Participants: Frank Fournier
Series Code: 12ASIC
Program Code: 12ASIC000002
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00:21 Our scripture reading this evening,
00:23 if you'll take your Bibles, 00:25 it's found in the Book of Luke. 00:28 The Book of Luke 2:49. 00:32 And it's said in that amazing story of Jesus, 00:36 amazing the scholars there at the temple. 00:40 Again the scripture is found in the Luke 2:49. 00:46 And I'm reading from the New King James Version, 00:48 and its says, "And he said to them 00:51 why did you seek me? 00:54 Did you not know that I must be about my father's business?" 01:29 Morning by morning 01:34 I wake up to find 01:38 The power and comfort 01:42 of God's hand in mine 01:49 Season by season 01:53 I watch Him, amazed 01:57 In awe of the mystery 02:01 of His perfect ways 02:06 All I have need of, 02:10 His hand will provide 02:14 He's always been faithful to me 02:28 I can't remember 02:32 a trial or a pain 02:36 He did not recycle 02:40 to bring me gain 02:46 I can't remember 02:50 one single regret 02:54 In serving God only, 02:58 and trusting His hand 03:02 All I have need of, 03:07 His hand will provide 03:11 He's always been faithful to me 03:51 This is my anthem, this is my song 03:58 The theme of the stories 04:03 I've heard for so long 04:09 God has been faithful, 04:13 He will be again 04:17 His loving compassion, 04:21 it knows no end 04:25 All I have need of, 04:30 His hand will provide 04:34 He's always been faithful to me 04:43 He's always been faithful 04:52 He's always been faithful to me 05:30 Wonderful, I'm glad to be here. 05:34 I finally get to relax and preach a sermon. 05:40 You don't know how stressful some of these things are. 05:43 This afternoon I was asked 05:44 to go to the General Conference meeting. 05:46 We had a medical missionary work and blending 05:49 of our works together. 05:51 And I finally realized when I got there 05:54 that I had been told that I would be speaking 05:58 except that I hadn't remembered until I got there. 06:01 Now you can see how stressful something like that can be. 06:04 And it was cold in the room and I began to shake. 06:09 But anyway, I sent a prayer up to the Lord 06:13 and the Lord hears our prayers. 06:15 He calmed right down and we were able to say something. 06:20 The Lord is good, isn't He? 06:22 Yes, I'd like to invite to turn with me to Matthew 6. 06:28 Now you all know our theme. 06:30 It is time to be about our father's business. 06:34 And tonight I'd like to focus on the word business. 06:36 Isn't that what ASI is all about? 06:39 Yes, sharing Christ in the marketplace. 06:43 Sharing Christ is our business. 06:46 And it's important I believe 06:47 with my all my heart I believe 06:49 that we should put ourselves in a frame of mind 06:52 where we think in terms of what God would be doing 06:55 in our business where He hear in our place. 06:59 Now the words, "We see you not that I must be about 07:02 my father's business" were uttered by Jesus 07:04 when he was just 12 years old. 07:08 Even at that young age, Jesus was on the job. 07:12 Jesus knew what His Father's intentions were for Him. 07:16 And He went about to do His Father's business. 07:19 Now friends, we must have that mindset. 07:23 We must not have the mindset 07:25 that is in the minds of the people 07:28 who do not have a God. 07:30 Now I've asked you to turn 07:31 with me to Matthew 6, Matthew 6. 07:36 We're going to start reading with verse 31. 07:40 Jesus is speaking, this is the sermon on the mount. 07:44 "Therefore, take no thought." 07:48 Therefore, don't use your brainpower on these things. 07:52 Don't worry take no thoughts saying what shall we eat 07:58 or what shall we drink or where with all shall we be clothed. 08:03 God is speaking to His people and He is saying, 08:07 I don't want you to waste any brain energies 08:10 on what you're going to eat and what you're going to wear 08:12 and what you're going to drink and what you're going to drive 08:15 and what kind of house you gonna live in 08:17 and what kind of money you're going to make. 08:19 This is not what we are about. 08:22 As a matter of fact it says so in verse 32, 08:25 "For after all these things do the Gentiles seek." 08:28 Do you know who the Gentiles are? 08:30 As far as I know not being a theologian, 08:33 the word Gentiles means the ungodly. 08:36 The people who have no God 08:38 and if you have no God living in this world, 08:40 you can imagine in this world what is there. 08:43 Well, there isn't anything else but what we eat 08:45 and what we drink and what we wear 08:47 and what we drive and what we live in 08:48 and the money we make and trying to make ourselves 08:51 as successful as we can in this world. 08:54 Because that's all there is this world. 08:58 ButJesus comes along and He says 08:59 "Listen, I don't want you to take 09:02 any thought about these things." 09:04 Do you know why He says that? 09:06 It's implied in the next verse 09:08 or in the same verse the last part. 09:11 "For your heavenly father knows 09:13 that you have need of all these things." 09:16 What's the implication here? 09:19 The implication is that God will supply the need. 09:23 The promise is in there, it's written between the lines 09:27 and it happens to be true. Is it true? 09:30 It's true. And so I guess it's a shame 09:33 if God's people spend their brainpower 09:36 on the things that God has promised to supply 09:39 if we would just forget it. 09:41 Just be about His business. 09:44 And He says, "I'm going to supply the food 09:45 you're going to need, I'm going to supply the drink 09:47 you're going to need, the clothe you're going to need, 09:49 the money you're going to need, the house you're going to need, 09:51 I'm going to supply it." 09:54 So don't waste your energy right there. 09:56 I want you to save your energy to be about My business. 10:02 And His business is in verse 33. 