Participants:
Series Code: TDYL
Program Code: TDYL250011A
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00:00 I want to spend my life, mending broken people.
00:14 I want to spend my life, removing pain. 00:23 Lord, let my words heal a heart that hurts. 00:35 I want to spend my life, mending broken people. 00:45 I want to spend my life, mending broken people. 01:05 Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today live program. 01:08 We are so glad that you've joined us this evening. 01:11 Thank you for being a part of the 3ABN family. 01:14 You know, Jill, it's a blessing, isn't it? 01:16 We're talking to our family at home and we thank you for your 01:20 prayers and your continued monthly support of 3ABN. 01:25 It allows us to go and reach the world with the undiluted 01:28 3Angels messages of Revelation chapter 14 and incredible times 01:32 that we all live in and so people are looking for hope and 01:35 encouragement and I know, Jill, that tonight's program will be 01:39 a blessing to many. 01:41 And how do we know that? 01:42 Well, we already prayed before we started this program and 01:46 tonight's program is a really special one and we have a 01:49 really special... 01:50 I'm going to call him 3ABN family member. 01:52 I don't want to call them guest. 01:54 It's been a little while since he's been here at 3ABN but what 01:58 a privilege. 02:01 here this evening. 02:03 But we're talking about communication. 02:05 What type of communication has to do with prayer? 02:09 And I think that's such a special thing to think about 02:12 talking to the Creator God, right? 02:15 What an amazing way to communicate through prayer with 02:18 God. 02:18 It is indeed. 02:19 Tonight's topic is life -changing prayers. 02:22 That's right. 02:23 We're going to speak with a man that I have respected for many 02:27 years but this is our first time to interact here together. 02:31 Pastor Pavel Goya has been at 3ABN for many years. 02:34 We were trying to remember the first time he ever came on but 02:38 I don't know. 02:38 It's been maybe 30 years ago. 02:40 I'm not sure. 02:46 tonight. 02:49 You travel all over the world. 02:51 Incidentally, he's coming again to 3ABN for our summer camp 02:56 meeting and we'll be presenting a couple of messages at that 02:59 time as well. 03:03 You are the ministry magazine editor there at the General 03:07 Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as well as 03:10 associate director for the ministerial department. 03:14 Is that correct, associate ministerial director? 03:16 Associate ministerial secretary, yes. 03:18 We're so glad to have you here tonight. 03:20 My privilege to be here. 03:22 It's amazing. 03:22 He was talking about his schedule. 03:24 He was just reading it to us because he's literally in today 03:27 and out today here at 3ABN. 03:28 It's an amazing schedule but reading this schedule to us, 03:31 it's amazing. 03:35 with others. 03:36 But in case someone doesn't really know you, Pastor, maybe 03:39 tell us a little bit about yourself. 03:41 You're married, have some children, grandchildren and 03:44 just tell us a little bit about yourself. 03:46 One wife, two boys, four grandchildren. 03:48 One wife, alright, that's important. 03:50 How many years with the one wife? 03:52 40. 03:53 Wow. 03:54 Congratulations. 03:55 I'm going to say something. 03:56 My grandfather and grandmother were married 82 years. 04:00 82? 04:01 82. 04:02 That's a lifetime. 04:07 21. 04:08 Wow. 04:11 That's amazing. 04:12 Wow. 04:13 That's amazing. 04:13 Praise God for that. 04:14 Amen. 04:15 Go ahead. 04:17 I was just going to say you've been a pastor many years. 04:19 What led you into the ministry in the first place? 04:22 Oh, that's a long story. 04:24 I don't know if we want to go there but in a few words, when 04:29 I was four, one pastor from the Union in Romania visited our 04:35 church and he spoke from Jeremiah 29, 11 and he pointed 04:40 in the congregation, saying, God has a plan for you. 04:44 And his finger, I thought, was towards me. 04:48 And then he said, God has a plan for everybody. 04:50 The sad part is that people are more interested in God's 04:53 blessing for their plan but they never seek God's plan. 04:57 And he said, God has a plan. 04:59 If you follow that plan, God can use anybody because it's 05:02 based on his power. 05:04 And so during the break after church, I went in the front 05:10 yard of the church and my father and the local pastor and 05:13 the visiting pastor from the Union and another elder, the 05:16 four of them were talking under an almond tree. 05:20 And so I go there under the almond tree and I get in 05:24 between the four of them. 05:26 I was only four. 05:27 And I look up to my father and said, Really? 05:30 God has a plan for everybody? 05:32 And the four of them looked down and my father said, yes. 05:35 I said, Come on, including children? 05:38 And they looked to each other and my father smiled and said, 05:40 yes. 05:41 And he said, Didn't God call Samuel? 05:43 He was six. 05:44 And I said, But I am only four. 05:46 Can God use somebody that is four? 05:50 And they looked to each other and said, yes. 05:52 And I said, How do I know if God calls me? 05:54 What is the plan? 05:56 And my father said, Well, you pray. 05:58 I said, Okay, hold on a second. 06:00 So I run. 06:02 I get under an apple tree that was a Golden Delicious, big, 06:06 old, low branches, loaded with apples. 06:10 And parenthesis, I remember every Sabbath there were 06:12 people, Don't touch the apples. 06:14 It's Sabbath. 06:16 And I would always take an apple and eat it. 06:18 And eat it on the Sabbath. 06:19 So I go under the apple tree. 06:21 I kneel down. 06:24 for my life. 06:25 Would you please tell me and I will follow it. 06:27 Would you please? 06:29 And I wait for a few seconds and jump up and run. 06:31 And I say to my dad, He doesn't answer. 06:35 And my dad says, You would expect a voice. 06:39 And my father said something that later I learned is from 06:42 the special prophecy that we talk to God through prayer and 06:45 God talks to us through the word. 06:47 And she says, God talks to us through the word just as he was 06:50 next to us and we talked face to face. 06:53 So my father said, God talks to you through the word. 06:56 I said, But I don't know how to read. 06:57 You're four years old. 06:59 And I said, Don't mind that. 07:01 Give me the Bible. 07:02 And my father said, Why? 07:03 I said, Just give it to me. 07:05 And my father shook his head. 07:06 He gets the Bible. 07:07 I take the Bible, open it somewhere, put my finger and 07:12 say, Would you read for me? 07:13 It was Jeremiah 1 from the verse that he says, Don't say I 07:17 am a youth. 07:19 In different transit, Don't say I am a child because I will 07:21 send you and you will speak for me. 07:22 Don't be afraid of them. 07:24 And I will send you to nations and so on and so forth. 07:27 So I closed the Bible. 07:28 I said, God wants me to speak for him. 07:30 So that's what I'm going to do. 07:31 And so that got in my mind for the rest of my life. 07:36 Four years of age. 07:38 Four. 07:38 Wow. 07:38 Yeah. 07:39 That's amazing. 07:39 Praise God. 07:40 What an amazing story. 