Make me know your presence Lord,
00:00:32.96\00:00:38.03
the King of Glory here.
00:00:38.03\00:00:43.36
You know each
thought and action,
00:00:43.36\00:00:48.13
hope, anxiety and fear.
00:00:48.13\00:00:54.10
How can I hide from Thee?
00:00:54.10\00:00:59.63
Can darkness hide iniquity?
00:00:59.63\00:01:05.20
Oh how can I unfaithful be,
00:01:05.20\00:01:10.56
when You are very near to me?
00:01:10.56\00:01:22.43
When God is near, all
the world seems far away.
00:01:22.43\00:01:33.36
When God is near,
every fear is set aside.
00:01:33.36\00:01:43.86
When God is near,
00:01:43.86\00:01:49.03
how can I stray?
How can I falter?
00:01:49.03\00:01:54.73
I'll stay upon the
altar, I know my God is near.
00:01:54.73\00:02:09.23
Make me know Your presence Lord,
00:02:16.43\00:02:21.66
when I feel so alone.
00:02:21.66\00:02:26.80
You know each
trial and testing pain,
00:02:26.80\00:02:32.16
the hurt that is unknown.
00:02:32.16\00:02:37.20
Oh, why can I not see
00:02:37.20\00:02:42.40
Your hand so firmly guiding me?
00:02:42.40\00:02:47.56
Oh how can I untrusting be,
00:02:47.56\00:02:52.70
when You are very near to me?
00:02:52.70\00:03:04.10
When God is near, all
the world seems far away.
00:03:04.10\00:03:14.53
When God is near,
every fear is set aside.
00:03:14.53\00:03:24.50
When God is near,
00:03:24.50\00:03:29.63
how can I stray?
How can I falter?
00:03:29.63\00:03:35.10
I'll stay upon the altar,
00:03:35.10\00:03:39.86
I know my God is near.
00:03:39.86\00:03:48.80
When God is near, all
the world seems far away.
00:03:48.80\00:03:59.20
When God is near,
every fear is set aside.
00:03:59.20\00:04:09.23
When God is near,
00:04:09.23\00:04:14.40
how can I stray?
How can I falter?
00:04:14.40\00:04:20.30
I'll stay upon the altar,
00:04:20.30\00:04:25.00
I know my God is near.
00:04:25.00\00:04:32.43
My God is near, my God is near.
00:04:32.43\00:04:37.16
My God is near, I
know my God is near,
00:04:37.16\00:04:49.50
My God is near. Amen.
00:04:49.50\00:05:05.16
Good evening GYC. Good evening.
00:05:17.90\00:05:20.86
How many enjoyed your
Sabbath, here in Baltimore.
00:05:20.86\00:05:25.83
And it was a high
Sabbath, we didn't just have a
00:05:25.83\00:05:28.60
New Year
celebration, praise God,
00:05:28.60\00:05:31.06
we were able to keep
God's holy Sabbath day as well.
00:05:31.06\00:05:34.20
And it was a
wonderful experience last night
00:05:34.20\00:05:37.13
as I was slowly making
my way back to the hotel,
00:05:37.13\00:05:41.33
I saw where a whole
group of young people
00:05:41.33\00:05:44.90
just broke out
in songs of praise
00:05:44.90\00:05:48.83
in one of the upper open areas.
00:05:48.83\00:05:51.43
And it was so powerful
that I actually just went
00:05:51.43\00:05:54.26
up on an upper level
and looked down on it
00:05:54.26\00:05:56.40
and just thanked
God for the outpouring
00:05:56.40\00:05:59.50
of His Holy Spirit as
the young people just sang.
00:05:59.50\00:06:02.23
And I could just
imagine that they were angels,
00:06:02.23\00:06:05.30
that were so pleased to
see God's people in praise.
00:06:05.30\00:06:09.00
As the rest of the
world was in partying
00:06:09.00\00:06:11.93
and frivolity, God's
people were praising Him
00:06:11.93\00:06:15.73
to bring in a New
Year. And I just ask that God
00:06:15.73\00:06:18.80
would bless us as we
look at what is going
00:06:18.80\00:06:22.20
to take place in
2011, some of the things
00:06:22.20\00:06:24.33
that they have been
presenting here tonight,
00:06:24.33\00:06:25.63
like Babylon rising,
these things are exciting.
00:06:25.63\00:06:29.90
I don't know if
you've ever been to Vegas,
00:06:29.90\00:06:31.50
but they call it
Sin City for a reason.
00:06:31.50\00:06:33.56
And so I asked that
God would be with them
00:06:33.56\00:06:36.10
as they go into Las Vegas
00:06:36.10\00:06:37.36
and bring the gospel
truth, his precious end time
00:06:37.36\00:06:42.60
message to the
city of Las Vegas.
00:06:42.60\00:06:44.30
We will be praying
for them, amen, amen.
00:06:44.30\00:06:47.53
Yesterday also, I was able to go
00:06:47.53\00:06:48.96
to some of the booths
after, we were talking,
00:06:48.96\00:06:51.36
we actually wind up
having our own little
00:06:51.36\00:06:52.86
church service over
here in front of Vision
00:06:52.86\00:06:55.83
and Little Light
studios, booths over here,
00:06:55.83\00:06:59.46
and I just want to
say after meeting them
00:06:59.46\00:07:01.93
that I'm gonna be a strong
00:07:01.93\00:07:04.03
supporter of their ministry.
00:07:04.03\00:07:05.16
I'm really trying
to get more people
00:07:05.16\00:07:06.93
at least in my area
in Southern California
00:07:06.93\00:07:08.76
to see what they're doing.
00:07:08.76\00:07:10.23
I want to say
that we should have a
00:07:10.23\00:07:12.46
spirit of team
work. If the people of God
00:07:12.46\00:07:15.70
work together
guess what happens?
00:07:15.70\00:07:17.76
Synergy
happens. And more happens
00:07:17.76\00:07:20.63
when we work together and when
00:07:20.63\00:07:22.40
we support one
another, then if we try
00:07:22.40\00:07:24.40
and or do it by ourselves.
00:07:24.40\00:07:26.33
So, we ought to have a
spirit of not just unity
00:07:26.33\00:07:29.30
but of synergy. Working together
00:07:29.30\00:07:31.50
to finish God's work on earth.
00:07:31.50\00:07:34.56
I want to ask you
to turn with me in your
00:07:34.56\00:07:36.03
Bibles tonight to
Second Timothy chapter 4,
00:07:36.03\00:07:39.70
Second Timothy Chapter 4
00:07:39.70\00:07:42.83
and I am going to
read verses 7 and 8,
00:07:44.60\00:07:47.80
Second Timothy
Chapter 4, verses 7 and 8,
00:07:47.80\00:07:56.23
word of God says, I
have fought a good fight,
00:07:58.83\00:08:02.93
I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith,
00:08:02.93\00:08:08.20
Henceforth there
is laid up for me a
00:08:08.20\00:08:10.60
crown of
righteousness, which the Lord,
00:08:10.60\00:08:14.56
the righteous judge,
shall give me at that day,
00:08:14.56\00:08:18.46
and not to me
only, but unto all them
00:08:18.46\00:08:22.86
also that love his appearing.
00:08:22.86\00:08:27.66
Our message tonight is entitled,
00:08:28.40\00:08:31.30
claim your
crown, claim your crown.
00:08:31.30\00:08:37.06
Let us pray.
Father God, we thank you
00:08:37.06\00:08:40.60
for bringing us
together again here at GYC for
00:08:40.60\00:08:44.40
another evening service.
00:08:44.40\00:08:47.43
I ask right now
Lord that you make me
00:08:48.73\00:08:50.50
just the nail upon the wall,
00:08:50.50\00:08:52.70
a rusty, sorry nail
Lord. But I ask Lord,
00:08:52.70\00:08:57.73
that you would hang a
portrait of Jesus Christ
00:08:57.73\00:08:59.50
upon that nail.
So that tonight Lord,
00:08:59.50\00:09:02.80
Eric Walsh is not seen or heard.
00:09:02.80\00:09:05.26
Instead Father
God, I ask that we would
00:09:05.26\00:09:08.46
hear a message from the
very throne room of grace.
00:09:08.46\00:09:12.80
This is our
prayer in Jesus' name,
00:09:12.80\00:09:15.36
let the church say amen, amen.
00:09:15.36\00:09:18.53
As Paul was
laying in the dungeon
00:09:19.93\00:09:22.96
and he is dealing
with the difficulties
00:09:22.96\00:09:25.40
of being alone, he
tells us in Second Timothy
00:09:25.40\00:09:28.80
that most have
actually deserted him
00:09:28.80\00:09:32.13
and have left him
alone. Paul as he is laying on
00:09:32.13\00:09:37.13
the floor in the
dungeon, soldiers come running
00:09:37.13\00:09:41.50
down the stairs and
they grab the Apostle Paul.
00:09:41.50\00:09:45.30
They shake him up and
tell him it is time for him
00:09:45.30\00:09:49.13
to go and stand in
the hall of justice.
