Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW210001S
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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 00:23 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 01:08 Hello, and welcome to another 3ABN Today 01:11 Family Worship and happy Sabbath to you. 01:14 I'm Jason Bradley, and I'm excited about 01:16 this evening's topic. 01:18 But I'll introduce that to you in a moment. 01:21 I want to introduce my brothers in Christ. 01:23 So we've got Brother Ryan Day here. 01:26 Great to have you... 01:27 Blessing to be here, Brother Yes, sir. 01:29 We've got the Dakota Day. 01:30 That's right. Uh-huh. 01:32 We call you guys the Sons of Thunder. 01:34 Oh, okay. 01:36 It's great to have you here. 01:38 And we've got Ricky Carter. 01:40 Happy Sabbath. 01:41 Yes, happy Sabbath to you. 01:43 Happy Sabbath, 01:44 You know, we're going to be talking about 01:46 going from hopeless to hope for. 01:49 You know, a lot of times we enter into these situations 01:52 where they're seemingly hopeless. 01:56 But then, we learn about Jesus. 01:59 And we end up on the hopeful side. 02:02 So have you guys ever experienced hopelessness? 02:07 And then what led to that hopefulness? 02:11 Anybody can jump in? 02:13 I think I'll go ahead. Go ahead. 02:14 I think back when I was first getting started 02:17 with my family had a young family, 02:20 just got out of college. 02:22 And I was looking for work. 02:25 It's been about two months looking 02:28 doing all the things you need to do, 02:29 get your resumes prepared and send out 02:31 to different locations, and no prospects. 02:35 And I felt that two months had been a while 02:37 and I want to be able to provide for my family, 02:39 just hadn't had anything coming through yet. 02:42 Was feeling very discouraged. 02:45 And I finally decided 02:48 to start talking to God about it. 02:51 And He reminded me that I hadn't asked Him yet. 02:57 Asked Him for any help 02:59 and so I said, okay, yes, I haven't done that. 03:02 Let me ask for help. 03:04 So we're having, I'm having my prayer time with Him 03:07 and had already requested for help 03:10 with getting out finding a job. 03:12 Then the phone rang, in the midst, 03:15 near the end of the prayer time, 03:17 and I sensed I need to go answer the phone. 03:20 So I went out to the phone. 03:22 It was a prospective employer, who had gotten my resume. 03:27 We had a conversation about having an interview, 03:30 the next day, this is a Tuesday morning 03:32 when I had this prayer. 03:34 The next day, went for the interview. 03:37 And everything went well with the interview. 03:39 And then got the job and Friday, I started working. 03:43 So I was very discouraged, hopeless feeling, 03:47 but turned out to be quite hopeful at the end. 03:50 So I praise God for that, 03:52 Amen. Amen. 03:54 What about you, Ryan? 03:56 Well, mine's a little unconventional or not, 03:59 not as a traditional story, 04:00 I guess you would use in a situation like this. 04:02 But for me, I think it was during 04:05 the whole trial of my mom's suffering 04:08 in the hospital and her ultimately 04:12 dying in the hospital. 04:15 Yeah, I remember in those moments, 04:17 there was, it was kind of a roller coaster, 04:19 where you have these human feelings of, 04:23 you know, hopelessness, you know, like, it seems like, 04:25 you know, nothing's looking good and, 04:27 but yet, then you have these surges of, 04:28 oh, you know, God's gonna come through, right? 04:30 And I think what kind of made me feel great, 04:34 before it actually happened before her passing, 04:36 is I have this, I actually have this hopeful feeling 04:40 that God's gonna pull, that's God's gonna pull her 04:42 through this because there's thousands 04:45 of brethren across the country 04:48 and across the world that are praying, 04:49 is praying for my mom. 04:50 And so, but then, of course, when that moment came. 04:57 It's a very, very difficult situation, 05:02 you for a moment, at least from my situation, 05:05 no matter how much faith you think you have, 05:07 no matter how much you know of God's Word, 05:11 the enemy just knows how to come and touch 05:14 that that right part of your human mind, 05:17 your human part of you 05:19 and start to cast a little bit of doubt and hopelessness 05:23 in you and you're like, you know, 05:24 you just kind of feel like you know it's over, 05:26 it's done with, you know our family's broken up 05:28 or it's never gonna be the same. 05:30 It's just this kind of dark, gloomy feeling. 05:33 Yeah. But God always comes through. 05:35 His Word is sure. 05:37 And I just remember in the days and weeks after that, 05:42 the Lord pulled me out of that mire, 05:44 I guess you could say. And He helped me through that. 05:46 And helped me to see the wonderful promises, 05:50 many of which I had read many times. 05:53 But He helped reassure those in my mind that you know what? 05:55 Even though it seemed hopeless, and even though it seems like 05:58 you'll never be with her again. 06:00 I have promised you 06:02 that there will be a resurrection day 06:04 and that this is just a blink in comparison to eternity. 06:08 And so, I have felt that shifting back and forth 06:13 from hopeless to hopeful many times in my life. 06:17 But at the end of the day, the Lord always comes through. 06:20 Amen. Amen. 06:22 Dakota, what about you? 06:24 Well, my specific experience was interesting. 06:27 One that came to my mind was my mother. 06:29 Yes. 06:30 And the situation we went through with that. 06:31 But another one that was a big issue in my life 06:34 was back in like, I don't know, five years ago 06:36 or so is kind of when I was really starting to become 06:41 wanna become full time in the ministry. 06:43 I had been a Bible worker, 06:45 working several years in Bible work. 06:47 And I really had a desire to be an evangelist, 06:50 and to do something, you know, big on that skill for the Lord. 06:54 But I just didn't know how to do it. 06:55 And it seemed like it was hopeless. 06:56 Like, I'm a young guy, nobody's gonna, 06:59 you know, believe that God could use me and all these, 07:02 you know, things that the devil was really putting in my mind. 07:05 And long story short, 07:06 I remember praying a prayer and saying, 07:08 Lord, I want to be in the ministry, 07:10 I want to, you know, really do something. 07:12 And you said, if we ask anything, 07:14 according to your will, it will be done. 07:16 But you know, God's timing is different than our timing. 07:18 And I remember feeling so like, hopeless there for a long time 07:23 like this, you know, I'm never going to have my foot 07:25 get in the door, somewhere 07:27 where I can do something big for the Lord. 07:30 Straight out of high school, 07:32 you know, I was wanting to be a history teacher, 07:34 I loved history, and then God was like, 07:37 "No, no, no, I don't want you to be a history teacher, 07:39 I want you to be a minister." 07:41 And I'm like, "Well, Lord, 07:42 I don't even know how to do that, 07:43 you know, I don't even know where to begin." 07:45 And so, what eventually happened was, 07:48 I had that deep conviction that I didn't want to slay for man, 07:51 you know, I remembered the scripture, Mark 8:36, 07:53 "What shall profit a man if he gained 07:55 the whole world lose his own soul." 07:57 And I just, I felt so hopeless of how to do it, 08:00 how to get into full time ministry. 