For those of you who don't know Pastor Stanley, he's been in the ministry for over 40 years, planting over 100 churches across the nation under Gateway Ministries. He's not just a pastor; he's a pastor to pastors, a mentor to mentors, a leader to leaders, and at seventy years old, he's still going strong. It's truly amazing to see him stand and speak for the entire day, ministering to us. We're glad to have Pastor Stanley and his wife Esme with us. Let's give them a huge round of applause as he comes to minister to us. [Applause]

Alright, let's check in for the marriage seminar. I had to pull out the metaphorical tooth that was troubling people in their marriages, so they had to open their mouths. I aimed to make them laugh, and when they laughed, I could pull it out. That was my intention with the humor we had. It's a joy and privilege to be with you all. I came here some years ago before COVID and did a parenting seminar on a Saturday. This time, Pastor gave us two days to work on marriages, so we did something on marriages. I hope those struggling marriages have become stable and those already stable have become even better. God willing, I'll hear about it maybe a year or two later when I meet you again. Let's hope none of our churches become part of those statistics. Amen.

Today, I want to talk about a subject called "The View from the Sanctuary," and for that, I'll be looking at Psalm 73. If you have your Bibles, you can open there, but we'll be going verse by verse, and the verses will also be on the screen. So, if you don't have your Bible, just follow along on the screen. Psalm 73 starts with a story you may have heard about, involving a games warden training people by blindfolding them and having them touch something to describe their experience. They each had a different experience, like touching different parts of an elephant. Similarly, the psalmist, Asaph, had an experience that led him to write Psalm 73. He started with the theoretical view, saying, "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart." Theoretically, yes, but then he moves to his experiential view, where he was confused by the prosperity, peace, pleasure, pride, and progress of the wicked. He envied them and couldn't comprehend why good people suffer while the bad prosper. Have you ever felt that way? Why do good people suffer, and who are the good people?

It sounds like you're grappling with some deep questions about suffering, injustice, and the apparent success of those who do wrong. The passage you're referring to seems to be exploring the feelings of the speaker (possibly Asaph) who is struggling with these issues. They feel that despite trying to live a righteous life, they are experiencing affliction while seeing the wicked prosper.

The speaker questions why bad things happen to good people and why the wicked seem to get away with their actions. They feel embarrassed about their faith and struggle to find explanations for the disconnect between their beliefs and their experiences.

However, there's a shift in perspective when the speaker enters the sanctuary of God. It's suggested that in this sacred space, they gain understanding about the final destiny of the wicked. They come to realize that despite their apparent success, the wicked are ultimately on slippery ground and will be brought to ruin. Their prosperity is fleeting, like a dream that disappears upon waking.

The analogy of observing a cruise ship from a higher vantage point while struggling uphill on a bicycle serves to illustrate this shift in perspective. From a lower viewpoint, it may seem unfair that the wicked are prospering while the righteous suffer. But from a higher perspective, one can see the true nature of their destiny and the consequences of their actions.

It's a reminder that appearances can be deceiving, and ultimate justice is in the hands of a higher power.It seems like you've provided a lengthy passage discussing various themes such as the unpredictability of life, the fleeting nature of worldly success, the importance of focusing on spiritual values, and the presence and protection offered by God. The passage includes reflections on the experiences of individuals who seemed successful but faced tragic ends, as well as personal insights and interpretations of scripture.

