1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,200 I'm so thankful once again to be here with you 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:08,320 at the Ringgold Seventh-day Adventist Church 3 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:12,160 to experience once again the fellowship 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:17,660 and the spirit and your wonderful warm smiles. 5 00:00:17,660 --> 00:00:19,800 I love this church. 6 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:24,080 And I'm very thankful for Elder Sarah Young 7 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:29,440 and her having invited me back and for your new pastor, 8 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,880 Pastor Hudson, who has allowed me to stand here 9 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:35,000 in this pulpit. 10 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,160 Thank you so much, Ronald, for that beautiful, 11 00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:40,960 wasn't that beautiful? 12 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:45,240 So meditative and a reflection. 13 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:47,480 Shall we gather at the river? 14 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:49,080 Ended with that one. 15 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,000 Because we know that soon and very soon, 16 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,800 we are going to see the King. 17 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:00,880 I thank God once again for my chauffeur this morning, 18 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,360 my husband of 40 years. 19 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:06,760 We just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary 20 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,280 on October 22. 21 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:13,240 He used to get teased by his friends, 22 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:15,360 saying that was the great disappointment. 23 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:16,840 And he had to remind them, he said, 24 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:18,720 it depends on how you look at that. 25 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,360 Because that was the day Jesus went into the most holy place 26 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:21,920 as well. 27 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:23,280 So let the church say, amen. 28 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:23,780 Amen. 29 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:29,400 So I'm thankful to have him here with me. 30 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,680 You all know he is retired. 31 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:34,720 He retired from the Pacific Union Conference 32 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,240 about seven years ago. 33 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:42,120 And so now he comes with me when I speak. 34 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,480 And he does still speak occasionally as well. 35 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:52,960 Let us bow our heads for prayer as we consider the subject 36 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,240 and the place was shaken. 37 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:58,240 And the place was shaken. 38 00:01:58,240 --> 00:01:58,840 Let us pray. 39 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:03,800 Father, nothing in my hands I bring, only 40 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,520 to the cross of Jesus Christ, I cling. 41 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:13,680 I pray, Lord, for a fresh anointing of your Holy Spirit 42 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:20,760 as we hunger and thirst for a latter rain experience. 43 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:23,320 In the name of Jesus, we pray. 44 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,240 Amen and amen. 45 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,280 And the place was shaken. 46 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:32,840 You heard in your hearing, it was read, Acts chapter 2, 47 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:34,360 verses 1 through 6. 48 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:40,520 And so I'm going to continue a few more verses in Acts chapter 49 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:42,240 2, beginning with verse 7. 50 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:49,760 And how here we every man in our own tongue, 51 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:54,960 wherein we were born, Parthians and Medes and Elamites 52 00:02:54,960 --> 00:03:00,040 and dwellers in Mesopotamia and in Judea and Cappadocia 53 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:05,680 and Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Panthelia, in Egypt 54 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:10,840 and in the parts of Libya, around Cyrene and strangers 55 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:16,280 of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians. 56 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:24,240 We do hear them speak in our own language, in our tongue, 57 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:28,320 the wonderful works of God. 58 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:32,320 Now, this is a very familiar passage. 59 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:37,320 And we often focus on different things in this passage. 60 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:39,120 I'm going to not focus on one thing, 61 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:43,200 but I do want to ask a rhetorical question 62 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:44,640 this morning. 63 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,040 What were they saying? 64 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:48,600 We don't usually talk about what they 65 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:50,920 were saying during that time. 66 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,040 We often focus on the fact that they 67 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,240 came from different parts of the then known world, 68 00:03:56,240 --> 00:04:01,080 and they heard in their own language. 69 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:05,480 But I haven't heard a lot about what they were saying. 70 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:07,000 What were they talking about? 71 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,880 What were they doing? 72 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,360 The Bible says that they were speaking 73 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:16,280 the wonderful works of God. 74 00:04:16,280 --> 00:04:18,640 They were testifying. 75 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:22,920 And you all know that I testify a lot. 76 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:25,600 So I don't speak without doing that. 77 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:33,280 But can you imagine them being there for that event, 78 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:38,480 and they were coming together, and they were receiving 79 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:39,680 the gift of tongues. 80 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:42,760 Whoever was speaking, they were receiving 81 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:45,960 the gift of other languages so that the people who 82 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:48,880 came from around the then known world 83 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,880 could hear the testimony about what God was 84 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:55,000 doing in all those parts. 85 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,560 They were testifying of the goodness of God, 86 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,280 talking about what he was doing in their lives. 87 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:05,720 And what a privilege we have as the people of God 88 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:11,280 to tell people it's the gospel in living color. 89 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:15,960 When you talk about what God is doing, and so they were there. 90 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:19,280 And they're in Acts chapter 2 where the people were. 91 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:21,160 The Holy Spirit fell. 92 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:26,720 And the Bible says that it was so loud. 93 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:31,280 Now, you know that my people tend to be loud, 94 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:34,440 and maybe some other people tend to be quiet, but it's OK. 95 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:36,920 You know, we have different cultures, right? 96 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,760 Everybody doesn't have to be loud like me. 97 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,520 And I attended Broadview Academy. 98 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:48,360 Anybody here familiar with Broadview Academy? 99 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:52,720 Broadview Academy, very conservative. 100 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,160 And I would sit in church. 101 00:05:56,160 --> 00:06:00,520 Elder Richard Habenek was our campus pastor. 