Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW200020S
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00:02 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. 01:09 welcome to another edition of 3ABN Family Worship. 01:13 As always, we are so thankful that you are joining us. 01:16 As always, we're so thankful for your love, 01:18 prayers and support 01:20 because we wouldn't even be sitting 01:21 on this set here, 01:22 having these wonderful Bible studies 01:24 and playing these wonderful programs 01:25 back to back each and every day, 01:27 if it wasn't for your love, prayers and support. 01:29 So thank you, thank you for taking the time 01:31 out of your day 01:33 to be with us to study at this particular time. 01:36 And, boy, we have another power packed message, 01:40 another power packed study that we're going to be doing 01:42 together as a family. 01:43 Amen? This is family worship. 01:46 And so again, we're going through a study 01:49 that we've entitled, "A Call to Anguish," 01:52 and this is part three, okay, 01:54 so if you haven't seen part one or part two, 01:57 if you have connection to the Internet, go on YouTube, 01:59 find it "A Call to Anguish: Part one and Part two" 02:03 Family worship. 02:04 We're on part three today. 02:05 And we are trucking along this and I've just been enjoying it. 02:07 I don't know about you guys. 02:09 But there's just so much richness here 02:11 from this particular message that we've been studying from. 02:14 We're going to be diving deep into the Word of God 02:15 once again to unpack this powerful message 02:19 that I believe is a present truth message. 02:22 Very much a present truth message 02:23 for our time. 02:24 And if we can comprehend this 02:26 and understand the times that we're living in, 02:27 then we can be better prepared 02:29 to meet Jesus when He comes soon. 02:31 So before we go any further, 02:33 I'm going to introduce this wonderful panel here 02:35 that I have with me and my 3ABN family members, 02:38 and then we're going to have a prayer and get started. 02:40 So I'm going to start to my far right down here. 02:42 We have Brother Kenny Shelton, Pastor Kenny Shelton. 02:44 It's such a blessing to always have you, Brother. 02:46 It's always a blessing to be here. 02:48 Thank you for the opportunity. 02:49 Amen. Amen. 02:50 You have lots of wisdom and knowledge to share 02:52 and I appreciate your commitment 02:53 to the ministry. 02:55 Thank you so much. 02:56 And then, of course, 02:58 probably what you would describe 02:59 as your better half... 03:00 I would. 03:02 Maybe on a good day, right? 03:03 On a good day. 03:04 It's a blessing to have you Miss Chris Shelton. 03:06 It's good to be here. 03:07 Always a blessing to be here. Amen. 03:08 Praise the Lord 03:10 and though we don't have Donald with us, 03:12 we have his better half with us, 03:14 Miss Janelle Owen. 03:16 Now tell us what you do here at 3ABN 03:17 because some people may wonder what it is that you do here? 03:20 Sure. 03:21 I work in the publishing department 03:22 and I work on anything that's web 03:25 or print based, just to make it simple. 03:27 Praise the Lord. 03:29 You certainly make our lives easier 03:30 because if we need some type of graphic design 03:32 or anything, 03:34 any kind of picture or anything for ministry here, 03:35 anything publish related, you're there for us, 03:38 we appreciate what you do. 03:39 It's a blessing to have you 03:40 and maybe one day we can get Donald back in. 03:42 Yeah, I hope so. He's in the ministry. 03:44 He's probably off somewhere right now 03:46 leading and production of another program. 03:47 So who knows what he's doing. 03:49 But we're going to pause and have a prayer 03:51 and then we're going to dive deep into this, 03:52 "A Call to Anguish: Part Three." 03:54 Brother Kenny, why don't you open us 03:55 in a word of prayer? 03:57 Absolutely. Let's pray together, shall we? 03:58 Father in heaven, 03:59 again we thank You for the privilege of prayer. 04:01 We thank You we can call You our Father. 04:03 Lord, we come to thee today as we went over this lesson, 04:07 Call to Anguish. 04:09 Lord, we pray, we realize we're in a awesome time 04:11 of earth's history. 04:12 How desperately we need the power of thy Holy Spirit 04:15 to lead, guide and direct in our hearts and life. 04:17 Big decisions need to be made right now. 04:20 We praise Your Holy Spirit will comfort each one of us, 04:22 we praise You draw near to us, open our hearts, 04:24 our minds that we may see Jesus, 04:26 may understand this Word and be able to give it in a way 04:28 that would be pleasing in thy sight. 04:30 Thank you for the crew. 04:32 Bless each one we praise. 04:33 Now all this is done to Your honor and to Your glory 04:35 just permeate we pray this set 04:37 with the power of thy Holy Spirit, 04:39 that we will be so blessed by Your presence, 04:42 that we will leave this place 04:43 knowing we've been in Your presence 04:45 and we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 04:47 Amen. Amen. 04:48 Praise the Lord. 04:49 You know, I suspect based on 04:51 as I was preparing for this particular study, 04:55 there may be a part four. 04:56 We'll see where we are by the end of this, 04:58 but that's okay, 05:00 because there's so much richness 05:01 in this study that I think 05:03 we just need to take our time, 05:04 go through it and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us. 05:06 As I have started 05:08 in the previous two parts of this, 05:09 of this study, 05:11 we're going to read 05:12 through a very powerful statement 05:14 of which we kind of building the study on. 05:16 And then we're going to dive into the Word of God 05:18 and make some sense of this. 05:19 This comes from first volume of the Testimonies, 05:22 page 179 to 181. 05:25 And again, you can also find this statement 05:27 just, worded just slightly different 05:29 but the meat is there. 05:31 In Early Writings, page 269 and 270. 05:34 But the version we're reading from is, again, 05:36 first volume of the Testimonies, 05:37 page 179 to 181. 05:40 And notice what it says. 05:42 This comes from November 20, 1857. 05:44 She says, "I was shown the people of God 05:47 and saw them mightily shaken, 05:49 some with strong faith and agonizing cries 05:51 were pleading with God. 05:54 Their countenances were pale and marked with deep anxiety, 05:57 expressive of their internal struggle. 06:00 Firmness and great earnestness 06:02 were expressed in their countenances, 06:04 while large drops of perspiration 06:06 fell from their foreheads. 06:09 Now and then their faces would light up 06:11 with the marks of God's approbation. 06:13 And again the same solemn, earnest, anxious look 06:16 would settle upon them. 06:18 Evil angels crowded around them, 06:20 pressing their darkness upon them, 06:22 to shut out Jesus from their view, 06:24 that their eyes might be drawn to the darkness 06:27 that surrounded them, 06:28 and they, that they may distrust God, 06:31 and next murmur against Him. 06:33 Their only safety was in keeping their eyes 06:36 directed upward. 06:39 Angels of God had charged over His people, 06:42 and as the poisonous atmosphere from the evil angels 06:44 were pressed around these anxious ones, 06:47 the heavenly angels 06:48 were continually wafting their wings over them, 06:51 to scatter the thick darkness. 06:54 Some, I saw, did not participate 06:56 in this work of agonizing and pleading. 07:00 They seemed indifferent and careless. 07:03 They were not resisting the darkness around them, 07:05 and it shut them in like a thick cloud. 07:08 The angels of God left these, 07:10 and I saw them hastening to the assistance 07:13 of those who were struggling with all their energies 07:15 to resist the evil angels, 07:17 and trying to help themselves 07:19 by calling upon God with perseverance. 07:23 But the angels left those who made no effort 07:26 to help themselves, and I lost sight of them. 07:30 As the praying ones continued their earnest cries, 07:33 a ray of light from Jesus would at times come to them, 07:37 to encourage their hearts, 07:39 and light up their countenances." 