08:02 And... 08:04 after going to Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism, 08:06 and kind of starting with that. 08:09 I didn't know where to go from there. 08:11 So I just prayed and sought the Lord. 08:13 And before I knew it, 08:14 God has started answering my prayers in time. 08:17 I think He was really building my faith. 08:19 And it's sometimes it's like, God will wait until like, 08:22 you're about to run out of the last piece of bread, 08:24 you know. 08:25 And then He like, he wants to test you 08:27 and He did that with me. 08:29 And it seemed like, all these doors 08:31 and opportunities started opening all of a sudden, 08:33 and I was just so grateful. 08:34 So yeah, and now I see where God's brought me today. 08:37 Here I am, like five years later, 08:39 and I'm just praising His name that I'm able to do His work 08:43 and share His Word with others. 08:44 Amen. Amen. 08:46 My situation was where when I was out of the church, 08:50 my stomach was giving me a lot of problems. 08:54 Like I was in a lot of pain, 08:56 it was getting bigger and bigger, 08:57 and all of that stuff. 08:59 And I didn't know what was going on. 09:02 I went to the doctor. 09:04 They gave me medicine, they sent me home. 09:06 I went back to a doctor again for a second time. 09:09 They gave me more medicine. They sent me home. 09:12 I went to the doctor for a third time. 09:14 Now the doctor that I was seeing, 09:16 he was supposed to be on vacation, 09:18 but he happened to be in the office that day. 09:21 And I use that happen. 09:23 It was providence. Yeah. 09:26 Boy, he happened to be in that office that day, 09:28 he ran another test and he told my dad 09:31 to take me to the ER right away. 09:34 See what had happened was my appendix 09:37 had ruptured inside of me, sealed off my intestines 09:40 and they were about to rupture next, 09:42 like I was close to death. 09:44 And so they operated right then 09:46 and I wasn't a Christian at the time. 09:49 Like I believed there was, you know, God, 09:52 I was raised in the church and all of that stuff, 09:54 but I had left for a long time and was living 09:56 the wrong lifestyle and stuff like that. 09:58 And I remember lying in that hospital bed feeling helpless, 10:02 because, you know, 10:04 my white blood cell count went up. 10:07 So signaling like infection type of thing. 10:09 Yeah. 10:11 And then, I remember my mom helping me 10:13 to the sink to brush my teeth and she began to cry 10:15 because I was losing so much weight, 10:18 I was skin and bones. 10:19 And I didn't know if I was gonna die then or what, 10:22 but if I would have died then, 10:24 I would have been in a world of trouble. 10:26 And so I was laying there feeling hopeless, 10:28 not even able to do the basic necessities, 10:32 you know, like, walk myself to the sink to brush my teeth. 10:36 But God delivered me from that and brought me through that. 10:41 And I'm just so thankful to Him for that. 10:45 We're gonna look at 10:46 some situations in the Bible today, 10:49 where there's some seemingly hopeless situations, 10:54 but then Christ steps in and you know, 10:58 the people get that hope that they've been looking for. 11:02 But before we open the Word of God, 11:04 why don't we have a word of prayer. 11:05 And, Dakota, I'm gonna ask you to pray. 11:07 All right, Brother. 11:08 Our Father in heaven, we just want to thank You so much 11:10 for Your love, Your grace and Your mercy 11:12 for Your Son Jesus in Calvary's cross. 11:14 And we ask that the Holy Spirit would be with us now 11:16 as we talk about, Lord, 11:18 going from the hopeless to the hopeful. 11:20 And as we study, Lord, these stories 11:23 that Your Word talks about, 11:24 I pray that You will help us to have wisdom, 11:26 knowledge and understanding of Your Word and that everyone 11:29 that's watching this at home or wherever they may be, 11:32 if they too will be encouraged and be hopeful 11:35 after we do this study, 11:36 we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. 11:38 Amen. Amen. 11:40 Ryan, I'm gonna ask you to look up Matthew 9:20-22. 11:46 Yeah. Absolutely, 11:47 And, Dakota, 11:48 if you would take Mark 5:25-34. 11:55 And I will take Luke 8:43- 48. 12:00 And, Ricky, if you'll take Leviticus 15:25-27. 12:06 All right. Let's make it happen. 12:08 Matthew Chapter 9, starting in verse 20 to 22. 12:14 The Bible says, "And behold a woman 12:15 which was deceased with an issue 12:18 a disease with an issue of blood twelve years, 12:21 came behind him and touched the hem of his garment. 12:25 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, 12:30 I shall be whole. 12:31 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, 12:36 he said, Daughter, be of good comfort, 12:39 thy faith hath made thee whole.' 12:42 And the woman was made whole from that hour. 12:47 " Yeah, now, you know, 12:50 with the way things currently are, 12:53 with having to be quarantined, 12:57 in this isolation, and all of these things. 13:00 Well, I don't want to jump ahead, 13:02 but just keep that in mind and how we feel today isolated 13:06 and in quarantine, and all of these things 13:08 as we go through this story. 13:10 And the reason why we're looking at it 13:12 in these multiple different 13:13 you know, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, 13:16 is because... 13:17 there's something a little bit different in each of these, 13:21 you know, some of them get longer, 13:22 some of them are shorter, 13:24 and then there's a little something extra. 13:26 So if you would go ahead and read your verses there. 13:29 All right. This is Mark 5:25-34. 13:33 "This is a certain woman, 13:35 which had an issue of blood twelve years, 13:38 and had suffered many things of many physicians, 13:41 and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, 13:45 but rather grew worse. 13:47 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, 13:50 and touched his garment. 13:51 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, 13:54 I shall be whole. 13:57 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up, 14:00 and she felt in her body that she was healed of the plague. 14:04 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself 14:06 that virtue had gone out of him, 14:07 turned him about in the press, and said, 14:09 Who touched my clothes? 14:12 And his disciples said unto him, 14:13 Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, 14:15 and sayest thou, Who touched me? 14:17 And he looked round about to see her 14:19 that had done this thing. 14:22 But the woman fearing and trembling, 14:24 knowing what was done in her, 14:26 came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 14:30 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole, 14:33 go in peace, and be whole of thy plague." 14:36 Amen. Amen. 14:38 Wow. 14:39 Now we'll hear from Luke the physician, 14:42 as we look at Luke 8:43-48. 14:46 And beginning in verse 43, "Now a woman, 14:49 having a flow of blood for twelve years, 14:52 who had spent 14:53 all her livelihood on physicians 14:56 and could not be healed by any, 14:58 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. 15:02 And immediately her flow of blood stopped. 15:05 And Jesus said, 'Who touched Me?' 15:07 When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, 15:09 'Master, the multitudes throng and press You, 15:12 and You say, 'Who touched Me?' 15:15 But Jesus said, 'Somebody touched Me, 15:18 for I perceived power going out from Me.' 15:22 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, 15:24 she came trembling, and falling down before Him, 15:26 she declared to Him 15:28 in the presence of all the people 15:30 the reason she had touched Him 15:33 and how she was healed immediately.'" 