Issues and Answers (D2D)

The Quiet Storm

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Karen Thomas (Host), Pr. David Steed II

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Series Code: IAADD

Program Code: IAADD000030A


00:28 Welcome to "Issues and Answers."
00:29 Today our guest is Pastor David Steede II.
00:34 He is a native of Bermuda
00:36 where he was the number one drummer
00:38 in the army marching band.
00:40 Then he received a call to the ministry,
00:43 which brought him down to Oakwood University
00:45 and then on to Andrews University.
00:48 Today coming from Bermuda, as a native,
00:51 he is going to talk with us about "The Quiet Storm."
00:55 Welcome to the program, Pastor Steede.
00:56 Welcome. Well, thank you.
00:58 So glad that you could come.
00:59 I am glad to be here. I am glad to be here.
01:01 So where do we begin?
01:02 Well, I think for today's thought,
01:06 we can take a look at Mark.
01:08 Mark Chapter 4 beginning with verse 35.
01:11 A very, a very familiar text.
01:14 A text that is often used and preached by most preachers.
01:19 But I think it gives us just good insights
01:21 and good applications for the life
01:25 that we're now in and so.
01:27 We could pick up verse 35.
01:28 I think if we sort of share it.
01:31 I don't want to leave you out, Karen...
01:32 Oh, thank you so very much.
01:34 I want to be included in the word of God.
01:35 Absolutely. Absolutely.
01:36 And so, I'll let you take that first, ladies first.
01:39 You know, we take verse 35
01:41 and we will alternate till we get down
01:43 to verse 39.
01:49 And then we will finish off with 40 and then 41.
01:52 But I just want us to methodically go through that
01:54 because I think
01:56 this particular text is just rich,
01:58 very rich with insights that can help us for today.
02:00 Okay.
02:02 "And the same day, when the even was come,
02:06 he saith unto them,
02:08 Let us pass over unto the other side."
02:12 "And when they had sent away the multitude,
02:15 they took him even as he was in the ship.
02:19 And there were also with him other little ships."
02:24 "And there arose a great storm of wind,
02:27 and the waves beat into the ship,
02:30 so that it was now full."
02:32 "And he was in the hinder part of the ship,
02:36 asleep on a pillow:
02:39 and they awake him and say unto him,
02:43 Master carest thou not that we perish?"
02:48 "And he arose, and rebuke the wind,
02:51 and said unto the sea, Peace be still.
02:54 And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."
02:58 "And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful?
03:04 How is it that ye have no faith?"
03:08 And then the final verse says,
03:10 "And they feared exceedingly,
03:12 and said one to another,
03:14 What manner of man is this,
03:18 that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
03:23 Wow.
03:24 An amazing text. An amazing text.
03:26 An amazing text.
03:28 It's interesting because this takes place
03:30 on the Sea of Galilee.
03:34 Popular sea in many of the stories
03:38 involving Jesus Christ.
03:40 It's referred to in many different ways in scripture.
03:43 In some places it's the Sea of Tiberius,
03:46 sometimes it's Lake Kinneret,
03:48 sometimes it's Lake Gennesaret,
03:52 depending on where you were located around the sea,
03:55 sort of named the sea after your particular area
03:57 or your particular province wherever you might be.
04:00 But for most people,
04:02 they know it as the Sea of Galilee.
04:04 And the amazing thing is that everything is going well
04:09 before this story takes place.
04:12 Jesus as always is making the blind to see,
04:17 and causing the lame to walk,
04:19 and He's preached a wonderful sermon
04:22 and He's been thereby the seaside
04:25 and the people have come in mass numbers
04:28 as always to receive a word from Him.
04:32 But then it is Jesus,
04:34 not the disciples, not anyone else.
04:37 But it's Jesus that beckons them
04:40 to cross over to the other side.
04:44 And I think it's important for us
04:45 to pause here for a second because sometimes we assume,
04:49 it's always the devil that
04:52 puts us in difficult situations.