00:09:49.13\00:09:53.56
I could imagine as
Paul is dragged through
00:09:55.33\00:09:58.00
the streets of Rome
that many of the soldiers
00:09:58.00\00:10:02.00
or some of the
soldiers would have whispered
00:10:02.00\00:10:03.63
to him, Paul, make
sure when you get here
00:10:03.63\00:10:07.23
and you have an
audience with these dignitaries
00:10:07.23\00:10:10.60
and with the Emperor
that Paul, you don't lift
00:10:10.60\00:10:13.80
up the name of
Jesus. Paul, if you do that,
00:10:13.80\00:10:17.63
they will put you to death.
00:10:17.63\00:10:20.26
As Paul is
dragged into this hall.
00:10:22.76\00:10:26.90
As he enters in,
there are dignitaries
00:10:28.33\00:10:30.46
from all over the Roman Empire,
00:10:30.46\00:10:33.26
seated in array
before the Emperor Nero.
00:10:33.26\00:10:38.96
But not only are
these dignitaries present
00:10:38.96\00:10:42.76
outside of the hall,
the regular citizens,
00:10:42.76\00:10:47.26
the street
common person of Rome,
00:10:47.26\00:10:51.33
is gathered outside pressing in,
00:10:51.33\00:10:53.83
wanting to hear what
would happen to someone
00:10:53.83\00:10:56.60
who was so hated by Rome.
00:10:56.60\00:10:59.26
You see by lying
on the Christians
00:10:59.26\00:11:01.90
and hence lying on
Paul they got all in
00:11:01.90\00:11:05.16
Rome to believe
that Paul was responsible
00:11:05.16\00:11:08.23
for the fire that
destroyed 3/4ths of the city.
00:11:08.23\00:11:12.20
He was a hated man
by this point for those
00:11:12.20\00:11:15.86
who did not know
him. And so there was a
00:11:15.86\00:11:18.93
crowd kind of reminiscent of
00:11:18.93\00:11:21.46
the kind of attention
that something like the
00:11:21.46\00:11:24.06
O.J. Simpson trial received.
00:11:24.06\00:11:26.70
But Paul was in chains
when he was brought in,
00:11:30.23\00:11:35.70
and he, and most of
the people there would
00:11:35.70\00:11:38.90
have thought that Paul
was a prisoner of Nero.
00:11:38.90\00:11:42.40
But Paul makes it clear
in his writings that Paul
00:11:42.40\00:11:45.30
was a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
00:11:45.30\00:11:47.83
Paul makes it clear
that he was only in chains
00:11:47.83\00:11:51.63
because he chose to be
a servant of Jesus Christ.
00:11:51.63\00:11:56.00
And at one point in that
terrible night, the aged,
00:11:59.93\00:12:07.76
feeble Apostle
Paul is brought to stand
00:12:07.76\00:12:12.76
face-to-face
with the Emperor Nero.
00:12:12.76\00:12:17.90
Paul, God's most
powerful agent on earth,
00:12:17.90\00:12:24.03
stands before the
most powerful human
00:12:24.03\00:12:26.90
being on earth.
Nero, in essence,
00:12:26.90\00:12:31.90
the ruler of the
world, stands before Paul,
00:12:31.90\00:12:36.93
who is the servant of
the King of the Universe.
00:12:36.93\00:12:41.10
Spirit of Prophecy,
as well as the ancient
00:12:41.10\00:12:45.70
historians tell us
that there has been no
00:12:45.70\00:12:48.36
greater
contrast between two men.
00:12:48.36\00:12:52.60
As when the Apostle
Paul stands face-to-face
00:12:52.60\00:12:58.00
with the great Emperor
of Rome, what a contrast?
00:12:58.00\00:13:04.93
You see Nero came to
power on a river of blood,
00:13:04.93\00:13:11.60
his mother,
Agrippina the second,
00:13:11.60\00:13:14.10
married his
uncle, Claudius Caesar,
00:13:14.10\00:13:18.83
Claudius Caesar was
known to be a weak emperor
00:13:18.83\00:13:21.66
and Agrippina was
told by astrologists
00:13:21.66\00:13:24.90
that her son, Nero,
would one day rule Rome.
00:13:24.90\00:13:27.60
And so she jockeyed
her position and actually
00:13:27.60\00:13:31.20
assisted in the death
of Claudius wife and then
00:13:31.20\00:13:34.10
married a man
she was related to.
00:13:34.10\00:13:37.86
She got her son
in position and once
00:13:37.86\00:13:40.46
she got Claudius
to say that Nero in
00:13:40.46\00:13:44.93
case of Claudius'
death would be made emperor,
00:13:44.93\00:13:48.33
it wasn't very long
before Claudius was dead.
00:13:48.33\00:13:51.40
After Claudius
died, Nero's stepbrother
00:13:51.40\00:13:55.60
Britannica, most
loved of all of the
00:13:55.60\00:13:58.63
Roman citizens, a
noble young man was poisoned
00:13:58.63\00:14:02.50
at the dinner
table while all of them
00:14:02.50\00:14:04.66
sat there and
ate. Leaving Nero alone
00:14:04.66\00:14:09.80
to rule the well
known world as the Emperor
00:14:09.80\00:14:14.66
of the Roman
empire. But I learned a long
00:14:14.66\00:14:18.63
time ago there is
no honor among thieves.
00:14:18.63\00:14:21.46
And it wasn't long
after Nero took power that
00:14:21.46\00:14:26.03
he was looking to
kill his own mother.
00:14:26.03\00:14:28.86
In fact, Nero had
made multiple attempts
00:14:28.86\00:14:32.30
to kill his mother,
most of them failed,
00:14:32.30\00:14:34.46
until finely he
hired assassins and had his
00:14:34.46\00:14:37.80
mother killed at
the hands of trained
00:14:37.80\00:14:41.06
professional
assassins. Nero, when he married
00:14:41.06\00:14:46.63
Octavia, his
first wife, divorced her
00:14:46.63\00:14:49.06
and then killed her
and then his second wife,
00:14:49.06\00:14:51.76
he kicked to death
shortly after marrying her,
00:14:51.76\00:14:55.46
because she asked
him had been out chariot
00:14:55.46\00:14:58.13
racing that night.
The contrast between
00:14:58.13\00:15:03.16
this bloody,
murderous, hedonistic leader
00:15:03.16\00:15:07.73
and the simple, yet
eloquent Apostle Paul
00:15:07.73\00:15:13.33
is a dramatic contrast,
00:15:13.33\00:15:16.10
because you see Nero had
only three loves in life.
00:15:18.56\00:15:23.60
Nero loved poetry and singing,
00:15:25.10\00:15:29.06
in fact when he would
sing and many of the senators
00:15:29.06\00:15:33.06
and the elite of Rome
thought it was so beneath
00:15:33.06\00:15:37.50
the Emperor to try and perform.
00:15:37.50\00:15:40.66
I remember when Bill
Clinton used to play the
00:15:40.66\00:15:42.40
saxophone there were
those who kind of thought
00:15:42.40\00:15:44.46
the same thing.
And he would sing
00:15:44.46\00:15:48.56
and the problem of course was
00:15:48.56\00:15:50.10
he had soldiers
around the auditorium
00:15:50.10\00:15:52.40
and if someone
when he was done singing
00:15:52.40\00:15:54.76
didn't clap loud
enough or shout loud
00:15:54.76\00:15:57.46
enough for Nero, Nero
had them put to death.
00:15:57.46\00:16:01.86
It was a capital
crime, if when he performed,
00:16:01.86\00:16:05.46
enough people didn't applaud.
00:16:05.46\00:16:08.06
But he also
thought he was an actor,
00:16:09.83\00:16:12.23
and living in
California everybody thinks
00:16:13.33\00:16:15.00
they're actors.
And so he would go
00:16:15.00\00:16:19.30
and he would
perform in the theater
00:16:19.30\00:16:21.20
and if the people
didn't like his performance,
00:16:21.20\00:16:23.46
if he thought
someone didn't appreciate
00:16:23.46\00:16:26.23
his performance,
Nero would have that
00:16:26.23\00:16:28.13
individual put to death.
00:16:28.13\00:16:30.10
But his other great love,
00:16:31.76\00:16:33.00
his third great
love was chariot racing.
00:16:33.00\00:16:36.00
Nero loved to race chariots,
00:16:36.00\00:16:39.26
horse drawn chariots
and he was so in such
00:16:39.26\00:16:44.30
love with it, that I
told you on the first night
00:16:44.30\00:16:45.90
that even when he
began the persecution
00:16:45.90\00:16:48.73
of the Christians,
because of the burning
00:16:48.73\00:16:52.13
of Rome and trying to
deflect the blame from
00:16:52.13\00:16:54.76
off of himself, Nero
would use the Christians,
00:16:54.76\00:16:57.66
put them up on
posts and set them on fire
00:16:57.66\00:17:00.43
and he would drive
his chariots through
00:17:00.43\00:17:03.36
the burning torches
that were Christians.
00:17:03.36\00:17:07.13
So much he loved
charioteering that
00:17:09.46\00:17:11.86
Nero decided to
postpone 1865 Olympics
00:17:11.86\00:17:16.16
for two years so
he could practice.
