Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW200005S
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:08 Hello, friends, and welcome to Friday night Family Worship. 01:12 Don't put your sunglasses on. 01:14 This is not a solar eclipse. This is not a sun explosion. 01:17 This is a happy color because of the kind of program. 01:21 What are we talking about, Honey? 01:22 Happiness. 01:24 That's right. That's right. 01:25 And we thank you for tuning in. 01:26 This is my co-host. 01:28 I'm John Lomacang and my wife Angela. 01:29 Good to have you, Honey. 01:31 Good to be here. Happy Sabbath, everyone! 01:32 That's right. That's right. 01:34 Well, we have a good topic, don't we? 01:36 We have great people, family members 01:38 around our table tonight 01:40 and this is truly Family Worship. 01:43 That's right. 01:44 Glad that you have joined us tonight. 01:46 And all you need for the program is a Bible 01:47 and just less than an hour 01:49 because the time will go by quickly... 01:51 And a smile. 01:52 And the smile, we will be looking now, 01:54 especially when the topic is on happiness. 01:58 But, Honey, why don't you introduce our panel 02:00 before we have prayer? 02:02 Kind of start with your side, not in my side. 02:03 Okay, to my immediate left is Ann Daluz. 02:07 Happy to have you here. She's a... 02:09 Oh, you're a volunteer? Yes. 02:11 Full Time volunteer. Yes. 02:12 And you're a registered nurse... 02:14 Registered nurse as well. That's right. 02:17 We're happy to have you here. Well, thank you. 02:19 It's an honor to be here. 02:20 She's in a pastoral department. Yes, that's correct. 02:23 She went pastoral. 02:24 Oh, yes, she prays with people. Yes. 02:27 Yeah, listens and yeah, 02:29 that's a very important part of this ministry. 02:31 Thank you for what you do. 02:33 And Dee Hilderbrand. 02:34 Dee is no stranger here. She's a regular. 02:37 I'm strange, but not a stranger. 02:41 I work in production. 02:42 I'm delighted that you asked me tonight. 02:44 I love to talk about happiness because I'm a happy person. 02:47 Yes, you are very happy. That's right. 02:50 And to my immediate right is Francine Bergmann. 02:52 Francine is head of 3ABN's Children Network. 02:56 Good to have you here. Thank you. 02:57 I'm glad to be here 02:58 and this is a good topic for you and kids at all ages. 03:01 That's right. That's right. 03:03 And Eric, the genius Durant. 03:06 Praise the Lord. 03:07 I am very happy to be here. 03:09 Been an engineer here for six years, 03:11 it's been a blessing. 03:12 And I always love it when you guys call me 03:14 to do Family Worship 03:16 because I get to share my love for Jesus with everyone. 03:20 Also you're one of our elders at the Thompsonville Church, 03:22 and you also are the husband of one wife. 03:27 Husband of one wife and she's a darling. 03:31 I always say that I'm OCD and she's TLC. 03:35 You have two little furry babies, don't you? 03:37 Yes, we do. 03:39 Yeah, two adorable little puppies. 03:40 And what are they? What kind of? 03:41 They're Shiba, Shiba Inus. 03:43 They look like small huskies. That's right. 03:46 They're rambunctious. 03:48 They make you feel happy, right? 03:50 They do. That's right. 03:51 I forgot to mention, Francine is the wife of Jason Bergman, 03:55 CFO for 3ABN. 03:58 And I just have to have a comment. 03:59 They have had studies 04:00 where animals do help people stay happy so 04:05 and their partnership in having family relationships 04:09 and even single people. 04:11 It definitely works. 04:13 So, I definitely miss my cat for example. 04:18 Well, Honey, before we go any further, 04:20 I think it'd be nice for you to start with prayer. 04:22 Let's talk to the Lord right now. 04:24 Our gracious Father in heaven, we are so grateful and thankful 04:27 and joyful to be here, this blessed Sabbath evening. 04:31 Lord, thank You for each person around this table 04:35 that will share the joy of the Lord in their hearts. 04:38 I pray and ask that Your Holy Spirit 04:40 will come into our hearts even now. 04:42 And to the viewers that are viewing tonight. 04:45 Bless them, Lord, strengthen them. 04:47 And may you continue to abide in our hearts in Jesus' name. 04:51 Amen. Amen. 04:53 I must say as we begin the program, 04:57 whenever we are invited to do Family Worship, 04:59 I'm always thinking, what has not been covered? 05:02 I'm not sure if happiness has been covered, 05:04 but I think my wife suggested this topic. 05:07 And I thought, you know, who doesn't want to be happy? 05:12 I don't know of a person 05:14 that I could say that I met that says, 05:15 "You know, I want to be miserable. 05:17 I just want to hate my life." 05:21 You know, there are odd situations 05:23 where people go through some very terrible experiences 05:26 and they don't like life. 05:27 But our program we live in a country 05:30 where we have three things 05:31 that are focused on part of our Bill of Rights, 05:34 life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 05:38 Everybody wants to be happy. That's true. 05:39 And there's a song many, many years ago. 05:41 I forget the guy's name. 05:43 Don't worry, I forget this name. 05:44 Be happy. Be happy. 05:45 Harry Belafonte, I think. Was it? 05:47 Well actually, no, it was another guy. 05:48 Was it another guy? 05:50 Harry Belafonte was daylight come and I want to go home. 05:52 Maybe because he was happy to go home. 05:55 But people want to be happy. 05:57 Generally speaking, people want to be happy. 06:00 We go through our bouts, you know, sometimes 06:02 we have a depressing experience or a trauma to our family, 06:05 we lose a loved one. 06:07 Well, that's not the day to just walk around smiling. 06:09 The Lord understands your pain, he understands that. 06:13 But in the midst of even that pain, 06:14 there's an internal attitude that we can maintain, 06:18 because our faith and our trust is in the Lord. 06:21 So we're going to share some of our experiences, 06:23 because I know that many of us have had those moments 06:26 that we have had to find happiness all over again. 06:29 And I want to encourage you that this is a choice. 06:31 There's never a time that you can't say, 06:32 "You know, I know life is falling apart, 06:36 but I just want to be happy." 06:38 So I'll give anyone of you... 06:39 Matter of fact, let's start with the first text Yes. 06:42 First question, what does the Bible teach 06:44 concerning happiness? 06:45 Or more specifically, what are one of the things 06:47 that Bible teaches concerning happiness? 06:49 Of course, we go to Proverbs immediately, right? 06:52 Proverbs 3:13, you wanna start with that one, Dee. 06:54 Proverbs has a lot of that. 06:56 And it's like happiest man who finds wisdom 06:59 and the man who gains understanding. 07:02 Okay. 07:03 And to me, finding happiness when I was young, 07:07 I was so angry and unhappy 07:11 and so upset, life was not fair. 07:15 And so when life is not fair, 07:18 then you end up being unhappy 07:21 because when you're that young when you haven't found wisdom, 07:24 and when you don't understand what's going on, 07:27 you do not choose to be happy. 07:30 So then just by omission, you end up being unhappy. 07:35 I did not choose to be happy. So I ended up being unhappy. 07:39 But once I gained some wisdom, 07:42 and I gained some understanding and realize, it's like, 07:45 "Okay, I'm going to choose to be happy." 07:48 Yes. 07:50 So what steps do I have to take? 07:53 How do I gain that? 07:54 That's what this whole program is about is 07:56 how do you gain that and I have learned 07:59 that I choose to be happy. 