Participants:
Series Code: TDYL
Program Code: TDYL190033A
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00:03 I want to spend my life
00:09 Mending broken people 00:14 I want to spend my life 00:20 Removing pain 00:25 Lord, let my word 00:31 Heal a heart that hurts 00:36 I want to spend my life 00:41 Mending broken people 00:47 I want to spend my life 00:52 Mending broken people 01:10 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn, 01:11 and we welcome you once again to 3ABN Thursday Night Live. 01:16 Yes, this is a live program. 01:18 We're going to be with you for two hours, 01:21 and we want to take this opportunity 01:23 to thank you for your love, your prayers, 01:25 and your financial support of 3ABN. 01:28 We've had a great day here, 01:30 and hope yours has been even better, 01:33 but we have a wonderful guest, 01:36 and before I even read my scripture, 01:38 let me introduce her to you, 01:39 because she is a special handmaiden 01:43 of the Lord. 01:44 And when you hear her name, if you know her, 01:47 her name is synonymous with prayer. 01:50 Tonight, we're going to talk about prayer, faith, 01:55 and daring to live by every word of God. 02:00 And I want you gentlemen, 02:02 just because there's two ladies on this program, 02:06 don't think this isn't about you. 02:08 We will be talking 02:09 about some wonderful things that, 02:11 especially, I think, what I am interested in, 02:14 that Melody will be sharing with us 02:19 is what do we do when God is silent? 02:21 So, we've got a powerful program today. 02:24 Our special guest is Melody Mason, 02:27 and Melody is with the Prayer Ministries 02:30 of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Church 02:33 there at the world headquarters. 02:36 You are also an author and prayer coordinator deluxe. 02:42 I know that you are an amazing woman, 02:46 and I'm just blessed to know you. 02:48 Praise God. 02:49 Thank you for being here. It's a blessing to be here. 02:51 Thank you for having me. Yeah. 02:52 Well, we, tell us a little bit about what you do at the GC? 02:59 Well, I coordinate United in Prayer 03:03 for the World Church, 03:04 and I also help Janet Paige, 03:08 she works with the GC prayer ministry, 03:10 so I work with her 03:11 coordinating different prayer initiatives. 03:13 And I also collect resources. 03:15 I'm resource coordinator 03:17 for the revivalandreformation.org 03:20 website. 03:21 Wonderful. 03:23 So just tools to help people grow their walk with God. 03:24 So, in addition to that, 03:26 I know that you speak 03:28 at a lot of events around the world. 03:29 You are traveling all the time, 03:31 and you are known 03:34 for organizing prayer rooms at ASI, 03:38 GYC, General Conference. 03:41 We're just delighted to have you here, Melody. 03:42 Thank you. Thank you. 03:43 And precious sister in the Lord. 03:45 Before, however, we get into Melody's story 03:50 and what she has to share. 03:53 We all love music. 03:54 We know you love music. 03:56 So, tonight, we have Matt Throgmorton, 04:00 and he is going to sing for us, "In the Garden." 04:27 I come 04:30 To garden alone 04:36 While the dew 04:39 Is still on the roses 04:45 And the voice I hear 04:50 Falling on my ear 04:54 The song of God 04:59 Discloses 05:04 And He walks 05:10 With me 05:11 And He talks with me 05:16 And He tells me 05:19 I am His own 05:26 And the joy we share 05:30 As we tarry there 05:37 None other 05:40 Has ever known 05:53 Granted Jesus 05:57 Is my King 06:02 Daily 06:05 Walking close to Thee 06:11 Let it be 06:14 Dear Lord, let it be 06:20 Let it be 06:23 Dear Lord, let it be 06:36 What a friend 06:39 We have in Jesus 06:45 All our sins 06:49 And grieves to bear 06:55 What a privilege 07:00 To carry 07:06 Everything to God in prayer 07:14 Oh, what peace 07:18 We often forsake 07:24 Oh, what needless 07:28 Pain we bear 07:34 All because 07:37 We do not Carry 07:43 Everything 07:46 To God in prayer 07:54 Take it to the Lord 08:00 In prayer. 08:17 Matt Throgmorton right from Southern Illinois, 08:20 and he's got such a beautiful voice. 08:21 We thank him so much. 08:23 I wanted to share this scripture with you, 08:26 it is Psalms 27:4. 08:30 And David writes, 08:32 "One thing I have desire of the Lord 08:35 that will I seek 08:37 that I may dwell in the house of the Lord 08:39 all of the days of my life 08:41 to behold the beauty of the Lord, 08:44 and to inquire in His temple. 08:47 And I know that has special meaning 08:48 to Melody, our special guest. 08:51 Melody Mason, with the GC Prayer Ministries, 08:55 and an author. 08:56 But before we kick into every wonderful thing 09:01 you have brought us, every morsel tonight, 09:03 please talk to us just a little bit 09:06 and tell us who's Melody Mason? 09:08 How did you grow up? 09:09 When did your relationship with the Lord 09:13 really become personal to you? 09:15 Well, I grew up 09:17 in a Seventh-day Adventist Christian home 09:19 and I'm very thankful for that. 09:22 But just in a nutshell 09:23 my experience was very much a lukewarm 09:27 Laodicean type experience. 09:29 So, church was not really enjoyable for me 09:31 when I was a young person, 09:33 and I didn't really understand the deeper walk. 09:36 Of course, that's something we have to grow into, 09:38 but the verse you just read 09:40 is really a picture of what God has done 09:42 for me in my life 09:44 because He's brought me to a whole deeper experience 09:47 in showing me the joy of spending time with Him. 09:50 This is not just something that I do to check off my day, 09:54 or because I'm a good Christian girl. 09:57 You do this and do that. 09:59 God's really taken me on a deeper journey, 10:01 it started when I was in high school, 10:04 I would say, was when things really began 10:06 to go deeper for me spiritually. 10:08 I remember watching my roommate Gabriella 10:12 study the Bible and pray. 10:14 And I was thinking to myself, I need to be doing that too, 10:16 and as I did, 10:18 you know, God's Word coming alive 10:19 even more, seeing God answer my prayers. 10:22 So, it started in high school, 10:24 but it was years later 10:26 before I went through even deeper 10:29 ah-ha experience 10:30 or whatever you want to call it, 10:31 where God took me 10:33 to an even deeper walk with Him. 10:35 Of course, He's still doing that now. 10:36 Amen. 10:37 And if we're not growing, we're in trouble. 10:39 That's right. 10:40 I know that there was a time of disillusionment in her life. 10:43 Stay tuned for that, we'll talk about that. 10:46 But tell us about 100 Days of Prayer, 10:49 tell us about the prayer initiatives 10:51 that are going on at the GC, 10:53 and the resources that are available? 10:55 Yes. 10:56 So, I'm really excited, 10:57 I coordinate United in Prayer for the World Church 11:00 and basically anyone that signs up 11:02 to be part of this program. 11:03 We have thousands of people involved. 11:06 Every week we send out prayer requests 11:09 so we can all be praying together 11:11 as a church and prayer resources. 