Participants: Ted Wilson, Mark Finley
Series Code: 13ASIC
Program Code: 13ASIC000009
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00:19 Well, if you're not sitting on the edge of your seats
00:22 right now you will be in a few minutes. 00:24 We've talked, you know, 00:26 a little bit about the DVD program, haven't we? 00:29 Well, it's also called, now it's the New Beginnings DVD 00:35 and I have some people that are gonna share 00:36 some great things that are going on. 00:38 I-- it's unbelievable. 00:41 Now I have Mel Emmanuel and Ester Alba with me. 00:44 Tell me what did you do with the DVD program? 00:48 Well, we were given 1,400 New Beginnings DVDs 00:52 and 1,400 Health Lecturers DVDs to be distributed 00:57 in four countries in South America, 00:59 Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Chile. 01:01 So what you did then is they went and train people. 01:05 If you don't remember, with the New Beginnings, 01:08 its training laypeople to do evangelism. 01:12 That's what it is. 01:13 So but we have somebody go and teach, right? 01:16 Show them how to do it. That's what the Alva's did. 01:20 And so how did it go? How many people did you train? 01:23 I think there were 1,400 total in those four countries. 01:25 Fourteen hundred people. 01:27 And about on an average 01:29 how many will those 1,400 people train, each one? 01:34 Ten? Ten. 01:37 They were supposed to train 10 more, yes. 01:39 Ten? Yeah. 01:40 So 1,400 times 10, what is that? 01:45 Fourteen thousand people hear the gospel by this program. 01:51 What else-- what was your-- 01:52 what other experience did you have there? 01:55 I was very impressed with their faithfulness. 01:59 When we got there in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 02:02 the people, the laypeople were in church at 5:45 A.M. 02:08 How many people here go to church at 5:45 02:11 to do training for evangelism? 02:13 I don't see any hands up. 02:15 Ready to be trained. 02:17 And at 6:00 sharp the program started 02:20 with 300 laypeople ready to be trained. 02:23 After that they went to their respective work, 02:25 it was work day. 02:27 It's a weekday. 02:28 Praise God. 02:30 Leasa, tell us, now, you've done 02:32 some training too, haven't you? 02:33 I have. 02:34 I've done training in around in five continents 02:37 and this is my favorite evangelistic program 02:40 because anybody can do it. 02:42 And the youngest person 02:44 who ever held an evangelistic meeting, 02:46 using this material is seven years of age. 02:49 So today, I want everybody in here 02:51 who's over the age of seven to raise your hand. 02:55 Raise it really high. Okay, keep it up there. 02:58 Now the oldest person who used this program is 90. 03:02 Keep your hand up. 03:03 And so if you're under the age of 90 03:06 raise your other hand. 03:07 Okay, we're not Pentecostals but we can do this. 03:10 Okay. 03:12 So if you've got two hands raised 03:14 you are eligible to hold these meetings. 03:18 And this is probably one of the most effective 03:21 evangelistic tools that lay people can use 03:24 because we train people how to hold 03:27 evangelistic meetings in their homes, 03:29 to their neighbors, to their community 03:32 and it's very effective. 03:34 And Terry, I just want to share one statistic with you, okay. 03:38 Okay. 03:39 We did training in the country of Guatemala, 03:41 February 9 and 10. 03:44 Now in January, in that conference 03:46 they baptized 123 people. 03:49 Pretty good, right? 03:50 Okay, if your conference baptizes 123 people 03:53 in one month you'd be happy. 03:55 Well, in February, they baptized 178. 03:59 We did the training in February 9 and 10, 04:02 and then these laypeople that were trained 04:05 they took this material and they went to their homes 04:08 and held their meetings. 04:10 In April, they had a reaping baptism 04:13 and there were 843 people. 04:17 Now is there a difference between 123 and 848? 04:23 Yes. 04:24 Okay, there's a mathematician here. 04:25 He said 600. Okay. 04:27 Now, did a different God show up? 04:31 Okay. 04:32 Did a different Holy Spirit come? 04:34 Okay. 04:35 What was the difference? 04:38 It was members like us, right? 04:40 They got out from behind the TV 04:43 and they wet to work and God can bless. 04:47 So anybody can do it and I just encourage everybody. 04:50 Thank you. And it's the tools. 04:52 See, ASI through the DVD, 04:54 through your giving provided the tools to go out. 04:58 We have the people that wanted to do it, 05:00 we gave them the tools. 05:02 And you can see it grows exponentially. 05:06 Norm, tell us about the training 05:08 you and Gail have done. 05:09 Well, we've done a lot of training like Leasa, 05:11 but in April of this year 05:12 we were in Johannesburg, South Africa, 05:15 a Southern Indian-Africa Ocean division 05:18 had brought together from 11 countries, 05:21 1,200 lay members to be trained to do evangelism. 05:25 We took with us on your behalf we represent ASI, 05:28 you provided the money and the funds. 05:30 We took 1,200 New Beginnings DVDs, 05:34 we took 1,200 Abundant Living Health Nuggets DVDs 05:38 and we gave them to each of the people that attended. 05:41 We took them in four languages, African-English, 05:46 Zulu, Bemba and Shona. 05:50 And I think that's a direct answer 05:53 to the prediction in Revelation 10:11 05:58 that the gospel will be taken to every nation, 06:00 kindred, tongue and people. 06:01 So how many people in total did you train? 06:03 We trained 1,200. Twelve hundred, 1214. 06:06 So again, 1200 times 10 is what? 06:09 Twelve thousand. 06:11 So what if they go out and do it again? 06:12 What's 10 times? 06:14 Hundred and twenty thousand. 06:16 It grows. 06:17 Thanks, Norm. Thanks, Gail. 06:21 Pastor Araujo, how are you? 06:25 I am doing good. Thank you. 06:26 I am so excited you are here. 06:28 I am also excited. 