The secret of unlocking the blessings of God is to have an open heart.
#Religion
#Lifestyle
#Trials-Hard Times
#Loss
#Love of God
#Personal Story
#Kindness
#Hurting
#People in your life
#Kerry Shook
#Chris Shook
#Jude 1:2
#Bebrews 13:1-6
#Matthew 9:36
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Kerry Shook Ministries with Kerry Shook | Mistaken For An Angel | May 8, 2022
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- Chris Shook: Every single person that I encounter every
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- day, including this day, is hurting.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Kerry Shook: You just got an amazing, divine gift that you've
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- started to unwrap, and it's the gift of this one day.
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- It's a treasure, and that's what our church-wide
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- adventure is all about.
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- It's all about learning how to have a one-day mind-set so we
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- can see the treasure in each day that God gives us and fully
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- unwrap it and really live it, and it's based on the book that
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- Chris and I just wrote and released about our grandson Jude
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- Samuel, who lived on this earth for one day,
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- but the way he unwrapped the divine gift of his 24 hours on
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- this earth changed our perspective completely
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- on the power of one day.
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- It's also based in the book of Jude
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- in the Bible, in Jude chapter 1, verse 2,
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- from The Message paraphrase that says,
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- "Open your heart, love is on the way."
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- That's how you unwrap the gift of each day.
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- You open your heart to receive all the love and the goodness
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- and the blessings that God wants to give you.
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- The problem is, when we get hurt in life,
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- when we experience loss and pain,
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- we tend to start shutting off our hearts,
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- and we miss out on the blessings and the goodness,
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- and the miracles that God wants to give us in this one day.
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- I mean, God is always giving us his blessings and goodness,
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- his grace, but if our hearts aren't open,
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- we can't receive it.
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- So the whole goal of this month-long church-wide adventure
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- that we're on is to learn how to open our hearts and expect God's
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- love, expect God's blessings and receive God's goodness into our
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- lives, even in the middle of pain,
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- and today, we're gonna look at the real secret to unlocking the
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- blessings of God in our lives.
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- We're gonna look at how to open our hearts not only to receive
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- the blessings of God but to give the blessings of God because
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- it's a paradox of life, when you open your heart to really give
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- and let God give through you his blessings and let God love
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- through you and bless others, then you get blessed.
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- So would you open your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 13.
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- We're gonna do a study of these six verses.
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- And would you stand in honor of God's Word,
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- Woodlands Church, and just follow along with me because
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- this passage is all about love and how to open your heart and
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- receive the love of God and then how to give that love.
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- "Continue to love each other with true brotherly love.
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- Don't forget to be kind to strangers, for some who
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- have done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
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- Don't forget about those in jail.
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- Suffer with them as though you were there yourself.
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- Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them
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- had happened to you.
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- Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy
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- between wife and husband.
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- God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex.
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- Don't be obsessed with getting more material things.
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- Be relaxed with what you have.
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- Since God assured us, 'I'll never let you down,
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- never walk off and leave you,' we can boldly quote,
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- 'God is there, ready to help.
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- I'm fearless no matter what.
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- Who or what can get to me?'"
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- You can be seated.
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- Chris: So we are sharing some of the lessons that we learned
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- from our grandson Jude, in his one day on earth,
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- and let me tell you, this little guy taught us so, so much.
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- In our toughest, most painful season as a family,
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- we have learned so much, and to let you know briefly where we
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- were at in the story we're gonna share with you today,
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- our son Josh and his wonderful wife,
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- Kelli, had found out at their 20-week ultrasound that Jude did
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- not have kidney function, and he would not be able to survive
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- outside the womb, and so we went to Cincinnati for some
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- experimental treatment in a fight for Jude's life,
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- and he lived for one glorious day.
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- And let me tell you about Jude: this little boy,
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- who lived for just one day, turned our hearts inside out,
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- and he exploded a lot of stuff that I thought I knew,
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- and I've been a believer for a lot of years now,
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- and I would like to think that I can be a kind person,
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- at least when I try to be.
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- You know, just, I can be kind, be helpful,
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- try to be nice to people.
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- That's usually what we think of, isn't it,
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- when we think about being kind?
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- Well, we're gonna be nice, we'll be helpful,
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- and if someone is coming towards us and we happen to be standing
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- by a door and they have a lot of packages and they're over 90 or
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- so, we're gonna be the one to open that door
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- for them, you know?
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- No, it's "Really, I'm a kind person."
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- You know, if a telemarketer calls me and starts their spiel
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- about whatever it is that I need to buy,
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- I'm gonna be polite when I hang up on them.