11:15 And I love the fact that we send out testimonies, 11:16 like every week 11:18 I have a new inspiring testimony 11:19 that comes out 11:20 and some of the testimonies that we've shared recently, 11:22 one is about a man who picked up the Bible 11:25 and begins wanting to study the Bible, 11:27 but he couldn't read, 11:29 he couldn't read it all, but he began to read the Bible, 11:32 how God gave him the ability to read. 11:33 Praise to God. 11:34 There's another story that we shared 11:36 about a vault 11:38 at the Avondale College in Sydney 11:41 and how they've started a whole prayer movement 11:44 just inside this vault 11:46 there at the Ellen G. White Resource Center in Sydney 11:49 and the miracles that God is doing through that. 11:52 We have testimonies of a group that was in Cuba 11:56 and they were going there to share 11:57 and the work was being shut down 11:59 and they were sent to the authorities 12:01 and so the people went to the authorities 12:03 and the man that came in to shut the work down says, 12:05 "Oh, I've seen you before." 12:07 and he had seen somebody like 10 years earlier 12:09 at some other meetings and had been so impressed. 12:11 He says, "I'm not shutting down your work. 12:13 You guys can preach 12:14 whatever you want here in Cuba." 12:15 So, we have miracles story after miracle story, 12:18 every week I share a new one 12:19 and people can sign up for that 12:21 if they visit our website, 12:23 revivalandreformation.org for the United in Prayer. 12:27 So that's something I personally coordinate. 12:29 We also have to believe His prophets 12:32 which is just encouraging people 12:35 to get into God's Word every day, 12:38 reading His Word and along with that reading 12:40 through the Conflict of the Ages series 12:42 and thousands of people are participating with that. 12:45 Of course, we have 12:46 many beautiful witnessing initiatives 12:49 through the total member involvement 12:50 just encouraging people 12:52 get in and do something personally. 12:54 You don't have to be an evangelist, 12:55 you don't have to be a preacher, 12:56 you don't have to, you know, be somebody, whatever, 13:00 just get out and share with others 13:01 about your personal walk with Jesus, 13:03 and we see many people coming to know Christ 13:06 as a result of that too. 13:07 So, on our website there's hundreds of resources 13:12 and I just encourage people to go and visit 13:15 because I'm sharing resources how to grow your walk with God, 13:18 how to get deeper in Bible study. 13:20 If you're somebody 13:21 and you're wanting to start prayer ministry 13:23 in your church or groups, 13:25 we have resources 13:26 to help new leaders start prayer ministry. 13:29 So, just hundreds of resources. 13:31 But what you asked specifically was the 100 Days of Prayer. 13:34 And this is an initiative 13:35 that we are starting this next spring 13:37 which goes from March 27 to July 4. 13:41 And basically 100 Days of Prayer 13:43 is just encouraging people 13:45 to pray together on behalf of the church, 13:48 on behalf of our need for a deeper walk with God 13:53 and especially for the outpouring 13:54 of the Holy Spirit. 13:55 And this is in preparation 13:57 for the 2020 General Conference, 14:00 every five years the World Church, 14:04 all of the divisions, all of the conferences 14:07 come together 14:08 and it's something that's so special 14:10 because we have what, 14:12 close to 22 million members around the world. 14:15 And when people come, 14:17 there's tens of thousands of people 14:20 who come and it is very special, 14:22 but it's a time of great unity, 14:26 it's a time when we vote 14:29 for new leadership positions. 14:33 So, I think that this united prayer effort 14:37 is critically important before such a time of this. 14:42 We had 100 Days of Prayer leading up to the last session 14:46 and we had a prayer room at the GC Session 14:49 and I helped Janet coordinate that prayer 14:51 and we had close to 15,000 people 14:53 that actually came through the prayer room 14:57 over the GC Session. 14:58 And I encourage people, 15:00 you know, I really believe 15:02 we are living in a special time in history 15:04 and now is the time, 15:06 God is looking for intercessors 15:08 to stand on behalf of His church, 15:10 on behalf of the world around us. 15:12 You know, it's very easy for us 15:14 if we see things 15:15 that are happening in the church 15:17 especially with leaders that we think, 15:18 you know, they should do this or they should do that, 15:20 it's very easy for us to get judgmental, 15:22 it's very easy for us to throw stones 15:24 and get critical, 15:25 but I believe God has given us one of the most powerful tools 15:28 and that is prayer. 15:29 And just like Aaron and Hur held up Moses' arms 15:33 when Joshua was down with the Israelites 15:35 fighting the battle. 15:36 I believe God has called us 15:38 to uphold the arms of our leaders 15:41 and to pray for them 15:42 and to pray that God will give them wisdom. 15:44 I wouldn't want to be in their position 15:45 making the decisions that they're making. 15:47 Me neither. 15:48 You know, God needs to give them wisdom and help them 15:50 and so one of our most powerful things 15:53 is prayer, 15:54 and I just encourage people get involved and pray with us. 15:58 You know, you can actually sign up 15:59 to be part of a 100 Days of Prayer too 16:01 if you visit our Revival and Reformation website. 16:04 That's revivalandreformation.org. 16:08 Okay. Yeah. 16:09 And people can also come, 16:10 you know, if you're coming to GC Session, 16:12 come and see us in the prayer room, 16:13 we had thousands of people come last time 16:15 and just a couple things really quickly that happened. 16:17 We saw so many miracles in the prayer room, 16:19 but I remember we had this group 16:21 from Papua New Guinea 16:22 that came into the prayer room 16:23 and they couldn't understand English, 16:25 but they came 16:26 just to be with the united prayers 16:27 that were going on there. 16:29 And while they were in that room, 16:30 they understood every prayer that was prayed. 16:32 Glory to God. 16:33 God gave them the gift of hearing. 16:34 You know, when you were talking about intercession 16:37 and God wanting to raise up intercessors. 16:40 I believe with all of my heart 16:42 intercessory prayer is the greatest work 16:45 that there is 16:47 because it is the work of our risen 16:48 and exalted Savior. 16:50 He lives, ever lives to intercede on our behalf. 16:54 And so, you know, sometimes people will say, 16:57 "Well, all I can do is pray." 16:59 Well, that's the greatest thing we can do. 17:02 And I heard pastor once said, 17:04 I don't know if I should tell this story 17:05 but I will. 17:07 He said, "If you don't like your pastor 17:09 and you want a new pastor, 17:11 he said pray for your pastor, 17:12 pray that the Lord will fill him 17:14 with the Holy Spirit." 17:15 And he said, "You know what will happen? 17:17 The Lord will fill him with the Holy Spirit. 17:19 He'll be so good 17:21 other churches will be after him 17:22 and you'll get a new pastor." 