10:06 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God." 10:10 That is to expand it. 10:12 "And his righteousness" That is to receive 10:15 the gift of His righteousness, so that you can have 10:18 the character of Jesus Christ built in you. 10:21 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness 10:23 and all these things will be." What? 10:27 "Will be added on to you." 10:30 There used to be a time when I would envy 10:34 those who somehow were blessed with so much wealth. 10:39 Well, I'd like to be blessed with so much wealth too. 10:42 But you know I'm, it's right here. 10:45 It's promised. 10:46 My God shall supply all my needs. 10:49 How much more do I need than that. 10:52 My God it says here, "All these things 10:55 shall be added on to you if you will do my business." 11:02 Longtime ago, longtime ago at an ASI Convention 11:06 and it's just come to my mind. 11:08 My wife was being interviewed because 11:10 she was doing some work in Africa. 11:11 We were doing some work in Africa. 11:13 And I remember my wife saying to the people 11:17 who were listening that our children had left home. 11:21 She had the emptiness syndrome. 11:23 She was going through a real struggle. 11:25 Here we are in Africa and our children 11:27 were going home to America 11:29 and that's a long way away and we were feeling it. 11:32 We really were. 11:33 But I remember at the convention, 11:35 she was telling the people 11:36 that she'd made a plan to bargain with God. 11:39 She says, listen I will take care of the work 11:42 you give me to do in Africa, 11:44 if you will take care of my children. 11:47 Does He do stuff like that? 11:49 Oh, yes, He does. Yes, He does. 11:51 So this is the mindset we want to have. 11:52 And obviously God has two purposes for His people. 11:55 He wants us to receive the righteousness of God, 11:58 so that we can have the character of Jesus Christ. 12:02 And He wants us--once we have the character of Jesus Christ, 12:06 He wants us to be witnesses by the power of the Holy Spirit 12:10 and by our life that reflects the image of Jesus Christ. 12:12 He wants us to go out there and build up His kingdom. 12:17 That's what He wants from us. 12:18 Except that obviously God has a problem 12:23 with his Laodicean people. 12:25 We're lackadaisical about character perfection 12:29 and active soul winning. 12:32 Now, I may be speaking these words to the wrong people. 12:36 These are ASI members I understand. 12:38 You're probably more active than most. 12:41 But just in case-- now just incase you're not, 12:45 we need to be. 12:47 We need to hear this. 12:49 And it's true we've been here 12:51 a longtime as Seventh-day Adventist. 12:54 We should have bought in to the intentions 12:57 thatJesus has in the most holy place 13:00 of the sanctuary a longtime ago. 13:03 And we should have gone home long air this. 13:05 There must be a reason why it hasn't happened, 13:08 don't you think? 13:09 And I think this is it right here. 13:11 We've been easy going. 13:12 We've been nominal about this. 13:14 God wants us to have the character of Jesus 13:18 and He wants us to be witnesses in a mighty way. 13:21 And He plans to do that. 13:23 Now we're going to take time 13:24 to look first of all that character building. 13:26 I'd liked to invite you to turn with me 13:28 to Revelation 6, Revelation 6. 13:33 What I'm going to share with you for just a few minutes. 13:35 Some of you have already heard in another sermon, 13:38 I promise I'm not preaching the same sermon. 13:40 I'm just using this as a springboard we needed. 13:42 At least I needed. 13:46 We're in Revelation 6. 13:49 By the time I get through reading it. 13:50 You're going to wonder what this has to do 13:52 with character building but hang on, 13:53 you're going to see it in a few minutes. 13:55 Revelation 6, we're looking at verse 9. 13:58 We're going to start there. 14:00 And this is Jesus opening the fifth seal. 14:04 "And when he had opened the fifth seal, 14:06 I saw under the altar the souls of men 14:09 that were slain for the word of God, 14:11 and for the testimony which they held. 14:13 And they cried with a loud voice, 14:15 saying, 'How long, O Lord, holy and true, 14:18 dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them 14:21 that dwell on the earth?' 14:23 And white robes were given unto every one of them, 14:26 and it was said unto them, that they should rest 14:29 yet a little season, until their fellow servants 14:33 also and their brethren, 14:35 that should be killed as they were, should be killed." 14:38 So what in the world does that have 14:39 to do with character building? 14:42 Well, actually it has very little 14:43 to do with character building. 14:45 Ah, but there is something very strange here. 14:48 And it has to do with what Ellen White 14:51 has to say about this passage of scripture. 14:54 As a matter of fact she makes a direct comment 14:56 on this passage of scripture and in the direct comment 15:00 she takes an amazing leap. 15:02 And I want you to see this. 15:04 I'm going to read from the Spirit of Prophecy 15:05 this is volumes 7 of the Bible commentary 968, 15:10 volume 7, 968. 15:13 "When the fifth seal was opened, 15:16 John the Revelator in vision saw beneath the altar 15:19 the company that were slain for the Word of God 15:23 and the testimony of Jesus Christ." 15:25 Now notice the next two words, 'after this.' 15:28 After what? Well, after the fifth seal 15:31 was broken and opened then it says. 15:34 After this, after the breaking of the fifth seal 15:37 came the scenes described in the eighteenth of Revelation, 15:42 when those who are faithful and true 15:44 are called out from Babylon." 15:47 So you're getting the picture here. 15:50 Jesus breaks the fifth seal and it is written there, 15:54 it's read, we have just read it. 15:56 And Ellen White says after this right after the fifth seals 15:59 the seal comes the scenes depicted in Revelation 18:1. 16:07 When the whole world is lightened 16:08 with the glory of God's character 16:10 and when I first read that I began to think 16:12 what in the world, how can that be, 16:15 it hardly even makes sense. 