07:42 I know tonight, I love stories, Jill. 07:43 I know we're going to hear a lot of stories this evening. 07:45 And really the topic, like we mentioned earlier, is on 07:48 prayer. 07:51 Like, you know, when does a prayer or when do prayers seem 07:54 to not be answered? 07:56 How do we deal with those kind of topics and questions? 07:58 So we'll be addressing that this evening as well. 08:01 Plus some other topics too. 08:02 All pertaining to prayer. 08:04 Absolutely. 08:07 in prayer. 08:08 So let's start with that. 08:09 What is prayer? 08:10 And more importantly, how do we pray? 08:14 Are there steps? 08:15 Is there a formula? 08:16 How do we pray? 08:18 So before I talk about that, nobody should be discouraged 08:23 because they don't know the science and the theology of 08:26 prayer. 08:26 God takes our prayers as they are. 08:30 As the spirit prophecy says, prayer is the opening of the 08:33 heart to God as to a friend. 08:35 It's an open, honest, humble conversation, dialogue. 08:42 And so regardless, if people know or don't know how to pray, 08:46 when they open their heart and in honesty, in humility, they 08:50 see God. 08:52 God loves that. 08:52 He takes that. 08:54 And so some people should wait to learn how to pray properly. 09:00 Just pray. 09:01 Amen. 09:02 You know. 09:05 not learn. 09:07 And so I just wanted to mention the first one. 09:09 That's good. 09:12 Before we jump in the water, we will never swim. 09:14 The same with prayer. 09:16 But then talking about learning and growing, we may assume that 09:23 we know how to pray. 09:25 But remember the disciples, Ellen White says that they were 09:29 watching Jesus pray. 09:31 And they realized that He didn't pray like them. 09:34 He prayed like He had a conversation with the Father. 09:37 And they noticed that He has power when He prays, things 09:41 happen. 09:42 So they told Him, teach us how to pray, what they meant. 09:44 We like to pray the way You pray. 09:46 Teach us how to pray like You. 09:49 And the same in Romans chapter 8, Paul says that the Holy 09:53 Spirit has to intercede for us because we don't even know how 09:55 to pray. 10:00 And then you go to Ephesians chapter 6 and He says that pray 10:04 all the time, all types of prayer for all the saints. 10:07 And then He says, pray in the Spirit. 10:10 What's that? 10:11 Yeah, what does that mean? 10:12 What's that? 10:13 How do you pray in the Spirit? 10:15 But then Jesus says, whatever You ask in My name, and that's 10:20 a big word, whatever. 10:22 And Jesus doesn't lie. 10:23 God doesn't lie. 10:26 His Word, it's absolutely secure. 10:29 When God says something, you can rejoice. 10:31 It's done. 10:32 Whatever You ask in My name, in different Bibles, according to 10:36 His will, I will do. 10:40 Well, we have asked so many things and they just don't 10:42 happen. 10:44 What does it mean to pray in the Spirit? 10:47 You look in the Spirit of Prophecy and you look to 10:49 different examples like Peter, he says in the Bible, he was in 10:54 the Spirit. 10:55 How are you in the Spirit? 10:59 God. 11:00 What does it mean to walk with God? 11:03 And she says, they are continually aware of His 11:07 presence in continual connection. 11:13 In a different way, she says, those who are continually 11:16 connected, vitally continually connected, they have around 11:20 them an atmosphere of Heaven to be in God's presence 11:26 continually on this Earth, to start living on Earth as you 11:29 live in Heaven, continually connected. 11:32 So to pray in the Spirit, to be aware of God's presence, 11:35 continually connected, in continual dependence. 11:39 And she says, Jesus didn't speak His own, Jesus says that, 11:42 He says, I don't speak My own words, I speak the words of the 11:44 Father. 11:48 do My works, I do the works that the Father gives me. 11:51 Basically, He was continually connected depending on the 11:55 Father. 11:57 And that's why Jesus says that the Holy Spirit would lead us 11:59 in all things, to be continually connected, 12:03 depending on the Holy Spirit. 12:04 Well, we go to God in prayer, and we ask this and that, what 12:09 we assume that is something good. 12:11 And our minds and our plans are far... 12:15 Inferior. 12:16 ...from God's plans as Heaven and Earth. 12:19 If we knew the end from the beginning, if we would 12:21 understand the purpose that God has, the universal, the eternal 12:25 purpose, we would choose the same path, including trials and 12:29 challenges. 12:31 And so, if we were in the Spirit, led by the Spirit, 12:35 inspired by the Spirit, we would not just ask anything we 12:38 assume that we should ask. 12:40 We would ask only what the Spirit would inspire us to ask. 12:43 And those prayers, God would always answer. 12:46 Amen. 12:47 And so that's the reason, he says, Peter said to the man, 12:52 money I don't have, but what I have, I give it to you, in 12:55 Jesus' name. 12:56 Peter didn't say that from himself. 12:58 He was impressed by the Spirit to do that. 13:00 Elijah didn't get an idea. 13:02 Well, you know what? 13:03 Three years and a half they will be... 13:05 He was inspired by the Spirit. 13:07 He didn't do it just because he thought so. 13:11 Abraham, he didn't just, let's sacrifice my son. 13:15 God... 13:19 But going back now, you asked me about how to pray. 13:24 We should always be dependent on the leading of the Spirit. 13:28 We don't know how to pray. 13:29 We should ask God what to pray before we pray. 13:31 Lord, what do you want me to pray for? 13:34 And seek more to know God and to know His plan and His will 13:40 than seeking His help and His blessings. 13:44 So I just asked this question because again, many people are 13:47 watching 3ABN tonight. 13:48 Many different... 13:51 journey in life. 13:53 So someone right now is saying, you know, I just found this 13:55 channel. 13:56 I don't even really know God. 13:57 So because I don't really know God, I really shouldn't pray to 14:00 Him yet? 14:01 Or can I talk to Him even if I don't really know who He is? 14:03 It's just like, I don't know, I know you're up there or should 14:06 I wait till a certain point in my life? 14:07 The good news is that God understands that we are only 14:10 flesh. 14:12 God understands our circumstances. 14:14 He loves us more than we love our children, more than we will 14:17 ever, even in eternity, understand. 14:20 So God, if we go in humility and with honesty and you know, 14:25 with humbleness, with openness, if we go to Him and talk to Him 14:29 openly, He will take us from whatever we are. 14:31 He's gonna love to hear our prayers and He's gonna teach us 14:36 and form us and grow us. 14:38 It's a growing process So let me give you an example of 14:43 unanswered prayers. 14:45 Unanswered. 14:46 Unanswered prayers. 14:48 When we pray the wrong thing and we say, why doesn't God 14:51 answer? 14:52 And I have many of them, because people say, oh, you get 14:55 so many answers. 14:57 No, I get so many non-answers, if I can say that. 15:00 But anyway, for instance, many years ago we were in Kentucky 15:06 and our older son, his wife and our little granddaughter they 15:13 were in Wisconsin. 