If you mention all that is mentioned before, is there finally you reach the sanctuary and then you park your bike there and then you stand in the Portico of that Sanctuary from where you can see the river. Not only you can see the river but you can see miles from where the river has come from where the ship would have traveled and You Can See For Miles what is going to happen in the future. And then you see horror of Horrors this particular river is going to have a waterfall a huge waterfall and if this captain of this ship doesn't take remedial measures in time there is only one thing that is going to happen this whole ship is going to go into a watery grave and in an instant it will be all over. This is what ASF saw when he went up from the sanctuary earlier he was the ground level view now he's got a sanctuary View and in the sanctuary let me read again verse 17 to 20 till I entered the sanctuary of God then I understood their final Destiny surely you place them on slippery ground you cast them down to ruin how suddenly are they destroyed completely Swept Away by Terrors they are like a dream when one awakens when you arise Lord you will despise them as fantasies they are happy-go-lucky and enjoying but there is going to be something called suddenly and when that suddenly happens then everything is ruined and finished off and so that is what ASF saw when he went up from the sanctuary earlier he was the ground level view now he's got a sanctuary View and in the sanctuary let me read again verse 17 to 20 till I entered the sanctuary of God then I understood their final Destiny surely you place them on slippery ground you cast them down to ruin how suddenly are they destroyed completely Swept Away by Terrors they are like a dream when one awakens when you arise Lord you will despise them as fantasies they are happy-go-lucky and enjoying but there is going to be something called suddenly and when that suddenly happens then everything is ruined and finished off and so that is what ASF saw. He saw the sanctuary view and saw suddenly whatever is going to happen to them. So the first thing he saw was the future of the wicked. Secondly, he saw the foolishness of self. During the period when he saw them, he got carried away and he says when my heart verse 21 and 22 foolishness of self when my heart was grieved my spirit embeded I was senseless and ignorant I was a brute Beast before you you see the I me myself it is known as the Unholy.

When you concentrate too much on I me and myself then this is what happens when my heart was grieved when my spirit EMB bettered I was senseless and ignorant I was a brute Beast before you if we meditate instead of the Bible meditate on the Silver Screen and the Bold and Beautiful rich and Powerful then this is the possible result because we will compare with that and us and we will be misguided and we will become a brute Beast we will be filled with Envy arrogance we will lose our equilibrium don't don't do that meditate on scripture go to the sanctuary view go to your church that you may get a better perspective in the sanctuary uh view you can spot the real condition of Our Own Heart remember earlier we mentioned that he was filled with Envy lost his equilibrium he was embarrassed about his faith and had no explanation about the disconnect and this happened because he had a wrong value system inside of him some of us ask this question why do bad things happen to good people is because because the so-called good people have unfortunately picked up their value system from the wrong place and that is why you feel why we are not good people all of us are sinners and all of us need the grace of God somehow as of equated material blessing or having possession and health and wealth as happiness no no no no those are wrong ways of measurement it produces discontentment him he his religion was not giving him happiness and did not make him successful one of the psalmist David says search me oh God and know my heart test me and know my anxious thoughts see if there is any offensive way in me and Lead Me in the way Everlasting so we need to regularly pray and say Lord if there is anything in my value system which is contrary to what you want I'm picking up comparison with the whole thing then I will never be able to go along in the right direction please search me let your search light follow me show me that I can sh take it out stop the holding of those rubbish things and get my heart only focused on you and you alone he not only saw that but he saw the fullness of the savior he saw the fullness of the Savior presence of God verse 23 yes yet I'm always with you you hold me by my right hand you hold me by my right hand is and so ASF realized that in the midst of his trials he had never been alone even when he could not see God the Lord has been holding his hand and God has always been there in his presence is fullness of joy at his right hand there are Pleasures forever more and the pleasures are not in health and wealth the pleasures were in his presence when his presence is there everything went away I was in the morning um Canada service I don't understand any Canada but there are some words which are common between Canada and Sanskrit therefore with Hindi marati Gujarati which I know so I saw some word samadan coming I said samadan I understand samadan SOS SOS I understand and then I think it was presence of God what do you say upas what do you say PR so I said his presence so I was thinking yes they talking about presence of God SOS of God and samadan of God if we have that that that is all that matters and we need to flow with that and he understood that God is present there and as long as you are there and holding my hand I'm with you secondly he had the protection of God you guide me with your counsel afterwards you will take me into Glory you know imagine there is a father and a son young son maybe two years three years old and they are walking and the father has decided to hold the hand of the son the son is not holding father's hand but the father is holding the son's hand and as the son is walking 2ye old threey old foury old is walking with his father holding his hand that son is looking everywhere and he's getting carried away by the sounds and sights that he sees some toy shops and other things he looking around in the process as he's looking around he's not looking at his what is in front of him by mistake he puts his leg into a pothole and he loses his equilibrium but thank god father is holding his hand therefore he is prevented from falling ASF says I almost lost my equilibrium he didn't lose his almost lost because father was holding me and he says that I'm always with you and you hold me by my right hand I'm so glad our father is holding our hand and he guides with guides us with our counsel his counsel and afterwards you will take me into Glory that's so beautiful he saw the not only the presence of God protection of God he saw

