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, friends and
welcome to 3ABN Today.
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It's Friday night
and it's time for...
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Family worship.
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Yes.
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And thank you for
taking the time to join us.
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I'm John Lomacang
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and my co-pilot
with me is my wife.
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What is your name honey?
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I think you know who
I am, Angela Lomacang.
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I'm glad to be here also.
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What are we
talking about tonight?
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Blessings.
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What kind of blessings?
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Family blessings.
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Family blessing,
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And family
worship, family blessings.
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This is a great time
to talk about blessings.
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I know that those of
you that are watching
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have been blessed periodically,
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but I would say more
than they can even imagine
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because God's blessings
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are not always
realized by humanity.
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Have we been blessed?
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Tremendously.
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That's right. And we're
gonna share some of those.
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Yes. All the blessings.
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Not all. There's
so many, we can't.
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There's no way.
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You remember the
song, count your blessings.
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Name them one by one.
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And it will surprise
you What the Lord has done.
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That's right.
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So, you wanna stay right here
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as we talk about
this topic tonight,
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gather your family together.
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If you're by yourself,
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you are part of
the family of God.
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So you also can participate.
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You may wanna have your Bibles.
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You may wanna
hit the record button
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to share this
with somebody else,
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but, honey, why
don't you introduce
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who's with us tonight?
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Well, we have Dee Hildebrand.
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I'm happy to be here.
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God has blessed me immensely.
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Yes, but a wonderful topic.
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Isn't it? About blessings. Yeah.
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Have you been blessed, Dee?
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Oh, daily.
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And so, I try to remember
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to count those
blessings every day
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and think about
what God is doing for me,
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'cause Satan is very busy too.
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So, I wanna focus
on what God is doing,
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not what Satan's doing.
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That's right. Amen.
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We also have guest family here,
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Pastor Steve and
Tamara Conway from Detroit.
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Yes. Yes.
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Welcome.
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Thank you. Thank you so much.
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It's good to be here. Yeah.
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And what is your ministry?
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Tell us a little
about yourselves?
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Well, we have four children.
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That's our first ministry.
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Four children.
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And speaking of family blessing,
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the Lord has blessed us richly
with four wonderful children.
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And we do marriage
and family ministries
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along with the
pastoral ministry.
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Oh, oh.
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And you do some other stuff too.
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I do, you know, women's outreach
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and things of that nature
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and different
classes and things.
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So, yeah.
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And you're pastor in the church.
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Yes. Yeah.
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And the name of your church?
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It's the Detroit Northwest
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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In the city of Detroit.
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Yes.
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Detroit.
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What did they call
the city was at Motown.
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Motown, yeah.
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Right.
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A lot of historical
musicians have come from there.
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And there is a lot
of present day musicians
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who still hail from
the city of Detroit.
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Yeah.
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It's a challenging city.
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Yeah. Oh, yeah.
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Now, are you close
to the Canadian border?
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Yes, we are.
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The Ambassador
Bridge is right there.
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And then there's a tunnel
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that you can
access Canada by as well.
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Yeah. Wow.
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But you're originally from Ohio?
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Yes. Both of you?
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Yes. Both of us.
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Born and
raised. Cleveland, Ohio.
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Okay.
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And I learned a little
secret about you pastor.
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You and Jill went
to Hartland together.
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Yes, we did.
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Jill Morikone.
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Yes.
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That's right.
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Great memories.
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Yeah, I know.
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Well, we're really glad to have
you here with us, both of you.
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And you look like
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a on-time couple, four children.
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I'm glad you mentioned that
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because your family is
your first line of ministry.
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I've always said the
most successful evangelists
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in the Bible is Noah.
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Because when the flood
came, family was on board.
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And we're gonna
talk about tonight,
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how to make sure that
your family gets on board
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and you could
save the entire world.
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But if your
family is not with it
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that could be a sad thing.
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But we're gonna
talk about tonight,
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some family blessings,
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but we usually have prayer,
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but I'm gonna ask you tonight,
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Pastor Steve, pray for us
before we go into the word.
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Yes. All right.
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Let's pray together.
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Father God, we thank You
for this wonderful Sabbath.
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An opportunity to
take our minds off
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of all of the stresses
and worries of this week
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and of our lives, Lord,
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and to focus on just how
good you have been to us.
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As we discuss this
topic of blessings,
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we ask that You
would indeed bless us
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with Your presence, Lord,
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and enlighten us in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Amen. Amen.
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Doesn't he have
a pastor's voice?
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He does like a preacher's voice.
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And she's the preacher's wife.
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That's what you do.
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Well. There you go.
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And then we have
Dee as our referee.
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Dee is always
exciting to have one too.
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She's kind of
one of our regulars
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because we know
that Dee has never
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at a loss for a thought.
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And we thank you for sharing.
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Hopefully, it's not a
loss for God's thought.
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I hope it's not.
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Well, let's start
with something interesting
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because a lot of times
people talk about blessings.
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I wanna separate
blessings from things
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that happen incidentally.
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What makes a
blessing a blessing?
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Hmm.
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How do you separate a blessing
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from something that
happens incidentally?
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Well, a blessing
comes from God always.
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And you could be
blessed in so many ways.
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We don't believe in luck, do we?
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No.
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You know, I don't know
what you mean by incidental.
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I don't think of
life being incidental.
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I look at all the
things that happen
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either God's hand is in it.
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And it's a blessing
because He's looking after me
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or Satan's
attacking with the bad stuff.
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I do credit
everything bad to Satan
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and everything good
to God, whether it's...
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He blesses in such little ways,
He's so involved in our lives.
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So even the blessing of
something wearing longer
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or being able to be used longer.
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I've never forgotten.
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I had, when I was
the church treasurer,
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the first computer they
gave me was some old thing
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that 3ABN couldn't use anymore.
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They didn't even
know it was gonna work.
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And it, a couple of
times I had trouble with it
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and I started praying
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and I would not
turn that computer on
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without praying first.
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And when they
actually got me a new one,
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somebody said, I don't
know how this thing was working.
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It was God. It was God.
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So to me, that's a blessing
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that makes a
difference in your life,
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made a difference to the church.
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It just, it was one
of those little things
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that he cared about.
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That's right. He blessed it.
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That's right.
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It's interesting, I
would probably agree
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when you talked about
the word incident, right?
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Incidental.
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My mind automatically
went to the thought
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that all things work together
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for the good of
them that loved the Lord,
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to them that are called
according to His purpose.
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So anything God has the ability
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to make even the worst
of circumstances, right?
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Turn into blessings,
which is such an amazing thing.
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'Cause I know I've
been a recipient of that
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as well in my life.
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That's right. Yeah.
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That applies
even to little things.
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Yeah. Pastor?
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Yeah.
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Now, just as she mentioned
that my mind jumped to Joseph,
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you know what he said
in the Book of Genesis,
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you meant it for evil.
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Since that, Dee,
you mentioned how,
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you know, the enemy is
at work and God is at work.
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So when I think about
blessings, God's ability,
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what comes across my mind
is God's ability to take things
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that are small things
that are big and even things
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that are
intentionally meant to harm us
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and turn them
around for our good.
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And so I think
intentionality is on God's part
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when it comes to blessing.
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Absolutely.
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So nothing happens incidentally,
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when it comes to the Christian,
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that's why Angie said,
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my wife Angela said,
we don't talk about luck.
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So, many times when
we hear people say luck.
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People say that to us.
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Oh, good luck.
00:09:02.97\00:09:04.71
Even on our sermon, good luck.
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We've heard that.
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It's like luck? It's God.
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So we always
stop them we know...
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We always stop
them, it's not luck.
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That there's no
grace when people say,
00:09:12.91\00:09:14.42
good luck on your sermon.
00:09:14.45\00:09:15.78
I said, "No, this is
not a roll of the dice,
00:09:15.82\00:09:17.15
it's God's plan."
00:09:17.19\00:09:18.52
You did
something. Oh, good luck.
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You're about to
do, good luck. No.
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I don't use that word anymore.
00:09:21.79\00:09:23.12
I don't say, oh, I was
lucky. I don't neither.
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I do not use that word anymore.
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I was blessed. Yes.
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Amen. Yeah.
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Because you go
back to the Bible,
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you find that in
creating the world,
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and I know that our
audience knows this.
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When God created the world,
He blessed two major things.
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And one of them
we know is a Sabbath
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or what's the other one?
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Marriage. That's right.
00:09:44.58\00:09:46.58
Praise God.
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And it wasn't
incidental. Oh, no.
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I know Adam knows that.
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Oh, yeah.
00:09:52.09\00:09:53.82
He was very happy,
very happy with that.
00:09:53.86\00:09:56.69
Well, yeah. That's right.
00:09:56.73\00:09:58.06
Matter of fact,
let's look at Genesis 5:2,
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and look at
that how Genesis 5:2,
00:09:59.93\00:10:03.47
we could look at that.
00:10:03.50\00:10:04.83
And, honey, I'll begin with you
00:10:04.87\00:10:06.70
since you right
on my right hand.
00:10:06.74\00:10:08.64
Here we go.
00:10:08.67\00:10:10.01
Genesis 5:2,
00:10:10.04\00:10:11.37
"He, that's God, created them
00:10:11.41\00:10:13.91
male and female
00:10:13.94\00:10:16.31
and blessed them
00:10:16.34\00:10:17.88
and called them mankind
00:10:17.91\00:10:20.78
in the day they were created."
00:10:20.82\00:10:24.79
So, fitting into,
00:10:24.82\00:10:27.59
we do family seminars
and marriage seminars,
00:10:27.62\00:10:29.82
and that's so much
a part of ministry.
00:10:29.86\00:10:31.93
It's hard to be a pastor,
00:10:31.96\00:10:33.29
not having to
deal with that issue.
00:10:33.33\00:10:34.66
It's good to be a
certified counselor
00:10:34.70\00:10:36.13
in that area.
00:10:36.16\00:10:37.63
But we know that the
Sabbath and the family
00:10:37.67\00:10:41.60
are two perpetual blessings,
00:10:41.64\00:10:44.14
but Satan determines
00:10:44.17\00:10:45.54
to make the
Sabbath and the family
00:10:45.57\00:10:47.24
a perpetual curse.
00:10:47.28\00:10:48.81
How have you seen that happen?
00:10:48.84\00:10:50.75
Yeah.
00:10:50.78\00:10:52.11
Go ahead.
00:10:52.15\00:10:53.48
No, you know with the
world that we live in today,
00:10:53.52\00:10:55.98
which has been a
problem since forever, right?
00:10:56.02\00:10:58.55
He knows which we're
talking about the enemy
00:10:58.59\00:11:00.72
that the family is
such a powerful influence,
00:11:00.76\00:11:03.83
not just in the home.
00:11:03.86\00:11:05.89
Now one of the things that I
00:11:05.93\00:11:07.26
really am a firm believer
about is that a society,
00:11:07.30\00:11:10.67
a church, a community,
yay, the world is only as strong
00:11:10.70\00:11:14.17
as the families that are in it.
00:11:14.20\00:11:16.71
And so it makes all
the sense in the world
00:11:16.74\00:11:19.14
that he would
attack the family unit
00:11:19.17\00:11:21.44
in so many ways.
00:11:21.48\00:11:22.94
And he knows that the power
00:11:22.98\00:11:24.61
of having a
strong family influence,
00:11:24.65\00:11:27.05
which starts with the
mother and the father,
00:11:27.08\00:11:28.98
you know, and I think that
that is truly a real statement.
00:11:29.02\00:11:33.96
And so it makes all the
sense in the world to me
00:11:33.99\00:11:36.42
that that's where
he wants to start.
00:11:36.46\00:11:37.86
Yeah.
00:11:37.89\00:11:39.23
And I think you talked
about the Sabbath and marriage,
00:11:39.26\00:11:42.86
and when I think of the Sabbath,
00:11:42.90\00:11:44.97
at least Adam and
Eve, Garden of Eden.
00:11:45.00\00:11:49.54
I'm thinking about God's desire
00:11:49.57\00:11:51.91
to spend time with
His children, right?
00:11:51.94\00:11:55.71
And that concept is
something that should have
00:11:55.74\00:11:59.45
rolled down through the ages.
00:11:59.48\00:12:01.22
Obviously, as we mentioned,
00:12:01.25\00:12:02.68
the enemy has
attacked both of those.
