Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller is a weekly program that helps people live meaningful lives.
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Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller | Get Your Garden On | June 12, 2022
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- male announcer: The following program is made possible in part
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- by the ministry partners of the "Hour of Power"
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- and viewers like you.
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪ Joyful, joyful, we adore you ♪
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- ♪ God of glory, Lord of love ♪
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- ♪ Hearts unfold like flow'rs before you ♪
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- ♪ op'ning to the sun above ♪
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- ♪ Melt the clouds of sin and sadness ♪
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- ♪ drive the dark of doubt away ♪
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- ♪ Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day ♪
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- ♪ Amen, Amen ♪
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- ♪ Amen! ♪
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- Bobby Schuller: This is the day the Lord has made.
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- We will rejoice and be glad in it.
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- Good morning.
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- Hannah Schuller: Hello, visitors and church family.
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- It feels great to be with you.
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- Did you know the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead
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- is in you right now?
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- That's real.
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- Wow, you are so loved.
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- Bobby: We're so glad to be worshiping with you
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- this morning.
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- Let's begin with a word of prayer.
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- Father, we come to you in the strong name of Jesus.
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- There's so many challenges that we're facing in our country.
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- We pray, Father, for your Holy Spirit to bring a sense of peace
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- and change.
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- Lord, we love you, and we look to you as always.
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- We pray, Father, that today you'd help us to be more and
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- more like you.
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- Help us never to fall into despair, but fill our hearts
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- with the hope that is founded in your word.
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- Help us to love our neighbor and love you with all our heart, and
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- we ask this in the strong name of Jesus, amen.
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- Hannah: Amen.
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- Haven Schuller: Turn to the person next to you and say
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- God loves you and so do I.
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪ Who can bend my burdens and make them beautiful? ♪
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- ♪ Who can bring the healing to the hurt I hold? ♪
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- ♪ Who else could part the waters ♪
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- ♪ when I'm needing a way? ♪
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- ♪ Though I'm walking through the valley ♪
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- ♪ I'll believe when you say, I'll believe when you say ♪
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- ♪ For the good, for the good ♪
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- ♪ you work all things together ♪
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- ♪ For the good, for the good ♪
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- ♪ your promise stands forever ♪
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- ♪ You alone are my greatest hope ♪
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- ♪ I'll trust you on the broken road ♪
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- ♪ You work all things together like only you could ♪
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- ♪ for the good ♪
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- ♪ Lord, your ways are higher ♪
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- ♪ You know your plans for me ♪
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- ♪ You give purpose and a future ♪
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- ♪ even when I can't see ♪
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- ♪ So, I will pray through every heartache ♪
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- ♪ I will cling to this faith ♪
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- ♪ Though I'm walking through the valley ♪
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- ♪ I'll believe when you say, I'll believe when you say ♪
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- ♪ For the good, for the good ♪
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- ♪ you work all things together ♪
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- ♪ For the good, for the good ♪
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- ♪ your promise stands forever ♪
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- ♪ You alone are my greatest hope ♪
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- ♪ and I'll trust you on the broken road ♪
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- ♪ You work all things together like only you could ♪
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- ♪ for the good ♪
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- ♪ Of those who love you, for the good ♪
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- ♪ I know you're working, I know you're working ♪
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- ♪ I believe, I believe ♪
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- ♪ Good things are coming, good things are coming ♪
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- ♪ I believe ♪
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- ♪ For the good, for the good ♪
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- ♪ you work all things together ♪
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- ♪ For the good, for the good ♪
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- ♪ your promise stands forever ♪
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- ♪ And you alone are my greatest hope ♪
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- ♪ I'll trust you on the broken road ♪
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- ♪ You work all things together like only you could ♪
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- ♪ for the good ♪
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- ♪ Of those who love you, for the good ♪
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- ♪ I know you're working, I know you're working ♪
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- ♪ I believe, I believe ♪
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- ♪ Good things are coming, good things are coming ♪
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- ♪ I believe, I believe ♪
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- ♪ I know you're working, I know you're working ♪
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- ♪ I believe, I believe ♪
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- ♪ Good things are coming, good things are coming ♪
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- ♪ I believe, I believe ♪♪
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- [congregation applauding]
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- Hannah: In preparation for the message, Revelation 22, 1-7
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- and 17.
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- "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as
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- clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the
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- Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.
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- On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing 12
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- crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.
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- And the leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations.
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- No longer will there be any curse.
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- The throne of God and the Lamb of God will be in the city, and
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- his servants will serve him.
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- They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
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- There will be no more night.
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- They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun,
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- for the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign
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- forever and ever.
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- The angel said to me, 'These words are trustworthy and true.
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- The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to
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- show his servants the things that must take place.'
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- 'Look, I am coming soon.
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- Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in
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- the scroll.'
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- The spirit and the bride say, 'Come,' and let the one who
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- hears say, 'Come,' and let the one who is thirsty come.
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- And let the one who wishes to take the free gift
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- of the water of life," amen.
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪ Wandering into the night ♪
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- ♪ wanting a place to hide this weary soul ♪
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- ♪ this bag of bones ♪
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- ♪ And I tried with all my might ♪
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- ♪ and I just can't win the fight ♪
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- ♪ I'm slowly drifting ♪
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- ♪ Oh, a vagabond ♪
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- ♪ And just when I ran out of road ♪
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- ♪ I met a man I didn't know ♪
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- ♪ and he told me that I was not alone ♪
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- ♪ He picked me up and turned me around ♪
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- ♪ and he placed my feet on solid ground ♪
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- ♪ I thank the Master, I thank the Savior ♪
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- ♪ Because he healed my heart ♪
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- ♪ he changed my name, forever free ♪
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- ♪ I'm not the same ♪
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- ♪ I thank the Master, I thank the Savior ♪
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- ♪ I thank God ♪
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- ♪ Hey, oh-oh ♪
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- ♪ I cannot deny what I see ♪
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- ♪ I got no choice but to believe ♪
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- ♪ My doubts are burning like ashes in the wind ♪
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- ♪ So, so long to my old friends, burden and bitterness ♪
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- ♪ You can just keep it moving, nah, you ain't welcome here ♪
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- ♪ From now 'til I walk those streets of gold ♪
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- ♪ I'll sing of how you saved my soul ♪
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- ♪ This wayward son has found his way back home ♪
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- ♪ He picked me up and turned me around ♪
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- ♪ he placed my feet on solid ground ♪
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- ♪ I thank the Master, I thank the Savior ♪
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- ♪ Because he healed my heart and changed my name ♪
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- ♪ Forever free, I'm not the same ♪
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- ♪ I thank the Master, I thank the Savior ♪
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- ♪ I thank God ♪
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- ♪ Hey, yeah ♪
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- ♪ I have a new name ♪
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- ♪ Hell lost another one, I am free ♪
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- ♪ I am free, I am free ♪
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- ♪ Hell lost another one, I am free ♪
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- ♪ Oh, I am free, I am free ♪
- 00:10:09.992 --> 00:10:13.062
- ♪ Yeah, hell lost another one, I am free ♪
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- ♪ I am free, I am free ♪
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- ♪ Yeah, he picked me up and turned me around ♪
- 00:10:20.503 --> 00:10:24.240
- ♪ and placed my feet on that solid ground ♪
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- ♪ I thank the Master, I thank the Savior ♪
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- ♪ Because ♪
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- ♪ He healed my heart, and he changed my name ♪
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- ♪ Forever free, oh, I'm not the same ♪
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- ♪ I thank the Master, I thank the Savior ♪
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- ♪ I thank God ♪
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- ♪ I thank God ♪
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- ♪ I thank God, yeah ♪♪
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- [congregation applauding]
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- Hannah: Hi, friends, we are so happy you've joined us
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- in worship today.
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- You are the beloved of God, and we are truly thankful
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- that you've chosen to be a part of this church family.
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- Bobby: Hannah and I want you to know
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- that the Lord invites people to build a foundation
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- by bringing love and compassion
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- into the 15 feet of space around them.
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- In fact, I've stated in past sermons that it's not your job
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- to love the world, it's the Lord's job.
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- Our job is to love our neighbors,
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- everyone who is near us, even our enemies.
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- Hannah: Matthew 22:37 says,
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- "Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
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- with all your soul, and with all your mind.
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- This is the first and greatest commandment.
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- And the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself."
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- Ask the Holy Spirit to bring someone into your mind,
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- and then go out of your way to intentionally love that person.
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- Allow Jesus to work in you to enable you to love them
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- just as they are, not as you want them to be.
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- Let Jesus shine his healing glory to others through you.
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- Bobby: This is precisely what happens when you uphold
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- the "Hour of Power" with your generosity.
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- As you're transformed by the love of Christ
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- and pay it forward to others through your giving,
- 00:12:20.389 --> 00:12:22.658
- your support heals and restores millions around the world.
- 00:12:22.658 --> 00:12:26.228
- You're an integral part in helping to enable others
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- to experience the very heart of God.
