I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Removing pain
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Lord, let my words
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Heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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Hello and welcome to another
3ABN Today Family Worship,
00:01:09.03\00:01:13.10
and happy Sabbath to you.
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I'm so happy that you could join
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your 3ABN family.
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You are a part of our family.
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And as we're
sitting around the table
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and we're
considering the question,
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how do I discover
God's will for my life?
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Amen.
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That's a question that comes up
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more often than not.
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And tonight we will
be talking about that
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and with me to
discuss this topic,
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I'm gonna let you guys
introduce yourselves and...
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I'll be first,
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since I'm sitting
here as a book in.
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JD Quinn. I work
in 3ABN Pastoral.
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I'm very blessed
to be there. Amen.
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Came here in 2005. Mm-hmm.
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I'm Robert Pierce.
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I work in
production, also doing editing
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and a little bit of
producing and writing
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and little bit everything.
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And I'd been
here about two years.
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Glad to be here.
How did you get here?
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Well, I knew Greg Morikone,
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so I knew people in high places.
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There you go.
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That's good.
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I'm Dee
Hilderbrand. I'm in production.
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I've been there
for 20 some years.
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And God brought me
here when I was widowed.
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And He just, His
leading was very specific.
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As so one time when I knew
I was walking in God's will,
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and He just planted me here.
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Amen.
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You're stuck
with Me. I'm planted.
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I'm looking forward to
hearing a little bit more
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about that a little
later in the program.
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And I guess I'll
introduce myself too.
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I'm Jason Bradley.
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I'm the general manager of
3ABN's Dare to Dream Network,
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and I've been here for
going on six years now.
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Praise the Lord.
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I'm Donald
Owen. I'm in Pastoral.
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I'm going with JD Quinn,
and we came here in 2013,
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with the Lord's blessing.
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So we've been very
blessed and I'm just thankful
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to work around a
bunch of wonderful people.
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Amen.
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He's been
growing us, so... Amen.
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Well, my name is Eric.
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I'm one of three
broadcast engineers.
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My boss is Moses Primo.
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One of my jobs is computers.
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I love computers.
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So I do a lot of programming
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for 3ABN master
control automation.
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I also fix
everything that's broken.
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Which is another really
important responsibility here
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and keeping us on the air,
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that's another
really important job.
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It's very challenging,
but we keep us on the air,
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and so far so good.
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Here with my wife, Marilyn,
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we came here
from Washington State.
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And it's been the
blessing ever since.
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Amen. How long you've been here?
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2013, we came here.
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Yes, six years.
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Yep, six years. Wow, 2013.
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And it's
interesting because as you know,
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you look around
the table and you see
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all the different
people that are sitting here.
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You know, we all have
different backgrounds,
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come from
different places, but yet
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God brought us all
together for the same purpose
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which is spreading the
gospel around the world.
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Amen. Amen.
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And we're a family.
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That's right. That's right.
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With all these
different personalities
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somehow God brings them
together and we all mesh
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and we complement each other
with our talents and quirks.
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With our quirks. Absolutely.
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Now, when thinking about
how to discover God's will
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for your life, what
do you guys think about?
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Wow. Discovering
God's will for your life?
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I think that takes a
personal relationship first.
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You got to have that
personal, how will you know,
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if you don't know who God is?
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How you gonna know
what His will for you is,
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so I think, yeah, I
think that you're talking about
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here the relationship
of getting to know God
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the first point here.
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You've got to
get to know Him first
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to know what
His will is for you.
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That's right. You
got to get in His word.
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Uh-huh.
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Let me share a
scripture with you
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on getting to know
having a relationship,
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where do you start?
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Well, this is where
a good place to start,
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right here is the Holy Bible.
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And if you look up Psalms
34:8, Psalms 34:8, it says,
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"Oh, taste and see
that the Lord is good,
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blessed is the man
who trusts in Him!"
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So, right here we're
tasting and as I was reading
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the other day,
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this taste whenever
we're tasting the Word,
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that it's as sweet as honey,
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and then you
add the honey to it,
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it's even
sweeter as the honeycomb.
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And so it is sweet.
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And sometimes
you may think, well,
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I don't quite understand
that, ask that Holy Spirit,
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ask the Holy Spirit to
be there with you present,
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and to expound and to
make it perfectly clear.
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The Holy Spirit hears, He
does, He cares and He's present.
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Amen. So, I would taste and see.
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Yes.
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You know, I love
that verse, right?
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I'll taste and see.
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I think about food a lot. Okay?
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Mr. Foodie.
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I think about food
a whole lot, actually.
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And, you know, I
don't wanna watch somebody
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eat a delicious dinner.
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I want to eat
that dinner. Right?
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So I can taste
that dinner. Amen.
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Well, the same way is
the same thing is true
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for us with our walk with God.
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I don't wanna just
watch somebody else walk
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with the Lord, I wanna have
my own personal relationship
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with the Lord.
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I have to get to
know Him for myself.
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So we can't live
vicariously through
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somebody else's
relationship and character
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is not transferable.
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I think
Christianity is like a marriage.
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It's a relationship.
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I know the Bible talks
about Christ being the groom,
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and His church being the bride.
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And I found
between me and Marilyn,
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one of the most
important things,
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if not the most important things
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is communication.
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Yeah. It's huge.
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You know, when the
communication stops,
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problems happen.
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So I think prayer is mandatory
to the Christian experience.
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And we need to
keep that in mind.
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Amen. Yeah.
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Absolutely.
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How important do
you think trust is?
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Oh, man.
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That is, I love...
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Okay, so we're gonna go
straight to Proverbs 3:5-6.
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Okay. I actually
have this at home.
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Well, no, Proverbs 3:5-6. Yes.
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"Trust in the Lord
with all your heart,
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and lean not on
your own understanding,
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in all your
ways acknowledge Him,
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and He shall direct your path."
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Acknowledge Him.
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See, I knew, I couldn't
lean on my own understanding
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because I had for so many years.
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And it didn't work very well.
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When I became a Christian,
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I needed
someone else to lean on.
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Yes.
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My husband was very trustworthy,
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but he wasn't God.
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He didn't know all the answers.
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So to me,
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that is the most important
part of my relationship
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of knowing what God
wants for me is leaning on Him
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and trusting on Him
to do the right thing.
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And all my ways acknowledge Him
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and He directs my path.
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As long as I'm
moving, the one thing
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I know people say this
all the time, they're like,
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I just and I
have said it before,
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I wish God would
just come down here
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and tell me what He
wants, I'll do His will.
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The thing is you have to
move for Him to direct you.
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You cannot just
stand still and be moved.
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So God doesn't want us
to be frozen and paralyzed
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and not doing anything.
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I know that if I
make a plan and I know
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that it's biblical plan that
is within biblical guidelines.
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If I say, okay, God, this is...
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So, when I was
gonna come to 3ABN,
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I actually came
out here for a visit.
00:08:39.58\00:08:42.68
We made a decision and I said,
"Okay, Lord, I'm going to 3ABN,
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but I need this to happen."
00:08:46.25\00:08:48.46
I had to sell a
house, get rid of, you know,
00:08:48.49\00:08:50.43
find a good home for the dog.
00:08:50.46\00:08:52.39
I mean, there was
so many things to do,
00:08:52.43\00:08:54.36
and I had a deadline.
00:08:54.40\00:08:56.06
So it's like, okay,
Lord, if this is Your will
00:08:56.10\00:08:59.43
and He used us as a
witness because four days before
00:08:59.47\00:09:02.47
I was supposed to
leave, there was three or four
00:09:02.50\00:09:03.84
important things
that hadn't happened yet.
00:09:03.87\00:09:05.97
And my parents
were very concerned.
00:09:06.01\00:09:08.58
And I'm like, if
this is God's will,
00:09:08.61\00:09:10.48
and bang, just
like that, it just went,
00:09:10.51\00:09:12.91
just one, two,
three, and it all happened.
00:09:12.95\00:09:14.52
It all fell into
place. I left on the...
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I left a day
later than I planned,
00:09:16.99\00:09:18.65
but that was God's will.
00:09:18.69\00:09:21.59
Because we
didn't have any trouble,
00:09:21.62\00:09:22.96
it was in November,
00:09:22.99\00:09:24.33
and then we missed
the snow and stuff.
00:09:24.36\00:09:25.69
So if you make a
plan, and you say, God,
00:09:25.73\00:09:28.53
this is what I
think you want me to do.
00:09:28.56\00:09:31.40
If it's not right,
you close the doors,
00:09:31.43\00:09:33.67
and if it is, open the doors.
00:09:33.70\00:09:35.44
And I knew God planted
me here because He opened
00:09:35.47\00:09:37.91
all the doors,
He directed my path,
00:09:37.94\00:09:39.61
but I was moving so
that He could directed me
00:09:39.64\00:09:42.98
and I trusted Him.
00:09:43.01\00:09:44.55
Amen. And it paid off.
00:09:44.58\00:09:46.45
It was well worth it.
00:09:46.48\00:09:47.95
Because just like you
said, Donald, He grew me here
00:09:47.98\00:09:51.22
and when He said, I could
have never grown anywhere else.
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Amen.
00:09:53.72\00:09:55.06
The key word there is
that that you made a deal
00:09:55.09\00:09:57.13
with the Lord, you
negotiated with the Lord.
00:09:57.16\00:09:59.53
And then it
happened, so then you trusted.
00:09:59.56\00:10:02.36
I put my foot in the water.
00:10:02.40\00:10:04.07
Yeah, you put
your foot in the water.
00:10:04.10\00:10:05.43
I trusted, yes.
00:10:05.47\00:10:06.80
And that's what this is
all about, trusting here.
00:10:06.84\00:10:08.80
Because a lot of us
negotiate with the Lord,
00:10:08.84\00:10:11.47
and then it's time to
step out in the water.
00:10:11.51\00:10:14.08
Well, there's
one more thing God,
00:10:14.11\00:10:16.41
there's one more thing
here and then all of a sudden...
00:10:16.44\00:10:17.78
When you negotiated
it has to be biblical to,
00:10:17.81\00:10:21.15
you have to, you can't...
00:10:21.18\00:10:23.79
Everything that you're
doing working with the Lord
00:10:23.82\00:10:25.95
has to be biblical.
00:10:25.99\00:10:27.79
Just like in a marriage,
00:10:27.82\00:10:29.92
you can negotiate
with your spouse, right?
00:10:29.96\00:10:32.36
And all of you I know, I did,
00:10:32.39\00:10:34.03
my spouse and I did,
but it had to be with...
00:10:34.06\00:10:36.20
I don't have a spouse yet, Dee.
00:10:36.23\00:10:38.07
Well, when you negotiate within.
00:10:38.10\00:10:41.47
Okay, you have to negotiate
00:10:41.50\00:10:43.91
within the
boundaries of the marriage.
00:10:43.94\00:10:46.47
Amen. Right.
00:10:46.51\00:10:47.84
Okay. Okay.
00:10:47.88\00:10:49.21
I think a big thing
you guys are touching
00:10:49.24\00:10:50.58
that was kind of
idea of surrender.
00:10:50.61\00:10:52.28
You have to surrender your plans
00:10:52.31\00:10:54.05
and your ideas to Him.
00:10:54.08\00:10:55.65
You know, when
we first came here,
00:10:55.68\00:10:57.02
my wife and I, she
was raised Indiana,
00:10:57.05\00:10:59.69
she'd family in
Indiana, so she's like,
00:10:59.72\00:11:01.09
I don't really
wanna go to Illinois.
00:11:01.12\00:11:03.93
And so, you know,
probably a lot of us were
00:11:03.96\00:11:05.43
saying the same thing.
00:11:05.46\00:11:06.80
Why am I doing
going to Illinois?
00:11:06.83\00:11:08.16
I mean, you planted
in cornfields, welcome.
00:11:08.20\00:11:09.53
But anyways, as God's showing us
00:11:09.56\00:11:11.43
through three
different experiences
00:11:11.47\00:11:13.64
that actually God confirmed,
00:11:13.67\00:11:15.37
this is what I want you to do.
00:11:15.40\00:11:16.74
Yeah.
00:11:16.77\00:11:18.11
And He'll show you that
through different people,
00:11:18.14\00:11:19.47
various people,
they gonna occur like,
00:11:19.51\00:11:20.88
oh, man, they'll
give you a little,
00:11:20.91\00:11:22.24
like a little
nugget or something like,
00:11:22.28\00:11:23.91
that's obviously God
speaking. I need to go, okay.
