Participants: Jason Sliger
Series Code: 16GYC
Program Code: 16GYC000008A
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00:57 One day a plain village woman,
01:06 driven by love for her Lord, 01:15 recklessly poured out a valuable essence, 01:25 disregarding the scorn. 01:33 And once it was broken and spilled out 01:42 a fragrance filled all the room; 01:50 like a prisoner released from his shackles, 01:58 like the risen set free from the tomb. 02:06 Broken and spilled out, 02:14 just for love of You, Jesus; 02:22 my most precious treasure 02:31 lavished on Thee. 02:39 Broken and spilled out, 02:48 and poured at Your feet. 02:57 In sweet abandon, Lord You were spilled out 03:06 and used up for me. 03:18 Lord, You were God's precious treasure, 03:26 His loved and His own perfect Son, 03:35 sent here to show me the love of the Father. 03:43 Yes, just for love it was done. 03:51 And though You were perfect and holy, 03:59 You gave up Yourself willingly. 04:07 You spared no expense for my pardon. 04:15 You were used up and wasted for me. 04:21 Broken and spilled out, 04:29 just for love of me, Jesus; 04:37 God's most precious treasure 04:46 lavished on me. 04:54 Broken and spilled out. 05:03 and poured at my feet. 05:12 In sweet abandon, Lord You were spilled out 05:20 and used up for me. 05:24 Yes, used up for me. 05:29 In sweet abandon, let me be spilled out 05:43 and used up for Thee. 05:55 Used up for Thee. 06:19 Good evening, GYC. 06:22 Happy Sabbath. 06:24 What a way to spend the last Sabbath of 2016, amen? 06:29 I would rather be no other place than here at GYC. 06:32 I know the Lord has blessed you tremendously 06:36 over the last two days. 06:38 And I'm looking forward to hearing about the testimonies 06:40 tomorrow of how the Lord blessed in outreach today. 06:44 The Lord has a blessing prepared for us tonight also. 06:46 And as we linger in His presence just a little 06:49 bit longer, I would invite you to bow your heads with me 06:53 and we're going to take just a moment to come into 06:55 the throne of God and ask His blessing 06:57 upon the study of His Word. 06:58 Would you bow your heads with me now? 07:07 Merciful God and loving heavenly Father, 07:14 we thank You, Lord, for the gift of the Sabbath. 07:20 We thank You, Father, for the gift of Your Word. 07:25 We thank You, Father, for the many blessings 07:27 that You give to us. 07:30 And tonight, dear Jesus, we pray that the Holy Spirit 07:36 would be poured out upon this place, 07:39 and that Your children would be blessed by the hearing 07:44 of Your Word. 07:46 For we pray it in the name of Jesus, amen. 07:53 Adventists are uniquely privileged to understand the 07:58 Bible in a way that no other church understands it. 08:06 One of the unique perspectives that we have as a people 08:11 is the doctrine of the investigative judgment. 08:17 There are passages of Scripture in the Bible 08:21 that really cannot be fully understood 08:25 unless it is looked at through the lens of this great doctrine 08:31 in the Word of God. 08:33 For an example, take for example the parable 08:38 of the wedding garment in Matthew chapter 22. 08:42 Most Bible commentators know that the king in Matthew 22 08:48 represents God the Father. 08:49 Most Bible commentators, non-Adventist Bible 08:53 commentators, know that the son in the story represents Jesus. 08:59 Most Bible commentators know that the invitation to 09:04 the wedding feast is the gospel invitation. 09:07 Most Bible commentators know that the robe represents 09:13 the righteousness of Christ. 09:16 However, there is an element of that parable 09:19 that has only begun to be understood 09:23 in the last 160 or so years. 09:27 Now that's rather interesting when you think about the fact 09:30 that the parable of the wedding garment 09:33 was given to us over 2000 years ago 09:36 and it's only in the last 160 years that a certain portion 09:41 of that parable is now able to be understood. 09:46 I know you've read the story before 09:48 and you're probably familiar with it. 09:50 But I'm going to invite you to take your Bibles and go with me 09:53 to Matthew the 22nd chapter. 09:56 Matthew chapter 22 and we're going to look at verse 9. 10:01 We're going to start in verse 9. 10:03 At this point, while you are turning there, 10:05 there have been two invitations that have been made 10:09 to the wedding feast. 10:12 Both of those invitations have been rejected. 10:15 And in verse 9 the third invitation is being given 10:19 to come to the wedding feast. 10:23 Verse 9, the Bible says this, this is the king talking, 10:27 "Go ye therefore into the highways, 10:29 and as many as ye find, bid to the marriage. 10:34 So those servants went out into the highways 10:38 and gathered together all, as many as they found, 10:41 both bad and good: 10:43 and the wedding was furnished..." 10:47 Now if you stop the story there, it appears like the problem 10:50 has been solved. 10:52 The problem was that there were no guests at the wedding. 10:56 How can you have a wedding without guests there? 10:59 But it appears at this point like the 11:01 problem has been solved. 11:02 However, we understand that the story does not stop there. 11:05 There's more to the story. 11:07 As we look at the story, what we find out 11:09 is that not only is there a distinction between those who 11:13 accept the invitation and those who reject the invitation, 11:17 but as you continue to read the parable 11:19 you will also find that there is a separation 11:22 among those who have accepted the invitation as well. 11:26 Because not all who accept the gospel invitation 11:29 do so for the right reasons. 