The Prosperity Gospel.
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This morning if
you have your Bibles,
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open with me to Job chapter 42
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and we are going to
read together verse 10.
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Job Chapter 42.
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And we are going
to read verse 10.
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"And the Lord
restored Job's losses,
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when he prayed for his friends.
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Indeed the Lord gave Job
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twice as much as he had before."
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So this morning while
the focus is gonna be on Job,
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I'm not gonna walk
through the life of Job,
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many of you already know
that Job had his entire life
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turn upside-down, his
family was obliterated,
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his cattle was stolen.
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The only one left
alive was his wife
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who later tried to convince
him to curse God and die.
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And he was covered
from head to food in boils,
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even cursing the
day that he was born
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but he never blamed God for it.
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Yet the moral of the story is
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in the entire
Book of Job 42 chapters
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or surrounding this one
man's battle in the deepest,
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darkest recesses of his life.
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He's trying to figure out
how to get answers from God,
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wondering why these trials come.
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Sometimes God doesn't
send us a prior notice
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before these trials arrive,
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sometimes they arrive
unnoticed to us but known to God
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and the beauty of it is,
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God never allows
any trial to come
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that He knows will
crush His children.
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He measures His trials,
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He measures the trials.
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He will not allow us
to be tested and tempted
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beyond which we are
able, He measures them,
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but it is up to us to
turn to Him at that moment
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to find the deliverance
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that we could
only find in Christ.
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But this morning
what we are going to do
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is walkthrough what I referred
to as the prosperity gospel
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summarized in a single text.
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In your Bibles this morning
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go with me to 2 Chronicles 7:14,
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2 Chronicles 7:14,
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look at that with me.
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And we're gonna walk
through the eight conditions
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that are listed in this verse.
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I remember back in
2001, September 11th, 2001,
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when this attack came
to the World Trade Centers
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in New York City downtown.
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My sister worked
for the fire department
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at that time.
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She still works
for the fire department
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but also with the
police department.
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And I remember
trying to get through to her
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only to find out that
communication to New York City
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and to much of the
surrounding downtown area
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and much of New York
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that is to Manhattan
had been completely severed
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because the towers on the top
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of the World
Trade Center came down
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when the World
Trade Center came down.
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I tried incessantly to
try to get through to her
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and eventually I did
when her line switched
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to another tower to
be able to get through.
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But the good news is today,
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there is no
down tower in heaven.
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When we call God, our prayers
are going to get through.
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There is no
demolition taking place
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between the prayers
that the saints offer
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and God's ability
to hear those prayers.
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There is an unbroken line
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carrying between earth
and heaven and when we call,
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our loving heavenly
Father hears our prayers.
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But there are conditions,
there are conditions.
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One of the most
quoted verses in the Bible
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have outlined the eight most
important components of prayer.
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Let's look at 2 Chronicles 7:14.
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"If My people who
are called by My name
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will humble themselves,
and pray and seek My face,
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and turn from their wicked ways,
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then I will hear from heaven,
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and will forgive their
sin and heal their land."
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One of the most
quoted verses on prayer
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taken from the dedication
of the Temple of Solomon,
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but this is somewhat of a...
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It has become somewhat of
a, the Lord is my shepherd or
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our Father which art in heaven.
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It hasn't really been a
verse that has been analyzed
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the way that it should be.
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You know, we say, John 3:16,
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"For God so loved
the world we have,
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the wages of sin is death."
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You know,
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sin is the
transgression of the law.
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These are verses
that we sometimes spit out
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but we don't pause
to inform ourselves
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and to absorb
what they really mean.
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But this verse contains
eight significant components
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in the Christian's
life on how we can come away
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with a successful prayer life.
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The eight that we're
gonna cover this morning is,
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first of all, God, God,
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if my people,
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God is the central
focus of this verse.
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Secondly, and the focus of
the verse is, God's people,
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if my people.
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Third, God's name.
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Fourth, man's will.
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There is something we must do
in order to unlock the promises
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that God wants to extent to us.
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You know, when you think that
there is nothing you can do,
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there is nothing we can
do to enhance our salvation,
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but there is
something we can do to have
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a great saving
relationship with Jesus, amen?
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But there is nothing we can do.
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If somebody says, what
can you do to be saved.
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You've got to accept
the gift of salvation.
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But when it comes to
walking the Christian life,
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when it comes to the journey,
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there is something
that we must do to unlock
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heaven's storehouse
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to unhindered the blessings
that God wants to send to us,
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to unchain those things
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that are otherwise
chained and undelivered
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because we haven't fulfilled
our responsibility in our part
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of the, of the bargain
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if I could use
that word loosely,
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because there is no
real bargain with God.
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You're either living
according to God's conditions
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and He's blessing us
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or we're not living
according to God's conditions,
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His conditions and
He's not blessing us.
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There are conditions,
God, God's people, God's name,
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man's will and then,
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the fifth thing,
God's conditions.
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In the same way parents have
conditions for their children,
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God has
conditions for His children.
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When we live up
to the conditions
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by His strength,
then God's response,
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God's redemption and
finally God's restoration.
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And what we need in 2017
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is God's redemption
and God's restorations,
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and so we're gonna begin
from one and go through eight
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and understands how,
how do we get redemption,
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how do we enjoy
restoration in the power
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and the presence of God?
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I said it this morning,
I said this, this morning
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during the announcements,
but remember this again,
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if, if we want God to
hear us when we speak,
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we've got to be willing
to hear God when He speaks.
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Amen. Amen.
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One of the key
components in having
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a very affective prayer
life is the study of God's word.
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Is what church?
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The study of God's word.
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I have, I've had a
Bible for sometime,
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I have lot of Bibles
and you could go to my house
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and see them in the
different Bible cases.
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And you can go back and see
how torn and tattered they are
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from all the wear and tear,
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I had the Bible that I had
when I traveled all the time
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with the Heritage Singers,
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that Bible was given
to me by my wife's aunt.
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She is now,
recently she's passed away
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a number of years
ago but you could see
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all the markings and
highlights in that Bible.
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Then I replaced
it with another one
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but before that Bible,
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I had a Bible in New York
City, a prison ministry Bible
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that I would go from
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Sabbath School
to prison ministry
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throughout all the different
jails in New York City,
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Rikers Island,
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the Brooklyn House of Detention,
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the Queens Facility,
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we'll go from Sabbath to Sabbath
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through different facilities
kind of like our people,
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I wouldn't stay in church,
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I would rather go to
the prisons and minister
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to other people,
I have that Bible.
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It had no
concordance, it had just Genesis
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all the way to Revelation.
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And I look at that
Bible and unfortunately
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Louise, water stained
it, and some of the markings
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that I put on my marker
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they had just kind of
roll-off some of those pages.
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And then I have
a Bible after that,
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that is so beautifully marked
the one I had the longest.
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That I recently decided
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I'm gonna replace
that one with this one
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because the
cover is falling apart,
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the pages starting to
get wrinkled in the back,
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and I've turned
the pages so much,
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I'm afraid for them
they start breaking.
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But I want to let
you know how hard it was
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to lay that Bible
down and leave it at home.
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Anybody know what
I'm talking about?
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When you got a
Bible that you have tuned
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and you worked that thing
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and the pages are
now no longer sticking
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and you can just turn
because you know where it is.
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That Bible became my sword.
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And I put that Bible on my shelf
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and I look at it everyday.
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That was the Bible that I
had, I remember years ago,
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one of my other
Bibles I remember
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being in the Heritage Singers
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and we had a
concert at the church
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on a Sunday afternoon
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and I remember sharing
with people after the concert
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in that Bible in the church,
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we loaded all the
equipment in the bus
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and everything was done.
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And when the bus pulled
away I said, "Wait, wait, wait,
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where is my Bible?
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Where is my Bible?
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And I remembered I
left it in this music room
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in that big huge church
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and I ran to every door I
could to get in that church.
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We made phone
calls to the people
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that took you to the
plane, nobody would answer.
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And Mack said,
"John, we've got to leave."
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I said, but my Bible's in there.
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He said, "We've got to
leave, we've got a concert.
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I said, "My Bible's in there."
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And I want to tell you,
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I was sour for
the next three days
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until Federal
Express delivered my Bible.
00:10:54.48\00:10:58.32
And I think to myself,
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what would happen if
you didn't have your Bible,
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how would it affect your life?
00:11:01.96\00:11:04.56
There are people
that come to church
00:11:04.59\00:11:05.93
and we have Bibles
in the, in the courtroom
00:11:05.96\00:11:08.36
and on the shelf that
people come and they leave,
00:11:08.40\00:11:10.87
they don't even
know they're missing.
00:11:10.90\00:11:12.37
How close are you to your Bible?
00:11:12.40\00:11:15.40
Because let me
make this very clear,
00:11:15.44\00:11:17.31
without a constant
connection to your Bible,
00:11:17.34\00:11:19.74
it is not possible,
00:11:19.77\00:11:21.84
it is not
possible to claim promises
00:11:21.88\00:11:25.71
that you don't
even know were there.
00:11:25.75\00:11:28.55
You got to read those things.
00:11:28.58\00:11:31.35
And so when my wife
and I have started to do
00:11:31.39\00:11:33.09
for this new year.
00:11:33.12\00:11:34.46
She said, "John, use
your new Remnant Study Bible
00:11:34.49\00:11:37.49
so that we could
be on the same page.
00:11:37.53\00:11:39.63
It has the Ellen
White's notes in it
00:11:39.66\00:11:41.10
and, and all the wonderful
commentaries throughout
00:11:41.13\00:11:43.20
and we've been
reading our Bible every day.
00:11:43.23\00:11:46.33
We don't let our emotions
cancel our Bible readings.
00:11:46.37\00:11:51.97
Because you gonna
wake up in the morning
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and don't feel
like reading your Bible.
00:11:53.38\00:11:55.34
But if you don't
feel like reading,
00:11:55.38\00:11:57.05
what in essence
you are saying is,
00:11:57.08\00:11:58.41
"I don't want to
hear God talk to me."
