Participants: James Venegas
Series Code: 12HC
Program Code: 12HC000007
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00:48 And we welcome you back to Camp Meeting.
00:51 I'll tell you: it is so much fun to see familiar faces 00:56 and to just visit and fellowship with one another. 00:59 But we've been having some good meetings, have we not? 01:02 Great messages. The Word of the Lord 01:06 is not sparse on this campus. 01:09 We want to introduce to you today our special speaker 01:13 who is Pastor James Venegas. He is the senior pastor 01:17 for the Carter Report Center. 01:20 You know that John Carter is the founding pastor. 01:23 And I have to tell you: my first interaction 01:27 with Pastor Venegas... I had e- mailed him to invite him to 01:32 participate in this Camp Meeting and he's so precious. 01:35 He e-mailed me back this beautiful e-mail 01:40 just telling some things about himself 'cause I said 01:43 "Looking forward to getting to know you. " 01:45 And you know what? This man is a people person. 01:48 He loves people. He has a pastor's heart 01:51 and I have no doubt that God has brought him to the kingdom 01:55 for such an hour as this. 01:57 And if you were with us last night you heard... 02:00 He's doing a 3-part series on the sanctified life. 02:03 Last night was A Sanctified Life: Biblical Understanding. 02:07 Today is something I think we're all going to have to stay 02:10 awake and pay attention to: 02:11 A Sanctified Life: A Reality Check. 02:15 So we're going to look at that in just a moment 02:18 when he joins us. But first we've got our own pastor 02:22 John Lomacang who is going to sing a beautiful song for us. 02:26 I always know it's going to be beautiful if John sings it 02:28 because he is a true minister of music. Come on out, John. 02:32 And the title of the song is God Leads His Dear Children Along. 02:36 Thank you, John. 02:58 In shady green pastures, 03:03 so rich and so sweet, 03:08 God leads His dear children 03:13 along; 03:18 Where the water's cool flow 03:22 bathes the weary one's feet, 03:28 God leads His dear children 03:33 along. 03:39 Some thro' the water and 03:43 Some thro' the flood, 03:47 Some thro' the fire, 03:52 but all thro' His blood; 03:58 Some thro' great sorrow, 04:01 yet God gives a song; 04:06 In the night seasons 04:11 and all the day 04:15 long. 04:30 Tho' sorrows befall us, 04:34 and Satan oppose, 04:38 God leads His dear children 04:42 along; 04:46 Through faith we will conquer 04:50 and defeat all our foes, 04:54 for God leads His dear children 04:59 along. 05:02 He leads some through the water 05:07 and some through the flood, 05:11 Some thro' the fire, 05:15 but all 05:19 thro' His blood; 05:24 Some thro' great sorrow 05:28 yet God gives a song; 05:32 in the night seasons... 05:42 in the night seasons 05:48 and all 05:53 the day 05:56 long. 06:16 Amen! 06:19 Praise God for beautiful music. 06:23 What you don't know about me being from a fair distance 06:28 and a new face to you all 06:29 is that music has always played a very big role in my heart 06:33 and my life. It is a power that not many other things can match, 06:38 sometimes even more powerful than the spoken word 06:40 where God can speak to us through music. 06:43 I thought today just to lighten things up a little bit 06:45 I'd tell you a little bit more about who I am and my heart 06:48 because I am new to you and I understand that. 06:51 And many of you would like to I guess get to know 06:53 my background. What brought me here? 06:56 What do I stand for? What do I do? 06:58 You've heard already that I am a pastor in Los Angeles now. 07:02 I pastor the Carter Report Center. 07:04 I'm the week-to-week pastor there. I'm in charge of 07:06 visitation and preaching and Bible studies with our members. 07:11 But that's only been going since February of this year. 07:14 I've been on such an amazing journey in 2012. 07:19 At this time last year I was pastoring in a small little 07:22 place - and some of the members will be watching - 07:25 in Tamworth in New South Wales Australia. 07:28 Not unlike here, it's a rural setting and it's like Nashville, 07:31 the central music capital of Australia. 07:34 So all of the musicians - country music and all of that - 07:37 is based there. And that's where we ministered for the last 07:40 three years before arriving in Los Angeles. 07:42 But before that I had the privilege of pastoring 07:45 in Avondale Memorial Church in Cooranbong 07:49 which is the pioneer church there. 07:52 And so I know that there's a lot of our members watching 07:55 today from there as we have a big viewership for 3ABN 07:59 in Avondale. But the journey has been incredible 08:04 just watching how God has been leading my life 08:07 like the song said... along. 08:10 You know, my heart is simply a heart for people. 08:14 Shelley said that I am a people person. 08:16 And that is not a boast it's really just a description 08:19 because I truly, truly have a love for seeing people walk 08:22 closer to God and walking with them. 08:25 I love seeing the Word of God make a difference in their lives 08:28 and drawing them into the presence of Jesus. 08:31 That's what I live for. 08:32 And having grown up in a Spanish church for the early years 08:35 of my life has really equipped me to just... 08:39 just live my life in full for the ministry of God. 08:43 I don't really value the time as my own. 08:47 Everything that we do is permeated by the... 08:52 the desire to minister for Christ. 08:54 It is something that was instilled early. 08:57 It is something that I still carry with me today. 08:59 I also need to make mention of my beautiful wife Kaylene 09:02 who's at home. She has my heart. 09:05 She's not so much... She would tell you she's not a people 09:07 person. She prefers to be in the background. 09:09 Doesn't like to be in the front. 09:11 But she's my partner in crime. She's praying right this minute 09:15 for us. She's a godly woman who spends many hours 09:20 in God's presence praying for her husband, for her children. 09:23 I'm very honored to have her as my wife. Her name's Kaylene. 09:27 Maybe someday you'll get to meet her. 09:29 She's a singer as well and we do duets together. 