06:29 Tell us where you are from 06:30 and share with us what's on your heart today. 06:34 Okay, I am from Southern African-Indian Ocean division 06:36 and the dream that is becoming reality is Angola. 06:41 Angola is a unique country. 06:43 As you might know, 400 years of colonization, 06:48 that is the history of that country, 06:49 then 40 years of civil and independence war, 06:53 isolating them from the whole world. 06:56 And now 10 years of peace. 06:58 And this is why the division has selected 07:01 as the big city project Luanda. 07:05 And few months ago Elder Ted Wilson was visiting 07:10 with the authorities of that country 07:11 and they asked the church 07:13 to be more active in their activities. 07:15 So we started in February 16, 07:18 the launching of what we call Hope for Angola, 07:21 Luanda for Christ. 07:22 Thirty thousand people in the stadium. 07:25 But the devil is working because some weeks before 07:27 one church run some evangelistic, 07:30 you know, meetings there and 16 people were dead 07:33 because the group of people there. 07:36 And then the government say, 07:37 no way, we will no longer authorize 07:39 churches to use as stadium. 07:41 And we were planning the 16th to launch. 07:44 Until Friday, one hour before sunset 07:48 we got the authorization from the government. 07:50 And them we launch, 07:51 after that 40 early mornings of prayer 07:54 using the book Step to Christ 07:57 and then broadcasting from South America Division, 08:00 40 programs for each week 08:04 and we start 39,000 small groups. 08:07 You see, Remnant Publication gave us Bibles, 08:10 Light Bearers, Bible studies 08:12 and we ended in July with 50 campaigns 08:16 with pastors coming from Brazil 08:18 and 100,000 people were attending, 2,000 per site. 08:23 And two Sabbath ago 08:24 we had what we call a Pentecostal Sabbath. 08:28 We baptized 3,750 people 08:31 in only one Sabbath as outcome of that. 08:34 So wait a minute here, 39,000 groups 08:37 and we had ministries cooperating. 08:39 We had Light Bearers? 08:40 Light Bearers, Remnant Publication. 08:43 And ShareHim came also with 10 students from theology 08:46 and they baptized more that 1,000. 08:48 Imagine those students now going back 08:51 and they have in their CV, I have preached in Africa, 08:54 and I have baptized hundreds of people. 08:55 This is fantastic. 08:57 Now tell us the rest of the story. 08:58 Well, we are hoping in 24 of August 09:01 to have now 10,000 laypeople involve in evangelism. 09:05 And then in the weekend of 21st of September, 09:10 pay attention to that-- This year? 09:12 This year, because we have baptized already 8,474 people 09:18 we want to train the newly baptized people with the DVDs, 09:22 the ones that you used, ASI North America. 09:25 And this is why I hope 09:27 that this young people here will come 09:28 and help us to train those people 09:31 because from October to November 09:33 we want to challenge them to bring one soul to Christ. 09:37 And in December one of the preachers 09:40 form South America Division, 09:41 the evangelism will come to run 09:43 an evangelist campaign in the same stadium 09:45 and only those who have been baptized 09:48 and bringing people to the Lord 09:50 will be able to attend those evangelistic campaigns. 09:53 So this is a huge scene but we have a challenge. 09:56 Now where to, you know, accommodate those people? 10:00 This is where Maranatha is also coming 10:01 and getting involved in this huge thing 10:04 because we need churches now to accommodate 10:06 those at least 8,000 newly baptized until now. 10:11 And how many people are you going to train in September? 10:16 Okay, September Sabbath 10:17 we are hoping to meet in four stadiums 10:20 because the government now allow us 10:21 only 25,000, 30,000 per stadium. 10:24 So we hope to have about 100,000. 10:27 And we are hoping to train at least 10,000 10:30 newly baptized member Friday before that Sabbath. 10:34 Amen. Amen. 10:37 Ten thousand. 10:39 Do you understand the impact? 10:43 Brother and sisters, do you realize 10:45 what they are talking about here? 10:46 I haven't heard of amen, and I tell you, 10:48 I am so excited, I can't believe it. 10:50 Here we are, we have an opportunity 10:52 not only have we worked together, 10:53 we've Remnant Publication, 10:55 we've Light Bearers Ministries, we've had ShareHim, 10:58 then we're gonna bring the DVD players in 11:00 and we're going train new Adventists 11:02 who have never been baptized or just been baptized, 11:05 tech them how to do evangelism, 11:06 they are going to go out and teach their friends. 11:09 And from there what's our problem? 11:11 We have so many members, 11:12 we don't know what to do with them. 11:13 And so as a result of that 11:15 we're gonna bring in Maranatha and One Day church, 11:19 and they have come together. 11:20 And I will tell you, 11:21 if you don't believe in miracles, 11:22 we had a miracle yesterday. 11:24 But I am not gonna tell it to you, 11:25 if you want to hear it, 11:26 you have to go to the Maranatha booth 11:28 and see the One Day Church and they will you the miracle 11:30 because it's so-- It's such a great story. 11:33 But I will tell you that, working together, 11:37 the Lord can do so many things. 11:40 And we as an ASI family have an opportunity 11:43 to tell and to participate-- 11:45 we're gonna have an offering coming up. 11:47 The over flowing and part of the offering 11:48 is going to go to these ministries. 11:50 We need your help 11:51 because there are so many brothers and sisters 11:53 that need to hear our message. 11:56 And I will tell you this is what is so exciting 11:58 about being part of ASI. 12:00 You know, Norman and I are going to be going over 12:01 in the next couple of weeks and training these lay people, 12:04 bringing all these different ministries together. 