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- I'm gonna just say somethin' like, "Have a nice day,"
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- or, you know, something before I hang up,
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- you know, just do those little kind,
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- nice things in life, but we found out through our
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- experience, our journey with Jude that we are still on,
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- that true kindness, true love is nothing like that.
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- I mean, our concept was exploded by Jude because Jude taught me
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- that, actually, if I really love like Jesus,
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- then I ought to be mistaken for an angel sometimes.
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- I mean, that ought to happen, and if it's not,
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- then maybe I'm doing this Christian thing,
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- this Christian life, all wrong if there's never anyone who
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- crosses my path who thinks, "Maybe I just met an angel."
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- Having this outlook is, honestly,
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- probably the most fun you're gonna have this side of heaven,
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- and it's awesome because there's really just two steps involved,
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- and that's what we're gonna be talking about today.
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- The first is, remember, everyone is hurting.
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- Everyone's hurting.
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- It's not just you.
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- The enemy tries to make us believe that.
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- You have hurts, and you know it, but it seems like the rest of
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- the world is doing pretty well.
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- The truth is, we're all hurting.
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- Every single one of us has a hidden hurt,
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- and before Jude, I knew this in my head as a fact.
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- I thought, "Sure, this is a broken world.
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- Everybody hits hard times."
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- But now after walking through this season of grief and hurt,
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- I understand in a visceral way.
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- I get it now.
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- No, everyone is hurting.
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- We're all hurting on the inside,
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- and every single person that I encounter every day,
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- including this day, is hurting, and the Bible tells us in
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- Hebrews 13, in the passage Kerry just read,
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- "Don't forget to be kind to strangers."
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- "Don't forget about those in jail."
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- I want you to underline those two times
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- the words "don't forget" appear.
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- Don't forget.
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- You know, God does not have a speech impediment.
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- If he says something more than once,
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- we probably ought to pay attention.
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- That's what I've learned.
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- I think, "Oh, okay, wait, I just saw that again, 'Don't forget.'
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- Oh, it must be because God knows me,
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- and I will probably forget unless he reminds me."
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- The first thing we have to do if we're going to not forget others
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- is to forget ourselves, forget ourselves.
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- Instead of thinking about what everyone else is thinking about
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- us or what we feel like, we have to forget ourselves,
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- and then focus on others.
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- Focus on the stranger.
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- female announcer: Still to come with Pastor Kerry Shook.
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- Chris: Maybe there's people in the world who are so tuned in
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- to the hurt of others and have forgotten about themselves so
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- much that they're willing to just be bold.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Kerry: Chris and I really want you to know about our new
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- book that just came out in paperback.
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- It's "The Gift of One Day: How to Find Hope
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- When Life Gets Hard."
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- We all go through hard times and difficulties and pain,
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- but God wants to see you through with his hope.
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- I know one of the most difficult days we've ever experienced was
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- when our grandson Jude Samuel was born,
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- and he only lived for 24 hours.
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- It was devastating to us, and we still grieve,
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- but yet we know that he's with the Lord in heaven,
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- and the way that little boy lived those 24 hours taught us
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- how to live the rest of our years.
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- I know you know someone who's goin' through some pain and
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- problems, or maybe you're goin' through a difficult time in your
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- life, and so I hope you'll call us right now.
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- We'd love to pray with you and pray for you and would also love
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- to get you this book for a gift of any amount, "The Gift of
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- One Day," because God wants to get you through today.
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- He wants you not only to survive,
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- but he wants you to thrive.
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- He has a great plan for you.
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- Chris: Shortly after we arrived in Cincinnati,
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- Kelli had a surgery to insert an amnioport,
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- which was something that she would have to put--add fluid to
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- her womb so that Jude could practice breathing since his
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- kidneys weren't working.
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- And so she had this surgery, and it was a really
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- stressful day all around.
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- Of course, it was incredibly stressful for Kelli and for
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- Josh, but as her grandparents, we were really stressed too.
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- Hospital waiting rooms can feel that way,
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- and so we were watchin' the clock and getting
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- minute-by-minute reports from the doctors and praying so hard
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- for precious Kelli, who we love so much,
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- and for our son Josh, and for our grandson Jude.
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- And she came through the surgery,
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- and at the end of the day, she was finally in a room and in
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- recovery, and they said that she could have something to eat,
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- so I did what moms do.
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- I thought, "Oh, I wanna do something for her--food.
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- I will get some food for her."
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- And she couldn't eat much since she just had surgery,
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- so I rushed down to the hospital cafeteria,
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- and the gates were halfway down, and so I knew is about to close
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- any minute, so I rushed in.
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- I thought, "Okay, I just need to grab something
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- that she can have.