00:12:02.72\00:12:05.55
And especially we see it now
00:12:05.59\00:12:07.79
with the, you know, just
the breakup of the family
00:12:07.82\00:12:12.89
and a Sabbath provides
such a wonderful opportunity
00:12:12.93\00:12:15.93
for families to
refocus and to come together,
00:12:15.96\00:12:20.34
especially with
the presence of God
00:12:20.37\00:12:21.70
on the Sabbath.
00:12:21.74\00:12:23.07
I mean, this is for us,
00:12:23.10\00:12:24.44
it has been such a
refresher for our children.
00:12:24.47\00:12:27.71
It's just an enormous reset.
00:12:27.74\00:12:30.55
There's excitement, you know,
on Friday evenings like this,
00:12:30.58\00:12:34.02
when the family comes together,
00:12:34.05\00:12:36.15
because my children know
that they have my attention.
00:12:36.18\00:12:40.32
Not they have my
attention during the week
00:12:40.36\00:12:42.99
as long as they're doing
what they're supposed to do,
00:12:43.02\00:12:44.36
but, no, they have my
attention during the week.
00:12:44.39\00:12:47.76
But on the Sabbath,
they have my attention,
00:12:47.80\00:12:50.97
like at no other time, right?
00:12:51.00\00:12:53.84
My wife has my
attention like at no other time.
00:12:53.87\00:12:57.07
So nothing on Friday
evening is gonna come in
00:12:57.11\00:13:00.48
and is gonna distract
or take away from that.
00:13:00.51\00:13:03.45
And so, I like to think
what would have happened?
00:13:03.48\00:13:06.82
What would humanity be like?
00:13:06.85\00:13:08.52
What would the family be like
00:13:08.55\00:13:10.39
if all families had honored
00:13:10.42\00:13:13.49
what God had
established in the Sabbath?
00:13:13.52\00:13:15.52
I like to think that the
world would be a lot different
00:13:15.56\00:13:17.69
than it is right now.
00:13:17.73\00:13:19.06
Oh, yeah. It definitely will.
00:13:19.09\00:13:20.90
And one of the, you know,
you could talk about this.
00:13:20.93\00:13:24.33
It was Sabbath
worship that was instrumental
00:13:24.37\00:13:27.57
in our relationship.
00:13:27.60\00:13:29.00
Yeah.
00:13:29.04\00:13:30.37
When we dated, I used to invite
you over for Sabbath worship
00:13:30.41\00:13:33.94
on Friday night
00:13:33.98\00:13:35.68
when he was not in the Lord.
00:13:35.71\00:13:38.45
And I say, come
over for Sabbath,
00:13:38.48\00:13:40.42
come to my house
for family worship.
00:13:40.45\00:13:42.48
We used to call
it family worship
00:13:42.52\00:13:44.19
every Friday night.
00:13:44.22\00:13:45.75
And here, my little
sweetheart would come over.
00:13:45.79\00:13:48.92
And my mom would say
00:13:48.96\00:13:50.99
with her strong Jamaican accent,
00:13:51.03\00:13:53.56
John, would you
read the scripture?
00:13:53.60\00:13:56.13
And he would go the-the-that
the Lord said be-be-behold.
00:13:56.16\00:14:00.94
I said, he can't read.
00:14:00.97\00:14:03.00
He was so nervous to read.
00:14:03.04\00:14:06.94
Yeah.
00:14:06.98\00:14:08.31
He was clubbing all the
time and not asking him to read.
00:14:08.34\00:14:11.45
And before you know it,
every Sabbath, every Friday,
00:14:11.48\00:14:14.62
come on, you gotta come
over to my house for worship.
00:14:14.65\00:14:17.82
And my mother, again, John,
will you read the scripture
00:14:17.85\00:14:21.52
and here he comes and this time,
00:14:21.56\00:14:25.03
and God said, behold,
00:14:25.06\00:14:27.30
I was like, wow,
00:14:27.33\00:14:28.90
because we started
studying together, haven't we?
00:14:28.93\00:14:32.03
That's right.
00:14:32.07\00:14:33.40
That was the
foundation of our relationship
00:14:33.44\00:14:35.14
because she had
five Jamaican brothers,
00:14:35.17\00:14:38.54
has the brothers on steroids.
00:14:38.57\00:14:39.97
Have mercy, Lord.
00:14:40.01\00:14:41.34
You know, they watched her.
00:14:41.38\00:14:43.61
She's the youngest of all.
00:14:43.65\00:14:44.98
You're the baby, oh.
00:14:45.01\00:14:46.35
And so it's like,
you're not coming to date
00:14:46.38\00:14:47.72
my 16 year old sister,
00:14:47.75\00:14:49.08
you're not coming for dating.
00:14:49.12\00:14:50.59
You can come for family worship,
00:14:50.62\00:14:52.72
but not for dating.
00:14:52.75\00:14:54.39
But eventually
00:14:54.42\00:14:56.56
I gave family worship on
Friday night that led to...
00:14:56.59\00:15:00.40
It was a turn.
00:15:00.43\00:15:01.76
It was a wonderful turn
00:15:01.80\00:15:03.13
to see how God has
worked in your life.
00:15:03.16\00:15:05.70
And I praise Him because
it was, and you were willing,
00:15:05.73\00:15:08.17
you have to be
willing and you were willing.
00:15:08.20\00:15:10.51
And you had a strong family.
00:15:10.54\00:15:12.77
Yes.
00:15:12.81\00:15:14.14
Because I know John's
background a little bit.
00:15:14.18\00:15:16.81
He had a foot in each
world for quite a while.
00:15:16.85\00:15:18.78
Absolutely.
00:15:18.81\00:15:20.15
But because your
family was strong in the Lord,
00:15:20.18\00:15:24.75
and his
attraction to you was strong,
00:15:24.79\00:15:27.29
which I think is God.
00:15:27.32\00:15:28.66
I think God puts
that in your heart.
00:15:28.69\00:15:30.83
And so they hung on
to you on this one foot
00:15:30.86\00:15:34.53
until they could
get that other foot out
00:15:34.56\00:15:36.30
where it belonged
to with the other.
00:15:36.33\00:15:38.63
It was that strong family unit
that allowed that to happen.
00:15:38.67\00:15:44.61
Yeah.
00:15:44.64\00:15:45.97
I think that's what
we're talking about blessings.
00:15:46.01\00:15:48.44
And that's obviously,
you know, it's a blessing,
00:15:48.48\00:15:51.61
but I think it's a
tremendous testimony.
00:15:51.65\00:15:55.22
I believe to what
God's intention is
00:15:55.25\00:15:58.35
for all of humanity
to experience, right?
00:15:58.39\00:16:01.79
There's something that,
it was, of course your wife
00:16:01.82\00:16:04.99
that was drawing you,
00:16:05.03\00:16:06.36
but really, it was God,
00:16:06.39\00:16:08.30
it was God in her
and in that setting.
00:16:08.33\00:16:11.23
'Cause I mean, you
got to think the contrast,
00:16:11.27\00:16:13.57
the club, family worship.
00:16:13.60\00:16:15.40
It's a huge contrast, right?
00:16:15.44\00:16:16.77
Yeah.
00:16:16.81\00:16:18.14
But something
kept bringing you back.
00:16:18.17\00:16:20.18
And ultimately we
know behind the scenes,
00:16:20.21\00:16:22.21
it was God that was drawing you.
00:16:22.24\00:16:23.88
And I think that's God's
intent to draw human beings.
00:16:23.91\00:16:27.45
We've loved opening our home up.
00:16:27.48\00:16:30.89
In fact, we started,
00:16:30.92\00:16:32.25
our first home
was in a boys' dorm.
00:16:32.29\00:16:34.89
Our door was literally,
00:16:34.92\00:16:36.26
and our home was literally open.
00:16:36.29\00:16:38.03
And so that's been a
part of what we've done.
00:16:38.06\00:16:41.10
And one of the things that God
has taught us over the years is
00:16:41.13\00:16:46.17
that, that
witness and that testimony
00:16:46.20\00:16:48.90
of what it's like to
come into a family setting,
00:16:48.94\00:16:51.81
a family atmosphere is
it has a profound impact
00:16:51.84\00:16:55.14
on people's lives.
00:16:55.18\00:16:56.51
It does.
00:16:56.54\00:16:57.88
And it lasts for their lifetime.
00:16:57.91\00:16:59.25
Oh, yes.
00:16:59.28\00:17:00.62
The impact that
happens to a young child.
00:17:00.65\00:17:03.49
If they see that family
unit of how it's supposed to be
00:17:03.52\00:17:09.42
something that they see
the way it's supposed to be,
00:17:09.46\00:17:12.43
as opposed to
maybe what their home is.
00:17:12.46\00:17:16.06
But if you only see
an un-Christian home,
00:17:16.10\00:17:20.67
it's really hard to
know what your Christian home
00:17:20.70\00:17:23.94
should look like.
00:17:23.97\00:17:25.44
And that's why
it's very important
00:17:25.47\00:17:27.08
for older families
00:17:27.11\00:17:28.54
that are strong in the Lord
00:17:28.58\00:17:30.25
to mentor younger
families to help them move.
00:17:30.28\00:17:34.02
Because you were talking
about how things are today.
00:17:34.05\00:17:37.35
Our families are so splintered.
00:17:37.39\00:17:39.02
I mean even Christian
homes, Adventist homes.
00:17:39.05\00:17:40.96
Yeah, it's true.
00:17:40.99\00:17:42.32
Even Christian.
00:17:42.36\00:17:43.69
Like you said on Sabbath,
00:17:43.73\00:17:45.06
the family knows
they're together.
00:17:45.09\00:17:47.46
They have you, you can reset.
00:17:47.50\00:17:49.50
They have mom, they have dad.
00:17:49.53\00:17:51.80
And if that
anchors them for the week,
00:17:51.83\00:17:54.54
because they're out there
doing all these other things.
00:17:54.57\00:17:56.97
So think of these families
00:17:57.01\00:17:58.34
who never
reset, never re-anchor,
00:17:58.37\00:18:02.78
never have a chance to
talk to mom or to talk to dad
00:18:02.81\00:18:06.08
or to have any
kind of relationship.
00:18:06.11\00:18:08.45
That's why the
families are so broken
00:18:08.48\00:18:10.42
is because there
is no relationship
00:18:10.45\00:18:13.25
within the family,
00:18:13.29\00:18:15.36
because we don't create a time.
00:18:15.39\00:18:18.19
God created a time.
00:18:18.23\00:18:19.69
Remember that saying,
00:18:19.73\00:18:21.06
a family that prays
together stays together.
00:18:21.10\00:18:22.86
Yeah.
00:18:22.90\00:18:24.23
And it's a lot of
things nowadays the families
00:18:24.27\00:18:25.60
need to do because sometimes
families pray together.
00:18:25.63\00:18:27.34
But kids in
this digital society,
00:18:27.37\00:18:30.01
they're glad to be by themselves
00:18:30.04\00:18:31.47
because they got
their phone, their devices.
00:18:31.51\00:18:33.61
And I wanna say
to those families
00:18:33.64\00:18:34.98
who have children
00:18:35.01\00:18:36.34
that are maybe
incarcerated by their devices
00:18:36.38\00:18:39.15
to let them out of jail.
00:18:39.18\00:18:40.52
And like, we saw a
Christian movie not too,
00:18:40.55\00:18:42.78
maybe a couple of years ago.
00:18:42.82\00:18:44.15
And family went on
vacation up in the mountains.
00:18:44.19\00:18:45.62
And as soon as they walked
into the lodge, the kids said,
00:18:45.65\00:18:48.52
"What's the
password to the internet."
00:18:48.56\00:18:50.33
There is no internet.
00:18:50.36\00:18:51.69
He said, "What
are we going to do?"
00:18:51.73\00:18:54.66
Well, he said,
00:18:54.70\00:18:56.03
"Maybe we should start
by talking to each other."
00:18:56.06\00:18:57.57
Yes.
00:18:57.60\00:18:58.93
Have dinner, families
don't eat together anymore.
00:18:58.97\00:19:01.60
They don't have a relationship.
00:19:01.64\00:19:03.00
They don't have a relationship.
00:19:03.04\00:19:04.37
But we have to
understand God's positioning
00:19:04.41\00:19:05.74
because God
positions the Christian family
00:19:05.77\00:19:07.88
to be a recipient of blessings.
