Participants:
Series Code: CW
Program Code: CW000004S
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00:00 (gentle music)
00:08 (Jim speaking indistinctly) 00:13 - Hey, welcome everybody to Talking Donkey International 00:16 and our new television series, "Country Wisdom." 00:19 - Let's set the tone for this new series of ours. 00:22 It's found in Proverbs 4, 00:24 "Let your eyes look directly forward 00:27 and your gaze be straight before you. 00:30 Ponder the path of your feet 00:33 and then all your ways will be sure." 00:36 - Join us now for "Country Wisdom." 00:39 (gentle music) 00:45 (upbeat music) 00:50 (birds chirping) 00:59 - Look at that view, Jim. 01:01 - It's beautiful, isn't it? 01:03 - I don't know about you, but when I come up 01:04 to a place like this, out in the mountains, 01:08 all these trees, rocks, that view, 01:13 I can't help it, but I just feel so much closer to God. 01:17 You look out at the expanse of his creation, 01:21 and what's amazing to me is that there are 01:22 people who don't even believe he exists. 01:26 - And you know, the exciting this is, 01:27 the same God in the Bible, is the same God today, 01:30 he's alive and well. 01:31 And folks, I'd like to tell you, stay tuned, 01:34 because I'm going to share with you 01:35 things that God is doing today, 01:36 you'll discover he's alive and he's well. 01:40 (gentle music) 01:42 (water running) 01:53 God truly is amazing, his creation is amazing. 01:57 But there are some people who, 01:59 even though they believe in God, 02:01 they think that maybe he created everything 02:03 and then he put it on auto-pilot. 02:05 It's just running, it's just doing its thing, 02:07 and he's not involved in humanity at all. 02:10 But that really isn't the case, 02:12 the Bible tells us that's not the case. 02:14 And a matter of fact, the Bible talks about something else, 02:17 listen to what it says in Hebrews chapter eight, 02:20 or excuse me, chapter 13 in verse eight. 02:23 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, 02:25 today, and forever." 02:28 He's the same God, he hasn't changed. 02:29 He didn't set things on auto-pilot. 02:32 In Malachi, chapter three verse six, 02:34 "I am the Lord, and I do not change." 02:38 So, as we read things in the Bible, 02:40 for instance, there's a story in Luke, 02:43 in chapter seven, Jesus with this disciples 02:45 is walking along the street, 02:47 and he sees a funeral. 02:48 He approaches the funeral and he sees 02:50 a young boy that's dead. 02:52 The mother is weeping, and it says 02:54 he has compassion on the mother. 02:56 He goes up, he touches the boy. 02:58 The touch of God. 03:00 The creator God, reaches down 03:02 and he lifts that boy up. 03:03 See, every funeral that's recorded in the Bible, 03:07 that Jesus came across a dead person, 03:09 he raised them from the dead. 03:11 He broke up the funeral. 03:13 And I submit to you, he's the same God today. 03:17 Just an example, we were traveling in Ethiopia, 03:20 we were looking for a specific story, 03:22 a fellow that I'd heard, he'd been a fortune teller 03:24 for almost 40 years, but his life had changed. 03:28 You see, a fortune teller, they control 03:30 the village, they control the people, 03:31 they control everything. 03:33 And this man would tell a fortune 03:35 and you better pay attention to it, 03:36 you better listen, because if you didn't, you could die. 03:40 For someone who died in the village, 03:41 he said, that's because they didn't listen to me. 03:45 Everybody's scared of the fortune teller, 03:47 and a matter of fact, he's rich, 03:49 because he charges a lot to tell your fortune. 03:52 A cow, a pig, a sheep, a goat, 03:55 something like that. 03:57 But he became a Christian. 03:59 And when he became a Christian, 04:00 he wanted nothing to do with that anymore. 04:03 The wife, she didn't want anything 04:05 to do with Christianity, but the husband, 04:07 he kept studying and finally, 04:10 several times over weeks, he discovered other 04:12 people in the village had recently become Christians too. 04:16 He decided he wanted to get together 04:18 and study with them. 04:19 Pretty soon, their little group under a tree 04:21 is growing and growing and growing so large, 04:23 they said, we need to find a place to rent. 04:26 Well, we'll go out and find a place 04:29 that we can have as our place of worship. 