- 00:11:08.217 --> 00:11:09.985
- I grabbed a pack of cookies and a milk,
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- and I went up, and I put 'em on the counter,
- 00:11:13.122 --> 00:11:15.057
- and there was nobody else in here,
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- and I was just hoping they'd still ring me up
- 00:11:16.492 --> 00:11:18.227
- because it was clearly about to close,
- 00:11:18.227 --> 00:11:20.896
- and fished my card out of my purse,
- 00:11:20.896 --> 00:11:23.999
- paid for my cookies and milk, and I took a couple steps away,
- 00:11:23.999 --> 00:11:28.037
- just thinking, "Okay, now I need to hurry back up there and get
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- back to the room," and then I heard a voice.
- 00:11:30.573 --> 00:11:33.642
- The woman who had just rung me up at the cash register said,
- 00:11:33.642 --> 00:11:38.214
- "Do you need a hug?"
- 00:11:38.214 --> 00:11:40.349
- [whispering] I said, "What?"
- 00:11:40.349 --> 00:11:41.817
- She must be talking to me. There's nobody else here.
- 00:11:41.817 --> 00:11:45.154
- So I said--you know, I turned around,
- 00:11:45.154 --> 00:11:47.823
- and she said, "Do you need a hug?"
- 00:11:47.823 --> 00:11:51.660
- And let me tell you, I'm not a person who really is that
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- outwardly emotional all the time.
- 00:11:57.199 --> 00:11:59.435
- I, just, I'm not. There's nothing wrong with that.
- 00:11:59.435 --> 00:12:01.670
- I'm, just, I don't cry really easily.
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- And I took a couple steps toward this woman who was a stranger to
- 00:12:04.306 --> 00:12:09.245
- me and fell into her arms and sobbed like a baby.
- 00:12:09.245 --> 00:12:14.650
- I just fell apart.
- 00:12:14.650 --> 00:12:16.318
- There was more emotion than I even knew I was carrying,
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- and I just, I just collapsed in her arms.
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- She didn't ask me what was wrong or my name.
- 00:12:23.626 --> 00:12:26.562
- I didn't say. I didn't offer.
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- You know, I just cried, then I pulled myself together after a
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- couple minutes, you know, and I said,
- 00:12:31.801 --> 00:12:33.135
- "You know you're an angel, right?"
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- And then I left, and I went back up to the hospital room,
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- and that was that, and I was left thinking,
- 00:12:40.910 --> 00:12:43.646
- "Well, wow, you know, what was that?"
- 00:12:43.646 --> 00:12:48.317
- It was many weeks later when Kelli had another surgery
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- because Jude had been born that day,
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- and this is in a different hospital now,
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- and Jude had been born, and there was a lot going on.
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- We'd received some reports during the day that Jude was not
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- doing as we had prayed and prayed and prayed for,
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- and so it was a wonderful, amazing day to get to see my
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- grandson born and be right there,
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- but also, it was, you know, just hard beyond words,
- 00:13:16.111 --> 00:13:20.182
- and so, that night, I was in the NICU with Josh and Kelli and
- 00:13:20.182 --> 00:13:28.057
- Jude, and I needed to run back to Kelli's hospital room,
- 00:13:28.057 --> 00:13:31.861
- in another part of the hospital from the NICU,
- 00:13:31.861 --> 00:13:34.029
- to meet a doctor, and so I took off,
- 00:13:34.029 --> 00:13:39.068
- and I thought I'd been around this hospital enough that,
- 00:13:39.068 --> 00:13:41.437
- honestly, I could take a shortcut because every second
- 00:13:41.437 --> 00:13:43.439
- counted, so I raced off--it's a big teaching hospital--and got
- 00:13:43.439 --> 00:13:47.877
- completely lost in the back corridors,
- 00:13:47.877 --> 00:13:50.880
- and, you know, it was dark, the corridors.
- 00:13:50.880 --> 00:13:52.448
- I'm just looking, trying to find my way,
- 00:13:52.448 --> 00:13:54.450
- trying to hurry, and there was a woman who was mopping the floor,
- 00:13:54.450 --> 00:14:00.322
- and I rushed past her.
- 00:14:00.322 --> 00:14:01.657
- I was trying to figure out which way to go,
- 00:14:01.657 --> 00:14:03.425
- and she said, "Do you need a hug?"
- 00:14:03.425 --> 00:14:08.597
- [whispering] I was like, "You've got to be kidding me."
- 00:14:08.597 --> 00:14:12.801
- But I didn't ask any questions.
