Participants:
Series Code: TLN
Program Code: TLN190002A
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00:01 Music...
00:32 More music... 01:18 Our heavenly Father, 01:21 to Your throne of mercy and grace, 01:28 we are calling today for Your blessing. 01:34 Give us the power of Your presence 01:40 give us Your wisdom and Your Holy Spirit 01:47 so we could finish Your great mission here on earth 01:56 in Russian... 02:01 to call the inhabitants of this planet to repentance 02:07 to accept Your gracious message 02:14 in Russian... 02:20 in this sacrifice of blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 02:27 to You our eternal God 02:32 the glory and power forever, amen. 02:39 Audience: Amen. 02:40 Pause... 02:47 more pause... 02:50 Dear Friends, 02:53 Brothers and Sisters, 02:56 our best 02:59 in Russian... 03:06 and all our audience who are watching us right now 03:11 through live broadcast. 03:14 We are so happy to see and to greet all of you. 03:21 David spoke beautiful words, 03:30 in Russian... 03:36 more Russian... 03:41 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; 03:44 whom shall I fear? 03:46 The Lord is a stronghold of my life; 03:49 of whom shall I be afraid? 03:52 In Russian... 04:01 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh, 04:05 my adversaries and foes, they shall stumble and fall. " 04:10 In Russian... 04:19 Though an army encamp against me, 04:22 my heart shall not fear: 04:25 though war rise up against me, 04:27 yet, I will be confident. 04:30 In Russian... 04:37 in Russian 04:39 more Russian... 04:44 One thing I asked of the LORD, 04:47 that will I seek after; 04:50 to live in the house of the LORD, all the days of my life, 04:55 to behold the beauty of the LORD, 04:58 and to enquire in his temple. 05:00 In Russian... 05:09 more Russian... 05:12 Russian... 05:17 I invite all of you who are present here and who joined us 05:25 through the live broadcast to glorify our Lord 05:28 and to sing to Him the hymn of praise, 05:31 "Come Thou fount of every blessing. " 05:35 Piano... 05:45 Song... 07:51 In Russian... 07:54 more Russian... 07:56 Gathering together in this place we all need God's blessing, 08:01 in Russian... 08:07 more Russian... 08:13 and for the prayer of blessing, I invite to this platform 08:17 Alexander Zhukov, 08:19 Executive Secretary of West Russia Union Conference. 08:26 Let's pray. 08:28 In Russian... 08:33 We are grateful to you O Lord, for the gift of life 08:36 given to each one of us. 08:38 In a special way, we thank you for this wonderful day. 08:46 You gave us not only physical life 08:53 You also redeemed us, 08:57 You called us Your sons and daughters 09:03 and right now, we thank You and we ask You 09:11 please bless all our gathering. 09:13 In Russian. 09:22 With the power of Your Holy Spirit, 09:24 please be present among us 09:28 in our fellowship with You and Your Word. 09:32 We thank You our Lord and our Savior, 09:39 Amen. 09:41 Audience: Amen. 09:43 Please be seated. 09:45 In Russian... 09:52 more Russian... 09:58 Today, we have with us our dear Sister, 10:03 Vice President of 3ABN, Jill Morikone, 10:06 who will lead us in the study of the Bible. 10:10 In Russian. 10:17 But before this study, we will have a special music. 10:21 Pause... 10:26 Piano... 