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I want to thank you again, the joy

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that has been mine and my wife to

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be with you these days.

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I have thanked you again and again for

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your praying for our physical needs.

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I can't remember through the years of having

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to battle as many days, but we've been

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sensing the strength and support, the supply of

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all of you.

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I want to thank you for that so

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much.

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What I wanted to share this evening, I

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could put several different titles to it.

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Thought maybe I'd talk about wisdom hath builded

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her house.

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She hath hewn out seven pillars.

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Then you'd want me to drill or draw

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a house of seven pillars, so I can't

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do that.

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But I would like to talk to you

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at least about seven very practical issues in

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serving one another.

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I think the further along I go, I

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become keenly aware of the need for the

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practical, aggressive action of God's people in dealing

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with issues as we see them.

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I've always tended to say, well, I'll pray

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about it.

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And then the Holy Spirit begins to say,

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but you could do something, you know what

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to do.

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So tonight I'm going to deal with some

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questions that I like to ask.

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They will be very revealing, some things that

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maybe can help us as parents, as individuals,

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to really know how to serve and help

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one another to bring a little more effectiveness

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in our walk with the Lord.

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I think I'll just put some of the

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issues here on the board that you can

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follow along with me.

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The concern I have is that we will

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recognize the imperative necessity of being very practical

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and down to earth when it comes to

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certain issues.

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What do you mean by that?

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Well, let me deal first of all the

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difference between talent and consecration.

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I'm increasingly aware in the religious scenery today

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that's all about us, there's an awful lot

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of individuals who have talents, giftings, abilities, and

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they really want to serve the Lord.

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I'm so grateful for that because I believe

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that the work of the Lord requires folk

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who have some skills, some gifting, and some

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ability.

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And yet the problem that I run into

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is that there's so many folk who are

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coming along and they're saying, oh, I'd like

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to serve the Lord with my music.

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I remember, for example, after the Second World

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War, the dozens, probably hundreds of pilots who

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had flown in the service, now they're coming

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back.

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Many of them really met the Lord in

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a very wonderful way and they want to

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give themselves to the Lord.

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I don't know how many young men, pilots,

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came to me and said, I'd like to

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dedicate my ability to fly a plane to

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the Lord.

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Of course, you know, Missionary Aviation Fellowship, all

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the different groups that were developed to be

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able to use up some of this help.

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Well, there's nothing wrong with wanting to fly

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a plane for the Lord, but I found

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myself asking this question on a number of

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occasions.

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What if God doesn't need any more pilots?

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There's already a big waiting line, individuals who

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would like to have their particular ability or

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skill used for God.

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And I don't like to be negative, but

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I know there are times when you have

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to deal very critically with the issue at

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stake, because I don't read any place where

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it says that I dedicate or give my

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music ability, or my speaking ability, or my

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plane flying ability, or any of these talents

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that I have to the Lord.

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I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies

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of God, that you present your instrument, your

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service, your, no, your body.

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One summer, I had the privilege of being

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the music director at a large camp in

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Oregon.

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For ten weeks, there was each week a

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different flow of people, different speakers.

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And I was privileged to not only lead,

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but to also find special help, special music

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for the meetings.

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One of the things that I cannot forget

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to this day, a certain sister who had

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been invited to come out from Portland to

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the camp where we were to sing, and

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that particular night she stood with something of

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the glory of the Lord and the overflow

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of life.

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I was so impressed, I sat there and

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I wept.

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I looked around and I saw many other

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people weeping.

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Well, I thought, this is wonderful, the presence

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of the Lord.

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Surely she has a lovely voice.

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Fact is, she came out the next three

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or four weeks, and each time I would

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ask her to sing.

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And each time, the same sense of God

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singing through her.

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I went to her after about the third

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or fourth time, and I said, there's something

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very different about your singing.

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Could you, would you tell me what has

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really happened in your life?

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Then she explained, she said, for a number

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of years I was in opera.

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I found the Lord.

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I began to sing in churches, choirs all

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over Portland, Oregon, and was in much demand

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and enjoyed all of it.

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She said, there came a crisis in my

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life.

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Suddenly I lost my voice, and I couldn't

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even croak.

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It was so bad, I could not, I

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could not speak.

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I just lost my voice.

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And in that period of several months, she

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said, I began to cry out, oh God,

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what has happened?

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She looked at me and she said, you

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know, I made the discovery that God wanted

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me wholly consecrated to Him, broken before Him,

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that He might use my voice in His

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own way.

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She said, up to this time, I always

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enjoyed picking the songs that would show off

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my qualities.

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Songs that were a little more entertaining.

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Songs that had, you know, more appeal.

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She said, I made this promise to the

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Lord.

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From this moment on, I would ask Him

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to make the choice, the content of the

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word, everything that I did.

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She said, I kept praying, oh God, through

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this brokenness that you brought into my life,

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would you release life to others?

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That was probably 55 years ago, but it's

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as real to me tonight as the night

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she stood and said, I no longer sing

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what I want to sing, but I want

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to be an expression of His life.

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Now, I'm saying this because we all have

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talent.

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We all have enablements.

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We've developed skills, and thank God for all

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of that.

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But there comes a moment in which God

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needs to break through and help us to

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realize that it isn't our talent, it's our

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availability.

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Is anybody following what I'm trying to say

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tonight?

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I don't want to just have a little

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private barking tree all on my own and

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say, well, God isn't interested in our talents.

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No.

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The issue is this.

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Has He ever taken us through the cross,

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through the dealing, saying that everyone goes through

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what my sister went through?

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But more and more, I've become convinced of

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the fact that all the talent we want

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to present to Him, He sort of ignores

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and He says, I just want you.

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It isn't selective service with us.

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I present myself, and I said to many

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of these, what if the mission failed, that

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you're flying planes?

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What if suddenly God wants you to be

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a missionary, not a pilot?

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So the concern I have tonight is basically

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that when we come so often, it's a

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selective service.

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I know God wants me to be a

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musician for Him.

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Well, what if He doesn't?

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I mean, what if your music ability is

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not the thing God's after for you?

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He wants you as an individual.

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And as an individual, then He can use

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you and maybe lay you aside for a

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while, whichever He chooses to do.

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I never forget being in a, I guess

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I'd have to call it a hippie commune,

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in the northwest many years ago, seated on

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the floor with about 50, 60 young people,

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real precious kids.

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And secondly, I heard one of the young

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men sitting there cry out, Oh Lord, help

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Brother Vern to die to his ministry and

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never preach again if you want to close

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him up.

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I thought, well, here's a 20-year-old

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fellow who's suddenly gotten a revelation from the

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Lord.

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And I, you know, felt like the body

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of Christ would be kind of hurt if

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I wasn't on the road.

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But you know, I never got away from

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that fact.

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God spoke to me that evening as I

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sat there and said, Lord, really be a

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loss to the body, but would you do

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this?

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What I'm wanting to say to us tonight

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is this.

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I believe there comes a time in our

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life when we begin to recognize that it's

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the brokenness, the availability, it is God having

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a vessel that he can use in his

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own way, not the way I choose to

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serve.

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Well, we've got seven, better get on a

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little bit or we'll not get through very

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far.

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The thing that really burdens me is that

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in the practical issues of our serving then,

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we're giving some talent, something else, we're giving

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ourselves to the Lord and he chooses how

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and when and where.

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I remember when certain mission fields were closed,

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they couldn't get back to the area they

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had been.

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And the struggle with these missionaries waiting to

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get open doors and so forth.

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And it was at that point my wife

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came along.

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I remember saying to one of them, I

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went to India and spent five and a

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half years there serving the Lord.

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And when I had to come home because

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of illness, she said, I discovered I couldn't

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get back.

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The door was closed.

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And she said, suddenly the Lord said, I

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didn't call you just basically to India.

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I called you to walk and serve me

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wherever I want you to be.

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Our choosing on the basis, well, God's called,

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that may be involved, but the first calling

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of God, the first issue with each of

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us is, Lord, am I yours available to

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you wherever you choose to send me?

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And it was a real struggle when she

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finally discovered she wouldn't be going back at

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all, but marrying somebody who would be with

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her for 44 years and then take her

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home.

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So we're saying tonight that in the process

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of discovering the wisdom and the ways of

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the Lord, it is not our talents we

275
00:14:39,670 --> 00:14:39,910
present.

276
00:14:40,110 --> 00:14:44,030
I actually believe that when we see ourselves

277
00:14:44,030 --> 00:14:47,930
nailed to the cross with Jesus Christ, buried

278
00:14:47,930 --> 00:14:50,470
in the tomb with him, we come into

279
00:14:50,470 --> 00:14:51,690
resurrection life.

280
00:14:52,170 --> 00:14:56,010
The anointing of God only comes upon resurrection

281
00:14:56,010 --> 00:14:56,530
ground.

282
00:14:59,450 --> 00:15:02,310
So much attempt today to get the anointing,

283
00:15:02,450 --> 00:15:05,030
the blessing upon the flesh.

284
00:15:05,950 --> 00:15:09,330
God is very jealous for what he anoints.

285
00:15:10,470 --> 00:15:12,730
That which comes through the grave and onto

286
00:15:12,730 --> 00:15:16,170
resurrection ground, it is there the dove descends.

287
00:15:16,590 --> 00:15:18,750
It is there the Holy Spirit comes to

288
00:15:18,750 --> 00:15:19,070
anoint.

289
00:15:19,430 --> 00:15:22,870
So a real consecration then is that which

290
00:15:22,870 --> 00:15:24,690
comes on resurrection ground.

291
00:15:24,850 --> 00:15:26,150
Well, let's move on to another.

292
00:15:27,390 --> 00:15:34,510
In this process, this course of practical issues,

293
00:15:35,250 --> 00:15:43,570
I've discovered how easy it is to miss

294
00:15:43,570 --> 00:15:49,530
helping people to come into their own walk

295
00:15:49,530 --> 00:15:51,350
individually with the Lord.

296
00:15:51,450 --> 00:15:54,330
I like to call this one here assignment

297
00:15:54,330 --> 00:15:59,500
with accountability.

298
00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:06,980
Let me illustrate it this way.

299
00:16:07,540 --> 00:16:09,580
When people come to me with a real

300
00:16:09,580 --> 00:16:14,640
problem, I've been discovering they can be like

301
00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:18,460
leeches that sap your strength and just drain

302
00:16:18,460 --> 00:16:21,340
and next week they'll be back and back

303
00:16:21,340 --> 00:16:22,260
and over again.

304
00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:26,400
And maybe it's just me, but the Lord's

305
00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:30,180
beginning to say, you give them some little

306
00:16:30,180 --> 00:16:34,120
assignment to see how much they want to

307
00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:37,140
really walk with me and come through the

308
00:16:37,140 --> 00:16:37,640
issues.

309
00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:41,560
And so I begin to say, I think

310
00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:45,700
God has a special chapter in this book

311
00:16:45,700 --> 00:16:48,540
of the Bible that would be a real

312
00:16:48,540 --> 00:16:50,020
blessing to you.

313
00:16:50,300 --> 00:16:53,580
Fact is, I'd like to give you an

314
00:16:53,580 --> 00:16:58,200
assignment this week, all week long to read

315
00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:01,280
that chapter over and over before the Lord

316
00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:04,660
and then call me next Saturday and we'll

317
00:17:04,660 --> 00:17:07,440
get together and let's see what God might

318
00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:08,339
have said to you.

319
00:17:12,460 --> 00:17:19,020
I'm utterly amazed how many people actually discover

320
00:17:19,020 --> 00:17:23,480
they don't want to put much participation into.

321
00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:25,640
They want to just draw from you.

322
00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:33,480
I call this giving assignment and then developing

323
00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:34,740
accountability.

324
00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,340
I learned this from one of the brothers

325
00:17:39,340 --> 00:17:43,100
who has been gripped by the larger window

326
00:17:43,100 --> 00:17:43,740
of our book.

327
00:17:43,980 --> 00:17:45,780
He says, I keep a whole stack of

328
00:17:45,780 --> 00:17:46,920
them here on the shelf.

329
00:17:47,860 --> 00:17:50,880
And when someone comes with a particular problem

330
00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:53,900
or need, he said, I remember a page

331
00:17:53,900 --> 00:17:56,040
so and so, here's a story, a short

332
00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:56,640
story.

333
00:17:57,500 --> 00:17:59,180
And I look at them and I say,

334
00:17:59,460 --> 00:18:02,620
you know, I have a story that I

335
00:18:02,620 --> 00:18:04,900
believe would help you tremendously.

336
00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:08,720
Would you take this book home and read

337
00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:09,220
the story?