00:11:58.45\00:12:01.78
And we don't
consciously say that,
00:12:01.82\00:12:03.69
but this is the way that God
speaks to us through His word.
00:12:03.72\00:12:10.09
But later on during the day,
we want to ask God something,
00:12:10.13\00:12:12.69
God said, "Wait a
minute, wait a minute,
00:12:12.73\00:12:14.06
wait a minute, wait a minute.
00:12:14.10\00:12:15.43
I wanted to talk
to you this morning,
00:12:15.46\00:12:16.80
you didn't want to hear
anything that I wanted to say,
00:12:16.83\00:12:18.73
so why should I
hear what you say?
00:12:18.77\00:12:21.20
Let me encourage
you church members,
00:12:21.24\00:12:23.00
brothers and sisters in Christ,
00:12:23.04\00:12:24.37
those may be
watching the program,
00:12:24.41\00:12:28.04
get into a relationship with God
00:12:28.08\00:12:30.75
by getting into a
relationship with His word.
00:12:30.78\00:12:35.38
That's where the
connection begins.
00:12:35.42\00:12:37.25
You'll only know what's in
the store when you go there.
00:12:37.29\00:12:40.89
You can order something
from Walmart or from Macy's
00:12:40.92\00:12:43.32
or from any of
these major stores
00:12:43.36\00:12:44.69
unless you know what's there.
00:12:44.73\00:12:46.56
You got to go to God's
word to know what's there.
00:12:46.59\00:12:50.63
God's word has to be in
your home and in your heart.
00:12:50.67\00:12:56.60
But you'll find
that through prayer
00:12:56.64\00:12:58.87
our lives become this
constant connection with God.
00:12:58.91\00:13:03.75
Let's go to
Matthew 6:9 and notice
00:13:03.78\00:13:06.05
how prayer always begins.
00:13:06.08\00:13:08.38
You got to learn how to begin
00:13:08.42\00:13:10.45
the first
condition of answered prayer,
00:13:10.49\00:13:13.39
the first condition
of prosperity and prayer
00:13:13.42\00:13:16.22
as you got to know
who you're talking to.
00:13:16.26\00:13:19.43
Matthew 6:9, when Jesus
taught His disciples to pray,
00:13:19.46\00:13:22.90
He said to them,
00:13:22.93\00:13:24.43
listen to this, He said to them,
00:13:24.47\00:13:26.20
"After this manner..."
00:13:26.23\00:13:27.87
And now I'm reading
the King James Version
00:13:27.90\00:13:29.24
on this one.`
00:13:29.27\00:13:30.91
He says, "After this
manner therefore pray ye..."
00:13:30.94\00:13:35.21
And what are the two
words that He said after that?
00:13:35.24\00:13:39.11
"Our Father which
art, where, in heaven..."
00:13:39.15\00:13:42.28
And what did He say,
"Hallowed be thy name."
00:13:42.32\00:13:45.99
Now let me pause
and say something there
00:13:46.02\00:13:48.29
because in this modern society,
00:13:48.32\00:13:51.49
some people today
don't honor God's name.
00:13:51.53\00:13:55.33
I saw a post on
Facebook where somebody said,
00:13:55.36\00:13:58.20
"God is my homie."
00:13:58.23\00:14:00.20
And that really
made my skin crawl.
00:14:00.24\00:14:02.10
God ain't our homie,
00:14:02.14\00:14:03.47
God is our
heavenly, holy Father.
00:14:03.51\00:14:05.84
Not our homie, He's not my boy.
00:14:05.87\00:14:08.38
Don't bring God
down to an earthly level
00:14:12.71\00:14:16.15
when He's trying to bring
us up to a heavenly level.
00:14:16.18\00:14:19.59
Our Father which art in heaven
00:14:19.62\00:14:21.02
the place where
He abides His throne,
00:14:21.06\00:14:23.36
the place where He
wants to communicate to us.
00:14:23.39\00:14:25.96
Don't bring Him down
and don't take His name
00:14:25.99\00:14:29.00
and shrivel it down
to some modern vernacular
00:14:29.03\00:14:32.13
of society's
twisted ideas of God.
00:14:32.17\00:14:34.70
I kind of got of
off the modern track
00:14:34.74\00:14:36.64
when they started
calling people dog,
00:14:36.67\00:14:39.07
and I know it's
not dog, it's dawg
00:14:39.11\00:14:41.44
but ain't nobody
dawg, come on somebody.
00:14:41.48\00:14:44.55
But there was a time
when you call somebody a dog,
00:14:44.58\00:14:46.38
it was an insult.
00:14:46.41\00:14:47.75
But you know, something is
wrong when they call you dog
00:14:47.78\00:14:49.45
and you think, hey,
that's cool, I'm your dog,
00:14:49.48\00:14:51.39
you're my dog.
00:14:51.42\00:14:52.92
I'm not your dog,
you're not my dog.
00:14:52.95\00:14:54.42
We are brothers
and sisters in Jesus.
00:14:54.46\00:14:55.89
Can you say amen? Amen.
00:14:55.92\00:14:57.59
But that's what society does,
00:14:57.63\00:14:59.09
it chisels away at the
beauty and the holiness of God.
00:14:59.13\00:15:03.37
When you go to the White House,
00:15:03.40\00:15:04.90
when you go to
special Black Tie Dinners,
00:15:04.93\00:15:08.64
you don't walk
in in jeans, like,
00:15:08.67\00:15:11.01
where is my plate of
food, y'all getting my food.
00:15:11.04\00:15:14.91
That was a part of Jesus tax
00:15:14.94\00:15:16.28
just in case
you didn't get that.
00:15:16.31\00:15:18.95
You don't come to God that way.
00:15:18.98\00:15:20.65
You approach the throne of
God with the sense of humility,
00:15:20.68\00:15:25.99
with the sense of all.
00:15:26.02\00:15:27.92
I remember once on a plane ride,
00:15:27.96\00:15:31.29
I was coming back...
00:15:31.33\00:15:33.06
Oh, I was going down to Florida,
00:15:33.09\00:15:34.43
I was on the plane ride.
00:15:34.46\00:15:36.36
And I was sitting
next to a young lady
00:15:36.40\00:15:37.73
who was a medical student
00:15:37.77\00:15:39.83
and we got into an
early conversation, you know,
00:15:39.87\00:15:42.50
we're gonna be on the
flight for two and half hours
00:15:42.54\00:15:44.37
sitting next to
somebody, at least say hello.
00:15:44.41\00:15:48.28
So uncomfortable and you goes,
00:15:48.31\00:15:49.68
both are sitting
and looking straight.
00:15:49.71\00:15:52.91
I always have to
say hello, anybody else?
00:15:52.95\00:15:55.05
Got to say something.
00:15:55.08\00:15:57.12
And if there is a last
ones to come and sit down,
00:15:57.15\00:15:59.05
I'd say welcome
to my neighborhood.
00:15:59.09\00:16:01.99
We always do that.
00:16:02.02\00:16:04.39
But as we begun to talk,
00:16:04.43\00:16:06.09
then I got into
reading my Bible,
00:16:06.13\00:16:10.27
and on that seat
next to the window
00:16:10.30\00:16:13.13
God took me to a place
that I hadn't been frequently.
00:16:13.17\00:16:18.64
I got so filled with the
sense of God's eternal power.
00:16:18.67\00:16:24.45
It began to
absorb me to the point
00:16:24.48\00:16:27.85
where I had to turn
my face to the window
00:16:27.88\00:16:29.68
because I didn't want this
young lady to see the tears
00:16:29.72\00:16:32.42
streaming down my eyes
00:16:32.45\00:16:35.12
and I didn't want
that experience to end.
00:16:35.16\00:16:39.26
I was so in God's
presence on that plane.
00:16:39.29\00:16:43.13
And when I got to
Florida to try to explain it to,
00:16:43.16\00:16:45.60
to my wife and to her
family, and to her brother,
00:16:45.63\00:16:48.20
I couldn't
recapture that, I said,
00:16:48.24\00:16:50.04
"Have you ever been in a place
00:16:50.07\00:16:51.41
where you just
don't want to leave?
00:16:51.44\00:16:53.64
I saw, I said, I saw
the Lord sitting there.
00:16:53.68\00:16:57.68
I saw Him sitting there
and He invited me to come in
00:16:57.71\00:16:59.78
and, and the
door close behind us
00:16:59.81\00:17:02.18
and He turned the light on just
for He and I to communicate."
00:17:02.22\00:17:04.99
I said, "Honey, it was
so, I can't explain it."
00:17:05.02\00:17:10.79
That's the kind of connection
00:17:10.83\00:17:12.16
we need to have
with God everyday.
00:17:12.19\00:17:13.83
Such as closeness that when
we, when we leave His presence,
00:17:13.86\00:17:17.50
we don't want to leave
but we got to go to work.
00:17:17.53\00:17:20.17
Got to eat something.
00:17:20.20\00:17:23.41
We have
responsibilities to perform
00:17:23.44\00:17:26.11
but we should be
so connected to God.
00:17:26.14\00:17:28.31
Look at Hebrews 4:16,
00:17:28.34\00:17:30.45
"Let us therefore come," how?
00:17:30.48\00:17:33.21
"Boldly."
00:17:33.25\00:17:34.58
In another words, what is
being illustrated is run to me,
00:17:34.62\00:17:38.59
"Come boldly
before the throne of grace
00:17:38.62\00:17:41.26
that we may obtain," what?
00:17:41.29\00:17:43.59
"Mercy and find grace
to help in time of need."
00:17:43.63\00:17:46.93
How often do you need mercy?
00:17:46.96\00:17:48.86
You know, the
person that's guilty
00:17:48.90\00:17:50.40
doesn't ask for justice.
00:17:50.43\00:17:51.83
The person that's
guilty ask for mercy.
00:17:51.87\00:17:54.30
Throw yourself on
the mercy of the court.