102 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:04,240 And there were about maybe about 10 103 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:06,840 African-American students at the time 104 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:09,800 when I was there in the 70s. 105 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:16,920 And I would sit in church every Sabbath and weep, just cry. 106 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:23,120 He was a very quiet man, but he was so powerful. 107 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:25,960 He was so anointed and full of the Spirit. 108 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:27,800 And he would speak, and I would just 109 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:31,080 weep because I would just feel the presence of God. 110 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,720 That's my response to the presence of God, 111 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,920 is weeping sometimes. 112 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:42,560 And but here, and this was the birth of the Christian church. 113 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,480 This is when the Christian church was born here in Acts 2. 114 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:52,080 And the Bible says that when the Spirit fell, 115 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:56,760 he was so loud that they could hear him. 116 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:58,480 They said, and she just read it, it 117 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:04,240 was like the sound of a mighty rushing wind. 118 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,760 That the people were saying, what on earth is going on 119 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:11,600 in there? 120 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:16,840 Isn't that the way that the church should be nowadays? 121 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:18,760 From the perspective of the Spirit 122 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:24,840 should be so evident that the community around here 123 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:30,120 should be asking, what's going on there at the Ringgold 124 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,040 Seventh-day Adventist Church? 125 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:40,000 I feel a presence of the Spirit coming from that location 126 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:41,040 there. 127 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,160 And I want to know what's going on there. 128 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,440 I love this church so much. 129 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:52,680 And as I look out here, there are more people here 130 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:55,560 than in some of our larger churches. 131 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:59,360 I think the Spirit of God is so evident here. 132 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:03,200 I feel his presence when I come here. 133 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:08,000 And I love that when you have your praise and share, 134 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,800 that you pray for the requests right then and there. 135 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,240 Because sometimes when we say, when people ask us to pray, 136 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:17,800 sometimes we forget, don't we? 137 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:19,240 I love that about my church. 138 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:24,200 During our prayer meeting time, we spend from 7 to 8.30 139 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:25,880 in prayer meeting. 140 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:32,280 The first hour is spent in giving prayer requests 141 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:36,160 and praying for each one that is given. 142 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:44,400 An entire hour is so rich, because prayer 143 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:47,880 is the breath of the soul. 144 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:54,600 And so here, when the church was born and the Holy Spirit fell 145 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:59,400 and the gift of tongues was demonstrated, 146 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:04,920 and they were testifying of the goodness of God, 147 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:11,360 the inception of the church was recorded here. 148 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:15,760 Do you remember when Jesus ran the merchants out? 149 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:18,640 And I did not even record the scripture here, 150 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:20,400 so please forgive me. 151 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,120 But when he ran the merchants and the money changers 152 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:28,840 out of the temple, he did it because they had come right 153 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:32,240 into the outer court where the Gentiles had gathered to pray. 154 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:34,200 Because you see, the Gentiles were not 155 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:38,960 allowed to go into the temple at that time. 156 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,280 And so there they were in the outer court. 157 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:44,440 That was their place to pray. 158 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:50,920 And so it wasn't so much that it was the business in the church 159 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:54,800 that Christ was unsettled with, because those people were 160 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:56,120 supposed to be there. 161 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,120 The people had to pay the temple tax. 162 00:09:58,120 --> 00:09:59,960 They had to change funds. 163 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:03,120 And I believe that they were buying animals 164 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:05,960 to sacrifice even. 165 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:10,120 And so they were in the right place, 166 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,000 but perhaps for the wrong reason. 167 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:17,360 Sometimes we can come, and our intention 168 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:21,040 is not necessarily to worship. 169 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:25,240 Maybe sometimes our intention is because it's a routine 170 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,200 and because he said, for sec not the assembling of yourselves 171 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:29,120 together. 172 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:31,120 And so sometimes we can get caught up 173 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:36,720 in the routine of religiosity and not really 174 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:38,920 come for the right reason. 175 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:43,880 So it's not necessarily just about doing the right thing, 176 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:45,960 but it's what's in our hearts. 177 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:47,680 It's for the right reason. 178 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:50,880 And I'm just so thankful that when I come here, 179 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:53,760 I just sense that you all are here for the right reason. 180 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:55,720 Amen? 181 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:59,120 To worship God, there are smiles on your face. 182 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:02,600 You're welcoming us when we come in. 183 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:07,480 In the right place for the right reason. 184 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,280 In that text of scripture where it's 185 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,320 talking about the money changers and the merchants there, 186 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,200 he says, my house shall be a house of prayer 187 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:20,640 for all people, for everybody, even though they wouldn't 188 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:23,480 let the Gentiles in the temple. 189 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:26,600 Something a little bit wrong with that, right? 190 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:31,600 All of us who are here in church should be here 191 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:33,960 to rub shoulders with one another. 192 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:37,440 I was having a conversation with my husband 193 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:41,200 who were talking about Sabbath. 194 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:48,680 And how that sometimes we associate Sabbath with church. 195 00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:54,720 And it's not necessarily just church. 196 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:58,680 If you look at the way the Jews did it and do it, 197 00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:00,920 they actually do it correctly. 198 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:03,160 They meet on Friday evening. 199 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:08,640 They welcome the Sabbath with their families. 