00:11:23.95\00:11:26.48
I'm ready to pack my
bags and get out here.
00:11:26.51\00:11:28.78
But on just the fact
that God will acknowledge
00:11:28.82\00:11:30.85
you know, what His plans
are for you in different ways
00:11:30.89\00:11:32.92
through different people.
00:11:32.95\00:11:34.29
Yeah.
00:11:34.32\00:11:35.66
I think the key is to
acknowledge Him in all things.
00:11:35.69\00:11:37.49
Yeah. Acknowledge Him.
00:11:37.53\00:11:38.86
Because the promise here
is if you acknowledge Him
00:11:38.89\00:11:41.03
in all things, He's
gonna direct your path.
00:11:41.06\00:11:42.66
Amen.
00:11:42.70\00:11:44.03
I know I've been
in so many situations
00:11:44.07\00:11:45.73
where I'm at a fork
in the road and I'm like,
00:11:45.77\00:11:47.24
Lord, You want me to go
left? You want me to go right?
00:11:47.27\00:11:49.17
You want me to
keep standing here?
00:11:49.20\00:11:50.54
What do You want me to do?
00:11:50.57\00:11:51.91
And I always come
back to Proverbs 3,
00:11:51.94\00:11:54.28
where it says, "Acknowledge Him,
00:11:54.31\00:11:56.41
give Him permission,
00:11:56.44\00:11:58.51
and He's gonna
direct your path."
00:11:58.55\00:12:00.12
Right. And then
you walk by faith.
00:12:00.15\00:12:01.98
Like Dee said, If you start
off in the wrong direction,
00:12:02.02\00:12:04.22
the Lord's gonna
close the door on you
00:12:04.25\00:12:06.45
and I've had that happen.
00:12:06.49\00:12:07.92
And then you go in
the other direction.
00:12:07.96\00:12:09.32
Right.
00:12:09.36\00:12:10.69
But the wonderful thing about
God is He never ever fails.
00:12:10.73\00:12:13.19
I mean, my
experience coming here,
00:12:13.23\00:12:14.80
me and Marilyn,
what Dee just mentioned
00:12:14.83\00:12:17.23
about God to
suddenly opening the doors,
00:12:17.27\00:12:19.87
I can't number, the
number of people here at 3ABN,
00:12:19.90\00:12:23.17
who said the same thing.
00:12:23.20\00:12:24.94
That suddenly
doors started opening,
00:12:24.97\00:12:27.61
and me and Marilyn
are the perfect example.
00:12:27.64\00:12:29.74
We didn't wanna come here.
00:12:29.78\00:12:31.35
We were not, we were dead set
00:12:31.38\00:12:33.18
and get going to
Cinco Ranch, Texas.
00:12:33.21\00:12:35.75
We had our plans.
00:12:35.78\00:12:37.12
We had the home, neighborhood,
planned out and everything
00:12:37.15\00:12:39.89
and we were going there.
00:12:39.92\00:12:41.46
And I started praying to
the Lord and I said, Lord,
00:12:41.49\00:12:44.03
"If there's anything You
want me to do, let me know."
00:12:44.06\00:12:49.60
And Moses called on the phone.
00:12:49.63\00:12:53.74
And he said, "We'd like
you to come and take a look."
00:12:53.77\00:12:57.87
And we took a look
and we saw the cornfields.
00:12:57.91\00:13:00.91
And cows.
00:13:00.94\00:13:02.28
We were still
had, no, thank you.
00:13:02.31\00:13:04.15
We were still headed to Texas.
00:13:04.18\00:13:05.88
But the Lord was
convicting me a little bit.
00:13:05.91\00:13:07.75
And I said, you know, a
couple weeks later I said,
00:13:07.78\00:13:09.68
"Lord, if there's
anything You want me to do,
00:13:09.72\00:13:13.86
let me know."
00:13:13.89\00:13:15.79
And Moses
called within the hour,
00:13:15.82\00:13:17.63
and this is weeks later.
00:13:17.66\00:13:19.86
I said, okay. Well,
this is interesting.
00:13:19.89\00:13:22.16
Still, we're headed to Texas.
00:13:22.20\00:13:23.90
And the same thing
happened the third time.
00:13:23.93\00:13:25.63
I said, "Lord, if there's
anything You want me to do,"
00:13:25.67\00:13:27.27
we're headed to Texas.
00:13:27.30\00:13:28.64
I'm resisting, because I
really don't wanna come to 3ABN,
00:13:28.67\00:13:30.97
which would have been
a disaster because this
00:13:31.01\00:13:32.57
has been a tremendous blessing,
but for the third time I said,
00:13:32.61\00:13:35.34
"If there's anything You
want me to do, I'll do it."
00:13:35.38\00:13:39.15
And immediately in my
mind, I started thinking
00:13:39.18\00:13:41.02
of the rich young ruler,
where Christ kept calling,
00:13:41.05\00:13:44.22
said, come follow Me
instead he was following
00:13:44.25\00:13:47.46
his priorities.
00:13:47.49\00:13:48.82
It's still the
Lord's priorities.
00:13:48.86\00:13:50.99
And after that
prayer, it's one of the really
00:13:51.03\00:13:53.40
most sincere prayers in my life.
00:13:53.43\00:13:55.70
Moses called
within the hour again,
00:13:55.73\00:13:58.17
and I got the message.
00:13:58.20\00:13:59.53
Wow. Confirmation.
00:13:59.57\00:14:00.90
Yeah, the
confirmation, three times.
00:14:00.94\00:14:02.54
But he was talking to
Marilyn too, wasn't he?
00:14:02.57\00:14:05.21
That's interesting
because when Marilyn came here,
00:14:05.24\00:14:07.84
she was even more
resistant than I was
00:14:07.88\00:14:09.54
because it almost seemed like
00:14:09.58\00:14:11.21
I was getting
the message to come.
00:14:11.25\00:14:12.91
And she was just
following her husband's.
00:14:12.95\00:14:15.48
And when she came
here, she started to realize
00:14:15.52\00:14:17.49
the blessings were for her too.
00:14:17.52\00:14:19.25
And she told me all
the time, Eric, I think
00:14:19.29\00:14:21.86
I was called here
in addition to you,
00:14:21.89\00:14:23.32
because I've
got to see her grow.
00:14:23.36\00:14:25.16
We've grown spiritually,
00:14:25.19\00:14:26.53
we've grown in our relationship.
00:14:26.56\00:14:27.90
Right. We've been
blessed all around.
00:14:27.93\00:14:29.53
And that's part of
being in the ministry,
00:14:29.56\00:14:31.23
and we wouldn't
have had that blessing
00:14:31.27\00:14:34.07
had we not answered the call.
00:14:34.10\00:14:35.77
And she's the manager
of the call center now.
00:14:35.80\00:14:37.51
Yeah.
00:14:37.54\00:14:38.87
Both of you are
tremendous blessings to 3ABN.
00:14:38.91\00:14:41.04
Absolutely. God is good.
00:14:41.08\00:14:42.41
The point that I'm hearing
is that you were both obeying.
00:14:42.44\00:14:44.75
Right. Moses was
obeying over here.
00:14:44.78\00:14:48.45
Be persistent, be persistent,
because he was persistent.
00:14:48.48\00:14:52.15
Over here, you know,
call again, call again.
00:14:52.19\00:14:55.19
So it's interesting and
looking after the story,
00:14:55.22\00:14:58.29
that you could look and
see how it kind of played out.
00:14:58.33\00:15:01.00
Can I imagine it happened
to all of us in different ways?
00:15:01.03\00:15:03.47
All the different dynamics that
are going on at the same time.
00:15:03.50\00:15:05.77
Yeah.
00:15:05.80\00:15:07.14
You mentioned
something, you said
00:15:07.17\00:15:08.50
there's a fork in a
row, and that to me years ago
00:15:08.54\00:15:09.87
before I came out
here, similar kind of...
00:15:09.90\00:15:12.84
Actually I was a colporteur,
literature evangelist.
00:15:12.87\00:15:15.34
And my mentor said, man,
you're horrible salesperson.
00:15:15.38\00:15:19.18
This isn't good,
you're not making sales.
00:15:19.21\00:15:20.88
You are not good, man.
00:15:20.92\00:15:22.25
So you got to make a choice,
you're gonna bail out and quit,
00:15:22.28\00:15:24.72
or you're going
to stick it through.
00:15:24.75\00:15:26.09
I said, well, I'm
not making any money.
00:15:26.12\00:15:28.16
So I guess I'll
have to bail out.
00:15:28.19\00:15:29.52
I'm like, okay, Lord,
you're working for a ministry,
00:15:29.56\00:15:31.36
you know, I'm like, okay,
Lord, now what am I gonna do?
00:15:31.39\00:15:33.50
So, and I thought, well,
00:15:33.53\00:15:34.86
I gotta just start
putting in applications.
00:15:34.90\00:15:36.23
I gotta go around. And I
found a local restaurant.
00:15:36.26\00:15:38.30
I went there, and I just
asked for an application.
00:15:38.33\00:15:41.34
And it just so
happens, the district manager
00:15:41.37\00:15:43.10
and the manager,
00:15:43.14\00:15:44.47
they're leaning
against the wall.
00:15:44.51\00:15:45.84
So I asked for the application,
the guy leans over, he goes,
00:15:45.87\00:15:47.48
you hire this one.
00:15:47.51\00:15:48.98
And I'm like,
what on? I'm like, wow.
00:15:49.01\00:15:51.31
So I got hired, I worked there.
00:15:51.35\00:15:53.42
And every time like
you said, you prayed.
00:15:53.45\00:15:55.65
The first time I prayed, I said,
00:15:55.68\00:15:57.02
Lord, send somebody that
I can share my faith with,
00:15:57.05\00:15:58.39
there's a Hispanic girl.
00:15:58.42\00:15:59.99
She said, "What is
it that you believe?"
00:16:00.02\00:16:01.36
Same day I pray this.
00:16:01.39\00:16:02.72
"What is it that you
believe? What are you?"
00:16:02.76\00:16:04.09
I said, "I'm a
Seventh-Day Adventist.
00:16:04.13\00:16:05.46
I believe in the seventh
day Sabbath, and you know,
00:16:05.49\00:16:06.83
in Adventism we believe
in second coming of Jesus."
00:16:06.86\00:16:09.23
So she says,
"Okay, I'm Catholic,
00:16:09.26\00:16:10.60
I believe in that too."
00:16:10.63\00:16:11.97
And I just kind
of shook my hand.
00:16:12.00\00:16:13.34
I just kept my mouth
shut and kept going forward.
00:16:13.37\00:16:15.10
And I prayed
again, a second time.
00:16:15.14\00:16:17.54
I saw her again, she said,
"What is it you believe in?"
00:16:17.57\00:16:19.54
In a third time,
00:16:19.57\00:16:20.91
right before I was gonna
come ready to come to 3ABN.
00:16:20.94\00:16:23.24
I said, I just
prayed and she said,
00:16:23.28\00:16:24.85
"Donald, I want
to tell you what,
00:16:24.88\00:16:26.21
I believe in Jesus."
00:16:26.25\00:16:27.78
I said, "Okay, Erica,
why do you believe in Jesus?"
00:16:27.82\00:16:29.88
She says, "Well,
when my child was three,
00:16:29.92\00:16:32.05
he had over 100 seizures.
00:16:32.09\00:16:34.09
I thought he
was gonna die." Wow.
00:16:34.12\00:16:35.59
I began crying hysterically.
00:16:35.62\00:16:37.29
And I couldn't stop crying.
00:16:37.33\00:16:38.66
He didn't even
know who Jesus was.
00:16:38.69\00:16:40.70
He's too young.
00:16:40.73\00:16:42.06
And he said, "Mommy,
Mommy, why are you crying?"
00:16:42.10\00:16:43.43
I just couldn't stop.
00:16:43.47\00:16:44.80
He says, "Jesus
did stand next to me."
00:16:44.83\00:16:46.17
He said, "I'm gonna
be healed. I'll be fine."
00:16:46.20\00:16:47.60
Three-year-old, no
more seizures, done.
00:16:47.64\00:16:50.87
So I looked at Erica, I said,
00:16:50.91\00:16:52.47
"Erica, I've been
in your house before."
00:16:52.51\00:16:54.68
And she said, what do
you... No. "What do you mean?"
00:16:54.71\00:16:56.71
I said, "I've been
in your house before."