11:34 Continue reading with me, if you would, verse 11. 11:36 The Bible says this, "And when the king came to 11:40 see the guests, he saw there a man 11:45 which had not a wedding garment. 11:48 And he said unto him, 'Friend...'" 11:51 I love how God the Father refers to him. 11:54 "Friend, how camest thou in hither not having 11:58 a wedding garment?" 11:59 And the Bible says he was speechless. 12:05 Who comes to a wedding without being appropriately clothed? 12:11 You know, if I wanted to go to a wedding 12:13 in shorts and a t-shirt, I can pretty much guarantee you 12:17 that my wife would not go with me. 12:20 There is a tie that I wanted to wear to GYC, and she said, 12:23 "No, you cannot wear that tie." 12:26 But here we have this guy. 12:27 He has the audacity to come to the wedding feast 12:31 and he is not properly clothed in the right wedding garment. 12:39 In the book, Great Controversy, page 428, 12:43 the servant of the Lord says this, 12:47 "In the parable of Matthew 22, the investigative judgment 12:53 is clearly represented as taking place before the marriage. 12:59 Previous to the wedding, the king comes to see the guests..." 13:03 Now listen to this. 13:05 "...to see if all are attired in the wedding garment; 13:09 the spotless robe of character washed and made white 13:14 in the blood of the Lamb." 13:16 And then she says this, "This work of examination 13:20 of character of determining who are prepared 13:24 for the kingdom of God is that of the investigative judgment." 13:31 So in the last 160 years, as the formation of this 13:36 doctrine has developed... 13:37 We went over that in our study together last night. 13:39 ...now we are able to have a fuller understanding 13:42 of this great parable in Matthew 22. 13:45 That when the king comes in, he is coming in 13:48 for a specific reason. 13:50 And I don't want you to miss this point tonight. 13:53 When the king comes in, he comes in to see 13:57 who has the wedding garment on. 14:01 He does not come into the gathering of people 14:05 to dole out the wedding garment. 14:07 That has already taken place. 14:09 That wedding garment has already been given out. 14:12 But he comes in to see who has the wedding garment on. 14:16 Now here is a point in this parable that is unique 14:20 to Seventh-day Adventists. 14:23 Most miss the significance of the kings inspection. 14:27 But when my name is called, listen to me carefully, 14:30 in the investigative judgment, 14:33 when my case is examined, they will determine whether or not 14:40 I have the wedding garment on or not. 14:45 That's the point of the investigative judgment. 14:47 To determine who has the wedding garment already on; 14:52 the precious character, the spotless character, 14:56 of Jesus Christ. 14:58 Now the good news this evening is this: 15:01 Christ is ready and willing to give His character 15:05 to anybody who wants it. 15:08 Amen? 15:09 That's something that should fill your heart with great joy. 15:12 Jesus is willing if we ask and we say, "Lord, please, 15:16 give me this character. 15:18 I do not have it of my own. 15:19 But give me the character of Christ." 15:21 He is ready, He is willing, He is able 15:24 to give you this character; 15:26 the spotless robe of the wedding garment. 15:29 But if we do not take it on, which would be your choice, 15:34 it will be said to us as it was to the man in the story 15:39 as the king came in, "How comest thou in hither 15:42 not having the wedding garment?" 15:46 And it will be with us as it was with the man in the story. 15:51 We also will be speechless. 15:55 Speechless because there will be no excuse worth uttering 15:59 in response to that penetrating question. 16:02 Speechless because instantly will flash through our minds 16:06 all of the times that the Holy Spirit has tried to help us 16:09 put that wedding garment on. 16:11 Speechless because there we will recognize 16:16 all of the wasted opportunities that we had to put 16:19 the wedding garment on. 16:21 Speechless because at that time we will have terror 16:24 because we will realize that the time is too late. 16:27 We will be speechless because there will be nothing worth 16:31 saying in answer to that question, 16:35 "How comest thou in hither not having the garment on?" 16:44 And it will be said to that speechless man, 16:47 who was, interestingly enough, afforded all of the same 16:52 opportunities that everybody else was afforded. 16:55 He had everything at his disposal 16:57 just like everybody else did. 16:58 He had all the same opportunities 17:00 that everybody else had. 17:01 It will be said to those who do not have the wedding garment on, 17:05 in verse 13, "Then said the king to his servants, 17:10 'Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, 17:14 and cast him into outer darkness.' 17:16 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 17:21 Now that's the part of the parable we want to quickly 17:23 glaze over and continue reading the rest of the chapter. 17:26 It makes us uncomfortable to think about that there will 17:29 come a time where God will utter these words 17:32 to those who have chosen of their own choice 17:35 not to have the wedding garment put on. 17:37 That He would say, "Depart ye." 17:41 That there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 17:45 Is it a reality to you today that right now in the 17:48 kingdom of heaven names are being accepted, 17:51 names are being rejected? 17:53 That this great work of judgment is taking place. 