00:19:07.91\00:19:09.74
Look at Proverbs 10:6.
00:19:09.78\00:19:11.51
And any one of you. Dee.
00:19:11.55\00:19:13.18
Dee, go and read
that Proverbs 10:6.
00:19:13.21\00:19:14.78
Proverbs 10:6 says...
00:19:14.82\00:19:16.38
Because God
positions us to have blessings,
00:19:16.42\00:19:17.82
it's just we have
to understand that
00:19:17.85\00:19:19.79
and this passage is a contrast
00:19:19.82\00:19:21.72
between those
who are guided by God
00:19:21.76\00:19:23.89
and those who are
not guided by God.
00:19:23.93\00:19:25.59
Proverbs 10:6.
00:19:25.63\00:19:27.20
So, Proverbs 10:6.
00:19:27.23\00:19:29.70
Yeah. It's got to be somewhere.
00:19:29.73\00:19:31.07
Yeah, I see that right here.
00:19:31.10\00:19:33.94
"Blessings are on the
head of the righteous.
00:19:33.97\00:19:38.01
The violence covers
the mouth of the wicked.
00:19:38.04\00:19:40.78
Blessings are on the
head of the righteous,
00:19:40.81\00:19:43.65
but violence covers
the mouth of the wicked."
00:19:43.68\00:19:46.85
The contrast of
our society today.
00:19:46.88\00:19:49.08
That's the contrast.
It's not a gray area.
00:19:49.12\00:19:51.72
There's no third
category in this.
00:19:51.75\00:19:53.79
So the Lord is not
saying to the righteous family
00:19:53.82\00:19:57.69
while I hope
things work out for you.
00:19:57.73\00:19:59.16
No way.
00:19:59.19\00:20:00.53
And he said, wait a
minute. Say that again.
00:20:00.56\00:20:02.16
Good luck.
00:20:02.20\00:20:03.67
The righteous family
doesn't deal with luck
00:20:03.70\00:20:07.50
because God has made provision
for the righteous family
00:20:07.54\00:20:10.74
to benefit from
everything that He has created.
00:20:10.77\00:20:13.81
And so when we
become a part of a family,
00:20:13.84\00:20:17.48
just imagine, say,
what does your dad own?
00:20:17.51\00:20:20.05
Like the kid,
what does your dad own?
00:20:20.08\00:20:21.78
Go outside.
00:20:21.82\00:20:23.15
Everything you see
outside, my dad owns.
00:20:23.18\00:20:24.92
So, I was there
looking around and said,
00:20:24.95\00:20:26.29
oh, no, I don't mean that.
00:20:26.32\00:20:27.72
Look up everything our dad owns.
00:20:27.76\00:20:30.69
And so that's the
beautiful thing about
00:20:30.73\00:20:32.16
that God has positioned
us to be in blessings,
00:20:32.19\00:20:35.16
like look at Ephesians
1:3 and maybe I'll have Tammy,
00:20:35.20\00:20:39.17
Tamara, read that for us,
00:20:39.20\00:20:40.54
Ephesians 1:3,
the positioning God,
00:20:40.57\00:20:43.41
this interpersonal relationship
that we have with God comes
00:20:43.44\00:20:46.37
because He's not
hoping things work out for us.
00:20:46.41\00:20:49.14
He's setting us up to
be people that are blessed.
00:20:49.18\00:20:52.38
Yes. Amen.
00:20:52.41\00:20:53.75
It says in Ephesians 1:3,
00:20:53.78\00:20:55.12
"Blessed be the God and
father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
00:20:55.15\00:20:58.32
who has blessed us with
every spiritual blessing
00:20:58.35\00:21:02.59
in the heavenly
places in Christ."
00:21:02.62\00:21:05.19
How many spiritual blessings?
00:21:05.23\00:21:06.56
Every.
00:21:06.59\00:21:08.53
Every.
00:21:08.56\00:21:09.90
Now, how many
investors could say,
00:21:09.93\00:21:13.60
every investment
you make is gonna work.
00:21:13.64\00:21:18.14
I don't know many
who would do that?
00:21:18.17\00:21:19.77
Nobody.
00:21:19.81\00:21:21.88
No.
00:21:21.91\00:21:23.24
What are you
thinking, Pastor Steve?
00:21:23.28\00:21:24.85
No, no. That's a serious thing.
00:21:24.88\00:21:27.65
Every spiritual blessing?
00:21:27.68\00:21:29.02
Every.
00:21:29.05\00:21:30.72
Wow.
00:21:30.75\00:21:32.09
I guess the reason why
I'm thinking about that is,
00:21:32.12\00:21:35.76
the Bible says that
we have all spiritual,
00:21:35.79\00:21:38.66
every spiritual blessing.
00:21:38.69\00:21:40.73
And yet, I guess if
I were to ask people,
00:21:40.76\00:21:44.80
if they actually
were experiencing
00:21:44.83\00:21:47.94
every spiritual blessing,
00:21:47.97\00:21:51.07
maybe we would get a little
bit of a different response.
00:21:51.11\00:21:53.48
Yeah.
00:21:53.51\00:21:54.84
So you mentioned
earlier, I think that every,
00:21:54.88\00:22:00.28
every blessing
we're not always aware of,
00:22:00.32\00:22:03.49
maybe it was you or your
wife that mentioned that.
00:22:03.52\00:22:06.05
We received blessings
00:22:06.09\00:22:07.42
and we're not
necessarily aware of them.
00:22:07.46\00:22:09.42
And I think this is
one of those things,
00:22:09.46\00:22:12.26
God has provided rich blessings
00:22:12.29\00:22:14.83
that cover every
spiritual area in our lives.
00:22:14.86\00:22:18.73
And yet here we are
00:22:18.77\00:22:21.00
not living in those,
not walking in those.
00:22:21.04\00:22:24.64
And it reminds me of something.
00:22:24.67\00:22:26.51
My wife and I were
talking about in terms of,
00:22:26.54\00:22:30.28
you know, in Genesis 6-9,
00:22:30.31\00:22:33.48
when the earth was
flooded and God came down
00:22:33.52\00:22:36.89
and He said to Noah
in Genesis Chapter 9,
00:22:36.92\00:22:40.09
that He was gonna set
a rainbow in the clouds.
00:22:40.12\00:22:42.36
And it would be a reminder
00:22:42.39\00:22:44.29
that he was never
going to destroy the earth
00:22:44.33\00:22:45.76
by flood again.
00:22:45.79\00:22:47.13
Now, that's a blessing
00:22:47.16\00:22:48.50
that every member
of the human family
00:22:48.53\00:22:51.97
has access to.
00:22:52.00\00:22:53.50
That's right. Right?
00:22:53.54\00:22:54.87
But we are not aware of it.
00:22:54.90\00:22:57.21
We're not thankful for it.
00:22:57.24\00:22:59.37
We're not mindful of it.
00:22:59.41\00:23:02.18
And so I don't
think that we get,
00:23:02.21\00:23:04.58
of course, we're not
swept away by raging waves,
00:23:04.61\00:23:07.75
but we don't get from it
00:23:07.78\00:23:09.12
what God intended
for us to have from it,
00:23:09.15\00:23:12.35
because we're just missing it.
00:23:12.39\00:23:15.32
You know, I
think that the thoughts
00:23:15.36\00:23:18.83
and the intent of a
person are so strong, right?
00:23:18.86\00:23:21.06
We live in a world
where mental health
00:23:21.10\00:23:22.56
is a really big issue, right?
00:23:22.60\00:23:24.80
It is a huge,
00:23:24.83\00:23:26.17
and it's always
been a huge issue,
00:23:26.20\00:23:27.54
but I think that as
calamities and things,
00:23:27.57\00:23:29.24
pandemics happen,
00:23:29.27\00:23:30.74
it's coming to the forefront.
00:23:30.77\00:23:32.27
And my mind can't help
00:23:32.31\00:23:33.64
but to go back as
we're talking about that
00:23:33.68\00:23:35.91
to the previous
verse that we just read
00:23:35.94\00:23:37.48
when it talked about
00:23:37.51\00:23:38.85
the blessings of the
head of the righteous, right,
00:23:38.88\00:23:40.78
are in the head
of the righteous,
00:23:40.82\00:23:42.15
but the violence
covers the mouth.
00:23:42.18\00:23:43.59
The Bible talks about the mind
00:23:43.62\00:23:45.65
and how much of a part
it plays in our blessings.
00:23:45.69\00:23:49.52
You know, as a man thinks
in his heart so is he, right?
00:23:49.56\00:23:54.23
And out of the
abundance of the heart,
00:23:54.26\00:23:56.23
which we all know is
the mind, the mouth speaks.
00:23:56.26\00:23:59.03
And so it makes all
the sense in the world,
00:23:59.07\00:24:00.84
as we're talking about
00:24:00.87\00:24:02.70
blessed be the
God of the Father,
00:24:02.74\00:24:04.17
our Lord Jesus Christ,
00:24:04.21\00:24:05.67
who has blessed
us in everything.
00:24:05.71\00:24:07.61
But it's hard for us
to understand or see that
00:24:07.64\00:24:10.05
when we still haven't dealt
with the lingering of the pain
00:24:10.08\00:24:14.48
and the hurt and the evil
that resides in our hearts,
00:24:14.52\00:24:16.89
you know, and
how, no matter what,
00:24:16.92\00:24:20.16
unless we
surrender those to God,
00:24:20.19\00:24:22.76
those things can't be
turned around into blessings.
00:24:22.79\00:24:25.59
They will come
out as curses, right?
00:24:25.63\00:24:27.46
The things that
we say to people,
00:24:27.50\00:24:28.83
the things that
we think, you know.
00:24:28.86\00:24:30.30
So I think it's so
important to know that we all,
00:24:30.33\00:24:34.00
it is true when it says
that every spiritual blessing,
00:24:34.04\00:24:36.20
I can see how,
00:24:36.24\00:24:37.57
when you're connected to Christ,
00:24:37.61\00:24:38.94
He can take those evil thoughts.
00:24:38.97\00:24:40.54
He can take the pain
00:24:40.58\00:24:41.91
and He can
literally turn them around
00:24:41.94\00:24:44.51
to where you wanna
speak evil, curses,
00:24:44.55\00:24:47.68
and you can't even do it
00:24:47.72\00:24:49.05
because Jesus won't
allow you to, right?
00:24:49.08\00:24:50.89
'Cause nothing, none of
that resides in His character.
00:24:50.92\00:24:53.42
It can be very
difficult when we're in pain,
00:24:53.46\00:24:58.59
because we all walk
through the valleys.
00:24:58.63\00:25:00.90
Absolutely. That's right.
00:25:00.93\00:25:02.26
And Satan is attacking us.
00:25:02.30\00:25:03.67
So, if you are
focused on the circumstances,
00:25:03.70\00:25:06.94
if you are focused on the pain,
00:25:06.97\00:25:09.57
when my husband had cancer
00:25:09.60\00:25:11.74
and we were going through
that and ultimately his death,
00:25:11.77\00:25:15.14
we were not
always focused on that.
00:25:15.18\00:25:19.18
And because we
did lift up our eyes
00:25:19.21\00:25:21.75
and we did turn
to the Lord in that,
00:25:21.78\00:25:24.22
not that it was,
00:25:24.25\00:25:25.59
it didn't still
didn't make it easier,
00:25:25.62\00:25:27.26
don't misunderstand me.
00:25:27.29\00:25:28.69
The pain was still there,
00:25:28.72\00:25:30.83
but we were able to
recognize certain blessings.
00:25:30.86\00:25:35.16
And we were able to ask
for His help and His guidance
00:25:35.20\00:25:39.50
and His strength
and so many things.
00:25:39.53\00:25:41.54
And we saw those prayers
answered in certain ways.
00:25:41.57\00:25:45.07
Now some people might say,
well, your husband passed away.
00:25:45.11\00:25:47.78
What?
00:25:47.81\00:25:49.14
But there was blessings
within that whole journey.
00:25:49.18\00:25:53.25
And the journey was different
00:25:53.28\00:25:57.99
than it would have been
00:25:58.02\00:25:59.89
if we had not focused
on some of God's blessings.
00:25:59.92\00:26:05.79
When you look up and say,
Lord, let me see the blessings
00:26:05.83\00:26:09.63
while I'm down here
00:26:09.66\00:26:11.67
in the valley of death maybe.