200 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:13,000 So Sabbath, I believe, personally, 201 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:18,920 was designed to be kept in the home, honored in the home, 202 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:22,080 and celebrated at church. 203 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:24,840 And so we come here and we rub shoulders 204 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:28,600 and we encourage one another because no man is an island. 205 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:30,200 We need each other. 206 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:32,760 And so when I come here and I feel welcome 207 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:36,360 and I see your smiles, that does me good. 208 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:38,760 We're doing this together. 209 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:44,880 It's not just something that we come and it's a ritual. 210 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:49,600 No, we come for corporate worship. 211 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:55,200 And the servant of the Lord speaks of the fact 212 00:12:55,200 --> 00:13:00,440 that the latter rain may fall in a corporate setting 213 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:02,800 when we're together some of these times, 214 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,400 worshiping together, praying together. 215 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:07,600 When we were in pastoral ministry together, 216 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:11,720 my husband and I, every church he pastored, 217 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:16,080 he always had all night prayer meetings. 218 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:18,760 And I believe, maybe, you would do them once a quarter 219 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:20,280 or something like that. 220 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:24,560 And we would pray all night long. 221 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:29,280 Every hour, there would be a short sermonette speaker. 222 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:32,680 We would spend a lot of time in prayer. 223 00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:35,600 And we would sing. 224 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:38,360 And there may be a special music. 225 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,560 And we would just call on the name of the Lord 226 00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:44,120 and invoke his presence among us. 227 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:45,840 We are in the last days. 228 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,400 And we are coming to a time where just spending 229 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:51,720 a few minutes is not enough. 230 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:52,520 It's not enough. 231 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:54,640 And as I speak, I am also listening. 232 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,520 This is for me because I'm going to just confess. 233 00:13:57,520 --> 00:13:59,600 Confession is good for the soul. 234 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:02,440 I've mentioned to Sarah, I said, Sarah, please pray for me. 235 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:06,760 This week, it was a different kind of a week. 236 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:08,440 It was one of those kind of weeks. 237 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:10,880 And I was just distracted. 238 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,720 And I was tired and fatigued. 239 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:15,600 And I couldn't get my mind together. 240 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,360 And I just didn't know what was going to happen today. 241 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,280 But I called upon the name of the Lord. 242 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:23,680 And we were in worship on Thursday. 243 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:24,680 And I texted Sarah. 244 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,600 I said, Sarah, I think God has spoken to me. 245 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:32,320 And I think he has a word for the people. 246 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:39,240 We are living in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. 247 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:43,400 In the Old Testament, didn't God say, in the Book of Exodus, 248 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,960 he said to Moses, let them build me a sanctuary 249 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,800 that I may dwell among them. 250 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:53,240 And it was during the time when they would 251 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:55,480 carry the tabernacle around. 252 00:14:55,480 --> 00:15:00,200 You had the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. 253 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,760 And the people counted it to be holy. 254 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:08,240 And that was during the dispensation 255 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,040 before Christ had come. 256 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:13,880 But we are now living in the dispensation 257 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:15,080 where he has come. 258 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,560 The temple, that curtain was rent. 259 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,720 And the Spirit of God, he said, when he left, he came. 260 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:21,240 And he left. 261 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,800 And he said, I'm going to leave you the Holy Ghost. 262 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:26,920 And we know that the Holy Ghost is 263 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:31,360 the guarantee of our salvation, that we can't get out 264 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:32,840 of here without him. 265 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:37,440 And sometimes I think, in our culture, as Adventists, 266 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:42,800 we may consider the Holy Ghost as with the Pentecostals. 267 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:44,560 Well, yes. 268 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:48,320 And we are Pentecostals in that way. 269 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:51,720 Because the Spirit of God, he left the Spirit of God. 270 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:56,400 He no longer lives in temples of brick and stone. 271 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:58,320 I steal so many things from my husband. 272 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:00,440 I've been listening to him preach for so long. 273 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:02,560 He's sitting there saying, she got that from me. 274 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:04,440 I did. 275 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:07,960 We no longer live in temples of brick and stone. 276 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:11,400 We now live in temples of flesh and bone. 277 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:12,800 What is Paul saying to Corinthians? 278 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:13,720 He says, what? 279 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:18,360 Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? 280 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:22,400 We have the privilege of having him to live in us. 281 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:26,320 And I often find myself saying to the Lord, Lord, 282 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:31,920 I am no longer satisfied with you just coming to visit. 283 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:34,640 I want you to live in my temple. 284 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:38,040 I want you to come and stay. 285 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:42,000 But we know that he cannot stay in our temples 286 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,840 when our temples are so wayward. 287 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:48,120 I'm not saying we have to be perfect. 288 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,840 But if we're just watching whatever we want to watch, 289 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:54,560 and I'm convicted right now as I'm saying this, 290 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:59,120 we can't just eat whatever we want to eat. 291 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:03,360 We must honor him in our temples. 292 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:07,200 But we can't do it without the anointing. 293 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:10,520 We cannot do it without the Holy Ghost. 294 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:15,000 If the church started with the Holy Ghost, 295 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,760 how do we think we're going to continue? 296 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:20,000 How do we think we're going to make without him? 297 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,320 We must ask for him. 298 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:28,680 Matthew 7, verses 7 through 11. 299 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,400 I can remember when I was young. 300 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,960 And sometimes our food would be low. 301 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:40,200 And sometimes we would have to come together as a family. 