SE2EP9 It is Well

The transcription is a conversation between two individuals discussing the history behind the song "It Is Well With My Soul." The song was written by Gerardo Spafford, who faced many tragedies in his life, including the loss of his property in a fire and the death of his four daughters in a shipwreck. Despite these hardships, Spafford remained faithful and wrote the hymn as a testament to his unwavering faith in God. The conversation also mentions how the song holds a deeper meaning when one knows the story behind it. Hey everybody, thank you for joining Divine Appointment. This is Chris Cotney and I'm sitting next to my wonderful sister, Elizabeth Walker, aka Beth, aka Boss Lady, aka Liz. Sister, how are you doing tonight? Well, all of them are doing pretty good. Well, how was your weekend? Weekend was pretty good. I've had VBS all week, so it's been a lot of fun. Exhausting, but fun. How's your weekend been? Short. It was short. It was real short. It was real short. Yeah. Did I mention it was short? Yeah, just a couple times. But, I've had a good week. Amen. I will be giving a message June 30th here at our church. June 30th is Youth Day, and we're pretty much going to be holding a service. And I was thinking about it on the way home from work. I think it was yesterday. And God spoke to me about something. He showed me something about a familiar story that everybody, if anybody's ever been to Sunday school, to church, or just lived at any point in time, they've heard of the story of Moses. But God showed me something about it that blew my mind. But, I'm not going to get into that right now, because I don't want to give my message away. Which, I say that, but probably by the end of our podcast I'm going to touch on it. You're probably going to dip into it, I'm going to say. Yeah, probably so. It's hard to contain the stuff that God gives you. I really, really want to. I really would rather not. Are you playing with my foot? No. That would be weird. That was weird. Your socks look comfy. They are comfortable. Ask me. I'll have to. I'll touch them. Oh. Okay. All right. So, anyway, back to the podcast that we're doing right now. Yes. Proceed. All right. Well, look. Here's a story that I will guess I will introduce. Oh, no. I got you. I got this. Let me talk just a little bit. I was trying. So, last week we talked about there's a song for everything. And we didn't mention this song, but we didn't go into great detail about the testimony behind this song. This song. He's looking at me. Okay. So, you cannot make any mistakes in front of Christopher here. Oh, don't you even. He is going to. You will call me out so fast if I say something. I mean, sometimes I sound like a turnip green. It's so country when it comes out. And you will be like. She's a wild eye. Okay. That might be true. Anyways, yes, we mentioned this song on the last podcast. We just didn't go into detail with the testimony of it. Oh, but we should have. The song is It Is Well With My Soul. Quit playing with stuff over there. Sorry. And Chris has looked up the actual testimony behind that song so we don't leave anything out. Oh, my goodness. I'm just going to shut up and turn it over to you now. Okay. Well, I've heard different versions of this. They're so meaningful. Yeah. And this is about as accurate as you get. But this is the history behind that song. The guy's name is Gerardo Spafford. And I'm probably butchering his name, but just go with it. He was born in New York back in 1828. And he lived in Chicago. And he was well known for his clear Christian testimony. He had a household of faith. He had his wife and how many kids did they have? Four, I think. They had five kids. They were blessed with five children and considerable wealth. Gerardo was a lawyer, and he owned a great deal of property in the city. Well, tragedy came in great measure to this happy home. And I want to touch on something. If God's got a plan for somebody's life, a calling in somebody's life to touch others and to help others, the enemy will do everything he can to stop it. And I see it clearly right here. Yes. You know, how many people know that what the enemy meant for evil, God turns into good? There's a song about that, too. She said that as she's putting a piece of chocolate in her mouth. It's a Carmelo. I don't tell everybody. Everybody probably thinks that I eat all the time, but I really don't. By the time we do our podcast, I'm just, like, really hungry, okay? All right, well. Anyway. Always call me out. The enemy will try to attack us and stop us from doing what God's called us to do. Yes, he will. And I see clearly what happens to this guy and his home and his family. So going back to the story, a massive fire swept through downtown Chicago, and it devastated just about the entire city. And most of that included most of his property because he owned a lot of property and stuff. And all his money was tied up in it. Well, that day, 300 people lost their lives, and over 100,000 people was made homeless. And despite his own financial loss, he sought to demonstrate the love of Christ by assisting those who were grief-stricken that was in great need. He gave them shelter, gave them food, gave them warm clothes, and he tried to take care of them by showing them the love of Christ. Two years later, he decided that his family, him and his family, should take a holiday trip to England. And knowing his friend D.L. Moody, well, let me tell you something. D.L. Moody is actually the person that started