulled up, had a gate shut and he said, 47:38 "Something happened." 47:40 I said, "What's going on? 47:41 He said, "Go into manager's office, 47:42 you'll see." 47:44 I walked in, the safe was stolen, 47:45 taken out. 47:47 Wow. Gone. 47:48 They came in the side of the building, 47:49 stole the whole safe and guess what? 47:51 The manager that made fun of me for praying. 47:52 He was the one who stole it? 47:53 I don't know he was gone though, 47:55 gone. 47:58 Just a fact is when you depend upon God, 47:59 you know, just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 48:02 I mean, look what they did. I mean... 48:05 That's funny because I worked in DC 48:06 and I ran into a similar problem. 48:08 We're very similar, you know this thing? 48:11 I am, I worked for four and a half years 48:15 and when they found out 48:16 that I was Seventh-day Adventist, 48:20 they circled the wagons. 48:22 And I remember sitting at a table 48:25 and they formed a semi circle around me. 48:30 And they were of different faith. 48:32 I won't say what faith that they were. 48:35 And they said, well, you guys believe 48:38 that everyone that goes to church on Sunday 48:41 is cursed as essentially 48:43 and these were all Sunday keepers. 48:45 And I had to explain to them anyway, 48:48 to make a long story short, 48:50 when that happened 48:52 the whole world came down upon me. 48:54 It literally did. 48:56 And I ended up saying a prayer 48:59 and the Lord found me another job 49:02 on the opposite coast. 49:04 He gave me a huge pay raise 49:07 the biggest pay raise I ever had. 49:09 Praise the Lord. 49:10 And the majority of those folks, 49:12 I had one Christian friend, 49:13 he said to me on my last day there, 49:15 he said, Eric, 49:16 I'm not supposed to tell you this. 49:18 But all these guys got their pink slips, 49:22 because they said that the supervisor 49:24 to employee ratio was too high. 49:26 And when they had to let these guys go, 49:29 so I got a pay raise 49:30 and the job as a manager and they got laid off. 49:35 Yeah. 49:37 So God comes through. 49:38 God comes through. 49:40 Praise the Lord. 49:41 That's a story. Wow. 49:44 I remember when I was, 49:46 I was probably about 20 years old. 49:49 And I had been misdiagnosed, 49:52 my appendix had actually ruptured inside of me, 49:56 and I went to a doctor twice, 49:58 and each time they gave me medicine, 50:01 and they sent me home. 50:03 My stomach didn't get any better. 50:04 It kept growing like I was in a lot of pain. 50:07 I didn't know what was going on. 50:09 And so they just gave me medicine, 50:11 sent me home. 50:12 At third day, I went back to my doctor, 50:14 and he was supposed to be on vacation 50:16 and there was a fill in a tent 50:18 or whatever temporary doctor filling in for him. 50:22 And he wanted to give me more medicine 50:25 and send me home. 50:27 And I remember my doctor was in the office that day. 50:33 I say he happened to be in the office, 50:35 but we know that it was divine providence... 50:37 Amen. Amen. 50:39 It was divine providence and God had him in that office 50:42 to run one more test. 50:44 And so he ran one more test on me. 50:46 He told my dad to take me to the ER right away. 50:48 Went to the ER, 50:50 they realized that my appendix have ruptured 50:52 and it had sealed off my intestines 50:55 and they were about to rupture next. 50:58 And I was close to death, you know, 51:02 and that was at a point in my life 51:04 where I wasn't living right, 51:06 you know, I wasn't in church 51:08 or didn't really want anything to do with God 51:11 per se at that time in my life. 51:13 And so like the devil would have been super happy 51:16 to take me out right then 'cause he knew, like, 51:20 if he got me then, 51:21 you know, he had me, you know. 51:24 And so I say all that to say that 51:28 God brought me through that situation 51:31 and delivered me, He spared my life. 51:33 Amen. Amen. 51:35 You know, and really gave me 51:37 the opportunity to come back to Him, 51:40 even at a time where I didn't fully, 51:44 like I didn't depend on Him in the sense that, you know, 51:49 I didn't have that relationship with Him. 51:51 But I was dependent on Him to get me out of the situation, 51:55 you know, and that's interesting. 51:57 It's like sometimes we go through situations, 52:00 you know if you're a Christian or if you're not a Christian, 52:05 people depend on God to get them out of things. 52:09 You know, there's even atheists 52:10 that will, depending on the situation 52:13 will depend on God in a sense 52:15 to get them out of certain situations. 52:17 What was it, you never find an atheist in a foxhole. 52:20 Yeah. 52:23 God is where we should be going first. 52:25 Amen. And last. 52:28 You know, the Lord takes care of His children. 52:29 I don't know why this story came to mind. 52:32 I remember, 52:33 I forgot for what reason I was working, 52:36 but I forgot for what reason I came to the house early 52:42 when I was living with my father. 52:46 And I forgot what it was, 52:48 something downtown I had to do with some paperwork. 52:52 And when I get home, my father says, 52:54 "What are you doing here?" 52:56 I said, "I have to do such and such." 52:59 And He goes, "The Lord must have sent you 53:01 because I was just about to call the ambulance 53:04 to take me to the hospital." 