04:31 They begin house hunting, as it were, 04:33 or church hunting. 04:36 About that time, the ex-fortune teller's wife dies. 04:41 That particular day, I had three cameramen, 04:43 we're in the village filming, 04:44 I had three cameramen, I lined up five guys. 04:48 First guy, this lady was dead? 04:51 Oh yes, she was dead. 04:52 Second guy, you sure she was dead? 04:54 Oh yes, she was absolutely dead, she was dead three days. 04:57 Third guy, really three days? 05:00 And the fourth guy, well we prayed for her. 05:04 And the fifth guy said, "And God raised her from the dead." 05:08 I wanna submit to you that God of the Bible 05:11 is the same God today. 05:12 He's working in hearts and lives right now, 05:14 today, in amazing ways. 05:17 Amazing ways! 05:18 I was in India, 05:21 in India I was holding a large series of meetings, 05:23 maybe a thousand or two thousand people there. 05:26 On a particular night this lady, 05:27 over in the right-hand side pew 05:29 begins yelling and screaming in the Telugu language, 05:31 help me! Help me! 05:33 We stopped the meeting, I call her up. 05:35 She's got a child in her arms, 05:37 eyes rolled back in his head, 05:39 child's not moving, and everybody that sees that child 05:43 as she carries him up to the stage, 05:45 they begin wailing, and I think there's nothing 05:48 I can do, so I send her to a friend of mine, 05:50 who's a medical doctor over on the side, 05:53 maybe he can look at the child. 05:55 And then I think, well, what now? 05:57 There's nothing else to do but pray. 06:00 And I think, that is so sad for us, 06:02 especially for us as Christians, 06:04 we say, well there's nothing else I can do, 06:06 I guess I'll go ahead and pray, 06:07 that's a last resort. 06:09 When prayer should be the first resort. 06:12 I began praying, my translator would pray, 06:15 and as he was praying, I'd look over at the doctor, 06:17 thumbs up, thumbs down. 06:18 Well, it was thumbs down. 06:20 Pray again, thumbs down. 06:21 This went back and forth and back and forth 06:24 for several minutes. 06:25 And finally he's thumbs up. 06:28 And you know, it went throughout that city, 06:29 this big city, that the creator God of the Universe 06:32 had raised that child from the dead. 06:36 You see, the God of the Bible 06:38 is the same God today. 06:40 (gentle music) 07:25 Hi, I'm Jim Ayer, 07:26 my good friend Terry Cantrell and I 07:27 have traveled the world together filming 07:29 from Egypt, to Zanzibar, from Costa Rica to Brazil, 07:32 India and beyond. 07:34 For years we've captured stories that uplift 07:36 the God of Heaven, stories that 07:38 touch and change lives. 07:40 Now we're on a new adventure and you're invited. 07:43 We started Talking Donkey International, 07:45 Talking Donkey is a media ministry 07:47 dedicated to sharing Jesus Christ 07:49 in a unique and colorful way, 07:51 out of the ordinary, just like a talking donkey. 07:55 Like us, I'm guessing you're tired 07:57 of the same old cookie cutter programs 07:58 that line the Christian airwaves. 08:00 The gospel is exciting, it's time 08:02 to jump out of the mold and let the donkey talk, 08:06 when that happens people will pay attention, 08:08 it's way out of the ordinary 08:10 and we're inviting you to become a part 08:12 of this exciting and innovation outreach to the world. 08:15 People are tired of watching the same old thing. 08:17 Become a financial partner with us today and together, 08:20 we will change Christian TV forever. 08:23 Give the donkey a voice. 08:27 - In chapter eight, of the Book of Acts, 08:30 a really interesting story. 08:32 Jesus appeared to basically to Philip, 08:35 speaking to him, we don't know how that happened 08:37 but he spoke to him and told him, 08:39 go down to the eunuch. 08:41 The eunuch is riding in a chariot, 08:43 he sees him, he runs down alongside the chariot, 08:46 he's invited into the chariot 08:47 to begin explaining some scripture. 08:49 After a while, the eunuch says, 08:51 well what hinders me to be baptized? 