Participants:
Series Code: WHO
Program Code: WHO200002S
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00:27 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Worship Hour.
00:30 I'm Jill Morikone, 00:31 and we're so glad that you have tuned in 00:33 as we study God's Word and worship together. 00:37 As news of COVID-19 sweeps across the world, 00:40 we see families becoming infected, 00:42 and communities, and country after country. 00:46 Where is God in the midst of this 00:48 and how can we trust Him in a tumultuous time? 00:52 We're going to look at that today 00:53 as we discussed trusting when I can't see. 00:58 I want to encourage you to get your Bible 01:01 as we open up God's Word and look at His Word for hope, 01:05 and help, and healing. 01:07 But before we do that, 01:09 we want to go before the throne of grace, 01:12 and Tim Parton is going to lead us there. 01:18 Psalm 84:11 and 12 say, 01:21 "For the Lord God is a son and shield. 01:25 The Lord will give grace and glory, 01:27 no good thing will He withhold 01:29 from those who walk up rightly. 01:31 O Lord of hosts, 01:33 blessed is the man who trusts in You." 01:36 Do you acknowledge 01:37 that the Lord is all that you need? 01:39 Do you grasp that what God is to us 01:42 is what the sun is to our universe, 01:45 the source of life and light. 01:47 Without the sun, 01:48 life would vanish from the earth, 01:50 and without God, 01:51 we would have 01:53 neither physical life nor spiritual life. 01:55 God is our provision and our protection. 01:58 He is the giving God, 01:59 and He gives grace and glory, 02:02 grace for the journey 02:03 and glory at the end of the journey. 02:06 If we walk by faith, 02:07 then whatever begins with grace will ultimately end with glory. 02:12 God does not give us everything we want, 02:14 but He bestows upon us all that is good for us, 02:17 all that we need. 02:19 No good thing will He withhold from those who walk up rightly. 02:23 Do you delight in the Lord today? 02:25 Do you seek Him? 02:27 Do you depend on His strength? 02:29 Do you walk and work by faith? 02:32 Are you among those who walk up rightly? 02:36 Blessed is the man who trusts in God. 02:42 When we walk with the Lord 02:45 In the light of His word 02:48 What a glory He sheds On our way 02:55 While we do His good will 02:59 He abides with us still 03:04 And with all who will trust 03:08 And obey 03:13 Not a burden we bear 03:17 Not a sorrow we share 03:20 But our toil He doth richly repay 03:27 Not a grief, nor a loss 03:31 Not a frown or a cross 03:34 But is blessed 03:35 If we trust 03:38 And obey 03:43 Trust and obey 03:46 For there's no other way 03:51 To be happy in Jesus 03:57 But to trust 03:59 And obey 04:05 But we never can prove 04:09 The delights of His love 04:13 Until all on the altar 04:17 We lay 04:20 For the favor He shows 04:24 For the joy that He bestows 04:28 Are for those who will trust 04:32 And obey 04:39 Then in fellowship sweet 04:42 We will sit at His feet 04:46 Or will walk in the way 04:50 By His side 04:53 What He says we will do 04:56 Where He sends we will go 05:00 Never fear only trust 05:04 And obey 05:08 Trust and obey 05:12 For there's no other way 05:18 To be happy in Jesus 05:25 But to trust 05:28 And obey 05:37 Let's spend some time praying. 05:43 Father, as Your children, 05:45 I thank You 05:46 that we have constant open access 05:50 into Your presence 05:52 because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ 05:55 and His constant intercession for us in heaven. 06:00 Thank You, Lord, for this wonderful gift. 06:04 And thank You for hearing our prayers. 06:08 God, You made the world and everything in it. 06:11 You are Lord of heaven and earth. 06:15 You don't dwell in temples made with hands. 06:20 And even our feeble attempt to worship You, 06:23 You really don't need because You are the giver. 06:28 You give life, You give breath, 06:30 You give all things. 06:33 And You have made from one blood, 06:36 every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth. 06:43 Lord, it is You who have determined 06:46 our preappointed times, 06:49 and the boundaries of our dwellings, 06:52 so that we should seek You 06:55 in the hope that we might find You, 06:57 though, Lord, You're really never far from us. 07:01 For we acknowledge God that it is in You 07:03 that we live and move and have our being. 07:08 We are Your children. 07:13 Father God, I pray for those 07:14 who are in authority around the world. 07:18 Those leaders who form our policies, 07:24 those who bear the weight of making the hard decisions. 07:29 God, Your Word declares 07:32 that You put our leaders in office. 07:34 So I will trust 07:36 that You are causing all things to work 07:39 for our good and for Your glory. 07:45 And today, God, I lift up our families, 07:49 that precious unit 07:50 that You sanctioned from the start of time. 07:54 God, I pray that You will bind us together 07:56 with love and understanding. 07:59 Fill us with forgiveness and mercy. 08:04 Lord, I pray that You would touch marriages, 08:08 that You would fill husbands with love for their wives, 08:12 fill wives with respect for their husbands. 08:15 May they live 08:16 with understanding and compassion 08:19 for one another. 08:22 And, Lord, grant restoration 08:24 to those marriages and families 08:26 that the enemy is tearing apart. 08:31 Oh, God fill each of us 08:33 with a renewed desire to be faithful to You. 08:42 God, Your Word declares 08:47 that the generous will prosper. 08:51 Those who refresh others 08:54 will themselves be refreshed. 08:59 Lord, may we Your children 09:00 not give in to the world's urge to hoard. 09:04 Only using our resources on ourselves, 09:07 measuring carefully what we give away, 09:10 climbing over others in our way to get more. 09:14 Holy Spirit stirs us to think of others needs, 09:18 to give without fear of being taken advantage of, 09:22 to look out for other's interests 09:24 above our own. 09:26 I thank You, God, that every need is supplied, 09:30 according to your riches and glory. 