338
00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:11,820
He said, I don't give books to anybody

339
00:18:11,820 --> 00:18:12,360
anymore.

340
00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:16,520
He said, just moves from their shelf to

341
00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:18,320
my from my shelf to their shelf.

342
00:18:21,450 --> 00:18:24,330
But I encourage them to read this three

343
00:18:24,330 --> 00:18:26,930
or four times and then call me.

344
00:18:27,390 --> 00:18:30,930
He says, utterly amazing how the Holy Spirit

345
00:18:30,930 --> 00:18:33,430
can work through this little assignment.

346
00:18:33,590 --> 00:18:35,590
But they're becoming accountable.

347
00:18:37,610 --> 00:18:41,510
Accountable, they call back and invariably they will

348
00:18:41,510 --> 00:18:43,750
say, I read the next story and the

349
00:18:43,750 --> 00:18:44,030
next.

350
00:18:44,210 --> 00:18:46,090
Could I buy one of those books?

351
00:18:46,330 --> 00:18:48,190
Of course, that's what we're after, you understand.

352
00:18:51,090 --> 00:18:54,850
But it's the principle of developing some assignment.

353
00:18:56,610 --> 00:18:58,690
I've been doing this now with some of

354
00:18:58,690 --> 00:19:00,850
the men we're working with, and I begin

355
00:19:00,850 --> 00:19:05,670
to realize that individuals just like to chat

356
00:19:05,670 --> 00:19:06,750
about problems.

357
00:19:07,170 --> 00:19:09,050
How many folk want to come and just,

358
00:19:09,330 --> 00:19:11,530
you know, drain, sap your strength.

359
00:19:12,210 --> 00:19:14,650
And if you'll discover, I'm talking about practical

360
00:19:14,650 --> 00:19:17,850
issues of wisdom now, you discover a little

361
00:19:17,850 --> 00:19:20,850
assignment that you can give them and then

362
00:19:20,850 --> 00:19:23,030
hold some accountability.

363
00:19:24,010 --> 00:19:30,290
Well, I just come to sense that what

364
00:19:30,290 --> 00:19:33,510
it really often amounts to is if God

365
00:19:33,510 --> 00:19:35,730
is speaking in a heart to a life

366
00:19:35,730 --> 00:19:38,950
and there's a real issue at stake, we

367
00:19:38,950 --> 00:19:40,450
don't want to get in between.

368
00:19:40,710 --> 00:19:42,210
We want to bring them to the place

369
00:19:42,210 --> 00:19:43,870
where they're, shout it to the Lord.

370
00:19:44,910 --> 00:19:47,130
And they begin daily to say, oh God,

371
00:19:47,250 --> 00:19:48,190
you can speak to me.

372
00:19:48,370 --> 00:19:49,990
Otherwise, they'll be back to you again and

373
00:19:49,990 --> 00:19:50,310
again.

374
00:19:51,330 --> 00:19:52,610
And we want to get out of the

375
00:19:52,610 --> 00:19:52,870
middle.

376
00:19:53,470 --> 00:19:55,590
We've been used to bring them to this

377
00:19:55,590 --> 00:19:56,010
place.

378
00:19:56,670 --> 00:19:58,910
When I read a brother saying one day,

379
00:19:59,430 --> 00:20:01,650
you don't have to be able to answer

380
00:20:01,650 --> 00:20:04,250
all the questions that people have.

381
00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:07,070
You don't have to be able to fix

382
00:20:07,070 --> 00:20:08,450
all of their problems.

383
00:20:10,190 --> 00:20:12,570
But you do have the need to bring

384
00:20:12,570 --> 00:20:15,770
them to the fixer and to make sure

385
00:20:15,770 --> 00:20:20,810
that he and they come into some kind

386
00:20:20,810 --> 00:20:23,490
of an awareness that he is their supply.

387
00:20:24,310 --> 00:20:26,670
So I just share this with you because

388
00:20:27,590 --> 00:20:31,190
some of you have such a desire to

389
00:20:31,190 --> 00:20:32,890
help in a very practical way.

390
00:20:33,610 --> 00:20:36,570
Learn to bring people into, I like to

391
00:20:36,570 --> 00:20:40,210
say, accountability to the Lord and probably to

392
00:20:40,210 --> 00:20:42,730
you for the moment to make sure whether

393
00:20:42,730 --> 00:20:45,570
they mean business or they're just wasting your

394
00:20:45,570 --> 00:20:45,910
time.

395
00:20:46,610 --> 00:20:48,070
Well, let's move on.

396
00:20:48,070 --> 00:20:57,300
Now, here's a principle that I often

397
00:20:57,300 --> 00:21:01,280
spend a whole hour with, but let's see

398
00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:02,580
if we can get through in five minutes

399
00:21:02,580 --> 00:21:02,960
tonight.

400
00:21:05,690 --> 00:21:08,410
I've often asked individuals, do you know the

401
00:21:08,410 --> 00:21:12,830
difference between a principle and a rule?

402
00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:18,680
Do you know the difference between a principle

403
00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:20,240
and a rule?

404
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:27,180
Well, there are folk who've already discovered that

405
00:21:27,180 --> 00:21:29,860
a rule is an outward thing that literally

406
00:21:29,860 --> 00:21:32,000
grows out of a principle.

407
00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,240
For example, when you go to the highway

408
00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:39,340
to get your testing or get your driver's

409
00:21:39,340 --> 00:21:42,660
license, there's what we call the basic rule,

410
00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:46,180
the basic principle of the highway, to always

411
00:21:46,180 --> 00:21:49,340
drive your car, to keep it under control

412
00:21:49,340 --> 00:21:51,400
so it will hurt no one, including yourself.

413
00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:52,980
That's the basic principle.

414
00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:56,060
Always keep your car under control.

415
00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:00,160
And out of that basic principle, there are

416
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,220
all the signs, the rules, the things that

417
00:22:03,220 --> 00:22:03,880
go with it.

418
00:22:04,340 --> 00:22:07,520
These rules flow out of what we call

419
00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,720
the basic inward principle, the way a thing

420
00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:11,140
is built.

421
00:22:12,060 --> 00:22:15,680
I like to take all the things that

422
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:19,140
God has built into the fabric of the

423
00:22:19,140 --> 00:22:23,380
universe and then see why rules issue out

424
00:22:23,380 --> 00:22:23,740
of it.

425
00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:25,460
Rules change.

426
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,340
Just reading some of the notes this afternoon,

427
00:22:29,460 --> 00:22:33,200
and I remembered that in Topeka, Kansas, way

428
00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,460
back when the car was first introduced, you

429
00:22:36,460 --> 00:22:38,120
had to put a notice in the paper

430
00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:39,920
you were going to drive through Main Street

431
00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:41,320
two days ahead of time.

432
00:22:42,300 --> 00:22:43,480
Now you laugh at that.

433
00:22:44,060 --> 00:22:47,700
But the rules that issue out of a

434
00:22:47,700 --> 00:22:50,200
principle, highway safety.

435
00:22:50,740 --> 00:22:52,900
One of the problems we have today is

436
00:22:52,900 --> 00:22:56,820
that so often we give individuals the rule

437
00:22:56,820 --> 00:23:01,200
without giving them the principle or the inward

438
00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:03,060
issue back of it.

439
00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:08,100
I've said to parents so often, you tell

440
00:23:08,100 --> 00:23:12,440
your child what, and you expect him to

441
00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:12,800
obey.

442
00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:13,620
Good.

443
00:23:15,340 --> 00:23:18,820
It often helps to get back at the

444
00:23:18,820 --> 00:23:21,300
what and tell them the why.

445
00:23:23,540 --> 00:23:24,780
The what is important.

446
00:23:25,860 --> 00:23:27,380
Oh, I could give a number of illustrations.

447
00:23:28,270 --> 00:23:32,480
Let me say to some of you fathers

448
00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:33,600
for a moment.

449
00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:38,660
When you're trying to help your daughter dress

450
00:23:38,660 --> 00:23:41,520
in a big coming way before the Lord,

451
00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:46,480
I've asked daughters occasionally just this question.

452
00:23:47,420 --> 00:23:51,300
Does dad ever question you about the garment

453
00:23:51,300 --> 00:23:52,920
you're wearing when you're going out?

454
00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:54,700
They always say, oh, does he?

455
00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:00,480
Too short, too this, too that.

456
00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:02,980
I say, what does he say?

457
00:24:03,580 --> 00:24:07,020
The problem so often is we give individuals

458
00:24:07,020 --> 00:24:12,100
the what, but we do not bother to

459
00:24:12,100 --> 00:24:14,760
give them the principle back of it.

460
00:24:15,500 --> 00:24:19,420
Back through the years, I've just been amazed

461
00:24:19,420 --> 00:24:21,360
how many times when word gets out on

462
00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:24,220
the campus that we're dealing with rules and

463
00:24:24,220 --> 00:24:27,900
principles to be invited into a girl's dormitory.

464
00:24:28,100 --> 00:24:31,180
Here's 40, 50, maybe young ladies saying, we

465
00:24:31,180 --> 00:24:32,540
really want to walk with the Lord.

466
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:34,100
We really want to serve the Lord.

467
00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,400
How can we do this in the most

468
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:40,380
honorable and appropriate way?

469
00:24:41,260 --> 00:24:43,660
So I go into this little principle of

470
00:24:43,660 --> 00:24:48,300
the way God has uniquely designed the male

471
00:24:48,300 --> 00:24:53,080
and the female, a lot of them totally

472
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:53,740
in the dark.

473
00:24:54,340 --> 00:24:56,260
What do you mean the way God has

474
00:24:56,260 --> 00:24:59,380
uniquely designed the male and the female?

475
00:25:01,810 --> 00:25:04,290
When your dad says you're going out on

476
00:25:04,290 --> 00:25:06,890
a date at night, now be careful, be

477
00:25:06,890 --> 00:25:07,350
careful.

478
00:25:07,730 --> 00:25:10,170
Don't let that young man paw all over

479
00:25:10,170 --> 00:25:10,370
you.

480
00:25:10,450 --> 00:25:12,230
And they used to use different terminologies.

481
00:25:14,430 --> 00:25:19,470
The issue is giving a rule or getting

482
00:25:19,470 --> 00:25:22,050
at the principle back of it.

483
00:25:24,070 --> 00:25:26,990
And when I've been able to explain to

484
00:25:26,990 --> 00:25:31,410
them that God has wired the female in

485
00:25:31,410 --> 00:25:34,590
a certain way so that generally by touch,

486
00:25:35,270 --> 00:25:40,840
there's arousal, there's excitement, they begin to realize

487
00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:44,440
not just the what, but the why.

488
00:25:45,740 --> 00:25:47,980
Then I speak to the fellows and I

489
00:25:47,980 --> 00:25:50,820
say, you know, it's very interesting the way

490
00:25:50,820 --> 00:25:55,740
God wired you, designed your whole makeup.

491
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,240
Did you ever see them try to sell

492
00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:10,200
Buicks with an ugly old man standing representing

493
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:10,500
it?

494
00:26:16,420 --> 00:26:18,080
What are you getting at?

495
00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:21,540
I'd like for you to write someplace in

496
00:26:21,540 --> 00:26:23,500
the margin of your Bible tonight a little

497
00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:24,940
word called defraud.

498
00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:29,960
When I can explain that word defraud to

499
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,380
a young fellow or to a young lady,

500
00:26:32,700 --> 00:26:36,200
suddenly they begin to realize the difference between

501
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:38,460
a rule and a principle.

502
00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:40,460
Had a mother come to me one day

503
00:26:40,460 --> 00:26:42,800
and she said, you know, we've got a

504
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,760
lot of young people in our church and

505
00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:46,420
our fellowship.

506
00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:49,140
But she said, it seems like all the

507
00:26:49,140 --> 00:26:53,280
nice boys are other places, but it's the

508
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:55,620
fellows that are not too fond of who

509
00:26:55,620 --> 00:26:57,340
keep coming after my daughter.

510
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:01,780
She said, why don't some of the nice

511
00:27:01,780 --> 00:27:02,460
boys come?

512
00:27:04,500 --> 00:27:07,080
And I spent a little time to explain,

513
00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,380
mother, I believe you love the Lord and

514
00:27:10,380 --> 00:27:12,260
I know your family loves the Lord.

515
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,340
But, you know, it's possible for folk who

516
00:27:16,340 --> 00:27:19,860
would never violate and never break a rule

517
00:27:19,860 --> 00:27:22,240
to violate a principle.

518
00:27:27,270 --> 00:27:32,390
And I think I've observed your daughter violating

519
00:27:32,390 --> 00:27:36,890
some principles by the way she exposes herself.

