Participants: Jim Gilley
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000019
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth live from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:17 Thriving Faith In Difficult Times, with Jim Gilley. 00:23 Seventh-day Adventists have long been known 00:25 as people of the Book. 00:27 We're also called, people of the eschaton. 00:30 We are also called, people of the Sanctuary. 00:34 And though we believe in and teach and follow all of these 00:38 important Bible truths, one of the most repeated statements, 00:42 one of the most encouraged statements by Ellen White 00:46 is the idea, the notion, that we ought be a people of 00:49 what she calls, practical godliness. 00:52 That our religion ought to have feet on it. 00:56 That our religion ought to be real. 00:59 That along with the theological background and undergirding 01:02 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, we ought to be 01:04 people who bring our religion into our everyday lives. 01:08 She calls that, practical godliness. 01:11 It is practical godliness that attracts people to the 01:15 Word of God and to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:16 And so during these meetings, Jim Gilley has been walking us 01:21 through what we call practical godliness. 01:24 What do you do when you've got fear, Danny? 01:26 What do you do when you worry, when you have worry 01:29 that you cannot control? 01:31 And on last night, he settled us into the faith. 01:35 He settled us down and walked us through what it means to 01:39 rest in the Lord and trust in the Lord. 01:41 Danny, these have been great meetings. 01:43 Well they are, and you know, I was just thinking. 01:45 Almost this November will be 27 years ago that I was impressed 01:49 the Lord wanted us to build a station to reach the world 01:53 with an undiluted three angels messages; 01:55 one that will counteract the counterfeit. 01:57 I didn't have names, titles, and programs but I knew 02:00 that God wanted 3ABN to give a message 02:03 to a lost and dying world. 02:05 A present truth, a message that literally will help people 02:09 make it to the kingdom. 02:10 And I'm always so encouraged. 02:12 And then when I see things, I'm amazed. 02:14 And even when I stay home and I turn on 3ABN and I see 02:17 programs like this, Anchors Of Truth, 02:19 I say, you know, this is exactly 27 years later and 3ABN, 02:24 thanks to all of you around the world, is still going. 02:26 And the administration here and all the folk that we have 02:30 putting together programming, C.A., 02:32 that it is indeed reaching people. 02:33 How do we know? 02:34 Because people all around the world are contacting us 02:37 and saying, thanks to 3ABN; the Anchors Of Truth series, 02:41 it might be any number of the other hundreds of series, 02:44 some that you've done, Harvest, and John Lomacang's, 02:47 all of these, people are saying, "This is drawing me closer 02:50 to the Lord Jesus Christ." 02:52 So from 3ABN, I thank each and every one of you 02:54 for your love and your prayers and financial support. 02:57 That we can continue to keep bringing programming 03:01 that are anchors of truth. 03:03 Praise the Lord, we're so happy to have this opportunity. 03:06 We think about Ken Cox series, some of the other series that 03:09 were more theologically based. 03:10 But someone spoke with me just last night. 03:12 They're going into full time ministry. 03:14 They gave up a good accounting job, now they're just 03:16 trusting on the Lord. 03:18 And worry has set in. 03:20 And she said that Jim, the night before, said just the 03:22 right thing to sort of settle her down and trust in the Lord. 03:26 And these are the kinds of things, Danny, that 03:28 Christians go through. 03:29 We have these kinds of; we're not immune to fear, 03:32 we're not immune to worry, we're not immune to doubt. 03:35 In fact, Satan presses these things in. 03:37 So along with the theology, we need to talk about; 03:40 how do you deal with everyday problems that Christians face. 03:43 And that's what Jim has been doing during this series. 03:46 And what I found out in my own life, they say, 03:48 "Out of sight, out of mind." 03:50 With 3ABN, it's ever present. 03:52 When we're watching it and we are being brought these truths, 03:55 it keeps it in the front of our mind; there is hope. 03:58 There is hope for discouragement, 04:00 there is hope for pain, there is hope for all 04:02 of the problems that Satan is throwing at us. 04:04 We can be reminded constantly, "Greater is He that is in us 04:08 than he that is in the world." 04:10 And so I'm very thankful, not only for what's happening, 04:13 but for the leadership of Pastor Jim Gilley 04:16 and his wife Camille, since they have been here about four years. 04:19 And it's been amazing. 04:20 They're wonderful people, they love Jesus. 04:22 And Jim is an incredible person. 04:24 The one thing that he hasn't done very much that we need to 04:28 get him doing a little more, he's a guy with a lot of gifts, 04:30 I don't really see him out here singing much. 04:32 But Jim Gilley has a beautiful voice. 04:34 I was behind the stage a while ago before we came on, 04:37 and I heard him singing. 04:38 And I said, we have got to get Jim out here. 04:39 Not only can he... He's like Pastor Lomacang. 04:42 He can preach and he can sing. 04:44 Praise the Lord. 04:45 Now we need to get Melody out her, but before we do that 04:47 and she brings our music, would you have prayer for us please. 04:51 Heavenly Father, we thank You for another beautiful 04:54 Sabbath day to worship You. 04:56 We just thank You that we can be here today, 04:59 for this series, Anchors Of Truth. 05:01 And Lord, that You will anoint Pastor Jim Gilley, 05:04 that You will fill him with Your Holy Spirit, 05:07 that everything that he says will be words from on high. 05:12 And we pray for the music right now from Melody Dawn, 05:15 and You will continue to bless her. 05:16 And for all of our viewers right now, that we'll be able to 05:20 put aside everything that Satan is throwing at us, 05:22 to sit down and relax and just be open to the Word of God, 05:26 that we can be drawn closer to You. 05:28 In Jesus' name I pray, amen. 05:31 Would you introduce your daughter? 