12:07 And I will tell you what so blessing, 12:09 being here is having everybody 12:11 work together to finish the work. 12:14 You know, Ellen White tells us that, 12:16 at the end of times there are work won't be finish 12:17 until we all work together. 12:19 This is the fulfillment of prophecy 12:22 and I will tell you, the Lord never adds, 12:25 He multiplies when we work together for Him. 12:28 Thank you. 12:30 Blessings. 12:41 One of the most remarkable things 12:43 about the biblical account of Israel 12:48 and how God lead in their activities 12:52 is to review the ups and downs 12:56 of how Israel listened and didn't listen to God. 13:02 And I pose the question to you this morning, 13:04 could it be... 13:06 that in the Seventh-day Adventist church 13:08 we are as guilty as ancient Israel? 13:13 Could it be that we do not... 13:17 give enough credence and enough emphasis, 13:22 and enough humble submission to the Word of God 13:28 and to the instruction of the Spirit of Prophecy? 13:31 Are we guilty of many of the same trans and sins 13:38 of the ancient Israelite people? 13:41 I want to tell you, brothers and sisters, 13:43 that's why we need revival and reformation. 13:47 That is why God has intended for His people 13:50 at the end of time to humble themselves, 13:54 to pray, to seek God's face, 13:56 to understand what it means to truly fulfill the mission, 14:02 the unique mission that God has entrusted 14:05 into the hands of Seventh-day Adventist. 14:09 We are to fall at the foot of the cross every day. 14:15 You see as we learned last night 14:18 in one of those beautiful testimonies 14:20 by the young people, 14:23 when you truly allow the power of God 14:25 to work in your life something dramatic happens. 14:30 I was thrilled as I listened 14:33 to the testimonies of those young people. 14:37 And as an introduction to our Sabbath school lesson 14:39 this morning by Pastor Mark Finley 14:41 and he is the author of those lessons 14:44 and God has provided at the right time, 14:47 and emphasis again on revival and reformation. 14:52 I want us to remember, we need to remember 14:57 how God has led us in the past 15:00 and His teaching in our past history 15:03 as Life Sketches page 196 indicates. 15:07 You see, the Israelites and their experience 15:12 is summarized in Jeremiah 7:23, 24, 15:18 and the Lord was speaking, 15:20 "But this is what I commanded them, saying, 15:22 Obey my voice, and I will be your God, 15:24 and you shall be my people and walk in all the ways 15:27 that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you. 15:32 Yet they did not obey or inclined their ear, 15:34 but followed the counsels 15:36 and the dictates of their evil heart, 15:39 and went backward, and not forward." 15:44 You see, lets transaction now to today. 15:50 Now scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:11, 15:54 "Now all these things happen to them as examples 15:59 and they were written for our admonition 16:03 upon whom the ends of the ages have come." 16:07 And as we segue into our current modern setting 16:12 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 16:14 we need to remember God's council, never forget. 16:22 And as I already mentioned in Life Sketches, page 196, 16:27 "We have nothing to fear for the future, 16:29 except that we forget the way the Lord has led us, 16:34 and His teaching in our past history." 16:37 In April of this year 16:40 the General Conference Executive Committee 16:43 celebrated 150 years 16:48 of the establishment of the General Conference. 16:51 May 21, 1963, was exactly the date 16:55 upon which the General Conference was organized. 17:00 We chose to meet in Battle Creek 17:02 for our spring meeting of the executive committee. 17:05 We had a wonderful experience there. 17:07 Jim Nicks, our very able leader in the White Estate organized 17:12 many activities, many presentations, 17:15 many visits to historical sites. 17:19 It was a thrilling experience. 17:21 We met together in the Battle Creek Tabernacle 17:24 for the Sabbath services. 17:27 We met during our spring meeting in Battle Creek 17:31 to celebrate "150 years." 17:39 Let me pose the question to you, 17:42 was it really a very happy and good celebration? 17:48 One hundred fifty years and we're still here. 17:53 You know, some people may wonder, 17:55 well, how is it that we can even talk about 17:58 the Lord coming before this time 18:01 because the Lord is on His own time plan 18:03 and you can't in any way affect God's return. 18:10 I want to tell you, the Lord indicates to us 18:13 that we can hasten His coming. 18:16 And in the Spirit of Prophecy 18:18 in the wonderful book of evangelism 18:23 and this quote was from year 1900, 18:27 "Had the purpose of God been carried out by His people 18:30 in giving to the world the message of mercy, 18:33 Christ would, ere this, have come to the earth, 18:37 and the saints would have received 18:39 their welcome into the city of God." 18:42 I want to tell you, 18:43 we are on the verse of Jesus soon second coming. 18:48 It is time for revival and reformation. 18:52 It is time for us to remember God's leading in the past 18:55 and to look forward with tremendous enthusiasm 19:00 for what God is going to do for His people 19:03 as we move into the end of time. 19:05 It is time to be revived by His word, 19:08 reading a chapter of the Bible everyday, 19:10 praying at 7 o'clock or any time during the day 19:13 for the power and the coming of the later reign. 19:17 You see the advent message is not going to be past 19:19 to another group of people. 19:21 There's not going to be remnant church. 19:25 You and I are the part of the final last people group 19:32 that God has prepared for the loud cry 19:36 that is soon to come. 19:39 Revival and Reformation, 19:42 it is preparatory for Jesus soon return. 