Participants: Brenda Walsh
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR001025
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01:01 I love divine appointments, don't you?
01:04 I love it when I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt 01:08 God's got a special reason for me 01:10 being in a very certain place to witness 01:12 to somebody He has chosen. 01:14 Is that not awesome? 01:16 Do you know I used to pray for a divine appointment? 01:18 I get up in the morning and I would always pray, 01:20 "Lord, use me in a special way." 01:23 And I would pray, 01:24 "Can I have at least one divine appointment today, Lord?" 01:28 I realized then after a while that I was, 01:30 you know, putting a limit on what God can do. 01:32 God can have to do so much 01:33 more than one divine appointment. 01:35 And so I started praying, 01:36 "Lord, give me as many divine appointment 01:38 as You have in mind for me today." 01:41 Do you see when we really love Jesus with all our hearts, 01:44 when we are passionately praying to Him, 01:46 we have that one-on-one connection 01:48 and closeness with Jesus, our Savior. 01:51 We think differently. We act differently. 01:54 We go about our daily task different. 01:56 We're not so focused on whatever it is we want. 01:59 We're focused on what God wants. 02:01 So often, it's easy to get 02:05 in the habit of being a Christian. 02:07 Do you know what I'm talking about? 02:08 Probably maybe nobody here knows what that is, 02:10 but you almost go through the habit 02:13 each week of praying church. 02:15 We forget what our real mission in life is. 02:18 And that is to do whatever God calls us to do. 02:21 We come to church in Sabbath 02:22 and we say happy Sabbath, happy Sabbath, happy Sabbath, 02:26 and then we go home and we go about our duties, 02:29 doing all of our routine work and our routine errands, 02:32 and all planning-- all the social events of our life 02:35 and then we come back the next week, 02:37 and we come back to church, we do it all over again, 02:39 happy Sabbath, happy Sabbath, happy Sabbath. 02:41 And one week rolls into the next. 02:44 One year rolls into the next. 02:46 And we before long, your life has passed by. 02:49 And instead of our focus being on 02:51 what we can do for Jesus, our Lord and Savior, 02:54 who we claim to love with all our hearts, 02:56 we've really just gone through the motions of being Christians. 03:00 I can tell you right now, God doesn't need pew warmers, 03:04 He needs committed Christians and followers 03:07 that are willing with openness and a willing hearts to do 03:11 whatever God wants us to do. 03:13 Too many times, the church nominating committee 03:15 is choosing their officers each year. 03:18 Do your churches do that here in Australia? 03:20 And they're choosing their officers 03:21 and they call you up and say, 03:24 "Ma'am, would you be our cradle roll leader this year?" 03:27 And the first words out of your mouth are, "What? 03:30 I don't really work with kids. 03:31 You know, I'll be willing to be your greeter 03:33 at the door or I'll do, you know, personal ministries. 03:36 Or I'll do whatever it is I am comfortable with, 03:40 but don't ask me to be a cradle roll leader." 03:43 Do you know honestly, 03:44 your first words out of your mouth 03:46 shouldn't be yes and that shouldn't be no. 03:48 It should be, let me pray about it. 03:50 And if God wants me to be a cradle roll leader, 03:53 I'm gonna be the best cradle roll leader you ever saw 03:54 because it's sure not gonna be me, 03:56 I don't know anything about what I'm doing, 03:57 but I'll be leaning on Jesus, 03:59 and He is going to work through me. 04:02 Do you see the difference? 04:04 Do you see the difference between God leading in your life 04:07 and you're doing everything you're comfortable with? 04:08 Unless you allow God to push you way out of your comfort zone, 04:13 you aren't really leaning on Jesus. 04:15 Who you're leaning on? Yourself 04:18 I want to share something with you today 04:22 that I hope will stay with you forever, and it's so profound. 04:27 I want you to get out a piece of paper 04:29 and a pencil right now if you would. 04:31 I want you to write this down 04:32 because I don't want you to forget it. 04:34 If you don't remember anything I said today, 04:37 this is so profound that you must remember this. Okay? 04:43 You must remember this. 04:46 I am going to share with you three things 04:48 that you absolutely have to have 04:50 if you truly want to serve Jesus. 04:52 You can't just have one. You can't just have two. 04:55 You must have all three things 04:58 if you're really truly want to serve Jesus. 05:01 Now I can see some of you out there might be some theology 05:03 majors getting a little nervous and go, "Wait a minute, 05:05 I never heard of this. What is she talking about?" 05:08 But just bear with me, 05:09 I've never had anybody disagree with me yet. 05:11 So just bear with me. 05:13 We got all our papers and pencils ready? 05:15 Because I am going to share with you right now. 05:17 Number one, I would need you to write down. 05:19 Put the number one down and right above it put the title 05:23 "Three Things You Need to Truly Share Jesus." 05:27 Write that down for your-- for your header. 05:29 Three things you absolutely need in order to serve Jesus, okay? 05:35 Number one, are you ready? Number one, be willing. 05:41 Write down number one. What's number one? 05:44 What is it? Be willing. 05:46 Number one is, be willing. 05:47 You see, God's not gonna force you. 05:49 He's not gonna say, "Sania, right over here, 05:52 come on over here, right now. 05:53 You are going to be my Praise Time coordinator. 05:55 Come on. I said it right now." 05:57 Is God gonna do that? No. 06:00 God wants a willing heart. He is not gonna make you. 06:02 He is not gonna force you. He wants a willing heart. 06:05 And if you aren't willing, 06:07 pray and ask God to make you willing. 06:09 Say, "Lord, I know You're calling me to do this 06:11 and I don't really want to do it. 06:12 So, Lord, make me willing." 06:15 So number one is what? Be willing. 06:18 Number two, be obedient. 06:23 Be obedient, you see, it's not enough 06:28 to be wiling to serve Jesus, but we must be obedient. 06:32 I want you to turn just-- 06:33 don't put your pens and papers away yet, 06:34 but get your Bibles out. 06:36 And we're gonna turn to Matthew 7. 06:39 Matthew 7:21-23. 06:42 And I want you to write those text down 06:44 in a parentheses right by "be obedient." 06:46 Will you do that for me? 06:47 Matthew 7:21-23, write it down right next to that "be obedient" 06:53 and you will see how profound this text is. 06:56 Matthew 7:21-23. 07:00 And it says, "Not everyone that saith unto me, 07:02 Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, 07:06 but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 07:10 Many will say to me in that day, 07:12 Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied the in thy name, 07:15 and in thy name cast out devils, 07:17 and in they name done many wonderful works?" 07:20 Verse 23, "And then will I profess into them, 07:25 I never knew you, depart from me 07:28 ye that work iniquity," wow. 07:32 Do you realize what that verse says? 07:34 God says that, we could be out there baptizing in His name, 07:37 we could be out there doing many wonderful works, 07:40 but unless God told you to do it, it is for nothing. 07:43 He says--he'll say he never knew you, depart from Him. 07:45 He even calls it iniquity. 07:47 When we are not obeying God, He calls it inequity. 07:51 He doesn't want anything to do with this 07:53 if we're gonna do that. 07:54 You could say, "I want to be, you know, the church organist. 07:58 I want to be the church clerk. 08:00 I want to be the charge of the, you know, greeting committee. 08:02 I want to do, I want to do, I want to do." 08:04 All those thing that start with "I." 08:06 You could be working-- the hardest worker 08:09 in your church for years and years and years, 08:11 but unless you're doing what God wants you to do, 08:13 unless you know it was God that called you to do it, 08:16 it is for nothing, He will say he never knew you. 08:19 Would you say that's pretty powerful? 