Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW210039S
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today, 01:11 it's family worship time. 01:12 Always like this. Enjoy it, don't you, Yvonne? 01:14 I do too. It's such a special time. 01:17 It is, and we're in a special time 01:19 of the season, you know, getting close to 01:20 what we call the Christmas season. 01:22 We'll talk more about that in just a little bit. 01:24 But we have some family on with us today. 01:26 We do. 01:28 Maybe I'll let you start with the introduction. 01:29 Sure. 01:31 So I'm really excited because we have 01:34 my nephew, Jordan Adams with us, 01:37 and I'm so happy for Jordan 01:39 because he just recently got baptized 01:42 and has given his life to Jesus, 01:44 so he's a babe in Christ. 01:45 And he's just wonderful. 01:48 Where are you from Jordan? From Upstate New York. 01:50 All right. You came all the way here. 01:52 So we're glad that you did. 01:54 You want to be baptized? That's when you're serious. 01:56 You travel that 12 hours, whatever, coming here. 01:58 That's great. Fourteen. 02:00 Fourteen? Okay. All right. 02:02 And then look who else, 02:03 it's all dressed in matching colors over here. 02:06 Brother Kenny and Sister Chris, 02:08 good to have you guys on here today. 02:09 Always good to be in family worship, 02:12 be able to study 02:13 the Word together, talk together. 02:15 Just come together with one another and, 02:17 of course, in Jesus so... 02:18 Yeah. It's a fun time that we're in. 02:22 And I pray that 02:23 we'll utilize it for His honor and for His glory. 02:25 Thank you for sharing your time with us. 02:28 We know time is most valuable commodity 02:30 we have especially as we get older. 02:32 So we want to thank you for your love and your prayers 02:35 and financial support of 3ABN 02:37 as we continue to take this great gospel 02:39 of the kingdom into all the world, 02:41 but we would, 02:43 it'd be a miss, we'd be, is it remiss. 02:45 Remiss. 02:46 Be remiss not to talk about the greatest gift ever given. 02:50 Yeah. Since it's the season, right? 02:52 That's right. 02:53 Here's why I turn it over to Yvonne 02:56 because she has it. 02:57 So what's our title today? 02:58 The true meaning of Christmas. Okay. 03:00 You know, there's so many people 03:02 who get so caught up 03:04 into the commercialization of Christmas 03:07 that they forget what Christmas is really about. 03:11 So that's what we want to talk about, 03:12 share some memories and ideas about Christmas, 03:15 talk about the original Christmas story 03:18 and hope that you will kind of join in 03:21 and you think about the true meaning of Christmas, 03:24 what it really means to you. 03:25 Amen. 03:27 So I'd like for us to start with, 03:31 with actually with a prayer 03:32 and then reading Luke 2 03:35 where the story of Christmas is. 03:37 And I think, Jordan, 03:38 if you would read that for us, that would be great. 03:40 Pastor Kenny, would you pray for us? 03:42 Absolutely. Let's pray. 03:44 Loving Father in heaven, truly we come to You this day. 03:47 We give You praise, give You honor, give You glory. 03:50 Thank You for loving us. Thank You for Calvary. 03:52 Thank You for that blood that flowed so freely. 03:54 Amen. 03:55 Lord during this time of the season, 03:57 time of the year that may our minds 03:59 and heart to be stayed upon you, 04:01 and the great sacrifice was made on our behalf. 04:03 May we share that love with those around about us. 04:07 We pray that the message 04:08 will go to all the world that Jesus is soon to come 04:11 and we need to be ready. 04:13 We ask that You would bless 04:14 in a very special way each one here. 04:17 The anointing of Thy Holy Spirit 04:18 upon every little heart and every little mind. 04:20 Amen. 04:21 Again, it may bring honor and glory 04:22 to You and to You alone. 04:24 Thank you for the viewers. Thank you for the listeners. 04:26 Thank you for the supporters. 04:28 Lord, we realize that couldn't go forward 04:30 until we come together shoulder to shoulder to do our part. 04:34 We pray during the season we will do our part. 04:36 First of all is to praise You, 04:38 give You honor and give You glory. 04:39 Thank You for this opportunity. 04:40 Thank You again for this privilege. 04:42 And we're going to give You praise as You bless every 04:44 aspect of this program today. 04:46 We turn it over to you in Jesus' name, 04:48 we pray and for His sake, amen. 04:50 Amen. Amen. 04:51 Maybe we should start off by just saying now we realize 04:54 because I have to say this 04:56 because we've been doing this for 30 some odd years 04:59 and so people are going to write and say, 05:01 "Don't you know Christmas is not December 25th?" 05:04 You know what? We do know that. 05:05 And we absolutely do know that Jesus 05:08 was not born on December 25th. 05:10 Now, if you know when He was born tell us 05:12 because you're probably the only person on earth 05:14 who does know exactly when He was and that's the time 05:17 we would celebrate but we don't know. 05:19 We know the season and the time. 05:21 So we take this not 05:23 as we're trying to teach you about any dates 05:26 or when Christ was born. 05:28 But more importantly about the sacrifice 05:30 of a perfect Godhead 05:32 making a plan for sinful man 05:35 and saying let's put in place away, 05:39 that though man falls and Satan 05:41 was loose to this earth, though man falls, 05:44 there's a way he can be redeemed. 05:46 And that, of course, 05:47 was by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. 05:49 In coming to earth, born in a... 05:52 The Bible says, in a manger and wrapped 05:54 in swaddling clothes 05:56 and you know, the story 05:57 behind the end and very boring. 06:00 And what we would call 06:01 a very poor situation, at least, 06:03 wasn't in nice hotels, 06:04 it didn't come with a lot of fanfare. 06:07 Now, of course, the wise men knew it 06:09 and they saw the, you know, 06:10 the angels and those leading to where He was born. 06:13 But as far as the earth knew, is quiet all around people 06:16 didn't know, it's just somebody being born, 06:18 another baby in this time in a stable, 06:20 in a manger, out behind an inn. 06:22 But so the beauty of what we want to talk about 06:26 when people are open during this time of year 06:29 to hear about the Lord Jesus Christ, 06:31 let's take advantage of that time. 06:33 And let's talk about it. 06:35 Not so much the date, but what really happened. 06:37 Right. 06:38 The greatest gift ever given, 06:40 as we said, is for the salvation of man, 06:43 because He not only was born on this earth, 06:45 but lived a sinless life, then gave His life willingly, 06:49 so that you and I 06:51 now have an advocate to go to the Father, 06:54 when it's time and we fall, and we fail, 06:56 which we do every day, really. 06:58 So that's why Paul says, "I die daily." 07:01 Because all of us do that. 07:03 So that's what we want to talk about today. 07:05 And we're so glad to have Jordan with us. 07:07 And I know each of us here have our own testimony. 07:10 So have wherever you want to go. 07:12 What Jordan was going to read for us the Christmas story, 07:16 found in Luke 2:1-20. 07:19 So let's take a look at that. 07:22 Luke 2:1-20. 07:27 Everybody ready? 07:28 Yes. Yes. 07:29 "And it came to pass in those days 07:31 that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus 07:33 that all the world should be registered. 07:35 This census first took place 07:36 while Quirinius was governing Syria. 07:39 So all went out to be registered, 07:41 everyone to his own city. 07:43 Joseph also went up from Galilee, 07:46 out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, 07:48 to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, 07:51 because he was of the house of the lineage of David, 07:54 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, 07:56 who was with child. 