Foundation of Our Faith

Give it One More Shot

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Lomacang (Host), Pr. Cory Jackson

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Series Code: FDOF

Program Code: FDOF000018A


00:18 Hello, friends, and welcome to the 3ABN
00:20 Worship Center for another Dare to Dream sermon.
00:26 I told you if you were here to receive the last one,
00:29 you know that Pastor Cory Jackson
00:31 is a man anointed of God to proclaim the gospel,
00:35 the unashamed gospel of Jesus Christ.
00:38 We talked about blind Bartimaeus,
00:39 how the Lord can take a person from rags to riches
00:43 and tonight, the message is entitled,
00:45 Give It One More Shot.
00:48 So we encourage you to stay by for this Bible-filled,
00:52 spirit-filled message that we know will reach into
00:55 your heart and bring you to the place that the Lord
00:57 wants you to be and we know that God is going to bless.
01:01 Pastor Cory Jackson is from Chicago, Illinois,
01:04 the very state that 3ABN shares.
01:07 They are far north, we are far south
01:09 but the Lord has brought
01:11 the north and the south together tonight.
01:13 He presently is the pastor of the Burns Seventh-day
01:16 Adventist church in Detroit, Michigan.
01:18 He has been pastoring 14 years.
01:21 The Lord has really reached into this young man's life
01:23 and transformed him.
01:25 He is a student of Black Hills Evangelistic School.
01:29 The Lord saw him going in the wrong direction,
01:31 turned him around and led him in the right direction.
01:35 He has three children.
01:37 He's known internationally as he's being invited
01:39 around the world to share the gospel of the Lord.
01:41 And he said last night in a wonderful way,
01:44 he was studying to be
01:45 a Black Muslim and a Black Panther,
01:48 but he ended up being a Black pastor.
01:50 Can we say amen to that? Amen.
01:51 And so God really anointed his life tonight.
01:54 Once more, the message is entitled,
01:55 Give It One More Shot.
01:57 Stay tuned for the blessings of the Lord.
02:00 We have a young man that amazed me when I heard his voice.
02:04 I looked at his frame and I wondered
02:06 where that voice was coming from.
02:08 Louis Cleare, who is from Nassau, Bahamas.
02:12 3ABN had an opportunity to meet him a number of years ago.
02:15 Not too many years ago.
02:17 He's only 22 and he sang while they were there.
02:20 Tonight he's going to bless us with a song entitled,
02:24 He Will Carry You.
02:25 And right after the singing evangelist,
02:28 the next voice that you will hear will be
02:30 that of Pastor Cory Jackson.
02:48 There is no problem too big
02:51 God cannot solve it
02:57 There is no mountain too tall
03:01 He cannot move it
03:07 There is no storm too dark
03:11 God cannot calm it
03:17 There is no sorrow too deep
03:21 He cannot soothe it
03:25 Oh, if He carries the weight of the world
03:30 upon His shoulders
03:36 Then I know my brother that
03:39 He will carry you
03:45 Oh, if He carries the weight of the world
03:50 upon His shoulders
03:56 Then I know my sister that
03:58 He will carry you
04:05 He said, "Come on to me
04:11 all who are weary
04:17 And I will give you
04:23 rest
04:40 There is no problem too big
04:44 God cannot solve it
04:50 There is no mountain too tall
04:54 He cannot move it
05:00 And there is no storm too dark
05:05 God cannot calm it
05:11 There is no sorrow too deep
05:15 He cannot move it
05:20 Oh, if He carries the weight of the world
05:25 upon His shoulders
05:31 Then I know my brother
05:33 that He will carry you
05:40 And, if He carries the weight of the world
05:45 upon His shoulders
05:51 Then I know my sister
05:54 that He will carry you
06:02 I know my brother and I know my sister
06:08 that He will carry you
06:21 He will carry you
06:33 Amen. Amen.
06:35 Can you say amen? Amen.
06:37 Do you believe He will carry you through?
06:39 Yes. Amen.
06:40 Brother Louis, thank you.
06:42 And it's good to see you all today.
06:45 I'm still amazed when young Louis sings.
06:48 I don't know about you, but it...
06:50 To see all of that come out of that little bitty young man.
06:54 You know, you see him in the greenroom,
06:56 he's a different guy.
06:58 He's listening to his headphones,
07:00 normal 22 year old young man but when he comes out,
07:03 Lord, have mercy, I'm just in awe.
07:05 So I am thankful to hear him sing He Will Carry You Through.
07:13 I am a perfect witness of that.
07:15 He has carried me a mighty long way
07:19 and He has carried many of you the same.
07:23 Let us begin with a word of prayer.
07:26 Heavenly Father, we come once again
07:29 thanking You for the gift of salvation,
07:34 thanking You for Jesus, the Christ, leading us,
07:39 guiding us and directing us along the way.
07:43 As we meet together again, we just ask for your presence.
07:47 We ask for the Holy Spirit to fill this place,
07:50 fill every home that is listening
07:54 and that every heart shall be touched
07:55 and words come from oh, high.
07:57 So, Lord hide me behind your cross
08:00 and allow the word to be spoken.
08:03 In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
08:06 Welcome to another edition of Foundations of our Faith.
08:09 I am enjoying my time here.
08:14 And I am glad to be here as we talk about
08:19 Foundations of Faith.
08:22 Understanding from yesterday that we just have to,
08:27 learn how to what?
08:28 Call on the Lord.
08:30 And call and He gives us the help we need
08:33 and so just to simply review a couple of things
08:37 that we talked about yesterday.
08:40 The call. Five things we learned yesterday.
08:44 Number one. We need to understand our condition.
08:48 Understand the condition that we are in. Number two.
08:53 We need to understand and others will try to quiet
08:56 the call when we are trying to make changes for Jesus.
08:59 And number three.
09:01 We must understand that when there are those who are,
09:04 that when we are crying, that someone will try to
09:07 stop us but we must learn to cry just a little bit louder.
09:11 Number four.
09:12 There are three things that we must do once.
09:15 Jesus Christ has, we have, He has our attention.
09:18 Number one, we must change our garments.
09:21 In other words, take off this self righteousness.
09:23 Number two.
09:25 We must change our position from sitting to rising up.
09:28 And number three. We must come close to the Savior.