08:21 Would you say, God, 08:23 it's really truly important to God that we be obedient? 08:26 All right, so number one, 08:27 if you're really want to serve Jesus, 08:28 number one is what? Be willing. Be what? 08:31 Be willing. Be willing. 08:32 Number two is what? Be obedient. Be obedient. 08:35 Okay, it's not enough 08:36 to just be 'willing and just be obedient. 08:39 There is one more important part of this. 08:43 Write down number there, be joyful. 08:48 You see, it's not enough to just go about and say, 08:51 "Okay, Lord, I'm willing, 08:52 and I'm gonna do what You want me to do." 08:54 But, "Oh, all right, Lord, I'll do it." 08:58 Does God want us to be hurt like that? 09:00 Does He really want us to be-- If somebody, 09:02 you have somebody to do something for you 09:05 and you say what you do such and such and-- 09:07 I asked Sania to be my Praise Time coordinator. 09:09 And, Sania, I'm picking on you today. 09:12 And I ask her to be my Praise Time coordinator and she goes, 09:14 "Oh, all right, I'll do it." 09:17 Do you know what I want to say? 09:19 "Forget it, I'll do it myself." 09:20 Is that what you want to say? 09:22 So it's important that we do what? 09:24 The will of our father. So now say with me. 09:27 We have--do you agree with me on all those three points? 09:29 You must have all three. 09:31 You cannot just have one. So say it with me. 09:33 Number one is be-- Be willing. 09:35 Number two is be. Be obedient. 09:37 Number three is. Be joyful. Be joyful. 09:39 Be willing. Be obedient. Be joyful. 09:41 And unless we are obedient-- 09:43 I'm willing to be obedient and joyful, 09:45 we can't truly serve Jesus. 09:47 We're serving ourselves and all the things we want to do, 09:49 but it means nothing to our Lord and Savior. 09:52 That's how critical it is that we are prayed up. 09:55 That is so critical that it is that we know 09:57 and have that relationship with Jesus, 10:00 that He is our personal savior. 10:03 Yeah, our salvation depends on it. 10:06 And when you allow God to lead in your life 10:09 get ready for the greatest joy ride 10:10 you're ever gonna have. 10:12 Now I can tell you that there are times, 10:14 just like in my children story today, 10:16 where I really truly did not want to have a dog on Kids Time. 10:20 I didn't want a dog more than anything. 10:22 But I prayed and I prayed and I prayed 10:24 and asked God to make me willing and God did a work in my heart. 10:27 And that dog has been such a blessing around the world. 10:29 So many people write in about Maxwell. 10:31 They love Maxwell. Boys and girls love Maxwell. 10:34 And Maxwell has been such a tremendous witness. 10:37 You see God had a plan 10:39 even though it wasn't part of my plan 10:40 and as producer it's my responsibility. 10:42 I could have said no. 10:43 No, I didn't want a dog in a program 10:45 and it could have been up to me. 10:46 If I said no it was no. 10:48 But I don't want it to be about me. 10:50 I don't want anything on Kids Time 10:52 to be about Brenda Walsh. 10:53 I want it to be what God wants on that program. 10:56 And so that's why pray about everything. 10:58 And when you pray and ask God 11:00 to lead you every step of the way 11:02 you are gonna have so many divine appointments. 11:04 I love divine appointments. 11:06 In fact, I'm writing a new book 11:07 about divine appointments 'cause I get so many of them, 11:09 I'm gonna share them with you. 11:10 And everywhere I go 11:12 I have so many wonderful divine appointments. 11:14 Sometimes unusually so God can do some miraculous things 11:18 to accomplish his work. 11:20 You see my sister and I, 11:22 we have the privilege of being in ministry together. 11:25 We speak at a lot of women's retreats and churches. 11:29 And this particular time we were scheduled 11:31 to be the keynote speakers at a women's retreat 11:34 in Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska. 11:37 And so Linda normally she lives in Wisconsin, Cinda 11:40 and I live in Tennessee. 11:42 Linda had flown to Tennessee a week early 11:43 so that we could practice 'cause we always give concerts 11:46 and so that we could practice our songs together 11:48 and get ready and we would all fly out to Lincoln together. 11:52 So we got to the airport in Knoxville, Tennessee 11:54 where Cinda and I live and we're at our gate area 11:58 and they announced there is going to be a delay 12:00 due to mechanical problems. 12:02 And I hear that quite frequently. 12:03 I'm sure if you fly a lot you do to. 12:05 And so we're like, oh, no. 12:08 I mean we knew we had a tight connection. 12:09 We were going to Minneapolis, Minnesota 12:11 and we had less than an hour to catch a flight 12:14 inbetween that was taking us from Minneapolis to Lincoln. 12:18 And we were like, oh, no 12:20 we're gonna miss that connection. 12:21 And so all three of us got into a little huddle 12:22 right there in gate area and we prayed 12:26 and asked God to watch over this trip. 12:30 I said, "Lord, you know, 12:31 if that's your will that we be late 12:32 or we even miss our plane, it's okay. 12:34 But Lord, please if it's Your will 12:37 that we make this connection 12:40 we don't want to be stuck in Minneapolis overnight. 12:42 We don't want to be late to the convention. 12:43 They're all-- the retreat they're all, 12:45 you know, waiting for us. 12:46 So please open the doors and open the way for us to go 12:50 and we're trusting this to You." 12:51 And so over an hour had passed. 12:53 Now we knew for sure we probably had missed our connection 12:56 but we had checked with the travel agent, 12:58 with a friend of mine and she said, 12:59 really truly it was probably still our best bet 13:02 to go ahead and fly to Minneapolis however late it was. 13:05 It was a larger city our chances to get in the Lincoln 13:07 will be far greater for the connections out there. 13:10 And so we finally boarded the flight to go to Minneapolis. 13:16 And my sister Linda, she and Cinda and I were all-- 13:20 Linda was on the Isle and I was on the middle 13:22 and Cinda was on the-- on the window. 13:23 Right there at the very front row 13:25 we thought well, God really blessed. 13:26 This is so awesome. 13:27 Thank you Lord, for this front row seat 13:29 because when it stops we'll be the first one off the plane. 13:31 We can hurry and bucket down to the gate area. 13:33 And if there's any chance at all we can make that flight. 13:35 We were right here in the first row. 13:37 And then all of sudden the flight attendant 13:39 came over Linda on the isle and she says, 13:41 "Ma'am, we're having a weight problem 13:43 could you mind sitting in the back of plane." 13:46 And of course Cinda tease Linda a lot about that. 13:49 Now they didn't mean Linda was heavy, 13:50 they just meant that it only a balancing the weight on plane. 13:53 So Linda now ends up in the very back of the plane. 13:56 And now all three of us can't get off together 13:58 and make that connection. 14:00 So when we landed in Minneapolis Cinda said, 14:03 you know, there's a-- always a chance that our flight 14:06 could have been and delayed here. 14:07 She said, look, you as soon as the check bags come, 14:10 you grab your bag and run to that gate 14:12 and I'll wait for Linda and meet you there. 14:14 I said, okay. 14:15 So I got off the plane, I waited to got my gate check bag. 14:17 I went and I went running. 14:19 And one should not be at the very end of that tunnel 14:21 and I am just running down there 14:23 and I get to the gate area and I passed a gate agent 14:27 coming out of that just shortly after I got to my gate. 14:30 And sure enough that the flight was closed. 14:33 There were some people in that in the gate area 14:35 and they said, you want to be on that flight? 14:37 They said it just closed. They had just closed the door. 14:39 Oh, Lord, I really thought we were on that flight 14:43 and now that we've gonna have to miss that and I said, 14:46 all right, Lord, well, you know what You're doing. 