07:41 And then she ends it with, 07:43 "I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen, 07:46 and was shown that it would be caused 07:48 by the straight testimony 07:49 called forth by the counsel 07:51 of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. 07:54 This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, 07:56 and will lead him to exalt the standard 07:59 and pour forth the straight truth. 08:00 Some will not bear this straight testimony. 08:03 They will rise up against it, 08:05 and this will cause a shaking among God's people." 08:08 Rather lengthy quote, 08:09 but we're going to go back through it 08:10 because parts one and two, 08:12 we were looking at that bottom portion 08:14 that we just read where she says, 08:15 I asked the meaning of the shaking, 08:17 and it seemed that it would be caused 08:18 by the straight testimony called for to the True Witness. 08:21 Well, we've studied that in great detail 08:24 in parts one and two. 08:25 But now we're going to go back through here 08:27 and begin to look at the body of this. 08:29 And then we're going to go into the Word of God 08:31 and we're going to see what does, 08:32 what is God trying to tell us? 08:33 What can we glean from this in preparation 08:36 for the soon coming of Jesus in these last days? 08:38 So our very first question, ladies and gentlemen, 08:44 this is what I put here. 08:45 It says the passage above that I just read, 08:48 seems to communicate that the Christian walk 08:50 often includes a deep spiritual struggle, 08:55 one that includes agonizing cries 08:57 and pleading with God. 09:00 Shouldn't the Christian experience though 09:02 be easy going and without strife? 09:05 If you are truly saved, somebody may be asking that. 09:08 You know, when you're saved, you're saved, right? 09:11 And the devil can't do anything to you 09:13 or he can't penetrate those walls 09:15 that Jesus has put around you. 09:16 But you know, as we just read 09:18 in that opening statement there, 09:19 she says, I was shown the people of God 09:21 mightily shaken, 09:22 some with strong faith and agonizing cries, 09:24 hence why we call this a call to anguish, 09:26 you know, is it a problem 09:28 to anguish for the Lord's righteousness? 09:31 It says faith and agonizing cries 09:33 were pleading with God. 09:35 Is this normal, is this biblical? 09:37 Or does this seem to be a little contrary 09:40 to what the Christian experience should be? 09:41 No, I was just thinking, as you're saying, 09:43 as I was thinking about 09:44 when Jacob wrestled with the angel. 09:47 You know, 09:48 and there's so many other examples 09:50 we could look at that show people 09:52 when they struggled, 09:54 they had a struggle and they, you know, he said, 09:55 "I will not let go of you till you bless me." 09:58 And that's what I can see here too. 10:00 That's right. 10:01 'Cause he was, he's struggling, right? 10:03 That I'm sure when he was wrestling 10:04 with that angel, 10:05 there was a battle going on there. 10:07 And it wasn't an easy battle 10:08 and it was a battle between life and death. 10:10 Yes, absolutely. 10:12 That was his salvation at stake. 10:13 And basically, that's what this whole thing is about. 10:15 Every time 10:17 this is our third lesson with you, 10:18 every time I go in here, 10:21 the tears are just like on the surface, 10:24 because I wonder if I'm where I need to be. 10:27 And the last part of that question is shouldn't, 10:31 I better put my glasses on. 10:34 Shouldn't the Christian experience 10:36 be easygoing 10:37 and without strife if you are truly saved, 10:39 peace that passes all understanding, 10:41 or love without it. 10:43 I thought it would be. 10:46 But as we get in 10:48 and as we begin to partake of that bread of life, 10:50 and we begin to go through the Bible, 10:53 you know, how many of you in the beginning you're like, 10:55 why do we even have the Old Testament? 10:57 What are all these examples for, 10:59 you know, why did Israel rise and fall 11:03 and all these things happen to? 11:05 It's because they lost that first love. 11:08 And the enemy wants to come in 11:10 and he's the one 11:11 that's shouting peace and safety, 11:13 peace it say all is well. 11:15 You're good, you're in need of nothing. 11:18 And yet spiritually we need to be digging, 11:21 and when we begin to dig and we realize our position 11:26 or we realize our children's position 11:29 or my grand, 11:30 I'm looking at my grandbabies. 11:32 I hope I don't start crying now. 11:33 I'm looking at my grandbabies. 11:34 And I'm thinking of the world that we're living in right now. 11:38 With all this looting 11:40 and all this tearing down of history, 11:42 and not that all the history is good, 11:45 I understand some of it but some of it's going too far. 11:48 And murder upon murder, it doesn't care what, 11:51 doesn't matter what color you are. 11:54 What do these babies have to face? 11:57 Remember in Noah's day, 11:58 there were no children on the Ark. 12:02 And there's coming a day when Jesus says it is finished, 12:05 that those who are righteous be righteous still, 12:07 those who are filthy be filthy, filthy still. 12:10 That's what this is all about. 12:12 We should be pleading it. 12:14 And I remember there was a time 12:16 not too awful long ago that I was in tears. 12:20 I said, "Lord, take me right now 12:22 just save my children, just let me die right now." 12:26 Nobody knows about that, 12:28 you probably never told anybody about that. 12:29 Never told and I'm here telling all of you, guys. 12:32 But I was willing at that point 12:34 because of what I seen in my kids. 12:37 I wanted to die so that they can live. 12:41 And that's part of this whole process 12:44 is that we need to die in order to live. 12:48 I think we may be reading that a little bit. 12:50 Absolutely. 12:51 That's part of this anguish, is part of this walk. 12:54 It's a lot deeper 12:55 than when I first accepted Christ 12:57 what I thought it was. 12:59 Absolutely. Brother Kenny. 13:00 You know, I think all you have to do is 13:01 look at the life of Christ at Calvary, 13:04 everything that led up to that, 13:05 all the disciples, 13:07 and then say, was it really easy? 13:09 Was there some call of anguish? 13:10 In fact, go to Luke 22. 13:12 Go to Luke 22. 13:14 Let's read these texts because you referenced it. 13:16 Now I want you to kind of just give us 13:18 some commentary on what is happening here, 13:21 do we have a great example of Jesus here? 13:23 Luke 22. 13:24 This is in the Garden of Gethsemane, okay. 13:27 Luke 22:39 and then read through 46 there, 13:31 39 through 46. 13:33 And then give us your understanding 13:35 of what's happening here to Jesus? 13:36 It starts out, says, "Coming out, 13:38 He went to the Mount of Olives," 13:40 I love this, "as He was accustomed, 13:43 His disciples also followed Him. 13:47 When He came to this place, He said to them, 13:50 'Pray that you may not enter into temptation. 13:53 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, 13:57 He knelt down and prayed, saying, 13:59 'Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me, 14:04 nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.' 14:07 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, 14:09 strengthening Him. 14:10 And being in, the word, agony, He prayed more earnestly. 14:16 Then His sweat became like great drops of blood 14:18 falling down to the ground. 14:20 And when He rose up from prayer, 14:22 and had come, oh, boy, 14:24 to see His disciples, 14:25 He found them sleeping from sorrow. 14:28 Then He said to them, 'Why do you sleep? 14:30 Rise and pray, 14:31 lest you enter into temptation.'" 14:35 I think about this, 14:37 the solemn message 14:39 that that should be coming from the pulpit, 14:43 it should be coming from each one of us, 14:45 teachers, whatever it might be, 14:47 because it says a solemn message brings forth, 14:50 you know, an effect 14:53 upon the minds and hearts 14:54 but if, and I'm just saying if, if that's not really happening, 14:58 what effect is it having in our churches, 15:00 what does it happen? 15:01 If that's, this truth that we're talking about here, 15:03 which is real truth about agony. 15:05 It's real truth about great drops as it were, 15:07 great drops of blood. 15:09 It was real truth that said he was in agony. 15:11 Things that most of us 15:13 will probably never even experience, 15:15 we can't experience. 