(280) “Perspectives for Difficult Times” with Keith Wheeler

WEBVTT

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I remember during the season, I went outside

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and said, Jesus, I don't understand everything.

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And I felt like he whispered in my soul, son,

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if you understood everything, you'd be me. I

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felt like he said, when your theology fails,

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when your understanding of who I am and of my

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ways fails, I want you to know this. I'll never

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fail you and I'll never forsake you. I'll be

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with you always, even through the valley of the

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shadow of death, even to the ends of the earth.

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And that will be enough. He didn't give me any

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answers for what I was going through, except.

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My presence will go with you. God promises in

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Joel 2 .28 to pour out His Spirit on all humanity.

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Welcome to global outpouring, where we contend

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for that promised outpouring, we equip for that

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outpouring, so that we may engage in that very

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outpouring. I'm Philip Buss. And I'm Sharon Buss.

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Welcome to the podcast today. We are so delighted

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that you're with us and we are delighted to have

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with us for a second part. Our dear friend, Keith

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Wheeler, a man who has been used by God in such

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a powerful way in the nations as he just obeys

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God, going from place to place, carrying a cross,

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a 12 -foot cross. And he crosses the oceans with

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it in an airplane and sets it up. It comes in

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pieces, actually. And he puts it together and

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he walks and he never knows where he's going

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to sleep. He often goes places where nobody even

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knows him. But God has led him there and he uses

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him to bring Jesus into people's lives. And in

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this episode, he's going to share with us some

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very amazing experiences that have given him

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a real perspective. Thanks so much for joining

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us today. We're so happy that you're with us.

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And once again, you're going to enjoy this episode

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with Keith Wheeler. But before we get started,

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we want to encourage you, if you haven't already

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done so, that you go to our website, globaloutpouring

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.net, that you have made sure that you're on

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our email lists. There's a green subscribe button

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there that you can subscribe. And you can find

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out all the other wonderful things that we have

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on our website. future events that we have coming

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up and blogs that you can read. And hey, you

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can even go to wherever your smartphone store

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is that you can download apps and you can download

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the app, the Global Outpouring ETH app. It's

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out there for you and it helps you to stay connected

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and see what's going on and get notifications.

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And you can even put prayer requests on our prayer

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wall and you can join groups. that we can interact

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together. There's lots of things that you can

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do there. And we want to encourage you to get

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that app. Well, Keith Wheeler, thank you so much

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for joining us again. We enjoyed that last episode

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so, so much that we just felt like, oh, Holy

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Spirit, you've got to give us more. We need more

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out of this man. So thank you for joining us

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again. Thanks. What a treasure. What a treat

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to be rejoined with you guys. I know. Getting

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ready for this episode, you told us about how

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you've actually listened to some of our podcasts

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because we have a mutual friend. Yes, Pastor

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Larry Mariello. I love that. Dear brother. Oh,

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yes, he is. I actually spoke with him yesterday.

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Really? Oh, well, we'll both have to text him

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and say we just did two podcasts. Yes, we will.

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We will. Oh, that's great. That's great. So you've

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been telling us some things. Fairly recently,

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you had a heart attack. You had heart surgery.

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We heard about that. And so we were praying for

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you. I don't know if we reached out to you at

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the time. I don't remember that, but I probably

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did. I don't know. To be honest, there was a

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season that I don't remember much of. Yeah. So

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you have on airlines, you told us you've probably

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got more than five, six million miles going.

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Total, going to the nations, easily that. Correct.

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And thousands of miles, surely, walking with

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the cross. Is it a million yet, do you think?

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No, not even. The distance at the equator is

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24 ,901 and a half miles. And I jokingly say

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the only ones who will know that are those who

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are either going to win like Jeopardy or somebody

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who's a geography geek. Or somebody who's actually

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walked that distance. And in October of 2018,

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with God's help, I actually took the step that

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equaled that distance. As best as, you know,

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there's no exact science to that. But as best

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as we can do. That was the step. And I tried

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to take it the month leading down. It was a countdown.

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And I got to where, okay, if I walk from here

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to here, I can actually finish where I began.

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Wow. And it couldn't have been more precious

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the way Jesus set it up. It was in October and

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the weather had been just spectacular. Beautiful

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fall weather in the high 60s, low 70s. Oh, that's

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perfect. And the day that I got to do it, cold

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front came in and it was. cold and hard rain.

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I was in the low 40s. I'm sure a whole lot of

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people would have come out. There were people

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that were still there. But I said, Jesus, this

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is so perfect because this has been my journey

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with the cross. It's never been for fans. friends

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it's it's just been all for your glory and you've

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given me all kinds of weather you said you'll

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cause the rain to rain on the just and the sun

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same way in fact years ago i i remember one of

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my walks i was walking through europe it was

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one of my early walks and it rained every day

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it was it was the coldest summer they'd ever

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had and the wettest And it rained every day and

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every night for eight days straight. And I didn't

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have a place to sleep. No. No, there was no hotels,

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no homes asking me to come in. The best I found

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was a barn and I slept in a pile of manure. Because

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that was the driest part. And so I was just,

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I was cold. I was shaking. And I remember after

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eight days, I said, Jesus. James said this. He

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said that Elijah was a man with a nature like

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ours. And he prayed and it didn't rain for three

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and a half years. Could you just stop the rain?

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And the rain started letting up and then the

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rain stopped. Wow. Hallelujah. And about 15 minutes

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later, all of a sudden the rain came down harder.

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I said, Jesus, you said in your word. And I felt

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like he said, son, I did write that. But I also

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wrote that I send the rain. on the just and the

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unjust alike. Have fun. And I learned something.

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So often we struggle against things we have no

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control over. And it creates stress. It creates

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anxiety. It creates fear. I don't have control

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over the weather. He does. It's his weather.

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And I've learned to walk whether it's hot or

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whether it's cold. I've walked in temperatures

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almost 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Roadside temperature,

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I don't know. I actually, behind me, I've got

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a basket of shoes, old shoes I've worn around

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the world. And one of those is the shoes. It

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was a Vibram sole. The sole burnt off. It melted

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the Vibram on it. And I've got that in that basket.

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I walked as cold as minus 57. So it extremes.

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And I've walked in flood conditions and blizzard

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conditions. And Jesus has promised to be with

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me always. Even through the valley of the shadow

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of the dead, even to the end of the age or the

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ends of the earth, He has promised. And I love

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what Moses prayed. He said, Lord, if you don't

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go with me, don't send us. Because what else

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is going to separate us from all the other peoples

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on the planet? It's the nearness, the intimacy,

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the sweetness, the goodness of His presence.

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And that's been the greatest truth of this journey

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with the cross. Beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful.

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So you've walked through all extremes of weather.

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You mentioned in our last episode about how you

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stood before a firing squad, and you mentioned

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in passing, like, oh, just another thing that

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happened. And you've been beaten. I've been beaten

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and left for dead twice. I was unconscious for

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about three weeks one time. I've been stoned

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with rocks. I've had knives pointed at me, swords

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at my neck, guns pointed in my eye, in my ear,

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up my nose, in my mouth, at my neck, firing squads.

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More than one firing squad? Well, even when you

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say firing squad, to be technical. I don't have

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a cigarette in my mouth and a blindfold over

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my eyes. So it's not the banditos kind, but it's,

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yeah. I mean, where you're standing before multiple

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guns and they're counting one, two. But I've

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been snake bit on my finger, on my fourth finger,

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on my right hand. I've got a scar on my forehead

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where a spider bit me in the Amazon. And it rotted

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and nearly killed me. The skin on the top part

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of my forehead is from my behind when I was beaten.

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And they had to take that skin and do a skin

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graft. I've been bitten on the neck by a monkey,

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on the behind by a baboon. I've been chased by

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rhinos and elephants and hippos. Almost eaten

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by a lion. That's one of my funny... In fact,

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I'll tell that in just a moment. It just shows

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the grace of God. So the firing squad, they count

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one, two, put the clips in, and they all fall

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backwards, screaming like little girls. The light,

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it's too bright. It's too strong. I never saw

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them move. I mean, I never saw light. I never

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felt anything. Then they left their guns. They

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had two big King Cat trucks jumping in, spinning

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gravel, and they ran away. Wow. I thought it

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was a dream or maybe a vision that I'm still

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outside. I'm still missing teeth. Even to this

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day, they knocked out two in my lower jaw. So

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I was still bleeding from that. The guns were

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still there. And those guys came back a couple

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of times. People say, how come you didn't leave?

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I say, where do we go? Yeah, right. I mean, these

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guys know the jungle like the back of their hand.

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Right. We're just passing through. And also,

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that place was pretty safe right there. But more

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important, when do you stop running? It's not

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wrong to be afraid. It's what you do with your

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fears that matter. So that was very supernatural.

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On the other hand, very natural. I was walking

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down the road one evening in western Uganda.

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And sometimes my road takes me through game parks.

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And I was going through this area where they

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had animals. And I saw on the hill far away there

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were three female lions. But I mean, they were

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far away. And so I wasn't really concerned. And

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I kept walking and sun is setting. I don't know

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where I'm going to sleep in a car. A truck slows

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down and the driver says, get in the car. And

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I said, no, no, I'm walking. I'm walking for

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Jesus. No, you must get in the car now. Almost

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angry. I said, no, no, it's okay. I'm walking

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for Jesus. He loves you. And this cross is a

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reminder how much he loves you. He died for you.

