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Start your comeback at Purdueglobal dot edu. 23 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 3: He'll forget about the video game you gave him on 24 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 3: his birthday. 25 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 4: Wow, thanks Grandpa, but. 26 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 3: He'll never forget how you invest it in his future 27 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 3: with the uns stapp. 28 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 4: Wow, thanks Grandpa. 29 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 3: The unit stap makes it easy for grandparents and family 30 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 3: friends to give funds to a child's investment account for 31 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 3: a limited time. Download the uns stapp and use the 32 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 3: code I heeart fifty at sign up to receive a 33 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 3: fifty dollars bonus when you find your account. That's code 34 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 3: iHeart fifty when you sign up at unest dot co 35 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 3: for a fifty dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at 36 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 3: UNEs dot co. 37 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 4: Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. 38 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 5: Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting 39 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 5: the ministry. 40 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 2: If you enjoyed today's MESSI, why don't you be a 41 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,199 Speaker 2: blessing and share it with a friend. 42 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 5: We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in 43 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 5: your line. Well, God bless you always a joy to 44 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 5: come into your homes, and if you're ever in our area, 45 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 5: please stop buying be a part of one of our services. 46 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 5: I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. 47 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 5: Thanks so much for tuning in, and thank you again 48 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 5: for coming out today. I like to start with something funny, 49 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 5: and I heard about this minister. 50 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 4: He bought a new horse. 51 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 5: He trained it to respond to praise the Lord meaning 52 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 5: giddy up, and Hallelujah meaning woe. 53 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 4: Every time he said praise the Lord. 54 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 5: The horse took off running when he said Hallelujah, quickly stopped. 55 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,080 Speaker 5: One day, he is out riding and the horse got 56 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 5: spooked took off straight toward the cliff, going full blast. 57 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 5: In the panic, he couldn't remember what he taught the horse. 58 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 5: He said, Bless God, Amen, Glory. 59 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 4: Nothing happened. The last second he shouted Hallelujah. 60 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,919 Speaker 5: The horse came to a screeching halt, just inches from 61 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 5: the edge of the cliff. He breathed a sigh of 62 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 5: relief and said, Praise the Lord. 63 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 4: All right, hold up your Bible. Say it like you 64 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 4: mean it. 65 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 5: This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. 66 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 5: I have what it says I have. I can do 67 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 5: what it says I can do. Today I will be 68 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 5: taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind 69 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,400 Speaker 5: is alert, my heart is receptive, I will never be 70 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 5: the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 71 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,799 Speaker 5: to talk to you today about giving the gift of yourself. 72 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 5: The greatest gift you can give is not necessarily your money. 73 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 4: It's not what you can buy someone. 74 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 5: The greatest gift is your time, your attention, your love, 75 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 5: your concern. When you take time to go see someone, 76 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 5: you look them in the eyes, they feel your love, 77 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 5: they enjoy your company. That means more than any material. 78 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 4: Gift that you could ever give. 79 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:43,920 Speaker 5: The people that are close to you, that really love 80 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 5: and respect you, they would rather have you than your money. 81 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 5: You can give them all the money in the world, 82 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 5: but if you're not spending time with them, they're missing out. 83 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 4: On the best of you. 84 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 5: When you give the gift of yourself, you're saying you're 85 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 5: extremely important to me. I care about you, I love you, 86 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 5: You're valuable. You're giving something that money cannot buy. And 87 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 5: sometimes writing a check is taking the easy way out. 88 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 5: I know I need to go visit my parents, but 89 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 5: I'm so busy at the office. I'll just pay the 90 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 5: neighbor to watch after them. My friends in the hospital, 91 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 5: I know I should go see them, but I don't 92 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 5: want to miss working out this week. I'll just send 93 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,680 Speaker 5: them some flowers. Now take time to give your greatest gift. 94 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 5: I learned this from my father. At least once a year, 95 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 5: he would have me drive him back to Paris, Texas. 