Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW200039S
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today Family Worship. 01:12 We're so glad that you've joined us. 01:14 I tell you, I love this time of year. 01:16 It's the Christmas season and, of course, 01:18 we know that Jesus wasn't born on December 25th. 01:22 But what a great opportunity we have as Christians, 01:25 and as Seventh-day Adventists, of course, 01:26 to be able to share about Jesus, 01:28 and about His birth, 01:29 and why He came here to die for us. 01:32 And what a great time to be able to share 01:35 the love of God to other people 'cause this time of year too, 01:39 there's a lot of hurting people in the world. 01:41 And we just want to say thank you for being our family. 01:45 I don't know if you may feel right now 01:47 that you don't have any family members. 01:48 Well, you have us. 01:50 So hopefully you don't mind having us as your family, 01:52 because we sure enjoy having you as part of our family, 01:55 but a happy Sabbath to each one of you. 01:57 I'm sure it's been a busy week. 01:59 This time of year is busy here at 3ABN, 02:00 but it's always a blessing to kind of just take a breath 02:04 and have this worship time, open the Word of God. 02:07 It's a blessing to be on the set 02:08 with you here, sweetie. 02:09 And we're also on the set with our 3ABN family members. 02:11 But one we've never been on with before ourselves. 02:14 That's right. I love Family Worship. 02:15 I love this time we get to come into your home, 02:18 your living room, or maybe in your car 02:20 if you're listening on the radio. 02:22 And just get to share it together, 02:24 we open up the Word of God, we share from our hearts 02:26 and our journey with Jesus as it were. 02:29 You can see we're in red 02:30 and we have a little bit of lights behind us. 02:32 My tie is kind of close. 02:34 Yes. 02:35 See, it matches well. 02:37 Kind of. 02:38 Yours is brighter red. 02:39 So, but the gift of Jesus is incredible 02:43 at this time of year. 02:45 You know, we're talking about the greatest gifts 02:48 that we have as Christians today. 02:50 Great topic. 02:51 And we often think of the gifts we want to give each other 02:54 or I could say, well, my husband Greg 02:55 is the greatest gift in my life 02:57 and he is one of the greatest gifts of my life. 02:59 But to think of the gifts that God gives us. 03:03 That's what we're gonna focus on tonight. 03:04 One of the gifts He gives us is friendship and fellowship, 03:08 and that's our 3ABN family who are with us here. 03:10 We have Donald and Janelle Owen. 03:12 And it's such a privilege to have you both here. 03:15 I know, Donald, 03:16 you've been on Family Worships with us before. 03:17 Right. Yeah. 03:19 You, of course, 03:20 work in our 3ABN Pastoral Department. 03:21 Have the opportunity to minister 03:23 to hurting people every day. 03:26 Right, yeah. It's been a... 03:28 I think what Isaiah put it best. 03:30 He said, "Who am I, Lord?" 03:32 You know, he's wondering, "Who am I?" 03:33 He just thought he wasn't worth it, 03:35 you know, worthy and find out 03:36 that God has called us to different positions. 03:38 I never thought when I came here, 03:40 I would end up in Pastoral by any means. 03:42 But God has blessed me and blessed 03:44 this opportunity to be here. 03:45 Just thankful for 3ABN family. 03:47 You mentioned family several times 03:48 and just family is so important, 03:50 especially in the time we're in right now, 03:52 the world we're in right now. 03:53 We need to gather together as a people, you know, 03:55 to encourage one another, so it's a good time to do this. 03:58 Amen. 03:59 Sitting next to you is your beautiful wife Janelle. 04:02 And, Janelle, it's a privilege to have you 04:03 on the set tonight with us as well. 04:05 You work in our 3ABN Publishing Department 04:07 as a graphic designer and do incredible work 04:10 but not just the work she does, which is amazing. 04:13 But you have a wonderful spirit. 04:15 And we're so grateful. 04:17 You made me cry. 04:18 Thank you. 04:20 But it's nice to have both of you 04:21 on tonight together as a couple. 04:23 And you guys have been at 3ABN, how many years now? 04:25 Seven years. Seven years. 04:27 Seven years, what a great number. 04:28 It is a great number, isn't it? 04:30 We're glad it's not ending at seven. 04:31 Right, yes. 04:33 But for the people at home, tell us how many years 04:35 you've been married? 04:36 Well, let's see. 04:38 Do we remember? Oh, my nuts. 04:39 Well, we dated for 10 years before we got married 04:41 so we also add that. 04:42 So you've known each other then for how long? 04:44 Twenty two years. 04:45 Twenty two years and married in 2008. 04:47 So 12 years of marriage. 04:50 Congratulations. Yeah. 04:51 Thank you. That's precious. 04:53 God is good. God is good. 04:54 So you remembered. Whoa, amen! 04:55 Good job, Donald. 04:57 You did good. 04:58 Okay, I know not so well. 04:59 No. Yeah. 05:01 It's great, though, what a blessing though, 05:02 to have you guys here as part of our family, 05:04 as Jill was mentioning, and we're just so blessed. 05:06 You know, they're co-workers, but the same time 05:08 we're all family members. 05:10 Amen. 05:11 And, you know, this evening with worship, 05:13 you know, and it's Christmas season, 05:14 and thinking about gifts, and, 05:16 you know, little treasures and things, 05:18 I think of the Word of God. 05:19 It has so many treasures in it. 05:21 So we would encourage you tonight. 05:23 This is Family Worship, 05:24 it's not a time for you just to sit back and observe. 05:26 We want you to get involved as well. 05:29 So do get your Bible and maybe a little notepad out and, 05:32 you know, thinking about hidden treasures, 05:34 I don't think a camera can get this shot right now, 05:37 I'm not sure. 05:39 But on the set, I am noticing a little red ball 05:42 that's hidden. 05:44 Did you hide it over there? 05:45 I didn't even see that. 05:46 I didn't, but I see it. 05:48 And I think they're trying to get the shot right now. 05:50 This production crew is amazing, 05:51 so thank you, production. 05:52 There's a little red... Can you see it over there? 05:54 Do you guys... 05:55 Okay, for those that are young or young at heart, 05:56 do you see the little red ball on the set? 05:59 Let's just take a minute, 06:00 this is unusual for Family Worship, 06:01 but do you see a little red ball on the set 06:06 that's in an unusual place? 06:07 I see it. 06:09 I see it. It's over here. 06:10 Yes. Okay. 06:13 You got it. 06:15 It's on our logo. 06:16 So I don't know who put that little ball there. 06:19 That little... 06:20 What is that? An ornament. 06:21 Yeah, you're right. Thank you, Justin. 06:23 Good job. 06:24 He's our cameraman that quickly got that. 06:25 But I'm just thinking about... 06:27 Did you know about that? 06:28 You know, I just saw that sitting there 06:30 and I thought, I wonder how that got there. 06:31 And I thought, you know, I might as well just comment, 06:32 'cause I'm observing it on the set. 06:34 So thinking about it again, 06:35 just searching and looking for truth, 06:37 you know, there is truth, 06:39 and the true truth is in the Bible. 06:43 So again, I tell you what, 06:45 just be searching the scriptures 06:46 on a daily basis. 06:47 And, man, you might find an ornament, so to speak, 06:50 hidden right there in plain sight. 06:52 So that's... 06:53 You mentioned about the greatest gifts, 06:55 and what a great topic. 06:56 Thank you. 06:57 You're the one that actually mentioned it and I thought, 06:59 "Wow, that's a great topic, 07:00 especially for this time of year." 07:01 Oh, yeah. 07:03 You know, we think about what do we give people. 07:04 We give gifts and presents under the tree. 07:06 Or sometimes I remember, as a little girl, 07:08 we didn't have a lot of money. 07:10 And so we would make these coupons, 07:13 3x5 cards and I would write to my mom and dad, 07:16 we're going to... 07:17 Next year I'll give you a back rub, 07:19 or I'll wash the dishes but I'm not being asked to, 07:22 or do something. 07:24 So we think of simple things or gifts that we can give, 07:27 but tonight we want to look at the gifts 07:30 that God the Father has given us. 07:32 Jesus through His Son and the Holy Spirit. 07:35 So our opening scripture is John 3:16. 07:39 As we look at the greatest gift of all, 07:41 that is the gift of salvation. 07:43 But before we... 07:44 Oh, you can open up your Bibles to John 3:16. 