05:32 I will. Melody Dawn. 05:35 I'm so happy that Melody is here to sing for us this morning. 05:38 And, Melody, I love you with all my heart. 05:41 And I appreciate you, you're a wonderful daughter. 05:44 And I'll quickly say this, that she had a birthday 05:47 just a week or two ago. 05:49 I won't tell which one it is. 05:51 But I bought her this wonderful present. 05:55 I thought it was a wonderful present, 05:57 and then I got to thinking about it. 05:58 I said, because she's such a wonderful daughter. 06:00 And then I said, but since I'm the father, 06:02 maybe I should get the present. 06:04 It was a garden tiller. 06:05 So I gave her something else and kept the garden tiller. 06:10 I'm glad he did. 06:12 It was just an excuse to get a garden tiller. 06:14 We're glad that you're here, Melody. 06:28 I've just been with Jesus. 06:34 I've just seen His glory. 06:39 I've just felt His presence. 06:45 As I feel it now. 06:51 He is all I long for. 06:56 There's no one I desire more. 07:02 For I've just been with Jesus. 07:07 And I am with Him now. 07:13 Here in this place, my soul is satisfied. 07:22 You have erased the wounds I've tried 07:29 so hard to hide. 07:33 I'm learning how to abandon all my fears 07:42 each time I meet you here. 07:47 I've just been with Jesus. 07:53 I've just seen His glory. 07:58 I've just felt His presence. 08:04 As I feel it now. 08:10 He is all I long for. 08:15 There's no one I desire more. 08:20 For I've just been with Jesus. 08:26 And I am with Him now. 08:38 Nothing but You, that's all my eyes can see. 08:46 Finally I found the place my heart 08:54 has longed to be. 08:57 My own desires, they don't matter anymore. 09:07 My will, my life, is Yours. 09:12 I've just been with Jesus. 09:17 I've just seen His glory. 09:23 I've just felt His presence. 09:29 As I feel it now. 09:34 He is all I long for. 09:40 There's no one I desire more. 09:45 For I've just been with Jesus. 09:51 And I am with Him now. 10:03 I've just been with Jesus. 10:08 And I am with Him now. 10:28 Thank you so much, Melody. 10:30 I appreciate that. 10:32 It's good to be here this morning. 10:34 And I've invited the pastor of this church, who is my pastor 10:39 because I'm a member here now, and I've invited him to come 10:44 and to have an added word of prayer this morning 10:46 as we seek the Holy Spirit to be with us in our presence. 10:52 Our gracious Father in heaven, we bow our hearts 10:55 before You this morning. 10:57 Lord, whenever we come to the fountain, we know 11:00 that it will be filled. 11:03 When we come to the table, we know that bread will be 11:05 placed there for our strength and our nourishment. 11:09 And Lord, this morning we pray a blessing on Pastor Gilley 11:12 as he unfolds to us which You have imparted to him. 11:16 In these uncertain times, it's good to know that 11:19 we have a God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 11:23 And we pray an anointing on this bread that's about to be broken. 11:29 As we partake of it, we pray that our thirst and our hunger 11:33 for righteousness and for security will be provided today. 11:37 Help us to go forth in an unstable world, 11:39 standing on the solid Rock. 11:42 And may this message deliver to us, Lord, all that we need 11:45 to hear for this hour. 11:47 As we receive, we also pray a blessing on the messenger. 11:51 In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 11:55 Thank you, Brother John. 11:56 We appreciate you. We really do. 11:59 John and Angie are dedicated to the Lord. 12:02 And very much a part, even though they're also part of the 12:06 Illinois Conference and pastor of this church 12:09 that meets here at the 3ABN Worship Center, 12:12 they are also very much a part of 3ABN. 12:15 And they travel a great deal for 3ABN. 12:19 They are world wide ambassadors for us 12:22 and we appreciate them so very much. 12:25 If you have your Bibles, I'm going to invite you to turn to 12:27 Joshua the 1st chapter and beginning with verse 5. 12:32 Now this tells us about a situation that Joshua is facing. 12:39 You see, Moses has just died and Joshua is afraid. 12:45 He has been right to the edge of the Promise Land before. 12:49 He was a young man then. 12:51 He had the courage, he and Caleb, and they were 12:53 ready to go across. 12:54 But the people were not ready to go across. 12:58 And so they were delayed by 40 years. 13:02 And now they are there again. 13:04 But fear has gripped his heart, 13:07 this man of courage, 13:09 and God is speaking to him. 13:12 You know, God does speak to us through His Word. 13:16 And I want to tell you something. 13:17 This is the God who gives us warnings. 13:20 There are warnings all through the Bible. 13:23 There are prophecies in the Word. 13:25 There are severe statements. 13:28 But this is also the God that talks about courage 13:33 and talks about encouragement. 13:35 And He wants you to be lifted up. 13:38 He wants you to have courage to face the world. 13:43 And here, He's talking about this. 13:45 And this very text that He gives to Joshua 13:47 is meant for you today. 13:51 And here it is in the 1st chapter of Joshua 13:54 beginning with verse 5. 13:55 "No man shall be able to stand before you 13:58 all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, 14:02 so I will be with you. 14:05 I will never leave you nor forsake you." 14:09 We have read that text a number of times in this series. 14:12 Because that is the assurance. 14:15 You read it over in Hebrews. 14:16 It's the assurance that... 14:18 Hebrews, by the way, is quoting Deuteronomy 31 14:22 and Joshua 1. 14:23 Because this is the very word of God. 14:26 "I will never leave you. I will never forsake you." 14:32 Have you ever felt forsaken? 14:34 Of course you have. 14:36 Everybody has. 14:38 But I will tell you, from the promise of God, 14:41 that he says He will not forsake. 