15:15 And our daughter-in-law was taking nuclear physics but on 15:21 the medical field, like, I don't know how you call it, 15:25 that type of medical field that you deal with the machines that 15:29 are for radiation, for cancer, for whatever. 15:32 Like nuclear medicine? 15:34 Something like that. 15:34 I don't know. 15:36 I could be wrong. 15:42 going for her masters. 15:43 So we called her. 15:45 We said, where are you going? 15:46 We would like you to move here because we want the kids and 15:48 the grandkids next to us. 15:51 And she said, well, there are only about six, seven schools 15:54 in the nation. 15:55 And she said, indeed, one of them is in Lexington, Kentucky, 15:59 next to you. 16:01 But she says, didn't you say that we should pray for God's 16:05 plan? 16:06 And I was like, but this time... 16:10 We want you here. 16:11 This time you know what God's plan is. 16:12 You just move here because that's the best thing to do. 16:15 And she says, well, how do you reconcile your sermons with 16:18 what you tell me to do? 16:19 I said, come on, stop talking about my sermons. 16:23 It's good for the family to be together. 16:26 And she says, we love that, but we are going to pray about it. 16:29 Well, I got busy praying that Lord, would you please move 16:33 them here without saying, Lord, what is your plan? 16:39 Because you know things that I don't know. 16:41 You know the big picture. 16:42 You know the future. 16:43 You know what is best. 16:44 You know, you love us. 16:46 God will never keep anything from us that is for our 16:48 benefit. 16:51 for our salvation. 16:53 And so, but I did, I said, Lord, please, help them, make 16:57 them, move here. 16:59 Well, they prayed for a whole week and they fasted, if I 17:04 remember right, one or two days, whatever. 17:07 And after the week was over, Monday morning or noon or 17:13 something, they go and pick up the mail and though she did not 17:18 apply for that location, she applied for Kentucky. 17:22 She got rejected, though she had straight A's. 17:25 They said, we received applications up to February and 17:30 right now is July. 17:32 We would love to have you, but it's too late. 17:34 You need to apply next year before February. 17:37 I said, no problem, you stay one year at home. 17:40 She says, no, we pray about it. 17:42 You said that all things work together. 17:46 I said, well, not all, you know, almost all. 17:49 She said, no, no, no, no, I heard your sermon. 17:52 And so, Monday noon they go pick up the mail. 17:55 I mean, it's an invitation from University of Pennsylvania that 17:58 is an Ivy League school, one of the eight. 18:01 Extremely high school, prestigious, you know, and she 18:04 gets invited by that school to be part of their nuclear 18:08 physics program. 18:10 And so, she calls us, she says, we got an answer to prayer, 18:15 though we never applied there, you know. 18:17 And I said, no, no, no, no, no, please don't do it. 18:19 You were eight hours away from us. 18:21 Now you are going to be 12 hours away. 18:23 Please don't do it. 18:24 She says, no, I got to follow God's plan. 18:27 I was a little frustrated with God. 18:29 They move farther away. 18:30 Our grandbaby is going to be farther away. 18:33 We can hardly see them now. 18:34 We are not going to see them maybe twice a year. 18:37 And my wife says, honey, shouldn't we trust God's love 18:40 and wisdom and plan? 18:43 I said, yes, yes, we should, but they move too far. 18:47 Well, two months later, I got a call from the general 18:50 conference. 18:52 within a few months, we moved to Maryland, literally, 18:56 physically, one hour and 50 minutes, let's say, two hours 18:58 from them. 18:59 What if God would have answered my foolish prayer? 19:02 And they would have moved to Kentucky and then you moved to 19:05 Maryland. 19:07 But praise the Lord for not answering my prayer the way you 19:12 wanted it. 19:16 And I believe God was shaking His head and saying, you don't 19:19 know what you ask. 19:20 Would you trust me? 19:22 Would you just trust me? 19:24 And we experience those things in life, but we have a tendency 19:28 to forget and next thing happens, we want our way 19:31 instead of saying, Lord, I trust you more than I trust 19:34 myself. 19:39 it again here. 19:40 So then you've got a parent that's watching their child in 19:43 the hospital dying of cancer, praying for them, and it's not 19:49 being answered the way the parents want it to be answered 19:52 and the child passes away. 19:54 How do you answer those questions? 19:56 Because the same parents pray, let's say, I don't know, a year 20:00 or two before to find the car keys and they found the car 20:03 keys sitting in the garden. 20:06 That's not that important compared to a child dying of 20:08 cancer and the child dies. 20:10 So I'm sure you've asked that over and over again. 20:12 You're a man of prayer, talked about prayer for years. 20:15 How do you answer that? 20:16 I know some of it, we won't know the answer to eternity, 20:18 but how do you talk to those parents? 20:20 I would love to be able to answer. 20:21 I don't know the answer also, but I do. 20:25 There is no comfort except in Jesus. 20:29 Very true. 20:30 We lost a girl, I lost my father. 20:35 I know a little of that pain. 20:38 But think about this, Jesus died on the cross and God 20:42 didn't intervene to rescue him. 20:46 John the Baptist, and Jesus was right there and didn't 20:51 intervene and Paul and Peter and so many martyrs. 20:55 We don't understand probably until we go to heaven, but we 21:00 do know this. 21:02 Number one is that God promised that He will be with us 21:06 whatever we go through. 21:07 He will support us, sustain us. 21:10 Number two, we do know that He will never allow anything 21:14 unless He will do something good even out of a tragedy. 21:19 And I know that's hard to hear. 21:20 That it is. 21:22 But for instance, my father died. 21:26 Were you young when he died? 21:28 I was about 22 maybe, more or less. 21:31 We believe, I have no proof, we believe he was killed by the 21:34 police. 21:36 They told him again and again to stop bringing Bibles, to 21:39 stop building churches. 21:40 He was smuggling Bibles from former Yugoslavia to Romania 21:42 for many years again and again and again. 21:44 Smuggling them in. 21:47 And they would come and check our house and many miracles 21:50 happened and they never caught him, but they knew from 21:53 traitors in the church. 21:54 And they would call him to the police station. 21:56 If you do it again we will terminate you. 21:59 And one time they told him you don't get it. 22:02 And so they put him in a room and they left. 22:05 And in the morning they came and they said you can go home. 22:10 And I learned now from my daughter-in-law that you can 22:14 have radiation specifically in a spot, only that spot to the 22:18 level that you want. 22:19 And so what we know is that he started to lose hair, he 22:23 started to bleed. 22:26 We took him to the doctor and the doctor said you have been 22:29 irradiated. 22:31 That night in that place? 22:32 We think so. 22:34 You have been irradiated and your body stopped functioning, 22:36 your spine stopped functioning, everything. 