Participants: Justin McNeilus
Series Code: 09GYC
Program Code: 09GYC000001
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00:12 I was instructed to give an assignment to introduce
00:16 the speaker tonight. 00:17 Our speaker tonight is Justin McNeilus. 00:20 He is someone who needs no formal introduction. 00:22 Rather than go through some rather long diatribe about 00:25 how important, great, and smart, and good-looking 00:28 guy he is, I think he is all those things if I'm allowed 00:31 to say that on national TV. 00:32 I would rather explain why he is speaking tonight. 00:36 Is that okay with all of you? 00:37 The history of social movements have taught us that it 00:41 is near sheer numbers that win nor the charisma of a 00:45 particular leader. 00:46 The logical soundness of an ideology. 00:48 The social or economical context for or anything else 00:51 that is measurable. 00:52 If anything it is the spirit of a collected movement 00:56 that determines the success or failure of it's objectives. 01:00 These factors merely, influence the direction and speed of a 01:05 movement, however it is the individuals level of 01:07 commitment, that is all of you sitting in these chairs, 01:11 your level of commitment determines the success of GYC, 01:15 and not a particular speaker, Amen? 01:17 Your emotional insurance in Jesus Christ determines 01:21 GYC's success and a sense of duty for heaven that 01:24 establishes the spirit and the transmission of 01:27 GYC's interests, simply said, 01:30 whoever is most unashamed wins. 01:34 Nevertheless in a contemporary culture to have an 01:37 absolute belief in anything or anyone is reviled. 01:40 To believe in a purpose is infantile. 01:42 To be believed in ethical lie is to be considered 01:44 fanatical, to be a Christian is to be idiotically 01:47 stupid, to be an Adventist is to be outdated and 01:50 old-fashioned, and to be holy today is considered 01:53 judgmentally unstable and mentally and insane. 01:57 This has resulted in a generation of apathetic loss 02:01 in different an indecisive young people and hopefully 02:04 not you, you sitting here is a reaction to this. 02:11 Passion has degenerated into biological hormones. 02:13 Religion into rhetoric, spirituality into a 02:15 neuropathological condition. 02:17 Believing in nothing with no emotional attachment or 02:20 logical rigor is the ideal to be reached in 02:23 contemporary culture. 02:26 Simply said, whoever is indifferent and bored wins. 02:32 Amidst this context there exist an army of dedicated 02:36 Young people who are fighting against these ideas. 02:43 Stemming from Scripture, there are young people 02:44 within the Seventh-day Adventist Church who yearn 02:46 to demonstrate Nehemiah's leadership. 02:48 Daniel's integrity, Mary's humility, Paul's passion 02:52 for evangelism and Christ's love for God and humanity. 02:55 This is the GYC movement. 02:59 GYC movement continues to seek and galvanize us young 03:02 people, if you are here for the first time, 03:03 get with the program real quick. 03:09 GYC points to the highest cause in 03:11 a young person's life. 03:13 The distinctive message and mission of the Seventh-day 03:15 Adventist Church towards the proclamation of the three 03:18 Angels messages. 03:20 Tonight you will hear the leader of this movement. 03:23 His name is Justin McNeilus. 03:26 He has no other agenda, but for the agenda of Jesus 03:29 Christ and GYC. 03:31 He is one who isn't ashamed of the objectives of this 03:34 organization and is one who is faithfully fulfilled it's 03:37 cause in the past two years. 03:40 It is not by its speaker, nor by charisma, nor by 03:44 theological eloquence, not by power, not by might, 03:48 but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts. 03:51 This evening my prayer for all of you, my request for 03:54 all of you is, let's pray for the Holy Spirit. 03:56 If you think this conference is horrible, it's your 04:00 fault, you haven't prayed enough for it. 04:03 Let's pray for our speaker, Amen? 04:05 If he's horrible it is your fault. 04:09 Amen? Audience: amen! 04:12 Let's seek an untreated, unprocessed, organic courage. 04:18 Let's dare audaciously to be unashamed in this church, 04:23 the Seventh-day Adventist church, in this culture, 04:27 in North America, and in this world. 04:30 Let's here what Justin has to say tonight, Amen? 04:35 Audience: Amen! 04:36 Before we hear his voice we are going to hear a voice 04:40 of an angel, from a girl named Sofia Tsatalbasidis. 