”When God Speaks” Jill Morikone, April 25, 2026

Hello and welcome to church. We're so

glad that you were able to join us here

at the McDonald Road Seventh-day

Adventist Church for our worship time. I

hope that your time is blessed. I hope

the music blesses your soul. I hope the

message touches your heart. And if if it

does, we would be honored if you would

share this content with somebody else so

they can be blessed as well.

We're so glad that you can be a part of

our online church here at McDonald Road

and hope that you are blessed in your

worship together with us today.

God bless and enjoy our worship service.

Sabbath.

Are you glad to be in the house of the

Lord?

What a privilege

we have to be Seventh-day Adventist

Christians in the closing moments of

Earth's history. Thank you for being

part of the 3ABN family.

We're looking forward to this day

together, spending time together,

getting to hear your stories.

One lady already told me, "You look so

much prettier in person."

And so I don't know what to make of that

exactly.

But I choose to take that as, "Praise

the Lord, I slept well last night."

And maybe we'll sleep well before we

record Sabbath School panel, and that'll

come across as well.

When God speaks.

Have you heard God speak?

Have you heard his voice?

As a still small voice, maybe after the

fire and the water?

After the trial?

Have you heard him speaking to you maybe

out in nature?

Have you heard God's voice

in the word of God?

Has he to you?

Research says that Americans in general

struggle to name the four Gospels.

Do you know them? Matthew, Mark, Luke,

and John. We know them, right? They

struggle to name two to three of the

disciples.

And we know how many were there?

12. They struggle to name half of the 10

Commandments.

Now, we say we are Seventh-day Adventist

Christians. We know the word. We live by

the word. We love the word. But has the

word spoken to you?

Has the word changed you?

Has the word revealed Jesus to you?

Are you different

because you read the word?

Today, we have takeaways. You know that

was coming.

Six takeaways of the power of God's

word. Let's pray.

Holy Father, as we open up your word,

would you open up our minds and hearts

to receive what you have for us? We

don't want to read and go away and

continue life as usual.

We want to be changed.

We thank you for what you're going to do

by the power of your Holy Spirit

as your word washes our hearts and lives

in Jesus' name. Amen.

It was probably 20 years ago

one of my friends from church, we'll

call her Sarah. That's not her real

name.

She went through a very difficult time.

You ever experience a very difficult

time?

She walked through a crisis, and that

crisis led to a deep depression.

She became suicidal.

And she landed

in the mental hospital.

A group of the women and I got together

and we wanted to visit Sarah in the

hospital. If you've ever been in a

mental hospital or you visited someone

who resides in there, do you know the

click of the door when you walk in? It's

a little scary, is it not?

And we were in there

and it was my turn to go visit

I don't know what I need to be doing

different here. I apologize.

Sorry.

Can you move

Testing 1 2 3.

Testing 1 2 3. We'll try that and see.

Maybe the connection.

Praise the Lord for a wonderful husband.

Okay, so we're in the mental hospital.

Not Greg and me, although sometimes I

think maybe we should.

Okay, so I was trying to in my mind get

back to the story.

Should I use a handheld?

Testing 1 2 3. We'll try this, okay?

So we heard the click of the door, we

walked in and it was my turn

to visit Sarah.

I remember walking in there, she sat

cross-legged on the bed, tears streaming

down her face, rocking back and forth.

What do you say?

How do you bring hope and encouragement

and Jesus and comfort?

And I remember sitting there and I said,

"Sarah, we're praying for you. Sarah, we

love you." No change. Tears streaming

down her face, rocking back and forth. I

said, "Sarah." I took her hand. I said,

"Let's pray."

No change.

For whatever reason, I said, "Let's open

up the word of God."

And I began to read Psalm 91.

Inserting Sarah's name into the verse.

You know that. Sarah dwells in the

secret place of the Most High.

Sarah says of the Lord, "You are my

refuge and my fortress."

The rocking

stopped.

My God, in whom will I trust? Surely God

will deliver Sarah from the snare of the

fowler. The crying

ceased. And her eyes focused, and she

looked right in my face.

My brothers and sisters, I have never in

my entire life seen the power of God's

word as much as I did that day.

Now, I want to say this is not men I

know mental health is a complex topic.

