Participants: Sikululekile Hlatshwayo
Series Code: 13GYC
Program Code: 13GYC000002
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00:14 Our next song for our song service is All the Way,
00:18 ''All the Way My Savior Leads Me.'' 00:29 All the way my Savior leads me 00:33 What have I to ask beside? 00:37 Can I doubt His tender mercy 00:41 Who through life has been my guide? 00:45 Heavenly peace, divinest comfort 00:49 Here by faith in Him to dwell 00:54 For I know whate'er befall me 00:58 Jesus doeth all things well 01:02 For I know whate'er befall me 01:07 Jesus doeth all things well 01:12 All the way my Savior leads me 01:16 Cheers each winding path I tread 01:20 Gives me grace for every trial 01:25 Feeds me with the living bread 01:29 Though my weary steps may falter 01:33 And my soul athirst may be 01:37 Gushing from the Rock before me 01:41 Lo, a spring of joy I see 01:46 Gushing from the Rock before me 01:50 Lo, a spring of joy I see 01:56 All the way my Savior leads me 02:00 O the fullness of His love! 02:04 Perfect rest to me is promised 02:09 In my Father's house above 02:13 When I wake to life immortal 02:17 Wing my flight to realms of day 02:22 This my song through endless ages 02:26 Jesus led me all the way 02:30 This my song through endless ages 02:35 Jesus led me all the way 02:42 Last of all we're going to do our theme song, "The Stage" 02:55 The stage has been set 02:57 All creation looks on 03:00 Two kingdoms are warring 03:03 Between right and wrong 03:07 The choices you make 03:09 Have a very high cost 03:12 Eternity's won 03:15 Or eternity's lost 03:19 Before men and angels 03:22 Which side will you choose? 03:25 The Savior is waiting 03:28 There's no time to lose 03:31 Before men and angels 03:34 Each soul plays a part 03:37 For you are the world 03:40 And the stage is your heart 03:45 Invisible forces 03:48 Are vying to win 03:51 Is God in your heart 03:54 Or is darkness and sin? 03:58 For greater than angels 04:01 Above God's own voice 04:04 The power that's strongest 04:07 Of all is your choice 04:11 Before men and angels 04:14 Which side will you choose? 04:17 The Savior is waiting 04:20 There's no time to lose 04:23 Before men and angels 04:26 Each soul plays a part 04:29 For you are the world 04:32 And the stage is your heart 04:38 It's God's reputation 04:41 In question today 04:44 It's His vindication 04:46 For which you should pray 04:50 His glory is shown 04:52 Through the universe wide 04:56 When you let Him 04:58 Into your heart to reside 05:04 Before men and angels 05:07 Which side will you choose? 05:10 The Savior is waiting 05:13 There's no time to lose 05:16 Before men and angels 05:19 Each soul plays a part 05:22 For you are the world 05:25 And the stage is your heart 05:37 Good morning, it's God... 05:40 Okay, I won't sing that for you, 05:41 but good morning. 05:43 Let me hear one more time, good morning. 05:45 Good morning. 05:46 I am proud of all you 05:47 for waking up early this morning, 05:49 our breakfast is before morning devotional 05:52 and so maybe it's just a little bit easier to get here, 05:55 but we want to welcome you 05:56 to the 7:30 morning devotional 05:59 be happening every single morning, 06:01 invite your friends. 06:02 Now just one quick announcement. 06:04 I was told to mention something that you need to know. 06:09 It was said last night that Outreach, 06:13 it was kind of implied 06:14 that Outreach was gonna be today, 06:15 but it's actually on Friday, 06:17 so just don't forget that Outreach is on Friday 06:20 and we can continue to pray for Outreach. 06:23 I am excited about the speaker for morning devotional. 06:27 Her name is Siku and I asked her 06:30 how do you pronounce your last name 06:31 and she said don't try, so I am not going to try. 06:33 But Siku is originally from Zimbabwe 06:36 and she didn't want to move to United States 06:38 because it was the beast in Bible prophecy 06:41 and she did not want to be here, 06:42 so she moved to Canada first, 06:43 was there for two years 06:45 and now has been in the United States 06:46 because God had a different plan. 06:48 She's been here for 11 years. 06:49 She's studying at Andrews University, 06:52 taking her masters there with an emphasis 06:55 in the systematic theology, 06:56 and she would like me to read from Psalm 73:28 which says, 07:01 "But it is good for me to draw near to God, 07:03 I have put my trust in the Lord 07:06 O God, that I may declare all Your works." 07:09 So why don't we bow our heads and ask God to be with us. 07:12 Lord, we thank you so much for this beautiful morning. 