Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000002A
|
00:30 The Prosperity Gospel.
00:33 This morning if you have your Bibles, 00:34 open with me to Job chapter 42 00:37 and we are going to read together verse 10. 00:41 Job Chapter 42. 00:47 And we are going to read verse 10. 00:51 "And the Lord restored Job's losses, 00:55 when he prayed for his friends. 00:58 Indeed the Lord gave Job 01:01 twice as much as he had before." 01:05 So this morning while the focus is gonna be on Job, 01:08 I'm not gonna walk through the life of Job, 01:10 many of you already know that Job had his entire life 01:13 turn upside-down, his family was obliterated, 01:17 his cattle was stolen. 01:20 The only one left alive was his wife 01:22 who later tried to convince him to curse God and die. 01:28 And he was covered from head to food in boils, 01:30 even cursing the day that he was born 01:32 but he never blamed God for it. 01:36 Yet the moral of the story is 01:37 in the entire Book of Job 42 chapters 01:40 or surrounding this one man's battle in the deepest, 01:44 darkest recesses of his life. 01:47 He's trying to figure out how to get answers from God, 01:50 wondering why these trials come. 01:52 Sometimes God doesn't send us a prior notice 01:54 before these trials arrive, 01:55 sometimes they arrive unnoticed to us but known to God 01:59 and the beauty of it is, 02:00 God never allows any trial to come 02:03 that He knows will crush His children. 02:07 He measures His trials, 02:10 He measures the trials. 02:14 He will not allow us to be tested and tempted 02:17 beyond which we are able, He measures them, 02:20 but it is up to us to turn to Him at that moment 02:23 to find the deliverance 02:25 that we could only find in Christ. 02:29 But this morning what we are going to do 02:30 is walkthrough what I referred to as the prosperity gospel 02:34 summarized in a single text. 02:36 In your Bibles this morning 02:38 go with me to 2 Chronicles 7:14, 02:41 2 Chronicles 7:14, 02:45 look at that with me. 02:47 And we're gonna walk through the eight conditions 02:51 that are listed in this verse. 02:52 I remember back in 2001, September 11th, 2001, 02:57 when this attack came to the World Trade Centers 02:59 in New York City downtown. 03:00 My sister worked for the fire department 03:02 at that time. 03:04 She still works for the fire department 03:05 but also with the police department. 03:07 And I remember trying to get through to her 03:10 only to find out that communication to New York City 03:13 and to much of the surrounding downtown area 03:16 and much of New York 03:17 that is to Manhattan had been completely severed 03:21 because the towers on the top 03:22 of the World Trade Center came down 03:24 when the World Trade Center came down. 03:27 I tried incessantly to try to get through to her 03:30 and eventually I did when her line switched 03:32 to another tower to be able to get through. 03:35 But the good news is today, 03:36 there is no down tower in heaven. 03:40 When we call God, our prayers are going to get through. 03:46 There is no demolition taking place 03:48 between the prayers that the saints offer 03:51 and God's ability to hear those prayers. 03:54 There is an unbroken line 03:55 carrying between earth and heaven and when we call, 03:58 our loving heavenly Father hears our prayers. 04:02 But there are conditions, there are conditions. 04:07 One of the most quoted verses in the Bible 04:10 have outlined the eight most important components of prayer. 04:13 Let's look at 2 Chronicles 7:14. 04:16 "If My people who are called by My name 04:21 will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, 04:28 and turn from their wicked ways, 04:31 then I will hear from heaven, 04:34 and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 04:40 One of the most quoted verses on prayer 04:43 taken from the dedication of the Temple of Solomon, 04:48 but this is somewhat of a... 04:50 It has become somewhat of a, the Lord is my shepherd or 04:54 our Father which art in heaven. 04:55 It hasn't really been a verse that has been analyzed 04:58 the way that it should be. 05:00 You know, we say, John 3:16, 05:01 "For God so loved the world we have, 05:03 the wages of sin is death." 05:04 You know, 05:05 sin is the transgression of the law. 05:07 These are verses that we sometimes spit out 05:08 but we don't pause to inform ourselves 05:11 and to absorb what they really mean. 05:14 But this verse contains eight significant components 05:18 in the Christian's life on how we can come away 05:21 with a successful prayer life. 05:25 The eight that we're gonna cover this morning is, 05:28 first of all, God, God, 05:31 if my people, 05:33 God is the central focus of this verse. 05:37 Secondly, and the focus of the verse is, God's people, 05:40 if my people. 05:42 Third, God's name. 05:45 Fourth, man's will. 05:47 There is something we must do in order to unlock the promises 05:51 that God wants to extent to us. 05:53 You know, when you think that there is nothing you can do, 05:55 there is nothing we can do to enhance our salvation, 05:57 but there is something we can do to have 05:59 a great saving relationship with Jesus, amen? 06:03 But there is nothing we can do. 06:04 If somebody says, what can you do to be saved. 06:06 You've got to accept the gift of salvation. 06:09 But when it comes to walking the Christian life, 06:11 when it comes to the journey, 06:13 there is something that we must do to unlock 06:15 heaven's storehouse 06:18 to unhindered the blessings that God wants to send to us, 06:23 to unchain those things 06:24 that are otherwise chained and undelivered 06:29 because we haven't fulfilled our responsibility in our part 06:32 of the, of the bargain 06:33 if I could use that word loosely, 06:35 because there is no real bargain with God. 06:37 You're either living according to God's conditions 06:40 and He's blessing us 06:41 or we're not living according to God's conditions, 06:43 His conditions and He's not blessing us. 06:45 There are conditions, God, God's people, God's name, 06:49 man's will and then, 06:51 the fifth thing, God's conditions. 06:53 In the same way parents have conditions for their children, 06:56 God has conditions for His children. 07:01 When we live up to the conditions 07:03 by His strength, then God's response, 07:06 God's redemption and finally God's restoration. 