09:34 But for now you'll just have to hear the sound of my voice 09:37 in terms of preaching. We'll do the singing at a later time. 09:41 Now the last meeting we had together I introduced 09:43 the concept of a sanctified life. It's something that's been 09:46 burning a hole in my heart for a long time. 09:49 I told you that it was a burden because I am just not seeing 09:53 the sanctified life in our churches anymore. 09:56 And I do put that down to the times in which we live 09:59 because we are under an attack because the devil knows 10:03 that his time is short. And if he can sabotage 10:06 the character of the church then he wins. 10:10 And so my burden has been to try to reintroduce this 10:16 age-old concept of sanctification through my 10:19 preaching through the churches that I've been a part of. 10:22 And we learned last night that the Bible commissions us 10:25 as Christians - as Seventh-day Adventists - 10:28 to strive for a sanctified life. 10:30 We talked about how a sanctified life was a life that means 10:34 that we are different. But not for the sake of being different. 10:38 We are different because Christ lives in us 10:41 and He lives through us. 10:43 And it just happens that He is reflected in our character 10:46 simply because we love Him and we love His Word. 10:49 Not something that we have to work hard for, to will ourselves 10:53 to do it or to behave a certain way. It just flows out 10:56 of a life that is close to Christ... or it should flow out! 11:00 It is my conviction that evangelism and our reaching 11:05 of the gospel to the world will be boosted if the church 11:09 wakes up and lives a sanctified life 11:12 and we all link arms together and represent Christ 11:15 in this way. It will motivate us to get out of our pews 11:19 and go beyond our churches. 11:21 And so for me the sermon series The Sanctified Life 11:26 is going to be one that we will build on. 11:28 So we've laid the Biblical foundation. 11:30 Today we're going to take it a little deeper 11:32 and we're going to have a reality check of what 11:35 the church is like at the moment... the Adventist church, 11:38 our church. Where are we at? 11:39 We're going to have a health check. 11:42 But before that I want to invite you to open up your 11:44 Bibles - the Word of God - to Luke chapter 11. 11:49 This is what I call an introductory verse - 11:51 a springboard verse - for the topic. 11:54 Luke chapter 11 and we will be reading 11:57 from verse 37 and onwards. 12:01 Luke chapter 11 37 and onwards. 12:07 And while you're looking for that I'm just going to get 12:09 my notes in order here. They got shuffled a little bit. 12:13 OK. 12:19 Luke chapter 11 verse 37 and I'll read 38 as well. 12:25 "When Jesus had finished speaking... " it says 12:28 "a Pharisee invited Him to eat with him. 12:32 So He went in and reclined at the table 12:35 but the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus 12:39 did not first wash before the meal. " 12:46 So Jesus is invited to the house of a Pharisee 12:49 which is a feat in itself. 12:51 And He sits down to eat - He reclines to eat - 12:55 but the Pharisee notices that He fails to wash His hands 13:00 before that meal. 13:02 Now let me tell you that the non-washing of the hands 13:05 or the washing idea is certainly not a hygienic thing 13:09 back in the first century. 13:10 There was no thought in the minds of the Pharisees 13:13 or Jewish people that one needed to wash your hands 13:16 before a meal for hygiene. 13:18 Now germs were discovered in the 19th century. 13:21 This was a ritualistic, ceremonial washing 13:24 consecrating as it were that meal to God. 13:28 It was a preparation so that meal and that encounter 13:33 would be a holy encounter. 13:36 And so when Jesus fails to wash His hands 13:40 He does it knowing that this is a tradition or an expectation 13:43 for the Jewish world at that time. 13:46 So He deliberately chooses to not wash before that meal. 13:52 I find that very interesting because nothing that Jesus does 13:55 is by coincidence. Every action of Jesus being 13:59 God Himself is meaningful for us to learn from. 14:02 And so I just want to read on a little further 14:04 so we can see a little bit more of what Jesus 14:07 is trying to teach through this experience. 14:10 Verse 39: 14:12 "Then the Lord said to him in response: 14:15 'Now then you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup 14:19 and dish but inside you are full of greed 14:24 and wickedness. You foolish people, ' He says, 14:29 'did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 14:33 But now as for what is inside you 14:36 be generous to the poor and everything will be clean 14:40 for you. ' " 14:42 Interesting teaching. 14:44 Interesting in terms of sanctification. 14:47 We're going to unpack it, but first, let's ask God 14:49 to be with us as we study. Let's pray. 14:53 Our Father in heaven, You know that my pure and sincere 14:55 motivation is to draw our minds to You. 14:59 But Lord, being human, I need the anointing from on high. 15:04 I ask, Lord, that You will clear my mind and speak 15:07 through me. That You will cleanse my heart. 15:10 I ask, too, that You prepare our hearts and minds 15:12 to receive the message... to discern what You are trying 15:16 to teach us through Your Word. 15:18 And that may be different for different people. 15:20 But I just pray that Your Word will go forth and will not 15:23 return void just as You promised is my prayer in Jesus' name. 15:28 Amen. 15:31 I wanted to share with you a little story 15:35 that is told about these giant redwood trees that exist here 15:39 in the United States. And in introducing this story 15:42 I have to admit that I have never witnessed one of these 15:45 giant trees. I've seen the eucalyptus gum trees 15:48 of Australia which are fairly tall and big 15:51 but they are nothing like what I've heard these giant 15:54 redwood trees are. And I look forward to someday seeing them. 15:57 But a story is told of a giant redwood tree 16:00 that had lived for 400 years. 16:03 And apparently this redwood tree had survived many, 16:07 many storms and earthquakes and natural disasters. 16:11 In fact, it had survived 14 separate lightning strikes. 