- 00:14:12.801 --> 00:14:14.136
- I just turned around, fell in her arms and started crying
- 00:14:14.136 --> 00:14:17.907
- because, you know, here's the thing: when your kids are
- 00:14:17.907 --> 00:14:19.942
- hurting, it's really hard to cry with them,
- 00:14:19.942 --> 00:14:22.511
- but the opportunity to have someone to just,
- 00:14:22.511 --> 00:14:25.047
- like--and she didn't ask my name or anything or what was wrong
- 00:14:25.047 --> 00:14:29.084
- or what I was doing.
- 00:14:29.084 --> 00:14:30.486
- I just cried, and then I asked where to go,
- 00:14:30.486 --> 00:14:35.257
- which way, and I--and I left, and that was it.
- 00:14:35.257 --> 00:14:40.562
- The only thing she said to me, just like that woman in the
- 00:14:40.562 --> 00:14:42.898
- cafeteria was "Do you need a hug?"
- 00:14:42.898 --> 00:14:45.701
- And I rushed off to Kelli's hospital room and really didn't
- 00:14:45.701 --> 00:14:49.538
- give it much thought in the moment.
- 00:14:49.538 --> 00:14:50.873
- There was just too much, and the next day,
- 00:14:50.873 --> 00:14:53.509
- Jude went to be with the Lord, and when that happened,
- 00:14:53.509 --> 00:14:59.682
- I--we couldn't go back to the maternity ward.
- 00:14:59.682 --> 00:15:03.619
- We just couldn't.
- 00:15:03.619 --> 00:15:04.954
- How do you go back there when you don't have a baby with you?
- 00:15:04.954 --> 00:15:08.057
- And so we walked out of the NICU without Jude,
- 00:15:08.057 --> 00:15:12.394
- and we just walked out the doors of the hospital,
- 00:15:12.394 --> 00:15:16.198
- and, you know, Kelli had had surgery the day before,
- 00:15:16.198 --> 00:15:19.001
- had birth--given birth, and had surgery,
- 00:15:19.001 --> 00:15:21.370
- and I didn't know what I was doing.
- 00:15:21.370 --> 00:15:23.772
- You know, here's another secret: as parents,
- 00:15:23.772 --> 00:15:25.507
- you're making it up all along.
- 00:15:25.507 --> 00:15:27.910
- Your kids think you know what you're doing.
- 00:15:27.910 --> 00:15:29.778
- You're just making it up as you go,
- 00:15:29.778 --> 00:15:31.814
- and so we got in the car, and I drove to the hotel nearby,
- 00:15:31.814 --> 00:15:36.552
- and I got rooms and went in and just did our best to keep
- 00:15:36.552 --> 00:15:44.793
- breathing, and the next morning, I needed to run to the pharmacy
- 00:15:44.793 --> 00:15:52.901
- because I needed to get stuff that normally a hospital would
- 00:15:52.901 --> 00:15:55.671
- provide, when you have a mother who's just given birth,
- 00:15:55.671 --> 00:15:57.573
- and all the medicines and things,
- 00:15:57.573 --> 00:15:59.141
- so I-- "Okay, I need to go to get Kelli's stuff."
- 00:15:59.141 --> 00:16:01.810
- I ran down to the car. I had a rental car.
- 00:16:01.810 --> 00:16:05.514
- Ran to the car, and it had been snowing.
- 00:16:05.514 --> 00:16:09.818
- You know, it was still snowing. It was freezing cold.
- 00:16:09.818 --> 00:16:13.088
- And, you know, in Texas, you're just not acclimated for that.
- 00:16:13.088 --> 00:16:16.759
- Super cold?
- 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:18.093
- Who has a coat warm enough for that?
- 00:16:18.093 --> 00:16:19.995
- And then I went in the parking garage,
- 00:16:19.995 --> 00:16:23.932
- and the tire was flat, and I just--
- 00:16:23.932 --> 00:16:27.970
- "Oh, God, God," you know, "do you know where I am?
- 00:16:27.970 --> 00:16:31.573
- I need you. I need help."
- 00:16:31.573 --> 00:16:33.575
- And so I just thought--tried to remember where the pharmacy was,
- 00:16:33.575 --> 00:16:38.781
- and then, you know, it several blocks away,
- 00:16:38.781 --> 00:16:40.716
- and I just walked, I just took off,
- 00:16:40.716 --> 00:16:42.651
- you know, it was snowing, I just didn't care.
- 00:16:42.651 --> 00:16:43.986
- I just--okay, all I know to do is the next thing.
- 00:16:43.986 --> 00:16:46.989
- So I went there to the pharmacy, walked back,
- 00:16:46.989 --> 00:16:50.459
- snowing harder, and I'm really at a low point right now,
- 00:16:50.459 --> 00:16:55.064
- and I got back into the hotel, stepped into the elevator and
- 00:16:55.064 --> 00:16:58.967
- didn't even look up, and I'm just holding my pharmacy bags
- 00:16:58.967 --> 00:17:03.138
- and pushed the button, and a couple other ladies who were on
- 00:17:03.138 --> 00:17:07.209
- the cleaning crew had stepped in,
- 00:17:07.209 --> 00:17:08.977
- and then I heard it: "Do you need a hug?"