53:06 Take me to the hospital, 53:08 and I remember taking him to the hospital 53:11 and thinking, wow, you know, 53:16 the Lord sent me at the right time to be home. 53:18 This happened two times, 53:20 I don't remember what the second one was. 53:21 Again, he said the same thing. 53:23 "What are you doing here?" 53:24 Like, did you know, and it's the Lord, 53:28 the Lord takes care of His children. 53:30 And it's incredible how He does 53:35 even before you call, you know, 53:36 He's already set things in motion 53:40 to help you and so, 53:42 I just wondered if somebody is listening to us 53:45 and you know, 53:46 through the stories we are sharing 53:49 something similar has happened to them 53:50 and the Lord help them, the Lord delivered them. 53:52 It'll be good to hear some of these, 53:53 maybe we could share it on another family worship, 53:57 to see how the Lord's, them depending on the Lord. 54:00 They saw the Lord come through for them 54:02 because this is something God does on a daily basis, 54:05 on a daily basis. 54:07 And I was thinking the other day, 54:08 how does He do this? 54:10 I mean, He's got so many things going on all over the world. 54:13 And He's doing all these marvelous things. 54:15 So I just praise the Lord 54:16 for all the marvelous things He does. 54:18 And we think we're busy. Yeah. 54:20 There's a story kind of what you're talking about, 54:22 a young lady became a colporteur. 54:24 She was at the point where she just want to give up. 54:26 So what she did is went in the garage and put a noose, 54:29 hung herself. Wow. 54:31 And her aunt doesn't typically come home this time of day, 54:33 and she just had to pull in 54:35 and she found her niece hanging, 54:39 literally hanging from the garage. 54:41 Cut her in the head, 54:42 Amos come cut her down really quick. 54:43 And still, she still has the scars 54:45 from where the noose was. 54:46 But now she went on to become, I don't know, it was years ago. 54:48 She was a colporteur. 54:50 Her husband became colporteur. 54:51 But just incredible how God's timing is like, 54:54 how do you, I mean, 54:55 how is it that her aunt came home at that time, 54:57 found this young lady hanging and get her down 55:00 and they saved her and rescued her. 55:02 You know, it's just incredible, just God is amazing. 55:04 I just want to say really quick for the people 55:06 that are listening to the word colporteur, 55:07 they don't know what that is. 55:08 It is a person that works as a missionary, 55:11 distributing books to different homes 55:14 door to door, literature evangelist. 55:15 And they're depending on God. 55:17 Oh, my, I have done that, I know. 55:19 I have a favorite verse I want to share with you, guys. 55:22 It's John 5:30, 55:24 "I can of myself do nothing. 55:28 As I hear, I judge and my judgment is righteous, 55:32 because I do not seek my own will 55:34 but the will of the Father who sent me." 55:36 Amen. 55:38 That's Jesus talking. 55:40 Powerful. 55:41 Anytime I pray, 55:43 sometimes I pray, you know, 55:45 because I have something on my heart 55:46 something I need, I think I need, 55:49 but I always close out the prayer with not my will, 55:52 Your will be done. 55:54 In other words, 55:55 I might want that glass of water. 55:57 But, Lord, if you don't want me to have that glass of water, 56:00 I give You authority to take that water away. 56:04 That's an important thing I think that we should all do. 56:07 When we pray the Lord always say, 56:09 Lord, Your will be done. 56:11 Amen. 56:13 Sometimes you get what you ask for. 56:14 And it turns out, it's not what you want it 56:18 or what you need it. 56:19 But if you pray that prayer, 56:20 the Lord's gonna look out for you 56:22 and keep you from stumbling. 56:23 Amen. Amen. 56:25 Very good. 56:26 Yeah, that's, I mean, that's powerful to hear Christ, 56:30 to read about Christ saying that. 56:34 If He's saying that, 56:35 and how much more should we be saying that. 56:38 He's the Son of God. He put His Father first. 56:41 That's right. 56:42 Amen. Yeah. 56:43 You look like you wanted to say something. 56:45 No, I just know we're running out of time. 56:48 Yeah, this time went by fast. 56:50 Yeah, it really went. It's amazing. 56:51 Yeah. 56:53 You know, I think we should close in prayer. 56:56 Let's go around and close in prayer. 56:59 We hope that you will join us in prayer 57:03 and as always, it's been a blessing. 57:06 JD, will you pray for us? Yes. 57:08 Father, as we come to You in the name of Jesus, 57:09 the name of Jesus the name that's above all names. 57:12 Lord, we do give You permission to be in charge of our lives. 57:15 Lord, Father, thank You that we can call upon Your name. 57:19 And Heavenly Father, we just thank You 57:20 that You are daily trying to teach us 57:23 to depend on You fully and completely. 57:26 Thank you, Lord, for being a God, 57:28 a relational God, 57:29 a God that cares, a God that loves 57:31 and a God that never leaves us nor forsakes us. 57:33 Thank you, Father, 57:35 for making this a wonderful family worship. 57:37 We thank You, and we praise You, 57:38 and we love you with all our hearts 57:40 for everything, in Jesus' name, amen. 57:42 Amen. |
Revised 2019-07-05