the Moody Bible Institute. Hmm. Well, he knew that he would be preaching there in autumn. So what Harado did, Harado did. Give him a pen name. Um. Harold. Well, then I'd be calling him by another name. Harado. That sounds too much like Haraldo. It does. It really does. Harado. Bless him. Bless him, Lord. He would not be happy. Bless him. Bless him. Okay, so Harado was delayed because of business. So what he did is he went ahead and he sent his family ahead of him. And his wife and their four remaining children, all daughters, an 11-year-old, a 9-year-old, a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old. The other daughters stayed behind with him. All right, so on November of 1873, while crossing the Atlantic on a steamship, their vessel was struck by an iron sailing ship. An iron what? Sailing ship. Okay. A sailboat, I guess. 226 people lost their lives. And the ship sank in only 12 minutes. Wow. All four of his daughters were killed. But somehow his wife, Anna Spaper, survived the tragedy. Those rescued, including his wife, Anna, who was found unconscious floating on a plank of woods, arrived at this certain place, as far as South Wales, wherever that's at. Upon arrival there, Anna immediately sent a telegram to her husband, which included the words, saved alone. Saved alone. Upon receiving Anna's message, he said he left at once to be reunited with his wife. One particular day, during the voyage, the captain summoned him to the bridge of the vessel, to the top deck. And pointed to his charge. Now, this is a long time after all this happened. He's gotten his wife back, and they're sailing back through the waters, okay? The captain called him up top and pointed to the charge, and he explained to him that they were passing over the very spot where that ship sank, where his daughters had died. And it said that Spaper had returned to his cabin and wrote the hymn, It Is Well With My Soul. There and then, the first line of which is, When Peace Like a River Attends My Way. Wow. There are other accounts which say that it was written at a later date, but obviously the voyage was one of deep feelings and is a clear inspiration of the moving well of him. His faith in God never faltered. He later wrote to Anna's half-sister, telling her, last Thursday, we passed over the spot where she went down in mid-ocean. The waters were three miles deep. My goodness. But listen to what else he said. He said, But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, O dear lands. Oh, wow. After Anna was rescued, this pastor, his name is Pastor Nathaniel Weiss, one of the ministers traveling with the surviving group, remembered hearing Anna say, God gave me four daughters. And now they've been taken from me. Someday I will understand why. Naturally, Anna was utterly devastated, but she testified that in her grief and despair, she had been conscious of a soft voice speaking to her, saying, You were saved. And you were saved for a purpose. She remembers something a friend had once told her, and I quote, It's easy to be grateful and good when you have so much, but take care and be mindful that you are not a fair-weather friend to God. Following the deep tragedy, Anna gave birth to three more kids, but she and Gerardo were not even spared more sadness because, listen to this, because in 1880, their only son, Gerardo, named after the brother who had died and also after his father, this is his only son that was named after him, he also died at the age of four. The enemy is attacking this guy, man. In August of 1881, the Spaffords left America with a number of other like-minded Christians and settled in Jerusalem. There they served the needy, helped the poor, and cared for the sick and took in homeless children. Their desire was to show those living around them the love of Christ. Wow. The original manuscript of Spafford's hymn was only four verses to begin with, but later another verse was added. The music was written by this certain guy, they say, and it was named after the ship on which Gerardo and Anna's daughter had died. Gerardo Spafford died of malaria in 1888. Anna Spafford continued to work in the surrounding areas of Jerusalem until her own death in 1923. Both of them were laid to rest in Jerusalem, and it can truly be said in the words that Spafford penned that it is well with their souls. Wow, what a beautiful testament. Gosh, now we've got to hear the song now. Okay, yeah, so we're fixing to play the song, and I know that a lot of people have probably heard this song, but knowing this story, knowing when it was written, the time frame it was written, the frame of mind that they must have been in when they wrote it, it gives it a different meaning. It really does. I didn't know all that when I first heard that song. I didn't either. Well, as a matter of fact, I've heard different versions of it. Yeah. You know, because I've heard a lot of different versions of it. There's several. Yeah, but I mean, this article is, I mean, they claim that it's down, that there's no speculation that this is the true history of it. So if y'all can, please listen to this, knowing the true history behind this song, and let it speak to your heart. When peace like a river attended my way When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well with my soul What more cares for thee, for thy coming away The sky of the praises are gold To the joyous sound of the angel The voice of the Lord, for blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul It is well There's several versions