15:35 Notice right there where it says 15:37 she declared to Him 15:38 in the presence of all the people, 15:39 that's not in the other accounts, 15:42 you don't see that so in front of all the other people, 15:46 she declared why she had touched Him. 15:49 And then I love how Luke brings out the fact that for 12 years, 15:54 she spent, like all her livelihood 15:58 on trying to get healed on 16:02 by these physicians and all of this stuff. 16:05 You know, when I think about this particular story, 16:10 I think about the fact that she went 16:13 to all of these other places prior to going to Christ. 16:19 How often do we see that today? 16:21 I know, in my own life, I went, I searched everywhere else, 16:25 prior to going to Christ. 16:26 How often do we see that today? 16:28 And what stands out to you guys in this passage? 16:32 Well, I think it shows to a certain extent, 16:36 a lack of faith. 16:37 Even though when we think of this story, 16:39 we think, oh, what faith? 16:41 Right? Yeah. 16:42 But, you know, to a certain extent, 16:44 I think it shows that all of us are capable 16:46 in a moment of thinking that we can do something 16:50 that we can somehow find a solution. 16:52 And that's certainly not that I'm certainly not saying that 16:54 we should not try to. 16:58 We certainly should not do our best 17:01 in practicing and making choices 17:03 that would be good for us. 17:05 Absolutely. 17:06 But at the end of the day, in her situation, 17:07 I mean, this was a, I mean, this was a terminal illness. 17:10 I mean, this is something that would have claimed her life. 17:12 And so it kind of shows, I think her human side 17:15 that she did exhaust all of these other options, 17:18 you know, I'm going to go here, I'm going to try this, 17:19 I'm going to do this, kind of like what we would do, 17:21 you know, with all this new medication, 17:22 I read about this, and oh this, 17:24 you know, this natural supplement, 17:25 I'm gonna try this. 17:27 But at the end of the day, 17:28 she should have just like we should 17:30 go first to Christ, right? 17:32 Eventually, we see that be the beauty of her faith, 17:36 that most of us probably would have been like, 17:37 you know, what Jesus needs to actually physically touch me 17:40 for me to be healed. 17:42 But this lady just said, if I could just reach out 17:44 and touch a little bit of the hem 17:45 of His garment, right? 17:47 I can be made whole. 17:48 And so that's what I pulled from that 17:50 that I see in the story. 17:51 Yeah. Amen. 17:53 Dakota, you have anything you want to add? 17:54 Yeah. 17:55 You know, it set out to be a story where it talks about 17:57 she had an issue of blood. 18:00 Well, that was her issue. 18:01 But we all got our own issues, right? 18:04 That's right. 18:05 And I was thinking about that in relation to... 18:08 her issue was solved when she came to Christ. 18:11 And as you said, too oftentimes we go to all of these other 18:14 means to solve our own issues and solve our own problems, 18:17 when really Jesus is the only answer. 18:19 And I think that when we give Jesus a try, 18:22 we reach out to Him first as this story is, 18:24 our issues too will be solved by faith. 18:27 Amen. Amen. 18:29 I think that... 18:30 her situation is similar to me in regards that, 18:35 I'm wanting to solve that on my own. 18:40 And I think a lot of times, 18:42 God will allow me to come into situations 18:46 to where I can see, this is my issue, 18:50 you're trying to do it on your own. 18:54 And when I finally see that, and that it's not working out. 18:59 Then I go to Him and ask for help. 19:03 And then He resolves it easily. 19:06 But then He reminds me, okay, okay. 19:09 You went through all that whole process. 19:11 Now think of it in a different way. 19:12 All right. 19:14 When that problem comes to you, 19:16 what I want you to do is come to Me first. 19:18 Come to Me first, and I'll solve it for you. 19:21 So that's kind of what I get out of that. 19:23 Absolutely. Amen. 19:24 Amen Will you read Leviticus 15:25-27? 19:29 Were you going to say something, Ryan? 19:32 No, I was just... 19:33 What came to my mind as he was speaking then. 19:36 You know a lot of times and this is, 19:38 I don't know why this popped into my head, 19:39 but a lot of times, you know, 19:41 some people do right the opposite. 19:44 They will come to Christ first, 19:45 which is a wonderful concept in general. 19:48 But a lot of times when it comes to health practices, 19:51 I'm thinking of myself, 19:52 you know God has given us health practices. 19:53 He has given us certain health principles in His Word 19:56 some of which we're aware of. 19:58 And in this case, 19:59 sometimes we'll go to the Lord first and ask Him 20:01 for healing when sometimes He won't heal, 20:04 because we're not practicing that. 20:06 And that just popped into my mind. 20:08 But in this case, she had done the opposite. 20:11 She had done everything that she knew to do. 20:13 And she was at her wit's end, and her only hope was Christ. 20:17 And so she finally goes to Jesus. 20:19 And Jesus is like, all right, you know, 20:21 and she's made well because of her faith. 20:23 And that's awesome. Amen. 20:24 Amen. 20:25 Leviticus 15:25-27, 20:29 "If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, 20:33 other than at the time of her customary impurity, 20:37 or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, 20:42 all the days of her unclean discharge 20:46 shall be as the days of her customary impurity. 20:50 She shall be unclean. 20:53 Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge 20:58 shall be to her as the bed of her impurity, 21:02 and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, 21:07 as the uncleanness of her impurity. 21:10 Whoever touches those things shall be unclean, 21:14 he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, 21:17 and be unclean until evening." 21:22 Now, when you hear that, 21:24 and you think about the present circumstances, 21:27 where there's quarantine, 21:29 where there's this isolation, 21:31 where this, there's all of these things, 21:33 this feeling of loneliness, 21:35 you know, families, kind of, you know, 21:38 separated and all of that stuff, 21:40 people in the hospital and by themselves 21:42 and families can't go visit them. 21:45 When you think about that, imagine this 12 year period, 21:51 a 12 years, 12 years of quarantine, basically. 21:55 Yeah. That's a long time. 21:57 That's intense. That's a hopeless situation. 22:00 That is. That is. 22:02 But it was made hopeful through Christ. 22:04 That's right. Amen. 22:05 Yeah, yeah. 22:07 I mean, that that just blows me away. 22:09 Would somebody like to read Matthew 8:23-27 22:13 as we look at the storm? 22:15 Absolutely. 22:17 You said Matthew 8? Yes, sir. 22:18 And we have verses 23 to 27. 22:21 Let's go there now. 22:22 This is one of my favorite stories. 22:23 Man, I love this story. 22:25 The wind and the waves obey Jesus. 22:28 That's what the title says here. 22:30 It says, "Now when He got into a boat, 22:32 His disciples followed Him. 22:33 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, 22:36 so that the boat was covered with the waves. 