Participants: Thando Malambo
Series Code: 10GYC
Program Code: 10GYC000012
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00:10 Good Morning, GYC. Good morning.
00:13 You know, I'm so thankful you all came out this morning. 00:16 It's Sunday morning at the 2010/2011 Conference. 00:20 And I know we've had a really full week, 00:22 but the Lord still has blessings yet in store today. 00:26 So I'm thankful you came to this devotional this morning. 00:30 We are going to be blessed. 00:32 Why don't we invite the spirit of our Father, 00:35 our heavenly Father, the spirit of God, 00:37 to come and join us today, 00:39 as we listen to the morning devotional. 00:42 So if you would please bow your heads 00:43 with me in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, 00:47 we thank you so much for all the blessings 00:49 that you have poured out upon this conference so far. 00:51 We know that you have yet more in store this morning. 00:55 So we ask, Father, that you be with the speaker, 00:58 help her words, Father, to be your words. 01:01 And help our hearts to be opened to Your Holy Spirit 01:05 that we can truly learn the lessons 01:06 that you have in store for us today. 01:08 We thank you so much for all of your blessings. 01:11 We ask this in your name. Amen. 01:29 I have a prayer as pure as gold 01:36 That where You lead me I will go 01:43 And I'll embrace the holy plea 01:50 Each time Your Spirit calls to me 01:57 And in that hour, and in that time 02:04 When I must lose my will in Thine 02:11 My true devotion will be found 02:18 The day I lay my Isaac down 02:25 Each sacrifice You call me to 02:31 I'll die to self, I'll live for You 02:38 Take up the cross, forsake the crown 02:45 The day I lay my Isaac down 03:12 Each sacrifice You call me to 03:19 I'll die to self, I'll live for You 03:25 Take up the cross, forsake the crown 03:32 The day I lay my Isaac down 03:38 Take up the cross, forsake the crown 03:48 The day I lay 03:51 my Isaac down 04:13 Amen! Amen! 04:22 Good morning, GYC. Good morning. 04:27 This is... This is it. 04:30 Are we ready? Yeah. 04:33 I think often times Sunday morning 04:35 is the hardest part of GYC. 04:37 Kind of like everything is over. 04:39 It's time to go back home 04:41 and start living out what we have learned. 04:43 Amen. And I pray by the grace of God 04:47 that we are ready to go back home 04:49 and live the life of no turning back. 04:55 This morning, I'm going to share 04:57 with you a message that is very, 05:00 very dear to my heart. And it's a message 05:04 that I think if I could preach no other message 05:09 it would be this one. As I ask your permission 05:12 to speak to your hearts this morning, 05:15 I'm going to speak my heart. 05:17 And I am going to lay on our hearts 05:19 a burden that is very, very heavy on my heart. 05:22 So I ask you to pray for me, 05:24 pray for yourselves and pray that God would speak 05:26 to each one of us this morning. Amen. Amen. 05:30 The title of our message is Ready To Die. 05:35 What's our title? Ready To Die. 05:39 It's not morbid, I promise. Ready To Die. 05:44 Now as we think about that title, 05:47 there are many people we can think of 05:49 in this world who are willing to die 05:51 for something that they believe in. 05:55 Martin Luther King, Jr. is the celebrated champion 05:59 of America's civil rights movement. 06:02 And we know those famous words of how he had a dream, right? 06:07 He lived for that dream and he died for that dream. 06:10 Assassinated in 1968. 06:15 In his speech at the Great March on Detroit, 06:20 on June 23rd, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. 06:25 said these very, very powerful words 06:28 that are going to form the springboard 06:30 of our message this morning. 06:32 And he said this. 06:34 "There are some things so precious, 06:38 "some things so eternally true 06:42 "that they are worth dying for. 06:47 "And I submit to you that if a man 06:50 "has not discovered something 06:53 that he will die for, he's not fit to live." 06:59 I'm gonna read that last part again. 07:01 "I submit to you that if a man has not discovered 07:05 "something that he will die for, 07:08 he is not fit to live." He's not worthy to live. 07:14 Mark those words. Essentially saying that 07:17 if we have not found something so dear to us 07:20 that we're willing to die for it, 07:22 we are not worthy of life. And this morning, 07:27 I am going to ask us to reflect on two very 07:31 simple yet profound questions. 07:34 First, is our life worth living? 07:40 And second, is the cause of Christ 07:42 so dear to us that we'd be willing to die for it 07:47 if need be? Are we willing to say, 07:51 "No turning back till death"? 07:54 Before we get into this message, 07:56 I ask that we pray. I'm going to kneel, 07:59 but you can stay where you are. 08:08 Dear Father in heaven, 08:12 Lord, we have gathered here this morning 08:17 one more time to hear a word from you. 08:22 Gracious Lord, we ask humbly 08:25 that yet again You would send Your Holy Spirit 08:27 to be here with us this morning. 08:30 That You'd send Your Spirit, Father, 08:33 to speak to our hearts. And Father, 08:36 to fall afresh upon each one of us 08:39 here this morning. And dear Lord, 08:43 for our sake and for the sake of our salvation, 08:47 for the sake of everyone who is listening 08:49 to this message this morning, 08:51 we ask that you would take my thoughts, 08:53 my words, my lips and anoint them. 08:57 That Father, you would place 08:58 the words in my mouth that need to be spoken. 