10:39 We need wisdom we need power 10:43 And true love for each other 10:47 We have had so many big but empty words 10:55 So we come before Your face 10:59 Asking for Your grace 11:03 Bring Your people to a state of kingdom life 11:10 Restore Your church again 11:16 Touch Your people once again 11:23 With Your precious holy hand, we pray 11:29 Let Your kingdom shine upon this earth 11:36 Through a living and glorious church 11:41 Not for temporary deeds 11:48 But to restore authority and power 11:54 Let a mighty rushing wind blow in 12:02 Touch Your people once again 12:10 Lord You see Your tired servants 12:17 And Your broken wounded soldiers 12:20 Oh how much we need Your precious healing hand 12:27 We need the power of the cross 12:32 As the only source for us 12:35 When we stand up facing final battle cries 12:42 Restore Your church again 12:48 Touch Your people once again 12:55 With Your precious holy hand, we pray 13:02 Let Your kingdom shine upon this earth 13:09 Through a living and glorious church 13:15 Not for temporary deeds 13:21 But to restore authority and power 13:28 Let a mighty rushing wind blow in 13:38 Touch Your people once again 13:43 Let a mighty rushing wind blow in... 13:53 in... 13:55 And touch Your people once again... 14:04 again. 14:12 Audience: Amen. 14:15 Happy Sabbath. 14:20 I know my Russian's not very good 14:27 it is a privilege for us to be here in Nizhny Novgorod 14:32 in Russian... 14:38 at 3ABN Russian Facility. 14:44 We have heard the stories of what God has done 14:47 and what God is currently doing 14:55 and the first time I came to Russia, 15:01 I felt like I came halfway around the world to meet family. 15:06 In Russian... 15:13 What a privilege to be here and fellowship with you today. 15:17 In Russian. 15:23 This is the Sabbath School portion of the lesson 15:26 so any children and youth... 15:28 you are welcome to exit the Sanctuary now 15:31 and go to your lessons. 15:32 In Russian... 15:42 We're studying Quarter Number 3, The Least of These... 15:46 in Russian... 15:55 this is Lesson Number 2 but there is not enough time 15:58 to do the entire lesson 16:00 in Russian... 16:08 so, I'm going to focus on Sunday's Lesson... 16:12 "The God Who Hears. " 16:14 In Russian... 16:22 We often wonder as Christians, 16:23 "What are we to do when God is silent... " 16:27 in Russian... 16:34 but I want to turn that around today 16:41 and instead I want to look at what God is doing 16:49 when it appears that He is silent. 16:54 Let's pray. 16:56 "Father, would You touch us once again. 17:03 would You touch me, 17:06 I ask for the outpouring of Your Holy Spirit, 17:13 would You be lifted up and be seen 17:21 thank you for what You're going to do, 17:27 in Jesus' name, amen. " 17:29 Audience: Amen. 17:31 From the earliest of time, 17:34 God has always desired connection with His people. 17:44 I think of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. 17:50 They had unbroken communion with the Father 17:58 but sin brought fear and guilt. 18:06 Sin brought separation from God 18:11 and God said, "I want to restore that broken connection" 18:20 and so His desire has always been 18:22 that He would dwell with us as His people. 18:31 In fact, as we travel through Bible history, 18:34 we think of the Israelites... God's chosen people. 18:37 Translation. 18:45 Exodus 25:8, He said, "Let them make me a sanctuary 18:50 in Russian... 18:56 that I may dwell among them. " 19:02 A little later, Exodus 29:46, He said, 19:05 "They shall know that I am the Lord their God 19:08 in Russian... 19:16 Who brought them out of the land of Egypt 19:21 that I may dwell with them. " 19:26 In 1st Kings 6 19:31 He said, "I will be among the sons of Israel, 19:38 I will dwell among them. " 19:43 Zechariah 2... I love this Scripture... 19:51 "Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; 20:00 for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst. " 20:09 Then we have that 400-year period of silence 20:18 the Intertestamental Period 20:22 between Malachi and when Jesus came in Matthew. 20:31 In John 1:14, He says, 20:37 "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. " 20:46 We get all the way to the end of the Bible, 20:48 Revelation chapter 21 verse 3, 20:56 and the Word of God says, 20:58 "And I heard a loud voice from the throne 21:05 behold the tabernacle of God is among men 21:12 and He will dwell among them, 21:17 and they shall be His people 21:18 and God Himself will be among them. " 21:26 God has always desired connection with His people. 