I'm not saying all you need to do is

pick up and read the word of God, and

you're going to be cured or healed from

what you're dealing with.

I know there's chemical imbalances. I

know there is um therapy and things that

need to happen. There's a lot of

different reasons for mental health

challenges. But in that moment, I

discovered the power of the word of God.

The power of God's word to go into our

minds and hearts. The power of God's

word to change our emotions. The powers

of God the power of God's word to change

our thought patterns. So, today we have

six takeaways of the word. We're going

to start over here.

Hopefully, you all can help me. Takeaway

number one is reveals. You want to say

that together? Reveals. The word of God

reveals Jesus. Turn with me to John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1. We're going to John chapter 1

John 1:1

verse 1. If you know this, let's say it

together. In the beginning was the word,

and the word was with God, and the word

was God. What does that mean? The word

was preexistent, was he not? The word is

divine, is he not? Who is the word?

Jesus. You jump down to verse 14 and you

discover, and the word became flesh and

dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory,

that of the only begotten of the Father,

full of grace and truth.

In the margin of my Bible, I have

written, before there was a beginning,

the word already was.

Jesus, preexistent

God from time eternity, divine son of

God. Jesus, the word is Jesus. Do you

want to know who Jesus is? Do you want

to experience him for yourself? Open up

and read the word of God.

So many times in our constant search for

meaning,

we endlessly scroll Instagram and

Facebook looking for something. We open

up self-help books.

We turn on talk shows.

We talk to other people looking for

purpose, looking for answers, looking

for Jesus, and it's all found right

here, in the word of God. Where do we

find Jesus?

I love the Gospels.

Of course, you can find Jesus in the

whole word of God, but especially the

Gospels. You know, when you read a book,

what does the introduction of a book

tell you about a book?

What you're going to read, right?

Usually. Not always, but usually. John's

Gospel, he puts the introduction at the

very end, does he not? In John chapter

John 20 · chapter mention

20, you get all the way to the end of

John's Gospel and you find out why he

wrote the book. What was his purpose in

writing John? And we find that in John

John 20:30

20, verse 30. Truly, Jesus did many

other signs in the presence of his

disciples, which are not written in this

book.

But these are written that you may

believe that Jesus is the Christ, the

Son of God, and that believing you may

have life in his name. So, John's

saying, "This is why I wrote the book.

This is why I wrote the Gospel of John

that you would know Jesus. You would

discover that Jesus is divine, the

Christ, and you may have life in his

name." So, take away number one is, do

you remember?

Reveals. The word reveals Jesus. Take

away number two is

renews.

Let's say it together. Number two?

Renews. The word grows my faith.

Now, you might say, "I don't have any

faith."

You ever feel that way? Wow, I wish I

had faith. I don't have any faith. Paul

tells us in Romans 12, verse 3 that God

Romans 12:3

has given to every man a measure of

faith. That means everyone is given the

gift a measure of faith. You know, when

God called Danny Shelton to build a

television station that would reach the

world with the undiluted three angels'

messages. One that would counteract the

counterfeit 41 years ago.

It took faith, did it not?

God, did I hear your voice? It'd be

super easy to say, "I don't think I

heard it. Maybe that was my own

imagination." No, Dandy walked by faith,

the vision that God gave to him in 3ABN

is here as a result. Now, I used to

admire Dandy's faith. Wow, I wish I had

that faith.

And then, Greg and I stepped into

leadership at 3ABN.

And I discovered

faith grows

by exercise. When you look back and you

see how God has provided in the past,

when you look back and you see how God

has worked in your life in the past,

when you look back and say, "Look at the

answer to prayer he gave right here."

That gives you greater faith and greater

confidence in him. Faith grows by

exercise, and one of the best ways to

grow your faith is Romans 10:17.

Romans 10:17

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by

the word of God. If you want to grow

your faith, spend time in the word of

God. That will automatically grow that

faith. So, number one

is

reveals. The word reveals Jesus. Number

two is renews.

The word grows our faith. Number three

is refines.

You want to say that together? Refines.

The word transforms me.

John 17:17.

