Participants: Charissa Fong
Series Code: 11GYC
Program Code: 11GYC000009
|
00:12 Good morning everyone. Good morning.
00:14 Happy Sabbath. Happy Sabbath. 00:16 I've been waiting all week to say that to you. 00:19 And I can say that a few of us are sleeping 00:22 in little bit this morning, but that's okay. 00:24 They will show up soon enough. 00:26 And before we begin and go any further, 00:28 I just like to offer an added word of prayer, 00:31 so would you bow your heads with me. 00:33 Loving Father in heaven, 00:35 thank you Lord, for the Sabbath. 00:37 Thank you so much for the blessings 00:39 that we have been receiving this week at GYC. 00:43 Thank you for feeding us, 00:45 and Lord as we gather 00:46 at this morning hour at the end of 2011. 00:50 We ask for Your Holy Spirit to be present 00:53 and to speak to our hearts. 00:55 May You challenge us today, and change us. 00:58 For we ask you in Jesus' name, amen. 01:02 Once upon a time, there were three kings, 01:06 who traverse too far, 01:08 but they weren't following a star. 01:11 Now these three kings were on a very different mission. 01:15 They were on their way to stamp out 01:18 a growing brewing Moabite rebellion. 01:22 They were the kings of Israel, Judah and Edom. 01:26 Based on all the intelligence that they have received, 01:30 they had decided to march their allied forces 01:34 down through the desert around the Dead Sea 01:37 up through Edom, and then they intended to strike 01:41 Moab by surprise and from the South. 01:45 It was an ambitious venture 01:47 and apparently all three of them, 01:50 all three kings decided to embark upon it 01:53 without even so much as a prayer. 01:57 For seven days, they marched this mighty army 02:00 through the desert. 02:02 And friends for seven days, 02:04 they dreamed of a sweet victory that would be theirs. 02:08 But after just seven days, 02:11 they ran into a major problem. 02:14 They forgot about where they were going to 02:16 get enough water to help them last the journey. 02:19 They just ran out of water. 02:22 How all they did this beats me, 02:24 because everybody knows that 02:26 you can't get very far without water. 02:29 Our blood is 90% water 02:31 and so I invite you to join me now 02:34 in their plight in the Book of Second Kings, 02:37 Second Kings Chapter 3. 02:41 Second Kings Chapter 3, 02:44 and we'll pick up reading in verse 10. 02:46 Second Kings Chapter 3, and verse 10. 02:53 Second Kings Chapter 3, 02:57 verse 10, takes us through the heart of the story 03:00 and notice what the king of Israel says 03:02 in Second Kings Chapter 3 in verse 10. 03:05 He says, "Alas for the Lord 03:07 has called these three kings together, 03:10 to deliver them into the hand of Moab. 03:13 Now question. Had this been God's idea? No. 03:19 These three kings completely orient to this one, 03:22 and yet as Jehoram surveys his crumbling court, 03:26 he is quick to put the blame on God. 03:29 He blames God for their mess. 03:31 And friends you and I, 03:33 if we go anywhere without Jesus, 03:35 we too will find ourselves in a situation 03:38 like these armies found themselves in. 03:40 The Bible says in Jeremiah Chapter 2 and verse 13, 03:45 "For my people have committed two evils, 03:48 they have forsaken me, 03:50 the fountain of living waters, 03:52 and hewed for themselves, 03:53 cisterns broken that cannot hold water." 03:58 And friends, Jesus said, 03:59 without me, you can do how much? Nothing. 04:03 So go anywhere without Jesus 04:05 and homes become hot deserts 04:07 full of hot temples and sharp words. 04:11 Without Jesus our lives are barren and meaningless. 04:15 And here is a quote from the Review and Herald, 04:17 May 19th in 1904. 04:20 She wrote, "The promise of the Spirit 04:23 is a matter little thought of, 04:25 and the result is only what might be expected, 04:29 spiritual drought, spiritual weakness, 04:33 spiritual declension and death." 04:37 One night the captain of the Greenland whaling vessel, 04:41 he found himself surrounded by 04:43 icebergs out in the Arctic Sea 04:46 and fearing at any moment to be ground to death, 04:49 he nervously waited until morning 04:52 before he decided what to do next. 04:55 And when morning came 04:56 as he peer through the mist there on that cold sea, 05:00 he saw in the distance a strange mysterious vessel 05:04 just sitting there in the water, 05:06 not that far from him. 05:07 So he called some of his crew members together, 05:10 they jumped in a little boat 05:11 and rode out to see this vessel, 05:14 and as they got to the vessel 05:15 they called out to the vessel. Is anyone there? 05:19 But there was no sound, no response, 05:22 he peered through the pothole 05:23 and he saw the captain sitting at his desk 05:26 as though he was writing in a notebook, 05:29 but he was frozen and didn't move. 05:31 As they continue to survey the ship, 05:34 they found sailors lying in hammocks, some in the cabin. 05:38 Evidently according to the notebook 05:40 this ship with its frozen crew had been sailing, 05:44 just floating through the Arctic for 13 long years. 05:50 And friends, without the Holy Spirit in our lives, 05:55 we are like that frozen ship manned by its frozen crew. 05:59 Yes, we may have the appearance of life 06:01 and the name that we are alive, 06:03 but really we are spiritually dead without Jesus. 