09:32 We cannot live the same way and expect a different result.
09:36 And the fifth thing is that Jesus will give us
09:39 more than what we ask for.
09:41 All the blind man asked for was to see
09:44 and Christ gave him not only his sight physically,
09:48 but spiritually and next thing you know,
09:51 he went from begging to being in the way,
09:54 being a follower of Christ.
09:57 Rags to riches.
09:59 And so as we talk today, Give It One More Shot.
10:06 Our scripture for our foundation,
10:08 just two of them.
10:09 Ezekiel 36:26 that simply says that,
10:12 God will give us a new heart and a new spirit.
10:16 I like that, He will give us a new heart and a new spirit,
10:20 a new way to think and so I am looking forward
10:24 to that continually and also Romans, excuse me.
10:28 12 verse 2 "And be not conformed
10:31 to this world, but be transformed
10:33 by the renewing of your mind."
10:35 And so we spend time discussing the need to be
10:39 transformed as we are talking about character development,
10:43 and why is it?
10:45 Because in volume five, page 310.
10:48 Ellen White says this, "For if the thoughts are wrong,
10:51 the feelings are wrong.
10:53 The thoughts and feelings combined
10:55 make up moral character."
10:57 And so we have to understand that if our thoughts are wrong,
11:01 our feelings, about things would be wrong.
11:04 Not just about people but also about life.
11:08 This morning I was reading and I noticed that
11:11 some young man went to the theater in Louisiana
11:14 and shot up the theater.
11:17 And his family said he's been mentally ill for a long time.
11:20 His thoughts have been messed up to the point
11:23 where it propelled him to go to a place
11:28 where people are just being entertained
11:30 and decided he's going to kill people.
11:32 We have to take seriously how we think,
11:38 what we think about because
11:40 that things leads to how we feel.
11:44 Second volume, Mind, Character, Personality says,
11:48 that transformation begins with our thoughts.
11:51 Transformation begins with our thoughts and the challenge
11:55 we often face with our thoughts is this,
11:57 no one can see our thoughts but God.
12:00 And so we can look the part, dress up
12:03 and all that good stuff and as folk are walking by,
12:06 you can have some of the meanest things
12:07 to say about them while smiling at them.
12:10 And so we have to very careful and understand
12:13 that we are in these last days but there's a reason
12:16 why this thing for me has become important because
12:19 I came across a statement a long time ago
12:22 in Christ's Object Lessons, when the Prophet says,
12:25 when the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced.
12:28 Not almost, not somewhat,
12:30 but perfectly reproduced in His people,
12:33 then He will come to reclaim them as His own.
12:36 So God is waiting for His folk to just look like Him,
12:41 to be twins, if you want to call it that.
12:43 God is waiting for His character to be in His church,
12:47 in His people and so I have taken the liberty.
12:52 Everywhere I find myself going to spend time
12:55 talking about character, spend time discussing thoughts.
13:00 And so tonight, today, excuse me,
13:02 we are going into another segment.
13:05 If you go with me to Jeremiah Chapter 29,
13:08 as we start our three legs tonight.
13:12 We talk about teaching, preaching and healing
13:15 that Jesus did in Matthew 4.
13:17 For the first segment of this we deal with teaching.
13:22 Jeremiah 29.
13:23 Jeremiah the 29th Chapter,
13:26 Jeremiah is in the Old Testament.
13:29 Give It One More Shot.
13:31 And there are so many Bible verses that
13:33 I like but I really love this one.
13:36 Jeremiah 29:11.
13:40 The Bible says it this way, "For I know the thoughts
13:44 that I think toward you, saith the Lord."
13:47 False of feast, now I can just stop right there
13:49 and just I can just preach that thing right there
13:52 but I won't tonight right now.
13:54 But I can just stop right there and just preach
13:58 how God thinks nothing but the best of us.
14:01 You know, when others think the worst of us,
14:03 when others talk about us.
14:05 God is not doing it.
14:06 He says, My thoughts of you are of peace.
14:08 Peace is the absence of war, or the absence of conflict.
14:12 So that thing gets me excited as you can see,
14:15 because I love the way that God thinks of me.
14:20 He says, "Thoughts of peace and not of evil."
14:23 Not something bad, not something wrong,
14:25 not something that's going to hurt you.
14:27 The thoughts that I have of you,
14:29 even if I'm going this way, God says, it's still peace,
14:32 even if I'm being disobedient, it's still thoughts of peace.
14:35 God says I can't do nothing but think thoughts of goodness
14:38 of you and not of evil, and to give you an
14:42 expected end or a future and a hope.
14:46 The Bible continues to say, "Then you shall call upon me,
14:48 and you shall go and pray unto me,
14:50 and I will hearken unto you promises.
14:53 And you shall seek me, and find me,
14:56 when you shall search for me with all your heart.
14:59 We are gonna spend some time talking about that.
15:01 When you shall find, it's not that God himself
15:04 is playing a game that I used to love
15:06 when I was a little boy called hide and seek.
15:07 God is not hiding from us.
15:09 But Isaiah 59 says that our sins
15:12 have separated us from our God.
15:15 And so, verse 14 says, "And I will be found of you,
15:20 saith the Lord, and I will turn away your captivity."
15:24 So God promises some things that we can hone in on.
15:27 Number one, He promises that
15:29 He doesn't think anything negative of us.
15:31 So if anyone out there thinks that God thinks wrong of you,
15:35 you have the wrong God that you are looking at.
15:38 The God that I know,
15:39 He doesn't think anything evil of me.
15:43 Deuteronomy Chapter 4, He also says in that,
15:46 "You will find Me when you give all you got."
15:49 Deuteronomy Chapter 4.
15:51 Deuteronomy Chapter 4, Old Testimony, fifth book.
15:54 The Bible, Deuteronomy Chapter 4.
15:58 Looking at verse 29.
16:01 Deuteronomy Chapter 4, looking at verse 29.
16:04 Doing little teaching right now.
16:07 says this,
16:09 "But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God,
16:14 thou shalt find Him, if thou shall seek Him
16:18 with all your heart and with all your soul."
16:21 So in other words, when it comes to God,
16:24 He expects all of us to give all we got
16:28 and we are going to see a story
16:30 that exemplifies this thing tonight.
