Celebrating The Word (day five) Poetry and Prophecy

Listen, I say listen, it's the voice of someone shouting, clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord, make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God, fill in the valleys and level the mountains and the hills, straighten the curves and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all, all people will cheer together, the Lord has spoken. O Zion, messengers of good news, shout from the mountaintops, shout it louder, O Jerusalem, shout it and do not be afraid, tell the towns of Judah, your God is coming. So Satan comes and tries to take the word out of your heart, the word of God. If he is successful, he gets your joy because joy is a product of something that was spoken by God. Because the joy of the Lord is your strength, when you lose your joy, you become weak, you become helpless, unable to overcome, you become an open target for Satan's attacks. So remember what Nehemiah said, the joy of the Lord is your strength, Nehemiah 8 verse 10. God's word produces joy and joy produces strength. So here we are in the book of John 16, 22. And you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, says the Lord, and your heart shall rejoice. And your joy no man can take away from you. We have seen that if no man can take your joy, neither can Satan. He does not have the legal right to do that unless you give him that right. So let's fill our cups with joy as we feast on the word of God. You are listening to the Gospel Trail. The Gospel Trail Thy Name Thy Kingdom Come Thine will be done upon earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our debts As we forgive our debtors And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil For thine is the kingdom And the power and the glory forever Amen. I'm inside the jar right now. You hear that? Oh yeah. I'm in the jar. And I was just thinking about that like you were. Who's shaking the jar? We've got to get outside of that jar from God's perspective. There you go. I'm outside of the jar now. We can talk sanely and with sanity. Yeah, there isn't that echo. No. Like that bean in the chamber. You know you're in the jar. You really know you're in the jar because the jar is confusion. It is. It is. And fear. And fear. And I mean if you wake up and you're in the jar when you wake up, I mean your day is not going to go well unless you can stop. Quiet yourself. To say Jesus. And come into his presence. Right. I love that. That's a good start because you're feeling it right now. There we go. I'm feeling it. But you can tell the difference. Yeah. You know if you're in the jar. Oh my gosh. Hello. Hello. Hello. Let me out. Let me out. It sounds like you're all alone. I mean I'm the only one here but what is that buzzing going on? Exactly. Okay. I'm back. I'm back. And that is, yeah. You know that's a good. Playing with the mind. That's a good way to start because we can. Because that's the way life is. Our decision is do we stay in the jar or do we call out, cry out to Jesus. That's right. And come out of the jar. Because we need to hear his voice. Please hold. Your host will be with you in just a moment. And that is. There is one other participant in the conference. Oh wow. There we go. And that is what you will hear if you join our meeting. Hi, this is Don. Hi Don. Hey Don. We hear you loud and clear and clear and clear and clear. Great. We were in the echo chamber earlier and I'll go there for just one second but I don't want to stay there. There we go. We were talking about shaking the jar and all the confusion. It sounds like you're inside a jar and it just reverberates back on you and it's not a good thing. So Sandy, what was our fix? I think what we decided to do was to whisper the name Jesus. And as we come into his presence, the shaking ends and we can hear clearly. That's why I love that verse, for God has not given us a spirit of fear but a power of love and sound mind. I hear the echo yet. Oh, there we go. There we go. The spirit has entered the room and there is peace. So confusion leaves us because don't you agree, Don, that worldwide that there's just a confusion. Why is this all happening? Why is this happening with the weather? Why is this happening with the wars? Why is this happening with the epidemics? Why is it happening with the earthquakes? Why is there not the kindness? Why is that going on? Why is there fear? That's the game. Why is there suffering and why is there no peace? And then everybody's trying to explain it because they're an expert on all of the above but I know only one person that can explain it and has. And we're discussing the Bible today. We're doing 10 days of celebrating the Word, which is the Bible. And we find out many books can inform you. Many voices can inform you. But only the Bible can transform you. The verse of the day, Hebrews 4.12. No, I don't have it. Hebrews 4.12. There you go. Let's look that up. We have our Bibles with us today. Don is going to get it. There you go. Good to hear your voice, Don. Happy New Year. Thank you. Happy New Year to you as well. Yeah, we were on a roll here. Sandy came early and somehow we got stirred up. So this is 4.2, did you say? 4.12. 4.12 is what he said. Okay. For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy, like a two-mouthed sword. It will even penetrate to the very core of our being, where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet. It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts. Oh, wonderful verse. I can see why people come avoid that. And then that illustration of the sword. Are you going to share about your sword story? The sword story, but yeah. That's why Dan has a sword. Does he have that still bolted to the pulpit? No, he doesn't, but it's close. It's always nearby. It's always nearby. That's right. Do you want the footnote on there? Yeah. Is that the foot soldiers of you? Go ahead, Don. Yeah. God speaks His word, then we in agreement also speak His word, and it becomes a two-mouthed sword. There it is. A two-mouthed sword. I've heard people quote a two-edged sword, but that interpretation puts a totally different perspective on that. A two-mouthed sword. I mean, each side is