07:58 So it was, that while they were there, 08:00 the days were completed for her to be delivered. 08:02 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, 08:05 and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, 08:06 and laid Him in a manger, 08:08 because there was no room for them in the inn. 08:10 Now there were in the same country shepherds 08:13 living out in the fields, 08:14 keeping watch over their flock by night. 08:16 And behold, 08:17 an angel of the Lord stood before them, 08:19 and the glory of the Lord shone around them, 08:21 and they were greatly afraid. 08:23 Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, 08:26 I bring you good tidings of great joy 08:28 which will be to all people. 08:30 For there is born to you 08:31 this day in the city of David a Savior, 08:33 who is Christ the Lord. 08:35 And this will be the sign to you: 08:37 You will find a Babe wrapped 08:39 in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 08:41 And suddenly there was 08:44 with the angel a multitude 08:46 of the heavenly host praising God 08:48 and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, 08:50 and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!' 08:54 So it was, when the angels 08:55 had gone away from them into heaven, 08:57 that the shepherds said to one another, 08:59 'Let us now go to Bethlehem 09:01 and see this thing that has come to pass, 09:03 which the Lord has made known to us.' 09:05 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, 09:09 and the Babe lying in a manger. 09:11 Now when they had seen Him, 09:12 they made widely known the saying 09:14 which was told to them concerning the Child. 09:19 And all those who heard it marveled at the things 09:23 which were told to them by the shepherds. 09:26 But Mary kept all these things, pondered them in her heart. 09:30 Then the shepherds returned, 09:31 glorifying and praising God for all the things that 09:34 they had heard and seen, as it was told to them." 09:37 Amen. Thank you. 09:38 Amen. 09:40 That's such a beautiful story to me and the way. 09:44 Well, I have, you know, I love acronyms, right? 09:47 So, I have an acronym for the word Christmas. 09:51 All right. 09:52 So C, the C in Christmas 09:56 is for Christ, 09:59 because you can't have Christmas without Christ. 10:01 That is the foundation of it all. 10:04 He is the foundation. Matthew 1:16-17. 10:08 The first time we see the word Christ 10:10 in the Bible is in Matthew 1:16. 10:13 And the word Christ comes 10:15 from the Greek word translated Christos 10:17 which means anointed one. 10:20 But, you know, Satan has taken and you see it, 10:24 sometimes in popular media, 10:26 he will take the word, the name, 10:30 and use it blasphemously. 10:33 And so we see, 10:35 instead of Christ's name being uplifted, 10:38 in media, we see it blasphemed. 10:41 And so, always Satan has a counterfeit, 10:44 always he has the negative 10:47 and God has the positive, 10:48 always God is sovereign. 10:53 And so, what Satan means for ill, 10:58 you know, we know that 11:00 Christ is the foundation for Christmas. 11:04 So C is for Christ, H is for hope. 11:08 Colossians 1:26-27, 11:11 "Christ in us, the hope of glory." 11:13 So, the hope is, that we have is 11:18 by the Spirit of the Living God 11:20 and it's that we are transformed 11:22 into His image, into the image of Christ. 11:26 So that is the hope of glory. 11:28 Then the R is royalty. All right. 11:31 These are things that, 11:32 you know, that we can associate with Christmas 11:34 like each of these different letters. 11:36 So royalty. 11:38 Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. 11:41 Right? Revelation 19:16. 11:44 And then I as for Immanuel. 11:46 Immanuel, meaning God with us. 11:49 Amen. 11:50 And so when He came to earth, 11:53 He came to show us really the Father 11:56 and how to live and how we can, 12:00 how we can live out our lives to bring glory to God. 12:04 Amen. 12:05 And then S is for shepherds, Luke 2:8, 12:08 which you just read about. 12:10 The shepherds were watching over their flock, 12:12 they were low in status, 12:14 and Jesus actually is the Great Shepherd. 12:17 So He identified with the lowly and He identified 12:21 as King of kings and Lord of lords, so. 12:25 And then T is for thanks. 12:28 We should be thankful for the ultimate gift. 12:31 John 3:16, "For God so loved the world 12:34 that He gave His only begotten Son, 12:36 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish 12:38 but have everlasting life." 12:40 So we should give thanks to God. 12:42 And then M is for music because Christmas, 12:46 you can't have Christmas without Christmas carols 12:48 and music, right? 12:49 And then A is for angels. 12:53 Because again, in Luke, 12:54 we see that an angel, first an angel appeared. 12:59 And then the whole sky lit up 13:02 with angels and the glory of God saying, 13:04 "Glory to God in the highest." 13:06 And then the S in Christmas is for sharing. 13:09 Matthew 20:18-20, 13:12 where we have the great commission 13:14 where Jesus tells us to, to teach, to go 13:18 and observe all things that we were taught 13:20 and so baptizing them in the name of the Father, 13:24 the Son and the Holy Spirit. 13:25 So... That's good. 13:27 The S, sharing is a good. 13:29 Christmas is a great time for sharing, 13:31 not only the gifts with each other, 13:34 but the gospel. 13:35 Amen. 13:37 So that's my little acronym on Christmas. 13:39 That's good. Praise the Lord. 13:42 So we might have some Christmas memories, 13:45 things that come into mind about. 13:47 I know you guys have 13:49 some really interesting things that 13:51 happened to you as children. 13:52 Not necessarily Christmas, but... 13:54 Okay. Yeah, let's talk about it. 13:56 I'm on here. 13:58 Let's hear from Chris first. What do you got? 14:00 I was so looking forward to your story. 14:04 You know, I... 14:06 It's hard to go back and really think, 14:08 I'll tell you the time 14:10 that Christmas really changed for me. 14:11 Well. 14:12 Because we realized that a lot of Christmas things 14:15 have really become commercial, 14:17 you can go back and question its origin. 14:20 And so I had a lot of struggling 14:24 over Christmas spiritually. 14:25 And the thing that helped me 14:27 to balance it is our Spirit of Prophecy 14:29 that God has given us. 14:30 So that helped me to balance it. 14:32 So I would take, I took all of the things 14:35 that pertain to the world out of the house 14:38 and I put the things that pertain to Christ 14:41 and the gift that was given in the house. 14:45 And I can remember sitting down in front of the fireplace 14:48 and reading the story of Christ's birth 14:50 as we just did here with Jordan. 14:52 And, you know, just making it much more holy, 14:56 much more centered on that great gift. 15:01 That gift that had it not been given, 15:04 we would not have, can I say it this way? 15:07 A ticket out of here, 15:08 we would not have a salvation, you know, seriously. 15:12 So that is when it really changed for me, 15:15 that's when it really felt different. 15:17 And I felt closer to Christ that way 15:20 because we become so commercialized, 15:22 you know, even if we go visit 15:24 at other people's houses and it's just, 15:26 it's not the same atmosphere, 15:28 but when you can control as a parent, 15:30 that atmosphere in your home, 15:33 it really makes a tremendous difference. 15:35 Yeah. Amen. 15:37 Praise the Lord. 15:38 All right, how about you, Yvonne? 15:40 What memories? Yeah. 15:42 Wow, you know, I think for me, 15:45 my favorite memories are the music 15:50 and my grandmother conducting the choir 15:54 with the Messiah every year. 15:56 I just, I love Handel's Messiah 15:59 and then family because we all... 16:04 When I was really little, 16:05 we all lived in the same complex. 