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 3ABN Family Worship.
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It's Sabbath.
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It's Sabbath.
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This is Shelley Quinn.
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I'm JD Quinn, this
is absolutely great
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to be able to
spend this time together.
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We have some
wonderful friends of ours.
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We got our
precious Dee over here.
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And I have our
precious Brian over here.
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And then here's
my precious wife.
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There you go. Amen.
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We have all of
our wonderful viewers,
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those who are listening
to us on the radio as well.
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We are so glad
that you are joining us.
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And tonight, we hope,
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hope to bring you hope.
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Let me explain something.
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Tonight we will, our
topic is hope bubbling over.
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But it's interesting.
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When you say hope in
English, there's uncertainty,
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we hope to, will
we bring you hope?
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We don't know. We hope to.
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Amen. That's English.
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But in the Greek,
there is absolutely.
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The Bible, the
language of the New Testament,
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there is no
uncertainty in the word hope.
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When you say hope in the Greek,
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it meant eager expectation
of something that is certain,
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just not yet realized.
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So tonight we will
talk about biblical hope.
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Amen.
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Honey, you want
to have a prayer?
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Most certainly.
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Father, as we come
together this Sabbath,
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we just want to thank you, Lord,
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for the time that You
give each one of us look.
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We know that we're
living in trying times.
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But, Father, we're
dedicating this time to You.
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And we're just asking through
the aid of the Holy Spirit
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that You will impress
our minds, our hearts.
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And then what we have to share
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Lord will touch people's hearts.
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We love You, we thank You
in the name of Jesus, amen.
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Amen. Amen.
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Would you all agree that
we have just been through
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one of the most
difficult years of our lives?
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Ryan, how did this
past year affect you?
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In many ways...
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but I think the most
notable thing about 2020 for me
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is it drew me
closer to the Lord.
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You know, considering
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that this year will go down
in history as one of the most
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the notorious
years in human history
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being that the
pandemic had set in
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and it just launched
our side society in chaos.
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People sadly losing lives,
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you know, people getting
sick and all those things.
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And so, I think for
me and many other people,
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I think what it made
us do, it made us go back
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to the drawing board
and do some self inventory.
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And to do some soul searching
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and what it did, it put
me on my knees many times,
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because you have to
during tough times like that,
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you're completely
dependent on the Lord.
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And so for me, it drew me closer
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into a more in depth
relationship with my Savior.
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Looking forward to the hope
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that I have in knowing
that He's going to come back
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and He's going to do
away with all the sickness,
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and all the pain,
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and all the
sorrow, and the death,
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and all that we're
having to deal with
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in this lifetime now.
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Well, you know, how fortunate
we are to know the Lord,
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but I want to read something
to you at home from Psalm 42.
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You know this psalm very well.
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"Oh, as deer
pants for the water,
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so my soul pants for you."
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But let me ask you a question.
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Have you ever felt
like God has forsaken you?
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You know, in the
midst of all the drama
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that we've been through.
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Have you ever felt like
you're just so overwhelmed?
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Actually the psalmist is
feeling this way as well.
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He's talking to himself.
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Listen to Psalm 42:3, he says,
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"My tears have been
my food day and night.
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While they continually say
to me, 'Where is your God?"
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' And then verse 6,
he says, "Oh my God,
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my soul is cast down within me."
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He is a depressed dude.
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He's having a
tough time of some sort.
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But then he comes to verse 9.
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And he says, "I will say to God,
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my Rock, why have
You forgotten me?"
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So we see that he's working
through some emotions here.
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And we know he is a believer,
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because if you
back up a little bit
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in the midst of
this, he says, it's like,
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he's talking to
himself, and it's down.
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And then all of a
sudden, he says, "Oh,
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but the Lord will
command his loving kindness
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in the daytime, in the night,
his song shall be with me."
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And then he gets back down.
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So he's kind of on this
emotional roller coaster.
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And I know a lot of people
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who've been on that
roller coaster this year.
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But listen, how he concludes
in verse 11, JD, Psalm 42-11.
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Forty two eleven,
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And here he's starting off
by asking that question again.
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Why are you
downcast, oh, my soul?
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And why are you disquieted
within me, hope and God,
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for I shall pray yet
for I shall yet praise Him,
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the help of my
countenance, and my God.
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So it's kind of like,
here's the wake-up call.
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And I, you know,
my year started off
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four months before COVID
hit, I had two major surgeries,
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and everything was going insane
in my life, because I couldn't.
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And there were
times that, to be honest,
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you did need to feeling down
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when you're in
really serious pain.
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And there were
times that it was like,
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these words were
coming out of my mouth.
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It's kind of
like, wake-up, Shelley,
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why are you feeling downcast?
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I can hope in the Lord.
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And so why do you
feel at this point?
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What brought him
out of his depression?
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How did he have
that wake-up call?
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Don't you think it's just that
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he recognizes
that God is his Savior?
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And if God is your Savior...
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Well, I know I know one thing,
and it says in a few psalms,
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a few chapters
before in Psalms 31:24.
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And I can only
imagine that he perhaps
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might be saying
something like this,
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"Be of good courage, and he,
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God shall strengthen your heart,
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all of you who
hope in the Lord."
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Amen.
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No, that is absolute.
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That will turn you around.
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If you have this
relationship with Lord,
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we should call out to Him.
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See that's why it's so important
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that we feed ourselves
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because human beings
do have ups and downs,
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things happen to us.
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We get
blindsided and things go on,
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and if we're not,
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if we do not have
the word fed into us,
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so that we can pull it out,
then you just stay down there.
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But what was
happening here is what he knows
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what he has learned,
what is this relationship
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you're talking about?
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It keeps bubbling up.
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So when you get down, if
you have that hope in you,
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you will choose
to let it bubble up.
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And you have to keep
reminding yourselves.
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I am a daughter of God.
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This last year is like my trust,
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my trust and
living moment by moment,
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I did not try to think about
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what am I going to be doing
in a month or next week even
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is like I'm living
in the here and now.
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And I've got to continually
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trust on the Lord and
lean on to him because I was,
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I'm not a person
who will live in fear.
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So love, God's
love cast out the fear,
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it doesn't have to
cast out common sense.
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I'm still going to
do what I need to do,
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what the Lord gave
me common sense to do,
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so I did
everything this last year
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that I thought I
was supposed to do.
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But I didn't
walk around in fear.
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I didn't lock myself up.
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But I trusted.
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I leaned into my trust in
him on a moment by moment basis.
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But have you
ever been at a place
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where you can
honestly say you were hopeless,
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when you were not
even hoping in the Lord?
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Have you ever anybody ever been?
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I know the black hole.
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So what was your
black hole experience?
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I just...
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When you're in
depression or suicidal,
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in me, there was
just this black hole.
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And if I fell into it, I would
never be able to get out of it.
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Okay.
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So I had to do whatever I
had to do not to fall into it.
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But this was
before I had the Lord.
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I may have seen the
black hole after I surrendered,
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but I never thought
I would fall into it
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because I am a very
positive type person.
00:10:26.72\00:10:31.26
So if I get
depressed, or I see things that
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that are not going
right, I'm going to...
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I'm going to decide that
I'm going to trust in the Lord,
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that this will get better.
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The one thing you
can count on in life
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that things are going to change.
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And even this is what I've
held on to during this time,
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things will change now.
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So you had hope?
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Unfortunately,
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I think things are
going to change for the worse,
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but my hope,
00:11:04.09\00:11:05.99
my hope is built on
the rock of Jesus Christ.
00:11:06.03\00:11:09.83
So I don't, it doesn't matter
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what's going to
happen in the future,
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God will walk me through it,
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no matter how bad it gets.
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I'm going to hang on to
Him even if it's by a thread.
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I'm going to hang on to Him
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because I have the
certainty of that hope
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that not as human hope,
00:11:29.25\00:11:30.79
that as God's hope
that there is another side.
00:11:30.82\00:11:35.99
Ryan, have you
ever been hopeless?
00:11:36.02\00:11:39.26
I have, I think
many times in a sense.
00:11:39.29\00:11:41.23
First of all, we
have to understood that,
00:11:41.26\00:11:42.96
you know, the feeling
00:11:43.00\00:11:44.87
or the reality
of hopelessness...
00:11:44.90\00:11:50.84
is not necessarily
just an unbeliever thing.
00:11:50.87\00:11:54.84
It's true.
00:11:54.88\00:11:56.21
I mean, we're reading
right now a psalm by someone
00:11:56.24\00:11:59.78
who was full of the Holy
Spirit when they wrote the song.
00:11:59.81\00:12:01.42
Yes.
00:12:01.45\00:12:02.78
But yet they're expressing
their feelings of emotions.
00:12:02.82\00:12:05.02
While God doesn't want us
to be led by our emotions,
00:12:05.05\00:12:07.16
make decisions by our emotions.
00:12:07.19\00:12:09.09
God is a God of
emotion, He created emotion.
00:12:09.12\00:12:12.36
And so, these psalmists
here is pouring out their heart
00:12:12.39\00:12:15.66
as to how they're feeling
00:12:15.70\00:12:17.03
this kind of
roller coaster effect.
00:12:17.07\00:12:18.87
I have felt that in
times, even in ministry.
00:12:18.90\00:12:22.57
In fact, not without
going into too much detail,
00:12:22.60\00:12:24.77
I have felt that
sense of hopelessness,
00:12:24.81\00:12:27.48
lack of hope, not
knowing what the future holds,
00:12:27.51\00:12:30.15
because it looked like
every door in front of me
00:12:30.18\00:12:33.11
seemed to be slowly
shutting in ministry,
00:12:33.15\00:12:35.82
when I'm sitting
there going, Lord,
00:12:35.85\00:12:38.15
either you called me
or you didn't call me.
00:12:38.19\00:12:39.75
But, Lord,
there's so much evidence
00:12:39.79\00:12:41.12
that You called me to do this.
00:12:41.16\00:12:42.92
But yet, it seems like
the door that I thought that
00:12:42.96\00:12:45.69
You were opening,
now it's shutting.
00:12:45.73\00:12:47.63
And it seemed like
there was nothing there.
00:12:47.66\00:12:50.17
But speaking of the
hope that we have in Jesus,
00:12:50.20\00:12:53.47
another great
synonym or a word for hope
00:12:53.50\00:12:55.27
is what she used, trust.
00:12:55.30\00:12:57.07
Amen.
00:12:57.11\00:12:58.44
You're trusting, you
put your trust in the Lord
00:12:58.47\00:12:59.94
even without really knowing.
00:12:59.97\00:13:02.14
You know, you can't see
two feet in front of you,
00:13:02.18\00:13:04.68
Lord, I don't know
what's beyond this.
