Evangelistic Series 'REFOCUS - Dr. Gervon Marsh - Get Your House In Order

[Music] [Music] look around you there's so much work to do this world is in no condition for us to simply sit back and watch [Music] there is a tangible desperate need for jesus a glimpse of hope in the midst of hopelessness [Music] jesus experienced this he saw it firsthand the need broke his heart and filled him with compassion he turned to his disciples and said the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few [Music] this alone should stir our hearts it's a calling a calling to make a difference to share the truth of the gospel to be a light in the darkness to be the church it's time for us to look beyond ourselves to turn our focus to the field to answer the call and passionately share the love of jesus [Music] this is our mandate this is our mission are you ready to do the work [Music] hello everyone thank you for joining us tonight as we worshiped god today and i hope that you enjoy praise and worship with us join us and sing to your heart's content thinking about the goodness of god [Music] let's bless the lord and all time [Music] let's go [Music] i will bless the lord at all [Music] i will bless the lord at [Music] i all bless the lord at all times he's good [Music] foreign [Music] i will bless the lord at [Music] lord at all times [Music] i will bless the lord at all times he's good [Music] [Music] the lord [Music] i will bless the lord [Music] will bless the lord at all [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the lord [Music] i will bless the lord at all times [Music] i will bless the lord at all times i will bless the lord at all [Music] i will bless the lord i will bless the lord i will bless the lord i will bless the lord at all [Music] hallelujah praise the lord loves us so much [Music] what is this love that won't relent that's calling out with heaven's breath who's reaching wide to save our souls only you that makes no sense that we could never who gives us all a second chance only you only you only you there is no one like our god there is no one like our god there is [Music] and show the sun how bright to shine the world within his hands [Music] [Music] only you only you only you [Music] there is [Music] [Applause] there is [Music] [Music] on earth [Music] can stand between us no power on earth [Music] there is [Music] [Music] there is [Music] there is [Music] sometimes we go through so many things and we have to remember that our god is greater he's [Music] we will only trust [Music] there's no one like you [Music] we rise [Music] stronger god you are higher than any other our god is [Music] [Music] into the darkness the darkness [Music] [Music] are is than any other [Music] is [Music] [Applause] god is [Music] who could ever stop us [Music] [Applause] [Music] again [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] is is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] again again [Music] is [Music] our god our is is [Music] [Music] [Music] please let us know how we can pray for you by call or text to 941 seven 876 eight zero zero five nine four one eight seven six eight zero zero five [Music] it's prayer time let us pray most righteous eternal god on our father we thank you for the opportunity you have given to us to come once more to your throne of grace i ask forgiveness for all my sins that you will cleanse me from all unrighteousness and hear my petition father i thank you for your son jesus christ who gave his life a ransom for us in his name we come lord we thank you thank you for waking us all this morning thank you for giving us the opportunity to come once more to your throne of grace father as we come we ask that you look upon your people your children father among us there are many who are sick there are many who have been afflicted lord there are many who are mourning because their loved ones have passed many have passed among us in the past few months lord even the past few weeks and days but father we ask that you send your holy spirit the comforter to come and comfort each and every family who is mourning at this moment father father we thank you that you are god and that you say we must come we must ask and we come on behalf of all who are suffering father i pray and ask that you look upon our church family i pray that you will look upon those in our county those who are in our state we pray for the leaders lord of our state and our county our cities i pray for the leaders of our country lord father our country our nation is in turmoil there are many things that's happening lord that you told us would happen father we know we are living in the last days and what we must do is make our calling an election sure with you help us o lord to trust you help us to put our confidence in you you the god of the israelite you took them out of egypt lord and you protected them 40 years in the wilderness i pray dear lord that we will remember this that we will always trust you we will put our faith in you lord that we will not uh be afraid lord to call upon your name father you told us to be ready and i'm asking you dear lord to help us to be ready help us to read your word to remember what you told us in the book of revelation oh god help us dear father to trust you to make ourself ready for you lord when you come but father we cannot do it on our own we ask that you'll send your holy spirit to lead to guide and to protect us we pray dear lord not for just the united states of america but around the world lord this entire world is turning upside down and brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers are turning against each other lord father god we're asking you that you will send your sweet holy spirit to lead us to guide us to protect us help us to remember that you are there you promise that you will never leave us or forsake us and this we believe we're asking you dear lord as we come to you and we pray we're asking in the mighty name of jesus our lord and savior your only begotten son who gave his life a ransom for us all in his name we pray amen welcome to lehigh health spot this presentation was created for the purpose of consumer awareness and is not intended to replace any information or medical advice given to you by your health care provider my name is laureen downs and the title of my presentation is six lifestyle choices to boost immunity we'll be speaking about the a smart behaviors that boost immunity a smart is an acronym that stands for a adopt healthy eating habits s for stress less and for move more a for avoid alcohol rest r for rest and t for tobacco cessation the immune system is very complex and this is a simplified version of what the immune system does the immune system protects a person from outside invaders such as viruses bacteria fungi and toxins natural killer cells and t lymphocytes are some of the cells of the immune system that destroy viruses in cancer cells there are many other immune cells one first line of defense against superbug infections is proper hand washing and so we should always be mindful of washing our hands there are two features of the immune system one is the innate and the other is the adaptive the innate feature is inherited and responds immediately if you've ever touched a hot iron or a hot stove you'll see that your finger or wherever you touch responds immediately with a blister and that's your immune system sending macrophages and cells to help fight the inflammation that's caused by that invasion the adaptive immune system is an acquired immunity that develops later when the body is exposed to microbes or chemicals released from developed microbes such as vaccinations immunizations train the immune system to make antibodies to protect from harmful diseases and many of you may be recall that the polio vaccine was developed many years ago and have eradicated polio and we no longer have polio adaptive the adaptive system or feature of the immune system works in conjunction with the innate to produce antibodies protect us from various illnesses let's start with the a for adopt healthy eating and nutrient intake we'll focus on fiber this evening fiber boosts the antiviral activity of the killer t cells fiber is only found in plant-based foods soluble fiber changes inflammatory immune cells to