17:24 That's right. Exactly. Okay, so. 17:26 You know, there is so much power 17:27 in prayer 17:29 and I just want to share this one quote before we go on. 17:31 We don't understand 17:34 especially the power of united prayer. 17:36 In Matthew 18:19, of course tells us 17:38 "If two of you shall agree 17:39 as touching anything that you ask, 17:41 it shall be done." 17:42 But I love this quote, 17:45 Ellen White actually writes this. 17:46 She says, "We are encouraged to pray for success 17:48 with the divine assurance that our prayers will be heard. 17:51 The promise of Matthew 18:19 is made on the condition 17:54 that the united prayers of the church are offered. 17:58 And in answer to these prayers 17:59 there may be expected a power greater than that 18:03 which comes in answer to private prayer." 18:05 But this is the key. 18:06 "The power given will be proportionate 18:08 to the unity of the members 18:10 and their love for God and for one another." 18:11 Oh, amen and amen. 18:13 There's nothing like united prayer 18:15 to make us one as Jesus and the Father were one. 18:20 Now you have written a book 18:24 called "Daring to Ask For More." 18:30 But now you have in addition to the full-length book, 18:34 you have a pocket edition 18:36 and we call this a sharing book, 18:38 tell us about this? 18:39 Yeah. 18:40 So this smaller edition 18:42 is actually only eight chapters, 18:43 the green book is the full version 18:47 and it's packed full of testimonies 18:48 and stories and many things, but this is for... 18:53 If you're wanting to share more on a broad scale, 18:56 just practical tools 18:58 to help people go deeper in prayer, 19:00 it's only eight chapters. 19:01 So, it's just a snippet of the bigger book, 19:04 it's the same thing, 19:05 but it's just a very condensed version. 19:07 So, I encourage people 19:09 if you can't get the bigger book, 19:10 but this is a great sharing resource 19:13 to share on the broader stance, so. 19:15 Give to people who... Those are available. 19:16 And probably reading this 19:18 will make them want to read the book. 19:19 Exactly. 19:20 You know when we think about Elijah, 19:24 when the Bible says 19:26 that the prayers of a righteous man 19:30 are affected 19:32 and we think about how Elijah prayed, 19:35 for it not to rain 19:36 and he prayed for the rain to come. 19:39 And this is something that as we unite 19:42 and pray together, 19:43 there is power in prayer, absolutely. 19:46 You know, God really used Elijah 19:48 in a critical crisis in the history of Israel 19:51 and we're told what He did through Elijah, 19:53 He wants to do through us as well. 19:56 Amen. Amen. 19:57 And He's looking for Elijahs. 19:59 That's right. Isn't He? 20:00 That's right. 20:02 Okay, so we wanted you 20:03 to kind of get into your topic if... 20:08 Are you, we kind of through with these resources. 20:11 Let's get into the topic 20:13 and I know 20:14 that there's so many people out there, 20:16 you know, we see a lot of answered prayer 20:18 around here at 3ABN, 20:20 but what about the times when God is silent, 20:23 what about the times 20:25 when it doesn't seem 20:27 like God is answering our prayers? 20:31 You know, this is so important 20:34 and, you know, 20:36 for the early part of my ministry 20:38 I didn't really talk about this side of things, 20:40 I focused on look at what God is doing, 20:43 He's answered this prayer in my life 20:45 and He's answered this prayer, 20:46 and I have tons of miracle stories 20:47 and you do as well 20:49 about the things that God has done 20:50 an answer to prayer. 20:52 But there's also areas in my life 20:54 where I have prayed and prayed and prayed 20:58 and God hasn't answered 21:00 or at least He hasn't answered 21:01 the way that I wanted Him to answer 21:03 because, you know, even no is an answer 21:06 and I've learned that as well. 21:07 I really believe 21:10 as we are getting closer to Christ's soon coming, 21:13 for Jesus coming back 21:15 that He is really seeking to grow faith in His people. 21:19 And just like He brought the children of Israel 21:21 to the borders of Canaan on the Jordan River 21:23 and the spies were sent in. 21:26 It was a test to see if they would have faith, 21:29 you know, the spies come back 21:30 and some give a good report and some give negative, 21:32 you know, the two gave a positive report 21:34 and the rest gave a negative, 21:35 and suddenly you see the people's faith waver, 21:39 you know, like Lord, 21:40 You brought us all this far just to kill us, 21:42 you know, we can't go in. 21:44 There's giants in the land. 21:45 There's giant in the land, 21:46 they're gonna eat us up and we can't do this. 21:48 And they drew back in doubt in disbelief 21:51 and as a result God listened 21:53 to what they said and He said okay, 21:55 so you're not gonna go into the Promised Land. 21:57 You don't believe you can, you're not going to. 22:00 And of course, they tried to but without God with them. 22:03 I love what Hebrews says 22:04 that they didn't mix the message with faith. 22:09 That's right. 22:10 And so, they were shut out of the Promised Land 22:14 because they didn't mix the message with faith. 22:17 And I think sometimes, 22:20 I think this is Numbers 13 22:21 I believe is where that's story is. 22:23 But when they saw the people in the land, 22:28 even though God had told them go up, I'm with you, 22:32 they're saying, 22:34 "Oh, we're like grasshoppers in their eyes." 22:36 And I think sometimes that's how many of us feel 22:39 is when the problems loom up in front of us, 22:43 we begin to feel like grasshoppers 22:45 and we forget that God is with us 22:48 in what He has done. 22:50 Yes. 22:51 And it's very, it's very difficult 22:53 when we don't see right now what God is doing, 22:56 like we don't see the big picture. 22:58 And so, you know for me 23:01 this has been a very personal journey 23:02 that I haven't shared until the more recent years 23:06 just because it's so vulnerable for me 23:10 and I remember one time I was speaking 23:12 with a large group of young people, 23:14 I was in Romania at the time 23:16 and I'm speaking to them 23:18 and I'm sharing all the amazing things 23:19 God's doing in my life and He answer prayers. 23:23 And the young people are just, you know, 23:25 they're just playing on their phones 23:27 and whatever and I'm like, 23:29 Lord, how do I connect with these young people 23:31 and I ended up staying up almost all night, 23:33 this night it was Friday night going into Sabbath, 23:36 I had three messages the next day. 23:38 And I was just praying and I was like, Lord, 23:40 show me how I'm supposed to reach 23:41 these young people because this is not working. 23:44 I'm trying to share 23:45 what an amazing God that You are 23:47 and that You're God that cares and answers prayer. 23:50 Well, this is what God told me that night of prayer. 23:52 He says, "Melody, 23:54 you've been traveling around the world, 23:55 sharing about the amazing God that I am. 23:57 Why don't you share about the last 20, 25 years 24:01 when I have not answered certain prayers in your life 24:04 and how I've proved myself faithful." 