96 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,600 Speaker 5: That's where he grew up. And there was this older 97 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,600 Speaker 5: couple that was related to us somehow, and the men 98 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 5: was American Indian, so nice and his wife and him. 99 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:50,360 Speaker 4: They lived in this small wood frame house. 100 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 5: And they were in their late eighties and had some 101 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 5: health issues and didn't have much money, didn't have anybody 102 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 5: to watch after them. My father would pay their rent, 103 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 5: their medications, have. 104 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 4: Somebody take care of the house. 105 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 5: Daddy could have thought that's good enough, I'm doing my part. No, 106 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 5: he understood this principle that the greatest gift he could 107 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 5: give was not. 108 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:14,719 Speaker 4: His money, but himself. 109 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 5: My father was very busy pastor to large church, had 110 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:20,800 Speaker 5: a lot of responsibilities. 111 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 4: This could have been very. 112 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 5: Low on his priority list, but every year we would 113 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 5: take that five hour journey. First time we went, I 114 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 5: told Victoria, next Tuesday, we're going to Paris. 115 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 4: Didn't tell her Paris, Texas until the morning. 116 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:38,680 Speaker 5: We got to Paris, and she never did find the 117 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 5: Eiffel Tower there, But I'll never forget pulling up in 118 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 5: their driveway. They were sitting on the front porch waiting 119 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 5: with such anticipation you would have thought the President of 120 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 5: the United States showed up. They were so happy. We'd 121 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 5: go in and eat the lunch they had prepared. Then 122 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 5: we would sit there and visit for hours and hours, 123 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 5: listening to their story, the same ones I'd heard before. 124 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:04,919 Speaker 4: A couple of times, I thought, let me finish it 125 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 4: for you. 126 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 5: I was in my early twenties, to be honest, I 127 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 5: was so bored. 128 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,159 Speaker 4: Come on, daddy, let's go. We've had lunch. 129 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:17,920 Speaker 5: We said hello. They know we loved them. My father 130 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 5: sat there just as patient as can be. What was 131 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,919 Speaker 5: he doing, giving his greatest gift, his time, his attention, 132 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 5: his friendship, the gift of himself. And today people are 133 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 5: so busy with the technology, it's easy to not interact 134 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:37,159 Speaker 5: one on one. Where we used to go see someone 135 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:39,479 Speaker 5: in person, or we used to at least pick up 136 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,680 Speaker 5: the phone. Now we may go months and months and 137 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:46,719 Speaker 5: only communicate by text, by email, by Facebook. And there's 138 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,920 Speaker 5: nothing wrong with that, but you have to make sure 139 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 5: you're not cheating people out of the best of you. 140 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 4: To look someone in the eyes is very powerful. 141 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:02,039 Speaker 5: To give them your undivided attention and speaks volumes to 142 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:06,719 Speaker 5: let them hear your voice is extremely important. You will 143 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 5: never regret spending time with the people that you love. Now. 144 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 5: I'm all for using technology, but nothing makes the impact 145 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 5: like seeing someone face to face. There was this older 146 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,679 Speaker 5: gentleman that I grew up with, and he was always 147 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:27,000 Speaker 5: very good to me. He bought some television equipment for us, 148 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 5: just a kind. 149 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 4: Generous man. 150 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 5: He'd come up to the office and bring lunch and 151 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 5: we'd all sit around, laugh, talk, have a good time together. 152 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 5: One day he had a stroke, couldn't get out anymore. 