00:17:54.34\00:17:56.64
I've done that a
few times for speeding.
00:17:56.67\00:18:00.24
But I'm not gonna tell
you about those instances.
00:18:04.98\00:18:08.28
But I'm gonna
tell you about the time
00:18:08.32\00:18:09.65
that I parked in
the handicap spot.
00:18:09.68\00:18:14.06
I just picked my mother
from the hospital before she,
00:18:14.09\00:18:17.13
my mother, my natural mom,
she was taking chemotherapy.
00:18:17.16\00:18:20.23
And she didn't have a good
day and I therefore took her
00:18:20.26\00:18:23.50
through a therapy
and brought it back and,
00:18:23.53\00:18:26.23
and I think that
was the situation
00:18:26.27\00:18:28.00
but she was in the
hospital I know that
00:18:28.04\00:18:29.90
and I took her
out of the hospital,
00:18:29.94\00:18:32.01
we were living in
California at the time.
00:18:32.04\00:18:33.74
And she had a prescription
that had to fulfilled
00:18:33.78\00:18:36.41
before she went home, had
to fill this prescription.
00:18:36.44\00:18:39.11
And she said, "Get me as close
to the, to the door as you can,
00:18:39.15\00:18:43.08
but I didn't have a
handicap sticker on my car."
00:18:43.12\00:18:46.02
And I parked it
right in handicap
00:18:46.05\00:18:47.92
and I was walking my
mother and holding her up
00:18:47.96\00:18:50.39
and I took her to
the pharmacy counter
00:18:50.43\00:18:52.33
and when I went out
there was a police lady
00:18:52.36\00:18:56.90
writing me a ticket
and I said, "Officer..."
00:18:56.93\00:19:02.10
I did it so respectfully,
00:19:02.14\00:19:03.84
"Officer, my mom just
got out of the hospital,
00:19:03.87\00:19:07.98
I know, I'm not
supposed to park here
00:19:08.01\00:19:09.34
but I was trying to get
her to the pharmacy counter
00:19:09.38\00:19:11.01
without, you know,
making it difficult for her."
00:19:11.05\00:19:13.31
She said, "Tell
that to the judge."
00:19:13.35\00:19:14.75
I was glad to
tell it to that judge.
00:19:18.25\00:19:20.72
So I went to court,
00:19:20.76\00:19:24.03
stood before the
judge and he said,
00:19:24.06\00:19:25.76
"And what are you here for?"
00:19:25.79\00:19:27.50
I said, "I got to dock it,
I understand you were parked
00:19:27.53\00:19:29.80
in the handicap
spot, what's your story?"
00:19:29.83\00:19:32.37
I said, "Your honor, I
share with him the story,
00:19:32.40\00:19:34.50
I said, and I said, and
the police officer said,
00:19:34.54\00:19:36.84
tell it to that judge."
00:19:36.87\00:19:38.21
I said, "So, your
honor, I'm telling you,
00:19:38.24\00:19:39.57
you're the judge, I'm
telling you the story."
00:19:39.61\00:19:41.11
He said, "If you can prove that
your mother was just released
00:19:41.14\00:19:44.08
from the hospital on that
day, I'll drop the ticket."
00:19:44.11\00:19:47.15
Man, I ran out of
the court so fast.
00:19:47.18\00:19:50.12
Went to that hospital,
got that discharged slip
00:19:50.15\00:19:52.69
and went back to the court,
00:19:52.72\00:19:54.06
gave it to the court
clerk and she said, dismissed.
00:19:54.09\00:19:56.73
You know, that's
when, when you know,
00:19:56.76\00:19:58.36
when you know that you're,
00:19:58.39\00:20:00.50
that the judge wants to
release the fears in your life,
00:20:00.53\00:20:05.07
you can run to his
throne and find mercy
00:20:05.10\00:20:08.17
and grace to help
in time of need, amen?
00:20:08.20\00:20:11.57
So when the Bible
says, come boldly,
00:20:11.61\00:20:14.11
it means approach
God with confidence.
00:20:14.14\00:20:16.04
It doesn't mean
come to God, cocky,
00:20:16.08\00:20:17.65
hey, Lord, I'm here, what's up?
00:20:17.68\00:20:19.65
It means come
humbly before the Lord.
00:20:19.68\00:20:22.65
Do you know that the
name of God is so holy
00:20:22.68\00:20:26.12
that when the Bible
writer scribed His name,
00:20:26.15\00:20:28.96
they will put down the
quill and pick up another quill
00:20:28.99\00:20:32.99
just to write His name
and if they mess it up,
00:20:33.03\00:20:35.60
they didn't erased, they
didn't have any whiteout,
00:20:35.63\00:20:38.70
they would take that
whole page and tear it up
00:20:38.73\00:20:40.70
and start all over again,
00:20:40.74\00:20:42.07
that's how holy
the name of God was,
00:20:42.10\00:20:43.67
they wouldn't
even use the same quill
00:20:43.71\00:20:45.31
to write the
rest of the passage,
00:20:45.34\00:20:46.91
they would pick up
one just to write his name
00:20:46.94\00:20:49.78
and put that down
and continue to write.
00:20:49.81\00:20:51.41
So when you pray,
00:20:51.45\00:20:52.78
understand that
you're praying to a Holy God.
00:20:52.81\00:20:56.05
You're not making...
you're not sending a text.
00:20:59.99\00:21:03.02
You're praying to a Holy God.
00:21:03.06\00:21:05.19
He hears our prayers, He
wants to fulfill our needs,
00:21:05.23\00:21:09.46
but there is something else.
00:21:09.50\00:21:11.53
While we can approach
God anytime we want to,
00:21:11.57\00:21:14.70
we cannot approach God
anyhow that we want to.
00:21:14.74\00:21:19.31
Look at Psalms 95:6.
00:21:19.34\00:21:21.74
Psalms 95:6.
00:21:21.78\00:21:23.68
Come to Him any time.
00:21:28.05\00:21:31.05
And when I say,
00:21:31.09\00:21:34.59
we cannot approach
God anyhow we want to.
00:21:34.62\00:21:37.39
I'm not talking
about clean up your life
00:21:37.43\00:21:39.33
before you come to God
00:21:39.36\00:21:40.70
because you can't
clean up your life
00:21:40.73\00:21:42.06
until you come to God.
00:21:42.10\00:21:43.43
I'm not talking about, okay,
00:21:43.47\00:21:44.80
wait, Lord, I have to put
on a good suit to come to you.
00:21:44.83\00:21:46.17
No, come as you are
but don't come arrogantly.
00:21:46.20\00:21:50.31
Don't come with pride
and self-aggrandizement
00:21:50.34\00:21:54.21
which means pumping your self up
00:21:54.24\00:21:56.14
that you're doing Him
a favor by coming to Him.
00:21:56.18\00:21:58.58
Look at what
David the Psalmist says
00:21:58.61\00:22:00.52
should be our
attitude when we come to God.
00:22:00.55\00:22:03.45
Psalm 95:6, he says,
00:22:03.49\00:22:05.59
"O come, let us do" what?
00:22:05.62\00:22:07.92
"worship and" what?
00:22:07.96\00:22:09.59
"bow down: let us kneel
before the Lord our God,
00:22:09.62\00:22:16.50
our maker."
00:22:16.53\00:22:18.67
The song is in my head.
00:22:18.70\00:22:20.84
Come let us worship Him,
00:22:20.87\00:22:22.20
let us kneel before
the Lord, our maker.
00:22:22.24\00:22:24.77
When you come to God, if,
00:22:24.81\00:22:26.14
if the opportunity presents
itself, kneel before God.
00:22:26.17\00:22:32.71
Daniel kneeled and
prayed three times a day.
00:22:32.75\00:22:35.68
The Apostle Paul bowed his knees
00:22:35.72\00:22:37.32
when he prayed.
00:22:37.35\00:22:38.69
The disciples
kneeled when they prayed.
00:22:38.72\00:22:40.99
Even Jesus kneeled down
when He prayed to His Father.
00:22:41.02\00:22:46.16
There is a saying
that goes this way,
00:22:46.19\00:22:47.86
"A Christian
must get on his knees
00:22:47.90\00:22:50.17
before he can get on his feet."
00:22:50.20\00:22:53.87
Got to get on your knees
before you can get on your feet.
00:22:53.90\00:22:56.17
I saw the story
once and I wondered
00:22:56.20\00:22:58.37
because everyday
I feed the birds,
00:22:58.41\00:22:59.74
my wife and I,
we feed the birds.
00:22:59.77\00:23:01.11
We, you know,
we're gonna put our,
00:23:01.14\00:23:02.48
we're gonna put
our birds in our taxes.
00:23:02.51\00:23:05.08
We feed the birds.
Anybody else feeds the birds?
00:23:05.11\00:23:07.58
I love to feed the birds.
00:23:07.62\00:23:09.48
Sometimes I'm eating
dinner and the bird is out there
00:23:09.52\00:23:11.29
and he's kind of going
like this, like, I'm here,
00:23:11.32\00:23:14.66
I'm here and I get up my wife
says, "Eat you dinner first."
00:23:14.69\00:23:19.19
I said, "But, honey, I
can't eat, he is hungry."
00:23:19.23\00:23:22.40
So I get up and I
scoop up some black oil seeds
00:23:22.43\00:23:25.40
and then the,
00:23:25.43\00:23:28.50
the other mix with the
seeds without the corn,
00:23:28.54\00:23:30.44
they don't like corn a
lot in Southern Illinois.
00:23:30.47\00:23:32.97
They always leave it
00:23:33.01\00:23:34.34
so I don't, I get
the one without corn.
00:23:34.38\00:23:35.74
And I go put it on
the shelf right there
00:23:35.78\00:23:38.38
and they all show up.
00:23:38.41\00:23:40.08
Right now the blue
jays are storming it.