00:13:04.71\00:13:06.58
I don't know
what the future holds.
00:13:06.61\00:13:08.25
But, Lord, I trust in You
00:13:08.28\00:13:09.62
because You're the
only one I can trust.
00:13:09.65\00:13:10.99
I can't trust myself.
00:13:11.02\00:13:12.35
I can't trust anyone around me.
00:13:12.39\00:13:14.06
I don't know
what my future holds.
00:13:14.09\00:13:15.49
I don't know
what the next moment
00:13:15.52\00:13:16.89
or tomorrow holds.
00:13:16.93\00:13:18.26
But, Lord, right now,
I'm walking through the...
00:13:18.29\00:13:20.26
It seems like I'm
walking through the valley
00:13:20.30\00:13:22.23
of the shadow of death.
00:13:22.26\00:13:23.67
And what have you said,
00:13:23.70\00:13:25.03
"Fear no evil,
because I'm with you.
00:13:25.07\00:13:27.04
I'm your shepherd.
00:13:27.07\00:13:28.40
And I will lead
you through this."
00:13:28.44\00:13:29.77
But it doesn't mean
that in those moments,
00:13:29.80\00:13:31.71
we cannot, you know, be subject
00:13:31.74\00:13:34.34
to those emotional feelings
of fear of hopelessness.
00:13:34.38\00:13:38.18
Or it feels like the
walls are closing in on us,
00:13:38.21\00:13:40.45
where it feels
like there is no hope.
00:13:40.48\00:13:43.39
But yet the Lord is quick
to show up and to remind us,
00:13:43.42\00:13:46.69
you know what, I'm here.
00:13:46.72\00:13:48.06
Go ahead.
00:13:48.09\00:13:49.42
Well, I was
just going to go back
00:13:49.46\00:13:50.79
to something that David said,
00:13:50.83\00:13:52.66
you know, do you
want to go say some verse?
00:13:52.69\00:13:54.10
Yeah, let me just
say one thing before
00:13:54.13\00:13:55.90
you get into that scripture
00:13:55.93\00:13:57.27
is that my moment
of hopelessness came
00:13:57.30\00:14:00.80
when I had had 24/7 vertigo
00:14:00.84\00:14:06.11
for eight months.
00:14:06.14\00:14:08.08
I was nauseated all
the time, couldn't walk.
00:14:08.11\00:14:11.01
I was so drunk with it.
00:14:11.05\00:14:13.21
There never,
00:14:13.25\00:14:14.58
there was no
position I could get in,
00:14:14.62\00:14:16.52
it never let up.
00:14:16.55\00:14:19.42
I just lost
everything in my world.
00:14:19.45\00:14:22.26
And I couldn't read, my
pupils were very constricted.
00:14:22.29\00:14:26.26
I couldn't read the Bible.
00:14:26.29\00:14:27.63
I couldn't watch TV.
00:14:27.66\00:14:29.36
I mean, and in
the midst of this,
00:14:29.40\00:14:31.60
I'm trying to take care
00:14:31.63\00:14:32.97
of my
mother-in-law and father-in-law
00:14:33.00\00:14:34.34
in a farmhouse,
00:14:34.37\00:14:36.44
and I remember
getting in bed one night,
00:14:36.47\00:14:38.91
and I actually wrote
about this in exalting his work,
00:14:38.94\00:14:41.38
but I got in bed, and I said,
00:14:41.41\00:14:45.05
"Now I know why
you did it, Mama."
00:14:45.08\00:14:47.62
Because my mother had
attempted suicide several times.
00:14:47.65\00:14:53.05
I wasn't at the point of
thinking of killing myself.
00:14:53.09\00:14:58.69
But the point I had reached
00:14:58.73\00:15:00.90
was an emotional understanding
of why people do it.
00:15:00.93\00:15:07.57
And the reason why
people consider suicide
00:15:07.60\00:15:13.41
is because
they've lost all hope.
00:15:13.44\00:15:16.51
You can get someone
and this has happened
00:15:16.54\00:15:18.55
so many times that be standing
on the bridge ready to go over.
00:15:18.58\00:15:23.72
And if they can
intervene, intercept that act,
00:15:23.75\00:15:29.12
they'll say
that within 24 hours,
00:15:29.16\00:15:31.26
that thought of suicide is gone
because they've gotten somebody
00:15:31.29\00:15:34.80
to come in and talk to
them, their hope is restored.
00:15:34.83\00:15:37.87
So when someone
considers suicide
00:15:37.90\00:15:41.54
or even attempt suicide,
it's because they're hopeless.
00:15:41.57\00:15:46.11
But now, Honey,
00:15:46.14\00:15:47.64
why, when, the Psalm
that you read while ago
00:15:47.68\00:15:52.01
about God strengthens our heart.
00:15:52.05\00:15:55.48
Why?
00:15:55.52\00:15:57.92
How does God
strengthen our heart?
00:15:57.95\00:15:59.75
Well, I love and following this.
00:15:59.79\00:16:03.09
Let me say this first, boy,
00:16:03.12\00:16:04.79
every time you
throw something out, boy,
00:16:04.83\00:16:06.83
here comes a
thought, here comes a thought.
00:16:06.86\00:16:09.13
And you said
something while ago,
00:16:09.16\00:16:11.47
Ryan, that was just...
00:16:11.50\00:16:13.97
I think it's real life.
00:16:14.00\00:16:16.44
It got foggy.
00:16:16.47\00:16:18.71
I think a lot of people have fog
00:16:18.74\00:16:21.78
that they can't see beyond,
00:16:21.81\00:16:23.14
so there's where that
they may misstep or something.
00:16:23.18\00:16:28.38
And this is where...
00:16:28.42\00:16:31.92
I've experienced this myself.
00:16:31.95\00:16:34.02
Lord, increase my
faith, increase my wisdom,
00:16:34.06\00:16:36.52
increase my humility,
increase, just increase,
00:16:36.56\00:16:39.86
Lord, I need help, my courage.
00:16:39.89\00:16:43.03
And the Lord impresses
upon me, whenever you say,
00:16:43.06\00:16:47.80
increase my wisdom,
it's kind of like...
00:16:47.84\00:16:51.37
I can't quite see far enough
to be able to make a decision.
00:16:51.41\00:16:55.94
And whenever you catch yourself
in a situation like that,
00:16:55.98\00:16:59.28
my suggestion,
Lord, increase my wisdom
00:16:59.31\00:17:01.65
and that fog
seems like it goes away.
00:17:01.68\00:17:04.42
Now, how come
that fall goes away?
00:17:04.45\00:17:06.96
Has nothing to do with us.
00:17:06.99\00:17:09.16
That's an enemy
just sneak it in there,
00:17:09.19\00:17:11.06
you know, throw you curveball.
00:17:11.09\00:17:12.66
Here it tells us in Psalms 38.
00:17:12.69\00:17:15.46
Behold, remember now...
00:17:15.50\00:17:17.37
Psalm 38 or...
00:17:17.40\00:17:18.87
Sorry, 33.
00:17:18.90\00:17:20.24
Psalm 33:18.
00:17:20.27\00:17:21.60
Yes. Okay.
00:17:21.64\00:17:22.97
It's foggy.
00:17:23.00\00:17:24.34
That's right.
00:17:24.37\00:17:25.71
"Behold, the Lord's eyes
are upon those who fear Him."
00:17:25.74\00:17:29.74
So in other words,
wait a minute here.
00:17:29.78\00:17:31.48
I'm not alone.
00:17:31.51\00:17:33.68
Behold, the Lord's eye
is upon those who fear Him."
00:17:33.72\00:17:36.89
In other words, the
Amplified, "Who bear,
00:17:36.92\00:17:39.42
worship Him with all,
00:17:39.45\00:17:41.19
who wait on Him,
who hope in His mercy,
00:17:41.22\00:17:45.99
which is trust,
which is expectation,
00:17:46.03\00:17:49.20
which is confidence
00:17:49.23\00:17:51.17
in His mercy and
loving kindness."
00:17:51.20\00:17:54.30
So God is there at all times,
00:17:54.34\00:17:57.37
keeping close
watch over His babies.
00:17:57.41\00:18:00.88
That's right.
00:18:00.91\00:18:02.24
And so...
00:18:02.28\00:18:03.61
Go ahead.
00:18:03.65\00:18:05.05
But if you lose
sight of that. Yes.
00:18:05.08\00:18:07.62
See, hopelessness comes from
when you are in so much pain,
00:18:07.65\00:18:11.75
you can't see beyond the pain,
00:18:11.79\00:18:13.59
either physical,
emotional, or mentally.
00:18:13.62\00:18:15.99
When you see
nothing ever changing,
00:18:16.02\00:18:18.63
you had been in
vertigo for so long,
00:18:18.66\00:18:20.16
you didn't think it
was ever going to end.
00:18:20.20\00:18:22.33
You couldn't even
imagine not having it anymore.
00:18:22.36\00:18:25.40
Oh, I've been to every doctor
in the world and NASA doctors.
00:18:25.43\00:18:28.57
Yeah.
00:18:28.60\00:18:29.94
And they wanted to clip my
ears and make me deaf, I mean...
00:18:29.97\00:18:32.64
So you're in a situation
00:18:32.67\00:18:34.21
where you see no hope of change.
00:18:34.24\00:18:36.38
Yeah.
00:18:36.41\00:18:37.75
You can't continue
on the way you are.
00:18:37.78\00:18:40.68
And you feel alone
00:18:40.72\00:18:42.65
because you no longer
feel the presence of the Lord.
00:18:42.68\00:18:46.25
Yes.
00:18:46.29\00:18:47.62
And this is what puts
you in this hopelessness.
00:18:47.66\00:18:50.13
That's where the word comes in,
00:18:50.16\00:18:51.99
where you have to just
step out and say, "Father,
00:18:52.03\00:18:56.80
I claim your promise
that you are here with me,
00:18:56.83\00:18:59.13
even if I can't
feel you, you are here."
00:18:59.17\00:19:02.60
And that's when you start.
00:19:02.64\00:19:05.41
When you start
pulling the word out,
00:19:05.44\00:19:07.61
when you can block
out this hopelessness
00:19:07.64\00:19:11.25
where you are and
say, wait a minute,
00:19:11.28\00:19:13.28
God, the Word
says, you're next to me,
00:19:13.31\00:19:15.18
you are here with me.
00:19:15.22\00:19:17.52
Father, I praise Your
name, please give me wisdom,
00:19:17.55\00:19:20.49
help me part the fog.
00:19:20.52\00:19:22.76
You have to make a decision.
00:19:22.79\00:19:24.46
Right.
00:19:24.49\00:19:25.83
You're in this
place that is untenable.