09:33 And our greatest need, 09:36 salvation from sin 09:39 has been paid in full 09:41 by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. 09:45 Lord, may we share that truth lavishly, 09:50 the most expensive possession that any of us owns 09:55 was so freely given by You. 10:00 The precious blood of Jesus. 10:02 So, Lord, I pray that You would open our eyes 10:05 to the vast opportunities around us to be generous. 10:10 Clean out our self involved, 10:12 self protective, self focused hearts. 10:16 Make us available to You. 10:19 And may we do generous deeds 10:22 that are beyond reimbursement, 10:25 showing kindness without compensation. 10:30 God, I choose 10:32 to trust and to obey You 10:37 in Jesus' name. 10:49 Amen. Thank you so much, Tim. 10:51 Aren't you grateful that we can trust God 10:54 in the midst of this virus pandemic, 10:57 in the midst of trouble and tribulation, 10:59 we can trust even when we cannot see. 11:02 Until I learned to trust, I never learned to pray. 11:05 I never learned to fully trust till sorrows came my way. 11:10 Until I felt my weakness, His strength I never knew, 11:15 nor dream till I was stricken that He would see me through. 11:20 Who deepest drinks of sorrow, drinks deepest too of grace. 11:25 He sends the storm 11:27 so He Himself can be our hiding place. 11:30 His heart that seeks our highest good 11:33 knows well when things annoy. 11:35 We would not long for heaven if earth held only joy. 11:40 You know, if you do a little research, 11:42 there's supposed to be 195 countries in the world. 11:46 Some people say there's 197 countries. 11:50 That depends if you count Taiwan and Kosovo, 11:52 but there's quite a few countries in the world. 11:54 Now the danger of mentioning this 11:57 because this is Sabbath 11:59 and the program was recorded a few days before 12:02 is that, this COVID-19 is spreading so rapidly 12:08 that the statistics change not just on a daily basis, 12:12 but the statistics change on an hourly basis. 12:16 In fact, overnight, 12:18 they said 400 more people died in the country of Spain. 12:21 And another 4,000 people were diagnosed 12:25 in just simply a 24 hour period. 12:29 In the United States, we say, 12:31 it would be older people who would contract the disease. 12:36 But yet the newest reports coming out 12:39 are of those people who are hospitalized 12:42 with a serious case 12:44 that 40% of them 12:45 are between the ages of 20 and 54. 12:50 For the countries that have been affected, 12:52 it depends on the statistics that you look at. 12:56 There's anywhere between 159 countries 12:59 to 192 countries and territories. 13:04 This virus pandemic has impacted 13:07 not just a local region, not just a community, 13:11 not just a state or a country but the entire world. 13:15 And there's fears, will I lose my job? 13:18 Those were financial fears. 13:19 Can I still provide for my family? 13:21 How will it affect them? Physical fears. 13:24 What if I become ill? 13:26 Or what if my loved one becomes ill? 13:29 Will they die? 13:31 When everything we know is stripped away, 13:34 when you get rid of all of that, 13:37 we discover our priorities 13:39 and what is really important in life. 13:42 We discover our fears and who we really are inside. 13:47 We discover our God and who He really is. 13:50 I remember driving one day and seen on a sign. 13:54 It said, 13:55 "The teacher is always silent when the test is given." 13:59 What does that mean? 14:01 Does that mean that the teacher is present? 14:02 Absolutely. 14:04 Does that mean that the teacher left the room? 14:05 No. 14:07 The teacher is there, 14:08 but the teacher is always silent 14:11 when the test is given. 14:13 Are we going through a testing time 14:15 right now in the world? 14:16 Absolutely. 14:18 Today, we want to look at how we can still trust God, 14:22 when we cannot see. 14:25 Let's pray. 14:26 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus. 14:29 Thank You for Your Word. 14:31 Thank You for the anointing of Your Word. 14:34 Thank You that You are good. 14:37 And You were God, and You are on the throne, 14:40 even in the midst of this time. 14:44 We ask right now that You would speak, 14:47 that You would bring hope and comfort to our hearts 14:50 through Your Word. 14:52 And we ask this in the precious and Holy name of Jesus. 14:55 Amen. 14:56 An email crossed my desk just last week. 15:00 And all of a sudden that popped into the inbox 15:02 and I looked at it and it was from a gentleman, 15:04 and he and his wife 15:06 had been to 3ABN Fall Camp Meeting. 15:08 So they had been right here at 3ABN 15:10 and we met them last fall. 15:12 And he said, "Please pray, 15:14 because my daughter 15:16 was just diagnosed with COVID-19." 15:20 What do you do in the midst of that? 15:22 What do you do 15:23 when a family member is diagnosed, 15:25 and you're struggling with the stress 15:27 of what the future holds 15:28 and what's going to happen? 15:30 I think just in the space of a couple of weeks, 15:32 and this is just things impacting my own life. 15:36 I think about people who have contacted me. 15:39 I think of a woman 15:41 that is in an abusive relationship, 15:45 beat and hit by her husband. 15:48 And she showed me the bruises. 15:50 I think of another friend's marriage 15:52 who's falling apart in the midst of difficulty. 15:57 I think of another friend who texted and said, 16:01 "Every day, I think of killing myself. 16:04 Every day, I wonder if I should commit suicide." 16:08 We go through trials 16:10 that might not be the COVID-19 virus, 16:12 although that is definitely gripping the world. 16:14 But we have marriage struggles, we have financial struggles, 16:17 we have family struggles. 16:19 What are we to do when we cannot see the future? 16:22 How do we trust God when we can't see? 16:27 You know, I like lists. 16:28 So there's three points for today's message. 16:31 How do I trust Him when I can't see? 16:34 First, remember who He is. 16:37 Second, remember where He is. 16:42 And third, remember where I am? 16:45 Did you get those three points? 16:47 What are they? Let's say them together. 