Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202026S
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00:00 >> Hello and welcome to
00:02 It Is Written Canada. 00:03 Thank you for joining us. 00:05 We're gonna go really deep 00:06 today and look at the powerful 00:08 influences we have to face 00:10 each day. 00:12 Imagine it's a brand new day 00:14 and you are talking to God 00:17 personally, you have no idea 00:19 what kind of day it's going to 00:21 be and you open up your Bible 00:23 and you read these words: 00:34 >> And when you read these 00:36 words, please feel completely 00:38 comfortable talking out loud 00:41 to God. 00:42 Make the verse your own. 00:45 I have to ask myself a 00:47 question every morning and 00:50 it's this: What is the first 00:52 device I reach for when I wake 00:55 up in the morning? 00:56 Do I reach for my phone? 00:59 Do I reach for my computer? 01:02 Because once I open up that 01:05 device, there are thousands of 01:07 voices calling for my 01:09 attention and those voice are 01:12 trying to pry me to thinking 01:14 certain ways, to buy certain 01:16 products, to believe certain 01:18 concepts, and sometimes it's 01:21 subtle, but other times it's 01:24 in-my-face programming. 01:27 >> So here's what I have 01:29 decided to do: I have decided 01:31 that the first device that I 01:34 reach for at the beginning of 01:35 a new day is this device, 01:39 my Bible. 01:41 I will not look at any other 01:43 device for the first hour of 01:45 my day and the first texts 01:46 that I will read are 01:48 scripture texts. 01:50 What about you? 01:52 Wouldn't it be super amazing 01:54 if you did not read any other 01:56 texts for the first hour of 01:57 the day than the text that we 01:59 find here in the Bible? 02:02 Would you be happier? 02:04 How happy would you be? 02:07 I invite you to join us today 02:09 as we look at how God's 02:11 eternal plan for you is to 02:13 experience the joy of being so 02:16 close to Him, the joy of 02:17 heaven, right here, right now. 02:21 ♪♪ 02:56 [gentle music] 03:11 >> How happy would you be 03:13 if you met the person of your 03:15 dreams, fell in love, 03:17 and got married? 03:19 How happy would you be if 03:22 today was your wedding day? 03:24 >> Or if you are already 03:26 married, how happy were you 03:28 on your wedding day? 03:29 I think that most people on 03:31 their wedding day are pretty 03:33 happy, at least they should 03:35 be, I know that I was. 03:37 >> Me, too! 03:39 But sometimes I wonder, 03:41 what if I was as happy every 03:43 day of my life as I was 03:46 on my wedding day? 03:48 >> You mean you're not? 03:49 I am 'cause I'm married 03:51 to you. 03:52 >> Thanks, Love. OK, so 03:55 here's another question: 03:57 What about God? 04:00 How happy is God about 04:02 spending time with you? 04:05 >> Does God experience 04:06 happiness when He gets to 04:08 spend time with me? 04:10 That's a good question. 04:12 I say the answer is yes, 04:13 He does. 04:14 >> Mm-hmm. 04:16 The most famous text in the 04:17 Bible, John 3:16, begins with 04:20 these words: 04:25 You see, when you love 04:28 someone, you are happy when 04:30 you spend time with them. 04:31 >> And the Bible gives us this 04:33 insight into God's heart 04:36 in Isaiah, it says... 04:43 [René] Mm-hmm. 04:44 So God's happiness when He 04:47 gets a chance to spend time 04:48 with you is like the 04:51 excitement of a happy couple 04:53 on their wedding day. 04:55 >> Oh, the Bible is filled 04:57 with exclamations of God's joy 05:00 when He gets to spend time 05:01 with us. 05:02 I especially like 05:03 Zephaniah 3:17. 05:20 >> That's a lot of "with's." 05:21 >> Yeah, the word, "with," is 05:23 the reason Jesus came. 05:25 He is Emmanuel, God with us. 05:28 And "with" is the reason why 05:30 Jesus is coming back. 05:32 Jesus assures you... 05:58 There are more prophecies 06:00 about the second coming of 06:02 Christ in the Old and the New 06:04 Testaments than there are 06:06 about any other event. 