07:46 But we should pray. 07:47 There you go. I agree with that. 07:49 Janelle, you want to pray for us? 07:50 Sure. Thank you. 07:51 To Heavenly Father, 07:53 we do thank You for this time of year 07:55 where we can remember You and how Your Father... 07:59 He sent you here, Lord. 08:01 You've both made the decision to come here as a baby 08:04 and what You did for us and there's so many gifts 08:07 that You've given us 08:08 that we're going to be talking about. 08:10 We just thank You, Lord, though, for being our Savior, 08:13 for giving us life and life more abundantly. 08:17 I may ask now Your Holy Spirit would be present with us. 08:20 In Jesus' name, amen. 08:21 Amen. 08:23 Do you have that scripture, Donald? 08:25 Yes, John 3:16. 08:26 I don't know if I remember this one too well. 08:30 It says, "For God so loved the world 08:33 that He gave His only begotten Son, 08:37 that whosoever believeth in Him should not 08:39 perish but have everlasting life." 08:42 You know, gave, that's a strong four letter word, gave. 08:46 Something came in my mind, we're talking about this idea, 08:48 the gift of salvation, 08:49 but there's a quote that most people 08:51 share during this time of year, Isaiah 9:6. 08:53 Yes. 08:55 You know that one? 08:56 Let's read it. I love that. 08:57 That's a good one. 08:59 Well, especially in the time we're in right now. 09:00 Yeah, that's right. 09:01 Isaiah 9:6-7. 09:03 That wonderful messianic prophecy. 09:04 Oh, my, yes. 09:06 It's beautiful. 09:08 It says, "For unto us a Child is born." 09:09 Obviously we know Christ came as a child. 09:12 "Unto us a Son is given." 09:13 So there's that gave, given again concept. 09:16 Jesus died on the cross, obviously, 09:18 "And the government shall be upon His shoulder 09:19 and His name shall be called Wonderful, 09:21 Counselor, the Mighty God, 09:23 the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace." 09:25 How many want the Price of Peace in their life. 09:28 So that just speaks to me, He was given for us. 09:31 Powerful, so thankful for that gift. 09:33 Amen. 09:35 You know what I love about that verse. 09:36 What really speaks to me in that verse, 09:38 the one you've talked about, 09:39 the Son is given or the John 3:16, 09:42 is that God loved us. 09:44 We often think Jesus loves us, right? 09:47 He's the one who came, He's the one who came as a baby 09:50 and grew up, lived the perfect life 09:52 and died that perfect sacrifice for us. 09:54 And we think about that, or at least I do, 09:58 but God the Father, and He wanted to give, 10:04 to send His Son, that's just incredible love. 10:08 And all the different aspects too that it mentions there 10:11 in that verse that we just read too, 10:13 "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, 10:16 Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." 10:18 It's all those different aspects of His character 10:22 and there's so many more. 10:23 But it's just, you know, 10:25 when I think about those words there, 10:28 all of it, it's just He's a powerful mighty God. 10:33 Yeah, it's beautiful, isn't it? 10:34 Yeah, I just think about that line that says, 10:36 "The government shall be upon His shoulder." 10:37 Now, you know, I've shared with so many people 10:39 in the prayer lines, these last couple of months, 10:41 you know, dealing with where we're at currently. 10:44 But it just, it gives you a sense of peace, 10:45 because He's really in control. 10:48 So the government's really on His shoulders. 10:49 So that gives you a sense of, well, 10:51 I can really put my trust in Him, 10:54 asking to really trust Him. 10:55 He's got big shoulders. 10:56 He's got big shoulders. 10:59 You know, I think about God and, 11:00 you know, Him being the creator of the entire universe, 11:03 you know, and then to think that He is so interested 11:06 in just each of us as an individual. 11:08 It's very humbling, but also very... 11:12 I try to think of the word, very secure, 11:14 makes me feel very secure, like, "Wow, okay. 11:17 He loves me so much that He sent Jesus, His Son, 11:19 His most precious gift to die for me 11:22 to give us eternal life. 11:23 That's a beautiful gift for each one of us. 11:26 And it's available to everybody. 11:28 And I think, Donald, before COVID or maybe 11:29 it was both of you, both have you worked in prison ministry? 11:32 I did. You did? Okay. 11:33 You know, going in, you know, 11:34 sometimes people can feel hopeless, 11:36 you know, "I'm behind bars, and there's no hope. 11:38 Nobody loves me, nobody sees me, 11:40 nobody contacts me." 11:42 But then to be able to share that Jesus loves them. 11:45 That's powerful, isn't it? 11:46 You know, and the last time we were, 11:48 it was in February, 11:49 I remember we are now closed out of going to prison 11:51 because of COVID, but I got the opportunity. 11:53 I had a love letter from Jesus. 11:56 A tract? 11:57 Yeah, a tract, yep. 11:59 And I got to talk between. 12:00 They called me and asked me actually 12:01 to present something at the prison. 12:03 They called me and asked me to come and speak. 12:04 I'm like, "Oh." 12:05 So we went in there, we actually went right 12:07 in the ward and spoke to the men in there. 12:08 And Diangie Gere, who works with me, he was like, 12:10 "I've never been in this part before." 12:12 So it was really cool and new for both of us. 12:14 And I gave about 80 to 90 tracts, 12:16 there was 80, 90 men, 12:17 I spoke before about Jesus and I got to give them tracts 12:20 and they approved it. 12:22 So I snuck in a whole bunch of them. 12:23 And I'm thankful they approved it, 12:25 but just a love letter from Jesus 12:26 and to share that with the guys. 12:27 And I had several guys, you know, even with teardrops, 12:29 you know, tattoos and stuff like... 12:31 "Man, that was awesome. Thank you." 12:33 Just really powerful. 12:34 So I really miss prison ministry. 12:35 It's just... 12:37 It's hard because I love getting there 12:38 and talking with those guys. 12:39 And, you know, hear the bars cling behind you. 12:41 But it was such a blessing, so. 12:43 I want to ask this to both of you, 12:44 and I know this is we're not talking about 12:45 like personal testimony as much, 12:47 but I know that both of you had walked away 12:48 from the Lord, but then came back. 12:50 So tell me, Janelle, maybe we'll start with you. 12:52 What that was like to find out, "Wow, Jesus really loves me," 12:55 or something has to turn within each of us to say, 12:59 "You know, I want to resubmit 13:00 and commit my life to Jesus Christ." 13:02 And to accept that gift. Yeah. 13:03 Yes. Yeah. 13:05 I think for me, I saw the changes 13:06 that were happening with Don, 13:09 how God was really doing a lot of work in his heart, 13:12 and that's what spoke to me first. 13:15 And I think when I was a kid, 13:18 I didn't even realize that Jesus was here 13:20 before He came as a baby. 13:23 I don't know if that's, you know, 13:25 it seems like it's a common misconception, 13:28 I guess, in the rest of the world. 13:31 Because I asked a lot of other people 13:33 that don't know that, 13:34 and they were surprised just to know 13:36 that He's in the Old Testament. 13:38 And I think when I study that and learn that, 13:42 that really, like really blew my mind 13:45 and then along my journey, 13:48 you know, thinking about Him being here all along. 13:51 It just made it even more personal. 13:55 And then along my journey learning that, you know, 13:58 He wanted to know about me, 14:02 and He could relate to everything, 14:04 even though of course, you know, 14:05 we think of God as a male, you know, 14:07 He has so many different aspects of His character, 14:09 He has the, you know, the nurturing, the female, 14:12 and then in the protective, you know, male, 14:15 but then when I realized 14:17 that He actually could relate to me, 14:20 I think that's what really kind of made it solid. 14:24 You know, and He, like you said, you know, 14:26 He cares about every little thing, 14:28 about what we worry about or care about, 14:31 He cares about that too. 14:32 And that's what did it for me, you know, 14:34 knowing that He was here before the world began. 14:38 He was here, He's always been here. 14:40 And it was just like, "Wow." 14:42 It's comforting, isn't it? 14:43 It is, yeah. 14:45 Because it's, you know, He's not just, you know, 14:47 just a temporary God. 14:48 He wasn't just in here at that time 14:51 when He came as a baby, He's always existed. 14:53 And it's just amazing to me that understanding 14:58 and that when you really read the Bible, 15:00 and you're truly seeking 15:02 and you see all the truth He has, you know, 15:05 there's so many things He uncovers for each of us 15:08 to encourage us in our own journeys. 