Latest / Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive / November 8, 2022 | Expresso - Debbie Whelan

Transcript

November 8, 2022 | Expresso - Debbie Whelan · Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, uh, there's a lot I want to share tonight, so um, in the interest of time, I'm going to primarily read what I have prepared, and hopefully in a manner that won't be too dry and too boring.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: I always believed in God at an early age, and I knew that he was important, but not much more beyond that.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: My limited concept of God was one of a wise, white-haired, grandfatherly type person sitting on a throne somewhere in heaven.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever I was in an airplane and looked out the window, I always expected to see God sitting on his throne on one of those big white puffy clouds.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: My first real sense of God's presence when I was about 12 and I was dusting in our living room.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I was dusting at coffee table, and I just sensed that God was looking down and watching me.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: And um it felt very personal, and I just remembered wanting to make that table shine so that he would be pleased with what I had done.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that memory takes me to Colossians 3.23.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: I considered my upbringing to be Christian, attending church regularly as well as youth group activities and church camps throughout the years.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: I went through a confirmation type class in sixth grade and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, was baptized, but yet really not understanding who Jesus was or the significance of the cross.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: In my limited understanding, Jesus was crucified because the Jews didn't like him.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: End of story.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Four days shy, my 32nd birthday, I married a wonderful man, a man of integrity, strong character, good and solid values and principles.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: He loved and accepted me for who I was, shortcomings and all, and made me want to be a better person.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: His strengths were my weaknesses, and his love for me covered a multitude of sins.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: I know that he was by no means perfect, but whatever shortcomings he had, they were totally overshadowed by my love of his good qualities.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: After two years of marriage, we were blessed with our first son, Jeff, and a little over four years later, our second son Todd.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: After attending church most of his life as well, Ward was very much in the same place spiritually that I was.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Lost.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Neither one of us knew that we weren't where we needed to be, where we should be, and what we were missing.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that there was more, so much more.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: We were 20 years into our marriage before we became believers solely by God's grace through the TBC community who led us to life in Christ.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Before we started attending TBC around 2001, I don't recall anyone in any of the church that I had attended mentioning or talking about the word sin, rapture, or Jesus' second coming, and certainly nothing that referred to having a relationship with God.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: How is that going to work?
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: There was definitely a disconnect and lack of understanding as to who Jesus and the Holy Spirit were and where they fit into the picture.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's accurate to say that I was never exposed to any solid biblical teaching or had any discussions with anyone about faith or spiritual matters.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: So the Bible didn't have much relevance except hearing scripture read during a Sunday church service, and which might or might not be loosely connected to whatever was being preached about that day.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: So in that context, I found it to be rather dry and boring.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: I recall a good friend of mine inviting me to several times to BSF Bible Study Fellowship years ago when my boys were in grade school.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: I politely declined, all the while thinking, why would I want to do that?
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: That would be boring.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Sadly, for 60% of my life I was in a spiritual vacuum and had no clue what I didn't know and that I wasn't where I needed to be.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't grasp that there was more, so much more.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: I knew there was a heaven and a hell, and that I would be going to heaven because I was a good person.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: I did not outwardly reject God or Jesus.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: I just missed a lot of the road signs and a lot of the important pieces to the puzzle that brought Jesus and his gift of salvation to life.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: I can truly say that my faith journey began after we started attending TBC.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: I remember thinking after we had attended for several Sundays that I want what they have.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know what that was, but I knew it was something special.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Then on another occasion while we were leaving church, I remarked to Ward that I felt like my soul was being nourished.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought, oh my gosh, where did that come from?