16:48 Remember who He is. 16:51 Remember where He is. Remember where I am. 16:58 So let's look at number one. 16:59 Remember who He is. Who is He? 17:01 Of course, Jesus is many things and we could go, 17:04 spend the entire hours just talking about that. 17:07 But we're going to look at for Who is He? 17:09 First, He is the Creator. 17:12 Go with me to the Book of Genesis, 17:14 the very beginning where everything began, 17:16 we see that, Genesis 2:7, 17:19 this is the creation of humankind. 17:22 It says, "Then the Lord God formed man 17:25 of the dust of the ground, 17:27 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, 17:30 and man became a living being." 17:32 Now if He is the Creator, 17:33 I can think of that 17:35 and I can even distance myself from that 17:37 or be separate from that. 17:38 I can say, okay, He is the Creator, 17:40 that's wonderful, 17:42 but that really has nothing to do with me inside. 17:46 But He is not just the Creator, He is my creator, 17:50 He is your creator. 17:52 Jeremiah, I love this chapter. Jeremiah Chapter 1. 17:56 He was a young prophet, 17:57 and he didn't know much about 17:59 what God was calling him to do. 18:01 He didn't know who he was supposed to be 18:03 and yet God gave him this assurance 18:05 in Jeremiah Chapter 1. 18:07 Jeremiah 1:5, 18:10 "Before I formed you..." 18:11 God is speaking to Jeremiah, 18:12 but really today God is speaking to you. 18:16 "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, 18:21 before you were born, I sanctified you." 18:24 That word in the Hebrew means, I set you apart. 18:29 I ordained you a prophet to the nations. 18:30 Now we're not all ordained to be a prophet to the nations. 18:34 But we are all called to be set apart, 18:37 from the very beginning of time 18:39 in your mother's womb God knew you. 18:42 He created you. 18:44 Remember who He is. He is our creator. 18:48 He's your creator. 18:50 But it doesn't stop there. 18:51 He is our redeemer. 18:54 Turn with me to Isaiah 43. 18:56 This is probably one of my favorite passages 18:59 in the Book of Isaiah. 19:00 The first half of the Book of Isaiah 19:01 is definitely a book of judgment. 19:04 The people had walked in their own way, 19:06 they had followed other gods, 19:08 they had intermarried with a heathen. 19:11 And God said, 19:13 "If you don't repent, if you don't turn back to Me, 19:16 judgment will fall upon you." 19:18 And the people said, 19:19 "We're done with you, God, we want to do our own thing." 19:21 We don't want that. 19:23 But the second half of the book, 19:25 the book of comfort, 19:27 God says, "I love you with an everlasting love." 19:31 God says, "I want to forgive you, 19:33 I want to bring you back to Myself." 19:36 So we're in Isaiah 43, the first three verses. 19:38 This is God is our redeemer. 19:42 First one, now this says, "The Lord who created you" 19:47 now that word in Hebrew, means to form or shape. 19:52 So God, here it mentions Him as our creator. 19:55 He formed us, "He created us, 19:58 and He who formed you O, Israel, 20:00 fear not, for I have," what's the next word? 20:04 "I have redeemed you. 20:07 I have called you by your name. 20:09 You are mine." 20:10 We belong to Him. 20:13 You see, we're twice bought. 20:14 First, He created us. Second, He bought us back. 20:18 He redeemed us. 20:20 You know, there's a story I love 20:21 about a little boy who made a sailboat. 20:23 And he was just a little guy, maybe six, seven years old, 20:26 and he loved his sailboat. 20:28 And he was so excited about it. 20:31 And so he got the little wood and he put it together, 20:35 and he fixed the sail and he got out his paints 20:39 and he painted the sailboat. 20:41 He was very excited about it. 20:44 And then he took it out the first day, 20:46 he's so excited and he put it on the lake 20:49 and it went out sailing 20:50 and he watched it and it came back to him. 20:52 Then the next day he said, 20:54 I'm going to go out and play again, 20:55 and he took his sailboat and it went out 20:58 and he did this for several weeks, 21:00 and then one day his sailboat never came back. 21:03 And he went in the water and he looked for it 21:05 and he couldn't find it. 21:07 And he went home and he cried. 21:08 And he said, "Daddy, I lost my sailboat. 21:13 I made it. 21:14 It's mine. But I lost it." 21:19 And so every day he would go out to the lake, 21:21 and he would look for his sailboat 21:22 and he couldn't find his sailboat. 21:24 And the next day, he'd go out 21:25 and he couldn't find a sailboat. 21:26 And one day he was walking down the street. 21:29 And he looked in the store window, 21:31 and there was a sailboat, his sailboat, 21:35 the one he had made, 21:36 and he could see the little nick on it, 21:38 and he could see the way he had painted it. 21:40 So he went in the shop 21:41 and he looked at the store owner 21:43 and he said, 21:44 "Mister, you have my sailboat." 21:46 And the man said, I don't know about that. 21:47 This is a sailboat we're selling. 21:50 But if you want it, you can buy it back. 21:53 And so the little boy went home 21:55 and he raked leaves for his parents 21:56 and maybe he dug dandelion weeds 21:58 like Greg's parents paid him 22:00 when he was a little boy to dig dandelion weeds. 22:03 Maybe he made his bed. 22:04 I don't know, whatever he did, he did some chores. 22:07 He earned pennies after pennies. 22:09 And then one day he had enough. 22:11 And he went back into the store and he said, 22:14 "I'm ready to buy my sailboat now." 22:18 And he bought it back. 22:20 You see, he made the sailboat in the beginning. 22:22 And then it went its own way and it got lost, 22:25 but he bought it back. 22:27 That's when I look at Isaiah 43, 22:28 that's what I see. 22:30 God says, "I made you in the beginning 22:31 and you went your own way, 22:33 but I bought you back 22:34 with a precious blood of Jesus." 22:37 But it doesn't stop there. Verse 2, we're in Isaiah 43:2. 