anti-inflammatory cells and increases healing and recovery from infection and we get soluble fiber from foods such as oats apples and beans so if you want to boost your killer t-cells and boost your immunity eat lots of high-fiber foods again they're only found in plant-based foods fruits vegetables nuts and grains greens and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage are essential for boosting the immunity there are other foods that boost immunity such as garlic increases your natural killer cell function and also decreases inflammation mushrooms vitamin c found in red sweet peppers and citrus fruits and many other foods vitamin d is one of the most important of all the nutraceuticals for immune function and which get much of our vitamin c from going outdoors in the sun the sunlight gives us vitamin d we can also get vitamin d from supplements and many of our foods are now supplemented with vitamin d vitamin a is also important and can be obtained from sweet potatoes and other red colored foods such as carrots it's always best to get your nutrients from foods as a first priority and then supplements if you're unable to get enough from foods selenium is important for your overall health and very important in maintaining a healthy immune system and many foods nuts have selenium but brazil nuts are your primary or largest source of selenium with one brazil nut giving you 68 to 91 micrograms per knot and your only recommended 55 micrograms per day however there's an upper limit that you can get of 400 micrograms so do not exceed 400 micrograms but you can see one brazilian nut will give you plenty of selenium and help to boost your immune system other foods that boost your immune system eating lots of berries spinach turmeric is also helpful it's best to get turmeric in its natural source instead of the supplements if possible you'll get more from the natural source almonds are good pumpkins pumpkin seeds broccoli and cabbage be sure to stay well hydrated hydration helps to reduce viral infections well-hydrated means drinking a minimum of 32 to 64 ounces daily however a good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces which is equivalent to if you're a 150 pound person you should drink about 75 ounces of water and be sure to drink most of your fluids during the day that just helps to prevent interruption of your sleep one side effect of drinking more fluids is increase activity so if you drink most of your fluids during the day you'll be going um to really relieve the fluids often and that way you'll be able to get your activity at the same time avoid immune suppressors many um foods can cause immune suppression and sugar is a big culprit sugar is an immune system suppressor and increases inflammation inflammation the root cause of many chronic conditions so if you want to avoid getting some of these chronic conditions diabetes heart disease and others arthritis also can hopefully be decreased or improved by decreasing your sugar intake or no sugar if possible alcohol consumption reduces the natural killer cell activity remember your natural killer cells are part of your immune system cells and it also alcohol also reduces antiviral effect of interferon which increases inflammation so you want to avoid alcohol which is also high in sugar alcohol is high in sugar so avoiding it is always best unhealthy fats such as meats and carbs are pro-inflammatory that means they promote inflammation and you want to decrease inflammation and improve your immune system avoid deficiencies of vitamin b12 if you're a vegetarian you should be consuming a b12 supplement so speak to your provider about that omega-3 fats are also important to for your immune system so you want to avoid deficiency in that you want to get enough omega-3 from chia seeds flax seeds walnuts are good plant sources of omega-3 but you can also get omega-3 from healthy fatty fish such as salmon your healthy plate should look something like this a good fourth or more of vegetables have some plenty of fruits of all types of colors and whole grains and healthy protein your grains should come from whole wheat breads whole grain pastas brown rice and limit your intake of white flour and ripe white bread i have a saying that says the whiter the flower the quicker you're dead so get most of your grains from whole grains and not processed grains stress also impacts the immune system so stay calm stress decreases the function of the immune system and increases the person's susceptibility to the ill-effective viruses positive emotions have the opposite effect on the immune system and among christians those positive emotions are in uh known as the fruit of the spirit love joy peace forbearance kindness faithfulness gentleness and self-control indeed the first of these love is known to cast out all fear and will keep your stress down there was a study that was done on the effects of singing on the mood and stress and immune responses of patients with cancer their families and nurses and it was found that singing boosts the mood and also modulates the immune system so sing when you need to boost your immune system and to stay happy be sure to move more moderate exercise increases antibody production it improves t lymphocyte function and natural killer active killer cell activity and it slows aging of the immune system as we get older immune system decreases in its function so if you want to slow that aging process down the immune system stay active and exercise and be physically active five to seven days a week aim for ten thousand steps a day and make a habit of it by doing it at the same time each day perfectly outdoors so you get plenty of sun and lots of fresh air rest for r try to obtain seven to eight hours of sleep per night if you're an adult teenagers needed ten hours or even more for some teenagers sleep deprivation reduces those natural killer cell activity one night of decreased sleep can reduce your natural killer cells by nearly 30 percent melatonin is released during sleep and it's a powerful regulator of the circadian rhythm which has antiviral activity so you want to increase your melatonin by shutting off your blue lights from your cell phones your laptops or any electronic devices 90 minutes before bedtime and try to get to bed the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning this will help to regulate the circadian rhythm avoid smoking tea for tobacco cessation smoking harms immune system and makes the body less successful at fighting diseases and in summary you want to boost your immune system by practicing the six a smart behaviors adopt healthy eating habits such and eat a variety of whole food plant-based foods stress less practice breathing mindfully and practice daily meditation move more 140 minutes or 10 000 steps a day is a good goal 150 minutes a week with 10 000 steps daily is a good goal for moving more avoid alcohol adults need to aim for seven to nine hours of sleep and avoid tobacco use or any smoking 3rd john 2 says i wish above all i wish above all things that thou may prosper and be in hell even as i soul prospers thank you for your time good evening my name is newton hoylett and i'm the pastor of the lehigh subway adventist church it is my absolute pleasure to welcome you this evening to our program entitled refocus refocus is designed for each one to have a safe place in which to contemplate the amazing powerful presence and deliverance which can be found in jesus christ refocus promises peace in an atmosphere of unrest refocus promises an adjustment a readjustment in perspective in a confused environment refocus promises a welcome infusion of the power of the holy spirit within each heart for restoring power that will give us a release from problems we welcome each of you from all over southwest florida this evening from jamaica from trinidad from barbados from the virgin islands from the philippines and across the length and breadth of the united states of america we welcome our friends from canada who always join us in our broadcast tonight you have joined us in an exciting double weekend of spiritual praise and worship the praise has been awesome and i trust our prayers will be life changing for someone each time we meet i invite you to share the link each time you log on to the lehigh