24:07 And so, I opened up and was very vulnerable 24:10 with the young people about my own journey. 24:13 And that journey involves my journey as a single 24:17 because my dream as a young person 24:21 from the time I was a little girl 24:23 was I'm gonna grow up, 24:24 I'm gonna be like my parents 24:26 and you know find the love of my life 24:28 and be happily married 24:29 and we're gonna go off and do ministry together, 24:32 off into the sunset and of course have children 24:34 and that was my dream, 24:36 but that did not come together as I dreamed. 24:39 There have been several different individuals 24:41 in my life 24:43 who I thought 24:44 I was going to marry one of them, 24:45 I was even engaged to and planning my wedding 24:49 and God kept saying no. 24:51 And the first one 24:52 was the most difficult experience 24:54 because I had waited eight years 24:57 and had known this person for a long time 25:00 and just felt like we all felt 25:02 like this is what it was going to be 25:03 and when that relationship didn't work out 25:05 or it didn't come together 25:07 as I had hoped and prayed and waited, 25:09 I really fell into disillusionment 25:12 in my walk with God like you mentioned earlier, 25:14 because I felt like, I prayed, I fasted, 25:18 I've claimed the promises, 25:19 I have done everything 25:21 that I've done it all right 25:24 and, you know, Lord, I'm trying to be the good girl, 25:27 I'm supposed to be and it still didn't work, 25:29 it still didn't. 25:30 And so I really, I came to a point in my walk 25:33 and this was, this was years ago now 25:35 but this is where 25:37 the whole daring to ask for more journey 25:39 grew from 25:40 because I fell into this deep depression, 25:43 I stopped reading my Bible, 25:45 I stopped praying, 25:46 I stopped really believing the God 25:49 that I grew up professing to believe. 25:50 And I didn't walk out of the church, 25:52 I didn't go off and live the crazy wild lifestyle, 25:55 I was kind of stuck in the middle in no-man's land, 25:58 you know, like I didn't trust God, 26:00 but I wasn't gonna go off and do the wild stuff, 26:02 but it was a very lonely lost dark experience for me 26:07 in my life. 26:09 Anyway, God brought me through that experience, 26:11 make a long story short 26:13 and began to revive me 26:15 and after two, 26:17 two and a half three years of depression 26:18 by the way, 26:20 so it wasn't an overnight experience. 26:22 But after this experience 26:23 began to grow my walk with Him, 26:25 in a new relationship with Him 26:27 and out of that experience 26:28 I began getting into God's Word 26:29 and I'm like, Lord, 26:31 I don't want to go back to the mediocre Christianity 26:32 that I had previously. 26:34 I mean, I had a walk with God, it was always sincere, 26:36 it wasn't phony but it was very superficial. 26:39 I need a deeper walk with You 26:41 and I'm just reading my Bible in the mornings, 26:43 tears coming to my face, I'm like, Lord, take me deeper. 26:46 And so, God grew a new experience, 26:50 grew me to have faith in His Word. 26:53 And then I'm healed and doing better and then, 26:56 you know, another person comes along, 26:58 another attractive individual comes along 27:00 and I think, you know, 27:02 this person is going to be the one 27:03 I'm going to end up with 27:04 and went another eight years only to be brokenhearted again. 27:09 But this time I had a different walk with God 27:12 than I did the first time. 27:14 So, I didn't lose it, I was like, okay Lord, 27:16 I don't understand why I had to go through this 27:18 but I trust You, I trust Your Word. 27:21 So, I have had experience after experience 27:24 over the years, maybe not as many as you have. 27:27 I'm older. 27:28 'Cause you shared 27:30 some of the stories with me earlier, 27:31 I'm like, wow. 27:33 But I have had heartbreaking experiences 27:34 as single and saying, Lord, what are You doing? 27:38 Like, now I'm serving the Lord in ministry. 27:41 But you know, it would be nice 27:42 not to be lugging these suitcases 27:44 around by myself. 27:45 It would be nice to not be speaking 27:47 and carrying the weight of ministry by myself. 27:49 But God has been so faithful. 27:52 I look back on the prayers that He didn't answer 27:54 and I'm just like, thank You, Lord. 27:56 Each one of the individuals, 27:58 you know, very godly men 27:59 and we're still friends to this day, 28:01 men that I highly respect. 28:02 But God knew 28:04 that they weren't the right person for me. 28:05 Yes. And so, I'm very grateful. 28:07 But I'm still living a journey of prayer 28:10 where I've prayed for 27 years now 28:13 that God has said no. 28:15 And this has been a very heartbreaking, 28:16 it's been a very personal painful journey 28:19 for me as a single 28:20 and I know I'm speaking to a lot of singles out there. 28:23 I have them contact me all the time. 28:25 You know, I've been single so many years 28:27 and God still hasn't and, and whatever. 28:29 And there's a lot of people in this boat, 28:32 but there's people in other boats as well 28:33 that are struggling 28:35 with the disillusionment in their life, 28:37 whether it's infertility issues, 28:39 you know, not able to, 28:40 to have children or facing family members 28:43 that are diagnosed with diseases 28:45 or different things. 28:47 I mean, there's so many things, 28:49 I really believe God is in the process 28:51 of refining us 28:53 and growing our faith 28:55 and trying to help us understand 28:59 that He's faithful 29:00 even when He doesn't always answer 29:02 the way that we think He should. 29:05 And I think, you know, here's how I like to say it is 29:08 that I think God always answers prayer. 29:11 I think that there's yes, there's no, there's later, 29:15 but when it's, when it's a spiritual issue, 29:18 it seems that you can count on that's a yes answer. 29:23 And 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, 29:25 all of God's promises are yes and amen in Christ, you know. 29:29 So, He is the surety of the covenant. 29:32 But I know you hit a word there 29:36 that one of the things 29:39 that I wanted more than anything. 29:43 I wanted to be a mama. 29:45 I wanted six babies. 29:47 And we were not able to have children. 29:49 And it was such a painful in private, 29:55 I mean, I couldn't even share it 29:57 with JD, my husband. 29:59 It was the death of the vision because I love children. 30:03 And it was something 30:07 that I struggled a lot with the Lord, 30:09 but He told me He would give me spirit of children. 30:11 That's right. 30:13 And He has, 30:14 and you know, sometimes I know that He's, 30:16 He knows the end from the beginning. 30:18 And I don't know 30:19 that I could have lived the life 30:21 and done the ministry I did had I had six children, 30:24 my life would have been completely different. 30:26 So, we just have to trust 30:28 that everything that happens in our life 30:32 has come through God's filterable love 30:34 and we just have to believe 30:37 that He has our eternal benefit in mind. 30:42 And, as you said, 30:44 He kept you from marrying the wrong person. 