Welcome back to
3ABN Fall Camp Meeting.
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Thank you for joining us.
If you're just now joining us,
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we had a great first hour.
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A lot of
testimony... lots of music.
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But we're here, and
we're going to have a panel.
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I'm here with Dr.
Yvonne Lewis. Hey!
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And we're going to have a
discussion, right? We are!
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Sounds great. We've
got a lot of questions
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that folk in the audience
have been writing and asking.
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And this is... these
folk don't know what they are.
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We haven't discussed them
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so you all are on
the hot seats tonight.
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Pastor Johnny
Dinzey, Pastor C.A. Murray,
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Shelley Quinn,
Pastor Kenny Shelton,
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Pastor John Lomacang.
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So we're glad
that you all are here.
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Thank you for what you
do for the cause of God.
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And for all of you: thank
you for some of the questions.
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So... when I travel to churches,
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and I know you do too...
and you guys saw it especially
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in London, people ask
all sorts of questions.
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And there is such a
misunderstanding or maybe
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a lack of knowledge... even
among a lot of Christian folk.
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And I'm always
amazed. I'm so thankful
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SDA Christians are
people of the Word.
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We study the Bible
and we take the Bible...
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and I'm sure a lot of
other folks do, too...
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but I'm amazed at how
many people don't really know
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as was said over here
by somebody: "Now we know
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what we believe.
We didn't really know
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why we believe
what we believe. "
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That's right. So studying
the Bible is always good.
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So Yvonne, let's
start out with you. OK.
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In fact, before we do this
let's have a word of prayer.
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Bro. Kenny, would you
say a word of prayer for us?
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Loving Father in
heaven, what a privilege it is
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to be part of the family of
God. We thank you that we can
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call upon You in our time
of need. You promised to hear
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and You promised to answer.
We pray that Your Holy Spirit
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will draw near to each
of our hearts and our lives.
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We pray as the questions are
presented that the Holy Spirit
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will give the
right answer to each one.
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That we may be able to under-
stand it, apply it to our hearts
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and our life that it
may become a part of us.
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Thank you for each
one who is viewing,
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those who are listening.
We pray that this program
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will uplift Your name, that
we'll be drawn closer to Jesus,
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we'll be building on that
good foundation that lasts
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for eternity. And we
thank you in Jesus' name,
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Amen. Amen.
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So... the first question is:
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how do I surrender to God?
What does it mean to surrender?
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I'll take that one 'cause this
is one of my favorite topics.
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To surrender means
simply to consent or yield
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to the control of God.
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God will never come in...
The Holy Spirit never tries
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to take control.
You have to consent.
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And I think that this is some-
thing... I spend a lot of time
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studying, asking the
Lord "How do I surrender? "
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And He showed me some steps.
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You know, the first
thing: the Lord directed me to
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follow the path
of Christ's passion.
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Luke 22:42 Jesus said:
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"Not My will
but Thine be done. "
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That's the first
step of surrender
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is we have to get to
that point where we're saying
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"Lord, I want Your will to be
done in my life... not mine. "
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And we know that it
is God who works in us
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to will and to do
His good purpose...
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but not unless
we are surrendered.
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And then Jesus... If
you think about His passion
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as He went from the
Garden of Gethsemane
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He then went to
the hill of Calvary.
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And He tells us in Luke 9:23
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that "If any man would come
after Me, he must pick up his
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cross daily and follow Me. "
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To pick up your
cross means to die to self.
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It's to be "crucified
with Christ" as Paul said.
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"I've been crucified
with Christ. It's no longer I
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who live but
Christ who lives in me. "
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And this is something
that we have to realize:
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we can't do
that even by ourself.
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It is all by the
power of the Holy Spirit.
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Because Romans 8:13 says
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that "If by the Spirit
we put to death the misdeeds
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of our flesh we shall live. "
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But then as you go on and
you're thinking about this
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the most important thing is to
consider Christ's resurrection
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morning, because when He was
resurrected... Christ doesn't
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want us to stay in the grave
when we're crucifying ourselves.