14:43 Verse 6, "Be strong and of good courage, for to this people 14:49 you shall divide as an inheritance the land 14:52 which I swore to their fathers to give them." 14:54 "Only be strong," verse 7 says, "and very courageous, 14:59 that you may observe to do all according to the law." 15:04 Verse 8, "The Book of the Law shall not depart from 15:08 your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night." 15:11 That scripture; the law, including the Ten Commandments 15:15 and all of God's Word, He says you need to meditate on it. 15:19 And these are the words of God. 15:21 This is not even a prophet speaking. 15:23 This is God speaking to Joshua. 15:26 And He says, "You must meditate on the Word." 15:30 You want strength for the times in which we're living? 15:33 You've got to open the Word. 15:36 There is strength in the Word. 15:38 Meditate upon it. Spend time in it. 15:42 Because this is where God speaks to each one of us. 15:49 And then it continues. 15:50 He says, "Do according to all that is written. 15:54 For then you will make your way prosperous, 15:59 and then you will have good success." 16:03 You want to have success in your life? 16:06 And I'm not talking about piling up money. 16:08 I'm talking about being effective for God. 16:12 He says if you want that, then meditate upon the Word 16:17 and study the Word of God. 16:19 Verse 9, "Have I not commanded you? 16:22 Be strong and of good courage." 16:25 God repeats it five times. 16:28 Be strong, be of good courage. 16:32 You know, sometimes people will ask you, "How is your courage?" 16:37 Now there's a lot of different ways to answer that. 16:41 And courage is a word that we sometimes don't 16:45 really and truly understand. 16:46 Confidence might be a little more something 16:50 that we would understand. 16:51 And the word confidence comes from two Latin words; 16:56 "con" means all together, 16:59 and "fidere" means trust or faith. 17:03 Confidence 17:06 Do we have all together faith and trust? 17:11 You see, our confidence must not be in ourselves, 17:14 but we must have confidence. 17:15 It has to come from God, not something we build up. 17:19 You see, this is where all the positive thinking people 17:22 get it all messed up. 17:24 They have the confidence being in you. 17:27 No, the confidence is not in you. 17:30 That will cause a lot of problems, believe me. 17:34 The confidence must be in God. 17:39 But you know, the old devil, he's got it really worked up. 17:42 See, he will get the people of the world off on the wrong side. 17:47 He will have the counterfeit there. 17:49 The counterfeit is this positive living type concept 17:54 that you see in the world today. 17:56 That is where people build up faith in themselves. 18:01 That's not what God is talking about. 18:03 He didn't tell Joshua, "Build up faith in yourself." 18:06 He didn't say that. 18:07 He said, "Trust in Me. Go to the Word." 18:10 You get your confidence, you get your courage from the Word. 18:14 You don't get it by self. 18:16 That's not where it comes from. 18:18 But you see, that's what the world teaches. 18:20 Now as Christians, we see that and so we say, 18:24 "Oh, I don't want to have anything to do with that." 18:27 So we miss out on the genuine. 18:31 Now listen, there's counterfeit money out there, isn't there. 18:35 Just because there is counterfeit money out there 18:39 does not mean that you don't accept your money every week 18:42 when you get through working, right? 18:44 You don't say, "Oh no, I don't want that stuff. 18:46 There's counterfeit money all over the place. 18:49 Mine might be counterfeit, I don't want to touch that." 18:52 You see, the devil will try to get you to give up 18:56 that which is good because of that which is bad. 19:01 Same with the Holy Spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit. 19:04 We see the counterfeit. 19:06 And we get so afraid of the counterfeit that we are 19:09 afraid to avail ourselves of the genuine. 19:14 You know what I'm saying? 19:17 I see you nodding so I know you do. 19:20 I know you're there. 19:21 I can hear you breathing. 19:23 But otherwise, you know, every once in a while... 19:27 I never do ask for amen's. I never get them either. 19:30 But I don't ask for them all that often. 19:32 I remember one time in Arlington Texas, 19:35 I thought I got an amen. 19:36 But it was actually a baby crying. 19:38 And I use to tell them, I said, "Whatever you do, 19:44 don't amen because I couldn't handle it. 19:46 It would break my rhythm." 19:47 And they didn't, they didn't. 19:50 So I never had to worry about my rhythm being broken. 19:54 But I will say this, my friend. 19:56 That we should not miss the genuine because the 20:00 counterfeit is there. 20:03 God wants to build your faith right now. 20:07 Jeremiah the 12th chapter verse 5, "If you have run 20:12 with the footmen and they have wearied you, 20:17 then how can you contend with horses?" 20:21 That text; if you can't even run with the footmen, 20:25 forget about the horses. 20:27 You see, right now we're running with the footmen. 20:29 We are facing crisis after crisis in our own lives. 20:33 Some physical crisis, emotional crisis, financial crisis, 20:37 family crisis, over and over in our own lives. 20:42 My friend, if we can't handle those now, how can we 20:46 handle the big crisis which we know is going to come. 20:50 We're feeling a little bit of it in our country with the economy, 20:53 with all these different things that are happening, 20:56 earthquakes around the world, and all of these things. 20:59 We're starting to see a little of what it's going to be like 21:05 just before Christ returns. 21:08 We want to be ready to go through that period 21:13 strong, with courage. 21:18 And the only way we can do it, is linking up with Jesus. 21:23 Getting our confidence on a moment by moment basis from Him. 21:29 You see, if we can't make decisions that require 21:32 courage right now, 21:36 then are we going to make decisions later? 21:40 I was holding an evangelistic meeting one time and I saw 21:44 two situations in that particular meeting 21:47 that I have never forgotten. 