00:17:16.16\00:17:19.03
Being the Emperor,
he delayed the great
00:17:20.30\00:17:22.50
Greek games for two
years and he practiced
00:17:22.50\00:17:25.40
chariot racing, but Nero
was a crooked type of guy.
00:17:25.40\00:17:29.40
So what he did was
he bribed the judges
00:17:29.40\00:17:31.96
and when the time came
for him to race in 1867,
00:17:31.96\00:17:35.56
Nero, when everyone
else only had four horses
00:17:35.56\00:17:38.86
on their chariot,
Nero had ten horses on his.
00:17:38.86\00:17:42.76
It's kind of
funny because not only
00:17:45.33\00:17:47.23
did he have ten
horses but he wasn't really
00:17:47.23\00:17:49.03
that good of a
charioteer as you would imagine.
00:17:49.03\00:17:51.70
And so, in the race
after bribing the judges
00:17:51.70\00:17:54.50
to allow him to have ten horses,
00:17:54.50\00:17:56.66
he doesn't fall
once as he's racing,
00:17:56.66\00:17:59.10
he falls twice as he is racing.
00:17:59.10\00:18:01.76
In fact, there are
some historians who say that
00:18:01.76\00:18:03.36
he almost died,
one from the second
00:18:03.36\00:18:05.93
fall from the
chariot. In fact, Nero never
00:18:05.93\00:18:12.33
finishes the race.
I will say that again,
00:18:12.33\00:18:16.30
because its
important, Nero never finishes
00:18:16.30\00:18:19.50
the race, but he
bribed the judges
00:18:19.50\00:18:23.23
so well and being
the Emperor of Rome.
00:18:23.23\00:18:26.26
The judges make
a decision that had
00:18:26.26\00:18:28.66
he finished the race,
he was so good that had
00:18:28.66\00:18:32.30
he finished the race he
would have won the race.
00:18:32.30\00:18:35.93
History tell us that
he began to tour all over,
00:18:41.60\00:18:44.46
collecting
crowns from all of the
00:18:44.46\00:18:47.63
different races in Greece.
00:18:47.63\00:18:50.36
And ironically, he
began to collect the crowns
00:18:53.30\00:18:55.83
and brought all of
the crowns back to Rome,
00:18:55.83\00:19:00.06
he put them on separate chariots
00:19:00.06\00:19:03.43
and had them displayed.
He wore one on his head
00:19:03.43\00:19:06.00
and he rode back
into Rome triumphant
00:19:06.00\00:19:09.66
with the plant
crowns of the Olympics,
00:19:10.60\00:19:14.30
bragging as if he had gone
00:19:14.30\00:19:17.23
and won the
race fair and square.
00:19:17.23\00:19:20.73
Paul is a different
man, Paul had traveled
00:19:25.33\00:19:28.90
all over the empire
as well, but he had not
00:19:28.90\00:19:31.86
traveled all over the
empire looking to gain
00:19:31.86\00:19:34.53
crowns that would
not last, crowns that
00:19:34.53\00:19:38.60
as he says in First
Corinthians 9:24-27,
00:19:38.60\00:19:42.20
Paul says that those
crowns were corruptible.
00:19:42.20\00:19:45.26
Paul had gone around
the empire and he had been
00:19:45.26\00:19:48.13
building up
churches and training people
00:19:48.13\00:19:50.86
for ministry. He had
been preaching the gospel,
00:19:50.86\00:19:53.90
he had been
debating and winning over
00:19:53.90\00:19:57.26
the Gentiles and even the Jews.
00:19:57.26\00:20:00.30
Paul, unlike Nero, did
not have to buy affection.
00:20:00.30\00:20:05.00
It was said that if
Nero had his eye on a woman
00:20:05.00\00:20:07.63
and she did not
take his advances,
00:20:07.63\00:20:09.53
then he would instantly command
00:20:09.53\00:20:11.90
that she be put to
death. Paul on the other hand,
00:20:11.90\00:20:16.30
the striking
contrast between the two men.
00:20:16.30\00:20:19.10
Paul, when he
would leave, be-leaving a
00:20:19.10\00:20:22.06
church and the
church would come together
00:20:22.06\00:20:24.10
to pray for Paul.
That when Paul was leaving,
00:20:24.10\00:20:27.26
the people of the
church would fall on him
00:20:27.26\00:20:29.50
and kiss him and
tell him they loved him,
00:20:29.50\00:20:32.73
and Paul didn't have
to buy their affection.
00:20:32.73\00:20:36.63
Well, let me tell
you what happens as
00:20:42.03\00:20:43.40
Paul and Nero face off.
00:20:43.40\00:20:45.83
The time comes for
Paul to defend himself,
00:20:46.80\00:20:49.06
because he was so hated in Rome
00:20:49.06\00:20:51.33
that he could
not find any attorney
00:20:51.33\00:20:55.26
or any legal
representation for himself.
00:20:55.26\00:20:58.23
So, Paul had to defend himself,
00:20:58.23\00:21:01.10
but it worked to God's glory.
00:21:01.10\00:21:04.30
Because although
Paul was warned that
00:21:05.36\00:21:07.20
if he went up in front
of this group of dignitaries
00:21:07.20\00:21:10.86
and for the waiting mob to hear.
00:21:10.86\00:21:13.73
Although he was warned,
that if he lifted up the
00:21:13.73\00:21:15.96
name of Jesus, history
in a spread of Prophecy
00:21:15.96\00:21:19.13
he tells us that when
Paul stands at a podium,
00:21:19.13\00:21:22.30
probably more
beautiful that this one
00:21:22.30\00:21:24.26
and begins to
speak. He preaches his most
00:21:24.26\00:21:27.13
powerful sermon.
So powerful a sermon
00:21:27.13\00:21:32.13
that many of the
people in the room,
00:21:32.13\00:21:34.23
who came to see him
convicted and put to death,
00:21:34.23\00:21:37.60
actually their hearts
melt and they are convinced
00:21:37.60\00:21:40.53
or convicted of the
reality of Jesus Christ.
00:21:40.53\00:21:44.90
Amen. In fact,
when you read the Spirit
00:21:44.90\00:21:48.20
of Prophecy and the
book, Acts of the Apostles,
00:21:48.20\00:21:50.60
face, and the chapter
that describes when Paul
00:21:50.60\00:21:53.70
and Nero come face-to-face,
00:21:53.70\00:21:55.23
Ellen White tells
us that even Nero,
00:21:55.23\00:21:58.33
a light from heaven
shines down through the dark,
00:21:59.76\00:22:03.70
seemingly
impenetrable soul, that is Nero,
00:22:03.70\00:22:07.20
and even Nero begins
to contemplate eternity.
00:22:07.20\00:22:14.90
Because you see,
Paul doesn't go up there
00:22:14.90\00:22:17.76
and preach a weak
sermon, Paul preaches
00:22:17.76\00:22:22.70
a sermon on the judgment.
00:22:22.70\00:22:24.66
Paul stands before
this big and respectable
00:22:24.66\00:22:30.16
crowd of people
and Paul says, listen,
00:22:30.16\00:22:33.20
one day every single
one of you is going to have
00:22:33.20\00:22:36.66
to stand before the
very judgment seat of the
00:22:36.66\00:22:39.70
living God. Paul
says he's a loving God
00:22:39.70\00:22:43.50
and he's a merciful
God, but if you stand
00:22:43.50\00:22:46.13
before him, and you
stand before him uncovered
00:22:46.13\00:22:49.76
by the blood of his
son, untouched by the grace
00:22:49.76\00:22:52.60
and mercy that is
embodied in his son
00:22:52.60\00:22:55.26
Christ Jesus, you
will not be able to stand.
00:22:55.26\00:22:59.00
The Emperor Nero
begins to realize that
00:23:01.16\00:23:05.60
all of the sick and
twisted, debotury acts
00:23:05.60\00:23:09.10
that he's performed.
Well, one day, he will
00:23:09.10\00:23:11.66
have to give an answer
for. And in that moment,
00:23:11.66\00:23:16.40
he begins to
contemplate his own eternity.
00:23:17.86\00:23:21.76
Paul preached the
God of the universe;
00:23:23.76\00:23:26.20
Nero preached that he was God.
00:23:26.20\00:23:30.33
In fact, people
set up alters to Nero
00:23:30.33\00:23:33.50
and they would worship him.
00:23:33.50\00:23:35.30
And when Nero built his palace,
00:23:35.30\00:23:38.13
like I said last
night, he erected a 120 foot
00:23:38.13\00:23:41.40
statue in honor of himself.
00:23:41.40\00:23:44.76
What a contrast
between Nero and Paul.
00:23:45.50\00:23:49.13
But I submit to you,
it was a powerful sermon.
00:23:50.50\00:23:53.20
And as Paul is
being dragged back to his
00:23:54.96\00:23:57.50
dungeon after
preaching the sermon,
00:23:57.50\00:24:00.06
you can imagine that
they are those whispering
00:24:00.06\00:24:03.23
he's finished,
they're gonna kill him.