00:23:40.12\00:23:43.89
The blue jays are dive bombing,
00:23:43.92\00:23:46.52
they're coming in
gross of six and seven
00:23:46.55\00:23:48.96
and one day there
was nine out there.
00:23:48.99\00:23:50.89
And the cardinals are there
and all the little brown birds.
00:23:50.93\00:23:54.60
There were so
many birds this morning
00:23:54.63\00:23:56.03
that our squirrel was standing
there fearful for his life.
00:23:56.06\00:23:59.57
He's like, he wasn't moving,
he was on the lower shelf,
00:23:59.60\00:24:04.57
he said, "Wait till they clear
the ledge before I go up there,
00:24:04.61\00:24:07.01
I could be pecked to death.
00:24:07.04\00:24:09.71
At least that's what he
looked like he was thinking.
00:24:09.74\00:24:12.75
But, but I register about a bird
00:24:12.78\00:24:14.92
and I thought we've got
some terrible storms sometimes
00:24:14.95\00:24:17.89
that come through
Southern Illinois.
00:24:17.92\00:24:19.89
Where did these birds go?
00:24:19.92\00:24:21.89
Where did these birds go
00:24:21.92\00:24:23.26
when the winds are
60, 70, 80 miles an hour?
00:24:23.29\00:24:26.09
And I read a story, and I
read a story that blew me away.
00:24:26.13\00:24:30.97
You see in the storm at night
00:24:31.00\00:24:33.90
when the birds as
small as they are,
00:24:33.94\00:24:37.97
this is where we
should get a bird brain.
00:24:38.01\00:24:41.54
We should pray,
Lord, give me a bird brain
00:24:41.58\00:24:44.85
for this following story.
00:24:44.88\00:24:46.72
The birds when they,
when they perched themselves
00:24:46.75\00:24:49.25
to sleep at night, they,
you see they stand straight
00:24:49.28\00:24:52.75
during the day, look carefully
their legs are not bent.
00:24:52.79\00:24:56.29
But when they sleep at night,
00:24:56.32\00:24:57.66
they bend their knees
and it locks their claws.
00:24:57.69\00:25:02.90
It's like a vice lock.
00:25:02.93\00:25:04.80
When they bend their knees,
00:25:04.83\00:25:06.17
God designed it so
their claws go and lock.
00:25:06.20\00:25:09.64
So the wind can't
blow and they're saying,
00:25:09.67\00:25:12.14
I'll be here in the morning,
00:25:12.17\00:25:13.91
I'm just gonna
keep my knees bent.
00:25:13.94\00:25:15.74
I would suggest to you,
00:25:15.78\00:25:17.11
if you hope to make
it to the next morning
00:25:17.15\00:25:18.55
when the winds of
your life are whipping up,
00:25:18.58\00:25:20.12
you have to bend your knees.
00:25:20.15\00:25:22.45
The birds make it
through the storms of life
00:25:22.48\00:25:24.99
because they bend their
knees and that little tiny bird
00:25:25.02\00:25:27.76
that couldn't weigh
more than what a, what?
00:25:27.79\00:25:31.83
Wouldn't be nowhere
near a pound, few ounces,
00:25:31.86\00:25:34.40
grams in some
cases, they're so tiny.
00:25:34.43\00:25:36.97
They lock their knees
00:25:37.00\00:25:38.33
and the storms as
angry as they get,
00:25:38.37\00:25:41.00
that bird says, I'll
be here when you're done.
00:25:41.04\00:25:44.97
If we hope to
make it through life,
00:25:45.01\00:25:47.71
we've got to keep our
knees bowed before the Lord.
00:25:47.74\00:25:51.01
And another person said,
00:25:51.05\00:25:52.38
"A lot of kneeling keeps us
in good standing before God."
00:25:52.41\00:25:56.79
Learn how to
kneel down, kneel down.
00:25:56.82\00:26:01.09
You see, the beauty of
God is it begins with God
00:26:01.12\00:26:04.89
but God quickly transitions
from Himself to His people.
00:26:04.93\00:26:08.76
Look at Isaiah 59:1.
00:26:08.80\00:26:13.64
"Behold, the Lord's
hand is not shortened,
00:26:13.67\00:26:17.61
that it cannot
save, nor his ear heavy,
00:26:17.64\00:26:21.28
that it cannot hear."
00:26:21.31\00:26:25.68
God could hear the
prayers of the best saint.
00:26:25.71\00:26:30.25
And God could hear the
prayers of the worst sinner.
00:26:30.29\00:26:34.92
His ears are not
heavy that He cannot hear.
00:26:34.96\00:26:40.60
You got to back up sometimes,
00:26:44.00\00:26:45.33
I have this
astronomy program on my iPad.
00:26:45.37\00:26:48.50
I've shown some of
you, I love astronomy,
00:26:48.54\00:26:51.77
not astrology, astronomy.
00:26:51.81\00:26:53.94
I love to sit there
and look at the planets,
00:26:53.98\00:26:56.24
it's called redshift.
00:26:56.28\00:26:57.61
If you're an iPad
person or whatever,
00:26:57.65\00:26:59.58
it's just so, it
takes me out of my...
00:26:59.61\00:27:02.18
it takes me out
of my thinking on big
00:27:02.22\00:27:04.45
to remembering I'm small place.
00:27:04.49\00:27:09.02
And I would sit
down and talk about
00:27:09.06\00:27:10.76
how far the star
is from that star,
00:27:10.79\00:27:12.99
and my wife and I were
talking about this, and I said,
00:27:13.03\00:27:15.53
"Honey, look at the
star, I'm gonna speed it up."
00:27:15.56\00:27:18.67
She said, "Well, how far is it?"
00:27:18.70\00:27:20.34
I said, "Let's
think of it this way.
00:27:20.37\00:27:22.40
To get to it from where we are,
00:27:22.44\00:27:25.84
it will take us 375
years at the speed of light.
00:27:25.87\00:27:31.41
She said, "We
ain't going there."
00:27:31.45\00:27:34.52
I hate to say,
we're not gonna get there,
00:27:34.55\00:27:37.72
not in this life.
00:27:37.75\00:27:39.69
Yet God in His love for us,
00:27:39.72\00:27:42.52
one day we're gonna
have access to everything
00:27:42.56\00:27:45.16
we don't have access to now.
00:27:45.19\00:27:47.90
"Eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard,
00:27:47.93\00:27:50.03
neither have entered
into the heart of man,
00:27:50.07\00:27:51.97
the things that God prepares
for those that love Him."
00:27:52.00\00:27:54.40
So God is gonna make all
this playground available to us
00:27:54.44\00:27:57.61
because He loves us.
00:27:57.64\00:27:59.37
He hears our prayers.
00:27:59.41\00:28:00.74
Acts 2:21, "And
it shall come to pass
00:28:00.78\00:28:05.28
that whoever calls on the name
of the Lord shall be saved."
00:28:05.31\00:28:09.98
The name of the
Lord shall be saved.
00:28:10.02\00:28:12.99
I'm gonna rifle through these.
00:28:13.02\00:28:15.52
The name of the Lord,
00:28:15.56\00:28:16.99
if you call on
the name of the Lord,
00:28:17.03\00:28:19.06
you shall be saved.
00:28:19.09\00:28:20.43
When you go through your phone
00:28:20.46\00:28:24.63
and you're trying
to contact someone.
00:28:24.67\00:28:26.80
Do you have a
contact list, anybody?
00:28:26.84\00:28:28.37
Amen.
00:28:28.40\00:28:29.74
We all have a contact list.
00:28:29.77\00:28:31.47
We take that contact list
out and we got the contacts
00:28:31.51\00:28:33.91
and we just scroll through
them as fast as we could,
00:28:33.94\00:28:37.35
trying to find a person's name.
00:28:37.38\00:28:39.51
You know, the beautify of it
is when you, when you call God
00:28:39.55\00:28:41.38
you don't have to
scroll through anything,
00:28:41.42\00:28:43.02
you just have to say Lord Jesus.
00:28:43.05\00:28:46.05
Hear my prayer, and He hear.
00:28:46.09\00:28:47.72
Whoever calls on the name
of the Lord shall be saved.
00:28:47.76\00:28:50.99
And let me, let me add
another component here.
00:28:51.03\00:28:53.16
Sometimes we think that,
well, I can't talk to God
00:28:53.19\00:28:55.80
because I'm a terrible
sinner, I did something awful.
00:28:55.83\00:28:57.93
You know what?
00:28:57.97\00:28:59.30
That's when He
wants you to talk to Him.
00:28:59.33\00:29:01.94
The devil sometimes
makes us feel so unworthy.
00:29:01.97\00:29:05.07
He says,
00:29:05.11\00:29:06.54
think about you just did
and you want to talk to God,
00:29:06.57\00:29:10.25
but that's the whole
reason why God send Jesus.
00:29:10.28\00:29:14.25
He didn't send
Jesus to clean sinners.
00:29:14.28\00:29:17.15
He said to the Jews,
00:29:17.19\00:29:18.52
if you knew that
you were a slave,
00:29:18.55\00:29:20.69
then you would know
you need to be set free,
00:29:20.72\00:29:22.46
but since you don't
know that you're a slave,
00:29:22.49\00:29:24.86
I've come to seek and
to save those who are lost.
00:29:24.89\00:29:28.86
He didn't come to,
00:29:28.90\00:29:30.23
He didn't come to tuxedo
and gown wearing Christians.
00:29:30.27\00:29:35.27
He came to those who knows
that we have a need of Him.
00:29:35.30\00:29:40.41
Whoever calls on
Him shall be saved.
00:29:40.44\00:29:43.88
John 7:37, I'll read
this and you're hearing,
00:29:43.91\00:29:46.58
"If anyone
thirst..." If how many?
00:29:46.61\00:29:49.82
"Any one thirst, let
him come to me and drink."
00:29:49.85\00:29:53.86
If anyone thirst.
00:29:53.89\00:29:55.76
You can beat me to
the next text, John 6:37.
00:29:55.79\00:29:58.69
Look at this one.