16:16 This is the beginning of the Book of Revelation. 16:18 She jumps almost clear to the other end 16:20 and says that one is connected with the other. 16:22 And I couldn't make sense of it unless something had gone wrong. 16:29 Because I began to think what in the world 16:31 are we gonna to do with Revelation 7:17. 16:34 Are they supposed to be missing? 16:36 They're not supposed to be there 16:37 or am I misunderstanding something. 16:40 Did something go wrong 16:42 and friends something did go wrong. 16:44 And we can see that quite clearly actually 16:46 if we just keep on reading. 16:47 And by the way, if the fifth seal 16:50 is followed by Revelation 18 then I suppose 16:53 the next thing to follow would be the second coming of Jesus. 16:57 Well, the what's sixth seal all about. 17:00 You know, that it's about the second coming of Jesus. 17:02 You look at verse 15. 17:04 "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, 17:06 and the rich men, and the chief captains, 17:08 and the mighty men, and every bondman, 17:10 and every free man, hid themselves in the dens 17:13 and in the rocks of the mountains, 17:15 and said to the mountains and rocks, 17:16 Fall on us, hide us from the face of him 17:19 that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17:23 For the great day of his wrath is come; 17:25 and who shall be able to stand? 17:27 What is this depicting? 17:29 The second coming of Jesus. 17:31 So the fifth seal leads to Revelation 18, 17:34 leads to the second coming of Jesus. 17:38 Do you know that tells me that something went wrong? 17:41 And if we keep on reading there are no chapter divisions. 17:45 We've been told that many times. 17:46 So we just keep reading right into Revelation 7. 17:54 And I'm going to ask you a question. 17:59 Jesus sent four angels. 18:00 God send four angels in Revelation 7. 18:05 What did He send the four angels to do? 18:09 I can hear you its and this is the same answer 18:12 I always get when I ask this question. 18:15 Jesus sent the four angels to hold back the winds of strife. 18:19 And do you know that is the wrong answer. 18:22 Jesus did not send. 18:23 God did not send the four angels 18:25 to hold back the four winds of strife. 18:27 This is what they end up doing 18:28 but that's not why they were sent. 18:30 And you can see in the text here. 18:32 So we're going to read Revelation 7:1. 18:36 "And after these things I saw four angels 18:38 standing on a four corners of the earth. 18:40 And they end up holding the four winds of the earth 18:43 that the winds of strife should not blow upon the earth 18:46 nor on the sea nor on any tree. 18:49 And I saw another angel ascending from the east; 18:52 having the seal of the living God. 18:54 And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels 18:57 to whom it was given to." To what? 19:01 "To hurt." In other words to destroy, that's what it says. 19:05 The earth and the sea saying 19:07 "don't hurt the earth neither the sea nor the trees 19:11 till we have sealed the servants of our God in our foreheads." 19:14 God had sent the four angels to destroy the earth. 19:19 But when he got there God's people were not ready. 19:22 They were not sealed in their foreheads 19:24 and if you read early writings, 19:25 you'll know that Jesus yells back to His Father, 19:28 hold, hold, hold, hold, Four times 19:31 because my people are not sealed with seal of the living God. 19:35 There is a parallel passage to all of this in Ezekiel 9. 19:39 I assume you know 19:40 there is a parallel passage there in Ezekiel 9. 19:45 We're not going to take time to go there. 19:48 But in Ezekiel 9, God sends six men 19:51 with destroying weapons in their hands. 19:54 And then one of the men has a writer's inkhorn 19:56 he's dressed in linen, a priest attire 19:59 and he's got a writer's inkhorn in his hand 20:01 and he's going about to put a mark on the foreheads 20:03 of those who sigh and cry for the abominations 20:08 that are done in Jerusalem. 20:10 Now you know that the mark he's putting under foreheads 20:12 is the seal of the living God. 20:14 So after the work is done, then God sends the men 20:19 with the destroying weapons at their hand to begin destroying 20:22 and he says don't pity, don't have compassion on old 20:25 or young or male or female or little children 20:27 or anything just destroy everything 20:29 except those that have the mark. 20:32 Yeah, so here comes the angels-- I'm over to this, 20:35 the men with the destroying weapons 20:36 in their hands and they're coming. 20:38 And when they get there they're about to start destroying, 20:45 but the man with the writer's inkhorn 20:46 in his hand has not finished his work. 20:49 And so they're having to hold the four winds of strife. 20:55 Yeah, who is this angel? 20:57 When we are speaking about Revelation 7:2. 21:00 The angel ascending from the east. 21:03 Who is this angel, anyway? 21:06 In Early Writings, page 89 said the angel, 21:10 "The third angel is binding, or sealing, 21:14 them in bundles for the heavenly garner." 21:18 So who is that angel coming up from the east? 21:20 It's a third angel of Revelation 14. 21:24 Early Writings, 118 paragraph 1. 21:27 "I then saw the third angel. 21:30 Said my accompanying angel, Fearful is his work. 21:34 Awful is his mission. 21:36 He is the angel that is to select the wheat." 21:38 He is the great selector. 21:40 He is the great judge. 21:41 In other words, he's to select 21:43 the wheat from the tares and to seal. 21:46 And bind the wheat for their heavenly garner." 21:49 So who is the-- who is this? 21:53 But first of all it's the angel ascending from the east. 21:56 It's the third angel of Revelation 14. 21:59 In Ezekiel 9 it's the man with the writer's inkhorn 22:02 in his hand dressed in a priest linen. 22:04 And he is the judge. 22:08 If you go to John 5. 22:10 Go with me if you have Bibles. 22:13 We're looking at John 5:22. 22:21 "For the father judges no man. 22:24 But have committed all judgment on to the Son." 22:29 How much of the judgment. 