17:56 That there is an investigation into the cases of men 18:00 to see if they are clad in the wedding garment; 18:04 the spotless character of Jesus Christ. 18:08 Is that a reality to you? 18:10 I believe the King wants to come to GYC. 18:17 And He wants to see a group of young people 18:20 who are clad in the beautiful wedding garment 18:24 of the spotless character of Jesus. 18:28 But the question tonight is this: 18:31 If the King were to look at you right now, 18:35 what would He see? 18:38 If the King were to look at you... 18:40 If your case came up right now, what would the King see? 18:46 Would He see the wedding garment on, 18:49 or would He see a garment of your own creation? 18:54 By God's grace, one day, if not today, the King will see 19:00 that you have the wedding garment on. 19:02 Amen? 19:04 Now I want you to go with me in your Bibles 19:06 to the book of Revelation. 19:08 And I want you to look at John's description, 19:10 Revelation chapter 3. 19:13 I want you to look at John's description of those who are 19:18 allowed to stay at the wedding feast. 19:22 Those that were not clad properly were cast out. 19:26 But those that are allowed to stay, 19:28 notice how John describes them. 19:30 This is a beautiful passage. 19:32 Revelation 3:5 19:38 The Bible says this, "He that overcometh, 19:45 the same shall be clothed in white raiment..." 19:48 That's the wedding garment. 19:52 "...and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, 19:57 but I will confess his name before my Father, 20:03 and before the angels." 20:07 Who are the ones that are clothed in a beautiful 20:09 white wedding garment? 20:11 John describes them as those who have overcome. 20:18 I don't want you to miss this point. 20:19 That those who overcome are the ones who have 20:23 the wedding garment on. 20:25 Many times throughout the book of Revelation, 20:28 as you look at John's description of God's people, 20:32 you will see that he describes them as overcomers. 20:37 Please quickly notice with me, as you look at this 20:40 Bible passage, that John does not describe these people 20:44 as those who had been forgiven. 20:47 Although that is true. 20:49 They had been forgiven. 20:51 But John describes them as what? 20:54 Overcomers. 20:57 There is a distinct difference between being forgiven 21:01 and being an overcomer. 21:04 One who is forgiven is forgiven by virtue of the fact 21:08 that they have been tempted and they fell into that temptation. 21:12 They've sinned, therefore they need to be forgiven. 21:16 But somebody who has overcome is one who has been tempted 21:20 by the devil to do wrong, they have resisted that temptation, 21:25 and they have done what is right instead of the wrong. 21:27 One who is an overcomer is somebody who has been changed 21:32 from enjoying sin to hating sin. 21:35 One who is an overcomer is one who finds great delight 21:39 and pleasure, not in the sinful things of this world, 21:43 but in obedience to God and His Word. 21:45 Would you say amen? 21:47 And John describes the people of God who are clad 21:51 in the wedding garment that they are those 21:54 who have overcome. 21:57 They will be the ones that have the wedding garment on. 22:03 And now we get to the heart of the message. 22:09 God's people had been forgiven. 22:12 Would you say amen? 22:14 I praise the Lord for the gift of forgiveness. 22:17 When we do wrong, we can ask Him, "Forgive me, Lord," 22:20 and He forgives us. 22:23 But as a whole, God's people cannot yet be described 22:29 as overcomers. 22:32 The good news is that one day they will be. 22:34 But we're not quite there yet. 22:37 If we were, we wouldn't be here any longer. 22:41 Now I want you to notice with me a passage from, 22:44 1 Selected Messages, page 343. 22:48 The servant of the Lord pens these outstanding words. 22:51 She says this, "Christ is represented as continually 22:57 standing at the altar, momentarily offering up 23:02 the sacrifice for the sins of the world... 23:07 The atoning sacrifice through a Mediator is essential..." 23:13 What is essential? 23:14 "The atoning sacrifice through a Mediator is essential..." 23:18 Now don't miss this next part. 23:20 "...because of the constant commission of sins." 23:29 Why does Jesus have to continue doing the work of mediation? 23:33 Because of the constant commission, 23:36 the constant flowing of sins into the heavenly Sanctuary. 23:41 Our sins, when we sin, brothers and sisters, 23:45 we are keeping Jesus employed in the heavenly Sanctuary. 23:49 And that's not where we want Him. 23:52 We want to be with Him. 23:53 We want to be in heaven. 23:55 We want to see Him, we want to walk with Him, 23:57 we want to talk with Him. 23:58 We don't want to keep Jesus in the heavenly Sanctuary 24:01 doing the work of intercession. 24:03 Would you say amen? 24:05 But Jesus is there. 24:06 It is a requirement for Him to be there because of the constant 24:10 commission of sins that are ascending to the kingdom 24:15 of heaven. 24:19 The reason why Jesus has waited for the past over 170 years 24:24 to come back to this world is because God's people 24:29 are still sinning. 24:36 Turn with me to Revelation 22, just a couple of chapters back, 24:41 verses 11 and 12. 24:42 Revelation 22:11-12 24:47 Listen to these profound words that Jesus utters 24:51 when the work of cleansing the Sanctuary 24:52 has been completed. 24:54 Jesus says this, Matthew 22:11-12... 25:00 I'm sorry. Revelation 22. Thank you. 25:02 Revelation 22:11-12 25:05 The Bible says, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: 25:11 and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: 25:14 and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: 25:17 and he that is holy, let him be holy still." 