15:16 Has anyone ever agonized more than Jesus? 15:18 No one ever can and ever will. 15:20 He carried the whole world on His shoulders. 15:22 I can't get with this myself. 15:24 It's too heavy. 15:25 I have to turn it over to Jesus Christ. 15:28 But I like the words, as His custom, 15:30 this is what He did. 15:31 And He prayed. 15:33 And He said, "You know what, at the end result, 15:34 not My will but Thine be done knowing before He left heaven, 15:38 before He left heaven, 15:40 He knew everything 15:42 that was going to happen to Him. 15:45 I'm just giving food for thought, okay, 15:46 somebody hasn't read this thing. 15:48 Food for thought is that He knew every insult, 15:51 He knew every pain, He knew every heartache. 15:54 He knew what men would do to Him 15:55 and having been nailed to the cross 15:57 and the pain and the agony, 15:58 but He looked down the stream of time, 15:59 He somebody like you, 16:01 somebody like me, somebody like you. 16:04 And He says, if it's just one, they're worth it. 16:08 I don't know that I've come to that that point, 16:10 I want to come to that point. 16:11 For whoever person I see 16:13 is one that Christ died for and to love them supremely. 16:16 And I don't think we hear the message enough. 16:19 We're not calling forth 16:20 that straight testimony that comes to the point 16:23 to what we're talking about right here, 16:24 that in my heart right now, just it is tears, 16:28 you know, come up, what? 16:29 For the world 16:31 and for what's going on in the world 16:32 and it seems like the world just doesn't care. 16:36 At the time of Christ, they didn't care. 16:38 Basically, most of them what they did to Him. 16:40 And today, you know, the time is coming, 16:42 they don't care what they've done to do to you 16:43 and to the children. 16:45 What we are up against, we need to be anguishing now. 16:48 It's not just hello Lord, goodbye Lord 16:50 when we're praying. 16:51 We need to be, do some soul searching, 16:53 we need to be on our knees 16:54 and we need to pray earnestly at that point, 16:57 you know that song, what is it? 16:58 How long has it been since you knelt by your bed 17:02 and prayed to the Lord up in heaven? 17:05 How long has it been since you knew 17:07 that He care something like you know the song is. 17:09 So my point is how long has it been 17:12 since we've crawled out of the bed as it were 17:14 or we knelt by the bed 17:15 and we prayed till we had a peace. 17:18 Pray till we know 17:19 that we have a relationship with Christ. 17:20 I know why it says, 17:22 if you don't know the word saved, be careful. 17:24 Saving relationship. 17:25 He said, "Get down on your knees 17:27 and pray until you know 17:28 that you have that relationship." 17:30 And when we do that, 17:31 I think the tears are going to come, 17:32 we realized what a mess that we are. 17:35 And we are asleep, we have slept through. 17:38 The devil is stealing the race right now. 17:41 And we're going around like it. 17:44 And I won't gonna say the church all over, 17:45 if I say church, I'm talking all of us here, 17:47 sure is God's people. 17:48 We're going around like it's, 17:50 like it's what they call that happy hour? 17:51 Oh, yeah. 17:53 The half... Yeah. 17:54 And what really, that's what we're here, 17:55 we're happy hour, 17:57 and when you begin to get solemn, 17:58 you begin to get real, 18:00 you begin to approach what, 18:01 the abominations that be done inside outside. 18:03 No one really wants to hear about that. 18:06 And when I start 18:07 hearing these things it brings pain. 18:10 And you're thinking 18:11 when I read some of these things, 18:12 and I'm sure everybody at home done the same thing. 18:14 I read some of the things at home 18:15 and it gets to be so much, 18:18 it begins to be so heavy for my poor little old mind. 18:21 I just can't hardly comprehend it. 18:23 I just say, "Lord, I've got to go take a walk. 18:27 I need to stop for a while because it's just too heavy." 18:31 Yeah, you know, speaking of heaviness, 18:33 you know, you're talking about Jesus and the sins 18:36 that He took on for us in, 18:39 it's really hard to even grasp the magnitude of that 18:41 because think about like, Eve, 18:45 very first person that ever sinned 18:46 all the way to the very end of time, 18:49 every single sin of that one individual, 18:52 and count the number of people from Eve 18:55 that sinned first all the way to the end... 18:57 There's no way to know how many, yeah. 18:58 That's just... 19:00 We don't have any way to understand that 19:02 and the heaviness that we feel just in us, 19:05 I mean... 19:07 And I think it's a great example 19:08 to see that the Son of God, 19:11 who knew no sin, 19:13 you see Him agonizing and anguishing 19:17 over the spiritual battle 19:18 that's taking place in His own heart 19:20 at this moment in Gethsemane. 19:23 And you know, the Bible says 19:24 He often went away privately and He prayed, 19:26 I'm sure this as you said, 19:27 as it said in here in this text, 19:29 that as His, as it was His, 19:31 as He was accustomed, 19:32 you know, He would go away like this privately. 19:34 And I'm sure He agonized often. 19:36 You know, I hear Christians often say, 19:37 and the reason why we bring up this question, 19:40 you know, 19:41 because on the opening part of this statement here, 19:43 you know, she's talking about the agonizing cries, 19:45 those who were pleading with the Lord, 19:47 their countenances were pale and marked with deep anxiety, 19:50 expressive of their internal struggle. 19:52 You know, I know Christians who would read that and go, 19:54 oh, well, then they don't have, 19:56 you know, they are really cocky about it. 19:57 Well, then they don't have a relationship with Jesus 19:59 because I experience nothing but joy, you know. 20:02 And we're not kicking that doubt, 20:04 you should experience joy in the Lord, 20:06 you should have a peace 20:07 that surpasses all understanding. 20:09 I get excited when I'm thinking 20:11 about what Jesus has done for me and you, 20:14 some of you wouldn't even be able to stand 20:15 being in the vehicle with me driving down the road, 20:17 'cause I have all kinds of concerts, 20:19 praising the Lord in my truck 20:21 or in my car driving down the road. 20:22 But nonetheless, there's just those moments 20:25 and which we want to read this here. 20:26 Notice this, speaking of this Gethsemane, 20:29 this is Matthew's version, verse 41 of Matthew 26, 20:32 Jesus again, in Gethsemane there 20:35 after he's been sweating great drops of blood. 20:37 Notice what he says here, "Watch and prey, 20:38 lest you enter into temptation." 20:40 So then something's added here that's not written in Luke. 20:42 "The spirit indeed is willing. 20:45 The spirit's willing, but the flesh is weak. 20:49 There's moments when the spirit is willing, 20:51 but the flesh is weak." 20:54 So is the Christian experience just some easygoing, 20:58 you know, kind of nonchalant, 21:00 you know, sunshine and bumblebees 21:02 and, you know, 21:04 essentially what comes to my mind 21:05 as I was, as we were preparing for this study, 21:09 Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, 21:11 Matthew 7:13 and 14 he says, "Enter the narrow gate, 21:15 for wide is the gate and broad is the way 21:16 that leads to destruction." 21:19 And there are many that go in thereby. 21:20 But notice this next part here. 21:22 Now if you read the King James Version, 21:23 it's going to say, 21:25 "Because narrow is the gate and straight is the way." 21:29 Now that word for straight in the original Greek here 21:33 is the word Phlebo, Phlebo. 21:36 Okay. 21:38 And if you notice in the New King James Version, 21:40 and New King James version 21:41 is just a slightly better translation, 21:43 okay? 21:44 Because it uses the word difficult. 21:46 Oh, boy. 21:47 It says because narrow is the gate 21:49 and difficult is the way. 21:51 Jesus is different, 21:53 that this Christian experience 21:54 is not just some easygoing experience, 21:56 that there's some difficulty there 21:58 and if you read that original word there 22:00 in the Greek Phlebo, 22:01 it means to afflict, suffer tribulation and trouble. 22:06 And so when you go back through this, 22:08 and you read this, we're not, again, 22:09 I want to make it very clear. 