04:44 She's going to sing a song called, Let's Be Real. 04:48 God is real? God Is Real. 04:52 Are you ready to hear the song service? This song? 04:55 Amen, amen! 04:57 Song: God Is Real 05:09 If I were to tell you what song I would mean 05:19 well I might miss a detail or two. 05:30 For when you describe something you didn't see 05:39 then you're never quite sure that it is true. 05:49 Well what I have seen with the eyes of my soul 05:59 with the fingers of faith, I can feel, I can feel 06:09 well you just have to listen and know that it's true 06:18 there's no doubt, I believe, God is real. 06:38 With all the creation persuasive enough 06:46 to prove Him Creator to be 06:56 and maybe somewhere our God does exist 07:04 why should He be bothered with me? 07:14 Well what I have seen with the eyes of my soul 07:22 with the fingers of faith, I can feel, I can feel. 07:31 Well you just have to listen and know that it's true 07:40 there's no doubt, I believe, God is real. 07:49 Well what I have seen with the eyes of my soul 07:58 with the fingers of faith, I can feel, I can feel. 08:08 Makes it clear that He's living and alive today 08:16 there's no doubt I believe, God is real 08:28 there's no doubt, I believe, God is real. 08:56 Good evening! 09:01 How's everybody doing? 09:02 Are you excited to be here? 09:05 Can you believe it, GYC already? 09:10 A whole year has gone by since we met last. 09:13 Actually more than a year. 09:15 Have you done anything exciting? 09:19 I don't really expect an answer to that I guess. 09:22 Are you ready? 09:23 Are you ready for our conference? 09:26 I think, I know this conference has the capacity to be 09:33 the best GYC we have ever had. 09:35 Are you ready? It's going to happen. 09:39 I just want to draw your attention to the program 09:42 booklet very quickly. 09:43 Do you have it in your hands? 09:45 Open it and go towards the back. 09:47 Turn there quickly. 09:50 In the back you have pictured, a few smiling faces. 09:54 Do you see it? 09:57 Take a good look at it, I want you to see the Executive 10:01 Committee of GYC. 10:03 These guys and girls, excluding myself obviously, 10:08 are some of the most talented people the Seventh-day 10:13 Adventist Church has. 10:16 Let me tell you something about them. 10:17 Christmas Eve you are probably all enjoying your tofu 10:23 turkey and singing hymns together. 10:25 These guys were meeting to plan next year's GYC. 10:30 Christmas day you are probably spending time with your 10:32 family, they were on a conference call getting ready 10:35 for this year's GYC. 10:37 These guys are talented individuals, 10:41 so can you do me a favor? Yes? No? 10:45 Audience says yes. 10:46 If you see them anytime during the conference, 10:50 just give them a hug for me. 10:52 They deserve it, they do such excellent work. 10:55 I am privileged to work with them. 10:57 If you are tuning in from 3ABN or watching us live 11:01 over a streaming broadcast on the Internet, just pray 11:05 for them, they do a lot and they need your prayers. 11:09 I didn't get to hear Justin Kim's introduction, so hopefully 11:12 it went okay, but I would just give you a warning before 11:15 getting started. 11:17 I'm a banker by trade, what am I? Audience: a banker. 11:21 So I haven't had the formal education of how to preach 11:25 and package sermons real nicely. 11:27 So I tell you that just to warn you that the message 11:31 tonight is a simple message that has 11:34 truly spoken to my heart. 11:36 So tonight you will get a simple message, from a simple 11:39 person that I hope speaks to your heart as well. 11:44 But I'm particularly excited, there are two things 11:47 that give me a little extra energy during the day. 11:50 When I get to take a nap and when I get to exercise. 11:53 I got to do both of those today, so be prepared. 11:59 We will bow our heads one more time before we dive 12:02 into tonight's presentation. 12:04 Our precious and most gracious Heavenly Father. 12:09 Lord we pause one more time tonight. 12:14 We have a assembled from all over the world. 12:19 We have come here prepared to learn from You. 12:23 We ask now Lord humbly, that You would reveal Yourself 12:29 to us in this conference. 12:33 Tonight during our presentation Lord, we ask that the 12:35 Spirit would fill this auditorium. 12:39 That You would speak through me, You know the messenger. 12:42 You know my weaknesses and I pray that all that will be 12:46 placed aside and that tonight we would receive a message 12:50 from the throne of God. 12:52 We pray all these things in Your precious name, Amen. 12:59 Not long ago my wife and I were on a trip. 13:02 We got to go to London and do a little bit of traveling. 13:07 A little bit of sightseeing. 13:09 We got to London and got on one of those double-decker 13:11 buses, they are interesting buses. 13:14 We got up on the top and it was a little cold, we were 13:17 a little bit jetlagged, but we wanted to see London. 13:19 It was one of those buses we're you could get on and 13:22 off the bus and see different parts of the city. 13:25 So there we were cruising around London and got to the 13:29 stop at Westminster Abbey. 13:32 Westminster Abbey is a particularly interesting place. 13:36 I guess it's most basic point is that it is nothing more 13:40 than a graveyard, but it is interesting because there is 13:43 a lot of famous people buried there. 