14:48 And I thought I'll go back and tell Linda 14:49 no need to hurry now because we're gonna be there. 14:52 We already knew there were no more flights out. 14:54 And so I started back, I got my roll-on 14:56 and I start back towards and I can see Linda and Cinda 14:59 way at the end still not quite close enough. 15:01 And as I looked to my right 15:04 there was this huge plate glass window 15:07 that stretched from here to by over there to the church 15:10 and it was really tall. 15:11 And I looked and right outside that window was our plane. 15:17 And I looked at it and there was that captain 15:19 and the co-captain and they're looking right at me. 15:22 And so I did want any normal person would do. 15:25 "Hey, hey, that's our flight! 15:27 That's our flight! Hey, we need to be on that flight!" 15:32 And guess what? 15:34 The captain was laughing like you did 15:36 and he turned and he's laughing. 15:38 And I'm going me, me, there's three of us! 15:40 I mean, come on Linda and Cinda hurry, quick up. 15:43 Pretty soon you had three women going, 15:44 "Wait, we need to be on the plane! 15:46 We need to be on that plane!" 15:50 And now the captain's really laughing. 15:52 And he goes like this and he gets on the phone 15:56 and then he goes just like this. 15:58 And we were going-- he goes, "Just a minute." 16:01 And we were still just going... 16:04 And he gets out of the seat, he crawls out of the cockpit. 16:08 Next thing we know we saw the door of the plane open 16:11 and the stairs go down to the pavement. 16:13 You see the jet bridge had already been rolled away. 16:15 And he has to walk down those steps 16:17 and then he has to walk all the way around to the stairs 16:19 on the other side of the jet bridge 16:22 to get into the place. 16:23 And as soon as we saw him walking 16:25 all three of us ran around to the gate area. 16:26 And as soon as that door opened 16:28 he all three Micheff Sisters just hugging him. 16:32 And we said, "Oh, we're so thankful." 16:34 And Cinda started tell him what we were doing 16:36 and why we needed to be on that flight 16:37 and that we were witnessing for Jesus. 16:39 And then Cinda said, 16:41 "And if you get us on that flight we'll sing for you." 16:45 And so, he said, "Okay, okay, but we need a gate agent." 16:48 "No problem. Cinda, watch my bag. 16:50 I went running after that gate agent." 16:52 Now she was already almost ready to turn the corner. 16:55 So I went running after her, I said, "Wait, wait, wait! 16:59 We need a gate agent! Hurry, hurry!" 17:01 She turned on soft 17:02 and she started running and following me. 17:04 And I just turned and running, I was running back to the gate. 17:06 Now in my defense, I did not tell her it was an emergency. 17:10 And so she was running in there 17:11 when she got around that gate area 17:13 and she saw that he plane had not left 17:16 and she saw that the pilot was there. 17:19 She didn't look too happy. 17:22 And the pilot said I need these three girls on this flight. 17:25 And she said that's not possible. 17:27 She said, this flight is already closed, 17:28 they've already been booked on tomorrows flight 17:30 and she said and that can't be undone. 17:32 He goes, no. He said, I want you go fix them. 17:34 Put them back on this flight, they're going with me. 17:37 Well, I don't even have anybody to take the bags. 17:38 He goes, "I will." 17:39 And he takes Linda's bag put that under here. 17:41 Takes mine and takes Cinda's and he goes now book them 17:44 and he goes off the door. 17:47 And so now she's mad and she's typing. 17:52 And she's just fast and furious and finally you see, 17:55 I found out later that they get-- 17:57 you know, a fine for so many, 17:59 you know, departures that are not on time. 18:01 So it's really important to try not to get delayed flights. 18:04 And so she's just fast and furious 18:06 but trying to get us a seat, trying to get us. 18:08 "All right, I'll get this sorted out later, 18:09 just get on the plane!" 18:11 We didn't even take the, you know, a second look. 18:13 We were whoosh, we went out that door. 18:15 We followed that captain up on the plane 18:17 and he even closed that door himself to the plane. 18:22 Then before we found our seats 18:25 he get's what the flight attendant 18:26 talks to you about and gives you all the instructions, 18:29 he gets the intercom and goes, "Ladies and gentlemen, 18:32 I just want to tell you 18:34 we are privilege to have three celebrities with us today. 18:38 We have the Mischief Sisters." 18:42 And he say-- and by the way 18:44 our name really isn't mischief although, 18:46 you know, some people call us that. Who knows why? 18:48 And so-- we do have a lot of fun. 18:51 And so he says, "And they have promised to sing us a song. 18:53 How many want to hear that song?" 18:55 And everybody just applauded. 18:56 So we ended up, he held the microphone over 18:58 and the three of us sang, "God is so good." 19:04 Then we made our way to back of the plane 19:07 and Linda and Cinda were ahead of me 19:08 and there was only three seats left. 19:11 We lost our good seats because of, 19:13 you know, what had happened. 19:14 And so Linda and Cinda, since they were in front of me, 19:17 they took the two seats in the very back. 19:19 Now we know nobody wants to sit in there. 19:21 I mean, its right next to the potty door. 19:23 So, you know, no body wants to sit there 19:24 but for a reason God had us sitting there. 19:26 So Linda and Cinda sit there 19:28 and there was one isle seat right up in front of them. 19:31 And so I took that seat 19:32 and right next to me was a gentlemen sound asleep. 19:36 All dressed in a business suit and he is sound asleep. 19:38 His head's against the window and I said "Oh, Lord, 19:43 You have something really awesome planned today. 19:46 You parted the Red Sea to get us on this plane. 19:50 Lord, I know, that this doesn't just happen. 19:54 Nobody opens a door of a plane once it's closed. Do they?" 19:57 I mean, when was the last time you missed a flight 19:59 and they opened the door for you? 20:00 We know--I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt 20:03 that God had intervened 20:04 and I knew it was for a specific reason. 20:07 And I always pray about who's gonna sit next to me 20:09 that God want's me to witness to. 20:11 And so I knew God had a special divine appointment 20:14 sitting right next to me and he was falling to sleep. 20:16 "And so I said, Lord, oh, give me the words 20:19 that You want me to say, Lord. 20:21 Please fill me with an extra outpouring of Your Holy Spirit. 20:24 Let my witness not be me, Lord, but let it be You." 20:28 You see too often we try to be the Holy Spirit. 20:30 We try to-- you know, 20:32 cram doctrine down peoples throats. 20:34 We forget that the best way 20:36 to share Jesus is share His love. 20:40 And so now we had taken off, and as soon we had taken off 20:43 I'm looking over to the side 20:44 and that gentleman is still sleeping. 20:46 And he's got his arm on that middle armrest. 20:50 And I'm thinking, " Lord, 20:51 when are you gonna wake this man up? 20:54 I know You've got something really awesome planned here." 20:57 And so I looked at him 21:00 and now a little drool is even coming down his cheek. 21:04 And I thought he is out. 21:06 And, you know, he had his hand on that armrest 21:09 and I--Holy Spirit shared with me. 21:11 I think it was the Holy Spirit. 21:13 Said, "You know that armrest is to be shared." 21:18 It's for both of us, isn't it? 21:19 So I kind of put my arm there 21:20 and his arm was flop and he woke up. 21:23 And he got, you know, we're in the air already? 21:27 We took off? 21:28 And I said "Oh, yes, sir, we're in the air." 21:30 And he says, "Oh, I was wondering what the delay was." 21:31 Oops, not gonna tell him that. 21:36 And so I had the opportunity. 21:38 I looked at him and I said, "Well as your-- 21:39 do you live in Lincoln and is this your home?" 21:41 And he said, oh no, he said. 21:44 He said, "I own a business there. 21:46 I used to live there. 