153 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 5: He couldn't drive, and I felt so badly for him. 154 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 5: I meant to call him. I had good intentions, but. 155 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:48,080 Speaker 4: I was so busy. 156 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 5: We had a new born, little baby daughter. I was 157 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 5: just learning how to minister, had so much going on. 158 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 5: I kept putting it off and putting it off. Now 159 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 5: I know friends that would go out to see him, 160 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 5: and I'd always tell them be sure to tell him 161 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 5: for me that I miss him, I love him, and 162 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 5: I'm going to come see him. Well, weeks turned into months, 163 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 5: months turned into years. One morning, I woke up with 164 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 5: him on my mind so strongly that I got in 165 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:21,559 Speaker 5: the car and drove to his house, and the lady 166 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 5: that took care of him answered the door. 167 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 4: She said, Joel, he is. 168 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 5: Going to be so happy to see you. He talks 169 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 5: about you all the time. He tells people you're just 170 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 5: like his own son. I went in and gave him 171 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:38,720 Speaker 5: a big hoggin. He wept and wept. We're all busy, 172 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,120 Speaker 5: We've all got a lot going on. But I'll never 173 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,040 Speaker 5: regret the time that I spent with him that day. 174 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:51,080 Speaker 5: That one hour did more to express my love, my gratitude, 175 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 5: my respect than a thousand people telling him for me. 176 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:59,959 Speaker 5: I could have sent him money, food, medication, encouragement. 177 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 4: That would have been good. 178 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 5: He would have been grateful, but it would not have 179 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 5: had half the impact of that one visit. The fact 180 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,560 Speaker 5: that I took time to look him in the eyes, 181 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,280 Speaker 5: to let him feel the warmth of my hug, to 182 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 5: give him my undivided attention, to laugh and talk about 183 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:23,440 Speaker 5: old times. That was invaluable that cannot be purchased by money. 184 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 5: Why is that the greatest gift you can give is yourself. 185 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:32,440 Speaker 5: You can't do it for everyone, but you can do 186 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 5: it for someone. God has put people in your life 187 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 5: that need your gift. 188 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 4: Don't put it off and say, oh, yeah, Joel, I'll. 189 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,839 Speaker 5: Do it one day when it slows down at the office, 190 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:48,199 Speaker 5: maybe when the children get back in school, maybe when 191 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:50,000 Speaker 5: the price of gas comes down. 192 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:51,199 Speaker 4: Don't hold your breath. 193 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:55,560 Speaker 5: If you keep putting it all, you may miss the opportunity. 194 00:09:56,240 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 5: Life is short. It's no guarantee of an another day. 195 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 5: That visit you've been planning to make, why don't you 196 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 5: make it? That friend you've been meaning to see, Why 197 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:09,720 Speaker 5: don't you go see them? When I left his house 198 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 5: that morning, part of me felt very happy and very 199 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,720 Speaker 5: fulfilled that I could make his day. Another part of 200 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 5: me felt sad that I'd held my gift back for 201 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:23,840 Speaker 5: so long. It had been years I had been planning 202 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 5: to see him, to see the impact that it made. 203 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 5: To see him come alive, to see his smile made 204 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 5: me wish I'd done it a whole lot sooner. 205 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 4: I made a vow that day that. 206 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:41,560 Speaker 5: I wasn't going to withhold my gift anymore. I'm asking 207 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:45,160 Speaker 5: you to do the same thing. Take time for the 208 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:49,959 Speaker 5: people that invested in you, the people that made sacrifices 209 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,080 Speaker 5: like this man, the people that went out of their. 210 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 4: Way to be good to you. 211 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 5: They need more than your money, more than your well wishes, 212 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 5: more than your friends saying hello for you. 213 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 4: They need the gift of yourself. Here's the key. Only 214 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:07,360 Speaker 4: you can give it. 215 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 5: Your love, your smile, your friendship, your gratitude. 216 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:12,800 Speaker 4: That's one of a kind. 217 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:19,440 Speaker 5: Can't be transferred, doesn't necessarily translate through another person, through 218 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 5: a letter, a phone calls good, but don't use that 219 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,960 Speaker 5: as an excuse to never see them face to face. 220 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:30,120 Speaker 5: Tell you something strange about me. There's more than one thing, 221 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 5: but this is one. When I read the newspaper every morning, 222 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:35,760 Speaker 5: I always. 223 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:36,880 Speaker 4: Read the obituaries. 224 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:40,520 Speaker 5: I scan through it and read about people to see 225 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 5: who they are, what their story is, how long they've lived. 226 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:45,760 Speaker 4: My children still make fun of me. 227 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,040 Speaker 5: Dad, he's reading the obituaries again, starting the day off 228 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 5: right thinking about death. But I've done that for years 229 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 5: and years. I think the main reason is to make 230 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:01,320 Speaker 5: sure I'm not in it. But the real reason is 231 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 5: it reminds. 