22:39 But He was asleep." 22:42 So these brothers, 22:43 who know they're probably out there floating around, 22:45 you know, fishing, and who knows Jesus 22:46 is just sound asleep in the back, right? 22:49 And then verse 25, "Then His disciples came to Him 22:52 and awoke Him, saying, 'Lord, save us! 22:54 We are perishing!' 22:56 But He said to them, 'Why are you fearful, 22:59 O you of little faith?' 23:01 Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, 23:04 and there was a great calm. 23:07 So the men marveled, saying, 'Who can this be, 23:11 that even the winds and the sea obey Him?' " 23:15 This particular story sticks out to me. 23:19 And I've never been on the ocean. 23:21 But there was, well actually, I have been on the... 23:24 I've never actually sailed the ocean, 23:26 like in my own boat or anything, 23:28 but I have been on a cruise ship before. 23:30 And I remember while we were out in the middle, 23:32 I think it was the Caribbean. 23:33 This was many, many years ago. 23:35 And, of course, we're on this massive boat ride 23:38 and you think, you know, nothing's gonna happen. 23:39 Nothing can happen, it's huge boat, right? 23:42 Not that I had, you know, that Titanic, 23:44 you know, image in my mind, like it's unsinkable. 23:47 But I remember we were out in the middle of the ocean there. 23:51 I mean, ever, as far as the eye can see for miles and miles, 23:55 nothing but water. 23:57 And I remember 23:59 they had made an announcement that there might be some, 24:02 you know, tougher waves and waters 24:03 and I just remember 24:06 being on this huge boat and all I could feel just... 24:10 And it was kind of this unsettling feeling, 24:13 but it didn't really come real to me until I went out 24:15 and I looked outside like over the boat dock there, 24:20 over the boat edge there of the boat. 24:23 And you can see how big these waves were. 24:26 And I could imagine if I was in a little jump boat 24:29 or in one of these boats which, 24:30 you know, they were big go boats 24:32 but they weren't like really big, big boats. 24:33 I mean, it was big enough to hold 12 guys and not sink. 24:37 But they were still concretively smaller boats. 24:39 Could you imagine being out? 24:40 I mean, these waves were like six foot, 24:42 seven foot, eight foot tall. 24:44 And it had been lightly raining and you could just tell, 24:46 just the waters were unsettled. 24:48 This story came to my mind and I could imagine 24:51 it was much worse than their situation. 24:54 And so, all they can think of in that moment 24:56 is we're gonna die. 24:57 Hopelessness, right? 24:59 Completely just our lives are over. 25:01 We're gonna get out of here in the middle of this ocean, 25:03 we're in the middle of the sea, 25:05 here's this storm that comes up, 25:07 and all of us is about to go down and drown. 25:09 This is gonna be our end. 25:10 So they go back and they wake Jesus up because I, 25:13 first of all, think about that. 25:14 Who in the world is going to sleep 25:15 in the middle of something like that? 25:17 Right, yeah. 25:18 Only the Son of God, only the Son of God. 25:20 For me that's, I don't even understand that, 25:22 like, how can somebody sleep in something like that, 25:24 through something like that. 25:25 But Jesus was asleep. 25:27 But His response to them is what catches my eye. 25:31 Because I put myself in their situation, 25:33 And I would probably react the same way 25:35 like Jesus how can You sleep, 25:37 we're are about to, this boat about to capsize. 25:41 You know, we're gonna about to die. 25:42 And I could just imagine, 25:44 I don't think Jesus probably yelled at them 25:46 or screamed at them. 25:47 But I could just imagine this, 25:48 this kind of concern look come over His face like guys, 25:53 come on, you know who I am. 25:56 It's Me. 25:57 You of little faith. 25:58 And He just stands up, I could just imagine, 26:01 I don't think it was like peace be still. 26:02 You know, I think He's just like, hey, shew, 26:05 stop. 26:08 And in seconds, in a millisecond, perhaps, 26:12 they go from a hopeless situation, 26:15 to a hopeful situation, like after that, 26:19 it would be hard for me to believe anyone could doubt 26:22 who Christ was. 26:24 Powerful. 26:25 That is powerful. 26:27 Here, like you said, in the storm. 26:30 Jesus is definitely at peace 26:33 because He's sleeping. 26:35 And this is the type of trusting in God peace 26:39 that I want, that I want in my life. 26:43 What a witness that I could be in a trying time 26:50 that could be turbulent in my life 26:52 that I could share with someone else. 26:56 A lot of people they wonder, 27:00 where is God in the challenging times 27:03 of their life when it's raining despair? 27:08 Well, in that example, we can see God was right there. 27:14 And the same situation can be for that person 27:18 who's going through that challenging time. 27:19 God is right there. 27:21 He says in Psalms 46:1, 27:25 "God is our refuge and strength, 27:28 a very present help in trouble." 27:33 So just like how Jesus was next to disciples in the storm, 27:39 He is right there with us during the storms of our life. 27:43 Jesus, He calmed the raging sea, 27:47 He can calm those turbulent waves 27:49 that's going on in our lives. 27:51 And we can be, we can be hopeful 27:55 when we're going through an experience like that, 27:58 we can be hopeful because knowing that 28:00 He can handle whatever problem that we're facing. 28:05 Yeah, I really like that. 28:06 I mean, you have to know who you have in your boat. 28:09 You know, and I think that's, 28:11 that's something that gets missed oftentimes, 28:13 it's like, do we not know who stands with us 28:16 in the midst of these trials? 28:17 Like, can't have anybody better standing with you 28:20 in the midst of this trial? 28:22 Amen. But yet... 28:23 Oh, no, it's over. 28:25 And you know, and panicking. 28:26 So, yeah, I love that story, too. 28:29 And I really love what you brought out there too, 28:32 Ryan and Ricky, you know, 28:36 another person that I think about that has gone through 28:41 some tremendous trials, okay, 28:46 is Joseph. 28:48 Joseph had this wonderful life as a child, 28:51 you know, he was getting, he got the coat of many colors, 28:55 and all of these things like, wonderful life, 28:58 obedient to his parents. 29:00 And then things got rough, 29:05 you know, got sold into slavery by his brothers, 29:08 all of that stuff, but speak to the life of Joseph, 29:12 you know, just what stands out to you about Joseph's life. 29:16 Let's start with you, Dakota. 29:18 Well, Joseph, you know, 29:20 I think he's a perfect situation of going 29:23 from hopeful to helpless and then to hopeful again. 29:28 And I think many of us probably start out that way. 29:30 You know, we start living our lives in school, 29:32 and I think I'm appealing to the young people now, 29:35 especially, you know, you start living your life 29:37 and you got all this hope. 29:38 You know, I'm going to go to college 29:39 and I'm going to get a job or whatever you know, 29:41 and get a really great degree 29:43 or whatever your hopeful experience may be. 29:46 And then things just might plummet 29:48 and you start realizing I got bills. 