08:01 We all go, like CA would say, 08:03 if it hasn't happened yet just wait, it'll happen. 08:06 Everybody's turn comes of Satan attacks. 08:09 So I've lost my husband 08:12 and other bad unhappy things happened, 08:15 but even like you say, in the midst of your sorrow, 08:20 if you have chosen God, 08:23 you have chosen a joy or peace and a happiness inside 08:28 that mingles with the sadness. 08:31 So that your happiness comes from making that choice. 08:37 And you have to think about it and make the choice, 08:41 because if you don't actually make a choice, 08:43 life makes a choice for you. 08:46 And then you end up unhappy 08:48 and you didn't wake up or get born insane. 08:50 Like you said, I want to be unhappy. 08:52 Nobody chooses that. 08:54 But they end up there by not choosing to be happy 08:57 and taking steps to do that. 08:58 That reminds me of a quote I heard once, 09:01 and the quote was, 09:03 "Wisdom is the elimination of confusion." 09:06 And this world right now, 09:08 I'm sure it's probably always been that way. 09:10 There's so much confusion, 09:11 especially for the young kids that are growing up 09:13 and they're being pulled in a dozen different directions. 09:15 It just adds to the confusion. 09:17 And a lot of people like myself, 09:19 I was angry as a youth because I was confused. 09:22 I didn't know whether I'm supposed to turn left, 09:23 turn right. 09:25 My parents wanted me to do one thing. 09:26 I wanted to do something else. 09:27 And it was just total confusion. 09:29 And suddenly, when I started reading the Word, 09:31 it started to clear things up. 09:33 And it's wisdom. 09:35 Okay, you gain more, more wisdom, 09:36 especially one of my favorite chapter, 09:38 one of my favorite books is Proverbs. 09:40 Proverbs and Psalms because it's full of wisdom. 09:44 And as I got more wisdom, 09:45 the confusion started to go away. 09:47 Things started to make sense. 09:48 And when things make sense, you get happier. 09:51 Yeah, at least I do. Yeah. 09:53 Everyone does. 09:55 And we're studying the Book of Job, right, Honey? 09:56 Yeah, we are. 09:58 And it doesn't sound like Job is happy. 09:59 Seems pretty depressing the part we are. 10:02 All his friends turned against him, 10:04 he's lost his family, his children, everything. 10:07 And how do you get happy in the midst of that, 10:10 like you said, there's a time, Bible says, 10:11 "There's a time for everything." 10:14 Time to cry, time to, you know, be happy. 10:17 And it's true, everyone goes through. 10:20 As CA always says, everyone, 10:22 everyone has a turn to go through stuff. 10:25 But even when you're going through all of that, 10:28 happiness is not giddy laughing, 10:30 smiling, joyful all the time. 10:33 But there's something deep inside you 10:36 that is that connection to God that carries you through 10:39 because we have this hope. 10:41 So how do you get to that place? 10:43 'Cause you lost your husband? 10:45 I lost my husband. I was very sad. 10:47 And there's other things that have happened too. 10:48 Right. 10:51 But, how do you get to the place 10:53 that you hold on to that happiness, 10:56 it's deep inside you 10:58 through the trials of this world 11:02 that we all have because we live in a sin filled world. 11:04 I think one of the happiest moments of my life 11:07 when I was a youth. 11:08 And I don't have a lot of happy memories 11:10 when I was a youth, I grew up in New York City was, 11:13 believe it or not, when I was sick. 11:17 And the memory was, 11:18 I was six or maybe seven years old. 11:22 And I had the flu or the cold or something like that 11:25 and I'm laying in bed. 11:26 And my mother sitting right there 11:29 and she's rubbing Vicks. 11:30 Remember Vicks Vapor Rub? Yeah. 11:32 She's rubbing it on my feet. She's rubbing it on my chest. 11:34 Absolutely. Hope we all know. 11:35 And rubbing it on my chest and for so many years, 11:38 so many decades, that's been a really, really happy memory 11:41 and I'm thinking to myself now, but I was feeling real bad. 11:45 You know, I had a fever, I was cold, 11:48 but because my mom was there, and because the love was there. 11:53 And because I had faith in her, 11:57 I knew everything was gonna be okay in here. 11:59 And I didn't know whether or not the cold and the fever 12:03 and whether it was going to last a day 12:05 or two days or another week, 12:07 but I knew that my mom was going to handle it. 12:10 And that made me happy. Okay. 12:11 So I think that kind of transitions 12:14 over to being an adult, 12:15 you know, if you have the Lord, 12:17 and you have a relationship with him, 12:19 and you trust them, 12:21 then umbrella of love is over you. 12:23 And even though the pain comes, and the trial comes, 12:25 and the fevers come, and the sickness comes, 12:27 and the disease comes, 12:29 you know, in the end, He's gonna handle it. 12:31 And you don't know how long it's gonna take, 12:32 is it gonna be two years or five years or 10 years, 12:35 but eventually He's going to take care of it. 12:38 And that keeps me going. That's beautiful. 12:41 I think, what we're describing so far is you know, 12:44 you talk about trials and discontent 12:46 and growing up in adverse circumstances. 12:49 But then when you get wisdom and understanding, 12:51 it becomes a peace that passes all standing. 12:55 Somebody might say, you just lost a loved one. 12:57 Why are you not falling apart? 13:00 Well, internally there's a peace 13:02 that passes all understanding. 13:04 And it guards your heart. 13:05 But you also trust 13:07 that the Lord has a continued plan for you. 13:11 So, yes my life is, I mean it's disappeared 13:17 and I don't know what the future life is, 13:20 but you still have that happiness 13:21 because you have someone there that you know loves you. 13:25 And cares about you 13:26 and is going to take care of you. 13:28 So you have to have that relationship. 13:30 You have to again choose. That's right. 13:33 What's that song? Happiness is the Lord. 13:36 We used to sing in the Heritage Singers. 13:37 In the Heritage Singers that was a song, Happiness is, 13:40 you know happiness is to know the savior, 13:43 living our life within His favor. 13:46 So... 13:47 Then we go on and now we have steps 13:50 of what are those steps that we take 13:51 so that we gain that? 13:53 Yes. Okay, well, let's do this. 13:55 I'm going to have Ann come in a moment here. 13:57 Let's all go to point number seven on the outline 13:59 because what we're going to do here, 14:00 we have an outline that is in no particular order. 14:03 But what we want to do is on point number seven, 14:05 these, we're going to talk about, 14:07 if you have your Bible, go to Matthew Chapter 5. 14:10 We're going to walk through the beatitudes 14:13 for as many years ago Robert Schuler used to call it, 14:16 "the be happy attitudes." 14:19 And the word blessed in the Greek also means happy. 14:23 You know, Jesus said in John 13, 14:26 "If you know these things, happy, are you if you do them." 14:29 We'll see that in just a moment. 14:30 But the reason I'm going here, Francine too, 14:33 and I'll have you read one of these, 14:35 and we're gonna bounce around on this 14:37 is because right now, 14:40 what Eric and Dee was talking about 14:42 is the very first beatitude. 14:44 Look at Matthew and this is point 7A. 14:47 So here's the question, what Bible, 14:49 the Bible outlines a blueprint for happiness 14:53 in the Book of Matthew, what are they? 14:55 Okay, Honey, read Matthew 5:3. 14:57 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, 15:00 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 15:02 Okay, so let's substitute the word bless it with happy. 