00:24:03.23\00:24:06.50
But Paul writes the
book of Second Timothy
00:24:08.50\00:24:11.06
after that
incident and I want to read
00:24:11.06\00:24:14.93
Second Timothy
chapter 4 starting at verse 1,
00:24:14.93\00:24:18.36
I want you to understand
that after his experience
00:24:18.36\00:24:21.23
with this crazy
tyrant Nero, he pens words
00:24:21.23\00:24:24.76
that are powerful.
He says, I charged thee
00:24:24.76\00:24:30.80
therefore, Second
Timothy chapter 4 and verse 1
00:24:30.80\00:24:34.43
he says, I charge
thee therefore before God
00:24:34.43\00:24:37.30
and the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall judge
00:24:37.30\00:24:39.80
the quick and the
dead at his appearing
00:24:39.80\00:24:41.66
and his
kingdom. Preach the word.
00:24:41.66\00:24:46.26
He says, be instant
in season, out of season.
00:24:46.26\00:24:51.40
He says, to
reprove, to rebuke, to exhort
00:24:51.40\00:24:56.33
with all
longsuffering and doctrine.
00:24:56.33\00:25:00.06
Paul does not send
Timothy out on a mission
00:25:00.06\00:25:04.46
to be liked by
everyone, don't miss this.
00:25:04.46\00:25:09.46
He does not send Timothy out
00:25:09.46\00:25:11.26
to win a popularity contest.
00:25:11.26\00:25:13.86
He does not expect
that Timothy is going to go
00:25:13.86\00:25:17.80
and give the gospel
and by giving the gospel,
00:25:17.80\00:25:21.10
it will be so fussy
and round that everyone
00:25:21.10\00:25:23.90
will just be drawn to
Timothy and he will be
00:25:23.90\00:25:26.60
popular and
liked. And he can sell a
00:25:26.60\00:25:28.63
whole bunch of DVDs and books.
00:25:28.63\00:25:31.56
No, Paul says, when you preach,
00:25:35.56\00:25:40.80
things should be
reproved, sin should be rebuked,
00:25:40.80\00:25:45.23
you should exhort.
But he says that this
00:25:46.66\00:25:50.26
must be done with all
longsuffering and doctrine.
00:25:50.26\00:25:55.86
Difficult for me
to talk about this,
00:26:00.76\00:26:02.20
but last night,
when I was preaching
00:26:02.20\00:26:04.43
there were some
who approached me later
00:26:04.43\00:26:06.76
and said that I offended them.
00:26:06.76\00:26:09.23
Because I brought
up one of my stories,
00:26:10.73\00:26:13.50
when I was
really not talking about
00:26:13.50\00:26:14.76
what I thought they
thought I was talking about,
00:26:14.76\00:26:16.56
but the issue of transsexual.
00:26:16.56\00:26:20.23
And I want to say
that if I offended someone
00:26:20.23\00:26:23.40
because they
thought I was making a joke
00:26:23.40\00:26:25.30
about individuals I wasn't.
00:26:25.30\00:26:27.76
But I even
challenged them to go back
00:26:27.76\00:26:29.76
and watch last
night's presentation
00:26:29.76\00:26:31.73
and see that I didn't
laugh, I wasn't joking
00:26:31.73\00:26:33.70
at all. In fact,
being a physician,
00:26:33.70\00:26:37.66
one of the things I
have learned is that,
00:26:37.66\00:26:39.50
when people are
in that situation
00:26:39.50\00:26:42.10
and I've worked in HIV
and AIDS for many years
00:26:42.10\00:26:44.43
and I have many
patients in that situation.
00:26:44.43\00:26:47.06
It is probably one
of the most difficult,
00:26:47.06\00:26:50.76
confusing,
challenging and in the end,
00:26:50.76\00:26:54.13
from a purely medical
and health standpoint,
00:26:54.13\00:26:56.80
one of the most
detrimental places
00:26:56.80\00:26:58.66
a person can be. So
I don't find it funny
00:26:58.66\00:27:01.53
and I was not making a joke.
00:27:01.53\00:27:03.43
But I want to say
that on the other hand,
00:27:04.86\00:27:06.93
I don't know that
I would be a preacher
00:27:06.93\00:27:09.36
of the gospel of
the Jesus Christ,
00:27:09.36\00:27:11.43
if somehow I wasn't
plain in saying what
00:27:11.43\00:27:15.20
the Bible says about it, amen.
00:27:15.20\00:27:17.86
I don't know if I
should be more worried about
00:27:17.86\00:27:20.83
being offensive to
people or if I should be more
00:27:20.83\00:27:24.06
worried about
offending the living God, amen.
00:27:24.06\00:27:27.56
And believe me, I take
this stuff very seriously,
00:27:28.90\00:27:32.23
its life and its
death. I understand
00:27:32.23\00:27:36.10
the consequences of
the words that we speak
00:27:36.10\00:27:38.70
when we preach the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
00:27:38.70\00:27:41.06
But Paul says, Dr. Walsh like,
00:27:41.06\00:27:44.00
he says to every
other person who will stand
00:27:44.00\00:27:46.50
and deliver the word
of God through Bible study
00:27:46.50\00:27:48.96
or preaching.
When you take the Bible
00:27:48.96\00:27:51.30
and you stand in the
place where the gospel
00:27:51.30\00:27:54.30
can be preached
or shared, you take
00:27:54.30\00:27:56.50
on a very serious
responsibility, amen.
00:27:56.50\00:28:00.40
Because one day,
every individual is
00:28:01.40\00:28:04.56
going to have to stand
before the very judgment
00:28:04.56\00:28:07.53
seat of the living
God. And what if I am
00:28:07.53\00:28:10.83
the only person
that might have spoken a
00:28:10.83\00:28:13.66
word of warning
to an individual,
00:28:13.66\00:28:15.96
who is going off course.
00:28:15.96\00:28:18.86
What kind of love is it
00:28:19.96\00:28:20.93
if you know a house is burning,
00:28:20.93\00:28:22.96
and you're afraid to
run inside and shout fire.
00:28:22.96\00:28:26.63
Paul says, we
must be longsuffering
00:28:29.56\00:28:31.60
and I will admit
that sometimes we as
00:28:31.60\00:28:34.16
Adventists have been
very short suffering.
00:28:34.16\00:28:38.76
But there are times
when we are so concerned
00:28:38.76\00:28:41.06
what people are
doing, we forget to ask the
00:28:41.06\00:28:43.70
harder question,
who do they know?
00:28:43.70\00:28:46.70
Sometimes we can't
jump the gun and say,
00:28:46.70\00:28:49.10
look, put down that cigarette,
00:28:49.10\00:28:50.60
put down the
alcohol, lose the weight,
00:28:50.60\00:28:52.40
do those things and
never really ask the
00:28:52.40\00:28:54.23
hard question, are they
doing what they're doing,
00:28:54.23\00:28:56.76
because there is a God
size hole in their heart?
00:28:56.76\00:29:00.60
And one of the things I
learned in the addiction
00:29:00.60\00:29:03.83
medicine clinic, that
I used to work in at the
00:29:03.83\00:29:05.83
Veterans Hospital in Loma Linda.
00:29:05.83\00:29:07.33
When those former
addicts would be coming
00:29:07.33\00:29:09.96
out of their addictions
to heroine and cocaine
00:29:09.96\00:29:12.93
and crystal methamphetamine
00:29:12.93\00:29:14.53
and alcohol, and
they would stand together
00:29:14.53\00:29:17.06
and they would chant at
the end of their meetings,
00:29:17.06\00:29:18.83
and one of things
I used to love them,
00:29:18.83\00:29:20.26
hear them say is when they said,
00:29:20.26\00:29:21.66
God made the human
heart so big that only
00:29:21.66\00:29:27.60
He can fill it, amen.
We must be longsuffering,
00:29:27.60\00:29:33.40
because we have to
understand that there
00:29:33.40\00:29:34.83
are a lot of people
who have this God sized
00:29:34.83\00:29:37.53
hole in their heart
and the behaviors that
00:29:37.53\00:29:39.70
we see them doing are
really only a reflection
00:29:39.70\00:29:42.53
of the fact that they
do not have the kind of
00:29:42.53\00:29:45.40
relationship with
God that fills the hole.
00:29:45.40\00:29:48.80
And then once they're
introduced to Jesus Christ
00:29:48.80\00:29:52.20
and their peace and
the peace is given to them,
00:29:52.20\00:29:54.73
that passes all understanding,
00:29:54.73\00:29:56.43
that comes from
a relationship with
00:29:56.43\00:29:58.36
Jesus Christ. All of a
sudden, how easy is it.
00:29:58.36\00:30:02.73
For the things that used to,
00:30:04.63\00:30:05.63
the sins and the
things that used to
00:30:05.63\00:30:07.23
so easily beset
them, to be shaken off
00:30:07.23\00:30:09.80
and tossed aside.
But there were times
00:30:09.80\00:30:13.16
when I was involved
in things in my life that
00:30:13.16\00:30:14.73
I thought I
could never get out of.
00:30:14.73\00:30:16.23
I honestly thought
at times I was trapped
00:30:17.46\00:30:19.73
in certain
behaviors, certain things about
00:30:19.73\00:30:22.06
my life and
lifestyle and I thought
00:30:22.06\00:30:23.70
I could never be delivered.
