(206) "Where Do You Run for Refuge?”

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You're safer in the will of God, in a war zone or in an earthquake,

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than out of the will of God in your own bed.

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God is your refuge. You can look to him.

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As long as you're doing the thing that he has told you to do, you are safe.

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God promises in Joel 2, 28 to pour out his Spirit on all humanity. Welcome to Global Outpouring.

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Will we contend for that promised outpouring? Will we equip for that outpouring? So that we may engage

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in that very outpouring. I'm Philip Bus. And I'm Sharon Bus. Welcome to the podcast today.

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We are going to talk about something that is very, very important today. This is a subject that is

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probably on a lot of people's hearts. Where do you run for refuge?

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Thank you so much for joining us today on this podcast. This is going to be a very,

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very important episode. But before we get started, we want to encourage you, if you haven't

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already done so, that you would go to our website, globaloutpouring.net, and make sure that you have

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signed up for our email lists so that we can still be able to be in contact with you. If something

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should happen that would cause our Facebook feed to drop or our YouTube feed or something like that,

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we can still be able to get ahold of you if we have your email address. And of course,

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you can get ahold of us by emailing us at feedback at globaloutpouring.org. Or you can go to

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globaloutpouring.net and fill out the feedback form that's there so that we can hear from you.

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We'd love to hear from you, where you're listening from, what your thoughts are, something that you

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want us to do a podcast on that we can take to the Holy Spirit and see what He gives us for you.

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We just want to have an interaction with you. You are important to us. You, I'm talking to you.

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Are you a listener? Yes, you are important to us. And it's important to us that we help you

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in your contending for the greater things of God, for your equipping so that you are ready for

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everything that comes along the way and so that you can be used by God in what He's doing in these

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days and what He's about to do. There's amazing things that are about to happen. And I think

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you're going to experience some shakings. So that's really what this podcast is about. Where do you

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run for refuge? What are you going to do? There's all kinds of people out there that are prepping

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and doing things that they think are important to do. And it's important for you to do certain

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things, but you don't need to be doing them just because a friend is doing it or because somebody

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on YouTube is telling you what to do or some other website on some other platform. You need to do

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things because of your relationship with our Heavenly Father, with the Holy Spirit, because

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you're walking with Him and you're listening to Him and you're doing the thing that He tells you

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to do. Because I want to tell you, you are safer in a war zone in the will of God than out of the

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will of God in your own bed. So it's about finding God as your refuge, making Him your refuge.

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So when you start thinking about that, well, what scripture comes to mind?

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Well, Psalm 46, one, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

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Yes. And well, let's go on and read a little bit more. Therefore, we will not fear. See,

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when you have God as your refuge, you will have no reason to fear, even though the earth be removed

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and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters roar and be

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troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. See, okay, so stop and think about that.

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What? Like if you happen to be living in California or if you happen to be in Indonesia

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or someplace where you're in an earthquake zone or, you know, where...

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A volcanic zone.

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Yeah, a volcanic zone. We're not that far from the New Madrid Fault Zone. We would feel a shake if

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that thing went off. So, you know, what are you going to do? What are you going to do? Where are

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you going to run? There is a river, verse four, whose streams shall make glad the city of God,

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the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved.

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God shall help her just at the break of dawn. The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved.

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He uttered his voice. The earth melted. Okay, that sounds like volcanic.

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It sounds, yes. Yeah.

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Sounds like what's happening in Iceland right now.

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When the earth melts, it's usually volcanic.

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Yeah. Hawaii.

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Yeah.

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Indonesia.

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New Zealand.

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New Zealand. Yeah. Iceland. All of these places have these volcanic activities going on.

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Where are you going to go? What are you going to do? The Lord of hosts is with us, verse seven.

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That's what it says in the Hebrew. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.

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Okay. So we've got two different words for refuge in these verses.

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In the first verse where it says, God is our refuge and strength, that word in Hebrew is machise.

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And it means refuge like a shelter from rain or storm or danger. It can mean hope and trust.

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And then in this last verse that we read is the word mizgav. And that is a high place,

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a refuge, a secure height, a retreat, a stronghold, a refuge of God. It could be a cliff or other

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lofty or inaccessible place. It could refer to altitude. In other words, get up above it.

