Participants:
Series Code: TDYL
Program Code: TDYL190033B
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00:11 Welcome back to the second hour.
00:13 I hope you've enjoyed this first hour 00:14 with Melody Mason, who is the... 00:17 She's with 00:18 the General Conference Prayer Ministries. 00:20 She's an author, 00:22 and we're talking about prayer, faith 00:25 and daring to live by every word of God. 00:31 And, Melody, I know that your first book, 00:34 "Daring To Ask For More" has been very good seller 00:38 and it's changed a lot of people's lives, 00:40 and I love the direction the Lord is leading you. 00:43 So tell us 00:44 about "Daring to Live by Every Word of God." 00:50 Well, Daring to Live by Every Word, 00:53 like it sounds is really challenging people 00:57 to go on a deeper journey 01:00 according to scriptures 01:02 because we read the scriptures, 01:03 and we recognize 01:05 our lives don't align with Scripture. 01:07 I mean, you read God's Word, and you're like, that's not me. 01:11 And it's easy to read. 01:15 But God says in His Word, but be doers of the word, 01:18 not just hearers only. 01:20 And so, Daring to Live by Every Word, 01:23 of course, is going to continue 01:24 to share stories of prayer and faith 01:27 and many different testimonies, 01:29 but it's really a challenge of surrender. 01:32 How do we surrender more fully to the Word of God 01:35 in our life, and this isn't, 01:37 you know, our works mentality. 01:41 It only happens 01:42 through the power of the Holy Spirit. 01:43 And only is acceptable 01:45 when covered by the blood of Christ. 01:47 But we know that... 01:49 You see, even obedience is when you said works, 01:52 but obedience is by grace 01:55 because it's God who works in us 01:57 to will and to do His good pleasures. 01:58 That's one of my favorite verse is actually Ephesians 2:8, 9, 02:01 "By grace are you saved through faith, 02:03 not of yourself, the gift of God not of works, 02:06 lest any man should boast." 02:07 Amen. 02:08 So it's not, it is not grace plus obedience. 02:13 Grace, it's when you enter 02:16 into the covenant of grace with God. 02:18 Obedience is just showing covenant loyalty 02:23 to the one who loves you 02:25 and provides everything for you. 02:26 That's how I look at it. Yes, yes. 02:28 And it's part of, it's part of love. 02:30 And we'll talk more about that as we go along here. 02:34 But if you love someone, you want to do... 02:37 Want to please them. 02:39 What makes them happy, 02:40 you want to do what brings them joy. 02:43 But as I go through the book, 02:46 which, you know, as you mentioned earlier, 02:48 it's not out yet so don't go looking for it yet, 02:50 but it'll be out this next spring. 02:54 But as I go through the book, 02:55 I'm challenging people 02:57 to a number of different things. 02:58 for one is just reverence for the Word of God. 03:01 Think about how we treat the scriptures. 03:04 We have grown very careless 03:07 in our treatment of the scriptures. 03:08 Complacent. 03:10 Not just in, oh, we read 03:12 and then we go on with our life. 03:13 I'm not just talking about that, 03:14 although that as well, 03:16 but even how we handle the Word of God 03:19 and the respect that we have, when relating to the Word. 03:23 You know, when the ancient scholars 03:27 and scribes were actually translating 03:29 the scriptures from the ancient Canaans, 03:31 or making those, 03:33 the Word was so sacred. 03:36 And you know this, if there was a single mistake, 03:39 they would throw out the entire translation 03:42 and start over, a single mistake. 03:46 If the word God or Lord was being written, 03:51 and a king or dignitary 03:52 or some somebody like that would walk into a room, 03:55 they were not even supposed to acknowledge that person 03:58 because they were writing the name of God. 04:01 It was such a reverent, 04:05 you know, respect for the Word of God. 04:07 And I think that we've really, we've really lost that. 04:10 And we've also lost the value. 04:14 As we look back over history, 04:15 I think of the lives that have been spent 04:20 to preserve this Word. 04:22 People died, 04:23 so that you and I could have this Word today. 04:26 We have it freely today, 04:28 but people shed their blood 04:29 so that we could have it freely. 04:31 And we take it for granted. 04:32 Think of the Waldensians and what they went through. 04:35 The Waldensians I just... 04:38 I just love the stories. 04:40 Last year I got to, 04:42 to be on a trip that we studied church history. 04:45 And we went from started in Rome, 04:48 and then went to the Waldensian valleys 04:51 and just seeing the rich heritage, 04:53 and you've been there. 04:55 It's just so amazing seeing what these people went through 04:58 to preserve the Word of God, 05:00 to preserve the faith and the guide, 05:04 was a Waldensian man 05:06 that was sharing testimonies with us. 05:07 He brought to us 05:08 and shared with us an old family Bible. 05:11 This Bible had been passed down for almost 500 years. 05:15 And it was tattered and everything 05:17 but this is the story of the Bible. 05:19 The different inquisitors, 05:21 whatever had come into the village 05:22 trying to wipe out the Waldensian faith 05:24 and burn the Bibles 05:25 and they were collecting the Bibles and burning them. 05:28 And some young man saved this Bible 05:31 or instead of throwing it into the fire 05:33 or letting it be taken, 05:35 he threw it over the edge of a cliff, 05:38 trying to save the Bible. 05:39 He was killed. 05:40 That person was killed, and everyone fled, 05:44 who wasn't killed fled. 05:45 Fifty years later, 05:47 the Waldensian families from that village 05:49 moved back into the mountains 05:51 to try to rebuild and reestablish 05:53 and they found that Bible in brush 05:57 over the edge of a cliff was still intact. 05:59 That's amazing. 06:00 For 50 years God preserved... 06:03 Through the weather. Yes. 06:04 And you can still read it. 06:05 The cover is, you know... 06:07 That's miraculous. 06:09 Yes, it was miraculous. Exactly. 06:11 The cover is weathered and beaten. 06:13 But inside, it's still perfectly intact. 06:17 And just thinking when he was sharing the story, 06:19 he was crying, and we were crying 06:21 and like somebody died saving this Bible. 06:24 And here we have it 500 years later to remind us, 06:27 but it wasn't just the Waldensians, 06:29 I mean, countless others 06:31 we know over the years gave up their life. 06:35 I think of Huss and Jerome and Wycliffe and others who, 06:40 who stood for the Word of God. 06:42 I think about the hunger 06:44 you know, we are blessed in the Western cultures 06:48 and Europe and different places to have pretty free access. 06:51 But there are places around the world 06:53 where Bibles are not free access. 06:55 And Christians are starving. 06:57 I mean, I've seen pictures of them 06:59 in these other Asian cultures or close countries 07:02 getting Bibles and they're just crying 07:04 and they're hugging the Word of God. 07:07 I'm kind of reminded of a young Chinese man 07:11 called Brother Yuan, 07:13 who wanted a Bible so desperately. 07:15 He prayed for 100 days, 07:17 he fasted and prayed for 100 days 07:19 so God would bring him a Bible. 07:21 And if he, this was Communist China, 07:23 by the way, when this happened, 07:25 this was years ago, when this happened. 07:28 God brought him a Bible, but if he was caught with it, 07:31 he would be killed 07:32 or he would be in serious trouble. 07:34 Anyway, God brought him a Bible, 07:36 and he couldn't read either. 