00:19:25.86\00:19:28.86
It cannot continue this way.
00:19:28.90\00:19:30.30
You can't survive
this way any longer.
00:19:30.33\00:19:32.87
So then you make a decision
to end it one way or another.
00:19:32.90\00:19:37.97
You either end it,
00:19:38.01\00:19:40.01
you end it by just
surrendering and letting go,
00:19:40.04\00:19:43.51
or you surrender to the
Lord and reach out a hand to Him
00:19:43.55\00:19:47.88
and sometimes
you're so hopeless,
00:19:47.92\00:19:49.25
you can't reach out a hand,
00:19:49.28\00:19:50.62
you just lay there and go, help.
00:19:50.65\00:19:52.12
And you know, this is
the point like you said,
00:19:52.15\00:19:54.56
you can be a Christian and meek.
00:19:54.59\00:19:56.19
I was a Christian,
but I reached that point
00:19:56.22\00:19:58.99
and you know what
the Lord said to me,
00:19:59.03\00:20:00.76
I mean, that night
scared me so badly.
00:20:00.80\00:20:03.30
The next morning I got up.
00:20:03.33\00:20:05.20
And if you can't read
the Bible, it's pretty bad.
00:20:05.23\00:20:08.60
But you know what the Lord said
to me when I cried out to Him.
00:20:08.64\00:20:12.04
He said...
00:20:12.07\00:20:13.88
"My Word is life
to you, choose life."
00:20:13.91\00:20:18.91
God directed me
to get into His Word.
00:20:18.95\00:20:21.88
And as the psalmist
says in Psalm 130:5,
00:20:21.92\00:20:26.09
he said, "I wait for the Lord,
00:20:26.12\00:20:28.16
my soul does wait
in His Word do I hope."
00:20:28.19\00:20:34.86
Here I am, where I
can't read no concordance.
00:20:34.90\00:20:39.20
And I'm trying to
look up scriptures,
00:20:39.23\00:20:41.44
God instructed, look
up scriptures on healing.
00:20:41.47\00:20:44.47
And I'm like this.
00:20:44.51\00:20:45.84
I mean, this was bad.
00:20:45.87\00:20:47.98
But it is about putting
your trust in the Word of God.
00:20:48.01\00:20:54.08
Why can we
trust the Word of God?
00:20:54.12\00:20:56.28
You know, I want to
interject something here.
00:20:56.32\00:20:58.22
This is why it's so critical.
00:20:58.25\00:20:59.95
We don't know, we can't
look at someone and say,
00:20:59.99\00:21:03.12
"Oh, they're in
that hopeless place."
00:21:03.16\00:21:05.89
That's why it's so critical
of what we say to other people.
00:21:05.93\00:21:09.63
We cannot know that
someone is drowning.
00:21:09.66\00:21:13.50
And we can either
feed words in them
00:21:13.54\00:21:15.50
that push them deeper under
00:21:15.54\00:21:17.31
or we can feed
words in them that
00:21:17.34\00:21:19.04
might give them a lifeline
that they can grab on to.
00:21:19.07\00:21:22.41
So it's very
critical how we treat or act
00:21:22.44\00:21:25.85
and say to other people,
00:21:25.88\00:21:28.05
when we don't know
what their situation is.
00:21:28.08\00:21:32.09
Ryan's got a thought.
00:21:32.12\00:21:33.46
No, just everything
that she said earlier
00:21:33.49\00:21:35.96
that she just
said that you just said
00:21:35.99\00:21:38.69
and what we're
talking about here,
00:21:38.73\00:21:40.20
I think it's
important not to forget
00:21:40.23\00:21:41.83
that there's been
no one to fall deeper
00:21:41.86\00:21:43.77
into that
hopeless state than Christ.
00:21:43.80\00:21:45.73
Amen. Oh, that's good, yes.
00:21:45.77\00:21:48.67
Perfect example,
00:21:48.70\00:21:50.07
here He in the
Garden of Gethsemane,
00:21:50.11\00:21:52.44
and the sin of the
world is bearing upon Him.
00:21:52.47\00:21:56.28
But yet He still seems to
be in that right mind to go,
00:21:56.31\00:21:59.41
Father, you know,
if it's possible...
00:21:59.45\00:22:02.85
you can see
that, that trust there,
00:22:02.88\00:22:04.95
He's still trusting in
His Father, even though
00:22:04.99\00:22:06.86
the sin of the world
is pressing upon Him,
00:22:06.89\00:22:08.52
He can feel this
change overcoming Him.
00:22:08.56\00:22:12.03
But yet, in less
than 12 hours later,
00:22:12.06\00:22:15.43
He's hanging on a cross.
00:22:15.46\00:22:17.27
And you read Psalm 22.
00:22:17.30\00:22:18.70
And tell me if
that's the same person
00:22:18.73\00:22:20.14
that you were reading about
just a few hours before that.
00:22:20.17\00:22:23.14
Well, He's hanging on the cross.
00:22:23.17\00:22:24.51
And He's
saying, you know, God...
00:22:24.54\00:22:26.31
It's even
recorded in the gospels,
00:22:26.34\00:22:28.04
you know, God, My
Father, My Father,
00:22:28.08\00:22:29.41
why have You forsaken
Me? I am a worm, and no man.
00:22:29.44\00:22:32.41
Wait a second, hold on.
00:22:32.45\00:22:33.78
That's, that's a hopeless state.
00:22:33.82\00:22:35.18
At that moment
hanging on the cross,
00:22:35.22\00:22:36.92
even the humanity of Christ
00:22:36.95\00:22:39.19
fell into a hopeless state,
00:22:39.22\00:22:41.29
because the sin of
the world had brought Him,
00:22:41.32\00:22:43.43
His surroundings, as
He's describing in Psalm 22,
00:22:43.46\00:22:46.26
that my enemies
are about me there.
00:22:46.29\00:22:49.26
And he goes into this
very detailed description
00:22:49.30\00:22:51.43
of what they're doing to Him.
00:22:51.47\00:22:52.97
But yet, and it's almost
as if Christ is experiencing
00:22:53.00\00:22:56.30
and without saying
this in a disrespectful way,
00:22:56.34\00:22:58.74
but it's almost somewhat true.
00:22:58.77\00:23:00.41
It's almost as
if He's experiencing
00:23:00.44\00:23:02.18
a sense of spiritual bipolar,
00:23:02.21\00:23:04.71
where in one moment He's Lord,
00:23:04.75\00:23:06.78
He's like this, the next moment,
00:23:06.82\00:23:08.15
He's like, oh, you know,
00:23:08.18\00:23:09.52
that's exactly what
day that goes through.
00:23:09.55\00:23:10.89
That's what we
go through, right?
00:23:10.92\00:23:12.65
And so it gives you hope
00:23:12.69\00:23:15.49
to look at the
master of the universe
00:23:15.52\00:23:17.59
and see in His humanity,
00:23:17.63\00:23:20.20
He experienced this.
00:23:20.23\00:23:21.63
So it's fair to
say He was depressed.
00:23:21.66\00:23:23.57
Absolutely.
00:23:23.60\00:23:24.93
And so, oh, please, Lord...
00:23:24.97\00:23:26.30
But yet where was
He brought back to?
00:23:26.33\00:23:27.94
Yeah, but hang on one
second. Let me make this point.
00:23:27.97\00:23:30.34
There's somebody who's watching
00:23:30.37\00:23:31.77
because somebody
doesn't know this.
00:23:31.81\00:23:34.74
Please understand
depression is not a sin.
00:23:34.78\00:23:38.28
Our Savior was
depressed by circumstances.
00:23:38.31\00:23:42.58
But He held on
to the love of God,
00:23:42.62\00:23:46.62
and to the Word of God.
00:23:46.65\00:23:49.82
JD, you had something to say?
00:23:49.86\00:23:51.56
I was pointing toward
Ryan, because I thought he is...
00:23:51.59\00:23:54.76
About the bless verse. Yes.
00:23:54.80\00:23:56.13
No, no, I'm just saying
what you brought out there
00:23:56.16\00:23:59.43
is even through the anxiety
that Christ is experiencing,
00:23:59.47\00:24:02.60
even through depression.
00:24:02.64\00:24:04.14
Let me tell you something.
00:24:04.17\00:24:05.51
You have an experience,
00:24:05.54\00:24:06.88
and I'm not
playing this down at all.
00:24:06.91\00:24:08.64
We have real problems
to deal with in this life.
00:24:08.68\00:24:10.81
And there's people watching home
00:24:10.85\00:24:12.18
that may be
dealing with anxiety,
00:24:12.21\00:24:13.55
may be dealing with depression,
00:24:13.58\00:24:14.92
may be dealing
with mental illness,
00:24:14.95\00:24:16.28
or whatever other kind of
illness you're dealing with,
00:24:16.32\00:24:18.25
and that each situation is real.
00:24:18.29\00:24:20.69
But we have to stop and realize
00:24:20.72\00:24:22.06
there's no one
that has dealt with that
00:24:22.09\00:24:23.43
more on a stronger
level than Christ Himself.
00:24:23.46\00:24:26.39
And even through all of that,
through all of that depression,
00:24:26.43\00:24:30.10
through all of that
anxiety, through all of that,
00:24:30.13\00:24:32.47
that hopelessness
that he was experiencing.
00:24:32.50\00:24:35.30
Still at the end of
the day hanging on a cross
00:24:35.34\00:24:38.07
about to give
up His last breath.
00:24:38.11\00:24:40.68
He calls back out to His Father,
00:24:40.71\00:24:42.84
Father forgive them for
they know not what they do.
00:24:42.88\00:24:46.72
It's powerful,
00:24:46.75\00:24:48.32
His hope was still in the end
in His Father's, it's powerful.
00:24:48.35\00:24:51.02
Amen.
00:24:51.05\00:24:52.39
Amen.
00:24:52.42\00:24:53.76
I want to just, JD,
00:24:53.79\00:24:56.42
why don't you read...
00:24:56.46\00:24:59.79
the Psalm or Numbers 23:19.
00:24:59.83\00:25:02.90
I love this
scripture, Numbers 23:19.
00:25:02.93\00:25:07.54
"God is not a man,
that He should lie,
00:25:07.57\00:25:10.41
nor a son of man that
he should change his mind.
00:25:10.44\00:25:15.08
Does he speak and then not act?
00:25:15.11\00:25:17.45
Does he promise and not fulfill?
00:25:17.48\00:25:19.41
Go ahead and read 1 Kings
8:56 because that's a great.
00:25:19.45\00:25:23.65
Amen.
00:25:23.69\00:25:25.02
"Blessed be the Lord according
to all that He promised.