00:26:11.70\00:26:15.77
Look up and try to recognize
some of those blessings.
00:26:15.80\00:26:19.74
Amen.
00:26:19.77\00:26:21.11
And what are
you thinking, honey?
00:26:21.14\00:26:22.48
Just last night we
spoke to someone from India.
00:26:22.51\00:26:26.11
Yeah. We...
00:26:26.15\00:26:27.48
We did a video.
00:26:27.52\00:26:28.85
Did a video call with somebody.
00:26:28.88\00:26:30.22
They kept saying,
I gotta talk to you.
00:26:30.25\00:26:31.79
I have to talk
to you, this woman.
00:26:31.82\00:26:34.06
And she was in the valley,
00:26:34.09\00:26:35.59
her whole life
was falling apart.
00:26:35.62\00:26:36.99
Family turned against her,
husband turned against her,
00:26:37.03\00:26:38.63
her child turned against
her, society turned against her.
00:26:38.66\00:26:42.53
She's still in
the COVID environment.
00:26:42.56\00:26:44.73
She's Adventist,
they were all Catholic.
00:26:44.77\00:26:46.63
They're all Catholic,
being pressured on all sides.
00:26:46.67\00:26:49.64
And I said to her,
00:26:49.67\00:26:51.61
she was just
hysterical primarily.
00:26:51.64\00:26:53.41
Oh, she was crying. She was...
00:26:53.44\00:26:55.01
And I've learned in
situations like that.
00:26:55.04\00:26:56.71
Sometimes you
have to let people vent
00:26:56.75\00:26:58.28
before you just stopped them.
00:26:58.31\00:26:59.91
You know, we don't
try to stop an avalanche,
00:26:59.95\00:27:01.35
let it come down and just
deal with the results of it.
00:27:01.38\00:27:04.02
And so, I had to let
her vent and she's crying.
00:27:04.05\00:27:05.72
Oh, hysterical.
00:27:05.75\00:27:07.16
And after when all that,
00:27:07.19\00:27:09.96
I said part of the problem is
00:27:09.99\00:27:12.33
you're looking at the left hand,
00:27:12.36\00:27:13.96
but God said, I will uphold
you with my righteous right arm.
00:27:14.00\00:27:17.33
I said, let's
look at the left hand.
00:27:17.37\00:27:18.70
And I began to find the points.
00:27:18.73\00:27:20.94
And after a long time,
it was, she still went back,
00:27:20.97\00:27:23.84
she's, she had gone
back to that focal point.
00:27:23.87\00:27:26.11
I said, see, the problem
is what you're focusing on,
00:27:26.14\00:27:28.61
what you're focusing on.
00:27:28.64\00:27:30.08
I kept calling to her
and she finally caught it.
00:27:30.11\00:27:33.55
And then she went from
this hysterical person.
00:27:33.58\00:27:36.15
Her whole countenance changed.
00:27:36.18\00:27:37.75
Amen.
00:27:37.79\00:27:39.12
She was 'cause
before she would just,
00:27:39.15\00:27:40.52
oh, then you can...
00:27:40.56\00:27:42.29
I started repeating
promises to her of God's Word.
00:27:42.32\00:27:44.86
A smile came on her face.
00:27:44.89\00:27:46.56
Powerful promises in the Bible.
00:27:46.59\00:27:49.26
And she started saying,
00:27:49.30\00:27:50.67
"Yes, yes.
00:27:50.70\00:27:53.07
That's who God is.
00:27:53.10\00:27:54.50
That's who God is."
00:27:54.54\00:27:56.00
I said, "God
sometimes has to heat them."
00:27:56.04\00:27:58.81
Now check this out.
00:27:58.84\00:28:00.18
Sometimes God has to heat
the furnace seven times harder
00:28:00.21\00:28:03.01
before we testify,
how we will trust Him.
00:28:03.04\00:28:05.45
Amen.
00:28:05.48\00:28:06.82
They didn't testify
about that trust in God
00:28:06.85\00:28:08.52
until the furnace was
heated seven times hotter.
00:28:08.55\00:28:10.69
We know what you could do,
00:28:10.72\00:28:12.12
but you can't do what
God won't allow you to do.
00:28:12.15\00:28:14.32
And so I said to
her, it's your focus.
00:28:14.36\00:28:16.52
Are you looking
at Nebuchadnezzar?
00:28:16.56\00:28:18.46
Are you looking at
everybody that's kneeling down?
00:28:18.49\00:28:20.53
Or are you
looking at the furnace
00:28:20.56\00:28:21.90
or has your relationship
with God been established
00:28:21.93\00:28:23.97
before this moment?
00:28:24.00\00:28:25.33
So God is revealed
in difficult moments,
00:28:25.37\00:28:27.94
but I think that this next text,
00:28:27.97\00:28:29.30
I want you to read,
00:28:29.34\00:28:30.67
Pastor Steve, is
in Genesis 32:26.
00:28:30.71\00:28:33.07
Had I just have you
read it or was it Tamara?
00:28:33.11\00:28:34.44
Tamara just read.
00:28:34.48\00:28:35.81
Okay, Genesis 32:26.
00:28:35.84\00:28:37.25
I wanna emphasize
something that some of us do.
00:28:37.28\00:28:39.51
You see, I believe that the Lord
00:28:39.55\00:28:42.38
does not prevent blessings,
00:28:42.42\00:28:45.39
but He doesn't stop temptations.
00:28:45.42\00:28:47.86
He doesn't halt the trials.
00:28:47.89\00:28:51.19
He doesn't
prevent the blessings,
00:28:51.23\00:28:52.73
but there is something
that each one of us does
00:28:52.76\00:28:55.63
that sometimes could,
00:28:55.66\00:28:58.00
you know, it's
like leaving the airport
00:28:58.03\00:29:00.20
and the plane just arrived.
00:29:00.24\00:29:02.17
And we say, I waited too long.
00:29:02.20\00:29:03.81
Plane just arrived.
00:29:03.84\00:29:05.17
You left too quickly.
00:29:05.21\00:29:06.54
This text is gonna
bring something out
00:29:06.57\00:29:08.18
as to why some people
don't receive that blessings.
00:29:08.21\00:29:10.98
Not that God
doesn't wanna give them,
00:29:11.01\00:29:12.55
but look at the text,
00:29:12.58\00:29:13.92
Genesis 32:26.
00:29:13.95\00:29:15.28
And He said, let me
go for the day breaks.
00:29:15.32\00:29:18.25
And He said, I
will not let thee go,
00:29:18.29\00:29:22.26
except thou bless me."
00:29:22.29\00:29:23.99
Who is speaking here?
00:29:24.03\00:29:25.36
I love it. I love it.
00:29:25.39\00:29:26.73
Who is speaking? Jacob. Yes.
00:29:26.76\00:29:28.46
So, what do we see here?
00:29:28.50\00:29:29.83
Some people let go too quickly.
00:29:29.86\00:29:33.10
Yes.
00:29:33.13\00:29:34.47
The blessing has
been delivered FedEx.
00:29:34.50\00:29:36.04
That's the lie, but
God sent through raven.
00:29:36.07\00:29:38.41
That's the first
FedEx package delivered.
00:29:38.44\00:29:40.81
God sent a raven,
but the raven had to fly.
00:29:40.84\00:29:43.31
Everything is a time factor.
00:29:43.35\00:29:44.91
Sometimes you
gotta wait on the Lord.
00:29:44.95\00:29:46.75
He says that, wait on the Lord
00:29:46.78\00:29:48.82
and He will renew your strength.
00:29:48.85\00:29:51.42
So you get it.
00:29:51.45\00:29:52.79
He said, wait,
I say on the Lord.
00:29:52.82\00:29:55.09
Some people don't
hold on long enough.
00:29:55.12\00:29:58.16
They don't endure the difficulty
00:29:58.19\00:29:59.76
like this lady last
night, by the time we were done,
00:29:59.79\00:30:03.16
we saw a
completely different person.
00:30:03.20\00:30:05.03
And you gave her scriptures.
00:30:05.07\00:30:07.00
You emailed a ton of scriptures
00:30:07.04\00:30:09.10
after it's over an
hour speaking with her.
00:30:09.14\00:30:11.51
You sent her,
00:30:11.54\00:30:12.87
I'm gonna send you
God's promises, you said.
00:30:12.91\00:30:15.11
And I spoke to her
today on that, she says,
00:30:15.14\00:30:17.38
thank you so much for that.
00:30:17.41\00:30:19.45
I wanna tell you
about my sermon title
00:30:19.48\00:30:21.05
on the heels of that,
but I just give a hint.
00:30:21.08\00:30:23.15
Go ahead.
00:30:23.18\00:30:24.52
You know, it was so powerful
that my sermon coming up
00:30:24.55\00:30:27.56
and I'm gonna say it
when because of the timing,
00:30:27.59\00:30:29.59
but I'm working on a sermon
00:30:29.62\00:30:30.96
called
Declaration of Independence.
00:30:30.99\00:30:32.66
And we know what that means
just in a historical sense.
00:30:32.69\00:30:35.76
But just from this phone call.
00:30:35.80\00:30:38.17
Just from that phone call,
it's amazing how God works.
00:30:38.20\00:30:41.00
Declaration of Independence,
declaring myself independent
00:30:41.04\00:30:43.84
of all the attacks at the end.
00:30:43.87\00:30:45.44
I'm declaring my independence
from all your attacks,
00:30:45.47\00:30:47.84
'cause I'm
dependent on the Lord.
00:30:47.88\00:30:49.48
I no longer have to rely
on you for God to bless me.
00:30:49.51\00:30:52.18
I'm declaring my
independence of the trials.
00:30:52.21\00:30:54.52
My independence from worrying.
00:30:54.55\00:30:56.22
My independence
from doubting God.
00:30:56.25\00:30:58.85
I'm declaring my independence.
00:30:58.89\00:31:00.86
And when you
look at the passages
00:31:00.89\00:31:02.22
that this is built on,
00:31:02.26\00:31:03.59
it's gonna say, I'm
glad I read the Bible
00:31:03.63\00:31:06.43
'cause a lot of people
don't know the blessings
00:31:06.46\00:31:08.36
because they don't
read about the blessings.
00:31:08.40\00:31:10.77
And how are you
gonna recall a blessing
00:31:10.80\00:31:12.90
that you don't even know about?
00:31:12.93\00:31:14.97
How are you
going to cash a check
00:31:15.00\00:31:16.34
that you never received?
00:31:16.37\00:31:17.71
Come on, now.
00:31:17.74\00:31:19.07
Go on, give an appeal.
00:31:19.11\00:31:20.44
God is saying...
Give me an appeal.
00:31:20.48\00:31:21.81
Come on, now.
00:31:21.84\00:31:23.41
So God is saying,
00:31:23.45\00:31:24.78
I'm sending you a
check that won't bounce.
00:31:24.81\00:31:27.08
It's called a blessing,
00:31:27.12\00:31:28.45
but you gotta
get up and cash it.
00:31:28.48\00:31:30.22
And so many people are
saying, I'm not getting up.
00:31:30.25\00:31:32.05
I just want you to
fix me in this situation.
00:31:32.09\00:31:34.39
Well, there are
things that God won't do.
00:31:34.42\00:31:37.03
There are things
that God won't do
00:31:37.06\00:31:39.53
that He relies on us to do.
00:31:39.56\00:31:40.90
You know, as you were talking
00:31:40.93\00:31:42.26
about the
experience that you had
00:31:42.30\00:31:43.63
with this
precious sister in India,
00:31:43.67\00:31:46.60
it drew my mind to
verses 9 through 12
00:31:46.63\00:31:50.54
in Genesis Chapter 32.
00:31:50.57\00:31:52.34
And it actually parallels
00:31:52.37\00:31:55.88
what you guys were
talking about in verse 9.
00:31:55.91\00:31:58.31
"Jacob said, O God
of my father Abraham,
00:31:58.35\00:32:00.68
and God of my father Isaac,
00:32:00.72\00:32:02.55
the Lord which said unto me,
00:32:02.58\00:32:06.99
return unto thy country,
00:32:07.02\00:32:08.36
and to thy kindred,
00:32:08.39\00:32:09.72
and I will deal well with thee."