22:10 We're not trying to paint the Christian experiences, 22:12 if that's all that it is that just God made it that way 22:15 because I don't think it was God's plan for us 22:17 to go through this. 22:19 It was not God's plan for us to experience this trouble, 22:21 this strife, this tribulation 22:22 and the things that come with it. 22:24 It's this way because there's an enemy. 22:26 There's an enemy. That's right now. 22:28 And we go back to the vision 22:31 that we're reading from the vision 22:32 that we're talking about, 22:34 and you begin to apply it to these scriptures. 22:36 Going back even to Luke 22. 22:38 You know, where Jesus says, 22:39 "Father, if it were your will take this cup from Me." 22:42 Pastor Kenny said he saw everything, 22:44 he could see everything as it really happened. 22:48 We see through a glass starkly. 22:51 We read these things, we read those visions, 22:53 and we think, oh, wow, we're in that time. 22:57 We call ourselves the remnant, the last church, 23:01 you know, a remnant of fabric is the same pattern. 23:04 It's the same teaching as the beginning of that bolt. 23:08 And we're to close out this 23:10 and what the Bible talks about a little time of trouble, 23:12 talks about a great time of trouble 23:14 in Daniel 23:15 that we've never experienced before. 23:17 And then we look at Jesus. 23:19 Is it possible that we made to be anguishing and saying, 23:22 "Lord, take this cup from me?" 23:24 We are beginning to see the differentiation 23:28 between those who are righteous, 23:30 and those who are wicked as never before. 23:33 All you have to do is listen to the news. 23:36 Watch the people, 23:37 watch them take other people's property, 23:40 hammers, 23:42 whatever, they can destroy it, burn it. 23:47 Hitting people with blocks 23:48 with absolutely no morality in their heart, 23:52 no compassion. 23:54 We are seeing the enemy take over the mind. 23:57 Spirit of Prophecy says in the Great Controversy, 23:59 I think it's in the pages 500 somewhere, 24:02 but she talks about as we begin to accept sin 24:06 more and more 24:07 and look at the laws that we've passed. 24:10 Look at the babies we're killing, unborn babies. 24:13 They're not zygotes. 24:15 They're not blobs of cells, which they're made of cells, 24:19 but they're the little heart right away. 24:21 I remember the first sonogram 24:23 because, you know, they started out early 24:25 and they were just black and white 24:27 and you know, hard to see. 24:28 Six weeks old, you could see little limbs moving. 24:32 I'm like, "How in the world do they think 24:34 that could be a frog?" 24:35 Well, you see what I'm saying, those are babies. 24:37 Yes. 24:39 Those are babies. Those are lives. 24:41 But as we continue to accept sin 24:43 and make it bring it even into the church, 24:47 we're bringing it into the church. 24:49 We're baptizing it. 24:52 We're becoming desensitized to sin. 24:54 Exactly. 24:55 Kind of like Lot did 24:57 when he was in Sodom and Gomorrah. 24:59 Well, then the longer him and his family 25:01 stayed in Sodom and Gomorrah, 25:03 they became desensitized to the sin of the world. 25:07 And that's what's happening even in the church today. 25:09 And I think God in His great wisdom 25:12 and in His great foresight, 25:14 that's why He's allowing this. 25:16 In fact, there's a quote that I read, 25:18 I read so much the last few days, 25:19 I think it says, 25:21 Oh, well, you know, right at the end, 25:22 right before it's part of this quote 25:24 in the longer version. 25:25 It says, right at the end, 25:26 you know, there was this big mighty angel 25:28 and he wanted to step in and help God's people 25:30 and He said, "Woah, wait a minute, 25:32 you know, it's not all finished yet. 25:33 There's still more." 25:35 Because He's allowing us to become sensitize. 25:38 This agony sensitizes our heart. 25:41 It actually brings about that love, 25:44 it brings about complete faith. 25:47 It helps us to see that we are worthless, 25:50 that we have no power within us. 25:52 And as we're choosing sin, 25:54 as we're talking about this compromise 25:56 within the church, within our hearts, 25:58 within our lives, 25:59 God is loosening those four winds of strife. 26:03 That's right. 26:04 And as he loosens, 26:05 and He takes His protection away, 26:07 not that He wants to, we're pushing Him out. 26:10 You know, I remember reading this 26:11 a few years ago, 26:13 and thinking when some of these laws 26:14 were being passed, 26:15 I thought I knew this time of trouble is coming. 26:17 I didn't realize we're going to ask for it 26:18 the way we are. 26:20 We were pushing Him out. 26:21 And so, He's allowing the enemy to come in 26:25 and take hold. 26:27 So that's what we're seeing. 26:28 And we're going to have more and more anguish. 26:30 It's powerful to consider 26:31 because we're asking that question, 26:33 is there a struggle? 26:35 Is it seem like sometimes we have to anguish 26:37 as it seemed like sometimes we have to agonize 26:39 in this Christian walk 26:41 with the Lord, is that normal? 26:43 Of course it is. 26:44 In fact, you know, if we just took 26:45 a glimpse at the cross. 26:47 Yes. 26:48 You know, we talked about the closing scenes, 26:50 you know, Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. 26:52 But if you just take a look at the cross, 26:54 I mean, you can see the agony and the pain of sin 26:57 right there in Jesus. 26:59 In fact, and then when you realize, 27:01 notice this, this is coming from Zechariah 12:10, 27:06 this is a prophecy. 27:07 He says, "I will pour out on the house of David 27:09 and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem 27:10 the Spirit of grace and of supplication." 27:13 How did he do that? 27:14 Through the cross. 27:15 And notice this, 27:17 "Then they will look on Me whom they pierced." 27:21 You see, I pierced Jesus. 27:23 You pierced Jesus. 27:25 Your sins have nailed Jesus to the cross, 27:29 which is why Jesus says in the Beatitudes, 27:32 it starts with what? 27:33 Blessed are those who? 27:35 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 27:37 And then the second one is blessed are those who mourn. 27:41 Notice this, he says, 27:43 "They will look upon me whom they have pierced 27:44 and yes, they will mourn for him 27:46 as one mourns for his only son, 27:48 and grieve for him 27:50 as one who grieves for a firstborn." 27:52 Why? Why? 27:55 Because when you understand the consequences of sin, 27:59 when you understand the penalty of sin, 28:01 it brings you to a mourning agonizing state 28:04 where you're just like Lord. 28:07 In fact, I think it's Mrs. White 28:08 who says that in one part of her writing, 28:09 she says, "Lord, take my heart 28:12 in which I cannot give." 28:14 You're pleading with the Lord, take what I cannot give. 28:17 And so it is biblical, right? 28:19 It is biblical for us to know 28:22 that sometimes 28:23 we're going to reach those points, 28:25 just as it seems 28:26 the people of the Lord here are, 28:27 they're reaching those points 28:29 where they're agonizing, they're pleading. 28:30 It seems like there's a heavy burden 28:33 laid up on them. 28:34 There was a couple of texts that came to my mind here. 28:36 Notice just a few here that come to my mind. 28:38 Luke 9:23. 28:39 Notice how Jesus describes following Him. 28:41 He says, "If anyone desires to come after Me, 28:44 let him deny himself." 28:45 And then notice the second part. 28:47 Take up your cross, how often? 28:50 Take up your instrument of death. 28:54 Right? 28:55 If that's not agonizing and anguishing, 28:56 I don't know what is. 28:58 You know, hey, pick up your cross 28:59 and then you can follow Me. 29:01 That's powerful. 29:02 Matthew chapter, I've referenced this already, 29:04 the Beatitudes, but notice this, 29:05 notice four of the few Beatitudes 29:08 that we have on in this particular chapter, 29:10 Chapter 5 verses 3, 4, 6 and 10. 29:12 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 29:14 Blessed are you when you hit rock bottom 29:15 and realize your spiritual depravity. 29:18 Blessed are those who mourn, there it is again, 29:20 for they shall be comforted, that's a mourning process. 