22:38 You will not make it. 22:40 And so I prayed before and I've seen answers, amazing, 22:47 unbelievable answers to prayer. 22:48 Well I prayed then, Lord save my dad. 22:51 Nothing happened. 22:52 And I prayed again and again and again and I fasted and I 22:55 never fast, you know I cannot. 22:56 But again and again and nothing happened. 23:01 And I was praying next to my father's bed and he put his 23:05 hand on mine and I said enough. 23:08 Your dad tells you enough. 23:10 I said what do you mean? 23:11 He says don't you think we should let God be God? 23:15 And my father said I know him and he said he recited the 23:20 Bible verses from Job. 23:21 He said I know my Redeemer. 23:24 I know him personally and even if I die I know that I will see 23:28 him. 23:29 He looked at my mom and said I want you to write that on my 23:31 stone. 23:36 And so he looked at me and he said if God allows it I am okay 23:40 with it. 23:41 For me it's easy. 23:42 It's going to take me one second to the resurrection day 23:44 and I will see Jesus. 23:46 For you it's difficult. 23:47 I want you to keep your eyes on Jesus and never be shaken. 23:51 And so I don't know why God allowed it but I do know 23:55 something. 23:57 All his life he served God though he was not a pastor but 24:00 his funeral there were people that never, never wanted to 24:03 including some of our relatives to come to church. 24:06 After his funeral they came to church. 24:08 So I was somehow thinking Jesus would have died even if it was 24:13 only one. 24:14 You know if my father's death was worth at least one soul 24:18 though I believe it was more. 24:21 My father would always tell me hey I would be glad to give my 24:24 life to save a soul. 24:25 My saver did that. 24:27 So we don't know why God allows it but we do believe that God 24:32 would never allow any pain unless he has a... 24:36 because God is still in control he doesn't send it but he 24:39 allows it you know. 24:40 So the principle is can I trust my God even in the midst of 24:45 pain? 24:46 Is that right? 24:47 Can I surrender and trust even if the prayer isn't answered 24:50 the way I wanted or I expected? 24:52 I can trust. 24:53 Think about Job. 24:54 There is no better example he lost all his children he lost 24:58 his possessions he lost everything including his health 25:01 and his wife says curse God and die. 25:04 That's not a good advice but anyway and he says hey we got 25:08 so many good things should we not accept these things? 25:11 And he says no I will never do that I will not. 25:14 He trusted God and loved God in spite of those things and I 25:19 believe that honored God in front of the whole universe. 25:22 Think about Joseph sold by his brothers Joseph didn't read you 25:27 know the Bible Genesis to know oh I know the story I can wait 25:32 a few years he was innocent put in prison he never knew if he 25:36 would get out of prison nevertheless the Bible says 25:39 that they could see the spirit of God in him his peace, his 25:43 faith his joy fully trusting God though he did not 25:48 understand what was going on. 25:52 Job says though he slay me yet will I trust in him you know 25:55 that's powerful it's powerful so how do we reach other 26:00 people? 26:01 How do we share what we've experienced with Jesus with 26:04 other people? 26:07 so when we moved here many years ago we were in Southern 26:12 Adventist University in school in Collegedale and the first 26:18 part was pretty tough pretty tough you come from a new 26:21 country you know anyway I remember we didn't have a car 26:25 we didn't have furniture we didn't have money we didn't 26:28 have food we would sleep on the floor anyway I got very sick I 26:36 had an allergy I was from head to toes all spots that were 26:40 burning and itching I went to the doctor's They gave me a 26:43 bunch of prednisone and they said nothing we can do, it's 26:46 stress. 26:48 Anyway, and I remember praying and praying and praying and 26:52 praying, no answer. 26:54 And we got letters that if you don't pay the apartment, you'll 26:57 be addicted. 27:01 And it was like everything was really bad. 27:04 And I remember praying day and night, no answer. 27:08 And I was wondering what do we eat tonight? 27:11 And my wife, we were not lazy, we have never been lazy. 27:13 For me, I don't know how to stand still. 27:16 For me, if I want to relax, if I don't have anything to do, I 27:19 go in the garden and do something. 27:20 I cannot stand still, you know. 27:22 But anyway, so I love doing, you know. 27:28 And so I remember my wife had three jobs cleaning homes. 27:33 And I took several classes. 27:37 I mean, I took three years in one. 27:39 Something like that, one year in the summer. 27:41 Plus two jobs, and still we could not make it. 27:45 Because tuition was expensive, books were expensive, insurance 27:48 was expensive. 27:48 Yeah, housing, all of it. 27:50 Everything, food, everything. 27:53 So bills, you know, electricity, you name it. 27:57 And so praying and praying and no answer. 28:00 Why? 28:01 Why don't you answer? 28:02 You brought me here to destroy me, you know. 28:04 And I was struggling. 28:10 Well, I was in the garden of prayer. 28:15 That was the name in front of the seminary against a big 28:19 trunk with my head crying. 28:22 And I remember surrendering, total surrender. 28:25 I said, Lord, because I am a man of action, I always, my 28:30 wife says, man, regardless situation, you always have a 28:32 few ideas. 28:33 I always have an idea. 28:34 I had no more ideas. 28:36 I was just empty. 28:37 And I said, I don't know what to do. 28:39 I'm just, if I live, I live. 28:41 If I die, I die. 28:42 I don't know what to do. 28:44 So I was crying and saying, Lord, I just, whatever you 28:47 want, I just surrender. 28:48 I don't know. 28:48 I have no solutions. 28:50 I am desperate, you know. 28:52 And somebody hit me on the back. 28:55 I looked and it was Dr. Blanco, Jack Blanco. 28:58 He was the dean in that time. 28:59 Very good, godly man. 29:01 He says, young man, why are you crying? 29:04 I got my back straight. 29:06 I said, I never cry. 29:09 He said, yes, you do. 29:10 I said, no, just allergies. 29:12 Men don't cry. 29:14 He said, you are too proud. 29:15 You are crying and praying. 29:16 I heard you. 29:17 You're sobbing. 29:20 And he says, well, whatever you are crying and praying for, God 29:24 will answer, but he probably is helping you to grow a little. 29:29 And I said in my mind, yeah, yeah, yeah, easy for you. 29:32 You're not in my circumstances. 29:34 You are not in my shoes. 29:35 Yeah, that's right. 29:41 As you look back, you know, and Dr. Blanco was part of it, 29:44 though I never told him the situation or anything like 29:46 that. 29:49 tell you something different. 29:51 When you're in Romania and we had a business, a little sewing 29:54 factory and we had money and influence and connections. 29:57 And people say that. 30:03 I was one of the most stubborn, proud, ambitious, not flexible 30:08 person. 30:09 My way or no way, there was no discussion. 30:13 My wife would tell me many times, man, you need to have a 30:15 little more mercy and patience with people. 30:18 And after that situation in college, they. 30:23 People that knew me before would meet me and say, man, you 30:25 are you. 30:30 You are quiet. 