Today we receive testimonies from several of our Silver Tones about their path to living for God and the enormous impact it has had on their lives.

Today we receive testimonies from several of our Silver Tones about their path to living for God and the enormous impact it has had on their lives.

The book of Revelation depicts a glorious and joyful sound that began eons ago, concluding a new song. What is revealed in Revelation is a widening circle of praise. The end of time is not a funeral, but a wedding; not a time of mourning, but a time of celebration. It is the celebration of the triumph of righteousness over evil. The song spoken of in Revelation is our song, and our song will meld with His song. Our song might sound inadequate right now, but our song will blend with His and be elevated to a victory on that day.

The book of Revelation depicts a glorious and joyful sound that began eons ago, concluding a new song. What is revealed in Revelation is a widening circle of praise. The end of time is not a funeral, but a wedding; not a time of mourning, but a time of celebration. It is the celebration of the triumph of righteousness over evil. The song spoken of in Revelation is our song, and our song will meld with His song. Our song might sound inadequate right now, but our song will blend with His and be elevated to a victory on that day.

The book of Revelation depicts a glorious and joyful sound that began eons ago, concluding a new song. What is revealed in Revelation is a widening circle of praise. The end of time is not a funeral, but a wedding; not a time of mourning, but a time of celebration. It is the celebration of the triumph of righteousness over evil. The song spoken of in Revelation is our song, and our song will meld with His song. Our song might sound inadequate right now, but our song will blend with His and be elevated to a victory on that day.

Our text mentions war and rumors of war. Humanity’s history chronicles many conflicts between nations and people. As Christians, we are also at war in the spiritual sense. God’s people are under attack. Our world tries to dismiss, marginalize, and malign God’s people. We must be prepared to respond to this spiritual war. The bible declares that we must put on the whole armor of God for this fight. Our fight begins on our knees in a prayer closet. It is not enough that we continue to do the work of God. While works are good, we must defend ourselves from the attacks that will come because of our work. More than that, we must band together to protect our brothers and sisters as they go about their work. Pray for each other as we go about the work. Keep watch and head off the enemy in prayer when we see our brethren in danger.

Our text mentions war and rumors of war. Humanity’s history chronicles many conflicts between nations and people. As Christians, we are also at war in the spiritual sense. God’s people are under attack. Our world tries to dismiss, marginalize, and malign God’s people. We must be prepared to respond to this spiritual war. The bible declares that we must put on the whole armor of God for this fight. Our fight begins on our knees in a prayer closet. It is not enough that we continue to do the work of God. While works are good, we must defend ourselves from the attacks that will come because of our work. More than that, we must band together to protect our brothers and sisters as they go about their work. Pray for each other as we go about the work. Keep watch and head off the enemy in prayer when we see our brethren in danger.

Our text mentions war and rumors of war. Humanity’s history chronicles many conflicts between nations and people. As Christians, we are also at war in the spiritual sense. God’s people are under attack. Our world tries to dismiss, marginalize, and malign God’s people. We must be prepared to respond to this spiritual war. The bible declares that we must put on the whole armor of God for this fight. Our fight begins on our knees in a prayer closet. It is not enough that we continue to do the work of God. While works are good, we must defend ourselves from the attacks that will come because of our work. More than that, we must band together to protect our brothers and sisters as they go about their work. Pray for each other as we go about the work. Keep watch and head off the enemy in prayer when we see our brethren in danger.

The stories from our two texts today are very similar. Both men had infirmities and Jesus asked both of them a question: Will thou be made whole? On the surface, that question seems undeeded. John gives us the insight that Jesus knew the entire story of both of these men. If Jesus knew what the problem was, undoubtedly He would know that the men wanted help. For the blind man and the man by the pool of Bethesda, the Lord knew their problem but it doesn’t matter what God knows about our situation. What matters is what we come to know. All of God’s knowledge cannot change our mindset. For anything to happen to these men, something had to happen inside them.

The man by the pool had lived with his problem for thirty-eight years. He had put himself in place to get help. Somehow, in the thirty-eight years of trying, he never got the help he needed. This man sat in the shadow of possibilities for so long, waiting on his opportunity. How is that possible? Somewhere along the line, this man shifted his focus from the thing he needed to something else. When Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed, he answered that he did not have help. Some people are still dealing with problems in life because they have become accustomed to them.

Jesus did not ask him if he wanted to be made whole to irritate him or to embarrass him. Jesus didn’t ask to learn because He knew the answer. Jesus asked the question to awaken something, to cause him to realize something. Jesus asked the question to revive the spirit of expectation. Expectation is different from hope. Hope is optimistic, but expectation is a sureness that something will come to pass. Expectation is the key to what we need and desire. When we can see from God’s previous work, we have a promise of it to happen again.

The key to change is not what God knows but what God can get us to realize about ourselves.

The stories from our two texts today are very similar. Both men had infirmities and Jesus asked both of them a question: Will thou be made whole? On the surface, that question seems undeeded. John gives us the insight that Jesus knew the entire story of both of these men. If Jesus knew what the problem was, undoubtedly He would know that the men wanted help. For the blind man and the man by the pool of Bethesda, the Lord knew their problem but it doesn’t matter what God knows about our situation. What matters is what we come to know. All of God’s knowledge cannot change our mindset. For anything to happen to these men, something had to happen inside them.

The man by the pool had lived with his problem for thirty-eight years. He had put himself in place to get help. Somehow, in the thirty-eight years of trying, he never got the help he needed. This man sat in the shadow of possibilities for so long, waiting on his opportunity. How is that possible? Somewhere along the line, this man shifted his focus from the thing he needed to something else. When Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed, he answered that he did not have help. Some people are still dealing with problems in life because they have become accustomed to them.

Jesus did not ask him if he wanted to be made whole to irritate him or to embarrass him. Jesus didn’t ask to learn because He knew the answer. Jesus asked the question to awaken something, to cause him to realize something. Jesus asked the question to revive the spirit of expectation. Expectation is different from hope. Hope is optimistic, but expectation is a sureness that something will come to pass. Expectation is the key to what we need and desire. When we can see from God’s previous work, we have a promise of it to happen again.

The key to change is not what God knows but what God can get us to realize about ourselves.