21:47 He said, but I own a business and so I live in Minneapolis now 21:50 but I have to fly there about once a month 21:52 to check on the business." 21:53 And I said "Well, what kind of, you know, what do you do?" 21:57 And he told me what it was. 21:58 And you see, I always like to ask somebody what they do 22:02 because they feel obligated then to ask me what I do. 22:06 And then I get to tell them-- 22:07 it's my foot in the door to talk about Jesus. 22:09 And so I get to tell them all about what I do for Jesus. 22:12 And so I told him all about, you know, 22:17 after he shared with me, he said, 22:18 "What do you do? What kind of work you do? 22:20 And why are you going to Lincoln?" 22:22 And I told him all about what we did. 22:23 I told about my sisters that were behind us. 22:25 I told him how we were going there for a women's retreat. 22:29 And that, you know, all about 3ABN and-- 22:33 and then I said that-- he says 22:36 "Well, he said, what denomination are you?" 22:39 I said "Oh, we're Seventh-day Adventist." 22:41 And he goes. "Oh." 22:45 And I said, "Do you know any Seventh-day Adventist?" 22:47 And I thought by that reaction he must have. 22:49 And he goes "Oh, yeah." 22:50 He said, "I've got quite a few of them who work for me." 22:52 He said, "They're from Union College 22:53 it's your Adventist College, right?" 22:55 And I said, yes. 22:56 He said, "Yeah, I've got quite a few workers 22:58 that work for me and he said they were always after me to, 23:01 you know, for years they've preached to me 23:04 and tell me how I should be going to church on Saturday. 23:06 I was worshiping on the wrong day. 23:08 I shouldn't be going to church on Sunday." 23:10 And he said, "You know, what the funny thing is? 23:13 Not one of them could ever tell me why." 23:17 And I said, I figured if they didn't know 23:19 it couldn't be that important. 23:22 I said, "Sir, would you allow me 23:24 the privilege of telling you why?" 23:27 And he said "Well, yeah, I guess." 23:29 I mean, what's he gonna say? 23:31 You know, he's kind of a captive audience 23:33 and he can't go anywhere. 23:34 And I said, "But you know what more importantly 23:36 it doesn't really matter what I say. 23:39 I said, let me show you what the Bible says." 23:41 And so I pulled up my Bible from my 23:45 roll on bag that was underneath my seat in front of me. 23:48 And I pulled out my Bible and I pulled out a study guide. 23:51 And I--you know, it's not my gift 23:54 to memorize all these Bible studies. 23:57 It might be your gift, it's just not my gift. 23:59 But I have a little study guide that I can give a Bible study 24:02 on any topic you want to talk about. 24:05 And I keep in my Bibles not any, 24:06 you know, thicker than of church bulletin 24:09 and if anybody is interested in getting one-- 24:13 I didn't write these. 24:14 But the person that did I put a link on my website 24:17 so that it make it easy for people to find it. 24:19 It's just brendawalsh.com, just brendawalsh.com 24:22 and you'll see bookmark-- 24:24 Bible study guides and it will be there. 24:26 And so I pulled out my Bible study guide. 24:28 Got my Bible out and I turned to the first text on the Bible. 24:31 And remember the Sabbath day And he said, 24:33 "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it doesn't really matter." 24:36 And so I said, "Well, sir, I think it does matter to God. 24:40 He wrote it not once but twice 24:42 on a table of stone with his own finger." 24:45 I said, "I think it matters to God." 24:48 I said, so many people they will say okay, 24:52 well, I keep the Ten Commandments 24:53 but you really only keep nine of them. 24:57 I said, I said wonder 24:59 why that is that people choose to keep nine but not ten. 25:03 And I said and it's the only Commandment 25:05 that starts with remember. 25:07 He goes, " Hmm, I never thought about that." 25:09 And so then we started down text after text after text 25:12 and then he stops and he goes "Wow, 25:15 it matters to God what day I worship." 25:17 I said, "Yes, sir, it does." "All right, I got that. 25:20 Don't look up anymore. I believe you now. 25:21 It's the seventh day is the Sabbath. 25:23 He said but now I wanted to know could you tell me" he said, 25:26 "You know, you know my grandma was a saint. 25:30 She is the Godly woman 25:33 and she's upstairs looking after me." 25:35 He said, "Right now I feel good 25:36 knowing she's looking out after me." 25:38 And I said, "Sir, you're grandma is not in heaven." 25:41 And so he goes, "Yes, she is. She's a godly woman." 25:44 I said, "She might be godly but she is not--and she is not, 25:47 you know, she might even had lived a wonderful life here 25:49 but she's not in heaven." 25:50 Now he started getting a little irritated with me. 25:52 And I said--he said, "I tell you what-- 25:55 my grandmother is in heaven." 25:57 And I said, "Sir, 25:58 let's see what the Bible tells about that." 26:01 And so we went and turned to what it says about death 26:03 and dying and I started my first text, 26:05 then the next text, the next text. 26:07 We didn't even get down halfway and he goes, "Stop! 26:10 My grandma is not in heaven." And I said yes. 26:14 Before that plane landed in Lincoln 26:16 we had gone to Calvary and back. 26:20 And when we landed, that man had given his heart to Jesus. 26:24 As I took over and held his hand and I said, 26:26 can I have a prayer with you before we go? 26:28 We were already taxing into our gate. 26:31 I could see Linda during that whole conversation 26:33 and Cinda there ears were up 26:34 close to that crack in the seat trying to listen. 26:36 And they were back there praying, and praying, 26:38 and praying the whole time I was talking. 26:41 And as I prayed I felt his tears fall down upon my hand. 26:46 And when I got through praying he said, 26:48 "I don't think this was any accident today, do you?" 26:52 And I said, "No. I don't believe in coincident. 26:55 I believe in divine appointments." 26:57 You see what happens when you let God orchestrate your life. 27:01 We don't know the hearts of people but God does. 27:05 We are not the Holy Spirit. 27:06 We need to be so prayed up and so close to Jesus 27:09 that we are willing to do whatever he want's us to do. 27:12 It's a lifestyle change. 27:14 It really truly is. It's a lifestyle change. 27:16 It's not just going through the motions of living. 27:19 It's really experiencing the real joy of serving Jesus. 27:23 And when you go out about your life that day, 27:26 you are going to be so empowered. 27:28 Your faith is gonna be so strengthened 27:29 by those faith building stories that God keeps giving you. 27:33 And when God gives you those stories 27:34 He doesn't just not, 27:36 you know, orchestrate things just for you. 27:37 He wants you to share them as well. 27:40 And He wants us to lift to each other up. 27:41 He want's us to strengthen each others faith. 27:44 He wants us to be brothers and sisters 27:46 that help each other. 27:48 When you see a brother or a sister that falls, 27:50 instead of stomping them down on the ground 27:51 even further, pick them up, help them out. 27:53 Put your arm around them, love them back to Jesus. 27:56 We need to judge each other less and love each other more. 28:01 When you are doing what God wants you to do 28:03 you will be surprised 28:05 to how many divine appointments happen 28:07 when you least expect it. 28:08 You see, one of the things that I do at 3ABN 28:11 besides cook with my sisters and sing with my sisters 28:14 and produce kids programs, is that I do set decorating. 28:18 And this particular year 28:20 I had decorated the stage for camp meeting. 28:23 Some of you that have been watching 3ABN 28:24 for a long time might remember 28:26 when I had some pillars up there 28:27 and I had material drape from pillar to pillar. 28:29 Do you remember that one at Camp meeting? 28:31 You--some of you are nodding your heads. 28:34 And I had for the first time 28:35 I was told there's going to be a baptism on--at camp meeting. 28:39 And somehow in the planning of that studio 28:43 it had never been planned to have a baptismal tank in there. 