sda church youtube facebook and instagram and while you're at it please hit the like button as well as the notification bell so you can be alerted each time we are ready for broadcast we are on a game tomorrow saturday at 11 a.m and also at 7 pm god bless you as you enjoy this double weekend of blessings together it is my distinct pleasure to introduce and present to you and to tell you about dr girvin marsh our speaker governor marshall is a pastor with the seventh adventist church since 2003. presently he serves as a ministerial fields associate with the florida conference of seven-day adventists headquartered in orlando pastor marsh is a graduate of northern caribbean university where he earned a bachelor's of arts degree in religion and theology he's also a graduate of andrews university in michigan where he earned a masters of divinity and also a graduate of the dallas theological seminary where he earned his doctoral ministry degree in advanced expository preaching he's married to the former missionary starbs and together they have their proud parents of their bundle of joy kelsey monique marsh i have known pastor marsh for approximately uh 12 years now over which time we have developed a close and meaningful relationship i greatly admire him as a person of integrity a committed christ follower a supportive friend a sincere servant a daughter father a loving husband a constant colleague and an awesome preacher you will know when you listen to him in a few moments i'm delighted to present him to you as a special speaker for our two weekends of power pack preaching with emphasis on refocus let us refocus together in the midst of uh of of of the many national crises and individual troubles which we can encounter each day let's refocus and receive restoration as dr girvin march brings to us his topic for tonight set your house in order may god bless you as you hear the word of the lord amen [Music] open the eyes of my heart open lord eyes of my heart i want to see you i want to see you open the eyes of my heart lord open the eyes of my heart i want to see you i want to see you to see [Music] [Music] open the eyes of my heart i want to see you i want to see you open the eyes of my heart lord open the eyes of my heart i want to see you [Music] i want to see you to shining in the light of your glory pour out your power and love shining in the light of your glory we [Music] i want to see you [Music] i want to see you [Music] [Music] i want to see [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Laughter] amen amen amen good evening everyone welcome thank you so much for joining us this evening this very very special and important occasion refocus my name is girvan marsh and it's a joy and a privilege to journey with you in this experience that we are calling refocus or friends in a world where many have literally lost their focus because of all the tragedies and issues that are surrounding us we're so grateful that we can refocus and we can find perfect vision in jesus christ who died for us on the cross i want to welcome everyone that is joining us this evening and i want to encourage you to do a few things for me but before i even go there let me take the opportunity to thank dr newton joy dr hoylett my friend and colleague and mentor in ministry for his very kind words of introduction i keep telling him that when i grow up i want to be just like him so doc thank you so much i know you're you're smiling right now as you're looking at me but thank you thank you thank you let me also thank the praise and worship team sister susan hamilton and her team thank them so much and then behind the scenes we have some wonderful folks who are making all of this possible tony ann and ben and the entire crew i want to thank you for what you're doing to make this possible because you're able to watch this brethren and friends all because of the input and the work of these individuals and we want to thank god for them in a very special way i want to share a few things with you quickly quickly right now i'm looking in the chats and i see that we have folks from all over the place nadine gordon i want to welcome you maxine jones angela thomas uh marlene wallace uh pick me macket uh who else was the novelette novel jones i see roxanne martin uh i see paula jones ruth hamilton i see quite a few people there i want to welcome all of you and all of you are watching welcome welcome welcome but i want you to do me a favor right now when you do me a favor get your phones right now and share this link with someone send the youtube link to them send the facebook link to them send the instagram link to them so that they can join and be blessed by this experience and if you don't know how to do it just ask your grandkid or your child they know exactly what to do to share that link so that somebody can be blessed by this experience tonight let me also share this with you if by any means you need prayer prayer is going to be a big part of what we do this uh weekend and that's what we're going to do in this program so if you need prayer don't hesitate the number to call is 941 and i know they'll put it on the screen again 941-876-8005 941 876 8 we want to lift up your needs to god in prayer we still believe that god hears and answers pray you can go right now in the chat and you will see that number there and any other relevant information tell us your needs we want to lift them up to god in prayer for you we begin tonight to refocus you see it right there above me that is a refocus and we want you to understand that if we refocus and what is important according to the word of god you and i have a bright future and so tomorrow morning we will be here at 11 so please join us at that time and then tomorrow evening we continue again at seven shot so make sure you're here make sure you tell a friend so that they can come and join us and tonight we are here and we're gonna be preaching god's word tomorrow morning we're talking about a very important issue and the sermon has been captioned daniel's god daniel's god you can't afford to miss that one ah we're talking about daniel's god tomorrow evening we're going to be talking about to what purpose is this waste to what purpose is this waste so make sure you are here for that but tonight my friends tonight my friends we're starting our refocus journey with a very important topic which is set your house in order set your house in order right now again please join me in in helping someone to know that we are online i see sister angela harris is here i see folks from barbados go ahead share that link so that they can be blessed by tonight's experience each night when we come we will be reading from the word of god and delving deeply into the word of god so i want to encourage you wherever you are right now get your bibles get your bibles whether the actual hard copy or your digital version get your bibles because we are going to talk together from god's word tonight i want to direct your attention to the book of isaiah isaiah it's there in the old testament if you know where psalm is the book of psalms somewhere shortly after psalms you will find the book of isaiah and i want to read to you from isaiah 38 isaiah 38 and isaiah 39 i'm going to read a few verses in your hearing as we set the tone and the stage for god's word tonight isaiah 38 listen to what the word of god says in isaiah 38 starting at verse 1. i'm reading from the new king james version you can follow along in whatever version you are reading from and so we're talking about set your house in order and we're looking at this issue through the lenses uh did you get that the lenses of isaiah chapter 38 listen to the word of god the bible says this in isaiah 38 in those days hezekiah was sick and near death and isaiah the prophet the son of amos went to him and said to him thus says the lord set your house in order for you shall die and not live then hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed to the lord and said remember now o lord i pray how i have walked before you in truth and with a loyal heart and have done what is good in your sight and hezekiah whip wept bitterly listen to verse 2 verse 4 and the word of the lord came to isaiah saying go and tell hezekiah thus says the lord the god of david your