00:25:25.05\00:25:28.82
Not one word has failed
of all of His good promise,
00:25:28.86\00:25:32.19
which He promised."
00:25:32.23\00:25:33.90
All right.
00:25:33.93\00:25:35.26
So this goes back, I
had a thought I want to add
00:25:35.30\00:25:39.00
to Dee's point while ago.
00:25:39.03\00:25:41.60
It is the Word, we can
trust in the Word of God.
00:25:41.64\00:25:47.04
God is not a
man that He can lie.
00:25:47.08\00:25:50.01
God doesn't promise
and then change His mind.
00:25:50.05\00:25:53.82
He says, "I am the
Lord, I change not."
00:25:53.85\00:25:55.95
Jesus Christ was the same
yesterday, today and forever.
00:25:55.98\00:26:00.16
The Word of God is
powerful and active.
00:26:00.19\00:26:03.99
It's sharper than
any two-edged sword.
00:26:04.03\00:26:07.30
But don't use the Word of God
00:26:07.33\00:26:11.27
in a flippant
manner, let me say this.
00:26:11.30\00:26:15.14
When...
00:26:15.17\00:26:17.21
sometimes when you are,
or someone you love, say,
00:26:17.24\00:26:21.18
let's say someone you
love a friend or family member
00:26:21.21\00:26:24.28
is at their worst,
00:26:24.31\00:26:26.05
they're down, they're depressed.
00:26:26.08\00:26:28.52
And you...
00:26:28.55\00:26:31.29
just flip off a
scripture and say this to him.
00:26:31.32\00:26:33.96
Like, for example, I
was preaching in England.
00:26:33.99\00:26:39.46
And I got to Romans 8:28,
00:26:39.49\00:26:42.30
"That all things
work together for good
00:26:42.33\00:26:44.53
for those who love the Lord
00:26:44.57\00:26:45.90
and are called
according to His purpose."
00:26:45.93\00:26:48.20
And I made a comment.
00:26:48.24\00:26:49.67
You remember, I made a comment.
00:26:49.70\00:26:52.67
What would you do...
00:26:52.71\00:26:55.31
if you've just lost your
husband and your children
00:26:55.34\00:26:59.21
and somebody comes
up in church and says,
00:26:59.25\00:27:02.25
don't worry, Honey,
00:27:02.28\00:27:03.62
all things work
together for good
00:27:03.65\00:27:05.35
for those who love the Lord.
00:27:05.39\00:27:07.42
When you want to hit
him, I want to suck him.
00:27:07.46\00:27:11.36
But I said you
can't, you can't separate
00:27:11.39\00:27:14.96
Romans 8:28 from Romans 8:29,
00:27:15.00\00:27:18.43
because he explains
00:27:18.47\00:27:20.34
what this good is that
He's going to work out.
00:27:20.37\00:27:23.41
It's not that the
situation was good.
00:27:23.44\00:27:25.27
But he says, for
those he before new,
00:27:25.31\00:27:28.11
he predestined to be transformed
00:27:28.14\00:27:33.01
into the image of
His Son, Jesus Christ.
00:27:33.05\00:27:35.15
He's gonna, so no
matter what happens,
00:27:35.18\00:27:37.35
he can make us a
little bit more like Jesus.
00:27:37.39\00:27:39.99
But my point is,
there are some people
00:27:40.02\00:27:43.09
who are so
Pollyanna positive thinking,
00:27:43.12\00:27:48.63
don't say anything negative.
00:27:48.66\00:27:51.13
It's like if you tell
a true report, they go,
00:27:51.17\00:27:53.87
"Oh, don't think like that.
00:27:53.90\00:27:55.24
Don't say that, you know,"
and they throw out a scripture.
00:27:55.27\00:27:58.84
And you know what that is?
00:27:58.87\00:28:00.51
I call it positivity, toxicity.
00:28:00.54\00:28:04.55
You hurt people,
00:28:04.58\00:28:07.05
when they are
wounded and hurting,
00:28:07.08\00:28:09.88
and you just shoot off
scripture like an arrow.
00:28:09.92\00:28:14.12
Yeah, that's a good point.
00:28:14.16\00:28:15.49
It's not you've got to...
00:28:15.52\00:28:17.69
come to somebody
that's feeling hopeless.
00:28:17.73\00:28:19.53
Sympathize with them.
00:28:19.56\00:28:20.90
You have to sympathize.
00:28:20.93\00:28:22.36
You have to listen,
00:28:22.40\00:28:24.27
then it's okay
after that to say,
00:28:24.30\00:28:28.07
you know, I'm so sorry
for what you're going through.
00:28:28.10\00:28:30.84
One thing that gives
me great hope for you
00:28:30.87\00:28:33.98
is what the Lord
says in wherever it is.
00:28:34.01\00:28:38.28
Proverbs 3:5-6,
00:28:38.31\00:28:39.78
"Trust in the Lord
with all your heart."
00:28:39.81\00:28:41.88
But we can't just shoot it off.
00:28:41.92\00:28:45.62
And I bet happened a lot
00:28:45.65\00:28:47.56
when I went
through my surgeries,
00:28:47.59\00:28:51.86
that people would
say, how are you feeling?
00:28:51.89\00:28:53.56
And if I wrote,
told him how I was, Oh,
00:28:53.60\00:28:55.63
don't talk like that,
you know, and you feel...
00:28:55.66\00:29:00.44
invalidated.
00:29:00.47\00:29:01.80
Does that make sense?
00:29:01.84\00:29:03.17
Right. Okay.
00:29:03.20\00:29:04.54
Why can we put our trust,
00:29:04.57\00:29:06.57
I mean, yes, this is God's Word.
00:29:06.61\00:29:09.21
But why can't we put
our trust in God's Word?
00:29:09.24\00:29:16.15
Because if you've have
a relationship with Him,
00:29:16.18\00:29:19.92
He has proved Himself over
and over in the better times.
00:29:19.95\00:29:24.73
I hang on to remembering
my history with the Lord,
00:29:24.76\00:29:30.07
my past with the Lord.
00:29:30.10\00:29:31.93
So when I get into a situation
00:29:31.97\00:29:35.37
where I may be
down or depressed,
00:29:35.40\00:29:38.21
or I'm not sure how
something's going to work out,
00:29:38.24\00:29:40.74
I have to think the
verse how He's led us,
00:29:40.78\00:29:44.58
I look at how
He's led in the past.
00:29:44.61\00:29:48.35
He's not going to lead you
00:29:48.38\00:29:50.12
to the edge of
the Promised Land,
00:29:50.15\00:29:51.99
and then dump you off a cliff.
00:29:52.02\00:29:54.59
Even if you can't see,
00:29:54.62\00:29:56.19
even if you're
standing on a cliff...
00:29:56.22\00:30:00.00
if you step off, not
jump off, but if you step off,
00:30:00.03\00:30:05.13
the Lord is going to
carry you across whatever it is.
00:30:05.17\00:30:08.70
It may not be a
pleasant experience.
00:30:08.74\00:30:12.87
We sometimes don't always
know why we're going through
00:30:12.91\00:30:15.58
what we're going through.
00:30:15.61\00:30:16.95
We don't know if it's
Satan, or if God's allowing it,
00:30:16.98\00:30:19.31
if He's trying to
teach us something,
00:30:19.35\00:30:21.15
if somebody else is
going to benefit from it.
00:30:21.18\00:30:23.72
We don't know the
why so many times.
00:30:23.75\00:30:26.42
And I actually
don't try to ask the Lord,
00:30:26.45\00:30:29.59
why, I'm gonna
ask Him why later,
00:30:29.62\00:30:32.19
when He can answer me and
I'll understand the answer.
00:30:32.23\00:30:35.00
Even if He
explained it to me right now,
00:30:35.03\00:30:37.20
I may not
understand it or get it.
00:30:37.23\00:30:38.70
It's like what?
00:30:38.73\00:30:40.10
So I try not to ask why.
00:30:40.14\00:30:42.57
I try to ask more like,
00:30:42.60\00:30:44.71
how, what am I
supposed to be doing?
00:30:44.74\00:30:47.24
And if you reach out to Him,
00:30:47.28\00:30:49.88
and you say, just
help me through this.
00:30:49.91\00:30:54.58
I hope, I know
there's another side there.
00:30:54.62\00:30:57.29
But I depend on what
He did for me in the past.
00:30:57.32\00:31:00.32
So like I said before,
00:31:00.36\00:31:03.06
you depend on the Lord
on how He's led in the past.
00:31:03.09\00:31:05.89
You know, He's
gonna get you through this
00:31:05.93\00:31:07.83
because He did it before.
00:31:07.86\00:31:09.20
Amen.
00:31:09.23\00:31:10.57
And that really segues into
00:31:10.60\00:31:11.93
what Paul was
saying in 2 Corinthians,
00:31:11.97\00:31:14.40
for no matter how many
promises God have made,
00:31:14.44\00:31:17.67
they are what?
00:31:17.71\00:31:19.04
Yes. They're
always yes in Christ.
00:31:19.07\00:31:21.44
And so we need to remember that.
00:31:21.48\00:31:22.81
All right.
00:31:22.84\00:31:24.18
So when you say
2 Corinthians 1:20.
00:31:24.21\00:31:27.65
What that makes me feel
00:31:27.68\00:31:30.12
is that or what the
point that we need to make
00:31:30.15\00:31:34.19
is that all of
these beautiful promises,
00:31:34.22\00:31:38.19
Old Testament,
00:31:38.23\00:31:40.06
the New Testament, salvation,
sanctification, peace, love,
00:31:40.10\00:31:44.83
joy, forgiveness,
00:31:44.87\00:31:46.53
all of these beautiful
promises are trustworthy.
00:31:46.57\00:31:51.27
But they only belong to us how?
00:31:51.31\00:31:54.41
2 Corinthians 1:20, if we are...
00:31:54.44\00:31:57.78
Yes.
00:31:57.81\00:31:59.15
What? In Christ.
00:31:59.18\00:32:00.52
In Christ.
00:32:00.55\00:32:02.38
Even if we're in Christ so,
00:32:02.42\00:32:04.19
it's also when do the
promises become fulfilled?
00:32:04.22\00:32:08.42
Oh, and I mean, that's
part of hope is that it's...
00:32:08.46\00:32:11.63
We know that
they're going to get.
00:32:11.66\00:32:13.76
You ask, how can we trust this?
00:32:13.80\00:32:15.23
How can we know
we can trust in this?
00:32:15.26\00:32:16.60
Yeah.
00:32:16.63\00:32:17.97
God has the
perfect track record.
00:32:18.00\00:32:19.33
There's no one else
that has a more perfect
00:32:19.37\00:32:20.70
track record than Him.
