WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.220 I remember during the season, I went outside 00:00:02.220 --> 00:00:04.320 and said, Jesus, I don't understand everything. 00:00:04.740 --> 00:00:07.120 And I felt like he whispered in my soul, son, 00:00:07.179 --> 00:00:12.380 if you understood everything, you'd be me. I 00:00:12.380 --> 00:00:14.560 felt like he said, when your theology fails, 00:00:14.779 --> 00:00:16.899 when your understanding of who I am and of my 00:00:16.899 --> 00:00:19.120 ways fails, I want you to know this. I'll never 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:21.379 fail you and I'll never forsake you. I'll be 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:23.039 with you always, even through the valley of the 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:25.039 shadow of death, even to the ends of the earth. 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:27.559 And that will be enough. He didn't give me any 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:29.199 answers for what I was going through, except. 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:40.880 My presence will go with you. God promises in 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:44.679 Joel 2 .28 to pour out His Spirit on all humanity. 00:00:45.140 --> 00:00:48.140 Welcome to global outpouring, where we contend 00:00:48.140 --> 00:00:50.979 for that promised outpouring, we equip for that 00:00:50.979 --> 00:00:54.280 outpouring, so that we may engage in that very 00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:57.939 outpouring. I'm Philip Buss. And I'm Sharon Buss. 00:00:58.039 --> 00:01:01.000 Welcome to the podcast today. We are so delighted 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:03.700 that you're with us and we are delighted to have 00:01:03.700 --> 00:01:07.489 with us for a second part. Our dear friend, Keith 00:01:07.489 --> 00:01:10.750 Wheeler, a man who has been used by God in such 00:01:10.750 --> 00:01:13.849 a powerful way in the nations as he just obeys 00:01:13.849 --> 00:01:17.469 God, going from place to place, carrying a cross, 00:01:17.689 --> 00:01:22.230 a 12 -foot cross. And he crosses the oceans with 00:01:22.230 --> 00:01:24.810 it in an airplane and sets it up. It comes in 00:01:24.810 --> 00:01:27.329 pieces, actually. And he puts it together and 00:01:27.329 --> 00:01:30.049 he walks and he never knows where he's going 00:01:30.049 --> 00:01:33.709 to sleep. He often goes places where nobody even 00:01:33.709 --> 00:01:37.060 knows him. But God has led him there and he uses 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:40.319 him to bring Jesus into people's lives. And in 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:43.099 this episode, he's going to share with us some 00:01:43.099 --> 00:01:47.540 very amazing experiences that have given him 00:01:47.540 --> 00:01:55.700 a real perspective. Thanks so much for joining 00:01:55.700 --> 00:01:57.900 us today. We're so happy that you're with us. 00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:00.739 And once again, you're going to enjoy this episode 00:02:00.739 --> 00:02:03.079 with Keith Wheeler. But before we get started, 00:02:03.099 --> 00:02:05.099 we want to encourage you, if you haven't already 00:02:05.099 --> 00:02:08.879 done so, that you go to our website, globaloutpouring 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:11.979 .net, that you have made sure that you're on 00:02:11.979 --> 00:02:15.099 our email lists. There's a green subscribe button 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:17.659 there that you can subscribe. And you can find 00:02:17.659 --> 00:02:19.539 out all the other wonderful things that we have 00:02:19.539 --> 00:02:23.449 on our website. future events that we have coming 00:02:23.449 --> 00:02:27.270 up and blogs that you can read. And hey, you 00:02:27.270 --> 00:02:31.009 can even go to wherever your smartphone store 00:02:31.009 --> 00:02:33.729 is that you can download apps and you can download 00:02:33.729 --> 00:02:37.909 the app, the Global Outpouring ETH app. It's 00:02:37.909 --> 00:02:40.669 out there for you and it helps you to stay connected 00:02:40.669 --> 00:02:43.689 and see what's going on and get notifications. 00:02:43.689 --> 00:02:46.590 And you can even put prayer requests on our prayer 00:02:46.590 --> 00:02:51.090 wall and you can join groups. that we can interact 00:02:51.090 --> 00:02:53.069 together. There's lots of things that you can 00:02:53.069 --> 00:02:55.430 do there. And we want to encourage you to get 00:02:55.430 --> 00:02:59.490 that app. Well, Keith Wheeler, thank you so much 00:02:59.490 --> 00:03:03.009 for joining us again. We enjoyed that last episode 00:03:03.009 --> 00:03:05.949 so, so much that we just felt like, oh, Holy 00:03:05.949 --> 00:03:08.330 Spirit, you've got to give us more. We need more 00:03:08.330 --> 00:03:10.310 out of this man. So thank you for joining us 00:03:10.310 --> 00:03:13.729 again. Thanks. What a treasure. What a treat 00:03:13.729 --> 00:03:17.590 to be rejoined with you guys. I know. Getting 00:03:17.590 --> 00:03:20.629 ready for this episode, you told us about how 00:03:20.629 --> 00:03:23.009 you've actually listened to some of our podcasts 00:03:23.009 --> 00:03:26.449 because we have a mutual friend. Yes, Pastor 00:03:26.449 --> 00:03:30.150 Larry Mariello. I love that. Dear brother. Oh, 00:03:30.150 --> 00:03:32.990 yes, he is. I actually spoke with him yesterday. 00:03:33.349 --> 00:03:36.150 Really? Oh, well, we'll both have to text him 00:03:36.150 --> 00:03:39.310 and say we just did two podcasts. Yes, we will. 00:03:39.310 --> 00:03:43.909 We will. Oh, that's great. That's great. So you've 00:03:43.909 --> 00:03:47.979 been telling us some things. Fairly recently, 00:03:48.060 --> 00:03:51.759 you had a heart attack. You had heart surgery. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:55.840 We heard about that. And so we were praying for 00:03:55.840 --> 00:03:58.460 you. I don't know if we reached out to you at 00:03:58.460 --> 00:04:01.060 the time. I don't remember that, but I probably 00:04:01.060 --> 00:04:04.460 did. I don't know. To be honest, there was a 00:04:04.460 --> 00:04:07.759 season that I don't remember much of. Yeah. So 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:11.300 you have on airlines, you told us you've probably 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:15.560 got more than five, six million miles going. 00:04:16.569 --> 00:04:19.850 Total, going to the nations, easily that. Correct. 00:04:20.389 --> 00:04:24.189 And thousands of miles, surely, walking with 00:04:24.189 --> 00:04:26.209 the cross. Is it a million yet, do you think? 00:04:26.449 --> 00:04:29.949 No, not even. The distance at the equator is 00:04:29.949 --> 00:04:36.129 24 ,901 and a half miles. And I jokingly say 00:04:36.129 --> 00:04:38.910 the only ones who will know that are those who 00:04:38.910 --> 00:04:43.350 are either going to win like Jeopardy or somebody 00:04:43.350 --> 00:04:46.230 who's a geography geek. Or somebody who's actually 00:04:46.230 --> 00:04:50.069 walked that distance. And in October of 2018, 00:04:50.290 --> 00:04:53.990 with God's help, I actually took the step that 00:04:53.990 --> 00:04:56.769 equaled that distance. As best as, you know, 00:04:56.790 --> 00:04:59.009 there's no exact science to that. But as best 00:04:59.009 --> 00:05:02.009 as we can do. That was the step. And I tried 00:05:02.009 --> 00:05:04.649 to take it the month leading down. It was a countdown. 00:05:05.470 --> 00:05:08.709 And I got to where, okay, if I walk from here 00:05:08.709 --> 00:05:12.389 to here, I can actually finish where I began. 00:05:13.110 --> 00:05:16.610 Wow. And it couldn't have been more precious 00:05:16.610 --> 00:05:19.430 the way Jesus set it up. It was in October and 00:05:19.430 --> 00:05:24.069 the weather had been just spectacular. Beautiful 00:05:24.069 --> 00:05:29.569 fall weather in the high 60s, low 70s. Oh, that's 00:05:29.569 --> 00:05:34.829 perfect. And the day that I got to do it, cold 00:05:34.829 --> 00:05:38.730 front came in and it was. cold and hard rain. 00:05:39.009 --> 00:05:45.269 I was in the low 40s. I'm sure a whole lot of 00:05:45.269 --> 00:05:47.069 people would have come out. There were people 00:05:47.069 --> 00:05:51.589 that were still there. But I said, Jesus, this 00:05:51.589 --> 00:05:54.029 is so perfect because this has been my journey 00:05:54.029 --> 00:05:58.800 with the cross. It's never been for fans. friends 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:01.100 it's it's just been all for your glory and you've 00:06:01.100 --> 00:06:03.420 given me all kinds of weather you said you'll 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:06.319 cause the rain to rain on the just and the sun 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:12.399 same way in fact years ago i i remember one of 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:15.139 my walks i was walking through europe it was 00:06:15.139 --> 00:06:17.439 one of my early walks and it rained every day 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:19.939 it was it was the coldest summer they'd ever 00:06:19.939 --> 00:06:23.360 had and the wettest And it rained every day and 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:27.100 every night for eight days straight. And I didn't 00:06:27.100 --> 00:06:31.740 have a place to sleep. No. No, there was no hotels, 00:06:32.100 --> 00:06:35.279 no homes asking me to come in. The best I found 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:39.720 was a barn and I slept in a pile of manure. Because 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:44.339 that was the driest part. And so I was just, 00:06:44.420 --> 00:06:46.920 I was cold. I was shaking. And I remember after 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:50.829 eight days, I said, Jesus. James said this. He 00:06:50.829 --> 00:06:53.089 said that Elijah was a man with a nature like 00:06:53.089 --> 00:06:56.050 ours. And he prayed and it didn't rain for three 00:06:56.050 --> 00:06:58.170 and a half years. Could you just stop the rain? 00:06:59.110 --> 00:07:02.009 And the rain started letting up and then the 00:07:02.009 --> 00:07:07.350 rain stopped. Wow. Hallelujah. And about 15 minutes 00:07:07.350 --> 00:07:09.490 later, all of a sudden the rain came down harder. 00:07:10.250 --> 00:07:13.930 I said, Jesus, you said in your word. And I felt 00:07:13.930 --> 00:07:16.449 like he said, son, I did write that. But I also 00:07:16.449 --> 00:07:19.170 wrote that I send the rain. on the just and the 00:07:19.170 --> 00:07:24.370 unjust alike. Have fun. And I learned something. 