302 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:41,960 And my parents would come together. 303 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,360 And they would say, come on, children. 304 00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:46,440 Put your finger on this text. 305 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:50,200 Matthew 7, 7, ask and it shall be given you. 306 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,040 Seek and ye shall find. 307 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:55,640 Knock and the door shall be opened unto you. 308 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,040 Verse 7 says, for everyone that asketh receiveth, 309 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:02,360 and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh, 310 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:04,480 it shall be opened. 311 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:08,360 Or what man is there of you whom if his son ask bread, 312 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:10,120 will you give him a stone? 313 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:13,560 Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? 314 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:17,560 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts 315 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,480 unto your children, how much more 316 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:24,120 will your Father in heaven give good things to them 317 00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:26,640 that ask him? 318 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:32,880 So for many years, I read that passage of scripture. 319 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:36,760 And I thought that it was talking 320 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:40,960 about temporal blessings. 321 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:43,480 Now, there is nothing wrong with asking 322 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:44,480 for temporal blessings. 323 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,560 In fact, we should ask for things that we need. 324 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:51,840 He tells us that if we have a need, that we should go to him 325 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:55,120 and we should ask him for the things that we need. 326 00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:58,440 But this particular verse was not 327 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:02,360 talking about temporal blessings. 328 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:06,160 I stumbled upon, many years ago, stumbled 329 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:11,800 upon a different rendition of that same text 330 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:16,760 in Luke's version of that text in Luke chapter 11, 331 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:18,480 very same text. 332 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,200 Ask and it shall be given you. 333 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:22,280 Seek and ye shall find. 334 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:25,960 Knock and the door shall be opened unto you. 335 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:31,480 But when Luke gets down to verse 13, he says this. 336 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:36,000 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts 337 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,720 to your children, watch this now, 338 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:44,520 how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy 339 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:47,480 Spirit to them that ask him? 340 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:57,160 I said, oh, now I see what he was really talking about. 341 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:01,480 He was not talking about those temporal things that we need, 342 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:04,520 because we do understand that even before we ask, 343 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:07,160 that he knows what we need. 344 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:12,280 The greatest need we have and the greatest prayer 345 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:19,840 we can ever pray is for the Holy Spirit. 346 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:25,560 We need him now more than we've ever needed him before. 347 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:29,120 And I know that from experience, because I 348 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:36,160 try so hard to do the right thing. 349 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:42,880 And I often fall short most of the time. 350 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,960 We cannot do it on our own. 351 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:52,040 We need the Spirit of God to come and to live in us 352 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:58,440 and to give us the power to overcome the weights 353 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:04,600 and the sins that does so easily beset us. 354 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:07,720 In Acts chapter 4, when Peter and John 355 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,280 went before the priests for preaching 356 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:18,200 about the resurrection, if you go to chapter 4 of Acts, 357 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:20,960 it talks about that time when they were preaching. 358 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:22,560 They were preaching their hearts out, 359 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:26,600 and they were preaching the truth about the resurrection 360 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:28,680 and the state of the dead. 361 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:30,360 And they were arrested. 362 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:33,440 And they were questioned about why they had done this 363 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:36,720 and whose name they had come. 364 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:41,680 And the Bible says in verses 8 through 10, it says, 365 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:46,840 then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, 366 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:51,360 said to them, rulers and elders of our people, 367 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:55,000 are we being questioned today because we have done a good deed 368 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,760 for a crippled man? 369 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,520 See, they were picking on them because they 370 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,800 had demonstrated these rare gifts that 371 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:04,520 had been given to them. 372 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:08,320 And it says, let me clearly state to all of you, 373 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:11,280 to all the people of Israel, that he 374 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:17,920 was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, 375 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:24,960 the man whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. 376 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:28,120 And in the verses following, it says, 377 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:31,080 although they knew that Peter and John 378 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,080 had no special training in the scriptures, 379 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:35,480 they were not preachers. 380 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:39,200 They had not gone to the seminary at Andrews University. 381 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:43,520 They did not have all of these credentials. 382 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:47,960 But the Bible says that they recognized them 383 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:52,760 as men who had been with Jesus. 384 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:54,560 Is that how you're known? 385 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:58,920 I mean, I would love to be associated 386 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:04,280 with Christ in such a way that when people are around me, 387 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:09,480 that they know at least that I just love him with all my heart. 388 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,520 I may not act like it all the time, 389 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:16,160 but I love him with all my heart. 390 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:20,560 And the Bible says they warned them not to speak anymore 391 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:22,200 in the name of Jesus. 392 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:25,000 And they replied in verse 20, I want 393 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,000 to have this kind of holy boldness 394 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,120 that you get from the anointing. 395 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:33,160 They said in verse 20, we will not 396 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:37,960 stop speaking the things which we have seen and heard. 