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- Hannah: Because we are so thankful
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- for your ongoing support,
- 00:12:34.003 --> 00:12:35.671
- our team has created a very special thank you offer
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- for you this month.
- 00:12:38.440 --> 00:12:40.476
- announcer: Call, write, or go online to request
- 00:12:40.476 --> 00:12:42.812
- the Love Grows Here garden flag.
- 00:12:42.812 --> 00:12:45.748
- For your gift of just $25 or more,
- 00:12:45.748 --> 00:12:48.384
- this charming garden flag and stake
- 00:12:48.384 --> 00:12:50.586
- will add a whimsical touch to your garden or planter,
- 00:12:50.586 --> 00:12:53.722
- accompanied by a sturdy decorative iron stake,
- 00:12:53.722 --> 00:12:56.759
- this garden flag is perfectly suited for any deck,
- 00:12:56.759 --> 00:12:59.862
- patio, or veranda,
- 00:12:59.862 --> 00:13:01.664
- and can be used indoors or outdoors.
- 00:13:01.664 --> 00:13:04.466
- Call, write, or go online and request
- 00:13:04.466 --> 00:13:06.769
- the Love Grows Here garden flag for your gift of $25 or more.
- 00:13:06.769 --> 00:13:12.741
- Bobby: The healing love of God opens hearts
- 00:13:12.741 --> 00:13:15.044
- to reach their full potential
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- and enables us to shine and grow in his glory.
- 00:13:17.246 --> 00:13:20.583
- This is the power of the gospel,
- 00:13:20.583 --> 00:13:22.852
- and it's why we need your help to continue
- 00:13:22.852 --> 00:13:25.287
- sending "Hour of Power" around the world.
- 00:13:25.287 --> 00:13:28.023
- Thank you so, so much for your love and support,
- 00:13:28.023 --> 00:13:30.893
- and remember as always, God loves you and so do we.
- 00:13:30.893 --> 00:13:34.663
- announcer: James Barnett is an author and the president of
- 00:13:36.265 --> 00:13:39.368
- DaySpring, a Christian company that sells products to make
- 00:13:39.368 --> 00:13:42.872
- Jesus known through social expression.
- 00:13:42.872 --> 00:13:45.708
- His new book is called "Blue Skies: How to Live in the
- 00:13:45.708 --> 00:13:48.978
- Extraordinary Expectation of What's Around the Corner."
- 00:13:48.978 --> 00:13:52.681
- His book takes a look at how his family's travels through
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- America's national parks gave him new perspective on success,
- 00:13:55.551 --> 00:14:00.256
- callings, and joy.
- 00:14:00.256 --> 00:14:02.558
- Please welcome James Barnett.
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- Bobby: James, hi, thank you so much for joining us
- 00:14:09.064 --> 00:14:11.267
- this morning.
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- For those who are not familiar, tell us a little bit about
- 00:14:12.935 --> 00:14:15.537
- your story.
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- James Barnett: Well, thank you for the invitation to be here,
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- Bobby, and just thrilled to be here and be a part of today.
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- But I'm the youngest of seven, I grew up in northwest Arkansas,
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- and you know, really was in a hurry to grow up.
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- And I was, you know, tryin' to hurry up and get ahead and get
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- my journey going, and went to school, and got married, got a
- 00:14:36.191 --> 00:14:39.795
- job, and been part of DaySpring here this last 40 years.
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- God has just done amazing things as we continue to do ministry
- 00:14:43.933 --> 00:14:48.170
- and business here.
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- Bobby: Great, and you have this book, we wanted to talk to you
- 00:14:49.538 --> 00:14:52.908
- about it, called "Blue Skies."
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- I'm really into the subject that you're bringing about.
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- You--it's not a super common topic in Christianity, but the
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- value of being outdoors.
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- I think of you as almost like a--was it Saint Francis of
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- Assisi that was always outside with the animals and things
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- like this.
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- You really have this push to encourage people to take
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- advantage of things like state parks.
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- Is that what your book's about?
- 00:15:18.701 --> 00:15:20.035
- Tell us a little bit about it.
- 00:15:20.035 --> 00:15:22.838
- James: Well, really, my book is really about the purpose of
- 00:15:22.838 --> 00:15:26.942
- really seeing God, you know, through everything we do.
- 00:15:26.942 --> 00:15:30.379
- You know, God is always working, he's always there, and we just
- 00:15:30.379 --> 00:15:33.916
- have to be paying attention.
- 00:15:33.916 --> 00:15:35.351
- And getting outdoors and seeing what God is doing gives us
- 00:15:35.351 --> 00:15:39.188
- that opportunity.
- 00:15:39.188 --> 00:15:40.522
- And when I was in my 30s, I began to take national park
- 00:15:40.522 --> 00:15:44.360
- trips with my family.
- 00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:45.728
- We went to over 44 national parks, and we would do the hikes
- 00:15:45.728 --> 00:15:49.365
- and see the places, and it was at that time, over that season,
- 00:15:49.365 --> 00:15:53.902
- that I began to look again to see God just through every
- 00:15:53.902 --> 00:15:57.506
- aspect of nature, and God is always doing something new, and
- 00:15:57.506 --> 00:16:01.510
- no national park is the same.
- 00:16:01.510 --> 00:16:03.645
- There are so many things that we can see that when we see God at
- 00:16:03.645 --> 00:16:07.716
- work, and that's really my book is really about, even though
- 00:16:07.716 --> 00:16:11.186
- that we have clouds and challenges in life, there's
- 00:16:11.186 --> 00:16:14.957
- always blue skies.
- 00:16:14.957 --> 00:16:16.291
- God is always at work, and we have to see and we have to be
- 00:16:16.291 --> 00:16:20.029
- looking for where he's working.
- 00:16:20.029 --> 00:16:22.264
- Bobby: These beautiful places really do something, and just
- 00:16:22.264 --> 00:16:25.334
- the the world, like, the universe at large when you
- 00:16:25.334 --> 00:16:28.170
- really look at it, especially outside of cities, it has a way
- 00:16:28.170 --> 00:16:32.474
- of witnessing to the Lord in a strange way.
- 00:16:32.474 --> 00:16:35.044
- Like, I--my brother had this good friend who is a diehard
- 00:16:35.044 --> 00:16:38.781
- atheist, and I'm sure he had heard all sorts of arguments for
- 00:16:38.781 --> 00:16:42.451
- God and everything, you know, and none of them, you know,
- 00:16:42.451 --> 00:16:46.188
- convinced him, and that's fine.
- 00:16:46.188 --> 00:16:47.890
- But then he went to my brother-- with my brother to Yosemite, and
- 00:16:47.890 --> 00:16:51.727
- then afterwards he said, "Maybe, maybe there is a God."
- 00:16:51.727 --> 00:16:54.897
- And it's funny how, like, just seeing it and believing and
- 00:16:54.897 --> 00:16:57.933
- something like that can soften someone's heart to get a little
- 00:16:57.933 --> 00:17:01.170
- bit bigger picture the universe.
- 00:17:01.170 --> 00:17:04.406
- James: Well, it really can, and that--and when you see--and by
- 00:17:04.406 --> 00:17:07.743
- the way, Yosemite is one of my favorite parks.
- 00:17:07.743 --> 00:17:09.912
- People ask me many times what's your favorite?
- 00:17:09.912 --> 00:17:11.947
- And I said, well, there's about five that are my favorites, but
- 00:17:11.947 --> 00:17:14.817
- Yosemite is right up there.
- 00:17:14.817 --> 00:17:16.318
- There's not a more beautiful view when you come through the
- 00:17:16.318 --> 00:17:18.687
- tunnel and you pull over to the left and you see the view
- 00:17:18.687 --> 00:17:22.624
- of Yosemite.
- 00:17:22.624 --> 00:17:24.893
- Bobby: Pause right there, I got to know, I gotta know what are
- 00:17:24.893 --> 00:17:26.895
- the five?
- 00:17:26.895 --> 00:17:28.263
- James: Okay, well, what are the five?
- 00:17:28.263 --> 00:17:29.998
- Well, you've gotta get Yellowstone in there.
- 00:17:29.998 --> 00:17:32.534
- The Tetons are there.
- 00:17:32.534 --> 00:17:34.736
- Glacier is there.
- 00:17:34.736 --> 00:17:36.839
- Mount Rainier, when you're at sea level and you're lookin' at
- 00:17:36.839 --> 00:17:39.575
- Mount Rainier, the 14.000 foot mountain from the ocean, it is
- 00:17:39.575 --> 00:17:42.878
- just amazing.
- 00:17:42.878 --> 00:17:44.246
- So, those would be right up there, and then I'd have to put
- 00:17:44.246 --> 00:17:46.115
- Zion in there also, and the hikes there at Angel's Landing
- 00:17:46.115 --> 00:17:52.421
- and the Narrows.
- 00:17:52.421 --> 00:17:53.789
- Those are just magnificent.