19:47 And, so my brothers and sisters, 19:49 as we now segue into our lesson study 19:53 for this morning presented by Pastor Finley, 19:57 I want you to remember, 20:00 that God is leading in the life of His church and in your life. 20:06 Don't forget to focus on God's word. 20:08 Don't forget to listen 20:10 to the instruction of the Sprit of Prophecy. 20:12 Don't allow anything to deter you 20:14 from the leading of the Holy Spirit. 20:16 Don't forget to engage in earnest personal prayer. 20:20 Don't forget to share the Adventist message 20:23 with other in mission to the cities 20:26 and in many other ways. 20:28 Don't forget Christ's precious sanctuary message, 20:31 His priestly ministry for us 20:33 in the most holy place at the present time. 20:36 Don't forget how God has called you 20:39 into this mighty moment. 20:41 Don't forget the wonderful 20:43 and marvelous 28 fundamental believes, 20:45 every single one of them 20:46 with Jesus Christ at the center. 20:49 Don't forget to fall on your knees 20:53 to be revived and reformed 20:56 through the power of the Holy Spirit 20:58 and the power of God's word. 21:02 Jesus is coming soon. 21:07 And as spiritual Israel we are asked 21:11 the penetrating question as posed by Joshua of old, 21:17 who is on the Lord side? 21:22 Are you willing today 21:24 as we go into this Sabbath school lesson 21:27 to say with Joshua, but as for me 21:31 and my house we will serve the Lord. 21:36 Amen. 21:37 And then never to forget it. 21:41 My brothers and sisters, 21:43 as we move in to the unfolding last days of earth's history 21:48 remember how God has led us in the last 21:51 and how He will lead us in the future. 21:55 And if you are willing as we go 21:57 into the study of this lesson on revival and reformation, 22:01 if you are willing to recommit yourself to a closer walk 22:06 with the Lord and to allow Him 22:08 to move in an unprecedented ways 22:11 as we come to the end of time 22:14 in quietness of this auditorium 22:18 as we study the lesson on revival and reformation. 22:22 As we think back 150 years 22:25 of the beginning of the General Conference 22:27 and look forward to Jesus soon coming 22:29 are you willing this morning to say, 22:31 Lord, here I am, use me? 22:35 Are you willing? Amen. 22:38 God bless each one of you. 22:43 We are NAPS, 22:44 The National Association for the Prevention of Starvation, 22:49 a team of youth who have been active for 35 years. 22:55 When you look up here you may recognize 22:57 that there are some shirts that don't say NAPS on them, 23:01 that is because with us 23:02 is represented ASI Youth for Jesus. 23:06 We worked along with John Holien 23:08 and Pastor Scott this summer. 23:10 And the song that we're going to sing 23:13 today is a powerful song. 23:18 If I were to ask you, 23:19 how many of you are going through pain in your life? 23:23 Every hand would go up. 23:26 This song is coming up from Malawi, Africa, 23:29 and it's a song of hope, 23:31 saying even though you may go through pain, 23:35 you may have hard times 23:38 the devil may send his discouragements, 23:40 there's something that we can all do, we can pray. 26:24 Amen. 26:38 Our Sabbath school lesson, this quarter focuses especially 26:44 on the topic of revival and reformation. 26:47 It's possible to use terms and not define them. 26:52 When we talk about revival what specifically do we mean? 26:58 When we talk about reformation, what do we mean? 27:02 Revival is the reawakening of God's grace in the soul. 27:07 Revival has to do 27:09 with the reawakening of spiritual life. 27:13 It has to do with knowing Jesus, 27:16 a fresh and new every day, 27:19 like, Lamentations so well describes it. 27:21 "His mercies are new every morning." 27:25 So what is revival? Why do we need revival? 27:29 It's like an old hymn says, 27:30 "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, 27:34 prone to leave the God I love. 27:36 Here's my heart, O take and seal it, 27:40 seal it with the things above." 27:42 So why does the church need revival? 27:45 When you and I come to Jesus 27:48 our hearts are transformed by His grace, 27:51 charmed by His love and changed. 27:55 But because we still have natures 27:58 that are falling, we tend to wander. 28:02 So God invites us everyday to come to the cross 28:06 to know Jesus a fresh and a new. 28:09 So revival is a daily experience 28:12 in the life of the believer. 28:13 It is daily experiencing God's grace. 28:17 There will never be a time 28:19 that believers do not need revival, 28:22 it's a daily experience. 28:24 What about reformation? 28:26 When we talk about reformation, 28:28 what are we speaking about? 28:30 We're speaking about reform 28:32 and the reformation in the days of Martin Luther. 28:35 When we talking about reformation, 28:37 what are we talking about? 28:38 We're talking about a change of diet, 28:40 a change of dress, a change of educational system, 28:42 change of medical system. 28:44 When you use the term reformation 28:46 it means quite ambiguous 28:48 and it may mean different things to different people. 28:50 In fact, there's actually group called Reform Adventist. 28:53 So when we talk about reformation, 28:55 what do we mean in a biblical sense? 28:57 Reformation in a biblical sense always follows revival. 29:01 Revival is this renew of the spiritual grace in the soul 29:05 but reformation has to do with the change of habits 29:11 and attitudes and thoughts 29:13 that leads me to a new lifestyle. 29:16 So revival always leads the reawakening of God's grace 29:20 and reformation has to do 29:22 with this reorganization of life, 29:25 this reorganization that habits, 29:27 this practical change of lifestyle 29:31 where God points out things in my life 29:33 through His Holy Spirit that need change. 29:36 Now in our series in the Sabbath school lesson 29:39 we are focusing on lesson number six 29:42 which is Confession of Repentance. 