Participants: Dr. Eric Walsh
Series Code: 10GYC
Program Code: 10GYC000011
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00:32 Make me know your presence Lord,
00:38 the King of Glory here. 00:43 You know each thought and action, 00:48 hope, anxiety and fear. 00:54 How can I hide from Thee? 00:59 Can darkness hide iniquity? 01:05 Oh how can I unfaithful be, 01:10 when You are very near to me? 01:22 When God is near, all the world seems far away. 01:33 When God is near, every fear is set aside. 01:43 When God is near, 01:49 how can I stray? How can I falter? 01:54 I'll stay upon the altar, I know my God is near. 02:16 Make me know Your presence Lord, 02:21 when I feel so alone. 02:26 You know each trial and testing pain, 02:32 the hurt that is unknown. 02:37 Oh, why can I not see 02:42 Your hand so firmly guiding me? 02:47 Oh how can I untrusting be, 02:52 when You are very near to me? 03:04 When God is near, all the world seems far away. 03:14 When God is near, every fear is set aside. 03:24 When God is near, 03:29 how can I stray? How can I falter? 03:35 I'll stay upon the altar, 03:39 I know my God is near. 03:48 When God is near, all the world seems far away. 03:59 When God is near, every fear is set aside. 04:09 When God is near, 04:14 how can I stray? How can I falter? 04:20 I'll stay upon the altar, 04:25 I know my God is near. 04:32 My God is near, my God is near. 04:37 My God is near, I know my God is near, 04:49 My God is near. Amen. 05:17 Good evening GYC. Good evening. 05:20 How many enjoyed your Sabbath, here in Baltimore. 05:25 And it was a high Sabbath, we didn't just have a 05:28 New Year celebration, praise God, 05:31 we were able to keep God's holy Sabbath day as well. 05:34 And it was a wonderful experience last night 05:37 as I was slowly making my way back to the hotel, 05:41 I saw where a whole group of young people 05:44 just broke out in songs of praise 05:48 in one of the upper open areas. 05:51 And it was so powerful that I actually just went 05:54 up on an upper level and looked down on it 05:56 and just thanked God for the outpouring 05:59 of His Holy Spirit as the young people just sang. 06:02 And I could just imagine that they were angels, 06:05 that were so pleased to see God's people in praise. 06:09 As the rest of the world was in partying 06:11 and frivolity, God's people were praising Him 06:15 to bring in a New Year. And I just ask that God 06:18 would bless us as we look at what is going 06:22 to take place in 2011, some of the things 06:24 that they have been presenting here tonight, 06:25 like Babylon rising, these things are exciting. 06:29 I don't know if you've ever been to Vegas, 06:31 but they call it Sin City for a reason. 06:33 And so I asked that God would be with them 06:36 as they go into Las Vegas 06:37 and bring the gospel truth, his precious end time 06:42 message to the city of Las Vegas. 06:44 We will be praying for them, amen, amen. 06:47 Yesterday also, I was able to go 06:48 to some of the booths after, we were talking, 06:51 we actually wind up having our own little 06:52 church service over here in front of Vision 06:55 and Little Light studios, booths over here, 06:59 and I just want to say after meeting them 07:01 that I'm gonna be a strong 07:04 supporter of their ministry. 07:05 I'm really trying to get more people 07:06 at least in my area in Southern California 07:08 to see what they're doing. 07:10 I want to say that we should have a 07:12 spirit of team work. If the people of God 07:15 work together guess what happens? 07:17 Synergy happens. And more happens 07:20 when we work together and when 07:22 we support one another, then if we try 07:24 and or do it by ourselves. 07:26 So, we ought to have a spirit of not just unity 07:29 but of synergy. Working together 07:31 to finish God's work on earth. 07:34 I want to ask you to turn with me in your 07:36 Bibles tonight to Second Timothy chapter 4, 07:39 Second Timothy Chapter 4 07:44 and I am going to read verses 7 and 8, 07:47 Second Timothy Chapter 4, verses 7 and 8, 07:58 word of God says, I have fought a good fight, 08:02 I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, 08:08 Henceforth there is laid up for me a 08:10 crown of righteousness, which the Lord, 08:14 the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, 08:18 and not to me only, but unto all them 08:22 also that love his appearing. 08:28 Our message tonight is entitled, 08:31 claim your crown, claim your crown. 08:37 Let us pray. Father God, we thank you 08:40 for bringing us together again here at GYC for 08:44 another evening service. 08:48 I ask right now Lord that you make me 08:50 just the nail upon the wall, 08:52 a rusty, sorry nail Lord. But I ask Lord, 08:57 that you would hang a portrait of Jesus Christ 08:59 upon that nail. So that tonight Lord, 09:02 Eric Walsh is not seen or heard. 09:05 Instead Father God, I ask that we would 09:08 hear a message from the very throne room of grace. 09:12 This is our prayer in Jesus' name, 09:15 let the church say amen, amen. 09:19 As Paul was laying in the dungeon 09:22 and he is dealing with the difficulties 09:25 of being alone, he tells us in Second Timothy 09:28 that most have actually deserted him 09:32 and have left him alone. Paul as he is laying on 09:37 the floor in the dungeon, soldiers come running 09:41 down the stairs and they grab the Apostle Paul. 09:45 They shake him up and tell him it is time for him 09:49 to go and stand in the hall of justice. 