22:41 "When you pass through the waters, 22:43 I will be with you." 22:44 Are you going through a storm right now? 22:46 Are you going through a difficult time? 22:47 Are you going through a time 22:48 where you don't see where Jesus is? 22:51 He is with you. 22:53 "And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you, 22:55 when you walk through the fire 22:57 you, shall not be burned, 22:58 nor shall the flame scorch you, 23:01 for I am the Lord, your God, 23:03 the Holy One of Israel, your savior." 23:07 I love that. 23:09 In this verse, 23:11 you see that when we're redeemed, 23:13 we don't have to be afraid. 23:16 Did you catch that? That was in verse 1. 23:18 It says, "Fear not for I have redeemed you." 23:21 When we are redeemed, we do not have to be afraid. 23:25 So we remember who He is. 23:28 He's our God, He's our creator. 23:30 Number two, He's our redeemer. 23:31 Number three, He is our light and salvation. 23:35 Turn with me to Psalm 27. 23:37 Now, Psalm 27 is an interesting chapter 23:42 there in the Book of Psalms. 23:44 David and his men were hiding in the wilderness from Saul. 23:50 And so they were in the rocks, 23:53 in the cliffs and hiding, 23:55 this was a time of trauma and a time of terror for them. 23:59 And yet in verse 1, David declares, Psalm 27:1, 24:03 "The Lord is my light and my salvation, 24:08 whom shall I fear? 24:10 The Lord is the strength of my life 24:12 of whom shall I be afraid?" 24:14 Now here you notice again that if we are saved, 24:17 it says, the Lord is my light and my salvation, 24:19 whom shall I fear? 24:20 If we are saved, we do not have to be afraid. 24:25 When we're saved, 24:26 we don't need to be afraid of people. 24:28 And we don't need to be afraid of situations. 24:32 You know, several years ago in my life, 24:34 I went through a difficult experience 24:37 with a co-worker. 24:38 It was one of those experiences where you lay awake at night 24:41 and you can't sleep. 24:43 Or maybe you cry yourself to sleep. 24:45 Or maybe as you're going throughout the day, 24:47 you're trying to figure out how best to deal with this. 24:51 I was afraid of him. 24:53 I was afraid of what he would do. 24:55 I was afraid of what he would say. 24:58 I was afraid of how he would treat me 25:00 and I lived my life in fear. 25:03 And then one day, 25:05 a friend gave me a verse. 25:07 I want to look at that verse with you. 25:09 It's in Isaiah Chapter 51. 25:12 We're going to just jump over from 43 to 51. 25:15 Isaiah Chapter 51, 25:17 we're gonna pick it up in verse 12. 25:19 I have written 25:21 actually in the margin of my Bible, 25:23 the day, the month and the year 25:26 when God revealed this verse to me, 25:30 and it was in context of that difficult situation 25:34 that I was experiencing. 25:37 And God said, "Jill, you do not have to be afraid." 25:41 It says Isaiah 51:12, 25:43 "I, even I, am He who comforts you. 25:47 Who are you 25:49 that you should be afraid of a man that will die, 25:53 and of the son of a man who will be made like grass?" 25:55 As soon as I read that, God said, 25:57 "Jill, why are you afraid of this person? 25:59 Why you're afraid of what they're going to do? 26:00 Why you're afraid 26:01 of what they are doing in your life? 26:03 Who are you that you should be afraid," 26:06 but it doesn't stop there. 26:07 It says, verse 13, 26:08 "And you forget the Lord your maker, 26:12 who stretched out the heavens 26:14 and laid the foundations of the earth. 26:17 You have feared continually every day." 26:19 Are you walking in a situation with people in your life 26:24 that you're afraid of, 26:25 or a situation that you're afraid of? 26:28 Have you feared continually every day 26:31 because of the fury of the oppressor 26:33 when he is prepared to destroy? 26:35 What's this say? 26:36 Where is the fury of the oppressor? 26:40 The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed. 26:42 Verse 15, 26:44 "But I am the Lord, your God, 26:45 who divided the sea whose waves roared. 26:49 The Lord of hosts is His name. 26:52 And I have put My words in your mouth, 26:56 and I have covered you with the shadow of My hand." 27:00 What is God saying? 27:02 He's saying, "I divided the Red Sea. 27:04 I can move mountains, I can do anything in your life. 27:08 Why are you afraid of people? 27:10 Why are you afraid of situations 27:12 because I am God." 27:15 We remember who He is. 27:18 We remember that He is our creator, 27:20 that He is our redeemer, 27:23 that He is our light and salvation and strength. 27:28 Number four, we remember that He is our rock, 27:31 our fortress and deliverer. 27:33 You know where I'm going, Psalm 18. 27:36 Now this verse, Psalm was written by David, 27:39 when God delivered him from Saul and the enemies. 27:42 Now remember, the previous psalm we read 27:44 was written by David when he's hiding 27:47 from Saul and the enemies and he's hiding there. 27:50 But this psalm is written when God delivered him 27:53 from his enemies. 27:54 We're in Psalm 18:2, 27:57 "The Lord is my rock, 27:59 my fortress and my deliverer. 28:02 My God, my strength in whom I will trust." 28:07 Now the wording, I will trust 28:09 in the original language in Hebrew literally means, 28:13 I will seek refuge. 28:16 So in God we trust. What does that mean? 28:18 We run to Him and seek refuge in Him. 28:23 You know, there's seven 28:25 I am statements in the Book of John, 28:27 speaking of Jesus. 28:28 Jesus is, He says, 28:29 "I am the bread of life. 28:31 I am the light of the world. 28:34 I am the door, the Good Shepherd, 28:36 the resurrection and the life, 28:37 the way the truth and the life and the true vine." 28:41 In Revelation, there's 17 statements, 28:44 at least 17 statements for who He is. 28:49 He says, 28:51 "He is and was and is to come. He is the first and the last. 28:54 He is the Alpha and the Omega. 28:55 He's the ruler over the kings of the earth. 28:58 He is the Amen. 28:59 He is the first begotten of the dead. 29:02 He is the Son of Man and the Son of God. 29:05 He shuts and no man opens. 29:07 He is holy and true, He is Lord. 29:09 He is lion of the tribe of Judah, 29:11 the Root of David, the Lamb of God, 29:14 King of kings and Lord of lords. 