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There's a beautiful analogy of what happens when crows attack an eagle. I don't know why they do

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it, but crows will attack an eagle. They'll even fly at it and pick at it and even land on top of

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it. And the eagle just keeps going higher. It doesn't fight. It just keeps going higher until

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it gets to an altitude that the crow can't handle and it falls off. That's amazing. Isn't that what

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we need to do? I mean, that'll preach, won't it? Yeah. Just keep going higher. That's where our

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God is. You know, the higher you go, the more things have to fall off. He's the high and lofty

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one. He is the high and lofty one. And he is our retreat. He is our place of defense, our fort,

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our tower, our refuge, our lofty place. He gives us shelter and security. So Psalm 46 going on with

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verse 9, he makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two.

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He burns the chariot and the fire. Be still and know that I am God. Now the Young's literal

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translation says desist. In other words, stop it. Just stop. Just stop and get a hold of yourself.

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Get a hold of who God is. Get a hold of the fact that he's your father and he cares about every

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little detail of your life. You don't have to figure it out for yourself. You just run to him,

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run to daddy. Isn't that what a child does? Daddy! Fall down. And then it goes on in verse 11,

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the Lord or Yehovah, the Lord of hosts, Yehovah Tsavaoth is with us. The God of Jacob is our

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refuge. There he is as our refuge, some place to run. He's the one that we run to. Now what's the

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next scripture that you think of? That would be, yeah, Psalm 91, you know, verse one is he that

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dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

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And I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge, my fortress, my God and him I will trust.

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And verse four, he shall cover you with his feathers and under his wings you shall take refuge.

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His truth shall be your shield and buckler. It's like the mama hen, you know, puts out her and all

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the chicks just kind of run under her wings and it's full of feathers. Yeah. That reminds me of a

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story we heard. This was a lady and she was in a storm and all of a sudden a gunman comes in,

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you know, and he just starts, you know, threatening and just ordering people, OK, get your hands up,

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you know, all this stuff. And he didn't see the lady, but she backed up into the clothes rack,

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you know, and all of a sudden he started turning around and come in her direction.

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And she's trying to think of Psalm 91, you know, to quote it, but all she could say is feathers,

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feathers, feathers, feathers. And the guy stopped and looked at her and kind of confused and ran out

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of the building. Hallelujah. What did he see? He saw more than feathers. I would think so. But,

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you know, it's just like the protection of God. He saw something else. He might have saw an angel

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with a sword. And that's what Balaam saw when he was on the donkey and the donkey tried to knock

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him off and all that because he was slapping him. But there's this big angel there and he wouldn't

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go there. And then the angel revealed himself to Balaam. And he, you know. Yeah. So there's lots of

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things that are in the unseen that come into play when we're in trouble, when we're in a difficult

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place. What do you do? Where do you run? You run to your father. So there's lots and lots of scriptures

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that talk about God being our refuge. So let's just run through a few of them. Going on after Psalm 91,

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you've got Psalm 9 verse 9, the Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of

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trouble. Psalm 28 verse 8, the Lord is their strength and he is a saving refuge of his anointed.

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Psalm 31 verse 2, bow down your ear to me, deliver me speedily, be my rock of refuge,

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a fortress of defense to save me. Then Psalm 48 verse 3, God is in her palaces. He is known as her

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refuge. Psalm 57, 1, David is praying when he's fleeing from Saul and he's in a cave. He says,

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be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me for my soul trusts in you and in the shadow of your

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wings, I will make my refuge until these calamities have passed by. You have to be under his wings.

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You have to be in relationship with him. Yeah. And the important thing is have that devotion time in

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the morning. That's very important because if you can just give your first time of the day to God

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and he has ways to prevent you from getting into a place where you're going to be in danger.

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It's true. It's true. And you got to listen to that still small voice, that little prodding,

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that little inclination. You might not hear something. You might not see something,

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but you might have a little inclination to do something that you wouldn't ordinarily do. And

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you just follow that and it could save your life. Yeah. And Psalm 59, 16, but I will sing of your

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power. Yes, I will sing aloud of your mercy in the morning for you have been my defense and refuge in

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the day of my trouble. Psalm 62, seven in God is my salvation and my glory. The rock of my strength

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and my refuge is in God. And Psalm 62, verse eight trust in him at all times. You people

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pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Sila. Oh, pause and think about that.

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Yeah, he's a refuge. Psalm 71, three, be my strong refuge to which I may resort continually.

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You have given the commandment to save me. You are my rock and my fortress. You know,

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this continually idea, it's really all about continually walking with him, continually

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keeping him in your thoughts and realizing when you aren't thinking about him, oh,

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I better go back there. Let me think about him. Let me just let him into whatever's going on at

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this moment. You know, it's about that walk of going back and forth between the flesh and the spirit.