speaking, and they're speaking the same thing. I go back to that verse where Jesus said, I only say what I hear the Father saying, and I only do what I hear the Father doing. That's the way we are to live our lives. We are to be direct spokespersons for Almighty God through His Son, Jesus, through the word that has been given to us, the Bible. The word. The word. There are so many choices out there, but any religion will not lead you to God. Only the Bible and Jesus can. We are ambassadors for Christ. Amen. It's good to remember that. Should we start with a prelude for this? What is this, the fourth? Fifth. Number five. Okay, number five. Yeah, four is about to be released any minute here. Okay, so you've got five queued up with what we are on five. Oh, there you go. I'm queuing at the moment. It's been, you know, as you're queuing that, I was telling Kevin, Don, it's been an incredible week on national television for me personally. Yeah, DeMar Hamlin. Yeah, DeMar Hamlin. Well, it starts with on Monday, you know, it starts with the Rose, the Tournament of Roses parade. And they ask one of the coordinators that's coordinated for years, what happens to all the flowers that aren't used in the floats? And it's like 15,000 or it's a lot because they use so many, you know, a lot of the floats will use 20,000 to 40,000 flowers, fresh flowers. And he said what they do is they gather it up and they make bouquets, you know, a couple of thousand bouquets. And then after the tournament, what they do is they go to all the, they go to the nursing homes in the Pasadena area, like 200 plus nursing homes, to distribute that to the residents there. And this is what I love. Here's what he said. And we do this in order to glorify Jesus Christ. And that was said on national television. Wow. Wow. Yeah. And it's like, wow, it just gives me goosebumps because to hear, I mean, people say, you know, they believe in God and that. But boy, when you hear Jesus Christ, to glorify Jesus Christ, it was fantastic. And then Monday night's football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, I tuned in. I was watching something else and tuned in. And I see this, I see this ambulance on the field in Cincinnati. And I see all these Buffalo Bills players and a coach gathered in a circle, holding hands and praying, praying for Lamar Hamlin, praying for Lamar Hamlin. And it just gives me the goosebumps because, so they would go back to the studio, to the three announcers about what, you know, well, what can we do? And they just kept saying, well, we can just pray, just pray. There was no other answer because praying. And so all these people came out, you know, the football players, these big guys, and they're crying. Just pray. And you remember what that stands for. Jesus unites saints together. There we are. And they were united on the field. I was going to say incredible, but it's credible because the whole, I don't know how many thousands were at that game, but it was packed. And it was all quiet and people were praying. It reminds me of going back to 9-11 when the towers were hit with those planes. And people went back to church and they united in that because prayer is the only answer. It is. It is. And it's the best answer. Just pray. Don't add any of that other stuff. The noise that we've been talking about earlier, it only confuses and confounds the noise. Yeah, all the distractions. So I was totally blessed this week with those two examples. And I brought those into the jail on Tuesday and sharing with those guys. Because those are profound, profound examples of prayer and the importance that we need to serve somebody. We need to believe in something. We need to have hope. And the hope is like those announcers kept saying, well, there's nothing else we can do but pray. And I was like, yeah, yes. That's right. Let's pray. Let's pray. So I wanted to share that right at the beginning because I was so taken by that. Because we have to be dependent upon Jesus and walk with Him and hear His voice. And Him to hear our cries as we cry out for Lamar Hamlin. I'm praying for him. I'm going to pray for him right now. Father God, I pray that You would touch Lamar, that You would bring him back, that You would restore his health, and that he would continue to be the living testimony that he is. And his family and the faith that they have. And we pray this in Jesus' mighty name, that You would be glorified through this 24-year-old young man. In Jesus' name. Thank You, Lord. Amen. Amen. And here is Brother Don with Celebrating the Word Day 5. This is Brother Don, and for 10 days we are celebrating the Bible. Today is the 5th of the 10 days, and the topic is Poetry and Prophecy. There are two more parts of the Old Testament landscape that you should know about. First, there are the poetic books of the Bible. These include the books of Job, the story of a wealthy man who loses it all, and discusses with several former friends the possible reasons for this. The friends insist that he must have sinned, but Job insists that he was innocent. In the end, God shows up and sets things straight. Another major book of poetry is Psalms. These are songs that can be sung, recited, and even prayed. In the book of Psalms, you will find the full range of human emotions, from joy to sadness, excitement to anger. When you do not know how to pray, psalms can help you. But unlike a lot of modern poetry, the lines do not rhyme in biblical poetry. But often the first line parallels the second line, or the first line parallels the third line, while the second line parallels the fourth line. I think God used this approach to poetry, because even when it's translated, you can see the beauty of the poetic language. Then there are the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Proverbs are brief sayings that are the product of wise people, and especially King Solomon. Proverbs must not be confused with promises. Rather, Proverbs tell us what is likely to occur as a result of our actions and thoughts. Ecclesiastes is less positive than Proverbs, speaking of the limitations of wisdom. And then there is the Song of Solomon, which is about romance and sex. However, this book comes from a very