00:16:56.75\00:16:58.08
I used to be a colporteur.
00:16:58.11\00:16:59.45
Your husband told me
the exact same story.
00:16:59.48\00:17:01.15
Wow.
00:17:01.18\00:17:02.52
Yeah, you weren't
there. He told me it.
00:17:02.55\00:17:03.89
So I said, "Erica, I have
been sent here by God for you."
00:17:03.92\00:17:06.96
And she just broke down crying
00:17:06.99\00:17:08.32
and you don't
understand what God does.
00:17:08.36\00:17:09.76
You don't get paid much.
00:17:09.79\00:17:11.13
But it wasn't about
the pay, it was about
00:17:11.16\00:17:12.79
what God wanted me to do there.
00:17:12.83\00:17:14.53
Was that not one of the most
rewarding feeling that you had?
00:17:14.56\00:17:17.97
Yeah, it was incredible.
And that's God's will.
00:17:18.00\00:17:20.60
I mean, if you don't
know how God's gonna make me
00:17:20.64\00:17:22.94
or put in some, you know,
old paint job for some reason.
00:17:22.97\00:17:25.94
You just don't know. Absolutely.
00:17:25.97\00:17:27.34
Well, that's a perfect segue
00:17:27.38\00:17:28.71
into our next scripture
right here, Romans 8:28.
00:17:28.74\00:17:31.38
Let's go there. Yes, sir.
00:17:31.41\00:17:32.88
You know, and we know
that things work together, wow,
00:17:32.91\00:17:35.78
for good.
00:17:35.82\00:17:37.15
What a fit there. Yeah.
00:17:37.19\00:17:39.19
"And we know that all
things work together for good
00:17:39.22\00:17:42.19
to those who love God,
00:17:42.22\00:17:43.96
to those who are the called
according to His purpose."
00:17:43.99\00:17:46.33
Yeah.
00:17:46.36\00:17:47.70
I thank that His
purpose is that we,
00:17:47.73\00:17:49.06
that none should perish.
00:17:49.10\00:17:50.53
All should spend
eternity with Him.
00:17:50.57\00:17:52.93
And so, the first
thing is, acknowledge Him,
00:17:52.97\00:17:56.20
let's just go back.
00:17:56.24\00:17:57.57
See how all these fit, you know,
00:17:57.61\00:17:58.94
and don't lean on
your own understanding.
00:17:58.97\00:18:00.81
God's gonna got a plan for you.
00:18:00.84\00:18:02.41
I think we'll run
across Jeremiah down here
00:18:02.44\00:18:04.28
sooner or later.
00:18:04.31\00:18:06.11
And we know this is
very, very important
00:18:06.15\00:18:09.02
that we know by faith, you
know that things work together
00:18:09.05\00:18:12.45
because we all
come to Ts in the road.
00:18:12.49\00:18:14.92
Right. Oh, yeah.
00:18:14.96\00:18:16.29
I mean, every one of
us, and what do we do?
00:18:16.32\00:18:18.59
Right.
00:18:18.63\00:18:19.96
I know that when
I've started praying
00:18:20.00\00:18:22.43
and I know that
it works in my life.
00:18:22.46\00:18:25.63
Lord, I gave You
permission to open up the doors
00:18:25.67\00:18:28.10
or closed the doors.
00:18:28.14\00:18:29.54
Amen. Absolutely. Amen.
00:18:29.57\00:18:31.24
He loves His children.
00:18:31.27\00:18:33.14
Now needless to
say, He's not going
00:18:33.17\00:18:36.11
to handcuff me to put
me, lead me in a direction.
00:18:36.14\00:18:39.15
But through the
aid of the Holy Spirit,
00:18:39.18\00:18:40.52
I'm gonna be impressed.
00:18:40.55\00:18:41.88
And I'm giving...
00:18:41.92\00:18:43.25
Daddy I need help,
00:18:43.28\00:18:44.62
do I go to the right
or do I go to the left?
00:18:44.65\00:18:46.32
And so I go to the
left, reminds me of a story.
00:18:46.35\00:18:48.66
Wow, wait just a
second. This is a great story.
00:18:48.69\00:18:52.59
I was doing some surveying
in the mountains of New Mexico.
00:18:52.63\00:18:57.23
And I was just
starting, I didn't know squat.
00:18:57.27\00:19:01.20
I knew how to walk.
I knew how to climb.
00:19:01.24\00:19:03.54
And I knew east and
west and north and south.
00:19:03.57\00:19:06.34
And so I'm
supposed to go from A to B.
00:19:06.37\00:19:08.74
And so I go up there and I come
to a T in the road., You know,
00:19:08.78\00:19:12.18
I supposed to go to
the right, guess what?
00:19:12.21\00:19:14.95
I went to the left.
00:19:14.98\00:19:17.59
You know, I can spell stupid,
and I was stupid that day.
00:19:17.62\00:19:21.69
I go left, and I walk down there
00:19:21.72\00:19:23.16
and I get lost.
00:19:23.19\00:19:24.93
I mean, and I
begin to somewhat panic
00:19:24.96\00:19:27.33
because while I'm lost in
the mountains of New Mexico,
00:19:27.36\00:19:30.27
and I don't know if
anybody knows where I am.
00:19:30.30\00:19:33.03
And so through His
mercy, through His grace,
00:19:33.07\00:19:37.61
I turned around, I
saw the tallest tree.
00:19:37.64\00:19:40.38
And I started
following that tree.
00:19:40.41\00:19:41.88
I was just impressed.
00:19:41.91\00:19:43.48
And I followed that tree
and then I came into an opening
00:19:43.51\00:19:45.55
and albeit there was the road
that I was supposed to be on.
00:19:45.58\00:19:48.22
Wow. Amen.
00:19:48.25\00:19:49.58
Then from there, I
mean, that's not good enough.
00:19:49.62\00:19:52.85
That's not gonna
save me next time.
00:19:52.89\00:19:55.46
Okay? But what happened?
00:19:55.49\00:19:57.33
I ran into an old prospector,
and I was telling him the story
00:19:57.36\00:20:01.16
and he just kind of
looked at me and like,
00:20:01.20\00:20:02.76
"Are you that foolish to be up
00:20:02.80\00:20:04.43
in the mountain
without a compass?"
00:20:04.47\00:20:08.80
And I said, well, I
don't really, I know that.
00:20:08.84\00:20:11.87
I know just enough to be
dangerous without compass,
00:20:11.91\00:20:14.11
and he explained it all to me.
00:20:14.14\00:20:15.94
I couldn't wait,
that man got me a compass,
00:20:15.98\00:20:18.81
I never got lost again.
00:20:18.85\00:20:20.18
Amen.
00:20:20.22\00:20:21.55
And I became, thank You, Jesus,
00:20:21.58\00:20:22.92
pretty good at what I was doing.
00:20:22.95\00:20:24.39
Amen. But I
didn't have a compass.
00:20:24.42\00:20:26.22
There's a lot of people
00:20:26.25\00:20:27.59
that don't have a compass today.
00:20:27.62\00:20:29.59
They found themselves going
the wrong way accidentally,
00:20:29.62\00:20:32.23
not purposely.
00:20:32.26\00:20:33.60
It wasn't my
ambition to get lost.
00:20:33.63\00:20:36.33
There's a lot
of people... Right.
00:20:36.36\00:20:38.00
This is a compass.
00:20:38.03\00:20:39.57
Well, sometimes
God takes us places
00:20:39.60\00:20:42.24
that we don't understand either.
00:20:42.27\00:20:44.34
I know when David was
sick, and I had this job
00:20:44.37\00:20:47.61
and I really needed the job
because David could not work.
00:20:47.64\00:20:50.15
And it happened
that I got laid off.
00:20:50.18\00:20:53.31
There were s several
of us that got laid off
00:20:53.35\00:20:54.78
because I ended up hired last,
00:20:54.82\00:20:56.75
and they had
given me the Sabbath,
00:20:56.79\00:20:58.59
but it was kind of touchy.
00:20:58.62\00:21:01.06
So I was just concerned,
you know, that I lost this job.
00:21:01.09\00:21:05.03
Well, about three weeks later,
00:21:05.06\00:21:07.10
I ran into a boss
at another location
00:21:07.13\00:21:10.63
that worked there.
00:21:10.67\00:21:12.33
And he asked me how I was doing.
00:21:12.37\00:21:13.70
I was very friendly
and nice and open to him.
00:21:13.74\00:21:16.50
And I says, "No, I
haven't found anything,
00:21:16.54\00:21:18.11
but I'm still looking.
00:21:18.14\00:21:19.47
I had a fun time, da-da."
And he says, "You know what?
00:21:19.51\00:21:21.54
You need to come down and see me
00:21:21.58\00:21:22.91
we have a different job,
00:21:22.94\00:21:24.28
somebody just quit."
00:21:24.31\00:21:25.78
And that new job
put me in a situation
00:21:25.81\00:21:29.18
where I never had to
worry about the Sabbath again.
00:21:29.22\00:21:31.22
There was job security,
and it was a better job.
00:21:31.25\00:21:34.22
And it's like,
sometimes I was like,
00:21:34.26\00:21:36.19
at first I was like, Lord,
00:21:36.22\00:21:37.56
why did you let
me lose this job?
00:21:37.59\00:21:38.93
We need it so much. Right.
00:21:38.96\00:21:40.30
But sometimes we can't... Right.
00:21:40.33\00:21:42.56
Like I said, I love that song.
00:21:42.60\00:21:43.93
When you can't see His plans
and you can't trace His hand,
00:21:43.97\00:21:47.07
trust His heart.
00:21:47.10\00:21:48.44
Amen. Amen.
00:21:48.47\00:21:51.27
Well, a couple of those stories
reminded me of a few stories
00:21:51.31\00:21:54.81
that I wanna share with you too.
00:21:54.84\00:21:56.58
So one, I've seen a picture
on whether it was Instagram
00:21:56.61\00:22:01.42
or Facebook or
something like that
00:22:01.45\00:22:02.78
there was a little girl,
00:22:02.82\00:22:04.32
and she had a small bear in
her hand, like a teddy bear.
00:22:04.35\00:22:08.59
Meanwhile, she's looking at
Jesus and Jesus is bent over.
00:22:08.62\00:22:12.43
And behind his back, He
has this huge teddy bear.
00:22:12.46\00:22:16.60
But the little
girl is holding on
00:22:16.63\00:22:18.07
to this little
bear for dear life.
00:22:18.10\00:22:20.54
And you know, I think
about that in my own life,
00:22:20.57\00:22:23.17
like what things
have I held on to so tight
00:22:23.20\00:22:26.07
that I wouldn't let go of?
00:22:26.11\00:22:28.18
Meanwhile, God
had this abundant life
00:22:28.21\00:22:30.68
just waiting on me.
00:22:30.71\00:22:32.55
I remember I was
driving down the highway.
00:22:32.58\00:22:36.25
And I was going to a
place to visit someone who,
00:22:36.28\00:22:39.29
I visited them and
their family, often,
00:22:39.32\00:22:42.42
and I still use my GPS
just to make sure, right?
00:22:42.46\00:22:47.70
So I used my GPS.
And there's a split.
00:22:47.73\00:22:54.00
You know how we're
talking about forks in the road.
00:22:54.04\00:22:56.10
There's a split
and as I'm driving,
00:22:56.14\00:22:58.31
I'm just driving
away, driving away.
00:22:58.34\00:23:00.98
And I noticed that my GPS
00:23:01.01\00:23:02.91
is saying
recalculate, recalculate.
00:23:02.94\00:23:05.98
And I'm looking
and I'm getting mad
00:23:06.01\00:23:07.72
at the GPS, like,
what are you talking about?
00:23:07.75\00:23:09.98
Nobody's on the road.
It's clear, it's sunny.
00:23:10.02\00:23:12.69
This is the
perfect driving conditions.
00:23:12.72\00:23:17.23
No, you know, the roads
not blocked off or anything.
00:23:17.26\00:23:20.23
So I'm just
headed down the road,
00:23:20.26\00:23:21.90
headed down the highway.
00:23:21.93\00:23:24.07
And then I look up and I'm like
00:23:24.10\00:23:26.13
well, what would be the odds
of me headed towards St. Louis
00:23:26.17\00:23:29.44
instead of my
intended destination?
00:23:29.47\00:23:32.84
And so as I look
up, and I see the sign,
00:23:32.87\00:23:36.61
I'm headed towards St. Louis,
00:23:36.64\00:23:39.11
and I'm like, 30 to 45
minutes in the wrong direction.