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You can know him. He's alive. And he says, yes,

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I know that. But if you don't get in the car

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right now, you will die. And I said, peace, my

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friend, peace. He goes, me? Not me. The lion,

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he will eat you. And he looked and probably 15

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yards in front of me, there was a, I've got a

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picture because I actually got in the car. There

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was a male lion right by the side of the road

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where the road had been. shoved off by a road

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grader. So you have the dirt right there and

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there was a big thorny bush and I couldn't see

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on the other side of the thorny bush, the lion.

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So that's why I got Indica. I guess. So there's,

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you know, how many times though daily do we,

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you know, I mean, we go down the highway going

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65 miles an hour and someone's. Passing the other

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side, if they look at their cell phone or take

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their eye off the road. Yeah. Or, you know, where

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you guys live, you know, you go out for a walk

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and there's a copperhead and you don't see it.

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Yeah. You reach underneath the sink for something

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and there's a brown recluse spider. I don't know.

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Or even in the night, you know, so. Life is a

00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:30.559
gift. Life is a gift. And we got bears, too.

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Yes. Yeah. And mountain lions. And mountain lions

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and wolves. Yeah, right. Wow, you're right. So,

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I mean, life is a gift, and we're not guaranteed

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the next moment. How are we going to choose to

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use our breaths and our heartbeats? And my goal

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has been I want my heart to beat in unison with

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the heartbeat of Jesus. Probably my favorite

00:13:56.590 --> 00:13:59.830
scripture in the Bible is John 13, verse 23.

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And I would sign it to my name if people, if

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it was a little clearer. But it says there was

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leaning on Jesus' chest, the disciple that he

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loved. Yeah. When you lean your head on someone's

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chest, you hear something nobody else can hear.

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True. You hear their heartbeat. And the only

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way to do that, though, is by drawing near. And

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near enough that you press in. And I think I've

00:14:23.289 --> 00:14:26.039
heard his heartbeat. And I don't think his heartbeat

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goes bump, bump, bump, bump. His heartbeat goes

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people, people, people. I've never forgotten

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that. I remember hearing you say that years ago.

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And I've told my fairy tale princess, I had a,

00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:44.039
with my heart attack last year, I've been telling

00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:45.720
her I'm going to have a heart attack. It's, it's

00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:49.860
just inevitable. My heart is so tiny and my love

00:14:49.860 --> 00:14:53.460
for Jesus and my love for her. family and the

00:14:53.460 --> 00:14:56.559
peoples of this world, it doesn't fit in there.

00:14:57.059 --> 00:15:01.080
My heart is just going to explode one day. So

00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:04.120
tell us about this experience that you had that

00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:07.419
caused you to have to have heart surgery. Well,

00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:10.240
you look at me and I'm pretty fit. And that's

00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:13.200
what we all thought. You know, I worked out on

00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:15.720
a regular basis, but apparently I'd been having

00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:18.490
heart attacks for four and a half years. I guess

00:15:18.490 --> 00:15:20.190
the doctors can look at your heart when they

00:15:20.190 --> 00:15:22.950
get in there and kind of like rings on a tree

00:15:22.950 --> 00:15:25.850
and tell whether you've been having drought season

00:15:25.850 --> 00:15:28.470
or whatever. They said those heart attacks had

00:15:28.470 --> 00:15:30.070
only been about a two and a half to three and

00:15:30.070 --> 00:15:33.690
a half on the Richter scale. But September of

00:15:33.690 --> 00:15:38.870
23, I came home from a trip and I felt like Jesus

00:15:38.870 --> 00:15:41.250
said, I want you to stay home for the next four

00:15:41.250 --> 00:15:44.629
months. So in other words, I don't want you traveling

00:15:44.629 --> 00:15:49.840
until the new year. till January 24. And I want

00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:52.440
you to begin working on a book intentionally.

00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:56.039
I've dabbled at the book for a while, but just

00:15:56.039 --> 00:15:59.720
be intentional about it. So January came and

00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:03.639
I spoke at my home church to the youth. The next

00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:06.639
week I traveled by car out to Western Oklahoma

00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:10.799
and I spoke at my first big service in over four

00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:15.470
months. The next week I flew to Upstate New York

00:16:15.470 --> 00:16:17.210
actually had to fly to get there, had to fly

00:16:17.210 --> 00:16:20.070
through New Hampshire and then drive. And on

00:16:20.070 --> 00:16:23.429
the way, I felt really weird. And I don't even

00:16:23.429 --> 00:16:26.070
know how to describe it, but I felt really weird.

00:16:26.169 --> 00:16:30.149
And I got up there and I was better. But Saturday

00:16:30.149 --> 00:16:32.950
night before I spoke on Sunday morning, once

00:16:32.950 --> 00:16:35.990
again, I felt really weird. And this time the

00:16:35.990 --> 00:16:38.909
feeling was like someone had put a blood pressure

00:16:38.909 --> 00:16:41.590
cuff on my arm too tight and they put their thumb

00:16:41.590 --> 00:16:44.600
up underneath me. And a friend had had a heart

00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:46.580
attack and my wife had just got me a brand new

00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:49.039
watch for my anniversary. And the readings were

00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:52.759
off the charts. And I was like, man, I must not

00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:55.299
know how to work my watch because it's telling

00:16:55.299 --> 00:16:58.799
me that I'm sick and I can't be that sick. But

00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:01.399
my friend had these symptoms. So I did all the

00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:03.679
things you're supposed to do. I ate a banana.

00:17:03.940 --> 00:17:06.099
It was cold outside. I went for a walk in the

00:17:06.099 --> 00:17:09.119
snow and took a cold shower. I couldn't sleep.

00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:13.039
And after really wrestling. I checked into the

00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:18.279
ER and my wife made me do it. She was home and

00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:20.700
she told me I was trying to avoid her. And I

00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:24.019
was because I told her something was wrong. I'd

00:17:24.019 --> 00:17:26.339
actually even written a goodbye letter to her

00:17:26.339 --> 00:17:30.559
just in case. Because I knew something was off.

00:17:30.700 --> 00:17:33.940
But I didn't want to go on an ambulance. And

00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:36.299
finally, the pastors where I was going to speak,

00:17:36.339 --> 00:17:40.000
their phones were off. The guy at the hotel couldn't

00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:42.079
take me because he couldn't leave the desk. So

00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:46.539
I had to call 911. And I said, listen, there's

00:17:46.539 --> 00:17:50.319
a lot of clients here in the hotel and you're

00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:52.799
not going to know who called you. If you guys

00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:56.099
come with your bells ringing, if your buzzer

00:17:56.099 --> 00:17:59.460
is buzzing and your sirens flashing, I'm not

00:17:59.460 --> 00:18:01.960
coming out. But if you come stealth mode, I'll

00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:05.519
get in. And they did. I went to the hospital.

00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:08.559
And after seven hours, I said, if I'm not dying

00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:12.480
and if I'm not needing surgery, I'm preaching

00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:15.539
in 15 minutes and I need to preach. So I did.

00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:18.420
Oh, my. I walked out and I preached and I flew

00:18:18.420 --> 00:18:21.640
home the next day. And two days later, flew to

00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:25.259
Phoenix, Arizona, preached for a week, carried

00:18:25.259 --> 00:18:28.019
the cross out there actually at altitude and

00:18:28.019 --> 00:18:31.200
no problems and came home. And two days later,

00:18:31.299 --> 00:18:33.819
I was getting ready to go to Africa. Now, here's

00:18:33.819 --> 00:18:35.559
the embarrassing thing and the humbling thing.

00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:40.019
And this is my confession of pride. I had never

00:18:40.019 --> 00:18:42.539
had a physical in my life. I didn't even have

00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:45.259
a primary care physician. I had had a lot of

00:18:45.259 --> 00:18:48.420
tune -up jobs on my journey. I'd broken over

00:18:48.420 --> 00:18:51.480
50 bones. And so I've had to go in for patch

00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:56.039
-up jobs, repair jobs. But for a physical, because

00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:58.920
of fear and because of pride, I hadn't gone.

00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:02.279
The pride part was, and I didn't say it this

00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:05.420
way. I promise I didn't say it. I think deep

00:19:05.420 --> 00:19:08.099
down in my heart, I felt this way. I'm Keith

00:19:08.099 --> 00:19:11.059
Wheeler. I'm tough. I can push through anything.

00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:14.839
The doctor said that last four months when God

00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:17.599
had me stay home, that if I would have traveled

00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:19.799
during that four months from September to January,

00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:23.359
that I would have died. Had I flown 100%. They

00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:25.680
were surprised that I was still alive. But I

00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:28.339
was just, you know, I've walked across deserts.

00:19:28.339 --> 00:19:29.799
I've walked through jungles. I've walked through

00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:35.900
wars. Sure. Whatever I was experiencing, I attributed

00:19:35.900 --> 00:19:40.359
those pains to broken bones, all the things.

00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:43.640
So I had symptoms. I ignored them because I thought

00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:46.859
they were something else. Wow. I nearly died

00:19:46.859 --> 00:19:49.140
from COVID. I'd had broken ribs, a punctured

00:19:49.140 --> 00:19:53.559
lung, and COVID all at the same time. And so

00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:56.319
you can see, I just thought it was the residual

00:19:56.319 --> 00:20:01.680
of all of that. And then the fear part, it's

00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:04.079
not the fear that I'm going to die. No, that's

00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:06.680
a win -win situation. Yeah. Well, the fear for

00:20:06.680 --> 00:20:11.440
me was 65 years old, 63, I guess at the time.