06:07 And so we read verse 11, 06:11 "But Jehoshaphat said, 06:13 Is there no prophet of the Lord, 06:15 here that we may enquire of the Lord by him?" 06:19 And what did they say? 06:21 "So one of the servants of the king of Israel 06:23 answered and said, Elisha the son of Shaphat, 06:27 is here who poured water on the hands of Elijah." 06:31 ' Now isn't that interesting. 06:33 How Elijah just happened 06:35 to be there in the middle of the desert 06:36 at this point in time the Bible doesn't say. 06:40 But friends, I do know this 06:42 that there is never a crisis with the Lord. 06:45 Can you say amen. Amen. 06:47 God had foreseen this situation 06:49 and so He had his prophet there ready and waiting 06:53 to speak a word on His behalf. 06:56 And I am so grateful to God 06:57 for the Spirit of Prophecy, aren't you. 06:59 Praise God for His prophets. 07:01 So the three kings, the Bible tells us 07:04 they went to see Elisha, 07:07 and I am sure up until this point in time, 07:10 Elisha had wondered, why God had called him to the desert. 07:14 But you know what, Elisha had 07:16 obediently obeyed God's call, 07:19 because it is not the part of faith to question. 07:22 It is the part of faith to obey, amen. 07:25 And after Elisha, rebukes the king of Israel, 07:28 rebukes Jehoram, for blaming God 07:31 with their unfaithfulness and their plight. 07:34 He makes an interesting request in verse 15. 07:37 He says, "But now bring me a musician. 07:40 And then it happened, when the musician played, 07:43 that the hand of the Lord came upon him." 07:47 Before Elisha, stood a heathen, 07:51 a heretic and a saint. 07:54 The king of Edom, cared nothing for God, 07:56 he was the heathen. 07:57 The king of Israel, Jehoram, well he was a heretic, 08:00 because he was the second son of Ahab and Jezebel, 08:04 and he lived in open rebellion against God, 08:06 the Bible tells us that. 08:08 And the saint was Jehoram, 08:10 for year-sorry not Jehoram, Jehoshaphat. 08:13 For years, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, 08:15 had been faithful to God. 08:17 He had walked with God. 08:18 But now, he had made 08:20 a very disappointing decision without God 08:24 and the sight of the three of these men together 08:27 must have really grieved Elisha's heart. 08:30 It must have troubled him. 08:32 And so he calls for a musician, 08:34 because he needed to hear God. 08:37 And friends that's the kind of music 08:39 we ought to listen to. 08:40 The music that allows us to hear the voice of God. 08:44 Thousands of soldiers waited, 08:46 while the music played, and the prophet prayed. 08:51 And the Bible tells us that as this music was playing, 08:54 the hand of the Lord, came upon him. 08:57 That is Old Testament jargon for the Holy Spirit 09:00 came upon him, and what happened, 09:02 what was the message that God had for him, verse 16, 09:07 "And he said, Thus says the Lord, 09:11 Make this valley full of ditches." 09:14 Verse 17, "For thus says the Lord, 09:17 Ye shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain, 09:21 yet that valley shall be filled with water, 09:24 so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink. 09:29 And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord, 09:32 He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand." 09:37 And all the people said, amen. 09:41 I don't think so. 09:43 Can you imagine the stir 09:45 that this message must have caused? 09:48 I am sorry, but did you just hear him say, 09:50 that God wants us to make, to dig, 09:52 to make the whole valley full of ditches. 09:56 I am sure, a sweaty soldier somewhere must have wondered 10:01 if the sun had gotten to the prophet's head or something. 10:05 I mean they had already hit rock bottom, 10:08 and now God was calling them to dig. 10:12 Nobody had even brought a spade. 10:14 What were they going to dig with? 10:16 And none of them were feeling especially spiritual either. 10:20 I mean its hard enough for us sometimes feeling spiritual 10:23 and being spiritual when we're stuck 10:26 for 20 minutes in an air conditioned car. 10:28 But these blokes had been out 10:31 in the hot sun of the desert, 10:33 they were tired, they were sun burnt, 10:36 their lips were parched. 10:39 I feel thirsty just thinking about them. Do you? 10:45 The last thing any of them wanted to do 10:47 was hard work, why? 10:49 Because if you start digging in a dry place 10:52 where the ground will either be hard, 10:54 or if it's a sandy place, 10:56 the moment you start digging, they will start caving in. 11:00 Have you ever dug a sandpit? Yeah. 11:03 So this was a very strange thing, 11:06 and from a human point of view, it sounded absurd. 11:10 But friends, Jehoshaphat, had walked with God 11:13 enough to know that obedience to God's word 11:17 is the only way, amen. 11:19 It was dig or die as far as he was concerned. 11:22 And so they started to dig. 11:25 The sun went down, and they kept digging. 11:28 All night long they dug. 11:31 It was hard, humbling work, 11:34 their arms were soar, their back was aching, 11:38 they were tired and to top it all off 11:40 they were so severely dehydrated, 11:43 their thirst was unquenchable. 11:46 But when the morning sun rose, 11:48 still it found them digging. 11:51 And there is something we can learn from that, 11:54 because many times in our lives, 11:56 God may ask you to do things that 11:58 you don't think you are able to do. 12:01 God's commandment to you may seem impossible, 12:04 but remember God called Noah to built an Ark 12:06 before it had even rained. 