Stay tuned to meet one of the most 00:00:01.36\00:00:02.86 acclaimed singers of our time. 00:00:02.90\00:00:04.87 My name is Yvonne Lewis 00:00:04.90\00:00:06.63 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:00:06.67\00:00:08.67 Hello and welcome to Urban Report. 00:00:31.93\00:00:34.13 My guest today is Pastor Wintley Phipps, 00:00:34.16\00:00:37.07 Singer, Speaker and Author. 00:00:37.10\00:00:39.83 I had the privilege of interviewing him 00:00:39.87\00:00:42.27 on the "Anchors of Truth" Set so let's take a look. 00:00:42.30\00:00:47.51 I have the privilege of sitting on the Set 00:00:47.54\00:00:51.55 of our Anchors of Truth Program 00:00:51.58\00:00:54.02 with our Presenter for this Series, 00:00:54.05\00:00:56.48 Pastor Wintley Phipps, 00:00:56.52\00:00:57.89 he is no stranger to you, I know, 00:00:57.92\00:01:00.79 but just in case you've not heard of him, 00:01:00.82\00:01:03.76 he is an Author, he is a Speaker, 00:01:03.79\00:01:07.60 he is a Singer, he is a Pastor, 00:01:07.63\00:01:11.43 and he is a blessing to us, 00:01:11.47\00:01:13.54 thank you so much for being with us on Urban Report. 00:01:13.60\00:01:16.30 Thank you very much, good to be with you. 00:01:16.34\00:01:18.24 Pastor Wintley, I have known you for so many years 00:01:18.27\00:01:22.61 you even were... there were two pastors 00:01:22.64\00:01:26.01 that blessed my son, Jason, and you were one of them. 00:01:26.05\00:01:30.02 So, that was like almost 30 years ago. 00:01:30.05\00:01:32.62 So, I've known you for a long time 00:01:32.65\00:01:35.12 and during that time, 00:01:35.16\00:01:36.86 I have seen so many things in your career 00:01:36.89\00:01:40.73 in your ministry, you have sung for... 00:01:40.76\00:01:44.57 how many Presidents? 00:01:44.60\00:01:45.93 Six United States' Presidents. 00:01:45.97\00:01:48.64 Six Presidents! 00:01:48.67\00:01:50.17 Yeah, which is a blessing, and very unusual blessing. 00:01:50.21\00:01:53.44 That's amazing 00:01:53.48\00:01:54.91 and you have written this upcoming book, 00:01:54.94\00:01:59.45 Yes. tell us about the book 00:01:59.51\00:02:02.18 because people know you as a Singer 00:02:02.22\00:02:05.32 but I want our Viewers and our Audience 00:02:05.35\00:02:08.46 to know the Writer, 00:02:08.52\00:02:10.19 tell us about the book, what's the title of it. 00:02:10.23\00:02:12.39 The title of the book... and there are two books actually 00:02:12.43\00:02:15.23 one is a Workbook... a Study Guide, 00:02:15.26\00:02:17.57 it's called, "Perfecting Me 00:02:17.60\00:02:19.90 Becoming the person you were created to be" 00:02:19.93\00:02:24.14 the other book is entitled, "Your best Destiny 00:02:24.21\00:02:27.98 Becoming the person you were created to be" 00:02:28.01\00:02:31.75 and I wrote the book because 00:02:31.78\00:02:34.78 like you and many others myself... 00:02:34.82\00:02:39.79 I chased what seemed to be 00:02:39.82\00:02:44.36 like the destiny God had prepared for me, 00:02:44.39\00:02:47.76 and the destiny that I was dreaming about living 00:02:47.83\00:02:51.23 all of us have dreams when we're growing up 00:02:51.27\00:02:55.00 for me, it was to sing to multitudes 00:02:55.04\00:02:58.71 and to travel the world, 00:02:58.74\00:03:00.48 and when you get to do those things, 00:03:00.51\00:03:04.58 you realize that there are blessings 00:03:04.61\00:03:08.42 but there's something more important than that 00:03:08.48\00:03:12.62 and after doing a lot of prayer and research 00:03:12.65\00:03:16.79 God revealed something 00:03:16.83\00:03:20.50 incredible to me 00:03:20.56\00:03:22.10 and what He revealed to me was that 00:03:22.13\00:03:24.87 those opportunities that I was chasing 00:03:24.90\00:03:29.07 were really "Moments of Destiny" 00:03:29.10\00:03:32.67 and there were moments of destiny 00:03:32.71\00:03:36.21 meaning... moments that I really could not orchestrate 00:03:36.24\00:03:40.38 I couldn't put together but yet how do you 00:03:40.42\00:03:43.35 end up ministering to six Presidents 00:03:43.39\00:03:48.66 of the United States or how do you travel the world 00:03:48.72\00:03:51.73 or how do you meet some of the most amazing 00:03:51.76\00:03:54.10 personalities of the 20th Century, 00:03:54.13\00:03:56.00 I was blessed to be able to do all those things, 00:03:56.06\00:04:00.07 but what God showed me was 00:04:00.10\00:04:01.44 that those were moments of destiny 00:04:01.47\00:04:04.51 for which I was created but they're not the reason 00:04:04.54\00:04:09.48 for which I was created. 