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that was just it was that was just odd.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: We both had never grown up in families that talked about the Bible or anything of a spiritual nature.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: One of the special things about my growth as a new believer was that Ward and I were pretty much on the same page, same place in our spiritual journeys.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: We shared what we were learning and talked about the struggles or challenges we might have understanding all the biblical concepts and new information that we were learning.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Although we had 20 years experiencing the bonds of marriage after that point in time, this was a very special bond to be growing spiritually together.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: The first year that I attended a woman's Bible study at TBC, the theme for that year was Come as You Are.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: That really spoke to my heart and gave me a level of comfort with where I was in my spiritual journey, which was pretty much starting at ground zero.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: It was through Bible study coupled with what was being taught on Sunday mornings that I began discovering the amazing thread of the gospel message of salvation that runs throughout the Bible.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot tell you exactly when I trusted Christ as my Savior, but that in my spiritual immaturity, I thought I would have a Paul experience and feel different immediately.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that didn't happen.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Around that time, I often listened to a program on the radio as I went to work, and the gospel message was presented at the each at the end of each program.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: So each day I would repeat the prayer at the end of the program with the expectation that I would feel different.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: I was discouraged, and finally one night I was laying in bed and I prayed.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Said, Jesus, I don't know if you're in my heart or not.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: But I need to know that you're there.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Please let me know.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: And immediately my heart began to race, giving me the reassurance that he was in fact there.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think that was probably one of the most foundational moments of my faith journey.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: And um, yeah.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, um, roughly two years after coming to TBC, um was diagnosed diagnosed with kidney cancer, for which there was no cure.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Several weeks after that diagnosis, he received a second one of an unrelated lung cancer.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: His right kidney was removed in August of 2003.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, thank you.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: And um, the lower low of his left lung six weeks later at Anne B.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Anderson in Houston.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: During his lung surgery, a carcinoid tumor was detected growing into one of his bronchial airways.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: That was his third primary cancer discovered within two months.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: I remember I remember joking with him and teasing him and saying that he needed to find another hobby besides collecting different types of cancer.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: For three years there was no evidence of cancer, then it popped up again in 2006.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: The only treatments at that time were those to limit the growth of the tumor and to keep it at bay for as long as possible, hopefully till a better treatment came along, maybe even a cure.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: In 2011, his treatment options ran out and he passed away in August of that year.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Even though I had lost my parents, nothing could have prepared me for the grief of losing my husband.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: I was forced to face my greatest fear, and that was living life without him.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: I knew it would be ugly, but I also knew that God would get me through it.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: And after all, I was not the first person to have traveled this road.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: There have been many before me who had experienced this dark tunnel, and they came out on the other side.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: And God did, in fact, carry me through it and shielded me all along the way.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: So, what I've just shared is just the backstory of the real story, God's story in my life.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: After all, it's about Him, not me.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: From here, I want to focus on a few of His attributes that have been evident in my life, both as an unbeliever and as a believer.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Specifically, his faithfulness, patience, love, mercy, goodness, grace, and I could go on.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: As I look back, I know he was an integral part of my life as an unbeliever, which is a testament to his patience and faithfulness.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: I believe he knew my heart from a young age and walked with me through my time of unbelief, gently guiding, shielding, and protecting me in his mercy and grace from what could have been significant consequences of my many ungodly and unwise choices.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: I can see where the Holy Spirit was convicting me that many of the choices I was making were wrong, but in my world of unbelief, it was only my conscience, that I was hearing nothing else.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot explain or I cannot understand or explain why it took most of my life for God to open my eyes and my heart to the truth of the gospel and to Christ.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: But I am so grateful that he drew me to himself.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: All my life he has been faithfully present and he continues to manifest that faithfulness in wonderful ways.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Philippians 1.6.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Being confident in this, he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Music often speaks to us in special ways, so I've included some lyrics here and there that express much of what I feel about God's work in my life.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Before I took a breath, you breathed your life into me.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Before I spoke a word, you were singing over me.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: When I was your foe, still your love fought for me.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: When I felt no worth, you paid it all for me.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: There is no shadow you won't light up, mountain you won't climb up.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Coming after me.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: There's no wall you won't kick down, lie you won't tear down, coming after me.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: He is able, he is willing, and he is faithful.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I know he will not abandon the work that he has begun in me and in the lives of those that I hold close in my heart in prayers.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Isaiah 30, 21.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, This is the way, walk in it.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: In his goodness and amazing grace, God brought us to TBC just prior to Ward's cancer diagnosis.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: We were surrounded by a loving Christian community, which made Ward's cancer journey and home going and my adjustment to plan B much more bearable.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: God used the difficulties and trials in my life to test and grow my faith and trust.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: Each difficulty has been an opportunity to see God work.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: Romans 8.28.