21:33 From Genesis all the way down to Revelation, 21:40 He wanted that connection with His people 21:47 but sometimes 21:50 His people felt as if He was silent. 21:53 In Russian... 22:00 Turn with me to Exodus chapter 1, 22:07 God called His people... the Israelites 22:10 to be His representatives 22:17 after Joseph died... the Bible says in Genesis... 22:20 Exodus... I'm sorry, Exodus 1 verse 7, 22:30 that the children of Israel increased supernaturally. 22:39 The Bible says, "They were fruitful... 22:45 increased abundantly... 22:48 multiplied and grew exceedingly 22:54 and the land was filled with them. 22:59 After this time, a new king arose who did not know Joseph 23:08 and so the children of Israel were forced into slavery. 23:17 They were in bondage... 23:22 they cried out to God 23:27 and felt as if He did not hear them. 23:33 I want to tell you today, 23:38 when it seems God is silent, He is not absent. 23:48 When it seems God is silent, He is not still. 23:58 When it seems God is silent, He is not finished. 24:08 There is a man in the Old Testament 24:13 who experienced the silence of God. 24:18 Turn with me to the book of Job. 24:23 Job lost his livelihood... 24:30 Job lost his children... 24:37 and to be honest, he kind of lost his wife too 24:44 and there was a time he wondered even, "Is God hearing me?" 24:52 Job chapter 30 verse 20, 25:00 the Bible says, "I cry out to You, 25:02 but you do not answer me. 25:08 I stand up and you regard me. " 25:14 The New Living Translation, 25:18 says, "I cry to you God but You don't answer. 25:25 I stand before You 25:28 but You don't even look at me. " 25:32 Now, before you think humanity 25:35 are the only people who have experienced 25:38 a sense of separation from God, 25:40 in Russian... 25:50 Jesus experienced it on the cross. 25:56 "My God, My God... 26:00 why have You forsaken me?" 26:05 Psalm 22... that Messianic Psalm... 26:11 He says, "O my God, I cry in the day 26:14 but you do not hear. " 26:22 When it seems that God is silent, 26:23 we are called to trust the promise 26:26 not the perception. 26:28 In Russian... 26:37 We are called to walk by faith not by sight. 26:44 We are called to trust Him in the storm 26:46 as well as the sunshine. 26:53 We are called to trust Him by faith 26:55 not by our feelings. 27:02 It had been a difficult week, 27:06 you know, those weeks when everything goes wrong. 27:14 Do you have weeks like that in Russia? 27:18 I feel better... 27:20 Audience: Laughter. 27:22 It was one of those weeks that everything went wrong 27:27 in Russian... 27:32 and then on top of that, my friend 27:39 who I trusted and respected 27:44 betrayed me... 27:47 "God, where are you?" 27:51 On top of that, my family... a member in my family 27:57 was diagnosed with cancer 28:03 and I prayed... 28:05 I pleaded... 28:08 I read my Bible... 28:11 and yet, I could not seem to see the face of Jesus anymore. 28:16 In Russian... 28:22 Fear and pain ate away in my soul 28:32 but it was the sense of separation from God 28:39 and the feeling as if He was not talking to me... 28:46 the silence of God... 28:51 that hurt the most. 28:56 I had never encountered depression before, 29:03 I usually wake up every day excited about the day... 29:11 can't wait to see what God is going to do... 29:18 and yet, here all I wanted to do 29:24 was run away and hide. 29:30 Two things happened that week 29:33 in Russian... 29:36 that began to change my heart. 29:42 The first thing... 29:44 a woman came and said, "Jill, will you pray with me?" 29:51 Now, normally, I love to pray with my Sisters.. 