15:10 And He's been doing that for me. 15:12 So yeah, several years, He's... 15:14 I think, you know, for me that... 15:16 It's a beautiful testimony. 15:17 The concept is, you know, we sing mending broken people. 15:20 True, yep. 15:22 It's our theme song here. 15:23 And you think about how broken and messed up 15:24 we really are. 15:26 All of us. 15:27 God takes, you know, He's that master potter, 15:29 and He just keeps fixing and whittling in. 15:31 The other big thing for me was realizing 15:34 how patient He was, 15:36 even though I got in all kinds 15:38 of crazy junk and stuff in the world. 15:40 But one thing there's a gift so I guess 15:42 I can share at this point 15:43 that kind of touches where I'm going to go. 15:44 But Zachariah 3 was a gift that took me 15:49 a while to uncover personally. 15:51 But, of course, we're talking about Joshua, the high priest. 15:56 You know, this just stands for any of us, you know, 15:58 we're all in the kind of this picture, 15:59 you know, Satan's always accusing us saying, 16:01 we're not good, we're trash, we're junk, we're worthless, 16:03 all that kind of stuff. 16:05 We don't deserve to get into heaven, you know, 16:07 we're just not worthy to come to Jesus, and that's not true. 16:10 And then you find somebody else enter the scene, 16:12 it's the angel of the Lord, which, really, 16:14 when you study that out, it's really talking about Jesus 16:16 'cause nobody else can defend you against Satan except Jesus. 16:19 And praise the Lord. 16:20 But I really like verses 3 and 4. 16:22 And verse 3 says, "Now Joshua," which is myself, 16:26 any of us sitting here, "was clothed in filthy garments 16:28 and stood before the angel. 16:30 And he answered and spake this angel unto those 16:33 that stood before him, saying, 16:34 'Take away the filthy garments from him.' 16:37 And unto him he said, 'Behold, I have caused thine iniquity 16:40 to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee 16:43 with change of raiment.'" 16:44 Yeah, praise the Lord. 16:45 He's gonna clean you up. 16:47 So that's kind of our journey. 16:49 It's just to clean this up. 16:50 And I have to add too from, you know, from my perspective, 16:53 you know, I think sometimes it's easy to look 16:55 at other people's flaws. 16:57 Everything, you know, like, for me, 16:59 you know, it was easy to, 17:01 "Oh, well," you know, we both have our own issues 17:03 and struggles, you know, and it's easier to see, 17:08 you know, someone else's but, 17:09 you know, when God shows you yours. 17:11 Yeah. 17:13 It's a little different. 17:14 It's a little different. 17:15 Yeah, I don't want to see that. 17:17 But, you know, it's just like, when we can face our issues, 17:21 it's refreshing, you know, once we can get past those 17:24 and allow Him to whittle those off of us. 17:27 It's very refreshing the, you know, 17:30 and it's encouraging that He cares 17:31 that much about us that, you know, 17:33 that He doesn't just let us 17:34 slide by with these little things, 17:36 you know, that maybe small to someone else, 17:39 but they're actually big things to Him. 17:41 Wow, you just made... So... 17:43 Yeah, go ahead. No, go ahead. 17:44 I was just thinking of Hebrews 12. 17:47 That's a gift that He disciplines us. 17:48 Yeah. He disciplines. 17:50 Some people are like, "What? 17:51 Oh, I don't know." 17:53 He wants to discipline 'cause He wants to make you 17:55 into son or daughter of God. 17:56 So that's a gift to be disciplined, 17:58 even though it sounds like, 17:59 why would you want to be disciplined? 18:00 But that's why He's chiseling that stuff off. 18:02 For whom the Lord loves, He corrects and chases 18:06 even a child or a son that is lost. 18:09 I was thinking of that gift. 18:10 When you were talking about all, 18:11 I was thinking the gift of righteousness, right? 18:13 It's the white robe He covers us with. 18:16 And, Janelle, I wrote down here when you were talking the gift 18:19 of the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. 18:21 Wow, yeah. 18:22 The Holy Spirit's showing us. 18:24 "Jill, this is your junk." 18:25 This is something you need to deal with. 18:27 This isn't Greg's, this is yours. 18:29 And I'm showing you this because I want to forgive 18:33 and I want to cleanse and take that away. 18:37 That's just a beautiful gift. 18:39 What gifts are you grateful for? 18:41 Oh, wow. I'm thankful for Jesus. 18:42 I mean that, like we've just been talking about John 3:16, 18:45 we're talking about, again, 18:46 this evening is some of the greatest gifts, 18:48 I think, the gift of salvation, 18:49 which is one we're gonna talking about as well. 18:51 I mean, it's just phenomenal. 18:52 You know, this world, we can get kind of wrapped up 18:54 in what's happening in this world. 18:56 But, you know, everything here on this earth 18:57 is temporal, temporary. 18:59 You know, but we'll be taking our characters to heaven. 19:02 So and then I think about the souls that are around us, 19:04 a lot of people don't know about Jesus, 19:06 there's a lot of hurting people around us too. 19:09 So to be able to share what we know is very important, 19:12 because as we share them, we also grow and I know 19:15 it does something to me too, you know, 19:16 times, you know, you just, 19:18 you can get kind of bogged down. 19:19 I hate to say that, but I am human. 19:20 And I get bogged down and, boy, just to start sharing 19:23 and talking to someone else about God or about Jesus, 19:26 boy, it makes me feel better. 19:27 You know, I don't feel so, 19:29 "Oh, wow, a little bogged down, I feel better." 19:31 So to be able to share, I think to me, 19:33 I would say Jesus is, of course, the top of my lists, 19:35 is one of the greatest gifts. 19:37 And what about you? Amen. 19:38 I think one of the things that really speaks to me 19:41 is the gift of adoption. 19:43 That was after our gift of salvation, 19:45 the gift of adoption. 19:46 If we could turn, I love Romans 8:15. 19:51 But let's read John 1:12 first. 19:54 I love that verse, I do. 19:55 That's one of my favorite. 19:57 I like this. 19:58 John 1:12. 20:00 It's really powerful. 20:01 "But as many as received Him..." 20:04 And in the Greek it means to actively lay hold off. 20:07 So it's not a passive reception, like as many as, 20:10 "Okay, I'm receiving Jesus," 20:11 and you kind of sit back and wait for Him. 20:13 But this means we actively reach out and we... 20:16 Like abiding. 20:17 Yes, we take hold of Him. 20:19 "As many as received Him." 20:21 Taking the water, you're actively taking water. 20:23 Participating. Yeah. 20:24 "To them He gave the right." 20:27 King James says the power I think. 20:29 Exousia, it means authority. 20:32 "To become children of God, 20:34 even to those who believe on His name." 20:37 So as soon as we open up our hearts and say, 20:40 "Yes, Jesus, I want You to come in. 20:42 I want to accept that gift of salvation 20:46 that You've given to me." 20:48 At that moment, He gives us the authority, 20:51 the power, the right to become sons and daughters of God. 20:56 That's powerful. 20:57 I mean, to me to go from an outcast, 21:01 a prodigal, a slave, 21:06 to a cherished daughter of the King it's just, 21:10 I can't even understand that that depth of our Father's love 21:14 and that He just picks us up and He takes us just like that. 21:18 That is incredible. 21:20 Oh, He absolutely is. 21:21 Yeah. Yeah. 21:22 You just remind me 1 John 3:1. 21:25 I was thinking of Ezekiel. Yeah. 21:27 Let's go to 1 John because... 21:29 And then we'll go Ezekiel. 21:30 Dude, let's do references so that people 21:32 home can follow along with us. 21:33 So first, 1 John 3:1. 21:34 Yeah. 21:36 It's touching right on what you just talked about. 21:38 It says, "Behold, what manner of love the Father 21:42 hath bestowed upon us that we should be called 21:43 the sons of God, therefore the world knoweth us not, 21:47 because it knew him not." 21:49 So that word bestowed kind of almost... 21:52 It says to me gave, He bestowed, 21:54 He gave this to us. 21:55 "What manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us," 21:57 He gave this to us, "that we should be called 21:58 the sons of God." 22:00 So He's given us a new identity, you see, 22:01 the world tries to identify us, puts us in a little, 22:05 whatever you want to call boxes, or whatever, 22:07 they try to identify us. 22:08 But we're actually identified totally made from the things 22:11 of this world to God we're considered sons 22:13 and daughters of God, as you talked about. 