29:23 Notice verse 6 here. 29:24 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness." 29:28 You're hungering and thirsting for righteousness. 29:29 Have you ever truly hungered and thirst? 29:31 I mean, it's an agonizing experience, 29:33 man, you want to be filled, right? 29:35 And then the last one there, 29:36 "Blessed are those who are persecuted 29:38 for righteousness sake, 29:40 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 29:41 That's a powerful thing 29:42 to consider that this process of this, 29:46 this process of sanctification, 29:48 this process of journeying through our faith 29:50 with the Lord, 29:51 it's no, it's, as Jesus said, it's difficult. 29:56 But there's hope 29:57 and we're going to get to the hope part, 29:58 there's anguish, we're getting to the hope part. 30:00 Don't you think too, 30:01 that this is easier to understand 30:03 once you've been there? 30:05 You know, blessed are those who mourn 30:07 for they shall be comforted. 30:08 I think we can all relate to mourning. 30:10 Yes, absolutely. 30:12 You know and how many times 30:13 we have prayed and prayed and prayed 30:15 you know sometimes we see 30:16 and I've seen 30:17 those who should be dead raised 30:20 and then others who are not. 30:22 We are praying God's will. 30:24 But what blessed promises 30:26 He says you're going to go through these things, 30:29 but you're going to come out better on the other side. 30:32 You know, we mentioned, 30:33 the Bible mentions about Him being the potter, 30:35 we're the clay. 30:36 You know that clay needs to be folded, 30:39 it needs to be shaped 30:40 but in order to get that beautiful sheen 30:42 and to harden it, 30:44 to make it steadfast for the purpose of use. 30:48 It has to go through a fiery furnace, 30:50 it has to be burned. 30:52 You know, when we were talking about Jesus, 30:54 I can see take this cup from me how, 30:58 if I just get a paper cut, oh my, it hurts. 31:02 Of course. 31:03 I'm like, how in this world, 31:06 you know, but we're talking about piercing. 31:09 Piercing, stabbed, 31:11 you know, beaten beyond recognition and killed. 31:16 I have trouble over an animal being killed. 31:19 I, sometime I'll be honest, 31:21 I have trouble even killing insects. 31:22 I don't want them in my home. 31:24 I'll do it. 31:25 But I mean, you know, it's to me, it's like, 31:27 God looking down at us, we look like an ant, 31:30 you know, you know. 31:32 And so I'm looking forward to a time 31:37 where there is no more death, there is no more sorrow, 31:39 there is no more mourning. 31:41 But right now, we go through this 31:43 because God is molding and making us 31:46 into that beautiful piece of fine china. 31:48 I love it. 31:50 That just makes me think of 31:51 also when we are reading these Beatitudes 31:53 in Matthew 5:3 there, 31:57 the poor in spirit is in like 31:59 you're saying the sanctification process is, 32:02 when we're poor in spirit, 32:03 then we realize our need, 32:05 because otherwise they can't start. 32:07 You know, He can't start working in our hearts 32:09 until we are ready for Him to. 32:11 And that is that first step to turn towards Him 32:15 and realize that we do need Him because otherwise it's all... 32:19 It starts with anguish, it starts with agony. 32:22 It does. 32:23 Starts with a mourning process. 32:24 The word I look up anguish. 32:26 Because there's one, you think you've got, you know, 32:28 and probably most people understand English 32:30 and some of the definitions we're calling, tightness, 32:36 we say tightness sometimes, 32:38 you know, you have a tightness 32:39 when you try to follow Jesus, 32:41 you know, and that great mental 32:43 or even physical pain, 32:47 agony and to feel pain. 32:51 This is agony. 32:52 This is just talking about anguish here. 32:54 And when you read that passage in Luke 9:23, 32:58 I think about every time, and probably say it every time, 33:01 but it's just, it's almost like it's new. 33:02 And I need it every day because it says, 33:04 "If anyone desires to come after Me, " 33:07 first of all He said to me, first of all Kenny, deny self. 33:12 That's right. 33:13 So victory has to be gained over self 33:16 because if victory is not gained over self, 33:18 I am not about to take up that cross. 33:21 If self is paramount, 33:22 self is living and reigning and not Christ, 33:25 I'm not going to pick up any cross, why would I? 33:27 It's only after self has died, right, 33:29 and Christ reigns where He should be. 33:31 And then I'll follow Him gladly. 33:33 I'm not going to follow Him 33:35 until I get my life right with Him. 33:36 I noticed the disciples 33:38 in that first verses you gave there in Luke 22. 33:39 We talked about, 33:41 it says that He went to the Mount of Olives 33:42 as His custom was, notice this, 33:44 and the disciples followed. 33:46 Right. 33:47 But did they really, were there at that point 33:49 really denying their self in Israel, 33:51 and that they were fighting. 33:52 So to the point that possibly we can be 33:55 following, 33:56 but we're not a real follower. 33:59 We've not made that decision. 34:00 We can sit in the pews, 34:01 we can have our names on the books. 34:03 You know, I like that name on the book is wonderful. 34:06 But I want to make sure my name is written 34:07 in the Lamb's book of life. 34:08 There's too much emphasis in my opinion 34:10 is to put on as my name 34:12 written on some earthly book here. 34:13 I said you might as well go to school's row count 34:15 so far I'm concerned, know you're there. 34:17 There is nothing wrong with that. 34:18 But I'm simply saying my concern is 34:20 and I think if there, we got children, 34:22 our family or friends, 34:23 everybody I look at is right here. 34:24 Where is your name? 34:26 And we saw the guy in... 34:28 Wasn't it in Huntsville shot 34:31 before our very eyes at Walmart. 34:33 They came by, 34:35 we would have been about in the spot 34:36 if the Lord hadn't changed things 34:38 around the couple of calls 34:40 one from my brother and different ones. 34:41 We're just getting rain spots. 34:42 Somebody took that spot 34:44 and we had to go around and came back. 34:45 And all suddenly we hear, boom, boom, 34:46 you know, we're just getting out 34:48 and we looked at not very far right from us right there. 34:51 Some guy had got out of the vehicle, 34:53 and he walked up to the guy 34:54 because supposedly 34:55 with his girlfriend or something, 34:57 he takes exactly the gun 34:58 right into his chest and pull it. 35:00 The man, there was no blood, I couldn't see, 35:01 anywhere there was nothing he fell straight on his face. 35:04 Well, we didn't run away from that, 35:06 we ran over to that, 35:08 you know, and then 35:09 when he's getting ready to leave 35:10 he turned around, he shot his girlfriend 35:12 got her in the neck through here, 35:13 didn't kill her, 35:14 blood were going every which way. 35:16 But you look at these things that take place 35:18 and it can take place anytime, right? 35:21 Going to Walmart this can take place. 35:22 Right. 35:24 You know are we anguishing 35:25 as our soul that we're looking at all these people? 35:27 The first thing that Chris and I did, 35:29 doesn't make you good doesn't make you right. 35:30 We looked at that, 35:32 and somebody ran over and I said, 35:33 What about him? 35:35 I looked and looked at him and I said he's dead. 35:37 Just like that, 35:38 the life was snuffed out of him and almost the girlfriend. 35:42 We looked down and I'm thinking right then, 35:43 that's a soul for the kingdom of God. 35:45 Was he, first thing went through my mind, 35:47 was he right, was he right with God before he died? 35:50 Probably 30-35, won't you think? 35:52 And Chris and I right then and we have season of prayer, 35:55 not for him but for the family. 35:57 And this somehow this would help somewhere 35:58 along the way that would encourage somebody 36:00 to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. 36:02 Very intense moment. 36:03 It's tense moments, I'd say it's time of anguish. 36:05 And the first thing is, are we right with God 36:07 because this could happen to anybody? 36:09 Absolutely. 36:11 You know, Paul describes the Christian experience 36:14 in 2 Timothy 4:7 as a fight. 36:19 He says, "I have fought the good fight." 36:22 All right. 