397 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:39,340 You can arrest us. 398 00:23:39,340 --> 00:23:41,840 You can do whatever you want to do with us. 399 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:46,760 But we will continue speaking the truth. 400 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:51,720 And we will continue talking about the wonderful works 401 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:53,400 of God. 402 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,160 How is it going to be for us in the last days 403 00:23:56,160 --> 00:24:00,720 when they are threatening to arrest us and to kill us? 404 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:02,400 And if we don't have the anointing, 405 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:07,520 see, we can say now, I'm going to stand up for God. 406 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:10,760 I'm going to speak for him even in the face of death. 407 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,720 But if you are not truly connected with him 408 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,760 and you don't truly have the anointing of the Spirit of God 409 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:24,280 in you, you may give up on that day to save your life. 410 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:28,440 They say, we will not stop. 411 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,480 We will continue. 412 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,440 And if you notice that when they, in the Bible days, 413 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:37,840 when Paul and all of them, when they were put in prison, 414 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,040 they never prayed to get out of prison. 415 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:45,280 They didn't pray to get out of their circumstance. 416 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:51,440 Many times, we don't want to go through, because we are human, 417 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:53,440 and we don't want to go through those hard times. 418 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,120 And so we spend a lot of time praying for God 419 00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:59,080 to get us out of circumstances. 420 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:02,680 What we really need to pray for is 421 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:06,760 the anointing for the Spirit of God to go through it. 422 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,840 Because then if he wills that we get out of it, 423 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:12,360 he's going to let us out of the situation. 424 00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:15,680 And as people watch us and see how we handle the trials 425 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,320 that we're going through, see, we 426 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,600 can help other people when we're anointed 427 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:23,680 by the Spirit of God. 428 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,440 I can remember, and you all have to forgive me, 429 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,760 I've only been here once in your pulpit. 430 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:32,320 And sometimes when I tell stories, 431 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:34,200 I don't remember which ones I've told. 432 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:38,520 So they're good and sometimes worth repeating. 433 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:41,760 But when we were married, maybe about 10 years, 434 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,200 and we were pastoring in the seaside area, 435 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,160 that's, in fact, is where it is written, 436 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,360 is this weekend for their partnership weekend. 437 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:52,160 In fact, the hotel that they're in, 438 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,440 we could see from the place where we lived, 439 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:56,600 when we lived in that area. 440 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:58,160 We were pastoring during that time, 441 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,400 and it was during the time that our children, all 442 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,040 of our children, were at home. 443 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,160 And if you know anything about our background, which 444 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:11,400 we haven't talked about today, we have eight children. 445 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:16,080 We have 30 grandchildren, and we have 17 great grandchildren. 446 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:18,960 And this was during the time I had 447 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:22,360 married my husband, his wife had left him 448 00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:25,400 with raising six children alone while he was 449 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:28,600 studying ministry at Oakwood. 450 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,440 And I came along and discovered him. 451 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:34,600 Hallelujah. 452 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:41,480 To the glory of God, he has been just an amazing life companion 453 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:42,160 to me. 454 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,600 And with his flexible schedule in ministry, 455 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:48,160 even though he worked hard, he worked hard. 456 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:51,280 He went to prison visiting people. 457 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,280 He counseled people during the week. 458 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:56,000 He prayed on the phone with people. 459 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:01,360 And still now, he spends three or four hours sometimes praying 460 00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:06,200 with people in his retirement years. 461 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:10,640 And we were there during that time. 462 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:12,360 I gave him two more children. 463 00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:15,760 He had three boys and three girls, a perfect Brady bunch. 464 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:20,120 And then we got married, and I gave him two more daughters. 465 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:23,520 Our oldest is 54, and the youngest is 34. 466 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:25,360 She was born on our wedding anniversary, 467 00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:28,840 and so she just turned 34 on October 22. 468 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,960 God has been good to us. 469 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:38,720 During those times, we had all the children at home. 470 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:42,120 And our oldest daughter at the time had had a baby. 471 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:44,720 And you can imagine with all the kids at home 472 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:46,800 and everything that was happening, 473 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:50,280 there were some frustrating times. 474 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:56,800 And I had stumbled upon a verse in the scriptures, Psalms 119, 475 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:58,960 165. 476 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:02,960 And it says, great peace have they which love thy law, 477 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:06,440 and nothing shall offend them. 478 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:08,000 And I began to pray and ask God. 479 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:12,120 I said, Lord, I need that experience. 480 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:14,840 Please help me, because I would sometimes 481 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:18,080 get frustrated with the kids. 482 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:21,480 And my husband would say to me, sometimes I 483 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,120 would raise my voice, and he would say, 484 00:28:24,120 --> 00:28:26,760 babe, let's just pray. 485 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:31,120 He was so patient and so kind, and he 486 00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:36,360 did most of the cleaning for most of our marriage. 487 00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:39,220 In every way he could, he showed me 488 00:28:39,220 --> 00:28:43,060 how much he appreciated my coming in, 489 00:28:43,060 --> 00:28:44,840 helping him to raise the children, 490 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:48,080 and walking alongside him in ministry. 491 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:52,120 He did everything he could do to lighten my load. 492 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:55,440 That's why I don't look like I had that many children 493 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:58,640 and been married as long as I've been. 494 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:04,880 Honestly, he did everything he could do to lighten my load. 495 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:06,240 And so there we were. 496 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:09,960 I had prayed that prayer, and I said, Lord, 497 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:12,880 I don't want to be impatient with the children. 