30:46 I'd rather never be married 30:48 than be married to the wrong person. 30:50 God has really been so faithful to me 30:54 and it was actually 30:55 through these heartbreaking experiences, 30:58 you know, like I shared with you earlier 31:00 when we were off, off set, 31:02 you know, sometimes it's difficult for me 31:05 to share this partly 31:06 because I'm still on the journey. 31:09 You know, I still haven't seen the end of my story 31:12 and we want to share the testimony after, 31:15 you know, God has worked the miracle 31:17 or this has happened or whatever. 31:19 But I really feel that God is giving me 31:21 a testimony to show that He's faithful 31:25 even in the midst of the journey 31:29 when we don't understand exactly what's happening. 31:32 Are you like Paul, 31:33 are you learning to be content in all circumstances? 31:36 I'm learning. 31:38 I can't say that I'm completely content. 31:41 You know, I tell the Lord, 31:42 you know, You put that desire in my heart 31:44 if it's not supposed to be there, 31:45 take it out, 31:46 but He hasn't taken it out, you know. 31:48 So, I'm still learning. 31:49 But He has shown me, 31:52 you know, His calling and His purpose in my life 31:54 and I have prayed very seriously like, 31:56 Lord, I don't want to be married 31:59 just to be married. 32:00 I want to be married 32:01 only if it will advance Your kingdom. 32:03 And if I will be more effective 32:05 in a relationship for Your glory, 32:07 and if not, then keep me single. 32:08 And at this point, 32:10 you know, that's, that's where I am. 32:13 But, you know, this is my journey. 32:17 And it's also difficult for me to share 32:19 because I recognize 32:22 we all have our different pain 32:23 and I feel like I've struggled 32:25 but my pain isn't the same as other people. 32:27 And I think, oh, I shouldn't share 32:28 because other people have struggled so much more. 32:30 But I have realized pain is pain. 32:33 And each one of us have something in our life 32:37 that God is either refining or a loss, a pain, 32:41 something that has not gone, 32:43 you know, we all have expectations. 32:46 And I think that this is also part of the reason 32:48 that so many people are struggling in the church. 32:51 They come to Christ. 32:53 And they think now that I'm serving Him, 32:54 He should make everything go right. 32:57 He should, you know, but the Bible says, 32:59 don't be surprised when we have struggles, 33:02 when we have, you know, fiery, 33:04 whatever, you know, that's part of, 33:07 part of the journey in this world. 33:09 We live in a broken world. 33:12 And what my experience has been is so often 33:15 at least we tell people 33:16 when they come to work at 3ABN, 33:18 we warn them in advance, be prepared to be attacked, 33:22 because when you are on the front line, 33:25 it seems like the demonic activity 33:28 in your life just flares up 33:31 because I think that's, 33:33 you know, the devil's assignments 33:35 against us is to discourage us. 33:38 Yes, yes. 33:39 Anything that he can. 33:41 I love the verse from John 10:10, it says, 33:46 well I always tell people the second part first, 33:49 you know, He comes that we might have 33:51 life and life more abundantly. 33:53 So why are we settling for wilderness Christianity? 33:56 Why are we settling 33:58 for a superficial relationship with God 33:59 when He comes to give us abundant life? 34:01 He didn't come to give us a lukewarm Laodicea. 34:05 He wants us to have abundant. 34:06 But what is the enemy coming to do? 34:08 The first part of the verse says, 34:09 he comes to steal, to kill and to destroy, 34:12 so anything that he can to steal our faith, 34:16 to rob our joy, 34:18 to destroy our relationship with God, 34:21 he's going to do, and how does he do that? 34:23 He does it through those areas that are closest to us. 34:28 You know, I think that there's two things 34:30 that I think the primary way the Lord, 34:33 the devil discourages us. 34:35 One is through distractions and you know, today, 34:38 our lives are so busy, 34:40 even in ministry we can get so busy 34:42 with ministry 34:44 that you are not paying attention 34:47 the same attention you should, 34:49 but distractions are like the devil's magnetic field 34:53 to draw us away from the Lord. 34:55 But then doubt, you know, and that's, boy, 35:00 when people start doubting the Lord, 35:03 if they don't know, 35:04 if you don't know the character of the Lord, 35:07 the nature of God, His essence, His love, 35:11 and character has to line up with the nature. 35:17 So, all of God's character attributes 35:20 have to be lined up with that love. 35:23 And if you see anything about God 35:25 that you feel is not lining up with that, 35:29 then you've misunderstood the attribute. 35:32 You've got a scripture. 35:33 Yeah, what you were saying just made me think of, 35:37 you know, our whole battle 35:39 really comes down to the Word of God. 35:41 And we saw it in the very beginning, 35:43 the contest with Eve in the Garden of Eden 35:46 and the serpent was, would she believe God's word, 35:49 or would she believe what the serpent said. 35:51 And this really, really spoke to me 35:53 when I saw this a few years ago. 35:54 This comes from Revelation 21, and it's verse 8. 35:59 But before, 36:01 well, what is talking about here 36:03 is the people 36:04 that are not going to be in heaven. 36:07 And it lists a whole bunch of things, 36:10 the abominable, and murderers, 36:12 and whoremonger, and sorcerers, different things, 36:14 I'm not even sure what all these things are, 36:16 but the adulterers, liars, et cetera 36:17 and you hear the list, 36:19 of course, 36:20 they're not going to be in heaven. 36:22 But the first things that are listed on this list 36:24 is the fearful and the unbelieving. 36:27 And I'm just like, wow, this, we think, well, 36:30 how can you list that with all these things? 36:33 It's over God's Word. 36:35 Are we going to believe He is who He says He is? 36:38 You know, when the Bible says, 36:41 Paul, in Hebrews anyway he writes 36:43 and it says without faith, 36:45 it is passed in, 36:46 oh, no, that's yeah, without faith, 36:48 it is impossible to please the Lord. 36:51 That's right. 36:52 If you look at 1 John 5:10-12, somewhere in there, 36:56 when it's talking about, 36:57 this is the testament of the Lord 36:59 that He sent His Son but it says, 37:02 if we disregard the testimony of the Lord, 37:05 if we're doubting God's testimony, 37:08 we're regarding Him as a liar. 37:12 So, when you think about that, no wonder without faith, 37:16 it's impossible if we are to live 37:18 by every word, 37:20 yet we don't know the Word of God 37:22 or we doubt the Word of God and think that can't be for us. 37:26 It's hard for God to really work in our lives 37:29 if we're regarding Him as a liar. 37:31 Yeah. 37:34 This is so true. 37:36 And I think 37:39 what God is wanting to do 37:40 is taking each of us deeper in our own faith journey. 