- 00:17:53.789 --> 00:17:55.624
- Bobby: That's great, I'm sure there's a lot of people that are
- 00:17:55.624 --> 00:17:57.259
- like, the Grand Canyon just entered the chat.
- 00:17:57.259 --> 00:18:00.762
- Anyway--James: Yes, the Grand Canyon, yeah, that's right it's
- 00:18:00.762 --> 00:18:03.265
- hard to find five.
- 00:18:03.265 --> 00:18:04.600
- Grand Canyon'd be there too.
- 00:18:04.600 --> 00:18:09.004
- Bobby: One of the things you talk about in your book is this
- 00:18:09.004 --> 00:18:12.307
- difference between being driven and called.
- 00:18:12.307 --> 00:18:15.844
- I really love this perspective.
- 00:18:15.844 --> 00:18:17.646
- Can you tell us a little bit about that?
- 00:18:17.646 --> 00:18:20.582
- James: Yes, as I mentioned, I'm the youngest of seven, and I was
- 00:18:20.582 --> 00:18:23.285
- in a hurry to grow up.
- 00:18:23.285 --> 00:18:24.620
- My dad was a pastor of small churches and a school teacher,
- 00:18:24.620 --> 00:18:28.357
- and I always, you know, had a heart for the Lord, but I was--
- 00:18:28.357 --> 00:18:31.994
- I love business, and I loved achievement, and I was
- 00:18:31.994 --> 00:18:35.464
- competitive, and so I was in a hurry to to not only grow up,
- 00:18:35.464 --> 00:18:39.001
- but to get married and have kids and get my job and get a house
- 00:18:39.001 --> 00:18:43.405
- and we get what we call the American Dream.
- 00:18:43.405 --> 00:18:45.674
- And you know, in the early 30s I'd achieved that, and I was
- 00:18:45.674 --> 00:18:48.911
- really searching.
- 00:18:48.911 --> 00:18:50.479
- Lord, is this it?
- 00:18:50.479 --> 00:18:51.813
- You know, and I was praying and asking the Lord, and I went to a
- 00:18:51.813 --> 00:18:55.317
- conference with about--a group of about 400 people, and the
- 00:18:55.317 --> 00:18:59.321
- theme of that conference was, are you driven or are
- 00:18:59.321 --> 00:19:02.224
- you called?
- 00:19:02.224 --> 00:19:04.126
- And, you know, I just did not really understand this calling
- 00:19:04.126 --> 00:19:07.095
- thing, and I was--I had to leave that conference and say I
- 00:19:07.095 --> 00:19:09.231
- was really driven, I was driven to achieve, and I didn't know
- 00:19:09.231 --> 00:19:12.501
- really why.
- 00:19:12.501 --> 00:19:13.869
- And I began to ask the Lord, what are you--what are you
- 00:19:13.869 --> 00:19:16.071
- saying, Lord?
- 00:19:16.071 --> 00:19:17.439
- And, you know, noticed most of my prayer life was really
- 00:19:17.439 --> 00:19:20.576
- about me.
- 00:19:20.576 --> 00:19:21.944
- I would say, God, could you help bless me?
- 00:19:21.944 --> 00:19:23.579
- Could you help do this for me?
- 00:19:23.579 --> 00:19:25.714
- And when he did, I would be excited, when he didn't, I would
- 00:19:25.714 --> 00:19:28.717
- be disappointed, and I would say, why, God, why?
- 00:19:28.717 --> 00:19:32.287
- But I discovered I was asking the wrong questions.
- 00:19:32.287 --> 00:19:35.157
- And the real question is, what?
- 00:19:35.157 --> 00:19:37.192
- What are you up to, God?
- 00:19:37.192 --> 00:19:39.261
- And the focus is on what he is about, and so I began to look at
- 00:19:39.261 --> 00:19:43.699
- this calling thing about, it's really--the calling is really
- 00:19:43.699 --> 00:19:47.436
- what is God doing and am I joining him?
- 00:19:47.436 --> 00:19:50.072
- And he's always working, and that call of God is we've got to
- 00:19:50.072 --> 00:19:54.276
- look again to see that call of God, to see it work.
- 00:19:54.276 --> 00:19:58.280
- You know, that scripture in Romans 8, "All things work
- 00:19:58.280 --> 00:20:02.117
- together for good to those that love God and are called
- 00:20:02.117 --> 00:20:06.488
- according to his purpose."
- 00:20:06.488 --> 00:20:07.856
- It's not my purpose, it's his purpose.
- 00:20:07.856 --> 00:20:09.791
- So, really understanding that in these national park trips as I
- 00:20:09.791 --> 00:20:13.528
- began to look again and see God at work and see God's beauty and
- 00:20:13.528 --> 00:20:17.699
- God's majesty, I began to look at life differently, and I
- 00:20:17.699 --> 00:20:20.669
- wanted to pass that on to this next generation.
- 00:20:20.669 --> 00:20:23.639
- How do we do that?
- 00:20:23.639 --> 00:20:25.007
- How do we look again and see God at work?
- 00:20:25.007 --> 00:20:26.675
- Even amongst the clouds, among the challenges that we face, God
- 00:20:26.675 --> 00:20:33.115
- is always working.
- 00:20:33.115 --> 00:20:34.483
- There's always blue skies, but we've gotta be looking for them.
- 00:20:34.483 --> 00:20:36.985
- Bobby: Well, if you are at home and you're looking for--if you
- 00:20:36.985 --> 00:20:39.988
- love the outdoors or maybe you just feel stuck in a job and you
- 00:20:39.988 --> 00:20:43.725
- need some encouragement to get out and see what God's created
- 00:20:43.725 --> 00:20:47.596
- and have your faith encouraged, I wanna encourage you to get
- 00:20:47.596 --> 00:20:49.698
- "Blue Skies: How to Live in Extraordinary Expectation of
- 00:20:49.698 --> 00:20:54.736
- What's Around the Corner" by James Barnett.
- 00:20:54.736 --> 00:20:57.606
- James, thank you so much.
- 00:20:57.606 --> 00:20:58.940
- We appreciate you, and thanks for writing this great book.
- 00:20:58.940 --> 00:21:02.311
- James: Thank you, thank you for having me.
- 00:21:02.311 --> 00:21:04.713
- [congregation applauding]
- 00:21:04.713 --> 00:21:06.748
- ♪♪♪
- 00:21:08.583 --> 00:26:09.184
- [congregation applauding]
- 00:26:12.787 --> 00:26:18.326
- Bobby: Hold your hands out like this as a way of receiving
- 00:26:18.326 --> 00:26:20.562
- from the Lord.
- 00:26:20.562 --> 00:26:22.163
- Let's say this together.
- 00:26:22.163 --> 00:26:24.599
- I'm not what I do.
- 00:26:24.599 --> 00:26:26.534
- I'm not what I have.
- 00:26:26.534 --> 00:26:28.803
- I'm not what people say about me.
- 00:26:28.803 --> 00:26:31.573
- I am the beloved of God.
- 00:26:31.573 --> 00:26:34.175
- It's who I am.
- 00:26:34.175 --> 00:26:36.044
- No one can take it from me.
- 00:26:36.044 --> 00:26:38.546
- I don't have to worry.
- 00:26:38.546 --> 00:26:40.815
- I don't have to hurry.
- 00:26:40.815 --> 00:26:42.851
- I can trust my friend Jesus and share his love with my neighbor.
- 00:26:42.851 --> 00:26:50.358
- I think about all the terrible things that are going on around
- 00:26:50.425 --> 00:26:54.763
- the world.
- 00:26:54.763 --> 00:26:56.097
- It's hard, isn't it?
- 00:26:56.097 --> 00:26:57.465
- Not just in our country.
- 00:26:57.465 --> 00:26:58.800
- Welcome to our visitors from Syria, of course, it's been a
- 00:26:58.800 --> 00:27:01.302
- very tough time in that country, tough time in Ukraine.
- 00:27:01.302 --> 00:27:06.441
- Europe is on edge, and challenges that so many
- 00:27:06.441 --> 00:27:10.578
- people face.
- 00:27:10.578 --> 00:27:12.013
- Let me just say that we thank the Lord that we know how the
- 00:27:12.013 --> 00:27:16.885
- story ends.
- 00:27:16.885 --> 00:27:19.154
- In a way, you read a book and there are these challenging
- 00:27:19.154 --> 00:27:23.558
- seasons you go through, and you think is there any resolution to
- 00:27:23.558 --> 00:27:27.796
- this thing?
- 00:27:27.796 --> 00:27:29.531
- And the good news is that the further along we get in the
- 00:27:29.531 --> 00:27:32.867
- story, even if it seems like it's getting worse, just like
- 00:27:32.867 --> 00:27:37.772
- when you read any novel, you can go to the last page and see that
- 00:27:37.772 --> 00:27:42.077
- Frodo dropped the ring in the fire or that--or whatever, I'm
- 00:27:42.077 --> 00:27:46.915
- not gonna do those, but you know what I mean.