04:54 Right. Right.
04:56 But not in this case.
04:57 It's Jesus that tells them,
05:00 "Let us cross over to the other side."
05:03 Knowing full well that a storm is about to occur.
05:05 Knowing full well that indeed
05:07 there is about to be almost a catastrophic event,
05:11 if He doesn't step in.
05:13 But He still tells them,
05:15 "Let us cross over to the other side."
05:17 It's important for us to understand
05:19 that sometimes God will allow us
05:22 to get into certain situations.
05:24 And have to deal with these situations,
05:27 because He is trying to perfect our characters.
05:30 He is trying to make us better.
05:31 And so sometimes He allows us to get into trouble
05:34 so that He can help us to grow from that troubling experience.
05:39 And He tells them and scripture records that
05:43 there were several other little boats that
05:46 immediately launched off following Jesus across.
05:51 So were they following Him or they're trying to,
05:53 was that also providential for them
05:55 to get into trouble too?
05:56 Or were they just following the group or what?
05:59 Well, I think, you know, Jesus was so popular.
06:01 He was such a, you know, celebrity of sorts that,
06:05 you know, they just wanted to be with Him.
06:06 They wanted to be, to have the closest seat,
06:08 they want to be where He was
06:10 and no one ever wanted Jesus to leave.
06:12 I mean, you're talking about a person that,
06:14 no matter what illness they came to Him with,
06:18 they were healed.
06:20 You look back then, I mean,
06:22 I wonder oftentimes how did hospital survive
06:26 in the towns that Jesus was in.
06:28 You know, perhaps you know,
06:29 you would come by their hospitals
06:31 and you see all the workers just sitting outside.
06:34 Thinking it's a coffee break or lunch break but the truth is,
06:36 there is just no patients.
06:38 There is no patients inside because Jesus is in town.
06:40 Amen.
06:41 And when He is in town, everybody gets healed.
06:43 Doesn't matter what your issue is,
06:45 there is no incurable diseases,
06:47 when you are in the presence of Jesus Christ.
06:48 Amen.
06:49 And so it's amazing because they say, listen,
06:52 if He is gonna across, let's go across with Him.
06:55 And I think it's important to understand,
06:56 if you gonna be a follower of Christ,
06:58 then you have to understand that
07:00 I got to follow Christ not just in the good times,
07:03 but I got to also stick with Him in the bad times.
07:05 And just because it's good starting off,
07:07 doesn't mean it's going to be the smooth road
07:10 through the whole way across to the other side.
07:12 On this journey, from here to heaven,
07:15 there is gonna be some difficult times.
07:17 There's gonna be some rough times.
07:18 There's gonna be some experiences
07:21 that have been allowed to come into your path
07:23 to make you grow.
07:25 And these little ships launch off with Him.
07:28 And they are headed out into the ocean,
07:29 and it's amazing because out of nowhere, you know,
07:33 scholars talk often about how the Sea of Galilee is
07:38 in such a way
07:39 where the mountains are very close together.
07:41 And it is known,
07:42 it was always known for a situation where
07:45 as the wind would pass through those tunnels,
07:47 those tight tunnels between the mountains,
07:49 oftentimes a storm would start out of almost nothing.
07:52 You have a perfectly calm sea
07:54 and then all of a sudden there is a storm.
07:56 And Jesus is out there with them.
07:58 They are going across
08:00 and out of nowhere, a storm comes.
08:01 Isn't that...
08:03 Well, life's all about, Karen?
08:04 It certainly is. It just hits you.
08:06 Just hits you sometimes...
08:07 Out of nowhere. Out of nowhere, you know.
08:09 And as some people say,
08:10 "when it rains, it pours," you know.
08:11 And it's something that, you know,
08:14 you have to adjust to, you have to deal with.
08:16 But we are told,
08:17 listen God never gives us anything
08:19 that we cannot bear, ever.
08:21 And this story is very, very telling in that regard
08:25 because they get out there
08:27 and the storm comes up out of nowhere.