00:32:20.74\00:32:22.77
He's the only person that
didn't have to prove Himself,
00:32:22.80\00:32:25.14
but yet He did.
00:32:25.17\00:32:26.54
And so, we see
right out in Genesis 3,
00:32:26.57\00:32:29.24
the devil's trying to
convince even humanity
00:32:29.28\00:32:31.45
that God is untrustworthy,
00:32:31.48\00:32:32.81
He's restrictive,
He can't be trusted.
00:32:32.85\00:32:34.48
He's in it for Himself.
00:32:34.52\00:32:35.85
But the cross disproved that.
00:32:35.88\00:32:37.55
His track record with Israel
through that disprove that.
00:32:37.59\00:32:40.79
Since the cross He
has disproved that lie.
00:32:40.82\00:32:44.69
And so when I read
what you just read earlier,
00:32:44.73\00:32:47.20
we just read it from 1
Kings, and also Numbers 23,
00:32:47.23\00:32:50.67
God cannot lie.
00:32:50.70\00:32:52.43
That's a God I can trust.
That's someone worthy of trust.
00:32:52.47\00:32:54.27
Every word and
no word has failed.
00:32:54.30\00:32:56.47
Absolutely.
00:32:56.50\00:32:57.84
1 John 4 tells
us that God is love.
00:32:57.87\00:33:01.31
In 1 Corinthians 13 reminds
us that love never fails.
00:33:01.34\00:33:05.75
And so, God cannot lie.
00:33:05.78\00:33:08.08
He never fails.
00:33:08.12\00:33:09.45
He is perfect.
He is trustworthy.
00:33:09.48\00:33:11.39
That's why I can
trust in His Word.
00:33:11.42\00:33:12.75
And if we are in Christ,
00:33:12.79\00:33:14.89
all of God's
promises are fulfilled
00:33:14.92\00:33:19.26
because of what
Christ did for us.
00:33:19.29\00:33:21.23
So, Ryan, speak to
someone who needs hope,
00:33:21.26\00:33:26.84
because maybe
they've lost a loved one,
00:33:26.87\00:33:30.31
or hope because they're
not certain of their salvation.
00:33:30.34\00:33:35.08
Sure. Or someone out there.
00:33:35.11\00:33:38.11
You may be
watching this and saying,
00:33:38.15\00:33:39.68
"Well, I'm not in Christ.
00:33:39.71\00:33:42.15
How do I?
00:33:42.18\00:33:44.79
How can I find hope in
God, if I'm not in Christ?
00:33:44.82\00:33:49.32
Speak to some of
those situations.
00:33:49.36\00:33:50.69
You know, hopelessness.
00:33:50.73\00:33:52.06
You know, we're talking about
00:33:52.09\00:33:53.43
hope in
contrast to hopelessness.
00:33:53.46\00:33:54.80
Hopelessness
comes from the enemy.
00:33:54.83\00:33:56.43
The spirit of the enemy
is the one who wants to plant
00:33:56.46\00:33:58.33
that seed of doubt in your mind.
00:33:58.37\00:34:00.57
And, you know, just to
illustrate it really quickly
00:34:00.60\00:34:02.84
before I give these texts here.
00:34:02.87\00:34:04.41
You know, when my
mom died last year,
00:34:04.44\00:34:06.51
I had thousands of
people praying for her.
00:34:06.54\00:34:10.01
Thousands of God's
remnant people praying for her.
00:34:10.05\00:34:14.38
You could not convince me
before she officially passed
00:34:14.42\00:34:18.52
that God was not
hearing those prayers
00:34:18.55\00:34:20.42
which I know He was.
00:34:20.46\00:34:21.86
And you couldn't
convince me at that moment
00:34:21.89\00:34:23.22
that He wasn't
going to pull her through
00:34:23.26\00:34:25.03
because I had 100% complete hope
00:34:25.06\00:34:28.10
that God was hearing these
00:34:28.13\00:34:29.50
thousands of
wonderful prayers going up,
00:34:29.53\00:34:32.00
you know, save
Mrs. Day, save Mrs. Day,
00:34:32.03\00:34:34.14
Lord, bless her through.
00:34:34.17\00:34:35.70
And here I am on my
knees in the hospital,
00:34:35.74\00:34:38.97
in the chapel and
in the waiting rooms,
00:34:39.01\00:34:41.04
you know, God save my mom.
00:34:41.08\00:34:42.58
And there's just surge of hope,
00:34:42.61\00:34:44.28
like, yeah, He's
gonna hear these prayers.
00:34:44.31\00:34:45.71
He's gonna pull it through.
00:34:45.75\00:34:47.12
And then she didn't
and here comes the enemy.
00:34:47.15\00:34:50.72
Amen.
00:34:50.75\00:34:52.09
Let me pause before
you go to the next one
00:34:52.12\00:34:53.56
'cause here's a point.
00:34:53.59\00:34:54.92
I love that you brought this up.
00:34:54.96\00:34:58.53
We can have hope in
what God has promised.
00:34:58.56\00:35:03.33
God never
promised us perfect health.
00:35:03.37\00:35:06.07
He never promised us healing.
00:35:06.10\00:35:08.54
And I want to
give you a scripture
00:35:08.57\00:35:09.90
because a lot of people say,
00:35:09.94\00:35:11.41
yeah, God wants us to be
perfectly healed and healthy.
00:35:11.44\00:35:15.71
Of course, he loved for
us to be but listen to this.
00:35:15.74\00:35:18.61
You know that Paul in Acts,
he talks about, Paul had...
00:35:18.65\00:35:24.09
The Lord used
him off and to heal,
00:35:24.12\00:35:26.29
even with a hankie.
00:35:26.32\00:35:28.79
Paul touched the handkerchief.
00:35:28.82\00:35:30.89
They take it out to the villages
00:35:30.93\00:35:32.59
and people would be healed.
00:35:32.63\00:35:36.50
You know, some people say, "Oh,
that's the gift of healing."
00:35:36.53\00:35:39.00
Yes, it's not a
permanent thing, obviously.
00:35:39.03\00:35:41.30
Because listen to 2 Timothy,
this is Chapter 4 and verse 20.
00:35:41.34\00:35:47.84
This St. Paul...
00:35:47.88\00:35:49.54
whose hankies were
00:35:49.58\00:35:50.91
so powerfully
anointed for healing.
00:35:50.95\00:35:53.95
He's writing to
Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:20.
00:35:53.98\00:35:57.55
He says, "Erastus
stayed in Corinth,
00:35:57.59\00:36:01.12
but Trophimus I have
left in Miletus sick."
00:36:01.16\00:36:08.36
So don't you know that Paul,
00:36:08.40\00:36:10.53
just, I'm sure that Paul
was praying for Trophimus.
00:36:10.57\00:36:14.37
I'm sure that many others
were praying for Trophimus
00:36:14.40\00:36:18.31
and sometimes our expectation,
00:36:18.34\00:36:22.11
you were expecting
something God didn't told us?
00:36:22.14\00:36:24.91
Did you get mad at God?
00:36:24.95\00:36:26.75
You know, not really
mad, it was more or less,
00:36:26.78\00:36:29.58
I fell into that
really quickly, short moment.
00:36:29.62\00:36:33.89
But the devil swoops in
and he can easily say...
00:36:33.92\00:36:39.96
you know, who is God that
00:36:40.00\00:36:41.66
He didn't hear
all those prayers.
00:36:41.70\00:36:43.23
I thought He heard, I thought
00:36:43.26\00:36:44.60
He listens to
His people's prayers.
00:36:44.63\00:36:46.03
That's the God you serve.
00:36:46.07\00:36:47.60
Don't you serve Him,
00:36:47.64\00:36:48.97
and you have all these ministers
00:36:49.00\00:36:50.34
and people within
the remnant church,
00:36:50.37\00:36:52.07
praying for your mother,
God, and ignored those prayers.
00:36:52.11\00:36:54.84
And then it can, it
can easily slip you,
00:36:54.88\00:36:57.68
if you will
feast on that too long.
00:36:57.71\00:37:00.18
It can slip you into a state
00:37:00.22\00:37:01.78
where not only do you
begin to challenge God's plan,
00:37:01.82\00:37:05.42
but you begin to
challenge His goodness.
00:37:05.45\00:37:07.16
And when you begin to challenge
who He is as the good God
00:37:07.19\00:37:10.16
that He is, it can
turn into something else
00:37:10.19\00:37:12.39
where you completely
begin to distrust in who He is
00:37:12.43\00:37:14.70
and His Word.
00:37:14.73\00:37:16.06
I praise the Lord.
00:37:16.10\00:37:17.43
I'm not gonna say I
didn't allow that to happen.
00:37:17.47\00:37:18.80
But praise God, He
didn't let go of me.
00:37:18.83\00:37:20.77
And He helped
bring me through that.
00:37:20.80\00:37:22.57
There may be someone right
now that has dealt with that.
00:37:22.60\00:37:25.51
You said, you
know what? I've asked.
00:37:25.54\00:37:26.88
And that's one of the questions
I've gotten in pastoral.
00:37:26.91\00:37:29.41
You know, I've lost a loved one.
00:37:29.44\00:37:30.78
Why God didn't save my mom,
who, you know, we're praying
00:37:30.81\00:37:34.48
for healing and praying
00:37:34.52\00:37:35.85
for healing and
God's not healing us?
00:37:35.88\00:37:37.22
Why not?
00:37:37.25\00:37:38.59
Why is He not
hearing our prayers?
00:37:38.62\00:37:39.95
But at the end of
the day, my friends,
00:37:39.99\00:37:41.32
there is hope in loss.
00:37:41.36\00:37:42.69
We have hope in Christ Jesus.
00:37:42.72\00:37:44.19
And as Shelley brought
out beautifully, just in,
00:37:44.23\00:37:47.13
you know, God didn't
necessarily promise us
00:37:47.16\00:37:49.00
that He would
just save us the way
00:37:49.03\00:37:51.13
we would want to be saved.
00:37:51.17\00:37:52.63
God knows things that we don't,
00:37:52.67\00:37:54.74
you know, I know, one day,
I'm going to get to heaven,
00:37:54.77\00:37:56.87
and God's gonna explain to me,
00:37:56.91\00:37:58.24
here's why I had
to take your mom.
00:37:58.27\00:37:59.61
And it's going to make
perfect sense instead of me,
00:37:59.64\00:38:02.28
you know, falling into
this state of depression
00:38:02.31\00:38:04.28
and in this state of distrust
00:38:04.31\00:38:06.61
and just shaking the fist at God
00:38:06.65\00:38:08.02
because He took my loving
mom, whom I love very much.