22:31 Oh, and so this is all 22:33 a representation of Jesus Christ. 22:37 This is His work in the most holy place of sanctuary. 22:42 His work is to seal God's people with the seal 22:45 of the living God--to put the character of Jesus Christ 22:48 in our foreheads, in our minds, 22:51 in our character that's what it is. He is going, 22:54 he is trying, he is working 22:56 in order to present his people faultless 22:59 before the throne of God. You can read that 23:00 in the Three Angels' Messages, can't you? 23:03 Sure if you went and we're not going to go there. 23:05 But if you went to Revelation 14, 23:07 you will see that God has given three messages, 23:11 the Three Angles Messages. 23:13 And the purpose is to perfect the 144,000 23:16 who get sealed of course 23:18 and who don't fall for any corrupt doctrine. 23:23 We can see that in oh, I forget how it's worded. 23:26 But anyway they follow the Lamb whithersoever, 23:28 he will go they'd no guile in their mouth. 23:31 And they're faultless before the throne of God. 23:34 This is the sealing message. 23:36 That's what it's about. 23:38 And I have a question for you. 23:40 Why does the Seventh-day Adventist church 23:43 identify itself with the Three Angels' Messages? 23:46 Have you noticed that almost anywhere you go 23:49 and we're speaking about 23:50 the Seventh-day Adventist church? 23:51 We talk about, we talk about 23:53 the church of the three angels. 23:57 If I was to ask you this evening why is that. 24:01 Would you know what to say? 24:03 Is it just something we've grown up 24:05 with and it sounds good and we don't quite know 24:08 what it means and we couldn't explain it if we tried. 24:11 I mean it's amazing to me. 24:12 But I would like if we could. 24:14 You know, we are 17 million 24:15 Seventh-day Adventists in the world. 24:17 It would be very interesting for me if we could interview all 24:21 of this people just to find out 24:23 how many of them actually know what this means. 24:27 How many of you think could answer this question? 24:30 Yeah, well, obviously, our founding fathers 24:33 could answer the question because it came from over there. 24:36 Our founding fathers understood what God was up to. 24:40 Our founding fathers understood 24:42 that we are not just another denominations. 24:45 They understood that God raised the people 24:48 so that He could seal them with His character, 24:51 so that He could pour out His Holy Spirit upon them, 24:54 so that we could enlighten the whole world 24:56 with the glory of God's character. 24:58 This is a movement, not just another denomination. 25:03 The problem of course is that as Seventh-day Adventist 25:06 we contented ourselves with playing church 25:08 like other nominal Christians. 25:12 We've been satisfied with our Christian lukewarmness 25:15 and we failed to buy in to God's intentions for us. 25:21 Do you know what Jesus is doing in the most holy place? 25:25 Do you know the implications of that? 25:28 Do you know where that should lead us? 25:30 Do you know what we opt to be doing 25:33 far more than we are doing today 25:36 especially in the process of character building. 25:40 In Great Controversy, page 488. 25:44 The subject of the sanctuary 25:46 and the investigative judgment should be clearly 25:49 understood by the people of God. Is it? 25:55 "All need a knowledge of themselves of the position 25:58 and work of our great high priest." Why? 26:02 But watch the answer. 26:04 "Otherwise it will be impossible for them to exercise faith 26:09 which is essential at this time or to occupy the position 26:13 which God designs them to fill." 26:17 Friends, faith is not exercised in a vacuum. 26:22 Faith has to be based on something solid. 26:25 God's word, God's promises, 26:27 God's commandments and God's intentions. 26:29 And when Jesus moved from the holy place of the sanctuary 26:32 into the most holy place of the sanctuary, 26:34 He went there with a purpose for His people. 26:37 And if we don't know what Jesus is diong 26:41 in the most holy place of the sanctuary. 26:43 How in the world are we going to follow Him? 26:46 How in the world are we going to buy into His intentions for us? 26:51 Consequently the angels are holding back 26:53 the four winds of strife 26:56 until you and I get with the program. 27:02 It is time, it is time to be about our father's business. 27:09 And if we don't know fully what that business is, 27:13 then we need to start studying the sanctuary message. 27:18 We need to understand what it is He is doing 27:20 and we need to shut our ears to those 27:23 who would like to put away the sanctuary message. 27:25 You know, there is a lot of people 27:27 who would like to do that, don't you? 27:29 Don't do it. Don't do it. 27:32 Otherwise you cannot have the faith, 27:34 you will not have the faith, you will not be able to exercise 27:38 the faith that you need to exercise for this time. 27:44 Again, this is volume 5 of the Testimony 421. 27:48 "This is the great day of preparation and the solemn work 27:51 going on in the sanctuary above should be kept 27:54 constantly before the people." 27:56 When is the last time you heard a sermon on the sanctuary. 28:01 And it says here, it should be kept constantly 28:04 before the people because friends this is present truth. 28:09 This is what God is doing. 28:10 This is where His intentions are for His people. 28:13 There is a lot to preach in the Bible, 28:15 we can preach about all kinds of stuff in the Bible 28:17 and it's all true and it's all great. 28:20 But friends, if we don't go there, 28:22 if we don't grasp what is going on in the sanctuary, 28:25 then we cannot exercise all right faith, amazing. 28:31 This is the great day of preparation 28:33 and the solemn work going on in the sanctuary above 28:37 should be kept constantly before the people. 28:40 And urged upon their consciences with earnestness and power. 28:45 The subject of the sanctuary will give us correct views 28:49 of the importance of the work for this time--this time. 28:55 Today, the day in which we are living. 