30:31 You are patient. 30:32 You are kind. 30:33 You know how to understand. 30:35 So looking back, I believe that God. 30:40 Could not use somebody that is that has no compassion, no 30:44 patience, no flexibility, no humility. 30:48 And God allowed it for my benefit. 30:52 So sometimes, you know that we know those trials purify gold. 30:56 I'm not saying that I'm gold or purified, but I'm saying those 31:00 are necessary things sometimes. 31:03 It was interesting you said about the total surrender. 31:06 You always had ideas when there was a situation or a challenge. 31:09 Why have this? 31:10 We can do this. 31:11 Here's another option. 31:12 You said you had no more ideas, right? 31:14 And it was a total surrender moment for you. 31:17 And that's where God almost took you to that point in order 31:19 to use you in an even more powerful way for the rest of 31:22 your life. 31:25 time. 31:25 Great point. 31:32 of them. 31:33 And it seems to me that for us to be used, we need to learn 31:37 that type of humility and surrender and total dependence 31:42 on God, not on our wisdom. 31:45 And it seems to me that what I've seen again and again, that 31:48 has to be a lifelong daily process. 31:51 It's not enough one time, but we need to daily fully 31:53 surrender because if we trust our, we talk about God, but we 31:57 make plans, we act. 31:59 If we trust our plans, God can never use us. 32:01 Yeah, that's a good point. 32:02 Paul talks about I die daily. 32:04 You know, that whole concept there. 32:06 So let's talk about surrender a moment. 32:08 I know I asked about reaching others, but we can get there in 32:10 a moment, but let's talk about surrender. 32:12 Maybe someone says, but I don't understand. 32:14 Is it as simple as me saying, I don't want my way, but your 32:17 way, God, or is there any practical steps to how we 32:21 surrender and can I surrender and me actually not surrender? 32:26 You know, I think I'm surrendering, but I'm really 32:29 holding pieces of my heart back. 32:31 There is this heresy among Christians that I have accepted 32:36 Jesus, I have surrendered. 32:38 My brother, Jesus says, you'll know them by their fruits. 32:42 That's the thermometer of spiritual temperature. 32:45 Jesus says, if you are in me and I in you, or if you abide 32:50 or if you remain, depending on the translation, you will 32:54 produce. 32:58 That means that if there is no fruit, there is no 33:02 relationship. 33:02 It's just a theory. 33:03 I've accepted Jesus. 33:04 I've been baptized. 33:06 You know what I mean? 33:07 Surrendered. 33:08 That's theory. 33:10 When you are in Jesus, Jesus in you, the Holy spirit, you see, 33:15 is the fruit of the spirit. 33:19 fruit of the spirit. 33:20 And so we talk about love, surrender, but never like to 33:24 talk about results. 33:25 There should be results. 33:27 Yeah. 33:27 Which are the fruit. 33:29 There should be growth. 33:31 We should, when you have a baby, if the baby doesn't grow, 33:33 you better go to the doctor. 33:34 The baby needs to grow from baby to maturity to the status 33:40 of fullness of Christ. 33:47 And so talking about that, how do you do that? 33:49 Well, the spirit prophecy actually talks about it. 33:54 And she says that God gives us a little light, insignificant 33:58 daily things that we don't even connect them to the religious 34:01 life. 34:02 And if we are faithful in those small insignificant things, 34:05 then God give us bigger things. 34:07 And basically we should be faithful in whatever we have to 34:11 do and do everything as we do it for God, number one, number 34:13 two. 34:14 She says that God would challenge us to surrender. 34:18 And I'm not gonna go to the paragraphs because there are 34:20 about four sermons in that direction, take some or more, 34:24 but that I have. 34:26 And so, but in a nutshell, that God is asking us to surrender 34:30 small things that we can do easily. 34:32 And as we do that and experience Him, we learn to 34:36 trust in Him. 34:36 And then we surrender more. 34:38 And then we surrender more. 34:40 So it's a growth. 34:41 God doesn't expect us in the beginning to just instantly be 34:44 mature and surrender everything, but God does expect 34:47 us to be faithful to where we are and then grow. 34:54 There should be growth. 34:56 And saying that, talking about surrender, I'm gonna give a 35:00 very foolish example. 35:02 It's so easy. 35:03 I love Jesus. 35:04 I'm ready to die for Jesus. 35:06 I give Him, I'm giving Him everything, but practically 35:10 when it's about to give a little, I mean, the pastor 35:12 would call us for a work be at the church. 35:14 I'm ready to give my life, but not to come to work be. 35:17 Be faithful in small things. 35:19 Don't get to the big things because you'll never get there. 35:22 If you don't use the little light, you'll never get the big 35:25 light. 35:28 get the fullness of the latter rain. 35:31 Use what God gave you if you want more. 35:34 People wait for big things in life. 35:35 They never come unless you are faithful. 35:39 You represent Christ wherever you are in whatever you do. 35:42 And so- That's great. 35:44 I was in school in Andrews and we get our car and I take my 35:51 friend who was ready to help me and he takes me to auction in 35:55 St. Louis. 35:56 Coming from Andrews to St. Louis, a big auction, you know, 36:00 and I see a van, Dodge Grand Caravan and I like, whoa, it 36:05 has TV. 36:06 In that time, in 1999 or in 2000, to have TV in the car was 36:13 whoa. 36:14 That's amazing. 36:15 Video games and lights inside and sensors in the bumper. 36:19 It was a luxury car. 36:21 Yeah. 36:22 $2,500. 36:24 Oh wow. 36:27 15,000. 36:28 Yes, there is something wrong. 36:29 So he goes online on Carfax and he goes says, it has a bad 36:33 transmission. 36:34 Don't touch it. 36:35 I want it. 36:37 TV. 36:38 He says, stay away from it. 36:39 I have the experience with this stuff. 36:41 Stay away from it. 36:42 No, I want it. 36:44 Be it for it. 36:45 He says, don't do it. 36:46 I said, hey, it's my money. 36:48 You said, you help me. 36:49 Do it. 36:50 So he bought the car. 36:52 I get in the car. 36:53 I drive home. 36:54 I park in front of the seminary, not in the parking, 36:57 right in front of the entrance door. 36:59 Leave the door open. 37:00 Hopefully that the students will take a peek. 37:02 I see the TV. 37:03 See this luxury van. 37:05 You were pretty proud of it. 37:06 And proud of it. 37:09 And then I drive home and the car gets stuck in the second 37:11 gear. 37:13 It will not change. 37:15 This transmission. 37:16 Oh, so I turn it off. 37:19 Turn it on. 37:20 It will not change. 37:21 It's stuck. 37:22 And I prayed and nothing. 37:25 So I go to a mechanic. 37:26 So you're praying for it to be fixed. 37:28 God, please help me. 37:29 I have this van that won't. 37:31 So I call my friend. 37:32 Hey, I told you don't buy it. 37:36 He says you should have prayed about it and you should have 37:38 given up your desire for a luxury car and you should get 37:43 one. 37:47 something that is reliable. 