29:58 but now I felt like a failure 30:04 Who was I to pray for someone else? 30:12 And yet, I prayed anyway, 30:15 holding her hands in mine, 30:20 saying, "God, please, this must count for something. " 30:27 The second things was that my Pastor... 30:32 Pastor John Lomacang 30:35 asked me to preach for Prayer Meeting 30:43 and I didn't want to 30:47 because I felt like a hypocrite. 30:53 If God was not silent in my life, 30:59 I would have loved to share 31:04 but how could I share now? 31:08 I talked to Greg, my husband, 31:13 the only person who knew my struggle 31:16 and what was going on in my heart 31:22 and he said, "Jilly, you must speak for Jesus. " 31:31 When it seems as if God is silent, 31:38 we are called to walk by faith 31:43 not by how we feel. 31:46 I want to talk to you today not about what we are to do 31:50 when God is silent 31:57 but what God is doing while it appears that He is silent. 32:02 In Russian... 32:07 There are five things God does 32:14 when we think that He's silent. 32:20 He hears... 32:23 He cares... 32:25 He comforts... 32:26 He accompanies... 32:33 and He delivers. 32:35 Let's look at "He Hears" 32:36 go back to Exodus chapter 2... the children of Israel 32:45 remember they're struggling under the bondage of slavery 32:50 in Russian... 32:53 and we might not be in slavery today 33:00 but there's a great deal of bondage in the church. 33:08 Exodus 2:23... 33:14 the children of Israel groaned because of their bondage 33:24 and they cried out... 33:27 and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. 33:35 So God heard their groaning 33:41 and God remembered His covenant 33:47 with Abraham, 33:49 Isaac, 33:51 and Jacob. 33:52 Do you feel today that God is silent in your life? 34:00 Are you going through a dry period spiritually? 34:09 I want you to know God hears you. 34:14 Whatever you are experiencing 34:19 God hears... 34:22 and He remembers His covenant with you, 34:27 He remembers that He redeemed you 34:29 with the precious blood of Jesus. 34:37 Turn over one chapter to Exodus chapter 3, 34:45 Exodus 3 verse 7 34:53 and the Lord said, 34:55 "I have surely seen the oppression of My people... " 35:02 did you hear that? 35:04 God doesn't just hear us... 35:07 He sees what you are going through... 35:12 "I have seen the oppression of my people... 35:17 and I have heard the cry because of their taskmasters 35:25 for I know their sorrows. " 35:30 When it seems that God is silent, 35:36 He hears. 35:39 Number 2, 35:41 When it seems that God is silent, 35:45 He cares... 35:48 Matthew chapter 10 35:53 Jesus talks about... when a sparrow falls to the ground 35:58 in Russian... 36:03 that God sees that... 36:07 and He cares for the sparrow... even the sparrow. 36:15 Do you all have sparrows in Russia? 36:19 Da... 36:23 so, in America, 36:25 the sparrow is not the most popular bird. 36:33 There are many birds that are much prettier... 36:39 many birds that have colorful plumage... 36:47 many birds that have a beautiful sound... 36:54 and the sparrow is pretty ordinary... 36:59 just a little bird... 37:02 brown... 37:03 with not such a good sound... 37:09 they might sing like I do 37:17 ordinary sparrows... 37:22 and yet, even when the sparrow falls to the ground, 37:31 God cares. 37:34 What does that mean? 37:37 When it seems like God is silent in your life 37:44 and you say, "But I'm ordinary... " 37:49 I'm nobody special... 37:53 just a regular person... 37:57 God cares for you. 38:02 God hears... 38:05 He cares... 38:07 He comforts... 38:10 how does He comfort us? 38:13 He comforts us through His Word. 38:18 Psalm 119... 38:22 Psalm 119 verses 49 and 50, 38:30 "Remember the word to Your servant, 38:35 upon which You have caused me to hope. 38:40 Pause... 38:49 in Russian... 38:54 This is my comfort in my affliction, 39:01 for Your word has given me life. " 39:07 What gives us comfort in our time of affliction? 