16:07 So my grandmother and uncles and aunts, 16:10 we all lived in the same building complex. 16:13 So it was great because I could just go around 16:15 the corner seeing my cousins, 16:17 my grandmother and then my parents singing, 16:20 and they had a quartet. 16:22 And so I would sit in on their rehearsals. 16:24 And so Christmas for me represents family 16:29 and getting together and, 16:31 you know, spending time together 16:33 and I love the gifts when I was little too. 16:36 You know, I still love them, I won't say that on air. 16:38 But what a blessing to have a family 16:42 that would celebrate together 16:45 and be together for Christmas. 16:47 All right. How about Jordan? 16:52 I don't have a favorite Christmas memory. 16:54 But I do agree with Aunt Ivy. 16:57 I see Christmas as a time to gather 16:59 with family and just be thankful 17:01 for making it through a year. 17:03 A lot of people, they lose family members 17:05 around Christmas and Thanksgiving. 17:07 There's a lot of sadness going on. 17:08 Oh, my. 17:10 Along with the devil, he puts so much pressure 17:11 on these parents to buy gifts and... 17:13 It's true. 17:15 It just shouldn't be like that. 17:16 It should be just a humbling, gathering of family 17:20 and focus on the Lord 'cause like Jill... 17:23 Chris. Chris. 17:25 Like Chris said, that ticket 17:27 to get out of here, God gave His Son. 17:30 That's the greatest gift ever, so. 17:31 Amen. That's good. 17:33 It's good. Absolutely. 17:35 That's good. Praise the Lord. 17:36 Well, Kenny and I, you know, 17:38 we didn't probably almost speak this together. 17:41 But we didn't look, 17:42 we don't have Christmas memories 17:43 of great gifts. 17:45 After our dad was disabled in with heart attack, 17:47 we were young. 17:49 Christmas wasn't about the gifts 17:50 but we do, I have great memories of 17:52 and he can speak for himself but family together. 17:55 We always together and had good meal. 17:58 And, you know, good food to eat, 18:01 and aunts and uncles would come to in the afternoon 18:04 and visit with us. 18:05 And, you know, Thanksgiving and Christmas a lot. 18:08 It was a lot of family stuff. 18:11 But we always, of course, 18:13 knew the reason for the season. 18:15 Our folks wouldn't leave that out. 18:17 That was the main part. 18:18 And so, but as far as gifts goes, 18:21 I mean, we were, Kenny was like, 18:23 I don't know, 18:24 maybe a sophomore junior in high school, 18:25 and I was eighth grade. 18:27 He's four years older, 18:28 he may have been a senior and I'm freshmen. 18:30 So we decided that, you know, we had seven in our family. 18:34 So our folks said one, 18:36 well, we can't really afford to buy any gifts. 18:38 So tell you what we do. 18:39 We'll put everybody's name in the hat. 18:41 We'll draw hat. 18:42 You draw a name 18:44 and then you get that person a gift. 18:46 Then they get whoever's name they draw. 18:48 Yeah. So that's good enough. 18:49 So you got probably a senior in high school, 18:51 maybe freshmen and we don't have any money. 18:54 We're working part time 18:55 just to do whatever get close to things we can do. 18:58 And Kenny and I draw each other's name. 19:00 All right. 19:01 So, am I telling the truth? We shook hands. 19:04 He said, "Merry Christmas, Brother." 19:06 So we didn't have to get any gifts to each other. 19:08 Yeah. 19:09 But that was a greatest gift 19:10 we could do that times not have to be pressured to buy 19:12 something when we're trying to get by 19:14 so we just traded and that was enough Christmas. 19:17 And it was brilliant. 19:19 Really, I felt good about it, right? 19:22 It was equal, right? Oh, yeah. 19:25 Somebody didn't buy something big 19:26 and you couldn't afford anything. 19:28 Yeah. 19:29 We shook hands, and say, "Hey, you know, happy holidays. 19:30 All good?" And it was settled. 19:32 I don't think we probably thought about it again really. 19:34 No. 19:35 We did our part, rest of them maybe scrimping 19:37 or taking soda bottles 19:38 and putting them in for the two cents 19:40 or the penny you get so you can buy something. 19:42 We just shake hands. 19:43 I kind of feel like that today. 19:45 Maybe I want to shake a lot of hands. 19:48 Shake a lot of hands, save a lot of time. 19:50 Save a lot of money too. Save a lot of money. 19:53 But yeah, but sometimes 19:54 it's good certainly to give a gift 19:56 and appreciation for that means 19:58 something to you, but you know to me 20:00 sometimes just a handshake 20:02 or somebody said let's have prayer together 20:04 sometimes thank God for one another that 20:05 we're still here for another season. 20:07 Yeah. 20:08 You know, that's what I'm thinking about Christmas 20:10 here that we've, you know, season time is, you know, 20:13 again all focusing on Christ but He's given us another 20:15 I think you mentioned it another year. 20:17 Yeah. 20:19 He's blessed us that we have a roof over our head. 20:20 We have what we need. 20:22 I feel like it's just this should be the all season long. 20:27 Shouldn't be we take one day and all sudden we're cordial, 20:30 and we love everybody and we praise Him. 20:33 To me every day it would be just wonderful at least to me, 20:36 it's just. 20:37 That's what heaven would be like. 20:39 That's right. That's right. 20:40 So we need to get used to it down here. 20:42 Isn't that right? Getting used to it here. 20:43 Yeah, just practicing. 20:44 Yeah, and praising that you mentioned, what was it? 20:47 The Handel's Messiah? Yes. 20:48 That where you say hallelujah, hallelujah? 20:50 Yeah. The Hallelujah chorus. 20:52 Yeah, I think when I was in chorus 20:54 we sang it and Danny part of it too, 20:56 at every year that was a song. 20:57 Yeah. When they'd say, "Hallelujah." 20:59 I mean, you know, make you want to shout. 21:00 Yeah. 21:02 Even then, you know, 21:03 you are 14, 15, I got big goosebumps. 21:04 I think it raised my shirt up a little bit, you know, 21:06 just think hallelujah, that you can say hallelujah 21:08 to the King of kings and Lord of lords. 21:11 Again, let's not leave Him out of anything this year. 21:14 Let's put Him right in the very center, 21:16 every time everything you do, 21:17 everything you give, everything we receive. 21:19 Yeah. 21:20 All the praise goes back to Him. 21:22 And that's a good thought, 21:24 because as I was preparing this morning, 21:25 kind of looking over some things, 21:27 I was going back and rereading. 21:29 And if it, you know, 21:30 if we center it on Christ's birthday, 21:32 we need to be focused in on giving Him 21:35 the greatest gift at this time. 21:37 You know, Spirit of Prophecy says, 21:39 "If we would do that, 21:40 then the coffers would be full in the service of God," 21:43 because there's so many people, 21:45 as you mentioned, again, 21:47 that are hurting, that need help. 21:49 And they need not only physical help, 21:51 but spiritual help, you know, 21:53 and how often have we said that 21:55 the gospel is free, praise God, 21:58 but it takes finances to get it out. 22:01 So this is the time of year 22:02 that we as we're giving back to God 22:04 that we know that we are storing up souls 22:07 for the kingdom of heaven, 22:09 because when people donate their gifts, you know, 22:11 when you give it back to the church, 22:13 you give it back to 3ABN or whomever it may be, 22:16 you know, you are putting it in 22:17 for the salvation of souls. 22:19 And what better gift could you give this time of year? 22:22 Seriously. 