07:15 We dedicate this morning and this day to You. 07:19 We love you. 07:20 We invite Your Holy Spirit to be here 07:21 to open our hearts in Your name, amen. 07:39 When the storm raged about them 07:44 The disciples were afraid 07:48 For the waves were high and the ship was tossed 07:52 They could not find their way 07:56 Then they awoke the master 07:59 Saying Lord please save us now 08:03 He rebuked the winds and the sea grew calm 08:07 And they all wondered how 08:13 God sees the storm from the other side 08:20 He knows the lessons learned 08:24 And just beyond the clouds He sees clear skies 08:32 He speaks peace to the raging storm 08:35 When peace cannot be found 08:39 He already sees the rainbow 08:45 When we see only clouds 08:54 Like the man on the sea did 08:57 I have called on God in prayer 09:01 When it seemed to me all hope was gone and in my deep despair 09:08 I remembered what the Lord said 09:12 When He calmed that troubled sea 09:16 And I know once more how He sees the storm 09:21 And peace floods over me 09:29 God sees the storm from the other side 09:35 He knows the lessons learned 09:39 And just beyond the clouds He sees clear skies 09:46 He speaks peace to the raging storm 09:50 When peace cannot be found 09:53 He already sees the rainbow 09:57 When we see only clouds 10:02 And when the storms of life come crashing in and trouble me 10:09 I can feel God's arms around me and he whispers 10:16 Let it be 10:20 Let it be 10:24 God sees the storm from the other side 10:30 He knows the lessons learned 10:34 And just beyond the clouds He sees clear skies 10:41 He speaks peace to the raging storm 10:44 When peace cannot be found 10:48 He already sees the rainbow 10:54 When we see only clouds 11:07 Amen. 11:19 Morning GYC. 11:20 Morning. 11:22 How are you doing this morning? 11:24 Good. Awesome. 11:29 I am wondering how many of you guys 11:31 are from the west coast by show of hands. 11:35 Wow! 11:37 The entire front section is from the west coast. 11:41 You realize you are here at 11:43 what time is it, west coast 11:45 4:30 in the morning. 11:47 That is incredible. 11:49 Praise the Lord for you. 11:52 You make me feel better. 11:58 I think I was introduced already, 12:00 they told you my name is Siku, yes. 12:04 My name is Sikululekile Hiatshwayo. 12:07 Jeff, he came to ask me how he should introduce me 12:09 and I said don't worry about my last name 12:11 'cause I knew he was going to butcher it 12:13 and you know so don't worry about it. 12:16 I am originally from Zimbabwe, 12:18 so I want to say hi to my family if they are watching. 12:22 And I am so blessed to be here at GYC. 12:26 You know, after I got over the initial 12:29 and subsequent shock from the president of GYC 12:33 giving me a call to invite me to speak this year. 12:36 I got really excited about the topic, 12:40 the Great Controversy. 12:42 I worked for several years as counselor 12:47 at secular universities and I remember 12:51 giving a Bible study to a group of four young ladies. 12:55 Three of them were not Adventist. 12:57 And it was a Bible study on the Great Controversy. 13:01 The look on their faces as the reality of what 13:05 the metanarrative in the Bible is hit them. 13:11 It was indescribable. 13:13 It was like whoa, the world make sense kind of look. 13:19 And from that moment I realized that we have truths, 13:24 we have truths that the world is hungering and thirsting for. 13:28 It gives, kind of gives a framework to understand 13:31 why things are, how they are 13:33 and how the world works and all these things. 13:35 And I just came to really love 13:37 the message of the Great Controversy. 13:40 So I was very excited to be invited to share 13:44 and praying about what exactly to talk about. 13:50 What the Lord impressed me was and what we're going to do 13:52 for the next few mornings is to talk about issues 13:56 in the Great Controversy. 13:58 So not specifically necessarily going 14:01 through the story of the Great Controversy, 14:03 but issues in the Great Controversy 14:05 as I've come to experience them in my own life. 14:08 So that is what we're going to do in the next few mornings. 14:10 Is that all right? All right. 14:15 Oh, I made a mental note to give a disclaimer. 14:19 My friends say that 14:20 when I get excited about something 14:23 that my accent changes. 14:26 Since I came to America, 14:27 I've learnt how to roll my R's a little bit more 14:30 so that Americans can understand me. 14:33 Funny story, I went to a restaurant 14:34 with some friends. 14:36 The waitress comes and she's asking, 14:38 oh, what would you like to drink? 14:40 And I said, oh, could I just have a glass of water please. 14:42 And she said, excuse me. 14:44 I said, oh, a glass of water as if that would help. 14:51 And she said, oh, I'm sorry, 14:52 I don't understand, could you come again. 14:55 And my friend had to intervene and he said, 14:57 oh, she just wants a glass of water. 15:02 Oh, my God, really. 15:05 I said water W-A-T-E-R 15:08 and she couldn't understand me so. 15:09 I've learnt how to, I try to roll, 15:12 you know, the water and those kind of things, 15:14 but sometimes I forget 15:18 and the accent becomes more accentuated, 15:22 so that's my disclaimer, I've said it, you know, so. 15:25 Shoma, if you are out there, forgive me. 15:28 Okay. 15:29 All right, let's have a world of prayer again. 15:32 This is for mine sake. 15:33 And then we'll then jump right into the word of God. 15:36 Loving Father, we're privilege to spend time in Your word, 15:41 to hear You speaking to us through the Holy Spirit. 15:45 We invite his presence now 15:48 so that the time that we spent together here 15:50 would not be an exercise in futility, 15:52 but it will be an opportunity 15:53 for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 15:55 so that our lives will be changed. 15:57 Father, we recognize the time is short 16:00 and Jesus is coming soon. 16:01 Prepare us to prepare the world for that soon return of Christ, 16:06 we pray this in your name, amen. 16:09 Turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Luke Chapter 18. 16:17 Luke Chapter 18. 16:23 And we're going to read together from verse 1 in Luke Chapter 18. 