1 00:00:09,230 --> 00:00:12,090 Teen pathways 2 00:00:16,970 --> 00:00:18,320 Hey! 3 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:19,640 Hi! 4 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,670 I have something that I'd like to share with you and see if you 5 00:00:23,710 --> 00:00:27,670 have any experiences like this. I just got back, not just now, 6 00:00:27,700 --> 00:00:31,140 but I just got back from Thailand. I did a missiontrip 7 00:00:31,180 --> 00:00:36,150 in Thailand. And I've been over there and I ended up going to 8 00:00:36,180 --> 00:00:40,430 a place called Pattaya which is called the broth elevator, 9 00:00:40,460 --> 00:00:44,640 really not a safe place, a lot of the sextrade industry, 10 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,110 and I saw a lot of things that I just didn't expect to see 11 00:00:47,140 --> 00:00:50,210 and one time we ended up in this place, there was 4 of us in 12 00:00:50,250 --> 00:00:53,200 this missiontrip. We ended up in this place that was really 13 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:55,850 unsafe and there was a stabbing right before we've got in there, 14 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,460 there was a guy that got killed at the hotel we were staying, 15 00:00:58,490 --> 00:01:01,720 and there was a kid that was actually pretty violently 16 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,920 violated and the police came and thought that he was in our room 17 00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:07,450 and searched our room, so it was like a really not a safe place. 18 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:12,720 And God had to send an angel one night at 11.30 at night 19 00:01:12,750 --> 00:01:14,830 to get us from one place to another and keep us safe. 20 00:01:14,860 --> 00:01:16,790 And I had no idea it was an angel at first. 21 00:01:16,830 --> 00:01:19,730 I knew we were unsafe, I knew that we were at risk, 22 00:01:19,770 --> 00:01:22,600 and all the sudden this woman came out of the middle of 23 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,740 nowhere, the middle of this dark alley, actually and started 24 00:01:25,770 --> 00:01:28,060 telling us to come into the alley and follow her. 25 00:01:28,100 --> 00:01:30,360 There was 4 of us and we looked at each other like: 26 00:01:30,390 --> 00:01:32,620 not a chance. We're not going to go down this alley, 27 00:01:32,650 --> 00:01:34,150 because we're feeling unsafe anyway. 28 00:01:34,190 --> 00:01:38,050 And we felt something actually kind of pushing us from behind, 29 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,160 we followed her and as we came around the corner, 30 00:01:41,190 --> 00:01:44,200 we were led right to the ministry building we were trying 31 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,570 find. Around the corner from this alley, it was called the 32 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:48,680 fountain of life, is what we were trying to get to. 33 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,930 And I turned around to thank her, because I was so relieved, 34 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:55,200 so relieved, I was almost in tears, because that's how 35 00:01:55,230 --> 00:01:58,400 afraid I was. And I turned around and she was not there. 36 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:02,240 She was not there. And so all the sudden I realized that God 37 00:02:02,270 --> 00:02:04,700 had sent an angel and I've never had that happened, 38 00:02:04,730 --> 00:02:07,570 and I don't know if I ever will, but that was the most 39 00:02:07,610 --> 00:02:10,380 incredible thing. So today we're going to cover miracles 40 00:02:10,420 --> 00:02:13,770 or prayer. Answer the prayer, miracles and have you heard any, 41 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,410 did you have any happened? And that's what we're going to 42 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:18,460 cover, but before we start, introduce yourself, 43 00:02:18,490 --> 00:02:20,140 and what do you think of miracles? 44 00:02:20,180 --> 00:02:24,290 My name is Brian Wilson and I think miracles and prayers, 45 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,400 is when you pray you have 1 and 100 numbers told free and 46 00:02:28,430 --> 00:02:29,500 a miracle could happen. 47 00:02:29,540 --> 00:02:33,510 Hi, I'm Shira Brooks and the thing that I like about prayer 48 00:02:33,540 --> 00:02:37,480 is that it's your connection to God. You just talk to Him, 49 00:02:37,510 --> 00:02:39,710 He hears everything. 50 00:02:39,750 --> 00:02:42,520 My name is Nicky Sackmann and the thing I like about prayers, 51 00:02:42,550 --> 00:02:46,270 is I use it a lot at school, when I'm taking tests. 52 00:02:46,310 --> 00:02:49,830 My name is Amy Oster, and I believe in prayer and miracles, 53 00:02:49,860 --> 00:02:53,610 because through prayer God has made a miracle of my life. 54 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:57,360 My name is Bronson Anderson, and I believe in prayer, because 55 00:02:57,390 --> 00:03:01,170 all the prayers I have ever prayed have been answered, 56 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,950 whether it be no or yes or not even answered at all, but I 57 00:03:04,980 --> 00:03:05,950 figured out later. 58 00:03:05,990 --> 00:03:09,010 My name is A.J. Grant and what I like about prayers, 59 00:03:09,050 --> 00:03:13,410 and miracles is that my brother was an atheist and now he is 60 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:15,320 a minister. So I think prayer works. 