16:32 Everything we got.
16:33 You know, I'm an athlete by nature.
16:37 Even though you look at this wide frame now,
16:40 it doesn't look as though I'm an athlete.
16:42 I'm an athlete in retirement while eating too much.
16:47 But nonetheless, I'm still an athlete.
16:49 I have a 15 year old son who thinks that no matter
16:52 how old I get, or how wide I begin to get,
16:56 he still thinks that he can beat me in basketball.
17:00 And so once a week we have to prove the point
17:03 that I can still take him,
17:06 even though it's a struggle to do it,
17:09 'cause he has energy that I just don't possess
17:11 at this moment in my life.
17:14 When we are playing together,
17:16 I have to give it all that I got.
17:18 If I, at any point, give just a little bit,
17:22 not a lot, he takes advantage of it
17:24 and he runs me around the gym.
17:27 But because I know that if I allow him
17:29 to win at any moment, he's going to hold that thing
17:32 over my head for the rest of my life,
17:34 in front of the church members, in front of the family,
17:37 and friends and I just can't do it.
17:39 So what I have to do is give it all I got
17:41 and even when I get done and I'm like,
17:44 I still have to give it all I got because if I don't,
17:48 I will not come out victorious, same thing with Christ.
17:51 We have to give it all we got, no matter what shape we are in,
17:54 no matter how tired we get.
17:56 We have to give it all we got.
18:00 In order to do that, 1 Timothy Chapter 6,
18:03 1 Timothy Chapter 6, 1 Timothy Chapter 6
18:07 gives me my marching orders.
18:10 1 Timothy 6:12, give me my marching order.
18:17 God says that, you can find Me when you give Me all of you.
18:23 But in order to do that, verse 12 says,
18:25 that I must "Fight the good fight of faith."
18:29 And to find and to be a part of Christ,
18:33 it takes fighting.
18:34 It's not something that you can just lay down
18:36 and think it's going to be like the easing
18:39 on down the road, like the whiz.
18:40 It's not going to happen that way.
18:42 We have to fight to stay faithful.
18:44 We have to fight from the moment
18:45 we get up to the time we go to sleep.
18:47 We have to fight this good fight of faith
18:50 and what's before me, the Bible says,
18:52 "Lay hold on eternal life."
18:54 You see, I like to think that one day soon,
18:57 we are going to live forever.
18:59 You know, when I was a young boy getting up,
19:00 I could get up off my bed and run
19:02 and now as I'm getting old at 44,
19:04 you may not think that's old, but as I get older now,
19:07 I got to stretch a little bit before I move
19:10 and do some turns here and there,
19:12 so that my bones can warm up.
19:15 But one day soon, I won't have to worry about
19:17 stretching anymore and doing some leg raises
19:21 and getting all ready.
19:22 Why? 'Cause when eternal life is given.
19:25 Guess what? I get a new body.
19:28 But we got to fight until then. The good fight of faith.
19:32 This thing is a fight, y'all. It's not something that's easy.
19:37 We must fight to stay faithful.
19:41 Fight to stay in and fight not to give up. Why?
19:46 Because eternal life is right there.
19:49 In order to fight, Matthew 24, Matthew the 24th Chapter.
19:55 Matthew the 24th Chapter, verse 13.
19:59 So the Bible says, one,
20:01 that when we search with all our heart, we will find Him.
20:05 Timothy tells us that we have to fight
20:07 the good fight of faith and give in all our heart.
20:11 And Matthew 24:13 says, "But he that shall endure
20:17 until the end, the same shall be saved."
20:21 Not only do you need to fight, this thing takes endurance.
20:26 This race, many times is not to the swift,
20:30 but to one who can endure,
20:33 the one who can pace himself or herself.
20:37 This thing is not a race.
20:39 As I spoke to you about my 15 year old son name Isaiah.
20:42 See, what he don't realize right now
20:44 because he don't have the wisdom, I have.
20:46 If he would just keep me running steadily,
20:49 he would beat me because my endurance is low.
20:52 He doesn't know that, I won't let him see it
20:55 because if I do, then he'll take advantage of me.
20:57 Well, he may see it now,
20:59 I didn't just gave myself up but hey, hey, hey,
21:02 but I'm in the moment, so forgive the young preacher.
21:05 All right, so, if he just realize that my endurance
21:08 is not as long as his and he just keep
21:12 dribbling that ball, keep running around.
21:13 I may just have to grab him and hold him
21:15 and just like a box, just hold on to him
21:18 for a minute, but, but in this race,
21:20 it takes endurance.
21:21 You have to pace yourself.
21:23 So in my pacing to beat him I don't try to shake 'em
21:27 and take him to the hole.
21:29 I just simply bag him down with this big body.
21:32 And then I turn around and shoot it.
21:34 That's all I do and it preserves my energy,
21:38 so that in the end, he's more tired than I am.
21:42 Because I have 100 pounds over him at least
21:44 so I know he can't take this big body,
21:47 taking him down low each and every time.
21:49 And so I take out his endurance before he take out mine.
21:53 And the same way with the enemy.
21:54 He'll try to take out your endurance before anything else
21:58 because he knows once you get tired,
22:00 you are ready to quit, you are ready to give up,
22:02 you are ready to throw in the towel,
22:04 but the Bible says, keep fighting.
22:05 And the Bible said,
22:07 "Blessed is he who endures until the end."
22:10 And so this is the job that we must face.
22:13 This is what we must do.
22:15 So let's see a picture of all four of these scriptures
22:20 wrapped up in one.
22:21 Let's see a picture of this taking place
22:24 where a person is giving all they have.
22:27 A person is fighting the good fight
22:29 and a person is enduring.
22:31 Go with me to Mark Chapter 5, Mark Chapter 5.
22:36 I enjoy the Book of Mark 'cause,
22:39 for me, just me personally, the Book of Mark is a book
22:44 in which salvation is seen,
22:49 both man, woman and children.
22:53 And so we look at Mark Chapter 5,
22:56 the first 20 verses deal with a man who's a demoniac,
23:02 who is out of his mind.
23:04 Suicidal, if you may.
23:05 The disciples touch shore, this man starts growling
23:09 and the disciples, even though they are with Jesus
23:12 and just survived the storm in chapter 4.