09:01 That this morning, Jesus would be lifted up. 09:05 That this morning, we would see and touch Him. 09:09 And that this morning, 09:10 He would give us a new reason for living. 09:14 It's for this that we pray, 09:16 and it's for this that we ask believing 09:19 in Jesus' name, amen. 09:31 "And I submit to you that if a man 09:35 "has not discovered something he will die for, 09:39 he is not fit to live." 09:41 Take you Bibles to Acts 21. 09:46 We are going to read together what is arguably 09:49 a very moving and telling account in the life 09:52 of the Apostle Paul. In Acts 21, 09:56 when you get there, please say amen. Amen. 10:00 Are we all there? I here the pages turning. 10:08 Are we there? Amen. Okay, we are going to 10:11 breeze through a couple of themes 10:13 together in the book of Acts this morning. 10:15 But in Acts Chapter 21, 10:17 we find Paul in the midst of his third 10:20 missionary journey and as we are told 10:22 in Acts Chapter 20 and verse 16, 10:25 he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem if possible 10:28 for the day of Pentecost. 10:31 And so we are reading in Acts 21. 10:33 I am going to read and you are hearing from verse 8. 10:36 The Bible says, "And the next day 10:39 "we that were of Paul's company departed 10:42 "and came unto Caesarea, and we entered 10:45 "into the house of Philip the Evangelist, 10:48 "which was one of the seven, and abode with him. 10:51 "And the same man had four daughters, 10:54 "virgins, which did prophesy. 10:56 "And as we tarried there many days, 10:59 "there came down from Judaea 11:01 "a certain prophet named Agabus. 11:04 "And when he was coming to us, he took Paul's girdle 11:07 "and bound his own hands and feet 11:10 "and said, 'Thus saith the Holy Ghost, 11:13 "so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man 11:16 "that owneth this girdle and shall deliver him 11:19 "into the hands of the Gentiles.' 11:23 "And when we heard these things, 11:25 "both we and they of that place, besought him 11:27 "not to go up to Jerusalem. 11:32 "Then Paul answered, 'What mean ye to weep 11:37 "and to break mine heart? 11:39 "For I am ready not to be bound only, 11:43 "but also to die at Jerusalem 11:46 for the name of the Lord Jesus." 11:50 You're reading this account, you're told that 11:53 Paul is on his way to Jerusalem. 11:55 And as he and his companions pause in Caesarea, 11:58 they stop at the house of Philip the Evangelist. 12:01 And as they are at his house, 12:02 this prophet named Agabus comes down from Judea 12:05 and he has a message from the Holy Ghost. 12:08 And the message is given for us in verse 11. 12:12 The prophet binds his own hands and feet and then he says, 12:16 "This is what they will do to you, Paul, in Jerusalem." 12:19 Now this message is not new to Paul. 12:22 If you go back to Acts 20 verse 23. 12:27 As Paul is speaking to the elders of Ephesus, 12:29 he tells them very clearly that as he's going to Jerusalem 12:34 he doesn't know what will befall him there, 12:37 save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city 12:40 saying that bonds and afflictions abide him. 12:44 So Paul is going there 12:46 knowing that he's got bonds and afflictions waiting for him. 12:51 And then here comes the prophet Agabus, 12:53 who confirms that he already knows. 12:56 And he says, "Paul, when you get to Jerusalem, 12:58 "they will bind you, hands and feet, 13:00 and they will deliver you unto to the Gentiles." 13:02 The message comes, Paul, yes, 13:05 the Holy Ghost is saying, letting you know 13:08 there's bonds, there's afflictions waiting for you. 13:11 And then as Paul's companions 13:13 hear these words, they fear for Paul. 13:18 And we're told in verse 12 that they besought him 13:22 not to go to Jerusalem. 13:25 And so Paul's companions literally begged him, 13:28 they pleaded with him, "Paul, please don't go 13:31 "to Jerusalem. Because if you go, 13:33 "they will bind you, hand and feet, 13:35 they may even kill you. Please don't go to Jerusalem." 13:38 And they did it with tears in their eyes. 13:43 I want you to imagine the scene. 13:46 The aged Apostle Paul and his friends, 13:49 Luke and his companions kneeling before him 13:51 with tears in their eyes. 13:53 "Paul, please don't go to Jerusalem. 13:59 They will bind you and they will kill you." 14:03 And then listen to Paul's response. 14:06 As he speaks in verse 13, Paul says, 14:09 "What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart?" 14:13 Paul says stop. "Stop weeping, 14:16 "you're breaking my heart. Because I'm ready, 14:20 "not just to be bound but also to die, 14:25 if need be for the name of the Lord Jesus." 14:29 Here is a man who was ready to die. 14:33 In his state of mind, it's "Okay, there's bonds, 14:36 "there's affliction. Fine, bring it on, 14:38 I'm ready to be bound and to die." 14:46 And placing this in the context 14:48 of Paul's ministry, we must remember 14:51 that Paul had already demonstrated 14:54 his willingness to die for the cause. 14:58 Go back to Acts 14. 14:59 Now I want to read with you the account recorded 15:03 in Acts Chapter 14. 