father i have heard your prayer i have seen your tears surely i will add to your days 15 years i will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of assyria and i will defend the city and this is a sign to you from the lord that the lord will do this thing which he has spoken behold i will bring the shadow on the sundial which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of ahaz 10 degrees backward so the sun returned 10 degrees on the dial by which it had gone down this is the writing of hezekiah king of judah let's run quickly let's run quickly because you need to hear this part to isaiah 39 verse 1 onward listen to this at that time merida baladan the son of ballard and king of babylon sent letters and a present to king hezekiah for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered and hezekiah was pleased with them and showed them the house of his treasures the silver and gold the spices and precious ointment and all his armory all that was found among his treasures there was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that hezekiah did not show them set your house in order pray with me pray with me father thank you for the blessing of life thank you for the joy of salvation and thank you for the blessing of sabbath rest thank you for bringing us together albeit virtually and right now through this medium through this platform i pray that you will speak to the hearts of men and women for those who are online bless them in a very special way but for those who are not yet online bring them here sooner than later so that they too can be blessed by your holy word speak clearly speak audibly speak for the honor and glory of your name as we say thanks to the holy and precious name of jesus let everybody say amen and amen set your house in order set your house in order now beloved i know that uh we're doing this virtually but the preacher wants you to walk along with me so as the word of god speaks to your heart it is okay to say amen by typing it in the chat or saying hallelujah by typing in the chat let the preacher know that you are walking along with him as we journey together now beloved the story that i just read to you describes to us a very interesting situation which we we we can term put in terms as this that the life of hezekiah was prolonged in answer to prayer let me say it again the life of king hezekiah was prolonged as an answer to prayer the bible tells us beloved that hezekiah was literally laying on his bed when isaiah the prophet of god comes to him and tells him set your house in order for you will die and not live and i want you to notice what the prophet does the prophet doesn't just say you're gonna die he says you're gonna die according to the text and not live now beloved i don't know if you understand what is going on there but let me try to put it in modern terms that you can understand i love your pastor who's my friend and colleague and one of the things that i love about him is his love for the people of god and the pastoral care that he gives to them can you imagine if one of you as his members or anyone who's watching for that matter if you took sick and when you took sick dr hoyland comes to visit you and then he's gonna tell you listen to me god told me to tell you get your house or set your house in order why because you're gonna die and you're not gonna live the man comes to hezekiah and tells him in in in what i believe is a very insensitive way you're gonna die you are not going to live and oh beloved in pastoral theology or in pastoral care ministry they teach us when someone is sick you ought to go there and be there and give the ministry of presence and not the ministry of distress or anything like that because how would you like to have your pastor come to you and tell you guess what god told me to tell you you are going to die i think that that's a rather insensitive way of even telling someone something like that but that's what isaiah the man of god tells hezekiah the king of israel now beloved what is amazing what is amazing is that notice the response of hezekiah now hezekiah beloved didn't protest and pout no hezekiah on the contrary did something interesting the bible tells us that hezekiah hezekiah literally turned and prayed i want to show you something this story beloved can also be found in second kings ah chapter 20. listen what the bible says in second kings chapter 20. i've got to show this to you second kings chapter 20. listen to this listen to this the bible says in those days second kings 20 verse 1 in those days hezekiah was sick and near death and isaiah the prophet the son of amos went to him and said to him thus saith the lord set your house in order you shall die you shall not live then he turned his face toward the wall and prayed to the lord saying remember me o lord for i i pray how i walk before you in truth and with a loyal heart and have done what is good in your sight and hezekiah whipped the wept bitterly in other words beloved ezekiel was terminally healed there was no recovery from this ah in all modern terms let's say he got coveted and the doctor said there is no turning back you are going to die and what does hezekiah do when the man of god delivers a word he doesn't pout he doesn't protest on the contrary he turns and he prays and by the way the bible makes it clear that when he prays god answers his prayer so that brings me to a very important conjecture in this sermon oh beloved a very important juncture in this sermon where i've got to tell you something that is very important this beloved brings two very important ideas to our attention and the first one is simply this and i'm sure you will agree with me that our god still hears and he still answers prayer can somebody testify and say amen in the chat i want to say it again or god still hears and he still answers prayer ah you may think that that is a terminology that has become cliche or you've heard people say that prayer is power in this case prayer is power because god answered his prayer and you may think that these things are cliche but i came here tonight to let you know that god still hears and god still answers prayer somebody ought to say man somebody ought to type amen can i tell somebody tonight that the god i serve did it back then for hezekiah and he can do it again for you tonight ah the god i serve did it back then but he still hears and hands us prayers tonight oh beloved i heard a story that demonstrates the power of god there was a little old lady who believed in the power of prayer she believed that god was alive and well she believed that god could do for her more than she could ask or think and oh beloved she lived beside a man who was an atheist an atheist who doesn't believe in god and oftentimes he would see the woman kneeling at her bedside praying and pouring out her hearts to god and this man would often mock this woman and say what are you doing don't you know there is no god don't you know that god can't answer freya and the woman said i don't care what you have to say my god hears and my god answers well one day the woman found herself in a little bind you see she had no money and she had no food and she knelt by her bedside and prayed and said god i have no money i have no food please god provide some food for me well this neighbor who is an atheist heard her prayer and said you know what i'm gonna fix her business today i'm gonna show her that god doesn't answer any prayer and so this atheist went to the supermarket and bought a load of groceries he came back put it at the woman's door rang the doorbell and ran away to hide to see what the woman would do when he did that beloved the woman came out and when she looked down and saw the groceries she was excited she was ecstatic she started to run up the road and down the road and said thank you god for your blessings on me when the atheist saw what she was doing he jumped out of the bush and said you silly woman god didn't provide that for you i did it i told you your god can't and surprised and when the woman heard that beloved she got even more excited she ran up the road she ran down the road and she started to shout hallelujah amen when the 80s finally caught up with her she was wondering he was wondering what are you excited about because i told you that