16:16 And for 400 years it had stood strong and tall 16:21 and had withstood just about anything that nature could 16:26 throw at this redwood tree. 16:29 But then all of a sudden without any prompting, 16:31 without any notice, this tree came tumbling down to earth 16:36 with a humongous thud. 16:39 And what was curious is that the tree fell 16:44 not because a timber cutter chopped it down 16:47 or because it was struck by a massive lightning bolt 16:50 but it just fell with no apparent reason. 16:54 And so when the inspectors went in there to investigate 16:57 what had felled this tree... what was it that 17:00 dropped this giant powerful majestic tree to the ground... 17:05 interestingly they discovered that it was tiny little beetles 17:10 that had found their way inside the bark of this tree. 17:16 And over time, slowly but surely over time, 17:20 they had started to eat away the giant tree from within. 17:25 Those tiny little beetles and few of them started to rot 17:29 that tree from within so no one knew that that tree 17:32 was rotten and dead, emaciated from within, 17:36 until the day that it fell. 17:40 These tiny little beetles accomplished something 17:44 that massive natural disasters could never accomplish: 17:48 they felled that tree. They killed it 17:51 from the inside out. 17:55 What looked majestic and solid and beautiful on the outside 18:01 was truly rotting away on the inside over time. 18:09 And eventually such a decay led to its complete destruction. 18:14 And I want you to notice the theme that I'm trying to 18:17 get across here. To me it's an obvious theme 18:19 that something could be eating us away from within 18:23 and no one else will know about it. Everything may appear 18:27 nice and well and good from the exterior... 18:30 We may look strong and yet a small sin 18:36 or a small something could be eating us away from the inside 18:39 as Christians. To give you an example of this 18:42 I need to mention probably a classic example 18:46 and that is Ted Haggard. 18:48 He is an American... or was an American preacher. 18:52 And many of you are familiar with that name. 18:54 I only mention him in terms of 18:55 illustrating what I'm talking about. 18:58 He was the founder of a large church in Colorado called 19:01 New Life Church. He was the leader of the National 19:04 Association of Evangelicals. 19:06 He was a man in good and regular standing. 19:10 He was a leader amongst men. He was a great speaker. 19:13 People looked up to him... he was an example. 19:16 He was a majestic solid tree. 19:19 And then suddenly the newspapers and the TV 19:24 stations got a phone call from a male prostitute 19:28 who claimed that this upright Christian man 19:32 in the public eye was in fact one of his customers. 19:38 And of course when the media confronted Ted 19:42 he immediately rejected it. He said: "I don't know this man. 19:44 I don't know what you're talking about. " And he put up 19:47 a facade. And then the man was incensed... This person... 19:51 this anonymous person... again insisted: 19:53 "No, I know this man. We do drugs together, " 19:56 he said, "and he is one of my clients. " 19:58 Seems impossible, and yet with time the truth came out 20:03 and we realized that somehow this man for 50 or more years 20:09 had lived a lie. He was truly rotting from within 20:12 and we didn't know it. 20:15 And he wasn't honest enough to admit it either. 20:21 And so today we want to deal with what is a reality check 20:26 for us as Seventh-day Adventist Christians. 20:29 I really want this to be an experience where we look 20:32 upon ourselves and just see where we truly are. 20:35 I really want to encourage you to stop those thoughts 20:38 coming into your head that tell you: "This is something 20:40 that so and so needs to be listening to right now. 20:43 If only they were tuning in 20:44 or if only they were sitting here. " 20:46 I want you to go beyond that and just ask yourself: 20:48 "What is God's Word trying to say to me on this day 20:51 about my life? " 20:55 Because a vast majority of us are really not as clean 21:01 as what we look on the outside. 21:05 I couldn't say that as a state- ment when I was a younger man 21:08 because I just didn't know it. 21:10 I thought it was my own journey. 21:11 But having been around the block a few times now 21:14 I know that most of us look better on the outside 21:18 than we do... than we are on the inside. 21:24 Most of us are clean, 21:30 majestic, beautiful, look strong, look "wow," look OK 21:34 and yet we are rotting - many of us - from within. 21:40 Mind you there are a few people that look the same on the 21:43 outside as they are on the inside. 21:44 They have committed a grievous sin or fallen flat on their face 21:49 and they can no longer pretend. 21:50 Whatever you see is what they are. 21:52 They've reached that point - rock bottom - 21:54 where they cannot hide any longer. 21:56 But most of us - for the most part - if we are honest 21:58 with ourselves we live with what they call incongruity - 22:03 inconsistency - 22:06 where we project something here and yet there is trouble 22:09 within. 22:15 Imagine... And they've invented a new iPhone recently 22:19 and I haven't tried it out. But imagine if they invented 22:21 a gadget like that where they could attach it to your head 22:25 and it could encode the thoughts of your mind 22:30 and project those thoughts on a screen of some sort. 22:34 Imagine if someone offered to you to experiment with you 22:37 and attach you to a machine that would throw all your 22:40 thoughts of every single day in Times Square on that big 22:44 giant screen there. 22:46 Imagine you were offered to do that experiment. 22:50 How many of you here? How many of you out there 22:52 would accept such an offer? 22:54 Can I see some hands? 22:57 If someone offered to read every thought of your mind 23:01 and not only that, project it on a big screen? 23:03 Would anyone here volunteer for such an experiment? 23:09 If we are honest with ourselves, there are many things that 23:13 go on in our brains... 23:16 things that we'd often rather others not see. 23:22 Thoughts that are secret. 23:26 Secret fantasies. 