00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:15.180
And if you look at any 60 plus year old guy at

00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:17.500
his body, especially somebody who's eaten and

00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:19.279
drank all the things and been exposed to as much,

00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:21.519
you're going to find something. And I've watched

00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:25.630
the TV commercials about meds. 75 % of the medicine

00:20:25.630 --> 00:20:28.509
commercial is about all the side effects. So

00:20:28.509 --> 00:20:30.130
then you're going to have to take more meds and

00:20:30.130 --> 00:20:31.710
then your insurance rates are going to go up.

00:20:31.890 --> 00:20:35.529
No, thanks. I'm just going to opt out. If Jesus

00:20:35.529 --> 00:20:37.630
wants me to keep going, he'll keep me going was

00:20:37.630 --> 00:20:41.190
kind of my motto. But I came home and was getting

00:20:41.190 --> 00:20:44.490
ready to go to Africa. And I was going to be

00:20:44.490 --> 00:20:46.890
leaving on a Saturday. But on Thursday night,

00:20:47.170 --> 00:20:50.509
I had the same symptoms that I had that caused

00:20:50.509 --> 00:20:54.089
me to go to the hospital in New York. And so

00:20:54.089 --> 00:20:56.589
when I woke up, my wife said, if you weren't

00:20:56.589 --> 00:20:59.309
traveling with somebody to Africa, I was going

00:20:59.309 --> 00:21:01.150
to West Africa, Ivory Coast, Cote d 'Ivoire,

00:21:01.250 --> 00:21:06.349
which has no health system. But she says, if

00:21:06.349 --> 00:21:07.769
you weren't traveling with somebody, would you

00:21:07.769 --> 00:21:10.089
still go? I said, I don't think so. I think I

00:21:10.089 --> 00:21:12.750
would stay home and just figure out what's going

00:21:12.750 --> 00:21:17.789
on. She goes, could you please? So we had a friend.

00:21:17.849 --> 00:21:20.369
He arranged a stress test. I showed up at the

00:21:20.369 --> 00:21:22.450
stress test. The lady looked at me and it's on

00:21:22.450 --> 00:21:26.509
Friday. At 11 a .m., doctors leave at noon. And

00:21:26.509 --> 00:21:29.869
she said, I can't give you this because the test

00:21:29.869 --> 00:21:31.990
that you're going to pass, you look in great

00:21:31.990 --> 00:21:34.289
shape. You're going to pass this test you need

00:21:34.289 --> 00:21:37.569
to take is the nuclear test. So they tried. And

00:21:37.569 --> 00:21:39.430
by now I'm having the symptoms again. So I go

00:21:39.430 --> 00:21:43.089
to the ER and I wait three and a half hours in

00:21:43.089 --> 00:21:45.730
the ER and they don't see me. And finally, my

00:21:45.730 --> 00:21:48.250
wife says, baby, let's go home. I'd rather you

00:21:48.250 --> 00:21:51.210
die at home than here in this place. Oh, my.

00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:55.599
And so we start home, but now I've got a primary

00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:58.539
care doctor who actually has become a dear, dear

00:21:58.539 --> 00:22:00.900
friend of mine. We want to say thank you to him

00:22:00.900 --> 00:22:02.440
and his nurses for trying to get me into the

00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:05.519
nuclear test. So we take him some gift cards

00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:08.740
from Chipotle. It was on the way home. And I

00:22:08.740 --> 00:22:11.240
walk into their office and they say, oh my gosh,

00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:14.460
turn around and go straight to the ER. And I

00:22:14.460 --> 00:22:15.980
said, well, that's where we've just come from.

00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:18.579
And they said, you need to go to the other one.

00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:20.640
There's another hospital. Go to the other one.

00:22:21.420 --> 00:22:23.660
I go to the other one, and the receptionist looks

00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:25.359
at me, and she doesn't even take my information.

00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:29.259
She said, oh, my goodness, come right away. And

00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:31.880
she calls Code Blue, calls everybody to come

00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:35.319
get me, and they start working on me. My first

00:22:35.319 --> 00:22:39.220
nurse of all places, she was from Ivory Coast,

00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:42.559
West Africa. Oh, my goodness. But I looked at

00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:47.339
my princess, my wife, and I said, baby, I'm not

00:22:47.339 --> 00:22:49.700
going to Africa tomorrow. But we're getting ready

00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:51.740
to go on the best mission trip we've ever gone

00:22:51.740 --> 00:22:54.799
on. It's going to be the hardest one. It's going

00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:56.220
to be the most painful one. It's going to be

00:22:56.220 --> 00:22:59.539
the most expensive one for sure. It's going to

00:22:59.539 --> 00:23:03.440
be the best one. And I promise you, it was. It

00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:06.859
100 % was the best mission trip we've ever been

00:23:06.859 --> 00:23:10.940
on. Wow. We had Chipotle parties for all the

00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:13.839
nurses. Chipotle bashes is what we call them.

00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:16.460
Pizza parties for... We wanted to be the room

00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:19.160
that every doctor, every tech, every nurse wanted

00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:21.779
to come. We wanted to celebrate them. Before

00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:24.200
they ask me how I'm doing, I'm going to ask you,

00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:27.359
how are you doing? And there's not going to be

00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:28.960
anybody that's going to come in there that's

00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:30.759
not going to get a Jesus sticker. We had Jesus

00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:33.200
stickers, little stones with crosses carved in

00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:35.720
them, and those little wooden crosses from, olive

00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:38.339
wood crosses from Bethlehem. We give them to

00:23:38.339 --> 00:23:40.200
everybody. You're not going to get out of my

00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:43.079
room. You can't leave unless I pray. I totally

00:23:43.079 --> 00:23:46.019
manipulated the situation. I said, listen, you

00:23:46.019 --> 00:23:49.880
can't deny a dying man his last request. Oh,

00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:54.619
my. And so many other things. The night before

00:23:54.619 --> 00:23:56.859
I had to have my surgery, they realized, you

00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:59.599
know, your widow maker is 100 % blocked. You've

00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:04.799
got major blockages, other arteries. So I said,

00:24:04.859 --> 00:24:08.660
well, this may be the last time I'm on this planet.

00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:11.319
I need to go outside. And the night before my

00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:14.140
surgery, they got clearance. I went outside.

00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:17.720
One of my best friends, my wife, my princess,

00:24:17.819 --> 00:24:21.059
and a nurse. But before I went out there, it's

00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:24.000
a Catholic hospital here in town. And the little

00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:27.019
receptionist outside, her name was Summer. She

00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:28.900
said, Mr. Wheeler, you can't leave without this.

00:24:29.079 --> 00:24:31.819
In every room, they have a crucifix. And she

00:24:31.819 --> 00:24:33.859
jumped up on the wall, pulled the crucifix off

00:24:33.859 --> 00:24:36.220
and said, now you can go outside. You can carry

00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:41.140
the cross. And so that became my journey. Somebody

00:24:41.140 --> 00:24:43.480
else gave me a cross where we weren't stealing

00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:46.920
it from the hospital. But I had a little wooden

00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:50.839
cross in every walk around the hall, every exercise

00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:53.559
that I did all along the way. I did with that

00:24:53.559 --> 00:24:56.660
on my shoulder, reminding me that there's a purpose

00:24:56.660 --> 00:25:01.019
in this. So as they wheel me downstairs, I said,

00:25:01.059 --> 00:25:03.880
I need you guys to know a couple things. Number

00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:07.359
one. You're about to saw me open, crack me open

00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:10.099
and pull my heart out. And a lot of people are

00:25:10.099 --> 00:25:11.779
praying for me. So you may get in there and you

00:25:11.779 --> 00:25:14.740
may say, oh, crud, because you're going to see

00:25:14.740 --> 00:25:16.440
a miracle. You're going to say, what are we going

00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:18.259
to tell his wife? We didn't need to do this to

00:25:18.259 --> 00:25:21.019
him. I said, or you're going to do that when

00:25:21.019 --> 00:25:22.559
you hold my heart in your hand. You're going

00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:26.180
to say, oh, that's what Jesus looks like because

00:25:26.180 --> 00:25:28.619
he lives right in the middle of my heart. And

00:25:28.619 --> 00:25:31.900
I know that you guys are some of the. best physicians

00:25:31.900 --> 00:25:33.640
around, but I'd like to introduce you before

00:25:33.640 --> 00:25:37.940
I go under to the greatest physician. And I have

00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:40.160
them there. A couple of guys, doctors give their

00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:43.519
lives to Jesus. I said, I'm sure that you, you

00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:46.480
know, once I get in there, you put me to sleep,

00:25:46.579 --> 00:25:49.940
take off my robe. You guys dance around, play

00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:52.240
loud music and do what you're supposed to do.

00:25:52.819 --> 00:25:55.519
Can I give you this playlist? And I had on my

00:25:55.519 --> 00:25:58.660
phone instrumental worship. I said, can you just

00:25:58.660 --> 00:26:01.569
play this while I'm under? And they did, and

00:26:01.569 --> 00:26:04.630
they loved it. I said, and the last thing, I'm

00:26:04.630 --> 00:26:07.990
sure you guys are amazing, but in baseball, if

00:26:07.990 --> 00:26:10.910
you hit it four times out of 10, every time you

00:26:10.910 --> 00:26:12.349
come up to the plate, and that doesn't even count

00:26:12.349 --> 00:26:15.809
swings, four out of 10, you'll end up, make a

00:26:15.809 --> 00:26:17.329
career of that, you'll be in the Hall of Fame.