61 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:19,360 Cool! You know what is really funny, I have to get back to 62 00:03:19,390 --> 00:03:22,550 Nicky, what you said about the test. When you said that, 63 00:03:22,590 --> 00:03:25,720 the first thing I thought about is you'd have an angel that 64 00:03:25,750 --> 00:03:27,860 approaches you with the answers ready. 65 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,470 Oh, I believe it. 66 00:03:33,510 --> 00:03:36,630 It surprizes me to say all. 67 00:03:36,670 --> 00:03:39,720 You're like: I don't understand it. I'll do it. 68 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:44,810 At college I used to pray for the gift of profecy so I know 69 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,260 what what was coming up on class. 70 00:03:47,290 --> 00:03:49,350 That's what you were doing. 71 00:03:49,390 --> 00:03:51,220 So it is funny that we can, that prayer and miracles 72 00:03:51,260 --> 00:03:54,050 starts at really little things but has anybody had or heard 73 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,420 stories about prayer or miracle that you thought wow! 74 00:03:57,450 --> 00:03:59,800 That's incredible! 75 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:05,650 Yeah, I read a book: "The power of prayer" by Roger, I can't 76 00:04:05,690 --> 00:04:11,180 pronounce his name, Morneau, and in it he was talking about 77 00:04:11,210 --> 00:04:17,260 his typewriter. I guess he wrote a book or something another 78 00:04:17,290 --> 00:04:22,880 he was printing out the pages and all the sudden the ink ran 79 00:04:22,910 --> 00:04:28,160 out. And he and his wife were like oh, no, we have deadline, 80 00:04:28,190 --> 00:04:33,660 we need to get these out. So they prayed. I guess they both knelt 81 00:04:33,690 --> 00:04:38,960 down and prayed about it. And all the sudden the printer started 82 00:04:38,990 --> 00:04:43,980 working. The ink like it's never even worked before with the ink 83 00:04:44,010 --> 00:04:50,380 on a paper. And soon he's like wow! The pages started going out, 84 00:04:50,410 --> 00:04:56,340 and he kind of thought himself it will be bad, if God will back 85 00:04:56,380 --> 00:05:01,750 and saw me doing this and, so he started doubting God about 86 00:05:01,790 --> 00:05:07,440 it and the printer stopped. And he knelt down with him and 87 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:13,100 his wife and prayed about what he did, as far as doubting 88 00:05:13,130 --> 00:05:15,270 God, and the printer started working again. 89 00:05:15,310 --> 00:05:21,660 And as far as I know, he is deceased now, but it worked 90 00:05:21,700 --> 00:05:26,590 all the way up untill he bought a new printer. So it's amazing! 91 00:05:26,620 --> 00:05:30,110 That's amazing! 92 00:05:30,150 --> 00:05:33,000 Yeah. I like the story 93 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,860 of Peter in the Bible, who walked on water. It's Peter, isn't it? 94 00:05:35,890 --> 00:05:40,880 Yeah, ok. I thought it's so cool because I was like learning to 95 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:46,550 walk water, it's like yeah, but I can't do it, because getting 96 00:05:46,590 --> 00:05:52,190 there watch me, I think, but that's not the point. It's cool 97 00:05:52,220 --> 00:05:55,070 because always like it took a complete faith and like as soon 98 00:05:55,100 --> 00:05:56,830 as he stopped having faith, he started to sink. 99 00:05:56,870 --> 00:05:59,330 Also the same thing, as soon as he doubted. 100 00:05:59,370 --> 00:06:03,770 As soon as he doubted, boom, down he goes into the depth of 101 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,960 We can also talk about more, another miracle in the Bible is, 102 00:06:07,990 --> 00:06:12,550 Jesus' first miracle, He changes the water into wine at the 103 00:06:12,590 --> 00:06:17,120 wedding feast. It may seem so minor, because you're having 104 00:06:17,150 --> 00:06:18,570 the wedding feast and suddenly you run out of wine, 105 00:06:18,610 --> 00:06:22,040 and that is a major thing, because that's part of the party. 106 00:06:22,070 --> 00:06:26,400 I don't know what type of wine that was or whatever, 107 00:06:26,430 --> 00:06:30,690 but Jesus is like: go fill up these big bowls or urns with 108 00:06:30,730 --> 00:06:33,480 water and the servant is like: what's he talking about? 109 00:06:33,510 --> 00:06:36,810 We can't serve water at the wedding feast. 110 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:40,070 And they start pouring out and when pouring it out, it was the 111 00:06:40,110 --> 00:06:44,850 other man, one of them drop it at least, and when he's pouring 112 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,800 he sees red liquid and he's like: Auh! He dropped it all over the 113 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:50,060 place and said: don't have to worry about because there's 114 00:06:50,090 --> 00:06:51,630 plenty more where I came from. 115 00:06:54,190 --> 00:06:56,820 I remember when I was little we were going on a camping trip 116 00:06:56,850 --> 00:07:03,400 with the Pathfinders, and so we have got an RV 117 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:08,490 hide and seek and I decided to go in this closet and I was in 118 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:11,180 there for a while and was like: rescue me and so she apparently 119 00:07:11,220 --> 00:07:16,880 had left, gone to bed and so I was cramping there and anything, 120 00:07:16,910 --> 00:07:19,320 so I'm like ok, I was stupid, I'm going to get out, 121 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:23,350 I'm like oh, oh, there's no doornob and so I was stuck in 122 00:07:23,380 --> 00:07:27,150 there so scared and so I prayed to Jesus like: "help me find 123 00:07:27,190 --> 00:07:30,890 a way out of here, so I was like