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: You might think this is odd, but most of my examples of God's goodness revolve around the loss of my husband.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: My mother died two and a half months before I was married, just two days before Mother's Day.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: And my youngest son Todd lost his dad just four months before he was married.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: As his wedding approached, I remember him mentioning that he didn't think he would be able to be happy on his wedding day without his dad being there.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: From my experience with the loss of my mother, I was able to reassure him that although he would miss his dad terribly, it would not diminish the joy he would experience on the day of his wedding.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: It was only through God's grace and goodness that I was supposed to be able to offer him encouragement and strength in the weeks and days before the special time in his life.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't understand how a loving God would allow their dad to be taken from them.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: They each sought answers.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: Over time, one grew stronger in his faith by trusting God.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: And one began what I believe was the beginning of his spiritual journey as God drew him near through his grief.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: Psalm 147, 3.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: He heals the brokenhearted and pines up their wounds.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: After Ward's death has a special date approached, whether it was our anniversary, his birthday, Father's Day, or a holiday, the anticipation of that special day seemed to be more difficult the week before than the actual date itself.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: About three years after his passing, our anniversary was approaching.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: And as usual, it was on my mind daily.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: In previous years, it was always the first thing on my mind when I woke up in the morning.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: This particular year it was not, even though it had been on my mind every day the week prior.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't until I was doing my reading for the chronological Bible study that I realized that it was July 18th, our anniversary.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: I was quite unsettled and disturbed that it had not been the first thing on my mind when I woke up that morning.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: In the only way that God could, he spoke reassurance to my heart and showed me where my focus should now be, and that was on him.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is the scripture I read that morning on our anniversary.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Isaiah 54, 45.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: For your maker is your husband, the Lord Almighty is his name.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: The Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: He is called the God of all the earth.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: I remain confident in this.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: I always had a great relationship with our sons.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: But as they grew older, their connection and bond with their dad grew due to common interests and activities that they did together.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: I can honestly say that I have come to know my oldest son in a very special way.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I've developed a relationship with him in ways I never would have if his dad were still alive.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Please, please don't misunderstand me.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying that I would choose to have this special relationship with my son instead of having his dad here.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: But the reality is that he isn't.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I continue to grieve for their loss of time with their dad.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: For me, the closeness and opportunity to know my son in such a special way has been one of the blessings that has come in spite of our immeasurable sorrow from God calling Ward home.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking of home, the night before Ward passed away, he was talking with his sister in Denver on the phone.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: And he said to her, I'm trying to find my way home.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: I need to find my way home.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: As I reflect back over that, it is a reminder of God's goodness in allowing me to hear that conversation and know that Ward was ready to meet Jesus and move on into his eternal home.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: John 14, 2, 3.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: My father's house has many rooms.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: If that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to you with me, that you also may be where I am.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: From the ashes of our sorrows, the beauty of his goodness is brought forth.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: All my days I've been held in your hands, and all my life you have been faithful.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: You have led me through the fire in the darkest night.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: You are close like no other.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Your goodness is running after me.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's running after me.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: What more can one say about God's love and mercy than what his word says?
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: John 3.16.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: Romans 5.8.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: While we were sinners, Christ died for us.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: In God's unconditional love and abundant mercy, he drew me to himself and welcomed me just as I was.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: He knew my mistakes and sins, and he worked them into his plan to mold and bless me.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: Sin is still present, and my sins are many, but his mercy is greater.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: God loves each of us too much to leave us where we are.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: Lamentations 3.22.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: They are new every morning.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Great is your faithfulness.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: Isaiah 43, 1-2.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: Fear not, for I have redeemed you.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: I have summoned you by name.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: You are mine.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: The flames will not set you ablaze.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 1921.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: On our first visit to MD Anderson, there was a sign when you walk in the main entrance that read, The Unplanned Journey.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: Then I saw another one in the gift shop that said, Life is all about how you handle plan B.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: Many of us find ourselves on an unplanned journey in life, one that takes us off of our plan A.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Could be the loss of a loved one, a divorce, a job loss, an unexpected move, a challenging health issue.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: This new plan B is full of questions and uncertainties about what lies before us.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: Then our focus becomes all about how do we handle God's plan B?
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: Are we frozen in fear or shackled by all of the what ifs?
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: I had countless what ifs when Ward received his cancer diagnosis on our anniversary.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: My first thought was.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Is this our last anniversary together?
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: What if he's not here in six months?