21:50 I went to the house of a lady. 21:52 Her husband was not a member of the church, not a Christian. 21:55 Never had given his heart to the Lord. 21:56 Had been coming to the meetings and he had made a commitment. 22:02 And I went to visit with him and I said, "Now we're going to have 22:05 a baptism on Sabbath and I'm inviting you to 22:09 become a part of it. 22:11 Would you like to become a part of it?" 22:12 He said, "Yes, I would. 22:14 I want to be baptized, I want to be a part of 22:16 God's remnant church." 22:18 And his wife looked at him. 22:20 Now she was a church member. 22:22 She was an officer in the church. 22:25 She was, I believe, the church clerk. 22:28 And she looked at him and she said, "Well then, how are 22:31 we going to make it? 22:33 Because you know if you become a Seventh-day Adventist, 22:39 you won't be able to work on Saturday any more, 22:41 and you get time and a half on Saturday." 22:43 Now this is the Adventist talking. 22:45 This is a Christian lady talking. 22:49 And bless his heart, it took the wind right out of his sails. 22:54 Yes, it was going to hit them in the matter of their economy 22:58 if they did that. 22:59 It was going to change their budget. 23:01 But he was looking for her to say, "Honey, I'm standing 23:04 with you no matter what." 23:06 She did not have the courage to try to make it 23:10 without that overtime. 23:12 If we can't make it without overtime, folks, how do we 23:15 expect to make it in the future with all the things that are 23:18 coming on this world. 23:20 You see, we've got to make decisions right now. 23:23 Some of you that are watching, you've been thinking about 23:26 starting to keep the Sabbath. 23:29 But you're afraid. 23:31 Oh my friend, you've got to make that decision now. 23:35 Because if you can't make that decision now, 23:38 how can we run with the horses if we're not able 23:46 to run with the footmen? 23:48 You see, if we can't do it now, make decisions now 23:51 that require some courage. 23:54 But nothing like the courage they will require in the future. 23:57 But if we think we're going to have courage in the future, 24:01 we must make courageous decisions right now. 24:06 The same meeting, I went to another place 24:10 and visited with this man. 24:12 They had a nice home. 24:14 They had a beautiful boat, ski boat, out there in the yard. 24:19 They had a nice pickup truck, they had a nice car. 24:22 And I said to him, "Wow, you must be rich." 24:28 He said, "I owe on everything out here." 24:32 He said, "I have to make those monthly payments." 24:35 He said, "If I missed a month, I wouldn't have this house, 24:37 I wouldn't have that pickup, I wouldn't have that car, 24:40 I wouldn't have that boat." 24:41 And he had a Ski-Doo, but he also had a jet ski... 24:48 I mean a... 24:49 That they use in the snow, whatever that is, you know. 24:53 Because he lived in a place where there was plenty of snow. 24:59 And he said, "Every one of those things, I've got payments on." 25:03 He had a good job, he made a lot of money. 25:07 But he worked for somebody. 25:09 I talked to him about the Sabbath. 25:11 He said, "Jim, I'm convicted. 25:13 My wife and my family, we've been coming 25:16 and we're convicted." 25:17 "But," he said, "I can't. 25:19 If I do that, I'm losing, losing my job. 25:25 If I lose my job, do you realize everything here will go back. 25:31 I will lose everything I have. 25:33 I won't even have a house to live in if I lose my job." 25:37 He said, "You just can't go out and get a job like I've got." 25:41 He was the foreman of a pretty big plant. 25:44 He said, "I have to be there on Sabbath. 25:47 I have to be there regardless. 25:51 I have no other, there's no option. 25:53 The minute if I were to say I'm going to become 25:56 a Sabbath keeper," he said, "then I'm going to lose my job." 26:01 I'll never forget it. 26:03 During that evangelistic meeting, we were giving a call 26:08 and I saw him struggling with that decision in the back. 26:13 And then, I saw him get up. 26:19 And I saw his wife get up. 26:21 And I saw his kids get up. 26:23 And they walked to the front. 26:27 And I knew what it was costing him. 26:29 I knew it was going to cost him that job. 26:32 I was praying, "Lord, please somehow help that job, 26:35 help him not to lose it." 26:37 But when I saw him on Monday, I said, "How's did it go?" 26:40 He said, "They fired me. 26:43 I've lost my job." 26:47 He made the decision regardless. 26:51 And we left town, but he had said, "I'm going 26:55 all the way with Jesus." 26:56 A few years later, I saw him at a camp meeting. 26:59 I'd lost complete contact with him. 27:00 You know, evangelists, we're hit and run preachers. 27:04 Sometimes, we're just drive by preachers. 27:06 I mean, you know. 27:08 We just hit them and then we're gone. 27:10 But every once in a while, you run into those folks somewhere. 27:13 And I ran into him at a camp meeting. 27:15 And there he was, this was just a few years later. 27:19 He was already holding an office in that church. 27:25 He had come to camp meeting. 27:26 They brought their whole family. 27:28 And I said to him, "I hate to ask you this, 27:33 but did you lose your house?" 27:35 I didn't worry about the boat, maybe even the pickup. 27:39 But did you lose your house? 27:41 He said, "Jim, we never lost one thing." 27:46 He said, "I was two weeks without any kind of work 27:51 and I was really sweating it. 27:54 And then the Lord brought an idea to me; 27:57 to start my own business." 28:00 He said, "That way, I can't get fired 28:03 for not working on the Sabbath. 28:06 Because I'd have to fire myself, and I'm not going to do that." 28:10 And he said, "I have an area, a specialty. 28:13 And so I went and got one good client." 28:19 And he said, "That good client gave me enough money 28:24 starting out to where I was able to start my business. 28:28 I've added other clients since then, 28:31 my business has continued to grow. 28:33 I'm making two or three times as much money as I did 28:37 back when I thought I had it all made 28:39 as foreman of that big plant." 