37:49 And he says, now, what can I do? 37:51 I cannot take it back. 37:52 So I go to a mechanic, one of my elders, and he goes to 37:56 auction, no, to a junkyard. 37:58 I'm sorry. 38:02 hundred dollars. 38:05 He installs the transmission. 38:06 I drive it three weeks and it breaks again. 38:08 Oh, really? 38:10 And I got so angry, so frustrated. 38:14 So and so I go to the auction second time. 38:16 I buy again. 38:17 I pay again. 38:19 I paid labor again. 38:20 I get a transmission again. 38:21 And then I said, I'm not going to use it. 38:23 I put it for sale. 38:24 Let somebody else have it. 38:26 So I put in the newspaper, I put it on Craigslist, on eBay, 38:32 on Amazon. 38:33 I put it in front of the mall and then in front of Walmart. 38:36 Big paper in the windshield. 38:38 Luxury vent, TV inside. 38:42 All the options, the sensors in the bumper. 38:44 All the thing that attracted you to it. 38:46 And I put four thousand five hundred to recover the money 38:49 that I put in fixing, you know. 38:51 Transmissions and everything. 38:52 Nobody called. 38:55 Nobody called. 38:56 So I dropped the price a little. 38:57 Nobody called. 38:58 I put it for sale for six months. 39:00 And then I said, you know what? 39:01 And I pray, Lord, please help me sell the junk. 39:05 Help me sell the junk. 39:07 And then eventually I said, you know, I use it until it breaks 39:09 and throw it away. 39:11 So I am driving to church and tell them you need to surrender 39:17 everything and preaching to the church on Wednesday night 39:20 prayer meeting. 39:21 You need to daily fully surrender. 39:24 Don't expect to surrender in big things. 39:26 When the persecution comes, last day events, you surrender 39:29 your life. 39:30 Not going to happen. 39:32 Surrender today. 39:33 Small things. 39:35 The pastor is calling you to do evangelism. 39:37 Don't say I'm busy. 39:38 Surrender your time. 39:40 Because God has surrendered his life for you. 39:42 If you really love Jesus, should be no limits to what you 39:45 surrender. 39:48 I said, that's how you know that you love Jesus. 39:51 Don't tell me that you love Jesus. 39:52 Show me what you surrender. 39:54 Because whatever you don't surrender, that's what you love 39:56 more than Jesus. 39:57 Now that is deep. 39:58 That's powerful. 39:59 And so I said, you say you don't have idols? 40:02 Things that you don't surrender are the things that you 40:05 worship. 40:05 That's right. 40:06 So after I preach a good sermon, I drive home, Lord, 40:10 please help me sell the van. 40:12 And God spoke in my mind, are you willing to surrender the 40:15 van? 40:15 I said, are you kidding me, Lord? 40:17 This is not Mercedes. 40:18 This is a junk. 40:19 Sure I'm willing to surrender. 40:20 And God says, okay, give it to me for ministry. 40:23 I said, Lord, how much do you pay for it? 40:27 Because I need money. 40:28 I don't have money. 40:28 I need money to buy a car. 40:29 So God, how much do you want to pay for this? 40:31 And God said, well, does not surrender. 40:33 Yeah. 40:34 Yeah. 40:35 And then he's impressed me and says, do you love me? 40:38 I said, absolutely. 40:39 With all your heart, yes. 40:40 More than anything, yes. 40:41 He says, no, you don't love me. 40:43 You love the van more than me because you have second 40:46 thoughts to give me the van. 40:47 If you loved me more than the van, you would give me the van. 40:50 And I realized in that moment, it's easy to say, surrender, I 40:54 love Jesus, but it's hard to let go something so small. 40:59 Yeah. 41:04 the blessings and the health. 41:05 And if God took his hands off, we'll die in a second. 41:07 Yeah, true. 41:08 So I said, Lord, forgive me. 41:09 I'm willing to surrender the van. 41:12 And God spoke in my mind, said, don't you realize that I can 41:15 bless you and give you a car? 41:16 Don't you trust me? 41:18 Put me first, my kingdom, and the other things will be 41:21 supplied. 41:22 I love you. 41:23 I can take care of you. 41:25 I've been taking care of you so far. 41:26 Don't you trust me? 41:27 Amen. 41:28 I said, Lord, you can have it. 41:30 In that moment, my telephone rings. 41:32 A church member, pastor, do you still have the van? 41:34 I said, yes, why? 41:36 I wanna buy it. 41:37 I said, no, I'm not gonna sell it to you. 41:39 I will sell it to a stranger, not to you, because you will 41:41 hate me forever. 41:42 You will never come back to church. 41:43 She says, I know the transmission. 41:45 My brother is the mechanic. 41:46 He fixed it for you. 41:47 I'm gonna buy it now. 41:48 She says, that's the reason I call you. 41:50 I don't have 20,000 to buy or 30,000 to buy. 41:52 I have only about 1,500. 41:54 Would you take 1,500 for me? 41:57 I said, well, it's a lot less than what I wanted, but yes, I 42:00 decided to surrender. 42:01 So whatever God says, that's what I do. 42:02 But I said, I'm curious. 42:04 Why do you want it? 42:05 He says, well, after your sermon, I said, Lord, I want to 42:08 surrender and to serve. 42:09 And God impressed me to drive the kids who don't have a car 42:12 to our school, to drive people who don't have a car to our 42:16 church. 42:20 So I pray, Lord, give me a bigger car and God impressed me 42:23 to call you. 42:23 And this is all I have 1,500. 42:25 I said, you know what? 42:26 Take it, God bless you. 42:29 Now, long story short, 10 years later, I was in a different 42:32 district in Kentucky, no longer in Wisconsin. 42:35 I am driving with my family to Montana in vacation. 42:37 And we stopped in Wisconsin to an olive garden and we get a 42:42 soup and salad, if I mean Australian soup, if I remember 42:44 right. 42:47 Is that lady? 42:48 Oh, my God. 42:49 Pastor, how are you doing? 42:50 Good, you're good. 42:51 I said, hey, what car do you drive now? 42:53 And she says, look in the parking. 42:54 It's the same car. 42:55 It never broke. 42:56 Since I gave it to God, it keeps working. 42:58 I said, oh, come on. 43:01 The van worked for 10 more years. 43:02 And no transmission problems? 43:04 She said, no. 43:05 Now, obviously after that, I know how many years she kept 43:08 it, but this is what we don't understand about surrender. 43:12 We expect surrender to be a big thing. 43:15 And we never surrender the small things. 43:18 And that's how God would grow us. 43:20 Start with what you have. 43:22 And then learn by experiencing Him to trust Him. 43:27 Because without trust, there is no God, no relationship. 43:31 When Jesus comes, He says to a group, I don't know you. 43:34 That's right. 43:35 And the word is not didaskalo, theoretical knowledge. 43:40 It's not genosko, relationship. 43:43 Oida. 43:49 God says, you may know me, but you don't know me enough to 43:51 fully trust me. 43:53 There is no trust. 43:55 There's no relationship. 43:56 So the way that trust grows is to do it, you said, moment by 44:00 moment, is God gives us these opportunities to just trust Him 44:03 and to give ourselves wholly to Him. 44:05 Sometimes we wait for the big things like you said, and 44:08 they'll never come. 44:09 So God wants us today. 44:11 Study of the word. 44:12 Surrender daily, experience Him daily. 44:15 And those things, don't worry about growth. 44:18 Just stay in Jesus. 44:20 And those things come. 44:21 We should not be concerned with growth. 