15:05 'Cause that's what you guys just talked about, 15:07 losing your husband, growing up angry in New York. 15:10 Let's talk about that. 15:11 I'm going to just throw it to you, 15:13 Francine, what do you think that means the poor in spirit? 15:15 It's that just feel broken totally. 15:18 And there's so many times in our lives 15:20 that we don't know what to do. 15:22 And you just really, and to know that God is there 15:25 and it reminds me of another if you don't mind, 15:28 I'll go Ecclesiastes 3:12 through 13. 15:33 Now this is the English Standard Version 15:36 instead of the one that I have. 15:37 But it says, 15:39 "I perceive that there is 15:40 nothing better than for them to be joyful 15:43 and to do good as long as they lived. 15:45 Also that everyone should eat, 15:48 drink and take pleasure and all his toil." 15:52 That means that God recognizes 15:53 that even in the midst of things, 15:56 we need to look for God. 15:58 And I say that even when we're very poor in spirit, 16:02 and whatever we're doing, 16:04 we want God to be in our lives and to live for us. 16:08 And so, I just, for me, 16:11 yes, I've been very broken. 16:12 I mean, there's times in my life. 16:14 I was growing up young, with single mom. 16:17 And so there was a lot of hardships that came in. 16:20 And some of the people that know me, 16:23 know a little bit more about my situation, 16:25 but it was hard. 16:26 My grandparents were my role models, 16:28 and my mom was not. 16:30 And so it was really hard. 16:31 And then, even as an adult, 16:33 Jason and I have seen some things 16:35 where it's really been hard and you feel totally broken. 16:38 I mean, you could cry for days and days 16:41 and just not want to go out. 16:43 And yet, it's like you said, the peace... 16:47 That passes all understanding. All understanding. 16:49 And so, is remembering 16:51 that God wants us to be in heaven 16:54 with Him forever and have that relationship. 16:57 And I think the reason why 16:58 that it says the poor in spirit, 17:00 and then goes, for there is the kingdom of heaven. 17:03 Now you think about what the writer is saying, 17:05 Matthew is saying. 17:06 He says, it could be awful, 17:08 but you have heaven to look forward to. 17:10 That's kind of he's showing the contrast. 17:12 What do you think about that, Ann? 17:13 Well, you know, that brings to mind my situation 17:17 when I was nursing and hospice, 17:19 so many people, so many people, 17:22 both on the family side, 17:23 and then those dear persons that were departing, 17:27 wanted to know, well, how can we bear up under this? 17:31 What's going to happen? We don't know. 17:33 We're going to miss this loved one. 17:34 And the emptiness was always very sad, 17:38 you know, 17:40 but when I could, we weren't allowed to, 17:42 you know, engage in religious talk, 17:45 but when I could, 17:47 I would turn them back to the Bible, 17:49 those of, those people that knew the Bible 17:51 and I would say, 17:53 think of the hope that you have. 17:55 Think of the hope. 17:57 And this dear person think 17:59 the next time they open their eyes, 18:01 they'll see the Lord. 18:03 And many, many times they, not that they became, 18:08 I don't know how to say it. 18:10 They didn't, they were still saddened 18:12 because that's understandable. 18:13 But many times they were made lighter, 18:17 their situation was made a bit lighter. 18:19 So turning to the Bible, at that time, 18:23 and in that setting for me was just a blessing. 18:26 And for many others, I'd like to think too. 18:29 So you could become the light 18:30 in the midst of someone's darkness. 18:32 And the Bible understands, I think it's Psalms 30:5 says, 18:36 "Weeping may endure for the night 18:38 but," what happens? 18:39 "Joy comes in the morning." 18:41 A lot of those contrast scriptures. 18:43 But the strength of being able to... 18:45 The Bible led them to the Lord 18:47 and that's where your strength comes through 18:49 to carry you through the night. 18:51 Exactly. You're not alone. 18:53 Exactly. 18:55 So I take my head off for hospice nurses. 18:57 My mother was on hospice, and hospice nurses, 19:01 they do an amazing job 19:03 to help bring comfort to the family. 19:06 And so, God bless you, 19:08 and all the hospice nurses out there. 19:11 This beatitude reminds me of David. 19:14 When David fell on his face, 19:16 and he pled with the Lord, he was broken. 19:19 You know, and when you're down on the ground, 19:21 the only place that you can look is up. 19:22 That's right. You know. 19:24 And David fits the example perfectly that 19:28 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven 19:30 because God said David was a man 19:31 after His own heart. 19:33 And it's because he was poor in spirit, 19:34 he was broken. 19:36 He realized that his life 19:37 lived up to that point was wrong. 19:40 He realized. He had understanding. 19:43 Because a lot of people blessed are the poor in spirit, 19:45 they don't understand what that means. 19:48 And they don't recognize it. 19:50 They are poor in spirit. 19:53 But once you recognize that we're broken and poor... 19:57 Then you can turn to God for real life. 20:00 Because that's through those hardships 20:02 because sometimes we don't feel like we need God 20:04 until we are totally broken. 20:07 That's right. That's right. 20:08 And you know, sometimes blessings come in reverse. 20:11 Sometimes it comes by the journey of sadness, 20:16 you know, "Ye though 20:17 I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 20:20 you're with me." 20:21 You know, you even prepare a table 20:23 before me in the presence of my enemies. 20:25 So the Lord is showing us that there is a contrast. 20:28 Behind every cloud there is a what? 20:31 Silver lining. Silver lining. 20:33 So what he's saying to us 20:34 and the purpose of the program 20:36 is we could focus so much on the cloud, 20:38 we forget the silver lining, 20:40 bigger focus so much on the loss, 20:41 we forget that there's a another chapter 20:44 to be written. 20:45 And there are some people that literally their whole lives, 20:48 they choose to just nurture the worst things 20:52 that have happened. 20:53 Oh, when I was 11, oh, I lost my entire family. 20:56 And right now, you know, there's some tragedies 20:59 that happen, just untold tragedies 21:01 when families are wiped out, 21:03 when entire families are wiped out. 21:05 When difficulty comes, 21:07 people say, "What do we do now?" 21:08 Well, you don't say, well, don't worry, be happy. 21:10 No. Look at the next one. Matthew 5:4. 21:14 You don't just say to them, "Don't worry, be happy." 21:16 There's a process they have to go through. 21:18 The other one, Francine? Sure. 21:20 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." 21:23 And once again, substitute the word bless it for happy. 21:26 Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 21:29 What usually happens 21:30 if you go through a time of mourning? 21:32 I've seen people that have been sad much of their lives 21:35 because they say no, I never mourned. 21:37 What happened, what's the blessing of mourning? 21:40 Well, when I look at Peter, when Peter mourned, 21:43 it said, he wept bitterly you know, 21:45 that was the point in his life of transition 21:49 from being Peter the proud, Peter boisterous, 21:52 Peter me first, to being Peter, the broken. 21:55 And once he was broken, 21:57 God rebuild him into a character 21:59 that was more fitting for heaven. 22:01 So when I see blessed are those who mourn, 22:04 that's because at that point, 22:07 God can begin to mold you into... 22:09 You recognize that you're poor in spirit. 