00:26:17.869 --> 00:26:20.769
My wife is a freshman counselor. Six out of 10

00:26:20.769 --> 00:26:23.309
will get you to the next year. I hope you're

00:26:23.309 --> 00:26:25.130
better than Hall of Fame baseball players and

00:26:25.130 --> 00:26:27.970
freshmen trying to go to sophomore year. But

00:26:27.970 --> 00:26:30.269
if you have an off day today and I close my eyes

00:26:30.269 --> 00:26:33.430
and open them and see Jesus, it's a win. But

00:26:33.430 --> 00:26:35.730
if I close my eyes today and I open them and

00:26:35.730 --> 00:26:38.609
I see my fairy tale princess, it's a win. Either

00:26:38.609 --> 00:26:43.049
way, it's a win -win. Have fun today. Wow. And

00:26:43.049 --> 00:26:47.789
the rest of the story is the surgery was a success.

00:26:48.089 --> 00:26:50.869
I made it to the room. Obviously, it's still

00:26:50.869 --> 00:26:55.109
cardiac critical care unit. But I'm recovered.

00:26:55.950 --> 00:26:59.609
three hours out of surgery. And the nurse just

00:26:59.609 --> 00:27:01.809
came by to get some vitals and my heart stopped.

00:27:03.289 --> 00:27:07.089
And my fairy tale princess was right there. Next

00:27:07.089 --> 00:27:10.009
to her, my best friend since 1978 was there.

00:27:10.650 --> 00:27:13.730
And I loved that she didn't run away. She moved

00:27:13.730 --> 00:27:18.210
toward. And I'm convinced that in hospitals and

00:27:18.210 --> 00:27:21.519
these units, they have ninja nurses. because

00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:24.140
in no time there were 13 nurses all around me

00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:27.359
trying to resuscitate me and bring me back. I

00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:29.640
think they hide under your bed or behind the

00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:31.700
plants in the corner, come out of the ceiling

00:27:31.700 --> 00:27:34.619
tiles, but they were there. And they were great.

00:27:34.859 --> 00:27:38.059
But people ask me, and you did before, and you

00:27:38.059 --> 00:27:41.220
said, we'll wait until. Yeah. Did you see Jesus?

00:27:42.299 --> 00:27:45.819
I'm convinced Jesus wants me here. Because that

00:27:45.819 --> 00:27:49.480
four months leading up to it, and I won't talk

00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:52.819
about this, but. Right before in September, I

00:27:52.819 --> 00:27:56.019
was in Florida. I've never had this experience,

00:27:56.160 --> 00:28:01.259
but Jesus came to me. And I won't describe it,

00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:04.519
but I mean, physically, I saw him walk on the

00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:07.640
water, take five steps on the water. He didn't

00:28:07.640 --> 00:28:10.619
say anything, but it was amazing. And I think

00:28:10.619 --> 00:28:16.480
he was preparing me for this. But that four months,

00:28:16.579 --> 00:28:21.299
had I traveled, I would have been dead. So he

00:28:21.299 --> 00:28:24.579
wants me here. And people say, did you see him?

00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:28.059
I said, well, if I would have seen him, I'd still

00:28:28.059 --> 00:28:33.059
be with him. He's too beautiful to step back

00:28:33.059 --> 00:28:39.920
from. He knows me, but he came to me and he spoke

00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:43.500
with me. He stood behind me and he put his right

00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:45.539
hand on my right shoulder. And when your kids

00:28:45.539 --> 00:28:47.579
are little and they're afraid to do something,

00:28:47.619 --> 00:28:49.440
you squeeze their shoulder like you've got this.

00:28:50.299 --> 00:28:52.579
He squeezed me three times. I can tell you exactly

00:28:52.579 --> 00:28:54.700
where his four fingers were and where his thumb

00:28:54.700 --> 00:28:58.859
was. And he didn't whisper, but there was definitely

00:28:58.859 --> 00:29:03.000
no thunder. And his face was right here, four

00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:05.519
inches, three inches from mine. And he just gently,

00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:10.900
but so strongly said, my son, you don't have

00:29:10.900 --> 00:29:15.420
to be afraid. I'm here and I'm with you. Beautiful.

00:29:15.619 --> 00:29:18.910
And then he let me know that I had died. Told

00:29:18.910 --> 00:29:21.750
me technically what had happened to me. And I

00:29:21.750 --> 00:29:23.349
think that was for the purpose of the doctors

00:29:23.349 --> 00:29:26.569
so I could tell them. And then he said, but don't

00:29:26.569 --> 00:29:31.210
be afraid. I was dead. And I'm alive now. And

00:29:31.210 --> 00:29:33.410
I'm the one who holds the keys to death and the

00:29:33.410 --> 00:29:37.430
grave. So don't be afraid. I'm here. And I'm

00:29:37.430 --> 00:29:41.750
with you. Wow. And once again, the greatest truth

00:29:41.750 --> 00:29:46.009
of my life has been his presence. Yes. I mean,

00:29:46.029 --> 00:29:49.730
that says. As I have walked down the road, people

00:29:49.730 --> 00:29:52.309
say, first of all, do you have a plan when you

00:29:52.309 --> 00:29:54.329
go to these countries? I say, Jesus has a plan.

00:29:54.910 --> 00:29:57.829
This is my plan. Jesus has a plan. I don't want

00:29:57.829 --> 00:29:59.890
there to be any explanation for Keith Wheeler's

00:29:59.890 --> 00:30:01.609
life when they put him in the ground the last

00:30:01.609 --> 00:30:07.430
time besides Jesus. And when I go someplace,

00:30:07.809 --> 00:30:11.009
many times I don't know anybody over there. Most

00:30:11.009 --> 00:30:12.809
of the time, I don't know anybody over there

00:30:12.809 --> 00:30:16.720
except Jesus. And the only one I know who's going

00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:21.759
to speak English for sure is Jesus. And the only

00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:24.079
one I know for sure who knows where I'm going

00:30:24.079 --> 00:30:28.779
to sleep is Jesus. Wow. And some nights he's

00:30:28.779 --> 00:30:33.099
had me sleep on park benches or bus stops. I

00:30:33.099 --> 00:30:34.720
can promise you that he slept there with me.

00:30:35.180 --> 00:30:38.460
He's been with me. And some nights I've slept,

00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:41.579
it's been raining and he's helped me find either

00:30:41.579 --> 00:30:44.839
a bridge that I could sleep under. Or he's helped

00:30:44.839 --> 00:30:48.779
me find a playground. I sleep under a slide to

00:30:48.779 --> 00:30:51.240
get out of a little bit of rain. But he was with

00:30:51.240 --> 00:30:54.940
me. Some nights I've been in prison, surrounded

00:30:54.940 --> 00:30:57.799
by other people. But Jesus was right there with

00:30:57.799 --> 00:31:01.579
me. Some nights I get to stay in somebody's home.

00:31:01.619 --> 00:31:04.900
They invite me, and that's just the best. Sometimes

00:31:04.900 --> 00:31:06.619
that's the king or the prime minister or the

00:31:06.619 --> 00:31:10.819
president. But some nights, I don't have a place.

00:31:11.639 --> 00:31:14.400
And I walk all night long because Jesus just

00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:18.960
wants to visit with me. And I just say, how can

00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:22.559
you describe that? How do you describe that feeling

00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:26.680
of getting on a plane and going where I've never

00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:29.680
been? And I don't know a soul and nothing is

00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:32.299
arranged. How do you describe that? And going

00:31:32.299 --> 00:31:33.539
to sleep and you don't know where you're going

00:31:33.539 --> 00:31:36.900
to sleep. How do you describe how your body feels

00:31:36.900 --> 00:31:38.480
at the end of the day when you walked in the

00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:42.450
hot heat? All day long, the cross is bearing

00:31:42.450 --> 00:31:46.390
down on you. Your sun burned or you're wet. Your

00:31:46.390 --> 00:31:48.390
eyes are stinging from sweat dripping in your

00:31:48.390 --> 00:31:51.569
eyes. You're so thirsty and dehydrated you can't

00:31:51.569 --> 00:31:54.049
even spit. How do you describe that? Your feet

00:31:54.049 --> 00:31:56.609
are blistered. And it's all you can do to take

00:31:56.609 --> 00:31:59.470
another step. And everything in me is crying

00:31:59.470 --> 00:32:03.930
out to stop. I think there's only one word. That's

00:32:03.930 --> 00:32:07.930
glory. It's the beauty and the glory of God.

00:32:08.430 --> 00:32:15.460
Because He's there. Wow. Glory to God. You know,

00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:21.519
there's physical abuse and physical trauma, really,

00:32:21.619 --> 00:32:24.079
that you've been through and, you know, weather

00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:26.880
and all this sort of thing. But there have also

00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:30.700
been heartaches. And I think you've been through

00:32:30.700 --> 00:32:34.680
times where, thinking of the book of Job. you

00:32:34.680 --> 00:32:37.720
know, first his kids are wiped out and then his,

00:32:37.799 --> 00:32:40.019
I don't remember the order of them, but you know,

00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:42.960
the flocks are gone, the herds are gone, the

00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:45.759
kids are gone, everything, bang, bang, bang,

00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:48.539
bang, bang, bang. And now he's covered with boils.

00:32:49.660 --> 00:32:53.839
Sometimes life brings us those series of things.