37:47 We need greater faith. 37:50 Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word. 37:53 And so, we need to be in the Word, 37:55 we need to be saturating our minds 37:57 with Scripture. 37:59 We need to be reading it and meditating upon 38:01 and as we're reading these things, 38:03 and also as we're also building faith 38:07 by seeing, 38:08 looking what God has done in the past, 38:10 but also seeing how God's working 38:11 in the lives of others. 38:13 I mean, this has been a huge encouragement 38:15 for my journey 38:16 is seeing different stories where God has worked, 38:19 I think of my friend Pavel Goia. 38:21 He has a book "One Miracle After The Other, " 38:24 just incredible testimonies 38:26 and you say I want that kind of faith. 38:28 Well, how does that faith come? 38:29 Comes as we're in God's Word, and we're reading and studying, 38:32 we're like, this is what I want. 38:33 And this is what God began doing in my own life 38:36 because I'm like, Lord, 38:38 I don't want to have a superficial experience. 38:40 I want to go deeper. 38:41 So, show me. 38:43 And in the process, He, of course, 38:46 is touching very vulnerable areas 38:48 of my life. 38:49 And I'm like, you know, struggling to understand 38:53 what He's doing and why. 38:54 But He's been growing my faith and His faithfulness 38:57 and He has been so good. 38:59 You know, I look back over the years and say, 39:01 yeah, there's prayers that I pray 39:04 that He still hasn't answered. 39:06 But I can see His faithfulness through the journey. 39:08 And something really, really special happened 39:10 a few years ago, 39:11 when I had shared 39:13 a little bit of my single testimony, 39:14 which I said, I've been a little, 39:16 not sure to share 39:17 just because it's a vulnerable story. 39:21 It's, yeah, and it's not finished 39:23 and all of that, 39:25 but I shared this 39:26 with a group of young people in the Philippines. 39:28 And afterwards, this young man came up to me. 39:31 And he said, he wrote me this little note, 39:33 he's like a 15, 16-year-old young man. 39:36 And he said, Melody, "God said no to you 39:38 so that he could say yes to us, 39:39 so that you could come and teach us 39:41 how to have a relationship with Jesus." 39:42 Praise the Lord. 39:44 And my heart just broke and I was just like, 39:45 praise, praise God. 39:48 I mean, if He says no to some of my prayers, 39:53 but in the process 39:55 is using that to bring more to Him. 39:58 I mean, that's what I would want 39:59 in the long run, that's what I want. 40:01 Yeah, I want to share the story if I can remember it. 40:05 When we were in Houston, 40:06 I wasn't a Seventh-day Adventist yet, 40:08 but we found most wonderful church. 40:10 And this pastor was a good Bible teacher. 40:13 Oh, he was good. 40:15 He always tied the Old 40:16 and the New Testament in together. 40:18 Well, he had grown up in Foursquare, 40:22 but he'd grown up being taught 40:24 that you should never compliment 40:26 anyone. 40:27 So, his wife said 40:29 that here they were living on a, 40:32 you know, beginning, 40:33 he wasn't a pastor when she married him, 40:36 but God called him and he accepted it 40:38 and she ever wanted to be a pastor's wife. 40:39 She was very shy. 40:41 And so she said, 40:43 we're living on a very small salary 40:45 and I would really shop to, 40:48 you know, shop the sales to try to look nice, 40:51 and she said, he would never, 40:54 she said I'd come down on Sunday mornings, 40:56 she said, he'd never say that I look nice, 40:59 and I needed that so much. 41:02 She said, I needed him to affirm me. 41:05 And so she said that she prayed and she prayed. 41:10 And she went through this for several years. 41:12 And she finally got to the point 41:15 where she said, 41:17 Lord, your approval is all I need. 41:20 That's right. 41:22 And she said she just praying and thanking the Lord. 41:24 So, guess what? 41:26 She walks down the stairs. 41:28 And her husband turns around 41:29 and he looks at her and he said, 41:31 "You look so lovely. That's a beautiful dress." 41:36 And I wasn't a strong Christian at the time, 41:39 you know what I said? 41:41 Isn't that just like a man? 41:44 When you need them to, they won't 41:46 and when you don't need them to, 41:48 they do. 41:49 And you know what she said to me? 41:50 And this is precious. 41:52 She said, Shelley, you don't realize. 41:54 She said, I believe God kept him 41:57 from giving me that affirmation, 42:01 because I was seeking it so much from man 42:04 that I wasn't seeking it from the Lord. 42:06 And she said, so God brought me 42:08 through this growing process 42:10 to where I was satisfied with him, 42:13 then he could give it to me from other sources. 42:17 That's beautiful. It is a beautiful story. 42:18 And I think that's what He's seeking to do 42:21 with all of us. 42:22 Amen. 42:24 You know, just recently, some dear friends of mine, 42:30 suffered a really tragic accident 42:32 earlier this summer. 42:34 And their names are TJ and Marianne, 42:37 and they were in a wreck. 42:40 Marianne was with her three daughters, 42:44 and the oldest daughter was killed. 42:46 And Marianne herself was paralyzed 42:50 from the neck down. 42:52 And I remember getting the text message 42:55 and just like no, Lord, no, this can't be. 43:00 This beautiful family, you would look at them 43:02 and he would say 43:03 they have the picture perfect family. 43:05 And, you know, we all have our struggles 43:07 but just beautiful godly family, 43:09 living out in the country. 43:10 TJ is an ER doctor. 43:12 I knew them when I lived in Loma Linda years ago, 43:15 and she's been a teacher 43:16 and now she's a homeschooling mom. 43:18 And here they are thrust 43:20 into this family's worst nightmare. 43:21 And he didn't know about it 43:23 till they brought her into his ER room. 43:27 That's right. 43:28 That was her and the kids come into his ER 43:30 where he is on duty. 43:33 And anyway, this horrific situation. 43:37 Their faith through this, I mean, there is so much pain, 43:41 there's been so much tears. 43:42 I had the opportunity to go out 43:44 three weeks later after the accident 43:46 to be with Marianne the very weekend 43:48 that he went with the family to bury the daughter up North 43:51 and so I was by her side, along with her, 43:56 his aunt that was also there during this very difficult time 43:59 and wiping her tears 44:00 because she can't even wipe her own tears. 44:02 She can't even scratch her own head 44:04 or touch her face 44:05 or at this point in time she couldn't. 44:07 And I remember going to be with her 44:10 and thinking, Lord, 44:11 help me to encourage their faith, 44:14 help me to strengthen them 44:16 that even in the midst of this unexplainable tragedy, 44:20 You're still here, You're still good. 44:22 You're still in control. 44:24 Did this accident catch God by surprise? 44:27 Did this tragedy, you know, suddenly, like God, 44:29 oh, no, what I wasn't watching and this happened. 