520
00:27:37,510 --> 00:27:38,310
What do you mean?

521
00:27:39,290 --> 00:27:42,390
Before we got through, she was utterly amazed.

522
00:27:43,050 --> 00:27:45,970
Things that folk would call a rule and

523
00:27:45,970 --> 00:27:48,610
total violation of a principle.

524
00:27:48,770 --> 00:27:49,750
Let me illustrate what I mean.

525
00:27:50,470 --> 00:27:51,470
It's out in Missouri.

526
00:27:54,730 --> 00:27:56,050
Used to go by the highway.

527
00:27:56,770 --> 00:27:58,410
There's a big church on the hill.

528
00:27:59,810 --> 00:28:01,930
Had a great big billboard out there for

529
00:28:01,930 --> 00:28:02,890
several months.

530
00:28:03,770 --> 00:28:08,290
Flee this wicked adulterous world with all the

531
00:28:08,290 --> 00:28:09,810
pictures of sin around it.

532
00:28:09,850 --> 00:28:12,370
The centerpiece of the thing was a girl

533
00:28:12,370 --> 00:28:13,030
in a bikini.

534
00:28:15,780 --> 00:28:17,800
And I thought to myself, how dumb can

535
00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:18,320
people be?

536
00:28:20,910 --> 00:28:22,370
Am I meddling tonight?

537
00:28:23,170 --> 00:28:25,550
I'm trying to say to us, it is

538
00:28:25,550 --> 00:28:26,510
very possible.

539
00:28:27,390 --> 00:28:32,830
Young men, we were walking around the lake

540
00:28:32,830 --> 00:28:33,570
this morning.

541
00:28:34,950 --> 00:28:37,790
He was really burned when he said, because

542
00:28:37,790 --> 00:28:40,130
he's working with high schoolers, he said, why

543
00:28:40,130 --> 00:28:42,970
is it there is such among our high

544
00:28:42,970 --> 00:28:45,990
school, so many of them, they get tripped

545
00:28:45,990 --> 00:28:49,350
up and they have the difficulty of problems

546
00:28:49,350 --> 00:28:50,150
with sex.

547
00:28:53,900 --> 00:28:58,180
And I keep saying, oh, Lord, help us

548
00:28:58,180 --> 00:29:01,040
to recognize that this church meant well.

549
00:29:01,580 --> 00:29:05,800
They're talking about things that would be rules

550
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:07,860
and the legalist way one wouldn't do.

551
00:29:08,100 --> 00:29:09,980
But right there in the middle of the

552
00:29:09,980 --> 00:29:15,220
billboard was a very violating, a violation of

553
00:29:15,220 --> 00:29:15,860
a principle.

554
00:29:16,100 --> 00:29:16,280
Why?

555
00:29:16,580 --> 00:29:21,120
Because the male eye is always caught, always

556
00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:21,460
grabbed.

557
00:29:23,100 --> 00:29:26,140
And only God can help the male eye.

558
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:30,800
Remember how much of a blessing it was

559
00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:34,060
as a young man when a brother came

560
00:29:34,060 --> 00:29:37,440
to me and said, remember, Job said, I

561
00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:39,420
made a covenant with mine eye.

562
00:29:40,660 --> 00:29:44,040
Why then should I think upon a maid?

563
00:29:45,540 --> 00:29:48,900
The eye sees the lust of the heart,

564
00:29:49,020 --> 00:29:51,500
the mind reaches up and lust takes hold.

565
00:29:52,180 --> 00:29:53,480
What are you saying this evening?

566
00:29:54,020 --> 00:29:58,380
I'm saying, folk, there's some practical issues that

567
00:29:58,380 --> 00:30:01,700
an awful lot of God's children violate.

568
00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:07,460
They wouldn't break a rule, but we violate

569
00:30:07,460 --> 00:30:08,460
principles.

570
00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:13,200
And so you see, if there is a

571
00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:17,300
young man petting, going through all that's involved,

572
00:30:19,180 --> 00:30:24,400
arousing, stimulating a young lady, to defraud is

573
00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:28,020
to somehow arouse and stimulate and not be

574
00:30:28,020 --> 00:30:30,020
able to righteously fulfill.

575
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,280
I've often wondered why Corinthians said it's good

576
00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:40,780
for man not to touch.

577
00:30:42,460 --> 00:30:45,260
Well, they get very legalistic about that because

578
00:30:45,260 --> 00:30:47,760
I, well, I've seen individuals say, oh, no

579
00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:50,440
touch, no more shaking hands, no more.

580
00:30:50,820 --> 00:30:51,720
That's not what we're after.

581
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:53,700
It's the principle involved.

582
00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:57,240
And so I'm saying to us tonight, if

583
00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:59,660
God once begins to get a hold of

584
00:30:59,660 --> 00:31:04,560
this issue of outward rules, but inward principles,

585
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:10,020
hundreds of situations, I believe that when God

586
00:31:10,020 --> 00:31:16,000
made us, designed us, He built into the

587
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,480
very fabric of the way we function that

588
00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:20,880
we need a day of rest.

589
00:31:23,630 --> 00:31:25,950
I know the Jewish Sabbath, Friday night to

590
00:31:25,950 --> 00:31:28,210
Saturday night, God had built it in.

591
00:31:28,210 --> 00:31:30,690
It was a time for them to get

592
00:31:30,690 --> 00:31:33,910
apart, be occupied with the Lord, rest.

593
00:31:38,340 --> 00:31:42,020
Now, we do know that Jesus said, Matthew

594
00:31:42,020 --> 00:31:45,160
11, 28, come unto me all you that

595
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,540
labor and are heavy laden, and I will

596
00:31:47,540 --> 00:31:48,280
give you rest.

597
00:31:48,700 --> 00:31:52,120
And all of this back here that God

598
00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:54,480
had given the way of outward rule, all

599
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:56,980
of it finds its reality and its fulfillment

600
00:31:56,980 --> 00:31:57,580
in Him.

601
00:31:59,180 --> 00:32:01,320
But I like the words of old Dr.

602
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:03,960
Behan, who used to say, wouldn't it be

603
00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:06,940
wonderful if God's people would really rest on

604
00:32:06,940 --> 00:32:09,680
Saturday, so when they came to church on

605
00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:12,160
Sunday morning, they'd be alive to the Lord.

606
00:32:17,340 --> 00:32:21,920
Back in South Carolina, several years ago, we

607
00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:26,400
went to church and then were invited to

608
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:28,000
go out to eat at noon.

609
00:32:30,780 --> 00:32:33,480
Golden Corral, lovely place.

610
00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:39,400
We stood in line, and to my utter

611
00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:46,400
amazement, I heard the people in the staff

612
00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:48,520
saying, the Christians are coming.

613
00:32:52,170 --> 00:32:54,370
The Methodists will be first because they have

614
00:32:54,370 --> 00:32:55,610
a 20 minute message.

615
00:32:56,410 --> 00:32:58,770
The Baptists will be next, theirs is 40.

616
00:32:59,550 --> 00:33:01,830
And the Pentecostals will be last, theirs is

617
00:33:01,830 --> 00:33:02,650
an hour and a half.

618
00:33:04,390 --> 00:33:05,470
Now, what do you think?

619
00:33:05,670 --> 00:33:06,690
I'm not being critical.

620
00:33:06,910 --> 00:33:09,250
It's just that I've heard them say, and

621
00:33:09,250 --> 00:33:10,770
they're going to ask us why we're not

622
00:33:10,770 --> 00:33:11,310
in church.

623
00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:14,280
Are you there?

624
00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:17,600
They're going to ask us why we're not

625
00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:18,120
in church.

626
00:33:20,740 --> 00:33:23,500
And they sort of sassily say, so we

627
00:33:23,500 --> 00:33:25,360
can stay here and serve you.

628
00:33:28,630 --> 00:33:30,070
Now, I'm not legalistic.

629
00:33:31,070 --> 00:33:32,650
I'm not a Sabbatarian.

630
00:33:33,430 --> 00:33:35,670
But I do believe God has built into

631
00:33:35,670 --> 00:33:39,850
the fabric of the universe, the fabric of

632
00:33:39,850 --> 00:33:42,970
things, the need for an individual to be

633
00:33:42,970 --> 00:33:45,450
governed by the principle of time to rest.

634
00:33:46,890 --> 00:33:50,050
And my wife, I've just been so grateful

635
00:33:50,050 --> 00:33:52,470
for her having the same weight length.

636
00:33:52,710 --> 00:33:55,030
You know, every now and then you get

637
00:33:55,030 --> 00:34:01,720
caught in a situation where you're with people

638
00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:03,560
and you go out to eat.

639
00:34:04,620 --> 00:34:07,139
But wouldn't it be something, a real testimony

640
00:34:07,139 --> 00:34:11,080
in a community if God's children would say

641
00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:13,300
to the folk in all the restaurants, we'd

642
00:34:13,300 --> 00:34:14,980
like to invite you to church and we're

643
00:34:14,980 --> 00:34:16,260
not going to take up your time.

644
00:34:16,380 --> 00:34:17,199
Are you following me?

645
00:34:18,060 --> 00:34:18,800
No, you're not.

646
00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:19,540
But that's all right.

647
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:25,320
I still believe that at some point, the

648
00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:28,400
outward rules that flow out of inward principles

649
00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:30,659
need to be better understood.

650
00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:37,310
The thing that I'll deal with next is

651
00:34:37,310 --> 00:34:45,190
what I call chasing a cause or

652
00:34:45,190 --> 00:34:48,670
enlightened conscience.

653
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:56,000
Let's call it enlightened conviction.

654
00:35:02,930 --> 00:35:06,870
We were driving the other day coming through

655
00:35:06,870 --> 00:35:08,790
West Virginia.

656
00:35:09,830 --> 00:35:11,590
Suddenly I looked up and then kind of

657
00:35:11,590 --> 00:35:15,010
drowsing, I saw a great big billboard that

658
00:35:15,010 --> 00:35:21,950
said, don't destroy my mountains underneath God.

659
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:28,520
I looked back again, I thought, God, somebody

660
00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:30,280
really loves you and your world.

661
00:35:31,020 --> 00:35:34,440
Don't destroy my mountains, God.

662
00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:40,400
Some environmentalist, somebody with a real burden to

663
00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:44,300
keep things in the natural state.

664
00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:47,300
And I have no problem with some of

665
00:35:47,300 --> 00:35:50,560
that, except that it gets to the point

666
00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:54,280
where if you're not careful, people begin to

667
00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:55,540
chase a cause.

668
00:35:57,060 --> 00:36:00,660
People begin to chase some champion, some issue.

669
00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:06,360
And the real concern that I have is

670
00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:08,360
that the people who are chasing a cause,

671
00:36:08,740 --> 00:36:11,580
let me say this, I have chased causes

672
00:36:11,580 --> 00:36:12,760
as a young person.

673
00:36:12,940 --> 00:36:14,680
My mother used to meet me every time

674
00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:16,380
I'd come back after three or four months

675
00:36:16,380 --> 00:36:18,360
and say, what's the latest cause, son?

676
00:36:20,570 --> 00:36:24,730
I meant well, but I was always championing

677
00:36:24,730 --> 00:36:26,930
a burden about something.

678
00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:31,880
She knew it would pass away because when

679
00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:35,560
you are really enlightened and something becomes a

680
00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:38,480
conviction, I often say, what would you die

681
00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:38,920
for?

682
00:36:39,780 --> 00:36:42,180
Is there anything you would die for?

683
00:36:44,460 --> 00:36:48,000
Any issue that's meaningful and significant enough that

684
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:49,720
you would die for?

685
00:36:53,720 --> 00:36:54,740
Let me illustrate.

686
00:36:55,780 --> 00:37:01,940
We sat in a large banquet table next

687
00:37:01,940 --> 00:37:04,260
to me, happened to be one of our

688
00:37:04,260 --> 00:37:05,380
Indiana Senators.

689
00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:09,620
He was sitting at that table, I believe

690
00:37:09,620 --> 00:37:13,180
eight, my friends, and in the course of

691
00:37:13,180 --> 00:37:15,580
their fellowship that evening before he was to

692
00:37:15,580 --> 00:37:19,380
get up to speak, they were agitating and

693
00:37:19,380 --> 00:37:21,760
everyone were urging him to get school back

694
00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:24,300
in the prayer, prayer back in the schools,

695
00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:25,800
prayer back in the schools.

696
00:37:27,220 --> 00:37:30,920
And he looked around, the seven or eight

697
00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:35,080
around the table, he said, how many of

698
00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:38,280
you have had prayer with your child this

699
00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:38,640
week?

