Participants: Thando Malambo
Series Code: 10GYC
Program Code: 10GYC000005
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00:12 Good morning GYC, good morning friends.
00:15 We want to welcome you to morning devotions here 00:19 at GYC and I open my phone this morning 00:23 it's 12/31 the last day of the year and what 00:27 better way to end the year by spending 00:29 it together here seeking God at GYC 00:32 and if any of you are from the west coast 00:35 like I am and you haven't adjusted to 00:38 the time zone yet, thank you for being 00:41 here even if it feels like 4 am. 00:43 We are expecting a blessing from God 00:46 this morning. And we are going to enjoy 00:51 another message from God's word brought 00:52 to us by Thando. I want to invite you to 00:55 join me on your knees as we 00:57 prepare our hearts this morning. 01:06 Dear Heavenly Father, we are coming to you 01:09 this morning to your throne, not to seek you 01:12 in some casual, routine, ordinary way, 01:17 but really Lord we are seeking your blessing 01:20 this morning, so please be with us. 01:23 Lord, forgive us for our sins and prepare 01:26 our hearts, open us up and do inside of us 01:31 Lord only what you can do, give us soft 01:34 hearts and sharp minds to receive your message 01:37 this morning I pray in Jesus name, amen. 01:44 At this time we will enjoy music brought 01:46 to us by my friends Sarah and Stephanie Draget 01:50 with the message from 01:51 Thando immediately following. 02:14 Beloved, hear my words, 02:18 the signs are soon to come to pass, 02:22 Do you see the growing hunger, 02:27 Do you think this world can last, 02:31 I've heard her deep distressing 02:34 groans in her labor, mourn and cry, 02:39 But do not fear my child, my chosen one, 02:43 Is to you I testify 02:47 Behold I am coming soon 02:51 to receive you to Myself, 02:55 that where I am you may be also, 03:00 with my people I may dwell, 03:04 wherever you are now come, 03:08 take the water of life and live, 03:12 if you seek me, you'll find me, 03:17 I will take you as you are. 03:21 I'm the alpha and omega, 03:25 And the brighter morning star, 03:30 Hold fast to us is yours by faith, 03:35 Let no one take your crown, 03:39 I will clothe you with my righteousness, 03:43 If you lay your whole sin down, 03:47 Then take up your Cross and follow me, 03:51 In the storms of life be still, 03:54 I'll never leave you nor forsake you, 03:59 As you go into my will, 04:03 Behold, I am coming soon, 04:07 to receive you to Myself, 04:11 that where I am you may be also, 04:16 with my people I may dwell, 04:20 wherever you are now come, 04:24 take the water of life and live, 04:28 if you seek me, you will find me, 04:32 I'll take you as you are. 04:36 I'm the alpha and omega, 04:40 And the brighter morning star, 04:45 I'm coming for you, I'm coming for you. 05:01 I'm coming for you, 05:08 please be ready, please be ready. 05:17 Behold, I am coming soon, 05:21 to receive you to Myself, 05:25 that where I am you may be also, 05:30 with my people I may dwell, 05:34 wherever you are now come, 05:38 take the water of life and live, 05:42 if you seek me, you will find me, 05:46 I'll take you as you are. 05:50 I'm the alpha and omega, 05:54 And the brighter morning star, 06:00 I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming. Amen. 06:27 Good morning GYC. Good morning. 06:30 Are we alive and well this morning, yes? 06:33 Yes we are, praise the Lord. 06:38 You know before I came up here yesterday 06:42 I don't know if you guys realize how nervous 06:45 I was and then when I got up here I realized 06:48 you know what I'm on stage, can't go back 06:52 now right, might as well preach, and there 06:56 is interesting no turning back experience, 06:58 I have been tremendously blessed, 07:02 have you been blessed? Amen. 07:04 Have you been encouraged? Amen. 07:07 And I'm so happy to see us here this morning 07:10 and I do want to ask us for one small favor 07:14 this morning, you know yesterday going 07:16 around the holes, running around for 07:18 some logistical issues, I saw quite a few of 07:22 our brothers and sisters just wandering 07:24 in the hallways. And I know that as we are here, 07:27 I would ask us to be our brothers and 07:30 our sisters keeper, can we do that, 07:33 so if you see a brother or a sister just wilding 07:37 time in the hallway when meetings are 07:39 going on kindly in the meekness of Christ 07:44 encourage them to come into the meetings. 07:46 Can we do that, lets be our brothers 07:48 and sisters keeper. And, our message 07:53 this morning, the title is "Nothing Less." 07:58 Nothing less, and as I began I am going 08:01 to warn you that we are going to go 08:03 through a lot of scripture this morning. 