25:21 And then in verse 12 He says, "And behold, I..." What? 25:25 "...come quickly; and my reward is with me, 25:29 to give every man according as his work shall be." 25:33 Jesus tells us that right before He comes, the entire world 25:37 will reach the point of no return. 25:41 They will reach a point where they are no longer 25:44 going to change. 25:45 The wicked will continue being wicked. 25:48 They will continue to sin. 25:50 Stubbornly persistent in their course of wholehearted 25:53 rebellion against God. 25:55 But the righteous will continue being righteous 25:58 because they also are stubbornly persistent 26:01 in their course of wholehearted surrender to God, 26:04 in living a life of obedience and victory in Jesus. 26:09 Right before Jesus comes back the entire world 26:12 will be polarized into one of two groups. 26:15 A point of no return will happen and Jesus will pronounce 26:19 the end of His work. 26:20 And He will come and take His bride home 26:23 who can now be described as overcomers. 26:29 When we reach that point of no return, 26:32 we are walking as Enoch walked. 26:35 And God wants us to be in the atmosphere of heaven with Him. 26:43 In his 1974 address to the Annual Council, 26:48 a man who I've grown to respect who's no longer with us... 26:52 I look forward to meeting him when we get to heaven. 26:56 ...W.D. Frazee made this fascinating statement at 26:59 the Annual Council. 27:01 He was describing the heavenly Sanctuary 27:05 as a hospital that deals with the sin problem. 27:10 And then he made this fascinating statement. 27:12 He said this, "But the emergency hospital 27:17 that has been dealing with the sin problem for centuries 27:20 is going to close. 27:25 Why? May I put it simply," he says. 27:30 "For a lack of business." 27:35 Profound. Absolutely profound. 27:37 I don't think we get the full ramifications 27:40 of what that means. 27:41 This is absolutely mind blowing to me. 27:44 Yes there is going to come a time that there will no longer 27:48 be a constant stream of commissionings of sins 27:52 that will ascend into the heavenly Sanctuary. 27:54 No longer will the people of God be caught in the crazy 27:58 cycle of sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting, 28:02 sinning and repenting. 28:03 No longer will the wicked people feel remorse for sin. 28:06 No longer will they feel the need to confess their sins 28:11 into the heavenly Sanctuary. 28:12 Why? Because the wicked will go on sinning 28:15 and the righteous will go on overcoming. 28:20 And the heavenly Sanctuary will be closed 28:25 for a lack of business. 28:27 This is good news, amen? 28:30 One day, one day God's people will be described as overcomers. 28:35 And I want to tell you, brothers and sisters tonight, 28:37 Jesus is longing for that moment. 28:41 He is yearning to see a church that can be 28:44 described as overcomers. 28:46 That He can come back to this world and take them back 28:50 to the kingdom of heaven and spend 28:52 eternity together with them. 28:54 And I don't know about you, but tonight 28:56 I want to be part of that group. 29:01 The fact that Jesus has waited so long 29:06 tells me that He wants something so bad 29:11 that He will wait, and wait, and wait until He gets it. 29:20 He will continue to wait. 29:22 There is something that Jesus wants so bad 29:25 that He will wait and wait until He gets it. 29:27 And what Jesus is not waiting for is He is not waiting 29:31 for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled. 29:34 He is not waiting for a national Sunday law. 29:37 He's not waiting for the enforcement 29:39 of the mark of the beast. 29:40 He is not waiting for some political things to take place 29:44 in this world where the Papacy gains 29:46 a certain measure of control. 29:48 This is not what Jesus is waiting for. 29:51 He is waiting for something far better, much greater. 29:55 And He will wait, and He will wait, and He will wait 29:58 because He is a patient God and He wants to wait 30:02 until He gets what He is looking for. 30:06 And tonight, brothers and sisters, I want to tell you, 30:09 what Jesus is waiting for is He's waiting for His people. 30:17 What Jesus is waiting for is He's waiting for His people. 30:27 From the book, Maranatha, a great devotional book, 30:32 page 112, we're told this... 30:36 It's a beautiful passage. 30:39 "Christ is waiting..." What is He doing? 30:45 "Christ is waiting with longing desire..." 30:50 How is He waiting? 30:51 Longing desire. 30:53 It's like He's waiting with great expectation. 30:56 He's waiting for something that He wants so bad. 31:00 It's almost like, I remember my wedding day 31:02 as I was standing on the podium waiting to see my dear wife 31:08 come into the back of the church. 31:09 With longing desire, with great expectation 31:12 for this beautiful day when we would unite our lives together. 31:16 "Christ is waiting with longing desire 31:21 for the manifestation of Himself in His church." 31:27 What is He waiting for? 31:29 The manifestation of Himself in the church. 31:33 "When the character of the Saviour shall be perfectly 31:37 reproduced in His people, then He will come 31:43 to claim them as His own." 31:48 When does He come? 31:49 He comes when He sees the character of Himself 31:53 reproduced in the life of His people. 31:56 And He will wait, and He will wait, and He will wait 31:59 with longing desire because He's waiting to see 32:02 the signs of His character being replicated 32:06 in the life of His people. 