13:45 You have got Kings and Queens, you've got Princes and 13:48 Princesses, you've got Shakespeare and even Darwin are 13:51 all laid to rest in it's crypt. 13:53 We are nearing the end of our self-guided tour when we 13:57 came across a person that deserved a little bit of pause 14:01 we came to this person and I looked at it and started 14:05 reading the inscription and thought to myself, 14:07 I couldn't help but wonder. 14:09 What was it like to walk a day in the shoes of this guy? 14:16 What was it like to take adversity head on? 14:20 What was it like to try to complete the impossible? 14:24 What was it like to walk a day in the shoes of 14:28 William Wilberforce? 14:31 See William had quite an interesting upbringing as 14:33 a child he was always sick. 14:35 He couldn't see well and at a very early age his father 14:40 died, and he kept going from school to school. 14:43 As he started getting into his college years, he really 14:46 gave way to worldly influences. 14:50 He was a frequenter of parties, gambling and things like 14:53 that, and he really had no time for God. 14:56 In fact William was so frustrated with people that 14:59 consider themselves Christians, that he would blast them 15:02 right out loud. 15:05 He went to college and met his best friend William Pick. 15:08 The two of them began to talk about politics. 15:12 They struck an interest in politics and Wilberforce 15:16 actually at the age of 21 was voted into the Parliament 15:20 over in London. 15:23 But it happened about the age 25, William was taking a 15:28 trip into the countryside of Britain and it was reported 15:33 that he began to read his Bible in the 15:36 morning and evening. 15:39 He engrossed himself in the Scripture and at the end of 15:41 that trip he was a born again Christian. 15:46 He got to the end of the trip and the political realm 15:48 was ready to start up again and he thought to himself, 15:51 you know God really can't use a politician. 15:54 There is no point of me going back to the political 15:58 realm, I have got to maybe be a pastor or full time 16:01 Ministry, something like that. 16:02 But William Pick, his best friend stood in for a little 16:06 bit of counseling and the two of them began to think, 16:09 strategize, and dream. 16:11 They thought to themselves, wouldn't it be incredible, 16:15 wouldn't it be neat if we could eliminate slavery? 16:20 You see these two young college age students could see 16:25 something that nobody else could. 16:27 These two young people could envision a Britain and her 16:32 colonies without slavery. 16:34 So they said let's do it. 16:37 We can do it, we must eliminate slavery, we will do it. 16:41 William Wilberforce then unleashed himself upon the 16:44 world, and I would submit to you this. 16:46 The day that William became unashamed about his 16:50 relationship with Christ was the day William was 16:55 unleashed for the cause of Christ. 16:58 Did you catch it? 16:59 The day that William was unashamed about his 17:03 relationship with Christ was the day that he was 17:06 unleashed for the cause of Christ. 17:09 The two of them thought, strategize, dreamed and got 17:13 ready to rid Britain of slavery. 17:17 So they started telling their inner circle about it. 17:20 What do you think happened? 17:21 They began to laugh at them, William you've got to be 17:25 kidding me, eliminate slavery in Britain it will never, 17:28 never happen, it cannot be done. 17:32 But he refused to hear the word no. 17:34 He went on with his life committed to eliminating 17:37 slavery at all costs. 17:39 Sickness struck William many times, 17:42 but it didn't stop him. 17:43 Family tragedies plagued him, but it didn't stop him. 17:47 Many even threatened his own life, 17:50 but it didn't stop him. 17:52 Now along the way William won quite a few battles. 17:56 He won small wars, if you will, along the way. 18:00 He even wasn't completely committed, he ran a program 18:05 for Sunday missionaries to India. 18:07 He fed the hungry and put in some legislation to rid the 18:12 world of animal cruelty, but he never lost track. 18:16 He never lost sight of his true purpose to eliminate 18:21 slavery from the world of Britain. 18:25 At the age of 73, stricken with the flu, William spoke 18:29 at a town hall meeting. 18:30 His life was wrapping up, but he still wanted to 18:33 eliminate slavery. 18:35 He was still preaching, still teaching, 18:37 still telling others, and then in 1833 the Slavery 18:42 Abolition Act was passed abolishing slavery in most 18:47 of the British Empire's. 18:50 William Wilberforce died three days later. 18:57 So I paused just a moment longer in front of his tomb. 19:01 There etched on his grave site for all the world to 19:05 see for the rest of time were these words. 19:08 His name will ever be especially identified with 19:12 those exertions which by the blessing of God removed 19:15 from England the guilt of African slave trade and 19:18 prepare the way for the abolition of slavery in every 19:21 colony of the Empire. 