00:23:39.15\00:23:43.39
You know, we can have a
GPS, but then sometimes we think
00:23:43.42\00:23:47.16
that we know
better than the GPS.
00:23:47.19\00:23:49.79
And no matter
what signs that we see,
00:23:49.82\00:23:52.96
we do the opposite.
00:23:52.99\00:23:54.33
Yes.
00:23:54.36\00:23:55.70
So we have to listen to
what the GPS is telling us to.
00:23:55.73\00:24:00.54
And so I had to make a U-turn.
00:24:00.57\00:24:02.87
Now if I would have
listened to the GPS,
00:24:02.90\00:24:05.27
I would have
avoided so much time wasted.
00:24:05.31\00:24:09.34
And in my own life, you know,
I had wasted a lot of time,
00:24:09.38\00:24:13.28
my mother raised
me in the church,
00:24:13.31\00:24:14.88
and I left when I was like 14.
00:24:14.92\00:24:16.92
I still went because
she made me go to church.
00:24:16.95\00:24:19.35
But I was living
with her in a house,
00:24:19.39\00:24:21.79
but I missed out
like on so much time
00:24:21.82\00:24:26.09
that I could have
been spending with God
00:24:26.13\00:24:28.10
and growing in
that relationship.
00:24:28.13\00:24:30.07
And I ended up going
through a life of heartache
00:24:30.10\00:24:33.13
and difficult
self inflicted trials.
00:24:33.17\00:24:36.81
And 14 years later,
how I ended up here,
00:24:36.84\00:24:41.44
I got a call from
my mom and got invited
00:24:41.48\00:24:43.24
to the Day of Prayer.
00:24:43.28\00:24:44.68
And I remember,
Pop, Danny Shelton,
00:24:44.71\00:24:49.28
saying that if
you leave this place,
00:24:49.32\00:24:51.75
and you can't get
it out of your mind,
00:24:51.79\00:24:53.15
then perhaps this is
where God would have you to be.
00:24:53.19\00:24:54.99
And he said it to everybody
00:24:55.02\00:24:56.36
that was in the
worship center that day
00:24:56.39\00:24:58.23
and I left and I went
back to my 70 hour week job
00:24:58.26\00:25:02.06
in Atlanta, and
all I kept thinking
00:25:02.10\00:25:04.20
about was 3ABN, 3ABN, 3ABN.
00:25:04.23\00:25:06.94
So there goes, you know
those strong impressions.
00:25:06.97\00:25:10.47
It's funny because, our
landlady, Marilyn and I,
00:25:10.51\00:25:13.84
we laugh about
this all the time.
00:25:13.88\00:25:15.71
Our landlady knew
where we were going
00:25:15.74\00:25:17.38
before we did.
00:25:17.41\00:25:19.18
We were insistent
on going to Texas.
00:25:19.21\00:25:22.28
We were leaving the apartment.
00:25:22.32\00:25:24.02
And so we went downstairs
by the office telling her
00:25:24.05\00:25:26.49
why we're not gonna
resign the lease or lease was up
00:25:26.52\00:25:28.96
and I'm getting
stuff out of the mailbox.
00:25:28.99\00:25:31.56
And Marilyn's talking to her.
00:25:31.59\00:25:33.29
And Marilyn's
telling her our history,
00:25:33.33\00:25:36.00
the tragedies that
we're running into,
00:25:36.03\00:25:37.50
the devil was just
attacking us like crazy.
00:25:37.53\00:25:39.90
And Marilyn's
telling the landlady then,
00:25:39.93\00:25:42.24
and the landlady says something,
00:25:42.27\00:25:43.61
she says, oh,
I've seen this before.
00:25:43.64\00:25:46.34
She said, you guys
\are getting ready to go
00:25:46.37\00:25:47.74
and do something for the Lord.
00:25:47.78\00:25:49.11
Amen.
00:25:49.14\00:25:50.48
And right then I
look over there like,
00:25:50.51\00:25:51.85
what, what is she talking about?
00:25:51.88\00:25:54.62
Really? Oh, she
doesn't make any sense.
00:25:54.65\00:25:58.12
And three weeks later,
two or three weeks later,
00:25:58.15\00:26:01.59
that's when this
started with Moses calling.
00:26:01.62\00:26:03.99
So she knew what was going on.
00:26:04.03\00:26:06.46
She'd seen it before.
00:26:06.49\00:26:07.96
And God was leading even though
we didn't know it at the time.
00:26:08.00\00:26:11.87
And that's just for me,
00:26:11.90\00:26:13.23
that's a memory
I'll never forget.
00:26:13.27\00:26:14.80
Amen. He knows
when we don't know.
00:26:14.84\00:26:16.71
Oh, yeah.
00:26:16.74\00:26:18.07
And sometimes God
has long term plans.
00:26:18.11\00:26:19.84
Yeah.
00:26:19.87\00:26:21.21
And you did not
come to 3ABN right away,
00:26:21.24\00:26:23.71
but He didn't
intend for you too.
00:26:23.75\00:26:25.68
It was many years after we moved
00:26:25.71\00:26:27.05
to Southern Illinois...
00:26:27.08\00:26:28.42
Wow.
00:26:28.45\00:26:29.78
Which in itself was a
strange different version
00:26:29.82\00:26:34.66
of God's leading in our lives.
00:26:34.69\00:26:37.93
I came to this study,
very interested to be a learner
00:26:37.96\00:26:41.26
because I've had so much
issues with this over the years,
00:26:41.30\00:26:45.33
like how do I
know, it's, you know,
00:26:45.37\00:26:46.84
analytical and personalities,
00:26:46.87\00:26:48.87
you know, tying
all up, organizing.
00:26:48.90\00:26:51.01
And so I've struggled
this over the years like,
00:26:51.04\00:26:53.44
how do I know
I'm doing God's will?
00:26:53.48\00:26:56.28
It's like this paradox because
as I've walked with the Lord
00:26:56.31\00:26:59.58
over the years,
knowing God's will seems to be
00:26:59.61\00:27:02.42
the most personal
thing in the world.
00:27:02.45\00:27:05.55
And at the same time, it
can be the most universal thing.
00:27:05.59\00:27:09.02
There's been times
when God spoken to me
00:27:09.06\00:27:10.53
as clearly as you
00:27:10.56\00:27:12.36
or I are
speaking to me right now.
00:27:12.39\00:27:14.10
And there's times
when it's just been an,
00:27:14.13\00:27:16.20
just move, you know,
00:27:16.23\00:27:19.13
the back to what
you said earlier about,
00:27:19.17\00:27:20.67
it's easier to
move up, you know,
00:27:20.70\00:27:22.04
moving car than a parked car.
00:27:22.07\00:27:23.81
And so there's been times
when my wife and I were just,
00:27:23.84\00:27:26.78
you know, moving,
we're determined to go
00:27:26.81\00:27:29.01
a direction that God lead.
00:27:29.04\00:27:30.75
So it's a strange how
it becomes so personal
00:27:30.78\00:27:33.15
that only you
know, and other times
00:27:33.18\00:27:35.32
it's a universal principle
that everybody can know
00:27:35.35\00:27:38.29
if they just followed it.
00:27:38.32\00:27:39.65
Right.
00:27:39.69\00:27:41.02
And so, we ended up
here in Southern Illinois,
00:27:41.06\00:27:43.12
kind of my dad had
asked me to move back here
00:27:43.16\00:27:45.93
and help my mom and him
with some medical issues.
00:27:45.96\00:27:50.43
And so, you know,
00:27:50.47\00:27:52.60
there wasn't
much analysis of that,
00:27:52.63\00:27:55.37
it was like, okay, I mean it.
00:27:55.40\00:27:57.64
It wasn't, I'll do this
even if God tells me not to,
00:27:57.67\00:28:01.74
but it was like, okay,
00:28:01.78\00:28:03.11
this is obviously God's leading,
00:28:03.14\00:28:04.48
this is my responsibility,
this makes sense.
00:28:04.51\00:28:07.95
So you know, my
wife came back here,
00:28:07.98\00:28:09.72
picked out a house,
I never even saw it,
00:28:09.75\00:28:11.25
we moved in and I was
like, okay, Lord, here we are,
00:28:11.29\00:28:17.16
you know doing the cars
moving down the road and,
00:28:17.19\00:28:20.40
you know, within
a short period time
00:28:20.43\00:28:22.26
we found out
that my neighbors...
00:28:22.30\00:28:23.63
We got to know our
neighbors next door
00:28:23.67\00:28:25.00
and God just used us
incredibly in their lives
00:28:25.03\00:28:29.00
and it was like a perfect...
00:28:29.04\00:28:31.07
Like from Southern California
to Southern Illinois unseen God
00:28:31.11\00:28:35.74
dropped us right in this part,
where we were supposed to be.
00:28:35.78\00:28:39.81
And anyway years
through that process,
00:28:39.85\00:28:41.78
got to know Greg a little
bit and we have a long story,
00:28:41.82\00:28:45.12
but the Lord opened
up the door at 3ABN.
00:28:45.15\00:28:48.02
Amen.
00:28:48.06\00:28:49.39
And it was kind of one
of the things to remember
00:28:49.42\00:28:50.76
when we first moved
here driving by going,
00:28:50.79\00:28:52.29
what is that building over there
00:28:52.33\00:28:54.16
with satellites out here
in the middle of nowhere?
00:28:54.20\00:28:56.60
So it was kind of like, it
kind of got in my mind like
00:28:56.63\00:28:59.13
I never could get it
out of my mind the fact
00:28:59.17\00:29:01.54
that out here in
the middle of nowhere
00:29:01.57\00:29:03.07
was this thing, you know.
00:29:03.10\00:29:04.44
Yeah.
00:29:04.47\00:29:05.81
So then he put a
friendship in your life.
00:29:05.84\00:29:07.18
He did.
00:29:07.21\00:29:08.54
And so that was one
of those general times
00:29:08.58\00:29:10.95
when the Lord led me here
and He already knew the plan.
00:29:10.98\00:29:15.52
I didn't have a specific,
you know, just say to Lord.
00:29:15.55\00:29:19.59
Yeah.
00:29:19.62\00:29:20.96
So I think that we can all agree
00:29:20.99\00:29:22.32
that we know that
things work together.
00:29:22.36\00:29:23.83
All things work
together for good
00:29:23.86\00:29:25.19
to those who love God
00:29:25.23\00:29:26.56
and to those who
are called according.
00:29:26.59\00:29:27.93
So it seems like we
can all tell a story
00:29:27.96\00:29:29.73
of how that works into our life.
00:29:29.76\00:29:32.23
Dealing with relationships,
what about 1 John 4:9-10, Eric?
00:29:32.27\00:29:38.74
1 John 4:9-10, "In
this the love of God
00:29:38.77\00:29:43.51
was manifested toward us,
00:29:43.55\00:29:45.55
that God has sent
His only begotten Son
00:29:45.58\00:29:47.65
into the world, that
we might live through Him.
00:29:47.68\00:29:52.19
In this is love,
not that we loved God,
00:29:52.22\00:29:55.56
but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be
00:29:55.59\00:29:59.93
the propitiation,"
right, you got it,
00:29:59.96\00:30:05.63
"for our sins."
00:30:05.67\00:30:08.07
I'm emotionally
connected to this verse.
00:30:08.10\00:30:14.94
It always moves
me when I read it
00:30:14.98\00:30:17.55
because I think of
Jesus in heaven with God.
00:30:17.58\00:30:23.92
And God says to Jesus,
00:30:23.95\00:30:28.42
"These people need help."
00:30:28.46\00:30:30.03
We're seeing it.
00:30:30.06\00:30:31.39
And Jesus immediately
raise His hand and says,
00:30:31.43\00:30:32.93
"Here I am, send Me."
00:30:32.96\00:30:34.93
Knowing what He's going into,
knowing what He's gonna suffer,
00:30:34.96\00:30:39.73
knowing the pain to the point
of being killed on the cross.
00:30:39.77\00:30:43.81
He knows this, but
still He raises His hand.
00:30:43.84\00:30:46.57
And He does that for me. Yeah.
00:30:46.61\00:30:49.24
You know, and I
don't feel personally,
00:30:49.28\00:30:50.95
I don't feel deserving of that.
00:30:50.98\00:30:53.25
You know, so this
verse, I love this verse.