16:29 Luke 18:1. 16:31 I'm reading from the King James Version 16:33 not because I have anything against other versions per se, 16:35 it's just my favorite version to study out of. 16:41 Luke 18:1 says, "And he spake 16:44 a parable unto them to this end, 16:49 that men ought always to pray, and not to faint." 16:54 And so this parable we're given already 16:57 what the goal was in giving this parable. 17:00 It was that man ought always to pray and not to faint. 17:03 Meaning that it is possible for men to pray and yet faint. 17:11 And this is what Jesus said that "There was in a city a judge, 17:15 which feared not God, neither regarded man. 17:19 And there was a widow in that city, 17:21 and she came unto him, saying, 17:23 Avenge me of mine adversary." 17:26 So in verse 2 it tells us that 17:28 there was in a city a man of power. 17:32 He was a judge in that city. 17:33 He was a man who could say things and things happened. 17:37 But there's something peculiar 17:39 about this judge because usually 17:41 when you think about public servants, 17:43 they're people who want to help people. 17:46 But this judge was not that kind of a guy. 17:49 He was a kind of a power tripping judge. 17:53 Because he wasn't there to help people, 17:55 he didn't care about what God said 17:57 was right or wrong. 17:58 He didn't have a particular moral code 18:00 that he operated under, nor did he regard man 18:04 because sometimes people will do the right thing 18:07 just because they fear God. 18:11 They'll treat you well not because they like you, 18:13 not because they care about you, 18:16 but because it's the right thing to do. 18:18 You know I was in elementary school 18:20 and this is an embarrassing story 18:22 to tell that's the person that comes to mind. 18:25 And there was this kid in my class 18:26 and he was so annoying. 18:28 He was so annoying, 18:30 super annoying kid in my class in elementary school 18:33 so I was really young. 18:35 But I loved Jesus and I was a Christian 18:37 even then and this kid, 18:40 he would just pester and pester. 18:42 Everybody in the class thought he was annoying. 18:43 Okay, it wasn't just me. 18:46 And one day he was just getting, 18:52 he was testing my Christianity 18:55 and I failed, okay. 18:58 And the embarrassing thing is I slapped him, okay. 19:07 My little sister knows that I struggled with violence 19:10 when I was young. 19:12 But the Lord helped me overcome, amen. 19:16 I went home that day 19:18 and the Lord would not give me rest. 19:21 And all night I probably slept a long time 19:24 but as a kid, you know, 19:25 I felt like I didn't sleep at all 19:27 because I was so stressed out, like Lord 19:29 I shouldn't have done that, 19:32 and He brought conviction to my heart, 19:34 I needed to apologize. 19:35 Now it's so embarrassing to apologize 19:37 to the annoying kid, right. 19:39 Because everybody thinks he is annoying 19:40 and then I have to apologize, 19:41 but I went to school the next day 19:43 under the conviction of the Holy Spirit 19:45 and I said X, I won't mention his name. 19:49 I am so sorry that I slapped you yesterday. 19:55 And I don't know if he was just scared 19:56 that I would do it again but he said that's okay. 20:01 I didn't apologize because I cared about him. 20:06 But because I feared God, 20:09 because of my relationship with God, 20:11 out of obligation, out of duty to God 20:14 I went and I gave that apology. 20:16 So you understand that sometimes people do things 20:18 just strictly out of fear for God, 20:21 not out of love for man. 20:23 And sometimes on the other hand 20:25 people do things just to look good 20:27 in front of other people, right. 20:31 Will behave in a proper way just so that 20:33 other people will think we are so awesome 20:36 that we will address, sit and wait 20:38 so people will regard us as holy, 20:40 or address, sit and wait 20:42 so people regard us as pretty, I don't know. 20:44 But we behave in a certain way for the sake of people, 20:49 but this guy, this judge, 20:53 he didn't do anything for God, 20:56 he didn't do anything for man 20:59 which left only who? 21:02 Self. 21:05 The judge feared neither God, neither regarded man. 21:11 And there was in that city a widow. 21:17 And this widow had a problem you see, 21:19 because she had a situation 21:21 that she couldn't resolve on her own. 21:26 She had lost her husband to death. 21:30 And she had to manage her husband's estate and you see, 21:33 she didn't have the resources 21:35 to deal with a particular adversary 21:38 who was on her case so to speak, 21:41 so she needed help in her situation 21:43 and you know this woman was desperate 21:45 because of all people to go to, 21:47 who did she go to for help? That judge, right. 21:52 That guy who doesn't care about anybody. 21:54 She went to that judge and she begged the judge, 21:58 avenge me of mine adversary. 22:02 See this woman was in a desperate situation. 22:07 She was in a situation that she couldn't do anything about. 22:12 She was in financial straits. She was going bankrupt. 22:19 And some of us are in a desperate situation. 22:24 And some of us in our desperation 22:26 go to broken cisterns. 22:33 I don't know what your desperation is, 22:35 it could be financial, I don't know 22:37 how I am going to pay for next semester's 22:38 classes kind of situation. 22:42 It could be emotional bankruptcy. 