07:38 But he learned to read reading the Bible, 07:40 and then he began to start churches 07:42 and house movements and just amazing. 07:45 You've got an amazing story. 07:46 You know, I was thinking when you were talking 07:48 about the people you saw that got a Bible when we first, 07:52 3ABN first went to Nizhny Novgorod 07:55 and John Carter was preaching. 07:58 And there were thousands of people 08:00 who were showing up, 08:02 and they were giving away Bibles. 08:04 And these people were, I mean, the rooms are full, 08:08 they had to do two services. 08:10 The rooms were full, 08:11 but people are breaking through the basement windows. 08:14 They wanted a Bible so badly. 08:16 And I remember Danny saying that, 08:18 you know, he would see 08:20 when they left with their Bible, 08:22 people would just go out and sit down in the middle of, 08:26 the middle of wherever they were. 08:28 And they were turning the page, 08:30 they were so desperate 08:32 for the Word of God and for a Bible. 08:34 And it's amazing to me, 08:36 you know, I probably have 30 Bibles. 08:41 I mean, I've got Bibles of every flavor, 08:44 if you will. 08:46 And what amazes me is that here in the United States, 08:50 where the Word of God, 08:51 now I spend a lot of time in the Word, 08:53 but we have a prison ministry that 3ABN does, 08:57 and we send out Bibles to prisoners. 09:00 I'm shocked 09:02 at how many times the prisoners, 09:05 the thank you letters are. 09:07 This is the first Bible I've ever had in my life. 09:12 And they didn't really hunger for the Word of God 09:17 till they got into such a situation 09:21 that God was their only hope. 09:23 And I think that that's our problem 09:25 is that we in the States 09:27 and many of the developed countries, 09:30 we got everything we need and we think that, 09:33 hey, we're rich and have need of nothing 09:35 and so, the Word of God isn't as powerful a draw 09:41 as many of the distractions of the devil. 09:44 It's amazing. 09:47 Even here, though, the people 09:49 that have not ever had a Bible. 09:52 I just had a young girl contact me recently. 09:55 I have an Instagram account, 09:57 which is kind of my personal ministry. 09:59 I use prayer ministry to share 10:02 what God's doing in my life and things that are happening. 10:05 And this complete stranger contacted me over Instagram. 10:09 And she said, 10:10 and never had any contact with her, 10:12 but she just saw one of my posts. 10:14 And she says, "Would you mind sending me a Bible?" 10:16 Like an early 20-year old from Florida. 10:20 And I sent her a Bible, she's never had a Bible. 10:22 She's never read the Bible, 10:23 but she's going through a hard time, 10:25 she lost her father. 10:26 And that compelled her something 10:28 that she saw that I posted. 10:30 She says, here's a girl 10:31 that would help me get a Bible 10:33 and I don't know 10:34 why she hasn't gotten one in any other way. 10:35 But I'm just like, wow, here's a young girl 10:37 that's never had a Bible before, 10:39 we have them all around us. 10:40 I mean, people that are growing up. 10:41 I mean, our world 10:43 even though we feel especially here in the States 10:45 that we're a Christian nation. 10:47 We are fast 10:49 becoming a post-Christian nation. 10:50 I agree with you. 10:52 We are growing a very secular society people. 10:55 Amazing how many people don't know 10:58 the stories of the Bible or it's just... 11:00 We've become, we're kind of on a hedonist, 11:03 many people are on a hedonistic treadmill. 11:05 It's all about pleasures and property. 11:09 And, you know, more and more and more. 11:11 But, you know, I just want to say one thing. 11:14 This young lady could have gone out 11:15 and bought a Bible almost anywhere. 11:18 She can walk into a Walmart and buy the Bible, 11:20 but it will have so much more meaning 11:23 because she connected with you. 11:25 And she asked for you, and it's a gift. 11:27 So that's very precious. 11:29 That's truly precious. 11:30 But I think that even in the church, 11:36 I want to share this with you, I think you'll like this. 11:39 I was reading Philippians 2:5-7 11:43 where it's talking about, 11:45 Paul says, "Let this mind be in you 11:46 that was in Christ, who humbled Himself." 11:51 Even though he was God, 11:53 and He didn't consider being equal with God robbery 11:57 because He was, 11:59 He humbled Himself 12:00 and He took on the form of a man 12:02 which I think is a greater personal, 12:04 I think that's a greater sacrifice, 12:06 even in dying on the cross 12:08 because He took our flesh back to heaven. 12:11 But as I was reading that, about the humility of Christ. 12:16 The Lord impressed this thought upon my mind. 12:19 I want to be humble, I pray to be humble. 12:23 I pray for God to humble me. 12:25 If, you know, I don't want ever to. 12:27 But you know what? 12:28 The Lord impressed upon my mind 12:31 is that when Christ became a man, 12:33 He was totally dependent upon the Lord. 12:36 He laid all the rest of that aside, 12:38 and He said, I only do what the Father tells me to do. 12:41 I only say 12:42 what the Father tells me to say. 12:44 He was totally dependent. 12:46 Here He was co-equal in eternity. 12:49 But when He came down, 12:51 He took this temporary submissive role 12:53 to the Lord, 12:54 and He was totally dependent. 12:56 That's what humility is about. 12:59 Humility is to be dependent upon the Lord 13:02 and we're all trained up to be independent. 13:05 And it's hard to be humble, whatever that is, 13:09 I don't know, you're too young. 13:10 Oh, Lord, it's hard to be humble. 13:12 There was a song. 13:13 But our greatest need 13:17 is to learn to lay our pride down, isn't it? 13:20 That's right. 13:22 And this has been a journey for me 13:26 because as I shared earlier in the program, 13:28 I did grow up in the church. 13:29 Yeah. 13:31 And I grew up doing the right things. 13:34 When people would look at me, 13:35 they would think she's the model person, 13:37 of course, I had my struggles. 13:40 But in my earlier, 13:41 you know, youth and young adulthood, 13:43 I remember not trying to be prideful or whatever, 13:47 but thinking, man, 13:48 you know, they have their struggles. 13:50 That's good thing, 13:51 I don't have struggles like that, you know. 13:53 And God's slowly beginning 13:54 and part of the breaking process 13:55 that I went through, 13:57 which was a very 13:58 spiritual breaking process for me. 14:00 You know, when I went through that whole journey 14:02 with depression 14:03 and recognizing 14:05 life doesn't always go as you expect 14:08 just because you do the right things, 14:12 you know, but it's a very humbling journey 14:14 for me also to walk through depression 14:16 and recognize 14:18 that things are a little bit out of control here. 14:20 God began showing me my great needs spiritually. 14:23 You know, you thought you're a good person. 14:26 Do you really recognize 14:27 how desperately you need a savior? 14:28 Do you really recognize 14:30 that I died on the cross for you? 14:32 You know, intellectually I knew this 14:34 because I've been raised in the church. 14:35 But what Christ did for me on Calvary 14:38 really never pierced my heart 14:41 until I went through that breaking experience 14:43 and then coming out and I'm just like, 14:44 Lord, forgive me, a sinner. 14:46 I did not recognize my great need. 14:49 And I think like you were just saying, 14:51 we have to be broken. 14:53 In fact, he says, I think it's... 14:58 Is it Psalms 51:17? 15:00 "That our offering is a broken and contrite spirit." 