23:29 Negative thoughts. 23:32 Angry thoughts. Sometimes violent thoughts. 23:37 And a spirituality that is not as strong as we sometimes 23:42 let on. So the human situation 23:48 is that there's dirt on the inside. We struggle. 23:50 There's a battle going on. 23:52 There's often putridness and decay in many of our lives. 23:55 There's a battle raging. And the first step is that 23:57 is that we need to admit it. 24:00 Not so much from the front here where you need to come 24:02 and tell everyone your dirty laundry, but we need to be able 24:05 to acknowledge our desperate need for God 24:09 and our sinful state. 24:11 If we don't start from that point, we cannot venture 24:14 forward into a life of sanctification. 24:16 We need to start there. 24:18 It's not great news to learn that 24:21 but we need to acknowledge. 24:23 Men, we need to acknowledge our struggle with sin. 24:25 We need to start with an acknowledging of where we are 24:30 if you want to get clean on the inside. 24:33 So from there where do we go? 24:34 How do we become sanctified? 24:37 How are we to be set apart, consecrated, Christ-like 24:40 on the inside? How does it work? How does it happen? 24:43 Well let me tell you something about the Pharisees' solution 24:46 because the Pharisees' solution is a very common solution 24:50 but it wasn't a good solution. 24:53 The Pharisees in order to deal with their struggle within - 24:56 and let me tell you, they knew their struggle within - 25:00 in fact, even the most consecrated monk in the 25:03 Middle Ages knew their struggle within - 25:05 in fact, many of them would go off and isolate themselves 25:10 to try to wrestle with their sinfulness, these monks, 25:12 and even when they did that it would follow them 25:15 and they would struggle there. 25:17 So these Pharisees knew their struggle within. 25:19 And the way that they dealt with it was through an external 25:23 form of religion. They would work on external rituals 25:28 external performances, external behaviors and beliefs. 25:34 They believed that they could achieve that purity of heart, 25:38 that sanctification that they longed, 25:40 through ceremonial washing on the outside so to speak. 25:46 So they would work hard at their religiosity. 25:48 They would be very strict down the line, very black and white, 25:51 because that was their fire insurance. 25:53 That would keep them out of hell. That would guarantee 25:56 that they were closer to God. "If I could just do this 25:59 and do that and not do that 26:01 then I can affect change in my heart. " 26:04 And they were really just following a tradition, 26:07 and that tradition basically said that if you had the right 26:11 set of beliefs and that if you do all the right things 26:14 then you will achieve that holiness that we all hunger for, 26:19 that cleansing inside. 26:22 And you know I have to admit this form of religion 26:24 is still very, very popular today. 26:28 This form of religion is attractive for various reasons 26:32 because it has some advantages. You see, an external 26:35 rigid, ritualistic-type religion 26:38 is one that is very tangible and clear. 26:41 There are very clear boundaries; it is very black and white. 26:44 "Just tell me what I need to do 26:46 and just tell me what I need to not do 26:49 and then I'll be right. " 26:51 And it's very clear and easy to understand. 26:53 And so we just head out trying to adhere to all of our 26:58 beliefs... which are all good things to do... 27:01 and we try to behave the right way as well. 27:07 And it also takes into account the gravity of sin. 27:12 And it also takes into account the importance of obedience. 27:16 So for many people, this is a desirable way to live. 27:20 A way that focuses on making sure that we are clean 27:23 on the outside and that we look nice and presentable 27:26 because it's the easier way. 27:29 It's black and white thinking. 27:32 But I want to just tell you that there are three major, major 27:36 problems with just dusting yourself off on the outside. 27:40 Three major problems. 27:42 The first one is that it presupposes a non-Christ-like 27:46 image of God the Father. 27:49 It presupposes a non-Christ-like image of God 27:54 because it tells you that God values your behavior 28:00 and that God values your belief 28:04 more than He values you. 28:09 Just hear me out and listen to what I've just said. 28:12 It presupposes a non-Christ-like view of God because it tells us, 28:17 it tells you, that God values more your behavior than you. 28:22 And so this is tantamount to a father having no intimate 28:26 relations with his son. Not hugging him; not speaking 28:29 loving words, not relating to him at all... 28:31 just tough love expecting that son to conform 28:38 to the way he wants that son to live. 28:42 In my country we call that a Victorian Era way of 28:45 bringing up children: tough love, minimal affection. 28:49 And what that has done is many children have rebelled 28:52 because there was no love in it. There was just rules and 28:54 regulations. "It seemed like Dad just wanted me to achieve, 28:58 just wanted me to do this and that, 29:00 but he never really loved me for me. " 29:02 Have you heard that before? 29:07 "I just felt like I had to please Dad. " 29:09 "I had to get good grades because that's what was 29:12 important to him... but he never really loved me for me. " 29:17 Now imagine thinking of God like that: 29:20 as a Father that only loves you if you behave a certain way. 29:28 Our picture of God needs to be centered on the person 29:32 of Jesus Christ. 29:34 And Jesus Christ when He was on the earth was very hard 29:40 on those who were clean on the outside 29:44 and He had a lot of time for those who were dirty 29:50 on the outside. 29:52 When Jesus came to this world He was always rebuking 29:56 the religion of the Pharisees and teachers of the law 29:59 because they worried about the externals. 30:01 But those who were messed up on the outside: prostitutes, 30:05 tax collectors... those are the people that He hung around. 30:08 Those are the people that He loved. 30:10 That should tell us something. 30:12 That it wasn't about the externals. That Jesus looked 30:14 beyond that to the heart of the individual. 