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When we're walking in the flesh, we're more aware of our surroundings physically. And when we're

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walking in the spirit, we're more aware of what's going on in the spirit around us in the unseen.

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Very good. Psalm 71, seven, I have become as a wonder to many, but you are my strong refuge.

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Psalm 94, 22, but the Lord has been my defense and my God, the rock of my refuge.

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Psalm 141, eight, but my eyes are upon you, oh God, the Lord. In you I take refuge. Do not

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leave my soul destitute. That sounds like a Psalm of David. It sure does. Psalm 142, five, I have

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cried out to you, oh Lord, oh Yehovah. I said, you are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.

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And Psalm 144, two, my loving kindness and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my

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shield and the one in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me. You know, he's our

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shield. You know, just last week we were heading down our highway seven. Which is a two lane highway.

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And winds. It's windy and it doesn't have very much in the way of shoulders. Yeah. And the force a

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lot of times comes close to the highway. Yeah, we were driving through the National Forest.

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Yeah, we call it Dramamine Drive, you know, because it's curvy. You know, that's motion sickness

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stuff if you haven't heard of Dramamine. So anyway, we're just kind of clipping along and a big deer

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doe runs out ahead of us a ways. And normally when that happens, I slow down. I always just slow down,

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but I didn't feel the slowdown because if there's one, there's a good chance there's more. You know,

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so I didn't slow down. I kept my speed and all of a sudden another doe breaks out of the woods. It

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wasn't as big and just in a gale. I mean, they were just, you know, they were just flying and I saw it

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and it's like, has to be instant reaction, you know, and there wasn't anybody in the left lane.

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And we have a big 15 passenger van. It's about 20 foot long. And I just jerked the van to the left,

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which to the extent of what I knew was the safest. And I accelerated to try and get ahead of her.

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And all of a sudden in the back, kaboom, you know, and I could feel, I thought my heart sank. I

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thought, oh no, you know, 43 years I've been driving this road and in all my life, I have never

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hit a deer. And one of our body shops in town near us, 50% of the work is deer hits. So that gives

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you an idea. There's a lot of deer around here. Tell about that one night. Yeah. One night we came

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back. I counted that I visibly counted over 75 deer. There was groups of them here and there,

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but not one was on the road. You know, we always pray before we go on the road and all that.

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So my heart just kind of sunk, you know, like, Lord, why did that happen? And I looked back in

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the rear view mirror and I saw the deer was dead deer on the road, at least lying in the road.

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I don't know if it was dead or not at the time. Yeah, I didn't hit the, well, the deer hit me,

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you know, that's true. So we pulled over, we had a place to pull over and I'm expecting to see this

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big major dent in the side of the van. And there wasn't a scratch on the van. There wasn't any

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evidence that anything had even touched it. Not even any deer hair, no deer hair even. I thought,

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thank you, Jesus, you're so good because that should have just smashed in the whole quarter panel

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because that's not a big supported area on a vehicle like that. You know, it should have had

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at least a little dent, but there was nothing. Nothing. It's just the angels there just, he hit

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it, but it didn't do nothing. My shield. My shield. And the one in whom I take refuge. Yes. So he was

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a shield for us. His angels were there for us. Should I tell that other story on the way to

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Florida? I can do a nutshell. You can, go ahead. We're also in a big van, high tailing it to Orlando,

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Florida, trying to drop off some of our recording equipment to have its service there. And they

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closed at five o'clock. And we weren't there yet. And we weren't there. And this is days before

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traffic was crazy in Florida. Right. But we have to gas. We don't have enough gas. You have to use

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the restroom, pull in, you know, I gas it up, pay for it. And Sharon wasn't out with our daughter

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yet. And I thought I'm going to move the van a little closer because I saw a spot that could just

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save maybe 30 seconds even. And so I'm getting ready to put it in reverse. I check all my mirrors.

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And all of a sudden I look and here comes a big pickup truck, dually, that pulling a big bulldozer.

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So my eyes are on that as it goes by. And then he's gone. I look at my mirrors, I put it in reverse

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and I take off and about 10 feet behind me, I run into something. And I thought, oh no, you know,

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we're going to miss our window. Now we got an accident. I pull forward and our steel bumper

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perfectly lined up with his plastic taillights on this turbo sob or turbo Porsche, whatever this

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thing was. And it should have just crushed the whole back end because we had about 7,500 pounds

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in motion, you know, and I just didn't even brush the dust off the bumper and the bumper had a dent

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on one side, which was there when we bought it. The dust of Arkansas was still on the bumper.

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You know, I just said, thank you, Jesus, you know. And so we had a couple of angels back there just,

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and that was just God's protection because we honored him before we drove.