29:52 You know, Mom and Dad's 29:53 not paying everything for me again, 29:55 and you start realizing all this responsibility 29:58 just kind of seems to swallow you like the whale that Jonah, 30:01 you know, and you don't know what to do. 30:03 And I think Joseph, his whole life is a testimony 30:07 of really a perfect experience 30:09 that not only typifies the life of Christ, 30:12 but is a testimony to all of us that when we study His life, 30:16 we can see in His life, 30:18 there was a dramatic experience that happened to Him. 30:22 I mean, years in prison. 30:25 I mean, he went from... 30:26 he went from not only the pit to the palace, 30:28 but he went from, you know, the heavenly land, 30:32 or the Canaan land, so to speak, 30:33 you know, Canaan land, 30:34 that the promised land to just absolute persecution 30:38 and prison, 30:41 only then to keep his faith the whole time in prison. 30:45 You know, and I just, I think about that, 30:46 and I think, you know, wow, what an awesome example 30:48 of what I want to be in my life. 30:50 And as we look at I mean, there's just so many things, 30:53 I don't want to take all the experiences 30:54 from Joseph's life. 30:55 I know a lot of people's gonna have things to say. 30:57 But yeah, his life is just really amazing, 30:59 really blows me away, 31:00 And he was wrongfully convicted. 31:01 Yeah. That's right. 31:03 But I think sometimes we think of the story of Joseph. 31:06 We don't really fully grasp perhaps how Joseph felt. 31:11 This brother... 31:14 Let's put it in modern terms, prophetic terms, 31:17 where we would say, this brother, he was a saint, 31:21 okay, in the sense that he was one of God's children. 31:24 He kept the commandments of God 31:26 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 31:28 He was faithful. 31:30 Joseph was faithful to God, 31:32 doesn't mean necessarily that 31:33 he was perfect in a human sense, 31:35 but he was faithful in God's eyes. 31:38 But yet his reward, 31:40 it seemed probably from a human perspective is man, 31:44 I serve God, and this is what happens. 31:47 You know, because you've talked about going 31:49 from the pit to the palace, this brother went from 31:50 the pit to an even deeper pit, then to the palace. 31:52 I mean, he went from his brothers, 31:55 you know, completely abandoning him, 31:57 and, you know, betraying him to a slave situation, 32:03 from a slave situation to prison for years. 32:07 And then from prison, finally, he was delivered. 32:10 But could you imagine all that hopelessness 32:13 he felt during that time, like, Lord, 32:15 you know what I served You, I kept Your commandments, 32:17 and I honored You. 32:18 And this is what You allow happen to Your servant. 32:21 I can imagine that that's what went through his mind, 32:23 because that's what probably would go through our mind. 32:26 Lord, I'm serving You, I'm doing all that. 32:27 And You allow this to happen to me. 32:29 But Joseph was a faithful servant. 32:32 He did not give up the faith. 32:33 He kept pressing forward in God's grace. 32:36 And that hopeless situation was turned into 32:38 a hopeful situation in the end. 32:40 Amen. 32:42 But look at... 32:43 So he has, I put down 10 struggles 32:47 that Joseph experienced from childhood to adult, 32:51 one, he was hated by his brothers. 32:53 Two, he was stripped of all his clothes. 32:56 His father and his father had made that coat for him. 32:58 Yeah. Cast into a pit, three. 33:01 Four, sold as a slave. 33:03 Five, taken from his home never to return, 33:08 then sold to Potiphar. 33:11 And that brings us to Genesis. 33:15 Can we read that, 39:2-3? Sure. 33:18 So just pause for a moment. 33:19 I had it open to that, actually that's really good. 33:21 Just pause for a moment out of those 10 that I got here. 33:24 So Genesis 39:2-3 says, 33:27 "The Lord was with Joseph. 33:32 And he was a successful man. 33:34 And he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 33:38 And his master saw that the Lord was with him, 33:42 and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand." 33:47 So Joseph goes through all these trials. 33:51 Now he could have been wondering, where's God? 33:54 Okay? 33:55 Now, in the case of the reader who's reading this, 34:00 someone's reading this and they're wondering 34:01 the same thing, 34:03 God make sure to say right there at the beginning 34:07 in chapter in verse 2, the Lord was with Joseph. 34:12 Okay, saying that again. 34:15 Here this is the same lesson 34:16 that we learned just previously, 34:18 we're talking about Jesus in the boat with disciples. 34:21 And another lesson that we can learn from this text 34:24 is that during the trials, 34:27 we have the opportunity to be witnesses for Christ. 34:31 Amen. 34:32 It says right there in verse 3, 34:34 "And his master saw that the Lord was with him 34:38 and the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand." 34:43 Amen. 34:45 So we can be witnesses for the Lord in times of trouble. 34:48 That's right. So glad that you said that. 34:49 That is so true. 34:51 You know, people are watching 34:53 how we respond in the face of adversity. 34:57 You know, character is not made in the eyes of adversity 35:02 or in the face of adversity, but it's revealed. 35:06 And so, you know, we're seeing you see different situations 35:09 that may take place and different responses, 35:13 you know, a lot of times emotional, 35:15 immediate emotional responses 35:18 as opposed to Christ like... 35:22 dealing with things in a Christ like manner. 35:23 Yeah. 35:25 And so, you know, I love the fact that Joseph 35:27 no matter what circumstance he was in, 35:30 no matter what situation he was in, 35:33 he remained faithful. 35:34 And he showed that Christ like attitude, 35:39 even in the midst of adversity. 35:40 He was dealt a messed up hand. 35:42 Yeah. Oh, really messed up hand. 35:44 And it wasn't because of God. We got to make that clear. 35:48 You know, a lot of people would want to shake the fist at God, 35:51 Oh, God, you know, You allow this to happen, 35:53 therefore, it's Your fault. 35:55 You know, God will allow things to happen, 35:56 but it's not necessarily 35:58 His plan or His will, or His fault. 36:00 Sometimes He allows things to happen. 36:03 It's very... 36:06 it's one of those things that's just unconventional, 36:09 it's not one of, you know, it's not necessarily 36:10 what he wants, but He will allow it to happen 36:12 for His glory, because He knows He's got a plan, 36:14 you know, He's gonna show up, 36:16 and He's gonna not show out in a selfish way, 36:18 but He's gonna show His glory and who He is. 36:20 Powerful. That's right. 36:22 That's answered 36:24 in the same story. 36:26 Why don't you read that for us? 36:28 Genesis 50:20, let me go there real quick. 36:32 Yeah, there's so many lessons 36:34 that you can get from the life of Joseph 36:37 and how he endured those trials. 36:39 So in this situation, what's happening is, 36:42 Joseph, he's talking to his brothers, his, 36:46 their father just recently died. 36:48 And so they're scared of his brother thinking 36:51 he's going to get revenge. 36:53 But here's what Joseph says. 36:55 But as for you, you meant evil against me, 36:59 but God meant it for good. 37:02 God meant it for good. 37:04 So you may have put yourself in the trial. 37:09 We talk to folks at home, 37:10 you may have put yourself into the trial that you're in. 37:14 Or maybe you just are all out attacked by the devil, 37:19 no matter what the situation is, God can mean it unto good. 37:24 Amen. 37:25 That's good point, Brother. Yeah. 37:27 And I... 37:28 Man, there's so much we can go into with this. 37:31 I just, I gotta say something on this, 37:33 because I was just talking to you guys about 37:34 and it came to my mind again, right before we came on set 37:38 was that you know that, it's during... 