00:30:53.28\00:30:55.35
I'm glad you picked it out, JD.
00:30:55.38\00:30:57.75
That was a God
thing. Yeah, yeah.
00:30:57.79\00:31:00.29
Yeah. That is love.
00:31:00.32\00:31:03.73
That is love.
00:31:03.76\00:31:05.09
That's a different type of
love that probably any of us
00:31:05.13\00:31:08.06
can probably understand.
00:31:08.10\00:31:09.43
Oh, absolutely. Right.
00:31:09.46\00:31:10.80
I'd have to...
00:31:10.83\00:31:12.17
If you're a parent, I
think at least I'm not a parent.
00:31:12.20\00:31:18.21
So I don't understand
that relationship between
00:31:18.24\00:31:22.41
a child and a parent.
00:31:22.44\00:31:24.91
But every
parent that I've talked
00:31:24.95\00:31:27.02
to they would
die for their child.
00:31:27.05\00:31:29.42
So there is that bond.
00:31:29.45\00:31:30.89
So there is that bond
00:31:30.92\00:31:32.25
that we're
looking at right here.
00:31:32.29\00:31:33.62
Right.
00:31:33.66\00:31:34.99
And I don't know
of any non parent,
00:31:35.02\00:31:37.79
I don't, of course, nobody can.
00:31:37.83\00:31:39.39
Nobody knows
what they're gonna do.
00:31:39.43\00:31:41.63
But, you know, it certainly
would be in the perfect world,
00:31:41.66\00:31:44.60
yes, that I would give
up my life for a brother
00:31:44.63\00:31:46.67
that I loved.
00:31:46.70\00:31:48.84
But you don't know
till that time comes.
00:31:48.87\00:31:50.77
Right. Yeah.
00:31:50.81\00:31:52.14
We don't know, if we
gonna raise your hand or not.
00:31:52.17\00:31:54.01
God's love is unique.
00:31:54.04\00:31:55.81
It's the love that we crave,
deeper than any other love.
00:31:55.84\00:32:01.62
It's what we need
00:32:01.65\00:32:02.98
and that's what
we're always looking for
00:32:03.02\00:32:04.89
is that love.
00:32:04.92\00:32:06.42
Only He can give. Amen.
00:32:06.45\00:32:07.96
I think it's wonderful because
even in the garden, He prayed.
00:32:07.99\00:32:13.09
And He said, God, if
there's any other way,
00:32:13.13\00:32:16.67
take this cup, and
there was no other way.
00:32:16.70\00:32:19.90
And even then He was looking
for the will of the Father.
00:32:19.93\00:32:23.24
What did God want above His own?
00:32:23.27\00:32:25.44
He was looking for,
if there's any other way,
00:32:25.47\00:32:27.18
He wanted a different way.
00:32:27.21\00:32:28.74
God said, "This is the path."
00:32:28.78\00:32:30.51
So in other
words, there is no reason
00:32:30.55\00:32:32.48
why we should be trying
to carry out our own will.
00:32:32.51\00:32:34.88
Exactly.
00:32:34.92\00:32:36.25
You know, I mean, that is huge,
00:32:36.28\00:32:38.32
that's just the
ultimate form of love.
00:32:38.35\00:32:40.86
I don't have any kids and
I can't imagine sending...
00:32:40.89\00:32:45.66
If I did have a son, I
can't imagine saying, son,
00:32:45.69\00:32:51.67
like, I want you to
die for these people
00:32:51.70\00:32:55.50
who committed these crimes.
00:32:55.54\00:32:58.64
I want you to, I want
you to go die for them.
00:32:58.67\00:33:01.91
I just can't imagine doing that.
00:33:01.94\00:33:04.68
But I'm so
thankful that I'm not God
00:33:04.71\00:33:06.78
and that God did that for us.
00:33:06.82\00:33:10.79
Because it forms a vision
00:33:10.82\00:33:16.36
of love that,
00:33:16.39\00:33:18.79
I mean, no words
can accurately describe,
00:33:18.83\00:33:22.26
how much God loves us.
00:33:22.30\00:33:23.63
When I do prison
ministry, one of the points
00:33:23.67\00:33:25.83
that I bring up
with the prisoners
00:33:25.87\00:33:28.20
is there's a lot of religions,
00:33:28.24\00:33:30.14
and there's a lot of faiths
out there with different gods.
00:33:30.17\00:33:33.24
If you go to
India, there's millions,
00:33:33.27\00:33:35.14
there's just gods
all over the place.
00:33:35.18\00:33:39.08
But Christianity
is the only religion
00:33:39.11\00:33:42.48
that I know of,
00:33:42.52\00:33:43.85
and I've looked where
God came down from heaven,
00:33:43.89\00:33:47.69
and willingly suffered
and died for His creation.
00:33:47.72\00:33:52.09
So even if all else was equal,
00:33:52.13\00:33:55.23
I would still follow
the religion of Christianity
00:33:55.26\00:33:58.50
because my God died for me.
00:33:58.53\00:34:00.24
Amen. Praise God.
00:34:00.27\00:34:02.24
Jesus, the Son is not the
only one that paid a price.
00:34:02.27\00:34:07.38
God, the Father,
and actually God,
00:34:07.41\00:34:09.81
the Holy Spirit, paid a
price that we're not even,
00:34:09.84\00:34:14.05
we don't even realize how
deeper price they all paid.
00:34:14.08\00:34:17.62
I think with this, when it says,
00:34:17.65\00:34:19.19
"In this the love of God
was manifested toward us."
00:34:19.22\00:34:22.62
That makes me think about
how it says many are called,
00:34:22.66\00:34:24.43
but few are chosen and
just thinking on that idea
00:34:24.46\00:34:28.33
that God chose you specifically
00:34:28.36\00:34:30.57
of the entire
eight billion people
00:34:30.60\00:34:32.63
on this planet, that you
would want to receive that love,
00:34:32.67\00:34:35.27
you want that love.
00:34:35.30\00:34:36.64
So many people don't
want to love and it tells us
00:34:36.67\00:34:38.81
that we are so valuable to Him.
00:34:38.84\00:34:41.41
He would pour everything
for us and that we have
00:34:41.44\00:34:43.95
that opportunity, you know,
00:34:43.98\00:34:45.31
to give our lives back into Him,
00:34:45.35\00:34:47.72
surrender again.
00:34:47.75\00:34:49.08
It comes back to
surrender. Oh, yeah.
00:34:49.12\00:34:50.45
To let Him, you know,
take control of our lives.
00:34:50.49\00:34:52.55
But that love for us leads
right into that Jeremiah 29:11,
00:34:52.59\00:34:56.39
who wants that?
00:34:56.42\00:34:58.09
I love this.
00:34:58.13\00:34:59.46
Yeah, I love that one
too. I'll jump in on that.
00:34:59.49\00:35:01.40
Now, I wanna go to 13
too, I will go down to 13,
00:35:01.43\00:35:05.37
"For I know the thoughts
that I think toward you,
00:35:05.40\00:35:07.64
says the Lord, thoughts
of peace and not of evil,
00:35:07.67\00:35:10.41
to give you a future and a hope.
00:35:10.44\00:35:12.87
Then you will call upon
Me and go and pray to Me,
00:35:12.91\00:35:15.94
and I will listen to you.
00:35:15.98\00:35:17.45
And you will
seek Me and find Me,
00:35:17.48\00:35:20.02
when you search for
Me with all your heart."
00:35:20.05\00:35:23.02
Amen.
00:35:23.05\00:35:24.39
So when we search for
God, with all of our heart,
00:35:24.42\00:35:26.65
we'll find Him, like He
wants to spend time with us.
00:35:26.69\00:35:30.16
He wants us to develop
a relationship with Him,
00:35:30.19\00:35:33.80
He has the best
plan in mind for us,
00:35:33.83\00:35:38.90
for His children, like
He wants the best for us.
00:35:38.93\00:35:42.54
And so when we walk in
accordance to His will,
00:35:42.57\00:35:45.71
He's not gonna withhold
any good things from us.
00:35:45.74\00:35:48.94
Amen.
00:35:48.98\00:35:50.31
You're just
touching on Micah 6:8,
00:35:50.35\00:35:51.68
whenever you say it
comes to my mind, it says,
00:35:51.71\00:35:53.21
"He has shown you,
O man, what is good.
00:35:53.25\00:35:55.58
And what does the Lord
require of you but to do justly
00:35:55.62\00:35:58.32
and to love mercy, and
walk humbly with your God?"
00:35:58.35\00:36:01.59
That's the key.
00:36:01.62\00:36:02.99
And that's what
doing God's will is,
00:36:03.02\00:36:04.39
those three things do justly,
love mercy and walk humbly.
00:36:04.43\00:36:07.10
Yeah. Yeah,
those are three things.
00:36:07.13\00:36:08.56
I'd also like to mention
this because I just love the way
00:36:08.60\00:36:10.93
that the Bible puts
it all together here,
00:36:10.97\00:36:12.60
we're talking about
different books totally,
00:36:12.63\00:36:14.77
but yet they're all united.
00:36:14.80\00:36:16.40
They're all certainly building
on each other, taste and see,
00:36:16.44\00:36:19.61
trust in the Lord.
00:36:19.64\00:36:22.04
I know the thoughts, I
do, I am prepared to give
00:36:22.08\00:36:25.45
to assist you with
a future and a hope.
00:36:25.48\00:36:30.22
And things work
together for good,
00:36:30.25\00:36:32.95
even though they may
seem mixed up at time.
00:36:32.99\00:36:35.96
So, I just love the way that,
you know, you're analytical,
00:36:35.99\00:36:39.96
as you sit and take.
00:36:40.00\00:36:41.33
You're analytical, you know,
00:36:41.36\00:36:42.70
so you sit and take
all these different parts.
00:36:42.73\00:36:44.83
And it seems to me
like an analytical person
00:36:44.87\00:36:47.40
has that ability to kind of
maybe see a step or two ahead,
00:36:47.44\00:36:52.27
there's others obviously,
you know, that we just walk in,
00:36:52.31\00:36:54.61
it's just a bunch of
stuff and all of a sudden,
00:36:54.64\00:36:56.91
well, what's it gonna be?
00:36:56.95\00:36:58.28
What's it gonna be? Yes.
00:36:58.31\00:36:59.98
And then you know,
whenever it's finished,
00:37:00.02\00:37:02.28
for those analytical people,
they just, it's a little bit.
00:37:02.32\00:37:05.45
So here God has given all of us,
00:37:05.49\00:37:07.06
we're all on the level ground.
00:37:07.09\00:37:09.62
And He just says,
merely trust with God
00:37:09.66\00:37:12.89
with all your
heart, trust in Me.
00:37:12.93\00:37:15.30
It's gonna work
itself out. Oh, yeah.
00:37:15.33\00:37:17.27
JD, even for the
analytical people,
00:37:17.30\00:37:19.13
I kind of think that
we have it more difficult
00:37:19.17\00:37:22.44
than many because we analyze,
00:37:22.47\00:37:27.01
sometimes we overanalyze,
and God's analysis is superior,
00:37:27.04\00:37:32.88
and it's always
better than ours.
00:37:32.91\00:37:34.58
And sometimes He comes
to different conclusions.
00:37:34.62\00:37:36.79
Amen.
00:37:36.82\00:37:38.15
And as a Christian,
we have to be willing
00:37:38.19\00:37:40.16
to surrender that to Him.
00:37:40.19\00:37:41.62
Amen.
00:37:41.66\00:37:42.99
But even on where
it says search for Me.
00:37:43.02\00:37:45.93
God is the one that's
always searching for us.
00:37:45.96\00:37:48.16
The reason He can
say, search for Me
00:37:48.20\00:37:49.93
because if you
start to search for Him,
00:37:49.96\00:37:51.53
you're gonna fall right over Him
00:37:51.57\00:37:52.90
because He's right there.
00:37:52.93\00:37:54.27
Exactly. He's right
next to you already.
00:37:54.30\00:37:56.81
So it's not like you're gonna
be searching for a long time.
00:37:56.84\00:37:59.97
In a minute you just
turn your eyes upon Him,
00:38:00.01\00:38:02.81
there He is.
00:38:02.84\00:38:04.18
One of the things
that's tough as, you know,
00:38:04.21\00:38:07.65
sometimes having that faith,
right, and in Hebrews 11:1,
00:38:07.68\00:38:12.62
it says, "Now
faith is the substance
00:38:12.65\00:38:14.36
of things hoped for,
00:38:14.39\00:38:15.86
the evidence of
things not seen."