00:30:23.70\00:30:24.70
But it was as I
studied the word,
00:30:24.70\00:30:26.60
as I prayed and
what I learned is that
00:30:26.60\00:30:29.00
I had to learn to stop
focusing in Morris Venden
00:30:29.00\00:30:33.03
writes well on this. I
had to stop focusing on
00:30:33.40\00:30:36.50
what I was doing
and switch my focus
00:30:37.16\00:30:39.53
from my behaviors
onto Christ, amen.
00:30:39.53\00:30:42.53
And what I learned was
that as long as my focus
00:30:42.53\00:30:45.53
we on not doing
things, I failed miserably.
00:30:45.53\00:30:48.76
Because I was not
fighting the fight of faith,
00:30:50.30\00:30:52.46
I was fighting
the fight of works.
00:30:52.46\00:30:54.36
And what happened
is, once I learned,
00:30:55.76\00:30:57.46
you know what, let me
just put Christ first,
00:30:57.46\00:30:59.13
I can't win the
battle over here,
00:30:59.13\00:31:01.03
I keep losing
the battle over here.
00:31:01.03\00:31:03.13
I can't give up cheese.
00:31:03.13\00:31:04.53
Some of you all
thought I was going
00:31:07.36\00:31:08.33
to say something real drastic.
00:31:08.33\00:31:09.30
Praise God he
delivered me from cheese,
00:31:11.90\00:31:13.43
somebody else say amen, amen.
00:31:13.43\00:31:15.16
I can't give up milk or
cheese or whatever it is,
00:31:15.73\00:31:18.23
nightclubs at
one time in my life.
00:31:19.00\00:31:20.73
I can't give it up,
but maybe if I just focus
00:31:20.73\00:31:23.30
on Jesus Christ and
you know what happens?
00:31:23.30\00:31:27.13
You can't focus on Jesus
00:31:28.66\00:31:30.10
and then walk
into a nightclub. Amen.
00:31:30.10\00:31:32.36
All of a sudden you
see the place differently,
00:31:32.86\00:31:34.96
all of a sudden
the demonic influences
00:31:35.60\00:31:37.80
of that nightclub,
the demonic influences
00:31:37.80\00:31:40.33
of the alcohol,
the demonic influences
00:31:40.33\00:31:42.70
of whatever it is
that's in your life
00:31:42.70\00:31:44.43
of that bad relation,
the person you're being
00:31:44.43\00:31:47.13
intimate with, that God has,
00:31:47.13\00:31:48.76
that you have no business being
00:31:48.76\00:31:50.20
intimate with. As you
draw closer to Christ,
00:31:50.20\00:31:53.76
the spirit of God falls on you
00:31:53.76\00:31:55.66
and the love of Christ
begins to constrain you.
00:31:55.66\00:31:58.70
So, I tell addicts now,
00:32:05.40\00:32:06.43
in my practice,
when I see patients
00:32:06.43\00:32:07.86
and they're dealing with stuff
00:32:07.86\00:32:08.96
and if they're a
Christian, especially
00:32:08.96\00:32:10.76
if they're a
Christian, I say listen,
00:32:10.76\00:32:12.06
the first battle
you must fight is the
00:32:12.06\00:32:14.50
fight of faith. Because
righteousness is by faith,
00:32:14.50\00:32:19.53
the just shall live by faith,
00:32:19.53\00:32:21.36
if you fight the
fight of faith the behavior,
00:32:21.36\00:32:24.16
what God is gonna do
is give you the knowledge
00:32:24.16\00:32:26.36
that stuff is wrong.
00:32:26.36\00:32:27.40
He'll tell you
what's wrong as you study
00:32:28.06\00:32:29.73
God's word and you see
00:32:29.73\00:32:30.70
and you learn what's wrong,
00:32:30.70\00:32:31.80
but faith is what it
takes for the spirit of God
00:32:31.80\00:32:34.80
to fill you, so
that Jesus lives in you
00:32:34.80\00:32:37.13
and you stop living
in your own self, amen.
00:32:37.13\00:32:40.46
Because some of us
put more emphasis on
00:32:40.90\00:32:43.26
what we're doing then on Christ.
00:32:43.26\00:32:44.80
And I will submit to
you that if you lift up
00:32:46.00\00:32:48.93
Jesus Christ in your life,
00:32:48.93\00:32:50.36
He will change your life, amen.
00:32:50.36\00:32:52.93
The Ten Commandments
will no longer be ten rules,
00:32:52.93\00:32:56.46
they become ten promises. Amen.
00:32:57.23\00:33:00.06
That's why I love God.
00:33:00.06\00:33:01.23
He is not saying thou shall not,
00:33:02.10\00:33:03.70
he said don't worry,
you won't do that, amen.
00:33:03.70\00:33:06.90
Don't worry you won't commit,
00:33:07.26\00:33:08.30
don't worry you're
not going to steal.
00:33:08.30\00:33:09.80
Don't worry you
are not going to murder
00:33:10.40\00:33:11.60
because I am in you, amen.
00:33:11.60\00:33:13.50
Paul says to preach the word,
00:33:17.00\00:33:18.93
be instant in
season, out of season,
00:33:18.93\00:33:21.36
reprove, rebuke,
exhort with all long suffering
00:33:21.36\00:33:24.83
and doctrine. The
scripture determines doctrine,
00:33:24.83\00:33:30.26
Amen. Amen.
00:33:30.26\00:33:31.56
So, when people come
at me with stuff and it,
00:33:32.43\00:33:34.10
whether it is to
the left or right,
00:33:34.43\00:33:35.60
so you can show me
from the scripture.
00:33:35.60\00:33:37.33
You'll be amazed at
how many arguments will end
00:33:38.66\00:33:40.46
if you say show me
from the scripture.
00:33:40.46\00:33:41.70
Paul says in verse 3,
For the time will come
00:33:47.73\00:33:51.56
when they will not
endure sound doctrine;
00:33:52.16\00:33:54.46
but after their own
lusts shall they heap
00:33:55.23\00:33:57.86
to themselves
teachers, having itching ears.
00:33:57.86\00:34:00.50
Then they shall turn away
their ears from the truth,
00:34:02.33\00:34:04.43
and shall be turned unto fables.
00:34:05.83\00:34:07.56
I saw someone who actually think
00:34:09.30\00:34:11.63
is a very nice man,
a man named Joel Osteen
00:34:11.63\00:34:14.00
on the Larry King
live show one night,
00:34:15.23\00:34:17.36
Larry King just
recently retired I believe.
00:34:17.70\00:34:19.53
Joel Osteen was on
and Larry King was asking
00:34:20.96\00:34:23.76
him some very
difficult questions
00:34:23.76\00:34:25.16
and one of the
things he asked Joel Osteen
00:34:25.16\00:34:26.86
he says, do you
ever use the word sinner?
00:34:26.86\00:34:29.13
Joel Osteen, you can go online
00:34:30.33\00:34:31.66
and look at the
transcript of this.
00:34:31.66\00:34:33.03
Joel Osteen says, no,
you know that's a word
00:34:33.03\00:34:34.96
I never use.
Larry King replies that,
00:34:34.96\00:34:39.10
do you believe in the Bible?
00:34:39.10\00:34:40.26
People want teachers
now that will tell them
00:34:44.50\00:34:46.36
how to better
manage their money,
00:34:46.36\00:34:48.30
how to live a
more prosperous life,
00:34:49.46\00:34:51.26
how to be more
happy, how to find a better
00:34:51.26\00:34:54.36
spouse and not
that anything is wrong
00:34:54.36\00:34:56.26
with any of that.
But the problem is people
00:34:56.26\00:34:59.36
don't want the
word of God in a mess,
00:34:59.36\00:35:02.70
they don't want
to have to apply the
00:35:04.36\00:35:05.90
word of God to the
parts of their life
00:35:05.90\00:35:07.86
where they're failing God.
00:35:08.13\00:35:09.26
We wanna keep our secret sins
00:35:10.80\00:35:12.46
and hold them
tight and tuck them away
00:35:12.46\00:35:14.80
and incubate them,
and pretend that God
00:35:14.80\00:35:20.73
doesn't see what
we do on this lie.
00:35:20.73\00:35:22.90
And as the world and the
church gets more like that,
00:35:24.90\00:35:27.86
and I mean
Christendom in general.
00:35:27.86\00:35:29.23
As that happens,
they will start to ask
00:35:29.90\00:35:33.83
for preachers and
teachers who would teach them
00:35:33.83\00:35:36.46
what they want to hear.
00:35:36.46\00:35:37.50
And in fact, its that
pressure that is changing
00:35:41.00\00:35:43.20
the Seventh-day
Adventist Church.
00:35:43.20\00:35:44.46
And I shouldn't say change,
00:35:45.53\00:35:46.50
but that pressure is
on our church because
00:35:46.50\00:35:48.76
there are a lot
of pastors who simply
00:35:48.76\00:35:50.10
want the numbers.
We want to make sure
00:35:50.40\00:35:53.33
that we fill our churches,
00:35:53.33\00:35:54.56
we wanna show that
we baptize so many so.