00:04:09.51\00:04:12.01 Ah, now unpack that for us a bit. 00:04:12.05\00:04:15.25 In other words, it was not the purpose 00:04:15.28\00:04:19.45 for which I was created. 00:04:19.49\00:04:21.86 So singing for all these different people, 00:04:21.89\00:04:24.83 and being in Stadiums and filling Stadiums, 00:04:24.86\00:04:27.73 that's not the purpose. 00:04:27.76\00:04:29.50 That's not the reason. 00:04:29.56\00:04:30.97 What is your purpose? 00:04:31.00\00:04:32.33 And that's what God had to make very clear to me 00:04:32.37\00:04:35.24 moments of destiny 00:04:35.27\00:04:37.11 are moments for which you were created 00:04:37.17\00:04:38.81 but they're not the reason, 00:04:38.87\00:04:40.48 and then God showed me the reason for which I was created, 00:04:40.51\00:04:44.81 was to grow more every day 00:04:44.85\00:04:49.48 to resemble, reflect, and reveal the character of God. 00:04:49.52\00:04:56.96 Hmmm... now why is that important? 00:04:56.99\00:05:00.76 Well, first of all, we were created 00:05:00.80\00:05:04.47 in the image of God, which means that we were created 00:05:04.50\00:05:10.44 to reflect the character of God, 00:05:10.47\00:05:13.98 the character of God is the glory of God. 00:05:14.01\00:05:18.81 Hmmm... so when we hear something about the glory of God 00:05:18.85\00:05:23.55 it's synonymous with the character. 00:05:23.59\00:05:25.82 Absolutely. Okay. 00:05:25.85\00:05:27.49 You know, for example, when Moses cried out, 00:05:27.52\00:05:30.99 "God, show me your glory," you know, 00:05:31.06\00:05:34.90 God didn't show him fireworks and lightening in the sky 00:05:34.93\00:05:38.30 instead God said and told Moses, 00:05:38.33\00:05:42.04 about His character, 00:05:42.07\00:05:43.97 the character of God is the glory of God 00:05:44.01\00:05:49.91 so when we seek to lighten the world with the glory of God, 00:05:49.94\00:05:54.88 we are seeking to lighten the world 00:05:54.92\00:05:57.99 with the true knowledge 00:05:58.02\00:06:00.99 of the character of God. 00:06:01.02\00:06:03.93 Hmmm... and how is that connected to our destiny? 00:06:03.96\00:06:07.70 Well because that's the ultimate destiny 00:06:07.73\00:06:12.53 for which we were created, Ahh... 00:06:12.57\00:06:14.74 it is the supreme destiny, it is the highest destiny, 00:06:14.80\00:06:20.58 and that's why I said, and I titled the book, 00:06:20.61\00:06:22.94 "It is your best destiny" in other words 00:06:22.98\00:06:25.88 if you achieve all these other wonderful accolades 00:06:25.91\00:06:32.45 and achievements and awards 00:06:32.49\00:06:35.69 and "Firsts" and you know, 00:06:35.72\00:06:38.89 you achieve all those things... those are wonderful things 00:06:38.93\00:06:41.16 but if, in your character, 00:06:41.20\00:06:44.80 you do not resemble Christ, and resemble God, 00:06:44.83\00:06:50.27 you have missed your best destiny. 00:06:50.31\00:06:54.44 Ah, come on now, I see, I see, 00:06:54.48\00:06:58.58 so, there are moments of destiny 00:06:58.61\00:07:02.72 and then there's your "best," come on... 00:07:02.75\00:07:05.92 You got it. 00:07:05.95\00:07:07.42 Pastor, I got you now, I got you now, 00:07:07.46\00:07:10.29 so, one of the things that I see in our young people, 00:07:10.33\00:07:15.66 is this... a lack of really knowing 00:07:15.70\00:07:20.84 their purpose, Yes. 00:07:20.87\00:07:22.40 Why am I here, 00:07:22.44\00:07:23.77 what has God put me on the planet to do? 00:07:23.81\00:07:26.54 Right, and in many ways, very few people are teaching 00:07:26.57\00:07:32.65 what I've just shared with you, 00:07:32.68\00:07:35.02 it's a light