Participants:
Series Code: BTLP
Program Code: BTLP000094A
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00:39 Hello, and welcome to Behold Lamb Presents.
00:42 I'm Chris Shelton, your host and we are so thankful 00:44 that you have tuned in 00:46 for another exciting Bible study 00:47 with Pastor Kenny Shelton today. 00:50 You know, today is the second message of 25. 00:53 Twenty five that we're going to be covering. 00:56 Twenty five Bible studies that are in accompaniment 01:00 to this sharing God's love Bible study guide. 01:04 And today, we're going to talk about defeating loneliness, 01:08 defeat loneliness. 01:10 Does the Bible have anything to say about 01:12 defeating loneliness? 01:14 Is it full of Bible verses that might help us, 01:17 that might give us hope and strength? 01:19 You know, I've cheated a little bit, I've read ahead, 01:22 and I know that there are. 01:23 So I hope you'll stay tuned 'cause we live in a world. 01:26 In fact, I was listening to a sermon earlier today, 01:29 and they were quoting Spirit of Prophecy 01:32 and talking about how this is the enemy's territory. 01:36 And it's no wonder 01:37 so many people are battling loneliness 01:40 when He claims this world as His seed and His authority. 01:45 So I hope you'll stay tuned. 01:47 And I hope you'll be blessed as we talk about 01:50 how to defeat loneliness today. 01:52 But before we open, I just want to share 01:54 one verse of scripture from it with you 01:57 and it's found in 1 Peter 5:7, it says, 02:01 "Casting all your care upon Him because He careth for you." 02:06 Brothers or sisters, friends, our Lord cares, 02:09 He loves you so very much. 02:11 So I hope you'll stay tuned. 02:12 But before we hear from Pastor Kenny, 02:14 we're going to go to the 3ABN Worship Center, 02:17 and we're going to listen to a song that's entitled 02:20 "Springs of Living Water." 02:22 And it is sung by my sister-in-law, Tammy Chance. 02:38 I thirsted in the barren land of sin and shame 02:42 Nothing satisfying there I found 02:46 But to the blessed cross of Christ one day I came 02:50 Where springs of living water did abound 02:55 Drinking at the springs of living water 02:59 Happy now am I, my soul they satisfy 03:03 I'm drinking at the springs of living water 03:07 What a wonderful and bountiful supply 03:14 O sinner, won't you come today to Calvary 03:18 A fountain there is flowing deep and wide 03:22 The Savior now invites you to the water free 03:26 Where thirsting spirits can be satisfied 03:31 Drinking at the springs of living water 03:35 Happy now am I, my soul they satisfy 03:39 I'm drinking at the springs of living water 03:43 What a wonderful and bountiful supply 03:48 Drinking at the springs of living water 03:52 Happy now am I, my soul they satisfy 03:56 I'm drinking at the springs of living water 04:00 What a wonderful and bountiful supply 04:05 Drinking at the springs of living water 04:09 What a wonderful and bountiful supply 04:13 What a wonderful and bountiful supply 04:17 What a wonderful and bountiful supply 04:29 Thanks for joining us once again 04:30 here at Behold the Lamb. 04:32 You've already heard just what the subject matter. 04:34 So we're going to be talking about loneliness. 04:37 It's something that affects many, many people. 04:40 The Bible has the answers, 04:42 and we need to go to the Word of God 04:43 to find those answers. 04:45 So we're glad that you've tuned in today. 04:46 Take a pencil, paper, pen, 04:48 write down some of these passage things 04:50 that we discussed. 04:51 That way you can go back with them 04:53 or you can always certainly call in, 04:54 get your DVD or CD and share it with a friend. 04:58 Oh, this is very... I think it's a vital subject. 05:01 In the day that we live in, 05:03 there's a lot of people that's going through 05:04 a lot of stress, a lot of strain. 05:06 And a lot of people feel isolated and lonely. 05:09 We'll look at that subject as we go along here today. 05:11 But again, we're glad that you're joining with us. 05:13 But usual before we get into the Word of God, 05:15 before we read 05:17 the beautiful passage of scripture here, 05:19 we're going to kneel and have prayer. 05:20 So I invite you at home and those who are with us, 05:22 if you'd like to kneel with me that we can pray together. 05:24 Let's pray, shall we? 05:27 Merciful Father, in heaven, 05:29 we thank You for the privilege of prayer. 05:30 We thank You now 05:31 that we can call upon the sweet Holy Spirit, 05:33 the Spirit will come and to fill our hearts 05:35 and our minds with the love of Jesus. 05:38 We just thank You for loving us today. 05:40 We thank You for each viewer and listener we pray 05:43 and for those that are here, 05:44 we just asked a special blessing 05:45 upon each and every one. 05:47 May we be drawn closer to Jesus, 05:49 may we fall in love with Jesus in the very, very special way 05:52 and let that relationship continue to grow and grow 05:54 until Jesus shall come. 05:57 Bless us now we pray to this end. 05:59 And we've turn everything over to You, 06:00 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 06:07 Again, the subject is defeat loneliness. 06:10 How do you defeat loneliness? 06:13 If I asked you the question, 06:14 and you don't have to raise your hand. 06:16 But if I asked, as there ever been a time 06:18 in your life that you've been lonely? 06:21 Has there ever been a time that you felt lonely? 06:25 You know, is there ever been a time 06:26 that situations and circumstances 06:28 that you felt like there was no one, 06:30 you had no friends, 06:31 there was no one you could count on, 06:33 there's no one that you could call upon. 06:36 You know, and there's millions of people like that today. 06:39 But I thank God we have the answers in His Word. 06:43 If we follow, now remember, 06:45 all these answers in the Word of God, 06:46 if we do not follow the counsel of God, 06:49 it's not going to work. 06:50 God always has the answers 06:52 and they're always the right answers. 06:54 There's a story told and this takes place 06:57 in the summer of 1881. 06:59 This is a long time ago, the summer of 1881. 07:03 There was a gentleman had been delighting the party 07:06 as he was singing some gospel songs, 07:09 as he was singing his songs in rendition as it were, 07:12 some familiar tunes, 07:14 and people were singing along with him, 07:16 and they were having just a good wonderful time. 07:18 And the song was "Jesus, lover of my soul." 07:24 I don't know if any of you know that one 07:26 "Jesus, lover of my soul," but the words are beautiful, 07:30 it draws you close to Jesus. 07:33 This is an interesting song this man was singing, 07:35 and there was an interesting person 07:38 who was there listening to that song. 07:40 And when he had finished singing that song, 07:43 another man came up, 07:44 and approached him and he began to talk to him. 07:47 And he began to say, you know, were you in the war of late, 07:52 the last war that we had, which would be the 1863, 07:56 which is about 18 years previous. 07:59 Did you fight in that war? 08:01 He heard him sing, heard him sing that song. 08:03 And so he steps in out of the shadows and he said, 08:06 "Were you in that war?" 08:08 The man said, "Yes, I was in that war. 08:11 Yes, sir, I fought under General Grant." 08:14 The man said, "I too fought in the war, 08:17 but I was your enemy. 08:19 I fought on the opposite side. 08:22 And, you know, I remember, I came near, 08:25 almost 18 years ago, I came very near to you." 08:29 The man wondered, "How did he know 18 years ago 08:31 we were fighting on different sides. 