232 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 4: Me of how fragile life really is. 233 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,600 Speaker 5: We grow up thinking that we're invincible and we're going 234 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 5: to be here forever with our family and our friends. 235 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,280 Speaker 4: Our world is always going to be perfect. That's not 236 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:15,839 Speaker 4: the case. 237 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 5: James four fourteen says, our life is like a mist. 238 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:24,560 Speaker 5: We're here for a moment, then we're gone. When you 239 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 5: read the obituaries, you see people who were old and 240 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 5: people who were young, people who had big families, and 241 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:36,960 Speaker 5: people with no families. Some obituaries are very long, with 242 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 5: great accomplishments. 243 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:39,840 Speaker 4: Some are short. 244 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 5: They just list the people's name and their dates, their age. 245 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 5: One thing they all have in common is they're no 246 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,960 Speaker 5: longer here. Their time on this earth is over. And 247 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,960 Speaker 5: it's very sobering to look around at who God has 248 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 5: put in your life, who has made a difference, Who 249 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:03,760 Speaker 5: is in you? Who was there when nobody else was around. 250 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 5: They took you under their wing, they mentored you. Are 251 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:12,240 Speaker 5: you giving the gift of yourself back to them. Some 252 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:14,600 Speaker 5: people come into our lives to get us to a 253 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:19,199 Speaker 5: certain level. They make sacrifices, they pay the price. Then 254 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 5: we take off and pass them by. Now they're in 255 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:27,320 Speaker 5: the shadows. It's easy to forget about them. It's easy 256 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 5: to not have any time. Too busy, too important, too successful. 257 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 5: I've got too much going on. No, if it had 258 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:36,839 Speaker 5: not been for them, you wouldn't be where you are. 259 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,320 Speaker 5: Take time for the people that took time for you. 260 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 5: When my father was in high school, he had a 261 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,560 Speaker 5: friend named Sam Martin, and Sam was always talking to 262 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:48,359 Speaker 5: him about. 263 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:50,439 Speaker 4: The Lord and how he needed to give his life 264 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 4: to Christ. 265 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:56,079 Speaker 5: My father always thought Sam was a little odd too religious. 266 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:58,840 Speaker 5: Sam would get to school early in the morning and 267 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:03,160 Speaker 5: write scriptures on the chopboard. Most of the students agreed 268 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:06,560 Speaker 5: with my father that Sam was just too far out well. 269 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 5: One night, at two o'clock in the morning, my father 270 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:13,600 Speaker 5: was walking home from a nightclub seventeen years old. He 271 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,559 Speaker 5: began to think about his eternal destiny. He got home 272 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,320 Speaker 5: and opened the family Bible on the coffee table. 273 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:22,520 Speaker 4: It was just there as decoration. 274 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,960 Speaker 5: My father had no kind of spiritual upbringing, never been 275 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 5: to church before. The Bible fell open to a picture 276 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 5: of Jesus knocking at a door. The caption read, I 277 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,880 Speaker 5: stand at the door and knock. If any person opens 278 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 5: the door, I will come in. My father couldn't understand religion, 279 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 5: but he could understand opening a door. The next day 280 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 5: he told Sam what had happened. Sam said, John, that's 281 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:55,920 Speaker 5: God drawing you unto himself. He invited my father to church. 282 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 5: They went and sat on the very back road the service. 283 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:04,120 Speaker 5: The minister invited people to the altar to receive Christ. 284 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 4: My father wouldn't go. He was too scared. 285 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,040 Speaker 5: Sam whispered in his ear seventeen years old, John, if 286 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:15,600 Speaker 5: you'll walk down there, I'll go with you. That day 287 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 5: they both walked down there. My father gave his life 288 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 5: to Christ and that he went on to become a 289 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 5: very well respected, successful minister founded this church. 290 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:26,800 Speaker 4: But here's my point. 291 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 5: Sam didn't have that same success. He pastored a church 292 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 5: here and there, but nothing really caught on. Later in 293 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:39,640 Speaker 5: Sam's life, everything had gone downhill. He was really struggling, 294 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 5: working as a greeter at a local retail store. He 295 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,600 Speaker 5: and my father had stayed in touch somewhat, but not 296 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:50,320 Speaker 5: that close. They would call each other every several years. 