28:58 So if we want correct views of what Jesus 29:01 is attempting to do for us through His people for Himself 29:05 in glorifying His own name, then we need to go 29:08 to the sanctuary and look into it. 29:10 So how important is that that we buy into it. 29:14 Well, friends, it's so important that Jesus 29:16 will not come until we go there and until 29:21 we're sealed with the seal of the living God. 29:26 Important oh, I don't know 29:30 how to impress it upon you. 29:34 We're going to move over now to the expansion of God's kingdom. 29:37 I would like to invite you to turn with me to John 4. 29:43 Those of you who study 29:44 your Bible... already have an idea of where I'm going. 29:50 John 4. This is the lady, the woman at the well. 29:54 This is what we usually say. 29:57 Jesus is on His way to Galilee, 29:59 He takes a shortcut through Samaria. 30:01 He ends up sitting at Jacob's well. 30:04 He's exhausted, He is hot and He is hungry. 30:08 Now I don't know if He's is more exhausted 30:11 than His disciples were. 30:12 In any case, He sent His disciples 30:15 to town to buy to buy food, so that they can eat. 30:19 And I'm kind of thinking, you know, 30:22 it seems to me that Jesus would have 30:23 as much energy as any other man. 30:25 But I think, He had 30:27 a divine appointment and He knew it. 30:30 And so He is sitting there at Jacob's well 30:32 and wouldn't you know it by coincidence 30:34 a lady comes along, a woman comes along 30:37 and she is coming along at the time of day 30:42 when the women of the town are not necessarily 30:46 wanting to come and get water because 30:47 it's too hot at time of the day. 30:49 But she comes at that time of day 30:50 because she's got a reputation you understand. 30:54 If you follow the text, you'll find out 30:56 that she had five husbands 30:58 and the one she is living with is not her husband 31:00 and so you can imagine the disapproving looks 31:03 that she might receive where she there with all the other 31:06 town gossips and it would be a problem to her. 31:09 So she goes at a different time of day. 31:12 She is a lady with a bad reputation. 31:16 Now it's amazing just a week and a half ago, 31:19 I went to the old Kevin Convention in Michigan. 31:22 And Gayle Clark from Miracle Meadows, 31:24 the President of Miracle Meadows was there, 31:26 preaching on the very same subject. 31:28 And she did an amazing job to show 31:31 that Jesus always went for the outcast. 31:35 And how He treated the outcast 31:37 and making a difference of course contrasting 31:39 how some of us might deal with the outcast 31:42 and of course in the Bible we see how it might have been 31:45 for this poor woman but Jesus reaches out to her. 31:50 This was the candidate for heaven. 31:52 Now, hey, I'll tell you what? 31:54 There's a lot of people out there that I don't judge 31:57 as candidates for heaven. 31:59 And because I judge it that way, 32:01 I kind of have more reticent to say something. 32:03 I would like to say something to people 32:05 who look like they might be receptive 32:07 but who am I to know who is receptive, do you know. 32:13 Yeah, so Jesus reached out to everyone 32:15 and He especially made an effort for this lady here. 32:19 Well, it caught her by surprise of course, 32:22 because it was totally out of the realm of the day, 32:29 the customs of the day. 32:31 Jewish men did not speak to women. 32:36 They especially did not speak to Samaritan women. 32:38 And they would not certainly speak 32:41 to this kind of Samaritan woman and so here she is and here 32:45 is the Jewish man and He asks a favor of her. 32:47 He wanted some water and she is just blown away. 32:50 And so she says, how is it that you being 32:54 a Jewish man will ask of me a Samaritan woman a favor. 32:58 She just couldn't put that together. 33:00 I want you to notice how He responds 33:02 to this now in verse 10. 33:04 I love this verse. I just love it. 33:06 Jesus answered and said to her "If you knew the gift of God." 33:12 This is tantamount to saying if you only knew. 33:17 Have you ever approached someone who comes at you 33:19 from one angle or another and you know 33:21 they're not seeing the picture and you say to yourself, 33:25 "Oh, sister, brother if you only knew." 33:28 If you only knew. 33:30 Now here we are human beings, 33:32 we can't know everything. 33:33 And obviously this woman didn't know 33:35 and Jesus is saying this to her. 33:37 If you only knew everything would change. 33:41 If you only knew, you wouldn't think 33:42 the way you're thinking. 33:44 If you only knew you wouldn't say the things you'd say. 33:46 If you only knew, you wouldn't do the things that you're doing, 33:49 if you only knew the gift of God. 33:54 Do you know the gift of God? 33:58 Yeah. Do you know what God would like 34:00 to give you this evening and as we go on? 34:04 If you only knew but friends you don't. 34:08 Now it's a bit arrogant I suppose 34:09 of me to say you don't. 34:12 But you don't. 34:13 Oh, there is no doubt in my mind. I don't. 34:16 The gift of God, we know something about it, 34:19 that's why we are here. 34:20 God so loved the world, He gave His Son. 34:22 Do you know that God still loving the world with his Son 34:25 has freely given us all things. 34:26 Do you know what it means to have all things? 34:29 You have all things, do you believe it? 34:32 Do you believe it? 34:35 Now, we don't know, if we only knew. 34:40 Let me tell you something. 34:42 If God could open our hearts and our minds, 34:45 so that we could receive all that He wants to give us. 34:52 Temptations would be superseded to a great extent. 34:57 Jesus was tempted and He knew. 34:59 So I can't say we would never be tempted. 35:01 Aha but friends things would be so different. 35:04 And that's our goal, this is what we want. 35:06 If we only knew. If we only knew. 35:13 In John 17, it says, 35:16 "This is life eternal if we only knew Him." 35:21 Yeah, get to know Him. 35:23 Make that effort. 