08:33 How would you know? 08:34 How did you know, you came near to me?" 08:36 These things were going rampant in his mind. 08:39 He said, "If I'm not mistaken," 08:41 the gentleman said as he came up. 08:42 "You were walking guard duty 18 years ago. 08:45 In fact, 08:46 tonight's the anniversary of that." 08:48 How he remembered. This was the enemy talking. 08:52 The man said, "Yes, that's about right. 08:54 Yes, I was on guard duty that night, I remember." 08:57 He said, "And I noticed," he said, 08:59 "I was sent out to kill you. 09:02 That was my job, the moon was full, 09:06 I could see you walking 09:08 up and down the path of your guard duty." 09:12 And then he said, "I looked, and I was sure, 09:15 I was sent out because I was the best shot. 09:18 I could shoot anything and hit everything. 09:20 And I took my gun and I aimed at right at your heart, 09:24 right at your heart. 09:25 And then I heard 09:27 something you were singing came out 09:30 and part of the words were cover my defenseless head 09:35 with the shadow of thy wing." 09:37 Part of that song, "cover..." 09:39 Notice this 09:40 "my defenseless head with the shadow of thy wing." 09:44 He said, "I tried to pull the trigger 09:46 and I could not do it. 09:49 My job was to kill you that night and then attack, 09:52 we couldn't do it." 09:53 He said, "My friend, your prayer was answered. 09:56 All I could do was to put the gun away and I left." 10:01 Very interesting. "I felt sure." 10:04 He said, "I felt sure as you were singing that song. 10:08 And I know as I heard those words, 10:10 the Holy Spirit impressed me to spare your life." 10:14 You know how interesting that is 10:15 when you think about it. 10:16 And naturally, as this man heard it, 10:18 the singer heard it, 10:19 he grasp the hand of his so called enemy. 10:23 He said, "Thank you, sir. 10:25 Thank you that you didn't pull that trigger." 10:28 He said, "I remember the night very well. 10:31 I remember very well because it was a night 10:33 he said I was feeling..." 10:35 Notice, even as a soldier, 10:37 he was feeling depressed and he was feeling lonely. 10:42 He felt like there was no one else alive 10:43 on the face of the planet 10:45 that knew what he was going through, 10:47 because he knew as he walked that guard duty, 10:50 that he would be a target for the enemy 10:52 because they said there's enemies out there. 10:55 So he said, I was depressed and I was 10:57 had this feeling of loneliness 10:59 that I can't tell you, but I still tried to do my job. 11:03 I knew my post was in great danger. 11:06 And all I could think about was home. 11:08 All I could think about was my family. 11:10 All I could think about was my friends 11:12 and trying to get home. 11:14 And I was so discouraged, and I felt so alone. 11:19 But then I began to think of what the Bible has said 11:22 that God cares for us. 11:25 He cares for us, as He cares for that sparrow 11:28 than He cared much more for me. 11:31 After all, we are made in His image. 11:33 And he said, "Somehow, 11:34 that little sparrow and the human being, 11:36 I gained confidence, and I gained trust, 11:39 and I claimed the promises of God." 11:42 And he said, "No longer did my heart 11:44 feel lonely anymore. 11:45 Something took control of me." 11:48 As I said, "God, I thank You. 11:50 I thank You that You care for us. 11:52 And that Your watchful eye has always on us 11:55 as You watch the sparrow, 11:56 I know You're watching over me." 11:58 Here was two different men with two different backgrounds 12:04 as it worked, even in the same country, 12:07 but it was divisioned 12:08 between the North and the South. 12:10 And they were supposedly bitter enemies. 12:13 The nation almost came down that you talk about here 12:18 the peace that they wanted and they were fighting for, 12:21 they thought for a while there would be no peace. 12:24 But after the war, there was unity 12:27 and the country came together in nearly every area, 12:30 education, power, race, everything you can think about. 12:34 And you know what? 12:35 And he said, "You know the song that touched my life, 12:38 Jesus, lover of my soul. 12:40 This song saved a brother's life." 12:44 That very song he said, "You know what? 12:47 I was pressed to pull that trigger, 12:51 but the common love 12:52 for my fellowman constrained me. 12:54 Certainly the Holy Spirit did that. 12:57 There would be assassin turned and walked away." 13:01 Well, you know, the men of God in these ages 13:04 have found their comfort. 13:07 They found their comfort in Jesus Christ. 13:09 There's no doubt about it. 13:10 And indeed, I know He has the answers 13:13 to every problem that we may have. 13:16 Doesn't matter what it is, God has the answer, 13:19 whether you're on the battlefield, 13:20 and you're lonely, and you're depressed, 13:22 and you're anxious, and you want to just get home, 13:24 and you feel like there's no one else out there. 13:26 God is there. 13:28 And there if He began to sing and to hum that song, 13:32 we may find in Christ, 13:34 those who might be lonely today, 13:36 we could find in Christ all that we need. 13:39 Companionship and fellowship, 13:41 if we have the right relationship with Him. 13:44 There's no need to be lonely 13:46 because all of heaven is with us. 13:49 But you know, we have to develop this thing 13:51 called communication. 13:53 Communication with heaven. 13:54 Communication with one another. 13:57 Or maybe we might be gripped 13:59 with this feeling of loneliness and insecurity. 14:03 How do we defeat loneliness? 14:06 Now, it's interesting subject matter. 14:09 It really is. 14:10 You know, and I've asked at the beginning does, 14:12 you know, has anyone ever felt lonely? 14:13 I think probably every one of us here at some time, 14:16 at some point, we felt lonely. 14:19 We felt all alone, even though we knew down deep 14:22 that we were not alone. 14:24 We knew somebody was there, we knew somebody care, 14:27 but yet down deep it's like, 14:30 "Oh, no one cares. I feel so lonely." 14:34 How did that really make you feel about yourself? 14:36 How did it make you feel about your neighbors, 14:38 or your friends, or other people of the world 14:41 when you really sat down and begin to think about it? 14:44 A definition of lonely is kind of, you know, 14:47 I think it's pretty simple and straight. 14:49 Lonely simply means I'm lonesome. 14:51 There's a lot of songs 14:53 that have been written in the past, 14:54 are you lonesome, you say tonight, are lonesome. 14:59 And so it means they may be without friends 15:02 having a cause for a lonely feeling, 15:05 something calls this feeling to creep up 15:08 in and on us that we begin to feel alone. 15:12 We begin too long for friends. 15:15 We long for someone to say something to us, 15:19 and there was no one there. 15:22 We found ourselves alone. 15:24 And that simply means apart from anything or anybody else. 15:29 They say the loneliest feeling is you feel you're all alone. 15:34 Lonely, the fear of being lonely, 15:38 there's people who fear of being alone, 15:39 they're not lonely, 15:40 but they fear that someday they might be. 15:42 And so God's Word has the answers with that. 15:44 It's a real, mental, and a physical problem 15:49 that really needs to be addressed. 