Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Micro-Faith and Mountainous Obstacles Msg 1121 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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Micro-Faith and Mountainous Obstacles Msg 1121 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: When Paul was writing the Great Letter to the Romans,
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Speaker 1: which was I've often called it his magnum opus, as
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Speaker 1: he declared our theology for us. So clearly he reaches
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Speaker 1: a bit of a climax at the end of the
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Speaker 1: eleventh chapter. It's almost a well, it is a doxology
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Speaker 1: within the letter itself, and he writes, Oh, the depth
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Speaker 1: of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge
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Speaker 1: of God, How unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable his ways?
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Speaker 1: Isn't that a great way to express it? How unsearchable
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Speaker 1: or God's judgments and unfathomable his ways. We'll actually waste
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Speaker 1: a lot of our time trying to figure out God.
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Speaker 1: You know, as our President said when I graduated from
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Speaker 1: Dallas Seminary, don't try to unscrew the inscrutable. I always
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Speaker 1: thought that's good counsel. If it's inscrutable, you can't unscrew it.
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Speaker 1: If it's unfathomable, you can't reach the depth of it.
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Speaker 1: Leave it with him, trust him, rely on him. The
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Speaker 1: section we're looking at today in Matthew's Gospel Chapter seventeen,
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Speaker 1: beginning in verse fourteen down through verse twenty has that
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Speaker 1: sort of as the subtle background music behind the words,
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Speaker 1: where when we find ourselves facing those mountainous obstacles, all
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Speaker 1: that's really needed is the size of a mustard seed
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Speaker 1: of faith. We often tell people they didn't have enough
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Speaker 1: faith for this, But on the contrary, all you really
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Speaker 1: need is a tiny amount, just enough to point people
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Speaker 1: to the one who's able to handle impossibilities. So let
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Speaker 1: me read for you from the New Living Translation the
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Speaker 1: verses that are before us in Matthew seventeen fourteen to twenty.
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Speaker 1: And because we respect God's word and we worship the
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Speaker 1: Living God, who behind the scenes saw to it that
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Speaker 1: it was written, let's stand together for the reading of
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Speaker 1: the scriptures. At the foot of the mountain, a large
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Speaker 1: crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt
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Speaker 1: before Jesus and said, Lord Lord, have mercy on my son.
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Speaker 1: He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into
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Speaker 1: the fire or into the water. So I brought him
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Speaker 1: to your disciples, but they couldn't heal him. Jesus said,
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Speaker 1: you faithless and corrupt people, how long must I be
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Speaker 1: with you? How long must I put up with you?
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Speaker 1: Bring the boy here to me. Then, Jesus rebuked the
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Speaker 1: demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment,
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Speaker 1: the boy was well. Afterwards, the disciples asked Jesus privately,
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Speaker 1: why couldn't we cast out that demon? You don't have
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Speaker 1: enough faith, Jesus told him, I told you the truth.
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Speaker 1: If you had faith, even as small as a mustard seed,
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Speaker 1: you could say to this mountain, move from here to there,
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Speaker 1: and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. Now, before
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Speaker 1: you sit down, think in your mind. Think of something
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Speaker 1: you have considered impossible, maybe recently, maybe just since the
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Speaker 1: turn of the year, maybe for quite a while. And remember,
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Speaker 1: with our God, thing falls in that category. Doesn't mean
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Speaker 1: he will do what we want him to do, or
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Speaker 1: he will do it at the time we expect him
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Speaker 1: to do it, or that he would even agree that's
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Speaker 1: what's best. But he will handle the impossible his way
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Speaker 1: and in his time. Please be seated in your worshipfuld Er.
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Speaker 1: You'll see an outline for my talk this morning. Feel
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Speaker 1: free to pull it out, keep it handy. It'll keep
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Speaker 1: both of us on target. Make sure we don't drift
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Speaker 1: from one thought to another that's not connected. What a
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Speaker 1: privilege it is to pray. Praying is not simply talking
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Speaker 1: with our eyes closed. It is connecting with the one
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Speaker 1: who hears our every thought, our every word. You bring
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Speaker 1: before him what is on your heart. I'll do the
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Speaker 1: same as I lead us before the morning, offering maybe bound.
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Speaker 1: Thank you Father that you care of all things. You
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Speaker 1: care about each one of us, and you care about
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Speaker 1: each of us the same. You play no favorites. You
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Speaker 1: don't alter your plan because some have a certain position
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Speaker 1: in life, or they make a certain amount of money,
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Speaker 1: or because they are influential in the other's lives. Your
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Speaker 1: plan is your plan. You do according to your will.
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Speaker 1: In the angels of heaven and among the inhabitants of
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Speaker 1: the earth, no one can stop you, or start you,
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Speaker 1: or change you. You or our God give us a
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Speaker 1: sense of release and peace in that. May we find
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Speaker 1: comfort in it, May we be relieved from feeling it
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Speaker 1: so much rests on our shoulders. Show us from these
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Speaker 1: words that you've recorded through Matthew's pen, Show us the
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Speaker 1: things we need to hear. I pray that you would
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Speaker 1: keep them simple, guard me from being obscure oblique in
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Speaker 1: the things I say, so that when we leave we
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Speaker 1: understand not only what you have written, but that you
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Speaker 1: mean this, and that it's for our good and it's
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Speaker 1: for your ultimate glory. Thank you for caring, for working,
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Speaker 1: and for protecting, for guiding, for comforting, watching over the
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Speaker 1: events not simply of those things around the world that
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Speaker 1: are international, but the events that happen in our own homes,
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Speaker 1: places where we live, where we work, in our cars
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Speaker 1: with our families. Thank you in advance for the way
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Speaker 1: you will work this week, doing what you please, and
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Speaker 1: give us relief that we are privileged to be a
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Speaker 1: part of that plan. Take care of those who today
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Speaker 1: are in dangerous places, and those who work with people
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Speaker 1: who are sick, and those who are on the streets
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Speaker 1: watching over are those who are there. We pray that
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Speaker 1: you would give protection to those who are our protectors. Now, Father,
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Speaker 1: these offerings that we give come from hearts that are
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Speaker 1: full of gratitude, and that's why we give with great joy.