44:32 No, you know, 44:33 the Lord saw it coming, the Lord in mercy. 44:36 In fact, in this, in their experience, 44:41 she had been pregnant and in a month or so earlier, 44:44 she had miscarried and lost the baby. 44:47 And they recognized 44:48 just that was an act of mercy 44:50 because she would have been like seven months pregnant 44:51 when that accident happened. 44:53 But anyway, there was so many miracles 44:54 that happened, 44:55 how the, how the helicopter even got to her, 44:58 they were already in the air when the call went out, 45:00 somebody was driving past called immediately 45:03 she wouldn't have been able to keep breathing 45:04 because of her paralysis, she couldn't breathe. 45:06 And so, it was just a matter of time 45:08 before she completely shut down. 45:11 But they were able to get to her in time. 45:13 So anyway, 45:14 I go to see her and I'm praying, 45:15 Lord, please help me to encourage their faith. 45:18 And the opposite happened. 45:20 They encouraged my faith as the last night 45:23 that I was leaving after I'd been there 45:24 with Marianne and TJ. 45:26 Marianne told me, she said, "Melody, 45:28 when you share our story, 45:30 be sure to tell people God is good. 45:34 And He has been so good to us. 45:37 Does this mean it's been easy? 45:39 No, I mean, this is the nightmare 45:40 of our lives, 45:42 losing our child 45:43 and now I can't even take care of my children. 45:44 I can't even take care of my husband 45:46 or do anything like a normal mom anymore. 45:48 But God has been so good. 45:52 And we see His goodness even in this tragedy." 45:55 And I just think, wow, when He has tried me, 45:58 I shall come forth as gold 46:00 to have that kind of faith that can say, 46:02 even in that type of tragedy, God is good. 46:05 Amen. 46:06 You know, I'm trying to think of the name of the boy 46:09 that we prayed for so far all through the summer. 46:12 But anyway, 46:14 his mother had written on a post, 46:17 this young man was terribly ill, 46:19 and they nearly lost him so many times. 46:23 And she wrote when, 46:25 like, when something would happen, 46:27 and he would start recovering, she'd write God is good. 46:30 But she said, even if He hadn't, 46:33 God is still good. 46:34 I want to read 1 Peter 4:12. 46:37 Peter writes, "Beloved, 46:39 do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial, 46:43 which is to try you 46:44 as though some strange thing happened to you." 46:47 First of all, we know it isn't God 46:49 who is orchestrating it, 46:51 it's the one who comes to steal, 46:53 kill and destroy, 46:54 but as you said, God saw it, He didn't intervene. 46:58 But then he goes on and he says this, 47:00 "Rejoice to the extent 47:03 that you partake of Christ's sufferings, 47:06 so that when His glory is revealed, 47:09 you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 47:12 You know, when we think about how much Jesus suffered 47:17 and realize that He being God 47:22 came down and became a man. 47:23 That's amazing. 47:26 That was about your mother's journey 47:29 because we've been praying for your mom as well. 47:32 And she has had a journey with cancer. 47:35 Yeah, she was diagnosed two years ago 47:37 with stage four lung cancer. 47:39 And the summer she was diagnosed, 47:41 I actually thought she was going to die. 47:42 Then because 47:44 she was already struggling breathing, 47:45 she was in pain. 47:47 We found out she had four different tumors. 47:51 And so, anyway, praise God. 47:53 It's really, it's really been a miracle 47:57 and we're still on the journey, 47:59 but we ended up 48:00 pursuing natural alternative routes. 48:03 We went to a clinic 48:05 called hope for cancer in Mexico, 48:07 and just all natural lifestyle treatments 48:08 and everything 48:10 and God has blessed those treatments, 48:12 three of the four tumors have gone, are all gone. 48:15 She still has one 48:16 and it's not been really getting better, 48:18 but it's not getting worse. 48:20 And so, she's been maintaining, 48:21 she's not having breathing problems. 48:22 She's continuing to live active life and still, 48:27 you know, not as strong as she was before. 48:29 But she's watched 48:30 two more grandchildren to be born. 48:32 I have two nieces and two nephews 48:34 from two to each of my brothers, 48:37 and she's gotten to watch that process. 48:39 And so, we don't know how long we have her for 48:42 but we just praise the Lord for each day. 48:45 And, you know, God's really been showing me 48:47 through this crisis 48:48 that our family's been going 48:49 through the last couple of years. 48:51 I mean, I'm very close to my parents 48:52 and so the thought of losing them 48:53 it's just like, no, this can't happen. 48:55 You know, when it first, the possibility first hit me, 48:58 I was just devastated. 48:59 But then the strength comes 49:01 and you recognize God's with you. 49:03 And He's been really showing me through this crisis. 49:05 I love Daniel 3:17. 49:07 And I'm not going to look it up and read it. 49:08 But Daniel 3:17 is referring 49:10 to the fiery furnace experience, 49:12 Daniel's three friends, 49:13 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 49:15 they're faced with a fiery furnace. 49:16 And the king says, "If you don't bow down, 49:19 I'm gonna throw you into the furnace." 49:21 And I love what they said, they said, 49:22 "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us 49:24 from the fiery furnace, 49:26 He's able, but even if He doesn't, 49:29 we're not going to bow down." 49:30 And this story has become very personal to me 49:32 in my own personal crisis in my life. 49:35 You know, both in my own walk with, 49:38 you know, unfulfilled in certain areas of my life, 49:41 not knowing what God's doing, 49:43 and in my relationship with my family 49:46 not knowing how long I'm going to have 49:48 my mom or different things. 49:49 I'm like, Lord, I trust You. 49:52 I'm going to serve You, I believe You are still good. 49:55 You know, like Marianne says 49:56 in the midst of being paralyzed. 49:58 I just actually came from her yesterday, 50:00 I just spent two days with her yesterday. 50:01 At the Colorado? 50:03 And she's doing so much better, 50:04 but she's still paralyzed. 50:06 But she's moving a little bit more. 50:07 Praise God. 50:08 But in my own journey, I trust You. 50:12 But even if You don't do, 50:14 what, you know, we would like deliverance, 50:17 healing from disease, whatever. 50:18 I'm still gonna believe, 50:20 I'm still gonna trust that You're good. 50:21 And that's just been very, very. 50:23 But I think my, one of my favorite scriptures 50:25 is when Job said, 50:26 even if he slay, yet will I trust Him. 50:29 Yet will I trust Him. 50:30 Amen and amen. 50:33 We're getting close. 50:34 I think you had a quote 50:35 that you wanted to read about God, 50:39 God's leading of His children. 50:41 Yeah, let me read this before I share this last, 50:43 this last testimony. 50:45 I love this quote, 50:46 and this has given me so much courage. 