297 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 5: When my father heard how much Sam was struggling, he 298 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 5: got in his car and he drove to Dallas to visit. 299 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 5: Now they were both in their seventies. Sam was so thrilled. 300 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 5: He couldn't believe his old high school friend John had 301 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 5: taken time to come. 302 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:08,600 Speaker 4: My dad was very loyal. 303 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 5: He invited Sam to be a part of our staff 304 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,160 Speaker 5: as one of our ministers. Sam and his wife moved 305 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 5: to Houston. Sam spent the last eight years of his 306 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,080 Speaker 5: life working with my father day in and day out. 307 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 5: What was my dad doing giving the gift of himself? 308 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:27,920 Speaker 4: He knew he wouldn't. 309 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 5: Be here if it weren't for Sam. Sam was there 310 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:34,080 Speaker 5: for my father in his time of need. Now my 311 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 5: father was there for Sam in Sam's. 312 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 4: Time of need. 313 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 5: Don't forget about the people that help you get to 314 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:46,240 Speaker 5: where you are. Don't be too busy, too important. Take 315 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 5: time to reach back and invest in those that have 316 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 5: helped you. May not be to give them a job 317 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 5: like my dad did, but at least you can stop 318 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 5: by their house and say thank you. You can invite 319 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:01,080 Speaker 5: them over, or you can do something kind for their family. 320 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 4: This is what David did. 321 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:07,119 Speaker 5: In the scripture, his best friend Jonathan was killed in 322 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:10,800 Speaker 5: a battle. Jonathan was the one that really looked after David. 323 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:14,560 Speaker 5: When his father, King Saul, was trying to kill David, 324 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,360 Speaker 5: Jonathan would get inside information and sneak over and give 325 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:23,000 Speaker 5: it to his friend David. Years after Jonathan's death, now 326 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:24,160 Speaker 5: David is the king. 327 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:26,920 Speaker 4: David asked his assistant. 328 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 5: Is anyone from the house of Jonathan still alive. If so, 329 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,840 Speaker 5: I want to do something good for them, They said, 330 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:37,040 Speaker 5: he has one son that's. 331 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:38,439 Speaker 4: Crippled, but he's still alive. 332 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:43,159 Speaker 5: This son was living in extreme poverty, no future to 333 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:46,360 Speaker 5: speak of. David had them go get the young man, 334 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:49,399 Speaker 5: bring him to the palace. He looked him in the 335 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 5: eyes and said, listen, from now on, you're going to 336 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 5: eat at my dinner table every night. From now on, 337 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,680 Speaker 5: you're going to live in the palace with me, treated 338 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:03,040 Speaker 5: like royalty. The young man was amazed. He asked, what 339 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 5: did I do to deserve all this? David said, your 340 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 5: father was a friend of mine. Your father helped me 341 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:11,480 Speaker 5: get to where I am. 342 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:14,439 Speaker 4: Now I'm going to show you honor. I'm going to 343 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:14,920 Speaker 4: show you. 344 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:19,480 Speaker 5: Respect because of who your father was. David could have 345 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:22,440 Speaker 5: taken the easy way out and said, I'm going to build. 346 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:24,919 Speaker 4: You a house down the road, have somebody. 347 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:26,639 Speaker 5: Take care of you. You go off and live a 348 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 5: good life. No, David understood this principle that the greatest 349 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,720 Speaker 5: gift he could give was himself. David gave that young 350 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:40,520 Speaker 5: man his time, his attention, his friendship. The truth is, 351 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,720 Speaker 5: none of us got to where we are on our own. 352 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,760 Speaker 5: It's easy to find fault with the people that raised us. 353 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:50,480 Speaker 5: I hear it all the time, Joel. My parents didn't 354 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,439 Speaker 5: treat me right. My father worked all the time, he 355 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 5: was never there. My mother had issues. My teachers, they 356 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 5: didn't really invest in me. No, they may not have 357 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:04,000 Speaker 5: been perfect, but they made sacrifices so that you could 358 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:04,600 Speaker 5: go further. 359 00:19:05,359 --> 00:19:07,240 Speaker 4: Most likely, they. 360 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,359 Speaker 5: Did the best that they could with what they had. 361 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:13,680 Speaker 5: He's talking to a friend recently. He was the star 362 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:17,639 Speaker 5: football player in high school. He loved sports, but his 363 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 5: father never came to one game, never saw him play 364 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:25,560 Speaker 5: one time. But this son wasn't bitter, he said, Joel. 365 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:27,320 Speaker 4: My dad was a good man. 366 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 5: He spent all of his time and energy working to 367 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:32,880 Speaker 5: provide for the family. 