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Speaker 1: In the name of Jesus, our Master, our Lord. We
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Speaker 1: pray and we give everyone said Amen. Mountaintop moments are
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Speaker 1: designed to change our perceptions in life, not change our residence.
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Speaker 1: There are times that the Lord pulls us aside to
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Speaker 1: be alone just with him. Happens on hospital beds after
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Speaker 1: an illness or an accident, or maybe some lingering disease
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Speaker 1: has finally forced us to be there, and night comes
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Speaker 1: and we're alone, alone with our thoughts, alone with him.
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Speaker 1: Those are not lost moments. Those are moments found when
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Speaker 1: He connects with us. Sometimes they come in the midst
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Speaker 1: of a horrendous crucible of testing. We can't seem to
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Speaker 1: see our way through it, and rather than things lightening up,
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Speaker 1: they intensify, and rather than simplifying, they get complicated, and
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Speaker 1: we at times back off and think, what on earth
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Speaker 1: is this about? Those are clarifying moments, if we will
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Speaker 1: see them as very special moments when God is attempting
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Speaker 1: to get our attention, to remind us that we don't
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Speaker 1: have a corner on life, that we don't have things
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Speaker 1: figured out. These are essential moments when we are stopped
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Speaker 1: in our tracks and He connects with us in a
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Speaker 1: way that hopefully we will never forget. Speaking of that,
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Speaker 1: I had a good friend in my high school years
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Speaker 1: who was bad to the bone. I mean, he was
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Speaker 1: one tough guy. He played both ways on the football team.
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Speaker 1: He was both linebacker on defense and he was a
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Speaker 1: running back on offense. Wasn't necessarily the star of the team.
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Speaker 1: But he was rugged, he was rough. He was to
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Speaker 1: the nth degree, determined in life, wrote at early big
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Speaker 1: leather jacket, just sort of the type you would pick
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Speaker 1: for the for for the tough guy in the school.
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Speaker 1: He had no place in his life for God or
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Speaker 1: the or the things of God. To him, life was
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Speaker 1: about however he shaped it. Uh. One zai called one
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Speaker 1: Friday or Saturday evening, he decided to put his boat
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Speaker 1: into Galveston Harbor. And and he uh turned it on
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Speaker 1: full and and alone was racing across the waves. Uh
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Speaker 1: not at nightfall, but shortly before. And a wave hit
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Speaker 1: him just across the bow, and his boat flipped, and
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Speaker 1: he was suddenly in the in the water. No life jacket,
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Speaker 1: of course, and and uh he wasn't able to hang
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Speaker 1: on anything. So he began to swim toward the jetties.
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Speaker 1: The problem, if you're familiar with jetties, is that barnacles
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Speaker 1: grow all over those rocks that are in the water
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Speaker 1: all the time. That's all he had to hang on to.
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Speaker 1: But he got there. He grabbed hold of one of
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Speaker 1: those that jutted up out of the water, and and
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Speaker 1: and the barnacles simply began to rake the skin off
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Speaker 1: the front of his body, and he was up and
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Speaker 1: down in the in the swells of the of the surf.
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Speaker 1: It was too far toshore for him to swim, and
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Speaker 1: and he realized that the blood in the water would
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Speaker 1: attract the sharks. And they're all over that that area
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Speaker 1: that warmed water of Galveston Bay. And for the first
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Speaker 1: time in his life ever, as he told the story later,
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Speaker 1: he prayed. He didn't know how to pray, so he
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Speaker 1: just yelled out the name of God, and and he
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Speaker 1: made God a pro He said, if you'll rescue me,
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Speaker 1: I'll do anything. And then a few moments later he says,
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Speaker 1: I'll even go into the ministry, as if that is
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Speaker 1: the ultimate worst possible thing he could promise. I'll preach,
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Speaker 1: I'll do whatever, just sense. And wouldn't you know it,
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Speaker 1: wouldn't you know it? Around the end of the jetties
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Speaker 1: came a small coastguard boat that normally searched the area
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Speaker 1: for just such situations. They found him, they rescued him,
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Speaker 1: and he crawled in in their vessel, soaked with blood.
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Speaker 1: It wasn't long after that that he summarily forgot all
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Speaker 1: of that except he said. Every time he would shower
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Speaker 1: at night and stand in front of the mirror, toweling
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Speaker 1: off the scars there were across his chest, stomach, and
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Speaker 1: thighs and feet were mute reminders of that moment when
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Speaker 1: God heard him through another chilling event that really got
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Speaker 1: his attention. It was a near death experience. He realized
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Speaker 1: God was serious on his end. And moments like that,
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Speaker 1: and in fact, he did study for the ministry and
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Speaker 1: served Christ faithfully. He came to the Lord, he was
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Speaker 1: converted to the Savior, and spent his life preaching the
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Speaker 1: Cross of Christ to all who would listen. He pastor
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Speaker 1: to church. He's now gone, and he leaves in his
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Speaker 1: legacy a congregation that to this day loves him with
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Speaker 1: their whole heart. A life changed in a mountaintop moment.