different culture from ours, and as a result, it can be somewhat confusing. Some people believe it is actually the story of God and his people, even though the king and his bride are the main characters. Finally, the book of Lamentations, after the book of Jeremiah, is the last book of poetry. But as you might expect, it's a sad book. However, in the very middle are the words, Great is God's Faithfulness, which was made into a classic hymn. It's a favorite hymn that speaks of God never changing, and his love never failing. But there are other books in the Bible with poetry in them. The prophets often wrote in a form of poetry. There are wonderful stories in the prophetic books. My favorite is Isaiah. I once spent an entire year going through this book with a friend. We studied together for several hours each week. It is a rich, wonderful book. You might even say we maximized the prophets. Oh well. There are 16 prophetic books to choose from, but I must warn you that their prophecies are not all about the future. Often their messages are calls for the people they serve to come back to God. And there are some very interesting prophets, such as Hosea, who married a prostitute, Jonah, who was swallowed by a big fish, Joel, who speaks of locusts invading, although his descriptions sound a lot like tanks and other instruments of modern warfare. The words of the prophets and the ideas behind those prophecies make up the majority of the New Testament book of Revelation. The Lord bless you, guide you, and give you peace. Amen. I think he's done. No, it's not over till it's over. God will tell you when it's done. Okay. Any comments, Andy? Yeah, I just think about how the Old Testament, how God used the prophets. Because he has a standard, and his goal is to have fellowship with his people, because we are created in his image. And apart from him, we start living our own lives. The Old Testament is just full of, I mean, it's just a repeating event. It's like they hear the word of God, they believe the word of God, and then after a while, they forget about God, and they stray, and then he has to shake them up. He has to cause things to happen to shake them up, to bring people back. And that's why he sent the prophets. So that's a repeated story in the Old Testament, because his goal is to have fellowship with his people, and that we would have a life that would glorify him. And that's why we were created. And I think about, yeah, as Don was saying... Oh, we lost Don. Are you still there? I'm here. You're in stealth mode. Sorry. Go ahead, Sandy. Yeah, you're in stealth mode. I'm in tech mode. Now, where was I? I'm sorry. See what happens. Yeah, that's okay. And I think about the book of Ecclesiastes. All I can think about with that book is like everything is vanity, all is vanity, all is vanity, all comes to an end. There's no end. And the peace that we have, as we were talking earlier, Kevin, that example that you had before about ants, ants in a jar. Right. And so if you have red ants... 100 red ants and 100 black ants, and you put them in a jar. Yeah, and there's no problem. And they're getting along fine. But then what happens? You shake that jar violently, and the red ants will think the black ants are trying to kill them, and the black ants will think the red ants are trying to kill them. And we just have to, in our own lives, we have to look at this world today where somebody is shaking the jar. You know, the blacks think the whites are against them, the whites think the blacks are against them. My political party, my political platform, now it's become platforms are putting people against each other because of this or that, you know, their beliefs. Yeah, that's what the enemy wants to do. But somebody is shaking that jar. Yeah, and who could that be? And unless, like we did in the beginning of this, with the echo example, we were in the jar, and all those shouts, all those negativities seemed to resonate off the jar and back into our souls. And what we have to do is count our blessings. You know, when you're talking about poetry, Isaiah 12.2, Psalm 68.19, and Psalm 103.2, we put all those together, and what we have is a praise poem. A multitude of benefits. Wonderful Lord, today I am trying to count my blessings, but my computer is incapable of calculating such a multitude. So I will just lift my heart to heaven and praise you for these benefits. You are my strength and my song. I thank you for your love. I thank you for your kindness. You are the fount of every blessing. From that fount comes a stream of mercy and love that will never cease. Tune my heart, Lord, tune it in to you. Tune out the world and the noise. Lord, tune my heart to sing praises, your praises, to you. Amen. Amen. Amen. And there's an example of prophecy, prayer, and praise all put into a poem. I go back to my acronym, LIFT. Lord is forever transforming. Right. And we need to, you know, we lift you up right now, Father God, in Jesus' name. We lift you up. Our whole desire for these podcasts is that people would come to know who you are, and how much you love them, and how much you will provide care and protection, and that they don't have to live with a spirit of guilt. They don't have to live a life that's fearful. And I really like how you put that all together, those different verses. You know, I don't know if I did this last week, that's why I'm asking. Psalm 16, did I do Psalm 16 last week, John? I don't remember. It doesn't matter. It's called The Golden Secret. Oh, yeah. A precious song engraved in gold by King David. And I'm going to read it all, because it's all, I mean, I got it. Yeah. Just read the highlighted parts. I kid with all you people out there listening. I'm a highlighter type person. I'm a journal. I journal. A journaling highlighter. A journaling highlighter. Oh, boy. We got you pegged now. You know, I'm reading the New Testament, Don, and Kevin, and I look at the Bible that I've had that I got from Marilyn Hickey in 1977. Oh, boy. Those were the days, my friend. Yeah. We wish they'd never end. We wish they'd never end. Yeah. Marilyn Hickey, and it was Dake's annotated Bible. Oh, yes. We all had to get a Dake's Bible. Well, you had to get a