bulb that's going on in your heart, 00:07:35.05\00:07:38.19 Yeah, yeah. and it went on in mine, 00:07:38.22\00:07:40.29 and for a long time, 00:07:40.32\00:07:43.59 I taught the same message to young people, 00:07:43.63\00:07:47.10 you got to find your purpose and when we said that, 00:07:47.13\00:07:50.40 often we were talking about finding your career, 00:07:50.43\00:07:53.67 finding where you're going to spend your life on a job, 00:07:53.70\00:07:58.94 or finding... we used to say, 00:07:58.97\00:08:01.34 and I would teach, 00:08:01.38\00:08:03.91 "Find something that if you never got paid for doing it, 00:08:03.95\00:08:08.82 you still love doing it," Right, right, right. 00:08:08.88\00:08:12.45 because trying to help young people focus in 00:08:12.49\00:08:16.06 on what their purpose was, and there is a place for that 00:08:16.12\00:08:21.83 but even when they achieve, 00:08:21.86\00:08:26.00 like I have been blessed to achieve, 00:08:26.03\00:08:28.64 like you and others have been blessed to achieve, 00:08:28.67\00:08:32.77 and be around some of the most amazing personalities, 00:08:32.81\00:08:36.88 of our time, who themselves have achieved, 00:08:36.91\00:08:41.12 even many of them, realize... "Is that all there is?" 00:08:41.15\00:08:47.36 Yes. For example, you know, 00:08:47.39\00:08:49.22 I've been on some television shows 00:08:49.29\00:08:54.13 like Saturday Night Live, so you put it on your resume, 00:08:54.16\00:08:58.97 that's a big thing, you're on Saturday Night Live, 00:08:59.00\00:09:01.07 what if you do it again, 00:09:01.10\00:09:03.44 you put it on your resume again, 00:09:03.47\00:09:05.17 what's that? 00:09:05.21\00:09:06.54 Right, right, yes. What are you chasing? 00:09:06.57\00:09:10.05 More moments to write on a resume, 00:09:10.08\00:09:13.18 is that what your destiny really is? 00:09:13.21\00:09:16.25 You know Pastor, that is such a good point 00:09:16.28\00:09:18.62 because, so many people are chasing the moment, 00:09:18.65\00:09:24.29 Exactly. the moment... 00:09:24.33\00:09:26.39 and once you get there, you say... 00:09:26.43\00:09:30.00 like, I used to really be into the accumulation of things, 00:09:30.03\00:09:35.97 buying the best things and all that, 00:09:36.00\00:09:38.24 but once you get it, you say to yourself, 00:09:38.27\00:09:42.64 "Is this it?" That's right. 00:09:42.68\00:09:44.68 So, your point is so well taken 00:09:44.71\00:09:48.25 because those little... those major things, 00:09:48.28\00:09:51.55 being on Saturday Night Live, okay, that's great, 00:09:51.59\00:09:54.29 but there's got to be more, Oh, absolutely. 00:09:54.32\00:09:58.23 there's got to be more. 00:09:58.26\00:09:59.59 Absolutely, and that's what happened to me. 00:09:59.63\00:10:01.53 I've always admired people 00:10:01.56\00:10:06.03 who seem to have arrived on the stage of history 00:10:06.07\00:10:10.31 just at the right moment and accomplished incredible things, 00:10:10.34\00:10:15.14 and I've lived many of those moments myself, 00:10:15.18\00:10:18.05 I remember singing, "Amazing Grace" 00:10:18.08\00:10:20.82 and Mother Theresa, beckoning 00:10:20.85\00:10:23.52 to get up out of her wheelchair, so she can hug me and thank me 00:10:23.55\00:10:27.22 that's a moment of destiny. Yes, yes. 00:10:27.26\00:10:30.73 You know, I remember, singing "Amazing Grace" 00:10:30.76\00:10:33.60 and to my left is Mrs. Rabin, 00:10:33.63\00:10:37.67 and to my right is, her nemesis, Yasser Arafat, 00:10:37.70\00:10:41.70 and I'm in the middle singing, "Amazing Grace" 00:10:41.77\00:10:45.74 That's appropriate. 