700
00:37:41,290 --> 00:37:42,510
Not one of them.

701
00:37:48,260 --> 00:37:50,920
So he stands up before this group of

702
00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:55,360
maybe a thousand good Hoosiers and he says,

703
00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:58,380
I want to explain to you folk the

704
00:37:58,380 --> 00:38:05,390
difference between chasing a cause and having a

705
00:38:05,390 --> 00:38:06,390
deep conviction.

706
00:38:09,110 --> 00:38:10,670
And he looked down to that table, he

707
00:38:10,670 --> 00:38:16,470
said, appreciate all you men, but if you

708
00:38:16,470 --> 00:38:20,710
really had a deep conviction regarding prayer, you'd

709
00:38:20,710 --> 00:38:23,150
have it in the home, even though we

710
00:38:23,150 --> 00:38:24,850
need it in school, you'd have it.

711
00:38:25,070 --> 00:38:25,350
Amen.

712
00:38:28,090 --> 00:38:29,670
What are you saying tonight?

713
00:38:30,090 --> 00:38:31,050
Just this.

714
00:38:31,770 --> 00:38:36,290
Oh, we get so caught up in championing

715
00:38:36,290 --> 00:38:40,410
issues and things and I'm for taking a

716
00:38:40,410 --> 00:38:40,890
stand.

717
00:38:41,710 --> 00:38:44,890
But I'm talking about the inward principle, the

718
00:38:44,890 --> 00:38:48,410
inward reality, the real issues that I believe

719
00:38:49,250 --> 00:38:50,410
God is after.

720
00:38:50,570 --> 00:38:53,010
Well, several have come up to me this

721
00:38:53,010 --> 00:38:55,230
last couple of days and said, when are

722
00:38:55,230 --> 00:38:58,330
you going to talk about being offended right

723
00:38:58,330 --> 00:38:58,670
now?

724
00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:06,000
One of the messages, principles I'd like to

725
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:09,980
deal with through the years is best illustrated

726
00:39:09,980 --> 00:39:15,320
by a little situation that took place years

727
00:39:15,320 --> 00:39:19,740
ago when I was in Maryland, ministering in

728
00:39:19,740 --> 00:39:23,860
a high school, the close of a morning

729
00:39:23,860 --> 00:39:24,480
chapel.

730
00:39:24,840 --> 00:39:28,560
I'd been speaking all week and the headmaster

731
00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:31,400
came and he said to me, Brother Byrne,

732
00:39:32,140 --> 00:39:35,200
we have a fine senior boy who has

733
00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:37,340
suddenly really disappointed us.

734
00:39:38,420 --> 00:39:40,700
And we don't know what really is involved,

735
00:39:41,780 --> 00:39:43,820
but I've invited him to come into the

736
00:39:43,820 --> 00:39:44,340
office.

737
00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:47,360
And I wish maybe you'd come in and

738
00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:49,980
counsel and let's see if we can get

739
00:39:49,980 --> 00:39:51,020
at the root of his problem.

740
00:39:51,820 --> 00:39:55,360
His tall, senior, handsome kid came in, slouched

741
00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:55,660
down.

742
00:39:55,760 --> 00:39:57,500
You could tell by his body manner he

743
00:39:57,500 --> 00:39:58,980
was saying, well, I'm here, but I don't

744
00:39:58,980 --> 00:39:59,740
intend to talk.

745
00:40:00,940 --> 00:40:05,180
And he didn't for probably seven, eight minutes.

746
00:40:05,780 --> 00:40:06,660
He was just there.

747
00:40:09,140 --> 00:40:11,460
The headmaster was trying to draw him out.

748
00:40:11,700 --> 00:40:13,180
Your attitude's been wrong.

749
00:40:13,300 --> 00:40:15,960
You were behind the buildings today smoking and

750
00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:18,060
you violated all these rules.

751
00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:19,140
What's happened?

752
00:40:20,940 --> 00:40:24,480
Finally, he blurred out and he said, you'd

753
00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:28,000
be angry like I am if you had

754
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:29,080
a father like mine.

755
00:40:32,780 --> 00:40:34,020
And then he would not explain.

756
00:40:34,940 --> 00:40:37,840
He said, you know, about two, three months

757
00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:41,780
ago, my dad shot all my pet pigeons.

758
00:40:42,700 --> 00:40:46,220
This father had a boarding place for horses

759
00:40:46,220 --> 00:40:48,760
and all the hayloft was filled with choice

760
00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:49,120
hay.

761
00:40:49,980 --> 00:40:51,900
And the pigeons were messing up the hay.

762
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:53,900
And he said, my dad shot them, didn't

763
00:40:53,900 --> 00:40:55,340
ask me, just shot them.

764
00:40:57,530 --> 00:41:03,950
And he said, last week, my little dog

765
00:41:03,950 --> 00:41:06,530
walked down the aisle of the barn and

766
00:41:06,530 --> 00:41:08,810
vomited and he shot my dog.

767
00:41:11,180 --> 00:41:14,280
He said, I've got a right to be

768
00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:15,960
angry with a father like that.

769
00:41:17,900 --> 00:41:21,460
Well, I would have to be honest with

770
00:41:21,460 --> 00:41:21,580
you.

771
00:41:21,660 --> 00:41:23,100
I wanted to shoot the father, but I

772
00:41:25,980 --> 00:41:28,420
I listened the best I could for a

773
00:41:28,420 --> 00:41:32,200
moment and I saw the reasoning, the struggle

774
00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:34,000
that was going on within him.

775
00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:38,320
And I began to explain, I said, you

776
00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:41,540
know, you're confused like a lot of individuals.

777
00:41:42,420 --> 00:41:44,220
I'd like to just help you know the

778
00:41:44,220 --> 00:41:47,880
difference between a reason and a right.

779
00:41:50,780 --> 00:41:53,140
A reason and a right.

780
00:41:54,580 --> 00:41:55,980
He's bewildered.

781
00:41:56,980 --> 00:42:01,020
He said, you know, I believe God has

782
00:42:01,020 --> 00:42:02,100
worked in your life.

783
00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:07,220
I sense you love the Lord, but here

784
00:42:07,220 --> 00:42:10,640
you are in a bitterness and a confusion

785
00:42:10,640 --> 00:42:12,040
in your mind.

786
00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:14,520
And you think you have a right to

787
00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:17,460
be angry with the father who did this.

788
00:42:17,580 --> 00:42:19,260
We don't agree with what he did.

789
00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:21,100
I don't think he should have done.

790
00:42:21,180 --> 00:42:22,520
He should have counseled with you.

791
00:42:23,180 --> 00:42:25,900
But I'd just like to have you consider

792
00:42:25,900 --> 00:42:30,460
for a moment the difference between a reasoning

793
00:42:30,460 --> 00:42:31,940
and a right.

794
00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:35,460
And I drew this little picture that I've

795
00:42:35,460 --> 00:42:36,600
drawn so often.

796
00:42:37,220 --> 00:42:39,240
I explained to him, I said, you know,

797
00:42:39,720 --> 00:42:44,540
when you trust the Lord, you become as

798
00:42:44,540 --> 00:42:45,580
a tree planted.

799
00:42:45,980 --> 00:42:47,300
You belong to the Lord.

800
00:42:47,380 --> 00:42:48,740
You're the planting of the Lord.

801
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:54,400
And God has planned for your life to

802
00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:57,340
live by the supply of the grace of

803
00:42:57,340 --> 00:42:57,780
God.

804
00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:05,140
Now, you are telling me that you have

805
00:43:05,140 --> 00:43:10,540
a struggle because you think your dad was

806
00:43:10,540 --> 00:43:12,340
wrong in what he did.

807
00:43:12,500 --> 00:43:16,240
And therefore, you have a right to be

808
00:43:16,240 --> 00:43:18,600
angry with him and with the school and

809
00:43:18,600 --> 00:43:19,340
everyone else.

810
00:43:21,230 --> 00:43:22,290
He said, well, I do.

811
00:43:22,670 --> 00:43:25,810
I said, no, there's a difference between a

812
00:43:25,810 --> 00:43:28,210
reasoning and a right.

813
00:43:29,150 --> 00:43:33,410
You see, if you are the Lord's Romans

814
00:43:33,410 --> 00:43:36,630
five says we stand in the grace of

815
00:43:36,630 --> 00:43:39,550
God, you are planted the grace wherein you

816
00:43:39,550 --> 00:43:40,030
stand.

817
00:43:41,010 --> 00:43:46,490
But God has a river of grace down

818
00:43:46,490 --> 00:43:49,990
here that can enable you to face any

819
00:43:49,990 --> 00:43:54,990
crisis, any situation that comes if your roots

820
00:43:54,990 --> 00:43:57,810
will go down to the river of grace.

821
00:43:58,650 --> 00:44:00,910
There's a definition of grace that we need

822
00:44:00,910 --> 00:44:01,650
to be clear about.

823
00:44:01,790 --> 00:44:04,590
It's not only a favorable position in which

824
00:44:04,590 --> 00:44:05,410
we stand.

825
00:44:06,470 --> 00:44:08,390
Lance said it so well yesterday, I believe

826
00:44:08,390 --> 00:44:08,770
it was.

827
00:44:09,390 --> 00:44:12,650
God's grace is the divine enablement to fulfill

828
00:44:12,650 --> 00:44:15,370
any situation, anything that develops.

829
00:44:16,090 --> 00:44:17,810
And so I like to say that this

830
00:44:17,810 --> 00:44:20,870
river of grace is God's giving us the

831
00:44:20,870 --> 00:44:26,890
desire or the power or the ability to

832
00:44:26,890 --> 00:44:30,850
do or fulfill what God wills for our

833
00:44:30,850 --> 00:44:31,230
life.

834
00:44:31,710 --> 00:44:35,830
And your roots can go down and take

835
00:44:35,830 --> 00:44:39,990
the desire and the power to forgive your

836
00:44:39,990 --> 00:44:41,690
father for what he did.

837
00:44:41,830 --> 00:44:44,750
Now, I said, if you're not careful, you

838
00:44:44,750 --> 00:44:47,810
can become like lots of individuals I know,

839
00:44:48,530 --> 00:44:53,210
a barren tree planted, but barren.

840
00:44:53,930 --> 00:44:57,090
And instead of roots that go down like

841
00:44:57,090 --> 00:45:03,070
this, they're offended with something someone has done.

842
00:45:04,850 --> 00:45:09,290
They're offended because God has allowed it and

843
00:45:09,290 --> 00:45:10,830
they're going to live a barrenness the rest

844
00:45:10,830 --> 00:45:11,590
of their life.

845
00:45:12,230 --> 00:45:14,290
And I said, now, here are two trees.

846
00:45:14,510 --> 00:45:16,590
I want you to look at them because

847
00:45:16,590 --> 00:45:18,630
you're making a choice today.

848
00:45:19,090 --> 00:45:22,050
I believe that your roots are like this

849
00:45:22,050 --> 00:45:23,290
right now, resisting.

850
00:45:24,090 --> 00:45:28,250
God wants to give you the divine enablement.

851
00:45:29,650 --> 00:45:34,050
Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the

852
00:45:34,050 --> 00:45:36,010
grace of God, your roots can be like

853
00:45:36,010 --> 00:45:36,450
this.

854
00:45:37,310 --> 00:45:39,130
He looked at me, he says, well, how

855
00:45:39,130 --> 00:45:42,590
do I get my roots down to the

856
00:45:42,590 --> 00:45:43,650
river of grace?

857
00:45:43,650 --> 00:45:46,010
He said, James speaks about it.

858
00:45:46,650 --> 00:45:48,210
Peter speaks about it.

859
00:45:48,410 --> 00:45:52,510
He giveth more grace to the humble.

860
00:45:53,370 --> 00:45:55,490
He said, what God wants you to do,

861
00:45:55,930 --> 00:45:59,530
just lay aside this reasoning that's going on

862
00:45:59,530 --> 00:46:02,430
in your mind, because the scripture says, casting

863
00:46:02,430 --> 00:46:07,070
down reasonings and every high thing that exalts

864
00:46:07,070 --> 00:46:09,150
itself against the knowledge of God.

865
00:46:09,530 --> 00:46:13,310
Casting these reasonings down and your roots can

866
00:46:13,310 --> 00:46:15,350
go down to the river of grace and

867
00:46:15,350 --> 00:46:18,950
God will give you desire and power to

868
00:46:18,950 --> 00:46:20,110
forgive your father.

869
00:46:20,630 --> 00:46:22,510
What he did, we can't justify.

870
00:46:23,490 --> 00:46:25,910
But your problem right now is with God

871
00:46:25,910 --> 00:46:31,510
because he has provided availability of grace.