23:16 And He said peace be still, as soon as they see this man,
23:18 they start running.
23:21 And Jesus deals with this man who has cutted himself
23:23 and no man can tame.
23:25 And the Bible says, that he calms into his
23:27 right mind and wants to go with Jesus but Jesus says,
23:31 "No, go back home and tell your friends
23:33 the good things God has done."
23:35 And our story takes us to verse 21.
23:38 And the Bible says, "And when Jesus was
23:41 passed over again by ship unto the other side,
23:45 much people gathered unto him,
23:47 and he was nigh unto the sea again."
23:49 Yesterday we spoke about...
23:51 they are always lot of people following Jesus.
23:56 Lot of people always thronging about Him.
24:00 And that could be you and I if we're not careful,
24:02 just simply following and not giving in to the Savior.
24:08 Verse 22 says, "And, behold,
24:09 there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue,
24:11 Jairus by name.
24:13 And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet,
24:15 And besought Him greatly, saying, My little daughter
24:18 lieth at the point of death, I pray Thee,
24:21 come and lay hands on her, that she may be healed,
24:24 and she shall live."
24:26 Now, now here is Jairus, ruler of the synagogue,
24:29 coming to the Savior.
24:31 And there at Levi Matthew's house
24:33 and Jesus gets up instantly.
24:35 His disciples according to "Desire of Ages"
24:38 kind of stunned that Jesus would
24:39 deal with this arrogant leader
24:41 and they see that he gets up at once.
24:44 And Jesus to me, you know,
24:46 I love Jesus but Jesus' just cool.
24:49 Jesus is a cool brother, cool savior.
24:52 He's just cool, you know. Nothing gets under his skin.
24:56 He is as He is moving, "Desire of Ages" says,
24:59 He stops along the way and He heals some
25:02 who are broken hearted and He heals some
25:04 who are troubled and He heals some who are sick
25:07 and even though He knows the end from the beginning.
25:10 He knows what He can do.
25:12 Jairus has not figured that thing out yet,
25:15 so he is wondering why is this Jesus taking His time
25:18 when my daughter is losing it.
25:21 And Jesus just taking His time, stopping here,
25:24 healing somebody.
25:25 Stopping here, helping somebody and Jairus gets frantic
25:29 but along the way the story seem to take a little turn
25:34 to bring in another character in the scene of things.
25:41 And verse 25 says, "And a certain woman,
25:45 which had an issue of blood for 12 years."
25:51 A woman has a problem 12 years with an issue of blood.
25:58 Yesterday we talked about the man,
26:01 Bartimaeus who was blind, couldn't see.
26:05 Economic status must be poor.
26:06 He was begging and he was only outside.
26:09 Now we have a woman who is, has an issue,
26:15 a malady, a problem.
26:17 And sometimes, brothers and sisters,
26:19 it's not enough to just call upon Christ.
26:22 There's something more we need to do.
26:24 And I love math, and so if you would
26:27 just be with me for a moment.
26:30 Twelve years is a long time, 12 years is a 1,044 months,
26:37 12 years is 626 weeks,
26:41 12 years is 4,338 days,
26:46 12 years is
26:53 Long time.
26:54 12 years is
27:02 12 years is a long time to have a problem.
27:07 It's not anything short at all.
27:10 I thought it was long before I can graduate school
27:13 but it was 12 years this woman is dealing with one issue.
27:19 Can you imagine having one problem
27:22 that's lasting 12 years?
27:24 Can you imagine the psychological thought?
27:26 Can you imagine the frustration that takes place?
27:29 Can you imagine what goes through a person's head
27:32 that they are dealing with something for 12 long years?
27:39 When I try to do, wherever I go is
27:41 try to humanize this thing so we can,
27:45 we can all understand and apply to our lives, 12 years?
27:51 You see I'm walking on stage today because for 12 years
27:54 I dealt with two injuries on my big toe.
27:58 Because I told you, I was an athlete,
28:00 played basketball in college and ran track across country.
28:04 I know I don't look like it. Don't know judge me.
28:09 But when you become an athlete and you are playing basketball
28:12 as much as I did in high school and a little bit in college
28:15 and when I get growing and older
28:18 and people step on your toes, your big toe,
28:21 when you're younger you don't tend to think
28:23 that you need to ice it.
28:25 You think you are invincible.
28:27 You think everything is just all right
28:28 and so I felt the same way.
28:32 I didn't think one day that I'll get old and a famous word,
28:36 it's called arthritis began kicking in.
28:40 So one day I could not bend my toes
28:42 and most people walk in, your toes been,
28:45 my toes just stood still.
28:47 Now I didn't pay it too much amount,
28:49 I just kept walking and I figured, hey,
28:51 its part of getting old.
28:53 No one gave me a book on what old feels like or looks like.
28:56 So I just figured this is part of the patch.
29:00 And so for 12 years, I'm dealing with these toes.
29:04 Not one toe, two big toes.
29:08 Then I would, when I started preaching more
29:10 and being more engaged, how we get home
29:13 and them two big things would just ache.
29:19 And I finally went to the doctor and the doctor said,
29:23 you are in trouble right now.
29:26 'Cause the way they were growing with the arthritis on,
29:28 they were starting to turn.
29:32 So understand what 12 years feels like.
29:36 Understand what pain feels like.
29:38 Understand what discouragement feels like.
29:42 But this woman has an issue of blood for 12 long years
29:46 and verse 26 says this, "And had suffered many things
29:51 of many physician and had spent all that
29:54 she had and was nothing better but rather grew worse."
29:58 Now listen to me now. Help me understand something.
30:02 It's one thing to have good medical insurance.
30:07 It's a whole another thing when you have to take it
30:09 from your own pocket.
30:11 It's a whole another ball game when you take out money,
30:15 not just from your savings and your checkings
30:17 but perhaps even your IRA or your retirement fund
30:22 and you go to different doctors who supposedly specialize
30:27 in helping your situation and you find out
30:31 that in each situation, you are getting worse
30:33 and worse and worse.
30:37 Imagine the psychological drama that's taking place.
30:41 You know, you get excited when you hear
30:42 about this physician specializes in this
30:44 and so you go and you spending, they are like,
30:47 ma'am, I can't help you.