00:35:54.56\00:35:56.83
There are a lot of people say,
00:35:56.83\00:35:57.83
you know what, maybe
if we don't talk about
00:35:57.83\00:35:59.43
the health message.
Maybe we do better at
00:35:59.70\00:36:03.33
bringing people
in. I was actually in a
00:36:03.33\00:36:06.86
evangelistic series
where they decided to do that,
00:36:07.53\00:36:10.40
I wasn't in it, I was a member
00:36:10.83\00:36:12.40
at a church in that small town.
00:36:12.40\00:36:13.46
And I'll never
forget, we have the baptism
00:36:14.66\00:36:16.66
that Sabbath and seven
00:36:16.66\00:36:18.13
or eight people got baptized,
00:36:18.13\00:36:19.30
it was a big
number for that church.
00:36:19.30\00:36:20.33
And on the way
home, one of the guys that
00:36:21.56\00:36:24.13
was just baptized,
lit up a cigarette,
00:36:24.13\00:36:26.30
was smoking, driving home
00:36:26.30\00:36:28.06
and I'm driving next
to him and I'm saying,
00:36:29.36\00:36:30.90
well you think the
brother would at least
00:36:31.70\00:36:33.03
wait until he got home to smoke.
00:36:33.03\00:36:35.60
And in there was a potluck
00:36:37.90\00:36:38.86
and he brought
something unclean.
00:36:38.86\00:36:40.23
I think he
brought like a pork dish
00:36:40.23\00:36:42.30
to the potluck,
and I said, let me pull
00:36:42.30\00:36:46.10
this brother aside and say,
00:36:46.10\00:36:47.10
you know you realize that
00:36:47.10\00:36:48.26
Seventh-day Adventist
Church there are certain
00:36:49.00\00:36:50.83
things we don't eat and then,
00:36:50.83\00:36:51.80
obviously if you're
struggling with smoking,
00:36:53.46\00:36:54.80
we can give you some
help with quitting nicotine,
00:36:54.80\00:36:56.73
but public smoking is
probably still a bad idea.
00:36:56.73\00:37:00.06
And he said, what? They
never told me any of this,
00:37:02.20\00:37:05.20
and he left the church
because he felt betrayed
00:37:08.00\00:37:10.76
as if he had
been conned into being
00:37:12.06\00:37:14.16
baptized into the church.
00:37:14.16\00:37:15.36
I think its only fear
that if you want someone
00:37:19.06\00:37:20.73
to join our
church that you upfront,
00:37:20.73\00:37:22.70
you tell them
what we believe, amen.
00:37:22.70\00:37:24.76
Scripture says in verse 4,
00:37:28.43\00:37:29.73
that they would
turn away their ears
00:37:29.73\00:37:31.40
from the truth,
and shall be turned
00:37:31.40\00:37:32.70
unto fables. Big
movements like the
00:37:33.10\00:37:36.30
Left Behind series.
Well it teach that Jesus
00:37:36.30\00:37:41.06
is gonna come and
take a select bunch
00:37:41.06\00:37:43.96
of people to heaven, and
then if you're left behind,
00:37:43.96\00:37:46.33
just wait seven
years and if you wait
00:37:46.33\00:37:49.33
till seven years,
its like the bus stop.
00:37:49.33\00:37:51.00
You know the bus will
come back around for you,
00:37:51.00\00:37:53.16
so you'll get a second chance.
00:37:53.16\00:37:54.23
These are fables,
not biblical at all.
00:37:56.30\00:37:59.46
But they have
been so popularized
00:38:01.23\00:38:02.80
in the last days.
So, Paul says in verse 5
00:38:02.80\00:38:09.63
to watch thou in all things.
00:38:09.63\00:38:11.26
He says, endure afflictions,
00:38:12.43\00:38:13.66
he says to Timothy, do
the work of an evangelist.
00:38:14.53\00:38:17.36
He says to make full
proof of your ministry.
00:38:18.00\00:38:20.50
He says in verse
6, For I am now ready
00:38:21.83\00:38:24.26
to be offered, and
the time of my departure
00:38:24.26\00:38:27.73
is at hand. Now you
realize he understood
00:38:28.20\00:38:33.23
that the Roman
powers would read this so.
00:38:33.23\00:38:35.03
I wonder if he was
thinking that old Nero
00:38:35.53\00:38:37.63
would be a bit
upset when reads that
00:38:37.63\00:38:39.83
Paul was not afraid of death.
00:38:39.83\00:38:41.90
You know you take
away the power from
00:38:44.03\00:38:45.56
your oppressor
or from your jailer,
00:38:45.56\00:38:48.43
or from your, or
in this case a person
00:38:48.43\00:38:50.83
who is really
trying to destroy you
00:38:50.83\00:38:52.60
and your movement.
The power is taken away
00:38:52.60\00:38:54.73
when they realize you
are not afraid of death.
00:38:54.73\00:38:57.36
Paul says, I'm
ready to be offered.
00:39:00.56\00:39:01.96
He says, and the time
of my departure is at hand,
00:39:02.90\00:39:06.66
because Paul did
something powerful.
00:39:06.66\00:39:08.60
Paul was not on the
defensive in dealing
00:39:10.10\00:39:12.66
with his captures.
In fact, when you read
00:39:13.33\00:39:16.56
in Acts 24: 25 or Acts 26:28
00:39:16.56\00:39:20.30
when he is dealing with Festus
00:39:20.30\00:39:21.90
and Felix and
Agrippa, when he is dealing
00:39:21.90\00:39:23.76
with these men, you realize that
00:39:23.76\00:39:25.70
Paul isn't
actually on the defensive.
00:39:25.70\00:39:27.80
Paul uses his
captivity as a tool
00:39:28.73\00:39:31.63
to be on the offensive.
00:39:31.63\00:39:33.23
He does what Jesus says
in Matthew 16 and verse 18,
00:39:34.66\00:39:38.50
where Christ
says to Peter, Peter,
00:39:38.50\00:39:40.73
you are upon this rock,
00:39:41.03\00:39:43.40
speaking of
himself Jesus Christ,
00:39:43.40\00:39:44.90
upon this rock I
will build my church;
00:39:44.90\00:39:47.26
and he says, and the
gates of hell shall not
00:39:47.26\00:39:50.16
prevail against
them. Are gates offensive
00:39:50.76\00:39:53.56
or defensive
pieces of equipment.
00:39:53.56\00:39:55.66
A gate is a defensive position,
00:39:56.90\00:39:58.86
you don't put up a
gate so you could run
00:39:58.86\00:40:00.56
people over. Somebody
ought to say amen, amen.
00:40:00.56\00:40:05.40
What Jesus was saying is that,
00:40:05.90\00:40:07.33
I am gonna build my
church and my church
00:40:07.33\00:40:09.56
is gonna run over
the gates of hell.
00:40:09.56\00:40:12.06
Someone must
have that in reverse,
00:40:13.13\00:40:14.60
you know we live
in fear. Oh listen,
00:40:14.60\00:40:16.80
Paul understood that
although he looked like
00:40:17.80\00:40:20.13
the prisoner, he
looked like the captive,
00:40:20.13\00:40:22.30
he looked like the
weak and feeble one
00:40:22.30\00:40:24.50
as he stood in front of Nero.
00:40:24.50\00:40:26.06
Paul understood that
with God he had all power
00:40:26.36\00:40:29.90
behind him, amen. And
Paul took his captivity
00:40:29.90\00:40:34.36
as an opportunity
to preach the gospel,
00:40:34.36\00:40:37.66
not just a common
man, but the gospel reached
00:40:38.50\00:40:41.80
so high that even in Acts 26:28,
00:40:41.80\00:40:45.26
one of the Roman
leaders says you have almost
00:40:45.26\00:40:47.60
convinced me of this thing.
00:40:47.60\00:40:49.13
Paul was on the offensive,
00:40:54.00\00:40:57.53
he was ready to die
if that's what it took
00:41:01.36\00:41:03.36
and in verse 7 of
Second Timothy, chapter 4,
00:41:05.16\00:41:07.80
he says, I have
fought a good fight,
00:41:09.10\00:41:11.46
I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith.
00:41:12.90\00:41:17.20
Paul understood the
importance of fighting
00:41:18.10\00:41:20.10
the fight of faith.
00:41:20.10\00:41:21.06
He said I fought a good fight,
00:41:22.10\00:41:23.63
I finished my
course, I have kept the faith
00:41:25.60\00:41:28.80
and I wonder as I read this,
00:41:28.80\00:41:30.86
if he wasn't writing so
that Nero would get this
00:41:32.36\00:41:34.96
Let's think back
for a second about Nero.
00:41:35.66\00:41:37.53
You see when
Nero entered his race,
00:41:38.70\00:41:41.26
Nero rode his ten horse chariot
00:41:42.83\00:41:46.03
and fell twice and
never finished the race.
00:41:46.73\00:41:49.13
I believe that
Paul knew that it wasn't
00:41:50.03\00:41:52.33
un-impossible that
Nero or those close to Nero
00:41:52.33\00:41:55.33
would read this
letter. And Paul is saying,
00:41:55.60\00:41:58.40
look Nero, you
didn't finish your race,
00:41:58.40\00:42:00.66
but guess what? I
have fought a good fight,
00:42:01.56\00:42:04.23
I have finished my race Nero.