44:23 God gives the growth. 44:25 Including in our garden. 44:26 But we should be concerned with relationship. 44:29 That's great. 44:30 And not be concerned with growth. 44:31 That's great. 44:34 concerned about, are we growing? 44:35 But don't worry about that. 44:36 Just stay in His word. 44:37 Do what He's asking us and we'll automatically grow. 44:39 God will not save us based on how grown we are. 44:42 Like the thief on the cross. 44:43 That's right. 44:44 The thief was not grown. 44:45 God will judge us based on how much we love Him. 44:49 How much we trust Him. 44:50 Are we in Him? 44:52 He who has Christ, has life. 44:55 That's right. 44:56 Are we in Him? 44:56 That's right. 44:57 Yeah, praise God. 44:59 I know we just have only like 12 minutes left or so in this 45:01 first hour. 45:01 I would like to hear another story. 45:03 You mentioned some when you're talking about your father. 45:05 Your father passed away at a young age. 45:07 You were a young man at that point too. 45:09 But you're talking about some incredible, unbelievable 45:11 stories that you saw prayers answered to when your father 45:13 was working, it sounds like in communism, right? 45:15 Sharing the gospel message. 45:17 There's a one particular story that really sticks out that's 45:20 like, wow, just fantastic to see God's hand at work. 45:23 Many, I'm gonna give a very simple one. 45:25 There are big stories. 45:26 Like when the police came, we had a bunch of Bibles. 45:29 I mean, I don't know, 30, 40, 50 boxes of Bibles in the 45:33 middle of the living room. 45:34 I mean, a pile. 45:36 And it's illegal, right? 45:37 Illegal to have those Bibles there. 45:39 Against the law, you would be arrested and you would not see 45:42 the light. 45:43 But anyway, I mean, a pile of Bibles in the center of the 45:46 living room. 45:47 You could not, our living room was so small. 45:48 You would walk around, you know, and the police came and 45:51 searched our house for several hours. 45:53 They would walk around and they said, there is no Bible in this 45:55 house and they left. 45:55 They never saw it. 45:57 Blind. 45:58 And it was right there. 45:59 Right there, in the middle. 46:01 But anyway, I'm not gonna give those type of stories. 46:03 I'm gonna give one that is ridiculously simple, but funny. 46:07 My father would take his friend, Benjamin, and they 46:11 would go from village to village with Bibles on their 46:14 backpack and do canvassing. 46:17 And there are many people who could not pay anything. 46:19 So they would just give it to them. 46:20 The goal was to make sure that people have Bibles in their 46:23 homes. 46:23 They read the Bibles. 46:25 And he would pray with people. 46:28 So they go and they basically, they are in a village and they 46:34 give Bibles and somebody calls the police. 46:36 Somebody has Bibles. 46:37 So the police comes and they run and the police comes after 46:40 them and they get outside the village and the police comes 46:43 over and in front, it's a deep gorge, deep and the river down 46:48 and the bridge over. 46:51 The police comes from behind and then there is police 46:53 waiting on the other side of the bridge. 46:55 They have no way to go. 46:57 So they take a right in the forest. 46:59 The police comes after them and they run and run and run and 47:01 run and run in the forest and police after them. 47:04 And they see an old suspended bridge on cables. 47:09 The cables are rusted and the little cables rusted and the 47:14 wood boards rotten, badly rotten. 47:16 I mean, your finger would go to, like really old. 47:21 And Benjamin says, Oh, should he cross? 47:23 And my father says, there is no option to stay here. 47:26 I mean, Egyptians are following us. 47:29 They are after us. 47:30 This is the Red Sea. 47:31 This is, let's cross. 47:32 So my father starts and the bridge starts moving, you know. 47:36 On the rusty cables. 47:38 Yeah. 47:43 father walks, you know, and he always, always would sing. 47:47 He's walking on the bridge and singing. 47:49 Oh, wow. 47:50 And instantly Benjamin screams, Pavel, stop! 47:55 And he stops, he looks back. 47:56 Why? 47:58 And Benjamin says, look down. 48:01 And he looks down and there are boards, many boards, like six, 48:04 seven, eight boards missing. 48:05 And my father is literally sitting on air. 48:08 There is the board in front, the board behind, but in that 48:11 spot, both legs, both feet are in the air. 48:14 He's stepping on nothing. 48:16 You could see, you just sit down the gorge, the river. 48:19 And my father says, Oh, and he steps a few steps forward until 48:23 he reaches the boards. 48:25 He walked on air. 48:27 And Benjamin says, how do you explain that? 48:30 And my father says, well, he'll send his angel and put his palm 48:34 under your foot. 48:35 And my father says, come on. 48:37 And Benjamin says, I don't want to try that. 48:39 So there was literally nothing under his feet. 48:42 No boards. 48:43 Absolutely nothing. 48:44 Absolutely nothing. 48:45 And you could not jump over, it was too far. 48:47 There were a few steps, maybe two, three steps, I don't know. 48:51 So what happened to Benjamin? 48:52 So he, hanging from the hands on the cable, passed that spot. 48:59 The police got to the bridge in that time and they were 49:02 watching it. 49:03 When they saw my father walking, though they were 49:06 communist, my father told me that as he looked back and he 49:09 saw them, they were frozen. 49:11 And the one in the front did that cross. 49:13 And he told the others, let's go back. 49:15 And they turned around and left. 49:17 But now the funny part of the story, they walked through the 49:21 forest a little more and they said, if we go back in the 49:24 village, they will arrest us. 49:26 The next village is far away. 49:28 If we go back on the road, they will arrest us. 49:30 They said, why don't we sleep here in the forest for tonight? 49:33 So they sleep there. 49:34 In the morning, they are hungry, hungry, thirsty. 49:38 So Benjamin said, what do we do? 49:39 We go back to the village. 49:40 My father says, no, we pray. 49:42 He fed Elijah, he fed Israel. 49:44 He can feed us, he is God. 49:46 And Benjamin says, no, that's in the Bible. 49:48 My father says, no, no, no, that's real. 49:51 So he says, let's pray. 49:52 They keep praying and walking and praying and walking. 49:54 And my father hits something with his head. 49:57 I mean, his head against, boom, ouch. 50:00 And he looks up. 50:01 There is a big homemade bread hanging from a branch of a tree 50:07 with a rope. 50:08 Homemade bread. 50:09 Homemade bread. 50:11 How do you explain that? 50:13 And so when my father and Benjamin told us the story, I 50:16 was like, who put it there? 50:17 My father said, I don't care who put it there. 50:19 And I don't care the reason. 50:20 I just know that we ate. 50:22 Wow. 50:24 So how old were you when your father would come back with 50:25 these stories, like this particular one? 50:27 Cause I know four years older, you were telling us that story 50:29 in the very beginning, but how... 50:31 Since I know myself, he would come home again and again with 50:33 Bibles. 50:34 He would come home. 50:35 I remember he would come in the middle of the night. 