08:31 And immediately the disciples
08:33 make a very significant mistake.
08:36 In that, they forget who they are in the boat with.
08:40 They just saw Him healing everybody.
08:43 They just saw Him healing incurable diseases.
08:45 It's an amazing thing because
08:46 it's not just Jesus healing the sick
08:49 or making the blind to see or making the lame to walk
08:51 or curing diabetes or cancer, all these other kind of things.
08:55 Matthew records an account that in essence
08:57 not only did all of these people come to Him
08:59 but even people who were maimed,
09:02 came to Jesus.
09:04 Missing a limb, missing an arm,
09:05 missing a leg, missing with...
09:07 Say that.
09:08 And all He had to do was touch them.
09:09 All He had to do was speak a word,
09:11 and they were made whole.
09:13 How could they doubt Him
09:15 after seeing an arm appear out of nowhere?
09:18 How can they doubt Him
09:20 as He is making the way across the water?
09:21 But instead of relying upon Jesus,
09:24 like we always do,
09:26 and tend to do oftentimes,
09:27 is we try to fix the problem ourselves.
09:31 And this is what they are doing out there in the ocean.
09:33 It's amazing because
09:34 they are trying to bail the boat out,
09:38 tightening the sails,
09:40 use all of their expertise
09:43 when it comes to being fishermen
09:45 and men of the water.
09:46 And they are killing themselves trying to do it.
09:50 And you need to understand that, listen,
09:53 Jesus will allow you to try your heart
09:57 as to fix the situation
09:59 and He will sit back and let you kill yourself,
10:02 trying to fix the situation.
10:04 Because He is gonna wait until you realize
10:07 that the only person that can fix you,
10:08 the only person that can save you,
10:10 the only person that can deliver you is Him.
10:13 And until you come to that realization,
10:15 He'll let you do
10:16 whatever you think you can do to pull it off.
10:18 He'll let that...
10:19 Oh, yeah.
10:21 He'd let the bank account run dry.
10:22 He'd let, you know,
10:23 the car just completely fall apart.
10:25 He will let everything come apart at once
10:27 until you come to the point,
10:29 that I got to look up and call on Jesus.
10:32 And when that happens, then He is ready to deliver.
10:34 And so they are bailing
10:36 and they are doing all kind of things.
10:37 And one preacher once said,
10:39 you know, he shared, "Hey listen,
10:40 these are some foul-mouthed fishermen."
10:43 And the fact of the matter is, is that many of the things
10:46 they said on the lake that night
10:49 didn't get recorded in the gospel.
10:51 Man, it had to be left out of the gospels, man,
10:53 because there were some amazing things
10:55 being said on the lake that night.
10:56 Tight situations.
10:57 Oh, this is a tight situation.
10:59 And so in essence,
11:00 they are fighting and fighting and,
11:02 you know, the water is actually now filling up the boat.
11:06 The boat is going down.
11:09 It's filled with water and it's going down.
11:12 And it is then that they call on Jesus.
11:16 It is then that they remember
11:18 that it's actually Jesus that's in the boat.
11:22 Now I got to ask you, pastor, having grown up in Bermuda...
11:24 Yes.
11:26 Seeing the ocean all around you,
11:27 did you ever see any kind of storms like that
11:30 or did you see boats
11:31 or people getting stuck out there in the ocean?
11:33 Absolutely.
11:34 As a matter of fact,
11:35 I have been a part of many of them myself.
11:37 No question about it.
11:39 You know, Bermuda has a main island
11:41 but there are many little islands that's surrounded.
11:43 One of those little islands,
11:45 which is actually in the center of it,
11:47 is an island that I grew up on.
11:48 I rode a boat everyday to work, everyday to class,
11:53 everyday to school, everyday to church, you know.
11:57 God forbid you forget something,
11:58 you got to get right back on the boat and go
11:59 all the way back across and come over to...
12:01 Oh, it's amazing.