19:23 The persecution of these objects he relied not in vain, 19:27 but on God. 19:29 In the progress he was called to endure great opposition 19:34 but he however, outlived it all. 19:38 What laid the foundation for the success of 19:42 William Wilberforce? 19:44 You see the day William became unashamed about his 19:48 relationship with Christ, was the day he was unleashed 19:52 for the cause of Christ. 19:54 The day William became unashamed about Christ was the 19:58 day he was unleashed for the cause of Christ. 20:01 God is calling for this today. 20:03 He is calling for a generation, a church, a you to 20:08 become so consumed with one single purpose. 20:12 A generation which will unashamedly, in their love 20:16 for Christ be unleashed for the cause of Christ. 20:21 A generation which will not just unashamedly proclaim 20:24 the truths of revelation 14 messages, 20:26 but will live them. 20:28 I firmly believe that as this generation does, 20:32 as we do, by the grace of God we can see Jesus 20:36 come again in our generation. 20:41 Do you desire to live a life unashamed? 20:43 A life so consumed with a purpose from the Master that 20:48 no matter what your vocation is. 20:52 You missed it, do you desire to live a life unashamed? 20:58 Audience: amen. 20:59 A live so consumed with one purpose for the Master, 21:02 no matter your occupation? 21:07 You see there is a problem. 21:09 People come to GYC and get inspired, they partake in 21:12 the seminars, they get trained, they get all ready, 21:16 all juiced up and ready to conquer the world. 21:19 But then they leave with this sense of insecurity. 21:23 I'm not in full-time ministry. 21:27 You know it's nice that you come to our conference and 21:30 participated, but if you're not in full-time ministry, 21:33 you are out of the herd. 21:37 So our team deduced we need a theme 21:39 that tackles this head on. 21:41 It's not all the reality that God uses only those in 21:45 full-time ministry for His work. 21:48 The more precise reality is that God wants to use you 21:52 no matter the work you are in. 21:55 Nursing, banking, graphic design, counseling, car sales, 21:58 aviation pilots, students, it does not matter, 22:02 God wants to use you. 22:06 So I ask again, do you desire to live a life unashamed? 22:10 Do you desire to be unleashed for the Masters cause 22:14 no matter your job? 22:16 No matter your occupation? 22:17 No matter your vocation? 22:21 Turn with me in your Bibles to our theme text. 22:26 Romans 1:16. 22:33 The basis of this unsecure feeling that people leave 22:37 with, is the reason we came up with this theme, 22:40 the theme Unashamed. 22:43 Romans 1:16 tonight to me the relevant question is, 22:47 first is how do we get this unashamed lifestyle? 22:52 And secondly, how do we maintain it? 22:55 Romans 1:16, I'm sure there are hundreds of ways we 22:59 could pull out from this, possibilities for this 23:03 unashamed lifestyle. 23:04 But I want to pause for moment on just one. 23:06 We will read it, Romans 1:16. 23:09 "For am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is" 23:12 "the power of God unto salvation to everyone who" 23:16 "believes; to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. " 23:19 In the text we could explore many different things, 23:23 but I just want to point your attention to the word 23:27 "power", it says this power is available to us. 23:33 The same power that created the universe in six literal 23:37 days is available to us. 23:40 When we obtain this power the result is salvation, 23:44 but it doesn't stop there. 23:46 This power is available to others through us. 23:50 Now my key question for tonight. 23:54 How is this relevant to us? 23:55 Where does the rubber meets the road? 23:58 How do we make it applicable to us? 24:00 To do that I want us to study a story found in the New 24:04 Testament, tonight I want to take a look at the 24:07 story of Noah. 24:09 To me there is not a more fitting example in the entire 24:14 Bible than the story of Noah. 24:18 I will tell you why, there are a couple reasons. 24:21 Tonight as I was preparing for the story of Noah, 24:24 Noah kept popping up in my prayers. 24:26 It had to be studied, second, Noah if you look at it, 24:30 you know the end from the beginning. 24:32 You know that Noah was the last of that generation. 24:35 So it would seem to me that it would serve a purpose 24:38 for us to study it. 24:40 Third, can you just step back, just a touch? 24:45 I'm sorry. 24:49 Thanks. 24:54 I'm just not that seasoned of a speaker for that 24:58 kind of distraction. 25:00 Third, Jesus, Himself alludes to the story of Noah. 25:04 It would seem reasonable to me that if Jesus says it, 25:09 we need to study it, can you say Amen? 25:11 Fourth, the story of Noah, indeed the entire book of 25:16 Genesis is under attack. 