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What He tells us in Luke 11:23
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when He says: "Ask
and keep on asking. "
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11:13 isn't it?
"Ask and keep on asking;
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seek and keep on seeking;
knock and keep on knocking. "
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And what He is
saying is if anyone like you
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know how to give good
gifts to your children
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how much more will
the Heavenly Father
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give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask and keep on asking.
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Now, just one little thing
and then I'm going to stop.
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But when I was
praying and asking the Lord
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"What is surrender all about?
" He showed me a little tiny
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sugar ant next
to a huge elephant.
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And He said: "Shelley,
your greatest human strength
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can be compared to
this little tiny sugar ant
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whereas My strength by com-
parison is like the elephant. "
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To be yoked to Christ means
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that suddenly here's
this little ant up here
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yoked to this elephantine power.
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It's not by might nor by power
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but by God's Holy Spirit.
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So it's God who's
carrying the weight.
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So surrender is really a
beautiful and exciting path.
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OK... I don't know if there's
anything else to say on that
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topic. Panel? All right.
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Well, I think that
sometimes people are fearful
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of surrendering because
they think that in surrendering
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to God it means I have
to give up something good.
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But no. The Bible says:
"No good thing will I withhold
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from those who walk uprightly. "
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So in a nutshell I
would add to what Shelley said
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it's our own understanding
that often prevents us
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from surrendering to
God. But Proverbs 3:-5-6 says:
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"Trust in the Lord with
all your heart; don't lean on
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your own understanding. "
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Because think that
surrendering means this
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but if we don't lean on our
understanding God will guide us
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to someplace
better than He finds us.
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OK. Christ says:
"He that cometh unto me
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I will in no wise
cast out. " So when you go
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you can go in faith.
I'm in Galatians 3:26...
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just one text: "For
you are all sons of God
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through faith in Jesus Christ.
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For as many of you as
were baptized into Christ
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have put on Christ. "
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So we become the sons of
God through faith in Christ.
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The moment you say:
"Jesus, I throw down my arms;
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I wave the white
flag; I am Yours"
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then your
conversion experience begins.
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Then you become a son
or daughter of Christ.
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OK... all right. Here's a
question that we probably all
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deal with and have
dealt with in our lives
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but it's a good question:
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How can I forgive
someone who has really hurt me?
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How do we do that?
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It's easy to tell
someone else how to forgive,
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but when it's us... You
know, Danny, I think that's
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probably a process
that every one of us
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as a born-again
Christian faces in our life.
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But I found out that
I was just not capable
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within myself. That's
right. I cannot forgive.
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Only Christ living
in us makes us capable
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to be able to
forgive. So by beholding Him
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we become changed and then
we see where there's changes
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that need to take
place. And I'm so thankful
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that He comes in and
He makes those changes
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inside of us so that we
can "love our enemies. "
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Love those who
despitefully use us.
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That's an impossibility
with me... in the flesh.
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You can't do it... you
can't do it on your own.
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Some people say: "I
just can't love that person;
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I just can't get
along with that person. "
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You know, because it's
Christ in you the hope of glory.
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Let Him come in... let Him love
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and you'll see that
things will change in your heart
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and in your life as
Christ takes possession.
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And then it's easier to
love and to be forgiving.
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There is a statement by Ellen
White in the Spirit of Prophecy
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where she says two things:
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"If we would lay aside
pride and the love of self,
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most disagreements could be
taken care of in five minutes. "
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The fact of the matter is
that the sin of the church
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is the sin of pride. We are told
it is the hardest to diagnose,
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almost impossible to cure,
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and just about the
whole church is infected.
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So one of the ways to
begin to forgive others
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is ask God to show you yourself.
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And if you say:
"Well, she pushes my buttons"
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it simply means you have
buttons there to be pushed.