22:15 So we have a new identity as a daughter or son of God. 22:18 Amen. Yes. 22:19 Amen. 22:21 Yeah, I like that. 22:22 You know, a lot of times we're labeled, 22:23 are we in this world? 22:25 Or I can cast judgment and say, "Oh, wow. 22:26 Okay. That's kind of interesting. 22:28 Or wow, that person, interesting." 22:30 Or, you know, but God looks at us as sons and daughters. 22:33 That's right. 22:34 That easy. Yep. 22:35 Behold what manner of love, yeah. 22:37 Way better than a label. 22:38 We'll do Ezekiel, talk to us about it. 22:39 I'm still looking. 22:41 I can't remember the exact one. 22:42 Do you remember? 22:43 What does it talk about? 22:45 It's when He talks about 22:46 how He found us polluted in our blood. 22:48 Ezekiel 16. Is that 16? 22:49 I love that. 22:50 Yes. That's a beautiful work. 22:52 That is. Oh, man. 22:53 Ezekiel... 22:54 16:6. Oh, yeah, there it is. 22:56 Ezekiel 16:6. 22:57 Yep, that's it. And then, yeah. 22:59 And then there's a lot there that's really good. 23:01 But, "And when I passed by thee, 23:04 and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, 23:06 I said unto thee, 23:07 'When thou wast in thy blood, Live, yea.' 23:10 I said unto thee, 23:12 'When thou wast in thy blood, Live.'" 23:14 And then it goes into what He did for us 23:17 and how He adorned us and He, verse 8. 23:20 You got to read verse 8, come on. 23:21 "Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, 23:24 thy time was the time of love 23:26 and I spread my skirt over thee, 23:28 and covered thy nakedness, yea, 23:30 I sware unto thee..." 23:33 It's hard to read King James at times, 23:35 it's kind of like a tongue twister. 23:37 "I sware unto thee and entered into a covenant with thee, 23:41 saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine." 23:44 Yeah. Beautiful line in there. 23:47 This is kind of what the ruler revealed to me. 23:50 "I spread my skirt over you." 23:51 And every time I hear that, 23:52 I think of Jesus, He spread His hands on the cross. 23:55 Yeah. 23:57 And we became His. 23:58 It's like, yeah, He purchased us, 24:01 that's salvation, again goes right back to it. 24:03 But it's a time of love. 24:05 A beautiful covenant that He made. 24:06 You know, and there's a part that we have to play too. 24:08 You know, because He's showing that to us, 24:10 but then we have to accept that gift. 24:14 Because that gift is there, 24:16 but then we have to accept that gift, 24:17 and it's an important thing, I think for us all to remember. 24:21 It's there, but it's for us to take. 24:24 Speaking of that, it reminds me of the gift of faith. 24:26 But before we go that can we do the Romans first. 24:28 Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. 24:29 Romans 8. Romans 8, I love this one. 24:32 Romans 8. 24:34 "You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear." 24:38 And how many of us are in bondage? 24:40 Oh, yeah, especially right now. 24:42 Yeah. 24:43 Especially right now. That bondage we fear. 24:46 "But you received the Spirit of adoption, 24:49 by which we cry out 'Abba or Daddy or Father.'" 24:53 It's so... 24:55 that spirit of bondage, how many times we think, 24:58 "Okay, I accept Christ." 25:00 And we claim the name Christian 25:02 and we supposedly walk as Christians, 25:06 but we don't walk in newness of life. 25:08 We walk in bondage, we walk in fear, 25:11 we walk in whatever those... 25:13 the old nature. 25:15 When we walk in that, instead of knowing 25:18 that we are children of God, 25:20 and that He can create in us a clean heart. 25:24 'Cause as Ezekiel 36 says that "He will pour clean water on us 25:29 and we shall be clean and take out that stony heart." 25:32 Right. Yes. 25:34 Give us a heart of flesh. 25:35 Amen. I love that. 25:36 There was one that... 25:38 I have a few marked here for later. 25:40 But I had marked here 25:42 gift of a transformed heart and mind. 25:44 And that's one of the scriptures, yeah. 25:47 But, you know, like, what you're saying 25:48 makes me think of, you know, 25:50 I think sometimes when we're baptized, 25:51 we think that we're going to be... 25:53 that we won't have any more struggles and, 25:55 you know, it's like, all is good now... 25:57 Birds are chirping. 25:59 But I think the enemy sometimes tries harder when, you know, 26:02 when we make that decision. 26:03 And then when we have struggles or things maybe in our past 26:08 that we've never come to terms with, 26:11 or processed or whatever, 26:12 we just keep going and we're miserable Christians. 26:15 And we don't know that we can have victory. 26:17 And I think that, you know, that's important to know 26:19 that He does give us victory, when we ask for it 26:22 and when we recognize that we are in bondage like, 26:24 you're saying, you know, when we're in bondage, 26:27 and that shows on our face and our life, you know, 26:31 what kind of a witness is that for Him? 26:32 Yes. You know. 26:34 I've been so thankful on pastoral just recently, 26:36 hearing people, you know, 26:38 just the struggles they are going through, 26:39 especially with COVID and this whole change, 26:41 can't meet people, be around people. 26:42 But, you know, people are really giving up hope. 26:45 And I think that's kind of talking 26:46 on this idea of fear. 26:48 I can't see my loved ones, I can't touch them. 26:50 It's really difficult. 26:51 But, you know, realizing this is kind 26:53 of what God gave me, 26:55 realizing who you are, and whose you are. 26:57 And what I mean by that is like, 26:59 you can go through anything. 27:01 Anything, you can go through any type of environment, 27:03 any type of circumstance, if you know, 27:04 who you are and whose you are, and where you're heading. 27:07 When you can put those things it's like, you know, 27:09 kind of like, there's this end goal, 27:11 and this end goal is you're gonna see 27:12 Jesus face to face. 27:14 So it gives you that hope, you know, 27:15 and then that transformation, that victory that you get, 27:17 as you take each step, you know, just takes a step, 27:20 just take steps and you're walking out the door 27:22 as saint, so powerful. 27:24 Yeah, I'm going to touch on something 27:26 'cause you're mentioning COVID several times, 27:27 and we've mentioned it several times 27:29 here this evening for Family Worship. 27:30 And you're talking pastoral, the times we live in, 27:32 you get people saying, you know, the isolation, 27:34 you know, that's hard to deal with. 27:37 And some people though are isolated, 27:38 but they don't even have anyone to even really talk to, 27:41 no family members at all. 27:43 And I think that's what this is so powerful, 27:44 one of the greatest gift is the power of adoption 27:47 'cause you're somebody. 27:48 Right. Good. Amen. 27:50 So, boy, that's great. 27:51 If I want to be anybody is, I want to be with Jesus. 27:53 Amen, yeah. 27:55 You got a big family. You got a big family. 27:56 Yes. Isn't that great? 27:57 So we don't know, again, you know, this is Jill, 28:00 and myself, and Donald and Janelle here, you know, 28:02 we're part of your family 28:03 and the rest of the 3ABN team here. 28:05 But, of course, we're your family, but, boy, 28:07 just think about being adopted into God's family. 28:09 Amen. Right. 28:10 So I know this time of year is about family, 28:12 and it can maybe kind of be depressing and stuff too. 28:15 Or if you've lost family members to COVID 28:17 or something else, it's very sad. 28:19 But we just please remember this evening 28:20 that God loves you so much. 28:22 And you're part of, boy, His family. 28:24 It's just incredible. 28:25 It can be a really lonely time of year too. 28:27 It can be for a lot of people. 28:30 Jill and I talking about adoption, 28:31 had the privilege this year of being 28:33 with a close family member who adopted a little baby 28:35 and we just had the privilege even in the midst of COVID, 28:39 we were able to make that trip and just the Lord 28:42 worked everything out for us to be able to spend 28:44 that with this family member. 28:45 Yeah. And it was just something else. 28:47 I had to tell you, 28:49 it brought tears to my eyes because, 28:50 you know, when that the judge makes the pronouncement, 28:53 and we couldn't be there in the courtroom 28:55 because of COVID we could watch it via like this camera. 28:58 Zoom sort of. 29:00 And, boy, that's touching, 'cause it was final. 