08:53 I know everything you've talked about, 08:55 I know all the scripture, 08:56 and now I understand who Jesus is 08:59 as he fits in the scripture. 09:00 So they go into the water, 09:01 he baptizes him, and the moment he comes up 09:04 out of the water, it says the Spirit takes him away. 09:08 And takes him to another whole village, another area. 09:12 You say, well that's in the Bible, 09:13 nothing like that happens today. 09:15 (chuckles) But indeed. 09:17 I want to share a story with you 09:18 that happened in a particular country 09:20 where it's totally illegal to share the gospel message. 09:24 But this young lady heard the gospel message 09:27 and she accepted Jesus with all of her heart 09:29 and she began telling everybody about Jesus. 09:32 You see, that's the way it is 09:34 when God has come into your life, 09:36 you can't control it, you just have to share it. 09:38 She was so excited about it, she's telling everyone, 09:41 but pretty soon the police caught up to her. 09:43 They beat her up, they tied her hands behind her back, 09:46 they blindfolded her and they hauled her 09:48 out in the jungle. 09:50 They dumped her in the jungle, in the middle of the night, 09:51 and said, see if your God can protect you. 09:55 She's laying there at night, 09:56 she can hear the growls and the snarls 09:58 and all the jungle animals, she's scared to death, 10:01 she said, Lord please, I don't wanna die, 10:03 please help me Lord. 10:06 In a moment, she could be able to wiggle her blindfold off, 10:09 and she lays there, still on the ground, 10:11 she looks, Lord please help me. 10:13 I don't want to die, but if you want me to die Lord, 10:17 I'm willing to. 10:18 But I would love to share more about you with others. 10:22 She continues praying and pretty soon 10:24 she can feel her hands, they're loose, 10:28 and she stands up and she looks all around, 10:31 Lord, I have no idea where I am, 10:33 it's dark, I can't see anything, 10:35 please help me to get out of this jungle. 10:38 The wind begins to blow in the trees, 10:39 harder than it is today it seems, 10:41 it was blowing harder and harder, 10:43 pretty soon her hair is blowing back, 10:45 then she's sick, she feels sick to her stomach. 10:49 She can't figure out what it is. 10:50 And the wind continues to blow harder and harder, 10:52 and all of a sudden, in the middle of the night, 10:55 she is set down in her own village, completely free. 10:59 (chuckles) 11:00 The God of the Bible, 11:01 he is definitely the same God today. 11:04 He's an amazing God. 11:06 Well, that's not all, scripture continues, 11:09 we find in Matthew chapter eight, 11:11 Jesus is confronted with demon possession, 11:15 I didn't, at one time I thought, 11:17 well oh, demon possession I don't know, 11:19 yeah, it's in the Bible. 11:20 It's in the Bible, well matter of fact, 11:22 it's all over, especially the New Testament. 11:24 Jesus contacts Satan in so many ways, 11:30 I want you to understand this, 11:31 he defeats him every time, in every way 11:33 he comes in contact with him. 11:36 Never misses a step, he defeats him every time, 11:38 Jesus is a winner. 11:40 Jesus is a winner. 11:42 I was in India, I had an amazing situation 11:45 where a friend of mine, who's a pastor, 11:47 is out baptizing people in the river, 11:48 we'd been holding large meetings, 11:50 he's baptizing this little tiny lady, 11:52 maybe 95 pounds dripping wet, 11:56 and I see him struggling, 11:57 I can't figure out what it is, 11:58 he's pulling and pulling and tugging, 12:00 and this lady's still under the water. 12:03 And all of a sudden, she comes up out of the water 12:05 and she's all contorted, 12:07 her body is totally disfigured. 12:10 Then God laid on my heart, demon possession. 12:14 I'd never seen it, I'd never really heard about it 12:16 other than from the Bible. 12:18 I walked down to the edge of the water 12:19 where they deacons brought her to the edge of the water, 12:21 I grabbed ahold of her and said, "In the name 12:23 of Jesus Christ, be gone! 12:26 I command you to be gone!" 12:27 Just as the Bible says. 12:29 And immediately, the woman, 12:31 (sighs heavily) she takes a breath, 12:33 she straightens her hair, 12:35 and she looks around and she walks on up the bank 12:37 with the other ladies. 