28:42 He said, "God is faithful." 28:46 You see, when Joshua went into the Promise Land, 28:49 the Lord did not pull the rug out from under him. 28:52 The Lord was with him all the way. 28:54 When you step out and you follow Jesus, I promise you 29:02 that He will stand with you. 29:05 He will be with you. 29:06 You may be tested. 29:08 There are times that you're tested. 29:10 But the Lord is so powerful, He can do so much. 29:14 He can change so many people. 29:17 And there are some things that we have to realize. 29:20 That we can only do these things through the Lord Jesus Christ. 29:25 Self confidence is obnoxious. 29:29 Confidence in Jesus is drawing, it's appealing. 29:37 It's something that touches the heart and draws people to Jesus. 29:43 If our confidence is built upon Him, then we will not be afraid. 29:49 But it's not an arrogance. 29:51 It's something that's built on us. 29:53 You know, today, we see a lot of athlete's. 29:56 And very rarely do we see an athlete come along 29:59 that genuinely praises the Lord. 30:02 I've been reading a book about one this week that 30:05 I really believe loved the Lord Jesus Christ. 30:08 Somebody gave it to me for Father's Day. 30:11 And I have just in a few minutes that I had a chance, 30:16 because the whole thing is his testimony 30:18 about how much he loved the Lord Jesus Christ. 30:22 But you know, so many athletes, they're whole confidence 30:24 is built on self. 30:27 I remember one time, I was flying from Washington DC 30:30 all the way to Los Angeles. 30:34 I've made that flight many, many times. 30:36 I wrote several books riding on those flights. 30:40 And what I would do is sit back in coach, 30:42 I'd try to find a place where I could sit in a middle seat, 30:46 and I would lay down three different places there, 30:52 you know, three tables and make it like a desk, 30:56 and I'd start working. 30:57 I'd pile one stuff over here and pile some books over there. 31:00 And I'd be writing on the one in the middle. 31:03 And it was a great place to study. 31:06 And usually, you can. 31:07 But sometimes, people behind you become so loud. 31:13 You know, people on planes can really be obnoxious. 31:16 I mean, totally obnoxious. 31:18 I've had some horrible experiences on planes 31:21 trying to study when I had to have a message, 31:24 had to be ready to preach when I got to wherever I was going. 31:29 And I was studying like everything to try to get ready. 31:32 And this time, I was studying. 31:35 And there were three men sitting behind me. 31:38 In the middle was a major league baseball player. 31:42 On either side of him were attorneys. 31:45 And they were on their way to Los Angeles 31:48 to re-negotiate, or go into arbitration, I think it was 31:52 actually arbitration, his contract. 31:56 He had all of his stats, 31:58 everything that he had ever done. 32:00 And he continually was telling those guys how good he was. 32:08 And I was so sick and tired of hearing it. 32:11 You know after a while hearing somebody brag about how good 32:14 they are, it really starts to wear on you after a little bit. 32:18 It didn't take much from him because I didn't think 32:21 he was that good. 32:22 I knew who he was. 32:24 I knew who he played for. 32:27 And I was not that, never had been that impressed 32:31 with his ability. 32:32 I know a little bit about baseball and I had just 32:35 never been that impressed with him. 32:38 Well, he was drinking a lot of coffee. 32:41 I know he kept getting refills. 32:43 And so pretty soon, he had to go back to the men's room. 32:47 And that's what I guess that will do to you. 32:50 So when he left, the one attorney said to the other, 32:55 "I will be so glad when this trip is over." 32:59 He said, "I am sick and tired of hearing him brag on himself." 33:05 And I'm sorry, but I turned around and said, "I am too." 33:12 And you know something, that kind of confidence is obnoxious. 33:18 That kind of confidence will end up eventually 33:21 being defeated. 33:24 Because it is placed in self. 33:26 And self confidence is not God's way. 33:30 We're not meant to live in our own realm. 33:33 We are meant to live with a connection, 33:35 a vital connection, to our Lord. 33:39 That must be where our confidence is; in Him. 33:44 Not in ourselves, but in Him. 33:47 Philippians the 4th chapter and verse 13 says, 33:50 "I can do all things..." 33:52 And you know something? 33:53 The positive living people stop it right there, 33:56 "I can do all things." 33:58 But if you continue, it says, "...through Christ 34:02 who strengthens me." 34:05 Through Christ who strengthens me. 34:08 I can't do anything on my own. 34:11 Shouldn't. 34:12 It won't be worth anything if I do. 34:15 The Bible says in Hebrews the 11th chapter verse 25, 34:18 "Therefore, He is also able to save to the uttermost 34:24 those who come to God through Him, 34:27 since He always lives to make intersession for them." 34:32 It says, "He is able," not an "I am able." 34:38 He is able. 34:40 And we must continually, continually, 34:44 claim that promise. 34:47 So we'll look at a number of things that 34:49 I believe are very important. 34:50 First, you need to discover God's true estimate of you. 34:57 You know something, God has not made us all alike. 35:00 We are not all alike. 35:03 Danny was talking about my singing. 35:07 I know I'm not a singer, and I really do. 35:10 And I accept that. 35:14 You know, I can't sing like Danny. 35:16 I can't play the guitar. 35:18 I took piano lessons and flunked. 35:22 And I couldn't, that's just not what the Lord has 35:29 given me to do. 35:30 I use to sing just to help out. 35:33 But I've got a recorder, I've heard myself. 35:38 Of course, if I went by that, I wouldn't be preaching either. 35:41 But I mean, I've heard that too and I wasn't all that 35:45 excited about that either. 35:47 But you see, God gives different people different talents, 35:51 He given them different abilities. 