29:03 That was down and this thing was signed, 29:05 and wow, the little baby was a part of the... 29:07 A Morikone. 29:09 The part of the family. Oh, awesome. 29:10 So, you know, that was just... 29:12 It was a powerful moment and thinking about this 29:14 with the adoption. 29:15 Wow, you know. 29:17 And, you know, I've heard it, an adoptive family say one time 29:20 that their baby was more special to them, 29:23 because they chose them like, they, you know, 29:26 and that helped that bond with that child. 29:29 So they wouldn't feel like they were, you know, 29:31 not loved or not... 29:33 Because they were... Included. 29:34 Right, and so they told the child, 29:36 the parents told the child that, you know, 29:38 "You were born in our hearts and we chose you." 29:40 And so I thought that was really neat. 29:42 Yeah, it is. 29:44 Yeah, I think on even a wider scope, 29:45 you know, that this adoption, 29:47 we're adopted into the whole universe. 29:50 It's not just this little nation, 29:51 we're talking world, 29:53 we're talking about the entire universe. 29:54 So we got family all over. 29:55 So we're just... 29:57 It's amazing, this idea of adoption. 29:59 I think about that too, it's like, you know, 30:00 when Jesus said, "You're grafted in." 30:01 Yeah. 30:03 It's the same kind of terminology there, 30:04 the same thing about grafting, being grafted in. 30:06 Yeah. Amen. 30:08 Yeah, absolutely. 30:09 Should we look at the gift of the Holy Spirit? 30:12 I love that. 30:14 Let's look at that. 30:15 Can we go to Luke 11? 30:17 Luke 11, oh, sure. 30:18 I think in John, you know, of course, Jesus, 30:20 this is before He went to the cross, 30:22 and He's talking to the disciples and saying, 30:24 "I'm going away. 30:26 But it's kind of a good thing that I'm going away 30:28 because the Father is going to send you 30:30 the gift of the Holy Spirit." 30:33 And we see in Luke 11, where He's actually asking, 30:37 encouraging us to ask for Holy Spirit. 30:40 Amen. 30:42 So Luke 11. 30:43 And I love this. 30:45 Luke 11. 30:48 Do you have that, sweetie? 30:49 You know, I am looking here. 30:51 Do you want to look at my Bible? 30:52 It's a little bigger. 30:54 He might need some reading glasses pretty soon. 30:56 And I want to just say... 30:57 And the gift of glasses. 30:59 Yeah, I want to say thank you to Kay. 31:02 Yeah, gift of glasses. 31:03 There was a lady Kay that saw me struggling 31:05 and she sent a Bible with bigger print. 31:08 She did. 31:09 I do have another set, but thank you, Kay, 31:11 for sending the larger print Bible, 31:12 so thank you very much. 31:13 Amen. Praise the Lord. Okay. 31:15 Luke 11, yeah, I can see that. 31:16 Verse 9, "So I say to you, 31:20 'Ask, and it will be given to you. 31:22 Seek, and you will find. 31:24 Knock, and it will be opened unto you." 31:26 Verse 10 says, "For everyone who asks receives, 31:29 and he who seeks finds, 31:31 and to him who knocks it will be opened." 31:34 Yeah. Praise the Lord. 31:35 Amen. 31:36 Yeah, read, keep going. 31:38 Verse 13. 31:39 Let's see here. 31:41 Your verses are laid out a little bit different. 31:42 Okay, yeah. 31:43 "If you then, being evil, 31:45 know how to give good gifts to your children, 31:46 how much more will your heavenly Father 31:49 give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." 31:52 There's the Holy Spirit, that gift, yeah. 31:54 Praise the Lord. 31:55 We have to ask, right? Amen. 31:57 That's so interesting, because now it travels me 31:59 into Psalm 51 in David's prayer. 32:02 Let's look at that. You know. 32:04 That's one of my favorites. 32:05 Psalm 51? Yes. 32:07 You know, when David, what he did with Bathsheba, 32:08 of course, and put Uriah in the front line, 32:10 and that's gonna be an interesting meeting 32:12 in heaven with Uriah and David. 32:15 But, yeah, verse 10, of course, "Create in me a clean heart, 32:18 O God and renew a right spirit within me. 32:20 Cast me not from my presence..." 32:22 And the rest of that says, 32:23 "And take not thy Holy Spirit from me." 32:26 Wow, you know, that good gift 32:28 that God wants to give us is His Holy Spirit. 32:29 And here's David saying, 32:31 "Please don't take thy Holy Spirit away." 32:32 He wants that gift. 32:34 Are we crying out? 32:35 Are we praying for that gift? 32:37 Holy Spirit. 32:38 So "Take not thy Holy Spirit from me." 32:41 How can the Holy Spirit be taken from us? 32:44 That's a good question. 32:46 Well, what did they say is the biggest thing 32:48 that you can do is? 32:50 Oh, blaspheming the Holy Spirit. 32:52 What does that mean? 32:53 'Cause I know some people ask that. 32:55 I know even in the office, 32:56 you know, people call in and ask, 32:58 I'm sure in pastoral people call, 32:59 "Have I committed the unpardonable sin?" 33:02 And there's a fear in that. 33:04 How do I know if I have grieved the Holy Spirit? 33:08 So what if someone tonight is saying, 33:10 "Well, I think the Holy Spirit is no longer with me. 33:13 And I don't think that have I grieved the Holy Spirit? 33:15 What would you say to them? 33:17 You know, it's interesting because we did Cheri Peters 33:20 Celebrating Life Recovery. 33:22 And someone had spoken to me, 33:23 it was a gentleman that he just started coming to the Lord. 33:25 And, you know, so he's going in this convenience store, 33:28 and he finds some, "Oh, this box of cereal looks good. 33:30 I think I want that." 33:31 Goes down another aisle, you know? 33:33 And he said, "Oh, that looks really good." 33:35 So he puts the box of cereal down on the aisle 33:37 and walks away to the other product 33:39 and the Holy Spirit goes, 33:41 "Hey, that's not where you found that box of cereal. 33:42 You need to take that back." 33:44 He goes, "Taking that back. 33:45 Why does that matter? Who gives..." 33:47 You know, it's like, "Who cares it?" 33:48 So said, "Take it back and put it back where it goes." 33:50 So, you know, I think that people, 33:52 they don't understand the Holy Spirit 33:53 is speaking to them. 33:54 Maybe they can't hear it clearly. 33:56 Maybe that's the problem, maybe they don't understand 33:58 the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to them. 34:00 But I think that, yeah, the only way you're gonna... 34:01 the way you're gonna grieve the Holy Spirit 34:04 is if the Holy Spirit's going, "Take that box of cereal back," 34:06 You're going, "Shut up. 34:08 I don't want to hear you." Well this... 34:09 What I was thinking about was like, 34:10 the story of Pharaoh and how he was hurted. 34:12 That's another good one too. Yeah, to the point. 34:14 And how God repeatedly tried to get his attention. 34:16 Right. 34:18 You know, and how many times God tries to get our attention 34:20 in certain areas, but we're just like, 34:21 "No," you know. 34:23 Leave that area. 34:24 Eventually we just don't hear His voice. 34:27 Right. 34:28 You know, when we close our ears to it. 34:31 To me if there's any piece in your heart that says, 34:36 "I want Jesus." 34:38 If there's any conviction of sin that you feel, 34:41 if there's any remorse, regret, 34:44 if there's any desire for God or something better, 34:47 that is evidence that the Holy Spirit 34:50 is still working on your heart, 34:53 'cause even that desire for repentance, 34:55 that's the gift of the Holy spirit. 34:57 And all of that is. 34:58 So if you even have a desire, or inkling, 35:01 or anything after God, 35:02 that's evidence that's He's working. 35:04 Or to even be concerned 35:05 that you've grieved the Holy Spirit. 35:06 That's evidence. Yeah, yeah. 35:09 That's right. 35:10 Praise the Lord. Amen. 35:11 There's always hope. Yes. 35:13 So Praise the Lord. Amen. 35:15 So, we're going to look at some other verses then 35:16 about the gift of the Holy Spirit? 35:18 Absolutely. 35:19 Because I know we've got some other gifts 35:20 we you want to look at here this evening too. 35:22 Time is going by quickly. It is. 35:23 I hope you're enjoying spending this time. 35:25 We're having a great time with you. 35:26 And hope you're opening your Bible 35:27 and studying along with us. 35:29 There's just so much in the Word of God. 35:32 Wow. 35:33 What if we look at Romans 5:5? 35:36 That goes and ties in again with what I just talked about, 35:38 Psalm 51:12. 35:39 It does, does. 35:40 Ain't that interesting? I love that. 35:42 How God's knitting us. 35:43 I'm gonna start with verse 1 just 'cause I love 35:44 how it starts this whole chapter in Romans 5. 35:47 "Having been justified by faith, 35:48 we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 35:52 So the peace comes as a result of the justification 35:55 and justification is a gift of God, 35:57 That's the white righteous robe 35:59 you were talking about in Zachariah. 