John 17:17

Sanctify them

through thy truth. You know, Jesus'

chapter on unity here, the whole chapter

of John 17, he talks about the unity

that God the Father, Son, and Holy

Spirit have together. He moves to the

unity that brothers and sisters are to

have in the church and he comes all the

way down the stream of time to you and I

today wanting us to be in oneness. John

John 17:17

17:17 sanctify them through thy truth

thy word is truth. So we're to be

sanctified. What does that mean?

Set apart.

Hagios, set apart, sanctified, made

holy. We're to be sanctified through the

truth. And you say, "Wait a minute, I

thought we were talking about Jesus

here."

We are.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the

life, is he not? That means we're

sanctified by Jesus. Sanctify them

through thy truth, that's Jesus. Your

word is truth and if Jesus is the word,

we are sanctified through the word which

means Jesus sanctifies us.

Through the word. Ephesians 5

Ephesians 5:26

verse 26, that he might sanctify and

cleanse her and wash her with a washing

of the water of the

word. It's the word that sanctifies us.

I love the power in the word of God. If

you go to Genesis 1:1, there's a really

Genesis 1:1

interesting Hebrew word there.

Genesis 1:1, we know the scripture. It

Genesis 1:1

says, "In the beginning God" what's the

next word?

"created the heavens and the earth." In

the beginning God created. The word

created in Hebrew is bara and it's used

only when God is the subject. In other

words, God's the one doing the work

and it is used of his ability to make

something from nothing.

So in other words, we see in the

beginning God bara, he said, "Let there

be light and there was light." There was

no light, God spoke and light appeared.

In other words, there was nothing and

now there is something. There was

darkness, now there is light because God

spoke. The same thing happened when God

said, "Let there be plants or let there

be animals." There were no plants

before. God spoke and it appeared. Only

God can do that. Only God can create.

Now we get all the way down to the time

of David with his tremendous sin with

Bathsheba.

And then what do you discover there?

Psalm 51

his prayer of repentance. We find the

word bara comes forward again. Psalm 51

Psalms 51:10

verse 10

"Create in me a clean heart, O God." The

word create, right there, is bara. So

the same thing in the very beginning,

God said, "Let there be light and there

was light." Only God can create. Only

God can do that over here in my heart.

That means only God can change me. Only

God can give me a new heart. Only God

can recreate in me the image of Jesus.

Only God can do that. Where before was

dirt, now can be purity by the power of

His Holy Spirit and the cleansing blood

of Jesus. Where before there is

addiction,

now there can be deliverance and

freedom. Only God can bara. Only God can

take what was nothing when I was dead in

trespasses and sins, only God can make

me new. I love that.

So the word of God, number two, or

number one, the word of God

reveals

The word of God reveals Jesus. Number

two, the word of God renews. It grows my

faith. Number three, it is refines. The

word of God transforms me. Number four

is rescues.

The word of God gives me victory. Number

four is rescues.

The word of God gives me victory. Psalm

Psalms 119:11

119:11,

"Your word I have hidden in my heart

that I might not sin against you."

How did Jesus get victory when he walked

this earth? Anybody remember?

The word of God. That's right, my

sister.

What did he say when Satan came after 40

days with no food?

I tried to fast.

It doesn't work.

Now, I have met some wonderful godly

people who are excellent at fasting and

Jill needs to work some on this or

something because I just Wow, I get 5, 6

hours and I'm Whoa, it's time to eat. I

just You know, I just even 12 hours

Whoa, that's a big deal, right? But

Jesus, 40 days, 40 nights without food.

Can you imagine how weak you would be?

Can you imagine how hungry you would be?

And yet the word of God

is how he withstood that temptation. He

said to Satan, "It is

written."

I think about the Israelites, Mount

Sinai. Remember the Ten Commandments

given and what did they say in response?

"All that the Lord has spoken, we will

do

and be obedient." And what happened just

40 days after that? Remember Moses is up

on the mountain and 40 days after that,

what happened?

The golden calf experience.

They're dancing and leaping and

worshipping a calf and saying, "Where is

your God who brought you out of Egypt 40

days to forget God.

And many times I read that

and I think, "Wow, I'm so grateful I

don't sin as much as the Israelites

did."

But then I look at my own heart.

Does your mind want to serve God

and your heart sometimes pulls in

another direction?

Are you changed not just outward

conformity to what we're supposed to do,

but have you been changed inside?