28:46 So they had to bring in a portable tank. 28:48 And it was the ugliest thing you ever saw. 28:50 There's a big old ugly box right there 28:52 and because it's your television, not radio, 28:54 we needed to fix it. So Bobbi Davis was the producer. 28:57 He came, he said, "Brenda, please," 28:58 he said, "would you do something with that baptismal tank. 29:01 It looks hideous on the cameras." 29:03 And I said, "Oh sure, I'll pray about it." 29:04 You see, when you're following 29:06 what God wants you to do you have to problems. 29:08 They are God's problems. Isn't that awesome? 29:10 And so you don't have to worry about it. 29:12 And so I said, "Okay, Lord, what do you want me to do?" 29:14 And I went and look through some of my "Kids Time" things 29:16 and I found a few smaller pillars 29:18 and I put those in front. 29:20 And then I found some of my plants 29:21 I used at "Bible Times" and I said oh, okay, 29:25 some nice Boston ferns 29:26 and I put those in between them on the floor. 29:30 And I went back and I looked at it 29:32 and I tweaked this and I tweaked that 29:33 and pretty soon I said, "Oh, okay, 29:35 it looks pretty good." 29:37 So now Thursday, the day before we're going live, 29:41 Bobbi Davis comes to me and says 29:43 "Brenda, you've got to do something about, 29:46 you know, those pillars. They look hideous." 29:48 I said, "What are you talking about?" 29:49 He said, "Have you seen the jib shot?" 29:53 Now for those of you who don't know what a jib shot is, 29:55 it is the camera on that-- 29:56 that's on the end of a very long arm. 29:58 When my sisters and I are doing cooking shows 30:00 and you see into the pot 30:02 that we're stirring that's taken with a jib shot. 30:04 So the next time you watching our cooking show 30:05 and you see that shot you poke the person next to you and go, 30:08 "Yep, that's a jib shot." 30:10 And they're gonna be all impressed with you. 30:11 And so, and so they said, 30:13 what this jib shot was going to see was some big ugly holes 30:19 in the top of those small pillars 30:21 that I had put up there. 30:22 Now those holes were there to have lights shine up. 30:25 But if you're gonna have a jib camera looking down 30:27 you can't have a light shining up. 30:29 And so I--they said that's got to be fixed. 30:32 I said, okay, so what you want me to do. 30:34 I found myself down in, 30:35 you know, 30 minutes away down in Marion, Illinois, 30:38 in a home depot store pushing a cart around 30:41 and I have no idea why I'm doing it 30:42 and I'm just going from isle to isle. 30:43 And I said, "Lord, I don't know what I'm doing here 30:46 but I know I need to fix those pillars. 30:48 Lord, what do you want me to do?" 30:49 I said, "You know my schedule, 30:51 You know I have so many things to do, Lord. 30:52 Can you just please show me what you want to do. 30:54 I know you'll never get in a hurry. 30:56 You'll always get there on time. 30:57 But, Lord, well, how do I fix these pillars?" 30:59 You see, I talk to Jesus like that. 31:01 He is my best friend. 31:02 And next thing I knew I found myself 31:03 right in front of the wallpaper section 31:05 and I said, "Oh, Lord, You're so smart." 31:08 Well, of course He is. 31:09 And so--and I said I didn't even thing about wallpaper. 31:12 And so I went and the very first wallpaper book 31:14 I pulled out, they have all those samples. 31:16 The first page I turned to was a pattern 31:18 that matched identical to the marble on those pillars. 31:22 "Thank you, Jesus!" I was so excited. 31:25 And so I grabbed a couple of rolls of those and I ran up 31:27 and I paid for them and I drove the 30 minutes back 31:30 and I cut out each of those 31:32 squares for the top of that pillar 31:34 and I looked around at the, 31:36 "Oh, what I'm gonna fasten this with?" 31:37 And so I thought, I know, and I found some Elmer's glue 31:40 that was sitting nearby, 31:41 squirted that Elmer's glue on there, 31:42 put it down real good, nice and tight. 31:44 "Okay, oh, thank you, Lord, I really appreciate it. 31:47 You're so good to me. Thank you, Lord." 31:49 Don't forget to praise God. 31:50 And so then I went about my day. 31:55 2 hours before we're going live 32:00 Bobbi Davis comes to me and said, 32:01 "Brenda you need to fix those pillars. 32:03 They're look hideous." 32:04 And I'm going 32:06 I'm off with the pillars already, all right. 32:08 And I didn't say that to him, to myself I said that. 32:11 And so I said, "What's wrong with pillars?" 32:14 He says, "Have you seen the jib shot?" No. 32:18 So come to the control room. 32:20 So I went and looked. He punched up the camera and... 32:23 You see, when paper and glue dry what happens? 32:28 It wrinkles. 32:30 And on camera it was magnified and it looked, 32:33 he was right, hideous. 32:35 I thought "Well, Lord, now what am I gonna do?" 32:38 And so I said, okay, okay. 32:39 I said, well, I'll see what I can do. 32:41 And I went running up there. 32:42 Nice scraped off all that paper 32:44 that was on there and I threw it away. 32:45 I cut me out some new pieces to go there 32:47 what I'm gonna attach this to. 32:50 "Lord, what do you want me to do? 32:51 We're going live in two hours, what do you want me to do?" 32:53 And I thought oh, thank you, Lord, 32:56 double sided tape. That's what I need. 32:58 Okay, we'll get some double sided tape." 33:00 And so I asked all the crew members 33:02 do you have some double sided tape? 33:03 Do you have some double sided tape? 33:05 Anyone you know here with some double sided tape? 33:06 Not one person knew where some double sided tape was. 33:09 I don't have any time to lose. 33:10 If anybody has been to 3ABN you know, 33:12 we're in the middle of nowhere-ville. 33:14 And so it is a half an hour to the store. 33:17 I knew that there was a Target store a half hour way 33:21 and I knew where they kept the double sided tape. 33:23 Okay, Lord, I just jumped in the car not a minute to waste. 33:25 I raced down 30 minutes down the highway 57 south. 33:29 I got off on route 13 33:30 and I'm on my way to Target which was on the right. 33:33 But for whatever reason I got in the left lane. 33:37 And--and I thought oh, if I'm in the left lane 33:40 I'm going to Wal-Mart and I don't know 33:41 whether they keep their double sided tape. 33:42 So I started to think I'm gonna just do 33:44 one of those real quick switch of routes, 33:46 you know, switch lanes real quick. 33:48 Now nobody here would possibly think doing that, right? 33:50 And so I looked in my rear-view mirror 33:53 right before I'm gonna make that switch 33:55 and three big old semi trucks changed my mind. 33:58 All right, Lord, I'm committed. 33:59 Well, I'm sure there is double sided tape at Wal-Mart. 34:02 And so I--as soon as the light changed green-- 34:05 and changed to green I turn left 34:06 and went and parked in the parking lot 34:09 and ran into the store 34:11 and I'm looking-- no time to lose. 34:12 Every second counts. 34:15 And so I'm looking-- 34:18 "Lord, please help me to find the double sided tape. 34:20 I have no time, Lord. 34:21 You know, how-- they're gonna go live now. 34:23 I'm an hour and a half, Lord, what am I gonna doing? 34:25 And-- office supplies. 34:27 Thank you, Jesus." He's so good to me. "Thank you, Lord." 34:29 And so I went running over there 34:31 and I grabbed the double sided tape, it was right there 34:33 and I started back toward the checkout count-- 34:35 better get two just in case. 34:37 I went running back to the counter 34:38 I got me another one off 34:39 and I started running towards the checkout line. 34:41 And I don't know about you 34:44 but I don't like to stand in line. 34:47 I think I guess over here 34:49 you call it a queue, is that right? 34:51 And did I say it right? 34:52 All right, so I didn't-- I don't like queues. 34:55 And so I got things to go and I got places to go 34:58 and God has some divine appointments 35:00 waiting for me I don't want to miss. 35:01 And so I'm in this, I get up there 35:03 and I see there is an express lane. 35:05 Do they have those here? An express checkout lane? 35:08 And I thought oh, there was only one man there 35:11 and he was leaving. 