and then the woman said this she said i know my god hears and i know my god answers prayer but i didn't know that god would use the devil to buy my groceries ah somebody ought to understand that god still hears and god answers prayer that's why isaiah says that before we call he will answer that's why isaiah says when the enemy comes in like a flood god will lift up a standard that's why isaiah says that no weapon formed against us will prosper why because god hears and god answers prayer somebody ought to say man god my friends he hears and he answers prayer and so i want to tell somebody today i don't know what you're going through but i want to let you know press on because god still hears and god still answers prayer so that's the first thing it tells us god hears and god answers prayer you are the same man but now the second thing this story quickly tells us the second thing this story tells us is something that i don't want you to take for granted so hear the preacher hear the preacher don't take this for granted the second thing the first thing the story quickly tells us is that god hears and god answers prayer the second thing it tells us however is quickly quickly this the best blessing in life is life itself can i say that again the best blessing in life my friends is life itself can i tell somebody something every day above ground is a good day oh come on you're the same man you're the same enter that the best blessing in life is life itself and every day you and i are above ground it's a good day every day you and i are experiencing the goodness of god it is a good day can i tell you something covey 19 has taken out so many people since this year started and in last year but you are here today you are alive and relatively well and if you're alive and relatively well you ought to declare thank you god for your blessings on me ah i heard them say that ah there are two deaths every second 157 deaths every minute ah 6 393 deaths every hour 153 425 deaths every day ah they say beloved that there are four million six hundred and seventy nine thousand four hundred and fifty two deaths each month and over 56 million death each year and forget that because covet has bumped up those numbers but you are alive you are relatively well you are here today and if you are here today you ought to shout and say thank you god hallelujah for your blessings on me i wish somebody would join me in just declaring that god is a good god because i'm alive and well i wish somebody would join me in declaring that there's a roof up above me and their shoes on my feet food on my table and a good place to see you show me your love lord you gave me a love and a fine family thank you lord hallelujah for your blessings on me not only is god a god who answers prayer but every day above ground is a good day somebody ought to say amen the greatest blessing in life you got to get this it's life itself which is why the wise man solomon says in ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 4 that a living dog is better than a dead lion can i tell you something even if you're the king of the jungle and you're dead it makes no sense a dog who is not the king of the jungle is better than you why because the best blessing in life is life itself when hezekiah was on his death bed do you think he was asking god for prestige or for power no the man realized that prestige doesn't matter anymore power doesn't matter anymore the only thing that really matters is a life and so i want to tell somebody today you are not the chief executive officer of oxygen you don't determine or know when you're gonna die and that's why every day you're above ground you ought to say thank you god and this should help us therefore to have a better appreciation of life because jesus says this in luke 12 verse 23 thereabout he says for life is more than food can i say that again life he says it's more than food and the body more than clothes hey somebody ought to understand what is jesus saying let me tell you what jesus is saying if jesus were here today would say to you your life is more than your mercedes-benz hey if he were here to you today he would say to you your life is more than your six-bedroom house if you were here today would say to you your life is more than the money in the bank if you were here today he would say to you that your life is more than your iphone or your galaxy samsung galaxy or anything like that why because the best blessing in life hallelujah is a life itself and so beloved hezekiah prayed his life was prolonged makes it clear that god hears an answer's prayer and the best blessings in life hallelujah is life itself now beloved the story is therefore about a life prolonged in answer to prayer walk with the preacher we're going somewhere we're going somewhere if the story ended there i would finish my sermon right now and i would just sit down i could do that but but i can't do that beloved because the story did not end there you see the truth is the story goes further to tell us that after receiving this blessing hezekiah made a blunder with his blessing ah can i say that again hezekiah made a blunder with his blessing and this was a significant blunder and the implications of the blunder were even more significant walk with the preacher we're going somewhere we're going somewhere we've already established a later foundation that god hears and answers prayer that the best blessing in life is life itself but now the man gets the best blessing in life and what does he do he makes a blunder with his blessing a significant blunder with his blessing and the implications of his blunder are even more significant so what did he do preacher well i'm glad you asked walk with me carefully and follow me intended because we have to discover this i'm going to show you what happened look what the bible says look what the bible says go back with me to first kings chapter 20. the bible says in those days hezekiah was sick and near death in other words he's terminally ill and isaiah the prophet the son of amos went to him and said to him thus say the lord set your house in order for you shall live and you shall not die now the first thing we notice here the bible says in those days what days is the bible talking about in those days what days well i'm glad you asked listen what the word of god says the bible gives us an idea about those days look at verse 5. listen to verse 5 return and tell ezekiel the leader of my people thus say the lord god the father of david i have heard your prayer and i've seen your tears and and and he says on the third day you shall go up to the house of the lord listen to verse six and i will add to your days 15 years and i will deliver you and the city from the hand of the king of assyria and i will defend this city my own for my own sake and for the sake of my servants walk with the preacher i'm asking you what days are those if you read the story based on first kings chapter 19 to 18 you will quickly realize that hezekiah was living in a time where the king of assyria was surrounding the city of god or jerusalem so walk with a preacher you have your enemies surrounding the city and while his enemies are surrounding the city isaiah comes to him while he is on his sick bed so he's dealing with a national crisis because the enemy is surrounding the city he is sick terminal is sick then isaiah comes to him and tell him you're gonna die i don't know if you're getting the picture my friend but let me see if i can think the picture for you in other words beloved there was a problem of a national crisis and then there was a problem of a health crisis for the king and then the problem was going to be compounded because he was about to die in other words beloved he was having one problem after another can i come close to you and tell you something can i tell you something have you ever been in a situation where when it rains it pours come on don't don't don't don't sit there and tell me oh you've never been there can somebody testify that sometimes when it rains it pours hello the man is dealing with a national crisis and then he has his personal health crisis and then isaiah comes and tell him you're gonna die can i tell somebody that life is a series of problems hello life beloved is a series of problems where