22:23 When you think about 22:25 we won't know this side of eternity 22:26 until we're in the kingdom and the Lord places 22:29 those crowns upon our head and you say, 22:31 what's this star for, Lord, you know? 22:33 That may have been this gift you gave 3ABN 22:36 and this person came in 22:38 because of that, you know, it's a beautiful thing, 22:41 we cannot outgive God. 22:42 That's right. 22:43 And when you mentioned music, 22:46 what my grandma didn't take me to see the Messiah, 22:51 Handel's Messiah. 22:52 But a lot of times, 22:54 we would drive around in the car 22:55 and look at lights and she would sing and that, 22:58 those were happy memories 23:00 because my grandmother sang, 23:01 my mother used to sing and, but I can remember 23:04 just singing in the car with my grandma. 23:06 And it was such a blessed time to be with my grandma. 23:09 I spent a lot of time with my grandparents, 23:11 they raised me for several years. 23:12 So, you know, those were warm memories too. 23:15 One of the things 23:17 I'm really thankful for and memories that we have. 23:20 And some of the older folk will understand 23:22 what I'm saying here. 23:24 But we were raised in an era, you know, after the war babies 23:29 what they call us? 23:30 Baby Boomers. 23:31 Baby Boomers, but in our grade schools 23:35 and our community in which we lived in the era in 23:39 which we were growing up. 23:42 The whole world wasn't politically crazy. 23:45 I mean, right now. Oh, have mercy. 23:47 And I'm telling you both parties 23:49 and all parties 23:50 that I find out except Jesus' party, 23:53 I always tell people 23:54 I'm just remember that Jesus' party, 23:55 that's the only one to last forever. 23:57 But I mean, for the young people 23:59 growing up today, this is a crazy world. 24:02 There are things that happening 24:03 you never dreamed would happen 24:06 and what in the world should the Lord tarry? 24:08 How are these kids going to be saved? 24:10 Because the devil is just worse and worse. 24:12 That's why we have to 24:13 get the gospel out now while we can. 24:15 So, when I look back, 24:16 it is great to look back and remember time, you know, 24:19 we went to join a grade school 24:20 and you know, around Christmas time 24:22 and everybody get together we'd sing. 24:24 We'd go you know, whether it was in the fall, 24:28 I won't get into the holidays 24:29 because you change things you don't do, 24:31 but we would go like trick or treating, 24:34 now I'm not saying this to say, 24:35 "Oh no, don't go trick or treating." 24:36 But we would go for blocks, we'd go the other side of town 24:40 like we didn't know anybody, 24:41 we go door to door, nobody ever got hurt. 24:43 Nobody got poisoned. Nobody did. 24:44 People didn't even, 24:46 oh let's say, "Who are you guys?" 24:47 Would raise their mask and there's, 24:49 oh, they didn't even know us. 24:50 We're just there to get, you know, 24:52 but it was a time in which you could do things. 24:55 And yeah, there's always been crime. 24:56 There's always been crazy people, 24:58 but it didn't seem like 24:59 the whole world was upside down. 25:01 So right now we need Jesus 25:03 more than ever before the gift that 25:04 He gave us, the gift of salvation 25:08 and the gift of now of the opportunity 25:11 of being able to tell the world about Jesus 25:14 and His saving power. 25:15 The world's never needed it more than we need it now. 25:19 We've never needed Jesus more than 25:21 we need Jesus right now. 25:23 And it's up to you and me to take advantage of this time. 25:26 Because we're not always, 25:28 3ABN may not always be able to be on the airwaves. 25:30 That's right. 25:32 But when we're off, 25:33 should the Lord let that happen, 25:35 then we don't need to be on. 25:36 We are close enough to second coming, 25:38 God's got it all figured out. Yeah. 25:39 But as long as He allows us, 25:41 we continue to share that great gift of salvation, 25:45 the greatest gift ever given to a lost and dying world. 25:48 So thank you for joining with us as we do that. 25:51 But yeah, I mean, growing up in an era 25:54 and I like love growing up little community like 25:56 West Frankfort, Illinois, 25:58 we didn't have all the people say, 26:00 "Oh, you didn't have all the city lights." 26:01 No, but it didn't have all the crime 26:03 and all the things going on either. 26:05 But today is the day of salvation. 26:07 So, I'm so thankful for you, Jordan, 26:10 and you have a number of folk you can tell us about 26:12 some nieces and nephews, family, friends. 26:15 Yvonne's been giving Bible studies 26:17 for what last year or so, maybe longer. 26:20 And we've just had a number of baptisms, 26:23 because you were sharing the gift 26:26 that the Lord gave you, 26:28 with your family and with friends. 26:30 And I mean, taking it seriously 26:32 for hours at a time for literally this past year. 26:35 And people like you. 26:37 And we're so thankful for you, Jordan. 26:39 What really made you, 26:40 you're growing up in New York, 26:42 you really don't have that 26:43 much of a Christian background, right? 26:44 No, actually I did. 26:46 I was always grown up 26:47 in Seventh-day Adventist as a little kid in the church, 26:50 Sabbath School, some like that. 26:53 But I feel like the devil, 26:58 he used that as a way for me to go away from it, you know, 27:04 make the Sabbath a burden as I was a kid. 27:07 And now as you know, after church, you go to church, 27:09 you want to go outside and play. 27:12 I didn't understand what the Sabbath was as a kid, 27:14 so it kind of became a burden. 27:15 And as I grew up, 27:17 I didn't really use myself to the Sabbath like the Lord 27:20 would want me to. 27:22 So you know, growing up in New York, 27:25 there's so many traps out there. 27:27 So many traps. 27:29 And when you're living 27:31 a double life, you feel it. 27:35 I don't want to be one foot here 27:38 and one foot here, 27:40 want our both feet with the Lord. 27:41 Amen. That's good. 27:43 When you straddle the fence, you can get hurt. 27:44 Yeah. Yeah. 27:46 I've gotten hurt. Yeah, a lot of splinters. 27:49 That's right. Yeah. 27:50 And we've all done it. We've all done it. 27:52 Maybe not in the same way, but we've all done it. 27:54 But we're thankful for a God 27:56 who's a forgiving God and a loving God. 27:58 Yes. And, yeah. 28:00 So we're blessed for your testimony. 28:03 So what really got you coming to the Bible studies? 28:08 It was my idea to start the Bible studies. 28:10 It was his idea. 28:12 'Cause we didn't have church, Upstate. 28:13 And my brothers and sisters, 28:15 they weren't really taking it seriously, 28:18 you know, they have their families 28:19 or whatever, you know, it's just me. 28:21 So, I've always had the Holy Spirit within me, 28:25 I felt like, but I wanted more. 28:28 Okay. 28:29 I was trying to go to different 28:30 Seventh-day Adventist churches Upstate, 28:32 but I wasn't really feeling it. 28:34 So I contacted my aunt, 28:35 nobody that knows a word better than my aunt. 28:37 Well, praise the Lord. 28:40 So I asked her if we could do a Bible study, 28:42 trying to keep that as like church a little bit. 28:45 That was my church for a while, 28:46 for a couple of months, you know? 28:48 And I learned a lot. Amen. 28:50 Yeah. Praise the Lord. 28:51 Amen. Oh, yeah. 28:52 It was Jordan's idea to start it. 28:55 And then he got 28:57 some of the other young family members 28:59 to come and join. 29:00 And he's been faithfully supporting it. 29:05 And so and with COVID, it was an easier thing to do. 29:09 Because services were cancelled in churches, 29:12 so we could have it during Sabbath hours. 29:16 You know, and that was really good too. 29:18 Amen. 29:20 Awesome. Even opened it on Sabbath. 29:22 Yeah. I loved doing that. 29:24 I mean, that, what you're talking about here is, 29:26 is truly evangelism that's working out, 29:30 because you made yourself available for sure. 29:33 You had a need. 29:34 You knew how to reach out, but you didn't stop there. 