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Amen. He is our shield and our refuge.

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Yes.

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And I love what Proverbs 14, 26 says, in the fear of the Lord of Yehovah is strong confidence

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and his children shall have a place of refuge. So we can learn from that, that when we fear the Lord,

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even our children come under that protection. And even when they're wandering, our prayers can bring

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protection over them. We plead the blood of Jesus Christ over them. And he is their refuge as well

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when we are praying for them. So our loved ones, whoever you're praying for, the Lord will watch

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over them, especially because they are heirs of salvation, even if they've walked away for a

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temporary...

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Temporary, yeah.

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...a temporary visit to the world. They are coming back and they are going to serve the Lord

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because it's in their DNA.

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Yes. Amen.

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In their spiritual DNA. Even if you're the first one in your family to come into the kingdom of God,

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your connection with God extends some kind of a refuge over you and all the ones that you're

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praying for. I'm sure if you are the only one in your family that has come to the Lord, you are

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probably praying for the rest of your family. So as you're praying for them, it extends that shield

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over them. You can ask the Lord to forgive them of their sins and draw them in so that they can

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bring their own repentance when they have come under conviction of sin.

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Beautiful.

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So, you know, just know that the refuge that you have is good for your family as well.

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Yes. Amen.

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So there's lots and lots and lots of stories of God being our refuge. I remember hearing a story

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of a child that was out in the yard playing when an earthquake happened and the earth was heaving

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and splitting and the child was just sitting there like riding a ride at the carnival,

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just riding it out. And the piece of ground that that child was sitting on was lifted up

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and things happened all around it. But the child was unharmed because God had his hand on that

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child. That's beautiful. You're safer in the will of God in a war zone or in an earthquake

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than out of the will of God in your own bed. God is your refuge. You can look to him as long as

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you're doing the thing that he has told you to do. You are safe. Yes. Amen. And when you're not doing

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the thing that he's told you to do, repent quickly. Get back. Get back because, you know,

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you can put yourself in a position of calamity or a position of getting under a curse when you

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are in disobedience to the Lord. So keep your obedience. You know, if you make a mistake,

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repent quickly and come back because he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse

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us from all unrighteousness. You know, we just have to confess to him what we've done and ask

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for his forgiveness and he will be faithful to forgive. And you are back in a position of

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reconciliation with him and it's like he wipes it out. He forgets it. Let's move on. Let's leave

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that behind and let's move on. Come on. That's amazing grace. It is. And you know, there's lots

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and lots of stories in the scripture that are stories of God's miraculous intervention. You

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just read your Bible and you'll find story after story. You know, what happened with the children

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of Israel escaping from Egypt and the Red Sea is in front of them and the Egyptian armies behind

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them, God is their refuge. He does something nobody could ever have thought would happen.

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Who in their mind could imagine that God would open up the Red Sea and let them go through on

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dry ground? And people, you know, debunk that. They said, ah, but I remember archaeologists that

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were diving in areas there and they found chariot wheels and all kinds of stuff like that. You know,

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this is where that happened. It's like on one of the tongues of the Red Sea, you know, where it

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goes up, Agatha, Aqaba, and then there's the other one next to the Sinai up there.

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Yeah. It's the two tongues of the Red Sea that make the Sinai Peninsula,

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which isn't really where Sinai was, but that's another story for another podcast.

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So then you have Joshua where he and the elders of Israel, the princes of Israel, in spite of the

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fact that they were kind of looking sideways at these people that came, the Gibeonites that came

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and they said, oh, we've come from so far away and look at this moldy bread that we have and look how

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our clothes have worn out. And they made covenant with them and then found out they're just from

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down the road. But they made covenant and God recognizes covenant. It's important to him.

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So they get attacked for having made covenant with the children of Israel. They get attacked by some

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of these other kings and Joshua goes after them with the children of Israel, the armies of Israel

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and is protecting the Gibeonites because they've made covenant with them. And what happens? God

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makes the son stand still. Come on. That doesn't happen. But he does miracles. He will do miracles

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to take care of people who have made covenant with his people. Very, very important.

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Because it's amazing. We have a big eclipse coming up. I mean, you think about the timing. They knew

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about this years ago. Well, what happened if everything just stopped and then all of a sudden

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it threw all the calendars and all the time clocks, all the everything off and that scratched their heads?

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Yeah. Well, it certainly gave Joshua and the armies of Israel the opportunity to finish the job

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and do what God sent them to do in the first place, which was to deal with all of the Canaanites.