12:09 Remember that God, told Abraham, 12:11 that he would be the father of a great nation, 12:14 while he and Sarah were in 12:15 the sunset years of their lives. 12:18 Remember that God called Ezekiel 12:20 to preach to a valley of dry bones. 12:22 Remember God said, go forward 12:24 when the children reach the borders of the Red Sea 12:27 and they had the sea in front of them 12:29 and the Egyptian army behind them. 12:31 And when you remember this, know this, 12:34 that if God calls you to do something 12:36 that seems impossible, it is simply because 12:39 he intends to do it through you. 12:42 God intends to empower you 12:44 to be able to go through with it. 12:46 He says my grace is sufficient for you, 12:50 for my strength is made perfect in your strength. 12:54 No, He says my strength is made perfect in weakness. 12:58 And friends in digging, 13:00 they were learning to lean on Jesus. 13:03 And I believe here at these conferences 13:05 we have been spending time on our knees last night 13:09 as we made that commitment to God, 13:11 as we've been emptying ourselves of ourselves 13:14 and inviting Jesus to come into our hearts 13:17 and confessing our sin. 13:19 Friend as we let these things go in, 13:21 make room for God in our lives, 13:23 I believe that you and I are opening up 13:26 channels in our lives, ditches if you like, 13:29 where God is going to be able to pour out 13:32 a blessing for you. 13:34 And there may be times when you have heard 13:36 the word preached here at GYC. 13:39 And you're thinking, because the Holy Spirit is impressing 13:42 upon your heart. This is got to change. 13:44 That's got to stop. This is got to go. 13:47 And you're thinking, I can't do it. 13:49 You're right, you can't. 13:52 And He never said, you could. 13:54 Because He can and He always said He would, amen. 13:58 Verse 20, "Now it happened in the morning 14:03 when the grain offering was offered, 14:05 that suddenly water came by way of Edom, 14:09 and the land was filled with water." 14:14 Friends the Psalmist was right, 14:16 weeping only lasts for a night, 14:19 because joy comes in the morning. 14:23 And I don't know how God did it, 14:25 but He did it without a sound or sign 14:29 from sources apparently impossible and invisible. 14:33 A mighty flood came stealing into their dry valley 14:39 when the morning came and their ditches 14:42 were all filled, not partially 14:45 but fully with that living water, 14:48 crystal waters reflecting the morning sun 14:52 from off the red hills of Edom.c 14:54 With shouts of joy, 14:56 the thirsty soldiers scrambled to find their way 14:59 to their ditches as the plunge 15:01 their faces into the water. 15:03 And beside them, their animals they drank 15:06 thirstily and greedily and happily beside them. 15:10 It was a wonderful, wonderful morning. 15:12 And friends the smaller step in obedience to God 15:17 is always a giant step to blessing. 15:21 Because they had obeyed God, 15:23 God had been able to bless them. 15:26 The water had been available to them 15:29 only because they were obedient. 15:34 During the World War I, during World War I, 15:36 the Australian soldiers, they would call each other 15:40 not just mates, but diggers. 15:44 And the reason why they'd call each other diggers 15:47 was because they lived much of the time on the war front 15:50 in trenches that they had dug. 15:52 They would fight from these trenches. 15:55 And so friends as far as the Australian slang 15:58 was concerned "the digger" was a soldier. 16:01 And friends as far as God is concerned, 16:04 we are all God's diggers as well. 16:07 We are the channels through which God intends 16:10 to take His fountain of living water to the world, 16:14 to your family, to your neighbors, to your friends. 16:17 We are the army that God has raised up 16:20 for such a time as this. 16:23 And friends the Bible tells us 16:26 that what happened in the desert 16:28 back then is going to very soon 16:31 happen in our church, amen. 16:35 Come with me to the Book of Joel, Joel Chapter 2, 16:41 Book of Joel, Hosea, Joel, Joel, Chapter 2. 16:52 And notice with me what the Bible says 16:55 about the flood that's coming, 16:56 Joel Chapter 2, verse 28. 17:01 The Bible says, "And it shall come to pass 17:05 afterward, God says, I will pour out my Spirit 17:10 on all flesh, your sons and your daughters 17:14 shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, 17:18 your young men shall see visions. 17:20 And also on my men servants and my maid servants 17:23 I will not just sprinkle, 17:26 but pour out my spirit in those days." 17:32 Friends, there is a gusher coming to this church, 17:37 a mighty flood that the world has not yet seen. 17:41 And I believe that just as the men in the valley 17:45 had a work to do in preparing for the water 17:48 that was coming, so too as a church 17:51 we have a work to do in preparing 17:54 for the latter rain to come into our church, 17:57 and into our lives. 17:59 There was once a king who noticed 18:02 a subject in his kingdom who was always being so good 18:05 and so kind to everybody else. 18:07 And so he wanted to give him something as reward 18:10 for his--for just being a good citizen. 18:13 And so he called the man in before him 18:15 and he told him what he would like to do 18:17 and he said listen, I will give you one day 18:20 to walk around however much land 18:22 you're able to walk around in one day 18:24 and whatever you're able to walk around, 18:26 I want to give it to you as a thank you 18:29 for what you are doing in this empire. 