- 00:17:08.977 --> 00:17:15.818
- And, you know, this, I didn't even pause this time.
- 00:17:15.818 --> 00:17:18.120
- It was--I just--I didn't even wait for the elevator doors to
- 00:17:18.120 --> 00:17:21.223
- open, you know, I just--I just started sobbing in their arms.
- 00:17:21.223 --> 00:17:28.931
- Were they angels?
- 00:17:28.931 --> 00:17:30.265
- I mean, those are the only three times in my life someone has
- 00:17:30.265 --> 00:17:33.402
- just said, "Do you need a hug?"
- 00:17:33.402 --> 00:17:35.637
- I mean, other than--I don't even know if my husband
- 00:17:35.637 --> 00:17:37.673
- has ever said that to me.
- 00:17:37.673 --> 00:17:43.912
- Well, you're wonderful, but, really--
- 00:17:43.912 --> 00:17:47.149
- Kerry: Do you need a hug?
- 00:17:47.149 --> 00:17:50.552
- Did you think I was an angel?
- 00:17:50.552 --> 00:17:52.221
- No?
- 00:17:52.221 --> 00:17:53.989
- Chris: But I didn't know.
- 00:17:53.989 --> 00:17:55.757
- You know, I just thought, "What, God, what was that?
- 00:17:55.757 --> 00:17:58.393
- Were they angels?"
- 00:17:58.393 --> 00:17:59.728
- Honestly, I don't know.
- 00:17:59.728 --> 00:18:01.730
- I don't know.
- 00:18:01.730 --> 00:18:03.932
- Maybe.
- 00:18:03.932 --> 00:18:06.168
- I know that angels are real.
- 00:18:06.168 --> 00:18:08.070
- The Bible tells us that, but, you know,
- 00:18:08.070 --> 00:18:11.907
- also--and I kind of hope it's this,
- 00:18:11.907 --> 00:18:15.010
- that maybe there's people in the world who are so tuned in to the
- 00:18:15.010 --> 00:18:21.183
- hurt of others and have forgotten about themselves so
- 00:18:21.183 --> 00:18:25.621
- much that they're willing to just be bold to help somebody
- 00:18:25.621 --> 00:18:30.692
- who's really hurting when they need it,
- 00:18:30.692 --> 00:18:34.296
- and it led me to ask the question of myself,
- 00:18:34.296 --> 00:18:36.632
- "Has anyone ever mistaken me for an angel?"
- 00:18:36.632 --> 00:18:40.169
- I mean, have I ever intersected someone else's life in such a
- 00:18:40.169 --> 00:18:43.205
- way that they thought, "Wow, what was that?
- 00:18:43.205 --> 00:18:47.843
- I mean, that was just radical love.
- 00:18:47.843 --> 00:18:50.412
- Where did that come from?"
- 00:18:50.412 --> 00:18:52.814
- I've never seen any of those people before or since.
- 00:18:52.814 --> 00:18:57.786
- I mean, complete strangers.
- 00:18:57.786 --> 00:19:01.990
- Has anyone ever mistaken me for that?
- 00:19:01.990 --> 00:19:04.193
- Has anyone ever mistaken you for an angel?
- 00:19:04.193 --> 00:19:07.062
- Have you ever just shown that kind of radical compassion
- 00:19:07.062 --> 00:19:10.766
- and love for anyone?
- 00:19:10.766 --> 00:19:14.169
- There were a few things that were common between those
- 00:19:14.169 --> 00:19:16.872
- times--I felt completely helpless, completely utterly
- 00:19:16.872 --> 00:19:21.009
- alone, and I had a deep sense of my
- 00:19:21.009 --> 00:19:24.413
- insufficiency in those moments.
- 00:19:24.413 --> 00:19:26.348
- I mean, I was absolutely on empty,
- 00:19:26.348 --> 00:19:30.152
- and they didn't ask for details or names.
- 00:19:30.152 --> 00:19:32.654
- I was detached. I was not crying.
- 00:19:32.654 --> 00:19:34.790
- I mean, I was--I feel like, well, maybe if
- 00:19:34.790 --> 00:19:36.959
- someone was just falling apart and sobbing or
- 00:19:36.959 --> 00:19:39.328
- bleeding out, I might get the clue that I needed to help them.
- 00:19:39.328 --> 00:19:43.332
- I really wasn't doing any of those things.