09:55 I could imagine as Paul is dragged through 09:58 the streets of Rome that many of the soldiers 10:02 or some of the soldiers would have whispered 10:03 to him, Paul, make sure when you get here 10:07 and you have an audience with these dignitaries 10:10 and with the Emperor that Paul, you don't lift 10:13 up the name of Jesus. Paul, if you do that, 10:17 they will put you to death. 10:22 As Paul is dragged into this hall. 10:28 As he enters in, there are dignitaries 10:30 from all over the Roman Empire, 10:33 seated in array before the Emperor Nero. 10:38 But not only are these dignitaries present 10:42 outside of the hall, the regular citizens, 10:47 the street common person of Rome, 10:51 is gathered outside pressing in, 10:53 wanting to hear what would happen to someone 10:56 who was so hated by Rome. 10:59 You see by lying on the Christians 11:01 and hence lying on Paul they got all in 11:05 Rome to believe that Paul was responsible 11:08 for the fire that destroyed 3/4ths of the city. 11:12 He was a hated man by this point for those 11:15 who did not know him. And so there was a 11:18 crowd kind of reminiscent of 11:21 the kind of attention that something like the 11:24 O.J. Simpson trial received. 11:30 But Paul was in chains when he was brought in, 11:35 and he, and most of the people there would 11:38 have thought that Paul was a prisoner of Nero. 11:42 But Paul makes it clear in his writings that Paul 11:45 was a prisoner of Jesus Christ. 11:47 Paul makes it clear that he was only in chains 11:51 because he chose to be a servant of Jesus Christ. 11:59 And at one point in that terrible night, the aged, 12:07 feeble Apostle Paul is brought to stand 12:12 face-to-face with the Emperor Nero. 12:17 Paul, God's most powerful agent on earth, 12:24 stands before the most powerful human 12:26 being on earth. Nero, in essence, 12:31 the ruler of the world, stands before Paul, 12:36 who is the servant of the King of the Universe. 12:41 Spirit of Prophecy, as well as the ancient 12:45 historians tell us that there has been no 12:48 greater contrast between two men. 12:52 As when the Apostle Paul stands face-to-face 12:58 with the great Emperor of Rome, what a contrast? 13:04 You see Nero came to power on a river of blood, 13:11 his mother, Agrippina the second, 13:14 married his uncle, Claudius Caesar, 13:18 Claudius Caesar was known to be a weak emperor 13:21 and Agrippina was told by astrologists 13:24 that her son, Nero, would one day rule Rome. 13:27 And so she jockeyed her position and actually 13:31 assisted in the death of Claudius wife and then 13:34 married a man she was related to. 13:37 She got her son in position and once 13:40 she got Claudius to say that Nero in 13:44 case of Claudius' death would be made emperor, 13:48 it wasn't very long before Claudius was dead. 13:51 After Claudius died, Nero's stepbrother 13:55 Britannica, most loved of all of the 13:58 Roman citizens, a noble young man was poisoned 14:02 at the dinner table while all of them 14:04 sat there and ate. Leaving Nero alone 14:09 to rule the well known world as the Emperor 14:14 of the Roman empire. But I learned a long 14:18 time ago there is no honor among thieves. 14:21 And it wasn't long after Nero took power that 14:26 he was looking to kill his own mother. 14:28 In fact, Nero had made multiple attempts 14:32 to kill his mother, most of them failed, 14:34 until finely he hired assassins and had his 14:37 mother killed at the hands of trained 14:41 professional assassins. Nero, when he married 14:46 Octavia, his first wife, divorced her 14:49 and then killed her and then his second wife, 14:51 he kicked to death shortly after marrying her, 14:55 because she asked him had been out chariot 14:58 racing that night. The contrast between 15:03 this bloody, murderous, hedonistic leader 15:07 and the simple, yet eloquent Apostle Paul 15:13 is a dramatic contrast, 15:18 because you see Nero had only three loves in life. 15:25 Nero loved poetry and singing, 15:29 in fact when he would sing and many of the senators 15:33 and the elite of Rome thought it was so beneath 15:37 the Emperor to try and perform. 15:40 I remember when Bill Clinton used to play the 15:42 saxophone there were those who kind of thought 15:44 the same thing. And he would sing 15:48 and the problem of course was 15:50 he had soldiers around the auditorium 15:52 and if someone when he was done singing 15:54 didn't clap loud enough or shout loud 15:57 enough for Nero, Nero had them put to death. 16:01 It was a capital crime, if when he performed, 16:05 enough people didn't applaud. 16:09 But he also thought he was an actor, 16:13 and living in California everybody thinks 16:15 they're actors. And so he would go 16:19 and he would perform in the theater 16:21 and if the people didn't like his performance, 16:23 if he thought someone didn't appreciate 16:26 his performance, Nero would have that 16:28 individual put to death. 16:31 But his other great love, 16:33 his third great love was chariot racing. 16:36 Nero loved to race chariots, 16:39 horse drawn chariots and he was so in such 16:44 love with it, that I told you on the first night 16:45 that even when he began the persecution 16:48 of the Christians, because of the burning 16:52 of Rome and trying to deflect the blame from 16:54 off of himself, Nero would use the Christians, 16:57 put them up on posts and set them on fire 17:00 and he would drive his chariots through 17:03 the burning torches that were Christians. 17:09 So much he loved charioteering that 17:11 Nero decided to postpone 1865 Olympics 17:16 for two years so he could practice. 