30:17 So the first problem with an external view of religion 30:21 is that it just doesn't look like Jesus. 30:24 He never valued that more than the individual. 30:29 Second to that 30:31 is that there's no life in external religion. 30:36 You see, even when you do all the right things, 30:41 even when you get it right, 30:43 even when you've got everything in place 30:47 you still end up with a hunger in your heart. 30:55 Now let me explain. I've met some Adventists 31:00 who over twenty years ago decided to move away 31:04 from the organization in search for a greater holiness. 31:10 Our church was kind of divided at the time. 31:12 And they wanted to live their lives by the Word 31:15 and they kind of removed themselves from the 31:20 contamination of the world and from the church. 31:24 And I've had the privilege of meeting some of these brethren 31:28 that have returned, that have re-established relationships 31:31 with us. In fact, I buried the wife of one of these gentlemen 31:34 that had estranged themselves for 20 years from the church. 31:38 I met the family... I met the children. 31:41 And you know, one thing I learned was that 31:44 they were so hungry to do all the right things 31:49 that they ended up really destroying 31:54 the lives of their children that they never quite got 31:58 the legacy that they wanted to pass on. 32:01 I'm being very frank with you. 32:03 In speaking to some of these young people, they just didn't, 32:07 they didn't see the love of God there. 32:09 These groups went on to splinter amongst themselves 32:13 because it didn't meet the hunger of the heart 32:16 for the love of Christ. 32:18 It was a very external, rigid existence. 32:20 It didn't give them the love, the worth, the significance 32:23 that they were hungering for. 32:25 And so let me tell you: if you are trying to please God 32:28 through just those external means, then you will always... 32:32 trust me, you will always come up short 32:34 and so will your children and so will your grandchildren. 32:37 Because they would never see Christ in the type of religion 32:40 that you're wanting to pass on. 32:42 Christ needs to be front and center. 32:45 His love needs to permeate our interactions. 32:49 It will leave us empty 32:52 and we'll never truly understand the unconditional love of God 32:58 when we strive for an external 33:02 form of religion. 33:05 There's one other problem here that I need to mention. 33:08 This is the greatest one of them all. 33:09 The third problem with an external focus 33:12 of trying to be right with God is that it doesn't address 33:17 the inside. It doesn't get to the root 33:20 or heart of the problem. 33:22 In fact, it doesn't get there and so it cannot transform 33:27 the life of the believer. 33:29 External religion simply... and listen to this! 33:32 I need you to hear this. An external form of religion 33:35 simply conceals the sin that can be going on in our lives. 33:43 An external form of religion conceals the wounds. 33:46 It conceals the sin and it cannot heal 33:50 and it cannot eradicate the sin. 33:54 This approach teaches us to mask, to hide our problems. 33:58 It involves putting up a facade. 34:00 Covering up, lying to ourselves, lying to those around us, 34:05 and lying to God Himself. 34:08 And you know, any system of religion that follows this - 34:11 this is a big thing to say - 34:13 any religion that follows this form, this system, 34:19 ends up rewarding those who are better 34:24 at hiding their weaknesses 34:27 and devaluing those who are meek and honest. 34:32 Any external religious system will reward those 34:36 who are able to clean up nicely 34:40 and it will devalue those who strive for an honest 34:44 relationship with God. 34:50 When we hide our problems, when we cover up our sin, 34:54 we become worse. 34:57 We never conquer; we NEVER conquer. 35:01 And you know, sometimes when you get to know such people 35:07 and you just peel back... you peel back the veneer 35:11 a little bit, just a little bit... 35:12 When you just get behind the curtain a little bit, 35:15 just behind the scenes to what these people are truly like - 35:19 these upright, religious people that work on the externals - 35:22 what you find often is people that are completely... 35:27 completely messed up. 35:32 I'm not talking about the people that are sincere in their 35:34 journey with God. I'm talking those who try to keep a facade. 35:38 You peel that back a little and you find people that are... 35:41 have really big struggles with sin. 35:46 Who are very, very sick. 35:49 And so it is my belief that this is what happens 35:52 when someone like Ted Haggard falls from grace 35:54 and has been an exemplary Christian for 30, 40 years. 35:59 Surely it can only mean that he has been hiding 36:03 something that has been eating away at him for some time. 36:09 Things don't happen just overnight just like that. 36:14 Sometimes these people are completely enslaved to sin. 36:20 Sometimes these people are masking grievous sins 36:24 like pornography or even worse... 36:30 pedophilia. 36:32 And it happens, and it doesn't just happen outside the church. 36:36 It happens from within. Something is wrong. 36:39 Something has gone wrong if people are projecting an image 36:43 and living something different behind closed doors. 36:48 We dare not reveal it. 36:49 Christians shouldn't act like that. 36:52 And we conceal. We live a lie. We even hide it - so we think - 36:56 from God. 36:58 I do want to make note that the opposite belief 37:03 that everything is permissible and that externals don't matter 37:06 at all is completely wrong as well. 37:09 I just want to make that clear. 37:11 I've been talking about how important it is to work on 37:14 the inside but I am not putting down the importance 37:17 of externals at all. What I'm saying very clearly 37:21 is there has to be a consistency or a congruency from what is 37:26 outside to what is inside or vice versa... 37:29 what is inside to what is outside. 37:32 There needs to be consistency in what is going on in here 37:36 to what is happening out here and vice versa. 