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Daily Transcripts
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09/23/2015
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Isaiah 41:17-43:13 ~ Ephesians 2:1-22 ~ Psalm 67:1-7 ~ Proverbs 23:29-35
Today is the 23rd of September. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s wonderful to be here with you today at the center of another week and looking forward to the scriptures today. We’re reading from the New International Version this week and we’ve been working our way through the book of Isaiah and I’d say we’re two-thirds of the way through. Got a ways to go.
Commentary
Okay Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, is describing grace. And right, there’s none of us who haven’t heard the term grace before. We know what grace is both as a word and as a theological concept. It is God’s grace that has saved us. Oh man, I mean peel back the theological formula and understand what we’re talking about here. God extended grace when we did not deserve it and He continues to be merciful and extend grace every day and we could never deserve it. We can never get ourselves in a place where we don’t need it. And we can never get ourselves in a place where we deserve it. I mean like all of the things that we might do to get this right, if they are positioned to be in right standing with God so that he has to extend grace, we’ll never get there. All of our postures of heart that are good toward God can only come because he has wooed us by extending grace we don’t deserve. And it’s like we know this and we sense it and we feel it and we can very easily turn to some self-loathing because we have to lean on that grace because we keep screwing up, but He just keeps coming. He is truly relentless in his pursuit of our hearts. He is absolutely committed to being in a relationship with you. There’s nothing that will stop him. He is unstoppable.
So he comes with this grace and this kindness and this patience and this mercy that we don’t deserve. And he offers it because he is in love with us. And we’re taught a lot about the fact that we need to just walk in that grace, rest in that grace and that couldn’t be more true because that is the shape of our reality. But walking in God’s grace and being a part of a transformation of our identity and our person so that we are literally being changed – made new, remade into his perfect image – means that walking in his grace means also extending his grace to those around us in this world. So we’re are absolutely desperate for the grace of God, but how often are we willing to extend grace to those who are desperate for it from us? Or do we just kind of hold them out there – make them squirm, make them suffer, make them cower – so that we can have a boundary or so that we can have respect, because that’s what we think a lot of time. If I don’t stand the line here, I won’t be respected. Thank God, he isn’t like that with us.
It’s very, very much like the message of Jesus when he was on this world. It’s different than you’re trying to make it. There are more powerful ways of getting things done and love conquers all. God’s grace woos us back to him and we feel the weightiness of our own sin and he grants us mercy and it’s compelling and it draws us back into relationship with him. The same will be true if we extend the model of our Father to those around us in this world.
May we be that beacon. May we be that channel through which the grace of God can flow into everything that we do and say, every thought, word and deed, everything we touch, everything we think, every decision we make, allowing God’s grace to flow through us, especially into the lives of those that we love most, because those are the people we can be least merciful with, that we can withhold grace from the most. May we act like our Father. He has fathered us well. May we extend his grace.
And his kindness and grace is described so beautifully in the book of Isaiah today, and so up close, by just allowing God to speak for himself. “Do not fear, I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, I will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” And we receive all of that.
Prayer
God, we take that as true and allow it to penetrate deep and invite your Holy Spirit to take it even deeper into us. You have been the most kind, merciful, grace-filled, benevolent Father and we have shunned it too long, but we’re done with all of that. And we haven’t acted in kind. We haven’t extended the grace we’ve received. We’ve hoarded it because we need it and we’re far more unwilling to extend it. Help us with that, help us to walk in grace. We desperately need your grace and those that are around us, they need our grace. Come Jesus, we pray, in your precious name we ask, amen.
Announcements
Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website, home base. Certainly where you find out what’s going on around here. And lots of things are going on around here. Reframe, of course, is now shipping and I know that for a fact because when we were first setting up the links on the www.Reframebook.com page, I went over and got a copy of Reframe and pre-ordered it and it came to my door. So I have my own copy, so I know for sure it’s shipping now. So if you pre-ordered Reframe, it should be coming.
And I have seen on social media, some of you have gotten yours and have already begun to dive in. Here’s sort of the next wave. When you get your copy of Reframe and you’ve kind of dove into the book and read it, if you would be so kind as to go back to wherever you got it, whether it be at Barnes & Noble or Amazon, and write a review. That is actually, believe it or not, a huge piece of the equation in reaching people with this message that are beyond us. I mean, we’ve been going through this all year. We’ve been reframing everything all year, but I’ve been praying all year, and even through last year, about this time, where God will bring this message to people who have no idea who we are, who the Daily Audio Bible is, or even care who I am. They encounter this message and they are on a collision course with it because God is wanting to rescue. And some of the things that we can do to set that right, to set that in motion, is stuff like reviews. People encounter a book they see on the internet and then they look to see what people are saying. So if Reframe is something that is speaking to you, then go back to wherever it is you got it and write a review. And I thank you profoundly, not for my sake but for exactly what I said. There are people that we pray for all the time that have no idea that there is a Daily Audio Bible community in the world and they belong here and we’re missing them and one day we’re going to hear their voices and we’re going to get to know them because we just put in a little effort to try to just be available. And God wooed them in and began to speak through his Word like he does for us each and every day. And I love that, but that is not a theory, I’ve met thousands of people who have said that is exactly what happened, ‘I was just looking for something and I found it and it’s changed my life.’ Because that’s what the bible has the power to do. It shifts our orientation to God, and man, once you have found the North Star that is leading your life, your life changes. And thank God for his kindness and giving us his Word and letting us be a community. So if you would go back to wherever you got Reframe and enter your review, I’d appreciate it very much.