00:07:24.709 --> 00:07:27.670 So often we struggle against things we have no 00:07:27.670 --> 00:07:31.370 control over. And it creates stress. It creates 00:07:31.370 --> 00:07:34.610 anxiety. It creates fear. I don't have control 00:07:34.610 --> 00:07:36.629 over the weather. He does. It's his weather. 00:07:36.750 --> 00:07:40.230 And I've learned to walk whether it's hot or 00:07:40.230 --> 00:07:42.269 whether it's cold. I've walked in temperatures 00:07:42.269 --> 00:07:45.769 almost 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Roadside temperature, 00:07:45.990 --> 00:07:49.259 I don't know. I actually, behind me, I've got 00:07:49.259 --> 00:07:52.480 a basket of shoes, old shoes I've worn around 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:55.379 the world. And one of those is the shoes. It 00:07:55.379 --> 00:07:58.800 was a Vibram sole. The sole burnt off. It melted 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:02.699 the Vibram on it. And I've got that in that basket. 00:08:02.860 --> 00:08:07.920 I walked as cold as minus 57. So it extremes. 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:11.060 And I've walked in flood conditions and blizzard 00:08:11.060 --> 00:08:15.079 conditions. And Jesus has promised to be with 00:08:15.079 --> 00:08:18.720 me always. Even through the valley of the shadow 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:21.759 of the dead, even to the end of the age or the 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:25.079 ends of the earth, He has promised. And I love 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:28.040 what Moses prayed. He said, Lord, if you don't 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:31.019 go with me, don't send us. Because what else 00:08:31.019 --> 00:08:33.419 is going to separate us from all the other peoples 00:08:33.419 --> 00:08:36.580 on the planet? It's the nearness, the intimacy, 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:39.460 the sweetness, the goodness of His presence. 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:42.480 And that's been the greatest truth of this journey 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:45.769 with the cross. Beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful. 00:08:46.210 --> 00:08:49.490 So you've walked through all extremes of weather. 00:08:50.129 --> 00:08:53.590 You mentioned in our last episode about how you 00:08:53.590 --> 00:08:55.490 stood before a firing squad, and you mentioned 00:08:55.490 --> 00:08:58.330 in passing, like, oh, just another thing that 00:08:58.330 --> 00:09:02.529 happened. And you've been beaten. I've been beaten 00:09:02.529 --> 00:09:06.110 and left for dead twice. I was unconscious for 00:09:06.110 --> 00:09:10.029 about three weeks one time. I've been stoned 00:09:10.029 --> 00:09:13.539 with rocks. I've had knives pointed at me, swords 00:09:13.539 --> 00:09:18.519 at my neck, guns pointed in my eye, in my ear, 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:22.679 up my nose, in my mouth, at my neck, firing squads. 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:26.620 More than one firing squad? Well, even when you 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:29.600 say firing squad, to be technical. I don't have 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:31.360 a cigarette in my mouth and a blindfold over 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:36.840 my eyes. So it's not the banditos kind, but it's, 00:09:36.840 --> 00:09:39.000 yeah. I mean, where you're standing before multiple 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:43.279 guns and they're counting one, two. But I've 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:47.120 been snake bit on my finger, on my fourth finger, 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:51.299 on my right hand. I've got a scar on my forehead 00:09:51.299 --> 00:09:54.759 where a spider bit me in the Amazon. And it rotted 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:58.360 and nearly killed me. The skin on the top part 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:00.779 of my forehead is from my behind when I was beaten. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:04.220 And they had to take that skin and do a skin 00:10:04.220 --> 00:10:07.399 graft. I've been bitten on the neck by a monkey, 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:12.860 on the behind by a baboon. I've been chased by 00:10:12.860 --> 00:10:16.879 rhinos and elephants and hippos. Almost eaten 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:19.539 by a lion. That's one of my funny... In fact, 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:22.320 I'll tell that in just a moment. It just shows 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:26.059 the grace of God. So the firing squad, they count 00:10:26.059 --> 00:10:28.779 one, two, put the clips in, and they all fall 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:31.100 backwards, screaming like little girls. The light, 00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:33.379 it's too bright. It's too strong. I never saw 00:10:33.379 --> 00:10:36.240 them move. I mean, I never saw light. I never 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:39.840 felt anything. Then they left their guns. They 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:42.200 had two big King Cat trucks jumping in, spinning 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:46.259 gravel, and they ran away. Wow. I thought it 00:10:46.259 --> 00:10:49.000 was a dream or maybe a vision that I'm still 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:52.509 outside. I'm still missing teeth. Even to this 00:10:52.509 --> 00:10:56.750 day, they knocked out two in my lower jaw. So 00:10:56.750 --> 00:10:59.169 I was still bleeding from that. The guns were 00:10:59.169 --> 00:11:02.210 still there. And those guys came back a couple 00:11:02.210 --> 00:11:03.870 of times. People say, how come you didn't leave? 00:11:04.309 --> 00:11:08.929 I say, where do we go? Yeah, right. I mean, these 00:11:08.929 --> 00:11:10.809 guys know the jungle like the back of their hand. 00:11:11.129 --> 00:11:13.710 Right. We're just passing through. And also, 00:11:13.789 --> 00:11:17.269 that place was pretty safe right there. But more 00:11:17.269 --> 00:11:20.330 important, when do you stop running? It's not 00:11:20.330 --> 00:11:22.490 wrong to be afraid. It's what you do with your 00:11:22.490 --> 00:11:25.590 fears that matter. So that was very supernatural. 00:11:26.070 --> 00:11:29.909 On the other hand, very natural. I was walking 00:11:29.909 --> 00:11:32.649 down the road one evening in western Uganda. 00:11:33.190 --> 00:11:36.269 And sometimes my road takes me through game parks. 00:11:36.490 --> 00:11:38.909 And I was going through this area where they 00:11:38.909 --> 00:11:42.330 had animals. And I saw on the hill far away there 00:11:42.330 --> 00:11:45.559 were three female lions. But I mean, they were 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:48.299 far away. And so I wasn't really concerned. And 00:11:48.299 --> 00:11:51.059 I kept walking and sun is setting. I don't know 00:11:51.059 --> 00:11:53.980 where I'm going to sleep in a car. A truck slows 00:11:53.980 --> 00:11:58.340 down and the driver says, get in the car. And 00:11:58.340 --> 00:12:00.279 I said, no, no, I'm walking. I'm walking for 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:03.539 Jesus. No, you must get in the car now. Almost 00:12:03.539 --> 00:12:06.460 angry. I said, no, no, it's okay. I'm walking 00:12:06.460 --> 00:12:10.059 for Jesus. He loves you. And this cross is a 00:12:10.059 --> 00:12:12.159 reminder how much he loves you. He died for you. 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:16.440 You can know him. He's alive. And he says, yes, 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:18.799 I know that. But if you don't get in the car 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:22.539 right now, you will die. And I said, peace, my 00:12:22.539 --> 00:12:26.179 friend, peace. He goes, me? Not me. The lion, 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:29.980 he will eat you. And he looked and probably 15 00:12:29.980 --> 00:12:32.799 yards in front of me, there was a, I've got a 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:36.899 picture because I actually got in the car. There 00:12:36.899 --> 00:12:39.639 was a male lion right by the side of the road 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:42.370 where the road had been. shoved off by a road 00:12:42.370 --> 00:12:45.029 grader. So you have the dirt right there and 00:12:45.029 --> 00:12:47.830 there was a big thorny bush and I couldn't see 00:12:47.830 --> 00:12:49.870 on the other side of the thorny bush, the lion. 00:12:50.210 --> 00:12:57.549 So that's why I got Indica. I guess. So there's, 00:12:57.549 --> 00:13:00.409 you know, how many times though daily do we, 00:13:00.450 --> 00:13:03.289 you know, I mean, we go down the highway going 00:13:03.289 --> 00:13:07.370 65 miles an hour and someone's. Passing the other 00:13:07.370 --> 00:13:10.110 side, if they look at their cell phone or take 00:13:10.110 --> 00:13:14.090 their eye off the road. Yeah. Or, you know, where 00:13:14.090 --> 00:13:16.929 you guys live, you know, you go out for a walk 00:13:16.929 --> 00:13:18.649 and there's a copperhead and you don't see it. 00:13:18.669 --> 00:13:21.070 Yeah. You reach underneath the sink for something 00:13:21.070 --> 00:13:23.889 and there's a brown recluse spider. I don't know. 00:13:24.269 --> 00:13:27.539 Or even in the night, you know, so. Life is a 00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:30.559 gift. Life is a gift. And we got bears, too. 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:34.440 Yes. Yeah. And mountain lions. And mountain lions 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:38.820 and wolves. Yeah, right. Wow, you're right. So, 00:13:38.980 --> 00:13:42.539 I mean, life is a gift, and we're not guaranteed 00:13:42.539 --> 00:13:45.759 the next moment. How are we going to choose to 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:50.019 use our breaths and our heartbeats? And my goal 00:13:50.019 --> 00:13:53.700 has been I want my heart to beat in unison with 00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:56.590 the heartbeat of Jesus. Probably my favorite 00:13:56.590 --> 00:13:59.830 scripture in the Bible is John 13, verse 23. 