12:02 Amazing time growing up in Bermuda.
12:04 But being on the water actually
12:06 sometimes with my family or sometimes alone,
12:09 encountered many storms.
12:11 And I am glad you bring that up
12:12 because we used to have sailing classes.
12:17 They used to take place at my house
12:19 and one of the things they taught us
12:21 how to do was to capsize a boat.
12:25 And so in other words, you need to understand
12:27 if your boat tips over or it begins to sink,
12:29 you need to know how to get that boat back up and running
12:32 because you may be out at sea or something by yourself.
12:35 So you need to be able to understand that concept.
12:37 Well, one of the things that I have learnt,
12:39 in boats that are sinking, boats that are going down,
12:41 is that the back of the boat always goes down first.
12:48 Really? Hold on a second now.
12:50 Hold on a second, Ms. Thomas,
12:51 because Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat.
12:57 Hold on now.
12:58 The disciples are complaining
13:00 because water is up to their knees.
13:03 Jesus is asleep
13:05 and there is water up to His ears.
13:08 In other words, in our trials and circumstances,
13:12 we are never bearing the majority of the issues.
13:16 He is always carrying the heavy side of the burden.
13:19 He only gives us what we can handle.
13:22 The rest He takes care of. Wow.
13:24 But for Him, our troubles do not trouble Him.
13:28 For Him, it's just a quiet storm.
13:30 It can make all the noise it wants.
13:32 But He can sleep in it
13:33 because He knows that anytime He can get up in it,
13:36 and tell it to just hush its mouth and it will.
13:39 So He can sleep while we try and paddle.
13:42 He can sleep while we try and bail the boat out.
13:44 He can sleep while we think we can handle the situation
13:47 and when we're done,
13:49 when we have no more energy to fight ourselves,
13:52 then He says, "Okay, I'm ready to help you.
13:55 What do you need?"
13:56 And it's an amazing thing because, man, Jesus...
13:59 He is not just asleep back there,
14:02 He had the nerve to prop His head up on a pillow.
14:05 I mean, He is relaxed, He is chilling,
14:08 He is at the spa
14:09 while they are over there fighting tooth and nail
14:12 to try and bail the boat out.
14:14 And it's astonishing but they bake the question
14:17 that many of us often do.
14:19 They ask Him, they say,
14:21 "Carest Thou not that we perish."
14:23 Don't you even care about my circumstance?
14:27 Don't you even care what I am going through Jesus?
14:29 And there are many that asked that question today.
14:32 I got to ask you a question, with our humanity, you know,
14:35 I tend to get scared of storms.
14:37 I don't like storms.
14:39 I don't like the idea of being on the boat
14:40 and wind blowing all around me.
14:41 How do we deal with that?
14:43 Right and I think it's always important to remember
14:46 that we serve a God that
14:51 one of His characteristics is that is He is omnipresent.
14:54 He is everywhere all the time.
14:57 So there is no situation that you are in,
15:00 that He is not already there.
15:02 And He is waiting, He is anxious,
15:06 He is desperate
15:08 that you will call on Him the next time.
15:11 And not rely on yourself or your friends
15:14 or your family, you know.
15:16 And it's amazing He will let you go
15:17 through the whole family tree,
15:19 you know, while He waits, you know what I am saying.
15:21 You want to go all through that.
15:22 He will sit around,
15:23 and He will wait till you're done.
15:25 And when you're done then He will be ready
15:27 to give you that deliverance that you need in your life.
15:29 So the disciples, when they were finished,
15:31 then they come to Him.
15:32 Yes.
15:34 When they had exhausted every available source.
15:35 When they couldn't, when they realize that,
15:38 their efforts were futile,
15:40 it is then that they come to Him.
15:42 And He responds.
15:43 And He responds. He does.
15:44 He responds, He gets up and...
15:49 It's amazing because the wind is blowing,
15:52 and the waves are churning,
15:54 and the lightning is flashing and the thunders rolling.