15:04 And if you actually look up the Greek for contrite, 15:09 it means to grind to dust like there's nothing, 15:14 it's not like pieces you can glue back together. 15:18 It's like smithereens. 15:19 There's nothing. 15:21 And I think that's what we need to be. 15:25 We need to be completely emptied of self, 15:28 broken of all self-sufficiency, pride, 15:32 self-dependence 15:33 before God can do His miracle 15:36 but He does the best miracles with dust. 15:40 Right, He created man from dust. 15:42 He created man from dust. 15:44 And He caused the blind man to see again with dust. 15:47 Yeah, that's great. 15:48 And it's dust 15:51 that He really does this miracles with 15:53 and so, it's been a journey for me 15:56 and it's still a journey for me. 15:57 You know, we all struggle with pride, 15:58 and especially when we, you know, 16:01 began to be successful in something. 16:03 You want to be like, "Oh, yes, of course, 16:05 praise the Lord that was all for His glory." 16:07 And you know, there's something to it 16:09 that seems to me anyway 16:11 that it's hard for people 16:14 to accept that salvation is by grace, 16:17 that it is a gift because our pride won't let us. 16:19 Right. 16:21 It's kind of like, well, I got to do something 16:23 to help the Lord to lay out. 16:24 And I know for me, 16:26 I grew up in a New Testament Church, 16:29 we didn't study the old but it was pretty legalistic. 16:32 And I really tried to earn God's love. 16:36 It was a very much a performance religion. 16:39 And I mean, I shook my fist 16:43 in the face of the Lord once and said, 16:45 "I can't please You, I give up." 16:47 But I think that what was hard for me 16:51 when the Lord took me through learning, 16:55 the true learning about grace 16:58 is that it finally connected that. 17:02 And I pray this all the time to just say thank you 17:05 what You did for me in becoming a man 17:06 and dying on the cross 17:08 because I realized I could never save myself. 17:12 That's right. 17:13 But every now and then I still get into the do mores. 17:16 Yeah. 17:18 Do you? Yeah. 17:19 Oh, yeah. Okay, great. 17:21 No, that's, that's what He's really had 17:25 to walk me through too. 17:26 I mean, even though intellectually, 17:28 I could tell, I could tell you the truth. 17:32 In my heart, I was still trying to earn. 17:35 I was still trying to, you know, it's like, 17:38 Lord, I'm doing such 17:40 and then you fall and you're just like, 17:42 and it's a continual cycle. 17:43 You know, you try 17:45 and then you recognize you can't 17:46 and then you get discouraged and it's just, 17:49 but He is seeking. 17:51 I really believe the greatest battle 17:53 and we're going to talk about some do's and don'ts 17:55 because that is an evidence 17:57 of where we are in our walk with God, 17:59 but I believe the greatest battle 18:00 is actually not to be this person 18:04 that I'm supposed to be. 18:05 Our greatest battle is to abide. 18:07 Stay connected with Him. 18:08 Because then He can work in us 18:10 and through us what we can never do 18:12 in our own strength, you know. 18:13 Apart from Him we can do... 18:15 Apart from Him we can do nothing. 18:17 And we know that whole abiding 18:19 in divine experience and all of that, 18:21 you know, we have the tendency, though to say, 18:23 you know, you know, Lord, help me to be more loving. 18:27 Lord, help me to be more patient. 18:28 And I'm not saying 18:29 we shouldn't pray those prayers. 18:31 But what we really need is love to abide in us, 18:35 peace to abide in us. 18:37 That's who He is. 18:38 And when He is in us, 18:41 He's the fruit of the Spirit in person. 18:44 When the fruit of the Spirit, when the Holy Spirit is in us, 18:46 the fruit will come out. 18:48 It will just be natural, but it's not 18:50 because I'm struggling to produce that fruit. 18:53 I'm struggling to produce that flower in that vine. 18:57 No, it just naturally comes 18:59 because we are in that abiding experience. 19:01 And so I tell people, it's not about working harder. 19:03 And it's not about grit and determination 19:07 to be who you think you should be. 19:09 Yeah, we have a battle with self. 19:11 We definitely have a struggle with self and it's not easy. 19:14 It's definitely a spiritual war. 19:17 But the greatest battle is to stay 19:19 in that abiding relationship with Jesus. 19:22 And we learn to abide 19:23 as we stay connected in His Word and prayer. 19:26 Prayer is the breath of the soul. 19:29 You can't breathe without prayer. 19:30 And His Word is our sustenance. 19:33 We have to eat, 19:34 eat His Word and spend time in His Word. 19:35 Matthew 4:4, 19:37 "Man shall not live by bread alone but by Word." 19:39 That's right. 19:40 So you have in your new book, 19:43 you're going to talk about the going deeper 19:48 into Bible study 19:50 and experiencing God's Word. 19:57 You've got keys to every room. 20:01 Yeah, I'll go into that here in just a second. 20:04 But let me just talk briefly 20:05 about the whole devotional experience. 20:08 I've talked about, you know, 20:09 we need to be in God's Word and all of that. 20:12 I have a resource that we just recently created. 20:14 And if people look on the website 20:17 on RevivalAndReformation.org, 20:21 you'll actually see this on the front page right now 20:24 and it is experiencing God's Word. 20:28 So it's a bookmark, 20:30 but it's also an article online. 20:33 And this is just helping people learn to journal 20:36 and go deeper in the Word of God. 20:39 It's not just about a devotional experience 20:42 or whatever that we check off, 20:45 but about really making God's Word apply 20:48 in our daily life 20:49 and here it starts 20:50 with prayerfully open God's Word. 20:53 Read a Bible passage, 20:55 allowing the Scripture to interpret itself, 20:57 highlight key words or themes that speak out to you, 21:00 highlight promises and words of encouragement, 21:03 and then meditate on the passages 21:05 that speak to you. 21:06 This is in a meditative sense. 21:08 This isn't necessarily trying to understand 21:11 every, every nuance of the Scripture. 21:15 But just what does God's, 21:17 what is God's message for you in that, 21:19 in that Word today? 21:20 And then I have questions that you can ask, 21:23 you know, about going deeper. 21:24 What is God saying in this passage? 21:25 And how does this passage apply to my life today? 21:29 How does it show me God's character? 21:30 How does it lead me to Jesus? 21:32 And so, these are some beautiful things 21:34 that have really made my personal time 21:37 with God come alive. 21:38 In journaling I have found, 21:40 and I just want to put a plug in 21:41 for journaling. 21:43 And there's a lot of great journals. 21:45 There's a lot of different reading plans. 21:47 In fact, if you're looking for a good reading plan, 21:51 we have the belief His prophets' reading plan, 21:54 which you can also access on our website 21:56 that thousands of people around the world are doing. 21:58 And the website is RevivalAndReformation.org. 22:02 That's right. 22:04 You're going to get that by... 22:05 Everybody's going to get that by the end of the program. 22:07 There's another reading plan that I did last year. 22:10 And it comes from the book, "Longing for God, " 22:13 which actually helps people. 22:14 This is by Dr. Frank Hasel, 22:15 this actually helps people 22:17 walk through the entire Bible in one year. 22:21 And you don't have to do it in one year. 22:22 But if you follow every day, 22:24 you will actually read through the Bible in one year. 22:26 And I loved that plan, 22:28 because it just gives you an overview of the Scripture 22:31 in a very Old Testament 22:32 and at the same time including some New Testament. 