35:24 I'll tell you-- I just know, 35:28 I mean I have been around long enough 35:30 to know a few little things. 35:35 Coming here, well anyway, my life has been so busy, 35:41 you couldn't believe it. 35:43 But I take time everyday to get to know Him. 35:50 And I pray the verse the responsibility 35:54 the tougher the responsibility, the more, 35:57 the more unnerving the responsibility 36:00 the more time I take to pray. 36:02 I have made messes in my life. 36:05 Maybe you haven't but I have made messes in my life 36:08 and I have noticed that when I take 36:11 the time on my knees to plead with God 36:13 and to when I really actually feel my need from the soul 36:18 that feels his need nothing is withheld. 36:21 That's what Desire of Ages page 300 says. 36:25 "From the soul that feels his need 36:27 and approaches God with his need showing. 36:32 Praying with an intensity of purpose. 36:36 Proportionate to the value of the object we seek." 36:38 That's volume 61:75. 36:41 When we have a desire proportionate 36:43 to the object we seek, God says, 36:45 I will give it to you because with my Son 36:48 I had freely given you all things. 36:50 It's all there, it's at your disposal. 36:52 I don't care who you are. 36:55 It's true. It's true. 36:59 This girl needed to know that, this lady. 37:03 She is dead. You need to know that. 37:06 We need to know that. 37:08 We need to exercise that. 37:11 So, Jesus approaches her and He says 37:12 "If you only knew, if you only knew 37:15 who it is that says to thee give me to drink. 37:20 Thou would has of asked him. 37:23 And he would have given you living water." 37:29 It was all confusing to her. 37:36 What is this guy talking about? 37:38 I've come to the well to draw water. 37:39 He comes to the well, He hasn't got the bucket. 37:43 He asked me for a water then He offers me water 37:46 and He doesn't even have a bucket to draw a water with. 37:49 It's like what is He talking about? 37:53 And so she says to Him. 37:54 Hey, how is it you're going to do that 37:56 without anything to draw? 37:58 Notice His answer here in verses 13 and 14. 38:01 Jesus answered and said to her 38:04 "Whosoever drinks up this water shall thirst again." 38:08 Yeah, we know that. 38:09 Have you ever drunk water 38:10 that the last time you were thirsty? 38:12 You'd never had to drink water since. 38:14 This is common sense this is what it is. 38:16 But then what He says in verse 14. 38:18 "But whosoever drinks up the water 38:20 that I shall give him 38:21 shall never thirst." Really? 38:28 And the water that I shall give him shall be in him, 38:31 a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 38:36 What did He mean that if a man drinks 38:39 this water, he shall never thirst? 38:42 Have you drunk from the Word of God? 38:46 So you would never had a desire for the Word of God again. 38:48 Is that what He meant? 38:50 Well, obviously not, that can't be what He meant. 38:52 Because the more I drink from the living water, 38:55 the more I drink from the Word of God, 38:57 the more I want to drink from the Word of God. 38:59 It has my heart, 39:01 it really, really does and I want to drink. 39:03 So that obviously is not what He meant. 39:06 Do you know what He meant? 39:07 He meant that if you were to drink from the Word of God. 39:10 Take a deep breath of the Word of God, 39:13 you would never thirst for anything else. 39:17 This is what Jesus is trying to say. 39:19 This is what Jesus is trying to give us. 39:21 Every other gift would be eclipsed. 39:23 Temptation would pale by comparison. 39:25 Addiction will loose its power 39:27 and attraction would be all superseded. 39:31 Any other attraction out their in this world. 39:34 Say, have you had this experience? 39:37 Have you drunk deep enough, 39:39 is this your experience with God. 39:44 You remember Peter. 39:46 We're going to John 6 now, 39:48 but we don't have to go there because 39:50 I'm just going to take a second. 39:51 But in John 6, Jesus is speaking about being a bread of life. 39:58 And 70 disciples walk away disgusted. 40:02 They thought he was the Messiah 40:04 and now He is telling us 40:05 that the kingdom is made up of spiritual things. 40:07 And He's not going to overcome the Romans 40:09 and they're disgusted with it and they walk away from Him. 40:12 And Jesus comes to Peter and to the disciples 40:15 and He says, "Will you walk away also." 40:18 What did Peter say? 40:22 Where will I go? 40:25 Have you ever had that experience? 40:28 If you have drunk deep enough. 40:30 Now there're plenty of people 40:31 who turned their backs on God today. 40:33 Are they not? 40:34 There're plenty of people who have been Christians for a while 40:37 and they find it so whatever they find it. 40:39 And they turned their backs 40:40 and they go back out into the world. 40:42 We've had this experience in our family just lately, 40:45 a young niece of mine has turned her back on God. 40:48 Ah, I can't imagine. 40:50 I can't imagine if somebody was to say to me. 40:54 Would you turn your back on Adventism? 40:56 Would you turn your back on Jesus? 40:57 Would you turn your back on the Word of God? 40:59 I would say "Where would I go?" 41:03 What is there in this world that compares with this? 41:07 And I'm sure that I haven't drunk 41:09 as deep as I need to drink. 41:11 But have drunk just deep enough to know that 41:13 there isn't anywhere else to go in this world. 41:15 This is what Peter was all about. 41:17 Peter had been a fisherman. 41:20 Jesus had rescued him from the doldrums of everyday work. 41:25 Excuse me, I don't want to insult anyone. 41:28 Hey, how would you like to be fishermen? 41:31 I used to work in the mines, 41:32 I worked underground in the mines for nine years. 41:34 Did you know how grateful I'm that I'm not there today? 41:38 Yeah, because Jesus called me... out of there. 41:43 And He has given me experience after experience, 41:46 after experience with himself 41:48 to the point where I had the opportunity of preaching 41:50 the gospel in 34 countries. 41:52 And I'm nobody but Jesus can do that with nobody. 