17:20 Being the Emperor, he delayed the great 17:22 Greek games for two years and he practiced 17:25 chariot racing, but Nero was a crooked type of guy. 17:29 So what he did was he bribed the judges 17:31 and when the time came for him to race in 1867, 17:35 Nero, when everyone else only had four horses 17:38 on their chariot, Nero had ten horses on his. 17:45 It's kind of funny because not only 17:47 did he have ten horses but he wasn't really 17:49 that good of a charioteer as you would imagine. 17:51 And so, in the race after bribing the judges 17:54 to allow him to have ten horses, 17:56 he doesn't fall once as he's racing, 17:59 he falls twice as he is racing. 18:01 In fact, there are some historians who say that 18:03 he almost died, one from the second 18:05 fall from the chariot. In fact, Nero never 18:12 finishes the race. I will say that again, 18:16 because its important, Nero never finishes 18:19 the race, but he bribed the judges 18:23 so well and being the Emperor of Rome. 18:26 The judges make a decision that had 18:28 he finished the race, he was so good that had 18:32 he finished the race he would have won the race. 18:41 History tell us that he began to tour all over, 18:44 collecting crowns from all of the 18:47 different races in Greece. 18:53 And ironically, he began to collect the crowns 18:55 and brought all of the crowns back to Rome, 19:00 he put them on separate chariots 19:03 and had them displayed. He wore one on his head 19:06 and he rode back into Rome triumphant 19:10 with the plant crowns of the Olympics, 19:14 bragging as if he had gone 19:17 and won the race fair and square. 19:25 Paul is a different man, Paul had traveled 19:28 all over the empire as well, but he had not 19:31 traveled all over the empire looking to gain 19:34 crowns that would not last, crowns that 19:38 as he says in First Corinthians 9:24-27, 19:42 Paul says that those crowns were corruptible. 19:45 Paul had gone around the empire and he had been 19:48 building up churches and training people 19:50 for ministry. He had been preaching the gospel, 19:53 he had been debating and winning over 19:57 the Gentiles and even the Jews. 20:00 Paul, unlike Nero, did not have to buy affection. 20:05 It was said that if Nero had his eye on a woman 20:07 and she did not take his advances, 20:09 then he would instantly command 20:11 that she be put to death. Paul on the other hand, 20:16 the striking contrast between the two men. 20:19 Paul, when he would leave, be-leaving a 20:22 church and the church would come together 20:24 to pray for Paul. That when Paul was leaving, 20:27 the people of the church would fall on him 20:29 and kiss him and tell him they loved him, 20:32 and Paul didn't have to buy their affection. 20:42 Well, let me tell you what happens as 20:43 Paul and Nero face off. 20:46 The time comes for Paul to defend himself, 20:49 because he was so hated in Rome 20:51 that he could not find any attorney 20:55 or any legal representation for himself. 20:58 So, Paul had to defend himself, 21:01 but it worked to God's glory. 21:05 Because although Paul was warned that 21:07 if he went up in front of this group of dignitaries 21:10 and for the waiting mob to hear. 21:13 Although he was warned, that if he lifted up the 21:15 name of Jesus, history in a spread of Prophecy 21:19 he tells us that when Paul stands at a podium, 21:22 probably more beautiful that this one 21:24 and begins to speak. He preaches his most 21:27 powerful sermon. So powerful a sermon 21:32 that many of the people in the room, 21:34 who came to see him convicted and put to death, 21:37 actually their hearts melt and they are convinced 21:40 or convicted of the reality of Jesus Christ. 21:44 Amen. In fact, when you read the Spirit 21:48 of Prophecy and the book, Acts of the Apostles, 21:50 face, and the chapter that describes when Paul 21:53 and Nero come face-to-face, 21:55 Ellen White tells us that even Nero, 21:59 a light from heaven shines down through the dark, 22:03 seemingly impenetrable soul, that is Nero, 22:07 and even Nero begins to contemplate eternity. 22:14 Because you see, Paul doesn't go up there 22:17 and preach a weak sermon, Paul preaches 22:22 a sermon on the judgment. 22:24 Paul stands before this big and respectable 22:30 crowd of people and Paul says, listen, 22:33 one day every single one of you is going to have 22:36 to stand before the very judgment seat of the 22:39 living God. Paul says he's a loving God 22:43 and he's a merciful God, but if you stand 22:46 before him, and you stand before him uncovered 22:49 by the blood of his son, untouched by the grace 22:52 and mercy that is embodied in his son 22:55 Christ Jesus, you will not be able to stand. 23:01 The Emperor Nero begins to realize that 23:05 all of the sick and twisted, debotury acts 23:09 that he's performed. Well, one day, he will 23:11 have to give an answer for. And in that moment, 23:17 he begins to contemplate his own eternity. 23:23 Paul preached the God of the universe; 23:26 Nero preached that he was God. 23:30 In fact, people set up alters to Nero 23:33 and they would worship him. 23:35 And when Nero built his palace, 23:38 like I said last night, he erected a 120 foot 23:41 statue in honor of himself. 23:45 What a contrast between Nero and Paul. 23:50 But I submit to you, it was a powerful sermon. 