07:10 And what we need in 2017 07:12 is God's redemption and God's restorations, 07:15 and so we're gonna begin from one and go through eight 07:18 and understands how, how do we get redemption, 07:21 how do we enjoy restoration in the power 07:27 and the presence of God? 07:29 I said it this morning, I said this, this morning 07:32 during the announcements, but remember this again, 07:35 if, if we want God to hear us when we speak, 07:42 we've got to be willing to hear God when He speaks. 07:46 Amen. Amen. 07:52 One of the key components in having 07:54 a very affective prayer life is the study of God's word. 07:59 Is what church? 08:01 The study of God's word. 08:03 I have, I've had a Bible for sometime, 08:07 I have lot of Bibles and you could go to my house 08:09 and see them in the different Bible cases. 08:12 And you can go back and see how torn and tattered they are 08:14 from all the wear and tear, 08:15 I had the Bible that I had when I traveled all the time 08:18 with the Heritage Singers, 08:19 that Bible was given to me by my wife's aunt. 08:22 She is now, recently she's passed away 08:25 a number of years ago but you could see 08:27 all the markings and highlights in that Bible. 08:30 Then I replaced it with another one 08:31 but before that Bible, 08:33 I had a Bible in New York City, a prison ministry Bible 08:36 that I would go from 08:38 Sabbath School to prison ministry 08:40 throughout all the different jails in New York City, 08:42 Rikers Island, 08:43 the Brooklyn House of Detention, 08:45 the Queens Facility, 08:47 we'll go from Sabbath to Sabbath 08:48 through different facilities kind of like our people, 08:50 I wouldn't stay in church, 08:52 I would rather go to the prisons and minister 08:55 to other people, I have that Bible. 08:57 It had no concordance, it had just Genesis 08:59 all the way to Revelation. 09:01 And I look at that Bible and unfortunately 09:04 Louise, water stained it, and some of the markings 09:09 that I put on my marker 09:11 they had just kind of roll-off some of those pages. 09:14 And then I have a Bible after that, 09:17 that is so beautifully marked the one I had the longest. 09:23 That I recently decided 09:24 I'm gonna replace that one with this one 09:26 because the cover is falling apart, 09:28 the pages starting to get wrinkled in the back, 09:30 and I've turned the pages so much, 09:32 I'm afraid for them they start breaking. 09:34 But I want to let you know how hard it was 09:37 to lay that Bible down and leave it at home. 09:41 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 09:43 When you got a Bible that you have tuned 09:45 and you worked that thing 09:46 and the pages are now no longer sticking 09:49 and you can just turn because you know where it is. 09:54 That Bible became my sword. 09:57 And I put that Bible on my shelf 09:58 and I look at it everyday. 10:00 That was the Bible that I had, I remember years ago, 10:04 one of my other Bibles I remember 10:05 being in the Heritage Singers 10:06 and we had a concert at the church 10:08 on a Sunday afternoon 10:10 and I remember sharing with people after the concert 10:12 in that Bible in the church, 10:14 we loaded all the equipment in the bus 10:17 and everything was done. 10:20 And when the bus pulled away I said, "Wait, wait, wait, 10:22 where is my Bible? 10:24 Where is my Bible? 10:26 And I remembered I left it in this music room 10:28 in that big huge church 10:31 and I ran to every door I could to get in that church. 10:34 We made phone calls to the people 10:37 that took you to the plane, nobody would answer. 10:40 And Mack said, "John, we've got to leave." 10:42 I said, but my Bible's in there. 10:45 He said, "We've got to leave, we've got a concert. 10:46 I said, "My Bible's in there." 10:49 And I want to tell you, 10:51 I was sour for the next three days 10:54 until Federal Express delivered my Bible. 10:58 And I think to myself, 10:59 what would happen if you didn't have your Bible, 11:01 how would it affect your life? 11:04 There are people that come to church 11:05 and we have Bibles in the, in the courtroom 11:08 and on the shelf that people come and they leave, 11:10 they don't even know they're missing. 11:12 How close are you to your Bible? 11:15 Because let me make this very clear, 11:17 without a constant connection to your Bible, 11:19 it is not possible, 11:21 it is not possible to claim promises 11:25 that you don't even know were there. 11:28 You got to read those things. 11:31 And so when my wife and I have started to do 11:33 for this new year. 11:34 She said, "John, use your new Remnant Study Bible 11:37 so that we could be on the same page. 11:39 It has the Ellen White's notes in it 11:41 and, and all the wonderful commentaries throughout 11:43 and we've been reading our Bible every day. 11:46 We don't let our emotions cancel our Bible readings. 11:52 Because you gonna wake up in the morning 11:53 and don't feel like reading your Bible. 11:55 But if you don't feel like reading, 11:57 what in essence you are saying is, 11:58 "I don't want to hear God talk to me." 12:01 And we don't consciously say that, 12:03 but this is the way that God speaks to us through His word. 12:10 But later on during the day, we want to ask God something, 12:12 God said, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, 12:14 wait a minute, wait a minute. 12:15 I wanted to talk to you this morning, 12:16 you didn't want to hear anything that I wanted to say, 12:18 so why should I hear what you say? 12:21 Let me encourage you church members, 12:23 brothers and sisters in Christ, 12:24 those may be watching the program, 12:28 get into a relationship with God 12:30 by getting into a relationship with His word. 12:35 That's where the connection begins. 12:37 You'll only know what's in the store when you go there. 12:40 You can order something from Walmart or from Macy's 12:43 or from any of these major stores 12:44 unless you know what's there. 12:46 You got to go to God's word to know what's there. 12:50 God's word has to be in your home and in your heart. 12:56 But you'll find that through prayer 12:58 our lives become this constant connection with God. 13:03 Let's go to Matthew 6:9 and notice 13:06 how prayer always begins. 13:08 You got to learn how to begin 13:10 the first condition of answered prayer, 13:13 the first condition of prosperity and prayer 13:16 as you got to know who you're talking to. 13:19 Matthew 6:9, when Jesus taught His disciples to pray, 13:22 He said to them, 13:24 listen to this, He said to them, 13:26 "After this manner..." 13:27 And now I'm reading the King James Version 13:29 on this one.` 13:30 He says, "After this manner therefore pray ye..." 13:35 And what are the two words that He said after that? 13:39 "Our Father which art, where, in heaven..." 