29:38 See, if all of our church members 29:39 would do that, all of, 29:41 including ourselves, what did he do? 29:43 He didn't say, I mean, just give me studies. 29:45 He started inviting other people 29:47 in the church. 29:48 That's what we have to do for the cause of Christ 29:51 is invite other people to come in, 29:53 because you're getting fed. 29:54 Yes. 29:56 And when you get down that Bible study, 29:57 you got those spiritual goosebumps, 29:58 you're excited 30:00 what's going on is changing you. 30:01 You can sense it. Yes. 30:03 And you got, you have loved ones, 30:05 you think if this not changes take place, 30:07 heaven may not be their home. 30:08 Right. 30:09 And you love them enough that you reached out. 30:11 You love them enough, you spend all the time, 30:14 Danny loved the gospel and you enough, 30:17 he was separated from you for hours 30:19 at a time on the phone as I well know. 30:21 But it take, it takes that, you know, 30:25 giving Bible studies and all of this. 30:26 Sometime we just have to back away 30:28 and let the other one take, 30:30 you know what God instructs them to do. 30:31 So I think that's a beautiful thing. 30:33 And a good illustration of evangelism 30:35 and how it can spread 30:36 and it did spread and continues to spread. 30:38 Praise the Lord. 30:39 And you know, you don't have to be, 30:41 and this is important, 30:42 I think, for our viewers and listeners to know. 30:44 You don't have to be some kind of Bible scholar 30:46 to share the Bible with your family. 30:49 There's so many Bible studies that are online that you can 30:53 because we would just follow online 30:56 the Bible studies 30:57 and with the Word and then you can, 30:59 they can ask questions. 31:01 But don't feel as though you can't give a Bible study 31:04 because you can. 31:06 Amazing Facts has great Bible studies, 31:09 where we're putting out, 31:10 3ABN's going to have some really great ones. 31:13 And we have study guides 31:15 that go along with Salvation in Symbols and Signs. 31:17 So there are resources out there that you can use to, 31:21 to study. 31:22 So don't feel like you just have to know everything 31:25 before you give a Bible study. 31:27 Just be willing to share what Jesus has done for you. 31:32 Start there. Amen. 31:33 Start there. 31:34 What is Jesus done for you, Jordan? 31:37 Jesus has done a lot for me. Amen. 31:43 Living in New York 31:45 without a father and a mother, it's hard. 31:48 But I don't go without for long. 31:52 I never go without actually on. 31:55 He opens doors, so many doors, job opportunities. 31:58 Amen. 32:00 I know, I've been out of work for months with bills due. 32:05 And I just put my faith in Him and He always works out a way 32:08 somehow, every single time. 32:11 Amen. 32:12 And like me and my aunt, 32:13 we're talking about the other day, 32:15 it might be last minute to us. 32:16 But He's showing us that 32:18 I'm the one who did that, nobody else can do that. 32:21 God's always on time. Oh, yeah. 32:23 He's always on time. Praise the Lord. 32:24 That's great. 32:26 Brother, the gift of sharing and that's it. 32:28 If you would ask Jordan 32:29 and all these other young folk that 32:31 just recently baptized 32:32 because of the gift that you gave him. 32:34 If your aunt had given you 500 or even 1,000 dollars 32:39 and said, "Hey, have a good Christmas." 32:41 And we'll talk to you next year. 32:44 Would you rather have that 32:45 or the time that she's given you? 32:47 The time she's given me. The time she's given you. 32:48 So that's a valuable, as I mentioned earlier 32:51 in the program, you know, 32:53 time is the greatest gift 32:54 that we have left as we get older, 32:57 especially you say, "Well, this time is important. 32:59 What am I going to do with it?" 33:01 So you could have just said, "Hey, you know, it's easier. 33:03 Let me just give him 1,000 dollars 33:05 and wish him good time and leave it alone." 33:09 But you didn't. 33:11 She takes hours and hours and hours. 33:13 Sometimes they're on as much as three hours, 33:16 two to three hours for Bible studies. 33:20 And I'm happy about it. Yeah. 33:24 Because we see the results. 33:26 But here's what's important, 33:27 even if you didn't see the results, 33:30 the results are there and you planted the seed. 33:33 And so the Holy Spirit does the nurturing, 33:35 we can't coerce anyone or force anybody say, 33:38 "Okay, here it is. 33:40 Now it's time to be baptized." No. 33:42 All you do is you plant the seed 33:43 and leave the rest up to the Holy Spirit. 33:46 And I wanted to talk just for a few minutes about 33:48 I maybe told us a time 33:50 or two over the last some years, 33:53 but talking about gifts 33:55 and people giving and sharing gifts. 33:58 To me that has made a huge impact later in my life 34:03 because I didn't really realize that 34:05 the gift earlier in our life. 34:07 But Kenny and I, we grew up 34:09 on 812 West Worden Street in West Frankfort, Illinois, 34:12 that old house is still there. 34:14 And so we're on Worden Street, 34:16 the next street to the south was St. Louis Street, 34:18 and, you know, and I think on the south side 34:21 was Lindell Street and so you go out 34:23 to Main Street a couple blocks later, 34:26 but so we were there 34:28 and so here's a block street going this way. 34:31 There's a houses out by the streets 34:33 and they have backyards 34:35 and then you have an alley in between 34:36 and in the alley you set your barrels 34:38 and that's the trash barrels. 34:40 So about once a week the garbage truck 34:42 would come and they'd pick up. 34:44 We didn't have 34:45 those nice McNeilus trucks back then. 34:46 We just had guys picking them up 34:48 and throwing them in the back of a truck, 34:49 where steaks are bad 34:51 and getting rid of the garbage, you know. 34:55 So what we found out our neighbor behind us, 34:58 Pete Golio, he had three sons 35:00 and I think it's Pete Jr. and Mike and Richard 35:02 and I haven't talked to them, 35:04 I actually just reached out today 35:05 to talk to them and to see if we could maybe start 35:09 some conversation together. 35:11 Wanted to tell them a story about their father. 35:14 And so, anyway, and Kenny and I, 35:17 he, Pete was, I think, a coal miner. 35:19 And so they lived, the three boys 35:23 and mom and dad they lived, 35:24 which go financially better than 35:26 we did after our dad was disabled 35:28 with a heart condition because we really 35:30 didn't have an income coming in. 35:32 So we all had to work a little bit 35:33 and help out with that. 35:35 But first, I don't know who found it first, 35:37 but one evening may be taken out the garbage. 35:40 We happened to look in the neighbors 35:42 right across the alley was the Golio's barrel 35:46 and we saw things in there. 35:47 And it's like, oh, there looks like 35:49 there's a truck there. 35:50 But it's got maybe a wheel missing. 35:52 A little truck, you know, 35:53 you're 7, 8, 10, 11 years old, whatever. 35:56 So you're like, "Well, that's nice." 35:59 We can take that and play with it 36:00 because we really didn't have many toys, 36:02 you know, so well, we'll fix that. 36:04 You know, and Brother Ronnie, 36:06 he's always, you know, he was like a little MacGyver 36:08 before there was a MacGyver, he was there fixing things, 36:11 and whatever it is, he could fix it. 36:13 So we would discover that 36:16 the Golio's sometimes threw things away 36:18 from their boys 36:20 and that they were through with them. 36:22 So we said, hey, this, you know, it's not stealing. 36:24 But we'd wait till just about dark. 36:25 Well... 36:27 Because we didn't want them 36:28 looking out the window as they could see us. 36:30 Then we go, turn the barrel over 36:32 and then start digging through it. 36:34 Take all the garbage out to find maybe a toy, 36:37 something we could use in the house. 