22:34 So you're not just stuck in the Old Testament, 22:36 you're doing two together. 22:38 But there's one other journal that I wanted to share. 22:40 And this is a blank journal. 22:42 It's called "Give me Jesus." 22:44 And I'll just show a picture of it here 22:45 that you can, you can... 22:49 Actually I'll show the cover here, 22:50 Give me Jesus on the screen. 22:51 And this isn't a journal that we produced, 22:53 but if you just Google, Give me Jesus, 22:55 you can actually look it up. 22:58 So hopefully people saw the cover of that. 23:00 Here we go. 23:01 They can read that, Give me Jesus. 23:04 But in the journal it just has a section 23:05 where you write out your gratitude 23:07 what you're grateful for, 23:09 a be still and know section give your worries, 23:12 your stress to God 23:13 and then it has nice area for you to write your notes. 23:16 And then this is the part I love in the back. 23:18 How am I, 23:19 how do I learn about God 23:21 through what I studied today? 23:22 And how do I apply what I learned to my life. 23:26 And then a prayer section to pray over what you read. 23:29 And this is just a beautiful part 23:30 I think of being in the Word 23:34 and journaling and all of that is, 23:35 has to be practical. 23:38 In other words, what I have studied today 23:41 needs to affect my life today. 23:44 I mean, 23:46 whatever I was just studying yesterday, 23:47 and I'm not going to go through this in detail, 23:49 but I was just in Colossians 3, 23:52 and the whole summary of that chapter 23:54 is putting off the old man and putting on the new, 23:58 putting off the old and putting on the new. 24:00 And if what we're reading in God's Word 24:03 is not affecting our daily life. 24:06 You know, it's to become practical, 24:08 it's to become real. 24:09 And so I just wanted to, to share before... 24:11 When you say practice, 24:13 if we don't put it into practice, 24:14 it's just head knowledge. 24:15 That's right. 24:17 You know when we start putting it into practice, 24:18 it's heart knowledge. 24:19 That's right. 24:21 But you know, I will, I too, journaling changed my life. 24:23 And I'll tell you why. 24:25 As you are studying the Bible, or even as you're praying, 24:28 I journaled my prayers for so many years, 24:30 and I don't always do that now, but, 24:33 but when I was praying for two hours a day, 24:37 it would just go by that fast, 24:39 because it's like 24:41 sometimes even when you're in the Word, 24:43 you can start getting distracted 24:44 or if you're praying, you can start thinking. 24:46 Oh, I got to pick up the cleaning 24:48 or I've got to do this. 24:49 But when you're journaling, 24:51 you've got all of your senses involved 24:54 and you don't have those distract, 24:56 it really drives out dissonance. 24:58 It's very encouraging 24:59 to go back and look at what you said. 25:01 Now, granted, this journal I just shared, 25:03 it's a little colorful and probably, 25:05 mostly women are going to use this. 25:07 I do know some men that like this journal too. 25:09 They just put a different color. 25:10 But I shared what's inside 25:12 because I wanted to share the concept of for one. 25:17 I think it's very important 25:18 that we take time to be grateful each day, 25:21 you know, for me and my devotions, 25:23 worship is a huge part. 25:26 You think about the wise man 25:28 that came to see Jesus when He was a baby. 25:30 They came all those miles. 25:32 They didn't come to ask favors. 25:34 They didn't come to ask prayers. 25:36 They came to worship and to give Him gifts. 25:39 And I think here they came all this distance to worship 25:41 and we can't even get out of our bed 25:43 on to our knees to worship. 25:44 We just get out and we start complaining 25:46 or crying or whatever. 25:48 God cares about those burdens on our hearts. 25:50 But I think we need to begin with worship. 25:52 We need to learn 25:53 how to praise God to be grateful. 25:56 You enter it, you know, when we think about, 25:59 the sanctuary was theology in physical form. 26:02 That's right. 26:03 And what they do, 26:04 you enter His gates with thanksgiving, 26:06 enter His courts with praise, 26:08 I would say probably over 50% of my prayer 26:12 is worship in the beginning. 26:14 Yes, and this is really transformed. 26:16 And I didn't mention this earlier with the whole, 26:19 with the whole journey with suffering 26:21 because in my own struggles, 26:25 one of the things that helps me the most 26:26 when I'm in those low moments, because I'm not always, 26:30 you know, high and whatever, 26:31 I have my struggles just like we all do, 26:33 is singing praises to God. 26:35 Sometimes I'll be in my room and I'm crying 26:37 because I'm struggling and I'm just like, 26:40 Lord, teach me how to praise You 26:43 and I also start singing praises to God, 26:45 I worship You, Lord, even in this 26:48 and it's just like this whole new spirit. 26:51 I mean, the enemy... 26:53 God inhabits the praises. 26:54 God inhabits the praises of His people. 26:56 The enemy cannot stand to be in the presence 26:58 of those who are worshiping and praising God. 27:01 And I have people contact me, 27:03 I have a girl that I'm corresponding with 27:05 even right this moment, 27:07 who was sharing with me her struggles and depression 27:10 and different things that she's struggling with. 27:12 And, of course, there's different things 27:14 that we can do to help heal our bodies and minds. 27:16 But I encouraged her start praising God 27:19 and start thanking Him 27:20 for the things that He is doing, 27:22 or He has done. 27:23 And if you can't think, I mean, 27:25 you know, as one of my friend says, 27:27 "Thank Him, thank Him for your toothbrush 27:28 or your bed or whatever." 27:30 There's always something that we can thank Him for. 27:31 And as we do, more things will come along. 27:34 In fact, Ellen White writes that 27:35 we'll be given more to praise Him for 27:37 when we thank Him. 27:39 And so, worship is such a huge, huge part 27:44 of the whole devotional experience. 27:45 I agree. 27:47 But you were mentioning 27:48 going deeper keys practical life. 27:51 You know, I think, 27:54 think about if you were getting married 27:58 or you know in a wedding or whatever, 28:00 you would want to be as spotless as possible, right? 28:06 And think about the fact we are going to meet Christ, 28:09 we are going to meet Jesus, 28:11 and He's coming for a spotless bride. 28:13 He's coming for a pure church. 28:17 When we start talking standards, 28:19 when we start talking about 28:20 how the Scripture affects our daily life, 28:22 people, you know, that's fine, you can read it. 28:25 But when it starts stepping on our toes, 28:28 when it starts interfering with our daily life, 28:31 that's when people start like, way, 28:34 you know, that's legalism or whatever. 28:37 And I just say, as I showed you earlier, 28:39 this is not about being legalistic. 28:41 This is not about righteousness by veggie burgers, 28:45 righteousness by dress reform or anything else. 28:48 This is about pleasing 28:49 and honoring the God that we love. 28:52 It's in fact an evidence of our love. 28:55 If we love Him, you know, the Bible says, 28:57 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 28:59 If we love Him, we're not going to be asking, 29:02 "How much do I have to do to get by? 29:04 Or how much you know is required?" 