41:55 Do you understand? 41:57 And that's what He did for Peter. 41:59 So when you put yourself in Peter's shoes 42:02 and Jesus says, "You guys-- you're going to leave also." 42:05 I can see Peter looking at his past life 42:07 and looking at the life 42:08 and the experiences he's had for three years with Jesus. 42:11 And saying like "I want to go back there. 42:17 Where will I go?" 42:18 Where will I find anything better than what I found? 42:22 There's no doubt in my mind that we haven't found it all. 42:27 But there is no doubt in my mind 42:29 that there isn't anything better 42:33 than true Christianity and walking with Jesus Christ. 42:37 If your world collapsed today 42:39 and by the way some people's worlds fall apart sometimes. 42:42 This is part of life, it happens to people. 42:44 If your world should fall apart, 42:46 would you know that alcohol is an empty substitute? 42:51 Would you know that drugs and sex and sin and money 42:55 and movies and comfort food 42:56 or whatever it is that the world has to offer 42:59 to comfort us in our distresses. 43:01 Would you know that all of it is an empty substitute? 43:06 It is. 43:08 We don't need to find it out by experience 43:11 or maybe we have the experience. 43:17 There is no way to know except to taste. 43:21 And so we're out here, 43:22 we want to invite all the people to taste. 43:25 Taste and see that God is good. 43:30 And if in your experience, you haven't tasted enough. 43:34 If today you're saying sitting in your seats 43:37 "Well, you know, I haven't found 43:39 what I was looking for in Adventism. 43:42 And I don't know maybe there is something better somewhere." 43:45 Listen, you haven't drunk deep enough. 43:52 Jesus was offering this to her, if you only knew. 43:58 If you only knew. Turn with me. 44:03 Keep your finger right here because I'm coming right back. 44:06 John 7 and we're going to come right back to John 4. 44:12 John 7, I just wanted to see 44:14 what it is that Jesus was offering to this lady. 44:18 Verse 37, "In the last day that great day of the feast, 44:23 Jesus stood and cried saying, 44:25 'If any man thirst let him come to me and drink. 44:31 He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, 44:34 out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." 44:37 And then it says in verse 38, 44:39 "But this spake he of the Spirit, 44:42 which they that believed on him should receive. 44:49 For the Holy Spirit was not yet given 44:51 because that Jesus was not yet glorified." 44:57 I have the opportunity next week of speaking 44:59 at the Northwest Youth Congress in Spokane 45:04 and they wanted me to speak on the Holy Spirit. 45:07 And so I've had because I have lots of time 45:11 I had to prepare seven sermons on the Holy Spirit just lately. 45:15 And I'll tell you why. 45:17 I have come to realization 45:20 that without the Holy Spirit, I'm nothing. 45:24 Without the Holy Spirit, I can do nothing. 45:29 Without the Holy Spirit, I don't' know anything 45:31 as I ought to know it. I'm nothing. 45:34 It's amazing but the Holy Spirit is God. 45:38 And God can do anything 45:39 and God wants to take possession. 45:41 Can you imagine what it would be like, 45:43 if He had possession of your whole body, mind and soul 45:48 and He could do whatever He wants? 45:50 Well, He could do what God can do. 45:52 And He would do it through you. 45:56 We cannot do anything successfully without God, 46:00 without God's permission. Did you know that is so. 46:04 Yeah, yeah, and so it's becoming 46:07 very, very clear to my poor little brain, 46:09 how much I need God and how much more 46:12 I pray for His presence in my life. 46:15 I'm just going to take a second. 46:17 You see, I've got a clock to watch 46:19 and I'm deadly scared, afraid 46:22 that I'm going to finish five minutes early 46:24 and somehow somebody is going to have to fill in the time. 46:27 So I have time to read to you a little quotation. 46:32 This is Faith and Works, page 27, paragraph zero. 46:36 "Divine power" that's God 46:40 "and the human agency combined will be a complete success, 46:43 for Christ's righteousness accomplishes everything." 46:48 Yeah, do you know, we need Christ's righteousness? 46:54 I'm going to go to another quotation. 46:56 I have quotations all over my Bible by the way. 47:02 In volume 3 of the Testimonies 382, paragraph 2. 47:06 "The Lord requires us to move with a humble dependence 47:09 upon his providence. 47:11 It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 47:14 In God is our prosperity and our life." Now watch. 47:19 "Nothing-- how much? Nothing can be done prosperously 47:24 without the permission and blessing of God." 47:27 Nothing! And if you're prosperous, 47:30 it's because God has permitted you 47:33 to be prosperous. 47:34 You ought to give Him thanks and you got to praise His name. 47:36 Then it says, "He can set His hand to prosper and bless 47:40 or He can turn His hand against us." 47:43 Now how would you like God to turn His hand against you? 47:47 Wouldn't that be terrible? 47:48 Yes, but He can set His hand for you. 47:51 In the Bible, He says and that's where I have it in my Bible. 47:54 If we honor Him, He honors us. 47:57 Friends, honor God, He will honor you. 48:00 There is no doubt in my mind. 48:01 And so this is what Jesus is offering this lady. 48:04 He says, "If you only knew, if you only knew." 48:09 Who it is? That's talking to you. 48:14 Can you imagine, you're living at a day 48:18 when the Messiah is expected to come? 48:21 You can't tell the Messiah from anybody else, 48:23 you don't know if He's ever come. 48:24 You don't know what in the world is going on. 48:27 And one day you need a man and He says 48:31 "You're looking at him." I'm He, I'm the Messiah. 48:38 How do you think she would have related to that? 48:41 Didn't He say that to her in here somewhere? 48:45 This is where, we're in John 4 now if you go back. 48:50 I have to find it because it's not part of what I was. 48:54 It's in verse 26, lets go to verse 25. 