18:32 Without hesitation that man took his stave 18:35 and he drew a circle around himself. 18:38 When he did, the king was kind of shocked. 18:41 He said do you mean you only want what's in the circle. 18:44 The man said, no your highness, 18:46 I want everything outside it. 18:49 Friends, that man was bold in his request of that king. 18:54 And friends as Christians, 18:55 as Seventh-day Adventist Christians, 18:57 you and I can be bold in what we pray 18:59 and expect from God, 19:01 because our God is a great God, amen. 19:04 He is able to bring forth streams in the desert. 19:08 Matthew Henry once said, "They that expect 19:11 God's blessings must prepare room for them." 19:15 Friends are you preparing room in your life 19:17 for the blessing, for the flood that is about to come. 19:22 Because God can only fill us 19:25 to the extent that we are willing to yield to Him. 19:29 God's not going to move until we do. 19:33 Prepare half heartedly and you and I 19:36 will only prepare half, will only receive sorry 19:39 half of the blessing that God has in store for us. 19:43 The men in the valley, those that dug deeply 19:45 received more, the bigger the ditch 19:48 the more water they received. 19:51 And so friends, I encourage you today 19:53 dig deeply in your spiritual life, 19:56 dig deeply in the wood, 19:57 dig and dig as much as you want to receive. 20:01 Clear a space for God in your relationships. 20:04 Clear a space for God in your time 20:06 and that's an important one, got it. 20:08 Clear a space for God in your finances. 20:11 Make room for God in every area of your lives, 20:14 because He is going to bless us 20:17 with an outpouring of His spirit. 20:19 We need to trust in God 20:21 as though everything depended upon Him. 20:24 But we ought to work 20:25 as though everything depended upon us. 20:29 A lady once said, 20:31 just let me just frame the story bit better. 20:34 There was an Revival meeting and at this Revival meeting, 20:38 God moved in a powerful way. 20:40 And there was a man that came to this Revival meeting, 20:43 he always came to the Revivals 20:44 that were held every year at this particular church. 20:47 But every-in between every Revival 20:49 he would always backslide. 20:51 He would always stop coming to church, 20:53 always fall back in his spiritual walk with God. 20:56 And so when this Revival came, he was there again, 20:59 and as the word was preached, 21:01 he felt revived, he felt like revived again. 21:04 And in a burst of emotion, in a great burst of emotion 21:07 he cried out for God to fill him. 21:10 And the moment he did it, 21:11 there was a lady sitting in the church, 21:13 an older lady and she had seen his many revivals 21:17 and his many backslidings, and the moment she heard 21:19 him cry out for the filling of the spirit, 21:21 she said, don't do it Lord, because he leaks, 21:26 because he was always leaking. 21:28 Now friends the reality is this, 21:30 without Jesus all of us leak. 21:34 We need to be continually refilled, 21:38 continually refilled by Jesus. 21:40 So don't just wait for the Holy Spirit to come, 21:43 prepare for Him, prepare, prepare largely, 21:47 prepare vigorously, because when God works, 21:51 He works like God. 21:53 I think of the verse in Romans. 21:55 Come with me to the Book of Romans, 21:56 Romans Chapter 8, Romans Chapter 8, verse 32. 22:04 Romans Chapter 8, verse 32. 22:12 The Bible says in Romans 8, verse 32, 22:15 "That He who did not spare His own Son, 22:18 but delivered Him up for us all, 22:21 how shall He not with Him also 22:23 freely give us all things." 22:28 God wants to freely give us all things, 22:30 so prepare for God blessing. 22:33 We go back now to our story. 22:35 Sorry, we got to go back to Second Kings, 22:37 Chapter 3 again. 22:38 Because that was not all God wanted to give, 22:40 the water wasn't just the only thing, 22:42 there was something else. 22:44 Second Kings, Chapter 3 again, 22:47 and we pick up our reading in verse 21. 22:56 Second Kings, Chapter 3, verse 21, 22:59 "And when all the Moabites heard that the kings, 23:02 the three kings had come up to fight against them, 23:05 all who were able to bear arms 23:07 and older were gathered; and they stood at the border. 23:10 Then they rose up early in the morning, 23:12 and the sun was shining on the water; 23:15 and the Moabites saw the water 23:17 on the other side as red as blood. 23:20 And they said, 'This is blood; 23:22 the kings have surely struck swords 23:24 and have killed one another; 23:26 now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!'" 23:29 So when they came to the camp of Israel, 23:32 Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, 23:35 so that they fled before them; 23:36 and they entered their land killing the Moabites." 23:41 Friends, not only did God meet their need 23:44 and give them water, but He also gave them the victory. 23:48 Friends, my Bible tells me, that God goes above 23:52 and beyond our highest expectations, amen. 23:56 And I believe that Satan is afraid of the fact that 24:00 one day you and I are going to work out 24:02 just how big God really is. 24:05 Stories told of Napoleon Bonaparte, 24:07 as he was surveying a map of the world, 24:10 he laid his finger on a certain portion of that map 24:13 and he growled, here lies a sleeping giant. 24:18 Let her sleep, for if she wakes 24:20 she will shake the world. 24:23 The giant of which he spoke was China. 