00:29:58.73\00:30:00.46
John 6:37,
00:30:00.50\00:30:03.97
"All that the Father
gives me will come to me,
00:30:04.00\00:30:08.17
and the one who comes to
me, I will by no means" what?
00:30:08.20\00:30:13.48
"Cast out."
00:30:13.51\00:30:14.84
Lord doesn't
say, get out of here.
00:30:14.88\00:30:16.21
Don't come here.
He wants us to come.
00:30:16.24\00:30:18.58
He wants us to come,
00:30:18.61\00:30:19.95
tattered and torn and
disappointed and broken.
00:30:19.98\00:30:22.98
Filled with heartache
and despair and suffering,
00:30:23.02\00:30:25.12
He wants us to come in
our moments of success,
00:30:25.15\00:30:27.66
in our moments of joy.
00:30:27.69\00:30:29.02
He doesn't want us just to come
because things are going bad.
00:30:29.06\00:30:31.53
How many of you keep
in touch with friends
00:30:31.56\00:30:33.43
just when things go bad?
00:30:33.46\00:30:34.80
I'm always suspect,
00:30:34.83\00:30:36.30
when people only call
me when things go bad.
00:30:36.33\00:30:40.10
Have you ever noticed
that? I know exactly who it is.
00:30:40.14\00:30:45.84
And you see the number.
00:30:45.87\00:30:47.44
You ever said that,
00:30:47.48\00:30:48.81
you don't have...
don't raise your hand.
00:30:48.84\00:30:51.41
They only call me
when they want something.
00:30:51.45\00:30:55.48
I don't want my
Father to say that.
00:30:55.52\00:30:57.65
Amen?
00:30:57.69\00:30:59.02
Because folk that know
that you call them only
00:30:59.05\00:31:01.86
when you want something,
00:31:01.89\00:31:03.96
the
conversation gets superficial
00:31:03.99\00:31:05.99
at the very beginning.
00:31:06.03\00:31:07.40
Yeah, and yeah, you are
waiting for the question.
00:31:07.43\00:31:11.70
You are waiting
for them to ask you.
00:31:11.73\00:31:14.00
And if they don't, you
hang up the phone and say,
00:31:14.04\00:31:16.81
do you know what?
00:31:16.84\00:31:18.77
Unbelievable, they
didn't ask me for anything
00:31:18.81\00:31:22.01
which means the
conversation is not done yet.
00:31:22.04\00:31:25.65
They try to soften you
up before they bring it on.
00:31:25.68\00:31:29.32
We don't need to have that
kind of relationship with God.
00:31:29.35\00:31:33.46
We've got to know, we can come
to Him as we are, and He says,
00:31:33.49\00:31:35.86
if you come I will, I
will not turn you away.
00:31:35.89\00:31:39.73
God does not turn His back
00:31:39.76\00:31:41.83
on the heart
that seeks salvation.
00:31:41.86\00:31:43.83
Any one of us can
place the phone call
00:31:43.87\00:31:47.24
and God will answer that.
00:31:47.27\00:31:49.40
2 Chronicles 16:9,
00:31:49.44\00:31:52.57
God's people,
00:31:52.61\00:31:54.68
you see when your name
is in God's contact list,
00:31:54.71\00:31:57.45
He takes it to another level
00:31:57.48\00:32:00.12
when He gets a
call from His children.
00:32:00.15\00:32:02.75
I'm so glad to
know that we know that,
00:32:02.78\00:32:04.92
He has inscribed our
name on the palm of His hand.
00:32:04.95\00:32:08.96
He has inscribed our
name on the palm of His hand,
00:32:08.99\00:32:12.36
so when we call Him, we know
we are on that contact list.
00:32:12.39\00:32:16.56
But look at what
He promised us to do.
00:32:16.60\00:32:18.87
2 Chronicles 16:9,
00:32:18.90\00:32:22.24
"For the eyes of the Lord
run to and fro throughout"
00:32:22.27\00:32:26.21
how much of the earth?
00:32:26.24\00:32:28.84
"The whole earth,
00:32:28.88\00:32:30.21
to show Himself
strong on behalf of those,"
00:32:30.25\00:32:34.38
who do what?
00:32:34.42\00:32:36.28
Whose heart is loyal to Him."
00:32:36.32\00:32:41.02
Whose heart is loyal to Him.
00:32:41.06\00:32:43.69
Let me put this in
the proper package.
00:32:43.73\00:32:46.39
Whether you are
loyal to God or not,
00:32:46.43\00:32:49.86
He want you to call on Him.
00:32:49.90\00:32:53.50
But if you want
to see God's hand
00:32:53.54\00:32:54.90
move in a powerful way,
00:32:54.94\00:32:57.57
show your loyalty to Him.
00:32:57.61\00:32:59.87
He'll show Himself strong
00:32:59.91\00:33:02.08
in behalf of those
whose hearts are loyal to Him.
00:33:02.11\00:33:06.35
He'll deliver you,
whatever the situation,
00:33:06.38\00:33:08.65
but if you really want to
see God move and do things
00:33:08.68\00:33:12.19
that you thought
were unimaginable,
00:33:12.22\00:33:15.22
that could not
have possibly even done,
00:33:15.26\00:33:17.43
just be loyal to Him.
00:33:17.46\00:33:19.79
And you see God moving
away, just like parents,
00:33:19.83\00:33:22.66
when they know they have a child
00:33:22.70\00:33:24.03
that they can trust,
00:33:24.07\00:33:25.40
they say he is okay, I
can give him the car keys.
00:33:25.43\00:33:29.04
I know that he is going
where he said he is going to go
00:33:29.07\00:33:31.51
or she is going exactly
00:33:31.54\00:33:32.87
where she said
she is going to go.
00:33:32.91\00:33:34.24
I know that she is
there, just like my sister.
00:33:34.28\00:33:37.75
She has a daughter
and a granddaughter.
00:33:37.78\00:33:41.75
And she put this tracking device
00:33:41.78\00:33:43.42
on my grand niece's phone,
00:33:43.45\00:33:45.82
or her granddaughters,
and she said to her,
00:33:45.85\00:33:49.66
now when you go to
school, if that device tells me,
00:33:49.69\00:33:54.16
you are any place but
school, I'm gonna find you.
00:33:54.20\00:33:57.63
When that device
tells me you left school
00:34:00.84\00:34:02.74
and you're on your way to
work and you're at any place
00:34:02.77\00:34:04.24
but work, I'm gonna find you.
00:34:04.27\00:34:06.57
You got to know my sister
00:34:06.61\00:34:07.94
to know that you
don't want her to find you.
00:34:07.98\00:34:11.41
She is a New Yorker.
00:34:11.45\00:34:14.12
Born and raise,
00:34:14.15\00:34:15.52
works for the police
department and fire department.
00:34:15.55\00:34:17.62
One day my niece,
my grand niece's mother
00:34:17.65\00:34:21.69
got out of herself
and said to my sister,
00:34:21.72\00:34:23.83
"If you touch me, I'm
gonna call the police."
00:34:23.86\00:34:25.73
She said, "Oh, let
me save you the time,
00:34:25.76\00:34:28.10
I'm gonna touch you
and I'll call the police."
00:34:28.13\00:34:32.57
Old fashion stuff, you know,
but they are doing fine now.
00:34:32.60\00:34:37.34
You see the Lord
shows Himself strong.
00:34:37.37\00:34:39.87
Why does He do that?
00:34:39.91\00:34:41.24
Proverbs 18:10,
"Why does He do that?"
00:34:41.28\00:34:44.81
Look at why? Look at why?
00:34:44.85\00:34:47.15
Our heavenly
Father loves us so much.
00:34:47.18\00:34:49.15
I got to speed up.
00:34:49.18\00:34:50.52
Our heavenly
Father loves us so much,
00:34:50.55\00:34:53.15
the Lord tells us
in Proverbs 18:10,
00:34:53.19\00:34:55.46
"The name of the
Lord is a..." What?
00:34:55.49\00:35:00.40
"Strong tower, the righteous
runneth into and is safe."
00:35:00.43\00:35:05.10
You want to know
about the strong tower,
00:35:05.13\00:35:06.74
read the Book of Numbers.
00:35:06.77\00:35:08.57
The Book of Numbers, you know,
00:35:08.60\00:35:10.37
Numbers could
make your head spin
00:35:10.41\00:35:11.91
with all the
sacrifices and all that stuff,
00:35:11.94\00:35:15.31
but they build a
certain number of strong towers,
00:35:15.34\00:35:18.05
these are
called cities of refuge
00:35:18.08\00:35:19.98
that had to be certain distances
00:35:20.02\00:35:22.08
from every tribe of
the children of Israel,
00:35:22.12\00:35:24.42
so that if anybody
was in a transgression
00:35:24.45\00:35:26.42
or made a mistake
00:35:26.45\00:35:27.79
or did something
that injured someone
00:35:27.82\00:35:29.59
and their lives were being sort,
00:35:29.62\00:35:31.63
they had to
make that road clear,
00:35:31.66\00:35:33.83
had to have no pebbles, no rocks
00:35:33.86\00:35:35.53
nothing that the
person who is guilty
00:35:35.56\00:35:37.67
could stumble over.
00:35:37.70\00:35:39.10
It had to be straight and
direct to the strong tower,
00:35:39.13\00:35:42.17
to the city of refuge.
00:35:42.20\00:35:44.97
And when that person ran in,
the Bible says, they are safe.
00:35:45.01\00:35:47.91
Why?
00:35:47.94\00:35:49.28
Because the high
priest met them there.
00:35:49.31\00:35:52.15
And as long as
the high priest live,
00:35:52.18\00:35:55.08
that person was saved.
00:35:55.12\00:35:59.09
How long was our
high priest gonna live?
00:35:59.12\00:36:00.69
Somebody tell me?
00:36:00.72\00:36:02.06
He ever liveth to
make intercession for us,
00:36:02.09\00:36:04.53
so, we could
daily run in by prayer.