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Speaker 1: It's not something that occurs on mountain, though it can.
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Speaker 1: It may occur at a spiritual retreat. My family and
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Speaker 1: I used to go to a retreat every summer place
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Speaker 1: called Mount Herman Christian Conference Center in northern California. We
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Speaker 1: went thirty three consecutive years. One summer after another we
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Speaker 1: would go and I'd be there to speak for a week.
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Speaker 1: Sometime we'd stay a little longer. I would use that
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Speaker 1: as a place from there, would go on our vacation together.
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Speaker 1: But I would meet people all the time who had
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Speaker 1: come there because they wanted to be alone with God
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Speaker 1: and they wanted God to speak to them. It wasn't
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Speaker 1: a mountain. It was named after a mountain in the
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Speaker 1: in the New Testament, but not actually on a mountain.
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Speaker 1: It was very near sea level, but the great redwoods
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Speaker 1: grow there, and there were trails to walk and places
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Speaker 1: to sit and be quiet, cabins to stay in, and
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Speaker 1: they're the Lord. And you would meet, and a number
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Speaker 1: of people before they would leave the week, would say,
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Speaker 1: we wish we could just we could just live here,
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Speaker 1: as if there's something sacred about the place. But remember
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Speaker 1: my opening line, Those mountaintop moments are not designed to
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Speaker 1: change your residence. They're designed to change your whole perception
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Speaker 1: of life. So that up until then you looked at
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Speaker 1: life one way. But after this, when you really got
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Speaker 1: your attention, you looked at it from that angle because
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Speaker 1: you were different. Your address hadn't changed, You would change, hopefully.
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Speaker 1: That's why I often say to people, don't forget a
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Speaker 1: pad and a pen. You go to the hospital, or
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Speaker 1: if you keep one, don't forget your journal. Sometime when
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Speaker 1: we are at those crossroad moments in life, we get
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Speaker 1: our best thoughts. They've been distilled through fear, fear of
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Speaker 1: the unknown, fear of what this means or may mean
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Speaker 1: to my world as I've always known it. Those are
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Speaker 1: moments when he gets our attention. Now, how about I
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Speaker 1: began this message like that, because in the section we're
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Speaker 1: looking at today in Matthew seventeen fourteen to twenty one,
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Speaker 1: just a few verses, all of this revolves at the
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Speaker 1: foot of a mountain. Let me show you something you
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Speaker 1: may have missed it in a previous message when we
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Speaker 1: dealt with it. Look at chapter seventeen, verse one, and
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Speaker 1: you will see that the Lord led three disciples up
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Speaker 1: a mountain happens to be Mount Herman, most likely, and
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Speaker 1: the three are named Peter, James, and John. So he
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Speaker 1: selected three of the twelve, took them with him, and
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Speaker 1: they went up at least along the slopes of the mountain,
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Speaker 1: maybe not all the way to the top, but they
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Speaker 1: went up the mountain. Something happens there that's very significant.
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Speaker 1: They Look at verse nine. I've got that marked in
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Speaker 1: my Bible, they went back down the mountain. So between
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Speaker 1: one and nine something happens on the slope of the mountain.
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Speaker 1: In verse nine, they leave and he tells them to
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Speaker 1: keep it quiet. We'll get to that in a moment.
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Speaker 1: And then in verse fourteen, they're at the foot of
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Speaker 1: the mountain. See that. One they go up, nine they're
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Speaker 1: coming down. Fourteen they're at the base of the mountain.
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Speaker 1: What happens on the mountain a mountain top moment, Jesus
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Speaker 1: is what is commonly called by theologians transfigured. What does
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Speaker 1: that mean? Look at verse two. As the men watched
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Speaker 1: the men would be the three disciples, Peter, James, and John.
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Speaker 1: As they watched, Jesus' appearance was transformed. Your Bible may
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Speaker 1: read transfigured. Then it explains what that means. His face
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Speaker 1: shone like the sun, So there was a brilliance, There
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Speaker 1: was an aura. There was a shining that came from
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Speaker 1: his face that they had never seen before, had never
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Speaker 1: been there before. Read on. His clothing became white as light.
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Speaker 1: So he is a glow if you will. In the
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Speaker 1: Old Testament, there is a light that comes from heaven
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Speaker 1: down into the holiest place in the tabernacle, called the Chakaina,
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Speaker 1: the Chakina glory of God like a laser, right beaming down, brilliant,
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Speaker 1: casting away all shadows, and coming down on the subject
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Speaker 1: of that holy place here is on Jesus. Look closely.
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Speaker 1: His clothes became white as light. The three disciples are
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Speaker 1: seeing this, and no doubt they're stunned about what they see.
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Speaker 1: And then something occurs that's phenomenal. Look suddenly Moses and
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Speaker 1: Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. They have not
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Speaker 1: lived for over a thousand years, more than that for Moses.
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Speaker 1: Out of eternity. They appear, and the disciples see them.
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Speaker 1: Matthew records it, and Jesus converses with them. We're not
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Speaker 1: told what the dialogue was about, but they were talking together.
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Speaker 1: It's all phenomenal. And so Peter, oh, good old Peter,
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Speaker 1: always ready to do something, practical, always ready to do something.