35:53 He gives them things to work. 35:54 We've got to find out what it is that He has given to us to do. 36:00 You know when we say, "What's in your hand?" 36:03 That may not only mean looking around for some silver and gold 36:08 and diamonds, or whatever you have, that you can give. 36:11 It also means, what is your ability? 36:15 What is your ability? 36:17 What has God given you to do? 36:19 This ministry is run by people who have specific 36:24 talents and abilities that God has given to them. 36:29 And I look around this audience. 36:31 If I started naming them, I would never be able to stop. 36:35 Those who are electronically inclined and they can 36:38 put things together that some of us would never even dream 36:42 that we could do. 36:44 And God brings a team like this together, to work together. 36:52 He is able. 36:55 So we need to discover His true estimates in each one of us. 37:01 Because, my friend, He is going to be the one 37:05 that will help us totally. 37:09 We need to look for His special calling 37:16 that He has given to each one of us 37:19 and have confidence in Him. 37:21 Philippians the 1st chapter verse 6 says, 37:23 "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun 37:27 a good work in you will complete it until the 37:32 day of Jesus Christ." 37:37 He that has begun a good work in you, 37:39 He's going to complete it. 37:42 But make sure that you are in connection with Him. 37:46 I love the Joseph principle. 37:48 You know, people say, "I don't know what God wants me to do." 37:53 Well, I can tell you the principle is very clear. 37:55 It's laid out in the spirit of prophecy. 37:58 And that is, do what you're doing to the 38:01 best of your ability. 38:04 And that's what Joseph did. 38:06 When he was working for Potiphar, he was the very 38:10 best servant that he could possibly be. 38:13 And he didn't keep saying, "I want to be 38:15 Prime Minister of Egypt. 38:16 I want to be... I should be..." 38:18 That wasn't what he did. 38:19 He did what he did as faithfully as he could. 38:28 Then he gets into trouble. 38:29 Not any problem of his, but he is falsely accused. 38:35 Let me tell you, those of you that are involved with 38:37 prison ministry, you know there are many people in prison 38:42 who have been falsely accused. 38:45 And there are many people that are just as 38:47 guilt as they can be. 38:48 And they may even be watching on television today. 38:51 They may be sitting at home. 38:52 They may be in our audience. 38:55 I started to say they may be on the platform, 38:57 but I don't want to narrow it down that much. 39:02 You see, God wants us to take that situation that we 39:09 find ourselves in and do the very best with it that we can. 39:15 He went to prison. 39:17 He became the very best prisoner that he could be. 39:20 Very best, and pretty soon he was in charge 39:23 of things in the prison. 39:25 And then he helped some people in the prison. 39:27 When you help other people, you and I both know 39:32 that God blesses you as you're helping others. 39:36 Danny says, the blessing is on the go. 39:38 And He's right, the blessing is on the go. 39:42 The blessing is as we reach out to help other people. 39:48 And then step by step, Joseph, God had prepared him 39:53 through hardship. 39:54 You want me to tell you something? 39:55 Those hardships prepared him. 39:57 Joseph, he found favor, the Bible says, in God's eyes. 40:03 But if he had gone right from being with his brother's 40:06 to be Prime Minister, I believe he would have failed. 40:11 God knew that he needed those experiences of being a servant, 40:18 being falsely accused. 40:21 Even the prison experience had allowed him to develop the 40:27 character that God wanted to develop in him. 40:30 So many times, you and I, and I put myself there, 40:34 we look at situations that happen to us along the way 40:37 and we bemoan them. 40:39 We say, "Lord, why in the world has this happened to me?" 40:45 But you know something? 40:47 The Lord is using those things to prepare us. 40:53 You see, the Lord can take something that is very, very bad 40:57 and turn it into something that is very good. 41:00 Romans 8:28, we all know it. 41:04 It says, "We know that all things work together for good 41:12 to those who love God, to those who are the called 41:18 according to His purpose." 41:20 And you are called according to His purpose. 41:23 You are called to receive life eternal and to be used to 41:28 spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. 41:30 Everyone single one of us, in one way or another, 41:33 we are part of this. 41:35 And God's ability to turn things around, 41:38 to take something that is absolutely awful 41:43 and turn it into something beautiful. 41:47 And I've seen him do it so many times, folks. 41:50 I have seen Him so many times. 41:53 You know, we look at some people that are right here 41:55 in this audience and part of 3ABN. 42:00 The motto of 3ABN that Danny chose so many years ago is, 42:03 "Mending Broken People." 42:07 Mending broken people, not just those that are on television, 42:12 but those that work here. 42:15 And I will tell you that I don't know a single one of us 42:20 who has not been a broken person at one time in their lives. 42:27 There are people, and I've heard some of their stories, 42:30 that have arrived at this place in horrible condition. 42:37 But they continued reaching out to the Lord Jesus Christ. 42:42 Oh, there have been some failures. 42:44 There have been sometimes... 42:45 When you're trying to help people, you're not going to 42:48 have 100% success. 42:50 You're going to have some people that will continue 42:55 in their sinful ways, they'll continue with their habits, 42:58 they'll continue with their problems. 43:00 And sometimes they'll go away and bad mouth you. 43:03 Sometimes that happens. 43:05 That's where you put yourself at risk. 43:07 You're going to help people? 43:08 You're going to take a risk. 43:10 It takes courage to help people. 43:14 It takes courage to reach out. 43:17 It takes the very kind of courage that God was talking 43:21 about here in Joshua, when you reach out 43:24 and you help individuals. 