08:06 So please have your Bibles, your pens, 08:09 your pencils and have your minds sharp 08:11 and ready to reason through the word of 08:13 God this morning. I shared with you 08:18 yesterday my testimony about 08:20 taking a year off to do the campus missionary 08:24 training program after my sophomore year 08:26 at Harvard. And taking that year off at the 08:29 risk of losing my scholarship, losing 08:32 my education, but how it is our God was 08:35 faithful to restore everything to me at 08:37 the end of that year off. 08:39 And I told you that the story did not end there, 08:42 so I'll finish it this morning. When I went 08:45 back to Harvard to finish my junior and 08:49 my senior years God made it abundantly 08:52 clear to me that He was calling me into 08:55 fulltime youth and campus ministry 08:58 through His word, through his providence, 09:00 and to the burden that He placed upon 09:02 my heart, there was no doubts in me 09:05 that God was calling me into fulltime youth 09:08 and campus ministry. And I made up my 09:11 mind by the grace of God to obey Him, 09:13 no turning back right. Until may 2010 09:20 commencement week, graduation week, 09:23 and all of the sudden the realization of 09:26 what I was doing hit me with full force 09:29 and you know commencement week 09:31 was this pomp and circumstance at Harvard 09:34 and you are mingling with some of the elites 09:38 of the elites, right Harvard graduates 09:41 who have done amazing things in their lives, 09:44 alumni who have gone onto glittering careers 09:47 in business and medicine in different 09:49 areas of what this will consider success. 09:53 And suddenly it dawned on me that one could do 09:59 so much with the Harvard degree, 10:02 because that name opens so many doors 10:05 right that's what the world says because 10:07 it's considered one of the world's best 10:09 universities, and that week of graduation 10:13 was I give that the one of the most depressing 10:15 weeks of my life. And friends are asking Thando, 10:21 what are you doing when you graduate, 10:23 I am gonna be a missionary, 10:33 and when I came back from the graduation 10:36 ceremony all ducked in my gown, my cap, 10:38 and having my degree in my hand, 10:40 I went back home to my room and I just sat 10:42 down and I was fighting back tears. 10:45 And I cannot describe to you the tension 10:49 in my mind and the thoughts, the questions 10:52 that were raising there and I asked the Lord 10:55 to say Lord why would you call me to do this 10:58 and I thought back to my life growing up, 11:01 and how God had led me down a path of 11:03 clear academic success, growing up in 11:07 Switzerland and every time we took national 11:10 exams being the best student ever with 11:12 perfect scores, perfect scores in my 11:15 IB diploma exams, early admissions to Harvard 11:17 and now here I was with a chemistry degree 11:20 and God was saying Thando, I'm calling you 11:23 to fulltime campus ministry. 11:25 And I thought to myself surely Lord 11:28 you let me done this path for a reason, 11:31 surely God wouldn't leave me so far just 11:34 to have me waste this academic success 11:36 in ministry, would he? And those questions 11:42 troubled me. And I think that experience is a 11:49 common one in our Christian journey, 11:52 when the will of God takes us to places that 11:57 seem to make no logical human sense. 12:01 When the will of God is so crystal clear 12:05 but we don't understand why 12:06 He would call in such a way, and we sit back 12:09 and we are attempted to say God why would 12:12 you ask me to do this? And yet Jesus taught 12:18 us how to pray, let thy will be done on earth 12:24 as it is in heaven. And every time we pray 12:28 those words we're saying that if we've 12:31 given ourselves to God, we're always asking 12:35 the question God what will you have me do, 12:39 and when God reveals His will unquestioning 12:43 obedience is imperative, nothing less. 12:49 Let's pray together as we begin. 12:56 Dear Heavenly Father, 13:01 we've come this morning yet again to hear a 13:06 word from you. Father, you've spoken to our 13:10 hearts in so many ways already this weekend. 13:14 We're blessed, we're encouraged, 13:18 we're inspired. This morning we seek yet 13:22 another word and Father we pray that in spite 13:26 of the fatigue and the weakness of my human 13:29 frame that Lord you would condescend to 13:33 speak through me, that every heart here 13:36 would hear a word from your throne. 13:42 Father, we ask that your spirit would be 13:45 amongst us this morning for it's the 13:47 Holy Spirit that presses the truth homes to 13:50 every heart and brings conviction upon our souls. 13:54 So Father sent Him to be with us this morning, 13:58 speak to us, draw us nearer to Christ and 14:05 teach us what it means to be like Him, 14:08 to follow Him in the path of self-denial. 14:13 So this we pray and we ask believing 14:16 for we ask in Jesus name, amen. 14:29 Nothing Less. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 14:34 the German Theologian wrote a book entitled 14:38 "The Cost of Discipleship" 14:40 that I want to encourage you to read 14:42 if you haven't read it. I'm gonna read with 14:45 you one quotation that never fails to pause, 14:52 at least to make me pause and think. 