15:51 Remember, it's a what? 15:53 Mental and physical 15:56 because if we get that in our mind, 15:57 it affects us physically, our well being, 16:00 the way we approach the world, the way that we live, 16:03 the way we deal with one another. 16:05 You know, that's why we're finding a lot of people 16:08 who do things that they really shouldn't be doing. 16:10 You'll find that they started out 16:12 as they were very lonely. 16:14 They had no friends, 16:15 they had no one they could talk to, 16:17 they had no one they could counsel with, 16:20 they didn't read the Word of God, 16:22 they didn't go for the answers can be found. 16:24 And so they continue, it went from bad to worse. 16:28 But you know what? 16:29 God made man to enjoy the company of others. 16:34 Think about this. 16:36 God made man to enjoy the company of others. 16:39 And you read that in Genesis 2:18, 16:42 because it says there, 16:43 "And the Lord God said, it is not good," 16:46 notice, "that man should," do what, 16:48 "should be alone." God said what? 16:50 It's not good that man should be alone. 16:53 Notice that. 16:55 "I will make him a helpmeet for him." 16:59 God recognized, do you think it caught Him by surprise? 17:02 I'm realizing, He made Adam 17:04 and He made all these other things, 17:05 you know, then all of a sudden, He come and says, 17:06 "Well, I need to make man. 17:08 He's the only one that doesn't have a helpmate," 17:10 Didn't catch God by surprise. 17:11 He knew it was going to happen. He understood. 17:13 He said, "I'm going to make a helpmeet for him. 17:16 It's not good that he's alone." 17:19 A helpmeet here is simply means a helper. 17:23 I'm going to make someone for him that will support him, 17:28 did you get it? 17:29 And we realize if anybody in the world needs 17:31 some support lot of time, it's the men, 17:33 they need a good woman to support them, 17:36 to encourage them, and to strengthen them. 17:39 And so God knew that so He said, 17:41 "She is going to be the helper. 17:43 She's going to be the supporter." 17:45 Patriarchs and Prophets, the book that I love, 17:48 page 46 says it like this. 17:50 When it says, "He's going to make a helpmeet for him. 17:53 It means a helper corresponding to him. 17:57 A helper, one who is fitted to be his companion." 18:02 I like that, God said, "I'm going to do what? 18:04 "I'm going to make..." 18:06 He's going to create someone that would be fitted 18:10 for the companionship of the man, 18:12 they would fit together, 18:14 and they would be one together. 18:17 Notice that, they would be one together in love, 18:19 they'll be one together in sympathy. 18:22 That'd be one together. 18:23 She would be part of man's what the Bible said. 18:26 See, this goes back, God says, "He's going to need somebody. 18:30 He's going to be lonely if he doesn't have somebody." 18:32 Yeah, he had the world, did he not, 18:34 he had all the animals, he had everything in the world, 18:36 but he didn't have the companion. 18:38 And so God said, "I'm going to have one, 18:40 she a part of man, she is his second half." 18:45 Kind of interesting there. 18:48 This would simply show the close connection 18:51 that's supposed to be 18:52 between the union and the affection, 18:54 the attachment that should exist 18:57 in the relationship between man and woman. 19:00 God knew that man needed that companionship. 19:05 He needed to love and to be loved. 19:09 Little babies die 19:10 for the lack of somebody to love them. 19:13 They can be fed, they can be nourished, 19:15 they can be, but unless their health rocked, 19:18 health close, love, saying to, 19:20 prayed with, whatever, many of them die. 19:24 Very interesting, because that's God made them. 19:27 Man becomes lonely 19:29 if there's not other people around. 19:31 He just becomes lonely. 19:33 He may not be able to explain it 19:35 because I wasn't alive wanted to be just be alone. 19:38 But, you know, you don't want that 19:40 for a long period of time. 19:42 What if you were the only one that was alive on this planet? 19:44 Oh, you say, "Oh, Lord, it's good. 19:46 I can go here and get this and go get out there." 19:48 It wouldn't work. It would not work. 19:51 You may not last very long 19:52 as long as you think that you might. 19:55 Loneliness is a horrible, horrible thing. 19:57 God has answers for us and I'm thankful for that. 20:01 In fact, there's one psychiatrist, Dr. Kramer, 20:04 notice this, he's been specializing for over 30 years 20:09 about treating depressed and lonely people. 20:13 Here's what he says about it. 20:14 After 30 years of experience, he says, "The human being, 20:18 the human being is the only species 20:22 that can't survive alone." 20:25 After 30 years of study, he said, "The human being, 20:27 the only species that cannot survive alone. 20:31 The human being needs another human being." 20:35 Notice that. 20:36 Otherwise, here's what he put, he said, 20:38 "Otherwise, they're just dead." 20:41 Interesting, sound like experience. 20:44 Lot of occasions to examine a lot of different people. 20:49 So he says this. 20:51 And I think this would help all of us today. 20:54 When you're thinking about someone that's lonely, 20:55 how to defeat loneliness is here's what he suggest. 20:59 See if it might work for you or maybe would have worked 21:02 at one point in your life. 21:04 Notice, he says, you know what? 21:05 "A telephone call 21:07 to a depressed person can save a life." 21:10 A telephone call just to say, "Hi, we're thinking about you," 21:14 might save that person's life. 21:16 Many times they've had a gun to their head. 21:18 Many times they're thinking suicide 21:19 and that call prevented it from happening. 21:23 He said, "Also an occasional word 21:25 or just a 10 minute visit can save a life. 21:31 And the bottom line, he says, you know what? 21:32 The old saying says, 21:34 you can't buy love, you can't buy it. 21:38 But if 10 minute conversation, a phone call, a little card, 21:43 a word the Bible says in what? 21:45 In due season can help someone going through this. 21:48 The Bible says in 1 Peter. 21:49 You have your Bible, 1 Peter 5:7, 21:52 one of my favorite passages. 21:55 It's a short couple little lines, 21:57 but notice how powerful these words are. 22:00 1 Peter 5:7 says, notice this, it tells us, "Casting all..." 22:05 You finish it with me. 22:06 "Casting all your care upon him, 22:09 for he careth for you." 22:11 What does the Bible say, "Okay, we're lonely. 22:14 We're a little bit depressed 22:15 where things are not going our way. 22:17 We've lost loved ones. 22:18 We're not sure 22:19 how we're going to get by in the future. 22:21 And we're just feeling really bad." 22:23 Jesus says, "Here, I'm going to be able to help you 22:26 because you can't carry these burdens by yourself." 22:30 These things are too heavy for you to do. 22:32 So, Kenny, what I want you to do is cast all, 22:35 not part of it, but all your cares. 22:38 And you know what cares is, 22:39 it's translated there in the Greek. 22:41 It says, "All your distractions..." 22:43 Somebody listen. 22:45 "Cast all your," what? 22:47 "Your distractions." 22:49 See a lot of things in the world, 22:50 they're distractions, they take us away, 22:52 keep us from focusing 22:54 on what we should be focusing on. 22:55 They're distractions. 22:57 They take us away but He said, "Cast all of your distractions, 23:01 your cares upon me, for I care for you." 23:05 How beautiful that is. 23:07 He wants us to do that. 23:08 What is this passage really tell us here 23:11 about those who are fighting the battle of loneliness? 