15:05 The couple chapters before. 15:07 When you get there, please say amen. 15:08 Amen. In Acts Chapter 14, 15:12 we find Paul and Barnabas at Iconium. 15:15 And we're told in verse 1 of Acts Chapter 14, 15:19 that "It came to pass in Iconium 15:22 "that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews 15:25 "and so spake that a great multitude 15:28 "both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. 15:32 "But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles 15:35 "and made their minds evil affected 15:37 against the brethren." And so as Paul and Barnabas 15:41 enter Iconium, they begin to preach, 15:44 to reason in the synagogue. 15:46 And we are told that a great multitude believes. 15:49 But as this great multitude believes, 15:51 the unbelieving Jews stir up trouble. 15:54 And then we're told in verse 5 15:57 of Acts Chapter 14 that they go so far 16:00 as to hatch a plot "to use them despitefully 16:03 and to stone them." Then verse 6 tells us 16:07 when they were ware of it, they fled unto Lystra and Derbe, 16:12 cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region 16:14 that lieth round about. 16:16 And there they preached the Gospel. 16:20 Are you reading what's happening 16:23 in this account with me? 16:25 You would think that a man who was almost stoned, 16:29 according to verse 5, the unbelieving Jews 16:31 hatched a plot to use them despitefully 16:34 and to stone them. So there's a very real threat 16:37 that they might be stoned for preaching the Gospel. 16:40 And then when they become aware of the plot 16:42 they flee and they get to the next city, 16:44 Lystra and Derbe. And guess what they do there? 16:47 They preach the Gospel. 16:49 Now you would think somebody 16:50 who was almost stoned to death 16:52 would have the sense not to repeat 16:54 the crime for which he was almost stoned. Not so. 17:00 They were almost stoned, they flee and they keep on 17:03 preaching the Gospel. 17:06 Fearless! And I can imagine them saying, 17:09 "Stone me if you must, I cannot, 17:12 dare not stop living for my Jesus." 17:16 There they preached the Gospel. 17:19 Now lest we think it was just a threat, 17:21 keep reading in Acts Chapter 14. 17:24 By the time you get to verse 19, 17:27 you are told that "There came thither certain Jews 17:31 "from Antioch and Iconium who persuaded the people, 17:35 "and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city 17:39 supposing he had been dead." 17:43 So they actually did stone him. 17:47 And verse 19 tells us that they drew him out 17:50 of the city supposing he had been dead. 17:53 They did not just take some small little stones 17:55 and throw them at him. 17:58 They were trying to kill him. 18:00 And I know that verse tells us they only drew 18:03 him out thinking he was dead. 18:06 So that's how surely they stoned him 18:08 until they convinced themselves he was dead. 18:14 And so here's the Apostle Paul. 18:16 Bruised, bleeding, at the point of death. 18:21 Stoned for preaching the Gospel. 18:24 And they drag him out thinking he's dead. 18:28 And then verse 20 tells us, 18:32 "Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, 18:35 "he rose up, and came into the city 18:38 "and the next day he departed 18:39 "with Barnabas to Derbe. 18:42 And when they had preached the Gospel to that city..." 18:46 Now, I am going in parts, 18:47 because I am thinking I'm reading about somebody 18:49 who's kind of out of his mind here. 18:52 Verse 21 tells us, "There they preached the Gospel." 18:58 And according to verse 20, the next day... 19:00 The very next day. Here's a man stoned to death, 19:04 bleeding bad and bruised from the stoning. 19:07 He gets up, and the very next day 19:10 guess what he's doing? Preaching the Gospel! 19:13 Is that Paul? Don't you get it? 19:17 Isn't this the man who was stoned just yesterday? 19:20 Yes. Is he still bleeding? Probably. 19:24 Is he hurting? Probably he's hurting. 19:27 But that was not enough to stop him 19:30 preaching the Gospel. Here's a man 19:33 who was ready to die. Stone me if you must, 19:38 kill me if you must, 19:39 I will still keep on preaching the Gospel. 19:44 Here's a man who was ready to die. 19:56 Martin Luther King, Jr. I'm going to quote again. 20:00 "If a man has not found something 20:03 that he will die for, he's not fit to live." 20:13 History records, as we have learned 20:16 from our evening devotionals already, 20:18 that Paul did die for the cause of Christ. 20:21 He was beheaded. 20:26 And Paul doesn't stand alone. 20:30 Many of the other disciples suffered the same fate. 20:34 Andrew, the brother of Peter 20:37 preached the Gospel throughout Asia. 20:40 He was arrested, crucified on a Cross, 20:42 two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground. 20:47 Then you know of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, 20:51 stoned to death for preaching the returning Savior. 20:57 Luke, the Gospel writer 20:59 traveled with Paul to various countries 21:01 and was supposedly hanged on an olive tree 21:05 by a deleterious priest in Greece. 21:09 And then there are others in our more recent history. 21:14 David Livingstone died on his knees 21:17 in the mission fields of Africa, 21:20 having given his life and his youth 21:24 to bring the Gospel 21:25 to unreached people groups in Africa. 