13:42 And what did He say, "Hallowed be thy name." 13:46 Now let me pause and say something there 13:48 because in this modern society, 13:51 some people today don't honor God's name. 13:55 I saw a post on Facebook where somebody said, 13:58 "God is my homie." 14:00 And that really made my skin crawl. 14:02 God ain't our homie, 14:03 God is our heavenly, holy Father. 14:05 Not our homie, He's not my boy. 14:12 Don't bring God down to an earthly level 14:16 when He's trying to bring us up to a heavenly level. 14:19 Our Father which art in heaven 14:21 the place where He abides His throne, 14:23 the place where He wants to communicate to us. 14:25 Don't bring Him down and don't take His name 14:29 and shrivel it down to some modern vernacular 14:32 of society's twisted ideas of God. 14:34 I kind of got of off the modern track 14:36 when they started calling people dog, 14:39 and I know it's not dog, it's dawg 14:41 but ain't nobody dawg, come on somebody. 14:44 But there was a time when you call somebody a dog, 14:46 it was an insult. 14:47 But you know, something is wrong when they call you dog 14:49 and you think, hey, that's cool, I'm your dog, 14:51 you're my dog. 14:52 I'm not your dog, you're not my dog. 14:54 We are brothers and sisters in Jesus. 14:55 Can you say amen? Amen. 14:57 But that's what society does, 14:59 it chisels away at the beauty and the holiness of God. 15:03 When you go to the White House, 15:04 when you go to special Black Tie Dinners, 15:08 you don't walk in in jeans, like, 15:11 where is my plate of food, y'all getting my food. 15:14 That was a part of Jesus tax 15:16 just in case you didn't get that. 15:18 You don't come to God that way. 15:20 You approach the throne of God with the sense of humility, 15:26 with the sense of all. 15:27 I remember once on a plane ride, 15:31 I was coming back... 15:33 Oh, I was going down to Florida, 15:34 I was on the plane ride. 15:36 And I was sitting next to a young lady 15:37 who was a medical student 15:39 and we got into an early conversation, you know, 15:42 we're gonna be on the flight for two and half hours 15:44 sitting next to somebody, at least say hello. 15:48 So uncomfortable and you goes, 15:49 both are sitting and looking straight. 15:52 I always have to say hello, anybody else? 15:55 Got to say something. 15:57 And if there is a last ones to come and sit down, 15:59 I'd say welcome to my neighborhood. 16:02 We always do that. 16:04 But as we begun to talk, 16:06 then I got into reading my Bible, 16:10 and on that seat next to the window 16:13 God took me to a place that I hadn't been frequently. 16:18 I got so filled with the sense of God's eternal power. 16:24 It began to absorb me to the point 16:27 where I had to turn my face to the window 16:29 because I didn't want this young lady to see the tears 16:32 streaming down my eyes 16:35 and I didn't want that experience to end. 16:39 I was so in God's presence on that plane. 16:43 And when I got to Florida to try to explain it to, 16:45 to my wife and to her family, and to her brother, 16:48 I couldn't recapture that, I said, 16:50 "Have you ever been in a place 16:51 where you just don't want to leave? 16:53 I saw, I said, I saw the Lord sitting there. 16:57 I saw Him sitting there and He invited me to come in 16:59 and, and the door close behind us 17:02 and He turned the light on just for He and I to communicate." 17:05 I said, "Honey, it was so, I can't explain it." 17:10 That's the kind of connection 17:12 we need to have with God everyday. 17:13 Such as closeness that when we, when we leave His presence, 17:17 we don't want to leave but we got to go to work. 17:20 Got to eat something. 17:23 We have responsibilities to perform 17:26 but we should be so connected to God. 17:28 Look at Hebrews 4:16, 17:30 "Let us therefore come," how? 17:33 "Boldly." 17:34 In another words, what is being illustrated is run to me, 17:38 "Come boldly before the throne of grace 17:41 that we may obtain," what? 17:43 "Mercy and find grace to help in time of need." 17:46 How often do you need mercy? 17:48 You know, the person that's guilty 17:50 doesn't ask for justice. 17:51 The person that's guilty ask for mercy. 17:54 Throw yourself on the mercy of the court. 17:56 I've done that a few times for speeding. 18:04 But I'm not gonna tell you about those instances. 18:08 But I'm gonna tell you about the time 18:09 that I parked in the handicap spot. 18:14 I just picked my mother from the hospital before she, 18:17 my mother, my natural mom, she was taking chemotherapy. 18:20 And she didn't have a good day and I therefore took her 18:23 through a therapy and brought it back and, 18:26 and I think that was the situation 18:28 but she was in the hospital I know that 18:29 and I took her out of the hospital, 18:32 we were living in California at the time. 18:33 And she had a prescription that had to fulfilled 18:36 before she went home, had to fill this prescription. 18:39 And she said, "Get me as close to the, to the door as you can, 18:43 but I didn't have a handicap sticker on my car." 18:46 And I parked it right in handicap 18:47 and I was walking my mother and holding her up 18:50 and I took her to the pharmacy counter 18:52 and when I went out there was a police lady 18:56 writing me a ticket and I said, "Officer..." 19:02 I did it so respectfully, 19:03 "Officer, my mom just got out of the hospital, 19:08 I know, I'm not supposed to park here 19:09 but I was trying to get her to the pharmacy counter 19:11 without, you know, making it difficult for her." 19:13 She said, "Tell that to the judge." 19:18 I was glad to tell it to that judge. 19:20 So I went to court, 19:24 stood before the judge and he said, 19:25 "And what are you here for?" 19:27 I said, "I got to dock it, I understand you were parked 19:29 in the handicap spot, what's your story?" 19:32 I said, "Your honor, I share with him the story, 19:34 I said, and I said, and the police officer said, 19:36 tell it to that judge." 19:38 I said, "So, your honor, I'm telling you, 19:39 you're the judge, I'm telling you the story." 19:41 He said, "If you can prove that your mother was just released 19:44 from the hospital on that day, I'll drop the ticket." 19:47 Man, I ran out of the court so fast. 19:50 Went to that hospital, got that discharged slip 19:52 and went back to the court, 19:54 gave it to the court clerk and she said, dismissed. 19:56 You know, that's when, when you know, 19:58 when you know that you're, 20:00 that the judge wants to release the fears in your life, 20:05 you can run to his throne and find mercy 20:08 and grace to help in time of need, amen? 20:11 So when the Bible says, come boldly, 20:14 it means approach God with confidence. 