we're dealing with one problem after the other and sometimes when we're dealing with one problems after the other it seems like it's raining and it's pouring and it's not raining blessings you know there's a song that says there shall be shower blessings no no no that wasn't raining for hezekiah this was a shower of problems can somebody identify with a preacher tonight life is a series of problems one problem after another oh my friends i'm sure there's somebody here tonight who can identify so like ezekiah you have your health problems not only your health problems you have your home problems not only your home problems you go to work and your problems on the job and then after you have your health problems your home problems your drop problems the band calls and tell you that they want to foreclose on your house one problem after another life my friends you're the preacher is a series of problems but you know what's interesting you know what's interesting although life was a series of problem there's something interesting that the bible says about hezekiah i want you to get this i want you to get this i want you to get this get this get this although life was a series of problems he had the syrians surrounding the city he had his health crisis and now he's told you're gonna die but although all that was happening the bible tells us something very interesting look at hezekiah it's live chapter 2 kings 20 verse 3 says remember me now o lord i pray how i have walked before you in truth and with your loyal heart and have done what was good in your sight and hezekiah wept italy what am i getting at let me show you what isaiah says in isaiah 38 listen to isaiah 38 verse 3 the bible says then verse 2 then hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed to the lord and said remember now oh lord i pray how i have walked before you in truth with a loyal heart and have done what is good in your sight and hezekiah went bitterly preacher what are you getting at what i'm getting at is this my friends although life was a series of problems hezekiah was right with god ah can i say that again can i say that again although life was a series of problems hezekiah was right with god well my friends that may not mean much to you but i want to remind you of something because life is a series of problems because life is a series of difficulties make sure your life is right with god because if you kick the bucket tonight what's going to happen will you make it to heaven or to hell you can only make it into heaven if your life is right with god and i know somebody is wondering i know somebody is wondering preacher but you're telling me the bible says that the isaiah said hezekiah set your house in order so how can you say that his life was spiritually right to god well i know his life was spiritually righteous god because listen to what the bible says in second kings chapter 18 i want to show you something to second kings 18. listen to this listen to this the bible says this hezekiah listen to this now verse 1 second kings 18 now he came to pass in the third year of ashia the son of ilah king of israel that hezekiah the son of a as king of judah began to reign he was 25 years old when he began he became king and he reigned 29 years in jerusalem and listen what the bible says verse 3 and he did what was right in the sight of the lord according to all that his father david had done listen to verse 5 he trusted in the lord god of israel so that after him was none like him among all the kings of judah nor was there any before him why verse six thousands for he held fast to the lord he did not depart from following him but kept his commandments which the lord had commanded moses in other words my friends i'm telling you that although ezekiel was terminally ill and although he was dealing with a national problem and his personal problems his life was right with god and i want to let somebody know tonight my friends because life is a series of problems and you don't know what the future hold the best thing for you to do tonight is to make sure that your life is right with god somebody ought to say amen or type amen in the chat now you're going to say to me preacher but isaiah told him to set his house in order and that's what we're talking about but remember our discovery tonight is what blender did he make clearly he didn't make any blender with his spiritual life because the bible says the man was right with god so what does it mean to set your house in order well i'm going to give you some practical advice right now i'm not going to charge you for this this one is free you don't have to pay me this one is free i'm not going to charge you for it when the bible said to hezekiah set your house in order it simply means that he was supposed to get his temple of fears together hello are you walking with a preacher are you walking the preacher if you walk with a preacher say go ahead and type in the chat preacher i get it preach i get it when the bible says set your house in order it was simply saying put your temple of fears together in other words write a will hello can i give you some practical advice right now my friends can i give you some practical advice setting your fears in order or writing your will will not make your death come any earlier can i say that again let me say that again let me say it again if you put a will together it doesn't mean you're going to die sooner on the contrary if you pull a will put a will together or get your temple of fears together when you die praise god everything will be in order and by the way let me tell you something in this country the united states of america and in many other places if you don't put a will in place the government will have one for you and will divest of your property as they see best putting a will together will not make you die any sooner get your temple of fears in order somebody say man that's what the bible is saying and why was the bible saying that hezekiah beloved at this time never had any children hezekiah was a king without children and a king who doesn't have a child and specifically a son to take over the throne that could lead to problems within the kingdom which is why god was saying to him hey put your fears together so that when you die the work of the kingdom continues on i'm telling somebody if you don't have a will get one because god says we must be practical come on say men and i told you i won't charge you for that one i won't charge for that one so preacher if setting your house in order doesn't mean that he needs to be spiritually ripe with god what was a blunder that he made what was a blunder that he made well clearly his life was right with god so that was in the blender well let's see if we can discover what it is the bible tells us beloved listen to this listen to this listen to this after hezekiah praying listen to verse 4 and it happened before isaiah had gone out into the middle court that the word of the lord came to him saying return and tell hezekiah the leader of my people this is second kings 20 verse 5 i have heard your prayer i have seen your tears and surely i will heal you somebody say amen and then the bible says on the third day you will go up to the house of the lord and i will add to your days listen to this 15 years and i will deliver you and the city from the king of assyria and i will defend the city on my own sake and for the sake of my servant david walker the preacher walk with a preacher remember i told you hezekiah made a blunder with his blessing the blunder wasn't about his temporal affairs because spiritually he was right with god setting your house in order simply means get your temporal affairs together so what blunder did he make but the bible tells us something very interesting about hezekiah the bible tells us that hezekiah and i believe he may be the only one on earth who ever knew this well ma'am the only other person i know of was jesus but hezekiah knew when he was going to die hey i hope you get that i hope you get that hope you get that hezekiah knew when he was going to die the bible says that god said on the third day you're going to get up out of your bed and you're going to get 5 10 15 more years isn't that amazing wouldn't you love to know when you're gonna die hello somebody ought to talk