00:10:45.77\00:10:47.94 That's a moment, that is a moment, 00:10:48.01\00:10:51.68 and I've lived so many of those moments, 00:10:51.71\00:10:53.88 but then I had to understand, 00:10:53.92\00:10:56.65 and God had to help me understand, 00:10:56.69\00:10:58.79 that there is a bigger destiny than those moments, 00:10:58.82\00:11:03.43 and that bigger destiny is that one day 00:11:03.46\00:11:08.36 I will be able to hear the voice of God 00:11:08.40\00:11:13.30 looking at me and saying, 00:11:13.34\00:11:17.84 "Wow! you look so much like my Son. " 00:11:17.87\00:11:22.04 Oh, yes. "You look so much like my Son" 00:11:22.08\00:11:26.25 Yes, yes, yes. "in your character 00:11:26.28\00:11:29.25 in your temperament, in your attitude, 00:11:29.28\00:11:33.25 in how you treat people, in how you love, 00:11:33.32\00:11:37.13 you look so much like my Son. " 00:11:37.16\00:11:40.50 I will tell you this, 00:11:40.53\00:11:41.86 I often wondered why the most fiery, 00:11:41.90\00:11:48.80 red-hot blistering sermon Jesus ever preached, 00:11:48.84\00:11:54.04 was not to confirm sinners but to the most devout, 00:11:54.08\00:11:59.98 religious people of His day, the Pharisees, 00:12:00.02\00:12:03.45 and they were the preachers of their day, 00:12:03.49\00:12:06.02 they were the evangelists of their day, 00:12:06.05\00:12:08.62 they were well respected in their day, 00:12:08.69\00:12:11.06 they actually would study the Scriptures with people, 00:12:11.09\00:12:17.83 like our evangelists do, 00:12:17.87\00:12:19.73 then they would baptize them by immersion, 00:12:19.77\00:12:23.00 like our evangelists do, 00:12:23.04\00:12:24.64 when you came up out of the water, 00:12:24.67\00:12:26.31 you were a new Jew, you were a new member 00:12:26.34\00:12:28.74 but Jesus said of them, "You go to the ends of the earth 00:12:28.78\00:12:33.05 to make these new members, to make these new disciples, 00:12:33.08\00:12:37.25 but when you're through with them, 00:12:37.29\00:12:40.09 they're twice the child of hell that you are. " 00:12:40.12\00:12:43.59 That you are. That you are... 00:12:43.63\00:12:45.46 that's what Jesus said to them. 00:12:45.49\00:12:47.30 Whew! that's scathing. 00:12:47.33\00:12:48.66 Yeah, He said, "You are graves full of dead men's bones, 00:12:48.70\00:12:53.90 you are vipers, you are snakes, 00:12:53.94\00:12:55.57 you are... Empty sepulchers. 00:12:55.60\00:12:57.67 That's right and I would say, 00:12:57.71\00:12:59.71 "Why was Jesus so hard on these people 00:12:59.74\00:13:02.94 who seem like they were doing good stuff, 00:13:02.98\00:13:05.75 studying the Scriptures, baptizing, 00:13:05.78\00:13:08.88 bringing in new members, why was Jesus so hard on them?" 00:13:08.92\00:13:12.89 And then the Lord showed me, 00:13:12.92\00:13:14.26 what Jesus was really saying to them was, 00:13:14.29\00:13:16.49 "You go to the ends of the earth 00:13:16.52\00:13:19.16 to make these new proselytes, these new members, 00:13:19.19\00:13:21.76 but when you're through with them, 00:13:21.80\00:13:24.43 they look more like you than they look like me. " 00:13:24.47\00:13:29.57 Oh, wow! "They look more like you, 00:13:29.60\00:13:33.44 than they look like me, 00:13:33.48\00:13:35.84 they are cultural clones 00:13:35.88\00:13:38.25 of who you are, 00:13:38.28\00:13:40.12 you teach them to like what you like, 00:13:40.15\00:13:43.08 to act the way you act, 00:13:43.15\00:13:44.49 but when I look at them, I don't see 'me. ' " 00:13:44.52\00:13:49.12 Yes, oh yes, see, the important thing of... 00:13:49.16\00:13:53.73 the whole idea of being like Christ, 00:13:53.76\00:13:56.56 is so critical, 00:13:56.60\00:13:58.50 nothing else really satisfies the soul 00:13:58.53\00:14:01.57 until we're like him. That's right. 00:14:01.60\00:14:04.54 So conforming to His image, that's why we're here, 00:14:04.57\00:14:08.71 to conform to His image. 00:14:08.74\00:14:10.95 That's our purpose, that's our best destiny 00:14:10.98\00:14:15.58 and if you're not chasing that destiny, 00:14:15.62\00:14:19.42 you're missing out on the most glorious, 00:14:19.45\00:14:23.22 wonderful adventure of your life. 00:14:23.26\00:14:26.63 Becoming more like Christ every day 00:14:26.70\00:14:29.96 is the greatest adventure of life" 00:14:30.03\00:14:33.27 most people teach it and people come away scared 00:14:33.30\00:14:38.67 because... "I got to be like Christ 00:14:38.71\00:14:40.81 or I'm going to be lost, or I'm going to be damned," 00:14:40.84\00:14:45.48 you know, Hmmm... hmmm... 