- 00:27:46.915 --> 00:27:49.718
- And I want to begin with the end in my message today.
- 00:27:49.718 --> 00:27:55.523
- You know, the Bible is not a book.
- 00:27:55.523 --> 00:27:58.193
- Everybody say the Bible is not a book.
- 00:27:58.193 --> 00:28:01.763
- It's a library.
- 00:28:01.763 --> 00:28:04.265
- It's a library.
- 00:28:04.332 --> 00:28:05.667
- And each book gives us a different part
- 00:28:05.667 --> 00:28:07.902
- of the whole story.
- 00:28:07.902 --> 00:28:10.405
- The Bible begins and ends, though, with a theme, and the
- 00:28:10.405 --> 00:28:14.342
- theme is a garden.
- 00:28:14.342 --> 00:28:16.811
- You always think of it as being a warm place, a beautiful place,
- 00:28:16.811 --> 00:28:19.981
- and a perfect place.
- 00:28:19.981 --> 00:28:21.549
- Begins with a place of safety, deep connectedness, the symbol
- 00:28:21.549 --> 00:28:28.189
- of nakedness is living without shame, the way the little kids
- 00:28:28.189 --> 00:28:32.127
- loved to run around naked.
- 00:28:32.127 --> 00:28:33.495
- You know, they don't know, they don't care that there's this--
- 00:28:33.495 --> 00:28:35.930
- no shame, it's no fear of life, and it begins with that garden,
- 00:28:35.930 --> 00:28:40.668
- and then it ends with the garden.
- 00:28:40.668 --> 00:28:42.437
- And it begins with this tree, it ends with this tree, and this--
- 00:28:42.437 --> 00:28:45.440
- the tree of life that brings healing to the nations.
- 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:48.977
- So, we turn to the--I've got an award, not a real award, I got a
- 00:28:48.977 --> 00:28:51.980
- pretend award from our staff, 'cause in the 50 years of "Hour
- 00:28:51.980 --> 00:28:54.983
- of Power," I was the first preacher to ever preach
- 00:28:54.983 --> 00:28:57.285
- on Revelation.
- 00:28:57.285 --> 00:28:58.620
- So, now I try and do it once a year.
- 00:28:58.620 --> 00:29:00.388
- Well, my passage this week will be from the very last chapter of
- 00:29:00.388 --> 00:29:05.426
- the library of the Bible, the last book of the last chapter of
- 00:29:05.426 --> 00:29:10.498
- the last book of Revelation, and it paints a picture of a garden
- 00:29:10.498 --> 00:29:14.369
- and of living water and of a tree that gives healing to
- 00:29:14.369 --> 00:29:16.805
- the nations.
- 00:29:16.805 --> 00:29:19.207
- I'll read it to you.
- 00:29:19.207 --> 00:29:22.477
- "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as
- 00:29:22.477 --> 00:29:30.518
- clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the
- 00:29:30.585 --> 00:29:36.691
- Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.
- 00:29:36.691 --> 00:29:42.263
- On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing 12
- 00:29:42.263 --> 00:29:46.901
- crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.
- 00:29:46.901 --> 00:29:53.641
- And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
- 00:29:53.641 --> 00:29:59.614
- No longer will there be any curse.
- 00:29:59.614 --> 00:30:03.718
- The throne of God of the Lamb will be in the city and his
- 00:30:03.718 --> 00:30:08.656
- servants will serve him.
- 00:30:08.656 --> 00:30:11.392
- They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
- 00:30:11.392 --> 00:30:17.966
- There will be no more night.
- 00:30:17.966 --> 00:30:20.735
- There will not be need the light of the lamp or the light of the
- 00:30:20.735 --> 00:30:25.506
- sun, for the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign
- 00:30:25.506 --> 00:30:32.547
- forever and ever.
- 00:30:33.281 --> 00:30:35.783
- The angel said to me, 'These words are trustworthy and true.
- 00:30:35.783 --> 00:30:42.123
- The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to
- 00:30:42.123 --> 00:30:47.228
- show his servant the things that must soon take place.'
- 00:30:47.228 --> 00:30:52.333
- The spirit and the bride say, 'Come.'
- 00:30:52.333 --> 00:30:56.070
- And let the one who hears say, 'Come.'
- 00:30:56.070 --> 00:31:00.375
- Let the one who is thirsty come, and let the one who wishes take
- 00:31:00.375 --> 00:31:07.081
- the free gift of the water of life."
- 00:31:07.081 --> 00:31:12.887
- Reading that, it reminds me of reading "Lord of the Rings,"
- 00:31:12.887 --> 00:31:16.457
- which is something I do often.
- 00:31:16.457 --> 00:31:18.793
- I enjoy "Lord of the Rings" because, I don't know, it takes
- 00:31:18.793 --> 00:31:22.997
- me to another world, it helps me sleep at night, actually.
- 00:31:22.997 --> 00:31:25.266
- And it carries me to a better place somehow, and it helps me
- 00:31:25.266 --> 00:31:28.836
- think of life and sort of a grander, big vision, then it
- 00:31:28.836 --> 00:31:33.074
- reminds--this reminds me of reading that, somehow.
- 00:31:33.074 --> 00:31:35.109
- Like, it's hard to put a finger on it, but it gives my heart
- 00:31:35.109 --> 00:31:37.245
- hope and nourishment in some strange way.
- 00:31:37.245 --> 00:31:41.349
- Recently, or recently, a few days ago, Hannah and I returned
- 00:31:41.349 --> 00:31:44.919
- from a very short trip to Florida for a family reunion.
- 00:31:44.919 --> 00:31:49.457
- Every year her family throws this, and she has a big family.
- 00:31:49.457 --> 00:31:53.828
- Her parents have six children, five boys and one girl.
- 00:31:53.828 --> 00:31:59.200
- So, I got the only girl, I'm a lucky guy.
- 00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:02.036
- I always thought I would get married around 30, but then I
- 00:32:02.036 --> 00:32:04.706
- met Hannah, so I got married at 21.
- 00:32:04.706 --> 00:32:09.277
- And all those kids are married, and they all have kids, so this
- 00:32:09.277 --> 00:32:11.980
- is a big family reunion, and when I met Hannah, her father
- 00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:15.683
- wasn't wealthy, but since then he's become a pretty wealthy
- 00:32:15.683 --> 00:32:19.087
- man, which is lucky for me, because that means I get a free
- 00:32:19.087 --> 00:32:22.690
- vacation, you know, every summer, so that's cool.
- 00:32:22.690 --> 00:32:28.529
- And one of the things we do is we gather in this big room where
- 00:32:28.529 --> 00:32:33.067
- they're staying, where they rent this house, and every morning we
- 00:32:33.067 --> 00:32:35.937
- begin with a very long time of devotional sharing where
- 00:32:35.937 --> 00:32:39.807
- everybody sort of talks and shares, and we pray for one
- 00:32:39.807 --> 00:32:43.478
- another, and we--and everybody takes turns.
- 00:32:43.478 --> 00:32:47.015
- Well, the last day was Hannah's mom's turn, and she had this
- 00:32:47.015 --> 00:32:53.021
- great revelation.
- 00:32:53.021 --> 00:32:55.323
- First of all, picture it, you know?
- 00:32:55.323 --> 00:32:58.559
- A couple in their 60s that served God a lot of their life,
- 00:32:58.559 --> 00:33:01.696
- and they've been blessed financially, and they have their
- 00:33:01.696 --> 00:33:03.364
- family all around them, and they all love the Lord.
- 00:33:03.364 --> 00:33:06.267
- And all these kids and cinnamon rolls and coffee and all the
- 00:33:06.267 --> 00:33:10.104
- good stuff, you know?
- 00:33:10.104 --> 00:33:12.373
- And her mother, looking sort of at her posterity, you know, says
- 00:33:12.373 --> 00:33:19.414
- sort of this thing that she'd been waiting to share all week.
- 00:33:21.149 --> 00:33:23.484
- She was kind of excited, and it's a great revelation.
- 00:33:23.484 --> 00:33:26.687
- She said, "In life I've learned, you know, that sometimes as
- 00:33:26.687 --> 00:33:31.692
- Christians we eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and
- 00:33:31.692 --> 00:33:34.162
- evil, but other times we eat from the tree of life."
- 00:33:34.162 --> 00:33:39.500
- And she told everybody that was there, "Eat of the tree of life.
- 00:33:39.500 --> 00:33:44.672
- Eat of the Spirit of God.
- 00:33:44.672 --> 00:33:47.375
- Let the Spirit of God nourish your heart and your soul."
- 00:33:47.375 --> 00:33:52.046
- I knew instantly what she meant.