43:26 But you see, my friend, we need to think beyond today. 43:30 I was driving down the road in Oklahoma one day, 43:34 not too far from the University of Oklahoma. 43:37 And I saw a sign that I've never forgotten. 43:40 Just two words, "Think Eternity." 43:46 Think Eternity. 43:48 You know, so many times we're just thinking about today. 43:51 We're just thinking about next week. 43:52 We're just thinking about what we are facing. 43:55 No, think eternity. 43:58 How does this fit in to the eternal scheme of things? 44:03 How? 44:05 What will this mean in time? 44:09 Put your whole life and thoughts into a larger sphere 44:14 of thinking eternity. 44:18 And then third, you need to establish your faith solidly 44:23 in the Lord Jesus Christ. 44:26 Sometimes we get the idea that we are all alone. 44:30 But we're not. 44:31 I remember one time, I was at a meeting 44:34 and Billy Graham was there. 44:38 And one of the evangelists got up and he said, 44:42 "You know, you may think that you would love to be 44:46 friends with Billy Graham." 44:49 He said, "Billy Graham is not like what you see 44:54 when he gets to the pulpit." 44:57 He said, "He's an introvert. 44:59 He does not enjoy being around people. 45:03 He's a man who likes to study." 45:06 And later on, I had the opportunity to walk around 45:11 and golf with Billy Graham and with Bob Hope. 45:16 Bob Hope was this outgoing individual who 45:19 never met a stranger. 45:21 No money on him. 45:23 Every time he went to the concession stand, 45:25 he would turn around and ask me if I had something 45:27 to pay for his soft drink. 45:29 And I see how he gets by, he never carries any money. 45:33 He said, "I don't ever carry any money." 45:35 And I guess he doesn't have to, but the rest of us do. 45:38 But Billy Graham was like a sour puss. 45:44 Bless his heart. 45:45 Billy, if you're watching, please forgive me. 45:47 But I'm just telling it. 45:48 And I know you do watch. 45:49 Bev Shea, I understand you watch. 45:51 And we're glad you do. 45:54 Please don't misunderstand me. 45:56 But Billy, people would want to have a picture with him 46:00 and he didn't want to do it. 46:04 Bob Hope would grab him and he'd say, 46:06 "Come on Billy, let's do it." 46:08 And he'd line up with these old ladies there 46:10 and they'd take a picture with Billy. 46:12 And so Bob said to me, he said, "You know, it takes less time 46:17 to go ahead and take the picture than to tell them 46:19 why you don't want to do it." 46:21 That's what he was telling me. 46:22 But see, Bob Hope was a little more use to being around 46:25 that type of situation. 46:28 This evangelist said, he said, "Billy Graham 46:33 is a stick in the mud, 46:36 he is a flat tire, 46:41 until he gets on the platform and the Holy Spirit 46:44 comes upon him." 46:46 Boy I tell you, that's what I pray for. 46:51 That the Holy Spirit will come up on me when I'm speaking. 46:56 That I will become something. 46:58 You see, that is the way God works. 47:03 It's like a glove. 47:04 You take a glove, it's absolutely nothing. 47:06 It's lifeless. 47:08 But you stick your hand into it and now it comes alive. 47:12 It has life in it. 47:14 We are dull until the Holy Spirit comes. 47:20 Not our own self confidence. 47:23 Not our own talent. No. 47:27 That's the most... That's terrible. 47:30 But with the Lord Jesus, there is power and strength 47:36 in our preaching. 47:37 We were never created to be self confident. 47:42 Never. 47:44 We need to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ 47:47 and trust in Him. 47:49 A man by the name of Philo said, made a statement once. 47:53 He's an old philosopher. 47:56 He says, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is 48:00 fighting a hard battle." 48:02 I have known individuals who I did not want to be around 48:06 because they were so... 48:08 Well, just flat didn't want to be around them, 48:14 until they opened up their heart and you saw what 48:19 they were struggling with. 48:22 And then you thought to yourself, "I don't know 48:25 how they get out of bed every day when they're 48:27 struggling with that." 48:29 They were lucky to go through the motions. 48:32 You see, the Lord is the one that knows these things. 48:37 And He gives you and me the opportunity to show our kindness 48:44 and our love, His love, to them to help them through 48:51 these particular times. 48:53 Our Lord stands with us no matter what. 48:57 He walks us through if we will have the courage 49:02 to step out for him. 49:04 When I was in Arlington Texas, we had 49:08 a campaign to raise money. 49:10 It was a capital stewardship campaign, 49:11 a three year campaign, 156 weeks, 49:15 to try to build our church. 49:18 And it was very successful. 49:21 The Lord blessed it tremendously. 49:23 There was a young couple in the church. 49:26 And this young man, when we talked about what people 49:30 could give, one of the areas was 100 dollars a week. 49:36 Now over 156 weeks, that's 15,600 dollars. 49:45 This young couple, by faith, they had the courage 49:50 to say, "I'm going to do something by faith." 49:53 And they made a commitment for 15,600 dollars. 49:58 And then he came to me and he said, "Pastor, we're just 50:01 so thrilled about this. 50:02 We're going to cut some expenses and we just feel that we're 50:06 going to make $15,600. 50:09 Now I knew that they did not make a lot of money. 50:13 And I said, "Are you sure you can make this?" 50:16 "Oh, I'm positive that I can." 50:19 Now they had children. 50:20 And they had them in church school. 50:22 And they had a heavy budget. 50:24 I said, "You really believe the Lord is leading?" 50:27 "Yes, I do." 50:29 He said, "I want to give my testimony at our 50:31 training session this Tuesday night." 50:34 I said, "Alright." 50:36 He came to the training session and he was bawling. 50:41 And I said, "Jeff, what's wrong?" 50:45 He said, "I lost my job today." 50:48 I said, "Oh, let's hold off on that testimony." 50:51 You know, you make a commitment for 15,600 dollars 50:56 and then you lose your job? 50:59 That's not the way it's suppose to work. 51:02 He said, "No, I still want to give my testimony." 