20:16 It doesn't mean come to God, cocky, 20:17 hey, Lord, I'm here, what's up? 20:19 It means come humbly before the Lord. 20:22 Do you know that the name of God is so holy 20:26 that when the Bible writer scribed His name, 20:28 they will put down the quill and pick up another quill 20:33 just to write His name and if they mess it up, 20:35 they didn't erased, they didn't have any whiteout, 20:38 they would take that whole page and tear it up 20:40 and start all over again, 20:42 that's how holy the name of God was, 20:43 they wouldn't even use the same quill 20:45 to write the rest of the passage, 20:46 they would pick up one just to write his name 20:49 and put that down and continue to write. 20:51 So when you pray, 20:52 understand that you're praying to a Holy God. 20:59 You're not making... you're not sending a text. 21:03 You're praying to a Holy God. 21:05 He hears our prayers, He wants to fulfill our needs, 21:09 but there is something else. 21:11 While we can approach God anytime we want to, 21:14 we cannot approach God anyhow that we want to. 21:19 Look at Psalms 95:6. 21:21 Psalms 95:6. 21:28 Come to Him any time. 21:31 And when I say, 21:34 we cannot approach God anyhow we want to. 21:37 I'm not talking about clean up your life 21:39 before you come to God 21:40 because you can't clean up your life 21:42 until you come to God. 21:43 I'm not talking about, okay, 21:44 wait, Lord, I have to put on a good suit to come to you. 21:46 No, come as you are but don't come arrogantly. 21:50 Don't come with pride and self-aggrandizement 21:54 which means pumping your self up 21:56 that you're doing Him a favor by coming to Him. 21:58 Look at what David the Psalmist says 22:00 should be our attitude when we come to God. 22:03 Psalm 95:6, he says, 22:05 "O come, let us do" what? 22:07 "worship and" what? 22:09 "bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our God, 22:16 our maker." 22:18 The song is in my head. 22:20 Come let us worship Him, 22:22 let us kneel before the Lord, our maker. 22:24 When you come to God, if, 22:26 if the opportunity presents itself, kneel before God. 22:32 Daniel kneeled and prayed three times a day. 22:35 The Apostle Paul bowed his knees 22:37 when he prayed. 22:38 The disciples kneeled when they prayed. 22:41 Even Jesus kneeled down when He prayed to His Father. 22:46 There is a saying that goes this way, 22:47 "A Christian must get on his knees 22:50 before he can get on his feet." 22:53 Got to get on your knees before you can get on your feet. 22:56 I saw the story once and I wondered 22:58 because everyday I feed the birds, 22:59 my wife and I, we feed the birds. 23:01 We, you know, we're gonna put our, 23:02 we're gonna put our birds in our taxes. 23:05 We feed the birds. Anybody else feeds the birds? 23:07 I love to feed the birds. 23:09 Sometimes I'm eating dinner and the bird is out there 23:11 and he's kind of going like this, like, I'm here, 23:14 I'm here and I get up my wife says, "Eat you dinner first." 23:19 I said, "But, honey, I can't eat, he is hungry." 23:22 So I get up and I scoop up some black oil seeds 23:25 and then the, 23:28 the other mix with the seeds without the corn, 23:30 they don't like corn a lot in Southern Illinois. 23:33 They always leave it 23:34 so I don't, I get the one without corn. 23:35 And I go put it on the shelf right there 23:38 and they all show up. 23:40 Right now the blue jays are storming it. 23:43 The blue jays are dive bombing, 23:46 they're coming in gross of six and seven 23:48 and one day there was nine out there. 23:50 And the cardinals are there and all the little brown birds. 23:54 There were so many birds this morning 23:56 that our squirrel was standing there fearful for his life. 23:59 He's like, he wasn't moving, he was on the lower shelf, 24:04 he said, "Wait till they clear the ledge before I go up there, 24:07 I could be pecked to death. 24:09 At least that's what he looked like he was thinking. 24:12 But, but I register about a bird 24:14 and I thought we've got some terrible storms sometimes 24:17 that come through Southern Illinois. 24:19 Where did these birds go? 24:21 Where did these birds go 24:23 when the winds are 60, 70, 80 miles an hour? 24:26 And I read a story, and I read a story that blew me away. 24:31 You see in the storm at night 24:33 when the birds as small as they are, 24:38 this is where we should get a bird brain. 24:41 We should pray, Lord, give me a bird brain 24:44 for this following story. 24:46 The birds when they, when they perched themselves 24:49 to sleep at night, they, you see they stand straight 24:52 during the day, look carefully their legs are not bent. 24:56 But when they sleep at night, 24:57 they bend their knees and it locks their claws. 25:02 It's like a vice lock. 25:04 When they bend their knees, 25:06 God designed it so their claws go and lock. 25:09 So the wind can't blow and they're saying, 25:12 I'll be here in the morning, 25:13 I'm just gonna keep my knees bent. 25:15 I would suggest to you, 25:17 if you hope to make it to the next morning 25:18 when the winds of your life are whipping up, 25:20 you have to bend your knees. 25:22 The birds make it through the storms of life 25:25 because they bend their knees and that little tiny bird 25:27 that couldn't weigh more than what a, what? 25:31 Wouldn't be nowhere near a pound, few ounces, 25:34 grams in some cases, they're so tiny. 25:37 They lock their knees 25:38 and the storms as angry as they get, 25:41 that bird says, I'll be here when you're done. 25:45 If we hope to make it through life, 25:47 we've got to keep our knees bowed before the Lord. 25:51 And another person said, 25:52 "A lot of kneeling keeps us in good standing before God." 25:56 Learn how to kneel down, kneel down. 26:01 You see, the beauty of God is it begins with God 26:04 but God quickly transitions from Himself to His people. 26:08 Look at Isaiah 59:1. 26:13 "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, 26:17 that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy, 26:21 that it cannot hear." 26:25 God could hear the prayers of the best saint. 26:30 And God could hear the prayers of the worst sinner. 26:34 His ears are not heavy that He cannot hear. 26:44 You got to back up sometimes, 26:45 I have this astronomy program on my iPad. 26:48 I've shown some of you, I love astronomy, 26:51 not astrology, astronomy. 26:53 I love to sit there and look at the planets, 26:56 it's called redshift. 26:57 If you're an iPad person or whatever, 26:59 it's just so, it takes me out of my... 27:02 it takes me out of my thinking on big 27:04 to remembering I'm small place. 