368 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:34,560 Speaker 4: That's how he showed love. 369 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 5: Come to find out, his father was raised without a father. 370 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 5: He'd never seen a father modeled, didn't really know what 371 00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:47,440 Speaker 5: he was supposed to do. Sometimes we judge people by 372 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,199 Speaker 5: what we know instead of by what they know. This 373 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:54,720 Speaker 5: son was smart enough to realize his father didn't know 374 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 5: any better. 375 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:57,640 Speaker 4: He was doing the best that he knew. 376 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:01,679 Speaker 5: How now, this son takes his father to all of 377 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:05,840 Speaker 5: his grandson's football games. They sit together in the stands 378 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:07,520 Speaker 5: and enjoy each other's company. 379 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:08,879 Speaker 4: What am I saying? 380 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:12,840 Speaker 5: Don't make excuses for why you don't need to see. 381 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:13,399 Speaker 4: A loved one. 382 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 5: Don't live bitter because you didn't get what you needed. Well, Joel, 383 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 5: they didn't treat me right, They didn't make me feel important. 384 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 5: They should have spent more time with me. Why don't 385 00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:26,240 Speaker 5: you have a bigger point of view? Maybe they did 386 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:30,680 Speaker 5: the best that they knew. How after all, that's your family, 387 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 5: that's your flesh and blood. That's the one God ordained 388 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,480 Speaker 5: to be in your life. You didn't just come from 389 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 5: any parents. God hand picked your parents. He knew what 390 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:46,440 Speaker 5: they would have and what they wouldn't have. He knew 391 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,160 Speaker 5: what they could give you and what they couldn't give you. 392 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 5: It's easy to focus on the negative, but keep the 393 00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 5: right perspective. They're the ones that changed your diapers. They're 394 00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:00,199 Speaker 5: the ones that fed you, clothed you stayed up up 395 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:02,959 Speaker 5: late at night when you didn't feel well. They're the 396 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,359 Speaker 5: people that when you were a baby you spit up 397 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,280 Speaker 5: on them. They shook it off and gave you another bottle. 398 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:11,800 Speaker 5: Now what have you done for them lately? Have you 399 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:14,359 Speaker 5: invited them out to dinner. Have you stopped by the 400 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:18,800 Speaker 5: house to enjoy their company, to talk about old times. 401 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:19,640 Speaker 4: To laugh together. 402 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:24,000 Speaker 5: What if they weren't going to be around next year 403 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:27,639 Speaker 5: at this time, What if the next few months was 404 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,480 Speaker 5: the only chance you had to let them know how 405 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:34,000 Speaker 5: you feel, what they mean to you. Are you allowing 406 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:36,719 Speaker 5: your work schedule too busy to keep you from it? 407 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:41,679 Speaker 5: Or maybe have you not spoken in years because you 408 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:45,119 Speaker 5: don't get along anymore. You're at odds and you're just 409 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 5: letting it ride. Maybe one day you'll make things better. 410 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:53,400 Speaker 5: God is saying today is your one day reach out 411 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 5: to the people that have sacrificed for you. 412 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:57,719 Speaker 4: Go visit that family member. 413 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:01,920 Speaker 5: You have a gift that they need, and it's not 414 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:06,680 Speaker 5: necessarily just your money, your clothes, your food. The gift 415 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:12,000 Speaker 5: you have is yourself, your friendship, your time, your love, 416 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 5: your hug, your smile, your gratitude. 417 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:17,480 Speaker 4: Don't keep putting it all. Do what you know you 418 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:18,040 Speaker 4: need to do. 419 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:22,880 Speaker 5: Last week, I was flipping through the obituaries, my favorite 420 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:23,360 Speaker 5: thing to do. 421 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:25,520 Speaker 4: I saw this picture. 422 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 5: Of a man about my age and he always waited 423 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,280 Speaker 5: on me at the department store. Just saw him a 424 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 5: couple months ago in the back of the store. I 425 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:37,600 Speaker 5: was in a hurry, but I took a few moments 426 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:38,960 Speaker 5: to goldber and shake his hand. 427 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:40,359 Speaker 4: See how he was doing. 428 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 5: Just a two minute friendly conversation, No big deal. I 429 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,880 Speaker 5: never dreamed that would be the last time I ever 430 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 5: saw him. 431 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:52,640 Speaker 4: He had been there for years. Friends, life is short. 