39:14 God's Word... 39:16 God's Word has life-changing power. 39:24 When it appears that God is silent in your life, 39:29 open up your Bible. 39:32 Read the promises of comfort that He has for you. 39:37 In Russian... 39:42 God doesn't just comfort us by his Word. 39:47 He comforts us through His Holy Spirit. 39:52 2nd Corinthians chapter 1, 39:57 2nd Corinthians 1 verses 3 and 4, 40:05 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 40:12 the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 40:19 who comforts us in all our tribulation, 40:25 that we may be able to comfort those who are in trouble, 40:33 with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted 40:36 by God. " 40:40 Now, I don't know about in Russian 40:44 because we didn't talk about this before, 40:48 but in English the word "comfort" 40:50 appears five times in that verse. 40:58 That word is taken in the Greek 41:08 from the word "Parakletos" 41:14 John 14, 15 and 16 41:21 the word "Parakletos" is used 41:26 and it refers to the Holy Spirit. 41:32 God sends us the Holy Spirit 41:37 to give us comfort in our lives. 41:42 God comforts us by His presence. 41:47 Psalm 23:4 41:54 "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 42:02 I will fear no evil: 42:05 for You are with me; 42:09 Your rod and your staff they comfort me. " 42:16 When it seems that God is silent, 42:20 He hears... 42:22 He cares... 42:24 He comforts 42:27 and He accompanies. 42:32 Turn with me to Isaiah 43 42:40 one of my all-time favorite Scriptures 42:47 Isaiah 43:1 through 3, 42:53 "But now thus says the LORD 42:57 Who created you, O, Jacob... " 43:03 the word in Hebrew for "Create" 43:10 means "to form" or "shape" 43:18 God made us in our mother's womb... 43:24 He formed us... 43:28 but it doesn't stop there... 43:34 "Fear not: for I have redeemed you... " 43:41 God bought us back. 43:45 He made us and formed us in the beginning 43:52 and then we allowed sin to separate us from the Father. 44:00 We allowed that to create that distance 44:07 and He said, "I'm going to buy you back. " 44:13 "I have redeemed you, 44:17 I called you by your name; 44:20 you are mine. 44:22 When you pass through the waters, 44:26 I will be with you; 44:29 and through the rivers, 44:32 they will not overflow you. 44:36 Probably 20 years ago, 44:40 my mom went through a serious health crisis 44:49 and I remember as if it were yesterday. 44:54 We were sitting in the doctor's office, 44:58 waiting for the results... the verdict from the doctor. 45:06 My mom sat on those little exam table 45:14 and my dad was on this side, arms crossed across his chest 45:21 and I was on this side of the room, arms across my chest 45:29 desperately trying to claim a Bible promise. 45:35 In Russian... 45:40 Scared... 45:44 don't know what the future holds... 45:49 don't know what the doctor's diagnosis is going to be. 45:56 The promise I claimed was Psalm 112 verse 7, 45:59 in Russian... 46:08 "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: 46:16 his heart is fixed, 46:20 trusting in the LORD." 46:24 Now, I had misinterpreted that Scripture. 46:28 In Russian... 46:33 For some reason, 46:39 I thought it meant 46:43 if I trusted in God, 46:47 nothing evil is going to happen. 46:51 That's not what it says. 46:55 It says, "When the bad things happen... " 47:02 and they happen because we live in a world of sin. 47:10 God will accompany you in the midst of it. 47:17 When it appears that God is silent, He hears... 47:24 He cares... 47:26 He comforts... 47:28 He accompanies 47:31 and He delivers. 47:33 Turn back with me to Exodus chapter 3 47:43 back to the children of Israel, 47:47 this first verse we already read before, 47:55 Exodus 3 verse 7, 47:59 and the Lord said, 48:01 "I have surely seen the oppression of my people 48:05 who are in Egypt, 48:09 and I have heard their cry 48:14 because of their taskmasters; 48:19 for I know their sorrows... " 48:23 but it doesn't stop there, 48:27 the next verse 48:29 says, "I have come down 48:33 to deliver them. " 48:36 Do you want deliverance? 