30:48 I can refer you to doctor so and so.
30:50 Then you go to doctor so and so and you feel as
30:53 though this one can do it, so you shell out some more cash
30:55 and he says, ma'am, I'm sorry, I just can't.
30:57 How about you try doctor such and such over there?
31:00 And then you go to doctor such and such,
31:01 and you go all the way of it,
31:02 and by the time you get to your last doctor,
31:06 and the doctor tells you,
31:07 ma'am, there's nothing more anybody can do.
31:12 You are flat broke.
31:16 And not only that, you spend all this time
31:18 going to these different doctors
31:19 and you find yourself getting worse.
31:24 So you've been dealing with something for 12 years.
31:28 You are now broke.
31:31 Medicare, medicate is not going kick in, you are broke.
31:36 And the people who specializes in this thing tells you
31:40 there's nothing you can do.
31:42 Nothing they can do, excuse me.
31:46 Can you imagine feeling rejected?
31:52 Discouraged? In all these things?
31:56 Can you really imagine how this woman is really feeling?
31:59 Let me try to give as close to understand as I can.
32:05 I tend to get personal but I have a mother
32:07 that I love to death, who is going on 70 years old
32:12 and at age 12, interesting, 12 years, Jairus' daughter.
32:17 She contracted polio in Ross Hill, Mississippi.
32:22 Took the vaccination for polio and still contracted polio
32:27 and there's no cure for polio and as she's gotten older,
32:32 she is gotten worse.
32:35 We just had a stint of being in a hospital for 3 days
32:38 a couple of months ago
32:39 and I see the dejection on her face.
32:45 And no matter how many doctors I have taken her to,
32:47 no matter how many people say, it's this problem,
32:49 it's that problem, we've done natural stuff,
32:51 we've done medical stuff, we've done almost everything.
32:56 And it just does not seem to work.
33:01 And this last stint, where being in a hospital,
33:06 she looked at me.
33:09 She said, son, I'm tired.
33:12 And my mother, I've had her with me since 2002.
33:18 This is 2015, for 13 years.
33:21 You can say I've been the parent now,
33:23 taking care of my mother, because it's interesting
33:25 they take care of us and then we take care of them.
33:29 And for me, it's hard watching this bulwark of a woman,
33:32 who raised me by herself.
33:34 Only this tall and her fists is this big because
33:37 when she punch you, she would knock you clear out.
33:41 And she can hit so hard.
33:43 I didn't think my mother had it in her.
33:45 I thought Superman and Wonder Woman
33:46 was just a Marvel comic but it was real life in my home.
33:51 But I'm watching this bulwark of a woman,
33:54 now get feeble, and feeble.
33:58 And this last stint in the hospital,
34:01 and the doctors were talking about in a case
34:04 of resuscitation, do we have your permission.
34:07 My mother said, no.
34:10 So as the son listening to this,
34:14 I started crying.
34:16 And I did when I said, momma, what did you...
34:18 what did you say?
34:20 She said, I said no. She said, I'm tired.
34:23 I get up every day and my back hurts.
34:27 I get up every day, my legs hurt.
34:29 I get up every day, my internal organs are hurting.
34:35 And I'm tired right now.
34:39 I've been through this, to this doctor and that doctor.
34:42 I've done this, I've done that
34:44 and situation is not getting better.
34:48 So I said, I said, Mr. Doctor, can you step out a minute
34:51 before you put this on a chart?
34:54 I said, momma, have you lost your mind?
34:56 I said, momma, I'd rather you sore than
34:59 not have you at all.
35:00 She says, son, you are not living this life.
35:05 You don't know how painful this thing gets.
35:10 You don't feel what I'm feeling.
35:14 So here I am, so sometimes
35:17 when I think about it,
35:18 it's still fresh, it gets to me.
35:22 I couldn't even imagine the thought of
35:24 not having my mother around.
35:29 But I can understand.
35:30 I can empathize with her because I watch her pain.
35:35 I watch what she go through, I'm right there
35:37 when she can't put certain things on.
35:39 I have to help put her clothes on
35:41 or help her reach places she can't reach.
35:43 I'm right there.
35:45 And so I can imagine this woman, y'all.
35:47 Listen to me now, has been going through this
35:49 for 12 long years and nothing has gotten better.
35:53 It has gotten worse.
35:57 And not only that, listen to me now.
36:01 Not only that, but she missed Christ
36:04 when He was in Capernaum teaching.
36:07 She went to go see Christ and she missed Him.
36:10 And not only that but, dare she missed Him
36:12 when she heard that He was at Levi Matthew's house,
36:15 she got there too late.
36:19 So imagine 12 years.
36:24 This issue, then you missed a Savior twice.
36:29 Imagine the psychological effect
36:31 that you are going through.
36:33 On top of that, go to Leviticus 15
36:36 for a moment, Leviticus 15.
36:39 Now she has to deal with this. Leviticus 15.
36:42 Leviticus, the 15th chapter.
36:47 Leviticus 15:19 more particular.
36:52 Leviticus 15:19, the Bible says this,
36:56 "And if a woman have an issue,
36:59 and her issue in her flesh be blood,
37:02 she shall be put apart seven days,
37:05 and whosoever toucheth her
37:06 shall be unclean until the evening.
37:09 And every thing that she lieth upon in her
37:11 separation shall be unclean, every thing also that
37:14 she sitteth upon shall be unclean."
37:18 Going down to verse 25, the Bible says,
37:20 "And if a woman have an issue of her blood
37:22 many days out of the time of her separation,
37:25 or if it run beyond the time of her separation,
37:29 all the days of the issue of her uncleanness
37:32 shall be as the days of her separation,
37:35 she shall be unclean.
37:37 Every bed where she lieth all the days of her issue
37:40 shall be unto her as the bed of her separation,
37:43 and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean,
37:47 as the uncleanness of her separation.
37:49 And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean,
37:53 and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water,
37:57 and be unclean until evening.
37:59 And so on top of all that,
38:03 she can't be around anybody.
38:08 So on top of having this issue for 12 years,
38:11 on top of spending all her money,
38:13 on top of going to every doctor and getting worse,
38:17 on top of missing Christ twice, she can't be around people.
38:22 She's all by herself. Imagine that.