29:16 He is the word of God." 29:18 Now you can say that's wonderful, Jill, 29:19 but who is He to me? 29:21 He is your creator and your redeemer. 29:25 He is your light, and your salvation, 29:28 and your strength. 29:30 He is your rock, and your fortress, 29:33 and your deliverer. 29:35 When we cannot see the future 29:37 and God calls upon us to trust, 29:41 we remember who He is. 29:44 Number two, we remember where He is. 29:49 Now, there's many places that He is, 29:50 but I want to give you five places that He is. 29:54 And the first number one, He is with God. 29:57 Remember John 1:1. 29:59 This is a parallel 30:01 to the beginning of the entire Bible, 30:03 Genesis Chapter 1. 30:04 It starts with in the beginning. 30:06 "In the beginning was the Word..." 30:08 Who's the Word? 30:09 Jesus Christ, 30:10 "And the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 30:14 In the beginning, 30:15 Jesus was with God and Jesus was God. 30:18 Where is He? 30:20 You might be saying, "I'm in the midst of trouble, 30:22 and distress, and struggle. 30:23 Where is God right now?" 30:27 He is divine, and He is with God. 30:30 Number two, He is with you. 30:35 Isn't that amazing 30:36 how by the power of the Holy Spirit 30:38 that God can be everywhere. 30:41 So He is not only divine and with God, 30:44 clearly He's overall, 30:45 He's looking 30:46 at what's happening on this world right now. 30:49 And He sees 30:50 what's happening in your life right now. 30:53 But not only that, He's with us. 30:55 Now you might think we're going to Matthew 28. 30:58 You know that promise Jesus saying, 30:59 "Lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the world." 31:03 You might think that's where we're going, 31:05 but we're actually going to Joshua. 31:07 Joshua Chapter 1. 31:08 Remember, Joshua was, you could say 31:11 one of the right hand men with Moses. 31:13 So Moses led the people through the children, 31:15 the children of Israel through the wilderness. 31:18 But remember, Moses 31:19 was not allowed to go into the Promised Land. 31:23 Remember when he struck the rock 31:25 and he repented of that, 31:26 but he was not allowed to go into the Promised Land. 31:29 Joshua however was called by God 31:32 to lead the people into the Promised Land, 31:36 but he was afraid. 31:38 It was a task that seemed too big for him. 31:42 It was something he was not sure he could do. 31:46 And God told him in Joshua 1:9, I love this passage. 31:50 "Have not I commanded you, be strong and of good courage. 31:54 Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, 31:58 for the Lord your God is with you 32:02 wherever you go." 32:04 You see here again God's presence 32:07 is associated with us not having fear. 32:10 When He is with us, we do not need to be afraid. 32:15 Where is He? 32:16 He is with God, He is with us. 32:18 Number three, He is in our midst. 32:22 Turn with me to Zephaniah 3. 32:25 I like this passage. 32:27 It's probably one of my favorite passages 32:29 in the Minor Prophets. 32:32 Zephaniah 3:16 and 17. 32:39 "In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: 32:41 'Do not fear, Zion, let not your hands be weak." 32:44 Here again, "Do not fear." 32:46 Why? 32:47 "Because God is with you. 32:49 The Lord your God, in your midst, the Mighty One, 32:53 He will save, 32:54 He will rejoice over you with singing. 32:58 He will quiet you with His love, 33:01 He will rejoice over you with singing." 33:03 Aren't you grateful that God is in our midst? 33:07 So you might be encountering something, 33:10 you might be going through difficulty, 33:13 but God is in your midst. 33:16 God is there beside you, 33:18 right now in the middle of that. 33:21 He's not just in the midst, but He is with us when we pray. 33:25 That's number four. 33:27 He is among those who pray. 33:30 Matthew 18:20, Jesus speaking, He says, 33:34 "Where two or three are gathered in My name, 33:39 there I am in the midst of them." 33:42 Now I know during this time, we practice social distancing. 33:46 And in fact, even here at 3ABN, 33:48 we're seeking to practice social distancing. 33:51 We have many of our employees who are working from home, 33:54 because that's just safety right now during this time, 33:58 and we need to do that. 34:00 Then when we're here at the office, 34:02 we call on the phone instead of have meetings 34:05 or we practice even in the studio here 34:07 remaining that six feet of separation 34:10 between people, 34:11 even when we're trying to record programs 34:13 or we do our best to maintain that. 34:16 But we can pray during this time. 34:19 You can pray on the phone with someone. 34:21 You can pray through email. 34:26 We can connect with people, join together. 34:29 Of course, you can gather your family to pray, 34:31 but if you can't gather other people right now to pray, 34:34 know that as you're praying, 34:36 your 3ABN family is praying for you 34:38 at the same time. 34:40 Know that He is among those who pray, 34:44 and where two or three gather in His name, 34:47 His presence is there. 34:49 My favorite place where He is? 34:52 I like the fact that He's God because if He, 34:54 if we didn't have God, where would we be? 34:57 And who would we be right now? 34:59 I like the fact that He's with us 35:01 because I want to know 35:03 that Jesus can be right beside me. 35:06 I love the fact that He's in our midst, 35:09 and He rejoices over us and because of that, 35:12 we don't have to be afraid. 35:15 I love the fact that He comes in a special way 35:18 in His presence, 35:19 when we gather to pray. 35:22 But my favorite place where He is, 35:24 is He dwells inside us. 35:27 Galatians 2:20, 35:30 "I have been crucified with Christ, 35:32 but it is no longer I who live, 35:34 but Christ who lives in me, 35:37 and the life which I now live in the flesh 35:39 I live by faith in the Son of God, 35:42 who loved me and gave Himself for me." 35:48 By the power of the Holy Spirit, 35:50 Christ wants to dwell in us. 35:53 I don't know if you've ever heard of this little book. 35:55 I have. It's an itty-bitty book. 35:57 I have it right here. 35:58 It's called "My Heart Christ's Home." 36:02 It's written by Robert Boyd Munger. 