37:39 I cannot claim to be a Christian 37:42 and live a sanctified life 37:44 and be committing grievous things - cherished things - 37:49 behind the scenes. 37:51 It just cannot happen and we have to deal with that. 37:54 There must be a consistency between what is seen 37:57 to what is unseen and vice versa. 38:00 That is what I'm talking about. 38:02 The externals are still very much important 38:05 but there must be a consistency in our experience. 38:11 There must be a meekness and a lowliness that reflects 38:17 that of Christ. And I need to share 38:21 an experience with you. I need to share an experience 38:24 of someone that I met. I'm just trying to find my notes here. 38:28 Someone that I met I think it was two years ago 38:32 back in Australia. 38:34 I contacted him in the last few days just to ask permission 38:36 to share his story because it's an amazing story. 38:39 It's a story about a young boy who was really the age 38:43 of my children now. 38:45 Twelve to fourteen. 38:47 His name is Shayne, and when he was a younger boy 38:50 he told me that he grew up in a very religious home. 38:55 And by his own admission this home was extremely 38:58 focused on external religion and making sure that everything 39:02 was right in terms of obedience and church attendance 39:06 and all of those important things. 39:10 But something was wrong with this experience because there 39:12 was never a regeneration in his heart. 39:15 There was never a true understanding of the gospel 39:17 and the love of God for him. 39:19 He doesn't blame his parents... they meant well. 39:21 It's often not the parents that are at fault. 39:23 It's just the way we are brought up to live. 39:26 We know we need to keep the commandments. 39:28 We know we need to live a righteous life 39:30 but we don't get it that it has to start inside 39:32 through a relationship with Christ. 39:34 An inadvertently, this young boy didn't get it. 39:39 Shayne tells me that his family were very good at serving others 39:45 and helping people... especially those downtrodden. 39:48 And he remembers one day as a young boy 39:50 walking past one of the people that they were helping. 39:53 It was a drug addict man. 39:57 And he remembers feeling sorry for this man. 39:59 He was stooped in addiction; he was really struggling. 40:03 And my understanding is that the family helped that young man 40:06 at the time. And you know, young Shayne never would have 40:10 imagined that that man that he saw there on that day 40:13 when he was very young 40:17 would represent his reality only twenty years later. 40:22 And it started small... with small, petty crime 40:25 and small things. He went to the pub. 40:28 He tried a bit of alcohol because his friends 40:30 tempted him to do that. 40:33 But that led to a life that got deeper and worse. 40:37 And all the while he still sensed God in his life. 40:40 We're not talking about a worldly person. 40:42 We're talking about a God- fearing young man 40:44 but really never got it 40:45 about Jesus and the love of Christ. 40:48 And so slowly but surely he started moving away 40:52 from that ideal. So it went from alcohol to smoking. 40:56 It went from smoking to marijuana. 40:59 It went from marijuana to heavier drugs that I don't even 41:01 understand. He laughs when I talk about them because 41:04 I can't even... I don't even understand what they do 41:06 and what they are called. But he tells me that he was 41:10 on cocaine. He tells me that he was on heroin. 41:15 He tells me that he was pimping for prostitutes. 41:18 I'm not sure if that's the appropriate term. 41:20 He tells me that he used to carry a gun. 41:23 He tells me that he used to go to clubs. 41:25 He tells me that he slept under the stars, 41:27 that he was homeless. He was completely messed up, 41:29 completely addicted. 41:32 But I've learned a few things from Shayne. 41:36 You know what he said? He told me that he would meet 41:38 Seventh-day Adventists out there in the world... 41:42 like him. And he said: "You know what? 41:46 Seventh-day Adventists are the worst people out there 41:51 when they are running away from God. 41:55 As God is my witness Shayne tells me 41:57 and he is watching today probably - "Hi, Shayne! " - 41:59 he says that Seventh-day Adventist people that are 42:03 running from God are the worst out there in the world. 42:06 They are the worst. 42:08 And the reason they are the worst is because they are going 42:10 against their conscience. They know they should be doing 42:12 something different but they're going against it because they 42:15 never truly understood the gospel. 42:19 It was a very sad story. I met him when he was in prison 42:22 or he was about to go to prison 42:26 and his life was just completely messed up. 42:29 But I look at my son and I pray that God will help him 42:33 not to have to go through that by the grace of God. 42:36 And I will do my best as a father. 42:38 But that's a terrible thought that a young Adventist boy 42:42 that went through Sabbath School 42:44 would end up in such a situation like that. 42:48 His parents died years ago but his mother never stopped praying 42:51 for Shayne. And as I stand here before you today I can tell you 42:55 that this story ends on a good note 43:00 because Shayne has turned his life around thanks to the grace 43:04 of God. Amen! And Shayne watches 3ABN religiously. 43:08 He loves all the programming. This is his lifeblood. 43:12 He's at home with a bad back at the moment, 43:14 but I'm sure he's watching 3ABN because it is the testimony 43:17 of people like Doug Batchelor, Pastor Doug, 43:19 that really spoke to him. 43:22 And he was able to understand the truth of the gospel 43:24 and get beyond all the externals. 43:26 And they're all good... but he got beyond those 43:29 to the person of Jesus Christ and the gospel of Christ. 43:33 And so today he is now happily married 43:36 with a wife, Leandah. She's a godly woman 43:38 that he's blessed with. 43:40 And his life has been completely transformed. 43:43 And I am talking about a person that was not a worldly person. 