of it. That is beautiful. Yeah. You know, and the song is beautiful anyway, but after you find out the history behind it, oh my goodness. I mean, can you imagine what kind of emotions that each one of them went through differently? I mean, okay, suffering the loss of their kids and their children, that's one thing. And I mean, that's not bad enough. But let's look at both of them individually for a second, okay? Let's look at Miss Anna Safford for a second. That's like now and times being in a car wreck with you and your family and you being the only survivor. Can you imagine what went through her head? What kind of questions that she wanted to ask God? Why me? Why me? Who am I that you should let live and let my kids die? And the amount of faith and strength that that woman had to have had just to accept it. Not just to accept it, but this woman continued to do what God called her to do, and that was to serve other people. Because after all this happened, they moved on and started another family. Need I remind you, they still lost another son, which was the remaining original kids. So that means they lost all five of their kids, four of them before they ended up having another one. So they took the remaining child, left America, which I didn't know they even lived in America. They was Americans. They was. They was. They was. They were. They were. They were Americans. Yeah, that sounds better. I don't know if that sounds better or not. I think it does. No? Oh, yeah. They were Americans, and I had no clue, but they left America. Merica. Merica. And headed to Jerusalem to serve. Why are you laughing? Turnip greens. Merica. Merica. I can't stop saying that now. You'll always say it that way. No, I can't. But, you know, they took all that pain, and they took all the questions that they didn't have any answers to, with them, to Jerusalem, and continued to serve people. And they used it. Yeah. For that. They used all that pain and that hurt, all of it fueled together, and they used it to help other people. Can you imagine how many times that she'd stop and thought, why me? Or why not me? But, okay, now let's look at him. You know, he stayed back for business. You know, he had those thoughts of what ifs, would have, could have, could have, all those things. You know, all of us, any time any regret or we suffer loss, we always come up with what ifs. Always. We always do that. And I can only imagine what all that he was going through, knowing that he told them to go ahead, I'll catch up. This is my friend, Mr. Moody, that's going to be preaching. Y'all go ahead and go listen to him. Let me stay back for business, and I will catch up. Only to find out that when they left, when he kissed his kids goodbye, that would be the last time he would ever see them. Never even knew it. Never even knew it. And I can only imagine how many times he wishes that he could go back and hug them one more time, kiss them one more time, or really just, you know, tell them how much he loves them. You know, but I'm sure that he had a lot of questions that he wouldn't get any answers from God about. Why? Why him or why not him? You know? Yeah, and it seems like even when, you know, just listening to the story, instead of doing the questioning so much, they just had faith. Yeah. I think that they just didn't act on how they felt. Because I promise you, they were hurting. Oh, they were hurting. Absolutely. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So I think that what they chose to do was go ahead and do what they knew they were supposed to do, regardless of how they felt about it. They just moved through the pain. Yeah. And God helped them with it. I think that they wouldn't have never been able to do some of the things they did if they didn't have the testimony that they had before they'd done it. You know, like when they went to Jerusalem and helped all these people in Jerusalem, they had fuel for the fire. They had. Oh, yeah. They were on a mission. Yeah. Yeah. And a lot of times tragedy is what, tragedy will fuel us to do that. Definitely. Can you hear that? Yes. Okay. You can hear everything. I'll just turn my phone down. What are you looking at? No, I don't want to tell you. Oh, okay. Well, yeah, I don't know what else to say about that. It's sad, but it's also, and you think about Job. Really. Yeah. Use that as a reference in this article, too. Oh, okay. Well, he seemed to have it a little worse than Job. Yeah. I don't know. You can do the comparison. But that is just remarkable how you see his fate when he, instead of, you know, blaming God or cursing God or all of that, he turned to God. Yeah. He knew that he had faith and he knew that God had him. And, you know, when there's tragedies, we're going to do one of two things. We're going to run to God or we're going to run away from him. Yeah. So. I'm trying to. Yeah, you're. I'm trying to turn my stupid computer off. There it goes. Okay. It's good. It is well with my soul. Wow. And, you know, a lot of times when, you know, tragedy and especially when we suffer loss of a loved one, we start questioning why we're still here, what the purpose is behind all of it. And, you know, the couple that we just read about, they didn't have the privilege of being able to see the big picture or the whole picture while there was in the middle of it. Why would you show me that while we were on podcast? That just completely messed my head up. What are you talking about? My sister had surgery on her knee and she just pulled her pants leg