24:26 And friends, I believe that 24:28 when Satan looks at this church, 24:30 its almost like Napoleon, he looks at us 24:32 and he says oh, let her sleep, 24:35 because if she wakes she will shake the world. 24:40 There's quote from the Spirit of Prophecy, 24:41 Last Day Events, there is nothing 24:44 that Satan fear so much is that the people of God 24:47 shall clear the way by removing every hindrance, 24:51 so that the Lord can pour out His Spirit 24:53 upon our languishing church. 24:56 And yet friends, how many times 24:58 that we got too tired to dig, too lazy to obey God 25:02 and to do what He calls us to do. 25:06 There are days you will feel like digging, 25:08 and there are days you may cry 25:09 just having to pick up the spade. 25:12 There are days when you read the Bible 25:13 and you are just so excited and then there are other days 25:16 where it just doesn't seem to do much. 25:18 There are days when you're praying, 25:20 you feel your prayer go straight 25:22 to the throne room of God 25:23 and there are other days where you think that 25:25 your prayer has just hit the ceiling. 25:27 But friends, when you think like that, 25:29 when you feel that God is not really speaking to you, 25:32 that your prayer is not working, don't give up. 25:35 Don't let your feelings dictate your behavior. 25:38 Keep reading the word and ask the Holy Spirit 25:41 to make it living and powerful in your life. 25:43 Keep praying, because God will answer your prayers. 25:46 He will always come through for you. 25:49 Friends, God will do His part, 25:51 provided we do our part, amen. 25:55 Think those soldiers in the valley had 25:57 every-they could have given God a thousand excuses, 26:01 a thousand reasons why they shouldn't 26:03 have to dig in the desert. 26:05 But friends, if we will just obey God, 26:07 and obey Him together, 26:09 I believe that we will shake the world. 26:12 By God's grace we will shake this world. 26:16 Just think of snowflakes. 26:18 Snowflakes are really fragile, 26:20 but if you put them all together, they stop traffic. 26:25 And friends, that's why I believe that 26:27 Second Kings, Chapter 3 and verse 16 26:31 ought to become is familiar to us as John 3:16. 26:35 Because God's calling us to dig ditches 26:38 for a blessing that will come. 26:40 Friends, Jesus, will come. 26:43 The latter rain will fall. 26:46 The gospel of the-- the everlasting 26:47 gospel of the kingdom will be preached 26:49 in all the world and then the end will come. 26:53 We are not preaching and not preparing 26:55 for a blessing that might come. 26:56 We are preparing for what will come. 27:00 God's response in the valley 27:01 came quickly when they prepared. 27:04 And he say, Charissa, don't talk to-- 27:05 about being things being quick. 27:08 You know, we have been preaching that 27:09 Jesus is coming soon for 120 years and I know that. 27:13 But friends I really do believe in, 27:14 I know that Pastor Cameron, mentioned the other night 27:17 that he believed we will see Jesus come. 27:19 And I believe that too, I believe as we look around us. 27:22 I believe that we are so close 27:24 to the end of time which is not aware of it. 27:27 I believe we'd be shocked 27:28 if we knew just how much time we had left. 27:32 There's another quote. 27:33 "There is no limit to the usefulness of one 27:35 who, putting self aside, 27:37 makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit 27:39 upon his heart and lives a life 27:42 wholly consecrated to God. 27:45 If His people will remove the obstructions, 27:48 He will pour forth the waters of salvation 27:51 in abundant streams through the human channels." 27:55 Friends, I believe that God wants to use you 27:57 to be a powerful witness for Him. 28:00 And I used to think that I didn't have the testimony, 28:04 because I grew up in the church 28:06 and I've listened to peopled get up front 28:08 and share their testimonies and they were 28:10 always so exotic and so amazing. 28:12 Me, my testimony, I was born into the message, 28:15 I just always went to church. 28:18 But friends, I've always been also very shy person 28:20 and I know that it might for you to believe. 28:23 But my mom, she would take my sister and I to church 28:26 every Sabbath growing up and as a little girl, 28:28 I would sit in my home church, 28:30 and I'd watch the priest to get up to front and preach 28:32 and I'll sit there and think, wow, I wish I could do that. 28:36 So I would go back home and when no one was looking, 28:40 I'd go back into my room, and I shut the door, 28:42 and I'd stand in front of the mirror 28:44 and I would preach to the mirror. 28:47 And I tell you what they were very deep sermons 28:49 that I would preach to the mirror. 28:51 Not many theologians would be able to understand 28:53 the deep things that I discussed, 28:55 that I preached to that mirror. 28:57 And one day while I was preaching to the mirror, 28:59 my sister came into my room without knocking, 29:01 we share a room back then. 29:03 And she saw me preaching to the mirror and it looked fun. 29:05 She said, can I play, I said sure. 29:07 And so we would play church. We played in for years. 29:10 She would come, do the song service, 29:12 do the welcome, sorry the prayer take up the offering 29:16 and then I would get up and I would preach 29:19 and when I'd finished preaching, 29:20 I'd say the closing prayer, we'd sing our final hymn. 29:23 And then I'd go stand at the door 29:24 and shake a hand and thank her for coming. 