498 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:14,920 Please help me. 499 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,280 And so one particular Sabbath morning, 500 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:19,080 we got ready to go to church. 501 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:23,200 And the oldest girl who had had a baby out of wet lock, 502 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:24,800 and she was there. 503 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,280 She was frustrated too. 504 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:31,040 And she was fixing breakfast for the baby, what have you. 505 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:37,040 And I don't know, we had a little altercation. 506 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:40,280 I had asked her to do something, and she kind of snapped at me. 507 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,240 Now, mind you, we're only nine years apart. 508 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,640 My husband, he looks very young. 509 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:50,160 He's 77. 510 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,480 He looks very young. 511 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:56,920 But she was frustrated. 512 00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:58,320 I was frustrated. 513 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:02,480 And we had a little argument that Sabbath morning. 514 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:03,980 And so here I am, the pastor's wife. 515 00:30:03,980 --> 00:30:07,360 We have to go to church and smile. 516 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:12,200 And so I went to church, and I was sitting there on the pew. 517 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:14,160 My husband began to preach. 518 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:20,540 And I was really frustrated. 519 00:30:20,540 --> 00:30:23,920 And the Lord began to speak to me. 520 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,720 And he said to me, he said, you know 521 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:30,480 that text in Psalms 119, 165, you've been praying 522 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:33,600 and asking me, Lord, I need patience with the children, 523 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:42,720 you know, long suffering so that I won't be offended. 524 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:45,360 I said, yes, Lord. 525 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:48,480 He said, I am going to give you that experience. 526 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:53,880 I'm looking around. 527 00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:56,920 I'm like, huh? 528 00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:58,440 He said, you've been praying for that. 529 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:00,280 He said, I'm going to give you that experience. 530 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:02,080 And he said, but before I do, I need 531 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:06,400 to let you know you've been praying the wrong prayer. 532 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:08,640 Oh, really, Lord? 533 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:10,200 Yes. 534 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:14,040 He said, I want you to turn to Galatians chapter 5. 535 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:17,960 Now, I'm sitting here having a conversation with God. 536 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:18,920 Isn't he a mighty? 537 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:20,760 He's just wonderful. 538 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:22,000 He deals with us. 539 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,600 He meets us where we are. 540 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:31,280 My husband is preaching, and God is speaking to me. 541 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:34,680 Galatians 5, and the fruit of the Spirit 542 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:40,960 is love, joy, peace, long suffering. 543 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:44,400 He said, you've been asking for one of the fruit 544 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:47,960 when you can have the whole package. 545 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:50,800 All you need is the anointing. 546 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:54,160 All you need is the indwelling of Christ. 547 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:58,800 And hence, one of my favorite passages in the book 548 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:02,480 Desire of Ages, which is my favorite Spirit of Prophecy 549 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:07,440 publication on page 324, where she says, 550 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:14,480 the only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ 551 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:19,760 in the heart through faith in his righteousness. 552 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:22,480 That's the Holy Spirit, people. 553 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:23,960 That's the Spirit of God. 554 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:25,840 That's the anointing. 555 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:29,800 She says, the only way you can overcome 556 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,000 is to have the Spirit of God in you. 557 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:35,400 And I contend that it will take more than just 558 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:37,960 him coming to visit. 559 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:43,480 We have got to make room for him by praying and asking God 560 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:52,000 to kick out all of that stuff in us that inhibits 561 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:57,920 the full baptism of the Holy Spirit. 562 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:00,520 I want him. 563 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:03,440 I want him to take control. 564 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:05,560 And so I ask him. 565 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:08,040 I do ask him. 566 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:10,840 I get distracted sometimes. 567 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:13,880 And then sometimes, I don't ask him. 568 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:20,640 We cannot do this by ourselves. 569 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:22,560 We must pray. 570 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:26,960 And we must not just pray asking him for things. 571 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:28,600 We must pray. 572 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:33,760 And we must beg him for the indwelling of his presence. 573 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:38,680 Because that power, he says, that we shall receive power 574 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:42,520 after that the Holy Ghost comes upon you, 575 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:44,400 and you shall be my witnesses. 576 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:49,480 Many times, even our witness is not a strong witness, 577 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:54,080 because we try to do it without the anointing. 578 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:56,080 We need him. 579 00:33:56,080 --> 00:34:00,960 And we must always be aware of our need for him. 580 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:03,040 Don't ever think you can do this alone. 581 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:10,880 Just having the truth, just observing the Sabbath, 582 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:15,040 just eating veggie links. 583 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:16,640 Come on now. 584 00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:20,160 Sometimes, we can get a little beside ourselves 585 00:34:20,160 --> 00:34:22,800 and a little too happy with ourselves 586 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:25,360 because of what God has given us. 587 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:30,000 And isn't it rich what he's given us? 588 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,520 In the book, Steps to Christ, in the Privilege of Prayer, 589 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:37,760 she talks about how the angels are just 590 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:42,680 amazed at how much we really need God 591 00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:44,280 and how little we pray. 592 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:51,200 Acts chapter 4 and verse 31. 593 00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:58,160 And when they had prayed, Peter and John, 594 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:00,640 going back to that story. 595 00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:04,840 And when they had prayed, the place 596 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:11,040 was shaken where they were assembled together. 597 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:16,360 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. 598 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:20,520 And they spake the word of God with boldness. 