29:47 Why put a lesson on Confession on Repentance 29:50 in a series of revival and reformation? 29:53 Because as you look at revival down through the centuries, 29:57 you look at the revival in the history of Israel 29:59 with Josiah or look at David's prays in Psalms 30:03 or you look at the revival 30:05 in the days of the minor prophet, 30:07 they all focused on repentance and confession. 30:11 They all focused on coming to the point 30:15 of a deep sorrow for sin. 30:18 When you look at the Book of Acts, 30:20 repentance is all through the Book of Acts. 30:22 If you look at Acts 2, Acts 3, 30:25 Acts 16 and 17, Acts 20 and onward. 30:29 There is a great emphasis on repentance and confession. 30:33 Now, one of things I want to do in the time 30:35 we have together today is focus on this aspect 30:40 that if repentance leaves you in a place of sorrow 30:47 focusing on your own sins 30:49 that's not true repentance at all. 30:52 The object of repentance is not to leave an individual 30:57 more discouraged than before they repented. 31:00 The object of all repentance 31:02 is to focus on the goodness of Jesus, 31:05 the marvels of His grace, the beauty of His love 31:10 so that I want to be more like Him. 31:12 Any approach to repentance that says, 31:15 oh, Lord, I'm so wretched. 31:17 Oh, Lord, I'm so wicked. 31:19 Oh, Lord, I'm so evil that leaves me 31:21 wallowing in my sin is not beneficial. 31:26 That repentance that leads me to see 31:29 how great Jesus is and long to be like Him 31:33 is a repentance that motivates lifestyle change. 31:37 Now, we look at repentance in Sunday's lesson. 31:41 Repentance God's gifts and if you have your Bible 31:44 I invite you to take it and turn to Acts the-- 31:47 Acts the 5th chapter, Acts the 5th chapter, 31:51 in my study of repentance there was something 31:54 that was quite obvious that I often overlooked. 31:58 Here's is the basic question, is repentance something 32:02 that we worked up or something that God places within? 32:08 Is repentance our desire 32:11 to work up an emotional sorrow for sin 32:15 or is repentance a gift that God gives us? 32:21 Acts the 5th chapter, 32:23 you're looking there at verses 30 to 32. 32:26 I want you to notice them carefully, Acts 5:30-32 32:33 "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, 32:36 whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. 32:39 Him God has exalted to His right hand 32:42 to be Prince and Savior." 32:44 Three things of that of the passage so far. 32:46 First the passage talks about the crucifixion of Christ. 32:50 Christ hung on a tree. 32:51 Verse 30, second the passage 32:53 talks about the resurrection of Christ. 32:55 The God of our fathers who was-- 32:59 who raised up Jesus, resurrection. 33:02 Thirdly the text talks about 33:03 the high priest the ministry of Christ. 33:06 "Him God has exalted to His right hand 33:08 to be Prince and Savior." 33:10 So you have the death of Christ, 33:12 the ascension of Christ, the resurrection of Christ. 33:16 Now, notice, because of Christ death 33:19 because of Christ resurrection 33:22 because of Christ's high precisely ministry 33:24 "To give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 33:29 And we are His witnesses to these things, 33:32 so also is the Holy Spirit 33:34 whom God has given to those who obey Him." 33:36 Now, that text is packed, 33:38 Christ died, Christ resurrected. 33:41 Christ is our high priest 33:43 and He gives repentance to His people. 33:46 So, where does genuine repentance come from? 33:49 Where is it come from everybody? 33:52 Is repentance a gift? 33:54 Just as salvation is a gift, repentance is a gift. 33:58 So as I kneel before Jesus every day, 34:01 looking at the cross of Calvary, 34:03 seeing His goodness as I meditate upon His life, 34:08 as I walk with him 34:09 in the dusty streets of Galilee, 34:11 as I travel with him 34:12 down the cobble stone streets of Jerusalem, 34:15 as I see Jesus touch the eyes of the blind and they're open 34:19 and touch the ears of the deaf and they're unstop, 34:21 as I see Jesus touch the weathered man arm, 34:24 as I see Him break the bread and feed the 5,000, 34:27 as I see Him say, 34:28 to the woman caught in adultery go and sin no more. 34:31 I'm so charmed by His love 34:34 I see the difference between my worldliness 34:37 and my sin and Him. 34:39 I see Him and I say, Oh, Jesus, 34:41 grant to me the gift of repentance 34:44 and He places within my heart a sorrow for the difference 34:49 that I'm between my 40 week sinful life 34:52 in His glorious righteous life. 34:55 So, it is looking at Jesus that we are transformed. 34:59 It is by understanding His perfection 35:02 that we understand our imperfection. 35:05 It is seeing His strength that we recognize our weakness. 35:10 So notice repentance is a gift, 35:13 it is not something we work up 35:16 it is something He places within our heart 35:19 and it doesn't come by looking at our wretchedness, 35:23 our understanding of our wretchedness 35:25 comes from looking at Him. 35:28 When I look at myself I never see any possibility to be saved 35:32 but when I look at Jesus, 35:34 I see no possibility to be lost. 35:38 And so repentance is a gift if you'll notice in the lesson 35:43 I have quoted a statement 35:45 in the Acts of the Apostle page 36 you'll find it 35:49 in Sunday's lesson and you'll find it 35:51 in the middle of the page there, 35:53 "As the disciples waited 35:55 for the fulfillment of the promise" 35:57 that's the promise of the Holy Spirit. 36:00 Are we waiting for the fulfillment 36:02 of the promise of the out pouring of the Spirit of God 36:06 in latter rain power today? 36:08 Are we waiting for that? 36:10 Is God pouring out His spirit on the church today? 36:13 Certainly. 36:15 Do we see the showers of the early rain? 36:19 Definitely. 