872
00:46:32,490 --> 00:46:35,610
You can cast down the reasonings.

873
00:46:35,810 --> 00:46:38,170
In fact, you have no right to be

874
00:46:38,170 --> 00:46:42,770
angry with the availability of grace, the desire

875
00:46:42,770 --> 00:46:44,550
and the power that God gives.

876
00:46:45,370 --> 00:46:47,530
I saw him look at this and he

877
00:46:47,530 --> 00:46:50,810
said, whoa, you mean that's my roots?

878
00:46:50,990 --> 00:46:52,690
Yeah, exposing them.

879
00:46:53,570 --> 00:46:56,710
He said, well, I need to humble myself.

880
00:46:56,930 --> 00:47:00,430
Yes, you cry out, God, forgive me for

881
00:47:00,430 --> 00:47:02,030
judging you and my father.

882
00:47:02,870 --> 00:47:05,030
And never forget, he turned around at the

883
00:47:05,030 --> 00:47:11,360
chair, knelt down and cried out, oh God,

884
00:47:12,320 --> 00:47:15,260
forgive me, cast out my reasonings.

885
00:47:15,940 --> 00:47:18,720
I have no right to be offended, no

886
00:47:18,720 --> 00:47:20,140
right to be angry.

887
00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:22,720
It didn't take very long.

888
00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:24,860
He got up and I saw the change

889
00:47:24,860 --> 00:47:26,700
on his face, the smile.

890
00:47:27,520 --> 00:47:30,280
He said, I'll be going home right away

891
00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:31,160
to see my dad.

892
00:47:32,340 --> 00:47:33,960
Ask him to forgive me.

893
00:47:34,660 --> 00:47:38,120
Now, the reason I keep emphasizing this is

894
00:47:38,120 --> 00:47:41,480
because every place I go, I'm amazed at

895
00:47:41,480 --> 00:47:44,980
the individuals who come up against something just

896
00:47:44,980 --> 00:47:45,760
as unfair.

897
00:47:46,680 --> 00:47:51,340
The dad who shot the pigeons, the dog.

898
00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:54,580
Things that develop in the church and the

899
00:47:54,580 --> 00:47:57,140
first thing you know, we're wounded, we're offended.

900
00:47:59,920 --> 00:48:01,340
People ask what's wrong.

901
00:48:01,920 --> 00:48:02,440
Nothing.

902
00:48:04,280 --> 00:48:05,760
And yet, if we were to be honest,

903
00:48:07,060 --> 00:48:11,640
we're offended because of someone, something has taken

904
00:48:11,640 --> 00:48:12,160
place.

905
00:48:15,800 --> 00:48:18,680
I am utterly amazed in our city of

906
00:48:18,680 --> 00:48:21,480
Indianapolis, having been there over 30 years now,

907
00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:24,240
moving around and after a while, you get

908
00:48:24,240 --> 00:48:26,200
into various churches and I'm just amazed how

909
00:48:26,200 --> 00:48:28,840
people escape from one place to another, offended,

910
00:48:29,200 --> 00:48:30,020
offended, offended.

911
00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:32,860
And I just have to keep saying to

912
00:48:32,860 --> 00:48:34,220
folks, cheer up.

913
00:48:35,260 --> 00:48:37,500
God is after you.

914
00:48:38,240 --> 00:48:40,840
Sooner or later, he's going to find you

915
00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:41,840
in your offense.

916
00:48:42,000 --> 00:48:44,180
And if you can be offended, you will

917
00:48:44,180 --> 00:48:44,960
be offended too.

918
00:48:45,260 --> 00:48:45,940
Oh, not me.

919
00:48:46,760 --> 00:48:50,520
Well, I'm not sure about that, but I

920
00:48:50,520 --> 00:48:52,980
guess the reason I'm so convinced of this,

921
00:48:53,060 --> 00:48:54,700
because I know how many times I've been

922
00:48:54,700 --> 00:48:56,340
on the verge of being offended with the

923
00:48:56,340 --> 00:48:56,560
Lord.

924
00:48:58,580 --> 00:49:03,840
Something was totally unfair, wrong.

925
00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:09,160
I could justify myself, but I was offended.

926
00:49:09,900 --> 00:49:10,980
Didn't tell anybody.

927
00:49:12,060 --> 00:49:14,340
So God began to move in and say,

928
00:49:14,860 --> 00:49:17,560
look, you'll humble yourself.

929
00:49:18,220 --> 00:49:20,840
I'll give the desire to forgive these people

930
00:49:20,840 --> 00:49:22,580
for what they did.

931
00:49:23,380 --> 00:49:27,240
Yours is wrong because of your allowing offense

932
00:49:27,240 --> 00:49:27,920
in your heart.

933
00:49:28,020 --> 00:49:30,480
I'm not sure that that fits anybody tonight,

934
00:49:31,140 --> 00:49:35,500
but in the very practical areas, the fact

935
00:49:35,500 --> 00:49:37,160
is it's happened since I got here.

936
00:49:37,860 --> 00:49:40,960
Individuals have come up and said, you'll never

937
00:49:40,960 --> 00:49:45,540
know some years ago when I saw this

938
00:49:45,540 --> 00:49:49,240
little picture of being offended and God has

939
00:49:49,240 --> 00:49:52,940
spoken to me through it many times when

940
00:49:52,940 --> 00:49:55,740
I was about to bolt, move on, go

941
00:49:55,740 --> 00:49:56,520
some other place.

942
00:49:56,960 --> 00:49:59,960
The practical issue tonight is basically this then.

943
00:50:00,780 --> 00:50:05,380
If God has made provision, I have no

944
00:50:05,380 --> 00:50:05,840
right.

945
00:50:07,060 --> 00:50:09,660
Can reason about it, but I cast reasonings

946
00:50:09,660 --> 00:50:09,940
down.

947
00:50:10,360 --> 00:50:11,700
I have no right.

948
00:50:12,040 --> 00:50:13,860
The availability is there.

949
00:50:14,340 --> 00:50:15,540
Well, let's move on quickly.

950
00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:20,520
The picture we're getting at tonight is this.

951
00:50:20,900 --> 00:50:23,900
If God is working any kind of wisdom

952
00:50:23,900 --> 00:50:25,740
in our lives, we begin to see that

953
00:50:25,740 --> 00:50:29,240
talent's one thing, brokenness is something else.

954
00:50:30,020 --> 00:50:33,800
God brings us to the place of being

955
00:50:33,800 --> 00:50:36,540
responsible for issues, the accountability.

956
00:50:36,900 --> 00:50:38,960
Well, let's just take a couple more before

957
00:50:38,960 --> 00:50:40,560
we close out tonight.

958
00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:47,460
The concern I have so often is when

959
00:50:47,460 --> 00:50:56,210
I see individuals who have lost their, put

960
00:50:56,210 --> 00:50:59,270
it this way, they've lost their focus.

961
00:50:59,810 --> 00:51:04,010
Here is one thing we call direction and

962
00:51:04,010 --> 00:51:07,770
direction in a life should have what I

963
00:51:07,770 --> 00:51:10,870
like to call the real focus in which

964
00:51:10,870 --> 00:51:12,410
the Lord is working.

965
00:51:13,030 --> 00:51:14,350
What do you mean by this?

966
00:51:16,570 --> 00:51:20,230
How many times have I sat for a

967
00:51:20,230 --> 00:51:21,710
little bit, sat the other day in the

968
00:51:21,710 --> 00:51:24,690
plane coming back from San Diego, young doctor

969
00:51:24,690 --> 00:51:29,770
sitting beside me and I said, what plans

970
00:51:29,770 --> 00:51:30,750
would you have?

971
00:51:31,310 --> 00:51:34,710
What would you like to be 25 years

972
00:51:34,710 --> 00:51:36,030
from now?

973
00:51:36,630 --> 00:51:37,830
What are you looking for?

974
00:51:39,050 --> 00:51:41,450
He said, well, he said, I don't know.

975
00:51:42,990 --> 00:51:43,910
I'm going to live.

976
00:51:44,030 --> 00:51:46,670
He would surely live 25 more years in

977
00:51:46,670 --> 00:51:47,430
the normal course.

978
00:51:48,210 --> 00:51:51,290
What would your hope, your expectation, what would

979
00:51:51,290 --> 00:51:54,810
you like to be 25 years from now?

980
00:51:54,950 --> 00:51:57,030
He said, well, I really hadn't considered it.

981
00:51:57,090 --> 00:51:59,470
The fact is, I'm amazed among God's own

982
00:51:59,470 --> 00:52:03,550
children, how few individuals they are who begin

983
00:52:03,550 --> 00:52:07,850
to sense the sharpening of the focus, what

984
00:52:07,850 --> 00:52:09,790
God's really after in their life.

985
00:52:09,790 --> 00:52:12,310
This began to take on some meaning to

986
00:52:12,310 --> 00:52:15,870
me when I began to realize that in

987
00:52:15,870 --> 00:52:17,970
the Apostle Paul and his own life in

988
00:52:17,970 --> 00:52:20,530
ministry, you get a little unfolding in the

989
00:52:20,530 --> 00:52:23,150
fact that there came a day of direction

990
00:52:23,990 --> 00:52:26,830
and that moment of direction, there began to

991
00:52:26,830 --> 00:52:28,450
be a sharpening of focus.

992
00:52:28,570 --> 00:52:29,590
Let me give it to you in one

993
00:52:29,590 --> 00:52:29,990
verse.

994
00:52:30,590 --> 00:52:34,610
It's Romans chapter one and verse one.

995
00:52:35,450 --> 00:52:38,790
This all came to meaning to me years

996
00:52:38,790 --> 00:52:39,190
ago.

997
00:52:39,370 --> 00:52:41,710
Many years ago, I walked in after service

998
00:52:41,710 --> 00:52:44,970
one night, too tired to fall asleep and

999
00:52:44,970 --> 00:52:47,690
turned on the radio and heard the familiar

1000
00:52:47,690 --> 00:52:49,410
voice of Charles Fuller.

1001
00:52:49,990 --> 00:52:52,890
Now probably 90% of you have the

1002
00:52:52,890 --> 00:52:55,530
idea who he is or was, the old

1003
00:52:55,530 --> 00:52:56,710
fashioned Revival hour.

1004
00:52:57,310 --> 00:52:59,730
And he said to the radio audience that

1005
00:52:59,730 --> 00:53:01,750
night, I want to speak to you about

1006
00:53:01,750 --> 00:53:05,470
the calling of God, the unfolding, the way

1007
00:53:05,470 --> 00:53:08,970
God leads the life in the sharpness of

1008
00:53:08,970 --> 00:53:09,350
focus.

1009
00:53:09,510 --> 00:53:11,990
And he said, it's been a real help

1010
00:53:11,990 --> 00:53:15,130
to me to discover what Paul says.

1011
00:53:15,410 --> 00:53:21,510
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to

1012
00:53:21,510 --> 00:53:26,730
be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of

1013
00:53:26,730 --> 00:53:27,110
God.

1014
00:53:27,910 --> 00:53:36,350
He said, I see the general calling, I

1015
00:53:36,350 --> 00:53:41,010
see the special calling in his life, and

1016
00:53:41,010 --> 00:53:45,910
I see the specific thing that God was

1017
00:53:45,910 --> 00:53:48,110
wanting to work out in his life.

1018
00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:55,980
That little word, Paul, a bondsman, Paul, a

1019
00:53:55,980 --> 00:53:59,500
servant, one whose ear has been pierced, one

1020
00:53:59,500 --> 00:54:01,380
who is given the total direction of his

1021
00:54:01,380 --> 00:54:01,740
life.

1022
00:54:01,860 --> 00:54:04,220
Oh, God, from this moment on, I belong

1023
00:54:04,220 --> 00:54:04,640
to you.

1024
00:54:05,140 --> 00:54:07,020
I've been hearing the testimony of a few

1025
00:54:07,020 --> 00:54:08,960
young people who said, there came a moment

1026
00:54:08,960 --> 00:54:10,820
in my life, there came a time some

1027
00:54:10,820 --> 00:54:13,420
years ago when I knew the basic direction

1028
00:54:13,420 --> 00:54:13,860
was set.

1029
00:54:15,200 --> 00:54:16,580
Ever any doubt since?

1030
00:54:17,200 --> 00:54:18,960
What is that basic direction?

1031
00:54:19,060 --> 00:54:21,840
Well, you see, the problem at this point

1032
00:54:21,840 --> 00:54:25,240
is that you qualify first in learning, and

1033
00:54:25,240 --> 00:54:27,380
this is so appropriate for what we've been

1034
00:54:27,380 --> 00:54:28,100
seeing and hearing.