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Speaker 1: So he says to them, Lord, it's wonderful for us
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Speaker 1: to be here. It's a great beginning. But unfortunately he
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Speaker 1: went on, if you want, I'll make three shelters of
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Speaker 1: memorial In other words, let's just stay here. But remember,
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Speaker 1: in mountaintop moments, it's not to make you stay there
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Speaker 1: is to get your attention there, But you don't need
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Speaker 1: a shelter to draw from the moment what the Lord
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Speaker 1: is teaching you. Peter misses it. He thinks what we
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Speaker 1: want is sheltered, one for you, one for Moses, one
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Speaker 1: for Elijah. That's it. I'll do it. I'll find the wood,
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Speaker 1: I'll build a shelter. No, no, no, no. Now, while
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Speaker 1: Peter is coming up with that bright idea, please observe
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Speaker 1: what happens as he spoke this verse five. Look at
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Speaker 1: your Bible. As he spoke, another phenomenon occurs. A bright
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Speaker 1: cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said,
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Speaker 1: this is my son, my dearly beloved one. Literally, this
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Speaker 1: is my beloved son, who brings me great joy. And then,
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Speaker 1: the most important of all, listen to him. Don't be
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Speaker 1: building shelters, Peter, don't talk. You learn nothing when you talk.
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Speaker 1: None of us learn when we talk. We learned. Would
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Speaker 1: we listen, listen, listen to what he wants to tell you.
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Speaker 1: That's why you're up here. He's gluing. It's obvious that
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Speaker 1: he is deity in flesh. It's obvious my hand is
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Speaker 1: on him. He's my son. The beloved one, listen to him.
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Speaker 1: The disciples were terrified. They fell down on the ground.
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Speaker 1: I would imagine. I would imagine they shook, they tremble.
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Speaker 1: They're down on the ground. And Jesus came over and
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Speaker 1: he touched them. Just reach down and and he touched them,
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Speaker 1: and he said, get up, don't don't be afraid. When
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Speaker 1: they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone and they
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Speaker 1: saw only Jesus. Finally, they've got their gaze right. And
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Speaker 1: mountaintop moments were to fix our eyes on Christ. Look
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Speaker 1: only at him, listen only to him. If more was said,
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Speaker 1: we're not told. When I say that you're laid aside,
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Speaker 1: or you're in the middle of a test and the
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Speaker 1: Lord speaks, I don't mean you're hearing a voice. Let's
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Speaker 1: get past that. It may be something the Lord reveals
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Speaker 1: from his word. You have a Testament with you and
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Speaker 1: you're reading, and you see something you've never seen before.
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Speaker 1: That's what he speaks to you. Maybe it's deep within
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Speaker 1: your heart. Hear me when I say this, You can't
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Speaker 1: articulate what he tells you in words. Maybe it's a
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Speaker 1: peace that comes over you as if he is, as
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Speaker 1: if he is saying it's going to be all right.
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Speaker 1: I'm in charge. I know what I'm doing. What was
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Speaker 1: a surprise to you is no surprise in my plan.
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Speaker 1: You're right where I want you to be. Calm down,
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Speaker 1: rest in me. Whatever he may have said to them,
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Speaker 1: they were changed. Now this is what I call a
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Speaker 1: sacred because he says to them as they are on
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Speaker 1: their way back down the mountain. Look verse nine. He
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Speaker 1: commanded them, don't tell anyone what you have seen until
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Speaker 1: the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.
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Speaker 1: Part of the reason is you can't describe it in words.
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Speaker 1: We do our best to understand it when it's in print,
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Speaker 1: but we have to imagine something like the transfiguration. We
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Speaker 1: don't even know if there were more things said. So
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Speaker 1: don't try to tell anyone anything about this. Just remember
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Speaker 1: what happened to you. I don't know if many of
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Speaker 1: you listen to Christian music, but every once in a while,
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Speaker 1: if you do, you'll come across the singing of a
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Speaker 1: duet by Laurnel Harris and Sandy Patty. I mean, is
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Speaker 1: there a better couple to sing a duet than Laurne
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Speaker 1: Ellen and Sandy. They sing a peace that has to
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Speaker 1: do with words that came from those who saw the
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Speaker 1: Lord at the resurrection morning. I quote from the refrain,
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Speaker 1: I've just seen Jesus, I tell you, he is alive.
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Speaker 1: I've just seen Jesus, our pracious Lord, alive, and I
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Speaker 1: knew he really saw me too, as if till now
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Speaker 1: I've never lived, all that I've done before won't matter anymore.
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Speaker 1: I've just seen Jesus, and I'll never be the same again.
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Speaker 1: That's where the disciples were. They had seen a manifestation
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Speaker 1: of the deity that resided in the Christ, in the
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Speaker 1: Lord Jesus, that no one else had ever seen, only
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Speaker 1: the three of them, and they'll never be the same
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Speaker 1: again because of that mountaintop moment. Now, then, all of
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Speaker 1: that prepares us for what they then faced. Soon as
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Speaker 1: they got to the base of the mountain, they're hit
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Speaker 1: in the face with raw reality. There's no period of preparation.
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Speaker 1: Soon as they step down onto flatland, they meet a
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Speaker 1: crowd and a father, a large crowd waiting for them.
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Speaker 1: A man came and knelt before Jesus. Before you go
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Speaker 1: any further, imagine the man in front of the crowd kneeling.
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Speaker 1: That took a bit of courage in itself. Chances are
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Speaker 1: good you've never done that. I've never done that. But
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Speaker 1: the man in that moment of great need is so
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Speaker 1: preoccupied with the need he doesn't care what anyone may think.
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Speaker 1: He falls down on his knees and he pleads for
30:30
Speaker 1: mercy on behalf of his son. Look at it, he said, Lord,
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Speaker 1: have mercy on my son. He has seizures, and he
30:46
Speaker 1: suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into
30:51
Speaker 1: the water. Don't go any further. Have you ever witnessed
30:59
Speaker 1: a seizure? Most heaven't. When you have, you never forget it.