22:11 And when you recognize that, 22:13 it breaks you and you mourn for you, 22:16 you look at your life of what you've done 22:19 and the choices that you've made. 22:21 And I mean, it refers to several things. 22:24 Mourning does not always mean that you lost a loved one. 22:27 Right. Right. 22:29 Sometimes it does, yes, you are mourning 22:32 and you will get comforted by the Lord. 22:34 But also, when you recognize that you're poor in spirit, 22:38 you mourn that, you want something different. 22:41 Then you start searching for the Lord. 22:44 And that's He comes and comforts you. 22:47 I know when it says and they shall be comforted. 22:50 Remember when Christ came back and He said, 22:53 and tell Peter to be comforted, 22:56 you know, that's, I just picture that 22:58 when I read that beatitude. 22:59 You're comforted because 23:01 you can be forgiven 23:04 once you know that you're broken 23:06 and you mourn for His spirit. 23:10 So, but if you notice so far poor in spirit 23:12 and those who mourn, but now look at Matthew 5:5, 23:14 another blessing, 23:15 and then we're gonna wrap it into texts 23:17 that are around it if we have enough time. 23:18 But look at the next one, Matthew 5:5. 23:21 Ann, would you like to read that one for us? 23:23 "Blessed are the meek, 23:25 for they shall inherit the earth." 23:27 Well, now what is this text not saying, 23:29 blessed are the what? 23:30 Weak. Okay, say it again. 23:32 Blessed are the week, it doesn't say that. 23:35 So often people say, "Oh, I don't want to be weak. 23:38 Well doesn't say weak. 23:39 What is meek mean? Yes. 23:41 Meekness is strength under control. 23:46 Okay. That's how I remember it. 23:47 It's not about being a weak person, 23:50 it's about being humble 23:52 and realizing your place 23:54 that God's put you here for a purpose 23:56 and it's not to conquer, it's to heal. 24:02 It's not to what's in it for me, 24:04 it's what's in it for Dee, 24:06 you know, what's in it for Francine? 24:08 What's in it for John? 24:10 That's what it's about and that's meekness. 24:13 I know a lot of people from the past, 24:17 they weren't meek. 24:19 And I knew it because everything was about them. 24:21 It was about self. 24:23 The meek person's always, "What can I do for you? 24:26 How can I help you?" 24:27 Sorry, and the best leaders 24:29 seemed to be the ones that show meekness. 24:33 If you think about it, 24:34 it's the leader that shows by example, 24:36 by the humble spirit 24:38 and that they rely on their team members 24:40 to help them. 24:42 It's being strong but under control, 24:44 under duress situations, unfairness, 24:48 when you are especially, 24:49 if you are being treated unfairly, 24:52 or things aren't right, 24:54 and you still do not defend yourself, 24:56 you're meek but not weak. 24:59 It's being meek under... 25:02 Strength under control. Strength under control. 25:05 That's perfect. 25:06 Honey, what's on your heart? 25:08 Wow, I have this text. 25:10 I don't know if it's in our lesson 25:12 in Proverbs 16:20. 25:14 Well, let's just see what you have here. 25:16 Actually it is under number three, 25:18 but go ahead and read it. 25:19 Oh, number three. 25:21 I love that one, about when you trust in the Lord, 25:23 how when you put your trust, 25:26 the Bible says don't put your trust in man, 25:28 but put your trust in the Lord. 25:30 And Proverbs 16:20 says, 25:32 'He who he heeds the word wisely will find good. 25:36 And whoever trusts in the Lord happy is he." 25:39 That's right. Or she. 25:41 Right and the he there is not a gender thing. 25:43 But yeah, the person who trusts in the Lord, 25:46 so you find the poor in spirit, 25:47 those who mourn, those who are meek, 25:48 you find clearly what's being said is 25:51 you'll get the other side of the coin later, 25:54 but there is another side to the coin. 25:56 This is a sad day but there's a better day 25:58 coming, right? 25:59 Things may not always work out in your favor. 26:02 But if you remain meek, you will inherit the earth. 26:06 And sometimes you may not get the position 26:09 that you want at work, but let it roll off your back 26:12 because you could get mad and discontent and vengeful 26:16 over the position that you didn't get 26:18 and forfeit the earth. 26:19 Or you can say, well, 26:21 Lord didn't want me to have that. 26:22 And some people might say, 26:24 there's a phrase called just let it roll off my back 26:26 like water off of a duck's back. 26:29 But that's something that doesn't come at 26:30 in the natural way. 26:32 What do you think about that, Francine? 26:33 You have to work toward it definitely. 26:36 And for me, 26:37 sometimes the knees down, 26:40 valley points in your life. 26:43 Sometimes it's hard, 26:45 but I have to focus on what to be thankful for. 26:49 And by doing that, 26:51 I see all the blessings that God has done 26:53 and again, it's what you've heard 26:54 the Chinese proverb, 26:56 whatever you water is what you grows 26:58 and so you know, it's again, 27:01 trying to choose to focus on the things to be thankful for. 27:04 And that's hard sometimes. 27:06 And yet, there's a lot of studies 27:07 and I can share it later. 27:09 But there are studies that show 27:10 how your happiness really affects your body, 27:14 even your hormones, and even how you live 27:17 and extends your life. 27:18 And when there's so many valuable of reasons 27:21 of why we need to focus on the good, 27:24 trying to find those reasons to be happy. 27:26 The physical benefits. The physical benefits. 27:29 I mean, it's not only 27:31 and you realize that other people, 27:33 when you are happy, they want to be around you. 27:36 When you're down it, 27:37 I mean, other people talk about energy, 27:39 I don't believe necessarily in all that energy, 27:41 but what I'm saying is, but when you are happy, 27:44 you're a magnet, 27:45 and you're magnet for reflecting who Christ is. 27:48 And then, again, if you're always, 27:51 there's some people that always seem to find 27:53 the negative and say, "Oh, this happened, 27:55 now this happened 27:56 and after a while their friends. 27:59 They're not so many close friends because of that, 28:04 because you want to go to what is gravitate toward 28:07 what is good and what is bright. 28:08 I like that. That's true. 28:10 You know, years ago, I'm smiling 28:11 because your brother told us about this, 28:13 Angie's brother Cliff. 28:14 If you watching Cliff, this is for you. 28:16 Oh. 28:17 He talked about Debbie Downer. 28:20 And there's a term I said, "Who's Debbie Downer?" 28:22 And he sent me a video. 28:23 You know, there was this young lady. 28:26 I forgot the name of the show she's on. 28:27 But she was in a program so everybody said, 28:30 "Hey, let's go to the amusement park. 28:34 And she'll say, 28:35 "But people got killed on the roller coaster." 28:39 She'd always find the negative in everything. 28:41 Well, it's gonna be a gorgeous day, 28:43 but there's a chance of rain like 5%. 28:46 There are some people that are that way, 28:47 they always looking at the negative side of life. 28:50 And you make a very, very good point. 28:52 The Bible says to have friends but one must what? 28:55 Show themselves friendly. 28:57 Nobody. 28:58 And I will say what people want to catch 29:01 what you have. 29:03 I'm not talking about disease, 29:04 but would they want to catch what you have. 29:06 There's some people that are delightful 29:08 to be around because, man, 29:10 I know that it can't be all that great. 29:12 But if I'm ever in a foxhole, 29:15 I want to be in a foxhole with that person. 