599 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:25,440 I say they were all in the right place at the right time. 600 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:31,880 Hence, these kinds of gatherings where we come together. 601 00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:37,120 One day, the Spirit of God at the anointing at the light 602 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:44,800 of rain may fall on us in one of these gatherings. 603 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,400 Hallelujah. 604 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:52,120 I want to be where prayer is wont to be made. 605 00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:55,200 I decided that when I was a young girl. 606 00:35:55,200 --> 00:36:00,680 My father, you see, who died an Adventist pastor 607 00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:06,520 at the age of 54, his heart having exploded in his chest. 608 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:09,960 He didn't have two seconds to say anything. 609 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:12,800 But he died while he was praying. 610 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:17,040 Blessed be the name of the Lord. 611 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:18,520 What a way to go. 612 00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:24,880 As a child, I always knew, and he would always 613 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:27,200 tell us, unless the house is on fire, 614 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:31,160 please don't approach my prayer chamber. 615 00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:38,320 And we always knew that early in the morning, he was in prayer. 616 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:42,440 And this particular morning that he died 617 00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:45,520 was like no other except this. 618 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:53,240 He got up, and he went into prayer, and he worshiped God. 619 00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:57,880 And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon him. 620 00:36:57,880 --> 00:36:59,080 How do I know? 621 00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:01,760 He woke my mother up, which he had never done. 622 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:03,920 They had been married 33 years. 623 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:06,980 My mother married him at age 15. 624 00:37:06,980 --> 00:37:10,840 She was 49 when he died. 625 00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:16,440 And this particular morning, he woke her up. 626 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:20,960 She said, you've never awakened me during your worship. 627 00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:27,480 He said, yes, he said, but he said glory was all around me. 628 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:28,680 She said, OK. 629 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:32,080 It was just strange to her, you know? 630 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:35,640 And so she said to him, he said, I'm 631 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:42,020 going out on the patio to walk around and get some exercise. 632 00:37:42,020 --> 00:37:48,640 And he put his sweatsuit on, and she said, where's my hug? 633 00:37:48,640 --> 00:37:52,880 And he embraced her for the last time. 634 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:56,480 And that's where she found him, laying on his back 635 00:37:56,480 --> 00:37:57,840 with his eyes open. 636 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:00,560 A church member, he was pastoring a district, 637 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:04,380 and he was pastoring a church in Battle Creek, Michigan. 638 00:38:04,380 --> 00:38:07,280 And a church member called to speak to him. 639 00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:10,760 So she goes out on the patio to get him, 640 00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:15,200 and that's where she found him, lifeless. 641 00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:19,480 But can you ask for anything more? 642 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:21,200 It was traumatic. 643 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:22,520 I was very close to my dad. 644 00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:23,960 That's why I hyphenate my name. 645 00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:34,280 But he died in his prayer chamber in worship to God. 646 00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:39,360 I said, God, I have no problem with this. 647 00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:41,200 He taught me how to build a prayer altar 648 00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:44,040 when I was five years old. 649 00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:47,000 And he said to me, I wondered why he took, 650 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,040 I'm the youngest of five. 651 00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:53,280 And he took a little special care with me 652 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:54,560 on a spiritual level. 653 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:57,920 And he said to me, he said this to me. 654 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:01,200 He said, I kind of got an inkling 655 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:02,680 that you would be wayward. 656 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:09,280 I was like, oh, really? 657 00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:16,160 He said, I felt like I needed to do something with you. 658 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:17,120 Why? 659 00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:18,800 I don't know. 660 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:22,240 But I thank God that I didn't really get to know. 661 00:39:22,240 --> 00:39:24,200 I wasn't perfect. 662 00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:26,080 But God protected me from a lot of things. 663 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:28,920 I grew up in the inner city of Chicago. 664 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:31,200 And although I went to church school, 665 00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:34,440 we were all in the inner city. 666 00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:36,040 And the influence was there. 667 00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:43,560 I thank God to this very day for my father teaching me 668 00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:50,400 the most important discipline that he could have taught me. 669 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:55,160 The most important thing that anybody in this room 670 00:39:55,160 --> 00:39:59,480 could ever learn to do is to pray. 671 00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:02,480 It is our connection with heaven. 672 00:40:02,480 --> 00:40:06,560 It is our connection with heaven. 673 00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:09,640 It is our connection with God. 674 00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:13,000 It is our connection with the Holy Spirit. 675 00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:21,320 In Desire of Ages, she goes beyond that. 676 00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:22,520 And this is what she says. 677 00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:23,280 Listen to this. 678 00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:23,960 This is powerful. 679 00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:28,720 When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, 680 00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:33,280 a new power takes possession of the new heart. 681 00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:36,120 A change is wrought which man can never 682 00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:38,320 accomplish for himself. 683 00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:43,640 It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element 684 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:45,880 into human nature. 685 00:40:45,880 --> 00:40:48,480 The soul that is yielded to Christ 686 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:52,520 becomes his own fortress, which he holds to the very end. 687 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:56,240 It is a fortress which he holds in a revulsion world. 688 00:40:56,240 --> 00:40:59,440 And he intends that no authority shall 689 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:02,320 be known in it but his own. 690 00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:08,240 A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies 691 00:41:08,240 --> 00:41:12,080 is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. 692 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:14,840 That's powerful. 693 00:41:14,840 --> 00:41:19,880 But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, 694 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:23,680 we shall be dominated by the wicked one. 695 00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:27,720 We must inevitably be under the control of the one 696 00:41:27,720 --> 00:41:30,160 or the other of the two great powers 697 00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:34,640 that are contending for the supremacy of the world. 698 00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:37,960 It is not necessary for us deliberately 699 00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:40,440 to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness 700 00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:42,480 in order to come under its dominion. 701 00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:46,920 You don't have to say, I choose Satan. 