00:38:15.89\00:38:17.96
I oftentimes like to
think about faith as the ability
00:38:17.99\00:38:21.03
to tolerate uncertainty
while trusting in God.
00:38:21.06\00:38:24.77
And that is something that
is very hard for human beings
00:38:24.80\00:38:27.64
to do is to
tolerate uncertainty.
00:38:27.67\00:38:29.87
We want to know everything.
00:38:29.90\00:38:32.71
So when I think
about the analytical mind,
00:38:32.74\00:38:34.84
like you wanna
figure everything out.
00:38:34.88\00:38:36.34
Right.
00:38:36.38\00:38:37.71
And you want to know like, okay,
00:38:37.75\00:38:39.08
well, what's making this work?
00:38:39.11\00:38:40.45
Why is this, this
way? Why is this that way?
00:38:40.48\00:38:42.45
And how can I fix this?
00:38:42.48\00:38:45.92
Right. Right?
00:38:45.95\00:38:47.29
Okay.
00:38:47.32\00:38:48.66
Would you say that again?
00:38:48.69\00:38:50.03
That was a little gem
you just threw out there
00:38:50.06\00:38:51.46
and I bet, people at
home want to write down too
00:38:51.49\00:38:53.50
because I wanna write down.
00:38:53.53\00:38:54.86
Which part? Definition of faith.
00:38:54.90\00:38:56.23
Okay.
00:38:56.26\00:38:57.60
So, oftentimes, like I
think about faith as the ability
00:38:57.63\00:39:00.50
to tolerate uncertainty,
while trusting in God.
00:39:00.54\00:39:05.07
Excellent.
00:39:05.11\00:39:06.44
And, you know, that's
a very difficult thing.
00:39:06.47\00:39:09.64
So like I like to
know, like what's going on?
00:39:09.68\00:39:13.52
Right. What's gonna happen?
00:39:13.55\00:39:15.88
You know, I want
to know these things.
00:39:15.92\00:39:17.92
I'll just piggyback
on what you just said.
00:39:17.95\00:39:19.69
We had a thing that
we did here recently,
00:39:19.72\00:39:21.82
a series, an evangelistic series
00:39:21.86\00:39:23.46
and my wife and I,
we've been doing this festival
00:39:23.49\00:39:26.09
the last three years
00:39:26.13\00:39:27.46
and we are
really excited about it.
00:39:27.50\00:39:28.83
So we bought all these
things to give to the kids,
00:39:28.86\00:39:30.60
coloring books
and crayons and stuff.
00:39:30.63\00:39:32.37
And then and our pastor said,
00:39:32.40\00:39:34.00
we're gonna do
some evangelists series.
00:39:34.04\00:39:36.04
I'm like, oh, it's right
on the same time, as this,
00:39:36.07\00:39:39.51
you know,
festival, which we've been
00:39:39.54\00:39:40.88
in the last three years.
00:39:40.91\00:39:42.24
And I'm like, well, we
obviously got to do that.
00:39:42.28\00:39:44.38
Well, that particular day
that was supposed to happen,
00:39:44.41\00:39:46.48
we got four inches of rain.
00:39:46.51\00:39:48.35
So guess what happens?
00:39:48.38\00:39:50.05
They canceled the event
and they rescheduled it.
00:39:50.09\00:39:53.02
And they
rescheduled it last week.
00:39:53.05\00:39:55.36
So, we were really
blessed and we got to give out
00:39:55.39\00:39:58.89
coloring books and
crayons and we have to give kids
00:39:58.93\00:40:01.80
just exciting things.
00:40:01.83\00:40:03.16
And it was just and the
kids at the school are so cool
00:40:03.20\00:40:05.07
that they helped put
these little packets together.
00:40:05.10\00:40:07.44
And I wanted these
kids to be encouraged
00:40:07.47\00:40:08.90
that actually
God follows through.
00:40:08.94\00:40:10.77
Amen.
00:40:10.81\00:40:12.14
And so, I actually
spoke to him about that
00:40:12.17\00:40:13.58
and just gave him
little encouragement.
00:40:13.61\00:40:14.94
But that's how God works
when you don't see the picture
00:40:14.98\00:40:17.35
that He opens away
four inches of rain in a day
00:40:17.38\00:40:19.41
and how we can do
what we wanted to do so.
00:40:19.45\00:40:21.88
And my husband
was very analytic,
00:40:21.92\00:40:23.42
because he was
analytical and a builder.
00:40:23.45\00:40:25.99
And he always
wanted the six month plan.
00:40:26.02\00:40:29.12
That's right.
00:40:29.16\00:40:30.49
David, God does not
give you a six month plan.
00:40:30.53\00:40:33.09
You're lucky if He
gives you a six hour plan.
00:40:33.13\00:40:37.50
So it's one day at a time.
00:40:37.53\00:40:39.13
Right. That's right.
00:40:39.17\00:40:40.50
So I think that we're trying
to discover God's will for us,
00:40:40.54\00:40:42.74
is that right, Jason?
00:40:42.77\00:40:44.11
Absolutely.
00:40:44.14\00:40:45.47
And so, the number one
thing is as Eric mentioned
00:40:45.51\00:40:48.28
to us relationship.
00:40:48.31\00:40:50.58
In other words,
getting to know God
00:40:50.61\00:40:52.21
so we've kind of gone
through some of the ways
00:40:52.25\00:40:54.62
through scripture of
how to getting to know God.
00:40:54.65\00:40:57.75
And then once we know God,
00:40:57.79\00:41:01.22
we need to get
ourselves out of the way.
00:41:01.26\00:41:03.26
Come on now. Is that right?
00:41:03.29\00:41:04.63
Oh, yeah.
00:41:04.66\00:41:05.99
And so, why don't we
go, because obviously,
00:41:06.03\00:41:08.00
I think we got six points
and we may get through two.
00:41:08.03\00:41:11.97
So we may have to get together
again a second or third time.
00:41:12.00\00:41:14.40
Yes, sir.
00:41:14.44\00:41:15.77
So the second
thing that we may look at
00:41:15.80\00:41:17.44
is dying to self.
00:41:17.47\00:41:19.41
Boy, now, that's a
heavy term right there,
00:41:19.44\00:41:21.84
we're dying to self.
00:41:21.88\00:41:24.28
What do you think, Donald?
00:41:24.31\00:41:26.01
Well, you know, kinda like,
00:41:26.05\00:41:28.78
what I think this
was written as prayer.
00:41:28.82\00:41:31.25
It said, take all
me, O Lord to be Yours.
00:41:31.29\00:41:33.12
I lay all my plans at Your feet.
00:41:33.15\00:41:35.56
Use me in Your
service and walk and talk me.
00:41:35.59\00:41:37.59
So everything I
do comes from You.
00:41:37.63\00:41:39.13
So that kind of
prayer in the morning,
00:41:39.16\00:41:42.10
you lay those things
before the Lord's feet
00:41:42.13\00:41:43.50
because you don't know
what the plans are gonna be.
00:41:43.53\00:41:44.90
As you mentioned,
Dee, as can be on a minute
00:41:44.93\00:41:47.17
by minute basis,
things can shift.
00:41:47.20\00:41:49.44
And the analytical mind
wants things done precisely,
00:41:49.47\00:41:52.71
where it's totally
chaotic and it's out of the box.
00:41:52.74\00:41:54.88
You know, like, put
all these pieces together
00:41:54.91\00:41:56.85
and just, but if you can
learn to get in God's time
00:41:56.88\00:41:59.28
and his flow of
things, things go so smoothly.
00:41:59.31\00:42:02.42
And I think that
surrendering yourself.
00:42:02.45\00:42:04.29
Now, it's okay to
make, I live by lists.
00:42:04.32\00:42:07.02
I have lists all the time.
00:42:07.06\00:42:09.19
However, as I'm going through
my list and crossing off,
00:42:09.22\00:42:12.73
if I get a phone call,
or this is this happens,
00:42:12.76\00:42:15.20
and that happens.
00:42:15.23\00:42:16.56
I have learned, even though
I look at that list and go,
00:42:16.60\00:42:20.27
I can't get all
this done if I do that.
00:42:20.30\00:42:23.17
God has shown me
time and time again.
00:42:23.20\00:42:25.67
I will get things done,
00:42:25.71\00:42:27.48
if I will bow to His
will and wishes first.
00:42:27.51\00:42:33.11
Amen.
00:42:33.15\00:42:34.48
And maybe there is something on
the list that doesn't get done
00:42:34.52\00:42:36.08
that day, but it does get done.
00:42:36.12\00:42:38.42
But I'm amazed at
how many times every...
00:42:38.45\00:42:41.12
I get at the end of the day,
I'm like, wow, it all got done.
00:42:41.16\00:42:45.96
But, and usually
it's service to others.
00:42:45.99\00:42:49.86
So if you will put
that service to others,
00:42:49.90\00:42:54.50
He does
something weird with time,
00:42:54.54\00:42:56.10
not just with
money, but with time
00:42:56.14\00:42:57.91
and everything else.
00:42:57.94\00:42:59.27
It's like, okay, Lord...
00:42:59.31\00:43:01.04
His mathematical
equations aren't ours.
00:43:01.08\00:43:04.05
That is true. That is the truth.
00:43:04.08\00:43:06.11
One thing that
just jumped out at me.
00:43:06.15\00:43:09.55
The children of
Israel, they were,
00:43:09.58\00:43:11.19
how long they spent
there in the wilderness?
00:43:11.22\00:43:12.55
Forty years. How many times?
00:43:12.59\00:43:14.49
How many new pair
of shoes did they get?
00:43:14.52\00:43:15.86
None. Zip.
00:43:15.89\00:43:17.23
None.
00:43:17.26\00:43:18.59
So that kind of put things
in perspective right there.
00:43:18.63\00:43:21.10
And if we will die to
self, we can probably get across
00:43:21.13\00:43:26.37
that wilderness
that should have taken us
00:43:26.40\00:43:28.97
maybe 40 days.
00:43:29.00\00:43:30.84
But if we don't
get our act together,
00:43:30.87\00:43:33.01
it could be 40 years.
00:43:33.04\00:43:35.04
And I can testify that
myself, you can testify.
00:43:35.08\00:43:38.05
You were aged 14 while ago,
00:43:38.08\00:43:40.68
then you woke up 14 years later,
00:43:40.72\00:43:42.65
and what happened
to those 14 years?
00:43:42.68\00:43:44.95
You are going
through the wilderness.
00:43:44.99\00:43:46.32
Oh, yes.
00:43:46.35\00:43:47.69
And you probably
weren't blessed that much.
00:43:47.72\00:43:49.36
You probably went
through a lot of pair of shoes.
00:43:49.39\00:43:50.93
A lot of pair of shoes.
00:43:50.96\00:43:52.53
You know, and as most of us do.
00:43:52.56\00:43:54.26
So God is love.
00:43:54.30\00:43:56.33
But what does
Galatians 2:20 say?
00:43:56.36\00:44:00.17
Robert. I'll read it.
00:44:00.20\00:44:01.74
Galatians 2:20, "I have
been crucified with Christ,
00:44:01.77\00:44:05.57
it is no longer I who
live, but Christ lives in me,
00:44:05.61\00:44:09.31
and the life which I
now live in the flesh I live
00:44:09.34\00:44:11.48
by faith in the Son of God,
00:44:11.51\00:44:13.01
who loved me and
gave Himself for me."
00:44:13.05\00:44:16.38
Amen.
00:44:16.42\00:44:17.75
You know, I was
gonna jump in here,
00:44:17.79\00:44:19.12
it's my most favorite...
00:44:19.15\00:44:20.49
one of my most favorite
00:44:20.52\00:44:21.86
and my least favorite scriptures
00:44:21.89\00:44:23.22
is the same one,
which is Matthew 6:33.
00:44:23.26\00:44:27.46
Because it gets to the
heart to me personally,
00:44:27.50\00:44:30.50
of dying to self
because that's the one,
00:44:30.53\00:44:32.80
seek first the kingdom of God.
00:44:32.83\00:44:34.17
Yes. Yes.
00:44:34.20\00:44:35.90
I find even after
decades of walking in the Lord
00:44:35.94\00:44:38.37
that myself really
wants to seek first
00:44:38.41\00:44:40.74
the kingdom of God.