00:32:09.76\00:32:11.09
I'll skip down to verse 12,
00:32:11.13\00:32:13.19
"And thou said, I
will surely do thee good,
00:32:13.23\00:32:18.23
and make thy seed as
the sand of the sea."
00:32:18.27\00:32:20.64
And you were sharing how you,
00:32:20.67\00:32:22.87
you gave scriptural promises
00:32:22.90\00:32:25.07
reminded of the
things that God said,
00:32:25.11\00:32:27.98
and it was able to help her
00:32:28.01\00:32:29.34
to come out of the
challenge that she was in.
00:32:29.38\00:32:32.45
And I think the secret to,
00:32:32.48\00:32:34.32
I will not let you
go until you bless me,
00:32:34.35\00:32:37.19
is remembering who
it is you have hold of,
00:32:37.22\00:32:40.06
and the things He said,
00:32:40.09\00:32:41.89
because Jacob is holding on
00:32:41.92\00:32:43.69
and he's saying, wait a minute,
00:32:43.73\00:32:45.06
I wouldn't even be here
00:32:45.09\00:32:46.43
unless you said
that I should be here.
00:32:46.46\00:32:48.60
And by the way, not only
did you tell me to come here,
00:32:48.63\00:32:51.23
but you said that
you would do me good.
00:32:51.27\00:32:53.34
In other words, you
said you would bless me.
00:32:53.37\00:32:55.24
Oh, God loves it.
00:32:55.27\00:32:56.60
God really loves it.
00:32:56.64\00:32:57.97
I want what you said
that I was gonna get.
00:32:58.01\00:32:59.67
I want what you have for me.
00:32:59.71\00:33:01.21
And I refuse to let go
until you give it to me, right?
00:33:01.24\00:33:04.85
So it's a powerful situate.
00:33:04.88\00:33:06.92
You mentioned
forgetting about the things
00:33:06.95\00:33:10.45
that God has
said that He would do.
00:33:10.49\00:33:12.55
We cannot afford to forget
00:33:12.59\00:33:15.06
what God has promised
00:33:15.09\00:33:16.52
because it's, as we remind God
00:33:16.56\00:33:18.99
of what He's
promised to do for us,
00:33:19.03\00:33:21.33
that He comes through in
supernatural ways for us.
00:33:21.36\00:33:24.83
That's right. He does.
00:33:24.87\00:33:26.20
'Cause these are
spiritual blessings,
00:33:26.23\00:33:28.24
not physical
blessings necessarily,
00:33:28.27\00:33:31.61
but spiritual blessings.
00:33:31.64\00:33:33.21
And that's how we survive.
00:33:33.24\00:33:35.41
It's the peace within the storm.
00:33:35.44\00:33:37.75
We always let, the
storm is always around us,
00:33:37.78\00:33:40.82
but the blessing comes.
00:33:40.85\00:33:42.18
We cheat ourselves out
of the blessing of peace
00:33:42.22\00:33:44.95
because we let go of
Him, we don't hang on.
00:33:44.99\00:33:48.39
There's a fact
that you cannot deny it
00:33:48.42\00:33:50.23
because it takes my mind
back to when I was a kid,
00:33:50.26\00:33:52.13
I used to watch
WWF with my brothers.
00:33:52.16\00:33:53.66
I'm the youngest too.
00:33:53.70\00:33:55.03
Okay. World
Wrestling Federation.
00:33:55.06\00:33:56.97
And they used to body slam you.
00:33:57.00\00:33:58.33
And they used to body slam me.
00:33:58.37\00:33:59.70
Bless their hearts,
they've been delivered.
00:33:59.73\00:34:01.07
But you know, nonetheless,
I remember thinking to myself,
00:34:01.10\00:34:05.67
it is in the wrestling
that your character is built.
00:34:05.71\00:34:08.91
It is in the wrestling
that your muscle is developed.
00:34:08.94\00:34:11.51
And that is why it's a
necessity for our lives.
00:34:11.55\00:34:15.08
I know that when
I'm not wrestling,
00:34:15.12\00:34:16.58
I can get comfortable
00:34:16.62\00:34:17.95
and I'm gonna just be honest,
00:34:17.99\00:34:19.32
but it is in the wrestling
that I am running to God,
00:34:19.35\00:34:22.09
I need His help.
00:34:22.12\00:34:23.46
Lord tag team, take him.
00:34:23.49\00:34:25.23
I can't handle this.
00:34:25.26\00:34:26.59
He goes like, I got you.
00:34:26.63\00:34:27.96
All right. You know?
00:34:28.00\00:34:29.33
So the wrestling is a
necessity for the building
00:34:29.36\00:34:30.70
of our character.
00:34:30.73\00:34:32.07
It's where the
physical and the spiritual
00:34:32.10\00:34:33.44
are exactly the same.
00:34:33.47\00:34:34.80
Yeah.
00:34:34.84\00:34:36.17
I guarantee you, if you
stop exercising for two weeks,
00:34:36.20\00:34:38.64
you just, you lose everything
00:34:38.67\00:34:40.78
that you gained
over the past two years.
00:34:40.81\00:34:42.54
It's amazing.
00:34:42.58\00:34:43.95
So the spiritual actually,
00:34:43.98\00:34:46.28
I think the spiritual
reflects the spiritual.
00:34:46.31\00:34:48.68
Amen. Amen.
00:34:48.72\00:34:50.05
Yeah.
00:34:50.09\00:34:51.42
And so, and the other
thing I wanna point out,
00:34:51.45\00:34:53.19
which as you're listening
to the program tonight,
00:34:53.22\00:34:55.16
I also wanna talk
about the duration
00:34:55.19\00:34:56.52
of God's blessings
00:34:56.56\00:34:57.89
because God is eternal.
00:34:57.93\00:34:59.83
Yes, forever.
00:34:59.86\00:35:01.53
What about the
duration of His blessings?
00:35:01.56\00:35:03.77
We think about
God, but we don't think
00:35:03.80\00:35:05.13
about the
duration of His blessings.
00:35:05.17\00:35:07.14
Can I put it another way?
00:35:07.17\00:35:08.50
God's blessings
don't have an expiration.
00:35:08.54\00:35:10.37
Amen.
00:35:10.41\00:35:11.74
But we don't think about that.
00:35:11.77\00:35:13.11
We think, okay, now how
long is this show gonna last?
00:35:13.14\00:35:17.45
Everything man does
has a beginning and an end,
00:35:17.48\00:35:20.42
but the Lord says I am
the alpha and the omega.
00:35:20.45\00:35:24.59
I am the beginning and the end.
00:35:24.62\00:35:27.06
And He sits in eternity.
00:35:27.09\00:35:29.52
And His existing is
from the going forth,
00:35:29.56\00:35:32.96
these from everlasting.
00:35:32.99\00:35:34.80
So God's
blessings are the same way.
00:35:34.83\00:35:36.90
You're talking
about 1 Chronicles?
00:35:36.93\00:35:38.93
Yeah. Okay.
00:35:38.97\00:35:40.30
Angie, I'm gonna
have Angie read that
00:35:40.34\00:35:41.67
because look at the
duration of God's blessings,
00:35:41.70\00:35:43.20
and we're gonna
come to you next, Dee.
00:35:43.24\00:35:45.71
1 Chronicle 17:27.
00:35:45.74\00:35:47.64
"Now you have been pleased
00:35:47.68\00:35:49.08
to bless the
house of your servant,
00:35:49.11\00:35:51.48
that it may
continue before you forever,
00:35:51.51\00:35:54.88
for you have blessed it, O Lord,
00:35:54.92\00:35:58.75
and it shall be
blessed," how long?
00:35:58.79\00:36:00.89
"Forever."
00:36:00.92\00:36:02.29
This is huge
00:36:02.32\00:36:03.73
because the house
that is built on God,
00:36:03.76\00:36:07.43
that blessing is generational,
00:36:07.46\00:36:10.00
because curse is a generational.
00:36:10.03\00:36:11.37
Absolutely.
00:36:11.40\00:36:12.73
Yes, yes. Curses of law.
00:36:12.77\00:36:14.44
The sins of the
father, to the children,
00:36:14.47\00:36:16.74
the third and fourth
generation of those who hate me.
00:36:16.77\00:36:19.27
I want your family
members to understand
00:36:19.31\00:36:20.71
that you are in the
position to bless your children
00:36:20.74\00:36:22.98
generationally.
00:36:23.01\00:36:25.08
If you establish the blessing,
it goes on generationally.
00:36:25.11\00:36:28.25
How many times...
Now, you could do this.
00:36:28.28\00:36:30.49
How many of us
look back and say,
00:36:30.52\00:36:31.85
you know, if it
weren't for grandma to hang on
00:36:31.89\00:36:34.92
and you know that, if it
wasn't for your mother's sister
00:36:34.96\00:36:37.86
to come to America first, okay,
00:36:37.89\00:36:41.63
your mother
wouldn't come to America.
00:36:41.66\00:36:43.97
Oh, no. You get it, see it?
00:36:44.00\00:36:45.77
Yeah. Okay.
00:36:45.80\00:36:47.14
After my father
died in England, my...
00:36:47.17\00:36:49.97
But before he died,
00:36:50.01\00:36:51.67
'cause the prejudice
was so high in America,
00:36:51.71\00:36:53.68
he said, I will not
step foot in America.
00:36:53.71\00:36:56.64
Over my dead body,
00:36:56.68\00:36:58.01
I will not allow my
children to come to America.
00:36:58.05\00:37:02.65
And we were gonna stay
in, I was born in England.
00:37:02.68\00:37:04.95
We were going
to stay in England.
00:37:04.99\00:37:06.35
I would have been in England.
00:37:06.39\00:37:07.72
I would have married
an Englishman probably.
00:37:07.76\00:37:09.32
But, you know,
unfortunately my father died.
00:37:13.83\00:37:17.97
My mother was left
with eight children.
00:37:18.00\00:37:20.90
All eight of us.
00:37:20.94\00:37:22.27
What are we gonna do?
00:37:22.30\00:37:23.64
My mother's
sister came to England.
00:37:23.67\00:37:26.31
She was in America,
in New York at the time
00:37:26.34\00:37:28.84
in Brooklyn and
came to Brooklyn.
00:37:28.88\00:37:31.95
And we came little at a time.
00:37:31.98\00:37:33.95
We couldn't so many of us.
00:37:33.98\00:37:35.55
So, we came to Brooklyn
00:37:35.58\00:37:37.02
and we went to
Bethel Church in Brooklyn.
00:37:37.05\00:37:39.95
Who went to
Bethel Church? You did.
00:37:39.99\00:37:41.92
As a little boy.
00:37:41.96\00:37:43.29
We grew up there together,
00:37:43.32\00:37:44.66
didn't even know
each other for years.
00:37:44.69\00:37:46.03
It's such a big church.
00:37:46.06\00:37:47.40
Yeah, it had like 1,200 members.
00:37:47.43\00:37:48.80
And see how the Lord
works, the blessings.
00:37:48.83\00:37:50.73
I mean... And you know what?
00:37:50.77\00:37:52.10
I look at that and say, okay.
00:37:52.13\00:37:53.77
My mom and dad abandoned me
as a baby at three months old.
00:37:53.80\00:37:56.67
Her dad died when
she was three years old.
00:37:56.71\00:37:58.91
And the Lord says, I
don't see anybody in America
00:37:58.94\00:38:01.61
that I want to marry this man.
00:38:01.64\00:38:03.88
I don't see anybody in America
that I want to be his wife.
00:38:03.91\00:38:07.18
I'm gonna bring his
wife over from England.
00:38:07.22\00:38:09.62
And so, her
father is sad as it is,
00:38:09.65\00:38:14.42
it's on the heels of his demise,
00:38:14.46\00:38:17.69
that a blessing came out of it.
00:38:17.73\00:38:19.06
But he died in the Lord.
00:38:19.09\00:38:20.43
He died in the Lord,
00:38:20.46\00:38:21.80
but he said, I'd
never come to America.
00:38:21.83\00:38:23.73
But God said, I got to
get her to America somehow.
00:38:23.77\00:38:26.10
I need to lay to
rest in my promises
00:38:26.13\00:38:28.10
and God didn't kill him.
00:38:28.14\00:38:29.47
I'm making that clear,
00:38:29.50\00:38:30.84
but God allowed
him to be laid to rest
00:38:30.87\00:38:32.21
so that my life
could be where it is today.