06:08 Why do you think that is? 06:10 >> Because Jesus longs to be 06:13 with us eternally. 06:16 In fact, the word, "with," is 06:18 the whole Bible in one word. 06:21 >> Yeah, look at this verse 06:23 right near the end of the 06:24 Bible, it says... 06:42 >> The Bible assures you 06:44 that even if you die, 06:46 God will not abandon you. 06:49 Look at this promise in 06:51 Colossians 3:3-4. 07:08 So Jesus appears at His 07:11 second coming. 07:12 Those who are fallen asleep in 07:14 Jesus will rise from their 07:16 graves to live with God in 07:19 heaven eternally. 07:21 >> God designed us with a 07:23 longing to be connected with 07:26 Him and with other people. 07:28 And yet the world that He 07:30 created is filled with so 07:32 many lost, lonely, and 07:34 disconnected people. 07:36 >> Mm-hmm. 07:37 And Jesus knows what 07:38 this is like. 07:40 He came to His own and His own 07:43 did not receive Him. 07:45 He was despised and rejected 07:47 by men. 07:49 >> So you might be feeling 07:50 like God doesn't understand 07:51 what you're going through. 07:53 He just is sitting up in 07:55 heaven and He's leaving us to 07:58 suffer down here. 07:59 Well, the truth is that He 08:01 does know and He is suffering 08:03 with you in your pain. 08:05 He knows all your sorrows. 08:08 [René] You are never alone. 08:10 He will never leave you. 08:12 God has promised: 08:20 [Mike] Sometimes people will 08:21 ask me this question: 08:22 "So what's the catch?" 08:25 "You say that God loves me," 08:27 "He wants to be with me," 08:29 "but then what?" 08:31 "Do I have to start keeping" 08:32 "some list of rules and stop" 08:34 "doing what I love?" 08:36 >> Well, that's a 08:37 good question. 08:39 Let's see what the Bible says. 08:41 In Galatians 5:1 it reads: 08:57 So when Jesus sets you free, 09:00 you are completely free to 09:02 choose how you live. 09:05 You have the freedom to choose 09:07 to love God and to love others 09:10 or you have the freedom to 09:11 choose to cause pain and 09:13 suffering to God, to others, 09:16 or to yourself. 09:18 >> You may be recovering from 09:20 an addiction or an eating 09:21 disorder or a critical 09:23 attitude or problems with 09:25 anger or gossip or looking at 09:27 sexually explicit material or 09:29 a problem with gambling, but 09:31 whatever it is, if you're 09:33 fully surrendered to Jesus, 09:36 you give Him your life right 09:37 now, then you are set free 09:40 from that kind of bondage. 09:43 >> And when you are set free 09:46 from this kind of slavery, you 09:48 don't want to go back to that 09:50 and you also know that without 09:52 God's saving power, 09:54 you wouldn't be free. 09:56 So God promises to be with you 09:59 and to keep you from falling. 10:02 >> It's amazing how when Jesus 10:04 sets you free, you find that 10:07 the things that you once loved 10:09 you now hate and the things 10:11 you once hated you now love. 10:14 >> It's so beautiful when that 10:16 transformation takes place. 10:18 You know, for twelve years 10:20 when Mike and I were living at 10:22 Fountainview Academy, 10:24 every Friday evening, 10:25 the students and staff used to 10:27 stand together, holding hands, 10:30 and sing a very inspirational 10:31 song entitled, 10:34 I Wanna Go To Heaven. 