Dake's. You had to, because it was the Word. It was the Word, and we wanted to know more about it. But what's interesting is that I started highlighting in the New Testament, and we started highlighting in there, and then I would go back, and then I realized that every word was highlighted. You know, in Ephesians and Philippians and Galatians and 1 and 2 Corinthians. I highlight it all, because it's all precious. It is. It is. It is the Word of God. I think we should have the Gospel Trail highlighted Bible. We could make money off of that. Yeah. We could just package it that way. That's why they do that. It's all the words. It's all the words. You can't put a price on that. No, and I wouldn't do that. But watch this. Don't use a yellow highlighter. Oh, dear. Don't use a yellow highlighter, because they turn black, and so all the best parts are white. Oh, yeah, that's true. That's exactly right. Oh, then you have the redacted copy. The secret copy. Yeah, yeah. The redacted. And we could put it in the middle of a museum somewhere under glass, the redacted copy. Let's get back to this stuff. Just imagine what it says. So Kevin was just commenting about just read the highlighted. Just read the highlighted. There's only two lines that are underlined that are highlighted, that aren't highlighted, but all of them are underlined and highlighted. So it says, Keep me safe, almighty God. I run for dear life to you, my safe place. Yep. Safe place. Safe place. Where do we need to go? A safe place. So I said to the Lord God, you are my maker, my mediator, and my master. Any good thing you find in me has come from you. That's where you do a Sela. S-E-L-A. That's where you pause, isn't it? That means pause and think about it. Right. And any good thing you find in me has come from you. And that's what I tell the people at the jail. I said, what does Sandy have to offer? What does he have to offer? Zero. But what I have to offer is what he has taught me and what his word says. And that's able to change lives. We renew our minds, you know, transformational. And he said to me, my holy lovers are wonderful. My majestic ones, my glorious ones, fulfilling all my desires. This is the Lord speaking. Yet there are those who yield to their weakness, and they will have troubles and sorrows unending. I never gather with such ones nor give them any honor in any way. Lord, I have chosen you alone as my inheritance. You are my prize. My pleasure and my portion. I leave my destiny and its timing in your hands. Remember timing, you know, because we want all things like right now, and it's his timing. And he says, you don't know what you're asking because you don't know what's ahead. And I have to go ahead of you to clear the way and to accomplish the things that I want you to do. That's right. That's my added on. Your pleasant path leads me to pleasant places. Are there other paths that we can take that aren't pleasant? Non-pleasant path. Yeah. I think the other ones would be non. Yeah, those are the paths that are being shaken in that jar with the ants. Those are the paths. Right. That's almost like a bridge over a big, a big expanse. Right. That some of the boards are missing, and you have to hold on to the lifeline on either side. Amen. To make it across. I just got the picture of when Jesus was, you know, I was on the Sea of Galilee. And that's what happens. I start saying something and reading something. And then these visions come. That's right. About he's walking on the water, coming to the people that his disciples that are afraid. They're fearful because a storm has come up. Right. You know, and then Peter comes out and walks on the water. As long as he keeps his eyes on Jesus, he stays upright. Right. Yeah. But that's that's the thing. And that's prophetic, too. You're prophetic. The Bible says old men won't see visions. Yeah. And you'll speak to us. So there you go. I mean, that means you're old. Thank God. I'm thankful. I'm thankful for every day. And then it goes on to say men will dream dreams. That's right. This is verse six. I'm overwhelmed by the privileges that come with following you. For you have given me the best. Wow. Let that sink in. The way you counsel and correct me makes me praise you more for your whispers in the night. Give me wisdom. There you go. Whispering. I mean, that's the still small voice. I mean, it's nothing small about it. I never liked that phrase. But but that's that still voice that that just comes to you in a vision or it comes to you in a dream. And the thing is, you have to be quiet. You have to quiet yourself. You have to not have those distractions. That's why the shaking is going on. That's right. You know, as God sound should be louder than the world sound in your in your life. And, you know, be not conformed. Don't jump in the fray and participate. I mean, you don't have to. Thank you, Lord. But be transformed. Only the Bible can transform you. That's right. And the Bible is the word of God. And Jesus is the word. Amen. Wow. That's, you know, thinking of the quiet voice. I think a lot of times we try to drown out that voice. And Jesus allows that. Jesus allows us to drown it out. But we must not because we're losing the most important thing that we can hear. I think that's really common today. People may be hearing from God, but they bring other things in. Turn up the music. Turn up the loudness. Go have some fun at the amusement park just to drown out the voice of God. That's so dangerous. And they always. So dangerous. And many of them run around all day with earbuds in. Oh, my. And what are they listening to? That was the original vision of the Gospel Trail, which went by other names before that. But the original vision was to get God's word through earbuds. I love it now. To be infused. Infused. On a daily basis. Well, it's just like an infusion. I mean, when the natural body needs an infusion, they hook you up to a machine. And liquids and different substances they put into your blood. Or they take the blood out and they clean it, put it back in. They do marvelous things. But the world isn't trying to infuse us, bombard us. And it's not your congressman. It's not the guy living next door. Nor his wife. It's not