25:19 People believe them to just be an illusion of a couple stories 25:23 that are fictitious, make-believe. 25:25 Sometimes it's good to meet adversity head-on. 25:28 So tonight we study the book of Genesis, and we study 25:31 specifically the story of Noah. 25:34 Genesis 6:5, turn with me there Genesis 6:5. 25:42 When you get their say Amen! Audience: Amen! 25:46 Genesis 6:5 "and God saw that the wickedness of man was" 25:51 "great in the earth, and that every intent of his heart" 25:56 "was only evil continually. " 25:59 We'll skip down to verse eight. 26:02 "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. " 26:06 I would like to turn your attention specifically to 26:09 verse eight, God uses the word "but". 26:13 So He is saying listen Noah, all things on this earth 26:18 are not good, this is a problem. 26:21 I'm frustrated with the human race, it is not good, 26:24 it is not what it should be "but" then there is Noah. 26:29 And God unveils this carefully articulated plan to Noah 26:33 of saving grace inside of the ark. 26:36 To me there is a striking parallel here found in the 26:40 book of Romans. 26:42 When Paul was describing a bankrupt humanity he says 26:46 this, the wages of sin is death but, but the gift of God 26:50 is eternal life. 26:52 So you see just like Noah, God has a plan for your life. 26:55 The natural course would be for the earth and all its 26:59 habitants to be destroyed but, but then there is you. 27:02 You see God peers down from heaven, past all the 27:06 hatred, past all the bloodshed, past all the evils 27:09 in this world and sees one person He cannot live 27:13 eternally without, YOU! 27:21 So He humbled Himself. 27:26 He left His heavenly throne and walked and talked 27:28 like one of us. 27:32 Most did not appreciate Him, most did not have nice 27:36 things to say about Him. 27:39 The masses chose a thief over their Creator, but He 27:43 withstood it all for you. 27:47 They dragged Him to a hill called Calvary, 27:50 and there He hung on a cross for you. 27:54 Despite it all, YOU were worth it. 27:57 He knew if you did it you could choose to live 28:01 with Him for ever. 28:03 Jesus put a plan into motion to provide us hope. 28:07 Jesus is the hope of the world and everything 28:11 flows from there. 28:13 He is the constant, permanent answer to the evils 28:16 of this lost world and soon Jesus will come again and 28:19 part the clouds and therein lies the real hope 28:23 we can believe in as Christians. 28:25 Everything else, merely a Band-Aid. 28:28 Jesus paid it all, and He paid it all for you. 28:32 You are the treasure found in the field that was worth 28:35 selling it all for. 28:37 You were the Pearl in the marketplace that was worth 28:39 risking it all for. 28:41 Jesus paid it all, and He paid it all for you, 28:44 but you were worth every penny. 28:47 His gentle appeal is to accept Him as your Savior. 28:51 Don't put it off till tomorrow, choose you this day 28:56 whom you will serve. 28:57 So it gives us clues in the Bible as to when His soon 29:00 coming will be. 29:01 Like the days of Noah, not so you and I can pinpoint 29:06 the exact moment in time when Jesus returns, but so that 29:10 we can always be ready to meet Him. 29:13 Arthur Barclay in his book, The Gospel of Matthew, 29:18 had his pulse on this issue. 29:20 He said we must so live that it does not matter when He 29:23 comes, it gives us the task in this life for making every day 29:28 fit for Him to see and at any moment ready to meet 29:33 Him face to face. 29:35 All life becomes a preparation to meet the King. 29:39 For Noah it didn't matter when the rain would begin. 29:43 He received the instructions from God and he put it into 29:47 practice, once he encountered that saving grace from 29:51 God, everything was on the table. 29:56 You see the day Noah became unashamed about Christ was 30:00 the day he was unleashed for the cause of Christ. 30:04 That friends is the foundation to a life lived unashamed 30:08 Accepting Jesus as your personal Savior lays the 30:12 ground work and preparation for being ready to live a 30:17 life 100% unashamed of the Gospel because the reality 30:21 is when you meet Jesus, everything is on the table. 30:27 Is it going to look weird to some people? Sure! 30:29 Will it look ill rational to others? Sure it will! 30:32 But, if they knew the end from the beginning, 30:34 if they knew the hope that was in you it would not 30:37 even be debatable. 30:39 When you accept Jesus as your Savior, 30:42 everything is on the table. 30:45 God looked down past the evil and found in Genesis the 30:49 evils of the world and He had compassion for Noah. 30:53 But the story goes on. 30:57 Genesis 6 and I want to read verse 13. 31:03 Genesis 6:13, "and God said to Noah, I have determined" 31:05 "to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with" 31:08 "violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them" 31:10 "with the Earth. " 31:12 "Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the" 31:15 "ark and covered inside and outside with pitch. " 31:19 But on top of that Noah had another specific heavenly 31:24 job, he was to preach a bold message to the world. 