10:36 And right now we are going to 10:38 let you listen to that song. 10:41 ♪♪ 10:46 ♪I wanna go to Heaven and 10:49 ♪pick a never-fading flower 10:54 ♪From the mountain overlooking 10:58 ♪the temple of my God 11:07 ♪I wanna go to Heaven 11:10 ♪where all is light and glory 11:14 ♪How I long to be with Jesus 11:19 ♪How I long to be with God 11:28 ♪Sometimes I think 11:31 ♪I can stay here no longer 11:37 ♪I feel very lonely here 11:40 ♪for I have seen 11:42 ♪a better land 11:46 ♪Oh that I had wings 11:52 ♪like a dove 11:54 ♪Then would I fly away 11:58 ♪and be at rest 12:05 ♪♪ 12:20 ♪I wanna go to Heaven 12:22 ♪I wanna hear the 12:25 ♪voice of Jesus 12:27 ♪You have washed your robes 12:30 ♪in my blood 12:32 ♪stood stiffly for my truth 12:40 ♪And when I get to Heaven 12:43 ♪I'll cast my crown 12:45 ♪at Jesus feet 12:48 ♪I wanna praise 12:50 ♪His name forever 12:53 ♪He has done so much for me 13:01 ♪Sometimes I think 13:04 ♪I can stay here no longer 13:11 ♪I feel very lonely here 13:13 ♪for I have seen 13:15 ♪a better land 13:19 ♪Oh that I had wings 13:25 ♪like a dove 13:27 ♪Then would I fly away 13:31 ♪and be at rest 13:38 ♪I wanna go to Heaven 13:41 ♪I wanna pledge my 13:43 ♪love to Jesus 13:46 ♪I will gird myself 13:48 ♪and serve Him 13:50 ♪for He suffered 13:52 ♪much for me 13:57 ♪And when I get to Heaven 13:59 ♪I wanna sit at Jesus' table 14:04 ♪Oh to eat the fruit 14:07 ♪of that land 14:09 ♪Go back to earth no more 14:17 ♪Sometimes I think 14:20 ♪I can stay here no longer 14:26 ♪I feel very lonely here 14:29 ♪for I have seen 14:31 ♪a better land 14:34 ♪Oh that I had wings 14:40 ♪like a dove 14:42 ♪Then would I fly away 14:46 ♪and be at rest 14:52 ♪Oh that I had wings 14:59 ♪like a dove 15:01 ♪Then would I fly away 15:05 ♪and be at rest 15:12 ♪♪ 15:20 >> Those are such touching and 15:22 stirring words, "I wanna go" 15:24 "to heaven where all is light" 15:26 "and glory." 15:28 "How I long to be with Jesus," 15:30 "How I long to be with God." 15:32 And that is what I am longing 15:35 for, too, to be with Jesus and 15:38 to be with God. 15:40 But you know what? 15:42 We don't have to wait 15:43 for some future event to 15:45 experience heaven. 15:47 We can experience being with 15:50 God right here, right now. 15:53 >> It's like Moses. 15:55 The Bible tells us that the 15:57 Lord spoke to Moses face to 15:59 face as a man speaks 16:01 to his friend. 16:04 Heaven is being with God and 16:06 speaking to Him face to face. 16:09 >> So how did that happen 16:10 for Moses? 16:13 Well, Moses had been working 16:15 as a humble shepherd for 16:18 40 years and after 40 years, 16:20 his level of confidence was 16:23 rock bottom. 16:24 When one day he went to Mount 16:27 Moriah, the mountain of God, 16:29 and he was with his flock of 16:31 sheep and he came across a 16:34 dusty, dry bush that 16:37 was on fire. 16:39 >> But as he looked more 16:41 closely, he could see that the 16:43 bush was not being turned into 16:45 ashes and then God spoke to 16:49 Moses from the bush and told 16:52 him that He was the God of his 16:54 father's, the God of Abraham, 16:56 Isaac, and Jacob. 16:58 God expressed how He knew the 17:01 sorrows of His people and He 17:03 wanted to deliver them from 17:05 slavery and take them to the 17:07 promised land. 17:08 >> So get this: when Moses 17:10 felt the least confident, felt 17:13 slow of speech, felt like he 17:16 was only fit to lead 17:18 simple-minded sheep, that was 17:20 when God called Moses to 17:22 deliver His people 17:24 from slavery. 17:25 God was saying to Moses, 17:27 "Don't trust your feelings," 17:29 "trust Me." 17:30 >> Moses then asks the Lord, 17:32 "So OK, Lord, if I'm gonna" 17:35 "trust You, can you tell me" 17:38 "Your name?" 17:40 "When I go to Your people and" 17:42 "tell them that God sent me," 17:44 "they're going to ask me" 17:46 "Your name." 17:47 >> And God said to Moses, 17:49 "Fair enough, here's my name:" 17:50 "I Am who I Am." 17:53 And He said, "Thus shall you" 17:55 "say to the children of" 17:57 "Israel, 'I Am has sent me'" 17:59 "'to you.'" 18:01 The two words, "I Am," mean 18:04 "eternal presence." 18:06 God is I Am in the past, 18:09 God is I Am in the present, 18:12 and God is I Am in the future. 18:16 >> The past, present, and the 18:18 future are the same to God. 18:20 He's there. 18:22 Wherever you are, He's there. 