31:07
Speaker 1: It's a writhing, tragic scene, often called an epileptic seizure.
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Speaker 1: I read in the Websters that seizure's definition is an
31:22
Speaker 1: act of seizing, the state of being seized, and then
31:30
Speaker 1: a sudden, often acute paroxysm as an epileptic convulsion. To
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Speaker 1: see this in a broader light, we need to read
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Speaker 1: Mark's account of the same event. Hold your place. Look
31:49
Speaker 1: at Mark chapter nine again, the same event told by
31:59
Speaker 1: another I witness, verse seventeen. One of the men in
32:08
Speaker 1: the crowd spoke up and said, teacher, I brought my
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Speaker 1: son so you could heal him. He is possessed by
32:15
Speaker 1: an evil spirit that won't let him talk. So along
32:19
Speaker 1: with this, Matthew doesn't mention the boy is mute. He's
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Speaker 1: lost his ability to speak. And whenever the spirit, this
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Speaker 1: spirit seizes him note the word, it throws him violently
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Speaker 1: to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and
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Speaker 1: grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your
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Speaker 1: disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn't
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Speaker 1: do it Verse twenty. So they brought the boy. But
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Speaker 1: when the evil spirit saw Jesus, which tells you spirits
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Speaker 1: can see, they have intelligence. They may be invisible, but
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Speaker 1: they are not invincible. Notice when they saw Jesus. When
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Speaker 1: this spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a
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Speaker 1: violent convulsion. He fell to the ground, writhing and foaming
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Speaker 1: at the mouth. I take it back to Matthew now
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Speaker 1: that when he was thrown into the fire or the water,
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Speaker 1: this evil spirit controlling him threw him in the direction
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Speaker 1: of open fire and toward a pool that would be
33:38
Speaker 1: deeper than the boy could swim in, and there was
33:42
Speaker 1: a life threatening scene. It was absolutely, absolutely tragic. And
33:49
Speaker 1: when you read your Bible and you come across settings
33:52
Speaker 1: like this pause, forget about the time and how far
33:59
Speaker 1: you're reading, and let your imagination take you to that scene,
34:08
Speaker 1: enter into the world of that father. What I did
34:14
Speaker 1: was imagine back when my children were smaller, and as
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Speaker 1: if it had been one of my boys or one
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Speaker 1: of my daughters. Suddenly my heart went out to this
34:30
Speaker 1: dead and to think he would go to some of
34:34
Speaker 1: the other nine disciples and ask them to help. And
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Speaker 1: they couldn't. They couldn't do anything about it. And I'm
34:44
Speaker 1: sure the Father must have thought, if they can't, what
34:51
Speaker 1: hope is there that I ever find relief for my
34:54
Speaker 1: son who can't even express how he feels because he's
35:00
Speaker 1: he's not able to speak with the evil spirit in him.
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Speaker 1: Jesus doesn't waste time when he hears this. He told
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Speaker 1: the disciples to bring them bring him to him. And
35:17
Speaker 1: notice at the very end they brought the boy here
35:21
Speaker 1: into verse seventeen. Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the
35:27
Speaker 1: boy and it left him. What does that mean? How
35:32
Speaker 1: did this exorcism occur? The details are not spelled out,
35:38
Speaker 1: but you know how much it took from Jesus to
35:40
Speaker 1: release the boy, to take the demon out one word
35:45
Speaker 1: out exit. Remember the words of Martin Luther. And though
35:53
Speaker 1: this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
35:57
Speaker 1: we will not fear where God has willed his truth
36:02
Speaker 1: to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, We
36:06
Speaker 1: tremble not for him his rage we can endure. For
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Speaker 1: low his doom is sure. One little word shall fell
36:16
Speaker 1: him out. Could have been just one word. We live
36:24
Speaker 1: in a day when demons are seen as some kind
36:28
Speaker 1: of fantasy heroes, as though they are in charge. They
36:33
Speaker 1: are not in charge. We have nothing to fear in
36:37
Speaker 1: the presence of the supernatural because we have the Savior.
36:43
Speaker 1: And when we listen to him as we should, we
36:46
Speaker 1: learn what to point, and that's to him, because he
36:52
Speaker 1: will take over and handle what we cannot handle, which
36:57
Speaker 1: seems to be at least one of them. May your
37:00
Speaker 1: themes of these verses of scripture. Look at this. When
37:06
Speaker 1: Jesus first response to them, it sounds like he's cruel.
37:10
Speaker 1: How long do I have to put up with you?
37:13
Speaker 1: Bring me the boy? Well, imagine there's a little frustration
37:17
Speaker 1: because he has been with them for many, many, many months,
37:21
Speaker 1: and they're still trying to do things on their own.
37:24
Speaker 1: They're still trying to take care of things in their
37:27
Speaker 1: own strength sound familiar. In spite of all we have
37:33
Speaker 1: heard over all these years, things happen, and we still
37:39
Speaker 1: mess it up by getting in the middle of it,
37:41
Speaker 1: thinking we need to fix it. When is the last
37:45
Speaker 1: time you really fixed anything that was impossible? You can't
37:52
Speaker 1: quit trying. You know what you need? Jesus tells us
37:58
Speaker 1: what we need. When the disciples ask in verse nineteen,
38:01
Speaker 1: why couldn't we cast out the demon, he said, all
38:05
Speaker 1: you need is the size of mustard seed of faith,
38:08
Speaker 1: smallest seed known in that time of any seed on earth.