23:54 And as Paul is being dragged back to his 23:57 dungeon after preaching the sermon, 24:00 you can imagine that they are those whispering 24:03 he's finished, they're gonna kill him. 24:08 But Paul writes the book of Second Timothy 24:11 after that incident and I want to read 24:14 Second Timothy chapter 4 starting at verse 1, 24:18 I want you to understand that after his experience 24:21 with this crazy tyrant Nero, he pens words 24:24 that are powerful. He says, I charged thee 24:30 therefore, Second Timothy chapter 4 and verse 1 24:34 he says, I charge thee therefore before God 24:37 and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge 24:39 the quick and the dead at his appearing 24:41 and his kingdom. Preach the word. 24:46 He says, be instant in season, out of season. 24:51 He says, to reprove, to rebuke, to exhort 24:56 with all longsuffering and doctrine. 25:00 Paul does not send Timothy out on a mission 25:04 to be liked by everyone, don't miss this. 25:09 He does not send Timothy out 25:11 to win a popularity contest. 25:13 He does not expect that Timothy is going to go 25:17 and give the gospel and by giving the gospel, 25:21 it will be so fussy and round that everyone 25:23 will just be drawn to Timothy and he will be 25:26 popular and liked. And he can sell a 25:28 whole bunch of DVDs and books. 25:35 No, Paul says, when you preach, 25:40 things should be reproved, sin should be rebuked, 25:46 you should exhort. But he says that this 25:50 must be done with all longsuffering and doctrine. 26:00 Difficult for me to talk about this, 26:02 but last night, when I was preaching 26:04 there were some who approached me later 26:06 and said that I offended them. 26:10 Because I brought up one of my stories, 26:13 when I was really not talking about 26:14 what I thought they thought I was talking about, 26:16 but the issue of transsexual. 26:20 And I want to say that if I offended someone 26:23 because they thought I was making a joke 26:25 about individuals I wasn't. 26:27 But I even challenged them to go back 26:29 and watch last night's presentation 26:31 and see that I didn't laugh, I wasn't joking 26:33 at all. In fact, being a physician, 26:37 one of the things I have learned is that, 26:39 when people are in that situation 26:42 and I've worked in HIV and AIDS for many years 26:44 and I have many patients in that situation. 26:47 It is probably one of the most difficult, 26:50 confusing, challenging and in the end, 26:54 from a purely medical and health standpoint, 26:56 one of the most detrimental places 26:58 a person can be. So I don't find it funny 27:01 and I was not making a joke. 27:04 But I want to say that on the other hand, 27:06 I don't know that I would be a preacher 27:09 of the gospel of the Jesus Christ, 27:11 if somehow I wasn't plain in saying what 27:15 the Bible says about it, amen. 27:17 I don't know if I should be more worried about 27:20 being offensive to people or if I should be more 27:24 worried about offending the living God, amen. 27:28 And believe me, I take this stuff very seriously, 27:32 its life and its death. I understand 27:36 the consequences of the words that we speak 27:38 when we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. 27:41 But Paul says, Dr. Walsh like, 27:44 he says to every other person who will stand 27:46 and deliver the word of God through Bible study 27:48 or preaching. When you take the Bible 27:51 and you stand in the place where the gospel 27:54 can be preached or shared, you take 27:56 on a very serious responsibility, amen. 28:01 Because one day, every individual is 28:04 going to have to stand before the very judgment 28:07 seat of the living God. And what if I am 28:10 the only person that might have spoken a 28:13 word of warning to an individual, 28:15 who is going off course. 28:19 What kind of love is it 28:21 if you know a house is burning, 28:22 and you're afraid to run inside and shout fire. 28:29 Paul says, we must be longsuffering 28:31 and I will admit that sometimes we as 28:34 Adventists have been very short suffering. 28:38 But there are times when we are so concerned 28:41 what people are doing, we forget to ask the 28:43 harder question, who do they know? 28:46 Sometimes we can't jump the gun and say, 28:49 look, put down that cigarette, 28:50 put down the alcohol, lose the weight, 28:52 do those things and never really ask the 28:54 hard question, are they doing what they're doing, 28:56 because there is a God size hole in their heart? 29:00 And one of the things I learned in the addiction 29:03 medicine clinic, that I used to work in at the 29:05 Veterans Hospital in Loma Linda. 29:07 When those former addicts would be coming 29:09 out of their addictions to heroine and cocaine 29:12 and crystal methamphetamine 29:14 and alcohol, and they would stand together 29:17 and they would chant at the end of their meetings, 29:18 and one of things I used to love them, 29:20 hear them say is when they said, 29:21 God made the human heart so big that only 29:27 He can fill it, amen. We must be longsuffering, 29:33 because we have to understand that there 29:34 are a lot of people who have this God sized 29:37 hole in their heart and the behaviors that 29:39 we see them doing are really only a reflection 29:42 of the fact that they do not have the kind of 29:45 relationship with God that fills the hole. 29:48 And then once they're introduced to Jesus Christ 29:52 and their peace and the peace is given to them, 29:54 that passes all understanding, 29:56 that comes from a relationship with 29:58 Jesus Christ. All of a sudden, how easy is it. 30:04 For the things that used to, 30:05 the sins and the things that used to 30:07 so easily beset them, to be shaken off 30:09 and tossed aside. But there were times 30:13 when I was involved in things in my life that 30:14 I thought I could never get out of. 30:17 I honestly thought at times I was trapped 30:19 in certain behaviors, certain things about 30:22 my life and lifestyle and I thought 30:23 I could never be delivered. 