29:27 We knew how to play church. 29:30 But one day while we were playing church, 29:34 while I was playing church, 29:35 I had the head elder of our church, 29:38 he came to visit and I didn't know he was there 29:40 and I was in the middle of one of his history's 29:42 deepest sermons and he saw me. 29:44 He'd come to visit my dad, he wasn't going to church. 29:47 And he just locked that in the back of his mind, 29:49 Neil Garfield, is his name, he locked it 29:51 in the back of his mind, he felt one day 29:53 I'm going to ask that girl to preach. 29:55 Well, that's one side of the story. 29:57 As a 14-year-old in high school, 30:00 still very shy person. 30:02 I remember one day we showed up to school one morning 30:05 and we were talking with my friends 30:07 and my teacher, my English teacher walked past, 30:09 and she said good morning, 30:10 have you got your speeches ready. 30:12 We said, speeches, she said the one that's true 30:14 in English next period. 30:16 You better get in your speech ready, 30:17 because it's next period. 30:19 So we stopped talking and we went 30:21 to write our speeches for English. 30:23 And when English came and we all hopped in the classroom, 30:26 the teacher wrote the names of the students that 30:29 would be speaking their speeches 30:31 during that class, and she is teacher. 30:33 She knows, we haven't done our homework, 30:35 so whose name do you think she put on the board. 30:37 She put my name right there on the board. 30:40 And so I had to get up and deliver this speech 30:43 that I hadn't prepared and it was to be a speech 30:46 in the book that we had read 30:48 and it was to be a monologue, you were to pick a character 30:50 from the book and be that person. 30:52 And the book that I had read 30:53 was a book entitled "Rachel's Tears." 30:55 Has anybody read that book? 30:57 Yeah, it's a powerful book of few people. 31:00 Powerful book about a girl that was shot during 31:02 the Columbine High School shootings, 31:04 but if you haven't read, 31:05 don't worry about that, but the story bit. 31:07 I decided that I was going to be the brother of this girl 31:10 in the book and so when my time came 31:13 to give my speech to my Year A class, 31:16 that's what they called in Australia, 31:17 I don't know what it is here, but I was 14. 31:20 I got up and I am delivering this speech to my classmates 31:23 and as I am going through the speech, 31:25 a little light bulb went on in my head. 31:27 I said, why don't you make an appeal 31:30 like the evangelists do in their crusades. 31:33 After all you're just pretending 31:36 to be like somebody else. 31:38 And as I am going through my speech, 31:39 I thought that is a wonderful idea. 31:41 And so as I got to the end I said, 31:43 and now if you would like to accept Jesus Christ 31:46 as your personal Savor or forever friend, 31:49 would you mind raising your hands with me. 31:52 And the class did what you are doing, 31:53 they just sat there. Nobody moved. 31:56 My teacher is at the back of the room, 31:59 she couldn't believe what was happening 32:01 at the front of the room. 32:02 And I was just to the front, and I was just copying 32:04 what I had seen done in church. 32:06 You know, and I've been going to church 32:08 and I'd seen appeals done. 32:10 We had Pastor Torres, come to our church in Sydney 32:13 many times and I've seen him do the appeals. 32:15 And so I have never seen an appeal done 32:18 when no one responded. 32:20 So I didn't know what to do if no one didn't move, 32:22 so I just stood there and I wasn't moving 32:24 until somebody moved. 32:27 And finally after what appeared 32:29 to be an eternity to me. 32:30 Somebody my best friend, she is here actually, 32:33 Myrica was--anyway she was sitting in the front row 32:36 finally she put her hand up 32:37 and I said God bless you friend and sat down. 32:42 And when I sat down, I felt awful. 32:45 I went home that night and I felt terrible, 32:47 I thought my class are going to think 32:49 I am some kind of a religious nut. 32:52 But friends, does God wants me to be just nuts. No. 32:58 od wants spiritual fruit, say amen. 33:01 Anyway, so I went home and I felt terrible, 33:04 I told my mom, I said I don't want 33:06 to ever go back to school. 33:07 Can you please change school, I want to change school. 33:10 I don't want to ever see my classmates again. 33:12 They're just going to think, I am weird. 33:14 But she said, oh don't worry, you're just pretending. 33:17 So I went to school the next morning 33:18 and to make things worse, the friends that 33:20 I usually spoke during the morning had missed the bus, 33:23 so I was there all alone and my teacher walks past. 33:26 She says, good morning Charissa, 33:28 walk with me, so I walked with her. 33:30 She says, that was an incredible speech 33:32 you gave yesterday. I said really. She said yes. 33:36 How would you like to give it in assembly today? 33:40 I said, you mean the whole thing, 33:42 you mean the hands up thing and everything. 33:45 She says yes, I've been talking to the teachers, 33:47 we want the whole thing in assembly today. 33:50 You got 99 out of 100. I said really. 33:52 What did I lose the mark on? 33:54 She said, you went too long, 33:55 because I went for seven minutes 33:58 instead of three minutes, 33:59 that's because nobody put the hand up, 34:01 so I just waited for four minutes for someone to move. 34:06 And friends, my teacher she obviously saw that 34:09 there was something there that God, 34:11 that could be developed for God's glory. 