00:44:40.78\00:44:42.11
I Just admit that, I
mean, everything else,
00:44:42.14\00:44:45.95
plans, shiny objects, interests.
00:44:45.98\00:44:48.85
So when the Lord
convicts me about dying to self,
00:44:48.88\00:44:51.72
it's this verse right here,
seek first the kingdom of God,
00:44:51.75\00:44:54.82
and all these things
will be added to you.
00:44:54.86\00:44:56.32
Amen.
00:44:56.36\00:44:57.96
If I get that out,
if I do that naturally,
00:44:57.99\00:45:00.60
I get it out of
order, I start thinking all,
00:45:00.63\00:45:02.90
I start with
focusing and working
00:45:02.93\00:45:04.27
on all the other things.
00:45:04.30\00:45:06.13
And the kingdom
of God, kind of...
00:45:06.17\00:45:08.57
I'll do that
last. Kind of fits in.
00:45:08.60\00:45:11.04
It's like the old thing
with the jar and the rocks
00:45:11.07\00:45:13.24
of different sizes, you know,
if you've seen that where...
00:45:13.27\00:45:15.94
The sand and
the rocks, you know.
00:45:15.98\00:45:17.31
Another thing is that
when you do make that decision,
00:45:17.35\00:45:19.58
you know, finally
seeking first His kingdom,
00:45:19.61\00:45:22.02
think of the joy
that you're gonna have
00:45:22.05\00:45:23.52
when you have
thousands of people
00:45:23.55\00:45:24.89
coming up to you in heaven.
00:45:24.92\00:45:26.25
I don't know how
many, but they're gonna say,
00:45:26.29\00:45:27.62
it was because of
you that I am here.
00:45:27.66\00:45:28.99
Because you made that
intentional time you surrender
00:45:29.02\00:45:30.39
that time to Lord
where He could use you
00:45:30.43\00:45:32.13
to reach somebody else.
00:45:32.16\00:45:33.70
And that's what the
gospels really all about.
00:45:33.73\00:45:35.96
And making that intentional time
00:45:36.00\00:45:37.33
to reach somebody, you know,
00:45:37.37\00:45:38.70
that's what I told the
guys in prison, you know,
00:45:38.73\00:45:40.70
just saying, hey, you
know, we're here for a reason,
00:45:40.74\00:45:42.54
you're in this
prison for a reason.
00:45:42.57\00:45:44.07
And God can use
you in this prison
00:45:44.11\00:45:45.77
to help somebody
else, encourage them
00:45:45.81\00:45:47.74
or spend that
little quality time.
00:45:47.78\00:45:49.58
One of the prisoners...
00:45:49.61\00:45:50.95
Let me throw a caveat in here.
00:45:50.98\00:45:52.31
You're in prison
ministry. You're in prison.
00:45:52.35\00:45:54.92
I was in prison.
00:45:54.95\00:45:57.22
Well, hey, I got
out, so we're good,
00:45:57.25\00:45:59.05
but this
gentleman was in prison.
00:45:59.09\00:46:02.09
He's talking about
how this one day this guy
00:46:02.12\00:46:03.76
was just saying these terms.
00:46:03.79\00:46:05.29
I won't say this word
where he was saying at him.
00:46:05.33\00:46:07.13
Anyway he said
to him three times,
00:46:07.16\00:46:08.50
you stop saying that
to me, stop saying to me,
00:46:08.53\00:46:10.43
you're getting me upsetting.
00:46:10.47\00:46:11.80
And so the guy held his peace.
00:46:11.83\00:46:13.17
And later on, he met
this old gentleman in prison.
00:46:13.20\00:46:15.20
It turns out, he's a father of,
his son is in the same prison.
00:46:15.24\00:46:18.37
So now dad and son
are in the same prison.
00:46:18.41\00:46:20.61
And he tells the man,
he says, look, he said,
00:46:20.64\00:46:22.81
I've been watching
your son come to chapel.
00:46:22.84\00:46:24.31
He needs a father figure.
00:46:24.35\00:46:25.68
He needs a guide.
He's looking for that.
00:46:25.71\00:46:28.25
So seriously the enemy
trying to thwart God's plans
00:46:28.28\00:46:31.92
from this man to
visit his father,
00:46:31.95\00:46:33.66
tell this man about his son.
00:46:33.69\00:46:35.79
I said Satan was
trying to thwart the plans
00:46:35.82\00:46:37.89
but you stuck it through.
00:46:37.93\00:46:39.49
So you see all the
enemy tries even thwart
00:46:39.53\00:46:41.56
what God has planned for him...
00:46:41.60\00:46:42.93
Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely. To get in there, so.
00:46:42.96\00:46:44.50
And sometimes we get in
the way of the plan, right?
00:46:44.53\00:46:48.97
John 3:30, says,
"He must increase,
00:46:49.00\00:46:52.74
but I must decrease."
00:46:52.77\00:46:54.34
Right. Get out of the way.
00:46:54.38\00:46:57.21
That's the
surrender you're talking.
00:46:57.25\00:46:58.58
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
00:46:58.61\00:47:00.45
But I do want
to encourage people
00:47:00.48\00:47:02.78
I know you were talking
about 14 years of walking
00:47:02.82\00:47:05.72
through the wilderness.
00:47:05.75\00:47:07.09
You know, I'm sure,
I'm not the only one here
00:47:07.12\00:47:09.52
that has walked
through the wilderness
00:47:09.56\00:47:10.99
a lot longer than that.
00:47:11.03\00:47:12.56
And it's very difficult
not to look back and regret
00:47:12.59\00:47:17.70
or dwell too much on
what we didn't do sooner.
00:47:17.73\00:47:22.47
I really do not
allow myself to do that.
00:47:22.50\00:47:24.87
Right. I do not look back.
00:47:24.91\00:47:26.94
I look forward at
God's plans for me.
00:47:26.98\00:47:29.34
Amen. And God has forgiven me.
00:47:29.38\00:47:31.15
So I have to forgive myself too
00:47:31.18\00:47:33.98
and not dwell on
those wilderness years.
00:47:34.02\00:47:37.19
Don't do that. That
is Satan that does that.
00:47:37.22\00:47:42.06
So look forward
when you find your way
00:47:42.09\00:47:44.49
out of the
wilderness, don't look back.
00:47:44.53\00:47:46.53
I heard someone
say a long time ago.
00:47:46.56\00:47:48.93
It's hard to
walk the straight line
00:47:48.96\00:47:50.53
if you're looking backwards.
00:47:50.57\00:47:52.90
And I always remember that,
like you said, don't look back,
00:47:52.93\00:47:55.30
look forward because
Jesus is in front of you,
00:47:55.34\00:47:57.34
He's not behind you.
00:47:57.37\00:47:58.71
Absolutely.
00:47:58.74\00:48:00.08
Philippians 3, you just
see in Philippians 3:12.
00:48:00.11\00:48:02.34
"Not as though I
have already attained,
00:48:02.38\00:48:03.81
either we're already
perfect, but I fall after,
00:48:03.85\00:48:06.31
that I may apprehend that which,
00:48:06.35\00:48:08.35
for which also I'm
apprehended of Christ Jesus.
00:48:08.38\00:48:11.39
Brethren, I count not
myself to apprehend it,
00:48:11.42\00:48:13.96
but this one
thing I do," Verse 13,
00:48:13.99\00:48:15.92
"forgetting those
things which are behind
00:48:15.96\00:48:18.26
and reaching
forward to those things
00:48:18.29\00:48:19.63
which are before."
00:48:19.66\00:48:21.66
Verse 14, "I press
toward the mark for the prize
00:48:21.70\00:48:23.97
of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus."
00:48:24.00\00:48:26.07
Amen.
00:48:26.10\00:48:27.44
That's part of that
with it you put down about
00:48:27.47\00:48:29.47
seeing through spiritual eyes.
00:48:29.50\00:48:33.01
In fact, let's go
through that list real quick,
00:48:33.04\00:48:35.91
who wants to go through that?
00:48:35.94\00:48:38.41
JD, you wanna take the first?
Yeah, I'll take the first one.
00:48:38.45\00:48:42.18
This is saying
through spiritual eyes,
00:48:42.22\00:48:44.09
remember now we choose
to getting to know God.
00:48:44.12\00:48:47.66
So now we're
dating, we're learning.
00:48:47.69\00:48:50.96
And then we have to get
ourselves out of the way.
00:48:50.99\00:48:53.19
So now, we're dying to self.
00:48:53.23\00:48:55.63
Now, we're beginning to see
a newness and it's exciting.
00:48:55.66\00:49:00.20
And so we're seeing
through spiritual eyes.
00:49:00.24\00:49:02.80
And the first
principle, I would say,
00:49:02.84\00:49:04.44
if it doesn't
align with God's word,
00:49:04.47\00:49:06.07
then it can't be
His will for your life.
00:49:06.11\00:49:08.34
You know, those
things have to go together,
00:49:08.38\00:49:10.25
God's word and His
will go hand in hand.
00:49:10.28\00:49:14.65
Yes.
00:49:14.68\00:49:16.02
And so, remember, I'm
looking through spiritual eyes.
00:49:16.05\00:49:18.89
And the Bible says, you
know that we discern spiritually
00:49:18.92\00:49:22.22
because we look spiritually.
00:49:22.26\00:49:24.33
We can't sit here and have
one foot over here in this pit,
00:49:24.36\00:49:27.56
and then straddle over here
and have our foot on the other
00:49:27.60\00:49:29.70
because now we're double minded.
00:49:29.73\00:49:31.80
And now we're confused.
00:49:31.83\00:49:33.50
God is not the
author of confusion,
00:49:33.54\00:49:35.47
He's the author of peace.
00:49:35.50\00:49:36.84
So you got to get
your foot out of one.
00:49:36.87\00:49:39.84
So now we're looking
through the spiritual lenses.
00:49:39.87\00:49:43.18
And so I just thank You, Jesus.
00:49:43.21\00:49:45.58
To me, if you're
having a new relationship
00:49:45.61\00:49:50.49
with the Lord,
00:49:50.52\00:49:51.85
you may not know as much
as you think that you do.
00:49:51.89\00:49:53.92
But then on the other
hand, you may know a lot more
00:49:53.96\00:49:55.96
than you think that you do.
00:49:55.99\00:49:57.56
You know, another point
is when you get your answer,
00:49:57.59\00:49:59.36
act on it.
00:49:59.39\00:50:00.73
And that's important,
00:50:00.76\00:50:02.10
especially for
his analytical types,
00:50:02.13\00:50:03.47
because we, you know,
you've heard the thing
00:50:03.50\00:50:04.83
paralysis by
analysis, which is you know...
00:50:04.87\00:50:07.74
Overanalyze. Overanalyze.
00:50:07.77\00:50:09.24
That's right.
00:50:09.27\00:50:10.61
And so a lot of
times God speaks,
00:50:10.64\00:50:11.97
and I've done this myself.
00:50:12.01\00:50:13.34
And then you know,
you start analyzing
00:50:13.38\00:50:15.21
and thinking
about how it might work
00:50:15.24\00:50:16.68
and you have to end.
00:50:16.71\00:50:18.05
And next thing, you
know, six months gone by,
00:50:18.08\00:50:19.91
and I can speak from experience.
00:50:19.95\00:50:23.05
So don't overanalyze act.
00:50:23.08\00:50:25.59
I kind of think
one of the reasons
00:50:25.62\00:50:27.66
why we came here is
because it happened.
00:50:27.69\00:50:29.46
We got the message three times,
stubbornness, the first time,
00:50:29.49\00:50:33.16
I was stubborn, the
second time I was stubborn,
00:50:33.19\00:50:34.96
God kept
delivering the same message
00:50:35.00\00:50:37.30
that we were to come here.
00:50:37.33\00:50:38.77
So we finally acted on it,
which I praise the Lord for it.
00:50:38.80\00:50:42.00
So what happens when
you act on something?
00:50:42.04\00:50:44.07
What does God give you?
00:50:44.11\00:50:46.31
He gives you peace. Thank you.
00:50:46.34\00:50:47.78
I'm in a good segue.
00:50:47.81\00:50:50.15
I was just, you know, remember
I said earlier that God,
00:50:50.18\00:50:54.12
I felt like God
wanted me to be here today,
00:50:54.15\00:50:56.28
not for what I was gonna give,
but what I was gonna learn.
00:50:56.32\00:50:58.45
And one of the
things I learned in,
00:50:58.49\00:51:01.39
I just thought it'd
be useful for people
00:51:01.42\00:51:03.29
and certainly useful for me,
and I credit my wife for this.