36:20 But before the coming of Christ 36:22 will there be an additional out pouring 36:25 of the spirits power in the latter rain 36:29 to enable us to finish the work? 36:32 Is that promise there? 36:34 The disciples waited for that promise. 36:38 When the disciples met in the other upper room, 36:41 there are about a 120 disciples that met in the upper room. 36:46 The population of the Roman Empire at the time 36:50 there are different population figures 36:52 that you have by various demographers 36:55 but it is probably about 550 to 600 million people. 37:00 So, about 600 million lived in the Roman Empire. 37:04 You have a 120 Christians that meet in the upper room 37:09 which is a ration of one to probably 37:13 at least about a half a million maybe 600,000. 37:18 So, one Christian to 600,000 people, 37:21 now, there's one Adventist to every today 37:26 about one Adventist to about every 130 people, 37:29 for about 400 people in the world today. 37:32 But one Adventist to 400 in the world today 37:34 but the amazing thing is that upper room 37:36 it was one to about 550,000 37:43 those disciples met they, sought God 37:47 and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place 37:50 and thousands were baptized in a few short years 37:55 till there is at least a million Christians 37:57 by the end of the first century. 37:59 The task that is before us 38:03 is no greater than the task that was before them. 38:06 In fact, it was more difficult often in the days, 38:08 the Roman Empire than it is today. 38:10 Many ways, if you look at that from sociological standpoint. 38:14 But here is the amazing thing, 38:16 they met they repented if there is sin, 38:19 they saw the beauty of Jesus holiness, 38:21 they entered into true sorrow God poured out His spirit 38:25 when the church is on its need looking at Jesus, 38:29 seeing ourselves as we are Christ manifest himself to us. 38:35 Our lives are transformed by His grace. 38:38 He empowers us by His spirit. 38:40 Now, the word, repentance in the Greek language 38:43 is a very fascinating word. 38:45 It is the word metanoeo. 38:47 Now, for long time I translated that word 38:50 from Greek to English in a very simple way. 38:53 And I would say you know the word metanoeo means 38:55 simply a change of attitude toward. 38:58 It does mean that 39:00 but if you look at the richness of the word metanoeo 39:03 in the Greek language repentance 39:04 it means much more than a change of attitude. 39:07 It means a change of attitude that motivates the will 39:12 and this is a literal translation of metanoeo 39:15 from the best Geek galaxy cards. 39:17 It is a change of attitude which transforms the will 39:24 and sets it in a direction of obedience. 39:27 You can have no true repentance 39:31 without a mindset for obedience. 39:35 Owe through repentance leads far beyond a sorrow 39:39 that is an emotional sorrow. 39:41 Repentance is not evaluated in the Bible 39:46 by my tears or by emotional grief. 39:49 It is evaluated in the Bible 39:53 by the desire for a lifestyle change. 39:56 Now, that leads us to Monday's lesson, 39:59 true repentance to find. 40:01 The story is told of a little boy 40:04 and this little boy had this habit 40:06 of leaving his room messy. 40:09 He was about nine years old 40:12 and much as his mom wanted to have his room clean 40:16 having clean his room he just had his real time. 40:19 Any of you have a child like that? 40:21 Clean your room please, 40:22 clean your room and he kept his room messy. 40:24 On this particular day, he got out all of his legos 40:27 and all of his toys and his room was a colossal mess. 40:32 So that night at family worship, 40:35 his mother felt that she needed to address that. 40:38 So she said, she talked about repentance 40:40 and sorrow for what you've done wrong 40:43 and she said, son, now, what you really need to repent 40:46 of is momma has told you clean your room, 40:48 clean your room, clean your room, 40:49 don't leave all your legos all around. 40:50 You need to repent so he knelt down 40:52 and prayed, prayed a prayer like this. 40:54 Dear Jesus, I'm so sorry 40:59 that I left my room so messy today 41:02 but it sure was fun. 41:05 Is that repentance? 41:07 Take your Bible please 2 Corinthians Chapter 7. 41:10 I'm so sorry, I left my room messy today 41:13 but I wish it was always fun. 41:15 2 Corinthians Chapter 7 41:18 and we look there at 2 Corinthians Chapter 7 41:22 and we are looking at verse 9 to 11. 41:27 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 41:30 is one of the best descriptions in the Bible 41:34 about genuine repentance and what it's about. 41:37 2 Corinthians 7:9, 41:40 "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry." 41:45 Now, Paul is writing to the Corinthians 41:48 he has written the first letter to the Corinthians 41:50 and somebody said that, 41:52 the church of Corinth was pause, excreted and headache. 41:56 The church at Corinth members were suing one another, 42:00 they were abusing the Lord's supper. 42:03 One of the big problems at Corinth was that 42:05 there was immorality in the church 42:08 it was so bad that there was incest in the Corinthian church 42:12 you can read about that 2 Corinthians 5 and onward. 42:15 And the Corinthians weren't dealing 42:16 with sin in the church at all. 42:18 They were treating it very, very lightly 42:21 and so the apostle Paul wrote to them 1 Corinthians 42:25 and as he did, it broke their hearts 42:28 and they entered into genuine sorrow 42:32 about the toleration of sin that they had in the church. 42:35 And Paul writes to them in 2 Corinthians 7:9 42:40 "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry." 42:44 That is sorry by my letter 42:45 "but that your sorrow led to repentance." 42:48 So if that sorrow leads to repentance 42:51 can you have sorrow with out repentance? 