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So then you have King Jehoshaphat when he gets word that the armies of Moab, Ammon and Edom

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were on their way and Jehoshaphat calls for a fast. Come on, we got to seek the Lord people.

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Let's seek the Lord. And then God sent a word through a prophet and said, you don't have to do

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anything. The Lord is going to fight this battle for you. You just send out the praisers ahead of

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your armies and I'll take care of the rest. Send Judah first. Right. So send the praise.

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And so they were out there singing for the Lord is good and his mercy endures forever.

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And Jehovah is good and his mercy endures forever. Well, here they were and they were coming up this

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ravine that would cause tremendous echoing down there. And they all turned on each other and killed

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each other. They never even got to the armies of Israel. We looked down there, that ravine.

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That ravine did it. That was amazing. Yes, but Tekoa. And then you have Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

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You know, they're in a pickle. They're not going to disobey God and obey the king. They said,

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you know, it doesn't matter what you say. It doesn't matter what you do. You can kill us

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if you want to, but we're not going to bow. And that made Nebuchadnezzar so angry and he

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commanded them to turn the fire up and threw the guys in. And all it did was burn off their bonds

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and kill the ones that threw them in because it was so hot. Yeah. Yeah. And the Son of God was in

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there with them. Yeah. You know, you're safer in a war zone or in a fire in the will of God than out

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of the will of God in your own bed. Stay in the will of God. It's your refuge. And then there's

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Daniel in the lion's den. Yeah. Because even though the decree went for not praying to God,

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you know, he still got in front of his window like he always did and prayed, you know, and then he

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was thrown in the lion's den. What happened then? I think he made friends with the lion.

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So the angel of the Lord shut their mouths. The angel shut their mouths. Yeah. But then the morning

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when the king took him out and threw those in that had accused him, the angel did not

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refrain from closing the mouths of the lions. And they said they tore them in pieces before they

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even hit the floor. That's amazing because there was a lot of people, you know, so it's not like

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they threw them all in at one time. I think there's a large number, you know, that they fed the lions,

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all those that came against him with their families and their wives and children. They got rid of the

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whole line that did that. So obeying God is your safety place. Obey the Lord, obey the Holy Spirit.

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Here's another thought about where you have safety is in the loving kindness of God. That's the word

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chesed in Hebrew. And it's a very, very strong word. I won't take time to teach on it now,

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but it has to do with loving kindness, but it also has to do with covenant and how he is bound by his

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covenant to be kind and to take care of people and to love people and do the things that he's

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promised to do. So Psalm 36 verse 7 says, how excellent is your loving kindness, O God,

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therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of your wings.

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Putting our trust in his loving kindness, we can trust him. And then Psalm 40 verse 11 says,

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withhold not your tender mercies from me, O Lord, O Jehovah, let your loving kindness and your truth

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continually preserve me. It's his loving kindness and his truth that is a place of preservation.

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Yes. Amen. And Psalm 143, 8 to 10 says, cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning,

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for in you do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul

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unto you. Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies. I flee to you to hide me. Teach me to do your will,

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for you are my God. Your spirit is good. Lead me into the land of uprightness. This is about

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walking with God. You know, when you walk with him, he is your refuge. Yeah. And I like 2nd Chronicles

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16, 9, for the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong

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on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to him. Beautiful. Beautiful. So there's some key elements

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to receiving God's protection. First of all, you need to repent. Yes. And the amazing thing is that

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if his hand is on you, if his call is on you, and even when you're running, he will preserve your

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life over and over and over. But there comes a time when he'll say, okay, that's enough. I've been

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taking care of you over and over again. Are you going to serve me or aren't you? It's called the

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end of the leash. That's a good way to put it. You come to the end of the leash. God says,

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no more rebellion. Either you make it right now or you're done. Yeah. I'm sure you've seen that

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before the dog's running and all of a sudden the end of the leash and just jerks them. That's what

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God does sometimes. He just lets you go so far. Yeah. I remember your stories of how you were

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ready to go someplace and you said, if I died out there, I know where I'm going. And it wasn't

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heaven. Yeah. And I wouldn't go. Yeah. And I think God just preserved me from an accident or something

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out there. Yeah. So our father is waiting for us to repent. So if we're running the other way,

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if we're disobeying, it's time to repent. And it's time to repent right now. If God has told you to

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do something, stop, cease, desist, and know that he is God and surrender. It's time to surrender.