27:09 And I would sit down and talk about 27:10 how far the star is from that star, 27:13 and my wife and I were talking about this, and I said, 27:15 "Honey, look at the star, I'm gonna speed it up." 27:18 She said, "Well, how far is it?" 27:20 I said, "Let's think of it this way. 27:22 To get to it from where we are, 27:25 it will take us 375 years at the speed of light. 27:31 She said, "We ain't going there." 27:34 I hate to say, we're not gonna get there, 27:37 not in this life. 27:39 Yet God in His love for us, 27:42 one day we're gonna have access to everything 27:45 we don't have access to now. 27:47 "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 27:50 neither have entered into the heart of man, 27:52 the things that God prepares for those that love Him." 27:54 So God is gonna make all this playground available to us 27:57 because He loves us. 27:59 He hears our prayers. 28:00 Acts 2:21, "And it shall come to pass 28:05 that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." 28:10 The name of the Lord shall be saved. 28:13 I'm gonna rifle through these. 28:15 The name of the Lord, 28:17 if you call on the name of the Lord, 28:19 you shall be saved. 28:20 When you go through your phone 28:24 and you're trying to contact someone. 28:26 Do you have a contact list, anybody? 28:28 Amen. 28:29 We all have a contact list. 28:31 We take that contact list out and we got the contacts 28:33 and we just scroll through them as fast as we could, 28:37 trying to find a person's name. 28:39 You know, the beautify of it is when you, when you call God 28:41 you don't have to scroll through anything, 28:43 you just have to say Lord Jesus. 28:46 Hear my prayer, and He hear. 28:47 Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 28:51 And let me, let me add another component here. 28:53 Sometimes we think that, well, I can't talk to God 28:55 because I'm a terrible sinner, I did something awful. 28:57 You know what? 28:59 That's when He wants you to talk to Him. 29:01 The devil sometimes makes us feel so unworthy. 29:05 He says, 29:06 think about you just did and you want to talk to God, 29:10 but that's the whole reason why God send Jesus. 29:14 He didn't send Jesus to clean sinners. 29:17 He said to the Jews, 29:18 if you knew that you were a slave, 29:20 then you would know you need to be set free, 29:22 but since you don't know that you're a slave, 29:24 I've come to seek and to save those who are lost. 29:28 He didn't come to, 29:30 He didn't come to tuxedo and gown wearing Christians. 29:35 He came to those who knows that we have a need of Him. 29:40 Whoever calls on Him shall be saved. 29:43 John 7:37, I'll read this and you're hearing, 29:46 "If anyone thirst..." If how many? 29:49 "Any one thirst, let him come to me and drink." 29:53 If anyone thirst. 29:55 You can beat me to the next text, John 6:37. 29:58 Look at this one. 30:00 John 6:37, 30:04 "All that the Father gives me will come to me, 30:08 and the one who comes to me, I will by no means" what? 30:13 "Cast out." 30:14 Lord doesn't say, get out of here. 30:16 Don't come here. He wants us to come. 30:18 He wants us to come, 30:19 tattered and torn and disappointed and broken. 30:23 Filled with heartache and despair and suffering, 30:25 He wants us to come in our moments of success, 30:27 in our moments of joy. 30:29 He doesn't want us just to come because things are going bad. 30:31 How many of you keep in touch with friends 30:33 just when things go bad? 30:34 I'm always suspect, 30:36 when people only call me when things go bad. 30:40 Have you ever noticed that? I know exactly who it is. 30:45 And you see the number. 30:47 You ever said that, 30:48 you don't have... don't raise your hand. 30:51 They only call me when they want something. 30:55 I don't want my Father to say that. 30:57 Amen? 30:59 Because folk that know that you call them only 31:01 when you want something, 31:03 the conversation gets superficial 31:06 at the very beginning. 31:07 Yeah, and yeah, you are waiting for the question. 31:11 You are waiting for them to ask you. 31:14 And if they don't, you hang up the phone and say, 31:16 do you know what? 31:18 Unbelievable, they didn't ask me for anything 31:22 which means the conversation is not done yet. 31:25 They try to soften you up before they bring it on. 31:29 We don't need to have that kind of relationship with God. 31:33 We've got to know, we can come to Him as we are, and He says, 31:35 if you come I will, I will not turn you away. 31:39 God does not turn His back 31:41 on the heart that seeks salvation. 31:43 Any one of us can place the phone call 31:47 and God will answer that. 31:49 2 Chronicles 16:9, 31:52 God's people, 31:54 you see when your name is in God's contact list, 31:57 He takes it to another level 32:00 when He gets a call from His children. 32:02 I'm so glad to know that we know that, 32:04 He has inscribed our name on the palm of His hand. 32:08 He has inscribed our name on the palm of His hand, 32:12 so when we call Him, we know we are on that contact list. 32:16 But look at what He promised us to do. 32:18 2 Chronicles 16:9, 32:22 "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout" 32:26 how much of the earth? 32:28 "The whole earth, 32:30 to show Himself strong on behalf of those," 32:34 who do what? 32:36 Whose heart is loyal to Him." 32:41 Whose heart is loyal to Him. 32:43 Let me put this in the proper package. 32:46 Whether you are loyal to God or not, 32:49 He want you to call on Him. 32:53 But if you want to see God's hand 32:54 move in a powerful way, 32:57 show your loyalty to Him. 32:59 He'll show Himself strong 33:02 in behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him. 33:06 He'll deliver you, whatever the situation, 33:08 but if you really want to see God move and do things 33:12 that you thought were unimaginable, 33:15 that could not have possibly even done, 33:17 just be loyal to Him. 33:19 And you see God moving away, just like parents, 33:22 when they know they have a child 33:24 that they can trust, 33:25 they say he is okay, I can give him the car keys. 33:29 I know that he is going where he said he is going to go 33:31 or she is going exactly 33:32 where she said she is going to go. 33:34 I know that she is there, just like my sister. 33:37 She has a daughter and a granddaughter. 