00:38:32.24\00:38:34.08
Our lives.
00:38:34.11\00:38:35.44
Our lives to be
with, thank you, honey.
00:38:35.48\00:38:36.81
Our lives to be
where it is today.
00:38:36.85\00:38:38.18
What I'm communicating
here is generational.
00:38:38.21\00:38:41.42
Curses are generational
and blessings are generational.
00:38:41.45\00:38:44.75
How are curses generational?
00:38:44.79\00:38:46.69
I can...
00:38:46.72\00:38:48.06
So, when you're a
little kid growing up,
00:38:48.09\00:38:49.62
you only see
what's happening there.
00:38:49.66\00:38:51.16
But when you get older,
all of a sudden, if you start,
00:38:51.19\00:38:53.86
I've talked to
my cousins and stuff
00:38:53.90\00:38:55.50
and we can look back and say,
00:38:55.53\00:38:57.37
oh, this happened to grandpa.
00:38:57.40\00:39:02.50
And then this happened
to his father back here.
00:39:02.54\00:39:06.57
I can go back
three or four generations
00:39:06.61\00:39:08.11
and see pain.
00:39:08.14\00:39:10.45
However, my cousins
and I all kind of said,
00:39:10.48\00:39:16.65
this is where it stops.
00:39:16.69\00:39:18.02
We want a change.
00:39:18.05\00:39:20.36
We want a change.
00:39:20.39\00:39:21.72
It stops here.
00:39:21.76\00:39:23.09
So, we can start a
blessed generation.
00:39:23.12\00:39:26.70
You can start a
blessed generation.
00:39:26.73\00:39:28.96
You can look, I
look, you know, we all say,
00:39:29.00\00:39:31.07
I'm never gonna
be like my mother.
00:39:31.10\00:39:32.57
I'm not going to
be like my father
00:39:32.60\00:39:33.94
when we see the things
that we don't like in them.
00:39:33.97\00:39:35.50
Right.
00:39:35.54\00:39:36.87
And I always said,
00:39:36.91\00:39:39.14
oh, I'm not gonna
be like my mother,
00:39:39.17\00:39:40.94
but I don't
know, a few years ago,
00:39:40.98\00:39:42.74
I was like, oh my goodness.
00:39:42.78\00:39:46.51
That's where I learned
that was at my mother's knee.
00:39:46.55\00:39:51.22
And you need to change that.
00:39:51.25\00:39:52.85
You can't change
something until you recognize
00:39:52.89\00:39:55.82
that you need to
change it and what it is,
00:39:55.86\00:39:58.33
but you can change
your family for generations
00:39:58.36\00:40:02.86
by letting God change you,
00:40:02.90\00:40:05.73
change your family
right now here and today.
00:40:05.77\00:40:08.17
So, you can take the
curses off of the past
00:40:08.20\00:40:10.54
and put blessings on the future.
00:40:10.57\00:40:12.61
Your choice was God.
00:40:12.64\00:40:13.98
I like that.
00:40:14.01\00:40:15.34
That's right.
You have to decide.
00:40:15.38\00:40:16.71
I mean, we train animals,
we train dogs, we train birds,
00:40:16.75\00:40:18.68
we train people, you
know, children to be right,
00:40:18.71\00:40:21.48
train the child
the way they should go.
00:40:21.52\00:40:23.39
But so many people leave
their behavior to happenstance.
00:40:23.42\00:40:26.45
I was saying to my wife,
and I know we talk about this,
00:40:26.49\00:40:28.42
and this has been part of
my permeating preaching lately.
00:40:28.46\00:40:31.26
If you don't train
yourself to be righteous,
00:40:31.29\00:40:32.89
you won't be righteous.
00:40:32.93\00:40:34.63
Righteousness doesn't happen.
00:40:34.66\00:40:36.40
And a tree doesn't
grow and produce fruit
00:40:36.43\00:40:38.70
in a vineyard,
less it's trained.
00:40:38.73\00:40:40.30
That vineyard is
like that because somebody
00:40:40.34\00:40:41.90
set it that way.
00:40:41.94\00:40:43.27
Yeah.
00:40:43.30\00:40:44.64
And if we leave our lives
to allow thorns and thistles
00:40:44.67\00:40:46.51
to choke the Word of God in us,
00:40:46.54\00:40:48.61
we'll never be
able to be trained.
00:40:48.64\00:40:50.75
And so we have
to train ourselves.
00:40:50.78\00:40:52.21
But what I wanna point out
now is something has to happen
00:40:52.25\00:40:56.62
for that blessing to
go to your offspring.
00:40:56.65\00:41:00.09
So, Tamara, I'm
going to come to you next.
00:41:00.12\00:41:02.22
Isaiah 44:3.
00:41:02.26\00:41:03.96
Actually, I'm
happy to read this.
00:41:03.99\00:41:05.66
Isaiah 44,
something has to happen to you
00:41:05.69\00:41:08.13
for the blessing to go
down to your offspring.
00:41:08.16\00:41:10.27
And it says this, it
says if you are willing...
00:41:10.30\00:41:12.77
Well, no, no, Isaiah 44:3.
00:41:12.80\00:41:14.14
I'm sorry. Yes.
00:41:14.17\00:41:15.50
I'm sorry,
00:41:15.54\00:41:16.87
"I will pour water
on him who is thirsty
00:41:16.91\00:41:18.34
and floods on the dry ground.
00:41:18.37\00:41:19.87
And I will pour my
Spirit on your descendants
00:41:19.91\00:41:22.71
and my blessings
on your offspring."
00:41:22.74\00:41:25.05
Okay. So now, what happened?
00:41:25.08\00:41:27.22
Listen, first of all, I
am a testament to the fact
00:41:27.25\00:41:30.59
that this is true.
00:41:30.62\00:41:32.29
And I appreciate I'm a person
00:41:32.32\00:41:33.69
who enjoys
talking to people, right?
00:41:33.72\00:41:36.83
But I am also a person
who loves transparency.
00:41:36.86\00:41:39.03
And I know that there are people
00:41:39.06\00:41:40.40
who will be watching this,
00:41:40.43\00:41:41.76
who sometimes look at
the people on the panel,
00:41:41.80\00:41:43.16
they have heard our stories.
00:41:43.20\00:41:44.67
But sometimes
they feel abstract.
00:41:44.70\00:41:46.20
And I'm gonna tell
you that everybody here
00:41:46.23\00:41:47.80
understands exactly
00:41:47.84\00:41:49.17
what it means to go
through some rough times
00:41:49.20\00:41:51.27
and to look at life and say,
00:41:51.31\00:41:53.38
it's impossible that
God can bring anything good
00:41:53.41\00:41:55.54
out of that.
00:41:55.58\00:41:56.98
My father was probably a fourth
or fifth generation alcoholic,
00:41:57.01\00:42:00.48
right?
00:42:00.52\00:42:01.85
And for all
intents and purposes,
00:42:01.88\00:42:04.15
I should be one.
00:42:04.19\00:42:05.92
And the family that we,
you know, that I was born into
00:42:05.95\00:42:09.29
was a
dysfunctional family, you know?
00:42:09.32\00:42:11.39
And I remember my
father telling me,
00:42:11.43\00:42:13.19
I remember my father telling me
00:42:13.23\00:42:15.36
that what drove him to get help.
00:42:15.40\00:42:16.87
Remember you talked
about making a decision.
00:42:16.90\00:42:18.80
What drove him to
get help was him thinking
00:42:18.83\00:42:20.74
about his only
child, his daughter,
00:42:20.77\00:42:23.81
and what was going to happen.
00:42:23.84\00:42:25.74
And he said, he
knew the Lord told him
00:42:25.77\00:42:27.31
you need to get help.
00:42:27.34\00:42:28.84
And the reason why I felt like
00:42:28.88\00:42:30.21
I wanted to
share that was because
00:42:30.25\00:42:32.58
I have the genetic
makeup to be an addict.
00:42:32.61\00:42:35.52
I know that it's there,
00:42:35.55\00:42:37.09
but because of the one decision
00:42:37.12\00:42:38.75
and my father
didn't make this decision
00:42:38.79\00:42:40.46
when he was perfect,
00:42:40.49\00:42:41.82
let's be clear.
00:42:41.86\00:42:43.19
He made the decision in
a moment of desperateness
00:42:43.22\00:42:45.36
and pain and anxiety
00:42:45.39\00:42:47.13
and suffering from an addiction.
00:42:47.16\00:42:49.06
And he made one step.
00:42:49.10\00:42:50.77
And when he made one
step, by the grace of God,
00:42:50.80\00:42:53.30
his employer made the next step.
00:42:53.34\00:42:54.67
I'm gonna pay for you
to go and get alcohol,
00:42:54.70\00:42:57.01
you know, to get treatment.
00:42:57.04\00:42:59.17
And when he made that decision,
00:42:59.21\00:43:00.94
he moved forward.
00:43:00.98\00:43:02.31
And as a result
of him doing that,
00:43:02.34\00:43:03.68
he had an opportunity
00:43:03.71\00:43:05.05
to show me
something different, right?
00:43:05.08\00:43:06.65
And so for years,
00:43:06.68\00:43:08.22
we had this generational
curse in our family,
00:43:08.25\00:43:10.59
but all it takes is one
person to make the decision,
00:43:10.62\00:43:12.75
to jump off the
train of dysfunction.
00:43:12.79\00:43:15.19
And here I am
married and having children
00:43:15.22\00:43:18.63
and having family worship
and doing all these things
00:43:18.66\00:43:20.60
that I was never raised to do.
00:43:20.63\00:43:21.96
Wow.
00:43:22.00\00:43:23.33
But what happened?
00:43:23.37\00:43:24.70
When I was a
Sabbath school teacher
00:43:24.73\00:43:26.07
with the young kids,
00:43:26.10\00:43:27.47
my life was very
much happenstance.
00:43:27.50\00:43:29.77
It just, wherever the
wind blew me, you know.
00:43:29.80\00:43:33.48
So I would say to
my kids, you need to,
00:43:33.51\00:43:35.81
and parents say
to your children,
00:43:35.84\00:43:38.65
think, and when
they're 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,
00:43:38.68\00:43:41.42
I was with the teenagers.
00:43:41.45\00:43:42.82
I would say to them,
00:43:42.85\00:43:44.19
who do you wanna
be when you grow up?
00:43:44.22\00:43:47.16
How do you wanna act?
00:43:47.19\00:43:49.29
How do you wanna be known?
00:43:49.32\00:43:50.66
What do you want
out of your life?
00:43:50.69\00:43:53.26
Think about it now.
00:43:53.29\00:43:54.86
And if you say,
00:43:54.90\00:43:56.70
I want to do this
and this and this,
00:43:56.73\00:43:58.23
and you want to be good.
00:43:58.27\00:43:59.60
If you're not
practicing it right now,
00:43:59.63\00:44:01.77
if you're not thinking
about it in a deliberate way,
00:44:01.80\00:44:05.67
you're not going to,
it's not gonna happen.
00:44:05.71\00:44:09.04
Like I used to have girlfriends
say, oh, in high school,
00:44:09.08\00:44:12.18
when I get married, I'm
gonna marry somebody rich,
00:44:12.21\00:44:15.05
but they're dating a bamp.
00:44:15.08\00:44:16.58
Come on now.
00:44:16.62\00:44:17.95
Y'all gonna listen to this.
00:44:17.99\00:44:22.02
You're gonna marry
somebody that you're dating.
00:44:22.06\00:44:24.83
So don't date anybody
00:44:24.86\00:44:26.56
that you wouldn't
wanna end up married to.
00:44:26.59\00:44:28.76
So you'd better
look at them careful
00:44:28.80\00:44:30.33
before you start dating.
00:44:30.37\00:44:33.47
You can't decide you
wanna have a family and a home
00:44:33.50\00:44:37.17
and you're not
developing yourself
00:44:37.21\00:44:39.34
to be a mother or
father or a wife or a husband.
00:44:39.37\00:44:43.98
Think about when you're young.
00:44:44.01\00:44:45.78
Okay. I want you
to look at that...
00:44:45.81\00:44:47.85
To you too, with the
smoking that was in your family.
00:44:47.88\00:44:50.59
My mother did two to
three pack of cigarettes a day.
00:44:50.62\00:44:52.52
My dad was...