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That's one thing about the passion translation, that very first scripture that we read in Psalm

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46, where it says, be still and know that I'm God, it uses the word surrender. Surrender. Just

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surrender. Let go, give yourself to God so that he will be your refuge. And then you not only get

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forgiven, but he gives you the grace to forgive others. Because if you don't forgive, you won't

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be forgiven. Very, very critical that you understand that you've got to forgive others when they have

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hurt you. Because Jesus prayed from the cross, Father forgive them. They know not what they do.

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And most of the time, people who have hurt you don't even realize they've hurt you. Or maybe

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they're too proud to admit that they've hurt you. Or maybe they were just being demonized at the

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moment and they were doing it under the power of a demon. So you have to let God give you that grace,

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because if you've asked Jesus to live inside of you, he is the great forgiver. And he'll give you

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the grace to forgive. He'll give you the grace to say, Father forgive them, even if they knew what

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they were doing. And when you start praying for God to forgive them, it gives you the grace to

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forgive as well. It's an amazing thing. So you want to not give the devil any kind of a place.

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Because if you've given the devil a place, then there's a place for a curse to land.

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Or the door is open. The door is open. The curse causeless shall not land.

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And if you haven't forgiven, or if you're in sin, or if you're just in rebellion in some way,

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and you're not obeying God, it gives an open door to get you out from under the umbrella of

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God's protection. I love what Jude 1 21 says about keeping yourself in the love of God.

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It says, keep yourself in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus

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unto eternal life. When we keep ourselves in the love of God, we are in his refuge place.

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And it gives you what you need to be able to minister to others who also need that kind of

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forgiveness. So, you know, we talk in this podcast a lot about walking in the spirit

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and not in the flesh. Because if you walk in the spirit, you will not fulfill the desires of the

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flesh, whatever those desires might be. You know, it's not always sexual. It could be all kinds of

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things that you're desiring that your flesh wants, or just letting your emotions get out of control.

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If we walk in the spirit, it'll quell all of that. And that is the place of refuge is walking in the

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spirit. So, I just want to talk about a few stories of people that we know that have been in that kind

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of a situation where they're in danger, okay? Sometimes we wind up being in a dangerous place,

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but we're there in the will of God. And when you're there in the will of God, you are safe.

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So, I remember our founder, Gwen Shaw, talking about how when she was a missionary in China

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in, I think it was 1949. Yeah, it was 1949. It was 1949. And the communist takeover was

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in full swing. And she was working in a Bible school in central China. And the magistrate of

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the city came and said that the communists have broken through the Guangmingdong lines, which is

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the nationalist armies, and they will be here in 24 hours. He said, there's not much that I can do

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to help you once they get here, but you can use my card. And as long as they're not here yet,

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it should give you some extra help to get out of here. You need to leave right away.

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So, it was at the end of the school year, they only had one more day, and they were supposed to

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have their graduation on the next day. So, they gathered them that evening, and they had a quick

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graduation ceremony for everyone. And the teachers, including Sister Gwen, were able to... Oh,

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wait a minute. Before that, she said, Lord, I'm willing to stay. I'm willing to lay down my life

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here. It's not necessary for us to leave. If you want us to stay, we'll stay. And she went to her

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Bible, and she opened her Bible, and she came to the scripture, Isaiah 52, 11. And of course,

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it was King James that she was reading in those days. And it went like this, depart ye, depart ye,

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go ye out from fence. So, that was a clue. Okay, it's time to leave. And they managed to get out.

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I won't tell the whole long story. It's a very long story, but we have her life story video on

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our YouTube channel. And you can listen to that story and many, many other stories. She was an

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amazing lady. In that process, while they were escaping, there was a time when the vehicle that

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they were in broke down. They called it a bus, but it was more like a truck. Some seats in the back.

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Yeah. And so, she wandered away from the truck while they were getting it fixed. And she was

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by a little stream, and there were some bushes there, and she heard marching. And she just was

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still, and she saw the boots of the communist army marching past her, but she was covered under the

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feathers. And under his wings, she was trusting. And of course, they got out and long story short,

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went on to do other things for the Lord, many, many other things. So, you'll enjoy listening to

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her life story on our YouTube channel. And when I first met her, she was a Bible smuggler. She and

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her assistant, Siggy Oblender, story after story that they would tell. Yeah. That's what scared me

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about, you know, joining this ministry. I didn't want to go to jail somewhere. Yeah. You know,

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there were many, many times that they smuggled Bibles and they were not caught. And one time,

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they were caught. But they found out later, all of their Bibles and tracts that they had smuggled in,

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that they were smuggling in in their vehicle, they were a very unique tract that had especially been

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printed for that. They found out later that they had gotten out onto the black market.