pushing it and said 124 00:07:30,930 --> 00:07:33,950 got my little fingers through and I could actually push the 125 00:07:33,980 --> 00:07:37,000 button to get out. And I'm like thank you, Jesus, 126 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:41,010 I was so scared, I was going to be locked in there forever, 127 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,180 my parents will never find me. 128 00:07:44,220 --> 00:07:49,340 I love those kind of prayers because with kids, or with people 129 00:07:49,370 --> 00:07:51,980 that don't know God, my husband, when we first met, 130 00:07:52,020 --> 00:07:54,880 he was not a Christian. Not that he didn't believe in God, 131 00:07:54,910 --> 00:07:57,080 but he was not a Christian and after a while he said: 132 00:07:57,110 --> 00:07:59,210 "I don't even know how to find out if God is real." 133 00:07:59,250 --> 00:08:03,320 So I said: "Just pray! Just pray that God show Himself to you." 134 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:07,400 And my husband's funny and I said: pray and do it in a funny 135 00:08:07,430 --> 00:08:11,030 way and so Brad just kind of let that right in his mind for a 136 00:08:11,070 --> 00:08:14,990 while and he's a golfer, and he's really good. I mean, he swings 137 00:08:15,020 --> 00:08:17,760 the club and the ball goes for ever, I mean it just goes for 138 00:08:17,790 --> 00:08:20,110 ever. And it's really fun when you see that happen 139 00:08:20,150 --> 00:08:23,060 unless he slices or hooks a ball. And then it's gone, it's in 140 00:08:23,090 --> 00:08:24,740 the rough and you'll never find the ball again. 141 00:08:24,780 --> 00:08:27,420 So he's with some people that he's kind of showing a knock to 142 00:08:27,450 --> 00:08:30,060 and when he does it, he hits the ball and it goes in the rough and 143 00:08:30,100 --> 00:08:32,850 it's gone. And so he prays: "Lord, please, help me find my 144 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:34,530 golfball and it was the first prayer he ever prayed. 145 00:08:34,570 --> 00:08:38,360 And he looks down and the golfball is at his foot. 146 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,490 And he couldn't wait to finish the 18 holes so he could come 147 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:44,510 home and tell me what God had done and he was like this 148 00:08:44,540 --> 00:08:47,500 little kid and I looked at him and I thought: you are such 149 00:08:47,530 --> 00:08:50,490 an easy mark to ask God to find your golfball. 150 00:08:50,530 --> 00:08:54,760 Sometimes I think amazing things come about not just because 151 00:08:54,790 --> 00:08:58,110 you pray and then immediately you have an answer to, 152 00:08:58,150 --> 00:09:00,640 and you're amazed, sometimes they come about because you have 153 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:04,080 prayer in your life. Like there's this one lady, I don't know her 154 00:09:04,110 --> 00:09:06,650 personally, I hope I didn't get the fact's wrong, 155 00:09:06,690 --> 00:09:09,640 she goes to my grandparents' church, so I know of her. 156 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:12,920 But she was supposed to go overseas, on a missionary work. 157 00:09:12,950 --> 00:09:16,120 And she got her passport, her plane ticket, everything 158 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:20,290 and she was excited and like the Saturday before she was to 159 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:24,380 leave, she went to a picnic, a church picnic and she had 160 00:09:24,420 --> 00:09:27,760 a personal car, and somebody broke into the car and they stole 161 00:09:27,790 --> 00:09:29,290 her purse with her passport, her planeticket, 162 00:09:29,330 --> 00:09:33,880 and money and everything. And I'm sure she was just 163 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:36,490 devastated, she couldn't go overseas, she was looking 164 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:38,930 forward to it, and it 'd take months to get another passport, 165 00:09:38,970 --> 00:09:42,040 planeticket and everything, so she went home and she was just 166 00:09:42,070 --> 00:09:46,780 sad about that and I think it might have been Monday night or 167 00:09:46,820 --> 00:09:49,910 some time, the day that she was to fly away, that night she heard 168 00:09:49,940 --> 00:09:51,760 the plane crash as she was sitting and watching 169 00:09:51,790 --> 00:09:53,540 the evening news she heard of a planecrash, 170 00:09:53,580 --> 00:09:56,850 and the plane that crashed, was that plane that she would 171 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:00,310 have been on. And almost all the people on that plane died. 172 00:10:00,340 --> 00:10:03,220 And she would have been on that very plane. And so I'm sure 173 00:10:03,260 --> 00:10:06,110 that she has prayer in her life because of that God made 174 00:10:06,140 --> 00:10:09,250 a miracle of that, out of that situation. 175 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:11,740 Right. She was saved. 176 00:10:11,780 --> 00:10:15,640 Like a small thing is, this might sound silly, but my dad 177 00:10:15,670 --> 00:10:19,150 refuses to ask for directions. He just refuses. 178 00:10:19,190 --> 00:10:22,210 He's like I know where I'm going. When we go on vacation he's like: 179 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:23,630 no, I know where I'm going. 180 00:10:23,670 --> 00:10:27,990 He's never been there before. So every time I get in the car, 181 00:10:28,020 --> 00:10:31,340 I tell Dad, let us get lost and like die or something, 182 00:10:31,370 --> 00:10:32,520 because I want to live till tomorrow. 