36:40 And then we put it all back in place and raise it up. 36:43 So now we had little collection of toys. 36:45 But one thing that we noticed that 36:47 I noticed over the years, 36:49 some of these toys, Chris, were like brand new. 36:52 Yes. And it's like, wow, these kids. 36:55 I don't know why they're throwing away, 36:57 and their folks let them throw away really nice. 36:59 I mean, semi-truck and trailer all the wheels on, 37:02 thing worked. 37:04 Cap guns maybe. 37:05 Yeah, I got little touchy, we might hear that story later. 37:10 Whatever, but that they had. 37:14 So these toys were really nice. 37:16 And like, man, so we, you know, 37:18 other friends come over our relatives 37:20 or cousins come 37:21 we had some decent little toys we could play with. 37:24 Nobody knew we were getting them 37:26 out of the barrel from our neighbor's throwaways. 37:29 So I'm going to fast forward close to 50 years, 40 at least. 37:34 Yeah, I'd say 50 years has been 10 or 12 years ago, 37:39 or maybe a little longer even I don't know. 37:41 But I'm in to, I think as JC Penney, 37:45 JC Penney's or Macy's down in Carbondale. 37:48 I'm walking through and I recognize Mr. Golio. 37:52 Got to be late 80s or 90s by then 37:55 and so I see him and I say, "Mr. Golio." 37:59 And he looks at me says, "Hey, Shelton." 38:02 Now, he had to do that 38:03 because there's many of us, I knew he wouldn't know. 38:05 And in so many years how you gonna know. 38:07 He knew I was a Shelton, so you know, "Hey, Shelton." 38:11 I said, "Mr. Golio, how are you doing?" 38:14 "I'm doing okay. How you doing?" 38:16 I said, "It's really good to see you." 38:18 "Yeah, you too," he says. 38:19 So I say, "Hey, I got a confession to make." 38:22 All right. 38:23 I said I want to make a confession. 38:24 He said, "Oh, really?" I said, "Yeah." 38:26 I said, "I want to tell you that 38:28 when we were kids, you know, you knew I said, 38:31 you probably knew the neighborhood. 38:32 My dad was hard worker 38:33 till he was disabled with a heart attack. 38:35 And we had a rough go." 38:37 And I said, "We used to go to the barrel, 38:40 trash barrel behind 38:41 when you guys would throw things out." 38:43 And I said, "You probably don't have any." 38:45 I said, "You probably don't have any idea 38:47 how many little toys and stuff that 38:49 we were able to get because your kids 38:51 threw things out that we thought was great." 38:53 So I said, "We didn't really feel like we were stealing. 38:56 You had put it in your trash. 38:58 So we took it out." 39:00 And I said, "But I wanted to confess that to you anyway, 39:02 since I'd, you know, been 50 years." 39:04 Yeah. 39:06 He looked at me just like this Jordan. 39:07 And he said, "That was no accident." 39:10 See. I knew it. 39:11 All right. I had a feeling. 39:13 No accident at all. Awesome. 39:14 Brand new toys? That's no accident. 39:16 No, it wasn't, yeah. 39:17 He said, "You guys were good boys. 39:19 Your parents were great parents." 39:21 And he said, "We knew you didn't have anything." 39:22 That's right. 39:24 "So my wife and I made sure that 39:26 we put some nice things because we saw you sometimes." 39:30 You know, we didn't want him to... 39:31 We didn't wait till dark looking over time. 39:33 Man, we got to. 39:35 Right, Danny, most of the time I was going in the daylight. 39:40 Probably saw us out there so. Yeah. 39:42 But he says, "You know, 39:44 I knew you guys and I knew your dad 39:46 was a hard worker and your family's good. 39:48 But my wife and I did that 39:50 we just wanted, we wanted to help." 39:53 And literally I broke up. It just choked me up. 39:57 Because I said, "What a gift." 39:59 He said, "Oh, yeah, we did that to help." 40:02 Now 50 years later, he'd never told anybody. 40:05 He didn't go say, "Hey, 40:06 look what I did, I help these four, 40:08 four kids out. 40:10 I did this." He didn't even tell us. 40:12 And if I hadn't seen him there. Yeah. 40:15 If I hadn't seen him there, I would never know. 40:18 But, yeah, that's true giving. That's giving when you care. 40:22 And maybe he didn't get in the newspapers 40:24 and he didn't get all this attention. 40:26 But the Lord knows and saw a heart of people 40:28 who cared and had compassion 40:30 for those less fortunate than themselves. 40:34 And I thought what a gift maybe the best 40:36 and it wasn't just on Christmas 40:37 but if I look back at gifts given, 40:39 we can't really name big gifts 40:41 that our folks gave us, we didn't have it, 40:43 but they did give a lot of love. 40:45 They did give us the Christian upbringing 40:47 which is most important to us, 40:49 but to think about people around us 40:53 and saw the need and was willing to give 40:55 and to share. 40:57 I mean it still to this day I can hardly tell that without, 41:01 you know, getting weakened. 41:03 What a great guy. 41:05 They weren't they were Christians 41:07 I'm sure, but not say 41:09 the same denomination as us, they didn't care. 41:12 We weren't the same, you know, economic status at that point. 41:15 They didn't care. He just wanted to help. 41:17 That's good. Amen. 41:18 And so that's the way that 41:20 you can share the gospel, His gift, 41:22 And he sure didn't do it for attention 41:24 or to say look at me when I'm doing. 41:26 Didn't find out for 50 years. 41:28 Remember where he put that beautiful basketball goal? 41:31 Yeah. 41:32 I thought about for years that he made, 41:34 that he made, was it, you know big steel pole. 41:36 We would put something two or three pieces of wood 41:39 and tack it to a tree 41:40 find some kind of old goal or something, 41:42 you know, the breakdown where net, you know, 41:45 you couldn't even tell you swished one, 41:46 you know, what I mean? 41:48 And then we have basketball was so cheap that 41:50 you blow it up 41:51 and it would go through the rim. 41:52 This will be... 41:54 And so, he's seen all that and I'm to this day 41:56 I'm a believer he's never mentioned it. 41:58 They took what he made for his boys. 42:00 Yeah. 42:01 And he put it right, 42:02 what 30 feet maybe from the alley right 42:05 closer to our house basically to me than was to his, 42:09 so and the net he let it. 42:11 We played anytime we wanted to go there 42:12 and play and shoot. 42:14 We never had to ask, he never said anything. 42:16 The neighbors would give us permission 42:18 to climb the tree and eat the free apples. 42:20 And the Mulberry's? 42:21 Yeah, the next door neighbor, 42:22 the Mulberry's on the other side. 42:24 They say you boys go ahead and climb those trees 42:25 anytime you want on their property. 42:27 Most people, some people won't do that. 42:28 Yeah, right. But people allow that. 42:31 And so that to me, that's a gift from God 42:34 in a sweet nature that these people had. 42:38 I didn't realize at the time. 42:40 I really didn't realize how sweet they were. 42:41 Me neither. 42:42 What you can appreciate this. But we get snow some time. 42:46 And we go out and shovel the snow. 42:48 And then when you play on it that 42:50 made it all muddy mess up the yard. 42:52 But he never complained. He never complained. 42:53 We didn't think about it 42:54 because all we want to do is get rid of the snow. 42:56 And we'd have gloves on 42:58 out there playing in the cold weather 43:00 but never once did he say, 43:01 "Hey, don't mess up my yard or don't whatever." 43:04 They knew it, they can see 43:05 this is right out the back door. 43:07 You know what great people. 43:08 We made that I understood it 43:09 at coal mines made it out of steel 43:11 or what have he and put it up there 43:12 and let us use it. 43:14 But that's just the kind of people 43:15 that I'm saying that care when the Lord blesses them. 43:20 They said, "You know what, let's help somebody else." 43:22 Compassion. 