00:32:54.579 --> 00:32:59.900
And I can tell from your description of your

00:32:59.900 --> 00:33:04.410
walk with Jesus that He has been, I'll just say

00:33:04.410 --> 00:33:07.549
it this way, in one of my hardest times in life,

00:33:07.710 --> 00:33:11.869
tremendous pain I was in. I had a herniated disc

00:33:11.869 --> 00:33:15.089
and we were traveling and I could feel every

00:33:15.089 --> 00:33:18.670
seam in the road. Every seam. I mean, you know,

00:33:18.710 --> 00:33:21.190
there's seams every so many feet. Yeah. I could

00:33:21.190 --> 00:33:23.609
feel every seam in the road. But the sweetness

00:33:23.609 --> 00:33:28.539
of his presence. Yeah. To me. It was like I would

00:33:28.539 --> 00:33:32.619
go through anything to have this sweetness. So

00:33:32.619 --> 00:33:35.500
you went through a season where you had bam,

00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:38.579
bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam against you. And

00:33:38.579 --> 00:33:41.359
you talked to us before this session about the

00:33:41.359 --> 00:33:44.339
choices that you were presented with. Can you

00:33:44.339 --> 00:33:48.079
just outline that for us to give our listeners

00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:50.920
hope if they're going through one of those bam,

00:33:51.019 --> 00:33:55.220
bam, bam situations? Yeah, the first thing I

00:33:55.220 --> 00:33:58.279
would say to frame it, probably one of the greatest

00:33:58.279 --> 00:34:01.359
gifts that God has ever given me, apart from

00:34:01.359 --> 00:34:05.180
his presence, apart from my family, has been

00:34:05.180 --> 00:34:09.360
the gift of perspective. And I'll never forget

00:34:09.360 --> 00:34:12.460
when God gave me this gift. A moment, I can tell

00:34:12.460 --> 00:34:16.699
you the moment. I was in, of all places, Fiji.

00:34:17.039 --> 00:34:20.900
Now, when most people think Fiji, you think beautiful

00:34:20.900 --> 00:34:24.610
beaches. I've seen beaches in Fiji, and I've

00:34:24.610 --> 00:34:27.210
never seen what I would call a beautiful beach.

00:34:27.550 --> 00:34:31.530
I'm sure they have them at the resorts. But Fiji

00:34:31.530 --> 00:34:36.469
is so mountainous, and the interior is so treacherous.

00:34:38.090 --> 00:34:40.309
It's called the world's greatest endurance race,

00:34:40.449 --> 00:34:45.010
and the last one that they had was there. The

00:34:45.010 --> 00:34:48.590
last third of a walk, I had walked from a place

00:34:48.590 --> 00:34:51.170
called Nandi, which is where you fly in, down

00:34:51.170 --> 00:34:54.150
to Suva, which is, and that's a long walk, which

00:34:54.150 --> 00:34:55.929
is the capital. And then I was going up north

00:34:55.929 --> 00:34:58.650
through the interior. And it was before they

00:34:58.650 --> 00:35:00.429
had, I've been there since, and now the road

00:35:00.429 --> 00:35:03.289
is paved. But in those days, it was old dirt

00:35:03.289 --> 00:35:05.670
road. You guys know about dirt roads? Oh, yeah.

00:35:05.690 --> 00:35:09.530
We live on one. This was more like a logging

00:35:09.530 --> 00:35:15.380
trail. Wow. Dirt road. Ruts. Yes, and through

00:35:15.380 --> 00:35:18.659
the jungle. And so at night, it would rain every

00:35:18.659 --> 00:35:23.420
night. It was as regular as a clock goes around.

00:35:24.260 --> 00:35:27.500
The rain was a relief because up until then,

00:35:27.500 --> 00:35:30.019
mosquitoes were just draining the blood out of

00:35:30.019 --> 00:35:31.760
you. It's warm, warm, warm, warm, and you can

00:35:31.760 --> 00:35:35.139
barely sleep. So much so that in the daytime,

00:35:35.400 --> 00:35:39.159
my eyes would be so puffy. My eyelids, I couldn't

00:35:39.159 --> 00:35:41.769
open my eyes. They were just swollen and full

00:35:41.769 --> 00:35:44.190
of fluid. I had a safety pin. I would have to

00:35:44.190 --> 00:35:47.369
lance the edges of it and drain my eyelids. Oh,

00:35:47.369 --> 00:35:50.590
wow. Just so I could open my eyes. Oh, my. And

00:35:50.590 --> 00:35:55.369
itching. But the rain, you get wet, you get jungle

00:35:55.369 --> 00:35:59.550
rot, and I'm sleeping on the jungle floor. There

00:35:59.550 --> 00:36:02.710
are leeches, and leeches don't just get on your...

00:36:03.150 --> 00:36:06.730
The parts that are, you can see, they crawl inside

00:36:06.730 --> 00:36:09.889
your clothes. So you're having to pull off leeches

00:36:09.889 --> 00:36:13.750
every morning. And then because I'm soaking and

00:36:13.750 --> 00:36:17.690
soggy and the temperature is hot and it's uneven,

00:36:17.889 --> 00:36:20.829
I started getting blisters. And I didn't just

00:36:20.829 --> 00:36:22.989
get one or two blisters. I went through, when

00:36:22.989 --> 00:36:25.909
you get a blister, it breaks and the skin is

00:36:25.909 --> 00:36:29.170
new skin, red underneath, painful. I went through

00:36:29.170 --> 00:36:32.409
four layers of skin. Oh, my. And the only way

00:36:32.409 --> 00:36:35.690
to keep your feet from hurting is to keep moving,

00:36:35.769 --> 00:36:39.409
then your feet go numb. But I wasn't eating or

00:36:39.409 --> 00:36:43.389
drinking properly, so I was cramping. So my calves

00:36:43.389 --> 00:36:46.090
would cramp, my toes would cramp, my hamstrings,

00:36:46.090 --> 00:36:50.349
my rear end, the muscles in my low back to support

00:36:50.349 --> 00:36:53.949
the cross. Everything was cramping, so I couldn't

00:36:53.949 --> 00:36:57.150
keep moving. Just to be honest, I was whining.

00:36:57.420 --> 00:37:00.699
Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah. Wish I was

00:37:00.699 --> 00:37:04.260
home, sitting in the air -conditioned room, watching

00:37:04.260 --> 00:37:09.039
a football game. Wish I was eating some good

00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:13.440
food. And my feet. Oh, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah,

00:37:13.500 --> 00:37:17.119
my feet. And I got to the next little town, village,

00:37:17.380 --> 00:37:19.719
and there was a fellow there. And I guess he'd

00:37:19.719 --> 00:37:22.679
been waiting for days. He had an ear -to -ear

00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:26.099
grin. He was happier than I've ever been. And

00:37:26.099 --> 00:37:28.340
he said, I heard you were coming. I haven't left

00:37:28.340 --> 00:37:30.699
this place for days because I didn't want to

00:37:30.699 --> 00:37:33.679
miss you. And the moment that I saw him, I got

00:37:33.679 --> 00:37:36.940
that gift of perspective. Here I am complaining

00:37:36.940 --> 00:37:39.619
about my feet, my legs, and the sunburn, and

00:37:39.619 --> 00:37:41.900
the mosquitoes, and the leeches. This fellow

00:37:41.900 --> 00:37:45.019
lives in it. This fellow doesn't have any legs.

00:37:45.619 --> 00:37:48.420
And he doesn't even have a wheelchair. He's got

00:37:48.420 --> 00:37:51.760
this little square piece of plywood. And it's

00:37:51.760 --> 00:37:53.989
not even plywood. It's skinny plywood. And he's

00:37:53.989 --> 00:37:56.989
got four coaster wheels on the bottom of it.

00:37:57.010 --> 00:37:59.469
And he pushes himself around with two wooden

00:37:59.469 --> 00:38:02.650
blocks. It's logging trails that he's pushing

00:38:02.650 --> 00:38:05.989
himself. Muddy, rainy season logging trails.

00:38:06.349 --> 00:38:09.730
And he's happier than I've ever been. Here I

00:38:09.730 --> 00:38:11.409
am complaining about my feet and he doesn't have

00:38:11.409 --> 00:38:16.869
legs. And what I saw in that moment is, first

00:38:16.869 --> 00:38:19.989
of all, pain is a gift. Because pain lets you

00:38:19.989 --> 00:38:23.030
know something is wrong. That's why leprosy is

00:38:23.030 --> 00:38:26.230
so important. Evil. Because leprosy doesn't kill

00:38:26.230 --> 00:38:29.809
you. Leprosy numbs the nerves. And then you get

00:38:29.809 --> 00:38:31.869
hurt and you don't know it and you get an infection

00:38:31.869 --> 00:38:35.670
and you die. So pain is a gift. And that's what

00:38:35.670 --> 00:38:38.269
our world's culture has done. It's numbness.

00:38:38.489 --> 00:38:41.389
Take a pill for this. Here's seven steps to peace

00:38:41.389 --> 00:38:45.210
and happiness. And so we've numbed down our soul's

00:38:45.210 --> 00:38:49.210
ability even to feel. And so he took me to his

00:38:49.210 --> 00:38:50.730
house. He lived under a bridge. That's where

00:38:50.730 --> 00:38:52.429
all the mosquitoes came from. And he fed me.

00:38:52.909 --> 00:38:55.210
The only bread that he had, you could have thrown

00:38:55.210 --> 00:38:57.690
it through the drywall in the wall of your home.