32:07 He's waiting for His people to not only profess godliness, 32:12 but to live godliness. 32:14 Let the people of God say amen. 32:18 He's waiting with longing desire. 32:20 I want to tell you something, brothers and sisters. 32:21 This is not just a spirit of prophecy concept. 32:25 This is biblical. 32:27 The Bible tells us in 1 John 3:2, it says this, 32:32 "But we know that, when he shall appear..." 32:37 What event is that? 32:40 "...when he shall appear, we shall be like him..." 32:48 Like who? 32:50 Like the world? 32:52 Like what you see on TV? 32:54 Like some religious person in the church, 32:58 some popular religious person? 33:00 No. The Bible says that when Jesus comes, 33:03 we shall be like Him. 33:07 And I don't know about you, brothers and sisters, 33:08 but the first time I read that Bible passage 33:10 I had to fall down on my knees and say, 33:12 "God, there's no way I can do this. 33:16 There is absolutely no way that I can be like You 33:20 unless You perform that miracle in my life. 33:24 And dear Jesus, I'm will for You to do that work in my life." 33:32 I know what you're thinking tonight. 33:33 "Jason, you are absolutely crazy. 33:38 There's no way I can be perfect. 33:40 There's no... listen, I'm trying to have a 33:43 consistent devotional life and not over eat, 33:46 and now you're here telling me tonight 33:48 that I have to be perfect? 33:49 That I have to be like Jesus when He comes back?" 33:52 No, I'm not telling you that. 33:53 The Bible is telling you that. 33:58 And you know, sometimes I kind of find it interesting 34:01 that as Seventh-day Adventists, as Christians, 34:04 we believe that God had the power to create the world 34:07 in six literal days. 34:10 To create something out of nothing. 34:12 But we question His ability to give us victory 34:15 over sin in our lives. 34:19 Listen, let's not put God in a box. 34:22 I serve a God that's bigger than that. 34:27 The Bible says that when Jesus comes, 34:30 we shall be like Him. 34:33 Jot down these promises in your notes tonight, if you would. 34:36 1 John 5:14 34:38 We must have promises when we deal with this stuff. 34:40 Otherwise we'll just get smothered in hopelessness. 34:44 That there's no way I can achieve this goal. 34:47 1 John 5:14, the Bible says this, 34:51 "And this is the confidence..." 34:57 ...that we have in Jason Sliger. 35:02 ...that we have in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 35:06 "This is the confidence," the boldness, "that we have in him, 35:11 that if we ask any thing according to his will, 35:15 he..." What? Now listen to me. 35:18 If the Bible says that when He appears 35:20 I'm going to be like Him, if I ask Him, "Lord, do that 35:24 work in my life," is He going to answer that prayer, yes or no? 35:27 There is no question about it, that we can be emphatic 35:31 in our answer. 35:32 Yes! 35:34 He will give it to us. 35:35 Because I'm praying according to His will. 35:38 These are simple promises that have huge ramifications 35:41 if we actually apply them. 35:44 I love this one, Philippians 1:6. 35:46 "Being confident of this very thing, 35:51 that he which hath begun a good work in you 35:54 will perform it until the day of Christ." 35:58 Listen, God is not asking you to do this work of 36:01 character development on your own. 36:03 He's not asking you to take the robe of Christ's righteousness, 36:06 the wedding garment, and put it on yourself. 36:09 He's saying, "Listen, I'm doing this work. 36:11 I will finish it if you will simply let Me." 36:15 God is saying, "Listen, if you will step out of the driver seat 36:19 and stop acting like you know what you're doing, 36:22 and let Me take control over your life, 36:24 I will do this work for you. 36:27 I will create the impossible. 36:29 I will make you to be like Jesus. 36:32 I will change your desires. 36:34 I will change your wants. 36:36 I will change your lusts and your desires. 36:38 I will change them so that when you come into heaven, 36:41 it will be a natural transition for you." 36:47 Manuscript Releases, volume 12, page 55, 36:51 the servant of the Lord says this, 36:53 "God..." This is a promise. 36:57 "...has made provision that every difficulty 37:02 may be overcome..." 37:06 "God has made provision that every difficulty 37:13 may be overcome..." 37:14 Do we believe that? 37:16 Every difficulty. 37:18 "...every want supplied through the Holy Spirit. 37:21 Thus He designs that man shall perfect a Christian character." 37:30 Every difficulty. 37:32 Listen, God again, He's not saying 37:33 you have to do this on your own. 37:35 He's not telling us to do it. 37:36 He says, "Listen, I will provide it for you 37:39 if you will simply let Me do that work." 37:44 Now you may be asking the question, 37:46 "How is this supposed to happen? 37:49 How am I suppose to have this drastic 37:52 character transformation? 37:54 Listen Jason, I've never seen somebody like this. 37:57 How does it work?" 37:59 There's a beautiful passage of Scripture where Paul 38:02 answers this question for us in beautifully simple language. 38:06 And I want you to go there with me in your Bibles 38:08 to 2 Corinthians. 38:10 2 Corinthians 3:18 38:17 2 Corinthians 3:18 38:23 The Bible says this: 38:27 "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass 38:34 the glory," the character, "of the Lord, are changed 38:39 into the same image from glory to glory, 38:43 even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 38:47 Say amen to that. 38:49 "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass 38:52 the glory of the Lord, we're changed into the same image..." 