29:06 No, we're going to be throwing everything in. 29:08 What can we do to bring joy to our Savior? 29:11 You know what I think we forget is in John 14:15 29:15 when he said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 29:19 The connector there is next to the next verse. 29:22 "And I will send you another helper." 29:28 You know, Acts 5:32 says that, that the Comforter, 29:32 the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey. 29:36 So it's something 29:37 that all the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. 29:43 His love is unconditional, 29:44 but the promises are conditional. 29:47 I mean, obedience 29:48 is the pathway to blessing, is it not? 29:50 Right, yes. 29:52 In fact, here's a quote from the Mount of Blessings. 29:58 It says, "Obedience is the test of discipleship. 30:01 It's the keeping of the commandments 30:03 that proves the sincerity of our profession of love. 30:07 When the doctrine we accept kills sin in the heart, 30:10 purifies the soul from defilement, 30:12 bears fruit unto holiness, 30:14 we may know that is the truth of God." 30:16 Amen. Amen. 30:17 You know, God has an incredibly high standard. 30:20 And it's impossible for us to reach that standard. 30:23 It's only by the blood of Christ, 30:25 His perfect life, 30:26 His perfect obedience covering our imperfect 30:28 because we know ours... 30:29 Ours is sufficient. 30:31 You know our righteousness is as filthy rags. 30:33 We know that in Isaiah 64:6, and so it is impossible, 30:37 but He has a standard that He's calling us to. 30:41 And you know, you read in Scripture, 30:43 and it's kind of overwhelming when He says, 30:45 "Be perfect, be holy," 30:47 you know, all these different things. 30:50 But He gives us as you've just said, 30:53 through His grace He fills us with His Spirit. 30:56 He does in us what we cannot do. 30:58 And that's why 31:00 the abiding experience is so important, 31:03 because we don't have what we need 31:04 to be who He's called. 31:06 We don't have what we need 31:08 to live the life that He's called. 31:12 How does God's Word affect our daily life though? 31:14 And I talked about this in detail 31:16 and just to share a little overview, 31:18 talking about the keys to every room, 31:19 I really challenge people. 31:21 We need to pray, we need to ask God. 31:24 Psalms 139:23 and 24 says, 31:27 "Search me, O God, know my heart, 31:28 try me, O God, 31:29 see if there be any wicked way in me 31:31 and lead me in the way everlasting." 31:32 We need to ask the Lord about each area of our life. 31:37 How is God's Word? 31:38 How is Your Word affecting this area of our life? 31:40 And so, I just liken it to a house. 31:44 You know, we come into a house 31:46 and in general we would say 31:48 the living room 31:49 is probably the most acceptable place 31:50 in the house. 31:52 We have company that come in there 31:53 and it's pretty orderly and everything, 31:56 but we don't necessarily take them back 31:58 to our private rooms 31:59 or whatever that's generally 32:01 and that's oftentimes the way it is with Jesus. 32:03 You know, we invite Him in, 32:05 but we kind of give Him a corner 32:06 and we say, okay, make yourself at home. 32:08 Now I'm going to go back to my other rooms, 32:10 and I'm going to do my thing. 32:12 But Jesus is actually knocking on the door 32:14 of each room in our house, 32:16 and He's saying, 32:18 "Let me in, I'm here, I'm here to dwell." 32:21 You said, "Make yourself at home." 32:23 Did you really mean it? 32:24 You know, can I come in? 32:26 And so, He's knocking, you know, on the kitchen. 32:29 And we say, He can't touch what I eat. 32:32 He can't touch what I put in my body. 32:33 He can't touch what I put, put on the refrigerator. 32:37 But God's Word applies 32:40 to what we put in our cupboards, 32:42 what we put on our table. 32:44 You know, the verse 1 Corinthians 10:31, 32:49 "Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, 32:51 do all to the glory of God." 32:54 And just a brief interlude here, 32:56 something that I share in much more detail. 32:59 I think one of the biggest reasons 33:01 that we need to ask God 33:03 to take control of this area of our life 33:05 is because it affects us spiritually. 33:07 What we put in our bodies affects our mind, 33:10 mind body connection, 33:12 and it affects our ability to hear the Holy Spirit. 33:14 And that's why God asks us to take care of our temple, 33:17 to take care of our body, to honor it, 33:22 because He wants to have that connection with us. 33:24 But He's knocking on each room. 33:25 He's knocking on our bedroom. 33:27 He wants to know what happens behind the closed doors 33:29 and in the secret parts. 33:30 What do we keep in our closet? 33:32 Do we have baggage there that we should have let go of, 33:35 bitterness, unforgiveness, resentment, grudges, 33:40 who knows what addictions, secret addictions. 33:44 You know, there's this story. 33:45 A friend of mine told, 33:47 he has been a missionary in South America 33:48 and I might have shared it previously here. 33:51 But he tells how he was on this bus 33:54 driving through the jungle 33:55 and he discovered 33:57 he was sitting beside this witch doctor 33:58 and the doctor starts boasting about all his powers 34:01 and the things that he can do. 34:02 And he says, "You know, I could cause, 34:05 I could cast a spell over your family 34:06 and I could cause your wife to leave you 34:07 and I could bring you the woman of your dreams, 34:10 when my friend was happily married. 34:12 And he says, "I don't think so. 34:13 You know, I'm already married to the woman of my dreams, 34:15 but you could touch me." 34:17 But this witch doctor says, "Oh, yes, I could, I do." 34:19 And so he begins, he says, 34:21 "Let me ask you some questions." 34:22 So he begins asking my friend some questions. 34:24 And he says, "Do you watch such and such, " 34:27 and he listed 34:28 some of the popular television programs 34:30 of that region of the world. 34:31 My friend said, "No." 34:33 He says, "Do you listen to such and such?" 34:35 And he listed 34:36 some of the popular secular worldly music 34:38 of that region. 34:40 My friend says, "No." 34:41 And he says, "Do you read such and such." 34:42 And he listed some of the secular magazines 34:45 and different things. 34:47 And my friend says, "No." 34:48 And he said, "Well, I have you on this one 34:49 because all men struggle with this." 34:51 He says, 34:52 "You look at pornography, right? 34:53 And my friend says, "No." 34:55 And the witch doctor looked at him 34:57 with new respect. 34:58 And he says, "You're right. 34:59 I can't touch you." 35:01 But if you participate 35:03 in any of those things that I just mentioned, 35:05 I could exercise all the power in the world over you, 35:07 because you've given me a foothold into your life. 35:11 But I can't touch you. 35:13 And I think we as Christians do not realize 35:17 how our little spiritual compromises 35:19 and some of them are not so little. 35:21 Some of them are not so little, 35:23 they're strongholds 35:24 that are secretly hidden in our closets, 35:27 secret addictions hidden in our computers, 35:29 or different things. 35:31 And we think, "Well, you know, it's not such a big deal. 35:34 This is the way I am, this is who I am, 35:35 I struggle blah, blah, blah." 35:37 And we think 35:38 that that's not going to affect things, 35:40 but these are breaches that allow the enemy in, 35:42 and Jesus is knocking on the door 35:43 and He's saying, "Give me control 35:45 of every area of your life." 35:47 You know, I love the illustration of the house 35:49 because I mean, read out Revelation 3:20, 35:52 you know, I stand at the door, knocking anybody, 35:54 invite me and I'll come in and dine with him. 35:57 But I love 35:59 your illustration of the house in every room. 36:03 Because there are areas, people, 36:06 I call it compartmentalize. 