00:42:04.96\00:42:06.63
You may not have
finished your race Nero,
00:42:08.10\00:42:09.83
but I finished
mine, I kept the faith.
00:42:10.20\00:42:12.56
Verse 8, Henceforth
there is laid up for me,
00:42:17.10\00:42:19.36
a crown of righteousness.
00:42:19.63\00:42:21.33
Nero, you got all of these paper
00:42:21.83\00:42:24.46
or plant based
crowns that are corruptible
00:42:24.46\00:42:27.50
and will rot away.
But Nero, I want you to
00:42:27.50\00:42:30.90
know something,
God is holding a crown
00:42:30.90\00:42:35.10
of righteousness for
me. You cheated to get your
00:42:35.10\00:42:39.26
crowns Nero, you
murdered to get the
00:42:39.26\00:42:41.96
crown of the emperor, you
cheated to get the crowns,
00:42:41.96\00:42:45.10
you got in the Olympics,
but my crown is a crown
00:42:45.10\00:42:48.90
of righteousness Nero.
He said, so it's the Lord,
00:42:48.90\00:42:54.16
the righteous judge
shall give me that day.
00:42:54.16\00:42:56.30
Paul is really
playing on the words I think,
00:42:58.03\00:42:59.90
because he is not
only saying to Nero
00:43:00.83\00:43:02.30
you didn't finish
your race I finished mine.
00:43:02.30\00:43:04.06
He is not only
saying you cheated
00:43:05.70\00:43:06.80
and got your
crowns, but I'm going to get
00:43:06.80\00:43:08.03
a crown of righteousness.
But Paul is also saying
00:43:08.03\00:43:11.16
something powerful here.
00:43:11.16\00:43:12.43
You bribed your judges Nero,
00:43:12.96\00:43:15.76
but my judge cannot be
bribed with your money.
00:43:17.06\00:43:19.76
Nero, you cannot
convince the God of the universe
00:43:20.56\00:43:23.06
to accept you because
of your earthly power,
00:43:23.06\00:43:25.66
or fame, or beauty.
Paul is saying to Nero,
00:43:25.66\00:43:30.00
listen, the judge,
the God of the universe
00:43:30.00\00:43:34.40
that you heard me speak
about is a righteous judge.
00:43:34.40\00:43:37.13
He says, the
righteous judge shall give me
00:43:40.26\00:43:43.70
at that day and he
says and not to me only,
00:43:43.70\00:43:46.50
I love this, but
unto all them that love
00:43:46.50\00:43:51.13
his appearing. You see
because after this Nero
00:43:52.53\00:43:57.16
left and went to
Greece, got into all kinds
00:43:57.16\00:44:00.66
of debotury and frivolity.
00:44:00.66\00:44:02.13
On his way back
from Greece he found out
00:44:04.16\00:44:06.00
that the empire
was in a rebellion.
00:44:06.00\00:44:08.70
Whole provinces,
insurrection had risen up
00:44:09.53\00:44:12.80
and Galba had been
pronounced as emperor.
00:44:12.80\00:44:17.06
Not only did Nero and
Paul live different lives,
00:44:19.43\00:44:22.03
they died different deaths.
00:44:23.36\00:44:25.70
Nero, when he found
out, he died second,
00:44:30.50\00:44:32.76
Paul died first, but
Nero when he found out
00:44:32.76\00:44:35.00
that they were coming for him
00:44:35.86\00:44:36.96
and he was in the
palace, he could heard
00:44:36.96\00:44:38.20
the armies coming
for him. No more bravery,
00:44:38.63\00:44:42.90
no more strength,
he collapses in fear.
00:44:44.46\00:44:48.53
He cries like a baby,
he thinks to kill himself,
00:44:50.50\00:44:55.70
but he is not even
brave enough to do that.
00:44:56.50\00:45:00.10
He fleas just outside
of the city with a few
00:45:01.46\00:45:04.60
of his closet
slaves. And he seeks to throw
00:45:04.60\00:45:09.13
himself off of a bridge
on his way out of the city
00:45:09.13\00:45:11.33
and drown
himself but he can't even
00:45:11.33\00:45:13.50
get the courage to do that.
00:45:13.50\00:45:14.70
He reaches to a secluded place
00:45:16.73\00:45:18.33
where he hides and
he pulls out his dagger
00:45:18.33\00:45:21.40
and in theatrical way
that he wanted to live,
00:45:21.40\00:45:24.20
he pulls out the
daggers and acts as
00:45:24.20\00:45:25.83
if he will kill
himself but he is still scared,
00:45:25.83\00:45:27.93
he drops the daggers
and falls to the ground.
00:45:27.93\00:45:30.73
Eventually, Nero
begs one of his slaves,
00:45:34.00\00:45:37.20
to run the
dagger through his neck.
00:45:38.00\00:45:39.63
Nero dies an
ignoble, inglorious death,
00:45:41.50\00:45:46.46
at the hand of a slave.
00:45:47.10\00:45:49.26
How different is Paul's death?
00:45:52.06\00:45:53.53
Paul died first,
history and tradition tell us
00:45:55.16\00:45:59.56
that as Paul is being led out,
00:45:59.56\00:46:01.36
Nero doesn't want
anyone to see Paul's death,
00:46:03.10\00:46:05.33
because Paul had this
funny thing about him.
00:46:05.33\00:46:08.16
It was as if Paul
just bumped into somebody,
00:46:08.80\00:46:11.50
they came to know
Jesus Christ, amen.
00:46:12.60\00:46:15.50
So, they said look,
isolate this brother
00:46:16.46\00:46:18.36
and if we're gonna
kill him only send him out
00:46:18.36\00:46:20.83
with the assassins
and let no one know
00:46:20.83\00:46:22.83
that he's gonna
die. But as the weak,
00:46:22.83\00:46:26.96
feeble, by now
emaciated Paul is being
00:46:27.50\00:46:31.50
led to be slaughtered.
Unlike the babbling,
00:46:31.50\00:46:37.90
crying Nero,
Paul is singing songs
00:46:37.90\00:46:42.03
of praise to his God.
00:46:42.03\00:46:43.23
The executioners
can't even understand it,
00:46:44.86\00:46:47.13
there is not an ounce
of fear on Paul's face.
00:46:48.40\00:46:50.96
He smiles at this
captors and at the executioners,
00:46:52.40\00:46:55.60
as they bring him
outside of the city
00:46:56.76\00:46:58.33
and kneel him down
and lay his head on
00:46:58.33\00:47:00.86
the block to kill
him. Before they can raise
00:47:00.86\00:47:05.10
a sword and take
the sword to his neck,
00:47:05.10\00:47:09.30
Paul is sure to
forgive them of what
00:47:11.03\00:47:14.86
they are about to do.
00:47:14.86\00:47:15.83
How different are Paul and Nero,
00:47:17.70\00:47:21.66
what a contrast
between the two men.
00:47:23.60\00:47:26.83
One died clinging to a crown
00:47:28.56\00:47:32.16
that was really never his,
00:47:32.73\00:47:34.16
while the other,
Paul dies with a face that
00:47:37.06\00:47:44.26
there is a crown
laid up, waiting for him.
00:47:44.26\00:47:48.30
GYC, let me tell you
that it's really important
00:47:51.73\00:47:54.83
that you claim your crown.
00:47:54.83\00:47:55.83
I want to close by
giving you some beautiful
00:47:59.40\00:48:02.43
scriptures about the crown.
00:48:02.43\00:48:03.40
James 1 and verse 12 said,
00:48:03.66\00:48:07.93
Blessed is the man
that endureth temptation:
00:48:07.93\00:48:11.50
for when he is tried,
00:48:12.53\00:48:13.70
he shall receive
the crown of life,
00:48:13.70\00:48:16.13
which the Lord
hath promised to them
00:48:17.13\00:48:19.16
that love him.
Paul understood that
00:48:19.16\00:48:22.93
if he could
endure he would receive
00:48:23.86\00:48:26.56
the crown of life. But
the Bible goes even further,
00:48:27.10\00:48:31.36
the last of the Apostles alive,
00:48:31.93\00:48:34.40
John the Revelator in Revelation
00:48:34.40\00:48:36.96
chapter 2 and verse 10,
00:48:37.50\00:48:40.63
Revelation
chapter 2 and verse 10
00:48:42.63\00:48:44.40
he says, Fear
none of these things,
00:48:47.10\00:48:50.26
which thou shalt
suffer: This is Jesus speaking
00:48:50.26\00:48:53.16
to the church at Smyrna.
00:48:53.16\00:48:54.76
Fear none of these
things, which thou shalt suffer.
00:48:55.26\00:48:57.43
Behold the devil shall
cast some of you into prison,
00:48:57.83\00:49:01.03
that you might
may be tried and ye,
00:49:01.40\00:49:03.23
and ye shall have
tribulation, ten days:
00:49:03.23\00:49:05.36
Be thou faithful unto death,
00:49:05.86\00:49:08.56
and I will give
you a crown of life.