your brother or sister. It's somebody shaking the jar. And what did the church lady say in Saturday Night Live? Could it be Satan? That's right. And it is so true. With Don, like you were saying, we fill up our lives with things that are not what God wants us to do. We waste that time. It's like I woke up this morning. Jesus woke me up and he said, I want you to spend time with me because you haven't been spending enough time with me. And I've been involved with a lot of different things. So I got up and I just started praising him and just saying, thank you for always pursuing me. It's like the prodigal son where the father was waiting for his son to come back. That's the way God the Father is. And that's where it comes where he says, I'm a jealous God. He wants to be first in our lives. That's right. And it's like, well, here's our choice. I can have my life, which is worthless, pursuing what I think is important. Or I could be hearing his voice and doing what he's called me to do and have an abundant life. I'm so thankful that I'm alive and I'm going to be getting married in the next couple of months. And I have a fiancee that loves the Lord and we can spend that time. There's nothing greater. I mean, I've never been happier. It's like, thank you, Lord, that you can continue to use us as a couple. That's right. So that people can see, see Jesus, see the father in us and to hear the words of encouragement and to come to knowing him. Because I, you know, I wanted what these men were exuding in their lives in a world of peace that I didn't have. Right. Because my bottle was being shaken. And I was desperate. I was desperate. Yeah. Just like, you know, a word from God creates, a word from God gives life and his word transforms us. So what would we rather do, build fear or build faith? Duh. Yeah. It's like, so what's the choice? That's what I tell the guys at the jail every time. It's like every day when you get up, you have a choice to make. Am I going to serve Jesus? I think so. Yep. Am I going to do that? Or am I going to serve, like I say for me, or am I going to serve Sandy? And it's like, that's easy for me to say, but it's like, that's why I come into the jail. That's what I tell them. This is what I'm supposed to do. Right. He says, tell them about me. And that makes my day worthwhile. That makes my life worthwhile when I can talk about him. Yep. And we fill up with faith. That's right. And what we have to do is find out where those leaks are. Yes. And stop them up. I mean, so we don't keep letting that faith drain and then, you know, jump in the car and turn on the radio. And then, I mean, nothing wrong with the radio or a good song or hearing what's going on in the world. But a lot of that stuff builds fear. I mean, just the weather can build fear. That's right. And that's why we, you know, all you listeners out there, too, is we want to be an encouragement. That's why we get together. That's why we do this. That's why Christians need to gather together and we need to pray together just like they were doing on the field Monday night at that football game. That made such a statement that it's like, no, that's all we have. But that's all we need to have is to go to the Father through the Son. So I'm actually going to get back to this psalm, guys. Yep. Just the highlighted part. Yeah. Your pleasant path leads me to pleasant places. I'm overwhelmed by the privileges that come with following you, for you have given me the best. Not second best. It's like Duluth's best bread. This is God is the best. That's right. The way you counsel and correct me makes me praise you more. For your whispers in the night give me wisdom, showing me what to do next. Because you are close to me, that's a key. Always available. He's always available. My confidence will never, and I underline and highlight it of course, will never be shaken. For I experience your wraparound presence every moment. My heart and soul explode with joy, full of glory. Even my body will rest confident and secure. So you'll have a confident and secure rest. You won't need to take drugs for sleep. You won't need that. Right. For you will not abandon me to the realm of death, nor will you allow your Holy One to experience corruption. For you bring me a continual, continual revelation of resurrection light. The path to the bliss that brings me face to face with you. That's Psalm 16. The golden secret. You can see why I love it. Beautiful. Thank you, Danny. That's great. Can I say a word about Ecclesiastes? You certainly can. Please do. Because I'm going to talk about Song of Songs eventually. There you go. All right. Ecclesiastes has gotten kind of a bad rap, I think. I think sometimes people look down and they see, you know, all the negatives. But there are some gems of statements in Ecclesiastes. You've heard the expression, a little bird told me. Right? Right. Okay. A little bird. It says, because a bird in your sky might carry your words, and a bird on the wing might report what you say. Oh. Sounds like a little bird told me. It does. Good job. And then, you know, that passage in Psalms where it talks about the baby being formed in the mother's womb. Very similar statement in chapter 11, verse 5. As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things. It's kind of taking that idea and extending it. We can't understand everything God's doing because he's got so much more ability to do things and to think through things. The next verse gives a really good basis for research, doing research. You do not know what will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will be doing, whether both will do equally well. That is really the basis of research. Do you find a significant difference? And there's just a lot of interesting, and the conclusion, I love the conclusion of Ecclesiastes. Yes, that's what I was just asking. I was just asking Kevin for that. Yeah, please read that because that's what stands out in my mind. Yep, he grabbed the Bible. Now all has been heard. Here is the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. What a conclusion. I mean, it takes, it's a little negative like parts of the book, but it also gives us a positive goal and direction to