37:40 You said it Jason, during our most tried times, 37:44 that's when people look at us the most. 37:46 Yes. 37:47 When they know you're going through a tough time, 37:49 you know, people start talking 37:50 and start calling their friends. 37:52 Hey, pray for Jason. 37:53 He's going through a hard time right now, 37:55 you know, pray for Dakota. 37:56 He's really struggling right now. 37:57 And then people are watching you, 37:59 watching what you do. 38:00 And to see that the decisions that Joseph made 38:02 was really powerful and it was a testimony of the love of God 38:04 in his own heart. 38:05 Yes. 38:06 And it revealed the character of God to the whole, 38:08 all of Egypt. 38:10 And this is like a hostile empire 38:11 that is not God's people. 38:13 Yes. Keep that in mind. 38:15 And so Joseph is like the only one 38:17 that is there that the Bible records at the time 38:20 who actually worships the true God. 38:22 All these other people worshipping Ra and, you know, 38:24 Baal and all these other false gods, 38:26 and Joseph's making it clear. 38:27 You know, I thought of a story 38:29 that I just told you guys about, 38:30 I just want to share it with everyone else. 38:33 So some of my friends at the Ouachita Hills College, 38:35 I don't know if you guys, 38:37 some of the people here watching 38:38 might know about that college, but they were out canvassing 38:41 and while they were out canvassing, 38:42 they pull up in this neighborhood. 38:44 I'm not really sure where it was, 38:45 I think down south somewhere. 38:47 They pull up in this neighborhood, 38:48 and they're going door to door canvassing and spreading out 38:51 literature material. 38:53 Well, there had been some kind of fist in the neighborhood, 38:55 and they pull up in the van, you know, because like, 38:57 they all go in groups, 38:58 and someone thought that they were, 39:00 you know, there to steal stuff, 39:02 you know, because they're walking up 39:03 into people's garages and knocking on the door, 39:05 you know, and trying to access people's door 39:06 and, you know, ring their doorbell. 39:08 Well, the cops were called, long story short, 39:11 the cops come out there and they basically said, 39:13 "What are you guys doing?" 39:14 And they arrest them. 39:16 Well, the cops didn't really believe their story 39:17 that they're out there, you know, to witness 39:19 because who goes door to door witnessing for Jesus, 39:21 right, in groups? 39:23 And so the cops just arrest them. 39:24 I mean, they take their clothes off of them, 39:26 they put them in, you know, jumpsuits, whole nine yards, 39:29 and put them in there with like, 39:30 hard convicts in prison. 39:33 And they're just sitting there thinking to themselves, 39:35 Lord, 39:37 we don't know why this is, you know, happened to us. 39:38 But they have smiles on their faces the whole time. 39:40 The cops, the cops were so upset. 39:42 They're like, "Where are you guys smiling?" 39:44 There's like, "Stop smiling." And they just kept smiling. 39:49 And before they knew it, 39:51 before they knew it, they get in prison. 39:53 And they asked him for a Bible. 39:55 And, you know, I was talking to Ricky about this 39:56 because he does scripture songs and stuff, 39:58 you know, with his ministry. 39:59 They asked him for a Bible. 40:01 They said, "No, we're not giving you a Bible." 40:03 Well, this is where David said, Lord, 40:05 I've hid thy word in my heart 40:06 that I may not sin against thee, right? 40:09 And so they just said, well praise the Lord 40:10 for scripture songs. 40:12 And they say, well, they can keep a Bible from me, 40:13 but they can't keep it out of my mind and heart. 40:15 And so they just started singing 40:17 all these scripture songs. 40:19 And all these convicts and all these people 40:22 in the prison, 40:23 all these like hardened prisoners 40:24 start singing these songs with them. 40:27 Before they know it, they got it like... 40:28 prisoners' choir going on, 40:30 singing all these scripture songs. 40:32 And it was just so encouraging. 40:33 And then by the time they left and got out of there, 40:37 the cops, they were in there for several days. 40:39 The cops in there were just like, 40:41 we cannot believe you guys. 40:43 We're sorry that we did it. 40:44 They're like, we just can't believe that. 40:46 You guys have like, got out prisoners singing Jesus song. 40:52 And the whole time they were in there, 40:54 they just had such a great attitude. 40:56 And they didn't look at it as a burden per se, or as a trial. 41:00 They looked at it as a blessing 41:02 and an opportunity to share Jesus. 41:04 And I think, you know, we should be more like that, 41:07 just like Joseph, you know, you look at that prison time 41:09 as an opportunity to share Jesus. 41:11 Amen. 41:12 Bless the Lord. That is powerful. 41:14 Ricky, I want to go back to a point that you made earlier, 41:17 sometimes we set ourselves up for a trial. 41:20 So like, self inflicted trials Yeah, 41:24 I've had a couple of those in my day, 41:27 so self inflicted trial. 41:30 But you know, sometimes we set ourselves up. 41:33 And it's important that, you know, 41:34 when you think about like Adam and Eve, right? 41:37 Adam and Eve set themselves up for a self inflicted trial, 41:41 because they listened to the serpent and you know, 41:45 Eve ate the fruit, then Adam ate the fruit. 41:48 And then they, you know, they proceeded to blame others, 41:51 you know, Adam essentially blaming God 41:54 and blaming Eve and Eve saying, 41:57 she was deceived by the serpent and all that stuff. 42:00 And that's oftentimes what happens is when we enter 42:03 into the self inflicted trials, it's like, 42:06 well, you know, you try and it's like, 42:08 trying to justify it, you know, as opposed to just saying, 42:12 God, I'm sorry, I messed up. 42:14 I made a mistake. 42:16 You know, 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, 42:20 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 42:23 and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 42:25 Amen. Absolutely. 42:26 Yeah, yeah. 42:28 You know, I think about somebody else 42:29 who went through some trials. 42:32 Daniel and his friend. 42:34 Oh man. Daniel and his friends. 42:36 Why don't we turn to Daniel Chapter 1. 42:39 Let's start in Daniel Chapter 1. 42:42 And let's look at verses 3 through 7. 42:46 Who wants to read that for us, 42:48 Daniel 1:3-7? 42:54 I can get it. All right. 42:57 "And the king spake unto Ashpenaz 42:59 the master of his eunuchs, 43:01 that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, 43:04 and of the king's seed, of the princes. 43:07 Children in whom was no blemish, 43:09 but well favored, and skilful in all wisdom, 43:12 and cunning in knowledge, 43:13 and understanding science, 43:15 and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, 43:19 and whom they might teach the learning 43:21 and the tongue of the Chaldeans. 43:24 And the king appointed them 43:25 a daily provision of the king's meat, 43:27 and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, 43:30 that at the end thereof 43:32 they might stand before the king." 43:33 You said till verse 7, right? Yes. 43:35 "Now among these were of the children of Judah, 43:38 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 43:40 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: 43:43 for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar, 43:46 and to Hananiah, of Shadrach, and to Mishael, 43:50 Meshach, and to Azariah, Abednego." 