up and showed me her knee that she just had surgery on. And I was not expecting to look down and see that. I mean, it's actually looks a lot. It looks good. She's got a stitch in it. And I just wasn't expecting to see that. But anyways. Oh, my bad. Wow. Hey, the Lord heals. He does. He does. Because you're a walking miracle. It's a miracle you can walk. It is. But. It is well with my soul. Is it? Yes, it is. It is well with mine too. But I was thinking about where. I don't know what you were saying before that. I'm sorry I caught you off guard. I was trying to. No, I was trying to fix my. Because it itches. Scratch it. If you've ever had stitches. And I don't know. Maybe it's just me because I'm weird. But my stitches, they itch so bad. Scratch it off. It hurts. So I have to adjust this big bulky bandaid that I have on it. So I'm sorry. My apologies to everyone. You know, I was thinking. Would you? That's a good thing. We can't do that from time to time. I was trying to clear my throat right before I said that. When I was reading that article about them going through the pain and everything. And they're going to Jerusalem and using that. It reminds me a little bit about Brie's ministry. Oh yeah? Because you've used that pain. And if you don't mind, will you explain on how you use that pain for the ministry and what goes through your mind sometimes? Oh yeah. You know, with the ministry and all. Okay. I can. If I can talk, I will. We were talking about this earlier. Joan had brought up a good point that a lot of times people that have lost a loved one, being able to go and help other people kind of helps them with their grief. And I can totally relate to that because we opened up the Brie's ministry and my daughter's name and her memory, which God has ordained and orchestrated. And with the ministry, I feel like it helps me with my grief, the grief of not having her here. I see someone who has been able to kick addiction and they're in sobriety or we're able to get them into a recovery program. It's like I can see her up there. And she's smiling saying, awesome, Mom. This is awesome. And down the flip side, it's difficult too because you see people recover and you're like, why can't that be her? Why can't that be her? Why can't she complete that program, blah, blah, blah. So those things do resonate, but that's why you have to be careful. God protects me from a lot of my thoughts, I feel like. And if I do have him, he helps me readjust the way I'm thinking. But I never would have started a ministry, a substance abuse ministry, like Brie's ministry, if I had not lost Browna. I wouldn't have. I would have never went to overdose awareness events, none of that. I wouldn't have. So I know there's a plan. God has a plan and a reason for everything. And a lot of times it looks foggy and gray, but we have to trust and know that it's bigger than us. Yeah. And it's not always easy, but it does help to be able to help other people because that's something Browna always wanted to do. Even in the midst of her own struggles with drug addiction, she wanted to help other people. Yeah. And in her journals, a lot of her journals state that, you know. And she always was big on trying to motivate people, like, hey, you can do it, you got this, you can do it, you know, which was a beautiful thing, you know, and I told you about, and I'm saying you know a lot. Yeah. I guess you should know. But she went to the Oxford Lake and she would sit down by the tree and write letters to people and leave them, motivational letters, and leave them all around the park hoping that somebody would find them and, you know, need that motivation that was there for them. So I hope she's smiling down. Oh, you know she is. And I think she can. I think she can see things, good things. I don't think that anybody in heaven can see bad things, but I think she can see the good things that are being done. And it's all for God's glory, ultimately. It is. And, you know, I was sitting there thinking about how tragedy happened. You lost someone you loved, and you went and you spread the message that that loss had. You spread the message that you got from that loss, which is overdose awareness, which is encouraging people, which is helping people that struggle with addiction. You're using the lesson that you learned there, and you're teaching people truth. Let's look at the disciples when they lost Jesus. They were called to do the same thing. When they lost him, and it was tragic. Yeah, it gave us a way out. It gave us salvation. It did it for us, but nevertheless, it was tragic. Yeah. And they suffered the pain of loss. Look at Mary and what she went through. She lost her son. Yeah, he was the savior of the world, but he was still her son. Yeah, I think about that a lot. She still raised him, you know. So can you imagine the thoughts that ran through her head or the questions that she had for God? She was human, and, yes, she knew Jesus' calling. She knew that he had to go be home with the Father, be one with the Father, but she was still his mommy. That's right. And look at his friends. Oh, well, I can't say that. Look at his brothers. Look at his family. Look at his disciples. You know, when they've been walking with him all this time, sitting there, listening to him speak, trying to help people, trying to encourage people, trying to teach people, healing people, they witnessed all this and the love that he had for other people. And then all of a sudden he was tragically taken away. Now, stop and think