30:24 But it was as I studied the word, 30:26 as I prayed and what I learned is that 30:29 I had to learn to stop focusing in Morris Venden 30:33 writes well on this. I had to stop focusing on 30:37 what I was doing and switch my focus 30:39 from my behaviors onto Christ, amen. 30:42 And what I learned was that as long as my focus 30:45 we on not doing things, I failed miserably. 30:50 Because I was not fighting the fight of faith, 30:52 I was fighting the fight of works. 30:55 And what happened is, once I learned, 30:57 you know what, let me just put Christ first, 30:59 I can't win the battle over here, 31:01 I keep losing the battle over here. 31:03 I can't give up cheese. 31:07 Some of you all thought I was going 31:08 to say something real drastic. 31:11 Praise God he delivered me from cheese, 31:13 somebody else say amen, amen. 31:15 I can't give up milk or cheese or whatever it is, 31:19 nightclubs at one time in my life. 31:20 I can't give it up, but maybe if I just focus 31:23 on Jesus Christ and you know what happens? 31:28 You can't focus on Jesus 31:30 and then walk into a nightclub. Amen. 31:32 All of a sudden you see the place differently, 31:35 all of a sudden the demonic influences 31:37 of that nightclub, the demonic influences 31:40 of the alcohol, the demonic influences 31:42 of whatever it is that's in your life 31:44 of that bad relation, the person you're being 31:47 intimate with, that God has, 31:48 that you have no business being 31:50 intimate with. As you draw closer to Christ, 31:53 the spirit of God falls on you 31:55 and the love of Christ begins to constrain you. 32:05 So, I tell addicts now, 32:06 in my practice, when I see patients 32:07 and they're dealing with stuff 32:08 and if they're a Christian, especially 32:10 if they're a Christian, I say listen, 32:12 the first battle you must fight is the 32:14 fight of faith. Because righteousness is by faith, 32:19 the just shall live by faith, 32:21 if you fight the fight of faith the behavior, 32:24 what God is gonna do is give you the knowledge 32:26 that stuff is wrong. 32:28 He'll tell you what's wrong as you study 32:29 God's word and you see 32:30 and you learn what's wrong, 32:31 but faith is what it takes for the spirit of God 32:34 to fill you, so that Jesus lives in you 32:37 and you stop living in your own self, amen. 32:40 Because some of us put more emphasis on 32:43 what we're doing then on Christ. 32:46 And I will submit to you that if you lift up 32:48 Jesus Christ in your life, 32:50 He will change your life, amen. 32:52 The Ten Commandments will no longer be ten rules, 32:57 they become ten promises. Amen. 33:00 That's why I love God. 33:02 He is not saying thou shall not, 33:03 he said don't worry, you won't do that, amen. 33:07 Don't worry you won't commit, 33:08 don't worry you're not going to steal. 33:10 Don't worry you are not going to murder 33:11 because I am in you, amen. 33:17 Paul says to preach the word, 33:18 be instant in season, out of season, 33:21 reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering 33:24 and doctrine. The scripture determines doctrine, 33:30 Amen. Amen. 33:32 So, when people come at me with stuff and it, 33:34 whether it is to the left or right, 33:35 so you can show me from the scripture. 33:38 You'll be amazed at how many arguments will end 33:40 if you say show me from the scripture. 33:47 Paul says in verse 3, For the time will come 33:52 when they will not endure sound doctrine; 33:55 but after their own lusts shall they heap 33:57 to themselves teachers, having itching ears. 34:02 Then they shall turn away their ears from the truth, 34:05 and shall be turned unto fables. 34:09 I saw someone who actually think 34:11 is a very nice man, a man named Joel Osteen 34:15 on the Larry King live show one night, 34:17 Larry King just recently retired I believe. 34:20 Joel Osteen was on and Larry King was asking 34:23 him some very difficult questions 34:25 and one of the things he asked Joel Osteen 34:26 he says, do you ever use the word sinner? 34:30 Joel Osteen, you can go online 34:31 and look at the transcript of this. 34:33 Joel Osteen says, no, you know that's a word 34:34 I never use. Larry King replies that, 34:39 do you believe in the Bible? 34:44 People want teachers now that will tell them 34:46 how to better manage their money, 34:49 how to live a more prosperous life, 34:51 how to be more happy, how to find a better 34:54 spouse and not that anything is wrong 34:56 with any of that. But the problem is people 34:59 don't want the word of God in a mess, 35:04 they don't want to have to apply the 35:05 word of God to the parts of their life 35:08 where they're failing God. 35:10 We wanna keep our secret sins 35:12 and hold them tight and tuck them away 35:14 and incubate them, and pretend that God 35:20 doesn't see what we do on this lie. 35:24 And as the world and the church gets more like that, 35:27 and I mean Christendom in general. 