If you haven’t gotten a copy of Reframe yet, well please do. There’s a few days left in September where we are still offering the download of my first book Passages, unabridged audio edition of Passages, as well as a $10 voucher for the Promised Land: The Essential Pilgrim’s Edition. So it’s like yeah, it’s more than the value of the book and that was our goal, to try to give more than we receive in this. But that will go away at the end of September, so certainly jump in and grab your copy now at www.Reframebook.com.
Alright, looking at the calendar, I will be at Fort Smith, AR, this weekend at First Presbyterian Church. That is the 27th day of September and I’m looking forward to seeing you in that area. Be sure to come out and say hello. The website for the church there is www.1pres.org and I’ll look forward to being there.
And then later in the week, next week, I’ll be speaking here just briefly at the Story Conference. And then the book will be officially out; even though it’s shipping out right now, it’ll be officially out October 1st, so it will be everywhere October 1st. And we’ll launch into the Reframe Tour, which luckily enough gets to kind of have it’s… I mean, we’re already doing it, but kind of have its official after the book launch date here in Spring Hill, TN. So I'm looking forward to being at SouthView Christian Church here in Spring Hill on the 11th of October, so Nashville, this is the first time I’ve been able to invite everybody from the Nashville area, my hometown to come out, please do. Www.SouthView.cc is their website and check it out.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you. That is how this community exists at all. That’s how the servers keeps spinning and issuing the Word of God out through the world. That’s how it is that we do what we do. So thank you for your partnership. There’s a link in the upper right-hand corner of the website. If you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.
And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to call.
And that’s it for today. I’m Brian. I love you. I’ll be waiting for you here, tomorrow.
Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports
This is Brittney in China. I keep feeling God telling me to call and speak to those of you who are suffering from addiction and broken relationships and families and those who have people who they love who are in addiction like drugs, lust, and alcohol. I just want you to know that God wants your heart, he wants their heart; but right now as you are seeking him and seeking his help, he’s seeking you. His grace is sufficient and his power is made perfect in your weakness. If it is your spouse who’s in addiction, understand that God right now in this moment and as you seek him, he is seeking you. Change lives. Change lives. I believe everyone who’s suffering from addiction or suffering because someone else around them is in addiction, should go, I recommend, Celebrate Recovery, go to www.CelebrateRecovery.com. This transformed my life. It’s not just for the people who are in these active addictions. It’s for anyone who has a fractured relationship with God and that is all of us because of sin. Lord God, I just lift up these people who are broken, who are sad. Lord, I just pray that you reach them where they are. Lord, that you transform their lives, that you heal these families. The wounds that we have all come from the same place, whether it’s our addiction or whether it’s just a hurting heart and that is sin. And so God wants all of us with any addictions and those with just a broken heart. So I encourage you to seek him and to seek help. He may not heal the addiction, but that is the weak…
Hey fellow Dabbers, its Joe the Protector, servant of the Most High God and whatever other heavenly names that I’ve been given by my Savior. It’s September 20th, 5:19 in the morning. Sorry I haven’t called in a while. Been listening to the DAB; just the devil just keeps distracting me with calling in, stuff like that. So just pray for me that I continue to be consistent in that area. Anyhow I got some prayer requests. Listened to the September 20th podcast and these are from that. To this gentleman that called in about your wife, Sarah, that was bitten by a tick and received Lyme disease, we right now lift her up and ask that for this sickness and incapacity of her body to be restored, right now in the name of Jesus. We command a full healing of, in and throughout her body, by the power of his blood. Bill B., our missionary in Africa, our brother missionary in Africa, we pray over all the young men you are ministering over and to. We also pray over you and your upcoming surgery of your shoulder. We pray for blessing to pour over you. Mark in Australia, we pray over your friend’s wife, Jenny, and the news of the brain tumor she received. We pray that through the mighty name of Jesus it vanishes without further explanation. You also stated that you have a praise report, and even though you did not announce it, we rejoice with you and lift up those shouts of praise to heaven. Well that’s it for now Dabbers. Call in...