29:17 Because the bullets are flying over, 29:18 they say, but hey, they only have so many bullets. 29:22 And he's one of those people by the way. 29:24 I was thinking of something. 29:25 You know, one of the things the Bible talks about, 29:28 and I didn't know how to do this 29:30 for many years, it says, 29:31 take every thought under control. 29:34 How you think 29:36 is who you are going to be mentally, physically, 29:39 psychologically in all those ways. 29:43 I know someone who has remembered 29:45 every wrong that was ever done to her. 29:48 And we're not talking about major stuff. 29:50 We're talking about little stuff or big stuff. 29:52 Very angry person that lives in her hurt 29:56 and her pain and she lives there 29:58 and will not get out of it 30:00 because her brain takes her there day 30:02 after day, after day, after day. 30:05 It's very important that you figure out 30:08 when you start thinking a certain way, 30:10 where is this going to lead me. 30:12 And then when you realize 30:15 somebody done you wrong 30:16 and you, maybe they insulted you 30:19 or hurt your feelings, 30:20 you start playing that scenario over in your head 30:22 and you come back with your comebacks, 30:24 you rewrite it, 30:25 and you keep doing that over and over. 30:27 Where does that take you? 30:28 It take you to being unhappy. 30:32 If you will throw that scenario out, 30:34 figure out what works for you, 30:35 whether it's reading your Bible, 30:37 doing scriptures, singing songs, 30:38 just saying no, I'm not gonna think about that, 30:40 I'm gonna go do this. 30:41 Focus your mind, focus your mind 30:43 and that's how you take each thought in control 30:46 when you start thinking the thoughts that you know 30:49 are gonna take you down the wrong road. 30:51 That's right. 30:53 What're you thinking, Honey? 30:54 No, it's a choice, to choose, choose. 30:56 But you gotta have something in mind to do 30:59 when that start happening, 31:01 and you've gotta come up with what works for you. 31:05 What works for different people 31:07 and then you have to recognize your trigger mentally 31:10 and take it somewhere else. 31:12 Okay, Philippians 4:8, 31:13 I think you just told me to go there. 31:15 Okay. You're explaining it clearly. 31:16 Honey, go to Philippians 4:8 and read that for us? 31:18 Oh. Okay. 31:20 Yeah, Philippians 4:8. 31:22 Many of us, okay, here it is. 31:25 Got my bulletin in my Bible still from last week. 31:29 Here I am. Philippians 4:8. 31:30 That was a good sermon, pastor. 31:31 Oh, Generation Zs. Yes. 31:35 Praise the Lord. 31:36 In fact we say in England, Generation Z. 31:41 Okay. Philippians 4:8. 31:43 Philippians 4, oh, I love this. 31:44 Yeah, this is what Dee was talking about. 31:46 And there's a caption here, 31:47 it says meditate on these things. 31:49 It says, "Finally, brethren," we can read this together. 31:54 "Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, 31:58 whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, 32:02 whatever things are lovely, 32:04 whatever things are of good report, 32:06 if there is any virtue 32:09 and if there is anything praiseworthy, 32:11 meditate on these things." 32:14 Wow, so. Wow. 32:15 Too many of us meditate on the bad report. 32:18 It's a choice. It's a choice. 32:20 And sometimes I'm fortunate that I have my husband 32:23 and those of us that have close friends 32:25 or somebody else. 32:26 Sometimes we have to catch each other. 32:29 Because sometimes you don't realize 32:33 that you might be going down something that's not helpful. 32:37 And, you know, that's what I'm thankful for 32:39 with my husband or even some close friends 32:41 that I feel like, "Hey, I can tell them. 32:43 Hey, let's turn this around." 32:46 You know, help each other really. 32:48 Yeah, that's a choice because of bun, 32:50 several of us girls said, okay, we are not gonna gossip 32:54 and we gave each other permission to say, 32:56 oh, we don't wanna talk about that. 32:57 Or we, you have to give each other permission 33:00 to correct each other and not get mad again. 33:04 Now, Ann, what happens when you find your mind 33:06 going somewhere and you say, I don't wanna go there. 33:08 Have you ever had those moments? 33:10 I've had those moments, perhaps more explicitly, 33:13 people, excuse me, calling in all the time. 33:17 I'm depressed, I'm depressed. 33:19 My life doesn't, you know, mean anything. 33:22 Well, what am I here for? 33:24 And so many times, you know, I'll say, well, 33:27 pick up your Bible 33:29 and I'll refer them to a verse and they'll say. 33:31 I'm so glad you did it, 33:33 I never thought of things that way. 33:35 But you've got to, 33:36 in those situations in my opinion. 33:39 You look up as the Bible says, "Look up and rejoice." 33:42 When the situation you're in is so horrible 33:45 and you can't see a way out. 33:47 We're clearly told, "Look up and rejoice, 33:50 for your redemption draws nigh." 33:52 That's right. That's right. 33:54 So. So your focus has to change. 33:56 So now that we talked about the emotional things. 34:00 This poor in spirit, those who mourn and the meek. 34:02 Let's not go to a different kind of happiness, 34:05 because there's another kind of happiness that comes, 34:08 falls more into 34:09 what're you eating rather than what's eating you. 34:12 Do you have Matthew 5:5? 34:15 Did we do that one already? 34:16 Yeah, we did that already. 5:5 we did it already. 34:17 Matthew 5:5. 34:19 Matthew 5:6, okay Honey, read that for us. 34:22 Again? 34:23 Well, no Matthew 5:6. 5:6. 34:25 Okay, "Blessed are those who hunger 34:28 and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." 34:32 Another word's happy. Yes. Blessed, happy. 34:35 So what, where does this one, 34:36 where does this happiness come from? 34:37 And how do you get filled? 34:40 Okay, where does this happiness come from? 34:42 You are hungering and you are thirsting. 34:45 What happens, come on, Francine, 34:46 what happens when you're hungry? 34:48 Well, I wanna go eat. 34:49 But I'm thinking that in this case. 34:52 In this case it needs to be about the spiritual food. 34:55 That's exactly what we're having here. 34:57 Amen. 34:58 And always trying to find another verse 35:01 or trying to find those promises of God, 35:03 especially when we're down 35:05 is look for those words of encouragement, 35:08 happiness. 35:10 Yeah, another thing is, is music. 35:12 When you play good Christian music, 35:15 the atmosphere is so different, so full of joy. 35:17 Remember one time you were, 35:20 think when you had your throat injury. 35:22 Oh, yeah. 35:23 And you were so down and depressed and I came home. 35:27 You were just playing your music, 35:29 your Christian music. 35:31 It was so loud. 35:32 I was sitting on the keyboard 35:33 because I was told by the doctor 35:35 not even to whisper. 35:36 I said, "Well, I can't whisper but my music could sing." 35:38 Then I turned my music on and I had big speakers. 35:40 But you were depressed at home. And I was at home like. 35:43 But I was shedding tears of, it's gonna be okay, 35:47 this is just another valley. 35:49 And sometimes those things 35:51 last longer than you want them to. 35:53 But what I like this text is saying, it says, 35:55 "Now there are those who try to find happiness 36:00 without finding righteousness." 36:03 And that's what I wanna focus on in this passage. 36:06 If your life is a righteous life, 36:08 it's gonna be a happy life. 36:11 But if your life is built on, some people want what else? 36:15 Some people want money, fame, 36:16 fortune, prestige, recognition. 