about the type of questions and the doubt that the disciples must have come up with after they seen him hanging on that cross. Yeah, it probably answered a lot of their questions about what Jesus was talking about, but they were still human. Oh, yeah. They still suffered a loss. That's right. All through the book of Acts you can see what most of them did, you know. They recruited. They built churches. They went out and spread the gospel and told people about the message and the lesson they learned through that loss, that he lived a sinless life. He died and three days later he was raised from the dead for us. That's right. So that's the lesson that they learned through that tragedy. This is a lesson that you've learned through your tragedy. Scripture tells us that God had used the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And I know that I can speak from my personal experience that the tragedy and the loss that I've had, it's driven me to be sitting in this chair right now. Because I'll go ahead and tell you, some of that pain saved my life. Some of that tragedy that happened, some of the lonely nights or the hungry nights or the homeless nights, that made me miserable. And God took that misery and turned it into a message. And I don't believe that I would ever completely surrender to God if I didn't hurt enough to let go of everything that was causing me pain. I think that my pain had to outweigh my pleasure for me to want to let go of it. Yeah. I think at a point in everybody's life, we hit a crossroad or a rock bottom, and everybody's rock bottom looks different. And some of us go through trials and tribulations where God is speaking and trying to get our attention. I also think that he uses trials and tribulations to open a path to other people. It may not be directly for us, but it's also a molding process. Because we learn a lot in our trials and tribulations. We cling to him and have faith and just keep our eyes on him. Then he pulls us through it, and he shows us things. Well, you know, people from the outside looking in, they see, okay, for example, us looking back at the story of that family and what they did after they suffered the loss of their kids. Yeah. That's encouragement. That's an example for us. It is. Your tragedy and the way that you suffered loss, that gives hope and strength and direction for other people that may have or will have problems and tragedies similar to what you suffered. And they can look at your life and the way that you're living and say, okay, well, if she did it, I believe I can, but I want to know how. And that's where your lessons come in. That's where what you've learned, that's where that helps people, you know? Well, yeah, and I think that that's where it comes down to sharing our testimony. Yeah. We all have one, and we all have one that is meant to touch certain individuals, and we're supposed to share it so that we can relate to people. Well, you said something about the disciples. Each one of them had a story and testimony. Yeah. You know, so, yeah. So if you think you don't have a testimony, you do. So share it. Pray about it first, then share it. And my brother's looking over here at me with his glazed-over red eyeballs. You all right, brother? Yeah, I'm good. Are you sure? Yes, I'm good. Okay. So a couple of reminders, updates, if you will. August the 31st, we're having our overdose awareness event at Oxford Lake in Oxford, Alabama. We'll have a lot of different resource tables, people giving out information on different places to get help, I can't even think right now. Rehabilitation centers, there will be mental health there. Testimonies. Yes, thank you. Testimonies. We'll have a drama skit. We'll have free food. Why are you looking at me like that? Are we putting on a drama? You said we was. Yeah, but Terry graduated. So? And Madeline's going to be graduating. Well, the plan is to have a drama skit. We have to replace Chris. Chris's? We'll have one. Maybe even have a puppet show, who knows? Listen, I watched that puppet show a while ago. I really, really liked it. And I wish I would have took you up on it when you said, you want to do it? I said, no, I don't want to do it. It's not too late. Yeah, let me explain. So we had VBS this week. And in my class, me and Michael were doing a puppet show for the kids. And it really was fun. So I'm like the teacher. Michael was actually the puppet master. They had a script that they was going by. Yeah, it was fun. So we have kicked around the idea of doing like a puppet ministry or get one going. There used to be one here at our church before our time. So something we're looking at, going to pray about and see if God leads us in the direction to do that. But, yeah, so August 31st. It'll start at 4. So please come out and support that cause. We are going to be at, oh, my goodness. Pavilion. Pavilion. I'm telling you. I normally forget that. Yeah, but, you know, I'm tired. I haven't gotten much sleep last day. VBS is pretty tiring. It's rewarding. It's worth it, but it's tiring. Anyway, so come out and talk to Lake and enjoy that with us. Testimonies, live music, and free food. Thank you, Dawn. Door prizes. Are you doing door prizes? Yes, and we'll be doing door prizes as well. So, and then September the 7th, there'll be an interdiction rally in Sylacauga, Alabama, across from Blue Bell, the ice cream place. So come out for that. There'll be a lot of the same things to enjoy there. And let's see what else we got. Anything else I need to share as far as