12:38 God delivered this lady. 12:40 You see, the same God of the Bible is the same God today. 12:43 The same things happening in the Bible 12:45 are happening today in amazing ways. 12:48 We read in Ephesians, 12:50 I want to read this for you, in chapter six, 12:54 beginning at verse 10. 12:57 It says, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord 12:59 and in the power of His might. 13:02 Put on the whole armor of God, 13:04 that you may be able to withstand 13:07 the wiles of the devil. 13:08 Now listen to this, for we wrestle not 13:10 against flesh and blood, but against principalities, 13:12 against powers, against ruler of this world, 13:16 against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13:19 The Bible talks about the powers of the devil, 13:22 it speaks also of the power of God 13:24 and God never loses. 13:27 (gentle music) 13:39 (chuckling) I just need to share 13:40 this other story with you. 13:42 I was working in Cameroon, 13:43 we had an evangelistic series going 13:45 in a huge soccer stadium. 13:49 During the meetings, at one point, 13:51 the audience was invited down to pray 13:53 for this vast audience, of their particular needs. 13:57 Our speaker, that particular night, began to pray. 14:00 And all of a sudden, 14:02 all of a sudden there was this huge commotion 14:04 in the stadium. 14:05 We all knew, we'd been around, 14:07 we'd worked enough in many countries 14:08 of the world, we knew it was demon possession. 14:12 A big entourage of big guys went out 14:14 and they grabbed this lady who was just flailing 14:17 all over, they held her up, 14:19 each one guy with an arm or leg, 14:21 I held her hair so she wouldn't bite the guys. 14:24 We carried her out behind the screen, 14:27 cause we'd had big screens filming 14:29 and showing the production, 14:32 and behind that screen I began demanding 14:34 in the name of Jesus Christ, 14:36 that the demons come out of her. 14:38 When you demand what the Bible says, 14:40 when your heart is right with God, 14:42 God will answer that kind of prayer 14:44 and chase the devil away. 14:45 That's exactly what happened. 14:47 This woman sat up, 14:48 she wiped her eyes, looked around, 14:51 the demon had left her. 14:52 At that moment, there's somebody else 14:55 in the audience that screamed again, 14:56 somebody else came around the corner 14:58 and said, Jim you have another one. 15:00 The demons had jumped to another woman in the audience. 15:03 Simply because you say that you're a Christian, 15:07 simply because you call out and say, I'm a Christian 15:10 and I go to meetings, doesn't mean that you really are. 15:12 You need to invite God into your life, 15:14 and God then will protect you. 15:16 God will change your life because he is a God of power 15:20 and a God of strength. 15:21 Now, I wanted to share with you another 15:23 particular quote in Psalms, chapter 66 verse five says, 15:28 "Come and see, come and see what God has done, 15:32 His wonderful works among his people." 15:36 I think of a time when I was in the Philippines 15:38 and I was talking with this pastor who, 15:40 his aunt, clear down in the southern part of the country, 15:45 huge earthquake, he calls her up from the north, 15:48 wrong phone number. 15:49 He thinks, well, because of the earthquake, 15:51 the lines must be messed up. 15:53 He calls the next day, same problem. 15:56 Third day, he calls again, same wrong number 15:59 the third day in a row, 16:01 and the woman on the other end of the line says, 16:02 what are you doing, why are you calling me, 16:04 why do you keep bugging me? 16:06 He said, ma'am I'm sorry, I wasn't honestly, 16:09 please I apologize. 16:11 Oh, and she begins using four-letter word cuss words, 16:14 he hangs up the phone, he said, I'm a pastor, 16:16 I don't need to listen to this. 16:18 (chuckling) 16:19 Well, the woman calls back. 16:21 He continues to apologize saying, ma'am I'm telling you 16:24 the truth, I didn't try and call you, 16:27 I was trying to call my aunt, 16:28 please, I even have a radio program, 16:30 a Christian radio program, I'm honest, I'm a pastor. 