22:47 In a relationship that is devoid 22:49 of any kind of fulfillment emotionally 22:52 and there is a desperation 22:54 that you experience in your life. 22:58 But there is a bankruptcy that I know 23:01 each and everyone of us has. 23:05 Let's turn real quick to Zechariah Chapter 3. 23:15 Zechariah Chapter 3. 23:20 See the Bible tells us that all of us, 23:24 not just some, not just me 23:26 who is evil and beats people up in school 23:28 when I'm inelementary, not just me, 23:30 all of us have this problem 23:31 because all have sinned 23:33 and fall short of the glory of God. 23:38 So this is the problem that we all have. 23:41 And in Zechariah Chapter 3 from verse 1, Bible says, 23:46 "And he showed me Joshua the high priest 23:48 standing before the angel of the Lord, 23:50 and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 23:54 And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; 23:57 even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: 24:00 is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" 24:03 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, 24:07 and stood before the angel. 24:09 And he answered and spake 24:11 unto those that stood before him, saying, 24:12 Take away the filthy garments from him. 24:15 And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused 24:17 thine iniquity to pass from thee, 24:19 and I will clothe thee with change of raiment." 24:21 And we'll pause there. 24:22 The scene that we have just seen. 24:25 Joshua, the high priest standing on behalf of the people of God. 24:30 And he is wearing filthy garments 24:33 which represents that Joshua and God's people are unclean. 24:38 We have nothing pure to bring before God. 24:42 And he stands there in his filthy garments and it says, 24:46 that Satan was staring at his right hand to resist him. 24:51 And so you have Satan, the accuser of the brethren 24:55 the Bible tells us in Revelation. 24:56 This guy who has been accusing the brethren for ever, 25:00 you know, ever since time, our time began, 25:03 he is standing at his right hand to accuse him 25:06 and what is he accusing him off? 25:07 This guy, filthy, look at that. 25:14 No way you can accept him... her. 25:21 Completely unworthy of you affections even God. 25:29 How can you take this person into Your kingdom? 25:34 How can You accept them as Your child? 25:39 You know, what they do in their private time. 25:42 You've seen. 25:44 You've seen what they do when nobody else is looking. 25:48 You've seen how they act. 25:50 You even know God, You know things 25:52 that I don't even know Satan says, 25:53 like you know what they think. 25:57 When they see people walking by, 25:58 you know those passing thoughts that pass through their mind. 26:02 And he says these are filthy, filthy people. 26:07 And Joshua is standing there with nothing to say. 26:16 And why does he have nothing to say? 26:20 Because it's true. 26:24 He looks at himself and he says I am filthy rags. 26:28 All my righteousness is like filthy rags. 26:31 Everything I bring before God, filthy, filthy, filthy. 26:36 With what can I come before the Lord? 26:41 And he has no answer to give. 26:45 And when we have look at ourselves, 26:48 there is no way that we could be saved. 26:53 Look, even the good things that we do you know, 26:55 they come out of selfish motives. 27:04 And so this woman, she goes before the judge 27:06 and she says judge, look, I have a situation in my life 27:10 that I can do nothing about. 27:13 It's not just that I do sinful things, 27:15 but I'm a sinful person. 27:19 And I need your help 27:21 because I cannot do this by myself. 27:26 This high ideal that we have of being a Christian, 27:28 I cannot attain to it. 27:31 I am worse when I look at Jesus. 27:35 He is so perfect and that's what I'm supposed to be like. 27:38 There is no way, no way. 27:43 And it's true. 27:46 And she goes pleading to this judge, 27:48 because she has a situation that she can do nothing about, 27:52 just as we have a situation that we can do nothing about. 27:58 It's the beautiful thing. 28:02 You've already read it here in Zechariah Chapter 3, 28:06 because the Lord steps in on our behalf, amen. 28:13 You see Jesus, He came to do for us 28:16 what we could never do for ourselves. 28:21 And that's the whole point of Christianity 28:23 is that we need to savior. 28:26 Without Him, hopeless. 28:29 But Jesus came, He steps in and He says, mm-hmm, 28:34 it's not because she is awesome. 28:37 No. 28:39 He says this is a brand plucked out of the fire. 28:42 And you know what? 28:43 Jesus Himself came into the fire to pluck us out, amen. 28:47 He didn't just stand by and send an angel, 28:48 okay, you know, go pluck that person out. 28:51 No. He came into the fire. 28:54 He put his life on the line, 28:57 so that we could have a hope in the world. 29:00 Praise the Lord. 29:02 This is the brand plucked out of the fire 29:04 and so when we look at Jesus, 29:07 when we look at Jesus and what He has done for us, 29:09 there is no way we could be lost, no way. 29:13 Salvation is assured in the cross. 29:18 We have a hope that is secured. 29:20 Turn back with me to Luke Chapter 18. 29:30 The story continues in verse 4. 29:34 This woman came to the judge and she said 29:37 "avenge me of mine adversary." 