Good morning Daily Audio Bible, this is Marie calling from Pleasanton, CA. I’ve been calling for quite a while now about my daughter, Elizabeth Joy, who has been addicted to drugs. She gotten out of a program this year, in actually February and is in Oakland, CA, with plans to be rehabilitated after being a drug addict for seven years. Her son was born almost a year ago and she was not given custody of her son, but she’s going to court this Tuesday, September 22nd. Would you just pray Tuesday, September 22nd? Pray for God’s mercy and that, first of all, pray for her salvation along with all my children, and #2, that she will be awarded custody of her son if its God will, to guide the judges and lawyers, in Jesus’ name I pray. Thank you all. I do pray for all of you as I hear your prayers. God bless all of you.
Hey Dabbers, this is Slave of Jesus from North Carolina. Alright, Holy Spirit, let’s roll. Thank you, Lord, for just a great week. I’ve been with my wife. We went and watched the sun rise out of the ocean. There were a pod of dolphins swimming by. I mean, it couldn’t have been any better. And so I thank you for this time as we get prepared to go back to what we call our normal life, working life. Lord, I ask you to watch over our James, the mighty warrior, the son of a Dabber who has found God. So we ask you to come over this situation. Lord, we ask you to fight through. You know the enemy is not going to like this. So he’s going to come, he’s going to attack the family. Lord, we ask you to give your ring of protection over that entire extended family, in the name of Jesus, amen. This is also for all, there is some Dabber out there that is struggling with lust. I don’t know who it is for, I don’t know, maybe it’s for me; but I stolen this from Sinner. It's so good I had to play it back and write it down. So, Almighty God, liberator and healer, we lift up all the Dabbers struggling with lust. We pray for these Dabbers and their struggle with lust. We pray that the damage done by their experience with lust be healed. We pray that your holy fire will burn the sinful thoughts from their mind and replace them with the Holy Spirit, the Word and the truth. We pray that they would search out and be given a single battle scripture about lust. Arm themselves when they’re tempted. That the Word of Spirit, the Word of God might fend off the attacks of the enemy. Alright, whoever you are, stand fast, turn and face your enemy with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit inside of you and watch as God claims victory for you. I don’t know who that was for. Stick your name in there. Pray that out loud. Pray that prayer for your spouse if they’re struggling with that and let’s defeat the enemy in this particular area. Love you all. Have a great day.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you. I pray he gives you peace and that all that you have will increase. That your blessing will never ever cease, that your life be one gigantic peace. I pray all of that for you. But the truth of the matter is that the road is long and rough. The battles are hard and tough. Your best is never enough and Satan will always call your bluff. But I know that you can make it. I know that you can stand. The Lord will not forsake you and there’s not much that he’ll demand. Keep your eyes upon his promises. Let your vows be firm and true. Let your friends be in his service. Let his Spirit yours renew. Don’t be afraid to call his name when problems get too tough. You might have to do some fasting too when prayer just isn’t enough. But whatever problems come your way, whatever storms may rise, if you stay faithful to the Lord, in time you’ll gain the prize. Honesty, integrity are things you must possess. If humbly you just ask for strength, he’ll give you all the rest. The Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face to shine upon you. I pray he gives you peace and that all that you have will increase. May your blessing never ever cease and your life be one big gigantic peace. BlindTony1016@gmail.com. Love you Daily Audio Bible family. It was nice hearing from you, Matthew, thanks for the call. Love you, brother. Keep the faith y’all. Thank you, Brian, for this wonderful forum. And Jill, it was nice hearing your voice and Ezekiel’s.
Good morning family, this is Biola from Maryland. I hope you all are doing well. Brian and Jill, God bless you. Brian, I’m looking forward to getting your audiobook that I ordered from Reframe. I drive a lot so it makes more sense to order the audiobook. I can listen to it over and over on the CD. God bless you. God bless your ministry. You know the miracle of this song, I think, will be helpful to some people who are going through stuff right now. It’s ‘When You Cry’ by the Winans. Pardon my voice, I’m going to try to sing it. But it says, ‘When you cry, loved one, makes me cry, dear one. Don’t you know you never cry alone. When you cry, loved one, makes me cry, dear one. Don’t you know you never cry alone. When you’re sad, loved one, makes me sad, dear one, don’t you know you’re never sad alone. Though my house is set on high, doesn’t mean that I don’t hear you, when you cry, when you cry I’m right there by your side.’ And it’s so true because the Word of God says in Hebrews 4:15, the Word of God says ‘for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but he was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.’ Terri, I think you said your name is, from Vancouver, the Lord is in your situation. I pray that God will step in and that there will be a breakthrough like your praying. Sister, just pour out your heart to God. You don’t even need any printed prayers. I know that you said people should send you prayers. You just tell God the way you’ve told us, the way it is and the Lord who has promised to answer, will not only answer but will give you your breakthrough, in the name of Jesus. Melanie from the Bay area, I’m praying that God will give you all calm and peace in your situation.
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Tamarie 09/23/2015 19:45 |
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