35:29 As that happens, they will start to ask 35:33 for preachers and teachers who would teach them 35:36 what they want to hear. 35:41 And in fact, its that pressure that is changing 35:43 the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 35:45 And I shouldn't say change, 35:46 but that pressure is on our church because 35:48 there are a lot of pastors who simply 35:50 want the numbers. We want to make sure 35:53 that we fill our churches, 35:54 we wanna show that we baptize so many so. 35:56 There are a lot of people say, 35:57 you know what, maybe if we don't talk about 35:59 the health message. Maybe we do better at 36:03 bringing people in. I was actually in a 36:07 evangelistic series where they decided to do that, 36:10 I wasn't in it, I was a member 36:12 at a church in that small town. 36:14 And I'll never forget, we have the baptism 36:16 that Sabbath and seven 36:18 or eight people got baptized, 36:19 it was a big number for that church. 36:21 And on the way home, one of the guys that 36:24 was just baptized, lit up a cigarette, 36:26 was smoking, driving home 36:29 and I'm driving next to him and I'm saying, 36:31 well you think the brother would at least 36:33 wait until he got home to smoke. 36:37 And in there was a potluck 36:38 and he brought something unclean. 36:40 I think he brought like a pork dish 36:42 to the potluck, and I said, let me pull 36:46 this brother aside and say, 36:47 you know you realize that 36:49 Seventh-day Adventist Church there are certain 36:50 things we don't eat and then, 36:53 obviously if you're struggling with smoking, 36:54 we can give you some help with quitting nicotine, 36:56 but public smoking is probably still a bad idea. 37:02 And he said, what? They never told me any of this, 37:08 and he left the church because he felt betrayed 37:12 as if he had been conned into being 37:14 baptized into the church. 37:19 I think its only fear that if you want someone 37:20 to join our church that you upfront, 37:22 you tell them what we believe, amen. 37:28 Scripture says in verse 4, 37:29 that they would turn away their ears 37:31 from the truth, and shall be turned 37:33 unto fables. Big movements like the 37:36 Left Behind series. Well it teach that Jesus 37:41 is gonna come and take a select bunch 37:43 of people to heaven, and then if you're left behind, 37:46 just wait seven years and if you wait 37:49 till seven years, its like the bus stop. 37:51 You know the bus will come back around for you, 37:53 so you'll get a second chance. 37:56 These are fables, not biblical at all. 38:01 But they have been so popularized 38:02 in the last days. So, Paul says in verse 5 38:09 to watch thou in all things. 38:12 He says, endure afflictions, 38:14 he says to Timothy, do the work of an evangelist. 38:18 He says to make full proof of your ministry. 38:21 He says in verse 6, For I am now ready 38:24 to be offered, and the time of my departure 38:28 is at hand. Now you realize he understood 38:33 that the Roman powers would read this so. 38:35 I wonder if he was thinking that old Nero 38:37 would be a bit upset when reads that 38:39 Paul was not afraid of death. 38:44 You know you take away the power from 38:45 your oppressor or from your jailer, 38:48 or from your, or in this case a person 38:50 who is really trying to destroy you 38:52 and your movement. The power is taken away 38:54 when they realize you are not afraid of death. 39:00 Paul says, I'm ready to be offered. 39:02 He says, and the time of my departure is at hand, 39:06 because Paul did something powerful. 39:10 Paul was not on the defensive in dealing 39:13 with his captures. In fact, when you read 39:16 in Acts 24: 25 or Acts 26:28 39:20 when he is dealing with Festus 39:21 and Felix and Agrippa, when he is dealing 39:23 with these men, you realize that 39:25 Paul isn't actually on the defensive. 39:28 Paul uses his captivity as a tool 39:31 to be on the offensive. 39:34 He does what Jesus says in Matthew 16 and verse 18, 39:38 where Christ says to Peter, Peter, 39:41 you are upon this rock, 39:43 speaking of himself Jesus Christ, 39:44 upon this rock I will build my church; 39:47 and he says, and the gates of hell shall not 39:50 prevail against them. Are gates offensive 39:53 or defensive pieces of equipment. 39:56 A gate is a defensive position, 39:58 you don't put up a gate so you could run 40:00 people over. Somebody ought to say amen, amen. 40:05 What Jesus was saying is that, 40:07 I am gonna build my church and my church 40:09 is gonna run over the gates of hell. 40:13 Someone must have that in reverse, 40:14 you know we live in fear. Oh listen, 40:17 Paul understood that although he looked like 40:20 the prisoner, he looked like the captive, 40:22 he looked like the weak and feeble one 40:24 as he stood in front of Nero. 40:26 Paul understood that with God he had all power 40:29 behind him, amen. And Paul took his captivity 40:34 as an opportunity to preach the gospel, 40:38 not just a common man, but the gospel reached 40:41 so high that even in Acts 26:28, 40:45 one of the Roman leaders says you have almost 40:47 convinced me of this thing. 40:54 Paul was on the offensive, 41:01 he was ready to die if that's what it took 41:05 and in verse 7 of Second Timothy, chapter 4, 41:09 he says, I have fought a good fight, 41:12 I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 41:18 Paul understood the importance of fighting 41:20 the fight of faith. 41:22 He said I fought a good fight, 41:25 I finished my course, I have kept the faith 41:28 and I wonder as I read this, 41:32 if he wasn't writing so that Nero would get this 41:35 Let's think back for a second about Nero. 41:38 You see when Nero entered his race, 41:42 Nero rode his ten horse chariot 41:46 and fell twice and never finished the race. 41:50 I believe that Paul knew that it wasn't 41:52 un-impossible that Nero or those close to Nero 41:55 would read this letter. And Paul is saying, 41:58 look Nero, you didn't finish your race, 42:01 but guess what? I have fought a good fight, 42:04 I have finished my race Nero. 42:08 You may not have finished your race Nero, 42:10 but I finished mine, I kept the faith. 