183 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:36,300 And he's like ok, help me with this one. 184 00:10:36,340 --> 00:10:40,230 That's funny, because most men don't do that. 185 00:10:40,260 --> 00:10:43,510 There's some reason. 186 00:10:43,550 --> 00:10:47,080 I was watching a cop's TV show once, 187 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:50,830 and they had a call where they always called domestic 188 00:10:50,870 --> 00:10:54,460 disturbance. It was in some big city. Unfortunately it happens 189 00:10:54,490 --> 00:10:56,310 quite a lot, it was a boyfriend and girlfriend, 190 00:10:56,340 --> 00:10:58,570 the boyfriend had pulled a knife on her girlfriend. 191 00:10:58,610 --> 00:11:00,810 The girlfriend had a 5 year old daughter in the house. 192 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,180 And this 5 year old daughter called 901 193 00:11:04,210 --> 00:11:07,480 saying this guy tried to stab my momy. 194 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:10,120 The police came and traced her phonecall back 195 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:12,690 she didn't know where she lived, she was only 5 years old, 196 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,220 so he said to the kid: what's your adress? 197 00:11:15,250 --> 00:11:18,580 Traced the phonecall back, the police showed up, 198 00:11:18,620 --> 00:11:21,880 they arrested the man, the lady had a small cut on 199 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:24,770 her arm. And so the police went over to this 5 year old girl, 200 00:11:24,810 --> 00:11:27,630 and she is in the kitchen and they were like: "that's really 201 00:11:27,660 --> 00:11:30,200 good, did you call 901? He picked up the phone, 202 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:32,790 he goes ok, show me what numbers did you push? And she was: 203 00:11:32,830 --> 00:11:35,020 "I don't know,". And they were: "No, no, when you called, 204 00:11:35,060 --> 00:11:37,220 what number did you push and she goes: "I don't remember." 205 00:11:37,250 --> 00:11:39,970 And her mom goes: she doesn't know the numbers. 206 00:11:40,010 --> 00:11:42,990 She hasn't been in school yet, she doesn't know the numbers." 207 00:11:43,020 --> 00:11:46,840 And the cop said: "that's pretty weird, someone called 901. 208 00:11:46,870 --> 00:11:50,020 And her mom goes: "Wait a minute!" She just picks up the 209 00:11:50,060 --> 00:11:53,140 phone, and she listened to it, and there was a dial tone. 210 00:11:53,180 --> 00:11:56,910 And her mom goes: "But our phone has been disconnected for the 211 00:11:56,940 --> 00:12:00,640 past 2 weeks." And somehow this little girl who didn't know the 212 00:12:00,670 --> 00:12:04,250 numbers, called 901 on a phone that didn't work. 213 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:06,340 And they were able to save the mom's life. 214 00:12:06,370 --> 00:12:08,360 And get the boyfriend out of the house. 215 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,800 And it was right there on TV. All crossnation, 216 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,440 the people have seen that, suddenly realized that 217 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:16,260 that's an actual miracle that happened right there. Miracles 218 00:12:16,300 --> 00:12:19,990 happen all time even if we don't realize but we actually stand 219 00:12:20,020 --> 00:12:23,780 and go wow! My life has changed because of defined interference 220 00:12:23,810 --> 00:12:25,340 because an angel's there from God. 221 00:12:25,380 --> 00:12:27,510 Do you guys, when you hear these kind of stories, 222 00:12:27,550 --> 00:12:31,350 do you believe in miracles? Do you believe that God would 223 00:12:31,380 --> 00:12:35,110 step and do something that incredible in your own life? 224 00:12:35,150 --> 00:12:42,550 Yeah, I believe that God loves us and He wants to save us from 225 00:12:42,580 --> 00:12:47,320 so many harm that He can and anything you know, so He steps in 226 00:12:47,350 --> 00:12:51,530 and help us along the way sometimes 227 00:12:51,570 --> 00:12:54,880 Amy said something in her introduction, that is so true, 228 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:58,280 because she says: "I believe in miracles because my life, what 229 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:02,920 God has done with me is a miracle. And I'm right there with 230 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:07,590 you because as a teen, I grew up really angry, really suicidal, 231 00:13:07,620 --> 00:13:12,180 really had chronical self esteem, was praying to God 232 00:13:12,220 --> 00:13:14,570 to take my life so, because I was too scared to take my own, 233 00:13:14,610 --> 00:13:18,380 because then I can't go to heaven, so I was like: "Ok, Lord, 234 00:13:18,410 --> 00:13:21,960 You take my life." And in the last ten years I would never pray 235 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:25,520 that prayer. And this is the miracle how He just comes into 236 00:13:25,550 --> 00:13:28,620 your life, He changes you, He takes away the bad 237 00:13:28,660 --> 00:13:31,700 it's a miracle, it's your miracle, because it's you, 238 00:13:31,730 --> 00:13:34,210 it's not telling the story about somebody else. 239 00:13:34,250 --> 00:13:37,210 Your prayer is your communication with God, that's how you 240 00:13:37,250 --> 00:13:40,090 communicate with Him. When you have that communication, 241 00:13:40,130 --> 00:13:42,900 then you start to love Him and your life is changed 242 00:13:42,940 --> 00:13:44,920 and you look back to where you came from and you're like: 243 00:13:44,950 --> 00:13:48,030 How a miracle, God changed me. That is a miracle. 