702 00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:51,160 But if you do not ally yourself with Christ, 703 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:54,120 with the kingdom of light, if we do not 704 00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:57,000 cooperate with the heavenly agencies, 705 00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:59,800 Satan will take possession of the heart 706 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:02,120 and will make it his abiding place. 707 00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:02,920 Lord, have mercy. 708 00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:08,680 I don't want him in here. 709 00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:12,160 But in order to keep him out, the spirit of God 710 00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:17,320 has got to be in the air. 711 00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:21,520 We may leave off many bad habits. 712 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:25,680 For a time, we may part company with Satan. 713 00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:30,760 But without a vital connection with God, 714 00:42:30,760 --> 00:42:34,040 through the surrender of ourselves to him, 715 00:42:34,040 --> 00:42:38,280 moment by moment, we shall be overcome. 716 00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:42,560 Without a personal acquaintance with Christ 717 00:42:42,560 --> 00:42:47,240 and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy 718 00:42:47,240 --> 00:42:49,520 and shall do his bidding in the end. 719 00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:50,880 Lord, help us. 720 00:43:02,240 --> 00:43:04,520 As I prepare to close, Ronald, I'm going to ask you, 721 00:43:04,520 --> 00:43:09,000 would you mind playing softly a Pasadena gentle savior 722 00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:12,120 or anything of your choosing very softly 723 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:16,520 as I prepare to close? 724 00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:20,640 I'm going back to the story where 725 00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:22,600 I was sitting in the church and the spirit of God 726 00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:24,080 began to speak to me and told me I 727 00:43:24,080 --> 00:43:25,360 was praying the wrong prayer. 728 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:32,560 So at that point, I decided, OK, I 729 00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:36,680 need to start praying for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. 730 00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:38,440 I need to ask for him to come in. 731 00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:43,160 And so I began to pray that prayer. 732 00:43:43,160 --> 00:43:45,840 Sometimes I fell off the bandwagon, 733 00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:48,440 but he would always remind me. 734 00:43:48,440 --> 00:43:51,280 You remember that time when you were sitting in church, 735 00:43:51,280 --> 00:43:53,960 that Sabbath? 736 00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:59,960 And so I began to pray again, Lord, fill me 737 00:43:59,960 --> 00:44:03,040 with your holy presence. 738 00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:06,400 As the time passed and the children began to grow 739 00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:15,040 and we went to another church and life happened, 740 00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:20,560 I discovered that he had kept his promise to me. 741 00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:24,080 Those things that would frustrate me so bad, 742 00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:26,240 that would make me raise my voice, 743 00:44:26,240 --> 00:44:34,040 those things became less and less and less. 744 00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:39,360 And then I said, Lord, I thank you 745 00:44:39,360 --> 00:44:41,800 because I feel more of your presence. 746 00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:46,840 But Lord, I need you even more because I'm still a sinner 747 00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:52,320 and I still experience frustration and depression. 748 00:44:52,320 --> 00:44:55,920 Impression without expression equals depression. 749 00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:57,800 You know, if I'm just keeping it in 750 00:44:57,800 --> 00:45:00,800 and I'm not really letting it go and giving it to you. 751 00:45:04,520 --> 00:45:08,840 I remember one time I had gotten upset at my husband 752 00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:11,680 and I was kind of reading him his rites 753 00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:14,680 and from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. 754 00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:20,560 And he looked at me and he said to me, 755 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:21,560 I'll never forget this. 756 00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:23,160 And I talk about it all the time. 757 00:45:23,160 --> 00:45:26,960 We were living in Seaside on Hewby Street 758 00:45:26,960 --> 00:45:28,760 and we were in the bedroom. 759 00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:31,680 And he looked at me and he said, OK. 760 00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:32,880 He said, so I messed up. 761 00:45:32,880 --> 00:45:36,520 He said, how do you think God feels about me right now? 762 00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:39,800 And I fell out laughing. 763 00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:42,120 I started laughing because it was so the truth. 764 00:45:44,720 --> 00:45:48,880 Isn't that how God looks at us? 765 00:45:48,880 --> 00:45:52,200 It's hard to have a problem with people 766 00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:55,560 when you see them through the eyes of God 767 00:45:55,560 --> 00:46:00,160 and you can only see them through the eyes of God 768 00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:03,720 when you have the anointing. 769 00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:08,280 The church started with the Holy Ghost. 770 00:46:08,280 --> 00:46:14,200 The people were praying and waiting on him to arrive. 771 00:46:14,200 --> 00:46:21,400 And I do believe that that is the way the church will end. 772 00:46:21,400 --> 00:46:26,080 And so today, I want to do something a little different. 773 00:46:29,360 --> 00:46:35,120 It may make you feel a little uncomfortable, 774 00:46:35,120 --> 00:46:39,840 but it's what the Spirit has placed upon my heart. 775 00:46:39,840 --> 00:46:47,440 I would like for us to have what you call a Pentecostal prayer 776 00:46:47,440 --> 00:46:55,880 where we all pray out loud for the Holy Spirit. 777 00:46:55,880 --> 00:47:00,360 I will begin, but then I will move away from the mic 778 00:47:00,360 --> 00:47:05,120 because I want everyone who would like to participate. 779 00:47:05,120 --> 00:47:08,640 And even if your lips are just moving, 780 00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:11,080 there's no pressure here. 781 00:47:11,080 --> 00:47:16,000 But I'd like for all of us at the same time 782 00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:21,360 to call upon the name of the Lord 783 00:47:21,360 --> 00:47:27,400 and ask him for the Holy Spirit. 784 00:47:27,400 --> 00:47:29,720 And so I begin. 785 00:47:29,720 --> 00:47:33,200 Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray, 786 00:47:33,200 --> 00:47:35,960 first for the forgiveness of sin. 787 00:47:35,960 --> 00:47:38,560 There's anything in me, Lord, that is unlike you. 788 00:47:38,560 --> 00:47:41,080 I pray that you remove it now. 789 00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:43,920 In the name of Jesus, and I ask that you 790 00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:49,720 would anoint me with your Holy presence, oh God. 791 00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:54,480 I present before you, Lord, this entire congregation 792 00:47:54,480 --> 00:47:57,560 and anyone who would like to join me 793 00:47:57,560 --> 00:48:02,360 as we open our mouths to ask you for the anointing 794 00:48:02,360 --> 00:48:03,240 of your presence. 795 00:48:03,240 --> 00:48:05,760 Lord, we can't do it without you. 796 00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:07,520 We cannot live this life without you. 797 00:48:07,520 --> 00:48:09,080 Lord, please come. 798 00:48:09,080 --> 00:48:11,760 Come, Holy Spirit, we need you. 799 00:48:11,760 --> 00:48:13,400 Come, sweet Spirit. 800 00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:14,720 We pray. 801 00:48:14,720 --> 00:48:19,360 Come and anoint us in your own special way. 802 00:48:19,360 --> 00:48:23,360 Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on us. 803 00:48:23,360 --> 00:48:28,560 Melt us, mold us, use us, fill us. 804 00:48:28,560 --> 00:48:35,360 Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on us, Lord, we pray. 805 00:48:35,360 --> 00:48:36,440 We need you, Lord. 806 00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:45,480 If we ever needed you before, we need you. 807 00:48:45,480 --> 00:48:55,920 Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, come, Holy Spirit. 808 00:48:55,920 --> 00:48:57,920 We need you. 809 00:48:57,920 --> 00:49:05,360 Thank you for stopping by the Ringle Church this morning. 810 00:49:05,360 --> 00:49:10,240 And as we go down from this place, 811 00:49:10,240 --> 00:49:19,920 we pray we will ever be determined to beg you each day 812 00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:25,880 for a fresh anointing of your Holy Spirit. 813 00:49:25,880 --> 00:49:29,920 We pray in Jesus' name. 814 00:49:29,920 --> 00:49:34,120 And the church said together, Amen. 815 00:49:34,120 --> 00:49:36,120 Amen and amen. 816 00:50:04,120 --> 00:50:06,120 Amen. 817 00:50:34,120 --> 00:50:36,120 Amen.