00:38:58.369 --> 00:39:02.590
But he gave what he had. So I saw in that moment,

00:39:02.730 --> 00:39:04.989
yes, things can get better. I can be closer to

00:39:04.989 --> 00:39:07.530
God. I can be closer to my fairytale princess,

00:39:07.690 --> 00:39:10.530
my kiddos, my friends. I can be in better health.

00:39:10.710 --> 00:39:13.610
I can have more stuff. But things can always

00:39:13.610 --> 00:39:17.570
get worse. And if I remember that, then I have

00:39:17.570 --> 00:39:20.369
a heart of gratitude. And a heart of gratitude

00:39:20.369 --> 00:39:23.219
is a heart of joy. Very true. So I took that.

00:39:23.280 --> 00:39:25.300
That was part of the lesson. And I went through

00:39:25.300 --> 00:39:28.039
this horrible season. And this horrible season,

00:39:28.119 --> 00:39:30.360
I kept remembering things can always get worse.

00:39:30.699 --> 00:39:33.500
In fact, in the hospital last year, people would

00:39:33.500 --> 00:39:35.179
often say, how are you doing? I said, I'm better

00:39:35.179 --> 00:39:39.099
than 99 .99 % of the people on the planet. I've

00:39:39.099 --> 00:39:40.860
got a hole in my chest, but you know what? I'm

00:39:40.860 --> 00:39:43.659
better because my heart is doing so well. My

00:39:43.659 --> 00:39:48.099
soul is doing so well. And even when I was going

00:39:48.099 --> 00:39:50.219
through this painful season, I mean, literally,

00:39:50.260 --> 00:39:53.960
there was one short part of it. I literally lost

00:39:53.960 --> 00:39:56.519
10 and a half pounds in two days just from crying

00:39:56.519 --> 00:40:00.079
and weeping so hard. There was so much loss.

00:40:00.139 --> 00:40:01.940
There was so much brokenness, so many things

00:40:01.940 --> 00:40:05.559
taken away from me. Honestly, up until that time,

00:40:05.619 --> 00:40:09.780
everything I touched was golden. So it was just

00:40:09.780 --> 00:40:13.400
such a juxtaposition of two different ways of

00:40:13.400 --> 00:40:16.289
living. Everything that I knew. Everything that

00:40:16.289 --> 00:40:19.489
I held dear, I literally, it was Job -esque.

00:40:19.849 --> 00:40:23.190
And it was a season that lasted, one day was

00:40:23.190 --> 00:40:26.050
too long, but it lasted nearly seven years. Wow.

00:40:26.409 --> 00:40:31.130
And I remember in my apartment, I looked out

00:40:31.130 --> 00:40:33.750
and it's looking out over the Arkansas River

00:40:33.750 --> 00:40:36.449
here and nothing like the Buffalo River, but

00:40:36.449 --> 00:40:40.269
it's a sunset. You know, we've got sandy, muddy

00:40:40.269 --> 00:40:43.010
water. You guys got clear water, beautiful bluffs.

00:40:43.769 --> 00:40:46.409
But you can see deer, you can see bald eagles

00:40:46.409 --> 00:40:49.650
and the sunset every night. And I had a choice.

00:40:49.690 --> 00:40:52.429
Do I want to look at that? Or if I look down,

00:40:52.489 --> 00:40:54.949
that's where the dumpster for the whole apartment

00:40:54.949 --> 00:40:57.429
community was. I got a choice. Am I going to

00:40:57.429 --> 00:40:59.090
look at the beauty or am I going to look at the

00:40:59.090 --> 00:41:02.309
dump? Yeah. And during that season, God gave

00:41:02.309 --> 00:41:04.190
me this incredible scripture. It's in Isaiah

00:41:04.190 --> 00:41:08.429
chapter six. It starts out, verse one says, in

00:41:08.429 --> 00:41:13.489
the year that King Uzziah died. If you notice,

00:41:13.530 --> 00:41:15.989
it didn't say in the day or the month or the

00:41:15.989 --> 00:41:18.750
week or the moment. It said in the year because

00:41:18.750 --> 00:41:20.869
it seems like sometimes when something bad happens,

00:41:21.070 --> 00:41:24.369
something else bad happens. It seems like sometimes

00:41:24.369 --> 00:41:27.510
it's an avalanche and it feels like your soul

00:41:27.510 --> 00:41:30.090
can't take it. But the next part of that sentence

00:41:30.090 --> 00:41:36.070
says, I saw the Lord. High and lifted up. And

00:41:36.070 --> 00:41:39.969
the train of his robe filled the temple. And

00:41:39.969 --> 00:41:42.550
then it talks about in verse two, these glorious

00:41:42.550 --> 00:41:45.409
creatures, the seraphim and how they look. And

00:41:45.409 --> 00:41:48.190
it's just amazing. And verse three, it says,

00:41:48.309 --> 00:41:53.429
and they said one to another, holy, holy, holy

00:41:53.429 --> 00:41:56.570
is the Lord God Almighty or the Lord of hosts

00:41:56.570 --> 00:42:02.630
or the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full

00:42:02.630 --> 00:42:07.019
of his glory. The thing that's important is it

00:42:07.019 --> 00:42:08.820
doesn't matter whose political party you're on,

00:42:08.900 --> 00:42:10.780
even if you didn't like the king, that's still

00:42:10.780 --> 00:42:14.559
a tragedy for the nation. The king is dead. But

00:42:14.559 --> 00:42:17.300
he, in that year, wasn't the only one who died.

00:42:17.900 --> 00:42:21.579
Somebody lost their spouse. Somebody lost their

00:42:21.579 --> 00:42:25.860
child. Somebody went to jail. There were wars

00:42:25.860 --> 00:42:30.000
that were fought. Tragedy happened. Babies went

00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.440
to bed. Children were molested. That wasn't the

00:42:34.440 --> 00:42:37.340
only bad thing that happened. Right. So these

00:42:37.340 --> 00:42:40.699
creatures say the whole. And when I grew up,

00:42:40.699 --> 00:42:42.260
if you wanted to emphasize something, you drug

00:42:42.260 --> 00:42:44.599
the word out. So it wasn't just the whole earth.

00:42:44.699 --> 00:42:49.079
It's the whole earth. What does whole mean? It's

00:42:49.079 --> 00:42:52.440
every part of the earth. Every single part of

00:42:52.440 --> 00:42:57.579
the earth is, not will be, not was, right now

00:42:57.579 --> 00:43:05.440
is full. I mean. Full is overflowing. Yeah. Every

00:43:05.440 --> 00:43:10.340
square millimeter of the earth right now is overflowing

00:43:10.340 --> 00:43:13.579
with the glory of God. Wow. Yes. Hallelujah.

00:43:14.000 --> 00:43:18.320
And how could they say that? Somebody's baby

00:43:18.320 --> 00:43:22.880
died. Somebody, the king died. You know, we lost

00:43:22.880 --> 00:43:27.260
this war and this child was molested and hurt.

00:43:27.440 --> 00:43:30.639
And how could you say that? And I realized the

00:43:30.639 --> 00:43:34.550
secret was. Their eyes were on a king, but not

00:43:34.550 --> 00:43:36.630
the dead king. Their eyes were on the king of

00:43:36.630 --> 00:43:40.010
all kings. And then I started looking through

00:43:40.010 --> 00:43:42.889
scripture and you could go and start out in numbers

00:43:42.889 --> 00:43:45.170
and the spies go into the land, but everybody

00:43:45.170 --> 00:43:47.570
comes back and says, oh, it's scary. It's dangerous.

00:43:47.710 --> 00:43:50.570
There's giants. Yeah, there's good stuff. But

00:43:50.570 --> 00:43:53.010
we're like grasshoppers in our own eyes. And

00:43:53.010 --> 00:43:55.230
otherwise they were looking at themselves and

00:43:55.230 --> 00:43:57.289
they were looking at the giants. They weren't

00:43:57.289 --> 00:43:59.869
looking at our God. Right. Josh and Caleb had

00:43:59.869 --> 00:44:02.550
a little bit different story. And then you look

00:44:02.550 --> 00:44:05.510
at David, you know, his parents say, hey, take

00:44:05.510 --> 00:44:07.590
up some peanut butter sandwich, take up some

00:44:07.590 --> 00:44:10.750
shawarmas and falafels to your buddies, to your

00:44:10.750 --> 00:44:12.949
brothers. And he can't find them because they're

00:44:12.949 --> 00:44:15.969
hiding. And he says, where are you hiding from?

00:44:16.110 --> 00:44:20.769
And they said, it's a giant. And he peeks and

00:44:20.769 --> 00:44:24.090
he says, no, that's a target I can't miss. Valley

00:44:24.090 --> 00:44:27.309
of dry bones. What do you see? Oh, I see an exceeding

00:44:27.309 --> 00:44:32.519
great army. What am I choosing to look at? Giants,

00:44:32.519 --> 00:44:36.719
dead bones. And in the New Testament, Jesus sends

00:44:36.719 --> 00:44:39.800
the disciples across the Sea of Galilee. And

00:44:39.800 --> 00:44:42.139
the waves come up. It's the darkest part of the

00:44:42.139 --> 00:44:44.960
night. And they say, we're going to die. And

00:44:44.960 --> 00:44:46.900
they look up and they see Jesus walking to them

00:44:46.900 --> 00:44:49.599
on the water. And because of the darkness of

00:44:49.599 --> 00:44:51.559
the night, but because of the darkness that fear

00:44:51.559 --> 00:44:55.639
brings, they look at Jesus and they say, they

00:44:55.639 --> 00:44:59.190
never had seen a ghost. But they chose to see

00:44:59.190 --> 00:45:01.909
a ghost instead of the God of glory walking to

00:45:01.909 --> 00:45:05.909
them on water. Fast forward, Jesus is crucified.