00:36:04.56\00:36:07.03
We could daily run in by prayer
and know this, Psalm 37:25,
00:36:07.06\00:36:11.63
"We could know
this, this is a promise.
00:36:11.67\00:36:15.40
This is a promise."
00:36:15.44\00:36:18.34
Psalm 37:25.
00:36:18.37\00:36:21.04
And this is definitely
a King James Version text,
00:36:21.08\00:36:24.08
I've always heard it that
way, and I love it that way.
00:36:24.11\00:36:26.82
I chose not to change
it, but look at what it says,
00:36:26.85\00:36:29.82
"I have been young..."
00:36:29.85\00:36:31.62
Come on somebody?
"And now I am what?
00:36:31.65\00:36:34.16
"Old yet, I have not
seen the righteous" what?
00:36:34.19\00:36:39.19
"Forsaken, nor his seed" what?
00:36:39.23\00:36:42.40
Begging bread." Amen.
00:36:42.43\00:36:46.30
When we put God first,
He will not put us last.
00:36:46.33\00:36:51.37
When we stand up for
Jesus, He'll stand up for us.
00:36:51.41\00:36:55.18
When we walk in the light,
00:36:55.21\00:36:56.64
He'll never
leave us in the dark.
00:36:56.68\00:36:58.45
He says, I've never
seen the righteous forsaken.
00:36:58.48\00:37:02.85
And so sometimes the
world makes you think that,
00:37:02.88\00:37:04.95
if you go the way of the world
00:37:04.99\00:37:06.32
you'd be famous,
you'd be popular,
00:37:06.35\00:37:07.69
you don't have
to worry about it.
00:37:07.72\00:37:09.06
Everybody will adore
you and admonish you,
00:37:09.09\00:37:12.36
but the Bible says,
the way of the transgressor
00:37:12.39\00:37:14.13
is hard, you know why?
00:37:14.16\00:37:15.50
Because our lives
in the hand of God
00:37:15.53\00:37:18.57
is a life that has a guarantee.
00:37:18.60\00:37:21.87
Wouldn't you
like to have somebody
00:37:21.90\00:37:23.64
as a friend that
has no credit limit?
00:37:23.67\00:37:27.41
It's a good place to say amen.
00:37:32.55\00:37:35.48
Wouldn't you like somebody
that nobody is gonna mess with?
00:37:35.52\00:37:39.15
Wouldn't you like somebody, Bob,
00:37:42.76\00:37:44.09
that could deliver
you from any situation.
00:37:44.13\00:37:47.53
Okay.
00:37:47.56\00:37:48.90
Would you like
somebody in your life
00:37:52.23\00:37:53.57
that loves you no matter what?
00:37:53.60\00:37:55.34
And will call and will answer.
00:38:00.11\00:38:06.18
Every time you
call, He'll answer.
00:38:06.21\00:38:08.28
And I want to tell you
00:38:13.96\00:38:15.29
my mind is too
finite to really tell you
00:38:15.32\00:38:16.96
the real truth about God.
00:38:16.99\00:38:18.83
When we get to
heaven, we'll see so much
00:38:18.86\00:38:20.96
more than our minds
could even ever grasp.
00:38:21.00\00:38:24.87
He'll say, John
one day you said,
00:38:24.90\00:38:28.94
before I call, before
you call, I will answer.
00:38:28.97\00:38:32.74
Let me show you how it works.
00:38:32.77\00:38:36.21
Wouldn't you want to be
00:38:36.24\00:38:37.58
in the laboratory
of God one day, Louis.
00:38:37.61\00:38:39.68
Let me show you how it
works. Let's pause for a moment.
00:38:39.71\00:38:44.79
If all of sudden come on those
who have cell phones raise it.
00:38:44.82\00:38:48.26
I know you have it, come
on just place your cell phone.
00:38:48.29\00:38:53.19
I did this
experiment at Sunnydale Academy.
00:38:53.23\00:38:57.10
I said to the young kids,
I'm only gonna say this once.
00:38:57.13\00:39:00.84
I'm gonna give
you my phone number
00:39:00.87\00:39:02.20
once I said this
to the young people,
00:39:02.24\00:39:03.57
and I said the
first one to text me,
00:39:03.61\00:39:06.34
see the day before I told them
I had a $100 bill in my pocket,
00:39:06.37\00:39:10.25
the next day I said
00:39:10.28\00:39:11.61
the first one that texts me
gets the money in my pocket.
00:39:11.65\00:39:15.38
But I'm only gonna
say my phone number once.
00:39:15.42\00:39:18.29
You could hear a
bird change his mind.
00:39:18.32\00:39:23.36
I didn't repeat it, my
phone exploded, all I would,
00:39:23.39\00:39:26.66
ding, ding, ding, ding,
bye, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm.
00:39:26.70\00:39:32.97
The place exploded with messages
00:39:33.00\00:39:36.74
and they were
just on their edge...
00:39:36.77\00:39:38.91
who sent it first,
00:39:42.04\00:39:43.38
who was the first
one to get it in there.
00:39:43.41\00:39:45.38
I said I'll tell you
at the end of the meeting.
00:39:45.41\00:39:46.78
Oh!
00:39:46.82\00:39:49.48
Tell us now, we want to know.
00:39:49.52\00:39:52.52
I'll tell you at
the end of the meeting.
00:39:52.55\00:39:55.86
God is so sovereign. You
know what he did that day?
00:39:55.89\00:39:59.09
Now I told them I had a $100
in my pocket the day before,
00:39:59.13\00:40:02.90
but I didn't tell them
00:40:02.93\00:40:04.27
I was gonna give
them $100 a day after.
00:40:04.30\00:40:06.33
I said whatever is
in my pocket you'll get.
00:40:06.37\00:40:08.24
Well I had a $20.
00:40:08.27\00:40:10.61
But if you're in academy,
$20 is lot of money, amen.
00:40:10.64\00:40:13.71
Come on amen.
00:40:13.74\00:40:15.18
If somebody just says, here
is 20 bucks to academy student,
00:40:15.21\00:40:18.21
yeah, it's a lot of money.
00:40:18.25\00:40:19.85
That was a lot of
money to college students
00:40:19.88\00:40:21.65
back in my day,
00:40:21.68\00:40:23.52
but so,
00:40:23.55\00:40:24.89
I mentioned the young man's name
00:40:24.92\00:40:27.06
and the place erupted.
00:40:27.09\00:40:31.03
I mean, the girls
started standing up
00:40:31.06\00:40:33.73
and they were
clapping and stamping
00:40:33.76\00:40:35.83
at the same time, I
said what's up with this guy,
00:40:35.86\00:40:38.00
and he came up
the shy little guy.
00:40:38.03\00:40:43.77
Came up to the front
00:40:43.81\00:40:45.14
and everybody
stood and cheer for him.
00:40:45.17\00:40:46.51
You know what?
00:40:46.54\00:40:47.88
I didn't know this,
but God worked it out.
00:40:47.91\00:40:50.68
That, that was one of
the kids in the academy
00:40:50.71\00:40:53.15
that nobody would talk to.
00:40:53.18\00:40:55.92
That people would leave
out of the lot of the events.
00:40:55.95\00:41:00.32
That was probably the last
to be considered for anything.
00:41:00.36\00:41:04.69
And the girls had
a soft spot for him
00:41:04.73\00:41:07.20
because they always wanted
00:41:07.23\00:41:08.56
"I will use a alias name,
they always wanted Johnny to
00:41:08.60\00:41:11.23
kind of make it to be the
guy that people would like.
00:41:11.27\00:41:14.40
And that day he came up front,
and I gave him the money...
00:41:14.44\00:41:21.34
I just had it in my hand.
00:41:25.61\00:41:26.95
I gave him the money
and his head was down,
00:41:30.29\00:41:33.15
I gave him the money, his
head stood up and he went,
00:41:33.19\00:41:36.29
and all of his friends
erupted because they realized,
00:41:36.32\00:41:41.30
you may not pay
attention to Johnny,
00:41:41.33\00:41:44.07
but the Lord
wants to give us gifts,
00:41:44.10\00:41:47.14
when everybody else
wants to leave us out.
00:41:47.17\00:41:49.90
When we put Him first,
He will not leave us last.
00:41:49.94\00:41:52.81
Amen church? God is a good God.
00:41:52.84\00:41:55.31
And sometimes we
don't understand that
00:41:55.34\00:41:56.75
because we think
that well, you know,
00:41:56.78\00:41:58.88
we haven't really
been all He wants us to be.
00:41:58.91\00:42:01.38
Even so,
00:42:01.42\00:42:03.05
He loves us
00:42:03.08\00:42:04.62
with an everlasting love.
00:42:04.65\00:42:10.73
That's the kind of God we have,
00:42:10.76\00:42:13.70
God, His people and His name.
00:42:13.73\00:42:17.57
But let's spend a few
minutes on the conditions
00:42:17.60\00:42:19.07
before I close, John 14:15.
00:42:19.10\00:42:22.60
John 14:15.
00:42:22.64\00:42:23.97
I'm still getting
phone calls from car dealers,
00:42:32.85\00:42:37.19
they keep telling me my
warrant is about to expire.
00:42:37.22\00:42:41.56
You notice that, anybody
else getting those phone calls.
00:42:41.59\00:42:43.93
Everybody wants
to sell your warranty
00:42:43.96\00:42:46.06
because 2017 is coming.
00:42:46.09\00:42:48.86
I'm getting phone
calls on my cell phone,
00:42:48.90\00:42:50.57
I can't stop all the marketers
from calling my cell phone
00:42:50.60\00:42:53.23
800 this, 888 that, 866.
00:42:53.27\00:42:57.01
I'm getting to a place
00:42:57.04\00:42:58.37
where I don't want to
pick my cell phone up anymore,
00:42:58.41\00:42:59.74
and my home phone
said how do you stop them,
00:42:59.77\00:43:01.18
there was a time you could,
00:43:01.21\00:43:02.54
but they found
a way around that.