00:14:00.450 --> 00:14:03.210 And I would sign it to my name if people, if 00:14:03.210 --> 00:14:05.330 it was a little clearer. But it says there was 00:14:05.330 --> 00:14:08.590 leaning on Jesus' chest, the disciple that he 00:14:08.590 --> 00:14:11.990 loved. Yeah. When you lean your head on someone's 00:14:11.990 --> 00:14:13.870 chest, you hear something nobody else can hear. 00:14:14.169 --> 00:14:17.090 True. You hear their heartbeat. And the only 00:14:17.090 --> 00:14:19.769 way to do that, though, is by drawing near. And 00:14:19.769 --> 00:14:23.289 near enough that you press in. And I think I've 00:14:23.289 --> 00:14:26.039 heard his heartbeat. And I don't think his heartbeat 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:29.779 goes bump, bump, bump, bump. His heartbeat goes 00:14:29.779 --> 00:14:34.779 people, people, people. I've never forgotten 00:14:34.779 --> 00:14:37.320 that. I remember hearing you say that years ago. 00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:41.139 And I've told my fairy tale princess, I had a, 00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:44.039 with my heart attack last year, I've been telling 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:45.720 her I'm going to have a heart attack. It's, it's 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:49.860 just inevitable. My heart is so tiny and my love 00:14:49.860 --> 00:14:53.460 for Jesus and my love for her. family and the 00:14:53.460 --> 00:14:56.559 peoples of this world, it doesn't fit in there. 00:14:57.059 --> 00:15:01.080 My heart is just going to explode one day. So 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:04.120 tell us about this experience that you had that 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:07.419 caused you to have to have heart surgery. Well, 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:10.240 you look at me and I'm pretty fit. And that's 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:13.200 what we all thought. You know, I worked out on 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:15.720 a regular basis, but apparently I'd been having 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:18.490 heart attacks for four and a half years. I guess 00:15:18.490 --> 00:15:20.190 the doctors can look at your heart when they 00:15:20.190 --> 00:15:22.950 get in there and kind of like rings on a tree 00:15:22.950 --> 00:15:25.850 and tell whether you've been having drought season 00:15:25.850 --> 00:15:28.470 or whatever. They said those heart attacks had 00:15:28.470 --> 00:15:30.070 only been about a two and a half to three and 00:15:30.070 --> 00:15:33.690 a half on the Richter scale. But September of 00:15:33.690 --> 00:15:38.870 23, I came home from a trip and I felt like Jesus 00:15:38.870 --> 00:15:41.250 said, I want you to stay home for the next four 00:15:41.250 --> 00:15:44.629 months. So in other words, I don't want you traveling 00:15:44.629 --> 00:15:49.840 until the new year. till January 24. And I want 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:52.440 you to begin working on a book intentionally. 00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:56.039 I've dabbled at the book for a while, but just 00:15:56.039 --> 00:15:59.720 be intentional about it. So January came and 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:03.639 I spoke at my home church to the youth. The next 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:06.639 week I traveled by car out to Western Oklahoma 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:10.799 and I spoke at my first big service in over four 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:15.470 months. The next week I flew to Upstate New York 00:16:15.470 --> 00:16:17.210 actually had to fly to get there, had to fly 00:16:17.210 --> 00:16:20.070 through New Hampshire and then drive. And on 00:16:20.070 --> 00:16:23.429 the way, I felt really weird. And I don't even 00:16:23.429 --> 00:16:26.070 know how to describe it, but I felt really weird. 00:16:26.169 --> 00:16:30.149 And I got up there and I was better. But Saturday 00:16:30.149 --> 00:16:32.950 night before I spoke on Sunday morning, once 00:16:32.950 --> 00:16:35.990 again, I felt really weird. And this time the 00:16:35.990 --> 00:16:38.909 feeling was like someone had put a blood pressure 00:16:38.909 --> 00:16:41.590 cuff on my arm too tight and they put their thumb 00:16:41.590 --> 00:16:44.600 up underneath me. And a friend had had a heart 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:46.580 attack and my wife had just got me a brand new 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:49.039 watch for my anniversary. And the readings were 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:52.759 off the charts. And I was like, man, I must not 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:55.299 know how to work my watch because it's telling 00:16:55.299 --> 00:16:58.799 me that I'm sick and I can't be that sick. But 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:01.399 my friend had these symptoms. So I did all the 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:03.679 things you're supposed to do. I ate a banana. 00:17:03.940 --> 00:17:06.099 It was cold outside. I went for a walk in the 00:17:06.099 --> 00:17:09.119 snow and took a cold shower. I couldn't sleep. 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:13.039 And after really wrestling. I checked into the 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:18.279 ER and my wife made me do it. She was home and 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:20.700 she told me I was trying to avoid her. And I 00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:24.019 was because I told her something was wrong. I'd 00:17:24.019 --> 00:17:26.339 actually even written a goodbye letter to her 00:17:26.339 --> 00:17:30.559 just in case. Because I knew something was off. 00:17:30.700 --> 00:17:33.940 But I didn't want to go on an ambulance. And 00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:36.299 finally, the pastors where I was going to speak, 00:17:36.339 --> 00:17:40.000 their phones were off. The guy at the hotel couldn't 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:42.079 take me because he couldn't leave the desk. So 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:46.539 I had to call 911. And I said, listen, there's 00:17:46.539 --> 00:17:50.319 a lot of clients here in the hotel and you're 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:52.799 not going to know who called you. If you guys 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:56.099 come with your bells ringing, if your buzzer 00:17:56.099 --> 00:17:59.460 is buzzing and your sirens flashing, I'm not 00:17:59.460 --> 00:18:01.960 coming out. But if you come stealth mode, I'll 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:05.519 get in. And they did. I went to the hospital. 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:08.559 And after seven hours, I said, if I'm not dying 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:12.480 and if I'm not needing surgery, I'm preaching 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:15.539 in 15 minutes and I need to preach. So I did. 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:18.420 Oh, my. I walked out and I preached and I flew 00:18:18.420 --> 00:18:21.640 home the next day. And two days later, flew to 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:25.259 Phoenix, Arizona, preached for a week, carried 00:18:25.259 --> 00:18:28.019 the cross out there actually at altitude and 00:18:28.019 --> 00:18:31.200 no problems and came home. And two days later, 00:18:31.299 --> 00:18:33.819 I was getting ready to go to Africa. Now, here's 00:18:33.819 --> 00:18:35.559 the embarrassing thing and the humbling thing. 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:40.019 And this is my confession of pride. I had never 00:18:40.019 --> 00:18:42.539 had a physical in my life. I didn't even have 00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:45.259 a primary care physician. I had had a lot of 00:18:45.259 --> 00:18:48.420 tune -up jobs on my journey. I'd broken over 00:18:48.420 --> 00:18:51.480 50 bones. And so I've had to go in for patch 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:56.039 -up jobs, repair jobs. But for a physical, because 00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:58.920 of fear and because of pride, I hadn't gone. 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:02.279 The pride part was, and I didn't say it this 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:05.420 way. I promise I didn't say it. I think deep 00:19:05.420 --> 00:19:08.099 down in my heart, I felt this way. I'm Keith 00:19:08.099 --> 00:19:11.059 Wheeler. I'm tough. I can push through anything. 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:14.839 The doctor said that last four months when God 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:17.599 had me stay home, that if I would have traveled 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:19.799 during that four months from September to January, 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:23.359 that I would have died. Had I flown 100%. They 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:25.680 were surprised that I was still alive. But I 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:28.339 was just, you know, I've walked across deserts. 00:19:28.339 --> 00:19:29.799 I've walked through jungles. I've walked through 00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:35.900 wars. Sure. Whatever I was experiencing, I attributed 00:19:35.900 --> 00:19:40.359 those pains to broken bones, all the things. 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:43.640 So I had symptoms. I ignored them because I thought 00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:46.859 they were something else. Wow. I nearly died 00:19:46.859 --> 00:19:49.140 from COVID. I'd had broken ribs, a punctured 00:19:49.140 --> 00:19:53.559 lung, and COVID all at the same time. And so 00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:56.319 you can see, I just thought it was the residual 00:19:56.319 --> 00:20:01.680 of all of that. And then the fear part, it's 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:04.079 not the fear that I'm going to die. No, that's 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:06.680 a win -win situation. Yeah. Well, the fear for 00:20:06.680 --> 00:20:11.440 me was 65 years old, 63, I guess at the time. 