36:04 And it's a great book 36:05 when it talks about Christ in you, 36:08 the hope of glory. 36:09 What does it literally mean to be crucified with Christ 36:12 and it's not me living anymore, 36:14 but it's Jesus Christ living in me. 36:17 What does that mean? 36:19 And what does that even look like 36:20 in the Christian's life? 36:21 We can say that many times 36:23 "Oh, yeah, I want Jesus to live in me. 36:24 I'm good." 36:26 But what does that literally mean? 36:27 And how do we have Christ dwell in us? 36:31 This book, equates, you could say, 36:35 rooms of a house to the rooms of our hearts. 36:40 It talks about the study. 36:41 In fact, I think the book starts with the study, 36:44 which it calls the library of the mind. 36:47 You know, in many homes, 36:49 you literally would have a study 36:50 and what would it have? 36:51 It would be filled with books that line the wall. 36:55 It would have maybe some magazines 36:57 or The Wall Street journal or some newspapers in it. 37:01 That's what you would have in your study nowadays. 37:03 This book was written some time ago. 37:05 Nowadays, 37:06 you get all that on the internet, 37:08 but or an eBook, 37:09 or you could read it on your Kindle, 37:10 but the study, 37:12 but what does that mean literally? 37:15 That means that God wants to clean my mind. 37:19 He wants to put in my thoughts, 37:24 a picture of Himself. 37:26 Remember, Paul tells us 37:28 that we by beholding 2 Corinthians 3:18, 37:31 "By beholding, we become changed 37:36 into the same image." 37:37 And so God calls us to hang as it were, 37:39 in the hall of the mind, the study of the mind, 37:43 a picture of Jesus that we look at. 37:47 He calls us to line the shelves with the Word of God. 37:53 He calls us to think on Philippians 4:8, 37:56 what is true. 37:58 That's a study. Go into the living room. 38:03 And I love how the book talks about it, 38:05 how every morning they set a date 38:08 where they would spend time with Jesus. 38:10 So the fireplace would be kindled 38:12 and Jesus would be sitting on the couch, 38:14 and we would run down to meet with Jesus 38:17 but then pretty soon, maybe one morning, 38:20 you're in a hurry 38:21 and you rush off to work and say, 38:23 "I don't think I can do that today, God." 38:24 And then the next day, 38:26 and then one morning running down. 38:27 And I know this has happened to me. 38:30 Running down, hurrying out to work. 38:34 And there's Jesus sitting on the couch. 38:37 "Oh, have you been here every morning?" 38:39 And He said, "Yes, 38:41 I love our time together to make that a priority." 38:47 Spend time with Him in the living room. 38:49 That's time with Him every day in His Word. 38:53 There's the bedroom and the rec room, 38:55 the dining room, 38:57 but the whole closet is where it ends, 38:59 and I love that. 39:02 I don't know if you've ever experienced this 39:03 in your life, 39:05 but I know I have that Jesus says 39:09 there's an odor here Jill in your life, 39:11 something is dead. 39:12 And I say, "I don't know what you're talking about." 39:15 Because there's maybe certain things in my life 39:18 that I want to keep under lock and key. 39:20 And I just don't want anybody to know about in particularly 39:24 I don't want Jesus to know about them. 39:27 And yet as we walk upstairs as it were in the house, 39:30 Jesus says, the smell is getting stronger. 39:32 I think it's coming from in here. 39:35 And then sometimes I get angry. 39:38 God, I gave you access to the living room, 39:41 and I gave you access to the study, 39:42 and I gave you access to the rec room, 39:44 and the bedroom, and the dining room. 39:45 Why do you have to have access to the hall closet too? 39:48 God, do You have to have everything, 39:50 I really like to keep that? 39:52 And then Jesus, He never forces. 39:54 He'll say, "You know what, Jill? 39:56 It's okay. 39:57 I can sleep on the porch tonight." 39:59 I don't know 40:00 if you have ever experienced walking with Jesus, 40:04 and then all of a sudden 40:06 sensing the withdrawal of His face 40:09 and His presence from you. 40:11 It's a horrible experience. 40:13 It is not something that I want. 40:15 And so when that happens in my life, I say, "God, 40:18 I don't want you to leave 40:19 but I can't even get rid of the things 40:22 in the closet. 40:24 I want them out of my life. 40:25 Those things I keep under lock and key, 40:27 those things that I don't want to give to you. 40:28 I want them out of my life. 40:30 But God, I don't know how to do that. 40:33 And so He says, 40:35 "Oh, gladly, just give me the key. 40:38 And I can take those things out of your life." 40:41 And so I give Him the key and He handles them. 40:44 And then, I don't know about you, 40:47 but in my own journey, sometimes I get busy 40:49 running from room to room, 40:50 okay, now the study is clean, oh, the living room's a mess. 40:52 Oh, I just get the living room clean it. 40:54 Oh, the rec room over here's a mess. 40:57 And then I thought, what if I went to God. 41:02 And like He handled the closet 41:03 where I couldn't even handle it myself. 41:06 What if I went to Him and said, 41:07 "I'm giving you title to the whole house. 41:09 I'm giving you everything. 41:11 I want you to run my life." 41:14 And I will stay as a servant. 41:18 That is Galatians 2:20 in a nutshell, 41:21 Christ in us the hope of glory, 41:25 giving Jesus access to those places in our life. 41:29 So we trust Him when we can't see 41:32 because we remember who He is. 41:35 We remember where He is. 41:38 And third, final point, 41:40 we remember where I am. 41:45 Where are you? 41:47 Number one, I am my Father's child. 41:51 1 John 3:1, what's the Word of God say? 41:55 "Behold, what manner of love 41:57 the Father has bestowed on us 41:59 that we should be called the children of God." 42:03 God doesn't call us slaves. He doesn't call us servants. 42:07 He calls us sons and daughters, 42:10 heirs according to the promise. 