the person of Jesus whom have I in heaven but you and Earth has nothing I desire besides you my flesh and my heart May Fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever many of you remember that passage you must have learned it by heart um the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases his mercies they are new every morning great is the faithfulness most of us stop there correct that's what the that lamentation 32223 says but the very next line next phrase says and you are my portion forever that's the same line here and my portion forever what is this line coming from you are my portion forever this line comes from that when the land of Israel Palestine was divided for the 12 tribes during the time of Joshua everybody was every tribe was given an allotted portion except one tribe Levites and what did the Lord say to them you get no land allotted to you because I am your portion therefore we need to say Lord you are my portion are you able to say that if your family members come to know your father mother comes to know and your ancestors come to know they said okay then Hereafter when we divide the property the Lord is your portion the rest of the property land will be divided among all other siblings all your mutual funds goes to your this brother and fixed deposit to your sister but you get what the Lord is your portion keep religion out of this you sing the song you take the whole world but give me Jesus really and I think this is the test when everything else fails only thing that matters is if we have Certainly! Here's the complete transcript of the additional text you provided:

Jesus, some people's hearts may be broken. I don't want to make fun; maybe your son or kid, your daughter, has walked away from the house; you're left heartbroken, God forbid. Perhaps your husband or your wife is as good as living like an alien or is no longer with you, left you, or you have some sickness and you feel, why, why, why. But if this line is true, "The Lord is my portion," am in, "The Lord is my shepherd, I don't want anything else," would we be able to see that? And until we have our eyes open to say, "The Lord is my portion, I don't want anything else," then we will not be worried about who in the nation is the richest man and whatever else doesn't matter because he has everything but he doesn't have my Jesus. And if I have my Jesus, I am the richest man on earth and I'm the happiest man on earth. And therefore we need to know is that true with us.

So, he had the revelation of "God is my portion, He's in my heart," and a personal relationship with Jesus compensates more than compensates for every other lack that is there. Value system should say, "I value it, you take the whole world but give me my Jesus." We think of people like I gave you some negative names, you think of a lady called Joni Eareckson Tada, a young girl 17 years old when she dived into the swimming pool she had a swimming pool accident her neck broke and from the neck on she was paralyzed and she remained in a wheelchair she can't use any part of her body and for days together she had questions why Lord why Lord why Lord eventually something got reconciled and then she turned around probably she had an encounter like ASF she had a view of the sanctuary something changed and she became a motivational speaker she runs a TV program which is Washed by tens of thousands of people who are handicapped or any having major difficulties they listen to a program they feel so encouraged by what she says because she says it from the wheelchair she has learned how to put a brush in a mouth and paint paint some pictures which are sold exorbitantly a man came and married her as well and so here is a lady who can be handicapped from neck downwards from the age of 17 the prime of your Youth and you lost it but she has found something in Jesus which has changed it she's able to encourage tens of thousands of people many of you must have seen the short clippings of a man called Nick Vujicic who has no hands and no legs but he is a motivational speaker I mean we with even if you have 10 hands or 10 legs we will still but he is without hand and he is a motivational speaker he is laughing he's joking and everybody in the audience is crying why because their value system is different his value system is in the right place so he can be a motivational speaker and that's what he are talking about who is your motivation who who is who is your role model and many of you may have heard A lady called Fanny Crosby who was blind within a few months of her birth that means she was 6 month old and she lost her eyesight some mistake that happened and she grew without knowing Christ but somewhere at the age of 34 she came to know Christ and and then she began to learn the Bible she knew a good part of the Bible by heart but this Blind Lady began to write songs you are singing those songs Blessed assurance Jesus is mine oh what a force of Glory Divine draw me nearer nearer nearer blessed Lord to the Cross where thou has died um there are many many songs these were top of the charts for decades together until today no matter which song books get revised at the end those hymns these all her hymns are there she had an firsthand encounter with God and she wrote them how can you write you are blind actually she has site we are blind because she has understood by Revelation Sanctuary view you are my portion I don't need anything else that's a tough call but that's what he's looking at all this Telles that are joy peace real happiness is not in material wealth not in perfect health not in power and