38:54 It is a law of nature, that what you behold is what you become. 39:01 It is as unchangeable as Newton's law of gravity. 39:05 You might think that you can control what you see 39:08 and how that affects your life. 39:09 But if you think that, you're only kidding yourself. 39:12 What we see, what we behold, is what we become. 39:17 But back to our original question. 39:18 How can I have this total 39:20 character transformation in my life? 39:21 It is so simple that my three and five year old 39:24 could understand this. 39:26 God doesn't make this stuff complicated. 39:28 He says, "Listen, if you want My character, 39:32 make Jesus the focus in your life." 39:37 Simple as that. Plain and simple. 39:40 This is not theologically complicated stuff. 39:44 He says, "Make Me the primary focus in your life." 39:49 Look to Jesus, study Him, think about Him, talk about Him. 39:53 Let Jesus be the all consuming thoughts of your mind 39:57 as you go through the day, as you go about your work. 39:59 Think and talk and meditate upon the life of Jesus. 40:04 Maybe this might mean that you need to get rid of 40:06 a few things in your life that are killing your 40:09 spiritual walk with the Lord. 40:10 Maybe this means that you need to change 40:13 the course of your life. 40:14 Maybe this means that you need to get rid 40:16 of the pornography in your life that is changing your character 40:20 from what God wants it to be 40:21 to what the world wants it to be. 40:23 Maybe it means you need to get rid of the novels 40:25 that you're reading in your life that's changing your character 40:28 into the world instead of a character after God. 40:30 Maybe it means you need to get rid of Hollywood 40:33 out of your life, in all of its mediums and all of its forms, 40:36 so that you can have the character of God 40:38 instead of the character of Hollywood. 40:41 What you behold is what you become. 40:44 And if you want to be able to come to the judgment 40:46 and have the King look upon you and see that you have the 40:49 wedding garment on, turn your eyes to Jesus. 41:01 So the question is, what am I spending my time beholding? 41:06 You know, as you go through the day you always have these 41:08 little minutes here and there. 41:10 And when you have those little minutes where you're not 41:12 doing much, what do you begin to think about? 41:15 What do you think about as you're driving down the road? 41:18 What do you think about while you're brushing 41:20 your teeth at night? 41:21 What do you think about while you're taking a shower 41:24 in the evening or in the morning? 41:25 What do you think about as you're walking down the road 41:28 observing nature or whatever it is? 41:30 What do you think about in those scraps of moments 41:33 as you go through the day? 41:34 And I believe if you're honest with yourself 41:36 and you begin to reflect upon this, you will all of a sudden 41:39 realize why you are at where you are at 41:42 in your spiritual experience. 41:44 We need to gather up these fragments 41:46 and throughout the day not just leave Jesus at our devotions, 41:50 not just leave Him at church, but carry Him with us 41:53 throughout the day. 41:54 Meditating, and thinking, and reflecting upon Him. 41:58 Literally, I ask you the question, who are you beholding? 42:01 Who are you looking at? 42:02 Listen, some of us spend more time looking at ourselves 42:06 in a 24 hour period of time in the mirror 42:08 than we spend looking at Jesus. 42:10 Lord, have mercy. 42:12 And you men out there that are pointing your finger 42:14 at the women, listen, I know there's guys out there 42:16 that are looking at themselves in every shiny surface 42:18 they can find. 42:22 Listen, in all sincerity, if you want to be a real man, 42:27 stop looking at yourself and start looking at Jesus. 42:32 The world today has made Jesus look like a weak man. 42:36 But I'm here to tell you this evening 42:37 that if you want real masculinity, if you want 42:40 real manliness, look at Jesus. 42:44 Because there's no better man than Him. 42:48 Who are you beholding? 42:49 Who are you looking at? 42:51 What is consuming your thoughts as you go throughout the day? 42:57 When people think about you, what do they think about? 43:01 Do they think of you as a spiritual person 43:04 or as a nominal Christian? 43:07 Do they think of you as somebody who's like Jesus 43:09 or like a lukewarm Laodicean? 43:12 You know, when Moses came down from the mount 43:15 in Exodus 34, the Bible tells us that his face was shining 43:20 after being in the presence of God, 43:21 after looking at God. 43:24 They had to veil his face for fear as they looked at him. 43:27 And brothers and sisters, they didn't have to ask Moses, 43:30 "Who were you with?" 43:33 If we look at Jesus in the morning, it should shine forth 43:37 out of our faces in the actions and the life that we live. 43:40 People should know that you have beheld Jesus in the morning. 43:48 This evening I want to challenge you to spend a little bit of 43:51 time in prayer and ask the Lord, "Lord, what am I beholding? 43:55 What happens when my mind shifts into neutral? 43:58 What am I beholding?" 44:02 It was 1853, and Ellen and James White, and perhaps 44:07 a small group of other people, had gathered themselves 44:12 into a modest farmhouse in the state of Vermont 44:16 to perform one of the earliest recorded ordination services 44:23 among Sabbath keeping Adventists at the time. 44:27 Some of the guys that were ordained that day 44:29 you would doubtless recognize their names. 