21:30 In 1956, Jim Elliot and his missionary friends 21:34 died in the jungle of Ecuador. You know how they died? 21:39 They had gone there trying to bring the Gospel 21:42 to a hostile Indian tribe. 21:46 And they were speared to death. 21:47 Do you know what a spear is? Poisonous spear? 21:50 They were speared to death by that same tribe. 21:55 People who are ready to die. 22:01 And lest we think that these are ancient examples, 22:05 let me give you something that is happening today. 22:09 And I spoke with you very briefly about 22:11 our missionaries in IMPACT, Zambia. 22:13 IMPACT is an acronym. Inspired Missionaries 22:16 Proclaiming the Advent of Christ Today. 22:20 IMPACT Zambia. And they took a mission last year... 22:24 Two years ago now, 2009, to Luana Valley. 22:29 Now, Luana Valley is one of Zambia's most remote areas ever. 22:35 Completely unentered territory. 22:37 And it's a kind of place where cars cannot even travel there. 22:41 You know, they had to walk for over 48 hours 22:45 through the valley to get to homes to preach the Gospel. 22:49 On top of that, walking through the valley 22:52 they were beset by scorpions, snakes and crocodiles, 22:55 they had to cross the river to get there. 22:58 And then on top of that, they slept in the bush, 23:01 in the open bush at night 23:03 not knowing if they'd wake up the next morning. 23:07 Friends, these are young people just like me and just like you 23:12 literally risking their lives 23:14 to bring the Gospel to Luana Valley, 23:16 unentered territory! 23:20 They could have died. 23:23 And they were willing to go anyway. 23:29 And as I tell you about IMPACT Zambia, 23:33 in 2010 alone, through these dedicated missionaries 23:39 who work out of Lusaka Center Adventist church in Zambia, 23:44 at least 2500 people have been baptized. Amen. 23:51 I don't think you heard me, GYC. 23:55 That Amen was too weak. 2500 souls. 24:00 They were young people. In one year alone! 24:03 Amen! Why? 24:08 Because they stop at nothing. They stop at nothing. 24:13 If it means risking their lives, 24:16 they are willing to go. They stop at nothing. 24:22 And as you think about these martyrs, 24:25 you think about Paul, Stephen, Peter. 24:27 You think about the missionaries 24:28 I just told you about in IMPACT Zambia. 24:31 They are human beings just like us. 24:34 They could have turned back, they could have given up 24:36 when the threat of death became very real. 24:39 But they were ready to die. 24:44 Richard Wurmbrand, founder of the Voice of the Martyrs, 24:49 has this profound quotation to say. 24:53 "A man really believes not what he resides in his creed 24:58 but only the things he is ready to die for." 25:04 The things we believe 25:05 are not the things we say and sing and write about. 25:09 The things we believe are the things 25:11 that we are ready to die for. In simple terms, 25:15 if we are not ready to die for Christ, 25:17 we don't believe in Him. 25:22 If we are not ready to die for Him, 25:25 we do not believe in Him. 25:29 Don't lose Acts, we'll come back there, 25:30 but flip to Revelation, Chapter 12. 25:35 And I want to share with you the kind of followers 25:38 that Christ is asking us to be this morning, right. 25:42 Revelation 12 verse 11. 25:43 And I think this verse is what for me captures the essence 25:47 of who these young people are and what they live for. 25:50 Revelation 12, are we there? 25:54 I'm going to read verse 10 and verse 11. 25:59 And the Bible says, Revelation 12, 10 and 11. 26:03 "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 26:06 "Now is come salvation and strength, 26:09 "and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ 26:12 "For the accuser of our brethren is cast down 26:14 "which accuse them before our God day and night. 26:18 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb 26:21 "and by the word of their testimony, 26:24 and they loved not their lives unto the death." 26:29 Look at the last half of that verse. 26:32 "They loved not their lives unto the death." 26:37 That's telling you and me that these people, 26:39 these brethren, who we are supposed 26:41 to be a part of, did not love their lives. 26:46 There was something that they loved more 26:47 than their lives, and that was Christ. 26:52 They did not love their lives unto their death. 26:54 If death is what it took, they were willing. 27:01 And so yes, we must be ready to die. 27:07 And you know we talked about due loss on Friday morning. 27:10 This mindset of choosing to be a slave of God. 27:15 The other half of due loss 27:17 is that it's a lifetime commitment. 27:19 What is it? Life time commitment. 27:22 Once you commit and you say you're choosing to be a slave, 27:27 it's due loss until death. 27:31 But here's the other half of the coin 27:34 and this is really the heart of our message this morning. 27:37 That yes, we must be ready to die. 27:39 But you cannot, and please listen 27:41 to this very closely. You cannot die for 27:44 something that you have not learned to live for. 27:49 Did you get what I said? 27:52 We can sit here and talk about, 27:54 yes, we are ready to die, 27:55 yes, we are willing to die for Christ. 27:58 But if we have not learned to live for Jesus, 28:02 we cannot die for Jesus. 28:08 We cannot die for Jesus. 