upcoming events? I know I'm leaving something out. I know I am. If you would like to share your testimony, please reach out to us. We do, we just started our Suburban Recovery Step Studies. It won't be long, and we'll be starting our new Suburban Recovery Program here. So we'd love to book you as an opening testimony once a month. So please reach out to us, Breeze Ministry at yahoo.com. You can also go to Breeze Ministry's Facebook page and send us a message there. We would love to hear from you. If you or somebody you know is struggling with alcoholism, drug addiction, or maybe just homeless or just having a rough time and needs help, y'all can reach out to us on our Facebook page with all the information she just gave you. And what we'll do is we will contact the best suitable places for their situation and for the individual. We've got so many different programs on our network that we can reach out to. It's really all according to where God leads us and what the best fit is. Because not everybody is for something, and some things ain't for everybody. So one program might help one specific person that's in a certain situation, but may not do as well as somebody else. So we try to keep good communication and relationship with some of these programs, and we try to keep them up to date. If somebody comes in or they're needing help or reaching out, if we run across anybody that needs help, that's what we try to do. We try to offer help to the people that need healing. That's right. Yep, we try to share the hope of Jesus. We normally just recommend a faith-based program. There are some situations where people need mental health, and we have some resources that we can provide to those as well. We need Jesus, and that's where ultimate change is going to come from. He is the way, and he will help us through any and everything that we go through in life. You know, that kind of reminds me of when you were talking about, you know, He is the way. And I was thinking about in Scripture where it talks about that He's divine. Oh, I love that. Yeah. Yes, I love that Scripture. Do you remember where it's at? Yes, it's in the book of Matthew. You just said that, didn't you? No. Oh, okay. I mean, I did just now. Okay. But the first sermon that I ever preached, it was on that story, and the title of it was Connection, Correction, and Production. Okay. And it's being connected to the vine, being corrected, which is being pruned. Right. And after you're pruned, you start producing more fruit. But first of all, we have to get connected to Him. Yes. And once we get connected to Him, then He starts correcting us, starts changing us. Molding us. And when He starts changing us and starts molding us, that's when we start producing fruit. Oh, wow. And, you know, that's why Scripture tells us not to despise the chastisement of the Almighty God, because He loves us. Yeah. And, I mean, it's not fun being pruned. It's not fun, you know, being molded or being conformed to the way that God wants us to do things, because that's not the way we've been programmed most of our life. And it's hard to get over something that you've been taught for so many years, that is, you know, this world wants to try to teach us a lie and convince us it's the truth. And what they'll do is they'll actually get a lie and wrap it in truth, like the enemy did, like Satan did from the beginning. And some of it can be very enticing. Most of it is. Yeah. Most of it is. Unbelievable. Yeah. And being corrected, man, that's hard. That's really, really hard. They compare it to, like, gold being refined. You know, and I think I've said this before. Yeah. And it causes a lot of heat and a lot of discomfort to burn out any impurities that's in us. But if we're not connected, if we're not connected to the vine, if we're not connected to Jesus Christ, then there's no way that we can allow him to prune us or to correct us, because we're not connected to him. That's true. And we're not looking for it. We're not looking to be pruned, or we're not looking to have anything more than what we have. We're not doing ourselves any favors. Ah, okay, look. Here comes the mix-up. Did you already know? Well, it's just that you touched on something. I mean, I've been sitting here holding it back. But listen, you touched on something about us paying attention to God and looking at God. And it's like when the bush started burning, when Moses was up on that side of that, right? Mm-hmm. It says that Moses seen the bush burning, and when he noticed the bush burning, he was going to go and find out why this bush was burning but not being burnt up. Scripture says that God seeing him noticed the bush and then spoke and said, Moses, Moses, Moses. But notice that God didn't say anything to get his attention. God didn't say anything until Moses started paying attention to him. So when Moses started paying attention to him, that's when God spoke. So if we would get plugged in, start paying attention to God, start listening to God, then God will start speaking to us. We've got to get away from the chaos. Yeah, come on. We've got to listen because he speaks. He does. You're so right. Go ahead. Keep on listening. I'm trying not to give this away because it is so good. Well, God gives it to you. He might be laying it on your heart to share, so share. I haven't put it all together. It's okay. But leading up to this spot, we ain't got no time for me to do this. Listen, so before leading up to this spot, let's back it up a little bit, and let's look at