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:15.180 And if you look at any 60 plus year old guy at 00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:17.500 his body, especially somebody who's eaten and 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:19.279 drank all the things and been exposed to as much, 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:21.519 you're going to find something. And I've watched 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:25.630 the TV commercials about meds. 75 % of the medicine 00:20:25.630 --> 00:20:28.509 commercial is about all the side effects. So 00:20:28.509 --> 00:20:30.130 then you're going to have to take more meds and 00:20:30.130 --> 00:20:31.710 then your insurance rates are going to go up. 00:20:31.890 --> 00:20:35.529 No, thanks. I'm just going to opt out. If Jesus 00:20:35.529 --> 00:20:37.630 wants me to keep going, he'll keep me going was 00:20:37.630 --> 00:20:41.190 kind of my motto. But I came home and was getting 00:20:41.190 --> 00:20:44.490 ready to go to Africa. And I was going to be 00:20:44.490 --> 00:20:46.890 leaving on a Saturday. But on Thursday night, 00:20:47.170 --> 00:20:50.509 I had the same symptoms that I had that caused 00:20:50.509 --> 00:20:54.089 me to go to the hospital in New York. And so 00:20:54.089 --> 00:20:56.589 when I woke up, my wife said, if you weren't 00:20:56.589 --> 00:20:59.309 traveling with somebody to Africa, I was going 00:20:59.309 --> 00:21:01.150 to West Africa, Ivory Coast, Cote d 'Ivoire, 00:21:01.250 --> 00:21:06.349 which has no health system. But she says, if 00:21:06.349 --> 00:21:07.769 you weren't traveling with somebody, would you 00:21:07.769 --> 00:21:10.089 still go? I said, I don't think so. I think I 00:21:10.089 --> 00:21:12.750 would stay home and just figure out what's going 00:21:12.750 --> 00:21:17.789 on. She goes, could you please? So we had a friend. 00:21:17.849 --> 00:21:20.369 He arranged a stress test. I showed up at the 00:21:20.369 --> 00:21:22.450 stress test. The lady looked at me and it's on 00:21:22.450 --> 00:21:26.509 Friday. At 11 a .m., doctors leave at noon. And 00:21:26.509 --> 00:21:29.869 she said, I can't give you this because the test 00:21:29.869 --> 00:21:31.990 that you're going to pass, you look in great 00:21:31.990 --> 00:21:34.289 shape. You're going to pass this test you need 00:21:34.289 --> 00:21:37.569 to take is the nuclear test. So they tried. And 00:21:37.569 --> 00:21:39.430 by now I'm having the symptoms again. So I go 00:21:39.430 --> 00:21:43.089 to the ER and I wait three and a half hours in 00:21:43.089 --> 00:21:45.730 the ER and they don't see me. And finally, my 00:21:45.730 --> 00:21:48.250 wife says, baby, let's go home. I'd rather you 00:21:48.250 --> 00:21:51.210 die at home than here in this place. Oh, my. 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:55.599 And so we start home, but now I've got a primary 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:58.539 care doctor who actually has become a dear, dear 00:21:58.539 --> 00:22:00.900 friend of mine. We want to say thank you to him 00:22:00.900 --> 00:22:02.440 and his nurses for trying to get me into the 00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:05.519 nuclear test. So we take him some gift cards 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:08.740 from Chipotle. It was on the way home. And I 00:22:08.740 --> 00:22:11.240 walk into their office and they say, oh my gosh, 00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:14.460 turn around and go straight to the ER. And I 00:22:14.460 --> 00:22:15.980 said, well, that's where we've just come from. 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:18.579 And they said, you need to go to the other one. 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:20.640 There's another hospital. Go to the other one. 00:22:21.420 --> 00:22:23.660 I go to the other one, and the receptionist looks 00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:25.359 at me, and she doesn't even take my information. 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:29.259 She said, oh, my goodness, come right away. And 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:31.880 she calls Code Blue, calls everybody to come 00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:35.319 get me, and they start working on me. My first 00:22:35.319 --> 00:22:39.220 nurse of all places, she was from Ivory Coast, 00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:42.559 West Africa. Oh, my goodness. But I looked at 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:47.339 my princess, my wife, and I said, baby, I'm not 00:22:47.339 --> 00:22:49.700 going to Africa tomorrow. But we're getting ready 00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:51.740 to go on the best mission trip we've ever gone 00:22:51.740 --> 00:22:54.799 on. It's going to be the hardest one. It's going 00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:56.220 to be the most painful one. It's going to be 00:22:56.220 --> 00:22:59.539 the most expensive one for sure. It's going to 00:22:59.539 --> 00:23:03.440 be the best one. And I promise you, it was. It 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:06.859 100 % was the best mission trip we've ever been 00:23:06.859 --> 00:23:10.940 on. Wow. We had Chipotle parties for all the 00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:13.839 nurses. Chipotle bashes is what we call them. 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:16.460 Pizza parties for... We wanted to be the room 00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:19.160 that every doctor, every tech, every nurse wanted 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:21.779 to come. We wanted to celebrate them. Before 00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:24.200 they ask me how I'm doing, I'm going to ask you, 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:27.359 how are you doing? And there's not going to be 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:28.960 anybody that's going to come in there that's 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:30.759 not going to get a Jesus sticker. We had Jesus 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:33.200 stickers, little stones with crosses carved in 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:35.720 them, and those little wooden crosses from, olive 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:38.339 wood crosses from Bethlehem. We give them to 00:23:38.339 --> 00:23:40.200 everybody. You're not going to get out of my 00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:43.079 room. You can't leave unless I pray. I totally 00:23:43.079 --> 00:23:46.019 manipulated the situation. I said, listen, you 00:23:46.019 --> 00:23:49.880 can't deny a dying man his last request. Oh, 00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:54.619 my. And so many other things. The night before 00:23:54.619 --> 00:23:56.859 I had to have my surgery, they realized, you 00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:59.599 know, your widow maker is 100 % blocked. You've 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:04.799 got major blockages, other arteries. So I said, 00:24:04.859 --> 00:24:08.660 well, this may be the last time I'm on this planet. 00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:11.319 I need to go outside. And the night before my 00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:14.140 surgery, they got clearance. I went outside. 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:17.720 One of my best friends, my wife, my princess, 00:24:17.819 --> 00:24:21.059 and a nurse. But before I went out there, it's 00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:24.000 a Catholic hospital here in town. And the little 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:27.019 receptionist outside, her name was Summer. She 00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:28.900 said, Mr. Wheeler, you can't leave without this. 00:24:29.079 --> 00:24:31.819 In every room, they have a crucifix. And she 00:24:31.819 --> 00:24:33.859 jumped up on the wall, pulled the crucifix off 00:24:33.859 --> 00:24:36.220 and said, now you can go outside. You can carry 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:41.140 the cross. And so that became my journey. Somebody 00:24:41.140 --> 00:24:43.480 else gave me a cross where we weren't stealing 00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:46.920 it from the hospital. But I had a little wooden 00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:50.839 cross in every walk around the hall, every exercise 00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:53.559 that I did all along the way. I did with that 00:24:53.559 --> 00:24:56.660 on my shoulder, reminding me that there's a purpose 00:24:56.660 --> 00:25:01.019 in this. So as they wheel me downstairs, I said, 00:25:01.059 --> 00:25:03.880 I need you guys to know a couple things. Number 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:07.359 one. You're about to saw me open, crack me open 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:10.099 and pull my heart out. And a lot of people are 00:25:10.099 --> 00:25:11.779 praying for me. So you may get in there and you 00:25:11.779 --> 00:25:14.740 may say, oh, crud, because you're going to see 00:25:14.740 --> 00:25:16.440 a miracle. You're going to say, what are we going 00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:18.259 to tell his wife? We didn't need to do this to 00:25:18.259 --> 00:25:21.019 him. I said, or you're going to do that when 00:25:21.019 --> 00:25:22.559 you hold my heart in your hand. You're going 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:26.180 to say, oh, that's what Jesus looks like because 00:25:26.180 --> 00:25:28.619 he lives right in the middle of my heart. And 00:25:28.619 --> 00:25:31.900 I know that you guys are some of the. best physicians 00:25:31.900 --> 00:25:33.640 around, but I'd like to introduce you before 00:25:33.640 --> 00:25:37.940 I go under to the greatest physician. And I have 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:40.160 them there. A couple of guys, doctors give their 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:43.519 lives to Jesus. I said, I'm sure that you, you 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:46.480 know, once I get in there, you put me to sleep, 00:25:46.579 --> 00:25:49.940 take off my robe. You guys dance around, play 00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:52.240 loud music and do what you're supposed to do. 00:25:52.819 --> 00:25:55.519 Can I give you this playlist? And I had on my 00:25:55.519 --> 00:25:58.660 phone instrumental worship. I said, can you just 00:25:58.660 --> 00:26:01.569 play this while I'm under? And they did, and 00:26:01.569 --> 00:26:04.630 they loved it. I said, and the last thing, I'm 00:26:04.630 --> 00:26:07.990 sure you guys are amazing, but in baseball, if 00:26:07.990 --> 00:26:10.910 you hit it four times out of 10, every time you 00:26:10.910 --> 00:26:12.349 come up to the plate, and that doesn't even count 00:26:12.349 --> 00:26:15.809 swings, four out of 10, you'll end up, make a 00:26:15.809 --> 00:26:17.329 career of that, you'll be in the Hall of Fame. 00:26:17.869 --> 00:26:20.769 My wife is a freshman counselor. Six out of 10 00:26:20.769 --> 00:26:23.309 will get you to the next year. I hope you're 00:26:23.309 --> 00:26:25.130 better than Hall of Fame baseball players and 00:26:25.130 --> 00:26:27.970 freshmen trying to go to sophomore year. But 00:26:27.970 --> 00:26:30.269 if you have an off day today and I close my eyes 00:26:30.269 --> 00:26:33.430 and open them and see Jesus, it's a win. But 00:26:33.430 --> 00:26:35.730 if I close my eyes today and I open them and 00:26:35.730 --> 00:26:38.609 I see my fairy tale princess, it's a win. Either 00:26:38.609 --> 00:26:43.049 way, it's a win -win. Have fun today. Wow. And 00:26:43.049 --> 00:26:47.789 the rest of the story is the surgery was a success. 