38:29 Nobody, she can't get in the car for 12 years
38:33 and go on a nice, little date with her husband.
38:36 She can't lay in a bed with her husband for 12 years.
38:40 She can't participate in Thanksgiving meal.
38:42 For 12 years, no Christmas time.
38:44 For 12 years, she can't hold the new grandbaby.
38:49 For 12 years, she can't kiss her husband good night.
38:52 I love you, honey.
38:53 For 12 years, she can't do anything to be bothered.
38:59 She can't attend graduation and she can't attend church.
39:03 For 12 years.
39:06 She's all by herself for 12 long years.
39:11 She can't celebrate any anniversary
39:13 between her and her husband.
39:16 She's missed 12 years of her children's life.
39:18 For 12 years, no Christmas gifts.
39:22 For 12 years, y'all. No camp meetings, 12 years.
39:26 Can't come and observe a baptism, 12 years.
39:31 For 12 long years, she's all by herself.
39:35 Now it's bad enough if you by yourself
39:36 for a couple of months or a week or so,
39:38 but for 12 long years, y'all.
39:43 It make anybody go crazy.
39:46 She can't call the pastor and say,
39:47 pastor, I need you to pray with me.
39:49 He said, lady, you are unclean. I can't come in your vicinity.
39:53 The elders can't come and see her.
39:54 The deacons can't come over the deaconess can't
39:57 can't take some song over and sing,
39:59 can't take communion for 12 long years,
40:05 12 long years.
40:09 You can only imagine the psychological
40:14 process she's going through.
40:16 Maybe she thought about ending it all, I don't know.
40:20 But 12 years is a long time.
40:24 I can't even remember what I did 12 years ago.
40:28 I can't re-detail, that's how long it's been.
40:31 12 years ago, my son was 3.
40:34 He weren't thinking about playing me in basketball.
40:37 12 years is a long time. I've been in ministry 14 years.
40:43 12 years. We are back to Mark, chapter 5.
40:50 This lady is desperate.
40:52 On top of that, blood drains,
40:58 takes away your energy.
41:00 So it was not like she had a lot of energy on top of it.
41:04 I have a friend who is anemic.
41:07 I tell you the truth.
41:09 If she don't take her iron pills,
41:11 she's out for the count.
41:13 No energy at all. Sleep most of the day.
41:19 12 years.
41:26 If we end the story there, it's no use of preaching.
41:31 It's no use of encouraging anyone.
41:34 Everybody would soon just want to give up,
41:38 but thank God there's a Christ that knows
41:43 how long my 12 years has been.
41:46 That knows how many a long time I've had.
41:51 The verse 27 says it this way, "When she had heard of Jesus."
41:59 Come on now. I could...
42:02 Today at just certain parts, this, you got to excuse me
42:05 because there are these things I just enjoy all by myself.
42:08 See, there are times we read the Bible
42:10 and we just read it like a novel,
42:12 we read it like a book.
42:13 But see, a preacher don't need much to start
42:15 preaching on something.
42:17 So, see, I get excited when it simply says,
42:20 "When she had heard of Jesus."
42:21 See, that right there takes me to another plateau
42:25 of understanding when she had heard.
42:27 Didn't see him, she's missed him twice.
42:29 She's been discouraged and she's been dismayed
42:31 and she's been alone and she's perhaps been suicidal
42:35 but the Bible says, "When she had heard of Jesus."
42:38 See, that right there is my wing in,
42:40 that right there is the key to unlock the door.
42:42 "When she had heard of Jesus." Why?
42:44 Because Romans 10 says, "Faith cometh by hearing,
42:47 and hearing by the word of God."
42:49 See, she had heard.
42:50 Remember, Bartimaeus heard that Jesus
42:52 was coming and he started crying out.
42:54 See, sometimes you got to hear.
42:56 You may not see it, you can just hear it.
43:01 Always easy said than done.
43:02 See, sometimes we hear about certain preachers
43:04 going to be in the area, all we do is hear it
43:07 and we flock there.
43:09 Or if you hear there's a good party,
43:11 you have to be there.
43:12 You just heard about it and you find yourself there.
43:15 See, sometimes if you find out that there's a good restaurant,
43:17 you just hear it and you find yourself there.
43:20 See, I was told when I got here,
43:22 I love Chinese food.
43:23 Even though I'm a black man, I was told that there's
43:26 a good Chinese place in this place,
43:28 I heard about it.
43:30 Went to it, went back today all by myself.
43:32 Sometimes you just hear stuff and it change your life.
43:37 So this woman just heard that Jesus was around.
43:41 See, I don't know what she heard,
43:43 but here's what I do know.
43:45 Whatever she heard, perhaps prompted
43:47 in a sense of excitement.
43:50 It prompted her to do something different
43:52 than what she did before.
43:53 Maybe she heard in John, chapter 2,
43:56 that he turned water into wine.
43:58 I don't know.
43:59 Maybe she heard in Mark, chapter 1,
44:01 that Peter's mother-in-law was healed.
44:03 I don't know what she heard.
44:05 Maybe she heard that in John, chapter 5,
44:07 that He healed a man at a pool in Bethesda.
44:10 I don't know again, I don't know what
44:13 she heard but what I do know
44:14 is that when she heard it, she moved.
44:16 Maybe she heard in Mark, chapter 1
44:18 that He healed a leper.
44:20 I don't know.
44:22 Maybe she heard that blind Bartimaeus
44:24 himself was healed.
44:25 I don know.
44:26 Maybe she heard in Mark, chapter 2 that four brothers
44:29 took their homeboy and tore the roof off
44:32 the place and lowered him down
44:34 and He got up and start walking.
44:35 I don't know, she heard something.
44:39 I don't know.
44:40 Maybe she heard in Luke 18, of the woman that was walking
44:44 like this for 18 years and when she found out
44:47 it was Jesus and Jesus just said,
44:49 "Woman, thou art loosed."
44:50 And she just start shaking it up and shaking it up
44:53 and just walks straight.
44:54 I don't know what she heard but she heard something.
44:59 Maybe she heard in Mark, chapter 5
45:01 that He healed a demoniac.
45:04 I don't know but all I do know is that
45:06 she heard something.
45:07 And it's good enough for me.
45:09 See, I heard that there's a Savior
45:11 that can save a wretch like me,
45:13 so I start following this Savior.