00:51:03.32\00:51:06.13
But I saw
something in Jeremiah 29:11,
00:51:06.16\00:51:09.10
which is one of
my favorite verses
00:51:09.13\00:51:10.47
that I'd never seen before.
00:51:10.50\00:51:12.00
And I'll go back
to it real briefly,
00:51:12.03\00:51:13.50
"For I know the thoughts
that I think toward you,
00:51:13.54\00:51:15.74
says the Lord,
thoughts of peace."
00:51:15.77\00:51:18.11
And I had never seen
quite that segment right there,
00:51:18.14\00:51:20.84
thoughts of peace.
00:51:20.88\00:51:22.21
And it reminded me something
my wife is really good at.
00:51:22.24\00:51:25.05
And it's a...
00:51:25.08\00:51:26.41
I'm gonna use my
engineering word here, Eric.
00:51:26.45\00:51:28.45
It's a heuristic.
00:51:28.48\00:51:29.82
So heuristic is a
fancy word for rule of thumb
00:51:29.85\00:51:33.32
or simple rememberable thing.
00:51:33.36\00:51:36.26
And in one of the
things that I've learned over
00:51:36.29\00:51:38.76
many years and
my wife's reinforced
00:51:38.79\00:51:40.63
is that the peace
of God will guide you,
00:51:40.66\00:51:43.06
when you can't
see when you don't,
00:51:43.10\00:51:45.03
when you don't
know the will of God,
00:51:45.07\00:51:47.70
follow His peace.
00:51:47.74\00:51:49.07
Amen.
00:51:49.10\00:51:50.44
And that's that rule of
thumb that when all else fails,
00:51:50.47\00:51:52.87
and you just
can't see and sometimes
00:51:52.91\00:51:54.64
that's just the way of
life you don't know the way,
00:51:54.68\00:51:58.88
you can follow the peace of God.
00:51:58.91\00:52:00.25
Amen.
00:52:00.28\00:52:01.62
I've never seen that
that rule of thumb fail.
00:52:01.65\00:52:04.45
Right. Heuristic.
00:52:04.49\00:52:06.69
And when you work on,
00:52:06.72\00:52:08.06
when you act on
something that is,
00:52:08.09\00:52:09.62
what's that word?
00:52:09.66\00:52:10.99
It's a, no, no, it's works.
00:52:11.03\00:52:13.56
Works, works, works, works. Yes.
00:52:13.60\00:52:16.26
But what's that other word?
00:52:16.30\00:52:17.73
What about that faith then?
00:52:17.77\00:52:19.20
Faith without
works is dead, Dee.
00:52:19.23\00:52:21.37
Faith without works
is dead. Definitely.
00:52:21.40\00:52:24.31
Like I'm having
faith that this chair
00:52:24.34\00:52:26.37
is gonna continue to hold me up
00:52:26.41\00:52:27.94
even though I
gained a few pounds,
00:52:27.98\00:52:29.98
this chair is
going to hold me up.
00:52:30.01\00:52:32.51
So I have a faith that...
00:52:32.55\00:52:33.88
I heard a pastor say
believe means to be live.
00:52:33.92\00:52:36.05
Amen.
00:52:36.08\00:52:37.42
If you believe, you're
gonna live what you believe.
00:52:37.45\00:52:40.09
In prison, I phrased
a little bit differently
00:52:40.12\00:52:42.42
to the prisoners.
00:52:42.46\00:52:43.79
I say, if you
believe in gravity,
00:52:43.83\00:52:45.86
you're not gonna
walk off that cliff.
00:52:45.89\00:52:49.43
Gravity, that belief in gravity
00:52:49.46\00:52:51.33
is gonna keep you
from doing certain things.
00:52:51.37\00:52:54.20
If you believe in God,
00:52:54.24\00:52:55.60
you're not gonna
walk off that cliff.
00:52:55.64\00:52:57.57
Amen.
00:52:57.61\00:52:59.14
You see, I
really never understood,
00:52:59.17\00:53:01.24
why people say well works is...
00:53:01.28\00:53:03.65
What's that word? Legalistic.
00:53:03.68\00:53:06.05
It's like, I love my husband,
so I'm gonna fix dinner.
00:53:06.08\00:53:10.42
That's I don't...
00:53:10.45\00:53:11.79
I love my husband so
I'm gonna wash his clothes,
00:53:11.82\00:53:15.62
that's works for
you only, you know,
00:53:15.66\00:53:18.16
you don't love him, you're just,
00:53:18.19\00:53:19.53
you're legalistic, yeah.
00:53:19.56\00:53:20.90
I think it speaks to
the motives behind that.
00:53:20.93\00:53:22.36
It's like, God, I
don't understand that.
00:53:22.40\00:53:24.67
It's like when
you love somebody.
00:53:24.70\00:53:26.67
I think that it speaks to
the motive behind the works.
00:53:26.70\00:53:29.64
Right. Why are you doing it?
00:53:29.67\00:53:31.11
Are you doing it for recognition
00:53:31.14\00:53:32.47
or you doing it to, you know,
00:53:32.51\00:53:35.31
because you're going to
get something in return?
00:53:35.34\00:53:37.31
Are you doing it because
it's the right thing to do?
00:53:37.35\00:53:39.15
Are you doing it because
you love that individual?
00:53:39.18\00:53:41.78
Is it motivated?
00:53:41.82\00:53:43.15
Everything that God
does is motivated by love.
00:53:43.18\00:53:45.09
Right.
00:53:45.12\00:53:46.45
Something that
Jesus said to Peter,
00:53:46.49\00:53:47.82
and it just came to my mind.
00:53:47.86\00:53:49.19
He said Satan is asking
desire to sift you as wheat,
00:53:49.22\00:53:51.89
but I'm praying for you,
Peter, when you are converted.
00:53:51.93\00:53:54.76
As you go in strength, your burn
00:53:54.80\00:53:56.13
that conversion
experience when you have
00:53:56.16\00:53:57.60
that real aha-aha
moment with the Lord,
00:53:57.63\00:53:59.53
that transformation
like, oh, my goodness,
00:53:59.57\00:54:01.94
I've got to tell
people about this,
00:54:01.97\00:54:03.34
like the woman at the
well, it's like, oh my, just...
00:54:03.37\00:54:05.31
You want to introduce them. Yes.
00:54:05.34\00:54:06.78
You're excited.
00:54:06.81\00:54:08.14
You know, Donald, when I
think about transformation,
00:54:08.18\00:54:10.18
I think about the fact
that genuine transformation
00:54:10.21\00:54:12.85
only comes from Christ.
00:54:12.88\00:54:14.28
We as human beings tend to
make behavioral modifications
00:54:14.32\00:54:18.59
or slight
changes in our behavior,
00:54:18.62\00:54:20.96
but those aren't long lasting.
00:54:20.99\00:54:22.99
That's true.
That's exactly right.
00:54:23.02\00:54:25.03
And basically, that's what
sanctification is all about.
00:54:25.06\00:54:27.73
Transformation of a lifetime.
00:54:27.76\00:54:29.46
Process, it takes time.
00:54:29.50\00:54:31.20
You know, one
little baby step at a time.
00:54:31.23\00:54:32.97
Yeah.
00:54:33.00\00:54:34.34
We mature, mature. Yes.
00:54:34.37\00:54:38.57
So let's recall
a time when maybe
00:54:38.61\00:54:42.01
there was a
situation where you had to see
00:54:42.04\00:54:45.31
through spiritual eyes.
00:54:45.35\00:54:48.02
JD?
00:54:48.05\00:54:49.38
Well, I know, when
I was 14 years old,
00:54:49.42\00:54:51.62
the Lord touched my heart.
00:54:51.65\00:54:52.99
The Holy Spirit,
I thought my heart
00:54:53.02\00:54:54.86
was coming out of my chest,
00:54:54.89\00:54:56.46
because it was time
for me to stand up and say,
00:54:56.49\00:54:58.79
yes, I do surrender all.
00:54:58.83\00:55:00.63
I wanna go into ministry.
00:55:00.66\00:55:02.33
My friends,
they all stood there,
00:55:02.36\00:55:04.30
they weren't even listening.
00:55:04.33\00:55:05.67
And I bought into
their peer pressure.
00:55:05.70\00:55:08.94
And I just sit down and
I just remember going back
00:55:08.97\00:55:12.01
that 14 years
old, what a difference
00:55:12.04\00:55:14.34
that would have
made if I just stood up
00:55:14.38\00:55:15.91
and been a man of
Christ at that time.
00:55:15.94\00:55:17.78
Yes.
00:55:17.81\00:55:19.15
You know, I lost a lot of
years because of that decision.
00:55:19.18\00:55:22.38
Thank You,
Jesus, that He gives us
00:55:22.42\00:55:24.12
a second, third,
fourth, fifth chance.
00:55:24.15\00:55:26.02
Amen. Amen.
00:55:26.05\00:55:27.79
Yeah, that's that
love and Him want to spend
00:55:27.82\00:55:30.39
eternity with us
for sure, for sure.
00:55:30.43\00:55:33.33
Well, I think we should recap
on some of these verses here.
00:55:33.36\00:55:38.07
Psalm 34:8, Eric? Okay.
00:55:38.10\00:55:42.00
"Oh, taste and see
that the Lord is good,
00:55:42.04\00:55:44.61
Blessed is the man
who trusts in Him!"
00:55:44.64\00:55:47.81
I love that verse,
because it's all about trust.
00:55:47.84\00:55:50.71
And when you love
someone, you trust them.
00:55:50.75\00:55:53.52
And when they love
you, they take care of you.
00:55:53.55\00:55:56.28
And that's the expectation
and God's gonna deliver.
00:55:56.32\00:55:59.25
Amen. Amen.
00:55:59.29\00:56:01.32
Proverbs 3:5-6, says,
00:56:01.36\00:56:03.43
"Trust in the Lord
with all your heart,
00:56:03.46\00:56:07.10
and lean not on
your own understanding,
00:56:07.13\00:56:09.03
in all your
ways acknowledge Him,
00:56:09.06\00:56:10.77
and He shall direct your paths."
00:56:10.80\00:56:12.13
I see the word
all, quite a few times
00:56:12.17\00:56:13.90
in that scripture.
00:56:13.94\00:56:15.30
Was it mean to
surrender all your heart?
00:56:15.34\00:56:17.71
Are you all in or are
you not? That's a good point.
00:56:17.74\00:56:21.74
Romans 8:28,
00:56:21.78\00:56:23.85
"And we know that
all things work together
00:56:23.88\00:56:26.98
for good to those who love God,
00:56:27.02\00:56:28.88
to those who are the called
according to His purpose."
00:56:28.92\00:56:32.19
Amen. Amen.
00:56:32.22\00:56:34.72
1 John 4:9-10,
00:56:34.76\00:56:36.79
"In this the love of God
was manifested toward us,
00:56:36.83\00:56:40.03
that God has sent
His only begotten Son
00:56:40.06\00:56:42.56
into the world, that
we might live through Him.
00:56:42.60\00:56:45.73
In this is love,
not that we loved God,
00:56:45.77\00:56:48.70
but that He loved us
00:56:48.74\00:56:50.07
and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins."
00:56:50.11\00:56:54.98
Amen. I won the lottery.
00:56:55.01\00:56:57.08
I got Jeremiah 29:11.
00:56:57.11\00:56:59.41
"For I know the thoughts
that I think toward you,
00:56:59.45\00:57:01.28
says the Lord, thoughts of peace
00:57:01.32\00:57:02.68
and not of evil,
to give you a future
00:57:02.72\00:57:04.25
and a hope."
00:57:04.29\00:57:05.62
Amen. Amen.
00:57:05.65\00:57:06.99
That I'm just
gonna go with John 3:30.
00:57:07.02\00:57:08.46
"He must increase,
but I must decrease."
00:57:08.49\00:57:10.49
Amen. Amen.
00:57:10.53\00:57:11.86
Thank you guys so much
for sharing your insight
00:57:11.89\00:57:14.73
on discovering God's will,
how to discover God's will?
00:57:14.76\00:57:18.33
And thank you so
much for joining us.
00:57:18.37\00:57:20.94
We wish you a
very happy Sabbath.
00:57:20.97\00:57:22.60
And until next time, may
God continue to bless you.
00:57:22.64\00:57:25.54
Amen. Amen.
00:57:25.57\00:57:26.91