00:45:06.590 --> 00:45:10.269
He's buried. He comes out of the grave. And John

00:45:10.269 --> 00:45:13.809
chapter 20 starts out by saying, while it was

00:45:13.809 --> 00:45:17.070
still dark. And yeah, the sun hadn't come up,

00:45:17.110 --> 00:45:20.250
but it meant the darkness in their heart because

00:45:20.250 --> 00:45:23.550
the loss that they'd suffered, the pain, the

00:45:23.550 --> 00:45:27.199
sorrow. And Mary goes to the tomb. She doesn't

00:45:27.199 --> 00:45:30.019
see one. I know some of your listeners have seen

00:45:30.019 --> 00:45:32.840
angels. I've never seen a real angel with wings

00:45:32.840 --> 00:45:36.699
and muscles and swords drawn. I've never seen

00:45:36.699 --> 00:45:41.880
the glory like that. But she sees two big angels

00:45:41.880 --> 00:45:44.880
rolled away the stone. Stone rolled away. Jesus'

00:45:44.880 --> 00:45:48.119
clothes folded. The tomb is empty. And she turns

00:45:48.119 --> 00:45:50.679
around and she's face to face with Jesus. And

00:45:50.679 --> 00:45:54.059
she sees a gardener. Because it was still dark.

00:45:54.940 --> 00:45:58.460
Because of the darkness of her sorrow, because

00:45:58.460 --> 00:46:02.440
of the darkness of their fear, they saw gardeners

00:46:02.440 --> 00:46:06.880
and ghosts and giants. And it's really what am

00:46:06.880 --> 00:46:10.179
I choosing to look at? The gift of perspective

00:46:10.179 --> 00:46:14.139
puts everything in perspective. Yes. And that

00:46:14.139 --> 00:46:18.300
perspective is Jesus is here right now. I can't

00:46:18.300 --> 00:46:22.280
see him, but I can't see air. Without air, I'm

00:46:22.280 --> 00:46:25.309
a goner. I'm a goner. I need air desperately.

00:46:25.789 --> 00:46:29.829
And I need him desperately. More than I need

00:46:29.829 --> 00:46:32.489
my next breath. More than I need my next heartbeat.

00:46:33.030 --> 00:46:35.210
Because when I do close my eyes and he doesn't

00:46:35.210 --> 00:46:37.750
just put his hand on my shoulder, one day I'm

00:46:37.750 --> 00:46:40.650
going to see him face to face. Yes. But in between

00:46:40.650 --> 00:46:43.570
time, he's promised to take me by the hand. And

00:46:43.570 --> 00:46:46.429
through the darkest valleys, I've walked into

00:46:46.429 --> 00:46:49.369
drug dens, more than 40 nations at war. I've

00:46:49.369 --> 00:46:52.139
walked through. I've walked through difficulties

00:46:52.139 --> 00:46:55.659
and challenges, both personal and ministry wise.

00:46:55.920 --> 00:47:01.059
And Jesus has never, ever, ever left me. He promises,

00:47:01.119 --> 00:47:02.960
I will never leave you. I will never forsake

00:47:02.960 --> 00:47:05.579
you. And in the original language, we can't say

00:47:05.579 --> 00:47:07.880
it this way because it loses, but it's, I will

00:47:07.880 --> 00:47:11.880
never, never, ever leave you. And I will never,

00:47:11.920 --> 00:47:16.000
ever, never, ever, never forsake you. Wow. That's

00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:20.019
a great promise. Yes. He'll be with us to the

00:47:20.019 --> 00:47:24.019
end of the age. Amen. And nothing, nothing, nothing.

00:47:24.139 --> 00:47:26.960
I remember during the season, I went outside

00:47:26.960 --> 00:47:29.059
and said, Jesus, I don't understand everything.

00:47:29.920 --> 00:47:32.320
And I felt like he whispered in my soul, son,

00:47:32.400 --> 00:47:37.559
if you understood everything, you'd be me. I

00:47:37.559 --> 00:47:39.780
felt like he said, when your theology fails,

00:47:39.960 --> 00:47:42.119
when your understanding of who I am and of my

00:47:42.119 --> 00:47:44.320
ways fails, I want you to know this. I'll never

00:47:44.320 --> 00:47:46.900
fail you. And I'll never forsake you. I'll be

00:47:46.900 --> 00:47:48.559
with you always, even through the valley of the

00:47:48.559 --> 00:47:50.559
shadow of death, even to the ends of the earth.

00:47:50.639 --> 00:47:53.659
And that will be enough. Hallelujah. He didn't

00:47:53.659 --> 00:47:55.420
give me any answers for what I was going through,

00:47:55.460 --> 00:47:59.840
except my presence will go with you. Yeah. I'd

00:47:59.840 --> 00:48:02.619
much rather go through difficult times with him

00:48:02.619 --> 00:48:06.260
than great times without him. I remember a card

00:48:06.260 --> 00:48:10.280
we got from our Orthodox travel agent. Yeah.

00:48:10.360 --> 00:48:13.650
Sent us a card. And she said, sometimes we go

00:48:13.650 --> 00:48:16.789
through things that only God understands. I thought

00:48:16.789 --> 00:48:21.329
that is so well said. Yeah. And Jesus said, in

00:48:21.329 --> 00:48:24.550
this world, you will, he promised us, we will

00:48:24.550 --> 00:48:28.250
have struggles, have tribulation. There will

00:48:28.250 --> 00:48:31.650
be problems and confusion. But he said, take

00:48:31.650 --> 00:48:34.530
courage. I have overcome the world. Right. And

00:48:34.530 --> 00:48:38.239
he is our peace. He is the one who guards our

00:48:38.239 --> 00:48:40.940
hearts and mind with his perfect peace. Times

00:48:40.940 --> 00:48:43.820
of refreshing come from his presence. He's near

00:48:43.820 --> 00:48:47.059
those who are brokenhearted. The sacrifices of

00:48:47.059 --> 00:48:50.460
God are a broken and contrite heart. He promises

00:48:50.460 --> 00:48:53.619
that even if weeping endures for a night, a shout

00:48:53.619 --> 00:48:56.380
of joy is going to come in the morning. And that

00:48:56.380 --> 00:48:59.300
we get to exchange ashes and we get to receive

00:48:59.300 --> 00:49:03.869
beauty. What a deal. I'll say this last one and

00:49:03.869 --> 00:49:07.969
this kind of relates. It does relate. I was carrying

00:49:07.969 --> 00:49:10.869
the cross in Africa one time and I was hot and

00:49:10.869 --> 00:49:13.590
I was tired. I came over this hill and I was

00:49:13.590 --> 00:49:16.550
just wonderstruck. There was the most beautiful,

00:49:16.750 --> 00:49:20.110
magnificent, spectacular tree I've ever seen

00:49:20.110 --> 00:49:23.750
in my life. The flowers, the color, the size.

00:49:24.150 --> 00:49:26.309
I don't know if it was the flowers I was smelling.

00:49:26.409 --> 00:49:29.250
It had fruit in it. It makes my mouth water to

00:49:29.250 --> 00:49:33.889
this day to think about. And they had these little

00:49:33.889 --> 00:49:36.389
weaver birds that make upside down nests. It

00:49:36.389 --> 00:49:39.269
was full of life. They had little monkeys. I

00:49:39.269 --> 00:49:42.429
was awestruck. I mean, it was just, it was awesome.

00:49:42.909 --> 00:49:45.489
And I just kept, I sat there and looking and

00:49:45.489 --> 00:49:48.429
looking. And okay, I've got to get on down the

00:49:48.429 --> 00:49:50.730
road. And I leaned down to pick up the cross

00:49:50.730 --> 00:49:52.710
to put it back on my shoulder. And when I looked

00:49:52.710 --> 00:49:55.949
down, I saw the shadow of that tree. And I felt

00:49:55.949 --> 00:49:59.329
like Jesus said, look at that shadow and look

00:49:59.329 --> 00:50:02.360
at that tree. And look at that shadow again and

00:50:02.360 --> 00:50:05.780
look at the tree again. What can you tell me

00:50:05.780 --> 00:50:08.460
about that tree from that shadow? Well, I couldn't

00:50:08.460 --> 00:50:10.719
tell texture. I couldn't tell flavor. I couldn't

00:50:10.719 --> 00:50:14.539
tell scent. I couldn't tell anything except the

00:50:14.539 --> 00:50:17.280
general outline. I felt like he said, my son,

00:50:17.440 --> 00:50:19.420
I've given you a privilege that very few have

00:50:19.420 --> 00:50:22.400
ever had. I've allowed you to see the icebergs

00:50:22.400 --> 00:50:24.760
of Antarctica. I've allowed you to see the great

00:50:24.760 --> 00:50:27.579
migrations of the Serengeti and the Masa Mara.

