Let’s talk about hallway experiences.

Steve Brown:
Let’s talk about hallway experiences. And we’ll explain, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
This is Key Life. We’re here to let you know that because of what Jesus has done, God will never be angry at you again. Steve invited our friend Jerry Q. Parries to do the teaching this week. Jerry is a pastor, an author, and has served the ministry for more than 35 years.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. Jerry Parries, you know, my life is always better when you’re in it. You really do, you kind of bring in, when you come into my study on those days that we record, if it’s raining and miserable and I’m depressed and ready to jump off a bridge. I feel like things are going to be better.

Jerry Parries:
Oh, wow. Thank you sir.

Steve Brown:
And you really do. That’s a gift you give to all of your friends. And by the way, on the day we’re recording, Jerry you’re leaving the United States, where are you going?

Jerry Parries:
I am going to Greece, and to Athens and to the Greek islands. With 73 of your best friends. 73 people we are taking to Greece.

Steve Brown:
Listen, I hope you have, as Jeremy, our producer prayed that you have traveling mercies. Frankly, I’d rather go to the dentist. But listen, whatever you like, do it. Anyway, Dr. Parries is going to be with us this week. And we’re going to be talking about hallway experiences. And he’s going to explain that to you in just a minute. But first, let’s pray, and then we’ll study. Father, we come into your presence so thankful for your Word in the midst of the darkness and the loneliness and the hard places of our life. You promised, you’re faithful, you’re always there, and you’re always good. Father, you know everybody who’s listening to this broadcast, and you know the good and the bad. Be close, remind us that you’re sovereign over every item in our lives. And then Father, we pray for those who teach on this broadcast this week. We’re sinners too, and we would pray that we would see Jesus and him only. And we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jerry Parries:
Amen.

Steve Brown:
Now Jerry, we’re going to talk about hallway experiences and I’m going to read some Scripture and then you’re going to teach us.

Jerry Parries:
Awesome.

Steve Brown:
But before we do that, before we do anything, what in the world is a hallway experience?

Jerry Parries:
I’m glad you asked that question, my brother in-law came to me many years ago. I’ll never forget. He was really depressed. He felt like things were not going right in his life and he was just having challenges and he wanted to give up. He really was in a horrible, depressing mood. And I said to him, I gave him the church answer. I said to him, brother in-law, let me tell you something, God will never close the door, that he doesn’t open up a window. My brother in-law said to me, you know what? I don’t have a problem with God closing the door. He said, I really don’t have a problem with God opening up a window. He said, it’s the hallways that get me.

Steve Brown:
So, we’re going to talk about the hallway experience.

Jerry Parries:
So, we’re going to talk about how to get through hallway experiences. When life throws you a curve where you’re in a dark place where you can’t hear, or there are some things that God instructs us to do in the hallway so that we can get to the next level in our lives.

Steve Brown:
Oh man. You know, sometimes people say to preachers when we start giving this kind of information, yeah, but you don’t know what I’ve been through. And I don’t want to delve into too much of your personal things, but this has been a pretty hard time for you over the last just few weeks.

Jerry Parries:
Oh yeah. We’ve lost in our family. I lost two sisters and one niece in three months.

Steve Brown:
Oh man.

Jerry Parries:
It’s been a very dark and difficult time for our family. And in this moment, the Lord reminded me of a message that I preached several years ago about hallway experiences. And I’m living it and I’m eating off of it and I’m walking through it even now.

Steve Brown:
So, if you’re in that place, the hallway, you need to know that as Jerry teaches us, he’s there now. I mean, he’s been there, he’s done that, and he knows the truth of what he’s going to teach. Now, let me read some Scripture to you, and then we’re going to get down, and Jerry’s going to teach us what to do when we’re in the hallway. This is from Philippians 4: and I’ll start at the fourth verse.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand; be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me– these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Jerry Parries:
Wow.

Steve Brown:
Oh man. Okay.

Jerry Parries:
That’s good stuff.

Steve Brown:
Jerry, I’m expecting that what you’re going to teach me this week is going to change my life.

Jerry Parries:
Oh man, I hope so. We want to encourage people who feel like they’re in the hallway, what Philippians 4 and 4 is the Scripture that I believe that God gives us to walk through those hallways. Here’s what it says in Philippians four and four, as you just read. The first thing, I’m going to give you six points this week. But the first point I want to give you is.

Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice.

Here’s point one, you have to learn how to find joy in it, even in difficult situations.

Steve Brown:
You know, Paul knew what he, he wrote this from prison, didn’t he?

Jerry Parries:
Yes. Yes. You’ve got to find joy in it. Let me tell you something, even in the death of my loved ones, I remember, I was telling you, Dr. Steve, that my sisters did not know Christ. The first, the two that passed, they had very loose relationship, should I say, with Christ. And then they got sick and in this sickness, they start praying more. They start talking to God. They start repenting. They start, because they were sick. And I’m not happy that my sisters have passed away, but I am happy that they had an opportunity to meet Jesus a second time. So, or should I say, to get reacquainted with him. And so, here’s the joy you find in it that they all see them again, yet death happened, but you’ve got to find joy in a situation, even though it’s a bad situation.

Steve Brown:
Is it always there in the hallway if look for it?

Jerry Parries:
If you look for it, it is always there. Even if you lose a job, you know, and you’re thinking, God, what am I going to do? Well, here’s the joy in it. You’ve got to find joy in it. God has another opportunity that is waiting for you to open up another door for you. Even if the doctor gives you a bad report, you know, God has another opportunity for you to see him even in that. You have to find the joy in such bad situations. You can’t allow, or they, you know, people say you have the glass half full or half empty. You cannot look at it half empty. You’ve got to look at the fullness of what God is doing in your life even in bad situations.

Steve Brown:
And he always does.

Jerry Parries:
Yeah, and here’s what the Scripture says in Romans 8:28.

And we know

not we guess

and we know that all things will work together

Didn’t say all things were good.

All things will work together for our good

not some things

all things will work together for our good for them that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose.

And that’s what I believe. And that’s what you have to do in the hallway. You have to know that God is with you and he’s there with you and you have to find the joy in it. So Paul says in Philippians four and four.

Rejoice in the Lord always.

That’s what he’s talking about. God, I thank you and I glorify you, even though I’m in the hallway, I still know that you’re in here with me.

Steve Brown:
That’s hard sometimes, isn’t it?

Jerry Parries:
Oh, it’s difficult.

Steve Brown:
You know, I think just remembering what you just said, to look for it because it’s always there, is an amazing thing. In fact, our listeners, and me too, the next time it really is dark, and lonely, and hard, I’m going to remember that.

Jerry Parries:
Yeah.

Steve Brown:
Stop, and look for the joy, and rejoice in all things.

Jerry Parries:
Yeah, you’ve got to find the joy in it, and when you find the joy in it, and you look at the positive side of a negative situation. You know, I tell my friend one day that he wanted to get his car jumped and he had the positive on, but he didn’t have the negative connected. You cannot have a positive in every area of your life, without having some negative that gives you the power to move forward. So, negativity sometimes is necessary to get you started, but you’ve got to keep it in it’s proper perspective.

Steve Brown:
And guys, this is not the power of positive thinking. This is the power of truth, about a God who loves you, who wants to show favor to you, who wants to bless you, and in every circumstance, no matter what you’re going through, He’ll give you the joy that makes the difference. Hey, you think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Steve Brown and Jerry Parries. Today, Steve and Jerry discussed Hallway Experiences and we’ll continue that conversation all the way through Thursday. Hope you’ll stick with us for this fascinating side road. You know, speaking of dark times, if I were to ask you to think of bad things to happen to people, you wouldn’t have to think very long, right? Marriage problems, physical pain, financial struggle, deep grief and depression, spiritual doubt. But what if I told you that our creative and loving God can use those very things we just mentioned? It’s crazy, right? I mean, maybe even scandalous. Well, Steve spoke about that subject in a classic sermon from the 1980s. Yeah, so you know, dust off those parachute pants in your members only jacket, and call us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE and we’ll send you that sermon on CD for free. Again, that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for the CD called When Bad Things Happen. Finally, if you value the work of Key Life. Would you join us in that work through your financial support? You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or simply text Key Life to 28950. And as always, if you can’t give right now, or maybe you’re not called to, no worries. But if you think about it, please do pray for us, all right? Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.