- 00:33:52.046 --> 00:33:54.882
- I went to seminary, and I loved it, and it was a good thing for
- 00:33:54.882 --> 00:33:57.485
- me, but sometimes they call seminary cemetery, because
- 00:33:57.485 --> 00:34:00.955
- there's a certain--it's easy to fall into the trap of over
- 00:34:00.955 --> 00:34:04.959
- intellectualization or philosophical debate where in
- 00:34:04.959 --> 00:34:10.465
- your mind you've got this thing for God, but you're not
- 00:34:10.465 --> 00:34:12.834
- nourished by the Spirit of God when you wake in the morning.
- 00:34:12.834 --> 00:34:17.071
- When you wake up, you look to the sky, you say, thank you,
- 00:34:17.071 --> 00:34:20.274
- Lord, for another breath, and another day, and for your
- 00:34:20.274 --> 00:34:22.410
- Holy Spirit.
- 00:34:22.410 --> 00:34:24.545
- And thank you for Christ crucified that I can come before
- 00:34:24.545 --> 00:34:27.148
- your throne boldly as a child of God, completely righteous and
- 00:34:27.148 --> 00:34:31.752
- justified before you, called and beloved, your own, and to be
- 00:34:31.752 --> 00:34:37.091
- nourished daily by the tree of life.
- 00:34:37.091 --> 00:34:39.060
- And she said, "There's a danger when you're nourished by the
- 00:34:39.060 --> 00:34:41.696
- tree of the knowledge of good and evil and not by the tree
- 00:34:41.696 --> 00:34:43.998
- of life."
- 00:34:43.998 --> 00:34:45.333
- And then she said something else that I don't think was planned,
- 00:34:45.333 --> 00:34:47.668
- but I thought was perfect.
- 00:34:47.668 --> 00:34:49.670
- Looking around at all of her kids and grandkids, she said,
- 00:34:49.670 --> 00:34:52.707
- "You know, the older I get, the younger I feel."
- 00:34:52.707 --> 00:34:57.378
- I know what she meant by that.
- 00:34:57.378 --> 00:34:59.413
- The older I get, the younger I feel.
- 00:34:59.413 --> 00:35:02.517
- You know, in the world here in Orange County, there's so
- 00:35:02.517 --> 00:35:05.086
- much wealth.
- 00:35:05.086 --> 00:35:06.821
- When I go to the gym, I see Lamborghinis and Ferraris and
- 00:35:06.821 --> 00:35:10.858
- Range Rovers.
- 00:35:10.858 --> 00:35:12.193
- There's nothing wrong with that, but everybody--
- 00:35:12.193 --> 00:35:14.595
- most of people in that gym don't say,
- 00:35:14.595 --> 00:35:16.063
- "The older I get, the younger I feel."
- 00:35:16.063 --> 00:35:18.599
- They say, "The older I get, the older I feel."
- 00:35:18.599 --> 00:35:22.937
- And there's something that the world offers right now, but over
- 00:35:22.937 --> 00:35:26.541
- time gives you diminished returns.
- 00:35:26.541 --> 00:35:29.577
- But when you're in the kingdom of God and you know the Lord and
- 00:35:29.577 --> 00:35:32.313
- he lives in your heart, your body may age like milk, but your
- 00:35:32.313 --> 00:35:37.752
- spirit ages like wine.
- 00:35:37.752 --> 00:35:40.888
- You get something sweeter on the inside of you the older you get,
- 00:35:40.888 --> 00:35:45.626
- and to be frank, you become more pleasant to be around, and you
- 00:35:45.626 --> 00:35:48.829
- even have more to offer a hurting world that is only
- 00:35:48.829 --> 00:35:52.600
- nourished by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and
- 00:35:52.600 --> 00:35:55.436
- not by the tree of life.
- 00:35:55.436 --> 00:35:57.972
- And so, she encouraged us, "Eat of the Spirit, be nourished by
- 00:35:57.972 --> 00:36:03.778
- the tree of life and by what the Spirit has to offer."
- 00:36:03.778 --> 00:36:07.882
- You know, if we're believers, the end is always
- 00:36:07.882 --> 00:36:09.784
- getting better.
- 00:36:09.784 --> 00:36:12.086
- In the kingdom, you know, everybody will face death,
- 00:36:12.086 --> 00:36:15.056
- whether it's today or 100 years from now, we'll all face the
- 00:36:15.056 --> 00:36:17.592
- same end, but for believers that ending in some ways is sad, but
- 00:36:17.592 --> 00:36:23.097
- it's also sweet.
- 00:36:23.097 --> 00:36:26.133
- Maybe you'll see your parents and grandparents again, that
- 00:36:26.133 --> 00:36:30.171
- you'll eat of the tree of life for real, that you'll--it'll be
- 00:36:30.171 --> 00:36:33.441
- more like waking up than falling asleep.
- 00:36:33.441 --> 00:36:37.979
- But the world doesn't offer that, and there's a sense in the
- 00:36:37.979 --> 00:36:43.584
- world's message to get it now, you only live once.
- 00:36:43.584 --> 00:36:48.155
- Don't get to your life--end of your life regretting that you
- 00:36:48.155 --> 00:36:51.325
- didn't sleep around a little more or make a little more money
- 00:36:51.325 --> 00:36:56.297
- or travel more or collect more seashells.
- 00:36:56.297 --> 00:37:03.337
- But I also think that there'll be another kind of regret even
- 00:37:04.672 --> 00:37:06.874
- for Christians that we get to the end and we say, woe to me
- 00:37:06.874 --> 00:37:09.777
- that I spent so much time focusing on those things.
- 00:37:09.777 --> 00:37:13.914
- Only thing we take with us to heaven is the choices we made.
- 00:37:13.914 --> 00:37:21.522
- My friend, begin with the end in mind today, and know that it's
- 00:37:21.589 --> 00:37:28.629
- never too late to finish well.
- 00:37:30.464 --> 00:37:37.271
- Anyone who wants to finish life well, I believe,
- 00:37:37.271 --> 00:37:41.509
- will live life well.
- 00:37:41.509 --> 00:37:44.011
- That's what I believe, and I think that's a Christian way to
- 00:37:44.011 --> 00:37:47.248
- view the world.
- 00:37:47.248 --> 00:37:48.749
- For many people, death is a scary thing, the end is a scary
- 00:37:48.749 --> 00:37:52.586
- thing, for you it doesn't need to be that way.
- 00:37:52.586 --> 00:37:54.722
- You build your life with the end in mind, and you'll go to the
- 00:37:54.722 --> 00:37:57.625
- grave singin' a song with the gospel in your heart and home
- 00:37:57.625 --> 00:38:03.064
- with the doors wide open for you.
- 00:38:03.064 --> 00:38:04.565
- So, begin with the end in mind.
- 00:38:04.565 --> 00:38:09.403
- It is so important, first of all, that as believers we
- 00:38:09.403 --> 00:38:13.107
- understand the power of delayed gratification.
- 00:38:13.107 --> 00:38:19.914
- You might remember this famous study in the 1970s done by
- 00:38:19.914 --> 00:38:23.084
- Stanford, you've probably heard it a million times, but it's a
- 00:38:23.084 --> 00:38:25.286
- powerful study.
- 00:38:25.286 --> 00:38:27.521
- It was on delayed discounting, which is a scientific way of
- 00:38:27.521 --> 00:38:30.491
- saying delayed gratification, and in this study they offer
- 00:38:30.491 --> 00:38:32.893
- children the opportunity to eat one marshmallow now, or--and
- 00:38:32.893 --> 00:38:38.099
- they would leave the room and come back 15 minutes later, you
- 00:38:38.099 --> 00:38:40.501
- can have two marshmallows later.
- 00:38:40.501 --> 00:38:44.405
- And some of the kids just ate the marshmallow right away, some
- 00:38:44.405 --> 00:38:46.941
- of the kids waited, and you see them on video all tortured, and
- 00:38:46.941 --> 00:38:51.078
- what they found out is that the kids that waited and ate two
- 00:38:51.078 --> 00:38:54.081
- marshmallows, they followed them, you know, for the next,
- 00:38:54.081 --> 00:38:56.917
- like, 30, 40 years, and they found that the kids who waited
- 00:38:56.917 --> 00:39:00.454
- to eat the two marshmallows did better in every aspect of life.
- 00:39:00.454 --> 00:39:07.495
- They did better financially in their careers, they did better
- 00:39:07.561 --> 00:39:10.865
- relationally, they had more friends, they were more
- 00:39:10.865 --> 00:39:13.734
- successful financially, in almost--and even measurements
- 00:39:13.734 --> 00:39:18.005
- which are subjective, but try and get data of who's happier,
- 00:39:18.005 --> 00:39:22.109
- overwhelmingly, delayed gratification was a huge
- 00:39:22.109 --> 00:39:27.415
- indicator and was the only indicator in this case of the
- 00:39:27.415 --> 00:39:31.519
- difference between the two.
- 00:39:31.519 --> 00:39:32.987
- And there have been multiple studies on the power of
- 00:39:32.987 --> 00:39:34.889
- delayed gratification.