23:17 It says that, "We can whatever our anxieties, 23:20 whatever our problems, whatever so easily beset us, 23:24 our troubles, it seem like every day when you get up, 23:28 you're confronted with a new set of troubles." 23:31 The world is confronting troubles 23:33 every day that we get up. 23:36 They're talking war, 23:38 they're talking about retaliation, 23:41 they're talking about when they have war, 23:42 whoever declares war on us 23:45 we're going to make it short, and simple, 23:47 and put an end to it rather quickly. 23:49 They're talking about using big things 23:52 with the least amount of deaths. 23:55 Certainly talking about to civilians. 23:58 That's the top, but remember 24:00 there's wars and rumors of wars. 24:02 And so it drives a person kind of into a shell. 24:06 But God says like this, "Take everything that you have. 24:10 No matter what it is. It's too heavy for you." 24:13 And I want you to notice this, that He said cast it, 24:15 and another word is spread it. 24:17 Spread those things out. 24:19 Every one of those, spread it out before me. 24:23 I have an answer, see that's good news. 24:25 I have an answer for everyone that you spread out here. 24:30 And you say, "Well, I've been wounded so bad. 24:32 My best friend has wounded me. 24:35 It made me feel lonely. I've been withdrawing." 24:37 You know, God can take care of that for you. 24:41 You say, "I'm sick. I have a disease." 24:43 God can heal. Can He not? 24:44 Absolutely. 24:46 You say, "I'm dead, I'm weak, and I'm struggling. 24:48 I don't know if I can get by." 24:49 God is your strength that's what the Bible says. 24:52 A lot of times we look too much to our self rather than to Him. 24:56 Some say, "I'm just tempted. 24:58 Every time I turn around, I'm just tempted to do this. 25:00 I'm tempted to do that." 25:01 Do we not believe that He can give us the victory? 25:04 See, all of these things I'm talking about here 25:06 can drive us into a little shell. 25:09 That we isolate ourselves from others 25:10 and then we do become lonely. 25:12 We become depressed. 25:14 And God says, "No, what I want you to do 25:16 is cast them all out before me. 25:18 Spread them out here, I'll do something for you." 25:20 Why? 25:21 Because my Bible says in Psalms 117, 25:23 notice how it says, 147:3. 25:27 Psalms 147:3. 25:30 Notice these words, how powerful. 25:33 "Why do I spread these out for Him? 25:35 Why cannot throw anything and everything out before Him? 25:38 Because He says, 25:40 "He healeth the broken in heart, 25:42 and He bindeth up their wounds." 25:46 How wonderful that is. What does He do? 25:48 He healeth those who are broken in heart. 25:52 We say something like my heart's broken. 25:55 And it can be broken in a lot of different ways 25:57 in this life. 25:59 And most of the time 26:00 it's people who break other people's hearts, 26:03 and they're not telling the truth 26:04 or not doing the right thing. 26:05 But Jesus says, "I know when your heart's broken. 26:08 I know when you're feeling bad. 26:09 I know when you're sad. 26:11 I know when you're lonely." 26:12 But He said, "I want you to... 26:13 I'm the one that heals them." 26:15 You can go to psychiatrist if you want to. 26:17 He doesn't do any healing. 26:19 He might give you a few thoughts and things to do 26:22 that might be good within themselves. 26:24 But the healer, the great healer 26:26 is Jesus Christ. 26:27 Notice this, "He bindeth up their wounds 26:30 because they've been torn apart. 26:32 They've been ripped open by life, by family, 26:36 and by friends, and it's just too much." 26:39 But He said, "I can heal those things." 26:41 How can God do this? 26:43 How can He just do it? 26:44 Well, another Bible passage tells us this in Psalms 147:5, 26:49 it says, "Great is our Lord." 26:52 That started out, great is what? 26:55 "Great is our Lord and of great power," 26:58 notice, "his understanding is infinite." 27:02 How can He do it? Because He's powerful. 27:05 He can do it. Why? 27:06 Because He knows everything. 27:07 It's infinite, 27:09 nothing catches Him by surprise. 27:10 He understands everything that you're going through. 27:12 Instead of setbacks like, 27:14 "Nobody understand me, nobody understand me." 27:19 Remember, I think was Jeremy many, many years ago, 27:22 which is like seven or eight years old. 27:24 And he said to his grandpa one time, he said, 27:27 he was wanting to go somewhere and do something. 27:30 And he knew how to butter, maybe he still does. 27:33 Hope he sees this, still knows how to do it. 27:38 But he wanted to get his way on something, you see. 27:41 And so he began to explain why he wanted to go, 27:44 and what he wanted to do, 27:45 and grandpa is kind of shaking his head like, 27:47 "Well, you better not, you know, mom and dad, 27:49 they may not like that, whatever." 27:52 He said, "Grandpa, I'm coming to you 27:54 because you're the only one that understands me." 27:58 Somebody not with me. 28:01 You know what, he got to go. 28:02 You're the only one that really understands me. 28:06 It's nice to have someone who really understands you. 28:08 We can go to God. 28:09 It's not a joke as we can go to Him and say, 28:11 "You're really the only one who really understands me. 28:14 You're the one that knows all about. 28:16 And You're the one 28:17 that I can cast these things at Your feet. 28:18 You have all understanding, You have all wisdom, 28:21 it's infinite." 28:23 So He has the answers. 28:26 I'm very grateful and thankful 28:28 that we are not just left alone, aren't you? 28:31 See, a lot of time people say, "You know, we live in a world, 28:33 right, God just winds us up and just lets us go wild. 28:36 As it were, just go to be run down." 28:38 You know, no, not at all. 28:39 God just didn't put us out, He created us, 28:41 put us out there and just let us go do 28:43 all whatever we want to do when we want to do it. 28:45 Yeah, we have that choice. But God doesn't do it. 28:48 He has a watchful eye on us 28:50 because He knows sooner or later 28:52 if we do our own thing 28:54 that the enemy's going to conquer us. 28:56 And He doesn't want the enemy to conquer us. 28:58 You know, Jesus would say, "This is how you do it." 29:01 He said it was in Matthew 11. 29:03 He says, "Take my yoke," what? "Upon you. 29:06 Take my yoke upon you and learn of me." 29:11 He says, "You're not going to get in trouble, 29:12 and you're not going to be lonely. 29:14 You're not going to get down and out if you yoke up with me, 29:17 because I'm your strength, 29:18 I'm the one that's going to help you 29:20 when you can't pull I'm going to pull for you. 29:22 But when you're giving an effort, 29:24 I'm going to do more than that. 29:25 You take a step, I'll take two." 29:28 What a wonderful Savior that we have. 29:30 When you think Joshua 1:9. 29:33 Notice what it says here. 29:35 And if you study the life of Joshua, well, 29:38 you certainly find some encouragement 29:40 and some strength. 29:41 And then sometime we feel where I read it 29:43 and I feel a little bit embarrassed for some time 29:44 not doing what Joshua did. 29:46 You know Joshua was the man like us, but still yet, 29:50 when he was confronted 29:52 and the peace and the power of God 29:53 was inside of him, 29:55 he did great things for the Savior. 29:57 Joshua 1:9 says, 29:58 here's what we find something else 29:59 that's going to help us to defeat loneliness. 30:01 It's sort of promise. 30:03 It says, "Have not I commanded thee? 30:06 Be," what, you remember? 