43:24 And we should have that for people too. 43:25 Amen. 43:27 Passion, not only for the lost, 43:28 but physically where we're able to do things, 43:31 and to help people. 43:32 And it's affected me 43:33 the rest of my life that 43:36 I see myself and probably shouldn't admit it 43:39 but I'm kind of for the underdog. 43:41 You've probably seen that sometimes. 43:43 So I've always kind of had a heart that way 43:45 because it felt like, you know, 43:47 you can't help 43:48 but you got to feel like you were there. 43:49 And you said, hey, 43:51 somebody helped me when I need it. 43:52 So we've been privileged from time to time 43:54 to help people a little bit here and there. 43:57 And they don't know, 43:58 we're not going to say who it was. 44:00 But I'm just saying 44:01 maybe you want to think about it 44:02 this season of the year. 44:04 Maybe there's somebody that 44:05 needs help around you that you could help but yet, 44:07 they don't have to know about it. 44:09 It's just going to give the gift 44:10 because the Lord has blessed you so much. 44:13 You want to share with somebody else. 44:15 So I would suggest each of you pray about that. 44:17 I assure you the Lord 44:18 will bring somebody to mind 44:20 and put them in your path that 44:21 you can show them without getting any credit, 44:24 without getting any attention about it. 44:26 Just say you know what? 44:28 I want to do this and want to help out. 44:29 Beautiful. 44:30 You know, I was reminded 44:32 early this morning about another story, 44:34 about another great gift 44:36 and about someone else that was for the underdog 44:38 and I don't know that if it's a true story or not. 44:42 But I looked it up online and I found it 44:44 because I don't remember it really well. 44:46 And I still may not recite it, 44:49 you know, just as exactly right. 44:51 But there was this mother and a son 44:54 and they were going to go to the church. 44:56 And I don't know if it was around Christmas, 44:58 but I do know that 45:00 they were gonna be talking about Christ. 45:02 And they wanted their daddy, 45:03 her husband to come along with her. 45:06 And he said, "This doesn't make sense. 45:07 It's ridiculous. 45:09 Why would a God, a true God in heaven lower Himself 45:15 to the point that He would be born as a man? 45:17 It doesn't make sense." He said, "I'm not going." 45:21 So he went into his house and later on, 45:24 I don't know if it was in the evening 45:25 or that day, but a snow storm came about 45:28 and it started getting really, really cold, 45:30 and it was really snowing heavy. 45:33 And he started hearing this thump. 45:35 And he heard it again, thump. 45:36 And he looked out and he couldn't see anything. 45:38 And he heard another thump. 45:39 And he went outside. 45:41 And he saw these geese 45:42 and he thought those geese are lost. 45:44 They don't know what they're doing. 45:46 And it's so cold out there. 45:48 And he watched them for a few hours. 45:50 He thought, they're not going to make it. 45:51 It's just too cold. 45:53 You know, the temperature kept dropping, 45:55 he thought, I've got to help these geese. 45:57 Well, so he went and he got some food. 46:00 And he thought, I got a good idea. 46:02 I'm going to put them in my barn. 46:04 You know, maybe they were thumping on the house 46:06 because they saw the light inside the house. 46:07 He thought I'm going to put them in the barn. 46:09 He went and open his barn. 46:10 He tried to lure them in 46:12 with some food and they wouldn't come. 46:14 And so then he thought, 46:15 "Okay, I'll get behind them and I'll just shoot them in." 46:18 I'll just, you know, 46:19 he said all that did was scared them. 46:21 It just scared them. 46:22 They would they still wouldn't go in the barn. 46:24 He thought what in the world am I gonna do? 46:26 If I was just a goose, I could save these geese. 46:30 You know, well, you know why? I've some geese. 46:34 He thought, I've got some geese, 46:36 I'll go get one of mine. 46:37 So he went in the barn, he got one his, 46:39 he went around the back of them. 46:41 And he let his goose loose. 46:44 His goose flew through the wild geese. 46:47 And as he, his goose flew through, 46:49 then the other geese followed 46:52 and they all went into the barn. 46:55 And then he got, he stopped and he thought. 46:58 That's it. That's it. 47:02 God became a man, we call Him Immanuel, 47:06 God with us, 47:09 because He needed to reach us where we were. 47:13 Yeah. He loved us so much. 47:15 He didn't want to scare us. 47:18 He knew He couldn't lure us in. 47:20 But if He became one of us, if He relate to us, 47:24 He experienced everything we're going to. 47:27 So He was our example. 47:30 And what a gift was given in Jesus Christ. 47:34 Yeah. That's beautiful. 47:36 If we were down to zero, we could just go out. 47:39 I know. Right there, we can go out. 47:41 But we still got a few minutes. 47:43 Lord is so good. 47:45 I mean, think about it. Think about it. 47:47 You know, we go through so many things. 47:49 You've been through things. 47:51 I've been through things. I lost my parents early. 47:54 I know you lost your parents early in. 47:57 But we have someone that has gone through everything. 48:00 He knows our every emotion that we have. 48:02 That's right. 48:03 And He loves us beyond all love. 48:06 And we can go to Him freely. 48:09 And you know, just for an example. 48:12 Yesterday, I wasn't feeling real well. 48:14 And I thought, Lord, 48:16 we've got this program coming on. 48:19 And I don't want to go and not feel well, 48:21 I thought what is wrong? 48:23 And I kept thinking about it through the day. 48:25 And I finally when I asked Him, "What is wrong? 48:28 What is the problem?" 48:29 And then He told me, and I thought, well, 48:33 and you guys don't laugh, you know, 48:34 I carry my little medicine bag. 48:35 So I grabbed it and started doctoring myself. 48:39 I thought, why didn't I think of this stuff? 48:41 With natural stuff I must say. 48:42 Yes, with natural stuff. God's pharmacy. 48:46 And so anyway, I thought, 48:49 why didn't I think about this earlier? 48:52 Because you didn't ask. 48:54 And the thought came to me 48:56 you had not because you ask it not. 48:58 Come on. Beautiful. 49:00 Many times in this world, 49:02 we have not because we ask not. 49:06 Maybe it's pride. 49:08 Maybe it's, I don't want to 49:10 let go of the things of this world. 49:12 I've often said even on these programs, 49:14 you know, my daddy always told me, 49:16 he's my stepdad actually. 49:18 He said, "If we don't let go the dross here, 49:21 someday it's going to be burned off." 49:24 And as you brought out earlier, these are times like we have 49:28 never in our lifetime experienced. 49:32 But we know through the Bible, that it's gonna get worse. 49:37 And you know, God, only God knows 49:39 when that'll happen. 49:41 He may be, He's holding back the winds of strife. 49:43 He's holding it back till His people are sealed. 49:48 We have not because we ask not. 49:50 We want to be saved. 49:52 We want to be sealed. 49:53 We need to ask. 49:54 He is there. Amen. 49:56 He has done everything He can continually towards us. 49:58 Jordan did that too, didn't he? 49:59 He asked. Yes. 50:01 If you could help give studies. 50:02 Yes. Yes. 50:04 Praise God. Amen. 50:07 That's so beautiful. Yeah. 50:08 You know, we really need to, 50:13 as Kenny said earlier, each day, 50:16 we should really be thinking about how good God is. 50:19 What He's done for us. 50:21 The sacrifices that He's made, not just for Christmas. 