Moses' history, just a quick rundown, all right? So Moses, when he was born, Pharaoh, the king of Asia, put out a decree for all the Hebrew boys to be put to death by being thrown into the Nile River. Actually, the first decree he put out is that all the midwives to kill the Hebrew boys when they're born. The midwives, being God-fearing women, said, We can't. We can't because these Hebrew women are different. They have the babies too fast. Now, I don't know how true that is, but I'm just saying that's what they said. So they said that because they feared God more than they did him. So he said, okay, well, I'll tell you what then. Get all the Hebrew boys and throw them in the Nile River. Strunk them. Throw them in the Nile River as soon as they're born. Well, here comes Moses. He's born. Once he's born, it says that they looked upon him and he was beautiful, that he was good to look upon. Now, you know if the Bible tells you that you're a pretty baby, because most babies, I've seen some ugly babies. I'm sorry. I've seen some ugly babies. Most of them are like old people, old men. But they're so cute. They are so cute. They're all cute. Some are prettier than others, but they're all cute. Some are so, I don't want to be, okay, let me get back. Some are not as cute as others. Some are so un-cute that it makes them cute. And so ugly they're cute. Yes, thank you. You said it. I was trying not to say that. Chris was going to say it. So anyway, you know, if the Bible tells you that this baby was pretty and nice to look at, then it was a beautiful baby. Yes. So much so that they decided to keep this baby, baby Moses, and hide him in their home for three months. And as they hid this baby for three months, they, I mean, you can imagine how they probably had to hide him in the sink or hide him under the bed or in a closet somewhere or something. And, you know, they had to cover his mouth when he went to cry or went to laugh or whatever. And it caused turmoil in Moses' developmental stage where he was developing, learning how to cry, learning how to laugh, learning why to do each one, but he couldn't do it like all the other kids because they had to keep him quiet. So you go on from that, after three months he got too big to hide. Yep. So the mom gets together with the midwives, and they built this basket, put baby Moses in it, and they put him in the Nile River, which is exactly where the decree says that they were supposed to drown him in to begin with. So they put him in the environment that killed all of the kids. But the only difference is they took the time to make sure that he was engulfed with protection. God does that with us sometimes. He will put us in a situation that would kill most people and would kill most people if they didn't have the protection of God around them and their life, if they didn't have a calling on the life for God to protect them because God has got something for them to do. And if I'm not mistaken, I think God had something for Moses to do. I mean, looking back on it, okay. But see, God is so strategic and so infinite and so big on the way he does things because here comes Pharaoh's daughter walking down to take a bath in the Nile River. True story, you can go back and read it. And it's almost like she said, okay, well, I think I'll go take a bath now. Walks down to the Nile River at the same time that Moses docks up in some weeds. What do they call them? Reeds? What's a reed? R-E-E-D. I think maybe weeds. Is that like weeds? Okay. Well, he was parked in seaweed. I don't know what it was. Parked. Yeah, parked. He wasn't flowing anymore. He wasn't floating. Floating, flowing, where the river flows. Yeah. Okay. Ain't that right? Yeah, I just like your wordage. Well, I like your wordage. So, she gets this baby and looks at it and, again, adores it. It's a beautiful baby. And I can't believe I go with all this because this really is my sermon. I didn't want to share it. Oh, there's 20 that haven't heard it. So you can share it again. Okay. So, anyways, they, uh, was awed, and again, God is so infinite that Moses' older sister pops up, out of nowhere, I don't think it's coincidence, and says, hey, do you need help from a Hebrew mom to help raise this child, to feed this child? And the Pharaoh's, okay, she's showing what weeds look like. Yeah, okay, that looks like cat tails. Yeah. Yeah. So, the sister says, yeah, I will go find you this Hebrew lady to help raise and feed the baby. The Pharaoh's daughter was like, well, I tell you what, let whoever know that I will pay them to do it. Hmm. And, of course, she goes and finds Moses' biological mother, brings her back, and she gets to raise her own son. While getting paid to do it. While getting paid to do it. Wow. What? Well, this is how Moses had to grow up. And, was this your phone? Oh. And, I can only imagine what all he was learning, being in the house of Egypt, Pharaoh's home, with all the trimmings, and all the food, and all the food, and all the education. Very well educated. And, listen, he was dealing with something on the inside. He knew that God had a calling on his life. And people will argue with me for that point. But, I'm about to prove it, because in the book of Acts, chapter 2, Stephen is being stoned. It may not be chapter 2, but I'm close. I'm close. But it's in the book of Acts. Where Stephen is being stoned, and, right before he's getting stoned, it's during the same sermon that he's preaching, and he uses Moses as an example, saying that he was there to set his people