00:26:48.089 --> 00:26:50.869 I made it to the room. Obviously, it's still 00:26:50.869 --> 00:26:55.109 cardiac critical care unit. But I'm recovered. 00:26:55.950 --> 00:26:59.609 three hours out of surgery. And the nurse just 00:26:59.609 --> 00:27:01.809 came by to get some vitals and my heart stopped. 00:27:03.289 --> 00:27:07.089 And my fairy tale princess was right there. Next 00:27:07.089 --> 00:27:10.009 to her, my best friend since 1978 was there. 00:27:10.650 --> 00:27:13.730 And I loved that she didn't run away. She moved 00:27:13.730 --> 00:27:18.210 toward. And I'm convinced that in hospitals and 00:27:18.210 --> 00:27:21.519 these units, they have ninja nurses. because 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:24.140 in no time there were 13 nurses all around me 00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:27.359 trying to resuscitate me and bring me back. I 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:29.640 think they hide under your bed or behind the 00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:31.700 plants in the corner, come out of the ceiling 00:27:31.700 --> 00:27:34.619 tiles, but they were there. And they were great. 00:27:34.859 --> 00:27:38.059 But people ask me, and you did before, and you 00:27:38.059 --> 00:27:41.220 said, we'll wait until. Yeah. Did you see Jesus? 00:27:42.299 --> 00:27:45.819 I'm convinced Jesus wants me here. Because that 00:27:45.819 --> 00:27:49.480 four months leading up to it, and I won't talk 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:52.819 about this, but. Right before in September, I 00:27:52.819 --> 00:27:56.019 was in Florida. I've never had this experience, 00:27:56.160 --> 00:28:01.259 but Jesus came to me. And I won't describe it, 00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:04.519 but I mean, physically, I saw him walk on the 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:07.640 water, take five steps on the water. He didn't 00:28:07.640 --> 00:28:10.619 say anything, but it was amazing. And I think 00:28:10.619 --> 00:28:16.480 he was preparing me for this. But that four months, 00:28:16.579 --> 00:28:21.299 had I traveled, I would have been dead. So he 00:28:21.299 --> 00:28:24.579 wants me here. And people say, did you see him? 00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:28.059 I said, well, if I would have seen him, I'd still 00:28:28.059 --> 00:28:33.059 be with him. He's too beautiful to step back 00:28:33.059 --> 00:28:39.920 from. He knows me, but he came to me and he spoke 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:43.500 with me. He stood behind me and he put his right 00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:45.539 hand on my right shoulder. And when your kids 00:28:45.539 --> 00:28:47.579 are little and they're afraid to do something, 00:28:47.619 --> 00:28:49.440 you squeeze their shoulder like you've got this. 00:28:50.299 --> 00:28:52.579 He squeezed me three times. I can tell you exactly 00:28:52.579 --> 00:28:54.700 where his four fingers were and where his thumb 00:28:54.700 --> 00:28:58.859 was. And he didn't whisper, but there was definitely 00:28:58.859 --> 00:29:03.000 no thunder. And his face was right here, four 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:05.519 inches, three inches from mine. And he just gently, 00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:10.900 but so strongly said, my son, you don't have 00:29:10.900 --> 00:29:15.420 to be afraid. I'm here and I'm with you. Beautiful. 00:29:15.619 --> 00:29:18.910 And then he let me know that I had died. Told 00:29:18.910 --> 00:29:21.750 me technically what had happened to me. And I 00:29:21.750 --> 00:29:23.349 think that was for the purpose of the doctors 00:29:23.349 --> 00:29:26.569 so I could tell them. And then he said, but don't 00:29:26.569 --> 00:29:31.210 be afraid. I was dead. And I'm alive now. And 00:29:31.210 --> 00:29:33.410 I'm the one who holds the keys to death and the 00:29:33.410 --> 00:29:37.430 grave. So don't be afraid. I'm here. And I'm 00:29:37.430 --> 00:29:41.750 with you. Wow. And once again, the greatest truth 00:29:41.750 --> 00:29:46.009 of my life has been his presence. Yes. I mean, 00:29:46.029 --> 00:29:49.730 that says. As I have walked down the road, people 00:29:49.730 --> 00:29:52.309 say, first of all, do you have a plan when you 00:29:52.309 --> 00:29:54.329 go to these countries? I say, Jesus has a plan. 00:29:54.910 --> 00:29:57.829 This is my plan. Jesus has a plan. I don't want 00:29:57.829 --> 00:29:59.890 there to be any explanation for Keith Wheeler's 00:29:59.890 --> 00:30:01.609 life when they put him in the ground the last 00:30:01.609 --> 00:30:07.430 time besides Jesus. And when I go someplace, 00:30:07.809 --> 00:30:11.009 many times I don't know anybody over there. Most 00:30:11.009 --> 00:30:12.809 of the time, I don't know anybody over there 00:30:12.809 --> 00:30:16.720 except Jesus. And the only one I know who's going 00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:21.759 to speak English for sure is Jesus. And the only 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:24.079 one I know for sure who knows where I'm going 00:30:24.079 --> 00:30:28.779 to sleep is Jesus. Wow. And some nights he's 00:30:28.779 --> 00:30:33.099 had me sleep on park benches or bus stops. I 00:30:33.099 --> 00:30:34.720 can promise you that he slept there with me. 00:30:35.180 --> 00:30:38.460 He's been with me. And some nights I've slept, 00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:41.579 it's been raining and he's helped me find either 00:30:41.579 --> 00:30:44.839 a bridge that I could sleep under. Or he's helped 00:30:44.839 --> 00:30:48.779 me find a playground. I sleep under a slide to 00:30:48.779 --> 00:30:51.240 get out of a little bit of rain. But he was with 00:30:51.240 --> 00:30:54.940 me. Some nights I've been in prison, surrounded 00:30:54.940 --> 00:30:57.799 by other people. But Jesus was right there with 00:30:57.799 --> 00:31:01.579 me. Some nights I get to stay in somebody's home. 00:31:01.619 --> 00:31:04.900 They invite me, and that's just the best. Sometimes 00:31:04.900 --> 00:31:06.619 that's the king or the prime minister or the 00:31:06.619 --> 00:31:10.819 president. But some nights, I don't have a place. 00:31:11.639 --> 00:31:14.400 And I walk all night long because Jesus just 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:18.960 wants to visit with me. And I just say, how can 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:22.559 you describe that? How do you describe that feeling 00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:26.680 of getting on a plane and going where I've never 00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:29.680 been? And I don't know a soul and nothing is 00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:32.299 arranged. How do you describe that? And going 00:31:32.299 --> 00:31:33.539 to sleep and you don't know where you're going 00:31:33.539 --> 00:31:36.900 to sleep. How do you describe how your body feels 00:31:36.900 --> 00:31:38.480 at the end of the day when you walked in the 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:42.450 hot heat? All day long, the cross is bearing 00:31:42.450 --> 00:31:46.390 down on you. Your sun burned or you're wet. Your 00:31:46.390 --> 00:31:48.390 eyes are stinging from sweat dripping in your 00:31:48.390 --> 00:31:51.569 eyes. You're so thirsty and dehydrated you can't 00:31:51.569 --> 00:31:54.049 even spit. How do you describe that? Your feet 00:31:54.049 --> 00:31:56.609 are blistered. And it's all you can do to take 00:31:56.609 --> 00:31:59.470 another step. And everything in me is crying 00:31:59.470 --> 00:32:03.930 out to stop. I think there's only one word. That's 00:32:03.930 --> 00:32:07.930 glory. It's the beauty and the glory of God. 00:32:08.430 --> 00:32:15.460 Because He's there. Wow. Glory to God. You know, 00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:21.519 there's physical abuse and physical trauma, really, 00:32:21.619 --> 00:32:24.079 that you've been through and, you know, weather 00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:26.880 and all this sort of thing. But there have also 00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:30.700 been heartaches. And I think you've been through 00:32:30.700 --> 00:32:34.680 times where, thinking of the book of Job. you 00:32:34.680 --> 00:32:37.720 know, first his kids are wiped out and then his, 00:32:37.799 --> 00:32:40.019 I don't remember the order of them, but you know, 00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:42.960 the flocks are gone, the herds are gone, the 00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:45.759 kids are gone, everything, bang, bang, bang, 00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:48.539 bang, bang, bang. And now he's covered with boils. 00:32:49.660 --> 00:32:53.839 Sometimes life brings us those series of things. 