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And so they were distributed anyway. And probably got to people that they would never have been able

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to get them to. So God had a way of working it together for good. And that's another story

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that's probably on that YouTube video. But anyway, just amazing stories of God's leading and God's

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guiding in dangerous, risky places. He'll be your refuge if you'll just obey him. Yeah. And I just

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heard a story recently that was of a family that lived in that area around Gaza, one of the kibbutzim

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around Gaza. And their kibbutz was also attacked and a lot of people were hurt. But these were

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believers and they were there because they knew God wanted them to be there. And even though she

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was unwilling to stay, God gave her the grace. After some things happened in 2014, they were

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ready to leave. And then God gave them the grace to stay there and be like watchmen on the wall

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in that area and be light in that kibbutz. And so when October 7th happened, she tells the story of

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how they could see on the cameras in their house how these two terrorists came in and the things

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that they were doing. They sat down on the couch. They got into the refrigerator. They saw how they

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came in through the window. And apparently they broke the glass to get in and they must have

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gotten cut because there was blood all over the place. And they could see they had two safe rooms

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and one of them, their son was in and the other mom and dad were in. And you could see how the

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blood drips came up to the doors and they did not force their way in. They just turned around. They

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had opened every other door, but not those doors because God was their refuge. And we'll put a

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link to that story in the show notes as well. And there's one more story I want to tell.

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I'm just going to read a little excerpt from Peter Snyder's book, Let's Keep Moving. Now,

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we've had Pete on our podcast talking about his experience living and working in communist China.

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So he's been through all kinds of things, but he tells the story of his aunt Myrtle,

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who was a missionary in Hong Kong and before that in China. So this is a little excerpt from his

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book just to give you another picture of the refuge that our God is in a time of trouble.

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Hong Kong, 1941, 18 days of murder and rape. Finally, on Christmas Day, 1941, the governor

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surrendered the British crown colony of Hong Kong to the Japanese. Then all hell broke loose.

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Many missionaries were cloistered away in their little apartments, waiting to see what might

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happen next with no way of escape. Rumors were spreading like wildfire. The lone missionary woman,

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unsure of what might happen to her school children and orphans, gave the word at last,

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and the children ran out of the schoolyard in all directions like screaming locusts.

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Even the Japanese wouldn't shoot the children, would they? Where would the children go? Many

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just hid and became street children again. They knew the ropes from before. The kind missionary

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lady had taken them in for free room and board over the years. At last, it was quiet on the

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compound. There was no flag ceremony on that ominous day and only a quick prayer before the

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children had been cut loose. Myrtle Bailey stood in the quiet courtyard all alone. It was too quiet,

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like the still before the storm. She went back into the building to pray. What else could she do?

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Where could she go? Lord Jesus, help, she cried. About two hours later, the glass in the window

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frames began to shake and crack. The watchman ran into Auntie Bailey's room, something he had

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never done before, and screamed in Cantonese, the Japanese have swarmed Kowloon and are coming up

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north on Nathan Road this very instant. Get out of here. Get out now. All the other missionaries

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had left weeks before this terrible invasion, and Myrtle looked out on the window onto that ominously

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still compound. It seemed as if the heavens were brass and the earth beneath was groaning in horror.

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Myrtle Bailey was ten thousand miles from home. Instead of replying to the watchman, she whispered,

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All I have is thee, O Lord. Here, come with me, the watchman cried. You can hide in my shack until

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those foreign devils leave. Then the watchman reflected on what he said and corrected himself

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quickly. Those Japanese foreign devils, I mean. They'll kill you if they see you.

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Myrtle looked at him and smiled faintly. I'm ready to go if it's the Lord's timing for all of this.

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You go on home way. I'll be all right. The watchman, not moving, trembled and just stood there.

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Go, Myrtle demanded at last. The watchman bowed, scraped backwards a few paces, then turned and ran

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out of the gate like lightning. Myrtle lifted her head, forced a resolute smile, and went inside to

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her foot locker. Reaching inside, she pulled out her meeting dress, the one with the red flowers

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printed on it. It was the nicest dress she had seen in the missionary box in years. The old wash lady

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came rushing in from the back side of the compound and screamed into the house, Auntie, come this way.

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Your little girl Faith has just come in through the back gate. Myrtle dropped her bag quickly and

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ran to the back of the schoolhouse. At that very moment, the Japanese stormed through the front

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gate and marched into the compound. It was too late. There was nowhere to go. Faith came running

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up to her Auntie Myrtle, grabbing her by the legs. Faith, where have you been? Myrtle cried out, then

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scolded her. You run out the back door and climb over the back wall just as fast as you can go.