38:13
Speaker 1: All you need is a tiny, tiny amount, enough to
38:18
Speaker 1: point to me. Leave it with me. As the writer
38:23
Speaker 1: of the Hebrew says, looking unto Jesus, the author and
38:26
Speaker 1: finisher of our faith, just focus on him. I don't
38:32
Speaker 1: mean that as a bromide or is a cliche. I
38:36
Speaker 1: mean that, sincerely and seriously. You're facing a mountainous obstacle.
38:43
Speaker 1: Learn where to point. Your need is not enormous amount
38:48
Speaker 1: of faith, that's nonsense. All you need is enough faith
38:54
Speaker 1: to point to the one who can handle the situation
38:58
Speaker 1: and leave it with him. You know who learned that,
39:02
Speaker 1: the three disciples on the mountain. I think it was
39:07
Speaker 1: the nine disciples who weren't able to help his father.
39:11
Speaker 1: The three kept their mouths closed because Jesus had told
39:14
Speaker 1: him not to share it. But I believe they thought
39:17
Speaker 1: in their hearts, if they would only turn it over
39:20
Speaker 1: to him, We've seen a side of him they haven't seen.
39:24
Speaker 1: We've seen Jesus in his full deity, and we're never
39:32
Speaker 1: going to be the same again. And I love it
39:36
Speaker 1: when we read from that moment the boy was well.
39:43
Speaker 1: The ending of our passage reads nothing would be impossible.
39:52
Speaker 1: When is that true? When we leave it all with him? Now?
40:03
Speaker 1: There are many things we could say by application of
40:06
Speaker 1: lift your little room at the bottom of the outline,
40:08
Speaker 1: regarding how this relates to life as we know it.
40:11
Speaker 1: Three thoughts came to my mind when I was preparing
40:15
Speaker 1: what I've shared with you, and here they are. Each
40:20
Speaker 1: begins with the word never never forget what the Lord
40:24
Speaker 1: taught you in a mountaintop moment. That's why you want
40:30
Speaker 1: to write it down. That's why you want to memorize
40:35
Speaker 1: what the Lord showed you. There are certain places in
40:39
Speaker 1: my life where I can go back to, and I
40:42
Speaker 1: was up against a mountainous obstacle some of my own making,
40:47
Speaker 1: often not of my own making, but they were huge.
40:52
Speaker 1: And the Lord broke through and showed me some things
40:57
Speaker 1: in those moments that only he could have shown me.
41:01
Speaker 1: And it was a breakthrough in my own life, and
41:06
Speaker 1: I've not forgotten him. It's been the foundation of much
41:10
Speaker 1: of my ministry, is drawing upon the things he has
41:14
Speaker 1: shown me when I've been alone with him, listening to
41:19
Speaker 1: and learning from him. You may have escaped from an
41:25
Speaker 1: almost death deathlike car accident. On the opposite side of that,
41:34
Speaker 1: as you catch your breath and sit in your home
41:37
Speaker 1: that night and give thanks for the fact that you
41:39
Speaker 1: lived through it, at those moments, the Lord is ready
41:44
Speaker 1: to show you what you can learn from that. It's
41:48
Speaker 1: amazing how that changes our perspective. Or you've been healed
41:52
Speaker 1: from some kind of disease that someone called terminal and
41:57
Speaker 1: the Lord stepped in. I have a friend who had
42:01
Speaker 1: tongue cancer and it was so bad that we were
42:05
Speaker 1: living in New England at the time. He called me.
42:08
Speaker 1: I was one of five men he contacted. He said,
42:11
Speaker 1: I want to let you know that I am in Dallas.
42:14
Speaker 1: I've just been diagnosed with a malignancy on my tongue.
42:19
Speaker 1: It looks like it's inoperable. They may have to remove
42:22
Speaker 1: my tongue. And he said, I just I just need
42:26
Speaker 1: another opinion. I'm going to Mayo's. Would you pray that
42:30
Speaker 1: if it's the father's will just ask him to remove it,
42:36
Speaker 1: just take it away. I said to him, with a
42:41
Speaker 1: measure of reluctance, I admit I will. I'll do as
42:46
Speaker 1: you ask, Bill, And I hung up the phone, and
42:50
Speaker 1: I remember going down the basement of our little home
42:53
Speaker 1: on tim Bruce Road in Waltham, Massachusetts, and I got
42:57
Speaker 1: out on my knees and I prayed for my friend.
43:01
Speaker 1: He was going to leave that evening and he was
43:03
Speaker 1: going to be at Mayo's the next day or two.
43:06
Speaker 1: Then he would contact me and tell me what they
43:09
Speaker 1: had done. He took with him his x rays, name
43:14
Speaker 1: on him, date, the name of the doctor, proof that
43:17
Speaker 1: he was. This was his film. So he met with
43:22
Speaker 1: a physician, oncologist and whoever else was there. They said,
43:26
Speaker 1: do you have the film? Yes, I do. He pulled
43:28
Speaker 1: it out. He showed it to them and they had
43:31
Speaker 1: just X rayed and they said, this is obviously the
43:36
Speaker 1: wrong X ray because the X ray we took shows
43:41
Speaker 1: no malignancy none. He said no, that's their argument was
43:48
Speaker 1: with the X ray rather than you know, God man
43:53
Speaker 1: done the impossible or the miracle. There was none of that.
44:00
Speaker 1: It was some mistake here because we really don't find anything.