00:32:54.579 --> 00:32:59.900 And I can tell from your description of your 00:32:59.900 --> 00:33:04.410 walk with Jesus that He has been, I'll just say 00:33:04.410 --> 00:33:07.549 it this way, in one of my hardest times in life, 00:33:07.710 --> 00:33:11.869 tremendous pain I was in. I had a herniated disc 00:33:11.869 --> 00:33:15.089 and we were traveling and I could feel every 00:33:15.089 --> 00:33:18.670 seam in the road. Every seam. I mean, you know, 00:33:18.710 --> 00:33:21.190 there's seams every so many feet. Yeah. I could 00:33:21.190 --> 00:33:23.609 feel every seam in the road. But the sweetness 00:33:23.609 --> 00:33:28.539 of his presence. Yeah. To me. It was like I would 00:33:28.539 --> 00:33:32.619 go through anything to have this sweetness. So 00:33:32.619 --> 00:33:35.500 you went through a season where you had bam, 00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:38.579 bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam against you. And 00:33:38.579 --> 00:33:41.359 you talked to us before this session about the 00:33:41.359 --> 00:33:44.339 choices that you were presented with. Can you 00:33:44.339 --> 00:33:48.079 just outline that for us to give our listeners 00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:50.920 hope if they're going through one of those bam, 00:33:51.019 --> 00:33:55.220 bam, bam situations? Yeah, the first thing I 00:33:55.220 --> 00:33:58.279 would say to frame it, probably one of the greatest 00:33:58.279 --> 00:34:01.359 gifts that God has ever given me, apart from 00:34:01.359 --> 00:34:05.180 his presence, apart from my family, has been 00:34:05.180 --> 00:34:09.360 the gift of perspective. And I'll never forget 00:34:09.360 --> 00:34:12.460 when God gave me this gift. A moment, I can tell 00:34:12.460 --> 00:34:16.699 you the moment. I was in, of all places, Fiji. 00:34:17.039 --> 00:34:20.900 Now, when most people think Fiji, you think beautiful 00:34:20.900 --> 00:34:24.610 beaches. I've seen beaches in Fiji, and I've 00:34:24.610 --> 00:34:27.210 never seen what I would call a beautiful beach. 00:34:27.550 --> 00:34:31.530 I'm sure they have them at the resorts. But Fiji 00:34:31.530 --> 00:34:36.469 is so mountainous, and the interior is so treacherous. 00:34:38.090 --> 00:34:40.309 It's called the world's greatest endurance race, 00:34:40.449 --> 00:34:45.010 and the last one that they had was there. The 00:34:45.010 --> 00:34:48.590 last third of a walk, I had walked from a place 00:34:48.590 --> 00:34:51.170 called Nandi, which is where you fly in, down 00:34:51.170 --> 00:34:54.150 to Suva, which is, and that's a long walk, which 00:34:54.150 --> 00:34:55.929 is the capital. And then I was going up north 00:34:55.929 --> 00:34:58.650 through the interior. And it was before they 00:34:58.650 --> 00:35:00.429 had, I've been there since, and now the road 00:35:00.429 --> 00:35:03.289 is paved. But in those days, it was old dirt 00:35:03.289 --> 00:35:05.670 road. You guys know about dirt roads? Oh, yeah. 00:35:05.690 --> 00:35:09.530 We live on one. This was more like a logging 00:35:09.530 --> 00:35:15.380 trail. Wow. Dirt road. Ruts. Yes, and through 00:35:15.380 --> 00:35:18.659 the jungle. And so at night, it would rain every 00:35:18.659 --> 00:35:23.420 night. It was as regular as a clock goes around. 00:35:24.260 --> 00:35:27.500 The rain was a relief because up until then, 00:35:27.500 --> 00:35:30.019 mosquitoes were just draining the blood out of 00:35:30.019 --> 00:35:31.760 you. It's warm, warm, warm, warm, and you can 00:35:31.760 --> 00:35:35.139 barely sleep. So much so that in the daytime, 00:35:35.400 --> 00:35:39.159 my eyes would be so puffy. My eyelids, I couldn't 00:35:39.159 --> 00:35:41.769 open my eyes. They were just swollen and full 00:35:41.769 --> 00:35:44.190 of fluid. I had a safety pin. I would have to 00:35:44.190 --> 00:35:47.369 lance the edges of it and drain my eyelids. Oh, 00:35:47.369 --> 00:35:50.590 wow. Just so I could open my eyes. Oh, my. And 00:35:50.590 --> 00:35:55.369 itching. But the rain, you get wet, you get jungle 00:35:55.369 --> 00:35:59.550 rot, and I'm sleeping on the jungle floor. There 00:35:59.550 --> 00:36:02.710 are leeches, and leeches don't just get on your... 00:36:03.150 --> 00:36:06.730 The parts that are, you can see, they crawl inside 00:36:06.730 --> 00:36:09.889 your clothes. So you're having to pull off leeches 00:36:09.889 --> 00:36:13.750 every morning. And then because I'm soaking and 00:36:13.750 --> 00:36:17.690 soggy and the temperature is hot and it's uneven, 00:36:17.889 --> 00:36:20.829 I started getting blisters. And I didn't just 00:36:20.829 --> 00:36:22.989 get one or two blisters. I went through, when 00:36:22.989 --> 00:36:25.909 you get a blister, it breaks and the skin is 00:36:25.909 --> 00:36:29.170 new skin, red underneath, painful. I went through 00:36:29.170 --> 00:36:32.409 four layers of skin. Oh, my. And the only way 00:36:32.409 --> 00:36:35.690 to keep your feet from hurting is to keep moving, 00:36:35.769 --> 00:36:39.409 then your feet go numb. But I wasn't eating or 00:36:39.409 --> 00:36:43.389 drinking properly, so I was cramping. So my calves 00:36:43.389 --> 00:36:46.090 would cramp, my toes would cramp, my hamstrings, 00:36:46.090 --> 00:36:50.349 my rear end, the muscles in my low back to support 00:36:50.349 --> 00:36:53.949 the cross. Everything was cramping, so I couldn't 00:36:53.949 --> 00:36:57.150 keep moving. Just to be honest, I was whining. 00:36:57.420 --> 00:37:00.699 Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah. Wish I was 00:37:00.699 --> 00:37:04.260 home, sitting in the air -conditioned room, watching 00:37:04.260 --> 00:37:09.039 a football game. Wish I was eating some good 00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:13.440 food. And my feet. Oh, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, 00:37:13.500 --> 00:37:17.119 my feet. And I got to the next little town, village, 00:37:17.380 --> 00:37:19.719 and there was a fellow there. And I guess he'd 00:37:19.719 --> 00:37:22.679 been waiting for days. He had an ear -to -ear 00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:26.099 grin. He was happier than I've ever been. And 00:37:26.099 --> 00:37:28.340 he said, I heard you were coming. I haven't left 00:37:28.340 --> 00:37:30.699 this place for days because I didn't want to 00:37:30.699 --> 00:37:33.679 miss you. And the moment that I saw him, I got 00:37:33.679 --> 00:37:36.940 that gift of perspective. Here I am complaining 00:37:36.940 --> 00:37:39.619 about my feet, my legs, and the sunburn, and 00:37:39.619 --> 00:37:41.900 the mosquitoes, and the leeches. This fellow 00:37:41.900 --> 00:37:45.019 lives in it. This fellow doesn't have any legs. 00:37:45.619 --> 00:37:48.420 And he doesn't even have a wheelchair. He's got 00:37:48.420 --> 00:37:51.760 this little square piece of plywood. And it's 00:37:51.760 --> 00:37:53.989 not even plywood. It's skinny plywood. And he's 00:37:53.989 --> 00:37:56.989 got four coaster wheels on the bottom of it. 00:37:57.010 --> 00:37:59.469 And he pushes himself around with two wooden 00:37:59.469 --> 00:38:02.650 blocks. It's logging trails that he's pushing 00:38:02.650 --> 00:38:05.989 himself. Muddy, rainy season logging trails. 00:38:06.349 --> 00:38:09.730 And he's happier than I've ever been. Here I 00:38:09.730 --> 00:38:11.409 am complaining about my feet and he doesn't have 00:38:11.409 --> 00:38:16.869 legs. And what I saw in that moment is, first 00:38:16.869 --> 00:38:19.989 of all, pain is a gift. Because pain lets you 00:38:19.989 --> 00:38:23.030 know something is wrong. That's why leprosy is 00:38:23.030 --> 00:38:26.230 so important. Evil. Because leprosy doesn't kill 00:38:26.230 --> 00:38:29.809 you. Leprosy numbs the nerves. And then you get 00:38:29.809 --> 00:38:31.869 hurt and you don't know it and you get an infection 00:38:31.869 --> 00:38:35.670 and you die. So pain is a gift. And that's what 00:38:35.670 --> 00:38:38.269 our world's culture has done. It's numbness. 00:38:38.489 --> 00:38:41.389 Take a pill for this. Here's seven steps to peace 00:38:41.389 --> 00:38:45.210 and happiness. And so we've numbed down our soul's 00:38:45.210 --> 00:38:49.210 ability even to feel. And so he took me to his 00:38:49.210 --> 00:38:50.730 house. He lived under a bridge. That's where 00:38:50.730 --> 00:38:52.429 all the mosquitoes came from. And he fed me. 00:38:52.909 --> 00:38:55.210 The only bread that he had, you could have thrown 00:38:55.210 --> 00:38:57.690 it through the drywall in the wall of your home. 00:38:58.369 --> 00:39:02.590 But he gave what he had. So I saw in that moment, 00:39:02.730 --> 00:39:04.989 yes, things can get better. I can be closer to 00:39:04.989 --> 00:39:07.530 God. I can be closer to my fairytale princess, 00:39:07.690 --> 00:39:10.530 my kiddos, my friends. I can be in better health. 00:39:10.710 --> 00:39:13.610 I can have more stuff. But things can always 00:39:13.610 --> 00:39:17.570 get worse. And if I remember that, then I have 00:39:17.570 --> 00:39:20.369 a heart of gratitude. And a heart of gratitude 00:39:20.369 --> 00:39:23.219 is a heart of joy. Very true. So I took that. 00:39:23.280 --> 00:39:25.300 That was part of the lesson. And I went through 00:39:25.300 --> 00:39:28.039 this horrible season. And this horrible season, 00:39:28.119 --> 00:39:30.360 I kept remembering things can always get worse. 00:39:30.699 --> 00:39:33.500 In fact, in the hospital last year, people would 00:39:33.500 --> 00:39:35.179 often say, how are you doing? I said, I'm better 00:39:35.179 --> 00:39:39.099 than 99 .99 % of the people on the planet. I've 00:39:39.099 --> 00:39:40.860 got a hole in my chest, but you know what? I'm 00:39:40.860 --> 00:39:43.659 better because my heart is doing so well. My 00:39:43.659 --> 00:39:48.099 soul is doing so well. And even when I was going 00:39:48.099 --> 00:39:50.219 through this painful season, I mean, literally, 00:39:50.260 --> 00:39:53.960 there was one short part of it. I literally lost 00:39:53.960 --> 00:39:56.519 10 and a half pounds in two days just from crying 00:39:56.519 --> 00:40:00.079 and weeping so hard. There was so much loss. 00:40:00.139 --> 00:40:01.940 There was so much brokenness, so many things 00:40:01.940 --> 00:40:05.559 taken away from me. Honestly, up until that time, 00:40:05.619 --> 00:40:09.780 everything I touched was golden. So it was just 00:40:09.780 --> 00:40:13.400 such a juxtaposition of two different ways of 00:40:13.400 --> 00:40:16.289 living. Everything that I knew. Everything that 00:40:16.289 --> 00:40:19.489 I held dear, I literally, it was Job -esque. 00:40:19.849 --> 00:40:23.190 And it was a season that lasted, one day was 00:40:23.190 --> 00:40:26.050 too long, but it lasted nearly seven years. Wow. 00:40:26.409 --> 00:40:31.130 And I remember in my apartment, I looked out 00:40:31.130 --> 00:40:33.750 and it's looking out over the Arkansas River 00:40:33.750 --> 00:40:36.449 here and nothing like the Buffalo River, but 00:40:36.449 --> 00:40:40.269 it's a sunset. You know, we've got sandy, muddy 00:40:40.269 --> 00:40:43.010 water. You guys got clear water, beautiful bluffs. 00:40:43.769 --> 00:40:46.409 But you can see deer, you can see bald eagles 00:40:46.409 --> 00:40:49.650 and the sunset every night. And I had a choice. 