31:28 God wasn't willing even at that time that any should 31:32 perish so He said Noah, preach to them all. 31:35 I want everyone and anyone who wants to accept this 31:38 saving grace of the ark, to be in that ark with you. 31:40 So Noah preached to the masses. 31:42 He said you have to get into this ark, you need Jesus, 31:46 you need a Savior, you need it. 31:48 It is particularly interesting to me the response he 31:53 gets, he is out there preaching for 120 years. 31:56 Listen with me, the rationale for not needing the ark. 32:01 Patriarchs and Prophets, page 96. 32:05 "The world before the flood reasoned that for centuries" 32:10 "the laws of nature had been fixed. They reasoned, that" 32:15 "as many reasoned, now that nature is not above God. " 32:22 "That our laws are so firmly established that God" 32:26 "Himself could not change them. They reasoned it would" 32:33 "be impossible for God to create a flood," 32:36 "God's not above nature. " 32:39 Catch the significance there? 32:42 They rationalized it in their mind, there's no creation, 32:47 God didn't create us. 32:50 If we could travel back in time, to the time of Noah, 32:53 I'm willing to venture this prediction. 32:55 We would go in and hear Noah preach and as people were 32:58 walking away from his preaching they would say, 33:00 Noah is loony, I mean listen here, you line up billions 33:04 of rabbits over billions of years and you'll see natural 33:08 selection take place. 33:10 God didn't create us, I mean we domesticated dogs, 33:14 come on and get real, Noah is loony. 33:19 God did not create us, we do not need a Savior, we do 33:23 not need the ark. 33:26 How many more could have been saved from the flood had 33:29 they just believed the creation story? 33:33 How many souls will be lost today because they throw out 33:37 the significance of a creator God? 33:43 Why make the same mistake they made in the past? 33:47 There is an appeal even in the flood story for us to 33:50 take a stance on creation. 33:53 Two issues glare at us as we look at this. 33:56 They rationalized in their mind, God cannot create 33:59 and God cannot destroy, both errors. 34:03 To me it is an essential building block of an unashamed 34:07 lifestyle, once you give up creation, 34:10 there is no end insight. 34:13 You convince a generation that God didn't create the 34:17 Earth in six literal days, you will be looking at the 34:20 last generation of Adventists. 34:24 You missed it again! 34:26 You convinced a generation that God didn't create the Earth 34:31 in six days you will look at the last generation 34:34 of Adventists. 34:36 If you throw out creation, we lose our relevancy. 34:39 The doctrine of creation is important. 34:42 It frustrates me of how arrogant we are as Christians. 34:46 We say God I will tell you what, 34:48 I'll weigh the scientific evidence and if You win, 34:50 I'll believe in creation. 34:53 We say we shall examine all the scientific evidence, 34:57 but we ignore one important source of evidence. 35:02 All the scientific evidence we should ever need is 35:06 recorded in the book of Genesis. 35:09 Awh Justin, that's fanatical. 35:12 You can not realistically expect me to believe the Bible 35:15 and then take it at its word, can you? 35:20 My response is this, you are not smarter than the enemy. 35:26 He used a talking snake in the Garden of Eden. 35:30 What kind of tricks do you think he has up his sleeve 35:32 for the Creation-Evolution debate? 35:38 Do you want a response from him, he has been waiting 35:41 for 6000 years for you to say okay God, 35:43 show me the scientific evidence, 35:46 or do you want a response from the Lamb? 35:51 Do you want to study science or biology? Fine! 35:54 Evolution-Natural Selection fine, but if at the end 35:58 of the day our only guide in light should be the Bible. 36:02 No scientific theory should be elevated above a clear 36:06 thus saith the Lord. 36:08 The word of God is clear in Genesis 1:1. 36:13 The pen of inspiration, letter 84, 1909. 36:17 "The divine mind and hand is preserved for the ages the" 36:20 "record of creation in its purity. It is the word of" 36:25 "God alone that gives us an authentic account of the" 36:30 "creation of the world. In the days of Noah the people" 36:34 "rationed that God couldn't create a flood. They stopped" 36:38 "believing God was the Creator and stopped believing" 36:42 "what God did in the past. " 36:44 So the idea of a worldwide flood was completely foreign 36:48 and the mockers came out of the woodwork. 36:54 But it didn't stop Noah. 36:56 They heckled him and said what are you doing, what's 36:59 your purpose, give it up Noah, the waters aren't 37:02 coming, the flood is impossible, building an ark is 37:04 impossible, but it didn't stop Noah. 37:09 Why? The day Noah became unashamed about Christ, was the 37:14 day he was unleashed for the cause of Christ. 