- 00:39:34.889 --> 00:39:36.757
- In fact, there was just one income study that was done in
- 00:39:36.757 --> 00:39:40.327
- 2018 that they said they believed delayed gratification,
- 00:39:40.327 --> 00:39:44.765
- the ability to delay gratification was the number one
- 00:39:44.765 --> 00:39:47.034
- indicator of your income.
- 00:39:47.034 --> 00:39:50.171
- More than education or anything else.
- 00:39:50.171 --> 00:39:52.907
- So, it's interesting to see that there's this character trait
- 00:39:52.907 --> 00:39:57.678
- that I felt I was sort of taught when I was a kid, you know, this
- 00:39:57.678 --> 00:40:01.182
- idea that good things come to those who wait.
- 00:40:01.182 --> 00:40:05.486
- Haven and I do this rap every morning on her way to school to
- 00:40:05.486 --> 00:40:08.489
- get us ready, and someday I'll do it with her here, but it
- 00:40:08.489 --> 00:40:12.493
- goes, "We're gonna be," and then she goes, "Positive."
- 00:40:12.493 --> 00:40:16.096
- Then I say, "'Cause knowledge is," and she goes, "Power."
- 00:40:16.096 --> 00:40:19.600
- And I say, "Leaders are," she says, "Readers."
- 00:40:19.600 --> 00:40:23.337
- And I say, "If you can dream it," she goes, "You can do it."
- 00:40:23.337 --> 00:40:27.174
- I say, "If it's great," she goes, "It's worth the wait."
- 00:40:27.174 --> 00:40:30.444
- And then we both go, "Honor Jesus with your life,"
- 00:40:30.444 --> 00:40:33.447
- and then we play, like--it's-- anyway, it's a long story.
- 00:40:33.447 --> 00:40:36.550
- It's a cool thing we do.
- 00:40:36.550 --> 00:40:37.885
- You have to be there, you have to be there to experience it.
- 00:40:37.885 --> 00:40:40.855
- But I'm trying to train her that if it's great, it's worth
- 00:40:40.855 --> 00:40:43.457
- the wait.
- 00:40:43.457 --> 00:40:44.792
- But our world has become so desperate for meaning that we
- 00:40:44.792 --> 00:40:51.265
- just need something now to survive another day.
- 00:40:51.265 --> 00:40:56.537
- That is not what God has in store for you.
- 00:40:56.537 --> 00:41:03.911
- I do not know, for example, the effects of rampant pornography
- 00:41:03.978 --> 00:41:09.817
- and especially Tinder.
- 00:41:09.817 --> 00:41:13.153
- This is a little bit Bobby getting pious now, but I feel
- 00:41:13.153 --> 00:41:18.292
- like in 20 years therapists are gonna say that this is the one
- 00:41:18.292 --> 00:41:21.996
- most destructive things that ever happened.
- 00:41:21.996 --> 00:41:24.965
- If you don't know, Tinder is like--just, you go on a phone
- 00:41:24.965 --> 00:41:27.401
- and you find someone to have sex with.
- 00:41:27.401 --> 00:41:31.939
- I also find that in our culture today, we just love billionaires
- 00:41:31.939 --> 00:41:38.078
- so much.
- 00:41:38.078 --> 00:41:39.947
- Like, the--seems like very often we're always talking about
- 00:41:39.947 --> 00:41:44.151
- billionaires, and we secretly wanna be billionaires, but we
- 00:41:44.151 --> 00:41:47.922
- resent them because we're not billionaires, but lessons we can
- 00:41:47.922 --> 00:41:51.125
- learn from billionaires to become billionaires.
- 00:41:51.125 --> 00:41:54.495
- You probably can name everybody on this picture, or most
- 00:41:54.495 --> 00:41:58.399
- of them.
- 00:41:58.399 --> 00:41:59.767
- Including Lex Luther in the middle there.
- 00:41:59.767 --> 00:42:03.437
- And then we have this sense of the ideal would be non-work.
- 00:42:03.437 --> 00:42:08.809
- You know, there's nothing wrong with billionaires, obviously,
- 00:42:08.809 --> 00:42:11.545
- I'm sure they've done some good things, et cetera, but this
- 00:42:11.545 --> 00:42:14.682
- feeling of, like, if I could just have fun all the time and
- 00:42:14.682 --> 00:42:18.819
- never work and, like, do all this stuff, and then there's
- 00:42:18.819 --> 00:42:22.456
- this fast, hurried sense that many of us have.
- 00:42:22.456 --> 00:42:28.162
- We're all kinda like Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka, you remember
- 00:42:28.162 --> 00:42:31.098
- Veruca Salt?
- 00:42:31.098 --> 00:42:32.499
- ♪ I want the world ♪
- 00:42:32.499 --> 00:42:34.635
- ♪ I want the whole world ♪
- 00:42:34.635 --> 00:42:36.704
- ♪ I want to lock it right up in my pockets ♪
- 00:42:36.704 --> 00:42:39.540
- ♪ It's my bar of chocolate ♪
- 00:42:39.540 --> 00:42:41.508
- ♪ Give it to me now ♪
- 00:42:41.508 --> 00:42:43.377
- ♪ I want today I want tomorrow ♪
- 00:42:43.377 --> 00:42:47.081
- I'm waiting to see how many people are like, dude, stop,
- 00:42:47.081 --> 00:42:49.183
- you're losing us.
- 00:42:49.183 --> 00:42:50.517
- ♪ I want--♪
- 00:42:50.517 --> 00:42:52.586
- [congregation applauding]
- 00:42:52.586 --> 00:42:54.321
- It's funny, but there is this nowness, I want it now,
- 00:42:54.321 --> 00:42:59.026
- I want everything now all at the same time right now.
- 00:42:59.026 --> 00:43:04.298
- Can we just say that's killing us?
- 00:43:04.298 --> 00:43:07.568
- Can we just say that's crushing our soul and our spirit?
- 00:43:07.568 --> 00:43:12.873
- That there is something relieving and fun and awesome
- 00:43:12.873 --> 00:43:17.745
- sometimes about getting it now,
- 00:43:17.745 --> 00:43:19.546
- but can I just tell you what we all know?
- 00:43:19.546 --> 00:43:21.448
- You get diminished returns on that.
- 00:43:21.448 --> 00:43:24.451
- And it's a little less cool the next time,
- 00:43:24.451 --> 00:43:26.387
- every time, over and over.
- 00:43:26.387 --> 00:43:27.988
- What if there's somethin' was opposite of diminished returns?
- 00:43:27.988 --> 00:43:30.691
- And this is what I'm getting at is that, you know, when I think
- 00:43:30.691 --> 00:43:33.327
- of--when I think of sex, for example, and I don't mean to be
- 00:43:33.327 --> 00:43:36.897
- get off my lawn Bobby today, you know what I mean?
- 00:43:36.897 --> 00:43:39.833
- I'm not, like, trying to be judgmental of everybody, but
- 00:43:39.833 --> 00:43:43.337
- when I think of sex and relationships, like, this is
- 00:43:43.337 --> 00:43:45.739
- what everybody really wants, a couple that has been together
- 00:43:45.739 --> 00:43:49.043
- for a long time, that grows old together, and has shared
- 00:43:49.043 --> 00:43:53.480
- memories, and a life that was well lived with each other, this
- 00:43:53.480 --> 00:43:59.720
- is what you really want, that is what everybody really needs.
- 00:43:59.720 --> 00:44:04.958
- You know, Hannah and I were virgins when we got married at
- 00:44:04.958 --> 00:44:07.227
- 21, and it's not to shame anybody, but I feel like if that
- 00:44:07.227 --> 00:44:12.466
- happened today, all my friends would make fun of me for for
- 00:44:12.466 --> 00:44:15.836
- being a virgin in my 20s.
- 00:44:15.836 --> 00:44:18.038
- There's someone that I've-- a life that I'm building with
- 00:44:18.038 --> 00:44:22.309
- another person that as I grow old, I grow old with her.
- 00:44:22.309 --> 00:44:27.114
- And, you know, as a kid I was taught to store up for myself
- 00:44:27.114 --> 00:44:30.951
- treasures in heaven.
- 00:44:30.951 --> 00:44:32.453
- There are things you can get for yourself in this life that no
- 00:44:32.453 --> 00:44:36.657
- one can take from you, like wisdom or an education or
- 00:44:36.657 --> 00:44:40.394
- blessing or favor.
- 00:44:40.394 --> 00:44:44.898
- And I think about how good and meaningful work is a good thing
- 00:44:44.898 --> 00:44:49.937
- for a person to have, that non-work is not the ideal.
- 00:44:49.937 --> 00:44:55.909
- All that to simply say that I think that the Lord offers us
- 00:44:55.909 --> 00:45:02.516
- something better than the rushed instant gratification of this
- 00:45:02.516 --> 00:45:09.189
- world, he offers us the ability to lead a truly meaningful life
- 00:45:09.189 --> 00:45:15.028
- that simply believes in that old fashioned idea, I'm gonna leave
- 00:45:15.028 --> 00:45:19.833
- this place better than I left it.