43:54 Now, as you look at that, you can see that basically 43:58 what you have going on here is a reprogramming. 44:01 They're introducing them to literature, 44:03 and they're introducing them to the wine 44:05 and the king's delicacies, and all of that stuff. 44:08 They're even changing their names, 44:10 you know, names back in the Bible times 44:13 held great meaning. 44:14 Yes. 44:16 And so now they're changing their names, 44:17 they're programming their minds, 44:19 all of these things. 44:21 But go ahead and read verse 8. 44:22 And let's look at what Daniel, what Daniel did? 44:25 "But Daniel purposed in his heart 44:27 that he would not defile himself 44:28 with the portion of the king's meat, 44:30 nor with the wine which he drank: 44:32 therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs 44:34 that he might not defile himself." 44:37 Amen. Amen. 44:40 Daniel was in a tough political climate. 44:41 That's right. 44:43 And he was determined to stay faithful to God. 44:46 You look like you wanted to say something? 44:47 No, I was just, I was just listening to you. 44:49 Go ahead. Okay. 44:50 Well, let's go to Daniel Chapter 3 then. 44:51 Well, if we're going to Daniel 3, 44:53 I'll take this there if you don't mind? 44:54 Please do. I love this story. 44:56 When I think of, from hopeless to hopeful, 45:00 this is one of those stories that come to my mind. 45:03 I mean, these brothers. 45:05 And just, it's just, it's just an awesome story. 45:09 They obviously are, 45:10 they're already brought to this pagan country, 45:15 the culture of Judaism, Israel, 45:19 in comparison to the culture of Babylon, 45:21 you couldn't get more opposite. 45:23 But Daniel and his friends and many other 45:25 young men and women from Israel are taken to Babylon. 45:29 So they find themselves in this impossible situation. 45:32 But by this time, by the time we get to Daniel Chapter 3, 45:36 because of what had happened in Daniel 1 45:38 and in Daniel Chapter 2 with the vision, 45:41 or the dream that Daniel had, and all that. 45:43 So Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah have now, 45:47 they've been elevated to, 45:50 you know, a close favor with the king, 45:51 the king respects them. 45:52 He's been through some stuff with them by this time. 45:55 So you would think, you know, King Nebuchadnezzar 45:57 based on those previous couple of situations, 45:59 he would have in his mind, okay, these are, 46:01 these brothers are legit, right? 46:04 But yet, he's also based on that dream in Daniel 2, 46:08 he's now, he's grown the selfish heart within him, 46:11 because he's determined, 46:13 that had a goal that Daniel saw, 46:15 I'm gonna, I'm gonna build a whole image out of gold, 46:17 I'm going to send a message to God, 46:19 and everybody in the world that my kingdom 46:21 Babylon is going to reign forever, 46:23 we're never going to fall. 46:24 And so, we see the story there, you know, the story of how, 46:27 you know, the 90 foot image is there. 46:29 He tells everyone, you know, 46:32 everyone who's on the plain of Dura all of the wise men, 46:34 it doesn't mention that Daniel was there in the situation. 46:37 So Daniel's not mentioned there, 46:38 but I'm sure Daniel was aware of it. 46:40 But Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah 46:42 are there on the plain of Dura. 46:44 The king gives the command. 46:46 Soon as the music starts playing, 46:49 you know, bow down and worship this image. 46:51 These brothers are now faced with the situation because 46:55 there were consequences 46:56 if you didn't bow down to the image. 46:58 What were the consequences? 47:00 Well, the king had a fiery hot furnace over to the side 47:04 for anyone who didn't want to, 47:06 you know, go along with his plan. 47:08 And so I said all of that, 47:10 because now the music is playing, 47:14 you could just imagine all of these people prostrate 47:16 flat on their faces 47:18 out on the plain of Dura and these three brothers 47:20 just like standing there just like, 47:22 you know, looking around, 47:23 so they stick out like a sore thumb, right? 47:25 And so the message gets back to the king, hey, 47:28 these three brothers out here. 47:30 They're not, you know, going along with what you said. 47:32 They're disobeying you. 47:34 So now the king has them brought to him 47:35 and he tells them, this is what's going to happen. 47:38 I'm going to give you one more chance 47:40 and listen to what they said to the king. 47:43 This is some of my favorite verses. 47:45 Daniel 3:16-18, 47:48 "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 47:51 answered and said to the king, 'O King Nebuchadnezzar, 47:55 we have no need to answer you in this matter." 47:58 You know, some people would read that as almost like 48:02 them being sarcastic, 48:04 maybe there was a little bit of, 48:06 you know, a sarcastic tone to them like, King, we don't. 48:09 But at the same time, I believe that 48:10 they were being very sincere for the fact 48:12 that they knew their lives were on the line. 48:14 So I could just imagine them saying, look king, 48:16 there's really no need for us to get into this with you. 48:19 Let me spell it out for you. 48:21 And this is what they say. 48:22 Verse 17, "If that is the case, 48:27 our God whom we serve is able 48:29 to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, 48:32 and He will deliver us from your hand, O king." 48:36 But notice verse 18, 48:38 "But if not, let it be known to you, O king, 48:43 that we do not serve your gods, 48:47 nor will we worship the golden image 48:49 which you have set up." 48:51 I love this, because what they're saying is, look, 48:54 we're not going to bow down to your image, 48:56 you've threatened our lives, so be it. 48:59 But let us tell you about the God that we serve. 49:01 So we're not going to bow down to this false god, 49:03 because we serve the one and true mighty God. 49:05 And if you throw us into this fiery furnace, 49:07 praise the Lord, if He decides to deliver us, 49:09 He's able to do that. 49:11 Praise God. 49:12 But if He doesn't, 49:14 we're still not gonna bow down to your image. 49:16 We're still not gonna disobey our God, 49:17 we're still not gonna break the Ten Commandments. 49:20 We're gonna obey God, 49:21 even if it means us giving up our lives. 49:24 Talk about a hopeless situation, 49:26 but yet in the face of that adversity, 49:28 and in that hopeless situation, 49:31 they were still able to say, you know what? 49:33 There's a chance we're gonna die today. 49:35 But if that's the case, 49:37 I think of what Jesus said in the garden, "Lord, 49:39 take, let this cup pass before me if it's possible, 49:42 but if not, Your will be done." 49:45 Right. Amen. 49:46 Powerful man. Powerful. 49:47 And I want to add to what you're saying. 49:49 So they get thrown in the fire. 49:51 Right. 49:54 While in the fire, they see Jesus. 49:57 Right. 49:59 So, out of that... 50:02 if you're in the fire right now, 50:05 you're gonna see Jesus. 50:08 Lot of times we get into situations that are, 50:14 it's tough to handle. 50:16 But it's in those situations where we can see Jesus, 50:21 where we can get that closer connection with Him. 50:23 That's right. 