14:55 Bonhoeffer wrote this: "When Christ calls a man, 15:01 He bids him come and die, death in Jesus Christ, 15:08 the death of the old man or nature at his call. 15:13 Jesus' summons to the rich young man was 15:17 calling him to die, because only the 15:20 man who is dead to his own will can follow Christ. 15:25 In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, 15:31 with all our affections and lusts." 15:37 Notice how Bonhoeffer says every command 15:41 of Jesus is a call to die and that the only 15:46 person, the only man or woman, who can 15:50 follow Christ is the one who has died to 15:53 his own will. For when Jesus calls a man 15:57 He bids him come and die. And Christ Himself 16:02 said very clearly, if any man will come after me, 16:07 if you will come and He's how He wants us 16:09 to come, if any man will come after me, 16:14 let him deny himself, take up His cross daily 16:19 and follow me, that's Luke 9:23; If any man 16:25 will come after me, and that's how Jesus wants 16:30 to be followed, come and die. 16:34 And as I begin our study I want us to 16:36 understand friends that Jesus makes this 16:39 call under the premise of His own example, 16:42 because He stands as the example of what 16:46 He calls us to do, an unreserved surrender 16:50 to the will of God. Take your Bibles 16:52 to the Gospel of John chapter 1, 16:55 arguably my favorite Gospel John chapter 1, 17:00 when you're there say amen. 17:06 John chapter 1 and we are going to look at 17:09 how Jesus set the example and now 17:12 He calls us to follow in His foot steps in coming 17:16 and dying. John chapter 1, are we there? 17:19 Amen. Beginning in verse 1 the Bible says 17:23 in the beginning was the word, and the 17:25 word was with God, and the word was God. 17:28 The same was in the beginning with God 17:31 and all things were made by Him and 17:33 without Him was not anything made that 17:36 was made, in Him was life, and the life was 17:40 the light of men. And I love how John begins 17:45 his gospel here by reminding us about 17:48 this being he calls the word. 17:50 And in verse 1 three things about the word, 17:53 He was in the beginning, He was 17:55 with God and He was God. In the beginning 17:58 meaning His eternal and pre-existent. 18:01 He was with God being a distinct person of 18:04 the God had, and He was God being, 18:06 He is divine, He was God. And in this word 18:10 is also creator according to verse 3 18:13 and in verse 4 in Him was life right. 18:17 And now having told us about this word 18:19 John then identifies Him in verse 14 and 18:23 in verse 14 he identifies the word in very clear, 18:26 in equivocal terms. And he says the word 18:30 was made flesh, and dwelt among us, 18:33 and we beheld his glory, the glory added, 18:36 the only begotten of the Father, full of grace 18:40 and truth. And so this being who is the word, 18:43 this eternal pre-existing being who is divine, 18:47 who is God is none other than Jesus Christ 18:50 Himself, and so John's gospel begins by telling 18:55 us very clearly that Jesus is God. 18:58 His divinity is very clearly affirmed. 19:01 He was in the beginning, He was with God and 19:04 he was God, and the rest of the Bible agrees 19:07 with this concept. Go to Hebrews chapter 1 19:09 and just see one instance of this. 19:11 In Hebrews chapter 1 and agreeing with John 19:14 in affirming Christ divinity. 19:17 Hebrews chapter 1, the writer of the book of 19:23 Hebrews begins in verse 1 by saying, 19:29 are we there, amen, okay. God, who at sundry 19:37 times and in divers manners spake in time 19:41 past unto the fathers by the prophets, 19:43 hath in these last days spoken unto us 19:47 by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir 19:50 of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 19:55 who being the brightness of his glory, 19:58 and the express image of his person. 20:01 And so Christ is described in verse 3 20:05 as the brightness of God's glory and the 20:08 express image of God's person, and again 20:11 affirming Christ divinity. And then in verse 8 of 20:15 Hebrews chapter 1 the Father Himself affirms 20:19 Christ's divinity, and verse 8 reads: 20:22 But unto the Son He God saith, unto the 20:26 Son God says Thy throne O God is forever 20:32 and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the 20:37 scepter of thy kingdom, and so God the Father 20:41 acknowledge us the divinity of His Son. 20:45 And as Colossians 2:9 tells us in Christ 20:50 dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, 20:54 amen. So let that be in our thoughts, 20:57 in our minds that Jesus was God. 21:00 His divinity is crystal clear, and Isaiah 9:6 21:06 that famous promise calls Him the wonderful 21:10 counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting 21:13 Father, The prince of peace, Jesus is God. 21:18 And yet now