43:47 I'm talking about a Christian - a Seventh-day Adventist 43:49 Christian - that went out as far as you could go. 43:52 But God answered the prayer of that praying mother 43:55 and reeled him back in and transformed his life. 43:58 And you know, even though we may not be able to relate 44:00 to that extremity I believe that God 44:04 through Christ and through the Holy Spirit 44:06 can regenerate even those of us 44:08 who perhaps have always main- tained our external appearance 44:14 but who may be struggling behind the scenes as well. 44:18 I believe that the same transformation that Shayne 44:21 experienced can be your transformation 44:24 even though you have never let on that there is something 44:27 going on in your life. 44:32 Ezekiel chapter 36. 44:35 And I just want to touch on a couple of verses 44:36 as we land this plane... as we wrap up. 44:40 Ezekiel chapter 36 and verse 25. 44:45 Ezekiel chapter 36 and verse 25, 44:49 and it's good to hear those Bibles turning. 44:52 I'll make no apologies of opening up the Word of God. 44:55 We believe that this is the only truth in a sermon. 45:00 Everything else I've got to say is just trying to interpret 45:02 as best I can, but when we read the Bible, it is the only 45:06 truth from God's own Word. 45:10 Ezekiel 36 verses 25 to 27. 45:13 And I'll just turn the page. 45:17 Ezekiel 36 verses 25 to 27. 45:23 God says: "I will sprinkle clean water on you 45:27 and you will be clean. " 45:30 This is a promise. 45:33 "I will sprinkle clean water... you will be clean. 45:36 I will cleanse you from all your impurities 45:39 and from all your idols... " Speaking to the Israelites. 45:43 "I will give you... " What? 45:45 "a new heart and put a new spirit in you. 45:51 I will remove from you your heart of stone 45:54 and give you a heart of flesh. 45:58 And I will put My Spirit in you 46:00 and move you to follow My decrees and be careful 46:03 to keep My laws. Then you will live in the land 46:07 that I gave your ancestors, " God says. 46:10 "You will be My people and I will be your God. " 46:17 So God makes a promise. 46:19 He makes a promise that He won't just justify you 46:24 or make you right thanks to the blood of Christ. 46:26 But that He will begin a good work in you. 46:30 That He will renew you; that He will give you a new heart. 46:33 That He will put His Holy Spirit within you 46:35 and He will transform you. 46:37 He will transform you, and even if you've been around for 46:41 20, 30, 40, 50 years in the faith 46:45 if you haven't experienced this kind of transformation, 46:48 this kind of sanctification in your life, 46:51 then it's not too late. 46:53 As sure as God lives today and as sure as you have breath 46:57 in your nostrils, it is not too late for you to be transformed 47:01 in this way through God. 47:04 It is never too late. 47:08 One other verse that I want to show you from the New Testament 47:10 is II Corinthians chapter 5 verses 17 and 18. 47:16 II Corinthians chapter 5 47:19 verses 17 and 18. 47:29 II Corinthians 5:17 reads: 47:33 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ 47:37 the new creation has come. 47:43 The old has gone. 47:46 The new is here. 47:48 All this from God who reconciled us to Himself 47:52 through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. " 47:58 Let me point out some truths from this passage. 48:01 This passage says that if you are in Christ... 48:05 It doesn't say that if you are keeping all the right 48:09 commandments. It doesn't actually say 48:12 "If you are attending church or if you are paying your tithe 48:14 or if you have all the right beliefs or even if you are 48:18 vegetarian or vegan. " It doesn't say that. It says 48:20 "If you are in Christ you are a new creation. " 48:26 "If you are in Christ you are a new creation. " 48:29 I want you to hear me clearly 48:31 because I am a Seventh-day Adventist since I was born 48:35 and I believe that our church has the truth. 48:38 I believe it. I believe Jesus Christ is coming soon. 48:41 I believe in the Ten Commandments. 48:42 I believe in the Sabbath. 48:44 I believe in the state of the dead. 48:45 I believe that all of these things are important, 48:47 they're true. We need to be preaching them. 48:49 The world needs to hear them. 48:51 But what I am saying is that these things devoid 48:55 of the presence of Christ in our lives 48:59 are worth nothing. 49:01 That is a strong statement to say, but all of these things 49:05 are worth nothing without the presence of Christ 49:08 in our lives. 49:10 You can preach the Sabbath till you're blue in the face 49:13 but if you do not know the Lord of the Sabbath 49:16 then you do not know the gospel 49:18 and that will just be a theory that people will either accept 49:22 or reject but it will never change them 49:23 because it's never changed you. 49:25 You don't know the Lord of the Sabbath. 49:28 If you know about the state of the dead and the resurrection 49:31 and yet you don't know Christ and the One who is coming back, 49:35 then again it's just a theory. 49:38 It means nothing. It's my idea vs. yours 49:41 and who can be more persuasive. It's never changed you. 49:45 And the second coming which we all look forward to... 49:48 If we look forward to the second coming and we know the truth: 49:52 that it's soon and that the signs are happening 49:54 and yet we don't know the One who is coming 49:57 how can we long for it? 49:59 How can we long for a second coming that we know in theory 50:03 but we don't know the One that is coming back for us? 50:08 The presence of Christ - an internal transformation - 50:12 is what needs to happen in our churches. 50:16 It needs to be a sanctification that happens from within 50:20 and not from without. 50:23 And the passage that we read at the very outset 50:26 about cleansing the cup on the outside and not on the inside 50:30 Jesus finished that with a punch line. 50:32 I don't know whether you noticed it at the end of the section 50:34 that we read at the outset 50:36 but Jesus talked about giving to the poor. 50:40 Do you remember that statement? 50:41 That loving the poor... I mean, if you've forgotten it 50:43 let me just... I'll just finish with that. 50:46 Let's go back to Luke and we'll look up the original chapter 50:50 just so you can be reminded of where it says that. 50:53 Luke chapter 11 verse 41. 