36:08 And there are people who are great Christians 36:12 on the day they attend church worship. 36:15 And they can totally change. 36:17 It's kind of like they compartmentalize this, 36:19 they compartmentalize that. 36:21 And so He does want in to every area of our heart. 36:25 He wants into every area. 36:26 And that's why we, 36:28 you know, as we are in the Word, 36:30 we will begin to recognize this. 36:31 If we're not in the Word, 36:33 you think you're stepping on my toes. 36:35 Why are you saying that? 36:37 Well, this is what God's Word says. 36:39 You know, think about the fact, 36:40 we are preparing to go to heaven. 36:43 At least that's what we talk like we are. 36:45 If we are preparing to go to heaven, 36:47 we need to be preparing to meet our heavenly groom. 36:50 That means all sin 36:52 and compromise needs to go away. 36:53 That is not legalism 36:55 to be preaching that, it's love. 36:57 It's because of love that we're seeking 36:59 to align our lives with Him and to be pleasing. 37:01 And so God is saying, 37:02 "I want to be in control of every area of your life. 37:05 What are you doing during your downtime? 37:07 You know, when you're not doing your ministry, 37:09 when you're not, when you're just vegetating, 37:11 what are you doing? 37:12 Is that for My honor and glory? 37:14 What are you watching on your computer or television? 37:16 What food are you putting in your table? 37:18 How are you spending your money? 37:19 What are you wearing is, 37:21 it's what you wear for Your glory and honor?" 37:23 You know, this is a touchy situation, 37:24 especially for women. 37:26 You know, especially as you're getting older, 37:28 you become even more sensitive, like, 37:30 I want to be my, I want to look my best 37:32 and I want to be attractive. 37:33 But I've even struggled and just had to say, 37:36 Lord, is what I'm wearing, is this for Your glory, 37:39 or is this for my own glory? 37:41 And there's a verse, 37:43 Romans 13:14, I think it is, it says, 37:46 "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ 37:48 and make no provision for the flesh." 37:50 And actually have this verse over my mirror 37:52 to remind myself that, 37:55 excuse me, 37:56 what I'm wearing is for His glory, 37:59 not to flaunt myself. 38:01 You know what? 38:03 We need to, I won't say where, 38:05 but I was at a university teaching the young people. 38:09 And I looked out into the audience. 38:13 I've never seen so many low-cut tops. 38:16 Yeah. 38:18 And you're sitting here 38:19 thinking these are Christian kids 38:22 who are not being taught modesty. 38:27 That's scary to me. 38:28 Because if you read the Bible, 38:31 it's pretty clear 38:32 that modesty should be at the top, 38:35 and one other thing that I'm just going to say this 38:37 because I'm compelled to say it, 38:39 and that is parents, grandparents, 38:42 talk with your children, about sexuality, 38:46 talk about what God expects. 38:49 Because if you don't, 38:51 if you let the secular world steal the narrative, 38:55 your children 38:57 if you're not educating them in sex, 39:00 the world will, and it isn't going to be godly. 39:04 That's right. Okay. 39:05 I know it's, it's so true. 39:11 God's Word is really, I mean, of course, 39:16 we're told it's profitable for doctrine reproof, 39:19 and correction, and righteousness. 39:20 But I think what I'm really, 39:22 I really have a burden about is this is to be practical. 39:26 This is not just philosophy that we hear in church, 39:29 how does it affect my daily life? 39:31 And so, that's what we need to be praying. 39:32 I mean, I can't be the judge of... 39:34 Everyone's on their own journey. 39:36 They're at their different places 39:38 in their walk. 39:39 And so that's why I encourage people, 39:40 we need to be praying 39:42 to the Lord ourselves and saying, 39:43 show me, 39:45 show me how my life is not in line with Your Word 39:48 and show me. 39:50 You know, my spending habits. 39:51 You know, this is something 39:53 that God's convicted me of recently is how 39:54 sometimes that can be wasteful 39:56 on things that I really don't need. 39:59 But sometimes I'm a little impulsive. 40:04 I'm not in debt right now. 40:05 But in previous years, I was in debt. 40:07 Yeah. 40:09 This was a huge struggle for me, credit card... 40:11 Credit card debt. 40:13 They are the greatest burden. 40:14 I don't know if I can remember, 40:15 but it was something like credit cards are showing, 40:20 it's a lack of patience to purchase 40:23 what you can't afford is what I was saying. 40:27 Let me say one thing real quickly 40:29 before you continue, 40:30 because we're, I know we're going to get 40:33 into a little more on the worship aspect here. 40:37 But I just know 40:38 that there's somebody that's saying, 40:40 "How do I abide in Christ"? 40:42 You keep saying, it's abiding is our struggle. 40:45 I wanted to read John 8:31 and 32 40:48 because this is how you abide in the Lord. 40:52 "Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 40:55 'If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed." 41:02 Abide means to dwell in. 41:04 So what He's saying, if you abide in My Word, 41:07 He's saying, 41:08 not only if you meditate on it, 41:10 but if you put it into practice, 41:11 that's dwelling in the Word. 41:13 And listen to what he says, 41:15 "And you shall know the truth, 41:18 and the truth shall make you free." 41:21 And you know, so many people feel 41:23 that if you're trying to put the Word into practice, 41:28 that you're coming under some kind of bondage. 41:31 Psalm 129:4 says that, 41:33 "The Lord is righteous, 41:35 He has cut us free from the court of the wicked. 41:38 He came not to save us in our sin, 41:41 but to save us from our sins." 41:44 And so, that's something that, 41:46 I don't know what people's problem is 41:48 with obedience 41:50 because it's all by grace through faith. 41:52 He works and is to will and to do is good pleasure. 41:55 and Philippians 1:6 says, 41:58 "He will complete the good work He's begun in us." 42:03 And I just want to add to that too, 42:04 the closer we come to Christ, 42:07 we don't feel holy. 42:09 The closer we come, 42:11 the more imperfect we recognize we are. 42:14 So if you are in that abiding experience 42:16 and you're walking closer, 42:18 you're not going to feel holy, 42:19 like God tells me to be this and that 42:21 and I fall so short, you know. 42:24 And I can say this for myself, I fall short. 42:26 We all fall short of this, 42:27 but we are going to recognize 42:28 the closer we come how imperfect we are, 42:31 because, for one, we're recognizing who He is, 42:34 and we see the holiness and who He is. 42:36 But that also shows that He is doing a work 42:39 because the Holy Spirit is removing the blinders 42:42 from our eyes so that we can see. 42:44 But you know, He sees the end from the beginning. 42:46 Romans 4:17 says, 42:47 "He's the God who gives life to the dead 42:50 and He calls things 42:51 that are not as though they already were." 42:54 Hallelujah. Amen. 42:55 I mean, He sees the end from the beginning. 