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Don’t look at those fast food menus.
It says on the other side that they can fix your hunger quickly.
But doesn’t the pain disappear in a moment after a good massage.
You are a masseur.
I don’t know. It depends on the person who is massaging.
After massaging there is pain in the body for many days afterwards.
Are you looking at this menu? Have you found anything good to eat?
It is too expensive. This will help you get back in shape.
If you eat those (pizzas) you will put on extra kilos.
Come and join me!
We are having a men’s fellowship near here in my home church.
I am looking for people to join me there.
I don’t know. I have pain in my back.
I don’t want to go somewhere just to sit. Does it last long?
It lasts a couple of hours.
You can stand up every now and then while we sing.
Asko can take care of your back. It is Saturday.
You can help me a little bit..
Ok. Let’s go then. I can help a bit.
Come and lie down here.
Put something warm on him so that he doesn’t feel cold.
His back looks good the muscles are in good shape.
No one would believe by looking at your back that
you just sit at your workplace.
I have a problem in the lower back.
I fell when I was young and there in the middle -
there is a problem with the spinal column.
I will have a sweet roll.
But that’s a dessert.
No, it is the main dish.
That was a good choice: Broccoli-feta pie..
Hey Asko, Lassi should have paid for this coffee for us
But isn’t this included in the treatment .
First we took care of the back and now we take care of the stomach
There is Tapsa.
Good to see that he has not gone back to drinking.
For how long have you been without alcohol?
I have been without alcohol for over six months.
Half a year! Time flies.
Yes, when you look back..
Have you had difficult moments?
Every now and then I have felt like drinking but
I have managed to get over it.
There is so much to think about.
And when you remember what hell it was and
what it will lead you into
“Spirit of Truth lead us, As we look for the way of light.
Guide our work Do not abandon us.
Bless what we learn.”
“In all things show us the handiwork of the Creator,
The mighty, wise protector of every good thing.
To Christ, the giver of love Lead us.”
Welcome to our afternoon fellowship.
It is good to see so many people here.
And of course if you had brought along one friend,
we would have had twice as many people here in our fellowship.
But let’s us enjoy a nice afternoon here.
The church has promised to provide us with some
hot soup and coffee. Risto Hyttinen is our cook today.
Let’s start by reading from Luke 5:
Jesus said: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
I think this passage suits us.
The followers of Jesus were ordinary people like us
they were fishermen. We don’t ask about a person’s position or rank..
All who are looking for peace in their lives are welcome here.
Christ, our way, light of our hearts, Our only hope, holy truth.
Jesus, give us your grace as our strength, Renew us.”
Christ, let your light shine upon us. May it lead us to the Father’s home.
If we are burdened by worries, Help us to overcome.
You have never been a good person.
You have never been a model person.
You have never been a religious person
But you are here today..
You can have this word of promise:
Grace is sufficient, grace is sufficient for you.
Grace is offered to you who are without mercy.
It is offered to sinners.”
You have never been a good person.
You have never been a model person.
You have never been a religious person
But you are here today..
You can have this word of promise:
Grace is sufficient, grace is sufficient for you.
Grace is offered to you who are without mercy.
It is offered to sinners.”
“You have never been a strong-willed person.
You have never had a straight back.
You have fallen many times, but now you are here today.
You can receive these words of promise that God gives you today:
Grace is sufficient, grace is sufficient,
grace is sufficient for you.
Grace is offered to you.
Grace is offered to you who are a sinner.”
If you think you are a good person.
And you think you are a model figure.
And you think that grace is good for sinners”
But you are here today.
This word of promise is for you as well:
Grace is sufficient, grace is sufficient, grace is sufficient for you.
Grace is offered to you who are without mercy.
It is for sinners.
Maybe you think you are an ordinary person.
Not a good not a bad guy at all.
And you think: E’m going to leave here now.
But you are still here.
This word of promise is for you as well:
Grace is sufficient, grace is sufficient,
grace is sufficient for you.
Grace is offered to you who are without mercy.
It is for sinners. It is for us all.
This has been the best time of my life, I have to say.
I was diagnosed with cancer in 1993.
I have a lot of pain in this area here in my body -
really big pains - but I am still living the best years of my life.
God is so full of love. I cannot explain to anyone
how I can experience pain in my body and at the same time
feel that Jesus is right here next to me.
I can feel the pain but it does not matter.
It does not affect my mood at home. I am not made irritable by it.
But I say - I have terrible pain in my body but
I am new in Christ. Can I ask you something?
Why is God so strict that he punishes us?
God does not punish, he disciplines us.
God had to use hard treatment in my life,
otherwise I would not have believed in Him.
It is natural that if God wants to give us a better life,
he sometimes has to use tough methods.
If I use my own reasoning.
I have banged my head against a wall so many times.
No, I was thinking about my own life.
God does not cause you your problems.
It is you who cause your own problems...
You bang your head against the wall
Why do I hit my head against a wall?
Because you don’t believe that God wants to save you.
Well, it is good to know that.
Say to God: “Here I am. Do as you please with my life.”