fear God and keep his commandments. I like Ecclesiastes. Yep. On the other hand, I suppose it could bring you down if you were already depressed, but on the other hand, well, here's a verse that says, God has made, let's see, when times are good, be happy, but when times are bad, consider this. God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future. Limitations of being human. But God made both the good times and the bad times to teach us, I'm sure, both ways. Exactly. So that's enough. That's probably enough about Ecclesiastes, but I think it's a great book. It is. It is. Job's a little more difficult. I do admit that. Yeah, I wish, I'm glad I don't have friends like Job. That's all I'm saying. That's right. Amen. Yes. Yes. Because we want to build faith, not fear. But Job's best friend was God. That's pretty good. Well, there you go. And he made it clear. He says, yeah, whatever you're saying, I have not sinned and God is still in charge. And Job's wife was good, too. He said, curse God. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, wife. Yeah, go ahead. Get it out. Yeah. That's real good advice. But God's overwhelming grace. But God. But God. That's right. And I wanted to bring up, because it was so much in my mind when I was in Jerusalem, when I got that engagement ring for Pam, my fiancee, and I was at the top of the hotel in Jerusalem when I proposed to her. And the ring that I got that day was from the Song of Solomon, you know, 6.3. And I was reading about the Song of Songs, and it's multi-layered. It's multi-meanings. I mean, it isn't just about a sexual relationship. It's our relationship with being the bride of Christ with Father God. I mean, it really is. And this is what the Song of Songs was the first book translated in the Passion translation. Wow. Bruce Simmons, that was the first one. He tackled that one first. That was the first one. And the author is King Solomon. I'm just reading what I read. And the audience is every passionate lover of God. That's what the book is directed towards, okay? It's a type of literature, love poetry and wisdom literature, major themes, Christ's divine love for his tribe, divine Christian romance, and passionate Christian devotion. Wow. And that's one of the things we're trying to bring forth here is passionate Christian devotion. And keeping the fire going. That's right. Keep the fire burning. Yeah. Translated from the passion of a heart on fire. These are Bruce Simmons words that he's taught. Fiery love for Jesus pushes our thoughts out of hiding and puts them into words of adoration. Praise. Praise. The Song of Songs is a melody sung from the heart of Jesus Christ longing for his bride. How Jesus wakes his bride, beautiful and holy, by casting out her fear with perfect love. This song speaks of God's saving love, keeping love, forgiving love, and embracing love. What else do I have? Perfect love casts out all fear. Right. In the Song of Solomon, it's chapter 7, verse 10. I am my beloved and his desire is for me. The ring that I got for Pam says on it, you know. Jewish wedding rings say, I am my beloved. And my beloved is mine. Right. Yeah. Which is 6-3. You know, that's where that comes from. But it's the fiery, that's what I wanted to bring is the fiery, having a fiery, passionate love for God. It isn't just a story of romance. It's a story about our relationship that we're supposed to have to God, that we are to keep that. And he is, you know, and he takes care of all of our needs. That's right. He does take care of all of our needs. So it just brings us to adoration and praise. I love you, Lord. Thank you that you're involved in my life. Thank you that I'm not alone. Thank you that I can go out and proclaim your goodness. That's right. I met a woman in the Skywalk yesterday, Lisa. And I said, could you use a gift card for groceries? And Lisa, she was so wrinkled that you could actually, you know, like you say, you could do clothes on her forehead and her face. But she was so happy and was like, I just want you to know, I give you this because Jesus loves you so much. And we're thankful for that. Right. So those are those opportunities that we can use on a daily basis. But the Song of Songs is like, that's the way our relationship is supposed to be with him. We should be passionately devoted to him. Passionately. Passionately. And that's the love that I believe everyone has inside. It is that Ecclesiastes where it says, he put eternity into our heart. And that is the hole that has to be filled because we can't conceive eternity. No. But only one thing can fill that, and that is coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And on the Gospel Trail, we purpose to bring the love of God to life in people. And I believe that's that hole, that missing thing when we're searching for love in all the wrong places as the song goes. But he put eternity into our hearts. Yeah, without him, we are empty. 33-3 just came to my mind. 3-11. 3-11. Yes, 3-11. I knew there was a 3 in there, Don. Thank you. Jeremiah 33-3 says, call upon the Lord and he will tell you mighty things, just crazy things you may think. But he will tell you things that you have never known. And through that, he comforts you. I mean, if you need somebody to talk to, dial Jeremiah 33-3. And you could call us at the following number, 218-461-0164. However, God will not answer that line. But we're there to help. One of his servants will. That's right. Because we purpose to bring the love of God to life in people. And I think you hit it right there, Sandy. I just feel like I'm kind of overwhelmed right now. It's like we always say, God is, and you just dot, dot, dot. He is everything. He is all that I need. Why look elsewhere? That's right. He says, I am. Why live with anxiety? Yeah, let's see. I've got a choice here. I can be anxious and depressed, or I can be free and have hope and have joy in my life. Let's see, which do I want? And then anxiety goes nowhere. I mean, it has the capability of ending your life. Oh. I mean, anxiety. I mean, if not, you know, the Bible talks about, you know, your bones will get brittle just because of fear and anxiety. Or we try to mask it with self-medicating, I guess they