to the preacher right now be honest be honest wouldn't you love to know when you are going to die hezekiah is one of the few persons the only other people i know that knew they were not going to die is jesus and maybe someone else in the bible but hezekiah knew that he had 15 more years to live watch this watch us watch us watches i want to show you how serious this is according to second kings 18 we read it earlier hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king and he reigned for 29 years which means he lived to see 54 years of life which means that if he reigned for 29 years and he was given 14 more years it was in the 14th year of his life that he was sick and was about to die which means he was 39 years old when he was about to die in the prime of his youth and in the prime of his life god gave him 15 more years oh beloved wouldn't you love to know when you're gonna die that would be a unique thing to know and by the way by the way let's face it let's face it if you knew you were gonna die tomorrow what would you do today if you knew you were gonna die three weeks from now what would you do today if you knew you were gonna die ten years from now what would you do today the truth is beloved for some of us if we knew when we were gonna die if you knew for example that you're gonna die tomorrow the thought of dying tomorrow would kill you today somebody ought to walk in the preacher but hezekiah knew when he was going to die i would love to know when i'm going to die but but you know research has proven something which is so true you see many would say to me preacher if i know when i'm gonna die i would make sure that i live for jesus preacher if i knew when i was gonna die i would make sure i give myself to jesus well you're in a worse position now my friends because you don't know when you're gonna die and if you don't know when you're gonna die you need to be prepared for the day by giving your life to jesus christ somebody say man hezekiah knew when he was gonna die he had 15 more years do you know when you're gonna die my friend no you don't as i said earlier you're not the chief executive officer of oxygen and if you don't know when you're gonna die you need to live for jesus today you can get up today and be down tomorrow you can be up today and gone tomorrow james reminds us in james chapter four what is your life it is nothing but a vapor it is here today and gone tomorrow if you don't know when you're gonna die you need to live for jesus or beloved hezekiah jesus and i say somebody in the chat says moses knew when he was gonna die i don't know all the people who knew it but get this get this get this jesus knew when he was gonna die and and the bible made it clear that jesus lived for god i don't know how long you're gonna live but one preacher says that if you're living to see today you ought to praise god i like what the preacher says the preacher says if you live to see 15 what you need to do is this sing a song and what song should you sing ah you ought to sing a song to god be the glory great things he has done so lovely the world that he gave us his son but maybe god will be uh good to you and give you 10 more years and you live to see 25 if you live to see 25 my friends ah what you should sing is this our savior like a shepherd lead as much we need thy tender scare but god may bless you with 10 more years and you'll live to see 35 jesus and lived to see 33 and a half years on this earth if you live to see 35 what you ought to sing is this amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me ah i don't know how long you're going to live but god may bless you with 10 more years and you live to see 45 if you live to see 45 somebody says what you're the singers this what a friend we have in jesus all our sins and griefs to bear what a privilege to carry like hezekiah everything to god in prayer but god may bless you with 10 more years and you'll live to see 55 if god bless you and you live to see 55 what you ought to sing is this great is thy faithfulness oh god my father there is no shadow of turning with thee but god may bless you and he may live to see ah 60 and if you live to see 60 or 65 what you ought to see is this redeemed how i love to proclaim it redeemed by the blood of the lamb but the bible our god may bless you with ten more years and if you live to see ten more years give god thanks because the bible says we are supposed to be given three scores and ten so if you live to see 75 what you ought to sing is this my friend how great is our god sing with me how great is our god but then the bible says that if you get more than 70 you may get 10 more years and by reason of strength 80 so if you're nearing your 80th birthday what you need to sing is this lord i'm coming home i have a god may bless you with 10 more years and you live to see 90. if you live to see 90 what you need to sing is this nearer my god today but god may bless you with ten more years and you'll live to see a hundred if you live to see a hundred my friends what you ought to sing is this precious memories how they linger how they ever float my soul i don't know how long you're gonna live but get this if god has blessed you with life today sing to the goodness of jesus christ god told hezekiah you had 10 more years 15 more years to live the man knew when he was gonna die so the question is this if you know when you're gonna die and if you upset your house in order all your temporal fears how would you live well the question is also this what blunder did izakaya make with his blessing i want to show you this as we close i want to show you this i want to show you this listen to this listen to this listen to what the word of god says second kings 20. better yet let me go to isaiah i want to read it from isaiah isaiah 38 listen to what the word of god says isaiah 39 isaiah 39 after god did something marvelous for hezekiah listen what the bible says firstly in isaiah 38 the bible says in verse 7 that he asked god for a sign in verse 7 of isaiah 38 says and this is a sign to you from the lord that the lord will do this thing which is spoken behold i will bring the shadow of the sundial which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of asia it has 10 degrees backward so the sun returned 10 degrees watch this god said to izaiah set your house in order in other words get your temple of fears in order hezekiah praise god answers the prayer prolongs his life and how does god demonstrate his power god allowed the sun to start marching backward can i tell somebody something today my god controls nature and if god says to the son go back where you're coming from it has to do that the sun went back 10 degrees beloved and when the sun did that the bible says in isaiah 39 listen to this at that time what time when god delivered hezekiah from assyria what time when god prolonged his life gave him 50 more years what time when god turned back the sun when god turned back the sun that time meredith baladan the son of ballard and king of babylon sent letter and prison to hezekiah for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered and hezekiah was pleased with them so when these men heard of what god had done for hezekiah when these men heard about god that caused a son and by the way by the way the bible is very specific because the babylonians worship the sun god and the babylonians said if your god can turn if your god can turn the sun backward we need to know about your god and so they brought presents and they came to hezekiah and when they came to hezekiah listen what the bible says after god demonstrated to the babylonians that i'm bigger than your god listen what happens and hezekiah was pleased with them and showed them the house of his treasures the silver and the gold the spices and the precious ointment and all his armory all that was found among his treasures there was nothing in his house or all in his dominion that hezekiah did not show them then isaiah the prophet went to king hezekiah and said to him what did these men say and from where did they come so hezekiah said they came from a far country from babylon and he said what have they seen in your house so hezekiah answered they have seen all that is in my house there is nothing among the treasures that they have not that