00:44:52.55\00:44:53.89
Your grandmother too.
00:44:53.92\00:44:55.26
My grandmother...
00:44:55.29\00:44:56.62
She shown your mother how to...
00:44:56.66\00:44:57.99
My father was a night stalker.
00:44:58.03\00:44:59.36
He was a jazz musician.
00:44:59.39\00:45:00.73
He would play at night,
slept during the daytime.
00:45:00.76\00:45:02.66
He drank and when
I met him, he said,
00:45:02.70\00:45:04.80
you can smoke marijuana,
00:45:04.83\00:45:06.17
but don't mess
with the heavy stuff.
00:45:06.20\00:45:07.54
I never did that.
00:45:07.57\00:45:08.90
I mean, I tried
the cigarette once
00:45:08.94\00:45:10.27
and almost choked to death.
00:45:10.31\00:45:11.64
I figured I
don't have a chimney,
00:45:11.67\00:45:13.01
that's not made for me,
00:45:13.04\00:45:14.38
but I wanna show you something
00:45:14.41\00:45:15.74
because what
happened to your dad?
00:45:15.78\00:45:17.11
I wanna bring this out.
00:45:17.15\00:45:18.48
You thought of
it as desperation.
00:45:18.51\00:45:19.91
I wanna change your focus.
00:45:19.95\00:45:21.28
It wasn't desperation.
00:45:21.32\00:45:22.65
Look at that text one more
time and tell me what it was.
00:45:22.68\00:45:25.72
Isaiah 44:3.
00:45:25.75\00:45:27.49
"For I will
pour out water on him
00:45:27.52\00:45:28.92
who is thirsty.
00:45:28.96\00:45:30.29
He was thirsty.
00:45:30.33\00:45:32.03
He thirsted for freedom.
00:45:32.06\00:45:33.40
Yes.
00:45:33.43\00:45:34.76
Amen. Amen.
00:45:34.80\00:45:36.23
Can you do a seminar on thirsty?
00:45:36.26\00:45:37.70
Come on now.
00:45:37.73\00:45:39.83
I am suggesting to people today
00:45:39.87\00:45:42.74
that they are so
used to being drought.
00:45:42.77\00:45:47.04
They don't even
know what it's like
00:45:47.08\00:45:48.94
to get that thirst quenched.
00:45:48.98\00:45:51.28
And the Lord,
if you look at God,
00:45:51.31\00:45:53.92
God is an oasis God.
00:45:53.95\00:45:56.15
He'll bring a
spring up out of nowhere,
00:45:56.18\00:45:58.35
but you have to get thirsty.
00:45:58.39\00:46:00.29
And for those
people that are comfortable
00:46:00.32\00:46:01.99
with the humdrum
life, for those Christians
00:46:02.02\00:46:04.79
that are comfortable
with a humdrum existence,
00:46:04.83\00:46:07.36
barely come to church,
00:46:07.40\00:46:08.73
don't want to study
their Sabbath school lesson.
00:46:08.76\00:46:10.53
Don't wanna be participating
in any type of church activity,
00:46:10.57\00:46:13.47
they're dry.
00:46:13.50\00:46:14.84
And they wonder, why am
I just not enjoying church?
00:46:14.87\00:46:17.34
Why can't the sermon
end quick enough for me?
00:46:17.37\00:46:20.08
'Cause they're not thirsty.
00:46:20.11\00:46:21.48
And this is saying,
but look what happened.
00:46:21.51\00:46:22.94
Look at the reciprocal of it.
00:46:22.98\00:46:24.31
Look at it again. Read
it for us one more time.
00:46:24.35\00:46:25.78
Yes.
00:46:25.81\00:46:27.15
"For I will pour water
upon him who is thirsty
00:46:27.18\00:46:29.28
and floods on the dry ground.
00:46:29.32\00:46:31.89
And I will pour my
spirit on your descendants."
00:46:31.92\00:46:35.62
Yes.
00:46:35.66\00:46:36.99
And what about that?
00:46:37.03\00:46:38.36
But not only that, my
blessings on your offspring
00:46:38.39\00:46:42.03
so, it's generational,
00:46:42.06\00:46:44.00
but if a family member
gets thirsty, it breaks.
00:46:44.03\00:46:49.44
So you got, I got thirsty.
00:46:49.47\00:46:51.64
We're a ministry.
00:46:51.67\00:46:53.01
Your dad was thirsty.
00:46:53.04\00:46:54.38
Honey, we're a
ministry 'cause we got thirsty.
00:46:54.41\00:46:55.74
Amen.
00:46:55.78\00:46:57.11
Sitting at my desk
in an accounting office,
00:46:57.15\00:46:58.48
my wife working
at the front desk.
00:46:58.51\00:46:59.85
She said, why are
you, what's wrong with you?
00:46:59.88\00:47:01.25
I said, this is not, this is,
00:47:01.28\00:47:03.49
this cannot be all
that there is to life.
00:47:03.52\00:47:06.19
I wanna be in the ministry.
00:47:06.22\00:47:07.76
We got thirsty and
refused to stop praying
00:47:07.79\00:47:09.76
until God poured
water on our dry ground.
00:47:09.79\00:47:12.99
And I'm suggesting
there's one more thing though.
00:47:13.03\00:47:15.36
There's another thing
00:47:15.40\00:47:16.73
I'm gonna go to,
this is powerful.
00:47:16.77\00:47:18.10
So those of you
that are watching,
00:47:18.13\00:47:19.47
I got to ask
you, are you thirsty?
00:47:19.50\00:47:20.87
Are you just satisfied
00:47:20.90\00:47:22.24
with the dry
Christian existence?
00:47:22.27\00:47:24.44
So much of Christianity today
00:47:24.47\00:47:26.37
can happen without the
Holy Spirit in their lives.
00:47:26.41\00:47:28.31
Yes, it's so true.
00:47:28.34\00:47:30.28
No Holy Spirit.
'Cause they're dry.
00:47:30.31\00:47:32.01
But, Pastor, now
go to Genesis 12:3.
00:47:32.05\00:47:34.35
Now, let's look at
the reciprocal part
00:47:34.38\00:47:35.72
of blessings
00:47:35.75\00:47:37.09
because if somebody,
00:47:37.12\00:47:38.45
if you get thirsty,
00:47:38.49\00:47:39.82
God is gonna start
blessing your family
00:47:39.85\00:47:41.66
and then bless
your family's family.
00:47:41.69\00:47:43.63
But look at the
reciprocal part of this,
00:47:43.66\00:47:45.03
then all of a
sudden, the doors open up
00:47:45.06\00:47:47.03
and it continues
00:47:47.06\00:47:48.40
from one generation to the next.
00:47:48.43\00:47:50.30
Look at the
blessing, Genesis 12:3.
00:47:50.33\00:47:53.57
"And I will bless
them that bless thee
00:47:53.60\00:47:55.94
and curse them
that curse at thee.
00:47:55.97\00:47:57.97
And in thee shall families
of the earth be blessed."
00:47:58.01\00:48:01.74
Now, I want you to get this.
00:48:01.78\00:48:03.61
We know this, the
Lord is talking to Jacob,
00:48:03.65\00:48:07.82
but He didn't
record this just for Jacob.
00:48:07.85\00:48:10.22
Abraham.
00:48:10.25\00:48:11.59
I'm sorry. He didn't
record this just for Abraham.
00:48:11.62\00:48:13.89
Okay.
00:48:13.92\00:48:15.26
Because Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, his sons,
00:48:15.29\00:48:20.23
the seed came through them,
00:48:20.26\00:48:21.60
the line of the
tribe of Judah, Christ.
00:48:21.63\00:48:23.90
But I believe, and this
is my approach to this text.
00:48:23.93\00:48:27.37
I believe that this
is true about all of us,
00:48:27.40\00:48:30.97
because I know
that there are people,
00:48:31.01\00:48:33.24
remember, honey,
when somebody called us
00:48:33.27\00:48:34.61
and said they want to bless us.
00:48:34.64\00:48:35.98
And you said, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no.
00:48:36.01\00:48:37.35
What did they say?
00:48:37.38\00:48:38.71
Don't rob me of my blessing.
00:48:38.75\00:48:41.95
We were just...
00:48:41.98\00:48:43.32
Okay.
00:48:43.35\00:48:44.69
You know in ministry.
00:48:44.72\00:48:46.05
Can you identify with it?
00:48:46.09\00:48:47.42
Oh, I'm gonna identify
with people wanting to bless.
00:48:47.46\00:48:49.46
And my wife's saying no.
00:48:49.49\00:48:50.83
Yeah, I can identify with it.
00:48:50.86\00:48:52.29
Why is it that way, right?
00:48:52.33\00:48:54.10
Yeah. It's amazing.
00:48:54.13\00:48:55.63
But I agree with
you wholeheartedly that,
00:48:55.66\00:48:58.87
you know, obviously
the Bible says and my kids,
00:48:58.90\00:49:02.80
my youngest children
00:49:02.84\00:49:04.31
are not yet convinced of
the truth of this passage.
00:49:04.34\00:49:07.41
They're getting it.
00:49:07.44\00:49:08.78
It is more blessed
to give than to receive.
00:49:08.81\00:49:11.38
I remember we
first read that to them
00:49:11.41\00:49:12.75
and they were like,
00:49:12.78\00:49:15.28
I don't know about that
00:49:15.32\00:49:16.65
and they just
looked at us with suspicion
00:49:16.69\00:49:19.09
and they still are wrestling,
00:49:19.12\00:49:20.46
whether, the
youngest ones anyway.
00:49:20.49\00:49:21.96
But I love this passage
of scripture in Genesis 12
00:49:21.99\00:49:25.29
because I think it just,
00:49:25.33\00:49:27.90
it resonates with
God's desire to bless.
00:49:27.93\00:49:32.43
He says, look,
I'm so eager to bless
00:49:32.47\00:49:35.07
that when you're in
relationship with Me,
00:49:35.10\00:49:37.44
I'm going to bless you.
00:49:37.47\00:49:39.51
But the people who bless
you, I'm gonna bless them too.
00:49:39.54\00:49:43.21
Yes.
00:49:43.24\00:49:44.58
Like that's how
eager God is to bless us.
00:49:44.61\00:49:47.68
In fact, my wife and I
were talking about this passage
00:49:47.72\00:49:50.49
and it plays itself
out in the scriptures
00:49:50.52\00:49:52.45
because, and it shows
you anyway so much stuff.
00:49:52.49\00:49:56.22
But it, when again, I
keep going back to Joseph,
00:49:56.26\00:50:00.26
but when Joseph was
in Potiphar's house.
00:50:00.30\00:50:03.06
Oh, yes.
00:50:03.10\00:50:04.60
Potiphar and his
household were blessed
00:50:04.63\00:50:07.07
because Joseph was there.
00:50:07.10\00:50:09.07
Joseph went, didn't
his brother went to prison,
00:50:09.10\00:50:12.24
and the prison was
blessed 'cause he was there.
00:50:12.27\00:50:15.21
And then, of course, ultimately
00:50:15.24\00:50:17.05
he goes and
interprets Pharaoh's dreams.
00:50:17.08\00:50:19.65
And he's the prime minister.
00:50:19.68\00:50:21.02
And the whole nation
is blessed because of him.
00:50:21.05\00:50:25.55
And the crazy thing is later on,
00:50:25.59\00:50:27.82
Egypt takes a little
bit of a different stance
00:50:27.86\00:50:29.89
in the Book of Exodus,
00:50:29.92\00:50:31.26
towards the people of God.
00:50:31.29\00:50:32.76
And guess what happens?
00:50:32.79\00:50:34.60
They lose the
blessing. That's right.
00:50:34.63\00:50:36.70
And so, I'm
thinking to myself, like,
00:50:36.73\00:50:40.50
man, my neighbors, God
can bless my neighbors,
00:50:40.54\00:50:44.67
you know, who bless
me and God can bless,
00:50:44.71\00:50:48.21
you know, my
physician who blesses me
00:50:48.24\00:50:50.75
and God can bless my
mechanic who blesses me.
00:50:50.78\00:50:53.98
And it's just pregnant
00:50:54.02\00:50:56.38
with this idea
of God's eagerness
00:50:56.42\00:50:58.79
to bless the
entirety of the human race.
00:50:58.82\00:51:01.36
Amen. That's beautiful.