44:06
Speaker 1: And by the way, he lived many years beyond it,
44:09
Speaker 1: never with a problem with his tongue, died for other reasons,
44:13
Speaker 1: but not that, you know what I think. I think
44:18
Speaker 1: that's an exception rather than the rule. But I do
44:24
Speaker 1: leave room in my theology for that to occur. I
44:29
Speaker 1: rarely pray in a way that tells God what I
44:32
Speaker 1: think he should do. I often will add, and I
44:36
Speaker 1: did in this prayer. I want your will to be
44:40
Speaker 1: done in my friend's life. We would all five of
44:43
Speaker 1: us who love him and know him, would love for
44:46
Speaker 1: it to be removed. But we're going to leave that
44:48
Speaker 1: with you. And if you will remove it, we'll give
44:51
Speaker 1: you all the credit. And indeed, to this day we do.
44:55
Speaker 1: And I want to tell you something. When I got
44:57
Speaker 1: that phone call, I got a call from a man
45:00
Speaker 1: who really believed the X rays were opposite for the
45:04
Speaker 1: right reason, and he was thrilled and we were too.
45:10
Speaker 1: Never forget what God shows you in mountaintop moments. In
45:15
Speaker 1: this case, he can do the impossible. Stop living as
45:21
Speaker 1: though you are a victim of the impossible. In the Lord,
45:27
Speaker 1: we are more than conquerors, and He has ways through
45:31
Speaker 1: and in spite of obstacles that are always worth pursuing.
45:37
Speaker 1: Here's the second lesson I learned. Never allow earthly obstacles
45:43
Speaker 1: to eclipse divine truth. There are principles in the book
45:50
Speaker 1: that you will find they are true, they are reliable.
45:58
Speaker 1: Never allow any earthly obstacle to eclipse what you read
46:05
Speaker 1: in His word. There's a little book I've read more
46:08
Speaker 1: than once titled The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday.
46:14
Speaker 1: In it, I find these helpful works. Not a Christian book,
46:18
Speaker 1: but it's a helpful book on dealing with obstacles. Listen
46:21
Speaker 1: to this. What is perception. It is how we see
46:27
Speaker 1: and understand what occurs around us and what we decide
46:33
Speaker 1: those events will mean. Our perceptions can be a source
46:38
Speaker 1: of strength or of great weakness. You will come across
46:44
Speaker 1: an obstacle in life, fair and unfair, obstacles in life
46:49
Speaker 1: that are fair and unfair, and you will discover time
46:52
Speaker 1: and time again that what matters most is not what
46:57
Speaker 1: those obstacles are, but how we see them and how
47:04
Speaker 1: we react to them, and whether we keep our conclosure.
47:10
Speaker 1: You will learn that this reaction determines how successful we
47:14
Speaker 1: will be an overcoming or possibly thriving because of them.
47:21
Speaker 1: I love the way he added that thriving sometime working
47:26
Speaker 1: through an obstacle like that, you thrive. My friend did
47:30
Speaker 1: after going up to Mayo's and learning that there was
47:34
Speaker 1: nothing on that second X ray. That was enough for him.
47:38
Speaker 1: He was a changed man. He did not allow any
47:42
Speaker 1: earthly obstacle to eclipse the divine truth of what God
47:47
Speaker 1: has shown me. Here's a third. Never think previous failures
47:54
Speaker 1: mean it cannot be done. We all look back on
48:01
Speaker 1: a series of things we've done wrong or areas where
48:05
Speaker 1: we have failed, which proves nothing except you remember history.
48:11
Speaker 1: I love Winston Churchill's quote success is moving from one
48:16
Speaker 1: failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. That's a
48:21
Speaker 1: grand statement. May seem a strange way to put it,
48:27
Speaker 1: but the secret of knowing how to keep from quitting
48:32
Speaker 1: is knowing where to point. It only takes the size
48:37
Speaker 1: of a mustard seed of faith to point in the
48:40
Speaker 1: right direction. All the disciples need to do for the
48:44
Speaker 1: Father is say he's the one. Let's take him to him.
48:49
Speaker 1: As soon as it did it was resolved. Came across
48:53
Speaker 1: an interesting piece of art in my study. In the
48:59
Speaker 1: Vatican Gallery hangs Raphael's last painting, which some think is
49:06
Speaker 1: his greatest. It is entitled The Transfiguration. The uppermost part
49:17
Speaker 1: pictures the transfigured form of Jesus, with Moses on the
49:23
Speaker 1: left and Elijah on his right. On the next level
49:29
Speaker 1: down are the three Disciples, Peter, James, and John, recently
49:36
Speaker 1: awakened and shielding their eyes from jesus blinding brilliance. Then
49:43
Speaker 1: on the ground as a poor, demon possessed boy, his
49:47
Speaker 1: mouth hideously gaping with wild ravings, and his side is
49:54
Speaker 1: his desperate father surrounding them or the rest of the disciple,
50:02
Speaker 1: some of whom are pointing upward to the glowing figure
50:10
Speaker 1: of Christ, who will be the boy's only answer. Raphael
50:19
Speaker 1: is correctly capturing something of overwhelming contrast between the glorious
50:27
Speaker 1: amount of Transfiguration and the troubled world below, filled with misery, heartache,
50:35
Speaker 1: demonic conflict, and human chaos. No, these mountaintop moments are
50:44
Speaker 1: not designed to change our place of residence. You don't
50:49
Speaker 1: need to move up to the side of a mountain.
50:51
Speaker 1: You don't need to move to some Christian conference grounds.