35:13 Oh, thank you, Lord. 35:14 So I went running up to that express land 35:16 and I put my double sided tape right there on the counter 35:21 and I said hello to the clerk. 35:24 And she rang it up and she said, 35:26 okay, that will be four dollars and some cents. 35:28 And I went to my purse to look for my money. 35:40 You thought I forgot my money, didn't you? 35:42 No, I didn't. 35:43 But right next to my wallet where I go to pay for things, 35:47 I keep bookmarks. 35:48 You see these bookmarks 35:51 are my foot in the door to talk about Jesus. 35:54 They have a pretty picture on them. 35:56 They have a Bible verse on them. 35:58 When I give a bookmark it says two things about me 36:01 very loud and clear, number one, that I care about you. 36:04 And that I want to give you something. 36:07 And number two, and most important, 36:09 it says I'm a Christian. 36:11 And I can tell you, you might find this hard to believe 36:14 but I can get pretty long winded when I'm talking about Jesus. 36:18 And so when I looked into my purse to get my wallet 36:21 I saw those bookmarks and I went, 36:24 "Oh, Brenda, don't give a bookmark 36:26 I do not have time to be talking right now. 36:29 I better just hurry up and keep on going." 36:30 And instantaneously I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me 36:35 and say, "Brenda, what's more important? 36:40 Talking about me or fixing those pillars?" 36:44 And immediately I shot up a prayer. 36:46 "Lord, I'm so sorry. You're right, Lord. 36:48 Forgive me. I'm so sorry." 36:50 And I grab the bookmark out and I handed it to clerk 36:53 and I said, "Here, ma'am." 36:55 I said "I want you to know that Jesus loves you." 36:57 And she took it that bookmark and she looked at it 37:00 and she said, "Oh, this is beautiful." 37:04 She lays it up on her cash register and she goes, 37:06 "Oh, but I'll never get to-- I'll never get to keep that. 37:09 My son is an avid book reader and he's gonna take it from me." 37:13 I said "Oh, no, he's not. 37:16 Here's another one just for him." 37:18 And so I gave her another one. 37:20 And she took it and she said "Wow, that is really beautiful." 37:24 We are in the express lane of the check out counters 37:29 and now out of nowhere the line had gathered and was way down. 37:35 Don't you just love getting in the back of somebody like me? 37:39 And there's a woman right behind me 37:41 that I can sense is kind of fidgety. 37:43 And so I turned around and I said, "Ma'am, 37:45 I don't want you to have that left out feeling." 37:47 I said "Here's a bookmark for you too." 37:50 And she looked at that bookmark and she said, 37:53 "These are so beautiful. Can I buy some of these?" 37:57 And I said, "Oh, no. You can't buy some of these." 38:00 I said, "You see, I host and produce a program 38:03 on Three Angeles Broadcasting Network called Kids' Time." 38:06 And I said "A group of women in Massachusetts 38:09 make these bookmarks for me." 38:10 And I said, "And they have been making them for me 38:12 since Kids' Time started. 38:14 Every child that writes to me gets one of these bookmarks." 38:19 She said, "Did you say 38:23 Three Angeles Broadcasting Network?" 38:26 I said, yes. "3ABN?" I said, yes. 38:32 Now she looks like she'd seen a ghost. 38:35 She said, "I have been listening 38:38 to 3ABN radio for several months now. 38:42 And God has been impressing upon my heart." 38:45 She said, "You know, 38:47 I think you guys got it right on that Sabbath thing. 38:52 Is there a Seventh-day Adventist Church near here?" 38:54 And I said "You bet there is." 38:56 I said in fact, I said, we're having a big camp meeting. 38:58 I saw on her name badge it said, 39:01 Dillard's Department Store and it had Angela. 39:05 I said, "Angela, why don't you come tonight?" 39:07 She said, "Oh, I can't." 39:09 She said, "I'm working 39:10 at the Target Shopping Center across the streets. 39:14 I've just had my lunch break buying a bicycle pump 39:16 that I don't even know why I need." 39:20 And she looked that in her hand. 39:22 And I said "Well, what about tomorrow night?" 39:25 I said Doug Batchelor will be preaching. 39:27 "Doug Batchelor? She said, he's the one 39:30 that's been talking to me about the Sabbath." 39:32 And I said, "Well, why don't you come and be my guest. 39:35 I would love to have you sitting there right next to me." 39:38 And I pulled out my business card and I said, 39:40 "Here's my business card. It has my cell phone on it." 39:43 And I said, "And when you get there," 39:44 I said "you call me." Oh, I couldn't do that. 39:48 I said why not. "'Cause you're a movie star." 39:52 I said, "Oh, no, no, no, no. 39:54 I said, 3ABN doesn't have movie stars." 39:56 I said, "We only have people who love Jesus." 39:59 I said, "It would be a privilege and an honor 40:02 for you to be my guest and sat with me." 40:05 "Well, then I think I'll come. How do I get there?" 40:07 We are in the fast lane of the checkout counter. 40:11 She gets out a piece a paper and pencil 40:13 and she starts writing down 40:15 as I'm giving her the directions. 40:16 The man behind her is writing the directions too. 40:21 And so when we finished and I told where I was going, 40:23 I said, be there at seven-- meeting starts at 7 o'clock, 40:26 come a little early and I said, don't forget to call me. 40:31 And I turned around and I said, "Angela, 40:34 I don't believe in coincidences. 40:36 I believe in divine appointments." 40:39 And I gave her a great big hug and I said, 40:42 I can't wait to see you tomorrow night. 40:45 And do you know, she said to me you know, I believe you're right 40:48 and we both had tears in our eyes. 40:50 And I walked out of that store praising Jesus with all my heart 40:55 and I said "Lord, You had something so awesome in mind 40:58 and it had nothing to do with those pillars. 41:00 You could have that glue look really, really nice on there. 41:04 But you chose this divine appointment for me." 41:06 And as soon as I got in the car 41:08 and start headed the half hour back 41:10 and I knew everybody would be in a tizzy to get that going. 41:13 And I started, I got out my cell phone 41:17 and I activated my prayer chain. 41:20 I need a prayer, while you're praying. 41:21 You see when God--we allow God to work through us. 41:24 We have to remember we are not the Holy Spirit. 41:27 We are not, what? The Holy Spirit. 41:30 We have to pray and ask God to water those seeds and so 41:33 I called my daddy first because I know he will 41:35 activate the Micheff family prayer chain. 41:37 And so I told dad all about my divine appointment. 41:40 And I said, please pray for Angela. 41:41 And daddy said, okay, I'm on it. 41:43 And so then I--went down and I started going down 41:46 my--my contact list. 41:48 Every single person I knew 41:50 who was a pray warrior, I dialed them. 41:52 And I gave them a condensed version, 41:53 pray for Angela, pray for Angela, 41:55 pray for Angela. 41:56 By the time I got there I had contacted 41:58 so many prayer warriors 42:00 I knew already praying for Angela. 42:02 As I got there I ran up the-- on the stage 42:05 and I used that double sided tape-- 42:07 I'd already had those papers cut out 42:09 and I put it around them. 42:10 They worked perfectly. 42:11 Thank you, Jesus. You're so good to me. 42:13 And so I had them all really nice and I looked 42:15 and I got the thumps up from Bobbi, and he goes, "Brenda, 42:18 hurry up get off the stage, hurry." 42:19 She goes "We're going live in 10 minutes hurry." 42:21 And so I picked up all my scrapes 42:23 and make sure everything look neat 42:24 and then I disappeared in the back where the green room is. 42:27 Now for those of you who are not in production, 42:30 a green room is where you know, 42:31 the guests that are gonna be on the program, 42:33 that's where they go to await until 42:36 it's time to come out and be on the program 42:37 and to get ready for the show. 42:39 And--and so I went back to the green room 42:42 and I went running in there 42:43 and there I saw Pastor John Lomacang, 42:45 the pastor of the church 42:47 and he was there all by himself which was unusual. 