- 00:19:43.332 --> 00:19:45.234
- I was just completely withdrawn, and in all three of those times,
- 00:19:45.234 --> 00:19:51.106
- I just felt immediate comfort, like-- [exhaling] --you know,
- 00:19:51.106 --> 00:19:55.844
- understood, and I didn't have to do all the explanations.
- 00:19:55.844 --> 00:19:59.181
- It was just being understood.
- 00:19:59.181 --> 00:20:01.149
- And hurting people are all around us.
- 00:20:01.149 --> 00:20:04.019
- That's just the truth.
- 00:20:04.019 --> 00:20:05.354
- We are all surrounded by hurting people
- 00:20:05.354 --> 00:20:07.456
- every day, all day long.
- 00:20:07.456 --> 00:20:09.524
- Do you see them?
- 00:20:09.524 --> 00:20:11.727
- Do I see them?
- 00:20:11.727 --> 00:20:13.762
- Do I ever even see them?
- 00:20:13.762 --> 00:20:18.333
- But the Bible says that we can ask God to open our eyes,
- 00:20:18.333 --> 00:20:23.272
- ask God to open my eyes, that's what we need to do.
- 00:20:23.272 --> 00:20:26.241
- We just need to pray and ask God to open our eyes.
- 00:20:26.241 --> 00:20:29.278
- In Matthew, it says, "When He," Jesus,
- 00:20:29.278 --> 00:20:31.413
- "when He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them,
- 00:20:31.413 --> 00:20:34.650
- because they were harassed and helpless,
- 00:20:34.650 --> 00:20:36.885
- like sheep without a shepherd."
- 00:20:36.885 --> 00:20:39.221
- It says Jesus saw the crowds.
- 00:20:39.221 --> 00:20:41.890
- He saw them.
- 00:20:41.890 --> 00:20:43.525
- He sees you.
- 00:20:43.525 --> 00:20:44.893
- If you're hurting right now, Jesus sees you.
- 00:20:44.893 --> 00:20:48.497
- Underline that word, "saw."
- 00:20:48.497 --> 00:20:52.367
- And he had compassion. Underline that.
- 00:20:52.367 --> 00:20:54.436
- "Compassion" means "with suffering."
- 00:20:54.436 --> 00:20:57.806
- "Passion" means "suffering," and you remember from school that
- 00:20:57.806 --> 00:21:02.411
- the prefix "com-" means "with," with passion,
- 00:21:02.411 --> 00:21:05.180
- with passion, compassion.
- 00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:07.749
- He saw them. He saw them.
- 00:21:07.749 --> 00:21:10.452
- And if you wanna be like Jesus and if you want to help hurting
- 00:21:10.452 --> 00:21:13.455
- people, then first, you and I need to see them.
- 00:21:13.455 --> 00:21:16.091
- It's the very first step. We need to see them.
- 00:21:16.091 --> 00:21:18.026
- So we just pray, "Lord, open my eyes today.
- 00:21:18.026 --> 00:21:21.897
- Open my eyes so that I can see the hurting people around me."
- 00:21:21.897 --> 00:21:26.101
- Here's how it goes for me.
- 00:21:26.101 --> 00:21:27.703
- I have never encountered anyone where I saw flashing lights and
- 00:21:27.703 --> 00:21:32.207
- a neon sign with a giant arrow coming down from heaven
- 00:21:32.207 --> 00:21:34.776
- that said, "This is the one.
- 00:21:34.776 --> 00:21:36.912
- Help them."
- 00:21:36.912 --> 00:21:38.647
- I wish that would happen, but it doesn't.
- 00:21:38.647 --> 00:21:41.483
- I've never had that happen, but it's actually really simple and
- 00:21:41.483 --> 00:21:45.187
- practical and common sense to figure this out.
- 00:21:45.187 --> 00:21:49.291
- All the people that asked me if I needed a hug,
- 00:21:49.291 --> 00:21:52.227
- it was while they were working.
- 00:21:52.227 --> 00:21:54.096
- You know, they were clocked in, you know,
- 00:21:54.096 --> 00:21:56.832
- cleaning or in the cafeteria.
- 00:21:56.832 --> 00:22:00.035
- They didn't reserve that for a special time on Sunday morning.
- 00:22:00.035 --> 00:22:04.306
- It was during their regular day.
- 00:22:04.306 --> 00:22:06.608
- It was their everyday work, and in the midst of it,
- 00:22:06.608 --> 00:22:10.946
- they made time to recognize hurting people,
- 00:22:10.946 --> 00:22:13.949
- and so, to me, that's a clue, "Okay, God, it's all the time.