00:14:45.51\00:14:47.18 but I strive now... every day, to more resemble, 00:14:47.22\00:14:52.45 reflect and reveal the character of Christ, 00:14:52.49\00:14:54.92 and I don't do it out of fear, 00:14:54.96\00:14:57.56 I do it out of great joy, 00:14:57.59\00:15:01.33 why? because I know, 00:15:01.36\00:15:04.47 I am making my Lord very happy, 00:15:04.53\00:15:08.87 I do it because it's a source of happiness for me 00:15:08.90\00:15:13.44 and I know that it is a source of happiness 00:15:13.48\00:15:17.31 for my Savior, 00:15:17.35\00:15:18.68 watching me striving to be more like Him. 00:15:18.71\00:15:22.15 And isn't it a cooperative effort 00:15:22.18\00:15:25.89 because the power comes from the Holy Spirit, 00:15:25.92\00:15:29.82 the choice is yours. 00:15:29.86\00:15:33.16 Yes. Let's talk a bit about choices 00:15:33.19\00:15:35.20 Okay. and the importance 00:15:35.26\00:15:37.83 in terms of your destiny of the choices that you make. 00:15:37.87\00:15:41.87 Well, again, we know that in terms of your physical destiny, 00:15:41.90\00:15:48.34 if I can call it that, and those moments of destiny 00:15:48.38\00:15:52.18 choices are very important, and the choices come 00:15:52.21\00:15:55.98 because you got to learn to listen 00:15:56.02\00:15:58.02 to the Spirit of God speaking to you, 00:15:58.05\00:15:59.99 and He will tell you what to do and what not to do 00:16:00.02\00:16:03.73 and you make a choice, Hmmm... hmmm... 00:16:03.79\00:16:05.46 and He'll tell, "you turn left," and oooh! 00:16:05.49\00:16:07.70 you run into somebody you hadn't expected 00:16:07.73\00:16:10.20 you know, a blessing you hadn't imagined 00:16:10.23\00:16:12.67 and all of a sudden, wow! 00:16:12.70\00:16:14.14 "if I had gone that way... I would have missed that" 00:16:14.17\00:16:17.17 so you have that kind of blessing, right? 00:16:17.21\00:16:21.24 but then, you have a situation 00:16:21.28\00:16:24.21 where, when it comes to your best destiny 00:16:24.25\00:16:29.08 you have moral choices to make 00:16:29.12\00:16:33.46 Wow! hmmm... hmmm... 00:16:33.49\00:16:35.92 to keep moving in the direction of a destiny 00:16:35.96\00:16:38.93 to become more like the character of Christ, 00:16:38.96\00:16:41.93 it's not... "do I go ten minutes early 00:16:41.96\00:16:46.43 or do I go ten minutes later," 00:16:46.47\00:16:47.80 it's not that kind of "moments of destiny" 00:16:47.84\00:16:50.44 it's another kind of choice you make 00:16:50.47\00:16:52.51 and the choice is, 00:16:52.54\00:16:53.88 "to be obedient to the impressions 00:16:53.91\00:16:59.21 of the Spirit of God," choices to be obedient 00:16:59.25\00:17:02.98 to what you know and understand 00:17:03.02\00:17:05.29 to be the will of God and as you do that, 00:17:05.32\00:17:11.73 you grow to become more like the character of God 00:17:11.76\00:17:15.26 and as you study the character of God, 00:17:15.30\00:17:18.10 I must tell you, one of the things 00:17:18.13\00:17:20.87 that I was amazed about is that we don't study 00:17:20.90\00:17:24.74 the character of God. 00:17:24.77\00:17:26.11 Yeah, let's talk a bit about the character of God, 00:17:26.14\00:17:30.45 we know about the aspects, Omnipotent, Omniscient, 00:17:30.48\00:17:34.68 Omnipresent, right? but the character of God, 00:17:34.72\00:17:38.25 what are the attributes of the character of God? 00:17:38.29\00:17:41.36 First of all, you are an awesome interviewer, 00:17:41.42\00:17:44.46 you're asking just the right questions, 00:17:44.49\00:17:46.86 That's why we pray first, 00:17:46.90\00:17:48.23 we ask the Lord, "Please give me the questions" the Lord is good. 00:17:48.26\00:17:51.00 So, in answer to that question, 00:17:51.03\00:17:52.37 that's one of the first things I said, "God... " 00:17:52.40\00:17:55.77 like Moses said, "Show me your glory" 00:17:55.80\00:17:57.74 I said, "God, show me your character" 00:17:57.77\00:17:59.67 God said, "Study the Word," get this, and He handed me a key 00:17:59.71\00:18:05.08 God handed me a key, and this was the key, 00:18:05.11\00:18:06.98 He