1035
00:54:28,640 --> 00:54:31,700
We are bondsmen, we are slaves, we've given

1036
00:54:31,700 --> 00:54:33,300
up the rights to our own life.

1037
00:54:33,560 --> 00:54:37,760
We choose to serve, and I believe that

1038
00:54:37,760 --> 00:54:41,420
the degree to which the Apostle Paul entered

1039
00:54:41,420 --> 00:54:45,720
into this first sphere of serving, bondsman, giving

1040
00:54:45,720 --> 00:54:47,820
himself, there was in the church at Antioch,

1041
00:54:48,260 --> 00:54:51,140
these prophets, he had given himself there in

1042
00:54:51,140 --> 00:54:53,240
ministry, in serving the Lord.

1043
00:54:53,680 --> 00:54:56,380
Then the time came when God could move

1044
00:54:56,380 --> 00:54:59,100
him into the more special thing that he

1045
00:54:59,100 --> 00:55:02,460
had, separate me, send out Barnabas and Saul.

1046
00:55:02,880 --> 00:55:05,420
It would never have happened if there hadn't

1047
00:55:05,420 --> 00:55:10,340
been first the fulfilling of the servanthood, the

1048
00:55:10,340 --> 00:55:11,700
general in his life.

1049
00:55:12,280 --> 00:55:15,740
And because Paul was faithful in the special,

1050
00:55:16,060 --> 00:55:19,120
the churches that he planted, the time came

1051
00:55:19,120 --> 00:55:22,740
when the specific thing that God was going

1052
00:55:22,740 --> 00:55:25,760
to work through his life, the ministry of

1053
00:55:25,760 --> 00:55:28,140
the letters that were written to all of

1054
00:55:28,140 --> 00:55:28,940
these churches.

1055
00:55:29,620 --> 00:55:32,060
See, so many people want to get into

1056
00:55:32,060 --> 00:55:34,620
the focus, just wanted to get my life

1057
00:55:34,620 --> 00:55:37,120
really focused, like to get to the specific.

1058
00:55:37,620 --> 00:55:40,400
It'll never come until you pay your dues

1059
00:55:40,400 --> 00:55:45,600
as a servant, and you move into fulfilling

1060
00:55:45,600 --> 00:55:46,420
the special.

1061
00:55:47,840 --> 00:55:54,250
Then the specific thing that God has, and

1062
00:55:54,250 --> 00:55:59,090
I just can't help but realize tonight, how

1063
00:55:59,090 --> 00:56:03,470
through the years, that little principle that Charles

1064
00:56:03,470 --> 00:56:05,170
Fuller planted in my own life has been,

1065
00:56:05,310 --> 00:56:09,530
oh God, I really want to know how

1066
00:56:09,530 --> 00:56:11,050
to be your bondslave.

1067
00:56:12,750 --> 00:56:16,610
My right's given up, my ears pierced, sensitive

1068
00:56:16,610 --> 00:56:19,350
to know what you really want, and the

1069
00:56:19,350 --> 00:56:21,810
degree to which that, God was able to

1070
00:56:21,810 --> 00:56:24,930
move him into the more special thing, thrust

1071
00:56:24,930 --> 00:56:26,550
him forth in the planning of churches.

1072
00:56:27,070 --> 00:56:30,630
And then finally, the specific thing that we're

1073
00:56:30,630 --> 00:56:32,830
blessed with today, when we pick up the

1074
00:56:32,830 --> 00:56:35,390
letter of Ephesus, the letter of Colossae, the

1075
00:56:35,390 --> 00:56:38,030
letters that were written, could never have happened.

1076
00:56:38,530 --> 00:56:41,790
So the question tonight is this, if God

1077
00:56:41,790 --> 00:56:46,150
has basic direction in our life, am I

1078
00:56:46,150 --> 00:56:49,430
following on faithfully to allow the special and

1079
00:56:49,430 --> 00:56:51,710
the specific to unfold?

1080
00:56:52,250 --> 00:56:54,090
I expect there were those who were saying,

1081
00:56:54,650 --> 00:56:56,710
Paul ought to be out planning more churches,

1082
00:56:57,470 --> 00:57:00,430
he's committed himself to this whole issue with

1083
00:57:00,430 --> 00:57:02,030
Caesar, to Caesar he will go.

1084
00:57:03,570 --> 00:57:06,270
Poor Paul, he could be out so much

1085
00:57:06,270 --> 00:57:06,930
more use.

1086
00:57:07,650 --> 00:57:11,410
You can never measure from God's viewpoint, what

1087
00:57:11,410 --> 00:57:14,530
he's working in life, until you see the

1088
00:57:14,530 --> 00:57:17,050
real blessing, and not the churches that he

1089
00:57:17,050 --> 00:57:20,130
planted, but we have the specific thing in

1090
00:57:20,130 --> 00:57:22,610
the letters that Paul wrote.

1091
00:57:22,710 --> 00:57:24,050
Well, let's move on to another.

1092
00:57:24,770 --> 00:57:28,010
I think I'm always interested in the fact

1093
00:57:28,010 --> 00:57:32,250
that there are some things that are given

1094
00:57:32,250 --> 00:57:35,430
to us, and then that have to be

1095
00:57:35,430 --> 00:57:35,870
earned.

1096
00:57:38,950 --> 00:57:44,110
Certain things that are given, things that are

1097
00:57:44,110 --> 00:57:44,450
earned.

1098
00:57:44,610 --> 00:57:47,450
I've often looked at an individual, I said,

1099
00:57:47,890 --> 00:57:51,330
or two groups, were you ever given a

1100
00:57:51,330 --> 00:57:57,510
position of responsibility before you're prepared for it?

1101
00:57:57,590 --> 00:57:59,390
And almost everybody said it happens all the

1102
00:57:59,390 --> 00:57:59,710
time.

1103
00:58:00,130 --> 00:58:05,250
We get a position, something given to us,

1104
00:58:06,130 --> 00:58:09,590
and then we have to learn how to

1105
00:58:09,590 --> 00:58:12,090
earn the right, the authority in it.

1106
00:58:12,110 --> 00:58:14,930
And I began to explain, you know there's

1107
00:58:14,930 --> 00:58:20,250
an individual in the Old Testament, who went

1108
00:58:20,250 --> 00:58:21,290
through this problem.

1109
00:58:22,230 --> 00:58:24,790
People of Israel crying out, give us a

1110
00:58:24,790 --> 00:58:26,910
king, give us a king.

1111
00:58:27,450 --> 00:58:29,390
They wanted to be like the other nations.

1112
00:58:30,490 --> 00:58:32,870
God heard them, and he gave them a

1113
00:58:32,870 --> 00:58:33,170
king.

1114
00:58:34,430 --> 00:58:36,590
Raised up a man who looked just like

1115
00:58:36,590 --> 00:58:38,990
they wanted, his name was Saul.

1116
00:58:39,870 --> 00:58:42,050
And I've often looked at an individual said,

1117
00:58:42,490 --> 00:58:45,970
do you know why in God's picturing of

1118
00:58:45,970 --> 00:58:50,930
the thing, Saul was anointed with a vial

1119
00:58:50,930 --> 00:58:54,570
or a flask of oil, but years later,

1120
00:58:55,570 --> 00:58:59,610
David was anointed with a horn of oil.

1121
00:59:00,570 --> 00:59:02,010
Was there a difference?

1122
00:59:02,190 --> 00:59:03,630
The oil was probably the same.

1123
00:59:04,160 --> 00:59:08,490
One represented the flask, the other the horn.

1124
00:59:09,250 --> 00:59:11,630
And I go on to explain, the fact

1125
00:59:11,630 --> 00:59:16,350
that Saul was given this position, made king,

1126
00:59:17,630 --> 00:59:20,210
God is saying, this is man's way.

1127
00:59:20,350 --> 00:59:23,230
I will acknowledge, give him a place, a

1128
00:59:23,230 --> 00:59:26,210
position, but there's going to have to develop

1129
00:59:26,210 --> 00:59:29,030
in his life some inward preparation.

1130
00:59:30,750 --> 00:59:34,830
Most of us get positions at times, long

1131
00:59:34,830 --> 00:59:39,030
before there's been any inward reality or preparation

1132
00:59:39,030 --> 00:59:40,830
or character produced.

1133
00:59:41,610 --> 00:59:45,770
And you see how God was giving King

1134
00:59:45,770 --> 00:59:51,890
Saul openly, open opportunities to obey, to develop,

1135
00:59:52,550 --> 00:59:54,430
to come into earning position.

1136
00:59:55,110 --> 00:59:59,830
Now, by contrast, God works in a young

1137
00:59:59,830 --> 01:00:03,610
man called David, herding his sheep, taking care

1138
01:00:03,610 --> 01:00:05,570
of the father's flock, all these things.

1139
01:00:06,090 --> 01:00:09,250
David goes through crisis after crisis, the bear

1140
01:00:09,250 --> 01:00:10,870
that he killed, the lion that he killed,

1141
01:00:11,170 --> 01:00:14,030
all these things, I believe are inward preparation.

1142
01:00:14,210 --> 01:00:14,870
Do you know why?

1143
01:00:15,750 --> 01:00:20,650
Because God is beginning to develop inwardly in

1144
01:00:20,650 --> 01:00:26,100
David, the spiritual authority and preparation.

1145
01:00:27,220 --> 01:00:28,760
They begin to say, what do you mean,

1146
01:00:28,960 --> 01:00:29,060
Lord?

1147
01:00:29,060 --> 01:00:32,460
He said, you know, there's an authority that's

1148
01:00:32,460 --> 01:00:37,420
given by man from a position, but the

1149
01:00:37,420 --> 01:00:40,080
authority that I'm after is like a horn

1150
01:00:40,080 --> 01:00:43,700
that grows and develops, a horn.

1151
01:00:44,020 --> 01:00:49,140
When an animal is developing a horn, picture

1152
01:00:49,140 --> 01:00:51,260
of a horn is something of authority.

1153
01:00:51,440 --> 01:00:53,280
I remember back on the farm in Dakota

1154
01:00:53,280 --> 01:00:57,040
one day, my grandfather turned to my uncle

1155
01:00:57,040 --> 01:01:00,100
and said, you see that roan cow out

1156
01:01:00,100 --> 01:01:00,360
there?

1157
01:01:00,580 --> 01:01:03,060
I want those horns off by night.

1158
01:01:04,400 --> 01:01:06,860
We stood and observed and looked.

1159
01:01:07,020 --> 01:01:11,440
The first thing I realized, those horns were

1160
01:01:11,440 --> 01:01:14,460
keeping everybody, all the other animals, two or

1161
01:01:14,460 --> 01:01:15,220
three feet away.

1162
01:01:15,340 --> 01:01:15,940
What was it?

1163
01:01:16,180 --> 01:01:19,020
The authority that issued because of the horns.

1164
01:01:21,200 --> 01:01:23,120
Oh, it came tumbling back and I thought,

1165
01:01:23,220 --> 01:01:26,840
oh God, there is in the scripture a

1166
01:01:26,840 --> 01:01:30,860
picture of the horn that grows, the horn

1167
01:01:30,860 --> 01:01:34,140
that develops, the inward authority that comes out

1168
01:01:34,140 --> 01:01:34,820
of character.

1169
01:01:35,220 --> 01:01:38,940
You spend all this time preparing David, a

1170
01:01:38,940 --> 01:01:41,220
little horn was growing.

1171
01:01:41,780 --> 01:01:44,240
Could it be that your way of saying

1172
01:01:44,240 --> 01:01:49,340
the vial represents man's giving a position?

1173
01:01:51,040 --> 01:01:54,440
God allows preparation to take place, but the

1174
01:01:54,440 --> 01:01:57,580
real preparation of the Lord is the horn

1175
01:01:57,580 --> 01:02:00,060
that's growing and developing within.

1176
01:02:03,530 --> 01:02:06,870
I've heard the individual say, well, that means

1177
01:02:06,870 --> 01:02:09,330
that the horn can grow.

1178
01:02:09,850 --> 01:02:12,850
I can earn the position because of what

1179
01:02:12,850 --> 01:02:16,790
God has begun to work in me through

1180
01:02:16,790 --> 01:02:21,590
the principle of learning to walk in obedience

1181
01:02:21,590 --> 01:02:22,110
with him.

1182
01:02:22,450 --> 01:02:24,670
The question tonight is basically this.

1183
01:02:26,030 --> 01:02:29,250
We just have folk with the vial of

1184
01:02:29,250 --> 01:02:32,590
oil, or do we have those in whom

1185
01:02:32,590 --> 01:02:34,290
God has taken the horn?