Have you ever held on to a grudge or

nursed bitterness or unforgiveness?

I have.

Have you ever gossiped about somebody

else?

I have.

Have you ever lashed out in anger or

frustration?

I have.

Have you ever fostered an impure

thought?

I have.

Have you ever reacted to someone else

with a critical or a judgmental spirit?

I have.

Have you ever indulged feelings of your

own self-importance?

I have.

And yet

God wants to bara a new heart in you and

in me. God wants to make it so that we

love each other from the heart, so that

we walk in peace with each other, so

that we can freely forgive,

so that we can react in kindness,

so that we can encourage each other, so

that we can stand for principle no

matter what. You see, the difference is

Jesus in the heart.

It's not trying harder. I spent a

lifetime of thinking if I did more, if I

acted better, if I adjusted somehow what

I thought or what I said, that I would

somehow earn favor with God, not knowing

that he loved me from the start, that he

created me, that he said, "Jill, you're

my daughter. It's not on you to do

better or work harder or try more. Your

job is to surrender. Your job is to

allow me to live inside. It's the

Ezekiel 36 experience all over again. I

will sprinkle clean water on you and you

shall be clean. Do you want to be clean?

I do. I will cleanse you from all your

filthiness and from your idols. I will

put a new heart within you. He will

baras and put a new spirit within you. I

will take out the stony heart and I will

give you a heart of flesh. And then he

says, "I will give you my spirit

and cause you to walk in my statutes."

That means obedience. That means walking

in his statutes is all a result of the

Holy Spirit's work in our hearts. It's

not us doing the work. It's allowing him

to live inside by the power of the Holy

Spirit. Key number one is reveals.

The word of God reveals Jesus. Number

two, renews. The word of God grows my

faith. Number three, refines. The word

of God transforms me. Number four,

rescues. The word of God gives me

victory. Number five, rely.

Trust the word of God. Greg and I were

at um I think we're in Florida

And we went to the zoo. Anybody been to

the zoo?

Some of you have never been to the zoo?

Maybe not everyone was honest. Okay. So,

we were with the big cats. You know the

big cats, the lions and the tigers and

all of those. And we were by the tiger

cage and I always feel bad for them cuz

they run and they play, right? They

normally would

and they're in a cage. Oh,

praise God for the new earth coming.

I love that. So, the tiger cage was

really big for a zoo

and they had the water and they had some

rocks for him to climb on. They had a

lot of grass and a lot of things and

everything was beautiful and lush and

green.

And then at right at the edge of the

cage

was the tiger.

And the whole time Greg and I were

there, all he did was this.

Walk in. So, can anybody tell me what

happened to the grass under his feet?

There's none. Somebody said none.

There's no grass because he obviously

every day he walked back and forth in

this cage, back and forth.

There was no grass and not only was it

just flat dirt, but it was a rut.

So, he went back and forth all day,

every day. He had all this grass. He had

beautiful water. He had all this stuff

he could play in, if you call it that.

And yet he stayed every day right here

in the rut, walking back and forth. Have

you ever done that?

Have you ever felt, "But God can't

forgive me."

And I walk in guilt and I walk in shame

and I struggle with that. And out here

is grace. Out here is the beauty of the

gospel. Out here is forgiveness. And I

stand here, "Oh, I I'm such a terrible

person and I just can't get better and

there's all this condemnation

on me. We wear shame

like a badge of honor.

And what is shame? You know, you look at

your dress and you say, "Oh, there's a

stain on it." But shame says, "I am the

stain."

Not I have a stain on me, but I become

the shame. We walk in this. But what

would have happened, my brothers and

sisters, if we claimed the authority of

the word of God over our thinking, over

our minds, instead of walking in this,

whether it's sadness, whether it's

condemnation, whether it's shame,

whether it's self-pity, whether it's

pride, instead of staying here, what if

I took a step out and I said, "First

1 John 1:9

John 1:9 says, if he confesses his sins,

if we confess our sins, God is faithful

and just to forgive us and to

cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

What does that do? I can step out of the

rut of how I think. I say, "God, your

word says I'm forgiven. I don't have to

wait till I feel forgiven.