48:57 "The woman said to him, 48:59 "I know that the Messiah is coming--" 49:00 which is called Christ, 49:02 "When He has come He will tell us all things. 49:05 And Jesus said to her 49:08 "I that speak unto thee I'm He." 49:14 What do you think it was happening in her heart? 49:18 How do you think she was feeling? 49:20 Because when Jesus spoke, 49:23 the Holy Spirit took the words he spoke 49:26 and it wasn't just like, you know, 49:28 a false prophet comes along and says I'm the Messiah. 49:32 And you'll go like well, maybe, maybe not. 49:35 I don't know who you are. 49:37 But this isn't the same way 49:38 when Jesus spoke the Holy Spirit took 49:40 the words he was speaking and he would drive it. 49:43 The Holy Spirit would drive the words so concretely 49:45 into the hearts of those He was speaking. 49:50 That they knew that what He was saying was true. 49:53 So here is this woman, she is a woman of ill repute. 49:57 And Jesus, the Messiah, 49:58 the very Messiah is standing in front of her. 50:00 And he says "I'm He that speaks to you. 50:03 I'm the Messiah." 50:05 What do you think she felt? It's amazing. 50:09 But you know in verse 15 if we go there. 50:12 "The woman said unto him, Sir, give me this water, 50:16 that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw." 50:20 Now what's interesting to me is... 50:26 Jesus had said to her. 50:28 If you knew who it was that's speaking to you. 50:30 You would ask him and he would give you living water. 50:33 So finally as she comes into the text and she says, okay. 50:38 "Give it to me?" 50:41 Did He do it? 50:43 Oh, yes. Oh, yes. 50:45 In the very words He spoke, I am He. 50:51 He communicated something that went straight to the heart. 50:54 And what did she do? Verses 28 to 30. 50:58 "The woman then left her water pot and went her way," 51:01 I mean the water didn't mean anything anymore to her. 51:06 She had water now that he's given her 51:09 that she would never thirst for anything else. 51:11 "She left her water pot 51:14 and went her way into the city, and said to the men, 51:17 'Come, see a man, which told me all things 51:19 that ever I did, is not this the Christ?' 51:23 Then they went out of the city and came to him." 51:28 Wow... 51:32 she was now a well of water springing up 51:36 gushing forth with good news filled with power. 51:41 And brothers and sisters, these people came. 51:45 They believed it because the Holy Spirit 51:46 was attending her words also. 51:49 Its amazing to me why would have woman 51:53 who has had five husbands 51:54 and now she is living with another one. 51:56 And she comes around along with a spiritual message. 52:00 Why would the men of the city believe her after all? 52:03 Her, you see. 52:06 But they believed her because the Spirit of God 52:09 was attending her words. 52:12 Friends, it is time. 52:15 That like her, we should be about our father's business. 52:20 It's time to buy into what Jesus is doing 52:23 in the most holy place of the sanctuary. 52:26 It's time that we perfected our characters 52:29 by the power of the Holy Spirit 52:32 in cooperation with what Jesus is doing 52:35 and with that infilling of the Holy Spirit, 52:38 it's time that we went out there. 52:41 And did the work that we are called to do. 52:46 Isn't it? Yes it is. 52:50 I'm going to ask you to bow your heads. 52:52 I've got an extra minute left. 52:54 And we're going to take it to pray. Just bow. 52:58 Heavenly Father, Lord, You're so good. 53:03 And we can tell by the text that it doesn't matter 53:07 what we've been in our lives in the past. 53:10 I know that You want to fill us with Your Holy Spirit... 53:15 each one. 53:16 And we're asking you this night 53:18 that you'd give us this living water 53:20 that we would be filled with thy spirit, 53:22 so that we could be instrumental in God's hands. 53:28 To fulfill the work that you intended 53:31 Seventh-day Adventist should do. 53:33 Father, it is time to take possession, 53:35 we want to be about our father's business. 53:39 And we thank you for it, in Jesus' name, amen. 53:44 God bless you all. 53:48 And may you enjoy the rest of this convention. 53:50 I'm sure you will. 54:03 As Joseph sought the Lord his God 54:08 With all his heart 54:13 God laid on him a burden 54:17 He would bear, yet not alone 54:23 The Lord was with this holy man 54:27 to bring to pass His master plan 54:33 Through foreign lands 54:35 God walked beside His own 54:41 I'll never leave you 54:46 Never forsake you 54:52 By waters still, in pastures green 54:56 I'll often take you 55:01 But when I break you 55:06 so that my name be glorified 55:11 I'll never leave you 55:16 Never forsake you 55:33 Though fire and floods 55:35 Would seem to hide His plan for you 55:42 Though trials and afflictions 55:47 Seem to take away your song 55:52 Though you may never understand 55:57 Just trust in His upholding hand 56:02 In time you'll learn, He's been there all along 56:10 I'll never leave you 56:15 Never forsake you 56:20 By waters still, in pastures green 56:25 I'll often take you 56:30 But when I break you 56:35 So that my name be glorified 56:40 I'll never leave you 56:45 I'll never leave you 56:49 I'll never leave you 56:58 Never forsake you 57:19 If you'd please stand for the closing prayer. 57:26 Our Father in heaven, 57:27 our hearts have been blessed this evening. 57:29 We have sensed Your presence here with us. 57:32 And as we look in the world around us 57:34 we know that Jesus is coming soon. 57:37 And we pray that as we spend 57:39 these few days here in Cincinnati, 57:41 that when we go from here, 57:43 our hearts will be renewed and refreshed. 57:46 And that we will make our marketplaces 57:48 a place for winning souls for Your kingdom. 57:51 That in each person 57:52 that we come across in our daily duties. 57:55 We will see as a potential for heaven 57:58 and that we'd do all with the help of Your Spirit 58:01 to bring them there. 58:03 And then we'll give You the glory and the honor, 58:06 in Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17