i have not shown them then isaiah said to his hezekiah hear the word of the lord the lord of hosts behold the days coming when all that is in your house and what your fathers have accumulated until this day shall be carried to babylon nothing shall be left says the lord and they shall take away some of your sons and your who will descend from you whom you will beget and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of babylon oh beloved i don't know if you know what's going on here the god of heaven showed to the babylonians who worship the sun god that he was more powerful than they and these men came now to hezekiah to hear about the goodness of god when they came to hear about the goodness of god what did they hear what did they see all they heard and all they saw was that which hezekiah hezekiah had acquired his ammunition and armory the silver and gold and all god had blessed him with what blunder did he make with his blessings after god gave him an opportunity to set his house in order and could have and he should have died hear the preacher tonight hear the preacher tonight hezekiah was safer as a sick man in his bed than a healthy man on the throne oh come on somebody hear me now hear me now hezekiah was safer as a sick man on his bed then a healthy man on the throne oh come on somebody hear the preacher tonight sometimes you may wonder why god is not doing more for you and not answering your prayer because god understands my friends that many of us we are better off on our backs looking upon him than sitting on a throne and have in good health why because when they should have been declaring the goodness of god when hezekiah should have been declaring the goodness of god when hezekiah should have been embracing what god had done for him he was showing off all his earthly treasures my friends what are you doing with your blessings tonight what are you doing with the blessings god has given to you he's giving you the best blessing which is life what are you doing with your life he's given your health you have not been killed by closing you still have a roof above you you still have the mercies of god what are you doing with the blessings of god are you making a blunder like hezekiah showing off all that god has given to you instead of showing off god what are you doing my friends with your blessing hezekiah was safer as a sick man on his bed than a healthy king on the throne oh my god all my friends i pray today that god doesn't have to put you on your back before you turn to him because if you're experiencing his blessings right now please please please please turn and give your heart to jesus christ because god knows and god understands that some of us will turn our backs on him if he starts to bless us in a certain way but i would prefer my friends to be safer in my sickbed than to be healthy and disregard god and so i want to beg you today my friends i want to beg you today don't make a blunder with your blessing because it would have been better if hezekiah had written a will and died than regain his health and disregard god because of that the bible tells us that the history of israel took a turn where his descendants one of them was ruthless in the form of king manasseh his only son and many of them went into captivity why because he failed to give glory and honor to god right now my friend right now my friend i'm going to tell you right now in the chat in the chat a link has been posted a link has been posted and i want you to go there right now because the question is this what are you doing with your blessings what are you doing with your blessing my friend what are you doing to your blessings are you making a blunder with your blessings or are you giving god the glory and honor to him and the best way you can do that is to give your life to jesus christ you're going to hear a song in a minute you're going to hear a song in a minute but in the chat go to that link click on that decision that refocus decision link for jesus and when you click on that link it says today i make the following decision for god's grace that's what hezekiah received but he made a blunder don't do the same thing my friend today say i'm a backslider and i want to rededicate my life and be re-baptized if that is you go ahead and click on the link my friend or i am not a christian but i want to repent and prepare for baptism go ahead and click on that link let us know or i am a christian of another denomination and i want to obey all of god's commandment or i am a christian but i want to have a closer walk with jesus please pray for me go ahead and click on the link fill out the card put your name give us your number and tell us all we need to know so that we can work with you because i'm telling you today my friends don't make a blunder with your blessing the best blessing god has given you his life and he wants you to accept jesus christ tonight listen to this song listen to this song and make a decision for jesus christ [Music] if the ship of your life is tossing on the sea of strife you need someone [Music] if you feel you're so alone and your house is not a home you need someone [Music] if it seems life isn't fair and there's no one left to care for all those lonely days and nights when things won't turn out right and you need someone to care and someone to just be there you need someone [Music] i give you jesus he's the peace that passes all understanding oh i give you jesus he's the perfect love that casted out all our peace i give you jesus he's the water that you'll drink and never never thirst again i give you jesus my friend i give you jesus [Music] we give you jesus today we want you to come to know jesus as lord and savior of your life you're watching online my friend you've not yet given your life to jesus make a decision for jesus right now go ahead and click on that link it's right there in the chat make a decision for jesus christ if you once walked with him come back to jesus if you've never walked with him he has given you the blessing of life but he wants to give you life everlasting if you my friends i need to be strengthened in your relationship with him go ahead let us know because we want to pray for you we want you to have jesus so come and give your life to jesus christ pray with the preacher pray with the preacher as we bring it to a close praise with preacher father father thank you so much for what you have done for us through jesus christ thank you for his saving grace thank you for his great love and thank you for his mercies that never cease and tonight god we don't want to make a blunder with our blessings but that's what many of us have done we live how we want do what we want but tonight you want us to understand your goodness should lead us to repentance lead somebody to repentance upright lead somebody to understand that living for you is the best thing that we could ever do lead someone to click on that link right now and to make a decision for jesus christ thank you for this program oh god and as we continue to refocus through your word give us the truths necessary for all salvation and when you come save us by your mighty hand we pray in the holy and precious name of jesus amen and amen amen god bless you my friends thank you so much for joining with us tonight we continue tomorrow morning at 11am please join us right now by the way if you're watching and there's somebody you want to make a decision for jesus send them that link in the chat copy it and send it to them so that they too can make a decision for jesus christ but see you tomorrow morning and tomorrow evening as we continue to refocus and to give god the praise and the glory and as you go don't make a blunder with your blessings give your life to jesus christ and live for him god bless you and have a wonderful night [Music] oh [Music] restores [Music] [Music] he restores my [Music] mind with his healing hands he makes my life complete my reunion [Music] in is [Music] god [Music] he restores is [Music] is god responds [Music] [Music] with his [Music] is [Music] [Music] is is [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Lehigh SDA Church

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Id: MuT7D6Yg6P8

Length: 105min 19sec (6319 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 17 2021