42:17 Verse 8, Henceforth there is laid up for me, 42:19 a crown of righteousness. 42:21 Nero, you got all of these paper 42:24 or plant based crowns that are corruptible 42:27 and will rot away. But Nero, I want you to 42:30 know something, God is holding a crown 42:35 of righteousness for me. You cheated to get your 42:39 crowns Nero, you murdered to get the 42:41 crown of the emperor, you cheated to get the crowns, 42:45 you got in the Olympics, but my crown is a crown 42:48 of righteousness Nero. He said, so it's the Lord, 42:54 the righteous judge shall give me that day. 42:58 Paul is really playing on the words I think, 43:00 because he is not only saying to Nero 43:02 you didn't finish your race I finished mine. 43:05 He is not only saying you cheated 43:06 and got your crowns, but I'm going to get 43:08 a crown of righteousness. But Paul is also saying 43:11 something powerful here. 43:12 You bribed your judges Nero, 43:17 but my judge cannot be bribed with your money. 43:20 Nero, you cannot convince the God of the universe 43:23 to accept you because of your earthly power, 43:25 or fame, or beauty. Paul is saying to Nero, 43:30 listen, the judge, the God of the universe 43:34 that you heard me speak about is a righteous judge. 43:40 He says, the righteous judge shall give me 43:43 at that day and he says and not to me only, 43:46 I love this, but unto all them that love 43:52 his appearing. You see because after this Nero 43:57 left and went to Greece, got into all kinds 44:00 of debotury and frivolity. 44:04 On his way back from Greece he found out 44:06 that the empire was in a rebellion. 44:09 Whole provinces, insurrection had risen up 44:12 and Galba had been pronounced as emperor. 44:19 Not only did Nero and Paul live different lives, 44:23 they died different deaths. 44:30 Nero, when he found out, he died second, 44:32 Paul died first, but Nero when he found out 44:35 that they were coming for him 44:36 and he was in the palace, he could heard 44:38 the armies coming for him. No more bravery, 44:44 no more strength, he collapses in fear. 44:50 He cries like a baby, he thinks to kill himself, 44:56 but he is not even brave enough to do that. 45:01 He fleas just outside of the city with a few 45:04 of his closet slaves. And he seeks to throw 45:09 himself off of a bridge on his way out of the city 45:11 and drown himself but he can't even 45:13 get the courage to do that. 45:16 He reaches to a secluded place 45:18 where he hides and he pulls out his dagger 45:21 and in theatrical way that he wanted to live, 45:24 he pulls out the daggers and acts as 45:25 if he will kill himself but he is still scared, 45:27 he drops the daggers and falls to the ground. 45:34 Eventually, Nero begs one of his slaves, 45:38 to run the dagger through his neck. 45:41 Nero dies an ignoble, inglorious death, 45:47 at the hand of a slave. 45:52 How different is Paul's death? 45:55 Paul died first, history and tradition tell us 45:59 that as Paul is being led out, 46:03 Nero doesn't want anyone to see Paul's death, 46:05 because Paul had this funny thing about him. 46:08 It was as if Paul just bumped into somebody, 46:12 they came to know Jesus Christ, amen. 46:16 So, they said look, isolate this brother 46:18 and if we're gonna kill him only send him out 46:20 with the assassins and let no one know 46:22 that he's gonna die. But as the weak, 46:27 feeble, by now emaciated Paul is being 46:31 led to be slaughtered. Unlike the babbling, 46:37 crying Nero, Paul is singing songs 46:42 of praise to his God. 46:44 The executioners can't even understand it, 46:48 there is not an ounce of fear on Paul's face. 46:52 He smiles at this captors and at the executioners, 46:56 as they bring him outside of the city 46:58 and kneel him down and lay his head on 47:00 the block to kill him. Before they can raise 47:05 a sword and take the sword to his neck, 47:11 Paul is sure to forgive them of what 47:14 they are about to do. 47:17 How different are Paul and Nero, 47:23 what a contrast between the two men. 47:28 One died clinging to a crown 47:32 that was really never his, 47:37 while the other, Paul dies with a face that 47:44 there is a crown laid up, waiting for him. 47:51 GYC, let me tell you that it's really important 47:54 that you claim your crown. 47:59 I want to close by giving you some beautiful 48:02 scriptures about the crown. 48:03 James 1 and verse 12 said, 48:07 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: 48:12 for when he is tried, 48:13 he shall receive the crown of life, 48:17 which the Lord hath promised to them 48:19 that love him. Paul understood that 48:23 if he could endure he would receive 48:27 the crown of life. But the Bible goes even further, 48:31 the last of the Apostles alive, 48:34 John the Revelator in Revelation 48:37 chapter 2 and verse 10, 48:42 Revelation chapter 2 and verse 10 48:47 he says, Fear none of these things, 48:50 which thou shalt suffer: This is Jesus speaking 48:53 to the church at Smyrna. 48:55 Fear none of these things, which thou shalt suffer. 