28:10 Go back to the book of Acts, 28:12 and I want to show you how this was true 28:13 in Paul's ministry and Paul's life. 28:15 In Acts 20, back in Acts 20, 28:19 where Paul is speaking to the elders at Ephesus. 28:22 It's his last time seeing them 28:24 and he has a message of warning 28:25 and reproof for them. He says to them, 28:29 and I'm going to read and you're hearing 28:31 from verse 22 in Acts 20. 28:37 "And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, 28:42 "not knowing the things that shall befall me there. 28:46 "Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, 28:50 "saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. 28:54 "But none of these things move me, 28:56 "neither count I my life dear unto myself, 29:01 "that I might finish my course with joy, 29:04 "and the ministry that I have received 29:06 of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God." 29:13 And Paul is saying here that, 29:15 "I am going to be bound and I know that 29:17 bonds and afflictions abide me." 29:19 But verse 24 says "None of these things move me." 29:23 Here's a man who's expecting bonds and afflictions 29:26 and he says "I'm not even moved." Nothing moves him. 29:32 You know what that means? He's not even affected, 29:34 not even worried, nothing! He's not even moved. Why? 29:38 Because he accounts not his life dear unto himself. 29:42 There is one thing and one thing only that Paul counts as dear 29:47 and that was the ministry 29:48 that calls the name of the Lord Jesus. 29:52 If he had to choose between finishing 29:56 the ministry that Christ had given him 29:58 and preserving his life, 30:01 Paul would choose the ministry. 30:04 His life was a thing to be dispensed with. 30:07 "I count not my life dear unto myself." 30:13 "I count not my life dear unto myself." 30:24 And Paul was ready to die for Jesus, 30:29 but Paul was ready to die because 30:31 he was ready to live for Jesus. 30:35 If I were to ask us here this morning, 30:38 how many of us love Jesus? 30:41 I think every hand would be up. At least I hope so. 30:49 And if I'd have asked us, how many of us by the grace of God 30:53 would be ready to die for Jesus? 30:55 I think our hands would still be up. Right? 30:59 But here's the point. 31:02 You cannot die for Jesus if you have not learned 31:06 to live for Him and Him alone. 31:11 He that is faithful in the least is faithful also in much. 31:17 Many of us play or run with Jesus now. 31:21 And then we think that when the great day of trial comes, 31:24 we'll suddenly have the moral courage 31:27 to die for Him. That's a deception. 31:31 That's a deception. How can you think 31:35 you can die for Jesus, if you don't even love Him 31:38 enough to spend at least an hour with Him 31:40 every morning in devotions? 31:44 How do you think you can die for Jesus 31:47 when you don't love Him enough to walk away 31:49 from those darling sins that are so hateful to Him? 31:53 Cherishing sin in our hearts, yes, we'll die for Jesus. Hello! 31:59 How do you think you can die for Him 32:02 when you don't love Him enough to die to yourself every day? 32:07 How can we die for Him, friends? 32:09 When we don't love Him enough to care 32:13 about those perishing souls He died for, 32:17 how can we die for Him? 32:20 Dying for Jesus begins with living for Jesus! 32:26 It's about living for Jesus. 32:28 If something is worth dying for, 32:31 it must be worth living for. 32:36 And lets not fool ourselves into thinking 32:38 that we can be martyrs for Jesus. 32:41 Don't even love Him enough. 32:43 You read Acts 20, and you read of Paul's ministry. 32:46 A man who loved Jesus. He tells you in verse 20 32:54 that he kept back nothing. Acts 20 verse 20. 32:57 "How I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, 33:01 "but have shewed you, and taught you publicly, 33:03 "and from house to house. 33:05 Testifying both to Jews, and to Greeks." 33:09 Here is a man who lived for Jesus. 33:12 And as you go down in the chapter, he tells you 33:16 in verse 26 and 27. 33:19 26, "I take it to record this day, 33:22 "that I'm pure from the blood of all men. 33:25 "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all 33:28 the counsel of God." 33:31 Verse 31. "Therefore, watch and remember, 33:34 "that by the space of three years I ceased not 33:38 to warn everyone night and day with tears." 33:42 Here's a grown man with tears in his eyes 33:46 warning people to turn to Jesus. 33:48 Here's a man who lived for Jesus. 34:00 There is no doubt in our minds 34:03 that Paul lived for one thing only. 34:08 Matter of fact, here's how he puts it in his own words 34:12 in Philippians 1 verse 21. 34:14 Let's go there and read how Paul in his own word 34:17 writes about his reason for living. 34:21 In Philippians 1 verse 21. Are we there? 34:30 It's a very simple verse. 34:32 Another one you can take and post on your walls, 34:35 on your Facebook statuses, 34:40 because this is a rule to live by. 34:43 In Philippians 1 verse 21, Paul says... 34:48 Are we there? Yeah. 34:50 "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." 34:58 Ponder that statement and keep pondering it. 35:03 "To live is Christ and to die is gain." 35:07 He had no other reason for living beyond Jesus. 35:21 Living for Christ. 35:31 And as you think about what it means to say to live is Christ. 