00:49:09.56\00:49:14.06
Scripture says that
if you can be faithful
00:49:15.63\00:49:17.53
unto death and sometimes
00:49:17.73\00:49:19.20
we think that's the
death of the martyr,
00:49:19.20\00:49:20.90
but let me submit to
you that even before that,
00:49:20.90\00:49:23.80
that is death to
self, death to pride.
00:49:23.80\00:49:27.46
My favorite verse about crowns
00:49:31.40\00:49:33.33
is found in
Revelation chapter 3,
00:49:33.33\00:49:34.96
verses 10 and 11.
00:49:38.20\00:49:39.16
As Jesus is speaking to
the church of Philadelphia,
00:49:42.03\00:49:45.00
Revelations 3:10-11,
talking about claiming
00:49:46.30\00:49:49.76
your crown now,
verse 10 and 11 he says,
00:49:49.76\00:49:53.76
Because thou hast kept
the word of my patience,
00:49:53.76\00:49:56.66
I also will keep thee
from the hour of temptation,
00:49:57.56\00:50:01.20
you notice that it is
Jesus who does the keeping us,
00:50:03.43\00:50:05.33
of us from temptation.
00:50:05.73\00:50:06.86
He says, we shall
come upon all the world
00:50:07.70\00:50:09.53
to try them that
dwell upon the earth.
00:50:09.90\00:50:12.20
Verse 11 is
profound, verse 11 says,
00:50:12.80\00:50:16.50
Behold, I am coming quickly.
00:50:16.50\00:50:18.40
Hold that fast which thou hast,
00:50:19.70\00:50:22.40
that no man takes your crown.
00:50:23.63\00:50:26.83
Claim your crown
GYC, claim your crown.
00:50:29.10\00:50:33.43
We're told that
the angels in heaven
00:50:36.53\00:50:38.76
were seen resizing the crowns,
00:50:39.20\00:50:42.23
so that they would
fit someone else's head.
00:50:42.83\00:50:45.16
It is
imperative, it is important
00:50:46.70\00:50:49.26
that each of us claim the crown,
00:50:50.56\00:50:52.86
because the beauty
of this message is that
00:50:52.86\00:50:55.26
before anything
happens your crown is already
00:50:55.26\00:51:00.23
assigned to you.
The beauty of the
00:51:00.23\00:51:03.50
message is that your
name is already written
00:51:03.50\00:51:05.90
in the lamb's book of
life and what we must do
00:51:05.90\00:51:10.23
is live our lives so
that our names remain there.
00:51:10.23\00:51:13.30
We must live our
lives so that in the book
00:51:14.96\00:51:17.90
of works our pages are covered
00:51:17.90\00:51:21.16
in the blood red
of Jesus Christ, amen.
00:51:21.53\00:51:24.60
Claim your crown,
00:51:27.66\00:51:28.63
those verses were
very important to me
00:51:31.90\00:51:33.36
in Second Timothy chapter 4,
00:51:33.36\00:51:36.66
five years ago
when I got word that
00:51:38.80\00:51:42.43
my mother was
ill, she was suffering
00:51:42.43\00:51:46.50
from multiple myeloma.
00:51:46.50\00:51:47.83
Diagnosed at Jackson
Memorial Hospital in Miami
00:51:51.00\00:51:53.30
by one of our good
Adventist physicians
00:51:53.30\00:51:55.73
that worked there.
Let me encourage the
00:51:55.73\00:51:58.10
young people so
many of you come up to me
00:51:58.10\00:51:59.73
and said you're
interested in medicine,
00:51:59.73\00:52:00.93
let me tell you that
there is a powerful ministry
00:52:00.93\00:52:03.16
for Christian
physicians and health care
00:52:04.63\00:52:06.86
workers of all kinds.
And in a time when our
00:52:06.86\00:52:09.83
family was in
need and I was on the
00:52:09.83\00:52:11.43
West Coast and my
mother was in Miami,
00:52:11.43\00:52:13.03
it was powerful that
a Adventist physician
00:52:13.40\00:52:16.73
was able to show up
and properly diagnose
00:52:16.73\00:52:20.00
her when no one else did.
00:52:20.00\00:52:20.96
Multiple myeloma, I read in one
00:52:23.00\00:52:26.06
of my medical books
that it was two and half
00:52:26.06\00:52:29.50
to three year life expectancy.
00:52:29.50\00:52:31.30
When you raised three
sons and a single mother,
00:52:34.96\00:52:40.30
my father left when I
was just two years of age.
00:52:40.30\00:52:42.80
My mom was such a
beautiful Christian
00:52:45.50\00:52:47.00
she told us later
on that was probably
00:52:47.00\00:52:49.13
a good thing that he
left because he couldn't stand
00:52:49.13\00:52:50.76
a Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:52:50.76\00:52:52.00
and she would never
been able to raise us
00:52:53.56\00:52:55.16
in the church that saved us.
00:52:56.93\00:52:58.33
My mother went
through so much difficulty,
00:53:03.10\00:53:04.90
so much heartache in her life.
00:53:04.90\00:53:06.20
And now at the end,
she was battling cancer.
00:53:07.80\00:53:10.10
She fought valiantly
for two or three years,
00:53:14.26\00:53:16.30
however long it was
and finally my brother
00:53:16.30\00:53:18.73
called me and told me I
needed to come to Miami.
00:53:21.50\00:53:22.46
I got off the plane,
my brother is a pretty
00:53:24.36\00:53:26.06
tough guy, he was crying.
00:53:26.06\00:53:27.26
As he picked me up in his car
00:53:28.06\00:53:29.23
and we went to the
hospital to see her
00:53:29.23\00:53:30.90
in a never forget
walking and seeing my mother
00:53:30.90\00:53:33.60
from the cancer
and the chemotherapy.
00:53:33.60\00:53:36.30
So shriveled up, so skinny,
00:53:39.16\00:53:40.86
her natural short hair,
00:53:42.40\00:53:43.60
seeing her that
sick for the first time,
00:53:48.93\00:53:50.63
I couldn't take
it and I retreated
00:53:53.13\00:53:54.70
into the
bathroom, fell on my knees
00:53:54.70\00:53:58.10
and I began to agonize with God.
00:53:58.10\00:54:00.06
Lord, after all this
woman did in service to you,
00:54:01.43\00:54:05.06
pathfinder leader,
treasurer for the church.
00:54:06.63\00:54:08.73
Lord, she was so
faithful for so many years,
00:54:10.66\00:54:13.16
how could you
allow your daughter
00:54:14.60\00:54:16.86
to go out like this.
00:54:16.86\00:54:18.06
I began to agonize with God,
00:54:20.66\00:54:22.40
Lord, if you are a God of mercy,
00:54:22.96\00:54:25.76
why is she suffering like this.
00:54:26.56\00:54:28.20
I was sobbing,
kneeling on a floor
00:54:30.96\00:54:33.43
in the bathroom
of her hospital room.
00:54:35.06\00:54:37.10
Ironically the
hospital that she was
00:54:38.46\00:54:40.80
an administrator in
the Sylvester Comprehensive
00:54:40.80\00:54:43.70
Cancer Center in Miami, Florida.
00:54:43.70\00:54:45.13
Sobbing and agonizing with God.
00:54:47.63\00:54:49.46
And I will never
forget, as I was there crying
00:54:50.73\00:54:56.70
it was if a voice
spoke to me and said,
00:54:56.70\00:54:59.23
don't worry about your mother.
00:55:00.86\00:55:02.06
She has been
perfected, and it dawned on me
00:55:03.53\00:55:10.70
that the verse 7
and 8 of the 4th chapter
00:55:12.46\00:55:16.00
of Second Timothy
applied to my mother.
00:55:16.00\00:55:18.00
She was happy, in
fact we sang what a friend
00:55:18.00\00:55:22.93
we have in Jesus.
00:55:22.93\00:55:24.06
All the way till she
fell asleep in Jesus.
00:55:24.06\00:55:26.33
She was fine
with going to sleep,
00:55:27.93\00:55:31.03
because she was
ready to see her Jesus.
00:55:31.03\00:55:33.73
She was ready
to claim her crown,
00:55:37.26\00:55:38.76
as the appeal song is sung,
00:55:40.30\00:55:41.66
you wanna make sure
you claim your crown
00:55:43.60\00:55:45.46
I just want you to
join me now upfront.
00:55:45.46\00:55:47.03
You wanna claim that crown.
00:55:49.93\00:55:51.60
I will change your name
00:56:01.06\00:56:08.90
You shall no longer be called
00:56:09.60\00:56:17.63
Wounded,
outcast Lonely or afraid
00:56:18.23\00:56:34.70
I will change your
name Your new name shall be
00:56:35.20\00:56:51.10
Confidence,
joyfulness Overcoming one
00:56:51.86\00:57:07.83
Faithfulness, friend of God
00:57:08.70\00:57:16.30
One who seeks my face.
00:57:16.90\00:57:24.66
I will change your name
00:57:25.26\00:57:33.00
You shall no longer be called
00:57:33.00\00:57:40.80
Wounded,
outcast Lonely or afraid
00:57:41.46\00:57:57.30
I will change your name
00:57:57.30\00:58:05.16
Your new name
shall be Confidence.
00:58:05.73\00:58:17.33