30:07 "Be strong and," what, "good courage. 30:11 Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God 30:15 is with the whithersoever thou goest." 30:18 Notice those words in there. 30:20 One way to defeat the loneliness 30:22 is what God says, 30:23 notice this, "Have not I commanded thee, 30:25 be strong, be of good courage?" 30:28 Well, I'm embarrassed if I'm not of good courage, 30:31 because there's no reason I shouldn't be a good courage. 30:32 Why? 30:34 Because God wants to be with me. 30:35 He wants me to have His courage, 30:37 not my courage, but His courage. 30:39 He wants me have His strength, not my strength. 30:41 Everything is for us. 30:43 He's doing for us. 30:44 He said, "Don't be afraid. 30:46 In the Word of God, said, 30:47 "Don't be afraid how men going to look at. 30:49 Don't be afraid what men say they're going to do. 30:51 Nothing can happen to you unless God approves of it. 30:54 You're in good hands. 30:55 You're in the hand of your Father 30:57 who again has that watchful eye on you, and He cares for you, 31:00 when maybe the world doesn't care." 31:04 He said, "Don't be dismayed. 31:06 You know, I'm going to be with you wherever you go." 31:09 Now, I count that as a what? 31:11 Promise? 31:12 That is a promise I'm going to be with. 31:15 We've got to get in our head. 31:16 We know those things, we've memorized it. 31:18 But when we go down 31:20 in that valley of the shadow of death, 31:21 as it were, when we're down in the valley experience, 31:24 when nothing seems to be going right, 31:26 we forget that God says, "I'm going to be with you. 31:29 Wherever you go, I'll be there. 31:32 Whatever happens I've been there before. 31:34 That has happened in my life. 31:36 I know what it takes, 31:37 and I'll give you that victory." 31:39 See, this is a beautiful thing as you think 31:41 scripture really comes alive to us. 31:43 That word strong says something to me, it says strong. 31:47 He command us to be strong and you'll say now, 31:50 "What does He mean to be strong? 31:51 Who is He talking about to be strong?" 31:53 Well, Psalms 24:8 says this, 31:57 "Who is the King of glory?" 32:01 But who is what? 32:02 The King of glory? 32:05 And notice what the Bible said here. 32:07 "The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." 32:12 So this is beautiful. 32:13 When you think about here, He said, 32:15 "I want you to be strong." 32:17 Where do we get our strength? 32:18 It's from the King of glory. Why? 32:20 Because He's strong, because He's mighty, 32:22 because He's mighty strong in battle. 32:25 You know what I think about strong in battle is what? 32:27 When we're battling against the enemy. 32:31 We can't defeat the enemy on our own. 32:33 He's too much for us. 32:35 Think about how he was created and the power that he had, 32:38 and he's still powerful, too much for us. 32:40 And you know what? 32:42 The devil likes for us to do is tell one another... 32:43 Well, let's not talk about the devil's power. 32:47 Think about, many times, let's not talk. 32:49 And I understand 32:51 we're not trying to give praise. 32:52 He didn't get that power until God gave it to him, 32:54 you see, 32:55 but we have to realize that he is, 32:58 and he's too much, he's not a match for us. 33:01 Easily we're put out of our existence 33:03 if it were not for God. 33:04 That means He's watching you every day 33:06 because if He were not what would happen? 33:08 You'd be put out of your existence 33:10 just to meet, and I would be too. 33:12 But God has been watching over you all of your life, 33:15 every day of your life. 33:16 He said, "I'm going to be your strength. 33:18 I'm mighty in battle." Why? 33:20 Because He said, why? He's never lost the battle. 33:22 He's never lost a fight with the devil. 33:25 Think about it. 33:26 Any battle that Lord ever went into, 33:28 He won it every time, hands down. 33:31 And so He's never going to lose one. 33:34 So He said, "Let me fight it for you." 33:36 We don't need to be fighting our own battles, 33:37 God will do it. 33:39 I'll be with you wherever you go. 33:41 Hebrews 13:5, beautiful passage of scripture. 33:45 And this is one everybody has memorized. 33:46 I'm sure time and time again, Hebrews 13:5. 33:49 He said, "I will never," what? 33:51 "Leave thee, nor... 33:54 I'll never leave thee or forsake thee." 33:57 I mean, how many times have we... 33:59 Don't raise your hand, 34:00 but how many have had claimed that promise? 34:04 Has there been something in your life that you say... 34:07 But it seems like I've been forsaken. 34:10 It seemed like they've turned on me. 34:12 It seemed like they said bad things. 34:15 It seems like, it seems like, it seems like 34:17 but God says what? 34:19 "I'm not going to leave you, nor am I going to forsake you." 34:23 We might leave Him. 34:25 But He says what? "I will never leave you." 34:28 This should help us in this stage 34:30 that our mind maybe in to think that we're just lonely, 34:32 we're out here on a corner somewhere by ourselves. 34:34 He said, "Even though you're over there, 34:36 I know where you're at. 34:37 And I want to help you." 34:39 Think about that word for just a moment with me, 34:41 the word forsake. 34:44 Remember, "I'll never leave you and I will not," what? 34:47 "Forsake you." 34:49 When you look at that word there in the Greek, it says, 34:52 "Kenny, I will never abandon you." 34:57 There's been babies, children, that's been abandoned. 35:03 Life was given to them. 35:04 And then, you know, a few hours 35:07 they're in a dumpster somewhere. 35:12 They understand that as they get older, 35:14 and maybe they're told a story 35:15 and they have that feeling of abandonment. 35:18 God says, "They might do it. 35:19 The mother may do it, 35:21 but I will never abandon you, Kenny." 35:23 That's just such an encouragement 35:25 today to me. 35:27 Another word for that is desert you. 35:32 "I'll never desert you." 35:34 Same thing as leave. 35:35 "I'll never desert you." 35:37 'Cause people will say, 35:38 "Yeah, but you know, our family, 35:40 our husband, he deserted us, he left us." 35:44 And it's real. 35:45 And that plays a part in the middle, 35:47 you know, that all through life. 35:49 And how we look at life, and how we look at others, 35:51 and how we judge the world and other people in the world. 35:54 But Jesus says, "I'm not going to desert you. 35:58 I'm not going to abandon you." 36:00 In other words, 36:02 "I will not leave you helpless," 36:04 because He knows that we are what? 36:05 We're helpless. We're helpless without Him. 36:08 So those who are feeling lonely 36:09 and those who want to get the victory over, 36:11 just don't think bad about it. 36:12 But what? 36:13 He said, "I understand, you're helpless." 36:15 We are helpless without Christ. 36:17 "I'm not going to leave you helpless. 36:19 Oh, Kenny, I'm not going to leave you behind." 36:22 You know, lot of times in school, 36:23 or so and so is left behind. 36:25 Well, they can't come up and graduate 36:26 'cause they're left behind. 36:28 You know, and the Savior says, "Well, no man left behind." 36:31 You know, these are things we have in this world. 36:34 But Jesus said in with the promise 36:36 that we were talking about the guarantee 36:37 of the children's story here. 36:39 This is better guarantee. 36:41 He says, "I'm not going to leave you behind. 36:43 You may have been behind in all of these things 36:45 and people have been talking that you've been left behind, 36:47 but I will never leave you behind. 