50:24 No. 50:25 This is, Jesus is the greatest gift. 50:26 Amen. 50:28 Not just for Christmas, but every single day. 50:31 And I think, you know, 50:33 we tend to take the Lord for granted. 50:35 We tend to take for granted the things 50:39 that He does for us every single day. 50:42 And I just want to challenge you 50:44 in the upcoming year, to really think about Jesus. 50:48 To imagine that He's walking with you that 50:50 He's talking with you, 50:52 that He's with you all the time, 50:54 so that you get a sense of His presence. 50:57 Because I think if we just go about 51:00 our regular activities in our business, 51:03 and we don't think about Jesus, 51:05 we miss so much in the course of that day. 51:09 Hey, Jordan, there's, you're what, 24, 25 years old? 51:13 Twenty four, yeah. Young man. 51:15 There are people at home, there's young people 51:17 may be watching this program they didn't even intend to. 51:20 They turned it on. They see us here. 51:23 And I believe that's by divine direction. 51:27 So I don't know, they'll point to 51:28 which camera one of these cameras, 51:29 maybe you could look in the camera, 51:31 talk to somebody that's maybe your age 51:33 or a little younger, a little older, 51:35 that's out there, what we say floundering 51:37 around not sure what they should do in life, 51:40 they're not happy, they don't have peace. 51:42 What would you say to them? 51:44 Well, I've been there. 51:47 So I know what it feels like to not have peace, 51:49 and to yearn for that peace so much. 51:54 This world is so short, you know, 51:58 the things are in heaven 52:00 can't even equate to a crumb on this earth. 52:03 So I would advise you to just 52:07 ask the Lord to come 52:11 into your heart. 52:13 And to open your eyes really because I feel like 52:17 so much of us of my age and younger are lost. 52:20 They put value 52:22 in these materialistic things and it's just not worth it. 52:25 It's not worth your soul. 52:28 So God loves you. He loves all of us. 52:32 And He wants you to, to step towards Him. 52:36 Come towards Him and walk with Him. 52:39 Amen. It's good. 52:41 Thank you so much. 52:43 We just have about four minutes left, 52:44 we'll have a prayer before we close, 52:46 maybe Brother Kenny, you do the same thing. 52:48 There's a bunch of older folk 52:50 looking in the camera now not to say that you're old. 52:52 No. But, you know... 52:53 You said older. Older, yeah. 52:56 A bunch of older folks watching, 52:57 he's talking to a lot of the young folk, 52:59 maybe you could look in the camera 53:01 and talk to some people, any age today, 53:03 that especially older folk that have gone 53:05 without the Lord all these years, 53:08 and now they're in the sunset years, 53:09 maybe they're going through physical things, you know, 53:12 emotional things. 53:13 They've just lost a husband, wife or son or daughter. 53:16 They're setting home. 53:17 They didn't intend to watch this program, 53:19 but they're tuning in right now. 53:20 What would you say to them? 53:22 Yeah, you know, the Bible says, 53:23 "Today is the day of salvation." 53:25 And really it is. 53:27 You can't afford to put it off any longer. 53:29 I can't afford to put it off. 53:31 Every day, you know, as Christians, 53:33 we rededicate our life, you know, to Jesus, 53:37 because we sense His coming is soon. 53:41 We sense the things of this earth 53:42 has grown strangely dim, the more that we behold Him. 53:46 I don't see anything in this life 53:48 that's worth giving up heaven. 53:50 That's right. But we're all going to. 53:52 There's choices that you're making. 53:53 You've grown older. 53:55 You think you're going to live forever in this world? 53:56 You're not, you know? 53:58 Again people call it scare tact. 54:00 It's not. It's reality. 54:02 You're here today. 54:04 Maybe as a Spirit speaks to you right now, 54:06 it may be your last time that the Spirit will speak. 54:09 And so I encourage you right now, 54:11 if you feel that in your spirit, 54:13 and Jesus is just accept Him right now, 54:16 accept Him into your heart 54:17 and set Him into your life and say, 54:19 "You know what, Lord, I want heaven to be my home." 54:22 And you know what He would tell you 54:23 if He could speak audibly to you. 54:24 "That's exactly what I want. 54:26 That's why I came down to this world. 54:27 That's why I was born in the manger. 54:29 That's why I would self sacrifice 54:31 every step of the way. 54:32 I didn't do it for Me, I did it for you." 54:35 And it's easy to me, it's easy to return that kind of love. 54:39 So please today by the grace of God 54:41 just accept Him right now. 54:42 Just bow your heads, ask for forgiveness of sin. 54:44 Say I want to be a part of the family of God. 54:46 You know why? 54:47 Because all of us 3ABN 54:48 would love to spend eternity with You. 54:50 Please just make that, let's make that a date, 54:52 shall we that all of us to be around the throne of God. 54:56 Yeah, tree of life. All right, good. 54:58 Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. 54:59 You know, the ultimate gift. 55:03 The ultimate gift is Jesus. Amen. 55:06 And John 3:16, "For God so loved the world 55:10 that He gave His only begotten Son, 55:13 that whosoever believeth in Him 55:15 should not perish but have everlasting life." 55:18 God gave us the ultimate gift. Amen. 55:22 And so what we have to do now, we're given the gift. 55:27 It's, you can accept the gift or not. 55:30 That's right. 55:31 If you don't accept the gift, 55:33 you don't get the benefits of the gift. 55:34 That's right. That's right. 55:36 But if you accept that gift, 55:37 your life will never ever be the same. 55:40 I think Jordan can attest to that. 55:42 Yeah. 55:44 That your life is so different now. 55:45 Amen. You're so much more peaceful. 55:47 Yeah. All right. 55:49 Yes. Yes. 55:50 It's a daily work though. It is. 55:52 That's right. 55:53 You don't just get to the finish line when you start. 55:55 That's right. You gonna grow. 55:57 That's right. That's good. 55:59 That's good. 56:00 We had a friend who used to play, 56:02 was friend with my dad, 56:04 our dad, and played music with him. 56:07 And he never really accepted the Lord, 56:09 my dad quit the country clubs and all that, 56:12 this man came over, and we grew up with him, 56:14 loved him at the house 56:16 and played instruments in my dad's country band, 56:20 and he never accepted Jesus. 56:22 So even after my dad died in '74, 56:24 this man would come to my house 56:27 when I was married and in my 20s and 30s. 56:30 And he would come and just visit him 56:32 and talk about the old days. 56:34 And so I asked him, "Why don't you become Christian?" 56:37 And he said, "Well, 56:38 I just think it's all a pipe dream." 56:40 So he said, 56:41 "What are you going to do Danny, 56:43 if you get to the end of the line, 56:44 and you find there's nothing there 56:47 and that all of this, you've done has been in vain?" 56:50 "So let me switch that around. 56:51 What if you get to the end of the line 56:54 and you find out you've missed everything?" 56:56 That's right. 56:57 So there's no advantage in not accepting Jesus Christ, 57:03 but there's every advantage in the world 57:04 to accept His free gift of salvation 57:07 over a fallen man. 57:09 And so, you know, I wasn't with him. 57:11 I talked to him. 57:12 I wish I was there to hospital when he died. 57:14 We were on a trip and we came back. 57:15 But I'm hoping that we see, meet at the tree of life. 57:18 Amen. 57:19 And we also hope that with you for each and every one of you, 57:22 I know many of you are lonely this time of year, 57:24 but know that Jesus loves you. 57:26 We love you. But it's time for the day. 57:28 I hate to say it, but until we see you next time, 57:30 may the Lord richly bless you abundantly 57:32 more than you could ever ask or think. 57:34 Amen. |
Revised 2021-12-30