37:18 But listen closely! 37:20 A day will come in the future when pressure is amped 37:24 up for Christians. 37:27 Where peer pressure is elevated to a level that we have 37:31 never seen before, but my fear is this. 37:36 God's work goes undone because we would rather look cool 37:40 then listen to God's command. 37:45 How many classrooms, neighborhoods or workplaces go 37:50 unreached, untouched because of what we think others 37:55 will think of us? 37:58 Justin, you don't understand! 38:01 If I tell my classroom that I love Jesus, they are going 38:03 to think that I am weird. 38:06 If I tell my workplace I believe that Jesus is coming 38:09 soon, they will think I'm a little loony and never talk 38:11 to me again, so why even do it? 38:14 Listen if I tell my neighborhood that Jesus lives in my 38:17 heart they are going to think I'm strange. 38:23 I shudder to think how many souls will be lost because 38:27 of our perception of what others will think of us. 38:34 How many eternal destinies could have been altered had 38:37 we rose above peer pressure? 38:42 For Noah it did not matter, and it sure shouldn't 38:45 matter to you. 38:47 Others will think you're weird, get over it. 38:50 To think someone's eternal life is in the balance and 38:53 you are worried about getting your feelings hurt, 38:55 get over it. 38:58 To think Jesus died on the cross for your neighbor, 39:00 your classroom, your coworker, and you're worried about 39:03 your reputation so you go silent! 39:06 GET OVER IT! 39:09 To live a life unashamed is to live a life carefree of 39:14 popular opinion and worldly reputation. 39:17 You start caring about what God thinks of you. 39:20 When it comes to man or woman, get over it! 39:25 Noah was out building the ark, building it to the 39:28 specific dimensions God had instructed and they came 39:32 out by the droves to taunt him, but he paid no attention 39:36 to it. 39:38 He had at the forefront of his mind the picture of God 39:41 protecting him from the flood. 39:44 Men and women could laugh but he was only concerned 39:48 with God's opinion. 39:49 But notice with me, some of his most vocal doubters. 39:55 Patriots and Prophets, page 96. 39:58 Actually it started on 95 and into 96. 40:01 "Many profess to be worshipers of God. This class" 40:05 she says, talking about the worshipers of God, "were" 40:10 "foremost in rejecting the preaching of Noah. Their" 40:13 "minds had become so blinded by rejection of light that" 40:17 "they really believed Noah's message to be delusional. " 40:21 "The Christians were among the most to make" 40:26 "fun of Noah. " 40:27 There will come a day when Christians, when believers and 40:31 even Seventh-day Adventists will begin to question this 40:35 unashamed lifestyle. 40:37 Adventist will say, and are saying, God's flood was a 40:43 mistake, preach only love. 40:49 To judge the last generation? 40:51 Come on, not God! 40:55 The Gospel to the world, every nation, kindred, tongue, 40:59 and people, that is not even realistic. 41:01 It will happen, people will begin to say it and it 41:05 happens now but as time draws to a close it will happen 41:09 more and more, and I bring it up for this reason and 41:13 this reason alone, DON'T MISS THIS! 41:15 There is a proper way to deal with these people, and an 41:20 improper way to deal with them. 41:25 Testimonies to the Church, volume 6, page 151. 41:29 "Reformers are not destroyers. We will never seek to" 41:36 "ruin those who do not harmonize with our plans. God" 41:41 "desires us to have all who serve Him be firm as a rock" 41:45 "where principle is concerned, but meek and lowly of" 41:50 "heart as was Christ's. A rude, condemning spirit is not" 41:55 "essential to heroism in the reforms of this time. " 42:00 "All selfish methods, all ego driven methods in the" 42:06 "service of God are an abomination to His sight. " 42:13 An abomination to His sight, pretty strong choice of 42:17 words from the inspired pen. 42:19 When we assume the role of an unashamed lifestyle we 42:23 must check our egos at the door. 42:28 DON'T MISS THIS! This counsel is particularly relevant 42:32 for those who claim to be Bible conservatives. 42:36 Careful! One of the dangers we face is how we treat our 42:42 fellow Bible believing, conservative Adventist. 42:50 We have such egos when it comes to our perception of 42:54 interpretation of the truth that we despise those 42:58 who think differently. 43:00 We have no tolerance for them until they pass our 43:03 conservative witness tests, they are out of the herd. 43:08 We must learn to be gracious and charitable to another. 43:13 Listen to my words carefully! 43:16 If you cannot live with these people here on earth, 43:19 how are you going to do it in heaven? 43:21 Get a grip with yourself, think of what you are saying. 