50:57
Speaker 1: You don't need to leave where you reside, but your
51:02
Speaker 1: thinking needs to change regarding that situation. If I may,
51:10
Speaker 1: in these closing moments, one of your own children who
51:16
Speaker 1: have become impossible for you to have any relationship with,
51:24
Speaker 1: and they've distanced themselves from you as well as from
51:27
Speaker 1: the Lord. You can work and work and work, You
51:33
Speaker 1: can try all kinds of things to fix that adult child.
51:39
Speaker 1: You need to point point leave that struggle with the
51:46
Speaker 1: only one who can fix any life, like I'm sure
51:52
Speaker 1: the prodigal son's father must have done time and time again.
51:57
Speaker 1: When the boy didn't return home didn't return home, that father,
52:03
Speaker 1: longing for the son but not running after him, kept
52:08
Speaker 1: in his mind pointing toward the one who could bring
52:12
Speaker 1: his son back. You know the good thing about that
52:17
Speaker 1: when the impossible becomes reality, that is, it becomes possible.
52:22
Speaker 1: God gets all the glory because the one that you
52:25
Speaker 1: pointed to is the one that made it happen. It
52:28
Speaker 1: may be a situation at work, It could be your marriage.
52:37
Speaker 1: It could be your relationship with a former friend that's
52:40
Speaker 1: broken down over time and now you're at odds with
52:45
Speaker 1: each other and you don't want it to be like that,
52:47
Speaker 1: but you can't seem to bridge what once was as
52:52
Speaker 1: opposed to what now is point, trust God to you
53:00
Speaker 1: with what you cannot handle, and may I add the
53:05
Speaker 1: last part, which is the hardest. Leave it with him.
53:12
Speaker 1: Leave it with him. I'll illustrate it on closed and
53:16
Speaker 1: then I'm through. Let's say this Bible represents the burden.
53:22
Speaker 1: We come to a place of worship and we're hanging
53:25
Speaker 1: on to our burden. We're coming hoping we'll find an answer.
53:29
Speaker 1: The burden is weighing us down. The more we listen
53:32
Speaker 1: to God's word, the clear it becomes. I need to
53:35
Speaker 1: release this burden. I need to leave it with the
53:39
Speaker 1: one who can handle it. So I leave it there,
53:44
Speaker 1: and we finished with our final prayer, and we get
53:46
Speaker 1: ready to leave. Pick up the burden, and we walk
53:50
Speaker 1: right out of the room with the burden. What are
53:52
Speaker 1: you doing picking it up? You couldn't handle it when
53:56
Speaker 1: you came in. That father can with a son he
54:01
Speaker 1: couldn't help, But he left with a boy that was
54:04
Speaker 1: healed because he was willing to trust. Think of it,
54:09
Speaker 1: against all odds. He would trust the Master, even though
54:14
Speaker 1: his own disciples couldn't help him. The secret is where
54:20
Speaker 1: you point. I'd like us to bow together and for
54:26
Speaker 1: a few moments just sit quietly before the Lord. Then
54:31
Speaker 1: we'll be on our way. Just sit comfortably right there.
54:39
Speaker 1: How much longer are you going to carry this weight,
54:44
Speaker 1: this obstacle? How much longer are you going to keep
54:47
Speaker 1: referring to it and calling it names and resenting it
54:54
Speaker 1: and resisting all possible change. Today's the day to come
55:01
Speaker 1: to terms with that truth be told. You may have
55:06
Speaker 1: come not even knowing the Savior. Talk about an obstacle
55:11
Speaker 1: for life. You don't even have someone to rescue you
55:17
Speaker 1: as the barnacles or tearing your skin attempting to take
55:24
Speaker 1: your life. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I
55:32
Speaker 1: don't have to follow you to your car and beg
55:35
Speaker 1: you to do that. Once I give you the information
55:38
Speaker 1: is between you and him. My hope is that you
55:43
Speaker 1: will never find a sense of rest and relief until
55:47
Speaker 1: you come to terms with the one who died that
55:50
Speaker 1: you might live. And if you're waiting until you understand
55:55
Speaker 1: all of it, you're trying to unscrew the inscrutable. You
55:59
Speaker 1: can't do that, the Lord says, whoever comes to me
56:05
Speaker 1: I will never cast out He who has the Son
56:09
Speaker 1: has the life. Whoever does not have the Son of
56:13
Speaker 1: God does not have the life. Are you sure you
56:17
Speaker 1: have the Son living within you? If you're not invite
56:24
Speaker 1: him in now? Simple prayer. Lord, I'm a long distance
56:31
Speaker 1: from you, never even been on speaking terms. But now
56:34
Speaker 1: today I come before you, and I trust you to
56:40
Speaker 1: save my soul. Thank you for Christ who died and
56:47
Speaker 1: paid the price for my sins. My faith has now
56:54
Speaker 1: found a resting place, and I rest in you, your Father.
57:03
Speaker 1: Thank you for coming into my life. Thank you, Father
57:08
Speaker 1: for the truth that you were able and we are not.
57:16
Speaker 1: Help us to find peace in that and relief, so
57:20
Speaker 1: that we might relax and leave it with you. We
57:24
Speaker 1: point to your son, whom we love and adore, to
57:29
Speaker 1: handle whatever need has been brought before you this day.
57:33
Speaker 1: In his name we pray and for his glory. Everyone
57:38
Speaker 1: said amen.
57:43
Speaker 2: The preceding message, Micro Faith and Mountainous Obstacles was copyrighted
57:48
Speaker 2: in twenty seventeen and twenty twenty one, and the sound
57:52
Speaker 2: recording was copyrighted in twenty twenty one by Charles R.
57:55
Speaker 2: Swindall Ink. All rights are reserved worldwide. Pication of copyrighted
58:01
Speaker 2: material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.