call it, with different things of this world. And there's a lot of dangerous stuff out there. Yeah, it's like I always say, if you're depressed, start reading Psalms. Start singing. Start praising God. You cannot stay depressed if you're praising God. Yep. There's hundreds of praise poems in the Psalms. And then the Holy Spirit will bring other Scripture to your mind, and you can just let that blend in and sink in to fill that eternity hole. Right. It's like that Psalm 16. He gives us the best. The best. The best. Nothing but the best. It's a privilege to praise Him. It's a privilege to spend time in His presence. And He said, those are my sons, those are my daughters. His overwhelming grace. Oh. It just can't be compared, because it is. What amazes me is that there are so many Psalm-like passages in the New Testament. Yes. And I started studying those, and I realized you could have a book of the Bible called the Psalms of the New Testament. Beautiful, beautiful passages. Some of them were used in early worship by the church when it was first starting. They were using some of those as kind of the basis of their faith and their worship. And there's so many of them. I was not really aware of that until I started reading a couple of study Bibles. And it would have this notation, used in the early church, or an early hymn, and all these kinds of things. And I just realized, wow. So I started compiling those. We have another book. I sense another book is going to come out. That's right. I don't think it will be added to the Bible, because it will be the Bible. That's right. But it's just amazing what God has done in the Scriptures to guide us and help us. And one of these days, I'm going to just write down the references for those Psalms of the New Testament, in case anyone would want them. Yeah, that's a great idea. That is. That is. And that reminded me, when you were saying that, on Tuesday at the jail, I had, you know, because I don't play the guitar yet. Yep. Not yet. But with his help and grace, I will. But I said, well, let's pray. Let's sing Psalm 34, 1 through 4. It was one of the first, the church, after I became a Christian, radically saved, they would sing from the Bible. And it goes like this. And the guys joined in with me after I sang it the one time. And I think, you know, that's a miracle in itself, because of men getting together and doing that. But it goes like this. All my fears. All my fears. And I love that. I mean, that's how I started learning Scripture, was that first Psalm that we were singing. That is great. You know, and deliver me from all my fears, because that's what men, that's what we are dealing with is fear everywhere. And it's that shaking in with the ants trying to kill each other. And as we started out this time together, so what do we do when that happens in our life? What do we say? What do we do? We whisper the name of Jesus. Jesus. And then he brings us into his presence. Oh, I'm just going to stay there for a while. Just that is a prayer. Jesus. If it's the last thing that comes from your lips before stepping into eternity. That's right. His name is prophetic. That's right. And all the prophetic things we've been talking about. You should see Kevin's face. Oh, my gosh. I mean, just everything, you know, God is supernatural, all knowing, all power. And if we listen to him, everything that comes out of his mouth is prophetic. I mean, he tells us who we are. He tells us he wants us to be with him. And we will be with him face to face. Face to face. And that's how that psalm ended. 16. Face to face. That's right. I mean, that brings peace. That brings joy. And it builds our faith. And dispels and displaces fear. I like that. Displaces. Displaces. It displaces it. It cannot live together. Those cannot be in the same place at the same time. No. No. Fear and peace. I mean, yes. I mean, it says fear the Lord in the Bible. But there's a holy fear. More like reverence. Reverence for God. Reverence for God. You know, in the translated fear. And we should have that type of reverence. I mean, I have reverence for the edge of the cliff. I'm not going to test it. You know. But it doesn't keep me up at night. Right. But if a person is ignoring God, they need to fear God. They need to say, hey, you know, this is dangerous. This is a dangerous way to live to ignore God. That's right. You're exactly right. Or mask the pain. That's a dangerous way to live as well. Yes. That's why we as his ambassadors should be going around and people saying, I want what that person has. I want that joy. I want that peace. I want that assurance. I want that security. That's right. You know, it's like, where are you going to spend eternity? And it's like, I'm going to be with him. You know, I'm going to be with him. And I want to be with him. And I want, I'm just so privileged. I just love the Lord. I'm so privileged that I can go about being kind to people, loving people, speaking into their lives, hope, because he is our hope. He's our only hope. Right. He is our only hope. You can go somewhere else and you can say, if your hope is in money, zip. That is, you know, people take their lives because of that. You know, they have all the money in the world and all the fame and all that, but they don't have the peace of God. No. They don't have him. They don't have that sense, as you said earlier, Kevin, about eternity. That's because they think there's always a way. I mean. Another way. Just like the commentator at the football game says, all we can do is pray. Yeah. It was like. I mean, how can we help them? All we can do is pray. Right. And what I was, what I was praying when they were saying that is, why don't you just pray right now? The three of you. Yeah. Why didn't they? You know, it's like, just pray. Just pray. Yeah. What are they? Just. What do they fear? Yeah. Just pray. Yeah. That's another statement that would be, you know, but God is. Controversial. God is. God is. Just. He's on the throne and people still seek him. Just like all those football players. That's right. And the Hamlin, the guy that was injured, he had a fund that he was trying to reach for kids, for toys and things that they needed. $2,500 was the