29:39 And the story tells us not surprisingly 29:42 that the judge would not. 29:44 "He would not for a while, 29:45 but afterward he said within himself, 29:48 though I fear not God, nor regard man, 29:52 yet because this widow troubleth me, 29:56 I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me." 30:01 You know I, I used to do this 30:04 but let me use other people as a-- 30:06 I think I've put myself out there too much already. 30:10 We'll talk about little kids. 30:11 Have you ever seen little kids 30:13 when they have candy like, you know, an aunt. 30:17 Okay, fine, I do this sometimes, 30:19 you know, my nieces and nephews. 30:20 I'll take candy to them, and I know candy is not good. 30:24 Thou shall not eat candy, bad for your teeth, bad, bad. 30:29 But you know it's so hard, 30:30 you want to be the favorite aunt. 30:32 So, you know, bring the candy to the kids. 30:34 And, you know, now the parents have a dilemma, right, 30:36 because they can't let the kid eat the candy. 30:38 And so momma will say, oh, no, not now, 30:41 no candy for you right now 30:44 and the kid will be holding the candy in your hand 30:48 and they ask again. 30:50 May I please eat the candy. 30:53 You know, using the really cute kid voice. 30:56 And mom will say, no, you had enough candy 30:58 for the next 10 years and... 31:02 All right, and the kid will-- 31:03 and it's almost as if the child thinks 31:06 by asking 10 times mom's mind will change, right. 31:11 But please. 31:16 And don't we do that with God sometimes. 31:22 You know, like this thing that we know 31:24 is not necessarily good for us. 31:26 We're like but, but, but God, 31:28 but, I know You already said in Your word 31:30 that I shouldn't but, but, but please. 31:36 You know someone in the Bible who did that. 31:39 Balaam, you remember the story. 31:44 He gets an invitation to go curse God's people. 31:47 Okay, he gets an invitation to go curse God's people, 31:50 so he comes to God and says, 31:53 God, may I please go curse Your people, please. 31:59 Seriously Balaam, I mean come on. 32:01 Okay, but we do that, right. 32:03 We come to God, 32:04 I know You've already revealed in Your word. 32:08 But please, can I just be the exception 32:10 just this one time, please. 32:17 Let's turn to another instance of that in Genesis Chapter 3. 32:23 I was reminded of this instance 32:24 as I was thinking about that concept. 32:26 Genesis Chapter 3, this is, 32:28 Genesis 3 is my favorite chapter in the whole Bible. 32:34 I should have it memorized by now. 32:37 But I was impressed 32:40 you know in yesterday's presentations. 32:41 Anyone else is going to memorize more scripture, amen. 32:46 Okay, only five people, but that's all right. 32:49 The rest of you probably, you know, are almost there. 32:53 Genesis Chapter 3. 32:56 I love this chapter because it is a picture 33:01 of how we ended up where we're right now. 33:03 How we got into this mess? 33:05 For me it helps make sense of a whole lot of stuff. 33:08 Sometimes I read them, I'm like, oh, no wonder, 33:10 I struggle with that. 33:12 It's all their fault. 33:14 Okay, Genesis Chapter 3 from verse 1. 33:18 "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field 33:21 which the Lord God had made." 33:23 We know who the serpent is. 33:24 Revelation tells us, who is it? The devil, right. 33:28 That old serpent called the devil and Satan. 33:32 And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said... 33:37 Did God really say, you shouldn't do this. 33:43 Yea, hath God said, thou shall not eat 33:45 of every tree of the garden? 33:49 And the woman goes on to engage 33:52 the devil in a conversation. 33:54 Needless to say, let's not do that, right. 33:58 No, no need to have that conversation. 34:03 "And the woman said unto the serpent, 34:06 We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. 34:09 But of the fruit of the tree 34:10 which is in the midst of the garden, 34:12 God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, 34:14 neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." 34:17 And so much we could talk about in just those three verses 34:20 but, I would like for us to focus on verse 4 and 5. 34:25 "The serpent says to the woman, 34:27 You shall not surely die. 34:33 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, 34:36 then your eyes shall be opened, 34:38 and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." 34:45 So the devil comes to the woman and says, 34:48 so God told you that you shouldn't 34:51 eat of the tree, right. 34:53 And she's like, yeah, you know, He said 34:54 we shouldn't eat of the tree. 34:56 And he's like, you know why He said that, right. 35:04 There is more to it than meets the eye even. 35:08 Let me break it down to you. 35:10 You see, God is thinking 35:15 if I let these humanoids, 35:19 human beings eat of the tree 35:24 they will be like Me, 35:27 which doesn't make sense, right, 35:29 because He's already created us in His image. 35:31 But anyway He says 35:32 if I let them eat of the tree they will be like Me. 35:36 And that is to say there is an aspect of God 35:39 that we cannot attain to even though 35:41 we are made in His image. 35:42 And then he's saying 35:44 God is withholding certain aspects of who He is, 35:47 so if you eat of the tree, you're gonna be like Him. 35:50 And God is selfish. He is power hungry. 35:55 And He doesn't want you to be like Him in that way. 36:01 You're hearing it. You see it in the text, yeah. 36:07 God wants to withhold certain things from you. 36:13 So I mean, given that His motives are not right. 