51:05 I said, "Jeff, why don't we wait until later." 51:07 "Pastor, I want to give my testimony." 51:10 I said, "Alright." 51:12 With tears flowing down his cheeks, he told them 51:15 how he'd lost his job. 51:17 And he said, "I don't know how I'm going to be able 51:21 to do that 100 dollars a week. 51:23 I didn't know how we were going to do it before. 51:27 But I believe. 51:29 I believe that God is going to help me to do it." 51:33 Less than a week later, he called me and he said, 51:38 "The next time we have our training 51:40 session, I want to talk." 51:41 I said, "What's happened?" 51:44 He said, "Just let me give my testimony and I'll tell you." 51:47 So we got him back up. 51:49 He said, "After I lost my job, I made some phone calls 51:55 to some other companies that did the same thing 51:58 that my company does. 52:01 And one of them said, 'Jeff, we've wanted you 52:03 for a long time.'" 52:05 And he said, "They gave me a job. 52:10 And Pastor, guess what else." 52:12 I said, "What?" 52:13 He said, "I'm being paid exactly 100 dollars a week more 52:19 than I was at the other job." 52:22 I said, "I cannot believe it." 52:23 That's how God is when you step out by faith. 52:28 He never stepped back even though his poor pastor, 52:33 who didn't have the faith he should have had, 52:36 was saying, "Why don't you hold off right now." 52:38 No, he didn't do it. 52:41 He didn't do it. 52:43 You see, my friend, when you're faithful to Him, 52:46 He'll see you through. 52:48 One of my favorite stories comes from E.E. Cleveland. 52:53 He told us this one time about a man named Lonnie 52:57 from Winston-Salem North Carolina, I believe it is. 53:01 And he worked for a lady named Bernice Kent, 53:04 of the tobacco company. 53:07 And one day she said to him, Lonnie was the chauffeur, 53:09 she said, "Lonnie, you don't work on Saturday's, but 53:13 some of the other employees, they want Saturday's off too. 53:16 So I've told them no and they said, 'Well, what about Lonnie?' 53:20 And so you're going to have to start working on Saturday's." 53:24 Now it takes courage when you've got a house full of kids, 53:28 and you're barely making it, and the economy is bad, 53:33 it takes courage to stand for that which is right. 53:37 Lonnie said, "Mrs. Kent, I don't get Sabbath off 53:41 so that I can go shopping. 53:44 I don't get it off to go fishing. 53:46 I get it off to go to church to worship my Lord. 53:50 And I believe..." 53:52 "Well," she said, "you can go to church on another day." 53:54 "No," he said, "I believe this is the day God has told me 53:58 to go to church." 53:59 And he reads the commandment to her. 54:01 She said, "Well, you make up your mind if you're 54:06 either going to work next Saturday. 54:07 Or on Friday when you come in to get your check, 54:10 you bring me the keys." 54:11 And that next Friday, he brought her the keys. 54:15 She said, "You're going to quit?" 54:17 He said, "Yes ma'am. 54:18 I don't want to quit, but..." 54:20 "Do you have another job?" "No, I don't." 54:22 "Do you know how hard jobs are to get today?" 54:24 "Yes." 54:25 "Don't you have a whole house full of kids?" 54:28 He said, "Yes." 54:30 "Don't you owe some money?" "Yes." 54:32 "How much money do you owe?" 54:34 And he gave her a list of something like 54:36 800 dollars that he owed. 54:39 "How are you going to pay that debt?" 54:40 "I don't know, but God has told me that I should honor 54:45 the seventh day Sabbath." 54:48 She said, "Just a minute." 54:49 She went in the other room, wrote out a check for 54:52 800 dollars, gave it to him, and said, "Go pay those debts off. 54:54 And you be here Monday morning, and don't be late." 54:59 Now he had his job back and his debts paid. 55:03 But Monday morning, he was late. 55:06 And she said, "Lonnie, why?" 55:08 He said, "My car broke down." 55:10 "Oh that old car," she said. "Well let's hurry." 55:12 And they jumped in the limousine that he chauffeured her in 55:16 and took her around town. 55:19 And then she said, "Take me by the Ford dealer." 55:22 She went by the Ford dealership and she picked out a car. 55:26 She said, "Would your family fit in that car?" 55:29 He said, "Oh, yes ma'am." 55:30 She said, "Well, give him the keys, send me the bill." 55:34 And now he had a car. 55:37 He had stood up for what was right. 55:38 A few weeks later he took her downtown, 55:42 let her out to do her shopping. 55:45 Later, he waited by the limousine for her to come back 55:48 and she didn't. 55:50 Word finally came that she had been hit by a car a block away. 55:54 They had taken her to the hospital. 55:56 They didn't know if she would live or not. 55:58 When she came to, her doctor was there and he said, 56:01 "You call your priest or you call your preacher." 56:03 She said, "I don't want either one." 56:06 She said, "I want my chauffeur." 56:09 And they brought Lonnie. 56:11 And she said, "Lonnie, I know that God hears your prayers. 56:15 I know it. 56:17 Please pray for me." 56:18 And Lonnie knelt by that bed and he prayed for her. 56:22 And just a few days later, they had told her those 56:25 internal injuries could not be healed, 56:28 a few days later, she walked out of that hospital 56:31 on her own power. 56:33 She asked Lonnie a few days after that, 56:36 "Get your car, I want to go to your house." 56:39 He said, "My house?" She said, "Yes." 56:40 And they drove by that little shotgun house. 56:45 And he said, "Would you like to come in?" 56:46 She said, "No, you live there with all those children?" 56:49 He said, "Yes." 56:50 And she gave him another address. 56:53 "Drive into this neighborhood." 56:56 They did. 56:58 And she said, "Lonnie, pick out a lot." 57:01 Now Lonnie is only human. 57:03 And he picked out the biggest lot. 57:07 And Elder Cleveland said that she built him a beautiful 57:12 brick home on that lot. 57:15 Stand up for Jesus, 57:17 have the courage of the convictions of God's word, 57:21 I assure you that He will stand with you 57:26 no matter what. |
Revised 2014-12-17