42:52 You can. 42:53 You can be sorry because what you did 42:57 is gonna cause circumstances in your own life. 43:00 You can be sorry that you said something 43:02 to your husband or wife and they got mad. 43:05 You can be sorry 43:06 that you're dishonest and you got caught. 43:08 You can be sorry, 43:10 for the consequences of the action 43:12 but not that your action broke the heart of God. 43:15 See, true repentance is not that I'm sorry 43:18 because of the consequences 43:19 what happened to me because I sinned. 43:21 True repentance is I'm so sorry, 43:24 because I dishonored God. 43:26 I'm so sorry, that I hurt another person. 43:29 I'm so sorry, that my words cut deeply into your heart. 43:33 I'm so sorry, that I criticized you, 43:36 And I'm so sorry, that I talk behind your back 43:38 and it severed our relationship. 43:40 And I'm so sorry, 43:41 that in all of that I dishonored God. 43:43 You see true repentance is when I'm on my knees 43:46 saying Jesus, You love me so much. 43:49 Jesus, your grace is so amazing. 43:52 Jesus, I hurt You with what I did. 43:55 So until my sin gives me the pain 44:00 that it brings to the heart of God 44:02 I'll never turn lose of it. 44:04 And so this is what Paul is praying about here, 44:06 this is what he's talking about in 2 Corinthians 7:9 44:10 "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, 44:15 but that your sorrow led to repentance. 44:18 But you were made sorry in a godly manner, 44:21 that you might suffer loss for us in nothing. 44:24 For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, 44:29 not to be regretted 44:30 but the sorrow of the world produces death." 44:32 So there's two kind of sorrow. 44:34 Godly sorrow that produces repentance. 44:36 What is repentance? 44:38 It's a change of attitude throughout my sin. 44:40 The thing I wants to love I now hate. 44:43 The thing I once did casually 44:45 now I turn away from it in aberrance. 44:47 The thing that I once enjoyed doing now I love to do 44:51 but its more than that it is the setting of the direction 44:55 of the will to choose to let the thing 44:59 which I cherished that broke the heart of God go 45:02 because I no longer want to break His heart. 45:05 So, it looks at Jesus. 45:07 Now, notice the text verse 9, 45:10 Now I rejoice, that you were made sorry, 45:13 but that you are-- 45:15 "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, 45:18 but that your sorrow led to repentance." 45:20 Verse 10," Godly sorrow produces repentance." 45:23 Now, notice this verse 11, it's very interesting, 45:27 "For observe this very thing, 45:29 that you sorrowed in a godly manner, 45:32 What diligence it produced in you." 45:35 Now, when you sorrow in a godly manner 45:37 it produces something. 45:39 What's the first thing that it produces? 45:41 What is it produced? Diligence. 45:44 Another words, when I sorrow in a godly manner 45:47 and see that my sin is broken the heart of God 45:51 and I see the grace of Jesus 45:53 I become more diligent not to do that thing again. 45:57 So, what clearing of yourselves 46:01 when you sorrow in a godly manner 46:04 if you have hurt another person, 46:08 you want to clear up that situation 46:11 between you and the other person. 46:14 If you've injured somebody else, 46:17 If you've been dishonest godly sorrow and repentance 46:22 when I recognize I broken God's heart 46:25 leads me to others to reconcile 46:29 if I broken their heart. 46:31 It says what indignation? 46:34 What does it mean, what indignation? 46:36 How does godly sorrow lead to indignation? 46:38 Indignation is a form of strong anger. 46:42 What is that mean? 46:43 It means that I'm upset about the thing that I've done. 46:49 I've indignation toward what I've done 46:51 and I want to make it right. 46:53 "What fear, what vehement desire, 46:57 what zeal, what vindication! 47:00 In all things you proved yourselves 47:02 to be clear in this matter." 47:04 So, true repentance is this godly sorrow, 47:08 because I broken God's heart 47:10 that sets my will in a new direction 47:13 that gives me an indignation or a hatred towards sin 47:16 and enables me to desire to live differently. 47:21 We talk about true and false confession in Tuesday's lesson 47:27 and there is a statement 47:29 in the books "Steps to Christ" page 38 47:33 that I would like to take a look at 47:35 but before we do that let's look at Leviticus 5:5. 47:40 Let's got to Leviticus 5 47:41 this takes us back to the ancient sanctuary. 47:44 Leviticus 5:5, in the ancient sanctuary 47:49 when somebody sin they of course 47:51 brought in all offering some times a lamb 47:53 and there were other offerings 47:54 and the poor brought a pigeon offering or grain offering. 47:57 In Leviticus 5:5 48:00 there is a clear Bible text about what happened 48:03 when the person brought their offering. 48:05 It has to do with repentance 48:07 and it has to do with confession. 48:09 Leviticus 5:5 it says, 48:12 "And it shall be, when he shall be guilty 48:15 in any of these things, that he shall confess 48:18 that he has sinned in that thing." 48:21 What does this Bible passage tell you 48:24 about the nature of true confession? 48:28 That true confession is what? 48:31 Very specific. 48:32 Has anybody ever come to you and say, 48:34 you know if I hurt you by what I said please forgive me. 48:39 If I hurt you, what do you know when they say that? 48:43 It's not genuine repentance. 48:46 Genuine repentance is I'm so sorry 48:49 that I said this specific thing about you. 48:52 I've gone to the people that I said it to 48:55 and I have asked them to forgive me. 48:57 And because I've hurt your reputation 48:59 please forgive me. 49:00 That's genuine repentance. 49:03 In the Old Testament when a person came with their lamb 49:08 they confess the specific thing. 49:10 Lord, I got angry with my neighbor. 