36:17 Can you really trust Him? 36:24 I mean, Eve, come on. Think with me. 36:28 Look, I am touching the fruit right now, 36:32 eating the fruit, I'm not dead. 36:36 Could really God is trying to hold something back from you. 36:41 And in those words the devil places doubt 36:48 about the character of God. 36:51 And you see in the Great Controversy the thing 36:54 that is in question really is the character of God. 36:59 Can you trust Him? 37:02 When He tells you not to eat of that tree 37:04 which is in the middle of the garden, 37:06 just that one thing that He says not to do. 37:10 Every thing else is open to you. 37:13 Every day of the week you can work, 37:15 just one day, the Sabbath day is mine. 37:22 Ninety percent, just ten percent 37:26 I want you to dedicate. 37:28 Don't even touch it. But can you trust Him. 37:33 God only says that 'cause He is greedy. 37:37 Yeah, Him and His servants, the pastors, 37:39 the ones who preach about tithes, yeah. 37:41 They just want your money. You can't trust them. 37:47 The character of God is what's in question. 37:53 So you see when Eve took of that fruit, 37:57 she looked at it. 37:59 I want you to know what she said in her mind. 38:03 Verse 6, "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, 38:08 pleasant to the eyes, 38:09 a tree to be desired to make one wise, 38:13 she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, 38:15 and gave also unto her husband with her; 38:16 and he did eat." 38:19 So even though God had already said 38:21 don't eat it, don't touch it, 38:22 I didn't know, he didn't say don't touch it, 38:24 she said he said don't. 38:25 He said don't eat it. 38:28 Even though God had already specifically said not to eat it. 38:34 In her mind she reasoned that this was good for food. 38:39 If God says don't eat it, it's not good for food. 38:47 But in that action of eating that fruit. 38:52 You know action speak louder than words. 38:54 You know, I can't imagine 38:56 Eve actually saying I don't trust God. 39:00 I can't imagine her saying that. 39:02 But in that action of eating the fruit, 39:05 she declared that she didn't trust God. 39:15 And so ever since then we struggled with appetite. 39:19 God says don't eat it. 39:23 We want to eat it. Yeah. 39:27 I struggle too. 39:28 As a matter of fact I know all of us struggle. 39:30 I just know it as a fact because Eve struggled, 39:34 hence all of us, we have the same problem. 39:37 Okay, don't look at me like I'm wore sinner than you. 39:40 Okay, maybe I am, yeah, 39:41 but still we have the same problem. 39:44 All right, let's turn to Luke Chapter 4. 39:50 Interestingly as Jesus came up 39:52 out of the water from His baptism 39:55 and the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness 39:59 and He was fasting and praying for 40 days. 40:03 And the devil comes to Him with temptations. 40:06 What's the first area that he's tempted in? 40:10 Appetite, the very first thing 40:14 and I mean the man has been fasting for 40 days. 40:19 Some of us, you make us fast for 40 minutes 40:23 and we're struggling. 40:26 Forty days He's been fasting and praying 40:29 and the Lord and God 40:30 supernaturally sustained Him through those 40 days, 40:34 but at the end of it the Bible tells, 40:36 let's just turn to Luke Chapter 4. 40:40 Oh, I think Chapter 5, did the wrong thing. 40:43 Okay, Luke 4:2, 40:46 "And being forty days tempted of the devil. 40:48 And in those days he did eat nothing, 40:52 and when they were ended, the Bible almost states... 40:58 What's that, 40:59 I had such an elegant word for it and I lost it. 41:02 Like a, you know, an obvious thing, okay. 41:07 The Bible says that He was afterward hungered. 41:14 But he states that 41:15 because that's an important element to the story. 41:18 Jesus was actually hungry. 41:21 It's not that He was standing there and He's just like, 41:24 oh, you know, soups full whatever. 41:27 He was hungry and the devil comes to him 41:33 and strikes at His weakest point. 41:39 The man is hungry and he says, 41:41 Jesus, You have the power 41:44 to turn these stones into bread. 41:48 I'd like for you to know how he says that. 41:51 In verse 3, "The devil said unto him, 41:54 If thou be the Son of God, command this stone 41:57 that it be made bread." 42:02 Just prior to this we've mentioned 42:04 Jesus had been baptized 42:06 and when you read in Luke Chapter 3 42:08 in the middle I think around verse 22. 42:11 It says that when He came up out of the water, 42:14 there was-- the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove 42:18 and alighted upon Him and then there was the voice 42:21 that came from heaven and what did it say. 42:24 This is my beloved Son. 42:28 Am I pleased in Him or not? 42:30 Yes, God had already said, this is My beloved Son. 42:35 God's word had already spoken. 42:38 This is My beloved Son. In Him I'm well pleased. 42:43 And the devil comes 40 days later and he says, 42:49 I don't know about what you heard back then, 42:53 because I mean look at you, 42:55 you're in the wilderness and who led you here, 42:58 the Holy Spirit in the middle of nowhere. 