- 00:45:19.833 --> 00:45:24.037
- That I want to believe that the world was a little better
- 00:45:24.037 --> 00:45:27.508
- because I lived in it.
- 00:45:27.508 --> 00:45:30.244
- And as believers we would say that we were given a way to do
- 00:45:30.244 --> 00:45:33.781
- that, and do it well, to do what's good, not because someone
- 00:45:33.781 --> 00:45:38.152
- sees me, but just because I love what is good and I hate what
- 00:45:38.152 --> 00:45:41.555
- is evil.
- 00:45:41.555 --> 00:45:44.224
- And that's who I wanna be.
- 00:45:44.224 --> 00:45:47.494
- The heroes when I was a kid that I heard all the time, I wouldn't
- 00:45:47.494 --> 00:45:50.097
- have been able at even 15 to name 1 billionaire for you, but
- 00:45:50.097 --> 00:45:53.333
- I knew who Mother Teresa was,
- 00:45:53.333 --> 00:45:54.735
- and I knew who Frederick Douglass was,
- 00:45:54.735 --> 00:45:56.937
- and I knew who Nelson Mandela was,
- 00:45:56.937 --> 00:45:59.039
- and I knew who Oskar Schindler was,
- 00:45:59.039 --> 00:46:02.609
- and I knew who Neil Diamond was.
- 00:46:02.609 --> 00:46:06.780
- You know, anyway.
- 00:46:06.780 --> 00:46:09.950
- There is an amazing story about a man who, turns out, just
- 00:46:09.950 --> 00:46:14.421
- before the second World War, just as it was starting, a man
- 00:46:14.421 --> 00:46:17.191
- named Nicholas Winton, you might be familiar with the name.
- 00:46:17.191 --> 00:46:19.560
- Nobody had ever heard of him until 1988.
- 00:46:19.560 --> 00:46:22.629
- This man, 50 years before as the Holocaust was beginning, was
- 00:46:22.629 --> 00:46:28.001
- smuggling Jewish children out of Czechoslovakia.
- 00:46:28.001 --> 00:46:31.705
- He smuggled out 669 children over a very short period, found
- 00:46:31.705 --> 00:46:37.644
- all of them homes and families that they were adopted into, and
- 00:46:37.644 --> 00:46:42.015
- they believe that nearly all of those kids would've been killed
- 00:46:42.015 --> 00:46:44.585
- if he hadn't done that.
- 00:46:44.585 --> 00:46:45.953
- Nobody had heard about it until one day somebody found in an
- 00:46:45.953 --> 00:46:49.323
- attic a dusty, like, brochure, not brochure, dusty log of the
- 00:46:49.323 --> 00:46:55.662
- names of these children and where they went and what they--
- 00:46:55.662 --> 00:46:58.899
- what their birthdays were, et cetera, and realized that this
- 00:46:58.899 --> 00:47:02.069
- was a log of all of the kids he had saved.
- 00:47:02.069 --> 00:47:04.905
- And so, the BBC looked into this and gathered some of those
- 00:47:04.905 --> 00:47:08.475
- children 50 years later who are now adults and got them
- 00:47:08.475 --> 00:47:11.812
- together and wanted to introduce them
- 00:47:11.812 --> 00:47:14.381
- to Nicholas Winton, who until this point
- 00:47:14.381 --> 00:47:16.817
- nobody had ever heard of.
- 00:47:16.817 --> 00:47:18.452
- Check this out.
- 00:47:18.452 --> 00:47:20.821
- female: All the letters.
- 00:47:20.821 --> 00:47:22.522
- Back here is the list of all the children.
- 00:47:22.522 --> 00:47:26.760
- This is Vera Diamant, now Vera Gissing.
- 00:47:26.760 --> 00:47:30.130
- We did find her name on his list.
- 00:47:30.130 --> 00:47:33.166
- Vera Gissing is with us here tonight, hello Vera.
- 00:47:33.166 --> 00:47:36.837
- And I should tell you that you are actually sitting next to
- 00:47:36.837 --> 00:47:39.840
- Nicholas Winton.
- 00:47:39.840 --> 00:47:45.579
- Vera Gissing: And it was just so wonderful, so terribly,
- 00:47:45.579 --> 00:47:50.550
- terribly touching.
- 00:47:50.550 --> 00:47:58.492
- female: Can I ask, is there anyone in our audience tonight
- 00:48:02.696 --> 00:48:06.166
- who owes their life to Nicholas Winton?
- 00:48:06.166 --> 00:48:08.502
- If so, could you stand up please?
- 00:48:08.502 --> 00:48:15.542
- ♪♪♪
- 00:48:15.909 --> 00:48:53.947
- Bobby: I love that story.
- 00:48:55.916 --> 00:48:57.250
- You know--
- 00:48:57.250 --> 00:48:59.386
- [congregation applauding]
- 00:48:59.386 --> 00:49:02.189
- You know, the thing I love most about that story, obviously he
- 00:49:02.189 --> 00:49:05.359
- saved a bunch of kids, but even more powerful is that he didn't
- 00:49:05.359 --> 00:49:08.829
- tell anybody his whole life.
- 00:49:08.829 --> 00:49:12.199
- He was gonna go to the grave, and even the kids wouldn't have
- 00:49:12.199 --> 00:49:16.136
- known who was that guy from England that saved me.
- 00:49:16.136 --> 00:49:20.841
- To me, this is the epitome of a really good person.
- 00:49:20.841 --> 00:49:27.647
- How many people today want to be good so that people will think
- 00:49:27.647 --> 00:49:31.885
- of them as good, rather than, I just love what is good and what
- 00:49:31.885 --> 00:49:38.925
- is right.
- 00:49:38.992 --> 00:49:40.594
- And I believe at this moment that was had here, I think that
- 00:49:40.594 --> 00:49:45.932
- there will be things in life and people that you'll help, and
- 00:49:45.932 --> 00:49:49.236
- nobody will ever say thank you to you for it ever.
- 00:49:49.236 --> 00:49:52.506
- You might have even forgotten, it's been so long since you
- 00:49:52.506 --> 00:49:55.342
- helped that person, but I believe that when you get to the
- 00:49:55.342 --> 00:49:58.345
- end, there's gonna be a time when maybe you'll have a moment
- 00:49:58.345 --> 00:50:02.582
- like that, too, where someone will say thank you for that one
- 00:50:02.582 --> 00:50:07.320
- day that you helped me.
- 00:50:07.320 --> 00:50:11.491
- You never know.
- 00:50:11.491 --> 00:50:14.094
- And so, today's sermon, 'cause I'm just beginning--
- 00:50:14.094 --> 00:50:17.364
- just kidding.
- 00:50:17.364 --> 00:50:18.698
- As I finish, as I wrap up, today's sermon is actually
- 00:50:18.698 --> 00:50:24.704
- called, "Get Your Garden On," because I believe that in life
- 00:50:24.704 --> 00:50:30.143
- we're always-- our life is a garden.
- 00:50:30.143 --> 00:50:33.980
- Jesus just tells us this plainly, that in life we're
- 00:50:33.980 --> 00:50:38.585
- always broadcasting seeds around us that in their season will
- 00:50:38.585 --> 00:50:45.625
- bear fruit.
- 00:50:46.159 --> 00:50:48.228
- You might have had a old crotchety aunt back in the day
- 00:50:48.228 --> 00:50:52.099
- when you did something wrong, she looked at you and said,
- 00:50:52.099 --> 00:50:54.301
- "You'll reap what you sow."
- 00:50:54.301 --> 00:50:56.203
- I didn't have one of those, but I've been around
- 00:50:56.203 --> 00:50:57.871
- judgmental people.
- 00:50:57.871 --> 00:50:59.239
- Of course, this just means she doesn't like you.
- 00:50:59.239 --> 00:51:00.974
- But what she means by that is, "See, that's what you get for
- 00:51:00.974 --> 00:51:05.112
- all your ill-gotten--" whatever, okay.
- 00:51:05.112 --> 00:51:08.815
- So, when we think of you reap what you sow, we think of it as
- 00:51:08.815 --> 00:51:11.384
- in a negative way, but in Galatians, it's in the Bible, in
- 00:51:11.384 --> 00:51:13.920
- Galatians, but there's a positive aspect to that, too,
- 00:51:13.920 --> 00:51:16.189
- that when you sow, when you do, when you put seeds in the ground
- 00:51:16.189 --> 00:51:19.192
- and nobody sees it, you know that's building up for you a
- 00:51:19.192 --> 00:51:21.695
- harvest, a real harvest, that when you do the things and
- 00:51:21.695 --> 00:51:25.232
- nobody sees it but you plant the seeds in life, you're building
- 00:51:25.232 --> 00:51:28.635
- up for yourself a garden, a life that gets better over time.
- 00:51:28.635 --> 00:51:33.206
- You don't experience it now, but it will get better.
- 00:51:33.206 --> 00:51:36.443
- It's amazing to me.