50:24 I believe Lord allows situation like that to happen, 50:27 so we can have that walk with Him, 50:29 that close walk with the face to face 50:31 commune with Him which we need. 50:33 That's right. 50:34 Sometimes we got to go into the fire 50:36 before God's gonna reveal Himself. 50:37 That's powerful, powerful. 50:39 Yeah. 50:40 You know, we mentioned 50:42 that while this was mentioned earlier, 50:43 where it was like how we respond to trials, 50:46 people pay attention to it. 50:48 And it has, we either have an influence for good 50:52 or an influence for bad and, you know, 50:54 as we look at Daniel 3:26-28. 51:00 Who wants to read Daniel 3:26-28? 51:04 Let's look at how basically Nebuchadnezzar responded. 51:10 I can read that. 51:11 Daniel 3:26-28. 51:13 Yes. 51:15 "Then Nebuchadnezzar went near 51:17 the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, 51:20 saying, 'Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 51:24 servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.' 51:28 Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 51:30 came from the midst of the fire. 51:33 And the satraps, administrators, governors, 51:37 and the king's counselors gathered together, 51:40 and they saw these men on whose bodies 51:43 the fire had no power, 51:46 the hair of their head was not singed 51:49 nor were their garments affected, 51:53 and the smell of fire was not on them. 51:57 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, 51:59 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, 52:02 Meshach, and Abednego, 52:04 who sent His Angel and delivered His servants 52:09 who trusted in Him, 52:11 and they have frustrated the king's word, 52:14 and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve 52:17 nor worship any god except their own God!' " 52:24 It's powerful, 52:25 So they stood in the fire. 52:28 First off, it's miraculous in the sense 52:31 that they came out of that fire 52:32 not even smelling like the fire, 52:36 not even smelling like the fire. 52:38 Now, I don't know if you've been to a barbecue, 52:42 maybe threw some veggie burgers or something on the grill, 52:44 and you know, you have this, 52:47 the smoke that's coming off the grill. 52:51 You're gonna smell like that when you go inside. 52:53 That's right. 52:55 Or perhaps you've been to a bonfire 52:57 or something like that. 52:59 You're gonna smell like that fire 53:02 wherever you go until you know, 53:04 take a shower and change clothes 53:06 and all that stuff. 53:08 They didn't even smell like the fire. 53:12 I think of God's people and the trials and tribulations 53:16 that they've been through. 53:18 And when they come out on the other side of those trials 53:20 and those tribulations, 53:22 they don't even look like the trials and the tribulations 53:25 that they went through. 53:28 And it just blows my mind, what a faithful God we serve 53:33 and how He stands with us 53:35 in the midst of our fiery trials. 53:38 I was thinking real quickly, like, 53:40 other Bible characters 53:42 that went through these hopeless situations 53:44 but yet God brought about a hopeful outcome. 53:48 You know, I think of Mary and Martha. 53:51 When their brother was sick, 53:52 they sent Jesus, sent for Jesus. 53:55 You know, Lazarus is sick, come on back and heal him. 53:58 What did Jesus do? 53:59 What was His response? 54:01 He was silent. 54:03 He didn't come back. He let him die. 54:04 Of course, we know 54:06 it was gonna be for His glory to resurrect him. 54:08 But Mary, Martha didn't know that. 54:10 Mary, Martha didn't get some. 54:11 It's not like Jesus sent a note back like, 54:13 hey, look, let him die. 54:14 I'll come back and resurrect him, 54:16 they didn't know that. 54:17 But that was a hopeless situation 54:19 that ended up becoming a hopeful situation. 54:22 I think of John the Baptist that his sin, 54:24 his was hopeless, it seemed all the way to the end, right? 54:27 Because he was ultimately beheaded. 54:28 Some people say, there's no hopefulness 54:29 that come out of that story. 54:31 But yet Jesus still declared him 54:32 even in a, in a prison 54:35 that Jesus knew he was going to, 54:36 you know, not make it out of, 54:38 that he was going to end his life, 54:39 Jesus declared him the greatest of the prophets. 54:42 And I expect to see John the Baptist 54:44 in the kingdom of God, because of his hopeless situation here, 54:48 there's going to be an even great, 54:49 great hopeful situation on the other side, right? 54:52 A great, a great, a great moment. 54:54 And, of course, more than anybody, Jesus, 54:56 Jesus, there's nobody that went through 54:57 more of helpless 54:59 and hopeless situations than Jesus. 55:01 But out on the other side, Jesus was victorious. 55:04 And so those are great examples that come to my mind, 55:05 I just want to share. 55:07 Amen. 55:08 I mean, when you think about the history of mankind, 55:10 we were on death row. 55:13 Like we were facing the death penalty. 55:15 Adam and Eve facing the death penalty. 55:19 But Christ paid it all. 55:22 That's right. He paid it all. 55:24 What are some things that, you know, let's share some tips 55:27 or some strategies that 55:29 if someone's going through a trial, 55:30 what are some things that they can do 55:34 that will bring God the honor and the glory? 55:38 I think that one of the first things 55:41 that we should do is to hide God's Word in your heart. 55:46 That's where you got to be right off the bat. 55:48 Because when you're in that situation, 55:51 that's challenging, 55:52 If you can remember those encouraging words 55:55 that can help you through those trials. 55:56 I think about Joshua 1:9, 55:59 "Be strong and of good courage, 56:01 and do not be afraid nor be dismayed. 56:06 For the Lord your God is with you, 56:09 wherever you go." 56:10 Joshua 1:9, so things like that, 56:14 verses like that, that can help you through challenges. 56:16 When you feel hopeless, 56:18 call those scriptures back to mind. 56:20 Hope it would be helpful. 56:22 Amen. Amen. 56:23 Proverbs 3:5-6, that's my go to passage. 56:26 Yeah. 56:28 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart 56:29 and lean not on your own understanding. 56:31 In all your ways acknowledge Him, 56:34 and He shall direct your path." 56:35 It really is all about trusting in the Lord 56:37 even when that adversity is there. 56:39 When it seems like you having to go into that fiery furnace. 56:41 No matter the outcome, you say, Lord, 56:43 whether You save me or You don't, 56:45 I'm still gonna trust in You. 56:46 Absolutely Amen. 56:48 You have anything you'd like to add, Dakota? 56:50 Well, I honestly was just gonna say, you know, 56:54 in John 3:16, 56:55 where it talks about believing in God, 56:57 that word means pisteuo in the Greek 56:58 which means to trust in God, 57:00 but I was thinking one day in my private studies, 57:02 and I thought, you know, you can't trust someone 57:04 you don't know. 57:06 So I got to really thinking about that, like, Lord, 57:08 the only way I can overcome anything is to get to know You, 57:11 then I trust You, and I overcome. 57:14 Amen. That's a good word. 57:15 That's a good word. 57:17 Thank you guys for sharing that insight in the Word 57:19 and study in the Word with us today. 57:22 And we thank you for joining us and happy Sabbath, 57:26 and we want you to know that whatever trial you're facing, 57:29 Jesus is standing with you in the midst of it. 57:32 Till next time, God bless. |
Revised 2021-02-18