43:03 And you're hungry, God couldn't even feed you, 43:06 I mean come on. 43:09 Are you really the Son of God? 43:12 Look at the state You are in. 43:15 He said okay, okay, okay. 43:18 I'll hand it to you. 43:19 If and only if you are the Son of God, 43:24 then You will do this. 43:27 And Jesus in that moment, He had the option, 43:30 like He's struggling against appetite, 43:34 He wants food. 43:38 And yet He has God's word 43:40 that has already declared Him to be His Son. 43:45 And the devil casting doubt on God's word. 43:47 Do you trust what God said? 43:52 Because I mean a God who calls you His Son 43:55 and then treats you like this. 44:01 Well, here is one thing that may be would pacify me. 44:04 Turn these stones into bread. 44:08 But Jesus said, "It is written, 44:14 that man shall not live by bread alone, 44:17 but by every word of God." 44:21 Amen. 44:24 He said no matter what my circumstance looks like, 44:29 no matter what the situation around me looks like, 44:33 no matter what other people may say, 44:35 I have the assurance of God's word 44:37 and God has already declared in His word that I am His Son, 44:39 I don't need to prove it to you. 44:45 I have nothing to prove to you. 44:48 He said no, you know what? 44:50 Even though I am hungry 44:51 there is something that's more important to me. 44:55 It's the word of God. 44:59 And God's word is important to me 45:02 because I trust His word because I trust God. 45:06 I trust God. 45:08 If Eve in the Garden of Eden had trusted the word of God. 45:12 He just said, you know what? 45:14 I don't care what this fruit looks like. 45:18 Even though it looks good for food, 45:20 pleasant to the eyes 45:21 and I think it's going to make me smarter, wiser, 45:24 I don't care about all the appearances of things 45:27 because I have God's word 45:28 and His word said don't eat it, 45:30 I am not eating it because I trust God. 45:36 Turn back with me to Luke Chapter 18 45:39 drawing to a close. 45:50 And I must mention this you know. 45:53 Luke Chapter 18 comes after Luke Chapter 17. 45:58 Ah, I am so smart, okay. 46:02 In Luke Chapter 17, 46:05 Jesus has been talking about the signs of the times, 46:08 about the end times. 46:09 And then He spake this parable onto them 46:13 saying that men are always to pray and not faint. 46:16 The parable comes in the context of an end time scenario. 46:20 And I thought that was super appropriate 46:23 because we are living in the end times. 46:25 I don't care what other people say, 46:26 oh, we've been saying that forever. 46:28 Yes, and we'll keep saying it until He comes back. 46:31 We're living in the end of times. 46:32 We're living in the toes 46:33 of that image in Daniel Chapter 2. 46:35 Jesus coming back and in that context, 46:38 Jesus Himself told this parable 46:40 and for Jesus to tell the parable 46:42 in that context makes it pertinent to us, amen. 46:47 The Lord said in verse 6, 46:50 "Hear what the unjust judge saith." 46:55 And what did the unjust judge said? 46:56 He said even though I don't fear God, 46:58 I don't regard man 46:59 but so that she stops bugging me, 47:01 I am going to give her what she wants. 47:03 And then Jesus said in verse 7. 47:05 "Shall not God avenge his own elect, 47:10 which cry day and night unto him, 47:13 though he bear long with them? 47:17 He draws a contrast here. 47:19 He says, look, I want you to consider 47:21 what the unjust judge did. 47:24 He finally gave in 47:25 because a woman was so persistent. 47:29 And he says, do you think God is like an unjust judge. 47:35 Is that your view of God's character, 47:38 He's self serving, power hungry. 47:42 The only reason He tells you to do stuff 47:43 'cause He is power tripping. 47:45 He's just trying to make your life miserable. 47:48 That's your view of God. 47:53 And He says, no. 47:55 God isn't like that because in verse 8 47:57 he says, "I tell you that he will avenge them, 48:00 and He won't just avenge them 48:02 but He will avenge them speedily." 48:08 And then he ends the parable, 48:10 "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, 48:13 shall he find faith on the earth?" 48:21 In order to experience a faith experience. 48:27 Faith is predicated on trust. 48:31 You see because in Hebrews 11:6 48:33 it tells us right there. 48:34 "Without faith it is impossible to please him, 48:37 because he that comes to God must believe that he is, 48:39 and that he is a rewarder of them 48:41 that diligently seek him." 48:42 You have to believe something about God 48:44 in order to exercise faith. 48:48 And so when I am doubting God's character. 48:53 When I don't think that God is actually trustworthy, 48:59 I don't think He's a nice guy even. 49:01 You know sometimes you don't even think God is nice. 49:02 We think we are nice and God isn't. 49:04 It's so sad. 49:06 When we have this picture of God that is inaccurate, 49:09 we cannot exercise faith in Him. 49:12 And then Jesus says when the Son of Man comes 49:17 because this isn't a parable from the end time context. 49:21 Will he find faith on the earth? 49:23 And then that brings it home to us. 49:28 When Jesus comes back, is He going to find faith in me? 49:35 Is He going to find somebody 49:36 who trusts Him no matter 49:38 what the circumstances I find myself in. 49:45 Now on the trust thing, you know, this is where 49:48 Christianity becomes real. 49:51 This is where it stops 49:52 being about just stuff you read on a page. 49:56 This is where you start applying stuff to your life 49:58 and it gets uncomfortable. 