- 00:51:36.443 --> 00:51:37.777
- I just started gardening with my kids, and I'm terrible at it,
- 00:51:37.777 --> 00:51:39.913
- which is kind of a Schuller thing.
- 00:51:39.913 --> 00:51:41.615
- Schullers are always bad at gardening, we're more
- 00:51:41.615 --> 00:51:43.817
- like fishermen.
- 00:51:43.817 --> 00:51:45.185
- Even my Grandpa got into preaching because he was such
- 00:51:45.185 --> 00:51:46.987
- a bad farmer and-- Grandpa Schuller.
- 00:51:46.987 --> 00:51:50.824
- And I have a brown thumb.
- 00:51:50.824 --> 00:51:52.893
- You know, everything I touch turns brown and dies.
- 00:51:52.893 --> 00:51:56.096
- But if I get seedlings, I do okay.
- 00:51:56.096 --> 00:51:58.665
- Everything, you know, but it's amazing to me to take this tiny
- 00:51:58.665 --> 00:52:01.968
- little seed, I'll put it in the ground, and it turns into this
- 00:52:01.968 --> 00:52:03.870
- humongous thing of spinach or jalapenos or an apple tree or
- 00:52:03.870 --> 00:52:09.776
- strawberries, and these are all things I'm tryin' to grow right
- 00:52:09.776 --> 00:52:11.845
- now, but I'm failing it.
- 00:52:11.845 --> 00:52:13.180
- But it's possible, all things are possible.
- 00:52:13.180 --> 00:52:15.916
- And so, in life you just-- there's so much power in a
- 00:52:15.916 --> 00:52:19.486
- hidden seed, a seed that is-- that is buried, and in your life
- 00:52:19.486 --> 00:52:24.024
- every day you're planting good seeds and bad seeds.
- 00:52:24.024 --> 00:52:28.895
- Every day you're doing things that are creating the garden of
- 00:52:28.895 --> 00:52:32.966
- your life.
- 00:52:32.966 --> 00:52:35.502
- Words are seeds.
- 00:52:35.502 --> 00:52:38.271
- When you speak blessing over someone who's broken or messed
- 00:52:38.271 --> 00:52:42.108
- up or having a rough day, you are planting something in their
- 00:52:42.108 --> 00:52:47.380
- soul that will grow and change their life, and it is faith that
- 00:52:47.380 --> 00:52:54.721
- keeps that seed in the ground, faith that this person can
- 00:52:54.788 --> 00:52:59.426
- become a new creation.
- 00:52:59.426 --> 00:53:02.295
- And when you speak the word or when you listen to a sermon or
- 00:53:02.295 --> 00:53:06.499
- when you study the scripture or something that encourages you,
- 00:53:06.499 --> 00:53:09.836
- you hold those words within you, and it is faith that keeps those
- 00:53:09.836 --> 00:53:14.474
- seeds in the ground.
- 00:53:14.474 --> 00:53:16.776
- And when you give money, even secretly, to someone in need or
- 00:53:16.776 --> 00:53:20.947
- to something you care about, it is faith that keeps that seed in
- 00:53:20.947 --> 00:53:24.985
- the ground.
- 00:53:24.985 --> 00:53:26.353
- And when you spend your time that to so many other people
- 00:53:26.353 --> 00:53:29.723
- seems like a waste of time that you spend it with people that
- 00:53:29.723 --> 00:53:33.393
- need it like little kids or being a care worker or blessing
- 00:53:33.393 --> 00:53:37.864
- your neighbor or helping someone that you know they'll never
- 00:53:37.864 --> 00:53:40.900
- change, you are planting seeds of change in the garden of your
- 00:53:40.900 --> 00:53:45.672
- life, and the scripture tells us that those seeds will have 30,
- 00:53:45.672 --> 00:53:49.809
- 60, and a hundredfold.
- 00:53:49.809 --> 00:53:52.045
- It's not about planting the seeds, it's about keeping them
- 00:53:52.045 --> 00:53:54.914
- in the ground, and it is faith that keeps them there, and it's
- 00:53:54.914 --> 00:53:59.386
- a lot of work, isn't it?
- 00:53:59.386 --> 00:54:03.089
- You know, I heard once that people don't want to do the hard
- 00:54:03.089 --> 00:54:07.594
- work, but can I tell you that a garden full of weeds is a lot
- 00:54:07.594 --> 00:54:12.732
- harder work than a garden full of tomatoes?
- 00:54:12.732 --> 00:54:16.336
- It's a lot of work, it's a lot of bugs, it's a lot of pollen
- 00:54:16.336 --> 00:54:21.508
- and dust.
- 00:54:21.508 --> 00:54:24.611
- It might be a hard work planting good seed, but it's harder work
- 00:54:24.611 --> 00:54:27.514
- tending to a garden full of weeds.
- 00:54:27.514 --> 00:54:29.749
- And many of us are planting those seeds every day, we just
- 00:54:29.749 --> 00:54:32.886
- carelessly spewing negative words, words of fear, we're
- 00:54:32.886 --> 00:54:40.894
- deceiving people, and it's our fear that keeps those seeds in
- 00:54:40.960 --> 00:54:44.998
- the ground.
- 00:54:44.998 --> 00:54:47.600
- Sometimes we curse people with contempt or we call some group
- 00:54:47.600 --> 00:54:52.439
- of people or some job or some anything, we call them snakes or
- 00:54:52.439 --> 00:54:57.677
- cockroaches or rats or pigs or goblins.
- 00:54:57.677 --> 00:55:02.349
- Those are seeds you're planting in the garden of your life.
- 00:55:02.349 --> 00:55:06.720
- And let me tell you, you do not want to reap that harvest.
- 00:55:06.720 --> 00:55:09.289
- And it is fear that keeps it in the ground.
- 00:55:09.289 --> 00:55:12.659
- And some of us have had maybe parents or a teacher that said
- 00:55:12.659 --> 00:55:17.330
- things over you that in your head you know it's not true,
- 00:55:17.330 --> 00:55:20.266
- but you hold onto those seeds, seeds of contempt towards you,
- 00:55:20.266 --> 00:55:25.839
- that you're worthless that you're a sinner, that you're
- 00:55:25.839 --> 00:55:28.208
- messed up, that you're a horrible person, and it is fear
- 00:55:28.208 --> 00:55:31.578
- that keeps those seeds in the ground.
- 00:55:31.578 --> 00:55:35.181
- You're none of those things, that's a lie.
- 00:55:35.181 --> 00:55:37.917
- The enemy, he's--he just loves to lie to people.
- 00:55:37.917 --> 00:55:40.820
- The kingdom of darkness is just built on deception, it's
- 00:55:40.820 --> 00:55:44.224
- its foundation.
- 00:55:44.224 --> 00:55:45.558
- The whole kingdom of darkness, just built on lies about you.
- 00:55:45.558 --> 00:55:50.930
- And the unforgiveness and the resentment that we feel towards
- 00:55:50.930 --> 00:55:54.100
- people, those are seeds in the ground, and fear keeps them
- 00:55:54.100 --> 00:55:57.237
- there, and it'll keep growing unless you yank those things out
- 00:55:57.237 --> 00:56:03.109
- of the ground.
- 00:56:03.109 --> 00:56:04.644
- Yank 'em out of the ground every day, tend to your garden.
- 00:56:04.644 --> 00:56:08.348
- Your life is a garden, your life is a garden that you choose
- 00:56:08.348 --> 00:56:12.051
- every day what you're gonna grow.
- 00:56:12.051 --> 00:56:16.656
- Every day you choose, so choose today to build the kind of
- 00:56:16.656 --> 00:56:21.995
- garden that will flourish, where time is on your side, and you'll
- 00:56:21.995 --> 00:56:27.834
- be very, very grateful you did.
- 00:56:27.834 --> 00:56:30.570
- Lord Jesus, we ask you to help us with this, and to help us to
- 00:56:30.570 --> 00:56:34.808
- tend to our garden with faith.
- 00:56:34.808 --> 00:56:36.576
- We just come to you and we say show us how to live the rich,
- 00:56:36.576 --> 00:56:41.047
- full kind of life that's made available when we love you with
- 00:56:41.047 --> 00:56:46.152
- all our heart and all our soul, and love our neighbor
- 00:56:46.152 --> 00:56:49.189
- as ourself.
- 00:56:49.189 --> 00:56:51.090
- Help us this morning to know what it really means to drink of
- 00:56:51.090 --> 00:56:54.461
- the water of life and to eat of the tree of life.
- 00:56:54.461 --> 00:56:58.865
- We ask it all in a very strong name of Jesus, amen.
- 00:56:58.865 --> 00:57:04.237
- ♪♪♪
- 00:57:04.237 --> 00:57:13.780
- CC BY ABERDEEN CAPTIONING 1-800-688-6621 WWW.ABERCAP.COM
- 00:57:13.780 --> 00:57:18.785
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- by the ministry partners of the "Hour of Power"
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