45:15 I went from Black Panther to black pastor
45:18 and I've been happy ever since.
45:20 Are you with me so far? I just heard about this Savior.
45:25 Sometimes all you got to do is hear it.
45:27 You don't have to see it, you just got to hear
45:29 what he can do and that's enough for me.
45:31 See, see, she heard and I can imagine what she heard.
45:34 Oh, shoot, I got one more chance to this thing.
45:37 Why? 'Cause three strikes, you are out.
45:42 Whatever she heard, and it prompted her to move on.
45:46 And this is where the fight is in.
45:48 See, see, I told you that God does not...
45:50 Listen to me now.
45:52 God does not have any thoughts of us of evil, but of peace.
45:55 He wants to bring stuff in our life to a sense of peace.
46:00 But He wants us to fight and give our all
46:03 and so now these scriptures are kicking in.
46:09 The verse 27 continue, says, when she heard of Jesus,
46:13 she came in the press behind,
46:15 well, she came in the crowd behind
46:17 and touched His garments and, "For she is said..."
46:20 Listen to me now.
46:22 "For she said, If I may touch but His clothes..."
46:25 Come on now, if I may touch but his clothes
46:28 not his body, if I may touch but His clothes,
46:31 then I can be made whole.
46:33 See, see, God understands it
46:35 and this is know clear this thing is for me,
46:38 as I'm reading "Desire of Ages" and she says that,
46:41 she says the Savior knew that He had a daughter
46:44 who had an issue for 12 long years
46:47 and He start walking in her direction.
46:49 See, see, Jairus thought that this thing is all about
46:52 him but he had a daughter who's been struggling for 12 years.
46:55 See, Jairus had a daughter that was 12 years old,
46:58 that was about to die and sooner die
47:00 but Christ had a daughter also for 12 years,
47:02 that's been struggling and so he did say,
47:05 "I'm not going to let you strike out again."
47:07 Amen. Hallelujah, somebody.
47:08 I'm going to walk in your path, I'm going to slow myself down
47:12 because I know that your energy has been lost
47:15 because you been bleeding for 12 years.
47:17 So I'm going to move slow in this thing to make sure
47:20 that this time you don't miss me.
47:22 This time you won't be too late.
47:24 This time I got you right where I want you
47:26 So He walked in her direction purposely.
47:29 You need to understand something today,
47:31 that when Christ wants you, He's going to walk your way.
47:34 He's not going to take a detour.
47:35 He's not going to miss the turn.
47:37 He's going to walk your way.
47:43 Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.
47:46 But you can see her fighting this thing.
47:48 She can, you can see her fighting and listen,
47:50 theologians believe that she wasn't standing up
47:53 like us, they believe.
47:56 I wish I could crawl up in here,
47:57 but they believe she was crawling.
47:59 And you can imagine. She's already embarrassed.
48:04 And I'm not even talking about perhaps the smell.
48:06 She's probably self conscious of herself.
48:09 She's probably self conscious that, so many folk,
48:13 how am I going to get through, I don't have the energy
48:15 to make it through and she's crawling.
48:18 You ever crawl in desperation
48:20 and you just don't have the energy.
48:23 And it's hard to put one foot above the next
48:26 and then to reach out.
48:29 It takes a lot of energy, it's not as simple
48:32 as you may think especially when you are tired.
48:35 There are times I watch my mother slowly reach her hand
48:39 out to me when I can just be like, boom.
48:40 But my mother is like this at times and it takes
48:43 some energy so I can imagine this woman on her knees
48:47 struggling and not on concrete, but sand,
48:50 struggling and she sees Him in a distance
48:53 and she's excited about it, but it just seems so far away
48:57 and all of a sudden, the Savior is right in her vicinity.
49:03 And as He's in her vicinity.
49:06 The Bible says, listen to me now.
49:09 Bible says, "And straightaway..."
49:12 Verse 29, "the fountain of her blood
49:15 was dried up, and she felt in her body
49:18 that she was healed of the plague.
49:22 She was healed of the plague."
49:25 Listen, I have such an imagination that I believe,
49:29 brothers and sisters, that the moment
49:31 she touched but the helm of His garment,
49:34 the moment she reached out and touched but
49:35 the helm of His garment, that all of a sudden,
49:38 Bath and Body Works just started floating in through
49:40 and she had a cucumber melon smell about her.
49:42 I don't know but it was the smell that
49:44 stood out like never before.
49:45 You know how a woman just walks into a room
49:47 and you are like, and I'm not talking about
49:48 you married because you can't do that
49:50 but you can imagine when a woman walk in room
49:52 and you are like, oh, man.
49:54 That was, that smelt good. Where she go now?
49:56 Some of you married men probably do it
49:57 but you don't want to get caught doing it.
49:59 I'm not telling you to do that
50:00 but you just better be careful.
50:02 So I can imagine that all of a sudden,
50:03 all the attention's on her.
50:05 Why? Because she has a smell like no one else.
50:09 She has a presence like no on else.
50:11 And the Bible says that instantly,
50:13 instantly she was healed.
50:17 And why, because God says,
50:19 "I want to give you a future and a hope."
50:21 Somebody say amen out there.
50:23 "I want to give you a future and a hope." Why?
50:25 Because I don't think anything evil of you,
50:27 nothing but peace.
50:28 I've watched you for 12 years. I've watched you struggle.
50:31 I watched you go through the pain
50:33 and I'm going to come at the right time,
50:37 at the right moment.
50:39 See, sometimes we think that God doesn't know
50:42 what He's doing but God always knows what He's doing.
50:46 He understands timing better than we do.
50:50 He understands timing.
50:52 See that some of us, that if He grab us
50:55 at the wrong time in our mind, we won't be right,
50:59 but He grabs us at the right time that both can
51:01 come and meet and have each other.
51:06 He crossed her path at the right time.
51:09 He could have crossed it Capernaum.
51:10 He could've crossed it at Levi Matthew's house
51:12 but He crossed it at the right time,
51:16 'cause she was fighting the good fight of faith.
51:18 She was giving all she got and her endurance lasted
51:26 and here's your question.
51:28 All these people in the crowd again,
51:30 how does that one person gets healed?