36:23 Notice how he didn't say, 36:24 "I fought this treacherous fight." 36:27 It may seem treacherous. 36:28 But he says, "I've fought the good fight. 36:30 I have finished the race. 36:31 I have kept the faith." 36:34 You know, Jesus says in Revelation 3:21. 36:36 Here he says, to those who overcome, 36:39 it's a process, right, you know, your... 36:42 It seems like sometimes we're white knuckling our self 36:45 through this thing, right? 36:46 Yeah. 36:48 When you mentioned Paul 36:49 and I was thinking earlier of Romans 7, 36:51 I can totally relate to that so much, 36:53 you know that Christians struggle, 36:55 you know, 36:56 I do what I don't want to do 36:57 and I don't want to do what I do. 37:01 It looks like it is a struggle, 37:02 it's like the flesh and the spirit 37:03 are always at war. 37:05 Absolutely. 37:06 And the question would be 37:07 that I want to kind of launch us into now 37:09 because I know this is, we'll have is a part four, 37:11 that's going to happen. 37:13 But why does it seem like the struggle exists, 37:15 not because, 37:17 not because God wants it to be that way. 37:21 But as I said earlier, because of the enemy. 37:24 Let's go back to our reading here. 37:25 Notice this, 37:26 evil angels crowded around them, 37:30 pressing their darkness upon them 37:32 to shut out Jesus from their view, 37:34 that their eyes might be drawn to the darkness 37:36 that surrounded them, 37:38 and they distrust God 37:39 and next murmur against Him. 37:42 Their only safety 37:44 was in keeping their eyes directed upward. 37:47 Angels of God had charged over His people, 37:49 and as the poisonous atmosphere from the evil angels 37:52 were pressed around these anxious ones. 37:55 There they are. 37:56 The heavenly angels 37:58 were continually wafting their wings over them 38:00 to scatter the thick darkness. 38:01 Why are they anxious? 38:03 Because of the presence of the evil angels. 38:06 So this brings my question number two 38:08 and kind of, we're going to divert ourselves 38:10 into this part now. 38:12 Notice the presence of the evil angels 38:14 in the passage above that we just talked about. 38:15 Do we really find ourselves 38:18 in the middle of a Great Controversy battle 38:20 of spiritual warfare? 38:22 If so, does the Bible gives us any examples? 38:24 And how does it, 38:26 you know, what does this mean 38:27 for Christians living in the last days? 38:29 Is there, are we still engaged 38:30 in a spiritual battle of spiritual warfare? 38:33 And do we find ourselves 38:34 caught up in the middle 38:36 of this Great Controversy battle? 38:38 I believe so with all my heart, 38:39 it's not getting better. 38:41 It's getting worse. That's right. 38:42 You know, things that you see 38:44 taking place in the world today. 38:46 I mean, I'm not trying to be judgmental about it. 38:48 But I'm saying these people were faced with demons. 38:50 These are not human being, 38:52 these are minds in human beings, 38:53 their minds been taken over by the enemy. 38:55 Because mine was the mind of Christ. 38:57 How could we possibly do that to Him? 38:59 How we possibly react and do this thing? 39:02 You can't if our mind is on Christ. 39:04 Thank God for those heavenly angels, 39:06 wafting their wings and spreading back and keeping. 39:09 Thank God for the Holy Spirit, 39:10 I'm talking about hold back the winds of strife 39:12 till I seal my servants in their forehead. 39:15 I mean, this is a battle I call Battle Royale. 39:17 It's life and death issue. 39:19 It's not going to pin you and win a trophy. 39:21 It's life and death. 39:22 You're going to come out at eternal life 39:24 or you're going to come out at death. 39:25 We're not going, 39:26 heaven's not going to be our home. 39:28 So I thought about I'm not going to 39:29 some may go into a little bit more. 39:31 When you talk about spiritual warfare, 39:32 you have to think of Ephesians 6, 39:34 ain't that right? 39:36 I'm not going through all those things. 39:37 Somebody else may want to do that, 39:38 but I like Ephesians 6:30. 39:40 I mean, I loved it all. 39:42 I thought about just for brevity sake 39:44 having done all to stand. 39:48 That to me, those are the key words. 39:51 Have I done by the grace of God? 39:54 My very best all to stand 39:57 and we'll see how that goes 39:58 maybe just a minute talk about it. 40:00 But that song that says, I wonder, 40:02 have I done my best for Jesus 40:05 when He has done so much for me. 40:07 So every day in my life, 40:08 "I wonder, have I done my best." 40:09 And most certainly, 40:11 when I look back and recap the day, 40:13 I fail miserably. 40:14 You know, you can just see, yeah, 40:16 they weren't maybe just out now just go do and be ugly. 40:18 It's just, it just wasn't the kind of spirit 40:21 that maybe you wanted 40:23 or maybe it was a judgmental spirit. 40:25 Maybe it was a condemning spirit. 40:27 You know, so easy to talk about one another 40:29 and to gossip and backbite, but that's not Christ like. 40:33 We cannot have that kind of spirit. 40:35 Having done all, 40:36 so I pray Lord everyday help me to have done 40:38 all to stand which includes preparation. 40:41 Isaiah 40:3 simply says, "Prepare the way of the Lord." 40:46 We need to be preparing for the way of the Lord, 40:48 prepare the way of the people, Isaiah 62:10 quickly. 40:51 Amos 4:12. 40:53 He said, "Prepare to meet thy God." 40:56 For preparation spiritual warfare, 40:58 there has to be in here trusting in God never, 41:01 notice this, deprives a person, 41:03 the privilege of exerting 41:04 his own God given powers to the fullest. 41:07 You know, we think turning our life over Him, 41:09 God still is working to battle. 41:11 The bottom line was without God 41:13 and without the armor, without His power, 41:15 we're all going to be losers. 41:17 But with Him, the divinity and humanity, 41:19 putting on the whole armor of God, 41:21 we're more than conquerors through Christ, right? 41:23 That encourages me, 41:25 when I see looking in the mirror, 41:26 I see a failure. 41:27 I need to quit looking and seeing me, 41:29 I need to look in the mirror and see Christ Jesus 41:32 of what He's capable of doing through me 41:34 if I simply just submit 41:36 because there is a warfare and the devil says, 41:38 "I'm going to get him. I'm going to get her." 41:41 Right? 41:43 I mean, he's bound determined, I'm going to, perhaps say, 41:45 I'm going to kill them if I can. 41:47 I'll try to get rid of them in sin. 41:49 I'm going to try to get rid of them 41:50 when they strayed a little away from God. 41:52 Praise God for those holy angels. 41:54 God says certainly, 41:56 devil, you may go this far but you don't go any farther. 41:58 Isn't that wonderful to know that? 42:00 God's giving me 42:01 maybe you just another chance to make it right 42:05 and my conversion God said, "Kenny, 42:07 you need to get it right this time." 42:09 I've never forgotten that, 42:10 you need to get it right this time. 42:11 Why? 42:13 Because we don't have, 42:14 we don't know how many more chances 42:16 we're going to have 42:17 and who wants to bank on that? 42:18 I'm banking on the spiritual warfare. 42:20 He's going to fight my battles for me. 42:21 That's right, brother. 42:22 Let me give reference Ephesians 6, 42:24 I just want to read verse 12, 42:25 'cause we're talking about this spiritual warfare, 42:28 you know, these Christians 42:30 that were mentioned in this particular passage, 42:32 we read from Mrs. White's Volume 42:33 for the First Testimonies, 42:35 you know, they're agonizing, they're crying. 42:36 Why? 42:37 Because of the atmosphere of these evil angels. 42:39 Yes. 42:40 And notice what Ephesians 6:12, we read it many times, 42:42 but it confirms that we are engaged 42:44 in a spiritual battle, spiritual war there. 42:47 And notice what it says, Ephesians 6:12, 42:49 "For we do not," 42:51 what's the word there? 42:52 Wrestle. Wrestle. 42:54 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, 42:57 but against principalities, against powers, 42:59 against the rulers of the darkness of this age." 43:02 Didn't she talk about the darkness 43:04 they were trying to waft, 43:05 you know, to create the dark atmosphere. 