48:57 Behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison, 49:01 that you might may be tried and ye, 49:03 and ye shall have tribulation, ten days: 49:05 Be thou faithful unto death, 49:09 and I will give you a crown of life. 49:15 Scripture says that if you can be faithful 49:17 unto death and sometimes 49:19 we think that's the death of the martyr, 49:20 but let me submit to you that even before that, 49:23 that is death to self, death to pride. 49:31 My favorite verse about crowns 49:33 is found in Revelation chapter 3, 49:38 verses 10 and 11. 49:42 As Jesus is speaking to the church of Philadelphia, 49:46 Revelations 3:10-11, talking about claiming 49:49 your crown now, verse 10 and 11 he says, 49:53 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, 49:57 I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, 50:03 you notice that it is Jesus who does the keeping us, 50:05 of us from temptation. 50:07 He says, we shall come upon all the world 50:09 to try them that dwell upon the earth. 50:12 Verse 11 is profound, verse 11 says, 50:16 Behold, I am coming quickly. 50:19 Hold that fast which thou hast, 50:23 that no man takes your crown. 50:29 Claim your crown GYC, claim your crown. 50:36 We're told that the angels in heaven 50:39 were seen resizing the crowns, 50:42 so that they would fit someone else's head. 50:46 It is imperative, it is important 50:50 that each of us claim the crown, 50:52 because the beauty of this message is that 50:55 before anything happens your crown is already 51:00 assigned to you. The beauty of the 51:03 message is that your name is already written 51:05 in the lamb's book of life and what we must do 51:10 is live our lives so that our names remain there. 51:14 We must live our lives so that in the book 51:17 of works our pages are covered 51:21 in the blood red of Jesus Christ, amen. 51:27 Claim your crown, 51:31 those verses were very important to me 51:33 in Second Timothy chapter 4, 51:38 five years ago when I got word that 51:42 my mother was ill, she was suffering 51:46 from multiple myeloma. 51:51 Diagnosed at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami 51:53 by one of our good Adventist physicians 51:55 that worked there. Let me encourage the 51:58 young people so many of you come up to me 51:59 and said you're interested in medicine, 52:00 let me tell you that there is a powerful ministry 52:04 for Christian physicians and health care 52:06 workers of all kinds. And in a time when our 52:09 family was in need and I was on the 52:11 West Coast and my mother was in Miami, 52:13 it was powerful that a Adventist physician 52:16 was able to show up and properly diagnose 52:20 her when no one else did. 52:23 Multiple myeloma, I read in one 52:26 of my medical books that it was two and half 52:29 to three year life expectancy. 52:34 When you raised three sons and a single mother, 52:40 my father left when I was just two years of age. 52:45 My mom was such a beautiful Christian 52:47 she told us later on that was probably 52:49 a good thing that he left because he couldn't stand 52:50 a Seventh-day Adventist Church, 52:53 and she would never been able to raise us 52:56 in the church that saved us. 53:03 My mother went through so much difficulty, 53:04 so much heartache in her life. 53:07 And now at the end, she was battling cancer. 53:14 She fought valiantly for two or three years, 53:16 however long it was and finally my brother 53:21 called me and told me I needed to come to Miami. 53:24 I got off the plane, my brother is a pretty 53:26 tough guy, he was crying. 53:28 As he picked me up in his car 53:29 and we went to the hospital to see her 53:30 in a never forget walking and seeing my mother 53:33 from the cancer and the chemotherapy. 53:39 So shriveled up, so skinny, 53:42 her natural short hair, 53:48 seeing her that sick for the first time, 53:53 I couldn't take it and I retreated 53:54 into the bathroom, fell on my knees 53:58 and I began to agonize with God. 54:01 Lord, after all this woman did in service to you, 54:06 pathfinder leader, treasurer for the church. 54:10 Lord, she was so faithful for so many years, 54:14 how could you allow your daughter 54:16 to go out like this. 54:20 I began to agonize with God, 54:22 Lord, if you are a God of mercy, 54:26 why is she suffering like this. 54:30 I was sobbing, kneeling on a floor 54:35 in the bathroom of her hospital room. 54:38 Ironically the hospital that she was 54:40 an administrator in the Sylvester Comprehensive 54:43 Cancer Center in Miami, Florida. 54:47 Sobbing and agonizing with God. 54:50 And I will never forget, as I was there crying 54:56 it was if a voice spoke to me and said, 55:00 don't worry about your mother. 55:03 She has been perfected, and it dawned on me 55:12 that the verse 7 and 8 of the 4th chapter 55:16 of Second Timothy applied to my mother. 55:18 She was happy, in fact we sang what a friend 55:22 we have in Jesus. 55:24 All the way till she fell asleep in Jesus. 55:27 She was fine with going to sleep, 55:31 because she was ready to see her Jesus. 55:37 She was ready to claim her crown, 55:40 as the appeal song is sung, 55:43 you wanna make sure you claim your crown 55:45 I just want you to join me now upfront. 55:49 You wanna claim that crown. 56:01 I will change your name 56:09 You shall no longer be called 56:18 Wounded, outcast Lonely or afraid 56:35 I will change your name Your new name shall be 56:51 Confidence, joyfulness Overcoming one 57:08 Faithfulness, friend of God 57:16 One who seeks my face. 57:25 I will change your name 57:33 You shall no longer be called 57:41 Wounded, outcast Lonely or afraid 57:57 I will change your name 58:05 Your new name shall be Confidence. |
Revised 2014-12-17