36:50 I will not leave you in a strait place." 36:53 How many times you ever heard, "Man I'm in a strait place." 36:56 See, all these definitions really are words 36:58 that we use today. 36:59 I've heard people say, "I'm in a strait place." 37:03 They can't seem to go any other place, 37:05 I'm in a strait place, 37:06 I'm in difficult position right here. 37:08 But Jesus says, "I know that you're in a strait place. 37:11 I know you're in a difficult situation. 37:13 I know how you're feeling inside, 37:15 but I will not leave you in that place 37:17 if you'll let me help. 37:20 If you'll just let me help, be strong." 37:23 And then He says, "Be of good courage." 37:26 I like that word, be of good courage. 37:29 You know, Psalms 31:24 just simply says, 37:32 "Be of good courage, 37:34 and he will strengthen your heart." 37:37 So there's a promise in that verse. 37:39 Do you see that promise in the verse? 37:41 But first of all, He says what, "Be of good courage," 37:44 and then what will He do? 37:46 Then He's going to strengthen you, 37:48 He can't strengthen if you're not of good courage." 37:50 Conditional these promises that He makes to us, 37:53 be of good courage. 37:55 Courage here has to do with being a conqueror. 37:59 Be a conqueror for Me, 38:02 maintain your relationship with Me, 38:04 be good courage, or be strong for Me, 38:08 prevail with Me. 38:10 And then what? 38:12 Then I shall strengthen your heart. 38:14 Joshua 10:25 another passage of scripture 38:17 that I think is real blessing for us. 38:20 "Joshua said unto them." 38:22 I like what Joshua's, he said, "Fear not, nor be dismayed, 38:26 be strong and be of good courage." 38:29 How often we need that in this world for someone 38:32 when we're a little bit weak, and we're a little bit faulty, 38:35 and we're a little bit frail some time 38:37 and things not been going our way. 38:39 If someone would just say, "Hey, don't fear, don't worry. 38:44 Don't fear." 38:47 And they will tell you what you already know. 38:49 But you still needed to hear it again. 38:51 God's going to bless you. 38:53 God's going to help you. 38:55 I can remember that growing up that I got so sick and tired 38:58 of hearing it from my dad many, many times, 39:00 but I'm grateful and thankful now 39:02 as I've grown older, I realized it, he would say, 39:05 "Boy, it could be just some foolishness of the world. 39:08 We're not gonna be able to get to our baseball game on time." 39:10 Well, he always say, "Get on your bike and ride it, 39:12 you know, to whatever, you know. 39:14 Well, this is not going to work out." 39:16 He'll say, "Son, Son, oh, 39:17 have I not oft taken you under my wing." 39:21 Fear not, Kenny, have I not oft taken you under my wing?" 39:25 I said, "No, Dad, come on now, 39:26 I need more than under the wing business, 39:28 you know, I need..." 39:29 But see we understand it better. 39:31 It is a confirmation always, 39:34 "Don't fear that it's going to be all right." 39:38 Have I not often," in other words, 39:39 "Has He not always been there? 39:41 Has He's not always got us there, 39:42 has He not always been..." 39:43 Yes. 39:45 And so it was an encouragement, 39:46 "Have I not oft taken you under my wing. 39:49 Be of good courage. 39:51 Fear not. Don't be dismayed." 39:52 The problem we get into loneliness 39:54 and all these other things that going on in the world 39:57 is because we get discouraged. 39:59 We get dismayed. 40:01 We've lost our faith. 40:02 We've lost our strength. 40:03 We've lost our connection with Christ. 40:07 Even in the bad times we can still be strong in Him. 40:11 You may, by the grace of God, we can defeat loneliness. 40:15 It can be defeated, but it's based... 40:18 Notice but, we can defeat loneliness, 40:21 but it's based on our relationship with Christ. 40:26 It's based on what? 40:28 Our relationship with Christ. 40:31 See, it's difficult. You say, "Well, how?" 40:33 It's difficult to be lonely 40:35 when you're working for your fellow man. 40:37 It's difficult to be lonely 40:38 when you're working for Jesus Christ. 40:40 You're in His service. 40:42 It's difficult when you're praying 40:43 for someone else to be really lonely 40:45 at that time, for sure, because you're praying, 40:47 you're lifting them up because they have issues 40:50 and you care for them. 40:52 Being busy in the cause of Christ. 40:55 This is a way to defeat loneliness 40:57 is to work for the salvation of others. 41:00 I think every person here has found that to be true 41:03 when you were feeling down, 41:05 when you were feeling a little bit low, 41:06 and then you went to do something for someone else. 41:09 You didn't feel like it at the time, maybe yourself, 41:11 but you did it. 41:13 And while you were helping them, it was helping you. 41:16 See, when you're loving and caring for others, 41:19 God is loving and caring for you at the very same time. 41:24 He's meeting your needs right then right there 41:27 because you're meeting someone else's, 41:29 you're working for them. 41:31 Oh, that's good news. 41:32 You know, another way to the deal with loneness, 41:34 lot of different ways. 41:36 But we're looking at more biblical ways 41:37 of dealing with loneliness and sadness is number one. 41:40 And this is I think, 41:42 probably paramount is number one. 41:43 Admit that you are. 41:46 Nothing can be changed until you finally just come up, 41:48 "Well, I'm not lonely..." 41:50 I said one guy one time when he said, "Lonely." 41:52 I said about being lonely, whatever. 41:54 And I think 41:55 this is probably true in his life. 41:57 He said, "You know what? 41:58 I'm too busy to be lonely." 42:01 I'm too, what? 42:02 I'm too busy to be lonely. That makes sense. 42:07 'Cause usually when we're not busy 42:08 that we have all these reoccurring, 42:10 how the enemy comes in, he said, "I'm too busy. 42:12 I never get lonely 'cause I'm busy all the time." 42:16 Interesting thought. 42:18 Admit though that it exists and don't try to cover it up, 42:22 it's okay to say, "You know, I feel a little bit lonely." 42:26 I don't know why or maybe it's because 42:28 of loss of something or whatever 42:29 and we have that feeling and there we're by our self. 42:33 There's a story of a man. 42:35 It's again not going to cover it up. 42:37 It's story about a man who went to see his doctor. 42:40 And after all, he looked in the mirror, 42:42 he looked bad. 42:44 He needed to go see a doctor. 42:46 Things were just not right with him. 42:48 And as soon as he saw the doctor, he said, 42:53 doctor looked and said, "Oh, my, you look sick." 42:55 Well, that doesn't help you. 42:58 The doctor looks at you and says, 43:00 "No test. You look sick?" 43:02 Well, then I get sick. 43:04 They said, "You're not well, you're sick. 43:06 You come the... 43:08 What's the problem? 43:09 Are you sick?" 43:10 And the man said, "Yes. 43:12 Yes, Doctor, I am sick." 43:13 He said, "What's your sickness?" 43:15 He said, "I'm sick of everything. 43:17 That's what I'm sick of. I'm sick of life. 43:18 I'm sick of life in general. 43:20 I'm depressed. I'm lonely all the time. 43:24 And I'm never happy. 43:26 I'm never happy. 43:28 It's been years going on this way. 43:30 I don't know what happiness is. 43:31 I see other people, it looks like they're happy. 43:34 I want that happiness. 43:36 Some people have peace. They seem to have peace. 43:38 I don't seem to have that peace. 