16:34 She stops, she says, what program do you have? 16:38 He tells the name of the program, 16:40 and there's silence on the other end of the line. 16:43 Then he hears crying. 16:45 Ma'am, are you all right? 16:47 And she tells him then, she says, I listen to your program, 16:50 my husband and I have been listening to it 16:52 recently all the time, would you please come visit us? 16:56 (chuckling) Well, 16:58 in this particular area, these people, 17:00 not too many years before that, 17:01 had been headhunters. 17:03 He was a little nervous to go, 17:04 but he decided to go because he is a pastor. 17:07 He takes a friend with him though at least, 17:09 they go to this village, meets with this lady 17:12 and her husband. 17:14 In a short time, this lady, her husband 17:17 and 16 other people in this village are baptized. 17:21 Because of a quote wrong phone number. 17:25 I wanna tell you, God knows you. 17:27 God knows your heart, 17:29 God knows your life, 17:30 He knows your address. 17:32 He knows everything about you 17:33 and he wants to connect with you. 17:35 This God of the Bible is alive today, 17:37 he's well and he's ready to touch bases with you, 17:41 get to know you on a very intimate 17:43 and a very personal basis. 17:46 This God watches out over us in such amazing ways. 17:49 We were actually broadcasting into a particular area, 17:52 some programs, and these people were 17:55 finding out about Jesus and they began meeting, 17:57 but they didn't know how to conduct church, 17:59 they didn't know how to form church groups or anything, 18:02 so we were taking them out of the country 18:05 into another country, to train them 18:07 on how to raise up churches, 18:08 because, you see, it was illegal in that country 18:10 to have church of any kind, 18:12 any Christian church, it was illegal. 18:15 They're sneaking out of the jungle one day, 18:16 coming across the jungle, 18:18 when all of a sudden, over here, comes the police, 18:20 they come up over rye and the police yell, 18:22 there they are, get 'em! 18:24 Our guys are in a wide-open area, 18:26 there's nothing they can do, 18:27 they freeze, they're just like deer in the headlights. 18:29 As the police, with guns ready, come running up to them. 18:33 They look, and they look and say, 18:34 where did they go, where did they go? 18:37 One of the police said, there they go that way! 18:38 And they took off running across 18:40 that path that they'd just been on out in the jungle. 18:43 To leave our guys to go on their way. 18:46 They were never seen. 18:48 (chuckling) 18:49 God put up a veil, in the eyes of these police, 18:52 and protected them. 18:54 That's the kind of God we serve, 18:55 that's the God who's alive and well today, 18:57 the God of the Bible. 18:59 The things God does in the Bible, same God today, 19:02 an amazing God. 19:06 There's another story down in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 19:08 Sao Paulo can be a pretty rough location, 19:10 pretty tough place. 19:12 This one day though, this young man and his wife, 19:15 they're driving down the roadway, 19:16 the wife says, stop, stop! 19:18 He slams on the the brakes, 19:19 scares him half to death. 19:21 (chuckles) My wife does 19:21 that to me once in a while. 19:22 Says what's happened? 19:23 He just slammed on the brakes, 19:25 and she just jumps out of the car, 19:26 she doesn't say a word. 19:27 She comes back and she's got a little book. 19:29 She says, honey do you see any wind? 19:33 No, no wind. 19:35 This book was laying out in the field 19:37 and the pages were blowing back and forth, 19:39 first one way and then another way, 19:41 blowing back and forth. 19:42 I just had to see what this book was, 19:44 because there is no wind. 19:47 Well they read this book, it was an amazing book, 19:50 they were so excited, they were thrilled to death. 19:54 But there was no advertising in the book. 19:56 No place to call, no place to find out 19:58 who printed this book. 20:00 One day the fellow went downtown Sao Paulo, 20:03 was riding his motorcycle, 20:04 he comes up behind this vehicle, 20:06 and on the bumper of the vehicle 20:08 there's a little sticker, 20:09 the same sticker that was on that book. 20:12 He pulls up alongside the car, 20:14 he begins talking to the fellow. 