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Do you understand me? Run to Sister Water's apartment and stay quietly until I get over to

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take you with me later. If she's not there, go hide at the hotel near her house. Faith just seemed to

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freeze. And again Myrtle cried, do you understand me? Myrtle seemed to freeze for a moment too,

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just for a moment. And then she pushed the little girl out the back door. Her Cantonese was shaky

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at this moment as she watched little Faith scamper away. Then Myrtle quickly ran up the steps.

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She knew that there was no escape at this point, but her little orphan girl,

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could certainly get away. Aunt Myrtle only got a glimpse of the soldiers that had invaded Hong

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Kong through the upstairs window. They were horrible to see, like the description of the

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army of the Book of Joel, the horrible ones. She had heard what they did to the women before

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hanging them. She had heard as well what they had done to the young British soldiers they would

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capture. In her bedroom, Myrtle heard the boots were resounding on the staircase. They were coming

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up after her. Tears came to her eyes and they were streaming down her face as she began to pray,

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Oh Jesus, oh Jesus help me. She began praying in tongues. Then she ran into the closet,

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shutting the door behind her, shaking in the dark. Where was the peace that passes all understanding

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now? Quickly the Japanese hammered their way down the hall toward her room and broke open the door

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to the bedroom where she was hiding, throwing things around and overturning tables. When finally

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they yanked the door open to the closet where Myrtle was trembling, they froze. As Aunt Myrtle

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told the story later on in her life, her blue eyes were filled with tears. She said they were

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feathers floating down from heaven. They twinkled as they descended over me. I shivered and quaked

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inside, but the feathers covered me so completely that when the Japanese flew open the door to the

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closet and looked right straight at me, they never saw me. Finally they just slammed the door and

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pounded their way into the next room, then to the next, then to the next until they finally left.

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Aunt Myrtle rarely told the story to anyone. Even I had never heard it firsthand, only from my mother

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and others, but she did tell me what the Bible said about it. Hallelujah, it was Psalm 91.

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Hallelujah, it was Psalm 91. How does that go? I asked her when she was 86 years old.

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You read it to me. I was just a little boy and it was hard for me to read, but that was my job in

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life to help take care of Aunt Myrtle. She had been a missionary to China from 1917 to 1950,

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first in the mainland China and then in Hong Kong. Ah, here it is, I laughed when I found that famous

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Psalm. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noise and pestilence.

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He shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust.

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That was in Findlay, Ohio in 1962. Aunt Myrtle looked like an angel. She glowed. To me, a seven

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year old, she looked just like Jesus. Go to bed now. I'll tell you some other stories later.

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She started to laugh. Someday you'll have your own missionary stories to tell.

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Boy, does he too. Aunt Myrtle never said it to me and I would never have guessed that I would end

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up being a missionary to China for over 30 years, just like her. Beloved, we are telling you

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that you can trust God. Yeah, even Peter being in China 30 years under the communists,

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how he functioned. Oh my, what stories he has. And he wrote them in this book and this is,

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I think it's like the beginning of the book that he tells this story. And he tells many,

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many stories. He was also a missionary in Haiti. And there's some harrowing things that can happen

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to missionaries, but when you're in the will of God, God will take care of you. And even when you

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go through some awful things, he turns those things into something good. Sometimes we won't

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even see it until eternity, but it's true and we can trust him. If you're interested in getting

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this book from Peter, we'll put the information in the show notes below so that you can get the

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book from him. Philip, would you pray for our listeners? Well, Father, we just pray that these

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words that were spoken will touch the hearts of those out there, Lord, that they're longing for

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that deep love and for God's plan and purpose in their life. And Lord, we know you don't call every

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person to be a missionary and not maybe going out of the country, but you are where you are,

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where you are planted. We are your faithful witness. So we pray, Lord, for encouragement

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and for your people listening to know that you are God of refuge and that you protect us as we

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walk in your will, listening to your voice, that you take care of us. In your name, Lord Jesus.

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Hallelujah. Amen. Amen.

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If you enjoyed today's podcast, please subscribe, rate and review this podcast on Apple Podcasts or

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wherever you listen to podcasts. Your review helps the podcasting platform suggest this podcast to

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other listeners who are also looking for a great move of the Holy Spirit. Check out our website at

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globaloutpouring.org to find out more information, read our blogs, connect with us and donate.

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You can also browse our web store for life changing anointed books. Until next time,

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this is Sharon Buss and I'm Philip Buss. God bless you with this overwhelming loving presence.