we transition to the, 21:21 the mystery of godliness that Paul addresses 21:25 in 1st Timothy 3 verse 16 and keeping in your 21:29 minds that Jesus is divine. In 1st Timothy 21:35 3 verse 16, I'll give you a minute to get there, 21:49 Bible students are we there? Yes. 21:55 Keeping in our minds that Jesus is fully God 22:01 and Paul writes, without controversy great 22:04 in verse 16, And without controversy great 22:09 is the mystery of godliness: That God 22:11 was manifest in the flesh, justified 22:14 in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto 22:17 the gentiles, believed in the word, received up 22:21 into glory, it's a mystery okay. 22:26 The mystery over the fact that Jesus came down, 22:29 being fully God to be our Emmanuel God with us, 22:33 and that He walks the earth being fully God 22:35 and being fully man that the gospels tell the 22:39 story of Jesus Christ, the man Jesus Christ, 22:44 who was also mysteriously God the son. 22:48 And Paul says without controversy 22:50 it's a great mystery that God was manifest 22:54 in the flesh, that the word was made flesh 22:57 and dwells among us. And so you're seeing 23:01 this crystal clear picture of who Jesus is, 23:05 being fully God, being fully man, 23:07 but our study this morning takes us 23:10 to the heart of Christ life while He on earth, 23:14 being fully God being fully vested with the 23:18 powers of divinity in Himself, having the 23:21 fullness of the Godhead bodily in him, 23:24 He came down here and lived a life of 23:28 nothing less than unreserved surrender 23:34 to the will of His Father. If you turn back now to 23:40 the gospel of John, I wanna show you 23:42 how the theme of the Father's will ruled 23:45 the life of Christ. And I warned you of the 23:51 turning scriptures pages this morning; 23:53 I hope it's keeping you awake. 23:56 In John chapter 4, let's begin there 24:01 and just see how Christ life was ruled 24:05 by the will of the Father. 24:11 In John chapter 4 are we there, amen are 24:15 we all there, amen. Okay, In John chapter 4 24:21 and verse 34 Jesus speaking says, 24:25 my meat is to do the will of him that sends me, 24:30 and to finish his work. So Jesus meets 24:33 His greatest satisfaction His deepest joy was to 24:36 do the will of His Father. In John chapter 5 just 24:41 one chapter over in verse 30 the same 24:43 truth is repeated. In John chapter 5 24:47 and verse 30 and again speaking Jesus says, 24:51 I can of mine own self do nothing: 24:54 and as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; 24:58 because I seek not mine own will, 25:01 but the will of the Father which hath sent me. 25:04 He came down from heaven to seek not 25:08 his own will but the Father's will. 25:11 And in John 6:38 that we've read from 25:16 yesterday Jesus says, for I came down from 25:21 heaven, not to do mine own will, 25:25 but the will of him that sent me. 25:29 Do you see how the words will and sent 25:33 are being repeated here? Do you see that, 25:37 do you see that friends? Do you see 25:41 that repetition of the will of the Father 25:44 and Him that sent me, and then Christ came 25:48 down from heaven not to do His own will 25:52 but the will of Him that sent Him. 25:56 And that as He walked the earth being fully, 26:01 fully God he surrendered 26:04 Himself to the will of His Father. 26:10 And a beautiful expedition of Christ's 26:16 surrender, Paul writes Philippians chapter 2, 26:20 arguably one of the most beautiful and 26:23 deepest passages on Christ's life ever written. 26:27 And when I study that this morning and 26:32 understanding Christ's call to come and to die. 26:41 Philippians chapter 2, when you get there 26:47 please say amen, amen. I'm reading 26:54 from verse 5, the Bible says, let this mind 27:02 be in you. Philippians chapter 2 and verse 5, 27:07 which was also in Christ Jesus who 27:11 being in the form of God, thought it not 27:14 robbery to be equal with God: 27:16 But made himself of no reputation, 27:19 and took upon him the form of a servant, 27:23 and was made in the likeness of men. 27:25 And being found in fashion as a man, 27:28 he humbled himself, and became obedient 27:30 unto death, even the death of the cross. 27:35 So as you and I reflect on Philippians chapter 2 27:39 verse 8 this morning, that Christ humbled 27:43 Himself and became obedience to His 27:45 Father's will even to the point of death 27:48 on the Cross. His life was a life of not my 27:54 will but thine, nothing less than unreserved 27:58 surrender, nothing less than radical abandon 28:02 to the will of God even to the point of death 28:07 on the cross. And so think about him in 28:12 Gethsemane. Think about Him kneeling upon 28:15 the ground, praying that crushing prayer, 28:18 Father if it be possible let this cup pass from 28:22 me yet nevertheless not my will but thine. 