20:16 In downtown Sao Paulo, when a motorcycle 20:18 pulls up alongside you, that's not necessarily good. 20:20 The guy in the vehicle rolls up the window 20:23 and as soon as the stoplight changes to green, 20:25 he takes off. 20:26 Motorcycle follows right in behind him, 20:28 he's following him down the street. 20:30 Now the guy speeds up a little bit, 20:31 but all of a sudden he's caught at another traffic light. 20:34 The motorcycle pulls up alongside him again, 20:36 scares the guy so bad the guy goes through 20:38 the red light now. 20:39 Motorcycle follows him along, continuing down the streets, 20:41 finally he's blocked with traffic, he can't move. 20:44 Fellow pulls up alongside him, 20:45 and he yells the name of the book, 20:47 "Great Controversy, Great Controversy!" 20:50 The guy in the car stops, 20:51 he cracks his window a little bit and says, 20:53 what did you say? 20:55 "Great Controversy." 20:57 This fellow worked in the church 20:59 who'd handed out this particular book. 21:01 He knew this book. 21:03 And he began studying with the fellow and his wife, 21:06 they were baptized. 21:08 They were baptized from that encounter 21:10 of a book laying out in the field with no wind, 21:13 who's pages were blowing back and forth. 21:17 Oh, God loves you friend, and God is seeking 21:18 to have that relationship with you. 21:20 You need to pay attention and listen and watch, 21:23 where God is at work around you, and join God. 21:27 I can probably share stories for hours with you, 21:29 things that are happening right now. 21:31 I do want to share at least one more story with you though, 21:34 and that's in Nepal. 21:37 This fellow was a Maoist terrorist, 21:39 it's kind of a mouthful to say Maoist terrorist, 21:41 but he was. 21:43 People were scared of him, everywhere. 21:44 He'd go to a village, everybody would 21:46 give everything he asked for 21:47 because he'd kill them otherwise. 21:49 Very simple. 21:50 He'd shoot them dead. 21:52 One particular day, he walked into a church, 21:55 he walked into this church, 21:57 he was going to kill the pastor and take the money, 21:59 take the offering, 22:00 they'd just recently taken up the offering. 22:02 Well, he got into that church, 22:04 he sticks the gun in the pastor's face 22:06 and the pastor says, "You're going to change 22:08 when God comes into your life, 22:10 you're going to change." 22:11 (chuckling) It shocked him so much. 22:13 He couldn't believe it, he didn't know what to do. 22:16 He turned and he left, 22:17 he didn't even take the money. 22:20 Time went by, he's continually thinking of this, 22:23 who is this Jesus fellow? 22:24 Who is this Jesus? 22:26 It bothered him so. 22:28 Day after day, and one day as he's tuning the radio, 22:32 he comes across a program 22:33 that's talking about this Jesus. 22:35 He stops, he listens and thinking, 22:38 (chuckling) what is this? 22:40 But after a while of listening to the same program 22:42 every day, he fell in love with Jesus Christ. 22:45 You see, that's what happens. 22:47 You begin listening to who Jesus is, 22:49 the God of the Bible, he's the same God today 22:52 and you begin falling in love with him. 22:55 And this young man did, 22:56 he changed his whole life. 22:57 He quit being a terrorist. 22:59 Normally, they would kill him, 23:01 but he helped convert many of the other terrorists as well. 23:05 It's amazing the things God does. 23:07 In Romans chapter eight, verse 31, 23:10 the Bible says, "In view of all this, 23:13 what can we say?" 23:14 What can we say? 23:16 I think about a young man that I was doing meetings 23:18 in one of the particular states here in the US. 23:23 The young man was a pretty big boy, about 600 pounds. 23:26 Turns out he'd been an Aryan Brotherhood enforcer. 23:29 He'd been a murderer. 23:31 He gave his heart to God, 23:33 and we had a big tank that day, 23:35 kind of a stock tank is the only thing we had, 23:37 we were in a kind of a country setting, 23:39 and we baptized that young man in that tank. 23:42 Washed his sins away. 23:44 God wants to change each one of us. 23:47 Maybe things you've done, 23:48 you know, you might be a drug dealer, an alcoholic, 23:51 and a thief, I was all those things at one time. 23:54 You may be a cocaine addict, 23:56 the list goes on and on and on. 23:58 God doesn't care, he says, come to me. 24:00 I will change you, I will give you rest. 24:03 I think of a young lady and her mother, 24:06 Christina and Maria, they were down in Brazil. 