1186
01:02:35,910 --> 01:02:40,210
The oil of life out of which springs

1187
01:02:40,210 --> 01:02:42,830
the character and the qualities that he's after.

1188
01:02:42,990 --> 01:02:48,390
Well, let's bring it to a close by

1189
01:02:48,390 --> 01:02:52,890
simply saying tonight, if there are any practical

1190
01:02:52,890 --> 01:02:57,230
realities God wants to work, may he somehow

1191
01:02:57,230 --> 01:03:00,610
help us to recognize that in the course

1192
01:03:00,610 --> 01:03:05,650
of training, practical issues, he's saying, I would

1193
01:03:05,650 --> 01:03:12,330
prepare you if your ears were pierced, there

1194
01:03:12,330 --> 01:03:15,370
was an openness and a real sensitivity.

1195
01:03:17,880 --> 01:03:23,420
In the meantime, all the practical issues may

1196
01:03:23,420 --> 01:03:26,080
not mean much, but my burden is, oh

1197
01:03:26,080 --> 01:03:29,500
God, raise up some of us who know

1198
01:03:29,500 --> 01:03:32,240
how to minister to serve one another by

1199
01:03:32,240 --> 01:03:35,400
when we see a real need slipping in

1200
01:03:35,400 --> 01:03:38,860
and saying, you know, you've got a reasoning,

1201
01:03:39,540 --> 01:03:40,780
but you don't have a right.

1202
01:03:42,020 --> 01:03:45,620
You're chasing a cause that is worth dying

1203
01:03:45,620 --> 01:03:45,980
for.

1204
01:03:46,360 --> 01:03:47,940
God wants to enlighten you.

1205
01:03:49,620 --> 01:03:53,020
You have some direction, but you need to

1206
01:03:53,020 --> 01:03:56,700
qualify in serving a bondsman so that the

1207
01:03:56,700 --> 01:04:01,040
sharpness of focus can really be fixed and

1208
01:04:01,040 --> 01:04:02,100
settled in your life.

1209
01:04:03,320 --> 01:04:05,800
I'm grateful, and I close with this tonight,

1210
01:04:05,860 --> 01:04:09,600
I'm grateful for some of the individuals God

1211
01:04:09,600 --> 01:04:12,160
has brought into my life through the years.

1212
01:04:16,300 --> 01:04:19,820
Things that still stand to shake my heart,

1213
01:04:20,440 --> 01:04:23,840
when I was a much younger man back

1214
01:04:23,840 --> 01:04:29,440
in 1948, came a crisis that was a

1215
01:04:29,440 --> 01:04:34,480
real sharpening of the direction of my life.

1216
01:04:34,700 --> 01:04:38,540
I've been ministering for several years on the

1217
01:04:38,540 --> 01:04:44,000
West Coast, quite often slipping into Yakima, Washington,

1218
01:04:44,040 --> 01:04:47,380
to my friend ministering on the radio with

1219
01:04:47,380 --> 01:04:47,660
him.

1220
01:04:50,390 --> 01:04:54,910
We left a conference on Monday morning, closed

1221
01:04:54,910 --> 01:04:59,030
out the day before, gathered in a circle,

1222
01:04:59,910 --> 01:05:03,410
invited a missionary from Korea who had been

1223
01:05:03,410 --> 01:05:06,270
through much revival and blessing of the Lord,

1224
01:05:06,830 --> 01:05:09,530
invited her to ride with me back from

1225
01:05:09,530 --> 01:05:13,570
Yakima to Portland, near where she lived, another

1226
01:05:13,570 --> 01:05:15,830
missionary and the partner who was traveling with

1227
01:05:15,830 --> 01:05:16,050
me.

1228
01:05:17,490 --> 01:05:21,770
We reached the edge of Yakima, suddenly were

1229
01:05:21,770 --> 01:05:25,050
hit head-on by a young man driving

1230
01:05:25,050 --> 01:05:29,190
a stolen car, making a getaway, losing control.

1231
01:05:30,810 --> 01:05:32,970
He came way over into the far lane

1232
01:05:32,970 --> 01:05:34,890
where we were, hit his head on.

1233
01:05:35,910 --> 01:05:39,770
His car almost instantly burned, went into flames.

1234
01:05:40,550 --> 01:05:42,650
Traffic backed up and they were able to

1235
01:05:42,650 --> 01:05:44,270
lift my car away from it.

1236
01:05:44,530 --> 01:05:46,650
We were all unconscious, we were there.

1237
01:05:48,350 --> 01:05:53,310
The lady sitting next to me, Daisy, had

1238
01:05:53,310 --> 01:05:56,690
poured out her life in Korea.

1239
01:05:57,750 --> 01:06:00,850
She'd been back home maybe six or eight

1240
01:06:00,850 --> 01:06:01,330
months.

1241
01:06:02,070 --> 01:06:03,870
She seemed to show up wherever I was

1242
01:06:03,870 --> 01:06:08,550
holding meetings and just constantly praying and nudging

1243
01:06:08,550 --> 01:06:11,510
me to keep sure that my heart was

1244
01:06:11,510 --> 01:06:13,190
really focused toward him.

1245
01:06:15,460 --> 01:06:17,100
Daisy went to be with the Lord that

1246
01:06:17,100 --> 01:06:25,180
day, along with the other young man in

1247
01:06:25,180 --> 01:06:25,840
the other car.

1248
01:06:27,520 --> 01:06:31,940
I was stunned when after about nine or

1249
01:06:31,940 --> 01:06:34,980
ten days came out of the coma and

1250
01:06:34,980 --> 01:06:37,620
discovered what had happened to her.

1251
01:06:42,860 --> 01:06:47,380
Some months passed and got a letter from

1252
01:06:47,380 --> 01:06:53,740
Daisy's mother saying, you know, you might like

1253
01:06:53,740 --> 01:06:58,440
to have the diary that Daisy wrote in

1254
01:06:58,440 --> 01:07:00,740
the last six months.

1255
01:07:01,440 --> 01:07:02,920
She came back from Korea.

1256
01:07:03,220 --> 01:07:05,540
You might like to have the diary.

1257
01:07:06,040 --> 01:07:09,780
Some very wonderful things hidden in it.

1258
01:07:10,500 --> 01:07:12,360
I was pleased, felt honored.

1259
01:07:13,780 --> 01:07:17,500
I clipped out one little portion and pasted

1260
01:07:17,500 --> 01:07:21,320
it from one Bible to another because it

1261
01:07:21,320 --> 01:07:24,320
has spoken again and again to my heart.

1262
01:07:24,740 --> 01:07:26,080
I read it to you tonight.

1263
01:07:26,680 --> 01:07:31,420
She wrote, typed it out, the way you

1264
01:07:31,420 --> 01:07:37,440
look at it, from an April Digest, 1948.

1265
01:07:38,360 --> 01:07:41,920
A young soldier wounded in the Battle of

1266
01:07:41,920 --> 01:07:46,940
the Bulge heard the army surgeon speak to

1267
01:07:46,940 --> 01:07:48,100
him very tenderly.

1268
01:07:48,800 --> 01:07:51,500
You're going to be all right, son.

1269
01:07:52,840 --> 01:07:56,280
The only bad part is that you lost

1270
01:07:56,280 --> 01:07:56,900
a leg.

1271
01:07:58,260 --> 01:07:59,620
We had to amputate.

1272
01:08:02,640 --> 01:08:05,700
But gasp, the soldier, I didn't lose it.

1273
01:08:06,080 --> 01:08:06,920
I gave it.

1274
01:08:09,320 --> 01:08:13,340
To this, Daisy wrote, the best years of

1275
01:08:13,340 --> 01:08:17,899
my life, not lost, but given to my

1276
01:08:17,899 --> 01:08:23,000
Lord, not to an organization, nor a cause,

1277
01:08:23,700 --> 01:08:27,779
nor even a mission field, but to him.

1278
01:08:28,939 --> 01:08:33,340
Therefore, it is all right, if he is

1279
01:08:33,340 --> 01:08:36,080
so satisfied, to put me aside.

1280
01:08:37,260 --> 01:08:40,979
Perhaps he does want the remaining years of

1281
01:08:40,979 --> 01:08:41,560
my life.

1282
01:08:42,180 --> 01:08:43,140
Perhaps not.

1283
01:08:44,100 --> 01:08:46,880
But can I not trust his wisdom and

1284
01:08:46,880 --> 01:08:47,279
mercy?

1285
01:08:48,300 --> 01:08:54,180
She wrote that in her diary, April 13th.

1286
01:08:56,149 --> 01:09:04,649
Monday, May 6th, she went to be with

1287
01:09:04,649 --> 01:09:05,090
the Lord.

1288
01:09:07,160 --> 01:09:11,200
I had seen Daisy that day before.

1289
01:09:12,800 --> 01:09:15,399
There was a strange hush in the arena,

1290
01:09:15,640 --> 01:09:20,479
probably a thousand people sitting there, waiting what's

1291
01:09:20,479 --> 01:09:21,000
next.

1292
01:09:23,359 --> 01:09:28,300
Unannounced, uninvited, I remember Daisy walking all the

1293
01:09:28,300 --> 01:09:32,540
way down to the platform, moving up to

1294
01:09:32,540 --> 01:09:36,000
stand behind the microphone and said, I felt

1295
01:09:36,000 --> 01:09:39,380
impressed before we went on to tell you

1296
01:09:39,380 --> 01:09:42,040
that I am so burdened for America.

1297
01:09:42,840 --> 01:09:45,779
I've come back from revival and God's dealing

1298
01:09:45,779 --> 01:09:48,740
where we've been on the field, find such

1299
01:09:48,740 --> 01:09:51,160
casual, such coldness, such indifference.

1300
01:09:51,500 --> 01:09:52,840
Thank God for many of you here.

1301
01:09:53,320 --> 01:09:55,820
But she said, we all need a fresh

1302
01:09:55,820 --> 01:09:56,880
touch from the Lord.

1303
01:09:56,960 --> 01:09:59,860
And she said, looking up, I would gladly

1304
01:09:59,860 --> 01:10:03,140
give my life, if it would be the

1305
01:10:03,140 --> 01:10:07,500
means of bringing awakening to this area, or

1306
01:10:07,500 --> 01:10:08,280
to our country.

1307
01:10:09,000 --> 01:10:09,760
That's all she said.

1308
01:10:10,220 --> 01:10:11,000
Nobody invited.

1309
01:10:11,640 --> 01:10:13,100
She went back, sat down.

1310
01:10:15,780 --> 01:10:19,260
Most of us who remember that, look back

1311
01:10:19,260 --> 01:10:22,560
on that day before when she had said,

1312
01:10:23,020 --> 01:10:24,940
I would gladly give my life.

1313
01:10:26,740 --> 01:10:31,160
It's little things like this that keep nudging

1314
01:10:31,160 --> 01:10:34,540
and pressing me to say, oh God, I

1315
01:10:34,540 --> 01:10:36,600
don't want to just somehow finish.

1316
01:10:36,760 --> 01:10:38,520
I want a run to win.

1317
01:10:39,120 --> 01:10:42,300
I want Paul's spirit of pressing toward the

1318
01:10:42,300 --> 01:10:43,560
mark for the prize.

1319
01:10:44,040 --> 01:10:45,260
Not a matter of years.

1320
01:10:45,440 --> 01:10:46,960
It's a matter of a spirit that says,

1321
01:10:47,220 --> 01:10:49,880
God, I want to finish triumphantly.

1322
01:10:53,380 --> 01:10:57,960
We laid in the hospital for eight days

1323
01:10:57,960 --> 01:11:03,090
and conscious and then awakened one day.

1324
01:11:03,470 --> 01:11:05,470
A young man had come all the way

1325
01:11:05,470 --> 01:11:06,170
from Portland.

1326
01:11:07,250 --> 01:11:08,890
He'd heard about it on the radio.

1327
01:11:08,990 --> 01:11:10,890
We've been on the radio and the station

1328
01:11:10,890 --> 01:11:14,150
there kept a prayer vigil around the clock.

1329
01:11:14,310 --> 01:11:17,090
People were praying for the recovery of my

1330
01:11:17,090 --> 01:11:20,970
partner, the other lady in the car, and

1331
01:11:20,970 --> 01:11:21,630
myself.

1332
01:11:21,990 --> 01:11:23,750
One was dead, two were dead, the other

1333
01:11:23,750 --> 01:11:24,010
fell.

1334
01:11:26,030 --> 01:11:31,570
I remember awakening out of, for the first

1335
01:11:31,570 --> 01:11:33,830
time, wondering what was all about.