36:02 Where God takes away our sin and covers us 36:05 with the beauteous robe of His character. 36:09 "Through whom we also have access by faith into this grace 36:13 in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." 36:16 Verse 3, "Not only that, but we glory in tribulations." 36:21 Oh, that's heavy. 36:22 Glory in tribulations. Glory. 36:23 This gets interesting. 36:25 Tribulation. 36:26 Go for it. 36:28 Well, "Knowing that tribulation worketh patience." 36:29 That word patience in the Greek is actually character. 36:31 Wow. Wow. 36:33 So the trials you're going through 36:34 are actually shaping your character. 36:36 That's right. 36:37 Wow. Refinement. 36:39 "And perseverance, character. 36:40 And character, hope. 36:42 Now hope does not disappoint..." 36:46 It's not an illusion. 36:47 "Because the love of God has been poured out 36:50 in our hearts by the Holy Spirit 36:53 who was given to us." 36:54 So even that love of God poured or shed abroad, 36:58 King James says, into our hearts 37:00 is the result of the gift of the Holy Spirit. 37:04 Wow, that's incredible. 37:05 Yeah, because these trials are leading us to that. 37:08 Yes. 37:09 People don't want to go through trials, they're afraid to. 37:11 But God's going to get you through it. 37:13 I mean, that's where He's... 37:14 He wants to shape you and mould you, 37:16 and we shouldn't really fear. 37:17 Obviously, if we're not walking with the Lord, 37:19 we're making choices contrary to what He's telling us to do, 37:22 then yeah, be afraid of that. 37:23 You should be walking in light of what He's telling you to do. 37:25 But this is fact that He wants to put you through this trial 37:28 so He can get you ready for transform like go home. 37:30 I like the line in verse 5. 37:33 "Hope maketh not ashamed." 37:36 You know, because it is easy to sink into that, you know, 37:43 when you do something that, 37:44 you know, God isn't pleased with, 37:46 you know, that shame. 37:47 But He gives us that hope and that love 37:49 and we don't have to be ashamed. 37:51 We don't have to try to cover ourselves like Adam and Eve 37:53 did and try to cover it up because He knows 37:56 what we did even before we even do it. 38:00 So we don't have to be ashamed. 38:01 We're vulnerable before Him. 38:03 Amen. Wow. 38:04 Let's look at the gift of grace. 38:06 Yeah, that sounds good. 38:07 I'm thinking of Ephesians 2, right? 38:08 Ephesians 2, that's a great message. 38:10 It's a well... Yes, known verse. 38:11 Ephesians 2:8-10. 38:14 Yeah, I think Ephesians 2 38:16 is one of the best synopses of the gospel. 38:18 You know, along with Romans 3, of course. 38:20 Oh, yes. Incredible. 38:22 Just synopsis of what the gospel is. 38:25 Ephesians 2, you have that? 38:27 One of you want to read that, Ephesians 2? 38:29 Yeah, sure. 38:31 "For by grace are ye saved through faith, 38:35 and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. 38:39 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 38:42 For we are His workmanship, 38:44 created in Christ Jesus unto good works, 38:49 which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." 38:52 It's powerful. 38:54 I got this little quote here out of Christ's Object Lessons, 38:56 I think it's really powerful. 38:57 "It is not the length of time we labor but our willingness 39:01 and fidelity in the work 39:02 that makes it acceptable to God. 39:04 In all our service, 39:06 a full surrender of self is demanded. 39:08 The smallest duty done in sincerity 39:10 and self-forgetfulness is more pleasing to God 39:13 than the greatest work when marred with self-seeking. 39:16 He looked to see how much of the Spirit of Christ 39:18 we cherish and how much of the likeness of Christ 39:20 our work reveals. 39:22 He regards more the love and faithfulness 39:24 with which we work than the amount we do." 39:27 Wow. 39:28 That's deep. It is. 39:30 That's for sure. 39:32 Christ's Object Lessons, 402. 39:34 Wow, that is, what is pleasing to God. 39:37 And what our motives are. 39:39 Right. Yeah. 39:40 And what purpose... 39:42 For what purpose are we doing what we're doing? 39:44 Right. Yeah. 39:46 I like Ephesians 2:8, 39:47 especially the first part of it. 39:50 It says, "For by grace are you saved through faith, 39:52 and that not of yourselves." 39:54 We can't do it. 39:55 Yeah, I think a lot of times it can be overwhelming. 39:57 We think, "I got to pull myself up 39:59 with my boot strapping, so to speak." 40:01 I hear that a lot. 40:02 You know, that's like, oh, you know, 40:03 then you're really hard on yourself. 40:05 Like knuckling it. Yeah, exactly. 40:07 And that can take you in a downward spiral. 40:10 Because it's like, "I'm not good enough, 40:11 I can't do this. 40:13 I just can't do this." 40:14 And then you just almost want to throw your hands up and say, 40:15 "Okay, it's just impossible. 40:17 There's no way." 40:18 And that's what Satan wants us to believe, 40:19 is that, we somehow have to do it ourselves. 40:22 But what a tremendous gift at the end of verse 8, 40:24 it says, "It is the gift." 40:28 Talking about the gift. 40:29 You like gifts? 40:31 It is the gift of God. 40:32 What a gift. Amen. 40:33 You know what you're talking about with the guilt, 40:35 you know, we learned and we went through 40:37 Conquer series a while back. 40:39 And there they talk about the cycle of shame and guilt. 40:43 And there's some other recovery programs 40:45 that we've gone through too where they talk about 40:47 this cycle of shame and guilt. 40:50 And then you just... And what is that cycle? 40:51 So you just... 40:52 You feel shame? 40:54 Yeah, you feel... 40:55 Well, you act out, you act out, 40:57 and whatever that acting out is, 41:00 and then you feel shame, and then you feel guilt, 41:02 and then you feel hopeless, so you just do it again. 41:06 And then it's that cycle. 41:08 And it goes down, down further, yeah. 41:10 And until a person really understands 41:12 that they can have victory, 41:14 you know, and there's different steps, 41:16 you know, included in that. 41:17 But, you know, when you learn, 41:19 and you can see yourself in different scenarios, 41:22 and each point along that circle, 41:25 and how that can continue, 41:27 if we gave the enemy too much control. 41:31 It's interesting, because then you're making my mind think 41:33 but getting down to the root of the issue is the key. 41:38 'Cause you're just going to keep repeating 41:39 this shame cycle, 41:40 until you find the root of what's triggering 41:42 this shaming cycle. 41:43 That's what we've been seeing is, you know, 41:45 finding out what is that root? 41:47 What has caused this 41:48 to where you're using this as a mask, 41:50 or something to, I guess, as a cover up to avoid whatever 41:54 you're going through. 41:55 You need to get down to the root of that issue 41:56 and give it to, like I said, you know, a few months ago, 41:59 I had a root canal from Jesus. 42:01 He gave me a root canal, spiritual root canal. 42:02 I mean, He showed me something that I personally, 42:05 that I want people to acknowledge me 42:08 and say things to me, I think is a kid. 42:10 I didn't realize that. 42:11 And also, I woke up in the middle of night, 42:12 and I started just crying. 42:14 I'm like, "Oh, my God. 42:15 I never knew that. 42:17 I didn't see that by myself." 42:18 So I crave that and I've got to be careful of that. 42:20 So God, show me a route that, you know, 42:22 I didn't maybe get that type of attention when I was a kid, 42:24 and now here years later, I'm still struggling with that. 42:27 So if you can find that root... 42:28 But, Donald, I think that's part of the journey. 42:30 Right. It is. 42:31 You know, 'cause I think that's just the beauty 42:32 and love of Christ. 42:34 What if he showed us everything at once? 42:35 Right, can't handle it. 42:37 So He just knows what we can handle. 42:38 Will He slay me? 42:39 And that again is love. 42:41 And that's tremendous love. 42:42 He's just like, "Okay, you know what, 42:44 let me just show you this and, oh, yeah, you know, Greg is... 42:47 Oh, he's got it now. 42:48 I think he understands." 42:49 And then a little further along, 42:51 you know, that's, again, the beauty of His love. 42:52 And, you know, I think God designed marriage 42:55 so that we can grow more too as a person because, 42:58 you know, we are very truthful with each other. 