18:26 >> He sees the most remote 18:30 events in past history and God 18:33 sees the far distant future 18:35 into the endless ages of 18:37 eternity as clearly as you see 18:39 the road that is in front of 18:40 you when you're driving in 18:42 your car. 18:43 >> Mm-hmm. 18:44 We, on the other hand, can't 18:47 see into the future, but if we 18:50 could, maybe we would not like 18:53 what we would see. 18:55 So it's a good thing that God 18:57 gives us as much understanding 18:59 about our past, our present, 19:02 and our future as we 19:04 can handle. 19:06 God gives us an opportunity to 19:08 exercise our faith and 19:10 completely put our trust 19:13 in Him. 19:14 >> So God's name, "I Am," in 19:17 the original Hebrew is four 19:19 letters with no vowels. 19:22 In the English alphabet it's 19:23 "YHWH" and this is known as 19:27 the "tetragrammaton" or the 19:29 four-letter sacred name 19:31 of God. 19:33 >> Did you know that the 19:34 consonants used in the 19:37 spelling of the sacred name, 19:39 "YHWH," are in fact the only 19:43 consonants that, if correctly 19:46 pronounced, do not allow you 19:48 to use your tongue or close 19:50 your lips. 19:52 >> So, in fact, the Jewish 19:54 scholars, they inform us that 19:57 the pronouncing of the sacred 20:00 name was an attempt to 20:02 imitate and replicate breath. 20:06 It is inhalation 20:08 and exhalation. 20:11 [inhales] Yah... 20:12 [exhales] ...weh. 20:14 [inhales] Yah... 20:16 [exhales] ...weh. 20:18 You see how close God 20:19 is to you? 20:21 How close He has always 20:22 been to you. 20:27 >> As a baby, the first word 20:29 you ever spoke when you came 20:32 into this world was the name 20:34 of God. 20:36 [inhales] Yah... 20:37 [exhales] ...weh. 20:38 [inhales] Yah... 20:39 [exhales] ...weh. 20:41 In every breath you take, you 20:44 are saying the name of God 20:46 though you may not have been 20:48 aware of this until this 20:50 very moment. 20:52 >> It's like Jacob in 20:55 Genesis 28, verse 16 when he 20:58 awoke from sleep and he 21:00 exclaimed... 21:02 "Surely the Lord..." now the 21:03 word that's used there is 21:04 [inhales] Yah... 21:06 [exhales] ...weh. 21:07 So he's saying, "Surely..." 21:09 [inhales] "Yah..." 21:10 [exhales] "...weh" 21:11 "is in this place" 21:13 "and I did not know it." 21:17 You don't have to wait to get 21:19 to heaven to be close to God. 21:21 He is close to you right now. 21:26 >> Yes, He is in your breath. 21:30 The last word you will ever 21:32 speak will be the name of God. 21:36 >> The last breath that you 21:38 take on your death bed 21:40 will be the name of God. 21:44 [inhales] Yah... 21:46 [exhales] ...weh. 21:48 It's the one thing that you 21:50 keep doing constantly 21:52 throughout your life without 21:53 even thinking about it. 21:56 You just did it now. 21:59 You're breathing. 22:00 And when you lie in bed at 22:03 night listening to your loved 22:05 ones breathe, hear them saying 22:09 the sacred name of God, 22:12 [inhales] Yah... 22:13 [exhales] ...weh. 22:15 >> Regardless of whether you 22:17 are young or old, male or 22:19 female, black or white, or 22:22 what language you speak, what 22:24 level of education you have, 22:26 or how much money you have, 22:29 we all breathe, which takes us 22:32 back to John 3:16. 22:52 We are all children of God. 22:55 He is our Father and our 22:59 Father loves us all. 23:03 >> So let's go even deeper. 23:05 When we believe in Jesus, 23:07 the one and only Son of God, 23:09 we receive everlasting breath. 23:13 In John 8:58, standing before 23:16 the religious leaders, 23:18 they were all angry with Him 23:20 because, with solemn dignity, 23:22 Jesus stood before them and He 23:25 proclaimed, "Truly, truly, I" 23:28 "say to you, before Abraham" 23:29 "was, I Am." 23:34 Did you get that? 23:36 Jesus called Himself "I Am." 23:39 [inhales] Yah... 23:40 [exhales] ...weh. 23:42 >> The religious leaders 23:44 quickly picked up stones to 23:45 kill Jesus because they 23:47 believed this was blasphemy. 