You say you've forgiven me and I accept

it by faith. God, your word says in

Ephesians 1:7, in him we have redemption

Ephesians 1:7

through his blood. That means I can

accept your redemption by faith. God, 1

1 John 3:1

John 3:1 says, 'Behold what manner of

love the Father has bestowed on us, that

we should be called children of God.'

God, I am adopted. I have a father in

heaven.

God, I don't have to struggle in

addiction cuz you said, 'John 8:36,

John 8:36

whoever the son sets free is free

indeed.'

God, I don't have to walk alone. I may

feel alone, but you promised me in

Hebrews 13:5, 'I will never leave you. I

Hebrews 13:5

will never forsake you."

God, I'm not strong enough, but you

promised in 2 Corinthians 12:9, "My

2 Corinthians 12:9

grace is sufficient for you."

"My strength is made perfect in your

time of weakness."

God, I don't feel holy, but you promised

in Ephesians 1:4, "In Christ, we are

Ephesians 1:4

holy."

God, I don't feel chosen, but you said

in John 15:16, "You did not choose me,

John 15:16

but I chose you."

God chooses us. So, no matter what

negative thinking pattern we have, and

we're back here, stuck. We don't have to

stay there. We can rely on the word.

That's number five. We can claim by

faith, rest our entire faith on the

authority of what God says about us. In

Christ, we are redeemed. In Christ, we

are forgiven. In Christ, we are chosen.

In Christ, we are set free. In Christ,

you and I can be transformed.

That's number five. Moving to number

six.

Number six is

release. You want to say that together?

Release.

Pray the word

over others.

Pray the word over others. It was a

difficult time in Judah's history.

God's judgment was about to fall on his

people. The 70-year Babylonian captivity

was coming. And if you look at Ezekiel

22,

you see this incredible judgment that's

coming against the priests and the

leaders.

This is the leadership of the church at

that time.

They had violated God's law.

They had profaned the holy things.

They had committed robbery, mistreated

the poor and needy.

They had oppressed the stranger.

This is the leadership, not the laity.

This is the leadership. And God cries

out in Ezekiel 22:30, I sought for a man

Ezekiel 22:30

among them who would make a wall and

stand in the gap before me on behalf of

the land so that I would not destroy it.

And I found

What's those two words?

No one.

I found

no one.

I don't know where you were in your walk

with Jesus

when you walked in here this morning.

Maybe

there's something heavy

in your heart.

Maybe you're stuck here

walking in shame and condemnation,

feeling maybe like you can't be forgiven

or can't get free.

Maybe you've prayed and prayed and asked

God to take that and you're struggling

right now.

Maybe you lost a spouse as my dear

brother right here just a few months

ago.

Dealing with the pain of that.

Maybe you have children in your life

that you're PRAYING FOR.

GOD, I WANT to see him saved in your

kingdom.

God, they're walking away from you right

now. My brothers and sisters, no matter

what your impossible is, no matter what

miracle you need in your life, in your

family, in your marriage, with your

relationships, with your children.

God says, "Don't stop praying.

Don't stop standing in the gap." As Tim

ministers with his song, I just invite

you, if there's something in your heart

and life that you are praying over this

morning,

or if there's something in someone

else's heart and life, a family member,

a co-worker, a neighbor, that you are

praying over, I invite you to come

forward and at the close of the song, we

will pray over those burdens. God, we

come before you right now.

You are our Father and we're so

grateful. You are love and we receive

that. God, we come before you in our

need and our brokenness,

with whatever burdens we carry.

God, would you come in? Would you give

deliverance from addiction where it is

needed? Would you give freedom from

fear? Would your grace be made

sufficient in our time of weakness? We

ask, Lord Jesus, for your peace in our

times of stress. We ask that you would

reveal yourself to us and where we don't

feel loved, that we would know our

Father is love

and that you bring us good gifts. So,

God, give us deliverance. Give us

freedom.

We thank you that when God speaks,

things happen. And we ask all this in

the precious and the holy name of Jesus.

Amen.

Thanks so much for joining us here at

the McDonald Road Seventh-day Adventist

Church for worship. Each month, we reach

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We would love for you to partner with us

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You can go to mrcsda.org

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Thank you so much for considering making

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bigger and more effective ministry here

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Adventist Church.

God bless each one of you and thanks

again for joining us here at the

McDonald Road Seventh-day Adventist

Church.