- 00:22:13.949 --> 00:22:17.119
- It's not just on a time off."
- 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:19.287
- It's all the time, and then to create margin because,
- 00:22:19.287 --> 00:22:23.125
- for me, a lot of times, I fill my day up so much,
- 00:22:23.125 --> 00:22:28.029
- so scheduled up, that I'm running from place to place,
- 00:22:28.029 --> 00:22:31.299
- and I'll rush in somewhere right as I'm supposed to be there and
- 00:22:31.299 --> 00:22:35.570
- barely be able to look up and have a meeting or,
- 00:22:35.570 --> 00:22:38.673
- you know, an activity and then, just,
- 00:22:38.673 --> 00:22:41.410
- leave just enough time to do the next thing,
- 00:22:41.410 --> 00:22:43.445
- and there's no margin.
- 00:22:43.445 --> 00:22:45.414
- A lot of times, I don't leave any space in my day for God to
- 00:22:45.414 --> 00:22:48.817
- work for anything that I didn't plan.
- 00:22:48.817 --> 00:22:51.853
- And so a very practical thing is that,
- 00:22:51.853 --> 00:22:54.156
- if we're gonna have time to allow God to work,
- 00:22:54.156 --> 00:22:56.491
- we just have to create some margin in our day,
- 00:22:56.491 --> 00:22:59.628
- create space to be used by God.
- 00:22:59.628 --> 00:23:02.197
- You know, all compassion is specific,
- 00:23:02.197 --> 00:23:04.533
- and we're compassionate toward that specific person.
- 00:23:04.533 --> 00:23:07.969
- Hebrews in chapter 13, at the end of that passage,
- 00:23:07.969 --> 00:23:11.273
- it says, "Since God assured us, 'I'll never let you down,
- 00:23:11.273 --> 00:23:15.143
- never walk off and leave you,' we can boldly quote,
- 00:23:15.143 --> 00:23:18.747
- 'God is there, ready to help.
- 00:23:18.747 --> 00:23:21.349
- I'm fearless no matter what.
- 00:23:21.349 --> 00:23:23.585
- Who or what can get to me?'"
- 00:23:23.585 --> 00:23:26.455
- See, the problem is that, even once we see and recognize
- 00:23:26.455 --> 00:23:31.426
- hurting people, a lot of times, we know what to do,
- 00:23:31.426 --> 00:23:35.330
- but we just don't do what we know.
- 00:23:35.330 --> 00:23:38.333
- We just shrink back and don't do what we know to do,
- 00:23:38.333 --> 00:23:41.770
- and something that's helped me a lot is I think,
- 00:23:41.770 --> 00:23:43.872
- "Well, what's the worst thing that can happen?
- 00:23:43.872 --> 00:23:46.541
- I mean, really, what's the worst thing that can happen?"
- 00:23:46.541 --> 00:23:48.610
- If I followed through on this, "Okay,
- 00:23:48.610 --> 00:23:51.980
- God, I think you're telling me to do this," "I think kind of a
- 00:23:51.980 --> 00:23:54.850
- nudge from you in my spirit that I'm supposed to do something,"
- 00:23:54.850 --> 00:23:57.586
- but what if I get it wrong?
- 00:23:57.586 --> 00:23:59.521
- What if I mess up?
- 00:23:59.521 --> 00:24:00.856
- What if I don't do this perfectly?
- 00:24:00.856 --> 00:24:03.792
- I never do it perfectly.
- 00:24:03.792 --> 00:24:05.994
- There's the answer right there. It's not gonna happen perfectly.
- 00:24:05.994 --> 00:24:08.563
- If I'm waiting for perfect, for me to do something perfect,
- 00:24:08.563 --> 00:24:12.267
- it's not gonna happen.
- 00:24:12.267 --> 00:24:13.768
- We do things imperfectly or not at all.
- 00:24:13.768 --> 00:24:16.304
- And so ask, "What's the worst thing that can happen?"
- 00:24:16.304 --> 00:24:19.774
- A lot of times, the worst thing that can happen is I think,
- 00:24:19.774 --> 00:24:22.310
- "Well, if I play this out, the worst thing that can happen is
- 00:24:22.310 --> 00:24:24.713
- that person might think less of me."
- 00:24:24.713 --> 00:24:28.383
- So what? Jesus Christ died on a cross.
- 00:24:28.383 --> 00:24:31.686
- He gave everything for us.
- 00:24:31.686 --> 00:24:34.256
- He suffered willingly a humiliating, excruciating death
- 00:24:34.256 --> 00:24:40.128
- so that you and I could be in heaven forever.
- 00:24:40.128 --> 00:24:44.900
- I don't know whose path you're gonna cross today.