00:51:01.39\00:51:03.06
And it's like the Jews of old,
00:51:03.09\00:51:04.93
God chose them to be a
blessing to mankind, but...
00:51:04.96\00:51:09.16
Were they forfeited it?
00:51:09.20\00:51:10.53
Oh, man.
00:51:10.57\00:51:11.90
Yeah.
00:51:11.93\00:51:13.27
It dropped off.
00:51:13.30\00:51:14.64
It dropped off.
00:51:14.67\00:51:16.00
In this reciprocal what
were you gonna say, hun?
00:51:16.04\00:51:17.37
No that was it.
00:51:17.41\00:51:18.74
God chose them to be blessed.
00:51:18.77\00:51:20.11
When your children experience
00:51:20.14\00:51:21.48
that when they
bless someone else,
00:51:21.51\00:51:23.35
that they themselves are blessed
00:51:23.38\00:51:26.05
at a different time or
place or a different way.
00:51:26.08\00:51:28.72
Then all of a sudden you see
this cycle of God's blessings
00:51:28.75\00:51:34.26
flowing in and out
of not only your lives,
00:51:34.29\00:51:37.66
but everybody else's
lives that you touch.
00:51:37.69\00:51:39.69
It's funny.
00:51:39.73\00:51:41.06
We make it a point
every year to have a basket
00:51:41.10\00:51:42.90
in our home, right?
00:51:42.93\00:51:44.27
And at the end of the year,
00:51:44.30\00:51:45.87
we have papers that we
put in throughout the year
00:51:45.90\00:51:47.87
about how God has blessed.
00:51:47.90\00:51:49.24
And then at the end of the year,
00:51:49.27\00:51:50.61
we take it out and
we read it to the kids.
00:51:50.64\00:51:51.97
And it's so important because
00:51:52.01\00:51:53.34
I want them to
know now that the God
00:51:53.38\00:51:55.58
that we are
teaching them about, right?
00:51:55.61\00:51:57.28
That they one day
will have to choose
00:51:57.31\00:51:58.65
on their own to follow.
00:51:58.68\00:52:00.02
They will
remember the blessings.
00:52:00.05\00:52:01.38
And they will
count their blessings.
00:52:01.42\00:52:02.75
Yes, and name them one by one.
00:52:02.78\00:52:04.12
I love that.
00:52:04.15\00:52:05.49
How you write that in because,
00:52:05.52\00:52:07.62
we should establish
Ebenezers in our lives
00:52:07.66\00:52:12.03
because it's so easy
00:52:12.06\00:52:13.40
if something
happened so beautiful.
00:52:13.43\00:52:14.76
We have Ebenezer,
that little plastic bag.
00:52:14.80\00:52:16.13
Oh, man. I tell you, tell
them about that real quick?
00:52:16.16\00:52:18.33
How could I say it?
00:52:18.37\00:52:19.87
Okay.
00:52:19.90\00:52:21.24
You tell it.
00:52:21.27\00:52:22.84
Intersections in our lives
00:52:22.87\00:52:24.21
where we could have
walked away from ministry.
00:52:24.24\00:52:26.71
Back in 1995,
00:52:26.74\00:52:28.08
we found ourselves
in Yosemite Valley,
00:52:28.11\00:52:31.38
praying in a $29 cabin.
00:52:31.41\00:52:34.02
And all we had, we
didn't have a toothbrush,
00:52:34.05\00:52:35.55
didn't have a brush,
00:52:35.58\00:52:36.92
didn't have a change of clothes.
00:52:36.95\00:52:38.29
We just got on
our knees and prayed.
00:52:38.32\00:52:39.65
And all we had to eat
00:52:39.69\00:52:41.86
was some crackers
inside of a silver bag.
00:52:41.89\00:52:47.33
You know, the line
where it's clink, clink.
00:52:47.36\00:52:51.47
We kept that bag.
00:52:51.50\00:52:52.83
Have it to this
day, my Ebenezer.
00:52:52.87\00:52:55.14
Because it was at that moment
when all we had was that bag.
00:52:55.17\00:52:58.97
God opened that bag
and turned everything
00:52:59.01\00:53:02.64
that was gonna be a curse
in our lives, into a blessing.
00:53:02.68\00:53:05.91
Every time we touch
that bag or see that bag,
00:53:05.95\00:53:07.82
it takes us
back to our Ebenezer,
00:53:07.85\00:53:10.99
but God, now, I'm giving
you the latter part of this.
00:53:11.02\00:53:13.79
When God is blessing us,
00:53:13.82\00:53:16.62
God is not just a guy
who likes to give blessings.
00:53:16.66\00:53:20.00
There's something
else we got to do.
00:53:20.03\00:53:21.73
Okay.
00:53:21.76\00:53:23.10
Now let's go to Psalm 34:1.
00:53:23.13\00:53:24.97
That's Dee.
00:53:25.00\00:53:26.33
Dee, Psalm 34:1.
00:53:26.37\00:53:28.10
That's on number 11.
00:53:28.14\00:53:29.57
Look at Psalm 34:1.
00:53:29.60\00:53:30.94
This is something that
God also requires of us.
00:53:30.97\00:53:34.28
Okay. Read it for us.
00:53:34.31\00:53:35.64
Psalms 34:1,
00:53:35.68\00:53:38.98
"I will bless the
Lord at all times.
00:53:39.01\00:53:42.55
His praise shall
continually be in my mouth."
00:53:42.58\00:53:46.59
Amen. Amen.
00:53:46.62\00:53:48.12
Not only that He did
gel for our blessing,
00:53:48.16\00:53:50.49
but why do you think God
doesn't want to be blessed?
00:53:50.53\00:53:53.70
How do we do that?
00:53:53.73\00:53:55.76
We praise Him with our voice.
00:53:55.80\00:53:58.03
We praise Him with our hearts.
00:53:58.07\00:54:00.37
We remind people
of the goodness of God
00:54:00.40\00:54:03.17
because I've
discovered something.
00:54:03.20\00:54:04.54
And I'm learning this
really in a progressive way.
00:54:04.57\00:54:08.74
It's not just
the rebuking of sin
00:54:08.78\00:54:11.41
that turns a person's heart.
00:54:11.45\00:54:13.58
But what is it that
leads a person to repentance.
00:54:13.62\00:54:17.12
Come on, Pastor.
The goodness of God.
00:54:17.15\00:54:20.26
If you can tell people,
00:54:20.29\00:54:21.69
that's what we did
last night to that lady.
00:54:21.72\00:54:24.49
We say, ma'am I
know where you are.
00:54:24.53\00:54:26.16
We know who you
are, we've been there.
00:54:26.19\00:54:28.73
And the people could identify,
00:54:28.76\00:54:30.17
like Dee said, we
live in the valley.
00:54:30.20\00:54:32.07
If you say to people, I know
00:54:32.10\00:54:33.44
what it's like
to be in the valley.
00:54:33.47\00:54:34.80
You're not the only
one that has somebody
00:54:34.84\00:54:36.17
that you lost.
00:54:36.20\00:54:37.54
You're not the only one
that's family turned against.
00:54:37.57\00:54:38.91
And we want to say to
you that are watching us.
00:54:38.94\00:54:40.88
This topic is important because
God wants to bless the family.
00:54:40.91\00:54:45.11
God wants to bless the husband
and wife that's watching,
00:54:45.15\00:54:47.62
the children that are watching,
00:54:47.65\00:54:49.22
the aunt that
may be the new mother
00:54:49.25\00:54:51.75
or the uncle
that may be the father
00:54:51.79\00:54:53.46
because the parents
are no longer there.
00:54:53.49\00:54:55.26
Or maybe the adoptive parent,
00:54:55.29\00:54:57.73
because the kids don't
know where they came from.
00:54:57.76\00:55:00.10
But God can begin
the blessing with you.
00:55:00.13\00:55:01.70
Let's start winding
this up and start sharing.
00:55:01.73\00:55:04.23
What's on your heart, pastor,
about the blessings of God?
00:55:04.27\00:55:07.54
Yeah.
00:55:07.57\00:55:08.90
I was, as you
read from Psalm 34,
00:55:08.94\00:55:11.81
I went to the 103rd psalm.
00:55:11.84\00:55:13.91
Bless the Lord, O my
soul, and all that is within me,
00:55:13.94\00:55:17.18
bless His holy name!
00:55:17.21\00:55:19.28
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
00:55:19.31\00:55:20.98
and forget not all His benefits:
00:55:21.02\00:55:24.75
He forgives your iniquities.
00:55:24.79\00:55:26.22
He heals all your diseases.
00:55:26.25\00:55:28.56
He redeems your
life from destruction."
00:55:28.59\00:55:31.29
And He, I like the
Revised Standard Version.
00:55:31.33\00:55:34.63
"He surrounds you
with His steadfast love."
00:55:34.66\00:55:39.57
And that's one of the
reasons I'm excited that this,
00:55:39.60\00:55:43.37
I was literally
sitting up humming this,
00:55:43.41\00:55:45.34
the steadfast love
00:55:45.37\00:55:48.98
of the Lord
00:55:49.01\00:55:51.01
never cease.
00:55:51.05\00:55:55.62
When we consider the
steadfast love of the Lord,
00:55:55.65\00:55:59.29
His unlimited mercy,
00:55:59.32\00:56:00.92
I'm gonna take
one of your examples.
00:56:00.96\00:56:03.69
You know, normally
you have the little print
00:56:03.73\00:56:06.59
and it says best if used by.
00:56:06.63\00:56:08.46
Yeah.
00:56:08.50\00:56:10.20
There is no best if used by
00:56:10.23\00:56:12.20
when it comes to
the steadfast love
00:56:12.23\00:56:13.87
and the mercies of God,
00:56:13.90\00:56:15.24
the blessings of God.
00:56:15.27\00:56:16.71
They're best if use
whenever you need them.
00:56:16.74\00:56:19.27
That's right.
00:56:19.31\00:56:20.64
And you should have used them
10 years ago, but you didn't.
00:56:20.68\00:56:22.54
But they're still good today.
00:56:22.58\00:56:24.08
Amen.
00:56:24.11\00:56:25.45
Wow.
00:56:25.48\00:56:26.82
Well, I tell you, and so,
00:56:26.85\00:56:28.18
honey, as we wind up
in this last minute here,
00:56:28.22\00:56:30.05
we're just telling you about
00:56:30.09\00:56:31.42
God wants to bless you, one.
00:56:31.45\00:56:34.89
God wants you to
bless your children.
00:56:34.92\00:56:37.49
It can be a blessing to
society and to the world.
00:56:37.53\00:56:40.66
Thirdly, God
wants you to bless Him.
00:56:40.70\00:56:43.40
Let the blessing of God
be reciprocal in your life.
00:56:43.43\00:56:46.33
I know that each one of
us, we could take more hours.
00:56:46.37\00:56:49.64
We didn't have much time.
00:56:49.67\00:56:51.01
if we did a sermon series
on just our blessings, honey,
00:56:51.04\00:56:54.24
how amazing it would be.
00:56:54.28\00:56:55.88
And then God
blesses us sometimes
00:56:55.91\00:56:57.41
when we don't
know He's blessing us.
00:56:57.45\00:56:59.88
Fifteen seconds, somebody? Dee?
00:56:59.91\00:57:02.45
I just praise the Lord
00:57:02.48\00:57:03.82
for He has filled
my life with blessings
00:57:03.85\00:57:06.62
that I didn't
expect or even deserve.
00:57:06.65\00:57:08.92
And I certainly
didn't deserve them.
00:57:08.96\00:57:10.46
Amen.
00:57:10.49\00:57:11.83
Psalm 104 is my
favorite chapter.
00:57:11.86\00:57:14.50
And it just says,
00:57:14.53\00:57:15.86
"Bless the Lord, O my soul!
00:57:15.90\00:57:17.23
O Lord my God,
You are very great:
00:57:17.27\00:57:20.47
You are clothed
with honor and majesty."
00:57:20.50\00:57:23.00
And we wanna say it together.
00:57:23.04\00:57:25.11
Happy Sabbath.
00:57:25.14\00:57:27.18
Thank you for joining us
and until we see you again,
00:57:27.21\00:57:29.44
may the Lord richly bless you.
00:57:29.48\00:57:31.88
Happy Sabbath.
00:57:31.91\00:57:33.25