42:57 So when He looks at us 42:59 and when He says 43:01 that we're new creations in Christ, 43:03 the old is gone, the new is come. 43:05 You know, sometimes we don't feel 43:07 like the old is gone 43:09 because it rears its ugly head every now and then. 43:11 But God knows He's going to complete 43:13 the good work that He has begun in us. 43:17 You know, there's something that's very, very powerful. 43:21 And this has made 43:22 a big difference for me personally 43:24 is recognizing the power of the will. 43:26 God has given us a choice to choose. 43:30 And as we are in this journey, we're saying, 43:32 Lord, I need You to take control 43:34 of my spending habits 43:36 or my this habit or that habit, 43:39 or how I'm treating, 43:40 you know, the struggles I'm having whether it be. 43:42 We don't have the natural desire 43:43 to do what's right. 43:45 But we have to come to the point 43:46 where we say, "Lord, I give You my heart. 43:48 I give You my will. 43:51 And I ask that You would do in me 43:53 what I cannot do." 43:54 I had a really special experience 43:57 that happened several years ago. 43:59 That's just been 44:00 an encouragement to me ever since 44:01 because I was struggling in the whole area of surrender. 44:06 I was struggling in the area of relationships. 44:07 And this was not long after my engagement, 44:13 "had fallen apart," 44:15 and just saying, 44:16 "Lord, are You still working in my life? 44:18 You still have a plan for me, what are You doing?" 44:22 And I began to follow this downward, 44:25 slippery slope of self-pity. 44:29 And just like, you know, 44:30 God's not working in Melody's life 44:34 and I mean, technically I knew that He was, 44:36 but I was just on the self-pity, 44:37 I was giving into my feelings. 44:39 And as a result of that, 44:40 I remember this went on for a few weeks. 44:42 It wasn't just a day or two. 44:44 I mean, we all have our down days, 44:45 but this was something it was going on for a few weeks 44:47 and I was struggling and struggling. 44:49 And finally this one day after a number of weeks, 44:51 I remember going out shopping to run some errands, 44:53 but I was just feeling so sorry for myself 44:56 and I went and bought some things 44:59 that I didn't need 45:01 and I indulged on some food 45:02 I didn't need and it was just crazy. 45:04 So I get home. 45:06 This was a Friday evening I had before Sabbath, 45:09 I'd gone out. 45:10 And then Sabbath morning I get up to have my devotions 45:12 and my time with God, 45:13 and I think it was 5 o'clock in the morning 45:15 when I got up. 45:16 But I couldn't pray. 45:17 I tried to pray. 45:19 But there was this block, I could not pray. 45:22 And I was like, "Lord, why can't I pray? 45:24 I'm trying to pray. 45:25 And I just can't pray." 45:27 And finally, 45:28 the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, 45:30 "You know, you're not surrendered, 45:32 you know, you think I've forgotten you. 45:34 You think I'm neglecting you and you're having this 45:36 and you've taken back these things 45:38 that you gave to Me, 45:39 you're not surrendered." 45:40 So I have this little argument with God 45:42 and I'm like, 45:43 You're not going to make me go 45:45 and take those clothes back, are You? 45:47 You're not going to make me return that, 45:48 I mean, and so I, 45:50 but I recognize I can argue with God 45:52 about these things, 45:54 and be miserable for a few days, 45:55 or I can surrender 45:57 and then get the battle over with 45:59 and then there's peace again. 46:01 And so I was like, 46:02 Lord, well, so I'm struggling with this. 46:05 And there were a few other things 46:06 that He brought to my attention that I had taken back, 46:08 I'm not surrendered. 46:09 And so finally, I was just like, 46:12 Lord, I don't want to do what You're asking me to do. 46:16 I don't feel like doing it. 46:18 But I choose to give You my will. 46:20 And I'm asking that You would change my heart. 46:22 Please, Lord, change my heart. 46:24 Then I got up, 46:26 got the clothes from the closet, 46:28 I had bought some dress or something I didn't need 46:31 for like $150 or something. 46:33 I don't have that kind of money to spend, I don't. 46:35 I mean, even though 46:36 I'm not going in debt, doing it, 46:38 I don't have that money to spend. 46:39 There's other things that need the money more. 46:41 And so I was like, "Okay, 46:42 I'll take this back after Sabbath 46:44 and I put it in a bag with the receipt, 46:45 okay, after Sabbath, I'll deal with that." 46:47 And then I wrote this list, 46:49 "Lord, I give You this, Lord, I give You this 46:51 and I gave back things 46:52 that I had taken back from Him." 46:54 So I surrender these things back to God. 46:56 And as I do, this peace just floods my heart 46:59 and, of course, I began to pray 47:00 and had this beautiful time with God. 47:02 And it was just beautiful. 47:04 An hour or so later, 47:06 I turned my phone on because I had my phone off. 47:08 I often turn it off during my devotions time, 47:10 so I'm not interrupted. 47:12 So I turned airplane mode off, 47:13 and this text message pops up from a friend. 47:16 And, well, she wasn't really a friend. 47:18 She was somebody 47:20 that I had met a few months before 47:21 and she had taken my phone number, 47:23 but we hadn't really corresponded. 47:25 So this was the first text message, 47:26 she ever texted me and she said, 47:27 "Melody, this morning, I had a dream about you. 47:32 And Jesus came to me in my dream 47:34 and told me to pray for you. 47:35 And these are the things that He told me to pray for." 47:38 And those were the exact things 47:39 that I've been struggling with that day. 47:41 Those areas of surrender in different areas of my life. 47:43 Those are the exact things that He told me to pray for. 47:46 And so she says, 47:47 I was praying for you in my dream 47:48 and then I woke up 47:50 and I have continued praying for you over this last hour. 47:52 And this was all happening during the time 47:54 I was struggling on my knees myself. 47:57 And I was saying, "Lord, I don't know how to surrender. 48:00 Help me, Lord, 48:01 I choose to give You my will, help me." 48:03 And so I did. 48:04 And the capstone on this whole experience, 48:06 which was so beautiful. 48:08 She says, 48:09 there was a song playing in my dream. 48:11 Now, I didn't tell you the back story, 48:12 but there's a song that has been very meaningful 48:14 for me for years. 48:16 And the song is, "Be Still My Soul." 48:19 It's what God gave to me 48:20 when I went through my heartbreak 48:22 years ago, the very first one, 48:24 and God keeps bringing back to me 48:25 and it's so meaningful. 48:27 I have it in the back of my Bible here. 48:29 That song was playing in her dream. 48:32 And I was just like, wow, 48:35 here God has given me a gift from heaven 48:38 that says, "I'm still on your side, 48:40 be still My soul. 48:41 The Lord is on my side, 48:43 bear patiently the cross of grief or pain, 48:44 leave to thy God to order and provide, 48:47 in every change He faithful will remain. 48:49 There is so much power in the surrendered will. 48:53 I know God doesn't always send visions from heaven, 48:57 but He is there 48:59 when we will surrender that will. 49:01 On a family worship, hmm, month or two ago, 49:05 I remember that. 49:07 I brought up something about 49:09 how I had worked so hard to surrender that day, 49:12 came to work. 49:14 And it had just been an insane day. 49:18 And on the way home, I was like, 49:21 Lord, was I really surrendered to You today? 49:24 And so, I ask on this family worship, 49:26 do you think you can be surrendered 49:28 not know you're surrendered? 