48:40 Are you in the midst of a battle 48:46 feeling as if God has turned His back? 48:52 He is silent... 48:55 He wants to deliver you... 49:00 He delivers us from bondage... 49:04 John 8:36, 49:09 "Therefore, if the Son makes you free, 49:14 you shall be free indeed. " 49:19 God wants to set us free, 49:22 He wants to liberate us 49:27 to release us from bondage. 49:33 He doesn't just deliver from bondage, 49:38 He delivers from trouble, 49:43 Psalm 34 verse 17, 49:51 "The righteous cry out, 49:57 and the LORD hears, 49:59 and delivers them 50:03 from all their troubles. " 50:06 He delivers us from fear, 50:10 Psalm 34 verse 4, 50:15 "I sought the LORD, 50:19 and He heard me, 50:21 and delivered me from all my fear. " 50:28 He delivers us from sin, 50:32 Matthew 1:21, 50:37 "He shall save His people from their sins. " 50:44 Romans 6:18, 50:49 "And having been set free from sin... 50:56 you become slaves or servants of righteousness. " 51:04 God wants to deliver us from bondage. 51:09 He wants to deliver us from trouble. 51:16 He wants to deliver us from fear. 51:21 He wants to deliver from sin. 51:26 Pause... 51:32 I stepped out of our kitchen into our garage, 51:39 it was really hot, 51:43 a 100 degrees Fahrenheit, 51:48 and we opened up the garage door 51:55 and looked up at the roof of the garage 51:59 and there was a Hummingbird, 52:07 hovering at the peak of the roof, 52:15 it was really hot... 52:18 just a little bird... 52:22 it was going to die... 52:26 and I said, "Come down and go out the open door... " 52:34 and it didn't... 52:37 so Greg got a ladder 52:44 and he climbed to the rafters... 52:49 stepping from rafter to rafter... 52:58 he reached up... gloved hands for the little bird 53:03 and caught it 53:06 and then he began to step from rafter to rafter 53:14 and started walking down the ladder, 53:19 he went outside... 53:23 opened up his hands 53:27 and the bird flew off and was gone 53:32 and I thought of all the times 53:38 I have wandered where it was unsafe, 53:47 I refused the open garage door, 53:53 the easy way home 53:58 and yet my Savior 54:01 had climbed the ladder of my stubbornness and pride, 54:10 reaching out scarred hands to pick me up 54:17 how often I had cried against 54:19 the very thing that brought me home 54:29 and yet, God brought me into liberty and opened up His hands 54:37 setting me free to choose again. 54:45 When it seems God is silent, 54:50 He hears you, 54:52 He cares... 54:55 He comforts... 54:57 He accompanies... 55:01 He can bring you deliverance... 55:07 do you want deliverance today? 55:12 "Father, we come before You just now, 55:17 turning our eyes upon You, 55:22 would you touch us once again... 55:27 would you change us... 55:30 would you set us free... 55:32 in Jesus' name, 55:35 amen. " 55:36 Piano... 55:47 In Russian... 55:55 Let us thank our Sister Jill who led us in this Bible Study 56:00 wonderful topic... 56:05 in Russian... 56:14 it is so good to know 56:16 that even when it seems that God is silent, 56:20 He is with us. 56:24 In Russian... 56:29 It's great to remember that He cares... 56:32 that He hears... 56:34 that He loves... 56:36 that He would never forsake us 56:41 that He leads us on this way of life 56:48 maybe this way is not easy all the time... 56:55 in Russian... 57:05 it is not only in Russia 57:07 this way of life is hard sometimes, 57:10 we found out that people in America suffer too. 57:14 In Russian... 57:23 And as the Bible says that every knee will bow down 57:28 before our God and our Creator. 57:32 In Russian... 57:36 May the Lord bless each one of us. 57:38 Music... |
Revised 2019-08-21