36:20 They have a lot of possessions. 36:21 The man's life does not possess, 36:22 you know, consist in what he possesses, 36:25 but if they would simply seek hunger and thirst. 36:29 So let's look at this room. 36:30 When you're in the desert, what're you looking for? 36:32 Water. Water. 36:33 So what the Bible in essence saying, 36:36 in the desert of this world, 36:38 I want you to find righteousness. 36:41 But I don't want you just to find it. 36:42 I want you to be so hungry for it, 36:44 so thirsty for it, 36:46 that, that's what you're looking for. 36:48 Because in the desert 36:49 nothing could help you but water. 36:51 In the world nothing is a better benefit 36:53 than righteousness. 36:55 What I love about this beatitude 36:56 is righteousness is truth. 36:59 So this reads to me, 37:02 those who hunger and thirst for the truth 37:06 shall be, God will fill them. 37:08 You know, a lot of people like John was saying, 37:10 they don't really want truth 37:11 because truth is gonna spoil their fun. 37:13 You know, they want to go and do this 37:15 and they wanna go and do that 37:16 and so they're not seeking the truth 37:18 but for those who hunger and thirst. 37:20 I mean the famished, they want the truth, 37:22 they're a truth seeker. 37:23 It doesn't matter where they are in life, 37:25 they're seeking the truth. 37:26 He said, "God will bless you with that truth." 37:28 But truth, righteousness is right rightness. 37:33 Right. It's what's right. 37:35 And see God knows what's right for us. 37:38 He created us. 37:40 So when we find out, 37:42 when we start looking for rightness and truth. 37:47 The truth and wanting to do 37:49 what is right actually fills us up 37:53 and we become happy. 37:56 Because we're doing what's right for us, 37:58 we're doing what's right for others, 38:00 we're doing what's right for God. 38:03 Right is just so happy and so easy to live. 38:06 I've heard so many people tell me 38:07 that Christians don't have any fun. 38:09 Oh. 38:10 And I have more fun now as a Christian. 38:14 And I sleep a lot better as a Christian 38:17 than when I was back in the day partying 38:19 and doing all kinds of things. 38:20 Christians can have more fun. 38:23 We have fun and freedom. 38:24 Fun and peace. And peace. 38:26 But what's it saying though. All the good stuff. 38:28 But what's it saying, money does not buy... 38:30 Happiness. Happiness. 38:32 So why is that the focus of so many people? 38:34 We know wealthy people 38:36 and I could just put this in here. 38:37 We're gonna dive back into the topic here. 38:39 But I could put this in here because a lot of people. 38:41 For those of us who are not rich, 38:43 for those of us who don't have a whole lot of figures 38:45 in the bank. 38:47 When people say money doesn't buy happiness. 38:49 Our natural reaction is, let me decide that for myself. 38:53 You know, but people that are wealthy, 38:55 people that are multi-this 38:57 and multi-that and have possessions. 38:59 You know, they fall sick and I've known people 39:02 that are, multimillionaires. 39:04 I would not say no. 39:05 I know other people that are multimillionaires 39:07 that have a disease that's incurable. 39:09 And I can guarantee you at that moment 39:10 they will give all their wealth to have the health that I have. 39:14 People have a tendency to think 39:16 that money will solve their problems. 39:19 But money can only solve outward problem, 39:23 but the real problem is inward. 39:26 And money cannot solve that inner hunger 39:30 and thirsting for what is right to give us true happiness. 39:34 That's right. That's right. 39:36 So let's go to the next one, and so we're saying here 39:39 if you want to be happy, seek righteousness, 39:42 and as Matthew 6:33 says, 39:45 "When you seek that righteousness, 39:47 all these things will be added to you, 39:50 seeking God's kingdom and righteousness first." 39:53 Verse 7. 39:54 You wanna do that one, Francine? 39:56 Blessed are the, sorry, "Blessed are the merciful, 39:59 for they shall obtain mercy." 40:01 Once gain substitute the word blessed for happiness. 40:03 Wow. Yeah. 40:05 Now let's talk about this one. Honey, what about mercy? 40:08 What about mercy? 40:09 Yeah, mercy means what? 'cause we've said have mercy. 40:13 So what does that mean when we say have mercy? 40:15 To me, mercy means have forgiveness. 40:17 Yes. Okay. 40:18 Forgive others. Yeah. 40:20 Just like you want to be forgiven. 40:22 You know, I know a lot of people, 40:26 they don't forgive 40:27 and they carry around this bitterness 40:30 and I had a, 40:32 something happen a few years ago 40:34 where this individual, 40:36 they brought up something that happened 40 years ago. 40:38 Yep. 40:39 That I don't even remember 40:42 and I said, this person has been stewing on this. 40:46 Stewing for the last 40 years and it's just eaten them alive. 40:50 So mercy is not only helping Dee, when I forgive Dee. 40:54 Mercy is helping myself. Right. 40:56 That's right. So that I can move on. 40:57 Matter of fact, you're reading a book right now, 40:58 you have some amazing stories in there. 41:00 Yes, Chicken Soup for the Soul. That's right. 41:03 About forgiveness and lots of stories. 41:06 I know there was this man, 41:09 he was very poor as a child, just poor. 41:12 And you remember that story? 41:15 And he just wore hand me downs 41:18 and there was a young kid in his class 41:21 who's pretty wealthy 41:22 and he saw him with his clothes on. 41:26 Just passed on through the neighborhood kids 41:29 and he teased him and he laughed at him. 41:32 Anyway years went by, 41:35 and while he was this young kid, 41:37 this poor kid, 41:39 years went by and he went into the... 41:43 The poor kid got his education, joined the military, 41:47 got a high rank in the military. 41:50 And while he, after he came out of the military, 41:53 he went to a restaurant to go eat 41:56 and he was at this restaurant having a wonderful meal. 41:59 Very fancy restaurant and who came. 42:02 Oh, yes. 42:03 The waiter came and says, "How may I help you?" 42:06 And the guy, the guy that was poor went, 42:10 that's the same guy. 42:11 The guy that used to be poor who's now doing way better. 42:15 And the one that was. 42:17 And the waiter was the one that teased him growing up. 42:19 Yes, and he says, he didn't even recognize me. 42:21 So he told the guy next to him who this kid was. 42:26 And I teased him mercilessly, just terrible 42:29 and he says that's the same kid 42:30 that was so awful to me in school. 42:34 And he says, he doesn't even recognize me. 42:37 And as he's pouring his water 42:39 and he says, how may I help you? 42:41 What do you want in your dress, on your salad. 42:43 He told him choice then 42:45 and he says I never said a word to him. 42:48 That he was the one that teased me. 42:50 I just left him alone 42:52 because I have forgiven him a long time ago. 42:55 It just bought up memories. That's right. 42:57 And so he chose to be merciful. Yes. 42:59 He could have said, "Oh, so remember me, 43:02 tables have turned now, what do you think?" 43:04 And there're some people that are merciless 43:06 because full and less. 43:08 It's a contrast, merciful or merciless. 43:11 And there are people that need mercy. 43:13 Mercy says I know what you did, 43:16 but I'm not gonna use it against you. 43:18 And that's what he did to that wealthy individual 43:21 who now is successful, he decided, 43:23 "Oh, the tables have turned, 43:24 this is the perfect time to just shoot back. 43:26 I stored up all these years. 43:28 Now it's time to get you back." 43:30 But the Lord said, "Wait a minute." 