244 00:13:48,070 --> 00:13:53,100 What's really cool about that, is that there are times when 245 00:13:53,130 --> 00:13:55,430 someone says, when they think about miracles, 246 00:13:55,460 --> 00:13:58,090 they think about like the parting on the Red Sea, 247 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:01,380 in the Bible and even the change of water into wine, 248 00:14:01,420 --> 00:14:04,650 but I really think that the miracle, among miracles 249 00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:05,490 is a changed life. 250 00:14:05,530 --> 00:14:12,260 How much can you get to take somebody that is completely 251 00:14:12,290 --> 00:14:16,390 wrapped up in all that kind of sadness and anger 252 00:14:16,430 --> 00:14:19,980 and disfunction and all the sudden they're full of joy 253 00:14:20,020 --> 00:14:23,500 and love and they're, I never knew that about you, A.J. 254 00:14:23,540 --> 00:14:26,850 And all the sudden you're talking and I'm thinking every time 255 00:14:26,890 --> 00:14:29,900 I've seen you walk into your room, you kind of bring the whole 256 00:14:29,940 --> 00:14:32,920 room to life. I mean it's just like and so to see you ever in 257 00:14:32,950 --> 00:14:35,390 you're angry and suicidelike, I can't even imagine that 258 00:14:35,420 --> 00:14:39,030 so God just totally transformed you. 259 00:14:39,070 --> 00:14:40,790 I'm thankful, you were there last night when the guys were 260 00:14:40,820 --> 00:14:42,810 were keeping me up 261 00:14:42,850 --> 00:14:45,170 I still apologize for that. 262 00:14:45,210 --> 00:14:49,230 He also changed your life. Not only is a changed life 263 00:14:49,260 --> 00:14:51,940 a miracle, but the actual creation of life. 264 00:14:51,970 --> 00:14:55,200 I mean, it's amazing, when I took a biology class 265 00:14:55,230 --> 00:14:58,430 and I found out that I came from a little egg. 266 00:14:58,460 --> 00:15:00,710 A little egg and how I got developped. 267 00:15:00,750 --> 00:15:02,930 And it's so amazing how that happened. 268 00:15:02,970 --> 00:15:05,940 I mean, everybody you see around here is a miracle. 269 00:15:05,970 --> 00:15:07,500 Somewhere our life is threatened. 270 00:15:07,540 --> 00:15:12,480 And we're here obviously because of a miracle. We all know that 271 00:15:12,510 --> 00:15:14,710 something happened. 272 00:15:14,750 --> 00:15:18,760 You know when you stop and think from an embrio through cell 273 00:15:18,790 --> 00:15:20,280 division how in the world does an eye cell know 274 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:24,390 from an embrio to be an eyecell, and a skincell to be a skincell, 275 00:15:24,420 --> 00:15:28,460 and a nerve cell to be, all that through the miracle of birth 276 00:15:28,490 --> 00:15:31,280 and even scientists can't explain how from an embrio 277 00:15:31,310 --> 00:15:34,070 cells know how to specialize like that. There has to be 278 00:15:34,100 --> 00:15:35,850 a God working miracles. 279 00:15:35,890 --> 00:15:44,110 I also know a miracle that happened to myself. My dad and I 280 00:15:44,140 --> 00:15:50,220 were not that wealthy, we were pretty poor actually. 281 00:15:50,260 --> 00:15:56,450 And I came into the church when I was a teen, when I first 282 00:15:56,490 --> 00:16:02,650 became a teenager, and a couple, I guess a year went by, 283 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:07,350 and all the sudden we got a truck, we like to fish, 284 00:16:07,390 --> 00:16:12,460 we got a boat, we never had the money before to get all that, 285 00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:17,540 and it was just, I don't know, I didn't pray for that stuff, 286 00:16:17,570 --> 00:16:20,580 but I'm pretty sure my dad prayed for that, 287 00:16:20,620 --> 00:16:25,150 and just God giving us that it was just amazing. 288 00:16:25,190 --> 00:16:31,320 But also one day I was riding home I guess from a baseball 289 00:16:31,350 --> 00:16:37,450 game and we were in the new truck we got and it was fairly new 290 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:39,390 to us, all the sudden a storm came on us. 291 00:16:39,430 --> 00:16:44,440 I was like oh, no,it started to hail like a golfball size hail. 292 00:16:44,470 --> 00:16:47,980 I mean this stuff would get anything. 293 00:16:48,020 --> 00:16:54,430 Even brake windows, I guess. So, my dad and I prayed together 294 00:16:54,460 --> 00:16:57,590 we had to keep our eyes open of course, because we were 295 00:16:57,630 --> 00:17:01,220 driving still, but we prayed together and all the sudden 296 00:17:01,250 --> 00:17:05,130 the hail stopped. As quick as it started, as quick as it 297 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:08,250 stopped. And the hail, I mean a storm like that, it just 298 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:11,340 doesn't do that, it just looked like to me and my dad that 299 00:17:11,370 --> 00:17:14,480 it was hailing all around us, except around the truck 300 00:17:14,510 --> 00:17:16,890 that He had provided for us earlier. 301 00:17:16,930 --> 00:17:20,830 That's got to be. What did that tell you about what God thinks 302 00:17:20,860 --> 00:17:22,820 of you? Or what God thinks of your dad? 303 00:17:22,860 --> 00:17:28,890 I just, that just tells me that without a shadow of doubt 304 00:17:28,930 --> 00:17:33,760 He loves us. He wants us to survive and He knows what 305 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:38,980 a struggle it is for my dad and I just to make it 306 00:17:39,020 --> 00:17:44,130 in this day and age and He just came through for us. 307 00:17:44,170 --> 00:17:49,070 I think because of that love He has for you, when His children 308 00:17:49,100 --> 00:17:54,090 talk to Him, He's just willing I think the text John 15:7-8 309 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:59,080 speaks about that, about how, if you're abiding with Him, 310 00:17:59,110 --> 00:18:01,260 and the relationship, what does it say? 311 00:18:01,300 --> 00:18:11,780 John 15:7-8: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, 312 00:18:11,810 --> 00:18:16,690 ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 313 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:21,570 He's just such an awesome God, to do things like that, 314 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:25,150 the power He has. 315 00:18:25,190 --> 00:18:28,400 I'm going to play off the other side just to see what you guys 316 00:18:28,430 --> 00:18:32,610 think: what happens? I have a friend that her son died. 317 00:18:32,650 --> 00:18:36,850 What happens when He doesn't answer prayers, that you didn't 318 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:38,910 abide in Him? That you didn't listen enough? 