432 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,879 Speaker 5: Don't miss these opportunities to give the gift of yourself. 433 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,800 Speaker 5: I was so glad that at least I took time 434 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 5: to go say hello when I saw his picture. While 435 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 5: I was saddened to know that he was gone, I 436 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:12,600 Speaker 5: was satisfied knowing that I had taken the time to 437 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,400 Speaker 5: let him know that I cared that he was important 438 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,399 Speaker 5: to me. My question is the people God put in 439 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:23,320 Speaker 5: your life, your family, your friends, those that you interact with. 440 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,359 Speaker 5: If they were gone tomorrow, would you be satisfied that 441 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:31,320 Speaker 5: they know how much you love them, what you mean 442 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 5: to them. Have you seen them lately expressed your feelings, 443 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 5: taking time to enjoy their friendship, laugh together. 444 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 4: If not, why don't you do it sooner than later. 445 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 5: I've been to too many funerals where I hear people say, 446 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 5: if I only had another chance, if I could just 447 00:23:50,359 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 5: really tell them what they meant to me. 448 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:55,919 Speaker 4: This is your other chance. Look around this week. 449 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,399 Speaker 5: Don't take the people God put in your. 450 00:23:58,240 --> 00:23:59,280 Speaker 4: Life for granted. 451 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,560 Speaker 5: When you give the gift of yourself, your time, your attention, 452 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:08,920 Speaker 5: your love, your keeping the accounts full. When somebody goes 453 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:11,800 Speaker 5: to be with the Lord, while you'll still be sad, 454 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:14,159 Speaker 5: you'll have no regrets. 455 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:14,919 Speaker 4: There'll be a. 456 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 5: Satisfaction knowing they knew exactly how much you love them, 457 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:22,680 Speaker 5: how much you value them in your life. What makes 458 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,960 Speaker 5: losing a loved one much more difficult is when we 459 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:27,680 Speaker 5: have all these things. 460 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,560 Speaker 4: We wish we would have done. I wish I would 461 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:31,400 Speaker 4: have gone to see them. 462 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,359 Speaker 5: I wish I would have taken my friends, or I 463 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:36,320 Speaker 5: wish I would have forgiven. 464 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:39,359 Speaker 4: Them and made things right. Talk to a young lady 465 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:40,160 Speaker 4: just recently. 466 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:44,639 Speaker 5: She's dealing with all this guilt, all this remorse because 467 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:46,439 Speaker 5: she got in odds with her father. 468 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,440 Speaker 4: They had not spoken in a long long time. 469 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 5: Her father, in his early fifties, was suddenly killed in 470 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:57,280 Speaker 5: an accident. She said, Joel, I can't handle it. I'm 471 00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,640 Speaker 5: dealing with all this guilt. How do I let it go? 472 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,640 Speaker 4: Of course, God will give you the grace to do it. 473 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 5: But the point I'm making today is it's much better 474 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 5: to keep the accounts full. You've heard the saying live 475 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 5: every day like it could be your last. Another good thought. 476 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:19,160 Speaker 5: Live every day like it could be your loved one's last. 477 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:23,200 Speaker 5: Because when you die, if you know the Lord, you're 478 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 5: going to go to heaven. You're not gonna miss us. 479 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:28,320 Speaker 5: There's no time in heaven. The next thing you know 480 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,800 Speaker 5: is will be there. The difficulty is not when you die, 481 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 5: but when a loved one dies. That's when people have 482 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:39,679 Speaker 5: too many regrets. I've heard it said, if you only 483 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:43,480 Speaker 5: had an hour to live, who would you call, what 484 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:44,240 Speaker 5: would you say? 485 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:46,000 Speaker 4: And what are you waiting for? 486 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,399 Speaker 5: It was a Thursday night thirteen years ago. I was home, 487 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:53,679 Speaker 5: sound asleep in my bed and I heard the phone ringing. 488 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:56,120 Speaker 5: I woke up in a daze, looked at the clock. 489 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:59,080 Speaker 5: It was four o'clock in the morning, entered the phone 490 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 5: and it was my father. He said, Joel, I'm not 491 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:03,840 Speaker 5: feeling well. I need to go up to the clinic 492 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:05,040 Speaker 5: to take dialysis. 