33:41 And she put this tracking device 33:43 on my grand niece's phone, 33:45 or her granddaughters, and she said to her, 33:49 now when you go to school, if that device tells me, 33:54 you are any place but school, I'm gonna find you. 34:00 When that device tells me you left school 34:02 and you're on your way to work and you're at any place 34:04 but work, I'm gonna find you. 34:06 You got to know my sister 34:07 to know that you don't want her to find you. 34:11 She is a New Yorker. 34:14 Born and raise, 34:15 works for the police department and fire department. 34:17 One day my niece, my grand niece's mother 34:21 got out of herself and said to my sister, 34:23 "If you touch me, I'm gonna call the police." 34:25 She said, "Oh, let me save you the time, 34:28 I'm gonna touch you and I'll call the police." 34:32 Old fashion stuff, you know, but they are doing fine now. 34:37 You see the Lord shows Himself strong. 34:39 Why does He do that? 34:41 Proverbs 18:10, "Why does He do that?" 34:44 Look at why? Look at why? 34:47 Our heavenly Father loves us so much. 34:49 I got to speed up. 34:50 Our heavenly Father loves us so much, 34:53 the Lord tells us in Proverbs 18:10, 34:55 "The name of the Lord is a..." What? 35:00 "Strong tower, the righteous runneth into and is safe." 35:05 You want to know about the strong tower, 35:06 read the Book of Numbers. 35:08 The Book of Numbers, you know, 35:10 Numbers could make your head spin 35:11 with all the sacrifices and all that stuff, 35:15 but they build a certain number of strong towers, 35:18 these are called cities of refuge 35:20 that had to be certain distances 35:22 from every tribe of the children of Israel, 35:24 so that if anybody was in a transgression 35:26 or made a mistake 35:27 or did something that injured someone 35:29 and their lives were being sort, 35:31 they had to make that road clear, 35:33 had to have no pebbles, no rocks 35:35 nothing that the person who is guilty 35:37 could stumble over. 35:39 It had to be straight and direct to the strong tower, 35:42 to the city of refuge. 35:45 And when that person ran in, the Bible says, they are safe. 35:47 Why? 35:49 Because the high priest met them there. 35:52 And as long as the high priest live, 35:55 that person was saved. 35:59 How long was our high priest gonna live? 36:00 Somebody tell me? 36:02 He ever liveth to make intercession for us, 36:04 so, we could daily run in by prayer. 36:07 We could daily run in by prayer and know this, Psalm 37:25, 36:11 "We could know this, this is a promise. 36:15 This is a promise." 36:18 Psalm 37:25. 36:21 And this is definitely a King James Version text, 36:24 I've always heard it that way, and I love it that way. 36:26 I chose not to change it, but look at what it says, 36:29 "I have been young..." 36:31 Come on somebody? "And now I am what? 36:34 "Old yet, I have not seen the righteous" what? 36:39 "Forsaken, nor his seed" what? 36:42 Begging bread." Amen. 36:46 When we put God first, He will not put us last. 36:51 When we stand up for Jesus, He'll stand up for us. 36:55 When we walk in the light, 36:56 He'll never leave us in the dark. 36:58 He says, I've never seen the righteous forsaken. 37:02 And so sometimes the world makes you think that, 37:04 if you go the way of the world 37:06 you'd be famous, you'd be popular, 37:07 you don't have to worry about it. 37:09 Everybody will adore you and admonish you, 37:12 but the Bible says, the way of the transgressor 37:14 is hard, you know why? 37:15 Because our lives in the hand of God 37:18 is a life that has a guarantee. 37:21 Wouldn't you like to have somebody 37:23 as a friend that has no credit limit? 37:32 It's a good place to say amen. 37:35 Wouldn't you like somebody that nobody is gonna mess with? 37:42 Wouldn't you like somebody, Bob, 37:44 that could deliver you from any situation. 37:47 Okay. 37:52 Would you like somebody in your life 37:53 that loves you no matter what? 38:00 And will call and will answer. 38:06 Every time you call, He'll answer. 38:13 And I want to tell you 38:15 my mind is too finite to really tell you 38:16 the real truth about God. 38:18 When we get to heaven, we'll see so much 38:21 more than our minds could even ever grasp. 38:24 He'll say, John one day you said, 38:28 before I call, before you call, I will answer. 38:32 Let me show you how it works. 38:36 Wouldn't you want to be 38:37 in the laboratory of God one day, Louis. 38:39 Let me show you how it works. Let's pause for a moment. 38:44 If all of sudden come on those who have cell phones raise it. 38:48 I know you have it, come on just place your cell phone. 38:53 I did this experiment at Sunnydale Academy. 38:57 I said to the young kids, I'm only gonna say this once. 39:00 I'm gonna give you my phone number 39:02 once I said this to the young people, 39:03 and I said the first one to text me, 39:06 see the day before I told them I had a $100 bill in my pocket, 39:10 the next day I said 39:11 the first one that texts me gets the money in my pocket. 39:15 But I'm only gonna say my phone number once. 39:18 You could hear a bird change his mind. 39:23 I didn't repeat it, my phone exploded, all I would, 39:26 ding, ding, ding, ding, bye, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm. 39:33 The place exploded with messages 39:36 and they were just on their edge... 39:42 who sent it first, 39:43 who was the first one to get it in there. 39:45 I said I'll tell you at the end of the meeting. 39:46 Oh! 39:49 Tell us now, we want to know. 39:52 I'll tell you at the end of the meeting. 39:55 God is so sovereign. You know what he did that day? 39:59 Now I told them I had a $100 in my pocket the day before, 40:02 but I didn't tell them 40:04 I was gonna give them $100 a day after. 40:06 I said whatever is in my pocket you'll get. 40:08 Well I had a $20. 40:10 But if you're in academy, $20 is lot of money, amen. 40:13 Come on amen. 40:15 If somebody just says, here is 20 bucks to academy student, 40:18 yeah, it's a lot of money. 40:19 That was a lot of money to college students 40:21 back in my day, 40:23 but so, 40:24 I mentioned the young man's name 40:27 and the place erupted. 40:31 I mean, the girls started standing up 40:33 and they were clapping and stamping 40:35 at the same time, I said what's up with this guy, 40:38 and he came up the shy little guy. 40:43 Came up to the front 40:45 and everybody stood and cheer for him. 40:46 You know what? 40:47 I didn't know this, but God worked it out. 40:50 That, that was one of the kids in the academy 40:53 that nobody would talk to. 40:55 That people would leave out of the lot of the events. 41:00 That was probably the last to be considered for anything. 41:04 And the girls had a soft spot for him 41:07 because they always wanted 41:08 "I will use a alias name, they always wanted Johnny to 41:11 kind of make it to be the guy that people would like. 41:14 And that day he came up front, and I gave him the money... 