50:02 Remember, 10 years ago-- Literally 10 years ago, 50:10 I was at the GYC and the speaker made an appeal 50:14 that I did respond to, but it stuck in my mind. 50:17 And the appeal was to give 7 years tied your life, he said. 50:20 Give 7 years of your life in service to God, 50:23 in dedicated service. 50:24 We always serving God, but in full-time ministry. 50:27 He said, "Ties your lives as young people." 50:29 And I didn't go up because I knew 50:31 what I was gonna do with my life. 50:32 I was gonna go to Med School, 50:34 become a doctor and then 50:36 I would serve the Lord while I made money. 50:37 That was my goal. 50:41 So I didn't go up, 50:45 but God called me not just once, 50:51 He had to it a couple of times because I'm so stubborn, 50:56 and eventually I yielded. 50:58 It came to a point where I knew that 51:00 not to do this would be indirect as obedience to God. 51:07 And so instead of going to my "dream job" after college, 51:12 I said, "Okay, one year. 51:16 I just give you one year as a campus missionary 51:20 or the campus ministry. 51:21 Go, get trained to campus ministry and then I can-- 51:23 I'll support other students as they do ministry. 51:25 Just one year." 51:26 And that's what I told my parents. 51:27 Okay. 51:30 Seven years later they were like, 51:31 "Are you ever going back to school?" 51:36 But it took-- And for me, 51:40 that was-- It was a crazy experience 51:43 because I had never had to trust God like that. 51:48 And I'm not saying 51:49 everybody needs to go to or something like crazy, 51:51 that's gonna make your parents mad 51:53 and you're wondering if they're gonna disown you 51:55 or that's not I'm talking about, 51:57 but I'm talking about, you know, trust in God 51:59 when He tells us to do stuff 52:00 and it doesn't really make sense in the plan of my life 52:06 because my plan is to get married and have 2.5 kids. 52:13 Right? 52:17 And sometimes God says, "You know what? 52:19 I need you to go China 52:22 because there are lepers colonies 52:24 that you need to serve." 52:26 And it doesn't make any sense, 52:30 I'm a computer engineer. 52:33 What do I know about taking care of lepers? 52:39 Oh, God says, "You know what? 52:43 I know you are the only single young person in your church, 52:49 but I want you to stay there to do ministry." 52:53 And you say, "No, Lord, 52:55 I want to go to the Adventist Mecca 52:58 where there are many options. 53:03 True stories, right? 53:05 You're laughing 'cause you know it's true. 53:11 But to trust God and stay in that Podunk town of yours 53:18 to reach out to the people there, 53:21 to trust God when it doesn't seem 53:24 to align with everything 53:25 that you want to do with your life. 53:27 This is where it becomes real. 53:34 This is where Christianity became real for me, 53:38 and this is where the Great Controversy is centered. 53:42 Do you trust God? 53:45 Do you trust Him? 53:48 Do you trust what He's doing in your life? 53:51 That in spite of everything that He really does love you. 53:57 And we'll end on this note that we talked about earlier. 54:02 Main issue that was addressed in here about this. 54:05 Women's desperate situation and this is our desperation. 54:10 Will we trust God that when He says 54:13 we're forgiven, we're forgiven? 54:19 God, and then with the forgiveness, 54:23 He not only forgives us, 54:24 but then He gives us power to overcome. 54:28 Will we trust God in that? 54:31 And say, "Jesus, I know that I have the victory through you. 54:36 Not because I'm anything 54:37 because I know when I look at myself 54:39 there's no way I could be saved, 54:40 but when I look at you, Lord, 54:43 there's no way I could be lost. 54:46 Will you trust God with me today? 54:52 Jesus overcame in our behalf 54:54 so that we could have this victory, 54:57 through Christ we can do this. 54:58 We can do this. We can trust God. 55:02 We can do this because Jesus did it for us. 55:07 That re was a super-simple message, 55:09 but this is what I came when I prayed. 55:15 This is how I've experienced 55:17 the Great Controversy in my life. 55:19 Moment by moment will I trust Him? 55:23 Moment by moment do I trust His word? 55:27 Moment by moment will I put my life 55:28 in His hands completely. 55:32 Will you bow your heads and pray with me? 55:37 "Loving Father, 55:41 when Eve made that decision to eat the fruit 55:46 that you told her not to eat 55:48 and by so doing she declared that she didn't trust You. 55:51 Ever since then, 55:53 humanity is have this problem of trusting you. 55:56 And even though You have done 55:58 everything to show Your trustworthy, 56:00 even though You've laid Your all life on the line 56:04 so that we could have salvation, 56:05 still we struggle with this thing. 56:08 But, Father, we're so thankful 56:09 and Jesus came and that He overcame. 56:13 And that through Him, we can have the victory, 56:16 that we can trust Your word because Jesus has overcome 56:19 in our behalf and so we ask, Father, 56:23 that the righteousness of Christ 56:25 that His life and His victory would be imparted to us 56:29 that You would give us the ability to overcome 56:32 through Christ Jesus our Lord. 56:34 May this be our experience today, 56:36 may we be an argument in favor of the character of God today 56:41 because we choose to trust You 56:43 and these things we pray in Your name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17