28:26 And let us not think for one minute that 28:29 Gethsemane was easy it was not, 28:32 because Gethsemane wasn't easy, 28:35 no man sweats great drops of blood if it's easy. 28:40 Calvary wasn't easy either the submission 28:43 was painful. His humanity felt the 28:47 crushing weight of sin and of being man 28:50 sin bearer, but feeling that crushing weights 28:53 and being tempted to go back being tempted 28:56 to say it's enough I am going back to heaven 28:59 Christ surrender whether the pain and 29:03 He said Father not my will but thine. 29:06 If it be possible let this cup pass from me, 29:11 but if this cup cannot pass from me except 29:14 I drink it, let thy will be done. 29:20 As he walks to Calvary, they're beating Him, 29:26 they're spitting in his face. 29:30 You every had somebody spit in your face? 29:32 I hope not, and I don't think any of us 29:39 would have the audacity to spit 29:41 in our President's face for example right. 29:46 And here where these human beings spitting 29:50 in the face of their creator, spitting 29:54 in the face of the one who sustained their lives. 29:58 And Jesus stands there being fully God 30:03 having the poweth in Himself to end 30:05 his own suffering because He was still 30:07 fully God, but not my will but thine. 30:16 See Him being hung on the cross, 30:20 the nails piercing His hands, and His feet, 30:25 dying the death of a condemned criminal 30:29 and all the while He is fully God and 30:32 He had the power in himself to come down 30:35 from the cross, but not my will but thine. 30:41 He chose to give himself over to the 30:45 will of the Father, He gave Himself over. 30:49 And then Paul explains why in Philippians 2 30:54 verse 7, as you think about Christ 30:58 surrender here is why He could make that 31:02 surrender. In verse 7 Paul says: 31:05 But He made himself of no reputation, 31:11 and took upon him the form of a servant, 31:14 and was made in the likeness of men: 31:17 Do you see the word servant in verse 7 31:20 of Philippians chapter 2. The word servant 31:24 translated servant in our English Bible is 31:27 that Greek word Doulos, what the word everyone, 31:31 Doulos the Greek word Doulos. 31:33 Do you know the word Doulos means, 31:36 slave bond man. The word Doulos implies to 31:41 somebody who voluntarily gives 31:44 himself over to another's will. 31:47 Someone who chooses to be a slave to 31:51 somebody else, that's Doulos. 31:53 It's never forced, it's a choice to become 31:58 a slave to another. And so Jesus made 32:02 Himself of no reputation made 32:04 Himself a slave of God, He chose to surrender 32:10 completely to His father's will a slave 32:12 of God and so in Jesus calls a man, 32:17 when Christ calls me and you He calls us 32:19 to the same kind of surrender on the 32:22 premise of His example, He was a slave of God. 32:27 And if we call ourselves disciples, 32:30 if we call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ 32:35 foot steps, go down the path of radical 32:39 abandon to the will of God, slavery to God 32:44 a conscious choice, are there any disciples of 32:50 Jesus this morning. Is there anybody who 32:53 will follow Christ in the foot steps of Doulos, 32:57 are there disciples of Christ this morning? 33:01 If any man will come after me deny himself, 33:07 take up the cross daily and follow me, 33:11 in the path of servant hood, 33:14 the path of Doulos, the path of radical reckless 33:18 abundant to God's will. But here is the cutting 33:22 point friends where as Jesus did not have 33:26 to surrender we actually have to and 33:30 do you know why because we've got 33:32 two choices Doulos for us has two and 33:37 only two choices and those choices are 33:40 very crystal, clearly stated in Romans 33:43 chapter 6, Romans chapter 6 where Paul 33:48 again uses the word Doulos. 33:51 And as you turn to Romans chapter 6 33:54 let me remind you to that the Bible is 33:56 full of examples of men and women 33:59 who understood Christ's Doulos and made it 34:04 their own. Did you know for example that 34:07 Paul calls himself a slave of Christ, 34:11 there in Romans 1:1 when Paul says I'm 34:14 a servant of Christ, that word is Doulos, 34:17 a slave of Jesus and many others do the 34:21 same thing too. And in Romans chapter 6 34:25 writing for you and for me Paul has this to say. 34:30 I'm gonna begin in verse 16 are we there, amen. 34:36 Romans chapter 6 and verse 16, Know ye not, 34:40 that to whom ye yield yourselves servants 34:44 to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; 34:48 whether of sin unto death, or of obedience 34:51 unto righteousness? But God be thanked, 34:57 that ye were the servants of sin, 34:59 but ye have obeyed from the heart that 35:01 form of doctrine which was delivered you. 35:04 Being then made free from sin, ye became the 35:08 servants of righteousness. And verse 20, for when 35:14 you were the servants of sin, you were free 35:17 from what? Righteousness. 