319 00:18:38,940 --> 00:18:40,210 You didn't pray enough? 320 00:18:40,250 --> 00:18:41,860 That your faith wasn't great enough? 321 00:18:41,900 --> 00:18:46,020 Sometimes His answer is yes, but He also answers no 322 00:18:46,060 --> 00:18:49,810 and you have to realize that, too, that everything looks up 323 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:50,500 for the best, even if the answer is no. 324 00:18:50,540 --> 00:18:55,300 So what the Bible says is that I have to trust Him, 325 00:18:55,340 --> 00:19:00,650 If you have your trust in Him, no matter what He answers, 326 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:01,710 all is going to turn up for the best. 327 00:19:01,750 --> 00:19:04,460 It will be all good with God, if you just trust Him. 328 00:19:04,500 --> 00:19:10,240 I was watching the mid 98' series and Dwight was talking about how 329 00:19:10,270 --> 00:19:14,170 we will have a thousand years in heaven and He's a God 330 00:19:14,210 --> 00:19:16,330 He's willing to be second guest because there's going to be 331 00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:18,540 books up there and in those thousand years 332 00:19:18,580 --> 00:19:21,720 we'll be able to calm down and say: why did such and such 333 00:19:21,750 --> 00:19:23,900 happen? Why did this prayer got unanswered? 334 00:19:23,940 --> 00:19:26,840 And there's a statement that says: if we knew the end from 335 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:29,750 the beginning, like God did, we would understand why things 336 00:19:29,780 --> 00:19:32,080 had to work out the way that they did. 337 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:33,120 So He loves us so much that He is even willing to sit down 338 00:19:33,150 --> 00:19:38,340 and say: here's any unanswered question. 339 00:19:38,370 --> 00:19:40,820 When we get to heaven, yeah. 340 00:19:40,860 --> 00:19:41,550 That's pretty cool! 341 00:19:41,580 --> 00:19:43,660 It's going to hurt down here, there's a question that 342 00:19:43,700 --> 00:19:47,840 perplexes even the greatest theologians: why do bad things 343 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:51,560 happen to good people? Sometimes that's just 344 00:19:51,590 --> 00:19:53,790 unanswerable. That side of heaven, but when we get up there, 345 00:19:53,820 --> 00:19:55,980 we'll have thousand years to go over the books or videotapes 346 00:19:56,010 --> 00:19:59,310 or whatever and these questions will be answered then. 347 00:19:59,350 --> 00:20:02,610 You have the story of Job, this guy had all his kids 348 00:20:02,650 --> 00:20:05,630 the greatest wealth of anybody in land, and all these are taken 349 00:20:05,670 --> 00:20:08,580 away, his health is taken away to the point where he was almost 350 00:20:08,620 --> 00:20:12,160 dead. And yet he's just, all his friends were like: hey, 351 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:15,140 you sinned, admit to God you sinned and he's like: I didn't 352 00:20:15,180 --> 00:20:20,150 sin. This is not God's doing. And when he prooved himself, 353 00:20:20,180 --> 00:20:25,080 God has given back all he had, more children, 354 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:31,180 more land, more flock, more herd, all came back, it was all better 355 00:20:31,210 --> 00:20:33,220 than before. 356 00:20:33,250 --> 00:20:35,050 And Job, what I appreciate about Job, too, is he said: 357 00:20:35,090 --> 00:20:37,080 you know what? I don't understand it, but even 358 00:20:37,110 --> 00:20:41,950 if this kills me, I'm following God. I know that I love Him. 359 00:20:41,990 --> 00:20:47,280 And He is my God and my good is in his heart. 360 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:51,450 It seems like death is always the flipside of a good miracle. 361 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:54,980 You know what I mean? And it's always a temptation, 362 00:20:55,010 --> 00:20:58,920 not just a temptation, because human nature asks: 363 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,800 why? Why? But no matter what, God always holds the 364 00:21:02,830 --> 00:21:06,390 because he says: I died for you. I gave my life for you. 365 00:21:06,420 --> 00:21:10,260 I understand what it's like to be separated from someone, 366 00:21:10,290 --> 00:21:13,430 because I was separated from God. And I've always asked 367 00:21:13,460 --> 00:21:16,990 the question: if God is God and He's holding all the cards, 368 00:21:17,020 --> 00:21:20,510 He makes the rules, why could there been a way to save humanity 369 00:21:20,550 --> 00:21:24,760 without Him giving his life. His the one that makes the rules, 370 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:28,980 but He willingly and knowingly chose that road. So when you're 371 00:21:29,020 --> 00:21:32,950 asking why in the face of miracles, you can also ask 372 00:21:32,980 --> 00:21:35,320 otherwise a question: why did God have to die? 