41:25 I just had it in my hand. 41:30 I gave him the money and his head was down, 41:33 I gave him the money, his head stood up and he went, 41:36 and all of his friends erupted because they realized, 41:41 you may not pay attention to Johnny, 41:44 but the Lord wants to give us gifts, 41:47 when everybody else wants to leave us out. 41:49 When we put Him first, He will not leave us last. 41:52 Amen church? God is a good God. 41:55 And sometimes we don't understand that 41:56 because we think that well, you know, 41:58 we haven't really been all He wants us to be. 42:01 Even so, 42:03 He loves us 42:04 with an everlasting love. 42:10 That's the kind of God we have, 42:13 God, His people and His name. 42:17 But let's spend a few minutes on the conditions 42:19 before I close, John 14:15. 42:22 John 14:15. 42:32 I'm still getting phone calls from car dealers, 42:37 they keep telling me my warrant is about to expire. 42:41 You notice that, anybody else getting those phone calls. 42:43 Everybody wants to sell your warranty 42:46 because 2017 is coming. 42:48 I'm getting phone calls on my cell phone, 42:50 I can't stop all the marketers from calling my cell phone 42:53 800 this, 888 that, 866. 42:57 I'm getting to a place 42:58 where I don't want to pick my cell phone up anymore, 42:59 and my home phone said how do you stop them, 43:01 there was a time you could, 43:02 but they found a way around that. 43:05 We'd like to consolidate your debt for 2017, 43:07 if you have credit card. 43:10 Did you know your warranty is about to expire? 43:15 And I said, I already got the extended warranty. 43:17 Sir, sorry, we'll take you off our list. 43:19 They never took me off the list, 43:20 they keep calling me. 43:23 Here is my point. 43:26 Everything comes with a warranty 43:28 whether one year, two years, six months, four years 43:31 whatever the case may be. 43:32 And somebody knows that they'll service our vehicles 43:36 as long as we stay in harmony 43:38 with what the warranty outlines as the parameters of operation. 43:43 Well, once you go beyond the parameters of operation 43:46 and you damage the device, the company says, 43:49 we are not gonna cover it because you did this. 43:56 How many of us know 44:01 that the Lord wants to impart to us, 44:05 the person of the Holy Spirit, 44:10 who will lead us and guide us into all truth, 44:12 who will give us knowledge and wisdom, 44:14 who'll workout the work of God in our lives through the frail, 44:18 through this frail human flesh. 44:20 But he says, I'm concerned about whether or not 44:24 you really want me to give you the Holy Spirit, 44:26 so got to put a test. 44:28 John 14:15-16. Look at this. 44:31 John 14:15-16. 44:33 The text says, and we all notice together, let's read it, 44:36 "If you love me do..." What? 44:37 "Keep my commandments." That is not the whole text. 44:41 Because it didn't end, 44:43 it starts with the next word and what does it say, 44:46 "And I will pray the Father, 44:49 and He will give you another..." what? 44:51 Another helper, another comforter 44:52 that He may abide with you for..." how long? 44:55 Forever." 44:57 So now you wonder 44:58 how is God gonna work out His plan in our lives. 45:00 How is He gonna do this and never stop it, 45:02 because the Holy Spirit, 45:04 he wants to put the Spirit of God in your life, 45:06 my life, his life, her life. 45:08 And let you know that what you can't do, 45:10 the Spirit of God can do through you. 45:14 You shall receive power 45:16 when the Holy Ghost has come upon you, 45:18 but there is a condition. 45:21 The apostles said this in the Book of Acts, 45:23 I think Acts 5:29, it says, 45:25 "And we are His witnesses and so also are those 45:29 whom God has given His spirit to those who obey Him." 45:33 The Lord does not make that kind of power available to us 45:38 if we're not willing to be obedient. 45:41 If you love me do what? 45:43 And then if you're willing to do that, 45:45 and I'll provide you the strength to do that, 45:47 I'll impart to you the Holy Spirit 45:50 and he'll be able to do in you 45:51 what you never thought was possible. 45:54 The beautiful thing is God doesn't want us to fail. 45:57 But He knows that sometimes we will. 45:59 Go to Luke 22:31-32. 46:02 You see why we pray to God, what encourages me is that 46:07 not only are we praying to the Lord, 46:09 but do you know, can I say this, 46:11 Jesus is praying for us. 46:15 Isn't that wonderful? 46:16 Can you imagine His prayer list? 46:19 Can you imagine heaven's prayers list? 46:25 I'm at lost for words, 46:27 I can't imagine heaven's prayer list. 46:29 Got to pray for Bob, Louis. 46:31 The list goes on and on, he says, and he just... 46:38 Let me read where I could explain, 46:40 Luke 22:31-32. 46:43 Luke 22:31-32, 46:46 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon." 46:48 Let's put up the names in there, 46:50 Will, Will, Gary, Gary, 46:55 Jay, Jay. 46:56 The Lord said to Jay, Jay, Jay. 47:00 Indeed, Satan has asked for you. 47:04 I don't want to go past that. 47:06 Do you know Ozzie, 47:09 that there are days that devil asks for you. 47:20 Peter should have said, what did you say, Lord, 47:22 who asked for me? 47:25 The devil asked for you. Satan has asked for you. 47:32 I don't know what day of this week 47:34 or if it was in the past or if it's coming up 47:36 but there is gonna be a day, 47:39 that like Job, the devil is gonna say, 47:44 I know you are the guy, I got to go through. 47:45 Can you give me Bob today? 47:56 When that conversation came up 47:57 and Job was the subject of conversation. 48:02 The Lord said, okay, I'll tell you what? 48:05 Sure, you could do anything you want to him, 48:08 just don't take his life. 48:14 And you know what he did? 48:17 Took all of his wealth, all of his possessions, 48:19 all of his family, all of his children. 48:23 And when you read the story, it was relentless. 48:26 While one servant was telling him what happened 48:28 and another servant came and he said, 48:29 while he was speaking another servant came, 48:31 while he was speaking 48:32 and they outlined the whole life 48:33 and Job tore us got on 48:35 and put on sackcloth and ashes 48:36 in for the remainder of his trial. 48:40 It all started because Satan ask for Job and he said, 48:45 he is only serving you because you are good to him. 48:55 He said, "Satan has asked for you, 48:56 that he may sift you as wheat." 49:00 I don't want to ask for any, any hands because I know 49:03 that everyone of us at one point or another 49:06 felt like wheat. 