43:25 Until they think a certain way, until they act a certain 43:28 way, I'll have no respect for them? 43:31 When all along the way Jesus was willing to pay it 43:35 all for them. 43:38 Do you think you are above that brother or sister 43:40 simply because your perceived correct view of Scripture? 43:44 You have no business thinking you are above someone when 43:47 Jesus would stoop below both of you and hang on the cross. 43:51 Period! But here is another danger we face. 43:58 When we listen to a message, when we listen to a 44:01 particular point, we look around and see who does this 44:04 message best serve? 44:08 Oh, I'm glad he's saying this, yeah! 44:10 Preach it Justin, such and such really needs to hear it. 44:14 When you hear a point like this I would express an 44:19 appeal that we hear in a common song, not my brother, 44:24 not my sister, but it is me, oh Lord, standing in the 44:29 need of prayer. 44:31 Instead of pointing fingers, are you the one God is 44:34 trying to drive home a point to? 44:36 Some may say, well Justin it is easy for you to say, 44:39 you're the president of GYC, you are at the top of an 44:42 organization spawned to cleanse the church 44:45 once and for all. 44:47 No, no we are not, we are an organized army of young 44:53 people, meek and lowly of heart. 44:56 We abide in Christ, a rude and condemning spirit 45:00 is not essential. 45:02 Our single desire is to turn people, especially young 45:07 people, to the church. 45:08 I love my church and I only want to see more young 45:14 people involved in His work. 45:16 Never, never will GYC attempt to drive people away 45:20 from the Seventh-day Adventists Church, NEVER! 45:23 until Jesus comes again we will support the work and 45:26 the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 45:29 We met as an executive committee in February. 45:32 We ate together and prayed together and sang together. 45:36 There in a living room guided by, I believe God Himself, 45:40 we came up with a statement. 45:41 We started with the question, if someone came up to us, 45:44 on the street, and asked us the purpose of GYC, 45:47 what would our response be? 45:49 Here's what we came up with. 45:51 We want to get young people to make other young people 45:55 Adventist by inspiring, equipping, and mobilizing them. 46:00 In a sentence we condensed the mission of the Seventh-day 46:04 Adventist Church. 46:05 We want to get young people to make other young people 46:09 Adventist by inspiring, equipping and mobilizing them. 46:13 That is why we get up in the morning and serve GYC. 46:17 It is the reason we exist, to serve our church. 46:21 Back to the story of Noah, he didn't let the believers, 46:26 the Saints stop him. 46:28 He didn't let his ego get in the way of completing his task 46:31 given by God. 46:33 He didn't allow his ego to run his life, he kept 46:36 preaching, he kept working for God. 46:40 You want to be unashamed, keep preaching. 46:43 Keep working for God. 46:46 The day Noah became unashamed about Christ was the day 46:50 he was unleashed for the cause of Christ. 46:56 Noah went on building the ark in the face of adversity. 46:58 He was laughed at by the multitude, 47:00 but it did not stop him. 47:02 The believers told him to give it up, it's impossible 47:06 Noah, it's not going to happen, but he continually fixed 47:11 his eyes on Jesus. 47:13 He continually meditated and prayed on that saving grace 47:17 found in the ark. 47:19 For 120 years, Noah was preaching a warning message to 47:24 a world in need of a Savior. 47:28 Patriarchs and Prophets again, page 102. 47:31 "Before the flood God sent Noah to warn the world that" 47:36 "the people might be led to repentance and thus escape" 47:41 "the threatening destruction. As the time of Christ" 47:45 "second appearing draws near, the Lord sends His" 47:49 "servants with a warning to the world to prepare for" 47:54 "that great event. " 47:56 Let me read that again, at time of Christ's second 48:00 appearing draws near, as it is coming to a close, 48:03 as we are nearing the end of time, the Lord sends His 48:06 servants, I would proposal those servants are you and I, 48:10 with a warning to the world to prepare them for 48:14 that great event. 48:16 Noah continued to preach a warning message to the world. 48:20 He continued to work on the plan of God that had been 48:24 given to him to save others. 48:26 I love the picture we get of Noah in 1 Peter. 48:33 Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Peter 3:20. 48:48 I'm going to read from the English Standard Version 48:51 because I like the way it renders it. 48:53 1 Peter 3:20, Noah had a message given to him by God. 49:02 God came to Noah and said, Noah I can look past all the 49:05 evils of this world, it is not a good situation but, 49:08 but there is you. 49:12 God does the same thing to you. 49:13 Looks past all the evils of the world and says but there 49:18 is you, please accept me today. |
Revised 2014-12-17