00:43:02.58\00:43:05.08
We'd like to
consolidate your debt for 2017,
00:43:05.11\00:43:07.35
if you have credit card.
00:43:07.38\00:43:10.92
Did you know your
warranty is about to expire?
00:43:10.95\00:43:15.72
And I said, I already
got the extended warranty.
00:43:15.76\00:43:17.63
Sir, sorry, we'll
take you off our list.
00:43:17.66\00:43:19.53
They never took me off the list,
00:43:19.56\00:43:20.90
they keep calling me.
00:43:20.93\00:43:23.47
Here is my point.
00:43:23.50\00:43:26.67
Everything comes with a warranty
00:43:26.70\00:43:28.37
whether one year, two
years, six months, four years
00:43:28.40\00:43:30.97
whatever the case may be.
00:43:31.01\00:43:32.34
And somebody knows that
they'll service our vehicles
00:43:32.37\00:43:36.08
as long as we stay in harmony
00:43:36.11\00:43:38.11
with what the warranty outlines
as the parameters of operation.
00:43:38.15\00:43:43.22
Well, once you go beyond
the parameters of operation
00:43:43.25\00:43:46.76
and you damage the
device, the company says,
00:43:46.79\00:43:49.92
we are not gonna cover
it because you did this.
00:43:49.96\00:43:52.29
How many of us know
00:43:56.80\00:44:01.40
that the Lord
wants to impart to us,
00:44:01.44\00:44:05.24
the person of the Holy Spirit,
00:44:05.27\00:44:10.28
who will lead us and
guide us into all truth,
00:44:10.31\00:44:12.41
who will give us
knowledge and wisdom,
00:44:12.45\00:44:14.05
who'll workout the work of God
in our lives through the frail,
00:44:14.08\00:44:18.05
through this frail human flesh.
00:44:18.09\00:44:20.42
But he says, I'm
concerned about whether or not
00:44:20.46\00:44:24.16
you really want me to
give you the Holy Spirit,
00:44:24.19\00:44:26.43
so got to put a test.
00:44:26.46\00:44:28.06
John 14:15-16. Look at this.
00:44:28.10\00:44:31.10
John 14:15-16.
00:44:31.13\00:44:33.94
The text says, and we all
notice together, let's read it,
00:44:33.97\00:44:36.14
"If you love me do..." What?
00:44:36.17\00:44:37.81
"Keep my commandments."
That is not the whole text.
00:44:37.84\00:44:41.78
Because it didn't end,
00:44:41.81\00:44:43.24
it starts with the next
word and what does it say,
00:44:43.28\00:44:46.21
"And I will pray the Father,
00:44:46.25\00:44:49.22
and He will give
you another..." what?
00:44:49.25\00:44:51.29
Another helper,
another comforter
00:44:51.32\00:44:52.69
that He may abide
with you for..." how long?
00:44:52.72\00:44:55.79
Forever."
00:44:55.82\00:44:57.16
So now you wonder
00:44:57.19\00:44:58.53
how is God gonna work
out His plan in our lives.
00:44:58.56\00:45:00.20
How is He gonna do
this and never stop it,
00:45:00.23\00:45:02.70
because the Holy Spirit,
00:45:02.73\00:45:04.07
he wants to put the
Spirit of God in your life,
00:45:04.10\00:45:06.00
my life, his life, her life.
00:45:06.03\00:45:08.84
And let you know
that what you can't do,
00:45:08.87\00:45:10.94
the Spirit of God
can do through you.
00:45:10.97\00:45:14.81
You shall receive power
00:45:14.84\00:45:16.18
when the Holy
Ghost has come upon you,
00:45:16.21\00:45:18.31
but there is a condition.
00:45:18.35\00:45:21.25
The apostles said
this in the Book of Acts,
00:45:21.28\00:45:23.08
I think Acts 5:29, it says,
00:45:23.12\00:45:25.85
"And we are His
witnesses and so also are those
00:45:25.89\00:45:29.49
whom God has given His
spirit to those who obey Him."
00:45:29.52\00:45:33.90
The Lord does not make that
kind of power available to us
00:45:33.93\00:45:38.73
if we're not
willing to be obedient.
00:45:38.77\00:45:41.00
If you love me do what?
00:45:41.04\00:45:43.30
And then if you're
willing to do that,
00:45:43.34\00:45:45.11
and I'll provide you
the strength to do that,
00:45:45.14\00:45:47.64
I'll impart to
you the Holy Spirit
00:45:47.68\00:45:50.05
and he'll be able to do in you
00:45:50.08\00:45:51.85
what you never
thought was possible.
00:45:51.88\00:45:54.15
The beautiful thing is
God doesn't want us to fail.
00:45:54.18\00:45:57.39
But He knows that
sometimes we will.
00:45:57.42\00:45:59.02
Go to Luke 22:31-32.
00:45:59.05\00:46:02.62
You see why we pray to
God, what encourages me is that
00:46:02.66\00:46:07.33
not only are we
praying to the Lord,
00:46:07.36\00:46:09.43
but do you know, can I say this,
00:46:09.46\00:46:11.30
Jesus is praying for us.
00:46:11.33\00:46:14.97
Isn't that wonderful?
00:46:15.00\00:46:16.91
Can you imagine His prayer list?
00:46:16.94\00:46:19.21
Can you imagine
heaven's prayers list?
00:46:19.24\00:46:21.38
I'm at lost for words,
00:46:25.81\00:46:27.35
I can't imagine
heaven's prayer list.
00:46:27.38\00:46:29.88
Got to pray for Bob, Louis.
00:46:29.92\00:46:31.85
The list goes on and
on, he says, and he just...
00:46:31.89\00:46:34.16
Let me read
where I could explain,
00:46:38.09\00:46:40.30
Luke 22:31-32.
00:46:40.33\00:46:43.93
Luke 22:31-32,
00:46:43.97\00:46:46.10
And the Lord
said, "Simon, Simon."
00:46:46.13\00:46:48.57
Let's put up the names in there,
00:46:48.60\00:46:50.87
Will, Will, Gary, Gary,
00:46:50.91\00:46:55.18
Jay, Jay.
00:46:55.21\00:46:56.71
The Lord said to Jay, Jay, Jay.
00:46:56.75\00:47:00.48
Indeed, Satan has asked for you.
00:47:00.52\00:47:04.49
I don't want to go past that.
00:47:04.52\00:47:06.09
Do you know Ozzie,
00:47:06.12\00:47:09.16
that there are days
that devil asks for you.
00:47:09.19\00:47:12.49
Peter should have
said, what did you say, Lord,
00:47:20.77\00:47:22.67
who asked for me?
00:47:22.70\00:47:25.94
The devil asked for
you. Satan has asked for you.
00:47:25.97\00:47:32.61
I don't know
what day of this week
00:47:32.65\00:47:33.98
or if it was in the
past or if it's coming up
00:47:34.02\00:47:36.58
but there is gonna be a day,
00:47:36.62\00:47:39.55
that like Job, the
devil is gonna say,
00:47:39.59\00:47:44.36
I know you are the
guy, I got to go through.
00:47:44.39\00:47:45.86
Can you give me Bob today?
00:47:45.89\00:47:48.06
When that conversation came up
00:47:56.00\00:47:57.34
and Job was the
subject of conversation.
00:47:57.37\00:48:02.64
The Lord said,
okay, I'll tell you what?
00:48:02.68\00:48:05.95
Sure, you could do
anything you want to him,
00:48:05.98\00:48:08.52
just don't take his life.
00:48:08.55\00:48:09.88
And you know what he did?
00:48:14.52\00:48:17.33
Took all of his
wealth, all of his possessions,
00:48:17.36\00:48:19.49
all of his family,
all of his children.
00:48:19.53\00:48:23.60
And when you read the
story, it was relentless.
00:48:23.63\00:48:26.23
While one servant was
telling him what happened
00:48:26.27\00:48:28.40
and another
servant came and he said,
00:48:28.44\00:48:29.77
while he was
speaking another servant came,
00:48:29.80\00:48:31.14
while he was speaking
00:48:31.17\00:48:32.51
and they outlined the whole life
00:48:32.54\00:48:33.88
and Job tore us got on
00:48:33.91\00:48:35.24
and put on sackcloth and ashes
00:48:35.28\00:48:36.61
in for the
remainder of his trial.
00:48:36.64\00:48:40.42
It all started because
Satan ask for Job and he said,
00:48:40.45\00:48:45.19
he is only serving you
because you are good to him.
00:48:45.22\00:48:48.72
He said, "Satan
has asked for you,
00:48:55.53\00:48:56.93
that he may sift you as wheat."
00:48:56.97\00:49:00.10
I don't want to ask for
any, any hands because I know
00:49:00.14\00:49:03.17
that everyone of us
at one point or another
00:49:03.20\00:49:06.61
felt like wheat.
00:49:06.64\00:49:07.98
Come on, amen somebody.
00:49:08.01\00:49:09.78
And the devil was sifting us.
00:49:09.81\00:49:12.11
I remember the days when
00:49:12.15\00:49:13.48
rest of it would come to church,
00:49:13.52\00:49:14.85
wondering whether or
not she is gonna make it
00:49:14.88\00:49:16.22
through this
next trying therapy.
00:49:16.25\00:49:18.69
Her body could hardly handle it.
00:49:18.72\00:49:22.12
And she was so in
love with this church,
00:49:22.16\00:49:23.76
she came with masks on
00:49:23.79\00:49:25.43
so that we
wouldn't get her sick,
00:49:25.46\00:49:26.80
but she was
here, look at her now.
00:49:26.83\00:49:30.27
And the stories
can go on and on.
00:49:30.30\00:49:32.63
This congregation is
filled with old stories,
00:49:32.67\00:49:34.77
we all know each
other's war stories
00:49:34.80\00:49:36.30
and there are more coming.