35:19 Do you see the word servant in verse 16, 35:23 17, 19 and 20 do you see it? You see the word 35:28 servants there, do you know that the word 35:31 servants there is in the Greek, anybody care 35:36 to guess, is the word Doulos. 35:42 The word servants in verse 16, 17, 19 35:46 and 20 is that Greek word Doulos, 35:49 slave a bondman. So Paul is saying here 35:54 friends that we've got two choices, 35:57 either we are slaves to sin, or we are slaves 36:00 to whom, to God and to Christ. 36:04 Now look to at the fact that it's a voluntary 36:08 choice, verse 16, you yield yourself 36:11 as a servant to sin or servant to God. 36:14 Nobody forces you, you chose to enslave 36:19 yourself to sin or to enslave yourself to God. 36:22 You choose to surrender to give yourself 36:25 voluntarily to the will of sin or the 36:29 will of God, is there a third choice, is there? 36:35 You're not convincing me GYC, 36:38 is there a third choice? No. Is there any middle 36:41 ground? No. Is there any gray zone? No. 36:45 Okay, so why is this so hard to surrender 36:48 all to God then? Do what I means to be a slave 36:52 to sin, I'm sure we all know, controlled 36:57 by habits, controlled by passions we cannot 37:01 break and guess what amazingly God 37:06 wants to free us, amen, amen. 37:09 But freedom comes at a cost, being 37:13 then make free from sin. Look at verse 22 37:17 of Romans chapter 6: But now, verse 22, 37:24 being made free from sin you become what, 37:27 servants to whom to God. So yes, Jesus set 37:36 the example of Doulos, voluntary slavery 37:41 to the will of God, but he didn't have to, 37:45 for me and for you controlled by the 37:49 habits of sin the choice is imperative, 37:52 because understand with me that the 37:54 logic of Romans 6 is very clearly friends, 37:57 if you are not a slave to God you are by 38:01 implication a slave to what, to sin. 38:04 Now look at verse 23, look at verse 23, 38:07 where Paul then concludes the whole 38:10 matter by saying, the wages of sin is what? 38:13 Death; but the gift of God is eternal life. 38:17 So now any logically reasoning human being 38:22 okay, there are two choices either 38:25 I'm a slave to God, or I'm a slave to sin. 38:28 And I think friend that anybody who has a 38:31 mind to reason and think if sin leads me to death 38:35 and God gives me the gift of eternal life 38:37 the choice then what sensible thing to do 38:40 is to do what, to choose God. 38:42 To say I'm gonna break free by the 38:46 grace of God from sin and make myself choose, 38:50 to make myself a slave of God, because the 38:53 other choice leads you to death. 38:55 There is no middle ground, there is no 38:58 picket fence to stand on, either you are 39:00 in this camp or that camp, one or the other. 39:03 Either God has all of you, your entire hearts 39:07 and minds then you His slave or you are 39:09 slave to sin. Nothing less than a complete 39:15 Doulos experience, is what God expects. 39:20 And you know God cannot accept anything 39:23 less than that, do you know that? 39:26 Because if He does accept less than that 39:29 He will be leaving us in slavery to sin, 39:31 because there is no middle ground friends, 39:34 there is no middle ground. So when 39:38 Jesus calls a man, he bids him come and die, 39:42 he bids him come and die. 39:51 In the premise of his own example 39:54 and the call is as clear, as clear can be. 40:00 In Steps to Christ page 43, the servants 40:06 of the Lord writes: The warfare against self 40:12 is the greatest battle that was ever fought. 40:16 The yielding of self, surrendering all 40:20 to the will of God, requires a struggle; 40:22 but the soul must submit to God before 40:28 it can be renewed in holiness. 40:30 We must submit to God surrendering 40:36 all to the will of God. And as I was thinking 40:43 about my experience that I shared with you, 40:48 of graduation week standing there thinking 40:52 how could God ask me to take my Harvard degree 40:55 and shelve it and become a fulltime work 40:59 in campus ministry, it made no sense. 41:01 But the point is these friends if we made up 41:04 our minds to voluntarily give ourselves to the 41:08 will of God, when God commands the 41:11 answer must always be yes Lord. Amen. 41:14 Even if you don't understand why 41:17 He commands He is God, and if he has chosen 41:20 to be his slave you must always answer yes. 41:24 And then I think that some of us friends 41:28 think that God owes us an explanation. 41:32 We think that God must explain to us 41:36 why He does what He does. 41:38 Is God, God? Does God see the end from 41:42 the beginning? Does God know what He is doing, 41:46 then why do we struggle to surrender all? 41:49 Is he God, some of us think we can tell God 41:58 has to do his job, worse yet some of us 42:03 have the foolish thought that we 42:06 could do better than God at managing our lives. 42:09 We think we know better than he knows. 42:12 Friends, God's will doesn't always need 42:17 to make sense, because if He is God He knows 42:20 what He is doing. Just obey Him, 42:23 don't ask why, just obey. Choose to have a Doulos 42:27 mind set, because the only other options 42:30 to that is slavery to sin leading it to death. 