“I am coming to you, oh Lord;
the cross shows me the way to you.
My hymn rings with hope.
I am coming to you oh Lord.
When the day is dark and cloudy,
when dark, heavy night often surprises me,
then I look up to the heavens.
I am coming to you, oh Lord.”
It is good that Markku came here.
Without him we wouldn’t have been able to light the fire.
When did things in your life start to get really messed up?
It started after I came back from doing my military service.
Did you go to work after army?
I was almost sent to prison right after I had finished my military service.
I messed up my life for about 26 years.
I am now in my fifties. So you can calculate from that.
You have been in prison several times.
How many times?
12 times. I have spent in prison altogether over ten years.
For what reason?
Little things: drunk driving 26- 27 times.
Prison was a familiar place to you.
There is no prison in Finland that I have not been sent to.
You did a lot of physical exercise in prison, didn’t you?
Yes, I was always in good shape when I came out of prison.
I remember you telling me that you ran in a marathon.
We exercised in prison to get back into shape
after a heavy drinking period outside prison.
It was easy to fight back when you were in good shape physically.
No one could beat you up. So I was able to pay some people back,
beating up guys that had beaten me up before I went to prison.
And of course because of that I was always being sent back to prison
after beating someone up.
That was a vicious circle, wasn’t it?
Yes, it was a vicious circle.
(The cases always went to a higher court.)
I couldn’t get back into society.
In January 1998 I was released from prison.
I had a flat. I had no intention to make it my home.
I had a refrigerator door for a table.
I had a TV, radio and a mattress to sleep on.
Then one Christian brother often came to visit me there.
I went to church several times: the first time I was drunk,
the second time I had a hangover,
the third time I went there of my own accord.
On February 8th, 1998 I came to the Lord I received Jesus as my saviour.
From that time on my life was lifted from the gutter.
Several months passed and it was May 1999.
One brother came to visit me. He shook hands with me.
He must have heard about me and I asked him:
“Do you have work for me?”
He didn’t even think for 10 seconds before he answered (it was Friday):
“Come on Monday!”.
On Sunday I called him back and he said:
“Yes, you come on Monday to work for me.”
For that work I had to have a truck driving licence.
To get the licence I had to have a medical check-up.
I had to go to a private clinic because I was working during the daytime.
I visited a private doctor. I witnessed to him how Jesus had changed my life.
I told him everything: what I had been and what I am now.
I wanted to be honest.
This doctor said: “No way will I give you that permission to drive.
You have been in prison, in a nuthouse, in rehab so many times.
You are an alcoholic and an ex-prisoner NO WAY.”
But one week later this same doctor called me:
“I have to give you the permission to drive a truck.”
He had probably consulted all the doctors in that clinic.
But it was still written on the certificate that I was an alcoholic,
even though I had not taken any alcohol for two years.
But I have to say here that God had spoken to that doctor,
as he wondered how it was possible for this man to be still alive
after so many years of substance abuse.
When I started this job - delivering food to the stores at nights,
the very same stores that I used to rob
I was given the keys and the code numbers for their alarm systems.
Now I use the key to get into the store, and
switch off and on the alarm.
It is like my life has changed completely. Only God can do that!
God has given you a new life!
Yes, a totally new life!
What kind of father have you had?
I was three years old when my dad committed suicide.
Let me tell you about my mum.
My mum said to my sister and brother that
Markku will not manage in his life unless he comes to the Lord.
She prayed for me all her life. Her prayers have been heard.
She passed away in 1990 so she didn’t live to see the change in my life.
But God heard her prayers.
I would like to tell you about some policemen.
In the old times before I came to the Lord,
policemen always checked me when I was sitting in a car
even if I was not the driver.
After I came to the Lord - I was downtown here with one brother -
I was living in the Karismakoti Christian centre at that time -
a policeman came up to me and asked: “Markku, hi, where have you been?
We have not seen you for some time?”
I told him that I had come to the Lord.
He was so surprised that when he turned to look at me
he almost twisted his neck. “What did you say?”
I ran into this same policeman when I was out skiing.
And again this policeman was so shocked to see me there skiing that
he almost fell off his skis.
When he saw me the following autumn he asked me:
“Are your skis ready for the skiing season yet?”
My coming to the Lord was a topic of conversation among the policemen.
You changed your name once
Yes, I changed my surname to Losonen.
For five years I was known by that name.
But changing my name didn’t help. Everyone knew me too well.
I wonder if the sauna is hot.
I think it is. It might even have gone cold.
In the old times babies were delivered in the sauna.
The sauna is a kind of holy place
Watch out for the steps - they are slippery.
Nothing, nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God.
Not the heat of life or the storms of life,
the shadow or the darkness will be able to separate us
from the love of God.
Neither hunger or persecution or the heartaches of life
will be able to separate us from the love of God.
Nothing, nothing, will be able to separate us from the love of God.
Nothing, nothing will be separate us from the love of God.
Not the gates of death that are coming closer to us,
nor the dark forces, the angels,
neither height or depth or anything else in all creation
will be able to separate us from the love of God.
Nothing, nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God.
Nothing, nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God.”