35:35 When you get to that point in your experience 35:38 when everything you do is for one great object. 35:43 Everything you do is for one purpose 35:45 and one purpose only in mind. 35:48 And matter of fact, friends, 35:49 I want to submit to you this morning that 35:52 for you and for me, especially Adventist young people, 35:56 we have no other reason to live. 36:01 Don't lose Philippians but turn into another verse 36:06 in which Paul states this. 36:08 In Second Corinthians Chapter 5. 36:12 And I want you to read this particular verse 36:15 and have you reason through it with me. 36:19 Second Corinthians Chapter 5. 36:23 And I want you to read verse 14 and verse 15. 36:31 Are we there? The Bible says... 36:38 Second Corinthians 5, 14 and 15. 36:40 "For the love of Christ constraineth us 36:43 "because we thus judge, that if one died for all, 36:47 "then we're all dead. And that he died for all, 36:51 "that they which live should not henceforth 36:54 "live unto themselves, 36:56 but unto him which died for them, and rose again." 37:01 Look at the logic of verse 15 again. 37:04 "He died for all, so that those who live 37:09 "should no longer live unto or for themselves 37:13 but unto him who died for them and rose again." 37:18 If I'm reasoning correctly, 37:20 this verse seems to say very clearly 37:23 that Jesus died to give us a new reason to live. 37:28 He died for all, so that where as before 37:31 we lived for ourselves, now we might live for Him 37:36 who died and rose again. 37:37 That's why He died. To save us, yes. 37:41 But also to give us a new reason to live. 37:45 Before we lived for ourselves, 37:48 and now if we believe and accept His death and resurrection, 37:53 we are to live for Him and Him alone. 37:57 You know, many of us look at Peter's denial of Christ 38:01 and we think how could Peter do that. 38:06 And yet, friends, I submit to you this morning 38:08 that if we go through life 38:11 living for any other reason other than Christ, 38:16 that is a denial of Christ's death and resurrection. 38:25 Because Jesus died, 38:27 so that we might have a new reason to live. 38:32 To live for Him and Him alone. 38:35 And when I say live for Christ, 38:37 I'm not saying that all of us need to quit 38:41 what we're doing and go into full time ministry, no. 38:44 God may call some of us to do that. 38:47 But for the rest of us 38:49 that means everything we do, everything we do in life 38:53 must be for Christ and Christ alone. 38:56 Don't go to the school just to get a degree 38:58 and get those perfect A's. 39:00 Yes, work hard, excel, get those A's, 39:03 but use those A's for Christ evangelistically. 39:08 Don't go to work just to earn a paycheck 39:10 and get promoted. Yes, work hard, 39:12 be an excellent employee 39:15 but use your excellence for Christ. 39:17 Use it evangelistically. 39:20 Let me give you an example to make this real for you. 39:24 You know, when I tell people that I went to Harvard, 39:27 people place you in some kind of pedestal. 39:29 "Oh, Harvard. You must be so smart." 39:32 And there is a certain respect that people have for Harvard 39:36 and may be rightly so, I don't know. 39:39 But here's my point this morning. 39:41 God is no respecter of Harvard degrees. 39:46 He's not a respecter. What is Harvard to God? 39:50 God is wisdom personified. 39:52 Harvard professors know nothing compared to God. 39:55 Amen. When I get to heaven, 39:58 God is not going to care that I went to Harvard. 40:02 At the welcome table, 40:03 there is no special seat for Harvard graduates. 40:07 Absolutely not. The only reason 40:12 and get this clearly, the only way, 40:15 the only reason my Harvard education 40:18 will matter in eternity, 40:21 is if when I get to heaven, 40:24 I can say, "Father, because I went to Harvard 40:27 here is the harvest." Amen. 40:30 Here are the people that came into the kingdom 40:33 because of my time at Harvard. 40:35 Friends, that's what life is about. 40:39 That's what life is about. 40:42 Ready to die and ready to live for Christ and Christ alone. 40:47 There is no other reason to live. 40:50 And you know, worse is... 40:51 I think some of us Adventists have this foolish idea 40:55 that we can live the ordinary lifestyle. 40:58 Let me tell you something, friends. 41:00 Adventists are not ordinary. 41:03 We are not ordinary people. 41:08 The servants of the Lord tells us, 41:12 in last day event and I want to read this 41:14 in your hearing and I want you to hear 41:17 every word of this. Page 45, 41:20 she reminds us. Then in a special sense 41:24 Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world 41:28 as watchmen and light bearers. 41:31 To them has been entrusted the last warning 41:35 for a perishing world. 41:37 On them is shining wonderful light 41:40 from the word of God. They have been given 41:43 a work of the most solemn imports. 41:48 The proclamation of the first, 41:51 second and third angel's messages. 41:55 There is no other work of so great importance. 42:01 They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention. 42:09 Do you understand why you are alive 42:11 as a Seventh-day Adventist? 42:15 That God has given to you... 42:18 And when we read this, we think corporately. 