373 00:21:35,350 --> 00:21:40,670 So I just had to say that, because I really love talking 374 00:21:40,700 --> 00:21:42,730 about miracles that are answered in a positive, 375 00:21:42,770 --> 00:21:48,000 but I don't want anyone to hear this discussion and say: 376 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:51,340 what if it wasn't for me? And so the miracles maybe are 377 00:21:51,380 --> 00:21:53,980 answered in the positive, or maybe we'll have to wait 378 00:21:54,020 --> 00:21:56,550 untill we are in heaven and find out what happened 379 00:21:56,590 --> 00:22:00,290 I have to say one thing and this is about this ministry, 380 00:22:00,330 --> 00:22:04,220 this ministry is working with youth, right? So "True Step" 381 00:22:04,250 --> 00:22:08,070 ministry and what I do is work with youth, some people in 382 00:22:08,110 --> 00:22:11,140 prison, some people in jail, some people that are in shelters, 383 00:22:11,180 --> 00:22:14,180 in fosterhomes some that are in church, that just are saying: 384 00:22:14,210 --> 00:22:17,190 I need God to be more real to me, and I love doing this, 385 00:22:17,220 --> 00:22:20,160 but there are sometimes in ministries you just don't have 386 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:21,850 any money, and nobody thinks to send you some. 387 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:24,890 And so I was sitting there one day thinking: Lord, how can I 388 00:22:24,930 --> 00:22:28,400 do this? We get all this stuff coming up and I don't have 389 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,730 gas money. I don't have money to pay my phonebill that I have 390 00:22:31,770 --> 00:22:35,030 to call over the country, talk to different people to get this 391 00:22:35,060 --> 00:22:36,370 arranged? I don't have money to pay that. 392 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,610 And so I was like and I'm crying and stressed 393 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:43,080 and I'm finally thinking: I feel like who's the guy that in the 394 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:45,460 Bible went under the tree and the tree kind of died? 395 00:22:45,490 --> 00:22:47,760 It's Jonah. 396 00:22:47,790 --> 00:22:50,170 Jonah. I'm feeling like that kind of thing I don't want to do 397 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,560 this. I'm burned out and so I'm thinking I just got to 398 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,600 get up and go outside and some exercise and I go out 399 00:22:56,630 --> 00:22:59,570 I walk out to the mailbox and I come back and I 400 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:03,620 got the mail in my hand and usually I can get sidetrack by 401 00:23:03,650 --> 00:23:07,060 the mail and stop. And so I'm opening the mail and things. And 402 00:23:07,100 --> 00:23:10,910 I open up a letter from an organisation called:"Winifred 403 00:23:10,950 --> 00:23:14,730 L. Stevens foundation" and there was a check for 25.000$ in the 404 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,920 envelope. I've never written this person, I met them one time 405 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,630 and they knew what we were doing as far as the ministry, 406 00:23:21,660 --> 00:23:24,440 and what it was is that I believe in what you're doing 407 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,390 and I just want to help. And God was so clear with me then 408 00:23:27,430 --> 00:23:30,310 as I'm in control and I love you. You've got to trust me. 409 00:23:30,340 --> 00:23:32,520 When it looks like thigs are not being answered, 410 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:34,700 I'm still in controll and I'm still helping. 411 00:23:34,730 --> 00:23:37,780 And I just said you know thanks. 412 00:23:37,810 --> 00:23:40,560 Thank you. 413 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:44,450 These true stories about people saying like: 414 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:48,060 why shall I believe in God? because I assume or think 415 00:23:48,100 --> 00:23:51,610 He exists, miracles are happening around us all the time. 416 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:56,610 We are so oblivious to know why is that. I found hard imaginig 417 00:23:56,650 --> 00:24:00,340 that with all the good stories you're coming out of the world. 418 00:24:00,380 --> 00:24:04,040 Of people who are saved, about the young lady who has 419 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:05,760 a car crash and her baby stuck in the car, 420 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,010 miraculously she lifts up the car and pulls out her baby 421 00:24:08,050 --> 00:24:10,470 and the baby is fine. And as the baby is ok, he looks up the car 422 00:24:10,510 --> 00:24:12,050 she's been able to lock the car on the top of it and she's 423 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:13,360 been able to lock the car off. 424 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:15,280 And it's so amazing to hear this all the time. 425 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:19,190 And these miracles are happening everywhere and every day. 426 00:24:19,230 --> 00:24:22,270 It's amazing that like we just got here at all because 427 00:24:22,310 --> 00:24:25,320 who knows, there could have been like some mad man 428 00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:29,620 shooting by like that's not going to happen 429 00:24:29,660 --> 00:24:31,920 but if you could go further on, if you propably would shoot by 430 00:24:31,950 --> 00:24:34,130 you propably would shoot by down the road, 431 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,170 like we could have got hit it