50:58 Let me remind you because this is an important little caveat 51:02 at the end of Jesus' experience. 51:04 Luke chapter 11 and I'll just read verse 41 51:09 at the very tail end of what He said to the Pharisee. 51:12 He says: "But now as for what is inside you... " 51:16 What does He say? "be generous to the poor 51:20 and everything will be clean for you. " 51:24 So does this mean we should be more like denominations 51:29 that just serve the poor and that look after the 51:32 homeless and that sort of thing? Should be abandon 51:34 all of our truths and follow that sort of religion that is 51:38 completely practical? 51:40 The truth is is that Jesus is not saying that. 51:43 He's not devaluing our truths. 51:46 You know what He's saying? 51:48 According to Jesus this sort of behavior - 51:51 loving and giving to the poor - is a major evidence 51:55 of a process of sanctification in our lives. You see, 52:00 when we are truly sanctified we start losing 52:04 that selfishness that we wrestle with. 52:07 We start experiencing a spirit of selflessness. 52:11 We no longer are prejudiced. We no longer stereotype people. 52:15 We no longer look at people and pigeonhole them 52:18 and look down upon them. 52:19 We no longer are preoccupied on how we look. 52:25 It is a regenerated heart that is no longer selfish 52:29 that sees people like Jesus would see them. 52:33 And so there is an outward outcome... 52:36 but it's just not about us. 52:39 It's just not about me. 52:41 I need to say at this point that we often condemn 52:45 those who are proud and who are lifting themselves up 52:47 and think they're all that and you know, "I'm... " 52:51 Whatever they say. "I'm on television 52:53 and look at me, look at me. " 52:54 We don't condone that sort of behavior. 52:57 But you know, the opposite can be true, too. 52:59 If we're constantly putting ourselves down, 53:02 we're constantly talking negatively in our minds, 53:05 constantly... always thinking badly of ourselves 53:08 I will tell you that we still have our eyes on "me. " 53:13 Whether we're on this extreme and we are proud 53:15 and we're vocal about it or whether we're... 53:18 we think that we're nothing it still focuses on me. 53:23 Our focus needs to be away from me to Jesus Christ. 53:27 And as we focus on Jesus Christ 53:30 our focus will inevitably be focused around us 53:36 to those who are downtrodden, to the poor, to the lost. 53:41 We will start to experience an unquenchable love for Christ. 53:45 We will start to experience an unquenchable love 53:48 for lost souls. 53:51 You heard Pastor Carter here last night. 53:53 You will hear him again. The reason that he's so 53:56 passionate about evangelism is because a sanctified life 54:00 is always looking out. A sanctified life recognizes 54:04 that we are in the last days and we may be safe in the ship. 54:07 We may understand the gospel and we know Christ 54:10 and our salvation may be sure 54:12 but around us there are people floundering. 54:14 There are people drowning. There are people lost in their 54:17 sins. And so a sanctified life is always looking out. 54:21 "What can I do to take this message of life - 54:25 the gospel, the good news - to somebody else? " 54:27 A sanctified life never keeps it to ourselves. 54:31 A sanctified life never sits on its hands and does nothing. 54:35 A sanctified life never gloats about "we have the truth 54:38 and all these others are lost. " 54:40 A sanctified life is about an urgency, a love for souls 54:44 as Christ loves them. An urgency, a desire 54:46 to do something. I might be too old to go to PNG 54:50 and do what Pastor Carter is doing. 54:53 Though he's getting on a little bit... 54:54 don't tell him I said that. 54:55 You're never too old, but perhaps I don't have the vigor 54:58 and the energy that I once had but there are still ways 55:01 that we can be used to save the lost around us. 55:04 I mean, next door to you. The neighbor next door. 55:07 The lady down the road at the shop that you meet every day. 55:10 There are so many ways that we can continue to serve. 55:13 We can continue to pray. We can continue to donate 55:16 to ministries such as this. 55:18 There are so many ways. 55:19 And each of us have family members that still don't know 55:23 the Lord. Time is short. 55:25 We have cousins, we have grandchildren, we have family 55:28 that... even children - our own children - 55:31 still don't know the Lord. 55:32 And we need to be earnest in our love for them, 55:35 and our conversations to them 55:37 need to be conversations drawing them back to Christ. 55:41 Ellen White says: "When human agents choose 55:43 the will of God they are conformed to the character 55:46 of Christ. Jesus acts through their organs and faculties. 55:49 They put aside selfish pride. 55:51 All manifestations of superiority 55:54 and all arbitrary exactions are put aside 55:58 and they manifest meekness, lowliness. " 56:00 That was what Jesus would manifest. 56:04 The meekness and lowliness of Christ. 56:06 "It is no more themselves that live and act 56:09 but it is Christ that lives and acts through them. " 56:14 That is a sanctified life. 56:16 Do you want Christ to live and act through you? 56:19 Do you want a life of consistency and continuity 56:22 and congruity? 56:24 Are you sick and tired of living a lie? 56:28 Isn't it time that you came clean 56:31 and that you allowed God to stop the rot? 56:34 Isn't it time that you through the Holy Spirit 56:37 allowed Jesus to transform you from the inside out? 56:42 If that is your prayer today, 56:45 if you want that for you, 56:47 then I invite you to join me as we pray and ask God to 56:50 search us and change us and transform us from within 56:54 because it is a work that only can be achieved by God. 56:57 We cannot will ourselves to do it. 56:59 We need to surrender to Him, submit and yield 57:02 and to cooperate in the work that He wants to do 57:06 for us. Let's just pray together and ask Him to do that. 57:09 Our Father in heaven, we have laid our lives bare. 57:12 There are many listening to me today that are struggling 57:16 with sin, with temptation, but we want it to stop... |
Revised 2014-12-17