493 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:06,040 Speaker 4: Can you take me? 494 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,119 Speaker 5: Said sure, I'll be there in just a moment. I'd 495 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:11,760 Speaker 5: gotten in bed that night at two o'clock, just had 496 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:14,600 Speaker 5: a couple of hours of sleep, picked my father up 497 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,639 Speaker 5: and got him to the dialysis center, and most of 498 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:19,920 Speaker 5: the time, once he got all hooked up, he would 499 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 5: go to sleep, and so I would leave and go 500 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 5: to work, or go back home and come pick him 501 00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:29,200 Speaker 5: up four hours later. This morning, I was particularly tired, 502 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:32,800 Speaker 5: but something down in here said, Joel, you need to 503 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 5: stay and visit. 504 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:37,400 Speaker 4: With your dad today. It just felt right. I knew 505 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:38,560 Speaker 4: I was supposed to do it. 506 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 5: So I pulled up a chair and for the next 507 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:42,760 Speaker 5: three or four hours, my father and I just sat 508 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,960 Speaker 5: there and talked and laughed, had a good time together. 509 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 5: He got finished about eight in the morning, and I 510 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:51,959 Speaker 5: took him home. And I was standing in my parents' 511 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 5: kitchen just about to leave, and my father called me 512 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:59,520 Speaker 5: back over. He gave me a big hug and said, Joel, 513 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:03,080 Speaker 5: the best son a father could ever hope to have. 514 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 2: Now. 515 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:08,680 Speaker 5: I left that day feeling extremely satisfied. I knew how 516 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:12,200 Speaker 5: much my father loved me, and he knew how much 517 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:16,040 Speaker 5: I loved him. What I didn't realize was later that 518 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:18,720 Speaker 5: day he would have a heart attack and go to 519 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:22,560 Speaker 5: be with the Lord. The last thing I remember him 520 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:24,919 Speaker 5: saying to me was what a good son I was. 521 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:28,679 Speaker 5: The last thing he remembers me doing for him was 522 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:29,600 Speaker 5: spending that three or. 523 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:30,560 Speaker 4: Four hours together. 524 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:35,400 Speaker 5: And while I still miss my dad, I have no regrets. 525 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,760 Speaker 5: There's nothing I wish I would have done differently, Nothing 526 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:39,880 Speaker 5: I wish I would have said. 527 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:40,919 Speaker 4: I'm at peace. 528 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 5: And I don't say that to brag on me, but 529 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:47,679 Speaker 5: rather to challenge us to make sure we're keeping the 530 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:52,200 Speaker 5: accounts full. Make sure you're not putting things off thinking, yeah, 531 00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 5: one day I'm going to go see them. One day, 532 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:58,160 Speaker 5: I'm going to take my grandchildren. One day, I'm going 533 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 5: to forgive and make things right. Let today be your 534 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:05,480 Speaker 5: one day. Take time for the people God put in 535 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:11,400 Speaker 5: your life. Don't cheat them out of the best of you. 536 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:15,480 Speaker 5: Your friendship, your love, your smile, your hug. That's one 537 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:18,440 Speaker 5: of a kind nobody else can give it. If you'll 538 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:21,440 Speaker 5: learn to give the gift of yourself, then your accounts 539 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:25,159 Speaker 5: will stay full, You'll have no regrets. The people in 540 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,720 Speaker 5: your life will not only be better, but you will 541 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:33,040 Speaker 5: be better. I believe in declare you will live a blessed, happy, fulfilled, 542 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:36,800 Speaker 5: victorious life in Jesus' name. If you receive it, can 543 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:40,200 Speaker 5: you say amen today? Well, we never like to close 544 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:43,760 Speaker 5: our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus 545 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,160 Speaker 5: the lord of your life. Would you pray with me? 546 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:50,760 Speaker 5: Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins. 547 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 4: Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. Friends, 548 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,240 Speaker 4: if you pray that simple prayer, we believe. 549 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 5: You got born again. Get in a good Bible based church, 550 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 5: Keep God first place. 551 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:07,480 Speaker 4: He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed of. 552 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:10,600 Speaker 4: Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope 553 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:12,120 Speaker 4: you'll subscribe. 554 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:14,360 Speaker 5: So you can receive the latest podcast to keep you 555 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 5: encouraged and inspired all through the week. 556 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:18,960 Speaker 3: Help us to continue to share the message of hope 557 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:20,520 Speaker 3: with those all around the world. 558 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 2: Visit Joelosting dot com or click the link in the 559 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:25,800 Speaker 2: description to partner with us today. 560 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,480 Speaker 4: We hope you'll share this message with a friend and 561 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,400 Speaker 4: be sure to follow us on social media. We're praying 562 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 4: for you. I know God's best is still ahead. 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