said, "Study the Word 00:18:07.02\00:18:08.38 and whatever God asks you to be, He already is 00:18:08.42\00:18:15.12 and He is so in perfection. " Whoa! 00:18:15.16\00:18:19.49 "Whatever He asks you to be, 00:18:19.53\00:18:23.97 that's His character, 00:18:24.00\00:18:27.00 He would never ask you to be, what He's not. " 00:18:27.04\00:18:32.41 I love it. 00:18:32.44\00:18:34.18 So now, as I go through the Word of God, 00:18:34.21\00:18:37.01 as I went through the Word of God, 00:18:37.05\00:18:38.65 and I studied the Word, 00:18:38.68\00:18:40.02 I was coming up with all these enlightened dimensions 00:18:40.05\00:18:43.89 of the character of God, I'd never seen before 00:18:43.92\00:18:46.39 because there's no Scripture that says, "God is happy" 00:18:46.42\00:18:50.93 it says... well, the Scripture says, 00:18:50.96\00:18:52.29 "He rejoices" but the Scriptures just say, 00:18:52.33\00:18:54.63 "He wants you to be happy" 00:18:54.66\00:18:56.00 He would never ask you to be 00:18:56.03\00:18:57.93 what He's not, 00:18:57.97\00:18:59.30 so, you can conclude, "God is happy" 00:18:59.33\00:19:01.90 there's no Scripture that says, "God is cheerful" 00:19:01.94\00:19:06.71 and that's probably why a lot of Christians 00:19:06.74\00:19:09.98 can't even conceive 00:19:10.01\00:19:11.35 a God who is laughing or smiling or cheerful, 00:19:11.38\00:19:14.82 but He says, "I want you to be cheerful," 00:19:14.85\00:19:17.65 And He wants us to have fullness of joy. 00:19:17.69\00:19:20.42 Right! He says, "I love it when you're cheerful, 00:19:20.46\00:19:23.49 I love a cheerful giver," 00:19:23.53\00:19:24.86 I said, "Oh! so God is cheerful" Hmmm... hmmm... 00:19:24.89\00:19:28.70 so, understanding now, 00:19:28.73\00:19:30.27 I was able to see all these amazing dimensions 00:19:30.30\00:19:34.40 of the character of God that I had never seen before, 00:19:34.44\00:19:36.71 but then I came across eight specific dimensions 00:19:36.77\00:19:41.98 of God's character 00:19:42.01\00:19:43.75 that He says, "I want you to have these eight" 00:19:43.78\00:19:47.52 and I found in 2nd Peter where He says, 00:19:47.55\00:19:50.62 "I want you to have faith, I want you to have virtue, 00:19:50.65\00:19:55.16 I want you to have wisdom and knowledge, 00:19:55.19\00:19:58.03 I want you to have patience, 00:19:58.06\00:20:00.00 I want you to have temperance 00:20:00.03\00:20:04.73 or self-control, 00:20:04.77\00:20:06.23 I want you to have a respect for what is sacred, 00:20:06.27\00:20:09.94 I want you to have love, I want you to have kindness" 00:20:09.97\00:20:15.21 and those eight dimensions are... again... 00:20:15.24\00:20:19.75 He would never ask you to have what He's not. 00:20:19.78\00:20:24.25 In perfection... He has perfected, 00:20:24.29\00:20:27.06 He is perfect. 00:20:27.09\00:20:28.69 He is perfection of all those things, 00:20:28.72\00:20:30.66 so He is faith... in perfection. 00:20:30.69\00:20:32.29 Yes. You know, 00:20:32.33\00:20:34.10 and our belief in perfection, 00:20:34.13\00:20:36.53 I mean, just think about when God believes 00:20:36.56\00:20:40.70 or when God dreams... planets are born. 00:20:40.74\00:20:44.77 You know, He has the power, this is just so incredible 00:20:44.81\00:20:48.74 but He has the power, whatever He has faith in 00:20:48.78\00:20:53.05 or believes in, 00:20:53.08\00:20:54.42 He has the power to see it come into being, 00:20:54.45\00:20:58.02 so He's got faith in perfection, we, in a little way, 00:20:58.05\00:21:00.46 and this is amazing but we, in some way, 00:21:00.52\00:21:04.19 have that same powers but not to that end, 00:21:04.23\00:21:07.30 not to that degree, 00:21:07.33\00:21:09.03 in other words, what we believe in, 00:21:09.06\00:21:10.83 Hmmm... what we have faith in, 00:21:10.87\00:21:13.10 comes into being, Hmmm... 00:21:13.13\00:21:15.34 "faith is the substance of things hoped for, 00:21:15.37\00:21:17.41 the evidence of things not seen," 00:21:17.44\00:21:18.77 so God is trying to get us to be like Him, 00:21:18.81\00:21:22.58 in that quality