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it went on and on.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: The anchor verse that I found when searching through the Bible that carried me through the uncertainties of his cancer journey and then his passing was Philippians 4, 6, and 7.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: Present your request to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: As God's child, there is a great peace in giving all of the unknowns about our plan B's into his hands and trusting his wisdom and power to manage our lives, even when there's so much we don't understand and so many unanswered questions.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 3:5.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: He accomplishes what we could never imagine through circumstances we struggle to understand.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: We are truly blessed if we trust God when we don't understand.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: We see just a slice of what God sees completely.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: We cannot see what loss, sorrow, and our trials are accomplishing.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: We need only to trust because He is faithful and trustworthy to accomplish what He has planned for each of us.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Trials present us with a choice to trust God or not.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: God's past faithfulness prepares us to trust him with our present and our future needs.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: Tennessee in the August of 2011, same month that his dad had one foot in heaven and one foot still here on earth.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: In my finite wisdom and practical perspective, I remember praying that if God wasn't going to heal Ward this side of heaven, to take him before Todd headed to Tennessee so that he wouldn't have to travel there and then at some point in a couple weeks come back.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: Made perfect and practical sense to me.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: But God in his infinite wisdom had a much better plan and allowed Todd to head off to Tennessee, only to return several weeks later, after his dad passed away.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe a year or so later we were talking, and I remember commenting that I was sorry that he had to go all the way to Knoxville and then come back for his dad's service.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, oh no, no.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: He said it worked out so much better that he was able to go when he did, because he was able to start his classes, meet his professors and his fellow graduate teaching assistants, and he was able to establish relationships with them.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: Then when Ward passed, Todd was supported by his professors, his classmates, and his teaching peers, who had had the opportunity to truly get to know him.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: How much better was God's plan?
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: How terrible it would have been for Todd to have lost his dad, then leave for grad school, only to arrive grieving and meeting for the first time his professors and fellow graduate students.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: My plan was practical.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: But God, in his mercy, was loving and gracious.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: His plan is always better, even though we can't see it at the time.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: 2 Peter 3:9.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: God is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness, instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: I am continually amazed and humbled by God's unending patience with me.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: As I walked in unbelief through the majority of my life, how did I miss his message?
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: Was it not taught?
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: Was I not listening?
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: Was it not yet God's timing?
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: Was he waiting on me until I was ready?
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: He continues to extend his loving patience as I slowly grow spiritually, while his spirit transforms me through his grace.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: God's patience is what gives time for his grace to do its work.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: For years as an unbeliever, I was settled comfortably on the throne of my heart.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: When I married, my husband took that place.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: I very welcomely gave it to him, and he was well entrenched there for 20 plus years.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: Even though, after becoming a believer, I had learned that the throne of my heart was Christ's rightful place.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: When Ward passed, I just reseated myself back on that throne.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: God had been extremely patient with me as I yield the throne to Christ, only to attempt to reclaim it.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: I know I cannot be the center of my world and have him as a center of mine.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: Daily I have to die to myself in order to fully live for him and receive the life he has planned for me.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: In his patience, he repeatedly rescues me from myself.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: God has sprinkled blessings all along the road of my life.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: Every detail of my life has been touched by his presence.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: When I stop, look back and take time to recognize him, I see his fingerprints everywhere.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so thankful for God's unending patience with me, his loving mercy and abundant grace, as he walked with me all of my life, even though I barely acknowledged him, and was totally ignorant of who he truly is or that he is the purpose of my existence.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: Although he allowed me to stumble through the first 50 years of my life, I know he is watching over me.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: I know he was watching over me and guiding me to where I am today.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: I have a profound and overwhelming sense of gratitude for all that God has done and continues to do in my life and in the lives of my loved ones.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: He has blessed me with an amazing family, wonderful friends, and a loving church community at TBC.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: In closing, I would like to share an excerpt from a devotional by Paul David Tripp.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: God meets us where we are.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: He draws near to us when we are separated.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: He meets us in our doubt.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: He pursues us when we wander.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: He comes to us with conviction and forgiveness when we sin.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: He empowers us when we are weak.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: He restores us when we are unfaithful.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: He does not deny us when we deny him.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: He does not wait for us to come to him.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: He comes to us.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: It is the way of grace.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you all very much.