51:34 It's not about the crowd sometimes,
51:37 it's about you and Jesus.
51:38 You can't worry about everybody else's doing,
51:41 you have to worry about what you are doing.
51:43 You have to understand that God calls at the right time
51:46 and sometimes, listen to me now,
51:48 it's not enough to just call.
51:51 For some of us, we have to reach out and grab.
51:55 Sometimes you have to reach out and grab
51:58 the Savior and the Bible says, "Jesus stopped immediately."
52:02 Listen to me now.
52:04 He stopped immediately and said, "Who touched Me?"
52:06 And Peter being Peter said,
52:08 "Lord, You got everybody touching you."
52:10 He's like, "No, no, no.
52:11 There's something different about this touch right here.
52:13 There's something different about what's taking place."
52:16 See, see, when your healing comes,
52:18 God was stopped instantly to recognize you
52:20 and He wanted to make sure that no superstition was there.
52:23 He says, baby girl.
52:24 I can imagine, baby girl,
52:26 your faith has made thee whole.
52:28 See, we are here today because
52:30 of the Foundations of our Faith.
52:31 See, all we need is a little bit of faith,
52:33 the size of a mustard seed.
52:34 She says if I were just to reach out and touch
52:36 the helm of His garment, not grab Him,
52:39 not come before Him and say, "Yo, Jesus. Help me."
52:41 She says, "I just want to touch a little bit
52:43 of what you got, Lord."
52:47 Don't take a whole lot.
52:50 Don't take a theological study to come to Christ.
52:53 It just takes some willingness,
52:55 mix that with some faith and God can heal.
53:00 So the Bible says that in Philippians 4:19
53:03 that my God shall supply all my needs.
53:07 Not some of my needs but all of my needs and sometimes,
53:13 brothers and sisters, you have to reach out
53:16 while believing to grab what you want.
53:20 And so it goes back to the story of my mother
53:23 who had been in the hospital
53:24 and the doctors could not find what was going.
53:27 I said, momma, now is the time.
53:29 It's acceptable time for you to reach out
53:32 and grab God's hand with faith.
53:34 And we start praying a different prayer.
53:36 You see, when the faith kicks in,
53:38 you don't pray the same type of prayer.
53:40 Oh, Lord, why are we here? Lord, why You got me?
53:42 Why my momma? We've been at church.
53:45 No, we are praying, Lord, raise her up.
53:47 Get up out of here.
53:49 There are some doctors who don't believe that need to see,
53:50 there's the great physician in the room, why?
53:53 Because we are told the Ministry of Healing
53:54 that when Jesus walked into the sick room,
53:56 all diseases are gone and so we started praying that prayer.
54:00 We started reaching up,
54:02 so we can reach down and bring us up.
54:04 And my mother walked out that hospital,
54:05 they couldn't figure out why she was there.
54:07 Somebody say, amen.
54:08 They said, I don't even know why you are here, Mrs. Jackson.
54:10 I don't know either, so momma, let's get up out of here.
54:14 Sometimes you got to reach, you got to reach.
54:19 You can't just call.
54:20 Calling is good for some but some of us got to reach.
54:26 You got to reach.
54:27 Reaching sometimes is not easy. It reminds me of a story.
54:32 Two Native Americans, one was older,
54:35 one was younger and they were out fishing.
54:39 And as they were out fishing, the older Native American
54:42 start hearing cracking in the ice and he told junior,
54:48 he said, junior, come on to this side.
54:51 Junior's like, oh, old man. There's no cracking.
54:55 You are hearing things. Your hearing is going bad.
54:58 It's all right.
55:01 The older Native American said,
55:04 listen, I need you to jump right now.
55:07 Don't wait 'cause it could come.
55:08 Quickly jump right now. Come on this side right now.
55:12 He says, old man, I'm still a young spring chicken.
55:17 If it start cracking too quick,
55:18 I'll just jump and it'll be all right.
55:21 The older Native American says, I need you to jump now.
55:24 I need you to jump now.
55:25 I need you to come on this side now.
55:28 Young man again says, I got you, old man.
55:32 All of the sudden, the ice cracked
55:35 and it start splitting real fast
55:36 and it caught the younger by surprise
55:40 and it petrified him, he couldn't move.
55:44 And the older one said, just jump!
55:45 Come on. Jump right now!
55:46 Jump right now! Jump right now!
55:49 Come on. Jump right now!
55:51 And he continues to just look petrified
55:54 and he couldn't move.
55:57 And as the older Native American watched him
56:00 go out into the sea, if he had only jumped,
56:04 he would have been saved.
56:06 Sometimes, we have to do what's not comfortable for us,
56:10 which may require a little jump,
56:13 which may require a little reach.
56:15 Sometimes we have to go outside and realize
56:19 that if we really won't change, then we have to reach,
56:23 becomes uncomfortable reach.
56:25 We maybe behind the crowd,
56:26 but there's that healing for you.
56:29 If you go a couple of books over in Mark,
56:31 you'll see that this woman that Christ healed
56:34 all of a sudden now whatever city Jesus went to,
56:36 they start touching but the helm of His garment
56:38 and the Bible said, "That they become whole."
56:40 Where do you think they got that from?
56:42 From the woman.
56:45 See, you have to understand that
56:46 your healing is not just for you
56:48 but your healing is to help somebody else
56:51 see Jesus and to know that's the same Jesus
56:53 can help them like He helped you.
56:56 So it's never one way, it's always two way,
57:00 so that you can help somebody.
57:02 So if you just decided you don't want to jump,
57:07 then you may hurt somebody who need to jump.
57:12 So as we continue, we need you to jump today,
57:16 need you just to reach out.
57:18 Just Give It One More Shot. Why?
57:23 Because your healing is right there.
57:27 Sometimes it's not enough to call,
57:29 you just have to give it one more shot
57:33 and the Savior that I know would just walk
57:35 in your direction nice and slow,
57:38 like He is strolling on a good Sabbath morning.
57:42 Strolling and He may even pause so you can reach back,
57:46 touch Him and keep moving.
57:48 Father in Heaven, please help us to reach.
57:52 Please help us to come to the point, Lord,
57:54 where we can touch You in a special way.
57:57 We thank you, Lord, for all You do.
57:59 In His name. Amen.


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Revised 2015-12-03