42:33 Listen to this Steps to Christ page 46. 42:41 God does not require us to give up anything 42:47 that it is for our best interest to retain. 42:51 In all that God does, He has the well being 42:55 of His children in view. Man is doing the 43:01 greatest injury and injustice to his own 43:09 soul when he thinks and acts contrary 43:14 to the will of God. Did you get it friends? 43:18 Did you get that, to think and to act 43:24 contrary to the will of God is to do the 43:27 greatest injury and injustice to your 43:32 own soul, it's the greatest injury 43:37 and injustice. No real joy can be found 43:45 in the path forbidden by Him who knows 43:49 what is best, and who plans 43:52 for the good of His creatures. 43:59 There is no real joy to be found in disobedience 44:05 to the will of God. And God will accept nothing 44:13 less than absolute surrender of the mind, 44:19 the heart, the will, that strengthen the entire 44:22 being to his control, servants of the Lord 44:26 writes. So you can bring something less 44:31 God will not accept it, it's a simple as that. 44:39 Try to come to God with the mindsets less 44:42 than Doulos He will not accept it for two reasons, 44:48 first because Christ example was that 44:51 of Doulos. He walks the steps of radical 44:55 abandon to God's will. Second reason, 44:58 if we are not slaves of God, we are slaves 45:01 of sin. And God does not want either you 45:05 or me to live a life of slavery to sin, 45:09 because that leads us to death. 45:12 The mind must chose to voluntary give 45:17 itself up to the will of God. 45:20 And I think sometimes we struggle, 45:26 because we don't trust the heart of God. 45:29 We think that God is out to hurt us, 45:33 what kind of God do you serve? 45:35 Can you imagine if you were married 45:39 and you thought your husband or wife was 45:42 always out to hurt you, how long will 45:45 that marriage last, would it even survive 45:48 a week, and yet we think that God 45:52 who has done the most amazing thing 45:55 in giving us Jesus Christ, in sacrificing 45:58 everything He could to save us, 46:00 we think that this God is out to hurt us 46:03 and I say how do you think that makes 46:05 God feel, that his children that he has 46:10 loved so much don't trust His will. 46:13 How must that make God feel? 46:16 God expects nothing less and better yet 46:20 he deserves nothing less than absolute 46:23 surrender under premise of Christ example 46:28 and for what God has given to us. 46:31 God expects, God deserves nothing less. 46:40 Let me give you a rule to live by and 46:44 that rule is given very succinctly in 46:49 John chapter 2 verse 5, when Mary the 46:52 mother of Jesus instructs the servants 46:56 of the feast the wedding at Cana 46:59 and she says something that's simple, 47:02 profound and is a rule of life for a Christian 47:09 underline that verse write it on your wall, 47:13 put it on your Facebook status, make it the 47:17 rule of your life. John 2 verse 5 Mary says 47:22 "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it!" Amen, 47:27 it's that simple. It doesn't need to make 47:31 sense just do it God has saith so just do it 47:33 he is God, and you are his slave because 47:36 you've chosen to give yourself to God, 47:41 it's a simple rule to live by. 47:45 And as you make that commitments 47:48 don't worry about how you will sustain it, 47:51 Jesus does the sustaining. 47:53 He then begins a good work in you is 47:58 faithful to do what complete it unto the 48:01 day of Christ. So Christ will sustain the 48:05 commitments, but you by his grace make 48:09 the choice just make up your mind that 48:13 whatsoever God commands whether or 48:15 not you understand just do it. 48:18 So yes, we'll go away from glittering career 48:22 with the Harvard degree into ministry 48:23 yes God has said so, just do it. 48:27 Doesn't need to make sense just do it, 48:29 obey the voice of God. Let the word of God 48:36 be enough for you, don't ask why, 48:40 don't ask why God says thou shall not lie 48:44 if God says so, you just do it. 48:46 Don't ask why God for busy from I am not 48:50 Adventist if God says so just do it, 48:52 don't ask why. But question you must ask 48:56 is has God commanded, and if God has commanded 49:00 yes Lord. Our last scripture is Luke 6 49:05 verse 46, where Jesus now asks the question 49:10 that I'm gonna ask us this morning. 