49:31 And nobody really responded to that. 49:33 And when I got home, I just have to tell you this 49:36 because I left that question dangling. 49:38 What the Lord impressed upon my mind 49:40 was, yes, I'm always, 49:42 I'm walking in general surrender to Him. 49:46 But there's another level of surrender. 49:48 And it's that moment by moment. 49:50 I mean, I've surrendered my heart. 49:52 He's my Lord, He's my Savior. 49:53 I'm saved by grace. 49:55 But He asks for that moment by moment 49:57 surrender the decisions that I'm making. 50:00 So, there are two levels of surrender 50:02 and sometimes I find it necessary 50:05 during the day that you realize, 50:07 whoops, I'm taking control of myself. 50:10 I need to be more like Jesus, 50:13 only do what the father tells me do, 50:14 only speak 50:15 what the father tells me to speak. 50:19 But that's an amazing story. 50:21 And you know, self-pity comes straight 50:23 from the pits of hell, doesn't it? 50:25 But to think that God put you on the heart of someone... 50:30 That was a miracle. 50:31 That was a miracle from heaven. 50:33 You know, I think the reason that I'm addressing 50:36 some of the things that we've been talking 50:38 about during this hour 50:39 and, of course, there's so much more 50:40 that will be shared in the book, 50:42 "Daring to Live by Every Word, " 50:44 is how we live our lives is really how we worship. 50:49 Worship, 50:50 we worship through our obedience. 50:53 You saw that with Cain and Abel 50:55 and the sacrifices in the very beginning. 50:57 We see that in 1 Samuel 15:22 51:00 where God says to obey is better than sacrifice. 51:03 We worship God through our obedience. 51:06 In fact, we mock God when we go to worship 51:10 and we're not willing to obey. 51:12 Boy, that's good. 51:13 And that's why we need to, 51:14 you know, really search our hearts. 51:16 There's this, 51:17 this passage from Ellen White that I just love, 51:21 it says the Lord can do more in one hour 51:23 than He can in a whole lifetime. 51:26 The more can, sorry, 51:28 the Lord can do more in one hour 51:29 than we can do in a whole lifetime. 51:32 And when He sees 51:33 that His people are fully consecrated, 51:36 let me tell you a great work will be done 51:38 in a short time 51:39 and the message of truth will be carried 51:41 into the dark places of the earth 51:42 where it's never before been carried. 51:44 And so I just say, we need to ask ourselves, 51:48 what is keeping me from being fully consecrated. 51:51 Amen. Tell us about Adele. 51:54 Yes, 51:55 Adele Sofu is a precious woman 52:01 in Africa, Rwanda, 52:03 and she lived through the horrific genocide. 52:06 That happened back in 1994 52:08 when hundreds of thousands were killed. 52:12 I think over 100,000 Seventh-day Adventist 52:13 were actually killed in that 52:15 as well as many other Christians. 52:17 But anyway, Adele's husband was a pastor. 52:20 And he was one of the first murdered 52:23 when a group came into their church, 52:25 the conflict between the two tribes. 52:27 She almost died. 52:29 But it was found three days later, 52:30 when they were burying people in a mass grave. 52:33 They found that there was still a heartbeat, 52:35 and went to the hospital. 52:36 She recovered gradually. 52:38 And when she finally began to get back on top of life, 52:41 she determined 52:43 that she was going to live differently, 52:44 that she was going to love those 52:47 that had murdered her husband, 52:48 so she began serving in the prison 52:50 the very person who had killed her husband 52:53 came to her and said, "Would you forgive me? 52:56 Would you please forgive me?" 52:57 She nurtured that young man. 52:59 She gave him Bible studies. 53:00 He became a believer in the Lord 53:02 was baptized in the prison. 53:04 And eventually, the government granted amnesty 53:07 to some of those prisoners who had been involved in that 53:09 and he was set free. 53:11 But his family had been murdered and killed 53:13 as well on the conflict, 53:14 and he had nowhere to go. 53:16 And so Adele invited him into her home 53:20 and adopted him as her own son. 53:22 The very man that had killed her husband. 53:25 And I just love her story. 53:27 Because, you know, 53:28 the world knows that we are Christians 53:30 by our love for one another. 53:32 And if we can love those that have hurt us 53:35 and killed us, like Jesus did, this is what happened with Him. 53:38 I mean, He said, "Lord, forgive them, 53:40 for they know not what they do." 53:42 If we can love those, 53:43 I think that that is the greatest evidence 53:46 that He is in us, 53:47 that His Spirit is dwelling in us, 53:49 and that's what He's calling us to be the great, 53:51 the last revelation to be given to the world 53:53 is a character of our love. 53:55 And... 53:57 Let me share my favorite, one of my favorite scriptures. 54:00 I was saying my favorite scriptures. 54:03 Romans 5:5 says 54:05 that God pours His love into our hearts 54:08 by the power of His Holy Spirit. 54:09 And listen to this. 54:11 This is 1 Thessalonians 3:12 and 13. 54:15 So let me read that to you. 54:17 1 Thessalonians 3:12 says, 54:20 "May the Lord make you increase and abound in love." 54:25 So who's doing the work? 54:27 "The Lord is making you increase and abound in love 54:30 to one another and to all so that, " 54:33 anytime you see so that, it's a purpose statement. 54:37 "So that He may establish your hearts, 54:42 blameless in holiness, 54:44 before our God and Father 54:46 at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 54:49 with all the saints." 54:50 You see what He's saying? 54:52 He is saying 54:53 that as we allow Him to pour His love 54:58 into our hearts that we become perfected, 55:04 we grow in love, we grow in holiness, 55:07 and holy doesn't means to be separated from sin. 55:12 So, you know, love consumes sin. 55:15 And it's just a beautiful thought. 55:17 I love that. 55:19 I can't wait to read your new book, 55:22 "Daring To Live By Every Word: 55:25 Divine Keys To Abundant Living," 55:28 and this is coming out in the spring of 2020. 55:30 That's correct. 55:32 And then we've got this book right now 55:35 that is your sharing book 55:37 "Daring To Ask For More" 55:40 comes from your, here's your... 55:42 Larger book. 55:43 The larger unedited or unabridged 55:46 I should say book, and it's a wonderful book. 55:50 It's been a very popular seller. 55:52 Where do you go next, Melody? 55:55 Well, only the Lord knows. 55:58 I just keep claiming His promise now 56:00 to Him that's able to do exceedingly abundantly 56:02 above all that we ask or think. 56:03 It's a wonderful journey, 56:06 walking with Him and I just praise the Lord. 56:08 Well, I'm just so thankful 56:11 that I really feel privileged 56:12 that I got to share these two hours with you. 56:15 And we're so glad that you have come. 56:19 And we look forward to this book. 56:21 And we're so glad that you've joined us at home. 56:24 I hope that you have seen that. 56:27 Sometimes God trusts us with His silence, 56:30 and He just is growing our faith. 56:34 His answer, He always answers prayer. 56:36 Yes, no, later, 56:39 but you can trust the Lord and our prayer for you. 56:43 And I know 56:45 that Melody will agree with this. 56:47 Our prayer for those of you 56:48 who are watching or listening to our voices, 56:51 is that the love of, 56:53 the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 56:55 the love of the Father, 56:57 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 57:00 will be with you always. 57:02 Thank you for joining us. Amen. 57:03 Bye-bye. |
Revised 2020-08-07