1336
01:11:34,990 --> 01:11:38,370
Suddenly, a voice speaking to me and a

1337
01:11:38,370 --> 01:11:43,530
young man said, I heard about this on

1338
01:11:43,530 --> 01:11:47,670
the radio and God sent me to pray

1339
01:11:47,670 --> 01:11:48,230
for you.

1340
01:11:49,710 --> 01:11:53,190
He said, I had two flat tires and

1341
01:11:53,190 --> 01:11:55,910
had to finally hitchhike to get here, but

1342
01:11:55,910 --> 01:11:58,950
I know God sent me because he wants

1343
01:11:58,950 --> 01:12:00,390
me to pray for you.

1344
01:12:01,030 --> 01:12:03,410
Now here's a strange voice, somebody I'd never

1345
01:12:03,410 --> 01:12:08,610
met, standing over before me and saying, God

1346
01:12:08,610 --> 01:12:10,850
sent me to pray for you.

1347
01:12:11,750 --> 01:12:14,890
The difficulty was this, both my eyes were

1348
01:12:14,890 --> 01:12:15,650
bandaged.

1349
01:12:16,650 --> 01:12:19,190
The doctor was fearful that I would lose

1350
01:12:19,190 --> 01:12:24,710
my eyesight and he said, but God sent

1351
01:12:24,710 --> 01:12:25,070
me.

1352
01:12:26,150 --> 01:12:29,350
And short of the story, I believe that

1353
01:12:29,350 --> 01:12:32,010
the Lord touched a back that was broken,

1354
01:12:32,950 --> 01:12:34,530
a knee that was pulverized.

1355
01:12:34,650 --> 01:12:38,150
I believe God did some miraculous working because

1356
01:12:38,150 --> 01:12:42,050
in the next weeks, we began to recover.

1357
01:12:42,930 --> 01:12:45,590
There was an awareness and a sense of

1358
01:12:45,590 --> 01:12:47,910
a hand, the healing hand of the Lord.

1359
01:12:48,570 --> 01:12:55,730
One day, they said a lady walked in

1360
01:12:55,730 --> 01:12:56,930
who had been in Seattle.

1361
01:12:58,710 --> 01:13:02,590
In Seattle, she had heard over the radio

1362
01:13:02,590 --> 01:13:05,170
of the accident and alerted many of the

1363
01:13:05,170 --> 01:13:06,270
friends there praying.

1364
01:13:07,170 --> 01:13:11,550
She said to her close friend, I wish

1365
01:13:11,550 --> 01:13:15,150
you would go to Yakima, just 130 miles,

1366
01:13:15,890 --> 01:13:20,510
and sing this song to Brother Framke.

1367
01:13:23,070 --> 01:13:27,170
I've heard that he might lose his eyesight

1368
01:13:27,170 --> 01:13:29,630
unless there's intervention.

1369
01:13:30,590 --> 01:13:35,090
I never saw her, but I remember standing.

1370
01:13:35,670 --> 01:13:38,910
I could hear a lovely voice as she

1371
01:13:38,910 --> 01:13:39,970
began to sing.

1372
01:13:41,150 --> 01:13:43,390
Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

1373
01:13:44,410 --> 01:13:46,630
Look full in his wonderful face.

1374
01:13:47,410 --> 01:13:49,990
The things of earth will grow strangely dim

1375
01:13:49,990 --> 01:13:53,630
in the light of his glory and grace.

1376
01:13:53,970 --> 01:13:56,770
She explained to me that her friend Helen

1377
01:13:56,770 --> 01:14:01,690
Lemel, who wrote that particular song, had sent

1378
01:14:01,690 --> 01:14:03,930
her to sing it for me and to

1379
01:14:03,930 --> 01:14:05,410
give me an autographed copy.

1380
01:14:05,870 --> 01:14:09,410
She was praying that God would touch my

1381
01:14:09,410 --> 01:14:10,890
eyes, and then she explained.

1382
01:14:11,310 --> 01:14:13,630
She said, you know, Helen Lemel has been

1383
01:14:13,630 --> 01:14:17,810
blind from the year four or five.

1384
01:14:17,930 --> 01:14:21,810
She was blinded in some particular situation, but

1385
01:14:21,810 --> 01:14:24,570
all these years, the cry of her heart

1386
01:14:24,570 --> 01:14:28,690
has been, oh Lord, I'm so glad you're

1387
01:14:28,690 --> 01:14:30,690
giving me spiritual eyes.

1388
01:14:32,600 --> 01:14:34,440
She began to claim and to pray.

1389
01:14:36,720 --> 01:14:40,400
You can be thankful that God did touch,

1390
01:14:40,600 --> 01:14:44,320
because while there's been weakness, there's been a

1391
01:14:44,320 --> 01:14:45,700
good recovery of eyesight.

1392
01:14:46,700 --> 01:14:50,300
I kept rejoicing and saying, oh God, oh

1393
01:14:50,300 --> 01:14:53,440
God, what a privilege to have Helen Lemel's

1394
01:14:53,440 --> 01:14:53,880
song.

1395
01:14:54,280 --> 01:14:56,900
Not only that, but to have her praying.

1396
01:14:57,560 --> 01:14:59,320
She knew what it would be like to

1397
01:14:59,320 --> 01:14:59,960
be blind.

1398
01:15:00,780 --> 01:15:02,900
One day I was sharing this in A

1399
01:15:02,900 --> 01:15:03,580
.C. Switzerland.

1400
01:15:06,250 --> 01:15:08,890
The sister who was playing the piano started

1401
01:15:08,890 --> 01:15:11,610
to play the song, Turn Your Eyes Upon

1402
01:15:11,610 --> 01:15:12,010
Jesus.

1403
01:15:14,730 --> 01:15:16,870
Look up to speak a few minutes later.

1404
01:15:17,090 --> 01:15:21,490
I explained how precious that song was to

1405
01:15:21,490 --> 01:15:25,310
me, how wonderful it had been, because the

1406
01:15:25,310 --> 01:15:28,250
way the Lord had ministered to me when

1407
01:15:28,250 --> 01:15:30,130
I was almost sure we were going to

1408
01:15:30,130 --> 01:15:31,330
lose our eyesight.

1409
01:15:32,630 --> 01:15:34,610
I no more got through with that.

1410
01:15:35,410 --> 01:15:38,630
Brother Sparks walked up, put his arm around

1411
01:15:38,630 --> 01:15:43,250
me, he said, I knew Helen Lemel personally.

1412
01:15:44,050 --> 01:15:47,190
She moved from Seattle down to California.

1413
01:15:48,190 --> 01:15:50,130
One day I got a call from Helen.

1414
01:15:51,410 --> 01:15:55,750
She said, Brother Sparks, often she visited Westmoreland

1415
01:15:55,750 --> 01:15:59,630
Chapel, she said, I have a choice to

1416
01:15:59,630 --> 01:15:59,950
make.

1417
01:16:02,460 --> 01:16:05,400
With all the new types of surgery and

1418
01:16:05,400 --> 01:16:07,960
all they can do to repair eyes, they

1419
01:16:07,960 --> 01:16:11,260
tell me my eyesight might be restored.

1420
01:16:14,570 --> 01:16:17,710
She looked at Brother Sparks and said, would

1421
01:16:17,710 --> 01:16:19,390
you pray with me?

1422
01:16:20,490 --> 01:16:25,090
If this is God's choice, that I will

1423
01:16:25,090 --> 01:16:26,850
know to enter into the surgery.

1424
01:16:28,730 --> 01:16:30,410
He said, we'll be praying.

1425
01:16:30,570 --> 01:16:32,330
He went back, I think a day or

1426
01:16:32,330 --> 01:16:32,890
two later.

1427
01:16:33,750 --> 01:16:38,450
She said to him, I've decided not to.

1428
01:16:39,170 --> 01:16:41,510
She said, God has given me through the

1429
01:16:41,510 --> 01:16:45,670
years such insight, inward spiritual insight.

1430
01:16:45,990 --> 01:16:48,270
I'm afraid if I had the others, I

1431
01:16:48,270 --> 01:16:49,150
might miss it.

1432
01:16:49,270 --> 01:16:52,110
Anyway, she said, the first face I'd like

1433
01:16:52,110 --> 01:16:54,530
to look upon is my lovely Lord.

1434
01:16:59,690 --> 01:17:01,910
I only share this with you tonight because

1435
01:17:01,910 --> 01:17:06,270
God brings issues across your life through the

1436
01:17:06,270 --> 01:17:10,610
years and they're benchmarks, the things that rivet

1437
01:17:10,610 --> 01:17:13,190
you to the fact that there is a

1438
01:17:13,190 --> 01:17:18,410
focus to your life, finishing the race triumphantly,

1439
01:17:18,830 --> 01:17:19,870
pressing spirit.

1440
01:17:20,630 --> 01:17:24,150
I keep crying, oh God, I've been so

1441
01:17:24,150 --> 01:17:27,930
privileged through the years to know individuals who

1442
01:17:27,930 --> 01:17:31,170
not only had direction but the sharpening of

1443
01:17:31,170 --> 01:17:34,490
the focus until the one cried the heart

1444
01:17:34,490 --> 01:17:38,610
is, oh God, just to know you and

1445
01:17:38,610 --> 01:17:39,350
to please you.

1446
01:17:39,710 --> 01:17:41,450
Well, I share my heart with you tonight

1447
01:17:41,450 --> 01:17:45,730
just simply to say, do you have a

1448
01:17:45,730 --> 01:17:46,210
focus?

1449
01:17:47,270 --> 01:17:48,610
Has he been sharpening it?

1450
01:17:49,130 --> 01:17:52,190
I don't think any of us sitting here

1451
01:17:52,190 --> 01:17:55,350
these last few days, but what there's been

1452
01:17:55,350 --> 01:17:58,430
a whole new awareness within, we are called

1453
01:17:58,430 --> 01:17:59,310
to be servants.

1454
01:18:01,690 --> 01:18:03,570
He's the one who serves in us.

1455
01:18:03,910 --> 01:18:06,010
It's by the river of his grace.

1456
01:18:06,390 --> 01:18:09,170
It is not our own, but by his

1457
01:18:09,170 --> 01:18:10,930
supply that we live.

1458
01:18:11,430 --> 01:18:13,870
But the sharpening of the focus is, oh

1459
01:18:13,870 --> 01:18:19,850
God, let me fulfill the race triumphantly.

1460
01:18:21,370 --> 01:18:29,990
Father, I pray tonight you will take some

1461
01:18:29,990 --> 01:18:34,610
of these bits and pieces and make them

1462
01:18:34,610 --> 01:18:36,630
meaningful in the lives of some of the

1463
01:18:36,630 --> 01:18:37,170
parents.

1464
01:18:38,510 --> 01:18:41,350
Help them to recognize it's one thing to

1465
01:18:41,350 --> 01:18:44,590
tell what, another thing to give the why

1466
01:18:44,590 --> 01:18:45,330
back of it.

1467
01:18:46,210 --> 01:18:47,890
When they're talking to a son or a

1468
01:18:47,890 --> 01:18:52,370
daughter, help them to recognize the principles behind

1469
01:18:52,870 --> 01:18:55,190
that will make the what, the thing they're

1470
01:18:55,190 --> 01:18:56,830
asking, more meaningful.

1471
01:18:57,730 --> 01:19:00,130
I pray tonight that you'll lift us and

1472
01:19:00,130 --> 01:19:05,250
move us just beyond having gifts, talents to

1473
01:19:05,250 --> 01:19:09,230
give to you, but allowing the brokenness, the

1474
01:19:09,230 --> 01:19:13,450
dealing, the consecration within our life until there

1475
01:19:13,450 --> 01:19:16,730
can be out of that the overflow for

1476
01:19:16,730 --> 01:19:17,350
yourself.

1477
01:19:18,550 --> 01:19:23,190
I claim in this closing moment that all

1478
01:19:23,190 --> 01:19:25,810
that we learned this week, all that we

1479
01:19:25,810 --> 01:19:29,070
said yes to, you'll summarize into one statement.

1480
01:19:29,550 --> 01:19:32,330
Yes, Lord, we hear you speaking.

1481
01:19:33,010 --> 01:19:37,630
We choose to finish the race triumphantly.

1482
01:19:38,310 --> 01:19:42,570
We will give you thanks and praise and

1483
01:19:42,570 --> 01:19:43,890
honor and glory.

1484
01:19:44,710 --> 01:19:47,550
But we ask it in Jesus name and

1485
01:19:47,550 --> 01:19:49,490
everybody said amen.