42:23 God has given to us the last warning 42:26 for a perishing world. Let's make this 42:29 practically personal this morning. 42:32 God has given to you the last warning 42:36 for your classmates, 42:37 your professors, your co-workers 42:40 and your neighbors. 42:42 God has given to you a work of the most solemn import. 42:46 No other work of such great importance. 42:51 And then you want to walk through life 42:52 being an ordinary person? 42:56 You are not ordinary, you can never be ordinary. 42:59 And worst yet, friends, 43:01 the world has enough ordinary people. 43:04 We don't need any more of them. 43:06 We don't need any more ordinary Jim and Jacks, 43:08 there are enough of them. 43:11 Seventh-day Adventists are not ordinary. 43:15 We cannot go back to the ordinary lifestyle. 43:20 Not when we have a work of such great importance, 43:23 not when God has given us this last message 43:26 of warning to a perishing world. 43:30 Not ordinary. 43:41 It pains my heart 43:44 that I think about how dedicated Communists are. 43:51 And in his book, Dedication and Leadership, 43:54 Douglas Hyde writes about the dedication 43:58 of a Communist. And how a Communist 44:00 gets up every morning and he lives and breathes 44:04 and moves for one thing only and that's Communism. 44:08 And Communism is not even a cause worth living for, is it? 44:13 And then here are Seventh-day Adventists, 44:17 who actually have not just a cause 44:19 but the greatest cause ever given to mankind 44:22 in the history of the world. 44:24 And they can't even live for it? 44:27 God have mercy upon us! 44:32 There's no reason why a Communist 44:34 should be more dedicated than a Seventh-day Adventist. 44:37 No reason. Amen. 44:41 Life for us, for me and you, is not about 44:45 going through school and getting jobs 44:47 and getting married and having babies. 44:50 Those things are important, 44:52 but we have to live life for one great object. 44:57 If you go to school, you go to school 44:59 to advance the everlasting Gospel. Amen. 45:02 If you go to work, go to work to advance 45:05 the everlasting Gospel. If you marry, 45:09 marry to advance the everlasting Gospel. 45:14 That's what life is about 45:16 if you are a Seventh-day Adventist. 45:23 And I think sometimes, friends, that this cause of God, 45:28 this everlasting Gospel doesn't consume us 45:31 because we don't understand 45:33 what sin has done to the heart of God. 45:40 I don't think we remember, friends, 45:43 that God feels my pain, right? God feels your pain. 45:49 God feels the pain of every single person in this room. 45:53 God feels the pain of every single person 45:55 who has ever lived on the face of the earth. 45:59 What do you think 6000 years of sin have done 46:02 to the heart of God? 46:06 All of those over 800,000 people 46:09 who perished in the Rwandan Genocide, 46:11 God felt their pain. 46:14 The Jews massacred in the Holocaust, 46:16 God felt their pain. 46:19 Every women who is raped, every child who dies of hunger, 46:23 God feels their pain! 6000 years of sin. 46:28 What do you think that has done 46:29 to the heart of God? Friends, nobody, nobody 46:32 yearns for the end of the great controversy 46:35 more than God does. Nobody. 46:40 And Revelation 21 verse 4 paints a very clear picture of that. 46:46 Revelation 21 and verse 4. 46:50 In writing about the end, 46:55 when there is a new Heaven and a new Earth. 46:59 When there's a new Heaven and a new Earth. 47:01 And Revelation 21 and verse 4 tells us... 47:07 Are we there? God, listen to this! 47:12 "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, 47:16 "and there shall be no more death, 47:18 "neither sorrow, nor crying, 47:19 "neither shall there be any more pain, 47:22 for the former things are passed away." 47:26 Can you see the heart of God yearning 47:28 for the end of this controversy? 47:31 Yearning for the day when he will wipe away 47:34 all tears from my eyes and your eyes. 47:39 And then God has condescended to put it into our hands. 47:44 By the grace of God, to hasten that day. 47:48 And then we drag our feet and we go through life, 47:51 living for other things that are senseless to live for. 47:55 And then we claim to love God? 47:58 And then we claim to love Him. 48:00 And we sing "Oh, how I love Jesus." 48:02 God is hurting and we are here dragging our feet, 48:06 living for ourselves, and we claim to love Him. 48:15 If you were separated from your loved one, 48:19 from your sweet heart, 48:21 you would do probably anything to be reunited with them again. 48:27 Because love from a distance is difficult, is it not? 48:34 And then we say God is our beloved, 48:36 we say we love God. 48:40 And we're not working as hard as we can 48:44 to hasten the day of our reunion with God. 48:49 And we say we love Him? Shame on us! Shame on us. 48:55 If we love God, we would see sin as He sees it. 49:02 And if we loved God, we would share His heart. 49:06 We would feel as he feels of us, 49:08 and we'd be moved to end this controversy 49:12 so that we can go home. 49:14 Friends, let me tell you something, 49:18 God has not called us to change the world. 49:23 That is a part of it. 49:25 But you know how in Acts Chapter 17, 49:28 the Bible speaks about the Apostles 49:30 turning their world upside down. 49:33 For us, it's even deeper than that 49:38 because God is calling us to end the world. 