43:01 And I think that, you know, if you can have that, you know, 43:04 that you do it in love, but I think we can learn more, 43:09 and I definitely feel like I've grown more as a person 43:13 in different ways through our marriage and how God has, 43:16 you know, grown him. 43:18 It's like, it's just we just bounce off 43:19 each other, you know. 43:21 It's just awesome how that works, and how God, 43:23 I feel like God designed marriage for that. 43:26 To grow and to learn. 43:27 Two shall become one flesh, right? 43:29 There you go. That's right. 43:30 As you were talking about that, the gift of grace, 43:35 it reminded me of the gift of victory. 43:36 Yes. 43:38 That God gives us. 43:39 And so let's jump over 1 Corinthians 15. 43:42 Oh, yes, a gift of victory. 43:43 1 Corinthians 15:57, "But thanks be to God, 43:48 who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 43:52 Sweetie, that's a great gift. Yes. 43:53 So you might be saying tonight, I want victory. 43:56 I need victory in my life. 43:59 Guess what? 44:00 Victory is a gift. 44:02 So grace is a gift. 44:04 And as we were reading Ephesians 2, 44:06 I love that it says, "We are His workmanship, 44:09 created in Christ Jesus for good works." 44:11 Which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 44:15 That means the works 44:16 we're supposed to do are a gift. 44:19 And they're a gift from God because God created them 44:22 before and He enables us to walk in those works. 44:27 So those "Good works," which is victory, 44:31 that is a gift from God and I love that. 44:34 Go ahead. 44:35 You go ahead. 44:36 This kind of goes along with the victory but it's... 44:39 I had written down here, the gift of deliverance. 44:42 And one of my favorite scriptures 44:43 that I just go to so much is 1 Corinthians 10:13. 44:49 And it's just one of my favorites. 44:51 It's been so helpful for me. 44:54 1 Corinthians 10:13, 44:57 "There hath no temptation taken you 45:01 but such as is common to man. 45:02 But God is faithful, who will not suffer you 45:04 to be tempted above that ye are able, 45:07 but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, 45:12 that ye may be able to bear it." 45:15 And He always gives us that way of deliverance 45:19 out of whatever it is. 45:20 I have a bunch of other scriptures written down here 45:22 too for deliverance, but that one, 45:24 even though it doesn't specifically say deliverance, 45:28 that's what He's doing. 45:30 Yeah. 45:31 I think when you're talking about victory, 45:32 what came in my mind is, 45:34 discussed in Revelation 12:11 says, 45:37 "They overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb, 45:39 and by the word of their testimony." 45:41 And so there's again this concept of deliverance 45:44 is when you can go out and tell people 45:45 what Christ has done for you like, 45:47 what Paul did, you know? 45:48 Paul did it before King Agrippa said, "Hey, you know, 45:51 I used to persecute the Christians. 45:53 I used to go after them. 45:55 I used to bring them in for all this kind of stuff. 45:56 And now look at me, I'm actually on their side 45:58 and spreading the gospel, you know." 46:00 And King Agrippa said, 46:02 "Well, you almost persuaded me to become a Christian." 46:04 But that testimony is what helps us overcome. 46:06 And that goes along with one of the scriptures, 46:08 here's Psalm 107. 46:11 And, you know, 46:12 "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." 46:14 Yes. 46:15 And, you know, when we have a testimony 46:17 of how good God has been to us, why wouldn't we want to say so? 46:20 Yeah. 46:22 Of course. 46:23 And there's so much good stuff there in Psalm 107. 46:27 But it's, you know, 46:28 that's the one I thought of too with deliverance. 46:30 There's so many good ones, Psalm 107. 46:33 And I'm just gonna share one more. 46:38 But there's a series of verses, 46:41 and I'm trying to see which one here. 46:44 Well, while you're looking at it. 46:46 It starts out, I love the first verse. 46:47 "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. 46:49 For His mercy endures forever. 46:53 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, 46:56 whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy." 46:59 That's from that destruction or from the land of sin, 47:02 and He's pulled us out of that, He's redeemed us, 47:06 He's washed us in His blood, 47:08 and made us white in His righteous white robe. 47:11 And then He transforms us 47:14 and enables us to walk in victory. 47:15 Amen. 47:17 I don't know if you found it what you were looking for. 47:18 Yeah, there's so many. I was just trying to pick one. 47:20 It's verse 6, "Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, 47:23 and he delivered them out of their distresses." 47:26 I think that really just sums up, 47:28 you know, everything. 47:30 But there's some really good ones. 47:32 That whole book of Psalm 107 is really good. 47:35 Encouraging. That's really a good chapter. 47:38 So we've looked at then, of course, 47:40 the gift of salvation. 47:42 Let's see what we have, the gift of adoption. 47:45 What's on your list? 47:46 Gift of the Holy Spirit. 47:47 Holy Spirit, all right, good. Yeah. 47:49 What's next? 47:50 The gift of grace, where you kind of briefed. 47:51 The gift of victory, the gift of righteousness, 47:55 the gift of deliverance, 47:56 the gift of the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. 47:59 Look at the faith. 48:00 Right, amen. 48:02 It's a great list. It's a big one. 48:03 Paul tells us in Romans 12, 48:04 that to every man is given a measure of faith. 48:08 And so many times we think, 48:10 "But I don't have enough faith," or I don't... 48:12 But everyone, we are all given a measure of faith. 48:17 And then God grows it. 48:18 Yes. 48:19 Yeah, that is powerful, isn't it? 48:21 And it's not just some people. 48:22 Yes. It says everyone. 48:24 Wow. 48:25 Wow. 48:26 You know, it makes me think of a lady I used to work 48:28 with years ago when she said, 48:29 "I don't have any talents or gifts." 48:31 I'm like, "You can have the gift of faith. 48:34 The gift of prayer." 48:35 I mean, that's another gift. 48:36 You can pray for folks. 48:38 That's one of your gifts. 48:39 You know, I just talked to a lady on the phone, 48:41 she said, "Hi, I want to go and do missions overseas, 48:42 you know, and stuff." 48:43 I said, "Well..." 48:45 She said, "I'm old, I can't get out anymore, 48:46 I can't do anything." 48:47 I said, "Well, you pray right?" She said, "Yes." 48:49 "You're doing work for the Lord." 48:50 She says, "Really? I am?" 48:51 I said, "Yes, you're doing work for the Lord." 48:54 "I never thought of it like that. 48:55 Oh, I'm doing work. 48:56 That's great." She was so excited. 48:58 So, you know, it's a gift of prayer, so. 49:00 I talked to, I think it was someone on the phone, 49:02 I'm sure it was someone on the phone recently. 49:04 And they were talking about again, 49:05 they couldn't get out. 49:07 So what they're doing is praying 49:08 for the entire world population. 49:10 Of course, they don't know them by name. 49:11 What they do, and I don't know, they said they can go online 49:13 and you can kind of see the world population 49:14 is it sort of changes, estimates, I'm not really sure. 49:17 And it changes. 49:18 So she just prays for that number for that day, 49:20 whatever that number is. 49:22 So I thought that well, that's great. 49:24 Another person was going through the phone book and, 49:26 you know, there's still phone books. 49:28 Somewhere. 49:30 Somewhere. 49:31 She was going through a phone book, 49:32 maybe it was an older one and just going down, you know, 49:34 she doesn't know these people name by name, 49:35 and praying for them, that's powerful. 49:37 It is. It is. 49:38 Perhaps something we can do. 49:39 Amen. 49:41 We have the gift of the fruit of the Spirit. 49:42 Yeah. 49:43 Oh, wow. 49:45 I love that. Do we want to look at that? 49:46 We have time to look at that before we pray. 49:47 And then we'll go to a prayer at the end. 49:49 What scriptures? 49:50 Galatians, let's go to Galatians. 49:52 Of course, in Galatians 5, 49:53 you see initially the works of the flesh. 49:56 And the Word of God says, 49:57 "The works of the flesh are evident," 49:59 which are these, which we won't read that list 50:01 because we look at the gift of the fruit of the Spirit, 50:04 and I love that God wants to give us 50:07 all of these beautiful character traits 50:10 because it's His character, which is just incredible. 50:14 Galatians 5:22-23. 50:18 You have that, Donald or Janelle? 50:22 Start with 22? 