43:40 I'm just depressed and lonely all the time. 43:42 And I tell you right now, 43:44 if you can't help me while I'm here. 43:45 If you don't have a word to help me, 43:47 I'm gonna kill myself soon as I leave." 43:51 Do you have any suggestions? 43:52 Well, see it's real. 43:54 We have to realize even though it's real 43:56 that people began to feel this way. 43:58 Doctor said immediately, "Yes, yes, yes, I do. 44:00 Relax. 44:02 I have something I'd like for you to try. 44:05 What you need to do is start to go around some nice people, 44:10 maybe get into conversation, and talk with it, 44:13 visit a little bit, you know, 44:16 maybe get a smile or two or laugh, 44:19 change whatever has made you feel this way, 44:21 but change the situations or circumstances 44:24 and the people that you deal with. 44:26 And maybe that will help you just a little." 44:28 He said, "I've got something else," 44:29 the doctor said. 44:31 And the man said, "What? 44:32 What, is there's something else?" 44:33 He said, "Yeah, listen, 44:35 what I like for you to do is interesting." 44:38 He said, "I like for you to go to the circus tonight." 44:42 Man said, "What?" 44:43 "I like for you to go to the circus." 44:47 "What am I going to do in circus? 44:48 You know, I didn't want to see 44:49 animals jumping around and so on." 44:51 He said, "No, I tell you go to circus tonight. 44:54 You're going to see and you'll see the funniest man 44:57 that has ever lived. 45:01 And his name is Otis, 45:03 I've been there and I've seen that act several times. 45:06 And when you're not feeling just well, 45:08 he will just make you laugh and laugh. 45:10 And when you leave the place, you will feel a lot better." 45:12 Maybe that's really all that you need 45:14 is a change and a few laughs 45:16 and to see that life can be a little lighter. 45:18 And so would you go, just, you know, you'll see him, 45:21 he's the world's funniest man and he puts on a clown act. 45:25 You'll love it. He said, "Oh." 45:27 He said, "He'll cure you. 45:29 I guarantee, he'll cure you. 45:31 You won't leave the same man." 45:34 Man had a blank look on his face. 45:36 And he said, "What?" 45:39 He said, "Doc, don't jest with me. 45:44 Don't try to be funny with me. 45:46 It won't work. 45:48 You know why it won't work?" 45:50 And doc said, "No. Why won't it work?" 45:51 He said, "Because I am that clown Otis." 45:56 He'd been putting on the face 45:59 to be happy, pretending, 46:03 and he's the world's miserable's man. 46:07 Lonely, he made others fall out of their seat. 46:10 But there was nothing that clicked with him. 46:12 He needed some help. 46:14 I am that clown. 46:18 I am Otis. 46:21 Song says put on that happy face. 46:24 It's not always easy to put on a happy face 46:26 when you're not happy. 46:28 The cover up. 46:29 Why not let it be real? 46:31 Why not let it come to Jesus? 46:32 Let Him do the healing. 46:35 That's why Jesus says again, "Kenny, all of us, 46:38 come unto me, all ye that heavy laden, 46:40 and I will give you," what? 46:42 "Heavy laden I will give you rest," 46:44 Matthew 11:28. 46:46 Jesus is still the answer. 46:50 The clown may have been a temporary thing. 46:51 It did not work and didn't might work 46:53 for others but that's it. 46:55 Jesus is the lasting answer. 46:57 Lamentations 3:22-26. 47:01 It says, it's by the Lord, list these words, 47:03 "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, 47:07 because his compassions fail not." 47:10 See how can we be down and out when we realize 47:13 when we read these passages of scripture 47:15 that God tells us, number one, 47:17 "It's only by His mercy, Kenny that you're not consumed. 47:20 You're only here by God's mercy. 47:22 But you are here, 47:23 and you've been here a long time, 47:25 and you continue to be because God is merciful. 47:28 If you live, and you love, and you want to serve Him," 47:30 It only says, "We're not consumed 47:33 because His compassions fail not." 47:35 Aren't you glad that we serve a compassionate Savior, 47:38 one that really cares for us? 47:39 Verse 23 says, notice, 47:41 "These mercies are new every morning, 47:44 great is thy faithfulness." 47:47 Say, I need these new revelations every morning. 47:52 I need this mercy every day of my life. 47:55 I need it renewed. 47:57 I needed every morning and you know what? 47:59 He is faithful is what the Bible said 48:01 to make sure He gives it to us." 48:03 Verse 24 says, 48:05 "The Lord is my portion, saith if my soul, 48:08 therefore will I hope Him." 48:10 We need a portion. He's my portion. 48:13 He is the portion that I need, not a portion of the world, 48:15 portion of this, and a portion that. 48:17 Lord is my portion and because He is my portion, 48:20 the Bible said, "I can hope in Him." 48:23 Verse 25, "The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, 48:27 to the soul that seeketh him." 48:30 The Lord is what? 48:31 He's good to them. 48:33 And if you're waiting for Him 48:34 and notice the soul that seeketh for Him. 48:37 Verse 26, "It is good that a man should both hope 48:41 and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." 48:45 You know what power are in those verses 48:49 when you read and it's simply builds up the power 48:52 in the name of Jesus Christ 48:53 and gives us hope and encouragement 48:55 to come out of some of this stuff 48:57 that we might find ourselves getting into. 49:00 You know, think about Jeremiah, Jeremiah the prophet. 49:04 You know, he passed through 49:06 a lot of experiences in his youth, 49:08 and certainly a lot more in manhood, 49:10 in later years of his ministry 49:12 they taught him a lot of lessons 49:14 as what you've went through in life 49:16 teaches us some lessons and there should be lessons 49:18 that we learn in the way that we keep. 49:20 But one of the lessons Jeremiah wrote down in the scripture 49:23 with Jeremiah 10:23. 49:25 He said, "The way of man is not in himself, 49:29 it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." 49:32 Man shouldn't try to direct his own steps, 49:35 he's going to get himself in trouble. 49:38 He need something outside of himself. 49:40 Sometimes we look to ourselves and this is this, and that... 49:43 God said, "No, you need something outside yourself. 49:45 You need to bring me in." 49:47 We called to go through tribulation. 49:49 Jeremiah was called to go through 49:51 heavy duty tribulation. 49:52 He went through the loneliness. 49:54 He went through the sorrow. 49:56 But, you know, what he would do? 49:58 He began to do this, 49:59 this will help you if you're lonely. 50:00 He began to call, recall the providence 50:03 of how God had worked in His past. 50:06 So you can do that every day of your life 50:07 because you have what? 50:09 You have seen how God has worked 50:10 over, and over, and over, and over, 50:12 year in and year out, 50:14 when it seemed like there was no hope. 50:16 But the providence of God was bright. 50:19 And yet you look back and say, "He did it back here." 50:22 And so when Jeremiah said, "He did it here," 50:24 and I know but He did it here. 50:25 I know He'll do it here in the future." 50:28 See, that gives us encouragement and hope. 50:32 God blessed me in the past 50:34 and He's going to bless me in the future. 50:37 His compassion, the Bible said, "Does what?" 50:39 It fails not. 50:42 We must remember the greatest example... 50:44 We've little over five minutes left. 50:45 But notice the greatest example if you say, "Well, you know, 50:49 no one's been as, you know, in bad shape as I am. 50:51 No one's been any lonelier than I have been." 50:54 You know, I want you to remember your Lord 50:55 and your Savior today, Jesus Christ. 