34:14 And the following year as a 14-year-old 34:16 still I am in year 9. 34:18 Opportunity came for me to enter 34:20 a public speaking competition to represent my school. 34:25 And I--when I was asked to do, and I, 34:27 I said I have to pray about it, 34:28 because I am a very shy person 34:30 and I've never done it before. 34:32 And I prayed about it, and I decided that 34:33 I would enter this competition 34:35 on one condition that I could talk about God. 34:38 So I went back and I told my teacher my decision. 34:41 And as a teacher, she could have looked at me 34:43 and said Charissa, that's nice, 34:45 but God won't work in a secular competition. 34:49 But instead she looked at me and she said something 34:51 which is possibly been one of the most 34:53 life changing things she has ever said. 34:54 She said, Charissa, that is the best thing 34:57 that you could do. 34:59 And with that encouragement I went 35:01 and I had to write a speech, but what do you write 35:04 on to tell a secular audience about God. 35:06 Well, I decided, my sister helped me, 35:09 God helped me to write a speech on the word eternity, 35:12 because in the year 2000, on New Years Eve, 35:16 the Sydney Harbour Bridge lit up 35:17 and they splash across it was a word eternity. 35:20 So I wrote this speech, and I can still remember 35:23 the day before, this competition 35:25 I was kneeling beside my bed. 35:28 I was a 14-year-old year 9 student 35:31 and I was very nervous. 35:33 And as I knelt by my bed and I prayed, I said Lord, 35:37 You and I both know that I can't do this. 35:41 And so I just asked You Lord, 35:42 please help me get through tomorrow. 35:44 In fact no, if you let me win tomorrow, 35:48 then I promise You, that I will speak for you 35:51 wherever You open the doors. 35:54 That was a promise I made. 35:55 The next day I showed up at school, 35:57 it happened that our school was hosting this competition 36:01 and when I walked into the room 36:03 where the competition was going to be held, 36:05 I was very intimidated, because there were students 36:07 from all these other schools 36:09 and dressed, you know, in their best uniforms 36:12 and they talked so well, 36:13 they all sounded so intelligent. 36:15 I remember I walked past one guy 36:17 and he said, that UN don't even have a standing army. 36:20 And at the time, I didn't know what the UN was. 36:23 I thought it was un. 36:24 Oh, God, what am I doing here? 36:27 And so the time came for me to deliver my speech 36:30 and I've cut through the chase, 36:31 so I can see my clock is running. 36:33 Time came for me to deliver my speech to that audience 36:36 and I got up and I began to tell them about God. 36:40 But as I was going through the speech 36:42 on eternity something happened. 36:45 My principal walked into the classroom 36:48 while I was in the middle of my speech. 36:50 And rule number one in public speaking competitions, 36:53 you do not enter or leave a room when someone is speaking, 36:56 because it's highly distractive. 36:58 But my principal walked in 37:00 and as soon as he walked in 37:01 the page that I had memorized 37:03 and was reading in my head just vanished. 37:06 And I was left staring at this audience 37:08 and it looked like pause for effect, 37:10 because I had a serious face on. 37:12 And I didn't know what to do 37:14 and in my mind I was panicking. 37:16 What comes next, where was I up to, 37:18 and then a miracle happened. 37:20 My mouth just started talking, 37:22 just started telling people about God, 37:24 while my head was in confusion. 37:26 And as I started listening to what was happening, 37:28 I said oh, that's right, 37:30 that's where I was and I kept going. 37:31 It happened the second time, 37:33 classmates were walking past the room 37:35 and they were waving at me through the window. 37:37 Again the page in my head just vanished. 37:40 Again my mouth just starts going 37:43 telling people about God. 37:45 Third time it happened, three times, 37:48 I lost the words, three times, 37:51 God came through and He helped me, 37:53 He gave me the words and when I finished, 37:56 I sat down and I felt shaken. 37:58 I felt like Jeremiah, 37:59 I felt like God had just reached down 38:01 and put His words in my mouth. 38:04 Oh, that was only half the competition. 38:06 The next half was an impromptu section, 38:08 and I am terrible at impromptu speeches 38:10 and I was the worst one there. 38:12 So when the time came for them to announce the winner. 38:16 They announced three winners, they announced someone else, 38:18 someone else and then they announced me. 38:21 I couldn't believe it. 38:22 And I went up to the judicator afterwards, 38:25 that's what you meant to do. 38:27 And he said to me, Charissa, that was an incredible speech, 38:30 could have been in the senior division. 38:32 Just one thing take God out of it for the next round. 38:37 And I thanked him, and then I went to way in, 38:39 my teacher said, what did he say? 38:40 And I told her, and she said, Charissa, 38:43 do you remember why you went into this. 38:45 I said yes. She said then I wouldn't change a thing. 38:49 I went to the next round of the competition and I lost, 38:53 I didn't win anything. 38:55 But friends, my promise to God was this, 38:57 if you let me win tomorrow, 38:58 then I promise You that 38:59 I will speak for You wherever You open the doors. 