44:33 But there was one particular individual that if you read 44:36 you would probably just continue going on and 44:38 wouldn't take much notice of that name. 44:42 This man was a powerful worker for God. 44:45 He was a great dedicated man of God who presented 44:50 the truths of God and helped build up the church. 44:53 Therefore, they were laying the hands of ordination upon his. 44:57 This man's name was Elon Everts. 45:02 Elon was not just a mighty worker of God, 45:05 but he was a theologian. 45:07 In December of 1856, Elon was accompanying James and Ellen 45:13 on a sleigh ride. 45:14 They were traveling somewhere west in their work 45:17 in the winter time. 45:18 And on that trip, Elon was spending time writing down 45:21 some of his findings about the investigative judgment 45:24 and the cleansing of the heavenly Sanctuary, 45:26 and all of the ramifications that are involved in that. 45:29 And as he was jotting down this Bible truth, 45:33 Elon coined the term, investigative judgment, 45:37 at that time and handed it down to Adventism. 45:40 It has become a common expression to us at the time. 45:43 But it happened from the pen of this man. 45:48 He was a valuable worker; and doubtless, people 45:52 will trace their conviction back to the preaching 45:54 of this man of God. 45:56 I'm sure there will be many people in the kingdom of heaven 45:58 because of Elon Everts. 46:01 But unfortunately, they will probably not meet 46:07 Elon Everts in heaven. 46:11 Because Elon had a problem. 46:14 A problem that was so insidious that even he himself 46:21 could not recognize it. 46:23 A powerful man of God. 46:29 Right around this time Elon and his family decided to 46:34 cash in their wealth and move west to the state of Illinois. 46:39 That was the west at the time. 46:42 And they wanted to go out there as farmers to have a trade, 46:46 but really what Elon wanted to do was to go out there 46:48 and preach the gospel while he was working. 46:51 Kind of a tent maker, if you will. 46:54 That was what Elon wanted to do, but his wife, Mary, 46:57 had a different idea. 46:59 In fact, both James and Ellen White, as they reflected 47:02 upon the move of Elon, they reflected and they both 47:07 came to the same conclusion that Elon moved west 47:11 because he wanted to preach the gospel, 47:13 but Mary moved because she wanted to get wealthy farming. 47:20 These would prove to be the last two years of Elon's life. 47:26 And unfortunately, the historical accounts 47:28 reveal that he spent a good portion of that time 47:32 laying up treasures on earth... 47:36 ...that eventually ended up corrupting his soul. 47:42 On a few occasions, Ellen appealed to Elon to sell 47:45 large portions of his land to support the fledgling work 47:48 in the west. 47:50 But Elon proved to be a weak man. 47:53 And he was moved by the desires of his wife. 47:57 And his wife wanted to get wealthy. 47:59 And she convinced him to keep accumulating land 48:03 and property and wealth, and continue this work. 48:06 And Elon was a weak man... 48:10 ...that did not stand up and do what was right. 48:12 Finally, Ellen was shown in a vision that if Mary did not 48:17 get out of the way of the work that the Lord had commissioned 48:20 her husband to do, that God would have to remove her. 48:27 It's a hard work being a prophet. 48:30 Unfortunately, Mary did not take this counsel very well. 48:34 She continued in her course of rebellion. 48:37 And shortly after this, Mary became sick and died. 48:43 She would not give up her love for the world, 48:46 and she died in her pursuit of it. 48:49 It was a few weeks after Mary's death that Ellen and James 48:54 went to go visit Elon to comfort him. 48:57 But they also went there to encourage him 49:00 to lay up treasures in heaven. 49:03 To do the work that God had commissioned him to do. 49:05 And the roots of the world had penetrated so deep 49:09 into the heart of Elon that he was wrestling 49:12 with this conviction. 49:15 And Ellen and James appealed to him, they worked with him, 49:19 they prayed for him. 49:21 And Elon was in a moment of conviction. 49:24 And he finally came to the point where he was willing 49:27 to lay his farm upon the altar, where he was willing to 49:31 give it all to God. 49:33 And just as the devil would have it, 49:35 his daughter came in there and played the part of her mother 49:39 and convinced her father to keep all of their wealth. 49:45 He was a weak man. 49:49 Later Ellen wrote this, "I saw that this brother 49:55 loved this world more than he ever thought he did, 49:59 and that it was a snare to him. 50:03 It deceived him." 50:06 That's what the world will do to you. 50:10 As best as I can tell from my study of this story, 50:14 the next summer Ellen received another vision 50:18 concerning Elon. 50:21 And the Lord revealed to her that he was not doing 50:24 what God had asked him to do quick enough. 50:29 Shortly after this, the next thing that Ellen found out 50:33 about Elon is that he had passed to his grave. 50:39 It will come as no surprise to you that Elon left his 50:44 entire estate, which was worth a staggering amount of money, 50:51 to his selfish, world-loving, daughter. 50:57 Not a penny of the money that he had earned 51:01 was used to advance the cause of God. 51:07 His daughter, it seemed like a curse had followed her. 51:10 She was unable to manage this vast amount of money. 51:14 And in a short period of time she fell into great debt 51:18 and lost everything. 