00:38:08.05\00:38:10.99
I know, when I get to
heaven, He's gonna say,
00:38:11.02\00:38:12.65
let me peel back
the curtain and show you
00:38:12.69\00:38:14.62
what you couldn't see
00:38:14.66\00:38:15.99
that was going on
behind the scenes.
00:38:16.02\00:38:17.36
And let me show you the future
of what would have happened
00:38:17.39\00:38:19.86
if I would have
allowed her to be healed.
00:38:19.89\00:38:21.53
See, we don't
know God sees things.
00:38:21.56\00:38:24.17
He didn't take her,
00:38:24.20\00:38:25.53
He just did
intervene to heal her.
00:38:25.57\00:38:26.90
That's right.
00:38:26.94\00:38:28.27
Absolutely, absolutely,
00:38:28.30\00:38:29.64
so, you know, we
have hope in Scripture,
00:38:29.67\00:38:31.21
we've been talking
about how we can trust
00:38:31.24\00:38:32.57
in the Word of God.
00:38:32.61\00:38:33.94
I think of
Titus Chapter 2:11-14.
00:38:33.98\00:38:36.98
I'm gonna read
all of these verses,
00:38:37.01\00:38:38.35
but I love how it
brings us to that blessed hope
00:38:38.38\00:38:41.85
that we have
when Christ goes back,
00:38:41.88\00:38:43.35
He's going to
make all things new.
00:38:43.39\00:38:45.39
It' says, "For the grace
of God that brings salvation
00:38:45.42\00:38:47.56
has appeared to all men."
00:38:47.59\00:38:49.36
Verse 13, says,
00:38:49.39\00:38:50.73
"Looking for the blessed
hope and glorious appearing
00:38:50.76\00:38:53.23
of our God and
Savior Jesus Christ
00:38:53.26\00:38:55.16
who gave Himself for us,
00:38:55.20\00:38:56.53
that He might redeem
us from every lawless deed
00:38:56.56\00:38:58.87
and purify for Himself
00:38:58.90\00:39:00.34
His own special people's
zealous for good works."
00:39:00.37\00:39:02.84
We have the whole
knowing that in times of loss,
00:39:02.87\00:39:05.64
we can look forward to
Christ who is that blessed hope.
00:39:05.67\00:39:08.14
He is coming is
that blessed hope,
00:39:08.18\00:39:10.35
and then tie that
with John 11:25-26.
00:39:10.38\00:39:13.15
You got to read it.
00:39:13.18\00:39:14.52
Jesus says to one of,
some of the most powerful words
00:39:14.55\00:39:17.32
pertaining to death.
00:39:17.35\00:39:18.99
Jesus said to her,
speaking of Martha,
00:39:19.02\00:39:21.42
He says, "I am the
resurrection and the life,
00:39:21.46\00:39:24.49
he who believes in
Me, though he may die,
00:39:24.53\00:39:27.00
he shall live and whoever lives
00:39:27.03\00:39:28.56
and believes in
Me shall never die."
00:39:28.60\00:39:31.40
And He asked,
"Do you believe this?
00:39:31.43\00:39:33.80
Do you believe
this?" Do we believe this?
00:39:33.84\00:39:35.90
And there is hope
in the Word of God
00:39:35.94\00:39:37.91
that we can look
forward to a time
00:39:37.94\00:39:39.74
when Jesus is going
to make all things new.
00:39:39.77\00:39:41.74
And that goes for
just about every...
00:39:41.78\00:39:43.18
I could spend more time,
00:39:43.21\00:39:44.55
I don't want to
take up all the time.
00:39:44.58\00:39:45.91
But people who are,
00:39:45.95\00:39:47.32
you know, they may be oppressed
00:39:47.35\00:39:48.75
in some type of injustice
00:39:48.78\00:39:50.12
or something that
they're going through in life.
00:39:50.15\00:39:53.02
You know, there are beautiful
promises in the Word of God.
00:39:53.05\00:39:55.96
I'm thinking of Romans 12:19,
00:39:55.99\00:39:57.53
"Beloved, never avenge yourself,
00:39:57.56\00:39:59.66
but leave it to
the wrath of God,
00:39:59.69\00:40:01.03
for it is written
vengeance is mine."
00:40:01.06\00:40:03.00
You may be going
through something right now,
00:40:03.03\00:40:04.57
where someone
has done you wrong,
00:40:04.60\00:40:06.23
you're being oppressed,
00:40:06.27\00:40:07.60
you're being some injustice
has been done against you,
00:40:07.64\00:40:10.34
and you're looking and going,
00:40:10.37\00:40:11.71
I feel hopeless,
it feels like every,
00:40:11.74\00:40:13.24
all of my enemies,
00:40:13.27\00:40:14.61
like David spent
more than half of his life
00:40:14.64\00:40:16.51
with his enemies, just,
you know, at his throat.
00:40:16.54\00:40:19.95
But yet God says, hang on,
I'm gonna get you through this,
00:40:19.98\00:40:23.42
there is light at
the end of the tunnel,
00:40:23.45\00:40:25.29
and don't take
vengeance for yourself,
00:40:25.32\00:40:27.26
because vengeance is mine.
00:40:27.29\00:40:28.69
I'm going to repay
those who have done you wrong
00:40:28.72\00:40:31.39
and who have not
repented for their evil deeds.
00:40:31.43\00:40:34.56
You know, two
things that you said
00:40:34.60\00:40:36.77
that I want to come in on.
00:40:36.80\00:40:38.13
Sure.
00:40:38.17\00:40:39.50
First of all, you obviously
00:40:39.53\00:40:43.07
had faith to
believe for healing.
00:40:43.10\00:40:47.14
See, I just want to say...
00:40:47.18\00:40:50.25
when a loved one is not healed,
00:40:50.28\00:40:53.35
it isn't because
of your lack of faith.
00:40:53.38\00:40:55.58
No.
00:40:55.62\00:40:56.95
That's, that's not the way.
00:40:56.99\00:40:58.35
You know, some people...
00:40:58.39\00:41:00.19
Now, I'm going to
try to explain this.
00:41:00.22\00:41:01.66
You tell me if
I'm doing it well.
00:41:01.69\00:41:04.56
Some people have faith in faith.
00:41:04.59\00:41:09.36
It's like, oh, if we
can just have enough faith,
00:41:09.40\00:41:12.67
if you can just
have enough faith,
00:41:12.70\00:41:14.77
it's kind of like God's
got to do what He promised.
00:41:14.80\00:41:17.37
And if it
doesn't happen, they say,
00:41:17.41\00:41:19.11
"Oh, you didn't
have enough faith."
00:41:19.14\00:41:20.48
You didn't have the
faith and trust enough.
00:41:20.51\00:41:21.94
I've got a friend
who has horrific disease,
00:41:21.98\00:41:26.58
and it's multiple sclerosis.
00:41:26.61\00:41:28.65
And people will say to her,
you don't have enough faith.
00:41:28.68\00:41:31.75
That's why you're not healed.
00:41:31.79\00:41:33.12
And it's like, what?
00:41:33.15\00:41:35.02
But then, I want to
show you something here
00:41:35.06\00:41:37.36
because you were reading
in John 11, about Martha.
00:41:37.39\00:41:40.96
You know, what's
beautiful about this?
00:41:41.00\00:41:44.13
Here's Martha, and when he says,
00:41:44.17\00:41:46.07
"I'm the
resurrection and the life,"
00:41:46.10\00:41:47.77
and she says, "Oh, Yes, Lord,
00:41:47.80\00:41:49.77
I know you are to
show total faith in Jesus.
00:41:49.80\00:41:54.58
But then Jesus says,
00:41:54.61\00:41:56.34
oh, you know
her brother has been
00:41:56.38\00:41:59.51
in the grave four days.
00:41:59.55\00:42:01.42
And now Jesus says,
"Well, roll back the stone."
00:42:01.45\00:42:04.29
Here's a woman that's got
00:42:04.32\00:42:05.65
complete faith in
Christ as Messiah.
00:42:05.69\00:42:08.02
When He says,
"Roll back the stone."
00:42:08.06\00:42:09.69
What does she say?
00:42:09.72\00:42:11.23
Oh, Lord, he's stinking by now.
00:42:11.26\00:42:13.90
I mean, she didn't
have faith for a miracle,
00:42:13.93\00:42:18.93
yet a miracle still happened.
00:42:18.97\00:42:21.00
See, you said it.
00:42:21.04\00:42:23.84
God knows the end
from the beginning.
00:42:23.87\00:42:27.18
Sometimes He, I mean,
00:42:27.21\00:42:29.54
always He knows when
it's best to intervene.
00:42:29.58\00:42:32.81
He says, "Precious
in the sight of the Lord
00:42:32.85\00:42:36.69
is the death of His saints."
00:42:36.72\00:42:39.29
Isaiah 57:1 says,
00:42:39.32\00:42:41.36
"That God...
00:42:41.39\00:42:44.23
lets some of the
righteous go to sleep."
00:42:44.26\00:42:46.63
And people wonder why
and they don't realize
00:42:46.66\00:42:49.33
He's taking them from evil.
00:42:49.36\00:42:51.83
So we have to trust if,
00:42:51.87\00:42:56.17
if we're
putting our hope in God,
00:42:56.20\00:42:59.47
it's the eager expectation
of what He has promised to do
00:42:59.51\00:43:05.31
when He's promised to do it.
00:43:05.35\00:43:07.45
I lost David.
00:43:07.48\00:43:09.75
We had been praying for healing.
00:43:09.78\00:43:12.75
And the thing is, we didn't get
the healing we were praying for
00:43:12.79\00:43:17.46
because we were praying
for healing to save his life.
00:43:17.49\00:43:21.60
But maybe we did
get that healing,
00:43:21.63\00:43:23.73
because I know that David
went to sleep safe in the Lord.
00:43:23.77\00:43:28.70
But I also saw
other miracles of healing,
00:43:28.74\00:43:32.47
that was not the
healing of the cancer.
00:43:32.51\00:43:36.24
But there was
other healings going on.
00:43:36.28\00:43:39.05
And I don't know.
00:43:39.08\00:43:40.45
You mean like spiritual healing?
00:43:40.48\00:43:42.22
Spiritual healing,
even physical healing.
00:43:42.25\00:43:43.79
Okay.
00:43:43.82\00:43:45.15
There was a couple of
times where in our ignorance,
00:43:45.19\00:43:48.39
we prayed for
healing and didn't know that
00:43:48.42\00:43:51.69
it was just side
effects that you had to put up
00:43:51.73\00:43:53.66
with and God miraculously,
I had just a split second,
00:43:53.70\00:43:58.43
I watched the Lord heal David
from something instantaneous.
00:43:58.47\00:44:03.44
And it was because
later we found out that
00:44:03.47\00:44:06.44
was just a normal side effect
00:44:06.47\00:44:07.81
that you had to go
through for two or three days.