50:23 Okay. 50:24 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, 50:28 long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, 50:32 temperance against such there is no law. 50:36 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh 50:39 with the affections and lusts." 50:41 Wow. I like that. 50:43 The fruit of the Spirit is... 50:44 What's the first word? 50:46 Love. Wow. 50:47 It's like, love is like an umbrella over all that. 50:49 It is. Yeah, that's true. 50:50 And then joy. Yeah. 50:53 This umbrella, love, then joy, then peace, long suffering. 50:56 I like that, Donald, 'cause going back 50:57 to our opening scripture, John 3:16, "For God so loved." 51:02 And we get to fruit of the Spirit. 51:04 That's because God is love. 51:06 1 John, it says what? 51:08 "God is love." 51:10 And so that's His character, His very nature. 51:13 Do you think those are in specific order, 51:15 fruit of the Spirit? 51:17 I do. I think so too. 51:21 It's a building thing. 51:24 Absolutely. Yeah, that's great. 51:25 I want to just... 51:26 I know, we touched on just that part briefly 51:28 and we're getting close to prayer. 51:29 But I want to just ask the question, 51:31 how do we share then these gifts 51:33 that we've talked about this evening? 51:36 How do we share those with others? 51:37 And how would you do that at home? 51:39 How would you all share these gifts? 51:41 We talked about salvation, adoption, Holy Spirit, grace, 51:44 faith, deliverance, victory. 51:46 Any thoughts on that? 51:47 Well, I think Paul put it best to be an epistle 51:50 read of all men, or a letter. 51:52 And what does that mean? 51:53 A letter read of all men is that you, 51:55 how can we put this? 51:57 Like, we're talking about these characteristics, 51:58 love, joy, peace, long suffering, 52:00 gentleness, goodness, faith, 52:02 being an example to somebody, you know, 52:04 and I talked to some young people, 52:05 when I think about man, 52:07 what if I had a real good godly mentor when I was young, 52:09 where would I have been? 52:11 To have an example to show me what is love? 52:13 What is joy? 52:15 What is peace, long suffering? 52:16 I think that we as Christ's children, 52:18 we have that privilege and an opportunity 52:20 to show these characteristics against 52:22 what the world is teaching right now. 52:24 To show them there's a difference. 52:25 Yeah. 52:27 And I think also, as we grow in our relationship 52:30 with the Lord, and He shows us more of His character, 52:33 and we can share that with other people. 52:35 And, you know, just helping them 52:38 to understand more about God, 52:39 because I think a lot of the world thinks 52:40 that God is dictator, 52:42 and that He's an evil God that, you know, 52:45 He's waiting to zap them for any little thing. 52:47 I used to think that and, you know, 52:49 I know a lot of people that do and it's just sad. 52:53 And I think that would be for me, 52:54 one of the things I would like to help people to understand 52:58 that God loves them and He wants to save. 53:01 And He's looking for a reason to save them, 53:02 not a reason to, to zap them. 53:04 Why would He birth you if that was the case? 53:07 What will be the point? That'd be goofy. 53:08 So yeah. 53:10 We should go to some prayer. 53:11 We only got like four minutes left here with Family Worship. 53:13 And we just hope 53:14 that you'll join us here in prayer. 53:16 Donald, we'll start with you, and just kind of go around 53:17 the circle here, table. 53:19 Oh, Heavenly Father, what can we say? 53:21 Our spirits are lifted this evening. 53:24 Wow, gifts, so many. 53:26 We just cherish everything that Your Son has done 53:28 and what You have done. 53:30 All together, You've worked 53:31 for the common good for humanity. 53:33 And, Lord, You're lifting us up. 53:34 Prayer lifts us up to God. 53:36 We just thank You, Lord, for that. 53:37 We thank You for the season we're in. 53:39 We thank You for family. 53:41 Where we'd be without family? 53:43 And for Your promise, Lord, 53:44 that You're going to come back and get us soon, 53:46 that we can have joy for everlasting. 53:49 We just ask that You'll bless and anoint to all those 53:51 who are listening this message tonight 53:54 that something will touch their heart, 53:55 Lord, and they will make a decision to get on board 53:58 as Janelle said, to see a God of love. 54:00 Not a God of a dictator, but a God of love, 54:03 who really wants them in the kingdom 54:04 who wants His children back. 54:07 He wants none to perish 54:08 but all to have everlasting life. 54:09 So we thank You, Lord, for that gift. 54:11 We ask that in Jesus' name, amen. 54:14 Lord, I also thank You for all these gifts 54:16 that we've talked about. 54:17 There's so many more 54:18 that are haven't even been spoken, 54:20 but so many more that You've given us 54:22 and I do thank You most of all for the gift of Jesus 54:25 and what He did for us, 54:26 and how He sacrificed everything for us. 54:29 And we thank You for Your sacrifice. 54:32 And we just ask that You would be with us all 54:34 this Christmas season, 54:36 that You would fill the void in our hearts that we all have. 54:40 And I ask You to be with all of those out there 54:42 that are lonely this time of year. 54:44 And Thank You, Lord, for all you do for us, 54:46 in Jesus' name, amen. 54:49 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus 54:51 because we are destitute. 54:54 We have nothing with which to offer You, 54:57 but You gave Your Son Jesus. 55:00 And we accept and receive anew, that gift of salvation. 55:05 We thank You for the grace that You freely offer 55:08 and the victory You want to give us. 55:10 Thank You that we are part of Your family. 55:13 God, what a gift to be sons and daughters of the King. 55:17 And I just pray for my brothers and sisters right now. 55:20 Lord, whether they are alone, or hurting, 55:24 or going through some sort of trial 55:26 and time of crisis, 55:27 God, would You wrap Your arms around them? 55:29 Would you remind them of who they are in You, 55:33 and that You are walking right beside them. 55:36 Thank You that we can turn to You 55:38 when we're happy, and when we're sad, 55:39 and when we're upset, 55:41 and no matter what goes through our hearts and minds. 55:45 You see, You know, You understand, 55:49 and You deliver and we give You praise in Jesus' name. 55:53 Amen. 55:54 Father in heaven, what a blessing it has been 55:56 this evening to be able to spend this time 55:58 in Your Word and with our family 56:01 here on the set, but also with our family at home. 56:05 That we've been able to join together and realize, Lord, 56:08 the tremendous gifts that You have given to us. 56:11 And the top, of course, is sending your Son Jesus. 56:14 It's the ultimate gift 56:16 that we have a wonderful gift of salvation. 56:18 And sooner, very soon, 56:20 we believe we'll be able to look up 56:21 into the sky and You will be coming soon 56:23 to take us home. 56:24 Help us to be faithful to that end, 56:26 even in the lonely times and the dark times to realize 56:29 that You were right there by our side. 56:31 We thank You and we love You, 56:33 and in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 56:34 Amen. 56:36 Wow. 56:38 That was a rich hour. 56:39 My goodness. Yes, it was power packed. 56:42 A bucket list. 56:43 It's a good bucket list, all these gifts. 56:45 That's amazing. 56:46 It's a blessing to spend the time. 56:48 Yes. 56:49 Did we get all of your gifts 56:51 that you had written down there? 56:52 Is there any other gifts we missed? 56:53 You want to mention real quick? 56:55 Yeah, gift of redemption. 56:56 Nice. 56:57 I had a few verses for that. 56:59 I think I mentioned gift 57:00 of a transformed heart and mind. 57:02 And gift of reconciliation. 57:04 Oh, that's beautiful. 57:05 Oh, that's a good one too. I love that. 57:06 Thank you both for being here. 57:08 Amen. Thanks for having us. 57:09 We had fun. What a gift. 57:11 Yeah, what a gift it has been. 57:12 Yeah, yeah. 57:13 And one of my favorite gifts is the gift of peace. 57:15 You know, I need peace. 57:16 And to know that He gives it to us freely. 57:19 So I'm so grateful for that, 57:20 and the gift of you, sweetheart. 57:22 I tell you, I'm so thankful for you. 57:23 What a tremendous gift you are. 57:24 And I'm thinking of that song. 57:26 Jesus loves me and loves you. 57:28 This I know, for the Bible tells me so. 57:32 Thank you for joining us. 57:33 Continue to study the Word of God. 57:34 We'll see you next time. |
Revised 2020-12-27