of faith, He wants us to be virtuous, 00:21:22.61\00:21:26.98 He wants us to be pure, He wants us to be morally pure, 00:21:27.02\00:21:31.32 He is a person of purity, 00:21:31.35\00:21:33.72 He is a person of righteousness and integrity, 00:21:33.76\00:21:36.56 He wants us to be a person of self-control, 00:21:36.59\00:21:40.10 because when you don't have self-control, 00:21:40.13\00:21:43.63 I tell people all the time, 00:21:43.67\00:21:45.73 when you can't walk away from something, 00:21:45.77\00:21:48.20 you don't own it, it owns you. 00:21:48.27\00:21:52.01 That's right. If you don't have self-control 00:21:52.04\00:21:55.08 enough to be able to walk away from anything, 00:21:55.11\00:21:58.08 you don't own it, it owns you. 00:21:58.11\00:22:00.95 That's very true. 00:22:00.98\00:22:02.32 And God does not want anything to own you 00:22:02.35\00:22:05.92 you can't develop your character, 00:22:05.95\00:22:09.32 as a slave to sin, Hmmm... 00:22:09.36\00:22:13.60 you see, and so, and you can go through all those 00:22:13.63\00:22:16.40 so those eight dimensions, and of course, kindness and love 00:22:16.43\00:22:20.44 are the two highest expressions of the character of God. 00:22:20.47\00:22:24.47 Kindness and love are the two 00:22:24.51\00:22:27.38 highest expressions of the character of God. 00:22:27.41\00:22:30.91 That is so beautiful, we often don't take the time 00:22:30.95\00:22:36.48 to consider the character of God, 00:22:36.55\00:22:40.76 and He showed you 00:22:40.79\00:22:43.26 and I'm thankful that you have written these books 00:22:43.29\00:22:46.19 to share with us, 00:22:46.23\00:22:47.63 so that we can go through each thing 00:22:47.66\00:22:49.93 and work out our salvation with fear and trembling. 00:22:49.96\00:22:53.80 Go through it and get to know God better. 00:22:53.84\00:22:56.94 You know, I'm sitting here in church a little bit 00:22:56.97\00:23:00.78 because, you're preaching my sermon for tonight 00:23:00.81\00:23:04.05 Oh, really? You are! 00:23:04.08\00:23:05.58 when you sit and hear the message 00:23:05.61\00:23:08.18 you're going to say, 00:23:08.22\00:23:09.65 Wow! that's just what we were talking about, 00:23:09.68\00:23:13.19 Praise God. because that's the next step. 00:23:13.22\00:23:16.69 Yes, I'll give you a little peek of it, for example. 00:23:16.73\00:23:19.69 Okay, good, good, we're getting the sneak peek! 00:23:19.73\00:23:22.03 Yeah, you're getting a sneak peek, the Lord says, 00:23:22.06\00:23:24.33 "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling" 00:23:24.37\00:23:26.60 well, salvation... has a purpose 00:23:26.63\00:23:31.64 the purpose is, 00:23:31.67\00:23:33.44 the transformation of our character 00:23:33.48\00:23:36.14 to resemble and reflect and reveal His character. 00:23:36.18\00:23:39.51 Hmmm... hmmm... That is the purpose of salvation 00:23:39.55\00:23:42.88 to restore us into His image. 00:23:42.92\00:23:46.29 So restoration into the image of Christ 00:23:46.32\00:23:51.03 is the purpose of salvation. 00:23:51.06\00:23:52.93 Absolutely. Wow! 00:23:52.96\00:23:54.40 It is the purpose of the Plan of Salvation, 00:23:54.43\00:23:58.33 is to restore us into the very image of God 00:23:58.37\00:24:02.24 and when we were talking about "giving a little snippet," 00:24:02.27\00:24:08.21 you mentioned something also, 00:24:08.24\00:24:12.05 and it just slipped my heart here but 00:24:12.08\00:24:14.28 do you remember what you were talking about? 00:24:14.32\00:24:17.12 About... I don't know... 00:24:17.15\00:24:19.45 well, we were talking about essentially, 00:24:19.49\00:24:22.32 the character of God, 00:24:22.36\00:24:25.49 And it was: 00:24:25.53\00:24:28.50 "working out our salvation with fear and trembling" 00:24:28.53\00:24:31.27 That's it, so, salvation with fear and trembling, 00:24:31.30\00:24:34.00 get this, this is just incredible. 