43:07 She says we do not wrestle against flesh and blood 43:09 but against principalities, against powers, 43:11 against the rulers of the darkness of this age, 43:13 against spiritual host of wickedness 43:16 in the heavenly places. 43:18 You may not be able to see them, 43:19 but they're there. 43:21 And if you have, if you feel like that as Christian, 43:23 my friends, I just want to make an appeal right now. 43:25 I feel I'll make it. 43:26 There may be someone watching right now that says, 43:27 you know what? 43:29 I'm struggling in my walk with God. 43:30 You know what? 43:31 The struggle means 43:33 that they're still sign of life in you. 43:36 The fact that you're struggling is a good sign, okay. 43:40 It's not God's plan for you to struggle. 43:42 It's not like the Lord's up there going, 43:43 okay, you must go through this. 43:45 It's not like He wants you to go through this, 43:47 but the enemy is warring for your soul. 43:50 And the fact that you're just trying to keep 43:51 your head above water 43:53 means that there's still sign of hope, 43:54 there's still sign of life in you 43:57 that the Lord is still warring for your soul. 43:59 And the evil angels may be trying to snuff out 44:02 all of the spiritual life 44:03 that they can from you but don't, 44:05 do not lose hope. 44:06 As Paul said, he fought the fight, 44:08 he ran the course, he finished the race, 44:10 he kept the faith, right? 44:11 You need to persevere. 44:13 Those who persevere to the end shall be saved. 44:15 So spiritual warfare. 44:17 I'm sure you've experienced it. 44:18 Oh, yeah, every day, some more than others. 44:21 But, you know, in this study, 44:25 as I was going through this lesson last night, 44:27 I was like, wow, you know, we have references 44:31 in Genesis and in Revelation about this warfare, 44:36 the one in Revelation tells us how it began 44:38 for like Revelation 12 44:40 tells us about the war in heaven, 44:42 how it started. 44:43 And then in Genesis 3:15, 44:47 God put enmity between the serpent 44:52 and the woman seed, 44:53 and that's like separation, 44:57 you know, and that's, I mean, 44:59 not that's when it began 45:01 but that's when he enacted that, 45:03 you know, and he, 45:04 he caused that enmity 45:05 and without the enmity we wouldn't have, 45:08 we wouldn't know the difference between good and evil. 45:11 And I think that's powerful. 45:12 He drew the line of demarcation. 45:15 There's this side, there's this side. 45:16 Which side are you going to choose? 45:18 That's right, amen. 45:19 You know, since we've been in this battle, 45:21 this Great Controversy, 45:23 which we know started in heaven, 45:24 we've been in it ever since Adam and Eve 45:27 fell to the temptation of the enemy. 45:30 But this, again, I want to bring back 45:33 that a lot of what we're reading 45:34 is not about those people because we are those people. 45:41 Even in our messages, I mean, when you are going someplace, 45:44 there's been times 45:45 I wish I had a camera all the time, 45:47 you know how these people go, what are those, GoPro's, 45:50 you know, 45:51 because when something good is about to happen, 45:54 the enemy tries everything to stop 45:56 and I know there's been times 45:57 that he would have taken our life 45:59 if God hadn't stepped in. 46:00 And that's what we find here in this vision too, 46:03 because she says, "Thy will O God, " 46:06 these are the people crying out. 46:08 As I said, is it possible 46:09 that we would say take this cup from me? 46:12 She goes on to say, "Thy will O God be done. 46:14 If it can glorify thy name 46:16 make a way of escape for thy people, 46:19 deliver us from the heathen round about us." 46:21 Put yourself in some of these riots. 46:26 That's the enemy, put yourself right here. 46:31 Put yourself, 46:32 they have appointed us unto death. 46:34 Now, this is the death penalty. 46:37 This is the last call. 46:39 But dying arm can bring salvation. 46:42 Yet like Jacob, 46:43 everyone without exception with earnestly, 46:46 was earnestly pleading and wrestling for deliverance. 46:49 The first question, if you feel like you're saved, 46:52 should you be earnestly pleading 46:53 and should you have this anguish? 46:55 We're never going to rest like Jacob. 46:57 I'm not going to let you go until You bless me. 47:00 You know, in fact, down here it says 47:02 Jacob's night of anguish 47:04 when he wrestled in prayer 47:06 for the deliverance of the hand of Esau 47:08 represents the experience of God's people 47:11 in the time of trouble, Jacob's company. 47:13 I like this, I don't like this part, 47:15 but this is so applicable to us, 47:17 unarmed and defenseless. 47:20 Unarmed and defenseless. 47:22 Seemed about to fall 47:24 helpless victims of violence and slaughter. 47:27 Brothers and sisters, we are there. 47:30 People are experiencing this already. 47:32 But it's going to be amplified. 47:34 We go back up to this first quote here. 47:38 Because this is the one I said, I may be reading later. 47:40 I believe if I get there, 47:42 it says soon after they had commenced 47:44 their earnest cry, 47:46 the angels in sympathy. 47:47 And they praise God for those angels. 47:50 Oh, I love those angels. 47:53 Would have gone to their deliverance, 47:56 but a tall, commanding angel suffered them not. 47:59 He said, 48:00 "The will of God has not yet fulfilled. 48:04 They must drink of the cup. 48:07 They must be baptized with the baptism." 48:11 Which brings us to Matthew 20:22. 48:15 "But Jesus answered and said to the mother, 48:18 " the son of Zebedee's, two boys, John and James, 48:23 "Know ye not what you ask," 48:25 'Cause she wanted them to sit on the right 48:26 and the left hand of Jesus. 48:28 "Are you able to drink the cup that I shall drink 48:32 and be baptized with the baptism 48:34 that I am baptized with? 48:37 And they just quickly said, "We are able." 48:39 You see, there again, the angel saying, Oh, hold on. 48:44 They've got to drink the cup that Christ drank. 48:47 They've got to be baptized with the baptism 48:49 that Christ was baptized. 48:51 We cannot do that, 48:53 except we be filled with the complete latte rain, 48:58 the complete spirit of God 49:02 to take us through that time. 49:03 It truly is a daily struggle. Amen. 49:05 And sometimes we can even convince ourselves 49:07 that because I'm a Christian, I'm untouchable. 49:12 Because I'm following Jesus, I'm untouchable. 49:15 The devil can't have me. 49:16 I'm always reminded of this text. 49:18 And it always fascinates me 49:20 because Jesus chose the 12 apostles. 49:22 Wanna you keep this in mind, my friends. 49:24 Jesus chose Peter, He chose John. 49:29 These were the men that He knew would lead out 49:32 and be the leaders of this movement 49:34 that would take the gospel to the world 49:35 and turn this world right side up. 49:38 I'm going to say not sit upside down, 49:40 but right side up. 49:42 But what's amazing is Luke 22. 49:44 This would have been 49:45 at the latter part of Jesus' ministry. 49:47 I mean we're talking about probably a week or two before 49:50 or weeks before at least Christ was crucified. 49:53 We're in the latter portions of His ministry, 49:55 and then notice what He says to Peter 49:57 where we have to be reminded, 49:58 and who were talking about spiritual warfare, 50:00 this is a clear indication 50:02 that that spiritual warfare clearly exists. 50:04 Yes. 50:06 Luke 22:31 and 32. 50:07 Jesus says to him, 50:09 "And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! 50:11 Behold, Satan has desire to have you, 50:17 that he may sift you as wheat." 50:20 Listen to this... 50:21 But notice this, this is powerful. 50:23 "But I have prayed for them." 50:25 Amen. 50:26 This is King James Version. 50:28 I like the King James Version better than this one. 50:29 "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: 50:36 and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." 50:40 My friends, are you getting this? 50:42 Don't miss this 50:43 and you guys can chime in on this one. 50:45 This brother wasn't even converted yet. 50:47 He didn't walk 50:49 three and a half years with Jesus, 50:50 and he's still not converted. 50:52 Does that speak to the grace of God? 50:53 Yes, it does. 50:55 And what's amazing, here's what amazing, 50:56 you're going to get out of this 50:57 also is that the devil wanted him 51:01 in his unconverted state, 51:04 but Jesus wouldn't let him have him. 51:07 If there's hope for me 51:08 and you might be at home right now saying, 51:10 You know what? 51:11 I feel dreadful. I feel horrible. 