24:10 Christina, well she was a beautiful young woman, 24:14 and her mother could tell that one day 24:17 she was going to be problems with the young men, 24:20 every young man looked at her with eyes, 24:22 well just, wide open. 24:25 She kept saying, you do not go to the city. 24:27 Do not go to the city, honey, 24:29 you will have troubles if you go to the city. 24:32 Mom gets up one morning, she goes to her bedroom, 24:35 and there, Christina's bed is totally empty 24:38 with a note on the bed. 24:39 Mama, I love you, I've gone to the city. 24:43 Oh, just about broke the mother's heart. 24:46 Mother gathers up every bit of coin, 24:49 every bit of change, every bit of money she could find, 24:52 and she put it all in a little purse, 24:54 and she headed toward the bus station. 24:56 Before she got to the bus station, 24:57 she stopped at a little place that took photos, 25:00 you know, she got into this little booth, 25:02 and she took photos, every dollar, every penny, 25:05 every dime, she spent on photos. 25:07 She got on the bus, and she headed to the city. 25:10 And she began writing on the back of each one of these. 25:14 Every single one, she wrote something. 25:16 She got to the city, and she began going 25:19 to every sleazy hotel, every dive, 25:22 every restroom she could find, 25:23 and she posted one of those photos. 25:27 This went on for days and days and days 25:29 until she'd finally spent all the rest of her money, 25:32 she spent everything and she had no more photos. 25:34 Then she went home. 25:36 And she continued to pray. 25:39 Continued to pray for her young, sweet daughter. 25:42 And one day, that young sweet daughter, 25:44 who looks a little harder now, a little rougher, 25:46 comes down one of those back, dark stairwells 25:49 with a guy hanging onto her. 25:51 She comes to the bottom of the stairs 25:53 and there on a little bulletin board, 25:55 is a picture of her mama. 25:58 She turns the photo over, 26:01 and she reads what mama had written on the back of it. 26:04 It says, honey, no matter what you've done, 26:08 no matter what you've become, I still love you, 26:11 come home. 26:13 My friends, God feels the same way. 26:16 No matter what you've done, 26:18 no matter what you've become in life, 26:20 God loves you. 26:21 He cares for you, he wants you to come to him. 26:24 Seriously, it doesn't matter how bad you are, 26:27 the devil will try and tell you you're too bad, 26:29 you can't come to God with all the things you've done. 26:31 Don't believe him. 26:33 The Bible says he's a liar, from the beginning of time, 26:36 he's a liar. 26:38 But you can trust God, you can believe God. 26:40 Same God of the Bible, same God today, 26:42 he loves you. 26:43 Respond to him right now, say Jesus please, 26:46 come in to my life. 26:48 And God will do that and he will change your life. 26:50 Please respond to God right now, 26:53 just as you are. 26:56 (upbeat music) 27:08 - [Narrator] Introducing Talking Donkey International. 27:10 God once used a donkey to spread His word, 27:13 but he'd rather use all of us. 27:16 Our experienced team has preached, taught 27:18 and filmed in countries around the globe, 27:21 in partnership with you, our mission is to share 27:23 the lifesaving love and hope found only in Jesus Christ 27:27 with everyone in this lost and dying world. 27:30 Your financial partnership with Talking Donkey 27:32 will enable this exciting ministry to proclaim 27:35 that Jesus is coming soon. 27:38 It's time to prepare quality programming, 27:40 created to attract and reach viewers of the world. 27:43 Together, we can carry the final advent message 27:46 to the individuals of planet Earth 27:48 and hasten the return of our Lord. 27:51 Please pray for and support 27:53 the successful mission of Talking Donkey International. 27:58 (soft music) 28:00 - Hey, thanks for joining us for "Country Wisdom." 28:03 - See you next time. 28:05 (soft music) |
Revised 2021-01-09