49:08 Come on, amen somebody. 49:09 And the devil was sifting us. 49:12 I remember the days when 49:13 rest of it would come to church, 49:14 wondering whether or not she is gonna make it 49:16 through this next trying therapy. 49:18 Her body could hardly handle it. 49:22 And she was so in love with this church, 49:23 she came with masks on 49:25 so that we wouldn't get her sick, 49:26 but she was here, look at her now. 49:30 And the stories can go on and on. 49:32 This congregation is filled with old stories, 49:34 we all know each other's war stories 49:36 and there are more coming. 49:38 A loss of a job, a loss of a loved one. 49:42 An illness that we cannot control and we ask why? 49:45 Because the devil asks for you, that he may sift you. 49:53 But I'm so glad that's not the last verse. 49:56 Verse 32, "But I have prayed. But I have prayed. 50:00 But I have prayed for you. 50:02 Oh heavenly Father, thank you for praying for me, 50:05 that your faith should not fail." 50:09 Because sometimes do you feel like 50:10 your faith is about to fail, 50:13 and he says, "In one you have returned, 50:15 or one you are converted. 50:16 One you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren." 50:20 The Lord cannot use us to strengthen anyone 50:23 until our connection with God is strong. 50:28 I'm gonna all the way to the end of the sermon, 50:32 so I'm looking at my time. 50:34 And I want you go to Job 42:10, this whole topic of Job, 50:39 we're gonna share some more of this during the week so, 50:41 you're gonna get the rest of this. 50:43 This entire topic of Job, was that the Lord 50:47 allowed the devil to come into his life 50:49 to torment him at the level 50:51 that has not been matched by anybody's sins. 51:03 And you ought to take the time to sometimes read Job, 51:05 all those moments where Job, even when Job's friends came by 51:09 and sat and looked at him for three days, 51:11 not knowing what to say 51:12 and then they opened their mouth and they said, 51:14 well, you had to do something to get like this. 51:25 But what happened? 51:27 What happened that led to Job's restoration? 51:30 What happened that Job's restoration was granted by God. 51:36 The Bible says in verse 10 of Job 42. 51:40 "And the Lord restored Job's losses." 51:46 Now the losses were many, family, cattle, sheep, 51:50 reputation, standing in the community, 51:54 everything that he had lost, 51:56 the Lord restored Job's losses 52:01 when he prayed for his friends. 52:11 Somewhere along the way 52:13 we have to stop thinking about ourselves all the time. 52:20 So much of Job's lament was what did I do, 52:23 Lord I curse today, I was born. 52:25 Why am I going thorough this, 52:26 although he didn't charged God foolishly, 52:28 it took him a long time 52:31 to get the focus off of himself, 52:33 scraping his sores. 52:35 The oozing of the sores, the discomfort of the humility 52:41 and sheer embarrassment of a man so wealthy, 52:44 reduced to next to nothing, nobody wants to see Job, 52:48 and he has three friends 52:49 that really, didn't really give him a whole lot of hope. 52:53 And Lord said, Job, you need to pray for them. 52:58 And when he prayed for them, 52:59 the Lord restored everything he had and the Bible says, 53:03 "Indeed the Lord gave Job..." What? 53:06 "Twice as much as he had before." 53:10 I want to insert this 53:12 for the mothers and for the families. 53:14 You know somebody once said to me 53:16 when we talked about this, they said pastor, 53:20 Job lost all of his children, his sons and his daughters, 53:22 lost his cattle, lost his land, lost everything. 53:26 And even though God doubled by giving him more children, 53:29 more daughters, more sons 53:33 and you just, we just started Job's lesson. 53:36 They said, I am sure, 53:38 that with all the restoration that God blessed Job with, 53:41 I am sure Job lamented for the remainder of his life, 53:45 the loss of his children. 53:51 That's why this week 53:52 we're gonna talk about intercessory prayer. 53:55 Where are your children? 53:58 Where are your loved ones? 54:01 May be God is waiting for us 54:05 to stop praying for our own needs 54:08 and start praying for the needs of others. 54:10 Get outside of ourselves. 54:13 May be that's what God wants us to do 54:15 in order for us to experience the prosperity gospel. 54:20 Not things but relationships. 54:23 All those broken relationships and lastly, 54:26 I'm gonna read this quotation. 54:30 The book that we're gonna be using, 54:31 this comes from 54:34 page 8 and paragraph 4 says, 54:36 "Prayer is the opening of the heart 54:39 to God as to a friend." 54:41 Somebody said, could you pray for me, 54:43 I said, you know, you can pray to God. 54:44 He said, but I don't know how to pray. 54:45 Do it like this. Father, Lord, I need help. 54:50 He understands that. 54:51 You don't have to get trained to pray, 54:54 but the Lord wants to teach us sometimes how to pray, 54:57 so that we can have a prayer life that's empowered, 55:00 not, if you need help, 55:02 you don't, you're hanging of off cliff, 55:04 you don't say could I get a phone book. 55:07 You think could somebody help me 55:09 and God will hear that. 55:13 It continues not that it is necessary 55:17 in order to make known to God what we are. 55:20 That's opening our heart, 55:22 but in order to enable us to receive him, 55:24 prayer does not bring God down to us, 55:27 prayer brings us up to Him. 55:32 2017 we need to go in a different direction, up. 55:36 And my last quote, The Great Controversy 525, 55:40 "God will do things for us when we pray, 55:43 that He will not do if we do not pray." 55:49 We often say, you know I needed help. 55:52 You never asked me though. 55:55 Ask and it shall be given. Seek and you will. 56:00 Knock on the door will be opened. 56:03 I want us to sing the song. 56:06 Come up, Terra. 56:08 And I want to close our service a little differently today. 56:13 If you know that there is a need in your life, 56:17 I don't want you to tell me that need, 56:19 I don't want you to tell the person next to you 56:21 but if you want to begin today by saying, 56:25 you know Lord, okay, 56:30 I want to begin to reorder my steps and say father, 56:33 I want to have a genuine operative prayer life. 56:36 Today there is a chorus, 671. 56:42 It's just a chorus, there is only one verse, 56:44 it's not a whole lot but if today, 56:46 there is something in your heart, 56:47 in your life that you want to bring 56:49 before the Lord in prayer, 56:50 we're gonna sing this song as Terra plays softly. |
Revised 2017-02-21