00:49:36.34\00:49:38.44
A loss of a job, a
loss of a loved one.
00:49:38.47\00:49:42.04
An illness that we
cannot control and we ask why?
00:49:42.08\00:49:45.05
Because the devil asks
for you, that he may sift you.
00:49:45.08\00:49:48.82
But I'm so glad
that's not the last verse.
00:49:53.52\00:49:56.83
Verse 32, "But I have
prayed. But I have prayed.
00:49:56.86\00:50:00.30
But I have prayed for you.
00:50:00.33\00:50:02.36
Oh heavenly Father,
thank you for praying for me,
00:50:02.40\00:50:05.93
that your faith
should not fail."
00:50:05.97\00:50:09.30
Because
sometimes do you feel like
00:50:09.34\00:50:10.67
your faith is about to fail,
00:50:10.71\00:50:13.68
and he says, "In
one you have returned,
00:50:13.71\00:50:15.24
or one you are converted.
00:50:15.28\00:50:16.85
One you have returned to
me, strengthen your brethren."
00:50:16.88\00:50:20.32
The Lord cannot use
us to strengthen anyone
00:50:20.35\00:50:23.12
until our
connection with God is strong.
00:50:23.15\00:50:28.62
I'm gonna all the way
to the end of the sermon,
00:50:28.66\00:50:32.53
so I'm looking at my time.
00:50:32.56\00:50:34.86
And I want you go to Job
42:10, this whole topic of Job,
00:50:34.90\00:50:39.27
we're gonna share some
more of this during the week so,
00:50:39.30\00:50:41.17
you're gonna get
the rest of this.
00:50:41.20\00:50:43.14
This entire topic of
Job, was that the Lord
00:50:43.17\00:50:47.18
allowed the devil
to come into his life
00:50:47.21\00:50:49.94
to torment him at the level
00:50:49.98\00:50:51.81
that has not been
matched by anybody's sins.
00:50:51.85\00:50:55.08
And you ought to take the
time to sometimes read Job,
00:51:03.46\00:51:05.56
all those moments where Job,
even when Job's friends came by
00:51:05.59\00:51:08.96
and sat and looked
at him for three days,
00:51:09.00\00:51:11.23
not knowing what to say
00:51:11.27\00:51:12.83
and then they opened
their mouth and they said,
00:51:12.87\00:51:14.57
well, you had to do
something to get like this.
00:51:14.60\00:51:16.91
But what happened?
00:51:25.48\00:51:27.18
What happened that
led to Job's restoration?
00:51:27.22\00:51:30.29
What happened that Job's
restoration was granted by God.
00:51:30.32\00:51:36.56
The Bible says in
verse 10 of Job 42.
00:51:36.59\00:51:40.43
"And the Lord
restored Job's losses."
00:51:40.46\00:51:46.53
Now the losses were
many, family, cattle, sheep,
00:51:46.57\00:51:50.94
reputation,
standing in the community,
00:51:50.97\00:51:54.24
everything that he had lost,
00:51:54.28\00:51:56.18
the Lord restored Job's losses
00:51:56.21\00:52:01.18
when he prayed for his friends.
00:52:01.22\00:52:04.52
Somewhere along the way
00:52:11.93\00:52:13.26
we have to stop thinking
about ourselves all the time.
00:52:13.29\00:52:16.93
So much of Job's
lament was what did I do,
00:52:20.87\00:52:23.57
Lord I curse today, I was born.
00:52:23.61\00:52:25.44
Why am I going thorough this,
00:52:25.47\00:52:26.81
although he didn't
charged God foolishly,
00:52:26.84\00:52:28.94
it took him a long time
00:52:28.98\00:52:31.25
to get the focus off of himself,
00:52:31.28\00:52:33.01
scraping his sores.
00:52:33.05\00:52:35.35
The oozing of the sores,
the discomfort of the humility
00:52:35.38\00:52:41.69
and sheer embarrassment
of a man so wealthy,
00:52:41.72\00:52:44.69
reduced to next to nothing,
nobody wants to see Job,
00:52:44.73\00:52:48.26
and he has three friends
00:52:48.30\00:52:49.93
that really, didn't really
give him a whole lot of hope.
00:52:49.96\00:52:53.64
And Lord said, Job,
you need to pray for them.
00:52:53.67\00:52:58.17
And when he prayed for them,
00:52:58.21\00:52:59.84
the Lord restored everything
he had and the Bible says,
00:52:59.87\00:53:03.85
"Indeed the Lord
gave Job..." What?
00:53:03.88\00:53:06.58
"Twice as much
as he had before."
00:53:06.61\00:53:10.75
I want to insert this
00:53:10.79\00:53:12.12
for the mothers
and for the families.
00:53:12.15\00:53:14.72
You know
somebody once said to me
00:53:14.76\00:53:16.09
when we talked about
this, they said pastor,
00:53:16.12\00:53:20.40
Job lost all of his children,
his sons and his daughters,
00:53:20.43\00:53:22.90
lost his cattle, lost
his land, lost everything.
00:53:22.93\00:53:26.40
And even though God doubled
by giving him more children,
00:53:26.43\00:53:29.60
more daughters, more sons
00:53:29.64\00:53:33.07
and you just, we
just started Job's lesson.
00:53:33.11\00:53:36.18
They said, I am sure,
00:53:36.21\00:53:38.21
that with all the restoration
that God blessed Job with,
00:53:38.25\00:53:41.18
I am sure Job lamented
for the remainder of his life,
00:53:41.22\00:53:45.79
the loss of his children.
00:53:45.82\00:53:51.16
That's why this week
00:53:51.19\00:53:52.53
we're gonna talk
about intercessory prayer.
00:53:52.56\00:53:55.40
Where are your children?
00:53:55.43\00:53:58.47
Where are your loved ones?
00:53:58.50\00:54:01.87
May be God is waiting for us
00:54:01.90\00:54:05.14
to stop praying
for our own needs
00:54:05.17\00:54:08.41
and start praying
for the needs of others.
00:54:08.44\00:54:10.45
Get outside of ourselves.
00:54:10.48\00:54:12.98
May be that's
what God wants us to do
00:54:13.01\00:54:15.35
in order for us to experience
the prosperity gospel.
00:54:15.38\00:54:20.66
Not things but relationships.
00:54:20.69\00:54:23.79
All those broken
relationships and lastly,
00:54:23.83\00:54:26.33
I'm gonna read this quotation.
00:54:26.36\00:54:30.27
The book that
we're gonna be using,
00:54:30.30\00:54:31.63
this comes from
00:54:31.67\00:54:34.04
page 8 and paragraph 4 says,
00:54:34.07\00:54:36.37
"Prayer is the
opening of the heart
00:54:36.40\00:54:39.37
to God as to a friend."
00:54:39.41\00:54:41.84
Somebody said,
could you pray for me,
00:54:41.88\00:54:43.21
I said, you know,
you can pray to God.
00:54:43.24\00:54:44.58
He said, but I
don't know how to pray.
00:54:44.61\00:54:45.95
Do it like this.
Father, Lord, I need help.
00:54:45.98\00:54:50.19
He understands that.
00:54:50.22\00:54:51.55
You don't have to
get trained to pray,
00:54:51.59\00:54:54.56
but the Lord wants to
teach us sometimes how to pray,
00:54:54.59\00:54:57.13
so that we can have a
prayer life that's empowered,
00:54:57.16\00:55:00.56
not, if you need help,
00:55:00.60\00:55:02.46
you don't, you're
hanging of off cliff,
00:55:02.50\00:55:04.43
you don't say
could I get a phone book.
00:55:04.47\00:55:07.40
You think could somebody help me
00:55:07.44\00:55:09.74
and God will hear that.
00:55:09.77\00:55:11.11
It continues not
that it is necessary
00:55:13.98\00:55:16.98
in order to make
known to God what we are.
00:55:17.01\00:55:20.72
That's opening our heart,
00:55:20.75\00:55:22.15
but in order to
enable us to receive him,
00:55:22.18\00:55:24.52
prayer does not
bring God down to us,
00:55:24.55\00:55:27.62
prayer brings us up to Him.
00:55:27.66\00:55:32.49
2017 we need to go in a
different direction, up.
00:55:32.53\00:55:36.60
And my last quote,
The Great Controversy 525,
00:55:36.63\00:55:40.00
"God will do things
for us when we pray,
00:55:40.04\00:55:43.57
that He will not
do if we do not pray."
00:55:43.61\00:55:49.64
We often say, you
know I needed help.
00:55:49.68\00:55:52.81
You never asked me though.
00:55:52.85\00:55:55.72
Ask and it shall be
given. Seek and you will.
00:55:55.75\00:56:00.82
Knock on the
door will be opened.
00:56:00.86\00:56:03.83
I want us to sing the song.
00:56:03.86\00:56:06.80
Come up, Terra.
00:56:06.83\00:56:08.90
And I want to close our service
a little differently today.
00:56:08.93\00:56:13.27
If you know that there
is a need in your life,
00:56:13.30\00:56:17.84
I don't want you
to tell me that need,
00:56:17.87\00:56:19.94
I don't want you to
tell the person next to you
00:56:19.97\00:56:21.48
but if you want to
begin today by saying,
00:56:21.51\00:56:25.48
you know Lord, okay,
00:56:25.51\00:56:30.05
I want to begin to
reorder my steps and say father,
00:56:30.09\00:56:33.09
I want to have a
genuine operative prayer life.
00:56:33.12\00:56:36.36
Today there is a chorus, 671.
00:56:36.39\00:56:42.56
It's just a chorus,
there is only one verse,
00:56:42.60\00:56:44.47
it's not a whole
lot but if today,
00:56:44.50\00:56:46.33
there is
something in your heart,
00:56:46.37\00:56:47.70
in your life
that you want to bring
00:56:47.74\00:56:49.07
before the Lord in prayer,
00:56:49.10\00:56:50.44
we're gonna sing this
song as Terra plays softly.
00:56:50.47\00:56:52.81