15:57 I mean, everything is happening all at the same time.
16:00 And it's amazing
16:02 because the first thing He does that He stands up.
16:06 Anybody that's been in rough storms
16:08 on any kind of boat of that nature
16:10 knows full well that
16:11 the last thing you do is stand up.
16:13 Really?
16:14 It's almost impossible to stand up
16:15 and not get knocked over into the water.
16:17 And not get end up, you know, drowning yourself.
16:20 Nobody stands up
16:21 but this is the one that created the water,
16:24 and the one that made the clouds,
16:25 the one that made all of nature.
16:27 And so nature has to answer to its Creator.
16:30 And He stands up in the middle of the boat,
16:33 and He stands up and He,
16:34 He tells the winds and the waves to shut up.
16:37 And it's actually that forceful of the word.
16:39 The word there pafamoso.
16:41 Using the perfect tense,
16:43 the word that doesn't just mean to shut up.
16:45 It means to shut up and stay shut up.
16:47 In other words, I don't want to hear from you anymore.
16:50 Keep your mouth quiet.
16:51 And that's how it is with Jesus when He fixes our problems.
16:54 Amen.
16:56 They are fixed once and for all.
16:57 They don't keep coming back in as regular occurrences.
17:00 It's when we try to fix them that they keep coming back.
17:02 When Jesus fixes them, they are fixed for good.
17:05 And He stands up and He tells it
17:07 and all of a sudden,
17:09 it gets incredibly quiet.
17:12 Nature hears her Creator,
17:15 telling her to be quiet and everything is quiet.
17:19 Total silence.
17:21 I mean, it's so quite out there that the disciples, I mean,
17:25 you know, all they can say is you know,
17:26 is that "What manner of man is this
17:30 that even the winds and the waves obey His voice?"
17:33 And one of the things I love, you know,
17:34 as I read the account from Ellen White.
17:38 I love how she describes how...
17:44 Because of the storm,
17:45 I don't want you to miss this one,
17:47 Karen, because of the storm,
17:49 it actually created a situation
17:53 where the little boats ended up very close to Jesus' boat."
17:59 In other words, because of all the rough weather,
18:01 and because of the way the wind was blowing,
18:03 because of all the rough waters,
18:05 their boats ended up
18:07 in very close vicinity to Jesus' boat.
18:12 They saw Him, when He stood up.
18:15 Everybody did.
18:17 And told the winds and the waves to be quiet
18:18 but don't miss this.
18:20 In addition to that
18:21 we need to understand that troubled waters
18:26 always bring us closer to Jesus Christ.
18:30 Amen. They are out there.
18:32 Bunch of little boats just trying to follow.
18:35 When you follow Jesus trouble comes
18:37 but you never get afraid during trouble,
18:39 'cause all the trouble is gonna do is
18:41 bring you closer to Jesus Christ.
18:43 It's gonna give you a ringside view,
18:45 for when He stands up and does something.
18:47 Amen.
18:49 So don't be afraid off. It's not to be afraid of.
18:51 Your job is to trust in the one that told you from the first,
18:57 "Let us cross over to the other side."
19:01 That's where your trust is.
19:02 And if you let Him come into your heart
19:05 and change your life and give you that peace,
19:08 that pass of all understanding,
19:10 then guess what?
19:11 You can also sleep in the midst of the storm
19:16 because Jesus is with you, and He is on your side.
19:18 Here is what's interesting.
19:20 Here is what's interesting.
19:21 The very next chapter in the Bible
19:24 records a very interesting encounter
19:28 which happens when they get to the other side.
19:31 So are they all still going together,
19:33 all these boats are all going?
19:34 They go.
19:36 Jesus is handling the boat He is in
19:37 and all the other boats that are linked.
19:39 And they get to the other side.
19:41 And something strange happens
19:43 as soon as they dock up on the other side.
19:46 What happens? Just take a look in Chapter 5.
19:48 What does the Bible say in Chapter 5?