00:40:49.690 --> 00:40:52.429 Do I want to look at that? Or if I look down, 00:40:52.489 --> 00:40:54.949 that's where the dumpster for the whole apartment 00:40:54.949 --> 00:40:57.429 community was. I got a choice. Am I going to 00:40:57.429 --> 00:40:59.090 look at the beauty or am I going to look at the 00:40:59.090 --> 00:41:02.309 dump? Yeah. And during that season, God gave 00:41:02.309 --> 00:41:04.190 me this incredible scripture. It's in Isaiah 00:41:04.190 --> 00:41:08.429 chapter six. It starts out, verse one says, in 00:41:08.429 --> 00:41:13.489 the year that King Uzziah died. If you notice, 00:41:13.530 --> 00:41:15.989 it didn't say in the day or the month or the 00:41:15.989 --> 00:41:18.750 week or the moment. It said in the year because 00:41:18.750 --> 00:41:20.869 it seems like sometimes when something bad happens, 00:41:21.070 --> 00:41:24.369 something else bad happens. It seems like sometimes 00:41:24.369 --> 00:41:27.510 it's an avalanche and it feels like your soul 00:41:27.510 --> 00:41:30.090 can't take it. But the next part of that sentence 00:41:30.090 --> 00:41:36.070 says, I saw the Lord. High and lifted up. And 00:41:36.070 --> 00:41:39.969 the train of his robe filled the temple. And 00:41:39.969 --> 00:41:42.550 then it talks about in verse two, these glorious 00:41:42.550 --> 00:41:45.409 creatures, the seraphim and how they look. And 00:41:45.409 --> 00:41:48.190 it's just amazing. And verse three, it says, 00:41:48.309 --> 00:41:53.429 and they said one to another, holy, holy, holy 00:41:53.429 --> 00:41:56.570 is the Lord God Almighty or the Lord of hosts 00:41:56.570 --> 00:42:02.630 or the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full 00:42:02.630 --> 00:42:07.019 of his glory. The thing that's important is it 00:42:07.019 --> 00:42:08.820 doesn't matter whose political party you're on, 00:42:08.900 --> 00:42:10.780 even if you didn't like the king, that's still 00:42:10.780 --> 00:42:14.559 a tragedy for the nation. The king is dead. But 00:42:14.559 --> 00:42:17.300 he, in that year, wasn't the only one who died. 00:42:17.900 --> 00:42:21.579 Somebody lost their spouse. Somebody lost their 00:42:21.579 --> 00:42:25.860 child. Somebody went to jail. There were wars 00:42:25.860 --> 00:42:30.000 that were fought. Tragedy happened. Babies went 00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.440 to bed. Children were molested. That wasn't the 00:42:34.440 --> 00:42:37.340 only bad thing that happened. Right. So these 00:42:37.340 --> 00:42:40.699 creatures say the whole. And when I grew up, 00:42:40.699 --> 00:42:42.260 if you wanted to emphasize something, you drug 00:42:42.260 --> 00:42:44.599 the word out. So it wasn't just the whole earth. 00:42:44.699 --> 00:42:49.079 It's the whole earth. What does whole mean? It's 00:42:49.079 --> 00:42:52.440 every part of the earth. Every single part of 00:42:52.440 --> 00:42:57.579 the earth is, not will be, not was, right now 00:42:57.579 --> 00:43:05.440 is full. I mean. Full is overflowing. Yeah. Every 00:43:05.440 --> 00:43:10.340 square millimeter of the earth right now is overflowing 00:43:10.340 --> 00:43:13.579 with the glory of God. Wow. Yes. Hallelujah. 00:43:14.000 --> 00:43:18.320 And how could they say that? Somebody's baby 00:43:18.320 --> 00:43:22.880 died. Somebody, the king died. You know, we lost 00:43:22.880 --> 00:43:27.260 this war and this child was molested and hurt. 00:43:27.440 --> 00:43:30.639 And how could you say that? And I realized the 00:43:30.639 --> 00:43:34.550 secret was. Their eyes were on a king, but not 00:43:34.550 --> 00:43:36.630 the dead king. Their eyes were on the king of 00:43:36.630 --> 00:43:40.010 all kings. And then I started looking through 00:43:40.010 --> 00:43:42.889 scripture and you could go and start out in numbers 00:43:42.889 --> 00:43:45.170 and the spies go into the land, but everybody 00:43:45.170 --> 00:43:47.570 comes back and says, oh, it's scary. It's dangerous. 00:43:47.710 --> 00:43:50.570 There's giants. Yeah, there's good stuff. But 00:43:50.570 --> 00:43:53.010 we're like grasshoppers in our own eyes. And 00:43:53.010 --> 00:43:55.230 otherwise they were looking at themselves and 00:43:55.230 --> 00:43:57.289 they were looking at the giants. They weren't 00:43:57.289 --> 00:43:59.869 looking at our God. Right. Josh and Caleb had 00:43:59.869 --> 00:44:02.550 a little bit different story. And then you look 00:44:02.550 --> 00:44:05.510 at David, you know, his parents say, hey, take 00:44:05.510 --> 00:44:07.590 up some peanut butter sandwich, take up some 00:44:07.590 --> 00:44:10.750 shawarmas and falafels to your buddies, to your 00:44:10.750 --> 00:44:12.949 brothers. And he can't find them because they're 00:44:12.949 --> 00:44:15.969 hiding. And he says, where are you hiding from? 00:44:16.110 --> 00:44:20.769 And they said, it's a giant. And he peeks and 00:44:20.769 --> 00:44:24.090 he says, no, that's a target I can't miss. Valley 00:44:24.090 --> 00:44:27.309 of dry bones. What do you see? Oh, I see an exceeding 00:44:27.309 --> 00:44:32.519 great army. What am I choosing to look at? Giants, 00:44:32.519 --> 00:44:36.719 dead bones. And in the New Testament, Jesus sends 00:44:36.719 --> 00:44:39.800 the disciples across the Sea of Galilee. And 00:44:39.800 --> 00:44:42.139 the waves come up. It's the darkest part of the 00:44:42.139 --> 00:44:44.960 night. And they say, we're going to die. And 00:44:44.960 --> 00:44:46.900 they look up and they see Jesus walking to them 00:44:46.900 --> 00:44:49.599 on the water. And because of the darkness of 00:44:49.599 --> 00:44:51.559 the night, but because of the darkness that fear 00:44:51.559 --> 00:44:55.639 brings, they look at Jesus and they say, they 00:44:55.639 --> 00:44:59.190 never had seen a ghost. But they chose to see 00:44:59.190 --> 00:45:01.909 a ghost instead of the God of glory walking to 00:45:01.909 --> 00:45:05.909 them on water. Fast forward, Jesus is crucified. 00:45:06.590 --> 00:45:10.269 He's buried. He comes out of the grave. And John 00:45:10.269 --> 00:45:13.809 chapter 20 starts out by saying, while it was 00:45:13.809 --> 00:45:17.070 still dark. And yeah, the sun hadn't come up, 00:45:17.110 --> 00:45:20.250 but it meant the darkness in their heart because 00:45:20.250 --> 00:45:23.550 the loss that they'd suffered, the pain, the 00:45:23.550 --> 00:45:27.199 sorrow. And Mary goes to the tomb. She doesn't 00:45:27.199 --> 00:45:30.019 see one. I know some of your listeners have seen 00:45:30.019 --> 00:45:32.840 angels. I've never seen a real angel with wings 00:45:32.840 --> 00:45:36.699 and muscles and swords drawn. I've never seen 00:45:36.699 --> 00:45:41.880 the glory like that. But she sees two big angels 00:45:41.880 --> 00:45:44.880 rolled away the stone. Stone rolled away. Jesus' 00:45:44.880 --> 00:45:48.119 clothes folded. The tomb is empty. And she turns 00:45:48.119 --> 00:45:50.679 around and she's face to face with Jesus. And 00:45:50.679 --> 00:45:54.059 she sees a gardener. Because it was still dark. 00:45:54.940 --> 00:45:58.460 Because of the darkness of her sorrow, because 00:45:58.460 --> 00:46:02.440 of the darkness of their fear, they saw gardeners 00:46:02.440 --> 00:46:06.880 and ghosts and giants. And it's really what am 00:46:06.880 --> 00:46:10.179 I choosing to look at? The gift of perspective 00:46:10.179 --> 00:46:14.139 puts everything in perspective. Yes. And that 00:46:14.139 --> 00:46:18.300 perspective is Jesus is here right now. I can't 00:46:18.300 --> 00:46:22.280 see him, but I can't see air. Without air, I'm 00:46:22.280 --> 00:46:25.309 a goner. I'm a goner. I need air desperately. 00:46:25.789 --> 00:46:29.829 And I need him desperately. More than I need 00:46:29.829 --> 00:46:32.489 my next breath. More than I need my next heartbeat. 00:46:33.030 --> 00:46:35.210 Because when I do close my eyes and he doesn't 00:46:35.210 --> 00:46:37.750 just put his hand on my shoulder, one day I'm 00:46:37.750 --> 00:46:40.650 going to see him face to face. Yes. But in between 00:46:40.650 --> 00:46:43.570 time, he's promised to take me by the hand. And 00:46:43.570 --> 00:46:46.429 through the darkest valleys, I've walked into 00:46:46.429 --> 00:46:49.369 drug dens, more than 40 nations at war. I've 00:46:49.369 --> 00:46:52.139 walked through. I've walked through difficulties 00:46:52.139 --> 00:46:55.659 and challenges, both personal and ministry wise. 00:46:55.920 --> 00:47:01.059 And Jesus has never, ever, ever left me. He promises, 00:47:01.119 --> 00:47:02.960 I will never leave you. I will never forsake 00:47:02.960 --> 00:47:05.579 you. And in the original language, we can't say 00:47:05.579 --> 00:47:07.880 it this way because it loses, but it's, I will 00:47:07.880 --> 00:47:11.880 never, never, ever leave you. And I will never, 00:47:11.920 --> 00:47:16.000 ever, never, ever, never forsake you. Wow. That's 00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:20.019 a great promise. Yes. He'll be with us to the 00:47:20.019 --> 00:47:24.019 end of the age. Amen. And nothing, nothing, nothing. 00:47:24.139 --> 00:47:26.960 I remember during the season, I went outside 00:47:26.960 --> 00:47:29.059 and said, Jesus, I don't understand everything. 00:47:29.920 --> 00:47:32.320 And I felt like he whispered in my soul, son, 00:47:32.400 --> 00:47:37.559 if you understood everything, you'd be me. I 00:47:37.559 --> 00:47:39.780 felt like he said, when your theology fails, 00:47:39.960 --> 00:47:42.119 when your understanding of who I am and of my 00:47:42.119 --> 00:47:44.320 ways fails, I want you to know this. I'll never 00:47:44.320 --> 00:47:46.900 fail you. And I'll never forsake you. I'll be 00:47:46.900 --> 00:47:48.559 with you always, even through the valley of the 00:47:48.559 --> 00:47:50.559 shadow of death, even to the ends of the earth. 00:47:50.639 --> 00:47:53.659 And that will be enough. Hallelujah. He didn't 00:47:53.659 --> 00:47:55.420 give me any answers for what I was going through, 00:47:55.460 --> 00:47:59.840 except my presence will go with you. Yeah. I'd 00:47:59.840 --> 00:48:02.619 much rather go through difficult times with him 00:48:02.619 --> 00:48:06.260 than great times without him. I remember a card 00:48:06.260 --> 00:48:10.280 we got from our Orthodox travel agent. Yeah. 00:48:10.360 --> 00:48:13.650 Sent us a card. And she said, sometimes we go 00:48:13.650 --> 00:48:16.789 through things that only God understands. I thought 00:48:16.789 --> 00:48:21.329 that is so well said. Yeah. And Jesus said, in 00:48:21.329 --> 00:48:24.550 this world, you will, he promised us, we will 00:48:24.550 --> 00:48:28.250 have struggles, have tribulation. There will 00:48:28.250 --> 00:48:31.650 be problems and confusion. But he said, take 00:48:31.650 --> 00:48:34.530 courage. I have overcome the world. Right. And 00:48:34.530 --> 00:48:38.239 he is our peace. He is the one who guards our 00:48:38.239 --> 00:48:40.940 hearts and mind with his perfect peace. Times 00:48:40.940 --> 00:48:43.820 of refreshing come from his presence. He's near 00:48:43.820 --> 00:48:47.059 those who are brokenhearted. The sacrifices of 00:48:47.059 --> 00:48:50.460 God are a broken and contrite heart. He promises 00:48:50.460 --> 00:48:53.619 that even if weeping endures for a night, a shout 00:48:53.619 --> 00:48:56.380 of joy is going to come in the morning. And that 00:48:56.380 --> 00:48:59.300 we get to exchange ashes and we get to receive 00:48:59.300 --> 00:49:03.869 beauty. What a deal. I'll say this last one and 00:49:03.869 --> 00:49:07.969 this kind of relates. It does relate. I was carrying 00:49:07.969 --> 00:49:10.869 the cross in Africa one time and I was hot and 00:49:10.869 --> 00:49:13.590 I was tired. I came over this hill and I was 00:49:13.590 --> 00:49:16.550 just wonderstruck. There was the most beautiful, 00:49:16.750 --> 00:49:20.110 magnificent, spectacular tree I've ever seen 00:49:20.110 --> 00:49:23.750 in my life. The flowers, the color, the size. 00:49:24.150 --> 00:49:26.309 I don't know if it was the flowers I was smelling. 