51:00 There was never a lonelier person. 51:03 There was never an individual 51:04 that was more misunderstood than Jesus. 51:09 His family didn't even understand Him. 51:12 They didn't understand His mission. 51:14 Let me just read that Desire of Ages, page 111. 51:17 Notice what the Bible says. 51:20 It might almost makes you weak when you think about it. 51:22 King of kings and Lord of lords, 51:25 then He takes off His kingly robes 51:27 and He comes down here as a man. 51:32 And what He had to endure and what He put up with. 51:36 But notice He knew there in advance. 51:38 But notice no one up on earth had understood Him. 51:42 Desire of Ages says, 51:44 "No one on this earth understood Jesus." 51:46 We're always looking for somebody. 51:48 "Well, he understand me." 51:50 You need to know where I'm coming from. 51:52 You ever heard that? Yeah. 51:55 No one knows. 51:56 No one understood Him, Jesus. 52:00 During His ministry, He must still walk alone, 52:05 throughout His life, 52:06 His mother and His brothers did not comprehend His mission. 52:12 Even His disciples did not understand Him. 52:18 His life on earth... 52:19 Listen, church, His life on earth 52:21 must be spent in solitude. 52:25 Alone He must tread the path. 52:28 Alone He must bear the burden. 52:31 There's nothing more alone. 52:32 No one can go through that. 52:34 So if you're feeling a little bit bad today in life, 52:37 maybe frowned on you somewhat, 52:40 think about our Lord and Savior. 52:42 Knowing this in advance still came down here 52:46 because there are times we realize in our life 52:49 that someone's pat is on the back. 52:50 There's times that someone's encouraged you. 52:53 There's times that you've had joy. 52:54 There's times that people say, 52:55 "Oh, I understand where you're coming from." 52:57 You've had understanding people. 52:59 You've had people say, "Oh, let me pray with you. 53:01 Let me pray for you." 53:02 Here, but Jesus said, "No one understood Him. 53:05 Alone He must travel the path. 53:07 Alone He must bear the burden." 53:09 A life of solitude. 53:10 You know, mother didn't understand Him. 53:12 Brother and sister didn't understand Him. 53:14 Disciples didn't understand Him. 53:16 And how could they not when He was with them, 53:17 and did all that He did, and how He prayed with them, 53:20 and how He loved them, and how He encouraged them, 53:23 how He was a strength, how He never failed them, 53:26 how He never went around and say, 53:28 "Man, I'm just down and out for today. 53:29 I can't do my work." 53:32 He rose up a great day you know, before the sunrise, 53:35 and He began to get his strength from His Father 53:38 for the day's activity. 53:40 We got time maybe for one more little remedy 53:41 for loneliness found in 4 Testimonies 5:79. 53:45 I'm not going to get very far here, 53:46 but it's all right. 53:48 Notice, 45:79 says this, 53:52 "Many are suffering from the maladies of the soul 53:55 far more than from diseases of the body, 53:58 and they will find no relief, 54:02 no relief until they shall come to Christ, 54:05 the wellspring of life, complaints of weariness, 54:11 loneliness, 54:13 dissatisfaction will then cease. 54:17 Satisfy..." 54:18 Notice this, "Satisfying joy's will give you vigor 54:22 to the mind, and health, and vital energy to the body." 54:27 How wonderful that is to say, 54:29 "You know, you might be going through here, 54:30 but this is a real diseases of the body, 54:33 a disease of the mind is worth disease in the body, 54:35 and they'll never be any cure for that 54:37 until we come to Christ." 54:40 And when you come to Christ 54:43 and you really make a commitment to Christ, 54:46 you will see there'll be days 54:47 that maybe you'll be a little lonely, 54:49 the days you're little despair, 54:50 but you won't stay in that position. 54:52 Quickly as he's talking about these, 54:54 and going over in your mind, 54:55 the Holy Spirit will come to you, 54:56 and then we can rejoice and be exceedingly glad. 54:59 We rejoice because we have a redeemer. 55:02 We rejoice because we had someone 55:03 who paid the penalty for our sin. 55:05 We rejoice because someone said. 55:07 "I paid the price." 55:08 We rejoice because He says, 55:09 "My arms are open, come unto me, 55:11 oh, you that are heavy laden," please remember that. 55:13 We rejoice and we're exceeding glad. 55:15 He tells me up front, you're just like what we do. 55:18 We're just here for a moment, then we're gone. 55:20 We're like the grass, we're here and then we're gone. 55:22 And then the judgment, and then eternity, 55:24 I prepared a way for you. 55:26 Don't be lonely in this life because I'll never leave you 55:29 and I'll never forsake you. 55:31 John 14, "If you love me, He says, keep My commandments. 55:36 If you love Me, keep My command." 55:37 There's condition and then He says, 55:39 "Condition is and then I will pray to the Father, 55:43 I will pray to the Father. 55:44 If you want to get rid of that lonely feeling, 55:47 I'm going to encourage you. 55:48 Right now just have a quick closing prayer with me 55:51 and commit, scatter these things 55:53 before the Savior 55:55 and He's willing to take those things from you. 55:56 Let's pray, shall we? 55:59 Merciful Father in heaven, 56:01 we thank You for your precious word. 56:02 We thank You that you're always there. 56:04 Thankful that You've said that we could come into You 56:06 and scatter all these cares and perplexities before You. 56:08 You promised to hear and You've promised to answer. 56:11 Lord, we pray that You will take 56:12 those who are going through difficult situation right now 56:14 in loneness accept You in their heart and life 56:16 and that will be changed. 56:18 Thank You and I praise You in Jesus' name, amen. 56:21 Hello, and welcome back, friends. 56:23 I pray that that message has been a message of hope 56:26 that it has given you some arsenal 56:28 that you could take your Bible now, 56:31 look up these Bible promises, 56:32 and you can claim them as your very own. 56:35 How to defeat loneliness? 56:37 You know, God is a God of victory. 56:39 He's a God of hope. He's a God of power. 56:42 And He wants to instill all of that in you. 56:45 In closing, let me share one Bible passage, 56:47 this is 2 Timothy1:7. 56:51 And it reads, 56:52 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, 56:55 but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 56:59 Brothers and sisters, friends, 57:00 He wants you to have a sound mind. 57:02 He wants that loneliness to dissipate. 57:05 He wants to come in and fill you with His love 57:08 and give you a sound mind so that you can go forth. 57:12 And if you would like to add this message 57:14 to your video library 57:17 that you would like to be able to listen to it 57:19 time and time again, 57:20 we pray that you'll contact us here. 57:22 You may contact us at Behold the Lamb Ministries, 57:25 you can call us here in the United States, 57:27 we're on Central Time, 57:29 and that is 618-942-5044 57:33 or you may write us at Behold the Lamb Ministries, 57:36 PO Box 2030 Herrin, Illinois 62948. 57:41 Visit us on the web 57:42 at www. BeholdTheLambMinistries.com. 57:47 And you may also send me an email 57:49 at BeholdTheLambMinistries @yahoo.com. 57:53 Until next time, friends, 57:54 may our precious, precious Lord 57:56 continue to richly bless you and yours. |
Revised 2018-12-24