19:50 Okay.
19:51 "And they came over
19:53 on to the other side of the sea,
19:55 into the country of the Gadarenes.
19:57 And when He was come out of the ship,
19:59 immediately there met Him out of the tombs,
20:03 a man with an unclean spirit,
20:05 who had his dwelling among the tombs,
20:07 and no man could bind him, no, not with chains."
20:11 Now here's the amazing thing. Here's the amazing thing.
20:13 If I'm not mistaken, it's either Matthew or Luke
20:15 that records the same story.
20:17 Mark here says there was one man.
20:22 Saw that Matthew or Luke did actually says,
20:25 they were two, that there were two demoniacs.
20:29 And whenever I go over to a story,
20:32 I chuckle to myself
20:34 because some will look at that as a discrepancy.
20:38 To me, it just simply reveals
20:41 who was the Freddy cat.
20:44 You know, when Mark so won, that was enough for him.
20:48 Mark took off running.
20:49 You know what I am saying.
20:51 Well, Matthew and Luke said, "No, I hung around,
20:52 then I saw another one.
20:54 It was two of them out there.
20:55 It's amazing to see that in essence, you know,
20:58 one, and they record a very detailed accounts,
21:00 they lay it all out, but here's the thing.
21:03 They were more afraid of the demoniacs
21:08 than they were of the storm they had just gone through.
21:13 The reason they failed the test with the demoniacs
21:18 was because they failed the test in the water.
21:22 Wow.
21:23 Had they trusted God and relied upon Him
21:27 out there at the sea,
21:29 then when they got to the other side,
21:31 they would not have been afraid.
21:33 It's an amazing thing because, I mean,
21:37 these demoniacs that come at them,
21:38 they're filled with all kind of demons, you know,
21:40 it's just amazing to hear,
21:42 you know and it's incredible because,
21:48 when we look through scripture,
21:51 the demons also
21:55 know their creator.
21:59 Hold on a second.
22:01 Matthew, Mark, Luke...
22:02 You have to explain that one.
22:04 Yeah. You can say whatever you want.
22:05 Well, yeah, I think it's worth the explanation
22:07 because we know that God created the angels.
22:11 Yes.
22:12 And that demons are nothing but fallen angels
22:16 that were kicked out of heaven.
22:18 And so in essence, when Jesus speaks to these men,
22:22 the demons have to acknowledge Him
22:25 as Lord and Savior and Jesus Christ.
22:28 They have to acknowledge their Creator.
22:30 And you say, "Well, how could they know who He was?"
22:32 Well, they were once in heaven with Him.
22:35 And not just that, they know His voice.
22:37 When He speaks,
22:39 they know that's their Creator's voice.
22:41 May be they didn't quite know
22:42 who He was before He said something.
22:45 Because as we know He came in human flesh
22:48 and the last time they saw Him up in glory,
22:49 He was just God,
22:51 He was one of the covering cherubs.
22:52 He is one of the angels.
22:54 But when He comes down here, He's wrapped in human flesh.
22:56 May be they didn't know who He was.
22:59 But when He spoke,
23:01 it was the voice of their Creator.
23:02 When he spoke, it was the One
23:04 that used to dwell in the very presence of God.
23:06 When He spoke, they understood that that's the sound of Him.
23:10 That's the One up.
23:11 When He speaks, we must move.
23:13 Amen. And they begged for mercy.
23:15 And you need to understand
23:16 whatever trouble that is coming in your life.
23:18 Any issues that the devil is trying to wear you down with.
23:23 You serve the One,
23:24 that at the mention of His name,
23:27 the demons have to run.
23:28 Yes.
23:30 When you just call on Him,
23:31 they have to disperse because they recognize
23:36 who their Creator is.
23:38 And they must answer to Him just like us.
23:41 Wow. We need not fear.
23:43 Amen.
23:44 God is on our side. Amen.
23:46 And with Jesus in the vessel, we can what?
23:51 Smile at the storm as we go sailing by.