50:47 It comes from Desire of Ages. 50:50 And it says, "God never leads His children 50:52 otherwise then they would choose 50:54 to be led, 50:56 if they could see the end from the beginning 50:58 and discern the glory of the purpose 51:00 which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. 51:03 Not Enoch who was translated to heaven, 51:06 not Elijah, who'd ascended in a chariot of fire 51:09 were greater or more honored than John the Baptist 51:12 who perished alone in the dungeon. 51:14 Of all the gifts 51:15 that heaven can bestow upon men, 51:18 fellowship with Christ in His sufferings 51:20 is the most weighty trust and the highest honor." 51:25 And just seeing this 51:26 and the fact that God never leaves His children 51:27 and otherwise 51:29 then they would choose to be led. 51:30 Amen. 51:31 We could see the end from the beginning. 51:34 I think during those thousand years, 51:36 when we're in heaven, and He opens the book, 51:38 we're going to be looking at that 51:40 and saying, Lord, I understand, 51:42 you know, we're not to understand 51:43 everything right now. 51:45 But there will come a day when He will explain everything 51:48 and we'll be saying He is a good God. 51:51 That's right. All right. 51:53 So, let's talk about a quote 51:56 that you have from David Wilkerson. 51:58 David Wilkerson, comes from the story, 52:00 the Cross and the Switchblade back from the 80s, 52:03 which many people are familiar with. 52:04 He died a few years ago in a tragic car wreck 52:07 but right before he died, 52:09 he wrote this, these statements, and this is, 52:13 I think, so powerful. 52:14 And so, I want to share this with anyone that's out there 52:17 that may be going through their own time of pain 52:20 or question or wondering what God is doing. 52:23 This is for you. 52:25 "To believe when all means fail is exceedingly pleasing to God 52:29 and is most acceptable. 52:31 Jesus said to Thomas, 52:32 you have believed because you have seen, 52:35 but blessed are those that do believe 52:37 and have not seen. 52:40 Blessed are those who believe when there is no evidence 52:42 of an answer to prayer, who trusts beyond hope, 52:44 when all means have failed, 52:47 someone has come to the place of hope, 52:48 hopelessness, the end of hope, the end of all means, 52:51 a loved one is facing death and doctors give no hope. 52:54 Death seems inevitable. 52:56 Hope is gone. 52:58 The miracle prayed for is not happening. 53:00 This is when Satan's hordes come quickly 53:02 to attack your mind with fear, anger, 53:04 overwhelming questions. 53:05 Where's your God now? 53:07 You prayed until you had no tears left. 53:09 You fasted, you stood on the promises, 53:11 you trusted, 53:12 blasphemous thoughts will be injected 53:14 into your mind, 53:15 prayer fade, prayer failed, faith failed. 53:18 Don't quit on God, just don't trust Him anymore. 53:21 It doesn't pay. 53:23 Even questioning God's existence 53:25 will be injected into your mind. 53:27 These have been the devices of Satan for centuries, 53:29 some of the godless men and women 53:31 who have ever lived 53:32 were under such demonic attacks. 53:35 To those going through the valley 53:36 of the shadow of death, 53:38 hear this word, 53:39 weeping will last through some dark awful nights 53:42 and in that darkness, 53:43 you will soon hear the father whisper, 53:45 I am with you. 53:47 I cannot tell you why right now, but one day, 53:50 it will all make sense. 53:52 You will see it was all part of my plan. 53:54 It was no accident. 53:56 It was no failure on your part. 53:57 Hold fast. 53:59 Let me embrace you in your hour of pain." 54:01 And here's the last sentence here. 54:03 "Beloved, God has never failed to act, 54:06 but in goodness and love, when all means fail, 54:09 His love prevails, hold fast to your faith, 54:13 stand fast in His word, 54:14 there is no other hope in this world. 54:19 So, we have to believe God is good, 54:21 not because He always gives us the answers, 54:25 but because He gives us Himself. 54:27 Amen. 54:28 And you know, 54:30 I think sometimes when the devil came to Jesus 54:35 in the wilderness, what did he do? 54:38 He quoted scripture out of context, 54:40 he always twists God's Word. 54:44 And Jesus was able to pull out 54:46 the sword of the Spirit and say, 54:48 it is written and He gave the more accurate. 54:52 And I remember I was London, 54:55 or, well, Manchester I think it was, 54:57 anyway, 54:58 I was speaking to a large group of people, 55:01 and somehow Romans 8:28 came up that, 55:04 you know, God works all things together for good 55:06 for those who love Him 55:08 and are called according to His purpose. 55:10 And I said, you know, 55:11 there weren't chapters inverse distinctions 55:15 when the Bible was written. 55:17 Man inserted that, 55:19 they never should have separated 55:20 Romans 8:28 from Romans 8:29. 55:24 Because I said, 55:25 what would you do if you had just been, 55:28 there's been a car wreck and you'd lost your husband 55:31 and three kids 55:32 and somebody from your church comes up and says, 55:35 oh, honey, God works all things together for good 55:38 for those who love Him. 55:40 You'd want to punch. That's right. 55:42 But the rest of the thought is He says, 55:47 for those He foreknew 55:50 He predestined to be conformed 55:53 to the image of Jesus. 55:55 So, when something bad happens, 55:59 Christ went through it all, He has suffered everything. 56:03 But what God is doing 56:05 is He will take those circumstances, 56:08 and He will work it out for your good 56:10 to make you a little more Christ like. 56:12 Yes. 56:14 And, you know, there was a lady who came up to me. 56:16 And it was she hung back 56:18 for about 45 minutes afterwards, 56:20 you know, you're talking to people. 56:22 And I just kept noticing this woman, 56:24 she just didn't take her eyes off of me. 56:26 And she came up to me 56:28 finally when everybody else had left, 56:29 and she said, 56:31 this is the first time I've been to church 56:33 or to a church event in two years. 56:35 And she said, my husband, 56:38 and my children and I were at the beach. 56:42 My sons were out, 56:44 and they got caught in a riptide 56:47 and my husband went out to save them. 56:49 All three of them drown. 56:51 And somebody in her church misquoted scripture and said 56:56 God works all things together for good. 56:58 So, this is what we've got to know 57:01 is that we have to live by prayer and faith 57:06 and we have to dare to live by every word of God. 57:10 So, stay tuned, 57:12 we're going to come back in just a moment. 57:13 Melody has a new book, 57:16 "Daring to Live by Every Word of God." 57:20 And we're going to share some of that teaching with you. 57:23 It's going to be out in February, I believe. 57:24 That's right. 57:26 So, she's going to share, 57:27 kind of give us a little preview of that, 57:29 and how we need to give God 57:32 the keys to every room of our lives. 57:36 So please don't go away. 57:38 We'll be back in exactly two minutes, 57:40 and we look forward 57:42 to seeing you on the other side. 57:43 Thank you. |
Revised 2020-08-07