00:49:26.409 --> 00:49:29.250 It had fruit in it. It makes my mouth water to 00:49:29.250 --> 00:49:33.889 this day to think about. And they had these little 00:49:33.889 --> 00:49:36.389 weaver birds that make upside down nests. It 00:49:36.389 --> 00:49:39.269 was full of life. They had little monkeys. I 00:49:39.269 --> 00:49:42.429 was awestruck. I mean, it was just, it was awesome. 00:49:42.909 --> 00:49:45.489 And I just kept, I sat there and looking and 00:49:45.489 --> 00:49:48.429 looking. And okay, I've got to get on down the 00:49:48.429 --> 00:49:50.730 road. And I leaned down to pick up the cross 00:49:50.730 --> 00:49:52.710 to put it back on my shoulder. And when I looked 00:49:52.710 --> 00:49:55.949 down, I saw the shadow of that tree. And I felt 00:49:55.949 --> 00:49:59.329 like Jesus said, look at that shadow and look 00:49:59.329 --> 00:50:02.360 at that tree. And look at that shadow again and 00:50:02.360 --> 00:50:05.780 look at the tree again. What can you tell me 00:50:05.780 --> 00:50:08.460 about that tree from that shadow? Well, I couldn't 00:50:08.460 --> 00:50:10.719 tell texture. I couldn't tell flavor. I couldn't 00:50:10.719 --> 00:50:14.539 tell scent. I couldn't tell anything except the 00:50:14.539 --> 00:50:17.280 general outline. I felt like he said, my son, 00:50:17.440 --> 00:50:19.420 I've given you a privilege that very few have 00:50:19.420 --> 00:50:22.400 ever had. I've allowed you to see the icebergs 00:50:22.400 --> 00:50:24.760 of Antarctica. I've allowed you to see the great 00:50:24.760 --> 00:50:27.579 migrations of the Serengeti and the Masa Mara. 00:50:27.840 --> 00:50:30.780 I've allowed you to see the sunsets. In the South 00:50:30.780 --> 00:50:34.179 Pacific. But as beautiful as what you've seen 00:50:34.179 --> 00:50:39.059 is, it is as that shadow is to that tree of what 00:50:39.059 --> 00:50:43.440 I'm preparing for you. Yes. Wonderful. And the 00:50:43.440 --> 00:50:47.280 awesome thing is, yeah, heaven's pretty cool, 00:50:47.380 --> 00:50:51.840 but he fills heaven. Yes. Jesus fills heaven. 00:50:52.119 --> 00:50:55.300 Yes. How can anyone describe that? That comes 00:50:55.300 --> 00:50:57.659 back to what I said. How do you describe all 00:50:57.659 --> 00:51:01.099 this? There's only one word. That's glory. Amen. 00:51:01.099 --> 00:51:03.440 That's the glory and the beauty, the majesty 00:51:03.440 --> 00:51:06.340 of the presence of God. Beautiful, beautiful, 00:51:06.519 --> 00:51:11.420 beautiful. Thank you, Jesus. Wow. What would 00:51:11.420 --> 00:51:16.000 you pray for our listeners? King Jesus, we bow 00:51:16.000 --> 00:51:21.940 together with angels and archangels and elders 00:51:21.940 --> 00:51:27.440 and saints and living creatures. And we say worthy 00:51:27.440 --> 00:51:31.860 is the lamb who is slain. Yes. To receive honor 00:51:31.860 --> 00:51:35.380 and glory and blessing and power. You're worthy. 00:51:35.840 --> 00:51:39.639 You're so beautiful. And I thank you for every 00:51:39.639 --> 00:51:43.519 listener right now. That's taking the time with 00:51:43.519 --> 00:51:47.679 us. That's given us the gift of their time. And 00:51:47.679 --> 00:51:49.820 I ask that you would meet with them where they 00:51:49.820 --> 00:51:53.659 are. For those who are confused. For those who 00:51:53.659 --> 00:51:57.420 are lonely. For those who are broken. For those 00:51:57.420 --> 00:52:01.199 who, as I said, just couldn't stop weeping. They 00:52:01.199 --> 00:52:04.500 have the dry heaves of the soul. Their breath 00:52:04.500 --> 00:52:07.320 seems to be taken away from them. For those that 00:52:07.320 --> 00:52:10.920 are facing sickness and illness. For those who 00:52:10.920 --> 00:52:13.619 are taking care of someone who's sick. For those 00:52:13.619 --> 00:52:16.780 who lost loved ones. Thank you that you're near 00:52:16.780 --> 00:52:21.039 the brokenhearted. Yes. And your promise is that 00:52:21.039 --> 00:52:23.980 you're faithful. Yes. And I pray that those big 00:52:23.980 --> 00:52:25.659 arms you stretched out on the cross, you would 00:52:25.659 --> 00:52:28.340 hold them close and you would give them the grace 00:52:28.340 --> 00:52:31.300 to trace their name that you carved in the palm 00:52:31.300 --> 00:52:34.219 of your hands, that they would know that you 00:52:34.219 --> 00:52:39.219 have kept every tear that they've ever cried 00:52:39.219 --> 00:52:42.780 in your bottom. I pray that they would hear you 00:52:42.780 --> 00:52:45.920 singing and dancing over them. I pray that you 00:52:45.920 --> 00:52:48.659 would encourage them to keep moving forward, 00:52:48.780 --> 00:52:53.059 to keep leaning into you. Leaning their head 00:52:53.059 --> 00:52:56.179 on your chest and allowing you to hold them. 00:52:56.579 --> 00:52:59.320 Would you bless them? Would you strengthen them? 00:52:59.619 --> 00:53:03.139 May they hear your voice. Yes. Beautiful Jesus. 00:53:03.780 --> 00:53:07.079 Beautiful, beautiful Jesus. We adore you. Yes, 00:53:07.079 --> 00:53:09.900 Lord. Yes, Father. Thank you for your strength. 00:53:10.420 --> 00:53:13.760 Thank you for your compassion. Thank you that 00:53:13.760 --> 00:53:17.159 you weep together with them. But Lord, I also 00:53:17.159 --> 00:53:20.969 know that you are mighty. You are strong. And 00:53:20.969 --> 00:53:23.630 that there's nothing in nature. There's nothing 00:53:23.630 --> 00:53:27.789 created by man. There's no name that's greater 00:53:27.789 --> 00:53:30.710 than your name. No power that's greater than 00:53:30.710 --> 00:53:33.570 your power. And I know that you're the same yesterday, 00:53:33.769 --> 00:53:37.610 today, and forever. And I pray for every one 00:53:37.610 --> 00:53:40.670 of our listeners that you would touch them. I 00:53:40.670 --> 00:53:43.110 thank you that you're the restorer. That you 00:53:43.110 --> 00:53:45.150 would restore them. That you would redeem them. 00:53:45.250 --> 00:53:48.190 I pray that you'd be mighty in the midst of their 00:53:48.190 --> 00:53:52.610 pain. Yes. I pray for great miracles. Reach out 00:53:52.610 --> 00:53:54.769 your nail scarred hand and touch them and make 00:53:54.769 --> 00:53:57.730 them whole. Yes, Lord. May each of our listeners 00:53:57.730 --> 00:54:01.829 fulfill every dream, every plan, every purpose 00:54:01.829 --> 00:54:03.809 that you dreamed for them even before they were 00:54:03.809 --> 00:54:05.909 formed in their mother's womb. Amen. May they 00:54:05.909 --> 00:54:08.090 fulfill all the days that you've appointed for 00:54:08.090 --> 00:54:11.909 them. Yes. And every purpose. We adore you. Yes, 00:54:11.909 --> 00:54:13.969 Jesus. And we pray it in that name that is so 00:54:13.969 --> 00:54:18.510 high, so beautiful, so precious. And we're honored 00:54:18.510 --> 00:54:23.150 to say your name, Jesus. Amen. Amen. And while 00:54:23.150 --> 00:54:25.789 we were doing that, do you know what this is? 00:54:26.230 --> 00:54:28.889 I'll describe it to the listeners. It's a blue 00:54:28.889 --> 00:54:32.289 bottle. It's hand -blown glass. It was given 00:54:32.289 --> 00:54:35.409 to me in Iran. And it's a funny -looking bottle. 00:54:35.570 --> 00:54:39.670 And I asked them, what is this bottle? They said, 00:54:39.690 --> 00:54:43.190 it's a tear -catcher. And I said, I don't understand. 00:54:43.269 --> 00:54:46.230 What do you mean? And they said, in the old days 00:54:46.230 --> 00:54:49.179 of battle, When the soldiers would go off to 00:54:49.179 --> 00:54:51.599 fight, the wives would miss their husbands so 00:54:51.599 --> 00:54:54.119 much. They wanted to show, to demonstrate how 00:54:54.119 --> 00:54:57.219 much they loved their husbands. Oh, wow. And 00:54:57.219 --> 00:54:59.260 so whenever they started crying, missing their 00:54:59.260 --> 00:55:01.679 husbands, they would cry their tears into the 00:55:01.679 --> 00:55:04.500 bottle. And when their husbands would come home, 00:55:04.699 --> 00:55:07.260 they would hold up the bottle and they would 00:55:07.260 --> 00:55:09.800 say, this is how much I love you. This is how 00:55:09.800 --> 00:55:12.519 much I miss you. Wow. And the Bible tells us 00:55:12.519 --> 00:55:15.900 that every tear that we've ever cried. Jesus 00:55:15.900 --> 00:55:18.960 has kept in his bottle. It's true. Yeah. And 00:55:18.960 --> 00:55:20.760 when we get home, he's going to hold up that 00:55:20.760 --> 00:55:22.840 bottle or for some of us buckets. And he will 00:55:22.840 --> 00:55:26.579 say, this is how precious you were. Every tear 00:55:26.579 --> 00:55:30.260 you've ever cried, I've kept in my bottle. Every 00:55:30.260 --> 00:55:32.000 prayer that we've ever prayed, he's kept in a 00:55:32.000 --> 00:55:35.099 golden bowl. During COVID, we found my baby book 00:55:35.099 --> 00:55:37.579 and my mama wrote down all these things. First 00:55:37.579 --> 00:55:40.820 hair, first tooth loss, first steps. He didn't 00:55:40.820 --> 00:55:42.260 write just down the first steps. He's written 00:55:42.260 --> 00:55:44.179 down every step. He's carved her name in the 00:55:44.179 --> 00:55:48.829 palm of his hand. He loves us. And He didn't 00:55:48.829 --> 00:55:51.690 just carve our name. He was crucified on a cross 00:55:51.690 --> 00:55:55.110 and rose again. He loves us, and every detail 00:55:55.110 --> 00:56:12.679 matters to Him. Amen. Your review helps the podcasting 00:56:12.679 --> 00:56:15.119 platform suggest this podcast to other listeners 00:56:15.119 --> 00:56:17.760 who are also looking for a great move of the 00:56:17.760 --> 00:56:20.920 Holy Spirit. Check out our website at globaloutpouring 00:56:20.920 --> 00:56:24.219 .org to find out more information, read our blogs, 00:56:24.380 --> 00:56:27.199 connect with us, and donate. You can also browse 00:56:27.199 --> 00:56:29.760 our web store for life -changing anointed books. 00:56:30.139 --> 00:56:33.599 Until next time, this is Sharon Buss. And I'm 00:56:33.599 --> 00:56:36.300 Philip Buss. God bless you with His overwhelming, 00:56:36.519 --> 00:56:37.480 loving presence.