43:32 Why is it important to be merciful? 43:33 Let's look at the text, 43:35 why is it important to be merciful? 43:37 So you will be, receive mercy. Yeah. 43:40 There you go. That you need. 43:41 Yes. 43:43 They, sometimes people will say, 43:45 hating someone else is like drinking poison 43:48 and hoping they die. 43:50 That's good. Yeah. 43:52 Not being forgiving. 43:55 Not being merciful to others destroys you. 43:59 Did you know for 40 years that this poor guy was suffering? 44:02 No. No. You went on very happy. 44:05 He was the one that was unhappy. 44:07 And that's the way it always works. 44:09 You hang on to this unmercifulness, 44:13 this cruelty and your life is destroyed 44:16 and the other people go on being happy. 44:19 And I need, 44:22 I find it very easy to forgive 44:24 because I need so much forgiveness. 44:30 Not only from God, you all of you. 44:33 I need forgiveness from all of you 44:34 quite often too, but you don't realize 44:37 how much forgiveness I need from God. 44:39 So I assume that I'm growing and learning 44:44 and I assume all of you are too, 44:47 and I need to be merciful to you and hope 44:50 that I will get that back from you 44:52 and definitely from the Lord. 44:54 So if you wanna be happy in this area, 44:57 be merciful and you'll have mercy. 45:00 That's right. That's right. 45:01 You know, in other words somebody will say, 45:02 "I am so glad. 45:04 I was kind to that person." 45:07 Now the Lord is kind to me because in fact, 45:09 you don't really get away, things are often delayed, 45:12 but the Bible says whatever you sow, 45:14 that's what you're gonna reap. 45:16 So if you live a life of merciless attitude 45:18 and get out of my way, who do you think you are? 45:21 Remember, I'm the boss, not you. 45:23 With that merciless attitude, that domineering attitude. 45:26 One day we saw a story just recently where, 45:28 you know, a guy practically admitted 45:31 that he had taken someone's life 45:33 and he got away with it. 45:35 He thought he got away with it. 45:36 Then he faced, he walked away feeling 45:38 "Oh, I got away with it." 45:39 Yeah, 'cause he had a wealthy father, super wealthy. 45:42 Bought him out and... Bailed him out. 45:44 Bailed him out, million dollars bail. 45:46 He had a tragic accident, lost his mobility. 45:50 You know, confined to a wheelchair. 45:53 And I thought to myself, wow! 45:54 He was probably saying, "Hey, I got away with it." 45:58 But you really don't get away with it. 46:00 And I think that many things in life could be avoided 46:02 if we put that principle in place. 46:03 That's when you don't repent though. 46:05 Say it again. Say that again. 46:07 That's when you don't repent. 46:08 When you repent, it's different. 46:10 That's right. The merciful receive mercy. 46:13 But even if you appear to get away from it 46:16 in your entire life... 46:18 I mean, we look at people that were like... 46:20 There's a verse in here that we're going to look at it. 46:22 Why does the way of the wicked prosper? 46:25 Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? 46:29 You know, those people only have this life. 46:32 That's right. Yes. 46:33 They don't have anything else. 46:34 And, Dee, I'll tell you what. 46:37 A lot of the time their happiness is external. 46:41 What they did and they got away with them 46:43 eats them from the inside out. 46:45 And it affects the rest of their whole life, 46:47 their character who they are, how they treat people, 46:50 even their capacity to love is affected 46:52 because they got away with that a long time ago. 46:55 And at the end of time... 46:58 You really don't get away. 46:59 Even if he got away with it 47:02 or she got away with their whole life, 47:04 the end of time there is a judgment. 47:05 There is accountability. 47:06 You don't really get away with anything. 47:08 So you lose your eternal life. 47:12 That's right. Yeah. 47:14 Because you didn't recognize these beatitudes, 47:20 the happy attitudes. 47:22 Yes, go ahead. Sorry. 47:24 Plus, the thing for me too 47:25 is we're supposed to reflect the Lord. 47:29 We're supposed to show mercy, we're supposed to be kind, 47:32 we're supposed to be giving, all of those qualities, 47:36 we're supposed to exhibit. 47:38 And many a time, I mean, 47:39 this has taken me a long time to learn. 47:42 But many times the old self wants to come out 47:46 and what happens now 47:48 because I'm immersed more in the Bible, 47:51 in the Lord, in the teaching, 47:53 what happens now as I take a breath 47:56 and then I'll go forward. 47:59 It's a great tool, 48:00 especially when subject matter can be so hurtful. 48:04 That's right. 48:05 Which takes us now to the very next point. 48:08 We got two more here. We're gonna try to get to that. 48:10 When you're merciful and you obtain mercy, 48:12 something happens to your heart. 48:15 Who has that one? Okay, Eric, read that one. 48:17 That's Matthew 5:8? Yes. 48:20 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." 48:24 Wow! Now what happened? 48:27 We brought some good points up. 48:29 So I'm gonna lead into this way. 48:33 Pure in heart, that means, as Revelation 14 says, 48:36 "There's no guile found in them." 48:39 That means, they're not hateful, 48:40 they're not resentful, they're not jealous, 48:43 they're not vindictive. 48:44 Something's happened to that person, 48:46 that you feel you could be safe around an individual. 48:50 What is pure in heart mean? 48:52 Always stay centered on the Lord to me. 48:55 That's what God would do always. 48:57 Yeah, sincere, practice what he said, 49:01 you know, and to walk His walk. 49:03 And that has to be... 49:05 You have to be almost immersed in that thought pattern daily, 49:09 I think now. 49:10 Because there are two things that we have to have to. 49:12 The Bible says, who shall stand in the holy hill, 49:15 who's gonna stand? 49:16 He who has clean hands and what? 49:18 Pure heart. And a pure heart. 49:20 But that's a choice, that choosing, that's a choice. 49:24 If you choose... 49:25 I know that my heart is not pure, 49:28 yet I want it to be that way. 49:30 But it's a choice of desiring that 49:32 and then practicing being merciful, 49:35 being kind, reading His Word, 49:38 loving other people, 49:39 letting His love flow through you, 49:41 so then the pure heart wants forgiveness. 49:45 What's interesting is if have an impure heart, 49:50 and everyone has an impure heart, 49:53 you have to empty that in order to have a pure heart. 49:57 So if we're born into sin, 49:59 you have to empty that out to get a pure heart. 50:02 So for me having a pure heart means surrender. 50:06 You have to surrender to the Lord. 50:07 And that's where what that blessedness comes in, 50:09 which I'm gonna take the opportunity now 50:11 to go to the very next one. 50:13 Read verse 9. 50:15 We got to get these two more in there. 50:16 "Blessed are the peacemakers, 50:18 for they shall be called the sons of God." 50:20 Wow. Okay. 50:22 Peacemakers. 50:23 I called you that. He's my peacemaker. 50:25 I always call him. He's a peacemaker. 50:27 He always want to make peace with everyone. 50:30 I'm gonna tell you a story very, very quickly, Dee. 50:32 When Pastor CA came here many years ago 50:34 and he had just been here for a short time. 50:36 Now you always get the job done. 50:38 And I want to say that, you know, it's on the schedule, 50:40 you got up here in certain time. 50:42 Now, so... I probably know the story... 50:44 No, it's a good story though. It's a positive one. 50:46 And you came in, you were telling me, 50:47 you know, all the things that I need to get done, 50:48 all part of the program. 