51:12 I don't feel like I know Christ. 51:14 But guess what? 51:15 Jesus has probably prayed for you. 51:18 He's probably prayed that your faith doesn't fail 51:21 and that the devil 51:22 has probably asked him several times, 51:24 "Hey, can I have Kenny? 51:25 Just let me have Kenny. 51:27 Can I have Janelle? 51:28 Let me have Janelle. 51:29 I want to sift all of that as much as I can." 51:31 And Jesus said, "You can't have them," 51:33 because maybe not be converted yet 51:35 and I'm not saying that's the case. 51:36 I'm just saying there may be someone at home 51:37 says I'm not feeling converted. 51:39 It's powerful to know 51:40 that even in our unconverted state, okay. 51:43 Now this isn't, 51:45 I'm not trying to promote the fact that, 51:46 you know, we should remain in that unconverted state. 51:48 No, no, no, we want to be converted 51:50 after preacher. 51:52 That's okay. Come on, Ken. 51:55 You know, we're not promoting the fact 51:56 that we should remain in our unconverted state 51:58 because obviously we know 52:00 sanctification is the work of a lifetime. 52:02 But it's powerful to know 52:04 that in Peter's unconverted state, 52:06 Jesus protected him. 52:08 That's the God we serve. 52:10 The devil wants to kill you. 52:11 He wants to ruin your life, 52:13 he wants to pour you out 52:14 like a drink offering and just destroy your life. 52:17 But Jesus is there going, no, not yet. 52:19 Just like Zachariah 3, the angel of the Lord. 52:22 I mean, can you imagine? Just think about it. 52:23 To me, the King of the universe said, 52:27 you can't have her, you can't have him. 52:30 He still sits on the throne, He's still in charge. 52:32 But the thing that gives me goosebumps, 52:34 to think about when all this is going on, 52:36 because His eye and His mind is ever mindful. 52:39 You know, His eyes on the sparrow, 52:40 and it's on you and it's on me. 52:42 Nothing takes place unless this, 52:43 you know, passes for the Father first. 52:45 That's so beautiful, but to say 52:47 because, I mean, 52:49 there were times probably all of our life. 52:51 If God had just said, 52:52 Well, enemy do what you want with him 52:53 and take it while we were in sin. 52:55 Heaven would not be our home and God knew that, 52:57 we also knew the end result of everything He lay out there, 53:00 choices you would make, choices I would make 53:02 before then and God said not yet, not yet. 53:06 And so it's like, 53:07 I always said in the Garden of Eden, 53:08 he put the devil down there 53:10 and he told him to get up in the tree, 53:11 in that one tree and you stay in that one tree. 53:13 It's powerful to think... 53:15 Think about, you stay in that one place you go. 53:17 Yeah. That's amazing. 53:18 It shows how controlled God is, ain't it right? 53:20 And he got up there and stayed. 53:22 He absolutely. Absolutely. 53:24 It's powerful to think that Peter you know, 53:27 in connection to what we've read here, 53:30 the evil angels trying to choke Peter out 53:33 with their darkness but remember it says that, 53:35 but for where the evil angels were in their darkness, 53:38 God had good angels there wafting their wings... 53:42 They only had to do was waft. 53:44 Isn't it interesting 53:45 because this is much more intense. 53:48 It's much more intense. 53:49 So I mean, they're wafting their wings. 53:51 They're scattering it back, but it keeps coming, 53:53 it keeps coming. 53:54 So we see that the battle is intense. 53:56 We know not all the weapons that they use, 53:58 but wow, how intense. 54:00 And I think 54:01 this is a good example for us too 54:03 that we need to be in prayer. 54:04 We need to be in prayer not only for our own salvation, 54:07 but for those that we love. 54:08 You know, years ago, he did a message 54:11 called who is my brother? 54:12 You know, we like to think, 54:13 oh, it's the person sitting next to us in church. 54:15 It's not, it's everybody. 54:18 Should we not be praying for the salvation of souls? 54:21 Should we not be praying? 54:23 I mean, I can remember watching the news 54:24 and seeing this boy, 54:25 I mean, he was like 9-12 years old, 54:27 and he's standing there 54:28 with this bewildered look on his face 54:30 as men and women are going in 54:33 and they're coming out with stuff 54:34 and they're tearing stuff up. 54:36 And he's looking, I'm thinking, God help that child. 54:40 I had to pray because I thought, 54:41 where's his parents? 54:43 Get him out of there. 54:44 Get him out of there. 54:46 But that's what we need to be doing. 54:47 Get him out of there. 54:49 Get her out of there. 54:50 Help us, Lord, claim these Bible promises, 54:53 be, put the hand to the plow and be diligent. 54:57 Don't turn back. 54:58 I just wanted to add to that verse 55:00 that we read there 55:02 that you were talking about with Peter, 55:04 the second part of that verse, when he's converted, 55:07 like you're saying, strengthen your brethren. 55:10 You know, that's for all of us too is, 55:13 you know, we can't just keep this 55:14 to ourselves. 55:15 Strengthen the brothers and sisters around us 55:17 and then share it in 55:19 and you know, that's the conversion is 55:21 for other people too. 55:22 That's right. 55:23 We have about two minutes left here. 55:25 Man our times, pray for that. 55:27 We need to pray for that. 55:28 So let's get some final thoughts here 55:29 as we have a couple of minutes left. 55:31 Brother Kenny, 55:32 we'll just go around the table here, 55:33 before we close here. 55:35 You know, we are in that spiritual warfare. 55:36 We need to be sighing and crying 55:37 for the abominations that be done. 55:39 We need to be sighing and crying, 55:40 you know, asking God for to send the Holy Spirit, 55:42 the latter rain so we can go through this time of troubles 55:44 going right now. 55:45 And will continue to get worse to the big time of trouble. 55:47 If we're not doing, we're not praying, 55:49 we're not trying praying for our children, 55:50 our grandchildren, our family 55:51 getting this message to the world. 55:53 I think we're going to die in the Christless grave. 55:55 God have mercy on our souls. 55:56 That's right. Sister Chris. 55:58 You know, our world is quickly changing. 55:59 We rely on these electronics. 56:01 You see my Bible, my, everything is on here. 56:04 But Jesus says, to put these things 56:06 into your heart and into your mind 56:08 that we sin not against Him. 56:10 You know, we are coming to a time 56:12 where this is ramping up, 56:14 and we've got to hold on to Him. 56:15 We've got to get ready, get ready, get ready 56:18 as never before, 56:19 because we're going to be like these people. 56:22 We are these people, we're helpless. 56:24 And I praise God for His love. 56:27 I praise Him for those angels. 56:29 I used to think, boy, I would want, 56:31 you know, the Navy seals around me. 56:33 No, I want God's angels. 56:35 So I'm thankful, you know, midway. 56:38 I just would focus on, personally, 56:41 I've been thinking more and more about 56:42 how it's a privilege 56:44 that we know about spiritual warfare, 56:47 because in this Great Controversy, 56:49 if we didn't know what the Bible says 56:50 about spiritual warfare, we would be... 56:53 We would have no clue. 56:55 But I'm just thankful that God shows us the answers 56:58 and we know that we're in a battle, 57:00 and that He's going to win. 57:01 But we have to, we're soldiers in this battle. 57:04 We need to know, we need to know when He says. 57:07 Praise the Lord. Hey, we've come to the end. 57:10 But it's not the end because this is part three. 57:13 We're going to have a part four for sure, 57:15 we're going to tie this up. 57:16 You notice that these programs often rotate 57:18 from month to month. 57:19 So it may be a little while but keep watching. 57:21 Tune in. 57:22 We're going to have a part four. 57:24 We're in a war, but praise God, we have a King, 57:26 a King of kings and Lord of lords 57:28 to fight our battles for us. 57:30 Thank you for joining us today. 57:31 Have a blessed day. 57:32 Until next time, God bless you. 57:34 Amen. |
Revised 2020-08-28