42:13 You know, when I first went off to college, 42:14 I remember my dad and mom saying this, 42:18 "Jilly, 42:19 remember whose you are." 42:23 What does that mean? 42:24 It just means simply, remember your name, 42:27 remember your parents, remember your heritage. 42:31 Before I became a Morikone, I was a Penny, 42:33 that's my maiden name. 42:35 And so when I went to college, 42:37 and I would talk with people 42:38 or I would be engaged 42:40 in things in class or activities 42:42 that would stick in the back of my mind. 42:45 Remember, whose you are? 42:48 You were Penny. 42:49 Do the name proud as it were. 42:52 So remember that we are sons and daughters of God. 42:58 When life is uncertain, 42:59 remember that you are His child. 43:02 When you don't know what others think of you, 43:04 remember that you are His child. 43:07 When you lack money, 43:09 remember that you are His child. 43:12 When you are afraid for the future 43:13 and you don't know what's going to happen, 43:15 remember that you are His child. 43:19 We are the Father's children. 43:23 Number two, where are we? 43:24 We're not just His children, He is with us. 43:28 Hebrews 13:5, 43:30 "For Himself has said," that's Jesus, 43:32 "God has said, 43:34 I will never leave you nor forsake you." 43:38 So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, 43:40 I will not fear what can men do to me. 43:45 His presence, the presence of Jesus 43:49 takes away fear. 43:52 Remember, where are we? 43:53 We are the Father's children. 43:55 We are with Him and I love this one. 43:58 We are in His arms. 44:02 Deuteronomy 33:27, 44:05 "The eternal God is your refuge, 44:07 and underneath are the everlasting arms. 44:12 He will thrust out the enemy from before you, 44:15 and will say, 'Destroy!'" 44:18 I went through a difficult time in college 44:21 with some physical issues and pain. 44:25 It lasted maybe two, three months. 44:27 And I remember going through that time 44:31 and when your mind is clouded with pain, 44:33 it's difficult 44:34 emotionally and spiritually to deal with other things. 44:37 I don't know if you've ever walked that road, 44:39 or experienced that road. 44:42 And I remember one day coming down 44:43 we had in the mailroom 44:45 where all the calls would come in 44:46 and the receptionist and all of that, 44:48 there was a whole bunch of boxes, 44:50 we had our mailboxes 44:52 and I can still remember mine was right up there at the top. 44:54 It's been over 20 years. 44:55 So just don't even laugh about that. 44:57 So went up there 44:58 and I remember pulling that out. 45:00 And there was a note. 45:02 And it said, when your mind is clouded by pain, 45:06 do not try to think, just rest. 45:10 Rest in the arms of Jesus. 45:13 Are you experiencing physical pain today? 45:16 Maybe you're dealing with COVID-19 yourself. 45:18 Maybe you've gone through a surgery 45:21 and you're dealing with pain from that. 45:23 Maybe you're encountering cancer, 45:27 know that you are in His arms. 45:31 Maybe you're going through spiritual pain right now 45:33 and you're saying who am I? 45:36 Will God take me? 45:37 Will He forgive me? 45:40 Will He love me? 45:42 Maybe you're going through emotional pain like my friend 45:45 who wants to commit suicide. 45:50 And you're saying, I don't even know 45:52 what to do with this. 45:53 Know that you are in His arms. 45:57 How do you trust when you can't see? 45:59 You know, they say that seeing is believing. 46:03 Have you ever heard that before? 46:05 Seeing is believing, but I'm not sure that's true. 46:09 I believe that believing is seeing, 46:14 you know, Jesus said that in John 11. 46:16 Remember John 11, that's the story of Lazarus. 46:19 And he died. 46:20 And remember that, the disciples said to Jesus, 46:22 they said, oh, Lazarus is, remember he was, 46:26 Jesus said, "He's sleeping." 46:27 And the disciples said, 46:28 "Oh, great, he's going to get better." 46:30 And Jesus says, "You don't understand. 46:32 Lazarus is dead." 46:35 And so Jesus came to the home, 46:38 came back to Bethany, 46:40 came back to the home 46:41 of the one that He had loved so much, 46:43 knowing that Lazarus was in the grave 46:45 and remember, Mary came running out to meet Him. 46:47 And in John 11:40, Jesus said to Martha, 46:53 "Did I not say to you that if you would believe 46:56 you would see the glory of God." 46:59 You see, in this case, believing preceded the scene, 47:04 she had to believe. 47:06 And if she believed, 47:07 then she would see the glory of God. 47:12 How do you know you'll see the glory of God? 47:14 Do you know because it feels good. 47:16 Do you know because it's easy? 47:17 Do you know because it's what you want? 47:20 You know, because He is God. 47:23 Because He is good, 47:25 because He is my creator and my redeemer, 47:29 because He dwells with me and He sustains me. 47:32 And He walks with me and lives with me. 47:36 And because He carries me. 47:39 You see, trusting Him doesn't always mean 47:43 that I can see the future, 47:44 but that I know who can. 47:47 That's the Lord Jesus Christ. 47:49 Trusting Him doesn't always mean 47:51 that my circumstances will change, 47:54 but that I know who walks beside me 47:57 in the midst of those circumstances. 48:00 And I know who will carry me 48:03 through those circumstances. 48:06 Knowing Him, knowing the Lord Jesus Christ 48:11 makes all the difference in the world. 48:13 Do you know Him today? 48:15 You know, when I was 13 years old, 48:18 I went through a difficult time in my life, 48:21 not knowing if I wanted to follow God. 48:24 I should really phrase that a different way. 48:27 I went through that time, 48:29 making a choice to walk away from Jesus. 48:33 You see, 48:34 this is no fault of anyone in my life or in my family, 48:37 anyone in my own circumstances, 48:40 but I felt 48:43 that there was a lot of hypocritical Christians 48:45 in my life. 48:46 And so as I journeyed through, 48:49 I'm 13 years old, young, impressionable, 48:52 it seemed like everyone around me, 48:55 everyone in my church. 