goal. Oh, yes. And they've raised like five or six million dollars. Wow. For that fund. Five or six million. It's just pouring in. Right. Because people's hearts are touched. People's hearts were touched. Hearts. I mean, they were touched. Maybe the prayer helped. Yeah. You just see him on the field holding hands. Yes. And big grown men that battled on the football field crying. God just said, bless this situation. That's right. Just bless this situation. And it just gives me goosebumps. Just like it's giving you, isn't it, Don? It's like, yes. Amen. That's it. Amen. Overwhelming grace. I mean. Overwhelming grace. Just overwhelming grace. Thank you, Lord. Yes. I think everybody needs to experience that. Well, the guy, as I was leaving, I'll end with this for me. Yes. When I was leaving, because you listeners know and my friends that are one I'm sitting across from and one I'm hearing from a distant area, is that I love acronyms. I love acronyms. That was good. That was good, Don. The guy got up at the front of the room I was in. It had a whiteboard. And he wrote down an acronym. And he said, waiting. He wrote down the word was waiting. Welcome all in turmoil if needing grace. Waiting. And I thought, thank you, Lord. And I just blessed the guy. I thought, wow. You know, it's because they're starting to get it. You know, it's like, yeah, he is everything. And he will be your friend. He will not abandon you. And no matter what's going on, I says, you can be in jail. You can be in prison. But you can be free in him because he will touch your heart and transform your heart and transform your mind by the renewing of the word, by reading the word and spending time with him. And waiting on the Lord. Waiting on the Lord. That nails it. I'm just thankful I'm alive to do this and that I'm alive that I can go and spend time wherever I go. You know, they say, well, what's your ministry, Sandy? Well, everyone I meet. Everyone he puts in my path is meant to be touched. I like that. You know, every person we meet, we have an impact. We might be. We do. We might be the only example of Jesus that they will ever see. So, you know, so we need to pray about that. When we're going places and we're there, it's like, what does this person need? And extend kindness. That's a person who's like, kindness. How are you doing? Asking people how they're doing, you know, is life-changing, too, because it's like saying, boy, you see me. That's why when I see the homeless people, it's like I ask them their name and I look in their eyes and I see them. I will not turn my eyes away from my fellow people that were made in his image. I will not turn away and not try to engage them. Yeah, the closing prayer is from 1 Corinthians 15, 10. Overwhelming grace. And that's what we feel so much of it when we pull on the strings of God, you know, when we pull on that lifeline, when we pull on the strings from the hem of his garment. The truths of your grace, O God, are so overwhelmingly wonderful. I scarce can take it all in. I thank you for your justice, but if you were a God of justice only, that would result in my condemnation, for there is no logical reason why you should pity or pardon me. Your amazing grace comes into the picture to save a soul like me. Your grace is love poured out on those who do not deserve it. In fact, your grace gives me totally the opposite of what I deserve. I deserve hell, but through your grace I get heaven. The stupendous truth of grace sweeps me off my feet with wonder and joy for the joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord renews my strength, and I simply whisper from my heart, thank you, Lord, for this incredible grace. Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you all. Thank you, listeners. Please contact us if you need someone to talk to. And see how the prophecy comes out of Scripture. It's when you cannot read a verse without the Holy Spirit adding to it. And that's him speaking to us with his overwhelming grace. I love your pursuit, Don, of the Psalms and the things that are in the New Testament that are used, you know, those words and stuff. You know, it's so rich. That's what happens every week when we get together. And I think, how much more can I experience or take? And he says, well, this is who I am, and this is what I want to share. So all you have to do is be, what was it that you said? Two mouths. Two mouths instead of the double-edged sword. Two mouths, sword, two voices. Two voices. And we're the voices, I think, about the voices crying in the wilderness. In conjunction with him. And that is a weapon against injustice. That is a weapon against fear. You know, that is... It's a weapon against everything that the enemy can throw at us. Everything that Satan can throw at us. Right. I can't say Satan without thinking of the church lady. Satan! Could it be? Could it be? And she would screw up her face. Satan! Yeah, that's true. The Lord bless and keep you all. That's right. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Do you guys know 1 John 4, 7 and 8? Do you know the song? How does that... Why don't you hum to begin with? Okay. Let us love one another. Let us love one another. Yes. For love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God. That's right. And knoweth God, he that loveth not. Knoweth not God, for God is love. Beloved, let us love one another. 1 John 4, 7 and 8. I love it. Yeah, we learned that. That's it. We learned that. That's great. Beloved, let us love one another. Yeah. Amen. That's a New Testament song, I believe. Yep. Yes, it is. Thank you, Don. But you have to sing it in King James English. Yeah, it has to be. That's the authorized version. That's true. Yep. Yep. Yep. It's the Bible that Paul used. Oh, Kevin. Kevin, you did it on that one. That was... Yeah. It's the Bible Paul used. Yeah. There you go. There you go. Can't get better than that. Pure Gospel Network is an intergenerational, Christ-centered, not-for-profit, Internet mission church. A network of believers from many different backgrounds who are passionate about reaching out to others. Your voice in the wilderness, a church online since 98, now known as pgn.church, operates 100% on your tax-deductible donations.