00:50:27.840 --> 00:50:30.780
I've allowed you to see the sunsets. In the South

00:50:30.780 --> 00:50:34.179
Pacific. But as beautiful as what you've seen

00:50:34.179 --> 00:50:39.059
is, it is as that shadow is to that tree of what

00:50:39.059 --> 00:50:43.440
I'm preparing for you. Yes. Wonderful. And the

00:50:43.440 --> 00:50:47.280
awesome thing is, yeah, heaven's pretty cool,

00:50:47.380 --> 00:50:51.840
but he fills heaven. Yes. Jesus fills heaven.

00:50:52.119 --> 00:50:55.300
Yes. How can anyone describe that? That comes

00:50:55.300 --> 00:50:57.659
back to what I said. How do you describe all

00:50:57.659 --> 00:51:01.099
this? There's only one word. That's glory. Amen.

00:51:01.099 --> 00:51:03.440
That's the glory and the beauty, the majesty

00:51:03.440 --> 00:51:06.340
of the presence of God. Beautiful, beautiful,

00:51:06.519 --> 00:51:11.420
beautiful. Thank you, Jesus. Wow. What would

00:51:11.420 --> 00:51:16.000
you pray for our listeners? King Jesus, we bow

00:51:16.000 --> 00:51:21.940
together with angels and archangels and elders

00:51:21.940 --> 00:51:27.440
and saints and living creatures. And we say worthy

00:51:27.440 --> 00:51:31.860
is the lamb who is slain. Yes. To receive honor

00:51:31.860 --> 00:51:35.380
and glory and blessing and power. You're worthy.

00:51:35.840 --> 00:51:39.639
You're so beautiful. And I thank you for every

00:51:39.639 --> 00:51:43.519
listener right now. That's taking the time with

00:51:43.519 --> 00:51:47.679
us. That's given us the gift of their time. And

00:51:47.679 --> 00:51:49.820
I ask that you would meet with them where they

00:51:49.820 --> 00:51:53.659
are. For those who are confused. For those who

00:51:53.659 --> 00:51:57.420
are lonely. For those who are broken. For those

00:51:57.420 --> 00:52:01.199
who, as I said, just couldn't stop weeping. They

00:52:01.199 --> 00:52:04.500
have the dry heaves of the soul. Their breath

00:52:04.500 --> 00:52:07.320
seems to be taken away from them. For those that

00:52:07.320 --> 00:52:10.920
are facing sickness and illness. For those who

00:52:10.920 --> 00:52:13.619
are taking care of someone who's sick. For those

00:52:13.619 --> 00:52:16.780
who lost loved ones. Thank you that you're near

00:52:16.780 --> 00:52:21.039
the brokenhearted. Yes. And your promise is that

00:52:21.039 --> 00:52:23.980
you're faithful. Yes. And I pray that those big

00:52:23.980 --> 00:52:25.659
arms you stretched out on the cross, you would

00:52:25.659 --> 00:52:28.340
hold them close and you would give them the grace

00:52:28.340 --> 00:52:31.300
to trace their name that you carved in the palm

00:52:31.300 --> 00:52:34.219
of your hands, that they would know that you

00:52:34.219 --> 00:52:39.219
have kept every tear that they've ever cried

00:52:39.219 --> 00:52:42.780
in your bottom. I pray that they would hear you

00:52:42.780 --> 00:52:45.920
singing and dancing over them. I pray that you

00:52:45.920 --> 00:52:48.659
would encourage them to keep moving forward,

00:52:48.780 --> 00:52:53.059
to keep leaning into you. Leaning their head

00:52:53.059 --> 00:52:56.179
on your chest and allowing you to hold them.

00:52:56.579 --> 00:52:59.320
Would you bless them? Would you strengthen them?

00:52:59.619 --> 00:53:03.139
May they hear your voice. Yes. Beautiful Jesus.

00:53:03.780 --> 00:53:07.079
Beautiful, beautiful Jesus. We adore you. Yes,

00:53:07.079 --> 00:53:09.900
Lord. Yes, Father. Thank you for your strength.

00:53:10.420 --> 00:53:13.760
Thank you for your compassion. Thank you that

00:53:13.760 --> 00:53:17.159
you weep together with them. But Lord, I also

00:53:17.159 --> 00:53:20.969
know that you are mighty. You are strong. And

00:53:20.969 --> 00:53:23.630
that there's nothing in nature. There's nothing

00:53:23.630 --> 00:53:27.789
created by man. There's no name that's greater

00:53:27.789 --> 00:53:30.710
than your name. No power that's greater than

00:53:30.710 --> 00:53:33.570
your power. And I know that you're the same yesterday,

00:53:33.769 --> 00:53:37.610
today, and forever. And I pray for every one

00:53:37.610 --> 00:53:40.670
of our listeners that you would touch them. I

00:53:40.670 --> 00:53:43.110
thank you that you're the restorer. That you

00:53:43.110 --> 00:53:45.150
would restore them. That you would redeem them.

00:53:45.250 --> 00:53:48.190
I pray that you'd be mighty in the midst of their

00:53:48.190 --> 00:53:52.610
pain. Yes. I pray for great miracles. Reach out

00:53:52.610 --> 00:53:54.769
your nail scarred hand and touch them and make

00:53:54.769 --> 00:53:57.730
them whole. Yes, Lord. May each of our listeners

00:53:57.730 --> 00:54:01.829
fulfill every dream, every plan, every purpose

00:54:01.829 --> 00:54:03.809
that you dreamed for them even before they were

00:54:03.809 --> 00:54:05.909
formed in their mother's womb. Amen. May they

00:54:05.909 --> 00:54:08.090
fulfill all the days that you've appointed for

00:54:08.090 --> 00:54:11.909
them. Yes. And every purpose. We adore you. Yes,

00:54:11.909 --> 00:54:13.969
Jesus. And we pray it in that name that is so

00:54:13.969 --> 00:54:18.510
high, so beautiful, so precious. And we're honored

00:54:18.510 --> 00:54:23.150
to say your name, Jesus. Amen. Amen. And while

00:54:23.150 --> 00:54:25.789
we were doing that, do you know what this is?

00:54:26.230 --> 00:54:28.889
I'll describe it to the listeners. It's a blue

00:54:28.889 --> 00:54:32.289
bottle. It's hand -blown glass. It was given

00:54:32.289 --> 00:54:35.409
to me in Iran. And it's a funny -looking bottle.

00:54:35.570 --> 00:54:39.670
And I asked them, what is this bottle? They said,

00:54:39.690 --> 00:54:43.190
it's a tear -catcher. And I said, I don't understand.

00:54:43.269 --> 00:54:46.230
What do you mean? And they said, in the old days

00:54:46.230 --> 00:54:49.179
of battle, When the soldiers would go off to

00:54:49.179 --> 00:54:51.599
fight, the wives would miss their husbands so

00:54:51.599 --> 00:54:54.119
much. They wanted to show, to demonstrate how

00:54:54.119 --> 00:54:57.219
much they loved their husbands. Oh, wow. And

00:54:57.219 --> 00:54:59.260
so whenever they started crying, missing their

00:54:59.260 --> 00:55:01.679
husbands, they would cry their tears into the

00:55:01.679 --> 00:55:04.500
bottle. And when their husbands would come home,

00:55:04.699 --> 00:55:07.260
they would hold up the bottle and they would

00:55:07.260 --> 00:55:09.800
say, this is how much I love you. This is how

00:55:09.800 --> 00:55:12.519
much I miss you. Wow. And the Bible tells us

00:55:12.519 --> 00:55:15.900
that every tear that we've ever cried. Jesus

00:55:15.900 --> 00:55:18.960
has kept in his bottle. It's true. Yeah. And

00:55:18.960 --> 00:55:20.760
when we get home, he's going to hold up that

00:55:20.760 --> 00:55:22.840
bottle or for some of us buckets. And he will

00:55:22.840 --> 00:55:26.579
say, this is how precious you were. Every tear

00:55:26.579 --> 00:55:30.260
you've ever cried, I've kept in my bottle. Every

00:55:30.260 --> 00:55:32.000
prayer that we've ever prayed, he's kept in a

00:55:32.000 --> 00:55:35.099
golden bowl. During COVID, we found my baby book

00:55:35.099 --> 00:55:37.579
and my mama wrote down all these things. First

00:55:37.579 --> 00:55:40.820
hair, first tooth loss, first steps. He didn't

00:55:40.820 --> 00:55:42.260
write just down the first steps. He's written

00:55:42.260 --> 00:55:44.179
down every step. He's carved her name in the

00:55:44.179 --> 00:55:48.829
palm of his hand. He loves us. And He didn't

00:55:48.829 --> 00:55:51.690
just carve our name. He was crucified on a cross

00:55:51.690 --> 00:55:55.110
and rose again. He loves us, and every detail

00:55:55.110 --> 00:56:12.679
matters to Him. Amen. Your review helps the podcasting

00:56:12.679 --> 00:56:15.119
platform suggest this podcast to other listeners

00:56:15.119 --> 00:56:17.760
who are also looking for a great move of the

00:56:17.760 --> 00:56:20.920
Holy Spirit. Check out our website at globaloutpouring

00:56:20.920 --> 00:56:24.219
.org to find out more information, read our blogs,

00:56:24.380 --> 00:56:27.199
connect with us, and donate. You can also browse

00:56:27.199 --> 00:56:29.760
our web store for life -changing anointed books.

00:56:30.139 --> 00:56:33.599
Until next time, this is Sharon Buss. And I'm

00:56:33.599 --> 00:56:36.300
Philip Buss. God bless you with His overwhelming,

00:56:36.519 --> 00:56:37.480
loving presence.