51:23 And Ellen penned these words, "I saw that Satan's wish 51:31 had been gained." 51:38 Brothers and sisters, here is a man who had all the 51:42 head knowledge, but the devil had a foothold in his heart. 51:50 He knew enough about the Bible to be able to 51:53 come up with this term, investigative judgment. 51:56 He knew the concepts of the judgment and the Sanctuary, 52:00 and the cleansing of it. 52:01 He understood all of that stuff. 52:04 But the devil had a foothold in his heart. 52:07 Maybe you tonight are like Elon. 52:09 Maybe your idol is not wealth. 52:12 But it matters little what it is. 52:18 Because unless we come to the point where 52:20 we hate sin the same way that Jesus hates it 52:24 we are not safe to let loose in the kingdom of heaven. 52:29 We need to come to the point in our spiritual experience 52:32 where we are not sorry after we have sinned, 52:36 but we are sorry before we have sinned 52:38 so that we do not sin. 52:42 And that is only possible through the power of Jesus. 52:46 You cannot do it on your own, so don't even try. 52:50 Let Jesus do it for you. 52:52 Give your heart in wholehearted surrender to Him and say, 52:55 "Lord, please do this work for me." 52:57 You probably don't have a little carved idol in your house 52:59 that you bow down to, but maybe there's something 53:01 in your library that is distracting you from God. 53:04 Maybe there's something on your phone that is distracting you 53:07 from God at this very moment as I'm talking to you. 53:11 Maybe there's something on your computer 53:13 that is distracting you from God. 53:15 Maybe there is something in your house that is 53:18 distracting you from God. 53:20 Maybe there is some type of music that is 53:24 distracting you from God. 53:25 Maybe there is something in your wardrobe 53:28 that is distracting you and other people from God. 53:31 Maybe there is some type of amusement in your life 53:35 that you enjoy more than you enjoy time together with God, 53:39 and it is distraction to you. 53:40 Maybe there is a relationship that's distracting you from God. 53:44 Maybe there is a career choice that's distracting you from God. 53:48 And if that is the case, as the old song goes, 53:54 "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, 53:58 look full in His wonderful face; 54:01 and the things of this world will grow strangely dim 54:05 in the light of His glory and grace." 54:10 Turn your eyes to Jesus. 54:13 God wants to give you the wedding garment. 54:17 He wants to clothe you with the righteousness of Christ 54:20 so that when your name comes up in the investigative judgment 54:23 you will be permitted to stay at the wedding feast 54:27 instead of cast out into outer darkness 54:29 where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. 54:31 Is this a reality to you... 54:34 ...that today, right now, this work is going on? 54:43 A great missionary, Lilias Trotter, 54:47 was a rising star in the art world in the mid 1800's. 54:54 The famous art critic, John Ruskin, told Trotter 54:59 that if she would devote herself to art 55:06 she would be the greatest living painter 55:09 and do works that would become immortal. 55:14 She was a fantastic artist. 55:17 Although Trotter was drawn to the prospects of a life of art, 55:21 in 1879 she came to the realization that she could not 55:27 give herself, quote, "to painting and continue to still 55:31 seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." 55:34 Instead she devoted her life to mission work 55:38 as a single woman among the Muslims of Algeria. 55:44 Her whole life. 55:47 She penned these words in reflection upon this, 55:52 "Dare to have it out with God," she said, 55:55 "and ask Him to show you whether or not 55:58 all is focused on Christ and His glory." 56:02 Listen to this, "Turn your soul's vision to Jesus 56:05 and look, and look at Him. 56:08 And a strange dimness will come over all 56:13 that is apart from Him." 56:18 As she saw Jesus, everything else became unimportant to her. 56:27 Today, Jesus is in the heavenly Sanctuary 56:31 and He's doing the work of mediation. 56:34 Forgiving people of their sins. 56:40 And tonight I want to ask you, 56:43 how many of you would like to say, "Jesus, I want to be part 56:52 of getting rid of this sin problem." 56:55 Amen. Amen. 57:00 Jesus, I want to get rid of that sin problem in my life. 57:03 Not looking at other people, but myself. 57:06 I want to get rid of that sin problem. 57:08 Now maybe the Lord tonight, as you have listened to 57:11 the message, maybe the Lord has laid upon you 57:16 a specific sin that you have been struggling with. 57:21 You know, what is often times referred to as the darling sins, 57:25 the pet sins in our lives that we make excuses for. 57:32 That thing that you often times get caught up into that 57:35 crazy cycle of sinning and repenting, 57:37 sinning and repenting. 57:39 And tonight the Lord has laid that 57:41 specific thing on your heart and said, "Tonight is the night 57:45 to give it to Me." 57:50 If that's the case, and you want to say, "Lord Jesus, 57:55 I'm sick of serving sin, 57:58 I'm sick of serving Satan, 58:00 and tonight I want to give this to You 58:05 because it's not worth holding on to. 58:10 Tonight, Jesus, I do not want to be known as a sinner, 58:15 but I want to be known as an overcomer 58:17 who has been clothed in the wedding garment of Jesus." 58:23 If that's your desire, I'm going to ask you to stand up. 58:26 Don't do it just because everybody else is doing it. 58:31 Lord, I want to give you this sin, 58:34 and I want the wedding garment on. |
Revised 2017-04-04