42:49 And he was getting ready to come out 42:50 and actually open that program. 42:52 And I went running in there. 42:53 And as soon as I saw him I go, "Oh, John, John. 42:57 I said pray for Angela, pray for Angela." 42:59 "Who's Angela? What happened to Angela?" 43:02 Well, I forgot temporarily that's his wife's name. 43:04 And so I said not your Angela, my Angela. 43:08 And so I told him real quickly about my Angela's story 43:11 and said please pray for Angela. 43:12 And do you know, he stopped to pray with me before he-- 43:15 a few minutes later he was gonna have to go out 43:17 and open that-- that program live, 43:19 he stopped to pray with me. 43:20 And as soon as I had prayed with him 43:23 I headed out back out to the hallway 43:24 and there I saw a whole group from 3ABN radio. 43:27 And then I went running over to them and I said, 43:29 you guys, I have to let you know 43:30 what God is doing because of 3ABN radio. 43:32 And I shared the blessing. 43:34 And, you know, we went to a prayer huddle 43:36 right then and there all of us from 3ABN radio. 43:38 We stood there and we knelt, 43:40 and we prayed and we asked God 43:42 to really watch over Angela. 43:44 Lord, thank you for this blessing. 43:46 And Lord, please don't let anything 43:48 keep Angela from coming tomorrow night. 43:50 Lord, here we know how the enemy 43:53 seeks to the bower and seek and kill 43:56 anyone who is seeking you. 43:58 Lord, put a hedge of protection around her. 44:00 Don't let anything keep Angela from coming. 44:02 The next morning after--after church 44:05 I was doing a live for our "Kids' Time" special. 44:07 And even though I was getting ready 44:08 and it's a pretty stressful event to do a live, 44:11 getting ready for that. 44:12 I was out there telling everybody 44:13 that I was saying pray for Angela, 44:15 pray for Angela, pray for Angela. 44:17 All afternoon I was telling people, pray for Angela. 44:20 I had more people praying for Angela. 44:23 I got there early. 44:25 I was in the back where I could see 44:27 through the glass doors the parking lot. 44:29 And I looked out in the parking lot 44:32 and 7 o'clock came and went there was no Angela. 44:36 Lord, I'm not given up. 44:38 I was like Jacob wrestling with the angel. 44:39 Lord, I know that this is a divine appointment, 44:41 I know you want Angela here. 44:42 Lord, please, please don't let 44:44 anything keep her from being here. 44:47 Lord, she is Your child. You love her. 44:49 You brought us together for a reason. 44:51 Don't let the enemy take her away. 44:54 7:05, no Angela. 7:10 no Angela. 45:00 I was praying again and I had just finished praying. 45:02 It was 7:15 and as soon as I said amen and I looked up, 45:06 in walked Angela. 45:08 And I ran over to her and gave her 45:10 great big Mischief Sister hug. 45:11 And I said, "Oh, Angela, I'm so glad you're here." 45:13 And she goes, I'm so sorry. I'm late. 45:15 She said, I was across the street at your other studio. 45:17 She said, I got here an hour early. 45:20 Someone saw her sitting alone in a parking lot 45:22 came over and asked about her and showed her where we were. 45:26 And so she came over there 45:28 and I said, don't worry about that. 45:29 I said, it's okay." I said, we'll just go in. 45:31 And so we went into-- 45:33 it was already a meeting of full 45:35 songs was already taking place. 45:37 That place was packed. 45:39 Our camp meeting that year was filled to overflowing. 45:42 There was probably 1500 people there. 45:45 And we're live. 45:47 So I go to the back row and I see our vice president 45:51 and general manager were sitting in the back row Mollie Steenson. 45:56 And I had already prayed with Mollie about Angela. 45:59 And as soon as I walked in with her 46:00 with that big smile on my face, it was a dead giveaway. 46:03 She knew that it had to be Angela. 46:04 And so I kneeled down by Mollie and I introduced her to Angela. 46:07 And I said, Mollie, I said, can we have-- 46:11 Do you know any seats? I need two seats together. 46:13 And I want to sit next to somebody 46:14 that goes to this church. 46:16 You see when you invite someone to come to church, 46:21 we need to love people like Jesus. 46:23 Shame on you if you're gonna allow a visitor to walk in 46:26 and sit alone on an empty pew. 46:28 And you're content to sit there and your favorite spot 46:31 you've sat on for 20 years-- 46:32 shame on you if you're gonna do that. 46:34 Get up out of your favorite seat, 46:36 go over and don't just say, happy Sabbath. 46:37 Go over there, move, say, move over, let me step by. 46:39 Put your arm around them and hug them 46:41 and love them to Jesus, right? 46:42 Well, I knew that I wasn't gonna be at that church on weekends. 46:45 So because I have a precious husband 46:47 that needs me on weekends and I want to be with him. 46:49 And I knew I couldn't be at that church. 46:52 And so I wanted just introduce her to somebody 46:55 that was a member at that church 46:57 that could nurture her and love for to Jesus. 47:00 And so Mollie understood immediately what I was saying. 47:03 And she said, yes, there's--do you see 47:05 Shelley and J.D. Quinn there? Right there on that second row. 47:08 And she said, and there's two seats right by them. 47:12 The second row-- we're in a live program. 47:14 So I went over to our Kids' Time floor director, 47:17 Larry McLucas was actually floor directing at that event. 47:20 And I went over to him and I said, 47:21 Larry, I need to get to that second row, no problem. 47:24 He go, calls me the truck to our Kids' Time director 47:26 who was directing the program in the truck, 47:28 "Hey, Brad, Miss Brenda needs to get to that second row. 47:31 Can you go to a close up shot?" 47:33 "Sure, will do. Let me know when she's settled." 47:34 They go to a close up shot. 47:36 We hurried up and sneaked in there, 47:37 gotten that second row, you all never knew a thing. 47:42 It was such a powerful sermon that night. 47:45 Doug Batchelor preached the most incredible, 47:49 Godly, spiritual message. 47:52 And throughout the entire message, 47:55 tears streamed down her cheek and mine too. 48:01 And when the meeting was over, we sat there. 48:05 I introduced her to Shelley and J.D. 48:09 which she had no idea they had already been praying for her. 48:13 And Angela said to me, 48:14 now let me tell you the rest of the story. 48:17 You see, I had been praying and praying and praying 48:25 about my decision about the Sabbath. 48:30 You see God convicted my heart 48:32 that the seventh day was the Sabbath. 48:33 But she said, I love my church. 48:35 I love my friends and my family. 48:37 I was the hard worker in my church. 48:39 I didn't want to leave my Sunday church. 48:41 And so I was arguing with God and I kept say Lord, 48:43 you know, is this something You really want me to do? 48:45 Does that really matter to You which day-- 48:47 you know, I love You, I'm worshiping You. 48:49 Does that really matter? 48:50 And I could hear the Holy Spirit say to me, 48:53 "Angela, I didn't say go to worship me on any day. 48:58 I said, Worship me on my day, the seventh day." 49:03 And she said, The night before I met you-- 49:06 she said, I had been arguing with God 49:10 and praying with Him and pleading with Him 49:11 and I finally made a promise to God. 49:13 I said, "Lord, give me a sign. 49:16 If You will give me a sign, just to give me a sign, Lord, 49:19 that it's--that You want me to keep Your seventh day holy. 49:25 I will quit my Sunday Church 49:27 and I will keep Your Sabbath holy. 49:30 What do you think the chances? 49:31 The very next day, I meet you 49:36 from Three Angels Broadcasting Network. 