00:44:07.84\00:44:09.64
Well, David didn't
go through it at all.
00:44:09.68\00:44:11.58
So we saw, we saw healing...
00:44:11.61\00:44:15.55
through our prayers, and
we saw spiritual healing.
00:44:15.58\00:44:20.12
But we didn't get the healing
I wanted and I'm like you,
00:44:20.16\00:44:24.69
it never occurred to me
that I was going to lose David
00:44:24.73\00:44:27.20
till about a week or
two before I lost him.
00:44:27.23\00:44:30.37
But God had a plan for my life.
00:44:30.40\00:44:33.47
And I chose to, to
embrace whatever plan He had
00:44:33.50\00:44:39.24
and to accept His
wisdom and decision
00:44:39.27\00:44:44.28
of what was going on in my life,
00:44:44.31\00:44:46.45
even if it caused me pain.
00:44:46.48\00:44:49.58
And once you lose someone,
that pain is always there.
00:44:49.62\00:44:53.86
It doesn't heal,
00:44:53.89\00:44:55.96
the loss is with you
till the end of time.
00:44:55.99\00:44:59.19
But God's power is stronger,
God's hope is stronger.
00:44:59.23\00:45:05.13
And He heals me from that.
00:45:05.17\00:45:08.90
You know, there's
real quickly here,
00:45:08.94\00:45:10.71
I want to mention this.
00:45:10.74\00:45:12.07
There, the Bible is
flooded with examples of people
00:45:12.11\00:45:15.11
whom God used in a mighty way
who fell into hopeless states.
00:45:15.14\00:45:19.18
Oh, yeah.
00:45:19.21\00:45:20.55
I mean, we could sit here
and write a book on, I mean,
00:45:20.58\00:45:23.18
chronology of the book.
00:45:23.22\00:45:25.19
You know, I'm
thinking of Daniel.
00:45:25.22\00:45:28.19
What did Daniel deserve
to be in the lions' den?
00:45:28.22\00:45:30.89
What did he do to
deserve to be to be treated
00:45:30.93\00:45:33.73
with the
injustice that he treated?
00:45:33.76\00:45:35.20
You could imagine that as
he, the humanity part of him,
00:45:35.23\00:45:39.13
there was probably a
temptation there to go.
00:45:39.17\00:45:42.44
Lord, I've served you,
and I pray three days to you.
00:45:42.47\00:45:44.97
It's not stuff that I
just feel like I have to do,
00:45:45.01\00:45:47.11
I do it because I
want to, I serve you, Lord,
00:45:47.14\00:45:49.08
and I stand for you.
00:45:49.11\00:45:50.45
But yet this is
where you've brought me,
00:45:50.48\00:45:52.35
I'm sure that that
temptation was there.
00:45:52.38\00:45:54.68
But yet the story
tells the truth in the sense
00:45:54.72\00:45:56.89
that he never gave hope on Lord,
00:45:56.92\00:45:58.25
that in a hopeless situation,
00:45:58.29\00:45:59.99
he never lost hope for the Lord.
00:46:00.02\00:46:02.02
I'm thinking of Joseph.
00:46:02.06\00:46:04.63
Joseph spent years
in prison for what?
00:46:04.66\00:46:09.46
Oppressed by his own family
00:46:09.50\00:46:11.23
and done wrongly
by his own family
00:46:11.27\00:46:13.07
and the people around them.
00:46:13.10\00:46:14.44
And, of course, I can use
all, you know, John the Baptist.
00:46:14.47\00:46:16.91
Could you imagine the hope
00:46:16.94\00:46:19.27
that John the Baptist is
sitting in that prison cell.
00:46:19.31\00:46:22.58
Christ has already declared him
00:46:22.61\00:46:23.95
the greatest of
all the prophets.
00:46:23.98\00:46:25.95
This brother is
full of the Holy Spirit,
00:46:25.98\00:46:27.98
He sends his men to
confirm just to confirm
00:46:28.02\00:46:30.42
that this is the
real Christ, and they go,
00:46:30.45\00:46:32.45
you know, hey,
John sends this message.
00:46:32.49\00:46:34.26
Are you the real guy?
00:46:34.29\00:46:35.62
Go back and tell
him that I'm doing this,
00:46:35.66\00:46:37.09
this, this and this, that
I'm the real guy, he goes back.
00:46:37.13\00:46:39.69
You can imagine all those
days after he heard that, yes.
00:46:39.73\00:46:42.56
You know, him looking
toward that cell door any moment
00:46:42.60\00:46:44.83
Jesus is gonna show up.
00:46:44.87\00:46:46.20
Jesus is gonna show
up for His brethren,
00:46:46.23\00:46:47.80
and He's gonna, He's gonna
00:46:47.84\00:46:49.17
bring him out of
this hopeless situation.
00:46:49.20\00:46:50.81
He had hope.
00:46:50.84\00:46:52.17
I have to
believe that he had hope
00:46:52.21\00:46:53.54
that Jesus was going to show up.
00:46:53.58\00:46:54.91
But what did he
get? He got silence.
00:46:54.94\00:46:58.01
But yet all the way he
still ended up losing his life.
00:46:58.05\00:47:01.15
So there's
moments where we find,
00:47:01.18\00:47:03.08
we find many examples
of people in the Bible
00:47:03.12\00:47:04.89
who fell into
horrendous hopeless situation,
00:47:04.92\00:47:08.12
Jesus being the greatest of all.
00:47:08.16\00:47:10.49
But yet these are
brothers and sisters
00:47:10.53\00:47:12.33
who, even in those
hopeless situations,
00:47:12.36\00:47:16.26
what seemed to be
impossible situations,
00:47:16.30\00:47:19.07
still found themselves looking
into their God and saying,
00:47:19.10\00:47:23.57
"Not my will,
but Yours be done."
00:47:23.61\00:47:24.94
Amen.
00:47:24.97\00:47:26.47
Why is hope?
00:47:26.51\00:47:28.31
And let's remind ourselves,
the definition of hope.
00:47:28.34\00:47:33.85
In the Greek hope
is eager anticipation
00:47:33.88\00:47:38.29
of something that is certain,
00:47:38.32\00:47:41.36
but it's just not
yet been realized.
00:47:41.39\00:47:45.29
Why is hope so important?
00:47:45.33\00:47:48.96
Hebrews 6:19
gives us the answer.
00:47:49.00\00:47:54.27
"This hope we have
as an anchor for us."
00:47:54.30\00:47:59.41
So, Honey, what
does an anchor do?
00:47:59.44\00:48:01.78
It stabilizes.
00:48:01.81\00:48:03.14
It stabilizes.
00:48:03.18\00:48:04.55
It holds you steady in
the midst of the storm.
00:48:04.58\00:48:09.75
It keeps you from drifting.
00:48:09.78\00:48:11.82
And this is what he says,
00:48:11.85\00:48:13.89
this hope we have as an anchor
00:48:13.92\00:48:17.66
for our soul both
sure and steadfast.
00:48:17.69\00:48:23.03
So when you're in the
times of trouble and turmoil,
00:48:23.06\00:48:27.70
and you know, we've touched
a lot on death and sickness.
00:48:27.74\00:48:31.37
We haven't talked
about people who are at home,
00:48:31.41\00:48:35.78
you get a lot of
phone calls like this.
00:48:35.81\00:48:38.41
People who don't know
00:48:38.45\00:48:40.35
where their next
meal is coming from.
00:48:40.38\00:48:42.35
They've lost their job.
00:48:42.38\00:48:43.75
They don't know
where to find a job
00:48:43.79\00:48:45.45
in the midst of all of this.
00:48:45.49\00:48:47.26
A single mom with children
or a father with children,
00:48:47.29\00:48:51.06
family that's not knowing
00:48:51.09\00:48:52.43
how, not being able
to take care of them.
00:48:52.46\00:48:54.23
Yeah.
00:48:54.26\00:48:55.60
What does that do to you?
00:48:55.63\00:48:56.97
What I found is that,
00:48:57.00\00:48:58.70
first of all,
they want to be heard.
00:48:58.73\00:49:01.10
They're aching,
00:49:01.14\00:49:02.50
and they don't have a whole
lot of people to share with
00:49:02.54\00:49:05.37
and so they in their own minds
00:49:05.41\00:49:09.61
they've rehearsed
what they've got to say,
00:49:09.64\00:49:12.91
but they haven't had
time to really articulate it.
00:49:12.95\00:49:15.98
That's right.
That's where we fit in.
00:49:16.02\00:49:18.15
You being in
pastoral department.
00:49:18.19\00:49:19.52
Pastoral department,
tell me what's going on.
00:49:19.55\00:49:22.72
And then they
rehearse this 1000 times.
00:49:22.76\00:49:26.13
But they haven't really
heard it come from their mouth.
00:49:26.16\00:49:29.70
And so here, we're
there for them to share with.
00:49:29.73\00:49:33.54
And it keeps going back to this.
00:49:33.57\00:49:35.77
I mean, this is about as
simple as you're going to get.
00:49:35.80\00:49:39.54
But God's hope as we've gone
through here is yes, yes, yes.
00:49:39.57\00:49:45.15
But Proverbs 3:5-6.
00:49:45.18\00:49:48.82
You know, Proverbs 3:5-6,
00:49:48.85\00:49:53.02
"Trust in the Lord
with all your heart,
00:49:53.05\00:49:56.06
lean not on your
own understanding...
00:49:56.09\00:49:58.43
but in all your
ways, acknowledge Him."
00:50:01.53\00:50:06.63
And then be prepared because
then He's going to direct you.
00:50:06.67\00:50:09.97
That's right.
00:50:10.01\00:50:11.34
Now there's pure faith
00:50:11.37\00:50:12.71
right there if
you're paying attention.
00:50:12.74\00:50:14.31
Absolutely.
00:50:14.34\00:50:15.68
So as the people call in,
their hearts are breaking.
00:50:15.71\00:50:18.91
Every one of our...
00:50:18.95\00:50:20.28
I challenge everybody,
there's so many hurting people,
00:50:20.32\00:50:22.65
especially today.
00:50:22.68\00:50:24.79
Number one, just listen.
00:50:24.82\00:50:28.42
Just listen to
what they have to say.
00:50:28.46\00:50:30.86
It's very important.
00:50:30.89\00:50:32.43
None of us have any idea.
00:50:32.46\00:50:34.56
The difference is just listening
00:50:34.60\00:50:35.93
can make in someone's life.
00:50:35.96\00:50:37.30
That's right.
00:50:37.33\00:50:38.67
You know, we just read
00:50:38.70\00:50:40.04
where it says hope is
the anchor for the soul.