23:49 Jesus, being a man, was 23:51 calling Himself the 23:52 Creator, God? 23:54 Jesus had now claimed the 23:57 sacred name, "I Am?" 24:00 He said, "I Am is my name." 24:03 "I Am the Great I Am." 24:06 "Before Abraham was born," 24:07 "I Am." 24:10 >> So Jesus claimed, 24:13 "If You have seen me, you" 24:14 "have seen the Father because" 24:17 "the Father and I are one." 24:20 Jesus was God in the flesh, 24:23 Emmanuel, God with us. 24:26 All things were created by Him 24:28 and without Him, nothing was 24:30 made that has been made. 24:33 He is Yahweh, 24:37 the Giver of Breath. 24:39 God doesn't want us to be 24:42 simply unconsciously 24:44 breathing, He wants us to be 24:47 consciously believing. 24:50 >> God has given us eternal 24:53 life and this life is in 24:56 His Son. 24:58 He who has the Son has life. 25:02 He who does not have the Son 25:05 of God does not have life. 25:09 You can't even breathe 25:11 without Jesus. 25:13 >> The apostle Paul writes it 25:15 so clearly. 25:17 He says, "For in Him," that is 25:18 in Jesus, "we live and move" 25:20 "and have our being." 25:23 When you breathe the 25:24 sacred name, 25:26 [inhales] Yah... 25:27 [exhales] ...weh, 25:29 whether you realize it or not, 25:32 you are able to live because 25:33 in Jesus you live and move 25:36 and have your being. 25:38 Without Him we would 25:39 all perish. 25:41 Jesus chose to give His life, 25:44 to breathe His last breath on 25:46 the cross so that whosoever 25:48 believes in Him should not 25:50 perish, but have 25:52 everlasting life. 25:53 If you haven't made that 25:55 choice to believe in Jesus, 25:57 then I invite you to do that 25:59 right now as we pray. 26:02 >> Let's pray together 26:03 right now. 26:05 [Mike] Our Father, as You 26:07 breathed the breath of life 26:10 into the first human body when 26:12 You created Adam, 26:15 You give us life and You offer 26:17 us eternal life, You even put 26:20 Your name into our breath so 26:23 that we can experience an 26:26 intimacy with You every moment 26:30 of our lives and into the 26:33 ceaseless ages of eternity. 26:38 [René] Thank You for being so 26:40 near to us and for longing to 26:43 have us live with You 26:45 eternally. 26:47 We accept the precious gift of 26:50 eternal life right now by 26:53 choosing to believe in Your 26:55 Son, Jesus Christ. 26:57 In His name we pray, amen. 27:03 >> Friends, you might have a 27:04 lot more questions about 27:06 heaven like, is heaven an 27:07 actual place? 27:08 And what will it be 27:10 like there? 27:13 >> So our free offer for you 27:15 is, Is Heaven For Real? 27:18 This book reveals what the 27:20 Bible truly says about heaven. 27:23 So here is the information 27:25 you need to receive today's 27:27 free offer. 27:30 >> Before you go, we wish to 27:31 pray for you personally. 27:33 If you would like to send us 27:35 your personal prayer requests, 27:37 the information for how to 27:40 contact us is on the screen. 27:42 Tell us your request and we 27:44 will pray for you personally 27:45 and put your name on our 27:47 prayer list. 27:48 >> We would also like to 27:50 invite you to follow us on 27:52 Instagram and Facebook and 27:54 subscribe to our YouTube 27:56 channel and also listen to our 27:58 Podcasts and if you go to our 28:01 website, you can see our 28:03 latest programs including our 28:06 exercise workouts called, 28:07 Experiencing Life and our 28:10 short spiritual messages 28:11 entitled, Daily Living. 28:14 [Mike] They are all there free 28:16 for you to watch whenever you 28:17 choose because we want you to 28:20 get to know the Lord as your 28:23 personal friend through 28:24 reading the Bible so that you 28:27 can experience the truth that 28:28 is found in the words of Jesus 28:30 when He said, "It is written," 28:32 "man shall not live by bread" 28:34 "alone, but by every word" 28:36 "that proceeds out of the" 28:37 "mouth of God." 28:39 ♪♪ |
Revised 2021-03-25