- 00:24:44.900 --> 00:24:48.069
- I don't know whose path I'm gonna cross today,
- 00:24:48.069 --> 00:24:51.306
- but I do know one thing, that when we encounter hurting
- 00:24:51.306 --> 00:24:53.875
- people, even if we don't know exactly what to do,
- 00:24:53.875 --> 00:24:56.912
- we can do more than nothing.
- 00:24:56.912 --> 00:24:59.180
- You and I can do more than nothing.
- 00:24:59.180 --> 00:25:01.850
- So if you're trying to decide if you should say something to that
- 00:25:01.850 --> 00:25:06.988
- person in line at the grocery store,
- 00:25:06.988 --> 00:25:09.524
- if you're trying to decide if you should ask that person to go
- 00:25:09.524 --> 00:25:12.861
- to coffee sometime, if you're a student and you're trying to
- 00:25:12.861 --> 00:25:15.997
- decide if you should go sit by that kid at the lunch table who
- 00:25:15.997 --> 00:25:19.834
- doesn't have any friends and is all alone,
- 00:25:19.834 --> 00:25:23.738
- if you're trying to decide if you should help someone,
- 00:25:23.738 --> 00:25:27.776
- let's err on the side of love.
- 00:25:27.776 --> 00:25:30.712
- ♪♪♪
- 00:25:30.712 --> 00:25:38.853
- Chris: We're so glad that you joined us for the message
- 00:25:40.622 --> 00:25:42.424
- today, we hope that it impacts your life all week long.
- 00:25:42.424 --> 00:25:46.227
- Kerry: And Chris, I know that there's many out there who've
- 00:25:46.227 --> 00:25:49.130
- never received Christ, and all you have to do is just pray and
- 00:25:49.130 --> 00:25:53.268
- ask for his salvation and say, Jesus Christ,
- 00:25:53.268 --> 00:25:56.104
- forgive me of all my sins.
- 00:25:56.104 --> 00:25:57.505
- Come into my life. Be the Lord of my life.
- 00:25:57.505 --> 00:25:59.641
- I accept your free gift of salvation and heaven one day.
- 00:25:59.641 --> 00:26:03.812
- And if you pray that prayer, Christ will come into your life
- 00:26:03.812 --> 00:26:06.548
- and he'll never leave you.
- 00:26:06.548 --> 00:26:08.583
- Kerry: Chris and I really want you to know about our new
- 00:26:08.650 --> 00:26:10.619
- book that just came out in paperback.
- 00:26:10.619 --> 00:26:12.787
- It's "The Gift of One Day: How to Find Hope
- 00:26:12.787 --> 00:26:15.457
- When Life Gets Hard."
- 00:26:15.457 --> 00:26:17.125
- We all go through hard times and difficulties and pain,
- 00:26:17.125 --> 00:26:19.961
- but God wants to see you through with his hope.
- 00:26:19.961 --> 00:26:23.231
- I know one of the most difficult days we've ever experienced was
- 00:26:23.231 --> 00:26:26.935
- when our grandson Jude Samuel was born,
- 00:26:26.935 --> 00:26:29.804
- and he only lived for 24 hours.
- 00:26:29.804 --> 00:26:32.540
- It was devastating to us, and we still grieve,
- 00:26:32.540 --> 00:26:35.343
- but yet we know that he's with the Lord in heaven,
- 00:26:35.343 --> 00:26:38.780
- and the way that little boy lived those 24 hours taught us
- 00:26:38.780 --> 00:26:42.984
- how to live the rest of our years.
- 00:26:42.984 --> 00:26:45.253
- I know you know someone who's goin' through some pain and
- 00:26:45.253 --> 00:26:48.123
- problems, or maybe you're goin' through a difficult time in your
- 00:26:48.123 --> 00:26:51.860
- life, and so I hope you'll call us right now.
- 00:26:51.860 --> 00:26:54.529
- We'd love to pray with you and pray for you and would also love
- 00:26:54.529 --> 00:26:58.700
- to get you this book for a gift of any amount,
- 00:26:58.700 --> 00:27:01.536
- "The Gift of One Day," because God wants
- 00:27:01.536 --> 00:27:04.305
- to get you through today.
- 00:27:04.305 --> 00:27:06.307
- He wants you not only to survive,
- 00:27:06.307 --> 00:27:07.909
- but he wants you to thrive.
- 00:27:07.909 --> 00:27:10.111
- He has a great plan for you.
- 00:27:10.111 --> 00:27:12.180
- ♪♪♪
- 00:27:12.247 --> 00:27:25.627
- CC by Aberdeen Captioning 1-800-688-6621 aberdeen.io
- 00:27:22.257 --> 00:27:30.001