23:54 As we go sailing by.
23:56 As we go sailing by, we can smile at the storm.
24:00 And so my challenge,
24:02 as I think about many people
24:05 that could be wrestling with serious issues today.
24:09 I mean, we've had fun here, I'm gonna say,
24:10 we had a good time.
24:12 But the truth is that
24:14 there are some people out there
24:15 that are really hurting right now,
24:17 that are looking for hope.
24:18 And they are looking for direction,
24:20 and they are looking for guidance.
24:21 And it is important
24:25 that no matter what they are going through,
24:28 that they never doubt the heart of the living God.
24:33 He loved us before the foundation of the world.
24:36 He loved us so much
24:38 that He sent His Son to come and die for us.
24:41 He still extends that love to us
24:43 in the presence of His Holy Spirit.
24:45 He says, "I will never leave you,
24:48 nor forsake you even until the end of the world."
24:52 If He loves us that much
24:56 that He would give His only Son to die for us.
25:01 Then we should never doubt His heart
25:04 when things are going wrong in our lives.
25:07 Amen.
25:08 We need to trust that the God that loves us will deliver us
25:13 in His own time.
25:15 Amen.
25:16 And while we wait,
25:18 we've got to serve Him with everything that we have.
25:23 We've got to praise His name
25:26 even though our situation looks bleak,
25:29 it looks deserted, it looks like there is no God.
25:31 Yes.
25:33 We still call on Him,
25:34 because they just live by faith.
25:37 Amen. And faith is the victory.
25:39 And if faith is my victory,
25:41 it doesn't matter if I look like a winner,
25:45 I am a winner so long as I am connected to Jesus Christ.
25:48 Amen.
25:50 And so I want to challenge our audience today,
25:51 I want to challenge them with that reality,
25:55 that when it comes to this battle
25:57 between good and evil,
25:59 the devil still has to answer to his Creator.
26:06 No matter how rough he may seem,
26:07 no matter how bad he may think he is,
26:09 no matter how much sometimes
26:11 he can scare you to the point where you want to quit.
26:15 Understand that his tactic has always been the same
26:19 and that is to pressure you so much
26:23 that you lose faith in your God.
26:26 Pastor, we need prayer. Absolutely.
26:28 Absolutely. We need prayer.
26:29 I know, you at home,
26:31 you want prayer, I know, I need prayer.
26:32 Absolutely.
26:34 I may ask you if you could offer prayer for us now,
26:35 Pastor Steede.
26:37 Let us pray together.
26:38 Father in heaven,
26:40 we thank You today for Your amazing grace.
26:45 We thank You for the love
26:48 that You extended to us on Calvary's cross.
26:51 We thank You that
26:53 even though many times we have given up on You,
26:58 You still have not given up on us.
27:01 Today God, I lift up before You,
27:04 that many listeners,
27:06 that may be wrestling with some major issues in their lives.
27:10 Yes.
27:11 There could be some out there that
27:13 may be thinking about committing suicide today.
27:17 God, even though it seems that
27:21 everyone else around them has failed them
27:23 and they have nothing to live for,
27:25 remind them even now as they listen to this program,
27:29 that You love them,
27:31 and that You have always loved them,
27:33 and that You will never leave them nor forsake them.
27:37 Help them to understand those that are struggling.
27:39 Maybe some don't have a job
27:41 and some are looking for that spouse
27:43 that they have always wanted.
27:44 Some are just trying to live a better life
27:48 and live a victorious life in You.
27:50 And it seems like every time they try,
27:53 they seem to fall further back.
27:56 God, that was the same mistake the disciples made,
28:00 trying to do with themselves.
28:02 May everyone that's listening, surrender their hearts to You.
28:07 So that You can bring about
28:09 the necessary change in their lives.
28:11 So that when You come in,
28:14 the same victory You got 2, 000 years ago
28:16 living in human flesh,
28:18 You can give that victory to them today.


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Revised 2017-01-12