would have been like 432 00:24:36,210 --> 00:24:38,180 ten seconds faster or like ten seconds slower, 433 00:24:38,220 --> 00:24:42,150 just like small things like that. 434 00:24:42,190 --> 00:24:44,660 Amy Grant's book called: "Angels watching over me." 435 00:24:44,700 --> 00:24:47,650 And she talks about that the hand of God moving things 436 00:24:47,690 --> 00:24:50,230 around for safety like the friend at your mom's church, 437 00:24:50,270 --> 00:24:52,610 that all the sudden somebody steals her purse 438 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,720 and she's not on the plane and all that kind of thing 439 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:58,800 and so it does seem like all that's happening propably 440 00:24:58,830 --> 00:25:00,940 all around us more than we'll ever know. 441 00:25:00,970 --> 00:25:03,000 Well, not ever, because the thousand years. 442 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:06,010 Yeah, you know, I think that I'm not going to have any big 443 00:25:06,050 --> 00:25:08,950 answers to prayer. I don't have any huge miracles in my own life, 444 00:25:08,980 --> 00:25:11,830 but when I think about it, there could have been millions of times 445 00:25:11,870 --> 00:25:14,800 when I could have died and angels were there to save 446 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,740 me and I'm sure my dad is thinking that there's also times 447 00:25:17,770 --> 00:25:20,440 now that he could have died, now that I have my permit 448 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:23,460 I know he's sitting over there and sitting next to me, 449 00:25:23,500 --> 00:25:26,450 praying his prayers, so every trip with me is propably 450 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:29,390 a miracle to him, but when you think about, 451 00:25:29,420 --> 00:25:31,510 there's just little things in your life that you could have 452 00:25:31,550 --> 00:25:33,720 died, but you're here now because of a miracle. 453 00:25:33,750 --> 00:25:36,090 Because of God. 454 00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:39,320 Exactly. So we're just not we're not seeing that a lot of 455 00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:40,550 times when somebody says we've been born and raised 456 00:25:40,580 --> 00:25:43,100 in the church, like I wasn't born and raised in the church, 457 00:25:43,130 --> 00:25:45,700 so I think my angel has to work a little harder, 458 00:25:45,740 --> 00:25:48,930 than yours, because you have people praying for you, 459 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,120 your protection around you propably don't see some stuff, 460 00:25:52,150 --> 00:25:54,330 just because you walk in that protection. 461 00:25:54,370 --> 00:25:58,410 Does that make sense? So for some of us in the church 462 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:02,410 I think that anybody praying for us, now that I'm doing 463 00:26:02,450 --> 00:26:04,890 the ministry people all over the country: oh Cheri I'm praying 464 00:26:04,930 --> 00:26:07,580 for you and your ministry. And the only thing I think 465 00:26:07,620 --> 00:26:10,240 about is I wonder what that means as far as the bigger 466 00:26:10,270 --> 00:26:15,300 picture. And so if you don't have major miracles, 467 00:26:15,340 --> 00:26:18,430 to talk about, you might want to just say 468 00:26:18,470 --> 00:26:20,850 now come what, not too good thing. 469 00:26:20,890 --> 00:26:24,790 Miracles show that God is love. That God loves us. 470 00:26:24,830 --> 00:26:28,700 A lot of people doubt that God even, He just made us 471 00:26:28,730 --> 00:26:32,180 and let us be. That type of belief It's like when you can get 472 00:26:32,220 --> 00:26:36,670 a new paye. A lot of pay you need to take care of it, it's your 473 00:26:36,710 --> 00:26:40,060 best friend. It won't let you harm, because that 's what God 474 00:26:40,100 --> 00:26:42,240 did, He created us, He won't let you harm come into our lives. 475 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:45,820 And more amazing than that, is that we are the crowning 476 00:26:45,860 --> 00:26:49,040 glory of God's creation. When I see the sun rise, 477 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:52,250 the Bible says that the sun goes across the sky, 478 00:26:52,290 --> 00:26:55,400 from my pleasure because of His love for me. 479 00:26:55,430 --> 00:26:59,720 I think that's incredible. I'd like to read Mt 7:7: 480 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:04,130 "Ask, seek and nock. Ask and it will be given to you. 481 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:08,500 Seek and you will find. Nock and the door will be open 482 00:27:08,530 --> 00:27:11,140 to you. For everyone who asks receives. 483 00:27:11,170 --> 00:27:14,300 He who seeks, finds. And to him who nocks, the door 484 00:27:14,330 --> 00:27:20,430 will be open." I know for sure that if I need a miracle, 485 00:27:20,460 --> 00:27:23,050 I just need to ask God. If I don't get that answered 486 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:25,600 in the way that I think it should be answered, 487 00:27:25,630 --> 00:27:28,080 I have to trust that God knows the bigger picture. 488 00:27:28,110 --> 00:27:32,180 And for any of us, He loves us and wants to do what's best 489 00:27:32,210 --> 00:27:36,250 for us and I have to trust that. Sometimes I don't even know 490 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:39,190 what's best but I have to trust that God loves me. 491 00:27:39,230 --> 00:27:41,480 And His best is what He wants for me. 492 00:27:41,510 --> 00:27:44,320 So thanks for joining us on Teen Pathways and see you 493 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:46,550 next time. Bye!