50:37 He says, honey, to my mom, I got 400, I got a thousand 50:40 Bibles. 50:41 Let's unload them or let's take them to the countryside to 50:44 grandpa or let's right away, let's act on it. 50:46 Let's not keep them too long or let's pass them to people. 50:49 So since I knew myself, yeah. 50:52 Yeah, since you were young, young. 50:54 That's amazing. 50:54 Wow. 50:55 Praise God. 50:57 And like he mentioned, Pastor Pavel, is that we talk about 51:01 and read about the Bible stories and hear the answers of 51:04 prayer in the Bible from long ago, but God still answers 51:07 prayer today. 51:11 in the last, not too long. 51:12 I mean, your father, that would have been what? 51:14 How many years ago your father was? 51:16 He died six months before the revolution in Romania. 51:18 Okay. 51:19 So it was in 89. 51:21 Yep. 51:21 Yeah. 51:22 Not that long ago. 51:22 It's amazing. 51:24 Yeah. 51:27 working, God answering God. 51:28 Yeah. 51:30 Certainly God never lost his power, never changed. 51:34 And he loves challenges. 51:36 Nothing is impossible for God. 51:38 However, we should never look for miracles. 51:41 We should not. 51:45 voice or to experience a miracle. 51:46 Should simply be to know God, to understand him more, to 51:52 understand his plans, to love him, to surrender, to trust 51:55 him, to walk with him. 51:57 That's beautiful. 51:58 Is prayer any communication with God? 52:00 Or is it like you were talking about the disciples earlier, 52:03 teach us how to pray, asking Jesus. 52:05 So, you know, it's like our father which art in heaven or 52:07 is it just like God save me is also a prayer? 52:10 All of the above. 52:11 You see, prayer is the opening of the soul to God as to a 52:15 friend. 52:19 Well, if prayer is the breath of the soul. 52:22 It's constant. 52:23 That means I've never seen anybody in my life to breathe 52:26 three minutes in the morning, three minutes in the evening 52:28 and stay alive. 52:29 That's right. 52:29 I haven't either. 52:30 If you want to stay alive, you need to keep breathing. 52:33 That's the reason the Bible says pray without ceasing. 52:37 Satan is not afraid of our experience. 52:40 Satan is not afraid of our training or education. 52:43 Satan is not afraid of our power or that we eat healthy or 52:46 that we go to church or that we sing in the choir or go to 52:49 committee or that we keep Sabbath. 52:51 Pharisees kept Sabbath. 52:54 Satan is not afraid that we do all the religious forms, but 52:58 Satan and his host tremble and flee when we pray because he 53:03 knows that when we pray, we connect with the source of all 53:07 power, the greatest power in the universe. 53:09 And there is nothing he can do against that. 53:11 So that's the single defense. 53:12 We should continually be in God's presence, continually 53:16 connect, pray without ceasing. 53:19 So that's the reason it says pray is the breath. 53:21 Keep breathing, keep praying. 53:23 More than that, people breathe not only out, people breathe 53:25 also in. 53:26 That's the reason LNY says that prayer is a communication, is a 53:29 dialogue. 53:34 him. 53:34 He knows everything. 53:36 She says our prayers are not to inform God. 53:39 It is so important to also learn to listen. 53:42 People never listen, even in our communication, people never 53:46 listen. 53:47 I mean, not never, but many times. 53:49 So to listen and she says in the spirit prophecy that 53:54 through prayer, we talk to God and through the word he talks 53:56 to us just as he was right next to us. 53:59 So she says prayer and the study of the word should never 54:02 be separated. 54:04 We should pray and study. 54:06 And she says, reflect, think about it. 54:09 Yeah, no, that's great. 54:10 I know second hour, we're gonna talk specifically more about 54:13 how to study the Bible and how we can reach others. 54:16 And in these last days, these closing moments of earth's 54:19 history, how we can prepare as Christians for the final crisis 54:24 that's coming upon us. 54:25 And also, I wanna talk to you more about the assurance we can 54:29 have of salvation. 54:30 You quoted that scripture that he who has a son has life and 54:34 we can maybe dialogue a little bit about that too. 54:36 But before we close out this first hour, I was thinking 54:39 we're talking about prayer. 54:40 We should really spend some time in prayer. 54:42 This hour and the next hour as well. 54:45 So would you mind Pastor Goyev leading us in a prayer before 54:48 we close out this first hour? 54:54 Father in heaven, what a privilege to come in your 54:58 presence and to talk to you. 55:02 Angels cover themselves in your presence. 55:05 Who are we to come in your presence? 55:08 Thank you for the joy, the privilege, the blessing of 55:11 prayer. 55:12 Thank you that you know us, you hear our prayers, you know our 55:16 hearts. 55:19 before we even think. 55:20 Thank you that you love us with such a love that you gave Jesus 55:23 for us. 55:25 Father, please help us to love prayer and to love the world. 55:30 To love you, to have a thirst for you, a desire, a passion 55:34 for you, for the Bible, for prayer. 55:38 Help us to seek you with all our heart. 55:41 Help us to enjoy your presence and never separate from you. 55:46 Help us to start the day with you and then to continue to 55:49 walk with you every single day. 55:52 Father, you promise that if we seek you with all our heart, 55:55 we'll find you. 55:56 Help us to seek you with all our heart. 56:00 I pray for the people who are watching this program for every 56:03 single one. 56:04 I pray that you put this deep desire, this thirst for a 56:11 knowledge of you, for a relationship with you. 56:14 I pray that they don't look to self and get discouraged, but 56:17 rather they fix their eyes on you because nothing is 56:20 impossible for you. 56:22 You are able to finish what you started. 56:25 You love us with a love that surpasses human understanding. 56:29 I pray that they will fix their eyes on you and know you and 56:31 trust you and love you. 56:34 Father, we pray in Jesus' precious powerful name and 56:37 thank you for answering. 56:39 We love you and we praise you. 56:41 Amen. 56:42 What a powerful first hour it has been. 56:46 Thank you for taking time to come and share. 56:49 I think one of my favorite parts about the first hour, I 56:51 wrote it down. 56:52 Don't be concerned with growth. 56:55 I think so many times as Christians we can worry about 56:58 that. 57:00 Am I growing enough in Jesus? 57:03 But focus on Jesus. 57:05 Philippians 1 verse 6, being confident of this very thing 57:08 that he who began a good work in us will carry it forward to 57:12 completion. 57:17 will do the growing process in us. 57:19 I love that. 57:21 And the stories that you shared were so powerful. 57:24 Encouraged my own walk with Jesus. 57:25 And we know many of you are at many different journeys in your 57:29 walk with Jesus. 57:30 Just take a baby step right now today. 57:33 Make a choice today. 57:34 Yes, I want you in my heart and in my life. 57:37 Yes, I'm choosing to surrender the little things right now 57:41 today. 57:45 life. 57:45 We will be right back. |
Revised 2025-04-03