50:50 And when you walked away, CA said, "Hey Lomey." 50:54 You know he always call me Lomey. 50:55 He said, "Hey, I admire that." 50:56 I said what he said, 50:58 you know, everything that Dee just told 50:59 you already know, but you let her do her job. 51:03 He said that irritated me, but you let her do her job. 51:07 I said, you know what, it doesn't make sense. 51:09 She's just telling me what I need to do. 51:10 And that's what she's been appointed to do. 51:12 That's her responsibility. Why do I get upset about that? 51:15 But then what my wife is talking about is 51:17 sometimes how you say something to people 51:20 can either be peaceful or can make it even worse. 51:24 For example, I can say, "Francine, 51:27 now I know you probably had attitude that day 51:29 when you said this to me." 51:30 So, but I just want to let you know, 51:31 it didn't bother me. 51:33 Now what did I do? 51:34 I told you an attitude. Oh, yeah. 51:37 Or I could have said, you know, it was it... 51:40 When that thing happened that day, 51:42 it didn't really, really bothered me, 51:43 so don't even think about it any longer. 51:45 If you begin a response on the positive, 51:48 you don't have to worry about the negative. 51:50 I've tried... 51:51 Greg taught me something that I really admired. 51:54 It happened one day 51:55 where I was telling him something and later on, 51:59 I realized he already knew it. 52:01 It was information. 52:02 But he never said anything. 52:04 And I thought, I want to be that way. 52:07 If someone starts to tell me something I already know, 52:10 just let him tell you anyway. 52:12 It's not that big of a deal. 52:15 And so I've been trying to practice that of... 52:20 That's been... Peacemaker. 52:23 Peacemaker, just let him tell you. 52:26 So a peacemaker, sometimes it's just letting people talk. 52:30 And remember my mother's funeral? 52:34 There was a family division. 52:35 And you said to me, 52:38 you didn't tell me what you were gonna do. 52:41 And you're getting into our little business, okay? 52:43 I'm letting you to share and he went on the pulpit 52:47 and you bought the family together. 52:50 You were a peacemaker. 52:52 It was absolutely beautiful how you did that. 52:55 And we have been together since then 52:58 because you wanted to make. 53:00 And, you know, I would have said to you, 53:01 "Honey, this is not the time to do it." 53:03 If he had told me, he didn't tell me anything 53:05 what he was gonna do, 53:06 but when it was his turn to say something on the pulpit, 53:10 he brought peace into our family. 53:12 And it was just wonderful. 53:14 And I praise God for that. 53:16 And you did say peacemaker. 53:17 That's what God does. He works. 53:19 He listened to the Lord 53:21 because you would have said, don't do that. 53:22 I would have said no. This is not the time. 53:24 And he might have thought he shouldn't either, 53:25 but God was telling him. 53:27 And you know what? 53:28 I learned Oswald Chambers, one of my favorite. 53:30 Yeah. Devotional writer. 53:32 He said, he says, 53:33 "When God tells you to do something, 53:36 don't ask a person's advice 53:39 if God has already told you to do it." 53:41 And that day I was strongly impressed. 53:43 And I said to Angie afterwards said, you know what? 53:45 She said, "Why don't you tell me?" 53:46 I said, "Because you would not agree with me." 53:48 And I wouldn't have. 53:49 And, but sometimes you have to let the Lord's urging 53:52 because the outcome is gonna be for His glory, 53:54 not your own, 53:56 which I'm gonna quickly go to the very next one. 53:57 Okay. Let's do it. 53:59 Who read the last one? I did. 54:01 Francine, you wanna read verse 10? 54:02 "Blessed are those who are persecuted 54:05 for righteousness sake, 54:06 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 54:08 Okay. 54:10 Now what does that mean? 54:11 When you live right, people are gonna be mad. 54:15 Gossip. 54:16 Gossip, gossip, and more gossip. 54:20 But why are you being persecuted, that's the key. 54:23 'Cause you're doing well. Say it again. 54:25 You're doing the good that God wants you to do. 54:28 And Satan is on the attack. 54:30 And you're happy. And you're happy. 54:32 And somebody who's not happy is very jealous of someone who is. 54:35 Oh, that happens all the time. 54:37 I think everyone at some time in their life 54:40 is going to face persecution at least at the gossip level. 54:44 Especially if you're a Christian, 54:46 and you love the Lord, 54:47 and you're beaming like you said, 54:49 Dee, there're some people that resent that 54:51 and that will be their only reason 54:53 for targeting you. 54:54 And I think in that scenario God is saying, 54:58 "Blessed are those 54:59 who are persecuted for My namesake." 55:01 That's right. 55:02 Matter of fact, Dee, read verse 11 and 12 55:04 because it continues to reveal. 55:05 There is lots of levels of persecution. 55:07 It continues the thought right there. 55:08 "Blessed are you 55:09 when they revile and persecute you, 55:11 and say all kinds of evil against you 55:13 falsely for My sake, 55:16 rejoice, and be exceeding glad 55:18 for great is your reward in heaven, 55:21 for so they persecuted the prophets 55:23 who were before you." 55:24 So who are they actually persecuting? 55:26 Why are they mad? 55:27 Say it again, Honey. Jesus. 55:29 They're persecuting God, I mean Jesus. 55:30 They're persecuting the Jesus in you. 55:33 And so when that happens, this is very vitally important, 55:36 when you are facing persecution and people are saying... 55:39 Notice, they said all kinds of evil things. 55:42 They're not even stopping. 55:44 They're hitting you every side. 55:45 You say, you know what? 55:47 They're not mad at me. 55:49 They're mad because I do what was right. 55:51 Ann, what do you think about that? 55:53 Absolutely it happens time and again. 55:55 I can remember time growing up. 55:58 We lived in a neighborhood 56:00 where we were told we shouldn't be there. 56:03 My parents are Christian, at that time, not Adventist, 56:07 but Christian. 56:09 And my father, an excellent example 56:12 of how much he loved the Lord. 56:15 My father would go out to work daily with people 56:18 making comments or, you know, 56:21 saying things or making nasty notes 56:24 and putting them on his car. 56:25 That man never lost his temper, and I asked him one day, 56:29 I said, "Dad, why don't you do something?" 56:33 And he looked at me he said, 56:36 "The Lord is my shepherd, Ann." 56:38 Amen. Wow, you know... Beautiful. 56:40 Isn't that lovely? He was a precious soul. 56:43 Well, I tell you, our time comes and goes 56:44 so rapidly. 56:46 But I'm glad we got to the be happy attitudes. 56:49 Because if you forget everything 56:50 we've said in the program, 56:51 sit down and read Matthew Chapter 5, 56:54 the poor in spirit those who mourn the meek, 56:56 those who hunger and thirst, 56:57 the merciful those who pure the peacemakers. 56:59 And when you face persecution, 57:01 let's read verse number 8 very quickly. 57:04 John 13:17 quickly it says, 57:07 "If you know these things," what does it say? 57:09 Blessed. Blessed are you if you what? 57:11 If you do them. If you do them. 57:12 Honey, was this a quick program? 57:15 It was good. It was wonderful. 57:17 And what choice you're gonna make? 57:18 I'm gonna be happy. Wow. 57:20 That's my choice. Be happy. 57:22 Choose the Lord. Wow! 57:23 We hope everyone joins us. That's right. 57:25 That's why we're all gonna end the program 57:27 by saying what kind of Sabbath? 57:29 Happy Sabbath. 57:31 See you again next time. Bye-bye. |
Revised 2020-03-16