00:24:34.04\00:24:37.11 "Jesus paid it all, 00:24:37.14\00:24:41.74 but Jesus is not going to do it all. " 00:24:41.78\00:24:47.05 Whoa! now you've got to... 00:24:47.08\00:24:51.29 we have like two minutes, you have to unpack that for us. 00:24:51.32\00:24:54.86 In other words, there are some things that you must do 00:24:54.89\00:24:58.99 to work out your own salvation 00:24:59.03\00:25:01.36 that not even God can do for you. 00:25:01.40\00:25:03.70 Hmmm... such as? 00:25:03.73\00:25:05.70 Such as, He says, 00:25:05.73\00:25:07.34 "I want you to submit 00:25:07.37\00:25:11.41 to His will" 00:25:11.44\00:25:13.78 He can't do that for you. 00:25:13.81\00:25:15.24 That's true. 00:25:15.31\00:25:16.71 He can kind of lead you into situations 00:25:16.75\00:25:18.58 and make you want to submit, right? 00:25:18.61\00:25:21.18 but He won't make the ultimate choice for you. 00:25:21.22\00:25:24.35 You have to submit, He says, "Resist the devil" 00:25:24.39\00:25:27.46 that's not something 00:25:27.49\00:25:30.83 God can do, 00:25:30.86\00:25:32.19 you can do it through His power 00:25:32.23\00:25:33.90 Hmmm... hmmm... but ultimately, 00:25:33.93\00:25:36.70 you have to decide that I'm going to resist the devil. 00:25:36.73\00:25:40.30 Right. I'm going to flee 00:25:40.34\00:25:42.50 Right, right. He's not going to run for you, 00:25:42.57\00:25:45.44 you have to run... does that make any sense? 00:25:45.47\00:25:48.31 Because He doesn't need to run, we're the ones that need to run. 00:25:48.34\00:25:51.55 That's right, so, yes, "Jesus paid it all," 00:25:51.61\00:25:54.85 praise the Lord, but that doesn't mean 00:25:54.88\00:25:58.09 that you can just... not submit and not resist... 00:25:58.12\00:26:02.76 and you have a... it's a cooperative effort. 00:26:02.79\00:26:06.83 And that's the whole idea of spiritual growth, is it not? 00:26:06.86\00:26:10.27 Yes, yes. Every choice that we make 00:26:10.30\00:26:14.30 helps to move us 00:26:14.34\00:26:16.64 into that best destiny. 00:26:16.67\00:26:18.47 Come on now pastor... You got it, you got it. 00:26:18.51\00:26:20.64 Oh, we're getting ready to have church in here, 00:26:20.68\00:26:22.54 we're getting to sign off, I can't believe, 00:26:22.58\00:26:25.21 our time is going so fast, it's wrapping... 00:26:25.25\00:26:28.12 what do you... give us like a 30-second thought 00:26:28.15\00:26:30.99 of what you want our audience to know 00:26:31.02\00:26:34.09 about their best destiny. 00:26:34.12\00:26:35.96 Well, if you strive for this best destiny, 00:26:35.99\00:26:42.86 meaning, to resemble, reflect and reveal the character of God, 00:26:42.90\00:26:48.24 everyday, more and more, it will result... 00:26:48.27\00:26:52.77 because of Christ, 00:26:52.81\00:26:54.18 in you achieving your eternal destiny, 00:26:54.21\00:27:02.32 and that is that you will live with God 00:27:02.35\00:27:06.09 throughout eternity you will... 00:27:06.12\00:27:08.36 face-to-face commune with Him forever. 00:27:08.39\00:27:10.99 Thank you so much, 00:27:11.03\00:27:12.79 I cannot thank you enough for being with us. 00:27:12.83\00:27:15.40 Oh, you're very welcome. 00:27:15.46\00:27:16.80 May God continue to bless you. 00:27:16.83\00:27:18.17 God bless you too. Thank you. 00:27:18.20\00:27:20.64 Pastor Phipps gave us a lot of information, 00:27:20.67\00:27:25.87 a lot of really valuable information 00:27:25.91\00:27:29.11 that we can use in our own lives 00:27:29.14\00:27:32.11 and if you'd like to know more about these books 00:27:32.15\00:27:35.52 or would like to purchase these books or his music, 00:27:35.55\00:27:37.89 go to: goodsamaritanmall. com 00:27:37.92\00:27:41.22 and you'll be able to get these books 00:27:41.26\00:27:44.13 and really study them 00:27:44.16\00:27:46.09 and make the information your own. 00:27:46.13\00:27:48.23 God has a plan for you 00:27:48.26\00:27:50.50 and God wants you to reflect His character, 00:27:50.53\00:27:53.90 we can do that by His grace if we get in that Word. 00:27:53.94\00:27:57.24 Well, we've reached the end of another Program, 00:27:57.31\00:28:00.58 join us next time, because you know what? 00:28:00.61\00:28:02.84 It just wouldn't be the same without you. 00:28:02.88\00:28:05.08