00:50:40.07\00:50:41.80
Some people place their hope
in something other than Christ.
00:50:41.84\00:50:45.37
They have hope, but they put it
in something other than Christ.
00:50:45.41\00:50:48.01
You know, my...
00:50:48.04\00:50:49.38
That results in disaster.
00:50:49.41\00:50:50.75
My brother and I go fishing.
00:50:50.78\00:50:52.15
You know, when
it's a little warmer,
00:50:52.18\00:50:53.65
we would deal with
fishing, and we were in the boat
00:50:53.68\00:50:55.48
this past summer, and
we threw out our anchor.
00:50:55.52\00:50:58.62
What's that
anchor supposed to do?
00:50:58.65\00:51:00.79
Oh, just steady.
00:51:00.82\00:51:03.19
Well, we're just
casting away, casting away,
00:51:03.22\00:51:05.16
few minutes goes by
and we look over and we see
00:51:05.19\00:51:07.83
we've done drifted,
I don't know, several,
00:51:07.86\00:51:10.53
several dozens and
dozens of feet away
00:51:10.57\00:51:12.17
from where we threw the anchor.
00:51:12.20\00:51:14.10
The anchor didn't hold.
00:51:14.14\00:51:15.47
There was an anchor
there, it was a bad anchor.
00:51:15.50\00:51:19.41
Place your and
probably that too.
00:51:19.44\00:51:23.24
Place your hope in Jesus Christ,
00:51:23.28\00:51:25.78
He is the true anchor.
00:51:25.81\00:51:27.52
The hope that we have in
Christ is the true anchor.
00:51:27.55\00:51:29.98
And I love Romans 8:24-25,
00:51:30.02\00:51:33.92
"For we were saved in this hope,
00:51:33.96\00:51:37.36
but hope that is
seen is not hope,
00:51:37.39\00:51:40.00
for why does one
still hope for what he sees.
00:51:40.03\00:51:43.57
But if we hope for
what we do not see,
00:51:43.60\00:51:46.27
we eagerly wait for
it with perseverance."
00:51:46.30\00:51:49.54
It leads us to truly trust
in that which we cannot see.
00:51:49.57\00:51:53.51
Christ said too, I
think it was, was it Thomas?
00:51:53.54\00:51:55.74
I think it was Thomas or Philip,
00:51:55.78\00:51:57.11
might have been Thomas,
00:51:57.15\00:51:58.48
when Thomas, you
know, wanted to touch Him.
00:51:58.51\00:51:59.85
And He said, you know what?
00:51:59.88\00:52:01.22
"Hey, no, there's gonna
come a time if you believe in Me
00:52:01.25\00:52:03.69
because you've seen
Me, but blessed are those
00:52:03.72\00:52:05.19
who come to who
have not seen Me."
00:52:05.22\00:52:07.06
There's gonna come a time.
00:52:07.09\00:52:08.42
We're living in that time.
00:52:08.46\00:52:09.79
I have not visually seen
Jesus Christ with my own eyes.
00:52:09.82\00:52:13.73
But I believe and
I trust and I hope,
00:52:13.76\00:52:16.56
because I've experienced them.
00:52:16.60\00:52:18.67
I know He's there.
00:52:18.70\00:52:20.07
And I've seen the track record.
00:52:20.10\00:52:21.80
I've
experienced the track record
00:52:21.84\00:52:23.24
of what He's done in my life.
00:52:23.27\00:52:24.87
And there's no
other. You know what?
00:52:24.91\00:52:26.64
What you just said,
you, something just hit me.
00:52:26.68\00:52:30.35
Someone at home...
00:52:30.38\00:52:32.95
is listening to us right
now and you don't know the Lord.
00:52:32.98\00:52:37.65
And you believe
maybe what we're saying.
00:52:37.69\00:52:41.49
But you're saying, I
don't know if it's for me?
00:52:41.52\00:52:45.16
How can God forgive me?
00:52:45.19\00:52:46.53
You know, put your
hope in 1 John 1:9.
00:52:46.56\00:52:50.37
1 John 1:9 says, "If
you confess your sins,
00:52:50.40\00:52:54.47
God is faithful and just
00:52:54.50\00:52:57.54
not only to forgive
you of all your sins,
00:52:57.57\00:53:00.98
but to have cleansed
you of all unrighteousness."
00:53:01.01\00:53:04.91
You can go to the Lord and even,
00:53:04.95\00:53:07.28
let's say that
you're saying I'm not sure
00:53:07.32\00:53:10.62
that what
they're saying is true.
00:53:10.65\00:53:13.09
But I wish it were.
00:53:13.12\00:53:15.19
If you've got
that desire in you,
00:53:15.22\00:53:17.29
and you're not
sure, then tonight,
00:53:17.33\00:53:20.60
when you're laying there in bed,
00:53:20.63\00:53:21.96
or you wake up what
do you tell people to do?
00:53:22.00\00:53:24.73
Just Lord, if you're for real,
00:53:24.77\00:53:26.94
just manifest Yourself
to me some way or the other.
00:53:26.97\00:53:29.60
Pray for the Holy Spirit.
00:53:29.64\00:53:31.21
Say, Lord just touch
me by Your Holy Spirit.
00:53:31.24\00:53:33.84
Because, and maybe you've been
going to church all your life.
00:53:33.88\00:53:40.32
Maybe you're there
every time the door opens,
00:53:40.35\00:53:43.89
but you have no
assurance of salvation.
00:53:43.92\00:53:47.56
Read 1 John 5:10-12 and it says,
00:53:47.59\00:53:52.69
"This is the testimony,
00:53:52.73\00:53:54.66
those who are in
Christ have eternal life."
00:53:54.70\00:53:58.33
That's right. Period, the end.
00:53:58.37\00:54:00.30
If you are in Christ, if
you are abiding in Christ,
00:54:00.34\00:54:05.74
you have to abide in
His Word, to abide in Him,
00:54:05.77\00:54:09.54
but if you're looking to Jesus
00:54:09.58\00:54:11.78
and if He is the
source of your hope,
00:54:11.81\00:54:14.88
if He is the
one you're trusting.
00:54:14.92\00:54:17.19
And by the way, you
know that word trust,
00:54:17.22\00:54:20.56
it's in the
Greek, it's real, I mean,
00:54:20.59\00:54:23.53
or in the
Hebrew, it's to rely on.
00:54:23.56\00:54:26.33
It's like you're
using leaning on a crutch,
00:54:26.36\00:54:30.07
when you're
trusting in the Lord.
00:54:30.10\00:54:31.50
This is God's
whole plan of salvation,
00:54:31.53\00:54:36.14
is that we would be totally,
00:54:36.17\00:54:39.91
completely dependent upon Him.
00:54:39.94\00:54:43.98
That was His plan of
salvation in the Old Testament,
00:54:44.01\00:54:47.45
and in the new.
00:54:47.48\00:54:48.82
And Philippians
2:12 says or 2:13 say,
00:54:48.85\00:54:52.69
"That God will work in us
00:54:52.72\00:54:56.32
to will and to do
His good pleasure."
00:54:56.36\00:54:59.96
It doesn't mean that we
don't have a part in it.
00:55:00.00\00:55:04.17
But the power comes from God.
00:55:04.20\00:55:07.84
All right.
00:55:07.87\00:55:09.20
I just want you to have
hope and eternal salvation.
00:55:09.24\00:55:13.41
That's right.
00:55:13.44\00:55:14.78
To have hope and salvation
to call out to God and say,
00:55:14.81\00:55:18.35
oh, Lord, save me a
sinner, forgive my sins.
00:55:18.38\00:55:22.32
Put your hope in God.
00:55:22.35\00:55:24.79
And if you don't
have, you don't know
00:55:24.82\00:55:29.39
how you're going
to feed your kids.
00:55:29.42\00:55:31.73
You just call out to God
and say, "I need your help.
00:55:31.76\00:55:35.26
And I trust you'll help me."
00:55:35.30\00:55:36.83
And guess what? He does.
00:55:36.87\00:55:38.27
That's right. Well.
00:55:38.30\00:55:39.63
He has ears to hear.
00:55:39.67\00:55:41.00
I think people
don't realize that.
00:55:41.04\00:55:42.37
They're hard to respond.
00:55:42.40\00:55:43.74
Yes. Amen.
00:55:43.77\00:55:46.68
I want to read
one final scripture.
00:55:46.71\00:55:50.58
It is probably one of
my favorite scriptures.
00:55:50.61\00:55:54.42
Whenever I send
Christmas cards out,
00:55:54.45\00:55:57.75
which I haven't since we
moved up here, was too busy.
00:55:57.79\00:56:01.96
But this was
always my go to scripture.
00:56:01.99\00:56:04.59
And it's one
that I text my friends
00:56:04.63\00:56:07.03
their Christmas
greeting nowadays.
00:56:07.06\00:56:10.80
I'm gonna read it to
you from the Amplified.
00:56:10.83\00:56:13.00
I love this scripture.
00:56:13.03\00:56:14.37
Which scripture
is that? Romans...
00:56:14.40\00:56:15.97
Oh, okay.
00:56:16.00\00:56:18.81
She's anticipated what is it?
00:56:18.84\00:56:21.88
Eager anticipation, Romans.
00:56:21.91\00:56:23.24
Let me find out if it's Romans.
00:56:23.28\00:56:24.88
Romans 15:13.
00:56:24.91\00:56:29.68
And here's how it reads,
00:56:29.72\00:56:32.72
"May the God of your hope...
00:56:32.75\00:56:37.56
Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi,
00:56:37.59\00:56:40.56
Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah God,
00:56:40.60\00:56:43.37
may this Jehovah Rapha,
may this God of your hope,
00:56:43.40\00:56:48.87
" those are some of the names
of God in the Old Testament, "
00:56:48.90\00:56:52.07
so fill you...
00:56:52.11\00:56:55.68
with all joy and
peace in believing,
00:56:55.71\00:57:00.08
may he just
pour into you through
00:57:00.12\00:57:02.32
the experience of your
faith and believing in Him.
00:57:02.35\00:57:05.92
So fill you with all
joy and peace in believing
00:57:05.95\00:57:10.83
that by the power
of the Holy Spirit,
00:57:10.86\00:57:14.63
you may abound
and be overflowing,
00:57:14.66\00:57:19.87
bubbling over with hope.
00:57:19.90\00:57:22.47
God is our source
00:57:22.50\00:57:26.47
of eternal
hope, of eternal life,
00:57:26.51\00:57:30.28
of eternal salvation."
00:57:30.31\00:57:31.98
Let Him be the
object of your faith.
00:57:32.01\00:57:35.75
God bless.
00:57:35.78\00:57:37.12