48:56 I'm not saying that was true. 48:58 It's just how it appeared to me. 49:00 That they didn't really walk with God, 49:02 that they didn't really know God, 49:04 that they had never experienced Him 49:07 for themselves. 49:10 I remember reading the Bible. 49:12 And it was very clear to me that Jesus walked on water, 49:16 and that He enabled Peter to walk on water. 49:19 It was clear to me 49:20 that He raised people from the dead. 49:23 It was clear that He touched the blinds' eyes 49:26 and they saw 49:27 and that He reached out to lepers 49:30 and that they were healed. 49:31 And yet I had never seen, 49:34 I had never experienced 49:36 that in my own heart and in my own life, 49:41 I had never seen it. 49:43 And so I said, God, Your Word says You're true. 49:46 Your Word says You can do this. 49:48 Your Word says you are real, 49:51 but I've never seen it myself. 49:54 So I'm making a choice. 49:56 And I'm walking away from You. 49:59 I remember writing it in my journal. 50:02 "God, I'm done with You. 50:05 You're fake. 50:06 Everything I read in the Bible is not true. 50:09 I want to do my own thing." 50:12 And so for six months, 50:15 I lived without Jesus, 50:17 not that I'd ever really known and experienced Him before, 50:20 but I clearly lived without Jesus. 50:23 And then at the end of that six months, 50:26 something happened. 50:27 And that was in my own home, 50:32 I saw a difference in my mom. 50:34 Now, my mom's a wonderful mom. 50:36 And I love her dearly. 50:38 She would tell you this as well, 50:40 that when we were growing up, 50:42 that she did not know Jesus. 50:46 And that if you don't know Jesus, 50:47 of course, that's exhibited 50:49 in the way that you interact with people 50:51 and your children especially. 50:53 And so, my mom 50:55 at the end of the six month period of time, 50:57 my mom began to change 50:59 and I didn't know what caused it, 51:01 but I did everything I could to make her upset 51:05 and to push her buttons and to get her to react 51:08 in the same way that she used to. 51:11 And all of a sudden, I discovered that 51:13 the mom I used to know was gone. 51:16 And a completely new mom had taken her place. 51:20 So I would spend time at night lying awake, 51:22 what's different? Why is my mom so changed? 51:25 Why is she happy? 51:26 Why does she sing in the house? 51:28 Why does she not get upset? 51:30 What is different? 51:32 And finally, one day, I just couldn't wait anymore. 51:35 And so I went to her and I said, 51:36 "Okay, what changed? 51:39 What's different in your life?" 51:41 And she said, "Jilly, am I really that different?" 51:45 And I said, "It's like night and day." 51:47 And she said, "I met Jesus." 51:51 And if you want, 51:55 you can meet Him too. 51:58 And so I made a choice that day that I wanted to know, 52:03 not just the Jesus in the Word of God, 52:06 because He's true, 52:08 but I wanted to know Him for myself. 52:10 I wanted to taste and see that God is good. 52:15 I don't know where you are right now. 52:20 In your journey, 52:22 you might be at home terrified of COVID-19. 52:26 You might have just laid to rest 52:29 someone with a disease 52:31 or someone with some other disease. 52:33 You might be encountering marriage issues, 52:36 family issues, financial issues. 52:40 Reach out to Jesus. 52:43 He knows you. 52:45 He loves you. 52:47 He wants you to taste 52:50 and see that He's good. 52:56 Not a burden, we bear 53:01 Not a sorrow we share 53:06 But our toil 53:07 He doth richly repay 53:14 Not a grief or a loss 53:19 Not a frown or a cross 53:24 But is blessed 53:26 If we will trust 53:28 And obey 53:33 So trust and obey 53:38 For there's no other way 53:43 To be happy in Jesus 53:49 But to trust and obey 53:55 Trust and obey 53:59 For there's no other way 54:06 To be happy 54:08 In Jesus 54:13 But to trust 54:16 And obey 54:23 Until I learned to trust, I never learned to pray. 54:27 I never learned to fully trust 54:29 till sorrows came my way, 54:33 until I felt my weakness His strength I never knew, 54:37 nor dream till I was stricken 54:39 that His grace would see me through. 54:43 Who deepest drinks of sorrow, 54:46 drinks deepest too of grace. 54:49 He sends the storm 54:51 so He Himself can be our hiding place. 54:56 His heart that seeks our highest good 55:00 knows well when things annoy. 55:03 We would not long for heaven, 55:05 if earth held only joy. 55:08 You see, I trust Him 55:11 because He can see behind the veil, 55:15 He can see above everything 55:16 and He can hold my heart through the storm. 55:22 How do I trust when I cannot see? 55:26 I remember who He is 55:29 that He is not just the Creator. 55:32 He is my Creator. 55:35 He's not just the redeemer or a redeemer. 55:39 He is my Redeemer. 55:43 He is my light, my salvation, 55:48 my rock, my fortress, 55:52 He is my deliverer. 55:54 That's who He is. 55:56 I remember where He is. 55:59 I remember that He is God, and He is with God. 56:04 I remember that He is with us forever, 56:09 for always. 56:10 I remember that He is in our midst, 56:13 and that He dwells with us, 56:17 and He wants to dwell in us. 56:20 I remember where I am, 56:22 that I am my Father's child, 56:26 that I am with Him, 56:29 and that I am most importantly in His arms. 56:34 Do you want to accept Him into your heart today? 56:36 Do you want to stay in the midst of this trouble, 56:39 in the midst of this turmoil, 56:40 in the midst of what I am going through? 56:43 Yes, God, I want to reach my hand out. 56:46 I want to trust You, even when I can't see. 56:51 Father, we come before You now as Your children, 56:56 grateful that You are God. 56:59 Grateful that You are love. 57:02 Grateful that You have a plan for our lives. 57:05 And even when we can't see, even when we don't know, 57:09 even when we don't see the future, 57:12 we can still trust You. 57:15 And so God we reach up our hands right now 57:18 saying, we trust You, we trust You with our lives. 57:22 We trust You with our families, 57:24 we trust You with our neighbors and community with our church. 57:30 We put and commit our lives 57:33 into Your hands now in Jesus' name. 57:35 Amen. |
Revised 2020-04-16