49:43 Did you hear what I said? 49:47 Matthew 24:14. "And this gospel of the kingdom 49:52 "shall be preached in all the world 49:54 as a witness to all nations, and then the end shall come." 50:01 The preaching of the everlasting Gospel 50:04 brings the world to an end. 50:12 Is there a greater purpose worth living for? 50:17 Is there a higher aim worth living for? 50:21 Is there? Then how can we go through life 50:30 saying we love God and yet trying 50:33 to live the ordinary life? 50:37 When we have a world to end. 50:41 And we have a work of the most solemn import. 50:52 I pray earnestly that God would give us 50:56 deeper love for Him. That God would give us 51:00 true earnest love for Him. 51:05 Because if we loved Him, friends, 51:07 we wouldn't need to wait for somebody 51:09 to remind us to do evangelism or to witness for Christ 51:13 or to share the Gospel. 51:14 Nobody reminds you to go to school, do they? 51:16 At least if you're a good student, they shouldn't. 51:21 Nobody reminds you to go to work. 51:23 You get up and you go to work every morning 51:24 because you know you have to. 51:27 But we feel as though we need conferences, 51:30 we need something to remind us to do evangelism. 51:35 Do you need to be reminded why you live? 51:39 Do you need to be reminded why you live, friends? 51:47 And, I don't know how to communicate 51:51 what I'm trying to communicate 51:55 beyond just saying 51:58 we cannot go back to the ordinary life. 52:06 We have come to GYC, we've been inspired, we've been challenged. 52:16 I fear some of us will go back 52:23 and just go back to life as if that's just what it is. 52:27 Get up in the morning, you go to work, 52:29 you go to school, you come back, 52:31 you sleep, you eat, you do whatever. 52:39 May that not be our experience. 52:44 May not that be our experience. 52:48 If we are not turning back... 52:50 Because turning back is not an option, 52:53 because turning back is suicide. 52:55 If we are not turning back, 52:57 we might as well go all the way. 52:59 Amen. If we're not going to turn back, 53:03 we might as well put our hands to the plow 53:05 and go all the way. Amen, amen. 53:13 Review and Herald, July 21, 1896. 53:25 "The great outpouring of the Spirit of God 53:29 "which lightens the whole earth with His glory 53:33 "will not come until we have an enlightened people 53:40 "that know by experience what it means 53:43 "to be laborers together with God. 53:49 "When we have entire, wholehearted consecration 53:54 "to the service of Christ, 53:57 "God will recognize the fact by an outpouring 54:02 "of His Spirit without measure. 54:07 "But this cannot be while the largest portion 54:11 of the church are not laborers together with God." 54:19 We're praying for His Spirits to be poured out on us. 54:24 And she reminds us that this will not happen 54:29 until we have entire wholehearted consecration 54:36 to service for Christ. 54:47 Our lack of entire consecration 54:50 is delaying the very thing that we are praying for. 54:56 The pouring out of His Spirit. 55:00 And I think, friends, it's time, isn't it? 55:03 It's time for us to live for Christ and Christ alone. 55:09 And friends, if I had time to speak to you about 55:12 what some of the alive groups in Africa are doing... 55:16 Africans living in way of eternity. 55:18 Alive Kenya, alive Ghana, alive Rwanda, 55:21 alive Liberia, alive Ethiopia 55:24 and how close to 3000 souls 55:28 have been baptized in one year. 55:31 And these are young people 55:33 who are just groups of 80 or 70 or 90. 55:37 But GYC is an army of 5000. 5000 strong! 55:42 Where would North America be 55:45 with an actual army of 5000? 55:48 Not conference attendees, an army! 55:52 Who are moved, who live and breathe 55:55 and move for one reason only, 55:57 to bring the Gospel to all the world 55:59 in this generation. What would North America be 56:04 if we were an actual army of 5000 56:07 who are ready to die and to live for Jesus. 56:11 Because, you know what? Jesus didn't just die for us, 56:14 He lived for us! 56:17 It was for us that Jesus lived and breathed and moved. For us! 56:23 Can we do that for Him? Amen. 56:26 Let's not go back to the ordinary life, 56:29 we cannot afford to. 56:33 We are not ordinary, GYC. We are not. 56:43 I want to make an appeal, 56:47 but I'm afraid of making an appeal. 56:50 Because I feel that we are going get up, 56:52 we'll respond, we'll walk out of here 56:55 and say GYC was great, praise the Lord. 57:00 And we'll go right back to the same drudgery. 57:03 We'll be on fire for two weeks, then by the second month we're 57:08 sinking back to the drudgery of life. 57:12 So I want us to pray this morning. 57:16 I want us to pray and to beg God, 57:18 to plead with God to give us love for Him. 57:22 Because it is love for God 57:24 that will keep us on fire this year, GYC. 57:26 It's love for God that will make us ready to live 57:30 and to die for His cause. 57:33 It's love for God that'll keep us 57:35 from living the ordinary life. 57:39 If a man has not found something he would die for, 57:42 he's not fit to live. 57:46 If we're just going through life like regular people, 57:49 we're not worthy to be alive. 57:52 So we are going to kneel and we're going 57:55 to beg of the Lord to give us love for Him. |
Revised 2014-12-17