49:12 In Luke chapter 6 and verse 46 Jesus asked 49:17 the question that bears repeating to us 49:20 as His disciples this morning, 49:25 are you there, amen. In Luke 6 verse 46, 49:30 are we there, amen. Jesus says and 49:36 why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do 49:39 not the things which I say? How do you 49:44 answer Jesus? How do you answer Him? 49:54 Why do you call Him Lord and don't do 49:58 a thing that He says, if He is Lord He must 50:03 be Lord. As we conclude I'm gonna 50:09 share with you a quotation that breaks 50:12 my heart, and it breaks my heart because 50:16 I think that many of us are in this place 50:18 and condition today. Steps to Christ, 50:22 I'm sorry Christ's Object Lessons 50:27 page 118 Ellen White writes, is very 50:32 chilling statement, and if you've listened 50:36 to nothing else I've say today please 50:39 listen to this. There are some who seem 50:45 to always be seeking for the heavenly pearl, 50:49 but they do not make an entire surrender 50:53 of their wrong habits, they do not die to self 50:58 that Christ may live in them, therefore 51:01 they do not find the precious pearl. 51:04 They have knots overcome an holy 51:09 ambition. They do not, they do not take up 51:15 the cross and follow Christ in the path of 51:19 self-denial and sacrifice. Almost Christians, 51:27 almost what Christians, but not 51:30 fully Christians, they seem so near to 51:34 the kingdom of heaven but they cannot 51:36 enter there, almost but not completely 51:43 saved means not almost but completely lost. 51:52 Did you understand what I just read? 51:56 There are some among us who don't take 52:00 up the cross daily and follow Jesus in the 52:03 path of self-denial and as a result 52:07 we are almost Christians, but let me tell you 52:11 something friends there is no such thing 52:14 as almost Christian, either we are or 52:18 we're not. We're almost saved, 52:22 but almost saved means entirely lost, 52:27 are you following me friends? If we do not 52:33 by the grace of God make the choice to 52:35 Doulos our minds to God we are almost saved, 52:39 but almost saved means completely lost. 52:43 How many of us are lost this morning, 52:45 thinking why GYC good looking Christians lost, 52:49 because there are some times when God cometh 52:51 and we say no because we haven't made up 52:55 our minds that we are Doulos, the slaves 52:57 of God almost saved, almost Christians 53:02 but lost, completely lost. 53:04 It will break my heart GYC if there are some 53:08 among us this morning that are almost saved, 53:12 because there is no such thing as almost saved. 53:16 And I'm almost in tears and I don't want to cry 53:20 but here's the point friends, we've come 53:23 so far GYC so many appeals God has made 53:26 and we've responded to, have we obeyed Him, 53:29 have we obeyed Him? Amen. 53:34 God has spoken have we said yes Lord, 53:37 or are we walking through these hallways 53:41 almost saved in reality completely lost. 53:54 I pray, I pray from the bottom of my heart 54:00 that God would grant us the hearts and the 54:06 mind of Christ, the mind of reckless abandon 54:14 to the will of God. If you're gonna abandon 54:19 yourself to anything abandon yourself to 54:23 the will of God, it's the safest place to be. 54:27 Friends, God knows what He is doing. 54:30 God is too wise to be mistaken as the some 54:34 writer writes. God is too good to be unkind, 54:40 His will is for our best. And the best choice 54:46 we could ever make the most logical 54:50 and the very best choice we could ever make 54:53 is to make a pre-commitment 54:56 that whatever God says, whatsoever 55:00 He says unto us by His grace we'll say yes Lord. 55:06 This is the best possible choice 55:10 and it's the only choice that makes sense, 55:13 because the other half of the coin does not 55:17 make sense. So no turning back requires 55:22 our mind that says I've voluntarily given 55:27 myself to the will of God. I'm a Doulos a 55:30 slave of God, and I know slavery has many 55:33 negative meanings in our world today. 55:36 But if you're going to be a slaver of anything, 55:40 be a slave to God, because remember 55:44 there are only two choices right, 55:46 there are only two choices, you are a slave 55:50 either way you go, so turn back you are still 55:54 a slave, so why turn back to slavery to sin 55:57 why either where you go you are a slave, 56:01 so choose the logical thing be a slave to God. 56:04 Amen. It's Christ's example and when 56:07 Jesus calls us, he bids us come and die 56:10 the same way he died the path of servant hood, 56:14 the path of Doulos to God. 56:18 If any man will come after me he must deny 56:24 himself take up His cross daily and follow me 56:31 in the path of self denial. 56:40 There is no music playing, and I wanna make one 56:44 very simple appeal, before I make the 56:47 appeal I'm going to give you little bit of 56:51 time to bow your heads, and think about the 56:56 implications of the word Doulos, 56:59 think about it, reason in your mind what God 57:02 is calling you to do, what Christ call is, 57:05 because the call cannot be changed friends, 57:08 it is as it is, take it or leave it. 57:11 If you're going to come to Christ you 57:14 must Doulos yourself to Christ that's the call. 57:18 So bow your heads and think about it in 57:21 silence for a minute just think about it. |
Revised 2014-12-17