free. This is before he was on the Mount Sinai, and received the Ten Commandments. Uh-huh. This is before all that. So, that tells me that Moses knew that God, that Moses knew that somebody had a calling on his life. Something had a higher calling on his life. That God wanted him to do something with a higher purpose. And how we back that up is that he found this Hebrew guy and this Egypt guy fighting. Hmm. And, I know that every story that I've watched, or every movie I've watched about the Ten Commandments and this, that, and the other, that, uh, you know, he comes up, he beats this guy up, the Egyptian guy up, and the guy dies. And I'm thinking, and what they portray is that, you know, he just lost his temper, lost control, and killed the guy. No. It says in Exodus chapter 2 that Moses looked both ways before he went over there to make sure nobody was watching, and then went and murdered him, and hid his body in the sand. That's pretended, premeditated murder. I don't care which CSI you watch. That is premeditated murder. Yeah. Sounds like it. But, he set the Hebrew guy free. God's call on Moses' life was to set the Hebrew free. To set his people free. So, Moses took God's calling, but tried to execute it in his own way. Hmm. And in doing so, he only freed one Hebrew. But you want me to tell you something? Hmm. It was the wrong Hebrew. Do you want me to tell you how I know that? Because the next time he went up and he seen two Hebrew guys fighting, do you not mind that you know nobody was there, because he looked both ways to make sure nobody was watching, right? That nobody was seeing it. So, there was only two people there besides Moses. That was the Egyptian guy and the Hebrew guy. He killed the Egyptian guy, so it was just him and that Hebrew guy, right? That's the only people that were there. The only survivor was that one Hebrew guy. Well, when he comes up and he sees two other Hebrew guys fighting, he comes up and says, why are y'all fighting each other? They said, what are you going to do? Kill us like you did that Egyptian? Hmm. Look, if a guy comes up and tries to save my life, I'm not going to snitch on him. I'm not going to go and turn his business somewhere. See what kind of a mess you can make if you try to do things on your own. do things your way with the calling that God's got on your life. That is so true. I'll fly on your face. Mess everything up. I've done that a time or two. And because he did that, he went on the run. He ran away from the very people that God had called him to set free. Because, he tried to do it in his own way. Yeah. And that's not even half that message. Well, we can... I had trouble. We always get in trouble when we try to do things on our own. Yeah. The question... I mean the answers in the question. I got to. I got plenty of time. I can land this plane. So, fast forwarding all that... all that... up to the point where he's standing in front of this... this burning bush. And, God is telling him, okay, look, go back and tell Pharaoh to let my people go. Strap on your Birkenstocks, go in there and kick the door in, tell him to cut the music down and let the people go. Alright, so... what Moses did is he responded... Now listen, the answers in the question. The answers in the question. Listen to this. Moses looked at God and he said, Well, who am I? Who am I that you should send me? Now, to answer that question, I want y'all to listen real closely to what God showed me. That the answers in the question. We have asked a lot... We've got a lot of our... Who am I questions. Who am I? We've asked God, Who am I? Who am I that I should be able to do this knowing my past? It was a song too. Yeah. Yeah. So, but anyways, because we've got just a few seconds, a few minutes left. Moses looked at him and he said, Who am I that you should send me? Who am I? The answers in the question. Who am I? Who am I? Am I? Am I? Am. I am. It's not the question of who. Am I? But it's the fact that I am sent. So the answer was in the question. It's not am I. It's I am. And that's why a lot of times when God calls us to do things and we say, Well, who am I? The answer's in the question. That's not who am I. It's the I am that's in you. So, anyways. That is so good. Yeah. God showed me that on my way home from work. True story. I was there when he does it. Well, he just loves when God reveals things to you and he does that. Yeah. Most of the time to share it with other people. Sometimes he'll share things with us that's just for us. But, wow, that is so true. Who are we? I wish I could sing. I would have started singing that song just now. Oh. The Lord of all the earth. Well, choose to call my name or choose to feel my hurt. Who am I? Never mind. I'm not going to. Beautiful, beautiful. Yeah, it's so good. So good. But, anyways. Do you have anything else? Because we actually made it. We did. I don't have anything else. Thank you everyone for tuning in. We appreciate y'all. And I think I've already shared all the events coming up. So, hope y'all have a great weekend. And we'll be sharing next week. Father, we love you. We thank you. And we praise you for being who you are. We thank you so much for loving us the way that you do. We thank you for being everything that we need you to be. Father, I thank you for hearing the prayers that we don't know how to pray. We thank you for helping us control our thoughts and our emotions. And we just ask that you continue to lead us, guide us, and direct us. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.