49:40 She said, I knew, Brenda, 49:41 that I had to come here tonight or lose my soul. 49:46 Do you know, when I was sitting there, 49:54 trying to take this all in I was overwhelmed 49:57 with how God had orchestrated everything else. 49:59 Because Angela shared with me, 50:02 when you handed me that bookmark, 50:04 she said, I thought I would pass out. 50:07 She said, did you realize 50:10 that the bookmark you handed me had pansy on it? 50:15 And I said, No. 50:16 I said, I didn't see that bookmark 50:18 I handed out to you. 50:20 And she said, all my friends call me the pansy lady. 50:24 She said, I love pansies. It's my favorite flower. 50:26 I have canisters in my kitchen that have pansies on it. 50:29 I have pillow on my couch with pansies on it. 50:32 I grow pansies and flowers on my, 50:34 you know, at my house. 50:35 She said, I love pansies. 50:38 She said, you didn't just hand me a bookmark, 50:42 you handed me one with the fresh pansy on it. 50:48 She said, I knew it was a sign from God. 50:53 Do you know when I-- 50:56 when I left that church that night 51:01 and we had said goodbye to Angela, 51:04 I praised God 51:06 for the opportunity of being used by Him. 51:09 I knew and had felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. 51:13 I saw Him working. 51:17 And I started praying and pleading 51:20 with the Holy Spirit to please protect her 51:21 as she is now gonna grow. 51:23 I said, Lord, help her to keep her commitment to You. 51:26 I started calling every church member 51:28 I knew that went to that church and tell them that please, 51:30 love Angela, love Angela. 51:32 Take care of Angela. 51:34 I called Pastor John and I said, John, 51:37 please take care of my Angela. 51:40 Do you know, it wasn't but a few months later, 51:43 I got a call and he said, 51:45 "Brenda, Angela has been in church every Sabbath." 51:47 He said, "She's in my baptismal class." 51:51 And a short time after that I got a call telling me that 51:57 she was gonna be baptized on this particular day. 52:00 And that it would mean a lot to her if I could be there. 52:04 Well, you see, I speak somewhere almost every weekend. 52:06 I'm flying somewhere in the world to speak. 52:10 And I usually book up one to two, 52:12 I mean, two to three years-- two to three years in advance. 52:15 And I didn't have anything 52:17 open on my schedule at all, nothing. 52:21 But just that morning before he had called, 52:24 I was supposed to speak at a church in Canada. 52:26 They called up. 52:27 They said they were having some financial problems. 52:29 Would I mind postponing it to the following year? 52:33 Just that morning and it was the very Sabbath 52:36 that she was scheduled for baptism. 52:38 Isn't God good how He works that out? 52:40 He knew I would want to see 52:41 and be there for that joyous occasion. 52:45 And I can tell you, I drove that 6 hours 52:46 from my house to Southern Illinois. 52:49 It felt like 6 minutes. 52:51 And I was able to be on that stage 52:56 when Angela was baptized and lowered down in baptism 52:59 in that same baptism little tank 53:01 that I had spent so much time decorating. 53:04 I had the privilege of being able to see her 53:08 lowered down into that water. 53:13 I can tell you, there is no greater joy 53:15 than being used by God, none. 53:19 There is not enough money in this world that can compare. 53:22 There is not enough material things in this world 53:24 that can compare to the joy of serving Jesus. 53:29 You see, God has a plan for each one of us 53:33 and He wants each one of us to be used in a special way. 53:36 But He doesn't want us to do it our way. 53:39 He doesn't want us to go about, 53:40 decide all the things we're comfortable with. 53:42 He doesn't want us to sit there and wake--lay awake at night, 53:45 trying to figure out what God wants to do for us, 53:47 or how He wants to use us. 53:49 We don't have to figure it out. God has already got the plan. 53:53 The most important thing is, is that we're what? 53:56 Number one. Willing. 53:57 Number two. Obedient. 53:59 Number three. Joyful. 54:01 Do we have to sit there and have sleepless nights 54:03 trying to figure out what God wants us to do? 54:06 No, because if we are surrendered in our heart, 54:09 if we are willing to allow God to speak to us, 54:12 to use us, to allow us to be His hands 54:15 and His voice and His feet 54:16 and to minister to those that are--that will be lost. 54:20 God loves each one of us so much. 54:22 He doesn't want anyone of us to be lost. 54:24 Even your worst enemy, 54:27 God can't imagine having without. 54:30 God can do a heart change in us like you have never seen. 54:33 God can work through us to win souls for His kingdom. 54:38 Let me ask you is this something 54:40 that you want to be a part of? 54:42 Do you really want to allow God 54:44 to use you in a very special way? 54:46 Do you want to have God 54:48 work into your heart and your life? 54:51 And do you want those divine appointments? 54:53 Because if you truly want those divine appointments, 54:56 it starts with one thing and that's surrender. 55:00 You see, unless we surrender our heart and life to Jesus, 55:04 He can't work through us. 55:06 We'll be going about doing all the wonderful things 55:10 and people might think you're the most Godly person 55:12 in your church 'cause you are the busiest. 55:15 But you'll be lost. 55:18 We have to be plugged into that Holy Spirit. 55:20 We have to have that one-on-one relationship with Jesus. 55:23 We have to have love for God so much 55:26 that we're willing to do anything He wants us to do. 55:29 Even if that means me having a dog on our program 55:31 that I am scared to death of. 55:34 God wants us to be wiling and He will bless our efforts. 55:39 We don't have to worry about what we're gonna say. 55:41 God's gonna tell us. 55:43 God never gonna call us to do a task and leave us hanging. 55:46 He is never gonna call us to go out there 55:48 and do something for Him and then not equip us 55:51 with every single thing we need to do that job. 55:55 You won't believe how many people say to me, 55:57 Brenda, you're the busiest person I know. 55:59 You need to slow down. You need to do this. 56:02 And you need to do that. And you need to do this. 56:03 And, you know, what my answer is? 56:06 No, I don't need to do anything 56:10 but listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 56:13 I don't need to do anything 56:16 but to ask God to lead and direct in my life. 56:20 I need to be so prayed up that my God 56:24 will supply everything I need to do His task. 56:26 He will give me my health. 56:28 He will give me my energy. 56:30 He will give me, you know, the transportation. 56:32 He will make my way plain and clear. 56:34 He will do whatever it is that He wants to do. 56:37 And He will give me what I need to accomplish that. 56:40 Do you get that? Do you truly get that? 56:42 Because our God is able-- He's powerful. 56:46 I don't want to be distracted by 56:48 what everybody else is telling me I ought to do. 56:50 I want to listen and report to one 56:52 and that's my Heavenly Father. 56:54 And when He tells me to stop, I'll stop. 56:57 When He tells me to slow down, I'll slow down. 57:00 But until God tells me, 57:02 I'm not listening to anybody else 57:03 that enemy might want to persuade me 57:06 to stop doing the Lord's work. 57:08 I want to be so plugged in to what Jesus wants me to do. 57:11 I want to call upon you today to search your hearts. 57:17 I mean really search your hearts. 57:19 Do you want to have that love relationship with Jesus? 57:22 Do you want God to be first in your life? 57:25 Are you willing to allow God to use you however He wants? 57:30 Pushing you way out of your comfort zone 57:33 where you are totally and forever leaning on Him. 57:37 If that's your desire, 57:39 please bow your heads with me now 57:42 and let us pray. 57:44 Precious Heavenly Father, 57:45 oh, Lord, what an awesome God you are. 57:48 Lord, we love You so much. 57:49 You see Your children here, Lord before You. 57:51 Lord, we pray for an outpouring of Your Holy Spirit. 57:54 And, Lord, we ask You to just fill our hearts. 57:57 Give us, Lord, the courage and strength 58:02 to always be willing, be obedient, 58:05 and be joyful, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17