49:13 Lord, I've stolen something. 49:16 True confession and repentance is always specific. 49:21 When I get on my knees and pray 49:23 I don't say Lord, if I've sinned. 49:24 I say Lord, I watched that on television 49:28 and I know that that is not in harmony with Your will 49:31 but I seemed to be addicted to it. 49:34 Looking at Jesus and His greatness 49:37 and His goodness and His grace and His mercy 49:39 and how pure You were Lord, make my heart pure 49:43 and take that wretched desire out of my soul. 49:46 Lord I'm jealous of that person. 49:48 Please, Lord, take that jealously 49:50 out of my heart and soul. 49:52 So true confession is always what everybody? 49:56 Specific in nature. 49:58 Now, let's go to Ellen White statement. 49:59 This is an remarkable statement 50:01 that will help somebody here today? 50:03 True confession it is page 50:07 it is under the section of Tuesday 50:09 the page 49 the middle of the page, 50:13 "True confession is always of a" 50:15 what kind of character those who have? 50:16 "Specific character, 50:18 and acknowledges particular sins." 50:20 Then there's three things, "They may be of such a nature 50:24 as to be brought before God and God only." 50:27 Where our most sins of our sins brought before? 50:30 Before who? God and God only. 50:33 Now, notice. 50:34 "They may be wrongs that should be confessed 50:37 to individuals who have suffered injury through them" 50:41 and it goes on to say, 50:43 "they may be of a public character, 50:45 and should then be as publicly confessed." 50:47 How do you know, when to confess sin publicly 50:50 and how do you know whether the confession 50:52 of that sin publicly would be detrimental 50:55 to you and the church? 50:56 Let me give you a clear rule of thumb 50:58 and here is what it is. 51:02 You repair the fence where it's broken. 51:07 You repair the fence where it's broken. 51:10 If I have a farm and I fence on the north, 51:14 south, east and west and the fence on the north 51:19 is broken and the sheep and cattle are getting out 51:22 and I repair them-- 51:23 I try to repair the fence on the south 51:26 that is nonsensical. 51:28 So here is the point, if my sin is between me and God 51:32 that need not be in anyway we may public. 51:36 I confess it to Him. 51:39 But if I've stolen something from you 51:42 I don't confess to the church 51:45 that I stole something from Brother Steve or Sister Smith. 51:48 I go to them and talk to them about that. 51:51 That's not between them and the church 51:53 the fence was not broken there. 51:56 But if I live a profligate life 52:01 after becoming a Christian of open rebellion, 52:06 and defame the name of God 52:09 and the youth and others in the church know it, 52:12 there maybe a time at that point 52:14 where I come and say you know, 52:16 I've lived a life out of harmony with God's purpose. 52:20 It's publicly known that I've come to Jesus 52:23 and my life has been changed. 52:25 I want to honor him. 52:27 So when do you make public confession? 52:30 Only when there is public sin that is publicly known. 52:35 If the sin is between you and somebody else, 52:39 you don't publicly confess that to the church. 52:41 You go to that person why? 52:43 Because you want to rebuild 52:45 the relationship with that person. 52:49 Notice, confession what is it? Confession is always specific. 52:53 Now, we put repentance and confession together 52:55 what are they? 52:56 Repentance a godly sorrow, 52:59 seeing Jesus, a change to the mindset, 53:01 a desire it will be more like Christ. 53:03 Confession, confessing specific sins to God, 53:08 to another if I've wrong them, to the church only 53:12 if my life has been profligate in a public way. 53:16 Looking at our last lesson on Thursday, 53:20 confession healing power and I want to jump over 53:23 to Thursday's lessons our last lesson. 53:28 Confession healing power, 53:29 and I like to read the paragraph there. 53:32 "Confession lances the boil of guilt. 53:36 It allows the poisonous pus of sin to drain. 53:40 Confession is healing in many ways. 53:43 It opens our hearts to receive God's grace. 53:45 Through confession received the forgiveness 53:47 that Christ daily offers us from the Cross. 53:50 Confession is healing because it allows God-- 53:54 us to receive God's grace." 53:55 Follow me closely. 53:57 "The Confession of your sin 53:59 doesn't make God love you any more or any less." 54:03 The confession of your sin 54:05 enables you to receive His love. 54:09 The confession of your sin 54:11 enables you to receive His forgiveness. 54:15 See, God forgives me on the Cross of Calvary 54:19 but when I come to that Cross, the confession the forgiveness 54:25 that He has wrought on Calvary becomes mine. 54:30 When I come to Jesus, 54:33 He gives me the gift of repentance. 54:36 He offers me, all that He has done for me on Calvary. 54:43 I love the way its put in that old hymn of F. E. Belden, 54:49 "Look upon Jesus sinless is he Father, 54:54 impute His life unto me. 54:59 My life of scarlet, my sin and woe, 55:04 Cover with His life, whiter than snow." 55:10 Deep are the wounds. 55:13 "Deep are the wounds transgression has made, 55:18 Red are the stains, my soul is afraid. 55:24 O to be covered, Jesus, with Thee, 55:28 Safe from the law that now judgeth me. 55:32 Longing the joy of pardon to know. 55:36 Jesus holds out a robe white as snow. 55:42 Lord, I accept it! 55:44 Leaving my own, gladly, gladly 55:52 I wear my pure life alone. 55:56 Reconciled by His death for my sin, 56:00 Justified by His life pure and clean, 56:03 sanctified by obeying His Word, 56:06 glorified when returneth my Lord. 56:10 In Jesus I'm reconciled, in Jesus I'm justified. 56:15 In Jesus I'm sanctified, In Jesus I'm glorified 56:19 and that is revival and reformation. 56:22 Praise His holy name. |
Revised 2014-12-17