position but it is in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ you may be struggling in the workplace and currently may not be having a good job but let not your joy be determined by this situation fourthly he had perception of God those who are far from you will perish you destroy all who are unfaithful to you but as for me it is good to be near God I have made The Sovereign Lord my refuge I will tell of your Deeds finally Isa arrives at the place where you can see things from God's perspective Sanctuary view Eternal view no longer does he look upon the Wicked with Envy he now looks upon the Wicked with pity now he knows they are doomed now he knows that the Saints have Rasen to shout even when things look their Blick ASF had come to the place where he knows God's way is the only way I'll tell a story and then ask a few questions in close there was a church it was a conservative church not a charismatic church where you all speak loudly raise your hands shout you don't that was a conserva very reserved quiet place service used to be very quiet in that church was a widow she was poor Widow and she was the only one no family member she used to come and attend that church but she had God is a portion God was a portion so whenever the preacher preached she would just say praise the Lord she could not contain she she had to praise when there worship was going on something when she would just shout glory be to God now the people had got used to it tolerated it you know that old lady that Widow it's okay ignored it it's a conservative Church they normally don't do that so this used to disturb them but they managed it somehow one day the church was going to have a visit from their overseer the bishop now you don't know where the bishop will be able to handle it he'll say what is happening to this church how are they Toler ating this lady shouting so one of the elders was deputed he went to the Widow's house and he said Grandma I want to tell you something a bishop is coming and you know we want to keep the decorum of the church so you know you shout it's okay when we are there is okay we we know how to handle it but I don't know about the bishop so may I request you on this coming Sunday please please please please please be quiet don't show anything and the Elder happened to see that this lady had shoes which were tone very old worn out shoes so he just an idea and he said Grandma if you don't shout don't yell don't scream this Sunday I will Monday I'll buy you a new pair of shoes and she said okay it's all right thank you and so it was agreed upon Sunday came everybody came the Widow also came and the bishop also came but the bishop was charismatic he was anointed he was a mighty man of God and every line of his was absolutely on fire and he was beinging and that Widow was squirming you know struggling to keep quiet because she wanted to you know just Express her Joy at whatever was being said but she's struggling she's keeping quiet occasionally it would look like she's about to say something when her eyes would open and there the Elder was looking at her and the Elder looked at her shoe Elder looked at her looked at her shoe to say and so she controlled herself and a point came the bishop made some fabulous line that was too much for her and she said shoes or no shoes praise the

Lord would we do that or is that joy in our shoes and I'm afraid asap's Joy was in his shoes verses 1 to 15 it's only when he got a sanctuary view that his eyes open I pray this morning that eyes will be open and we have a few questions for us let's look let's go forward are they coming on the is is there questions there yeah some cusion here are some questions for who it says have you lost your joy because of your circumstances are you envious by seeing the success of the wicked are you watching everything from ground level or of from Sanctuary view Divine perspective what is the holy spirit saying to you what is your takeaway from this lesson amen let's bow oure and pray I'm going to lead you into prayer and you need to just look at these questions and say what would you think about his answer what is the holy spirit saying to you what is your takeaway from today's lessons are you happy with Jesus being your portion period we don't want anything else would you able to see that or are you envious arrogant losing your equilibrium confused then may today your confusion be resolved may you get Sanctuary view thank you

Lord father I pray today that often we have asked the questions why do bad things happen to good people but I believe Lord God today you have answered that question for us because we have missed recognizing you as our portion we have put our eyes on all the rasmas of this world our value system is defiled corrupted and that is why we have lost our equilibrium father we repent we confess our wrong skewed value system and this day we realign ourself with what we have just learned from ASF Lord enable us to see from the Eternal perspective enable us to see that if God is with us for us living inside of us we don't need anything else and if we seek first the kingdom of of God everything else in due course of time will fall in place so let it be for us I pray if you are hurting struggling feeling depressed feeling upset Lord would you would you help us to clear our perspective that we may be healed and we may be able to say like Asa has said the Lord is my portion the Lord is holding my right hand the Lord is showing me their final Destiny and our our final Destiny so Lord be it that we may go home in a different way than the way we have come this we pray in Jesus name amen amen