Time With God

You have to have that time with God where you’re giving him time to take even the messages that people preach to you and put it all together in your life and make it a reality to you. One of the things that I suggest to people is study in an area where you’re having a problem. If you have a bad temper, you don’t need a tape on prosperity. (laughing) amen? If you are impatient and constantly just grouching at people, upset every time things don’t go fast enough for you and you’re making hasty, unwise decisions, then you really don’t need a tape on success or a cd.

I’m not supposed to call them tapes anymore. I’m always getting in trouble for calling them tapes. They tell me they’re not tapes. The generation today thinks, “tapes? What is a tape?” I started out with 8-tracks. I know what tapes are. (applause)

Thank you, we’re not all 20. Some of us have been through several cycles of tapes and tapes and more tapes. Man, it’s hard work to try to stay young when you get older! (laughing) we read something awesome I believe this morning and I’m not going to take the time to turn back there but in Matthew chapter 26, we saw how when Jesus knew that it was his time to go to the cross, this thing that he had been sent to do was now upon him. It’s interesting; you can know that something is coming a long way down the road but the closer it gets, the more it has an effect on you. Amen? (amen!)

Jesus knew what he came for but now here he is in the garden of Gethsemane and the time is very close and he’s going through an intense battle in his mind and emotions. His spirit’s talking to him. His flesh is talking to him. Yes, Jesus lived in a fleshly body and he was tempted just like we are. The bible says in Hebrews 4 that he was tempted just like we are, yet he never sinned. It wasn’t because he wasn’t tempted; he was tempted, but because he stayed prayed up and because he knew the word and because he depended completely on his father, and because he was full of the holy ghost, when he was tempted — even though he may have had a battle, which it’s very clear that he did in the garden of Gethsemane — he was able ultimately to choose the spirit and never the flesh, so he not only had life himself but he was able to provide life for all of us. When you make right choices, not only do you help yourself but it enables you then to be used by God to help somebody else.