39:02 And friends from that day to this, 39:04 I have endeavored to be faithful to God. 39:07 And I have endeavored to go wherever He opens the door, 39:10 that's why I am here. 39:11 God has called me to dig in places 39:13 where I felt it was impossible for me to dig. 39:15 To do things that I didn't think I could do. 39:18 But friends, when we make room for God, 39:21 when we will just do what He calls us to do, 39:23 God will send through a blessing for you, amen. 39:26 And friends, it's interesting 39:29 as you read the story in Second Kings, 39:31 that when the priest offered the sacrifice, 39:35 it says at the time of the morning sacrifice 39:37 when the priest offered the sacrifice 39:39 in Jerusalem, sunlit hill. 39:41 It opened a fountain of living waters 39:44 for those soldiers in the valley. 39:46 And friends so too centuries later 39:48 when Jesus, the Lamb of God, 39:50 offered Himself on the cross for you and I. 39:54 He has opened a floodgate for us. 39:57 He has opened and created for us 39:59 a fountain of living waters, 40:01 so that none need go thirsty. 40:04 And that army, it is no coincidence 40:06 they became an unstoppable force 40:09 after they received the power of the water 40:12 and of the blood. 40:13 And our victory will always be 40:16 in the blood of Jesus Christ, amen. 40:18 Friends, Second Corinthians, 40:22 Chapter 6 and verse 2, 40:24 Second Corinthians, Chapter 6, verse 2. 40:35 The Bible says behold, 40:39 I am just reading the second part of this verse. 40:40 "Behold, now is the accepted time; 40:44 behold, now is the day of salvation." 40:48 Friends right now today, 40:51 as we're in the cusp of 2012. 40:55 Now is the time that God is calling you and I 40:57 to dig ditches. To dig as deep as we can 41:01 and as wide as we can, 41:04 because the only place where success comes 41:07 before work is in the dictionary. 41:09 We got to do something. 41:11 And when the prophet said, dig, he didn't mean later. 41:16 Friends, God is ready to move when we are ready to receive. 41:21 This morning do you crave a spiritual blessing? 41:25 Do you want God to fill you, do you? 41:31 God's command to our church today is simply this to you. 41:35 Make your valley full of ditches 41:39 that every Seventh-day Adventist here at the GYC. 41:42 Every Seventh-day Adventist in this world 41:45 that desires to be filled by God's Holy Spirit 41:49 and to bring the living waters of the gospel 41:52 to those around them. 41:53 Let them make room for God in their lives. 41:56 Let them dig ditches and dig deeply, 41:59 so that God may fill them to overflowing. 42:03 What ditches is God asking you to dig in your life? 42:07 Does He want you to spend more time 42:08 on your knees in prayers? 42:10 Perhaps there is someone that you need to forgive. 42:13 Perhaps God is calling you to go 42:16 and dig overseas in a mission field somewhere. 42:19 Perhaps God wants you to share your faith more boldly 42:23 wherever it is that God may be asking you to dig. 42:27 If you don't know where He is asking you to dig, 42:29 ask Him and He will show you. 42:31 Friends, I believe if you will just make that step 42:33 in obedience and do it, God will bless. 42:36 And as my brother here sings a song, 42:40 I'd like to invite you to demonstrate 42:42 that desire to obey God,to go and dig and whatever area. 42:47 He may be calling you to dig by just standing to your feet 42:50 and come in to the front, if that's your desire, 42:52 If you want to go from this place 42:54 and dig and dig deeply. Thank you. 43:13 The theme of the Bible 43:18 is Jesus 43:23 And how He died to save men 43:34 The plan of salvation 43:40 assures us 43:45 He's coming back again 43:54 Are you ready for Jesus to come? 44:03 Are you faithful in all that you do? 44:12 Have you fought a good fight? 44:16 Have you stood for the right? 44:20 Have others seen Jesus in you? 44:29 Are you ready to stand in your place? 44:38 Are you ready to look in His face? 44:46 Can you look up and say, 44:51 "This is My God!" 44:55 Are you ready for Jesus to come? 45:10 Don't cling to this world and its treasure 45:17 This earth will now pass away 45:24 Oh, give Him your heart without measure, 45:31 He's calling you today! 45:39 Are you ready for Jesus to come? 45:46 Are you faithful in all that you do? 45:53 Have you fight a good fight? 45:57 Have you stood for the right? 46:01 Have others see Jesus in you? 46:07 Are you ready to stand in your place? 46:15 Are you ready to look in His face? 46:22 Can you look up and say, "This is My God!" 46:29 Are you ready for Jesus to come? 46:38 Are you ready 46:42 for Jesus 46:50 to come? 47:07 Amen, let's pray. 47:09 Our father in heaven, 47:11 We've just come forward, we're standing 47:14 Because we want to be diggies for Jesus. 47:17 We've recognized that there is a flood coming 47:19 to this church, You're longing to pour out a blessing 47:23 and we're standing because we're prepared 47:24 we're going to go and make room 47:26 and I believe that 47:27 You've brought conviction to our hearts 47:29 and You've told us to dig in places. 47:32 And Lord, I just pray, 47:33 that wherever You've told us to dig 47:35 that You provide that grace that You promise 47:38 that You would make, 47:39 make your strength perfect in our weaknesses 47:42 and thank you, Lord, for speaking to our hearts today. 47:45 Bless us in the activities that will follow 47:47 for we ask this in Jesus name, amen. 47:51 May God bless you, 47:52 and may you have a blessed Sabbath. 47:54 Thank you. |
Revised 2014-12-17