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You've gotta ask God:
"Lord, remove those buttons.
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Pop those buttons so that
they are not pushed any more. "
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But as we look at ourselves
we see the wounds that we bring
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to Christ... how
we crucify Him afresh.
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And when you get a
good look at yourself
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then you are ready to
look at others and to forgive.
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And could I add to
that something the Lord
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really impressed upon
me once as I was praying
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to be forgiven. There's
only one time in my life
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I've struggled
to forgive someone.
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And this person did
a lot of harm to me.
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But the Lord kept telling
me... You know what I'm saying
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when I said: "He
tells me. " I Kings 19:12...
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The still small voice of
the Lord when the Holy Spirit
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impresses a
thought upon your mind.
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And He would say: "Forgive
him and I will forgive you. "
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And I thought: "Lord, I
don't want to forgive him. "
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I mean... I just... I
wanted to hold onto it
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and I didn't know
how. And as I prayed
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the Lord told me to
pray for his salvation.
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And I said: "OK, I will...
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but You know I don't mean it. "
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I could have cared less
if this man was saved or not.
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But as I...
Confession is good for the soul
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yet hard on the reputation.
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That's where I was at.
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And so as I began praying for
him something really interesting
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happened: God began to show
me this man through His eyes...
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that he was lost and suffering.
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And suddenly God's love
was poured into my heart
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for this man, and I really
did care about his salvation.
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And as soon as I found
that I cared for his salvation
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guess what? The
forgiveness had come.
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Johnny: I wanted to add
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when you read the Bible
you see things in there that
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you say: "Well how can I
do that? Love your enemies? "
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And somebody slaps you
on one side of your face
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give them the other.
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And you say: "Well, you
see, what God asks us to do
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He gives us the ability to do. "
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And that's why the first
thing we must do is be willing
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to allow God to do in us
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that which we know we
cannot do of ourselves.
00:12:02.75\00:12:05.05
So when we surrender -
as you were mentioning -
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God begins a work in our lives
00:12:08.49\00:12:11.19
that will amaze
us as we look back.
00:12:11.49\00:12:13.96
"You mean I
forgave that person? "
00:12:14.16\00:12:16.36
Because God works
in you to do things
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that you cannot
really do for yourself.
00:12:19.67\00:12:21.60
Here in Matthew chapter 6-
the Lord's Prayer - it says:
00:12:21.90\00:12:27.68
"And forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors. "
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That's Matthew 6:12.
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And then 14 and 15: "For if
ye forgive men their trespasses
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your Heavenly Father
will also forgive you.
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But if you forgive
not men their trespasses
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neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses. "
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So the first part is surrender.
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Ask the Lord: "Lord, give
me the love for my enemy. "
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Because sometimes I've
heard things people say:
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"If I weren't a Christian... "
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Anybody say that?
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"If I weren't a Christian... "
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And so there's
work for God to do in us
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when we have those expressions
come out in our anger.
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'Cause sometimes we
may say them jokingly
00:13:08.75\00:13:10.45
but if we allow God to
work in us He will transform us
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into the likeness of Jesus.
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You know so many times...
I'm sorry, John, we target our
00:13:16.26\00:13:18.56
prayers for certain things like:
"Lord help me not to do this;
00:13:18.76\00:13:22.03
Lord help me not to do that. "
00:13:22.23\00:13:23.57
I have always felt
that to try to use your will
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not to do something is an
incorrect use of the will.
00:13:26.60\00:13:29.17
Because some days you can
stop doing things by force of...
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of... your own force of nature.
00:13:32.51\00:13:35.01
You can say:
"Today I will not smoke. "
00:13:35.21\00:13:36.81
But tomorrow you
may not be that strong.
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So you don't want to use
your will not to do something.
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You want to ask: "Lord,
draw me closer to You. "
00:13:42.12\00:13:44.75
Because as you
draw closer to Christ
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these things will
begin to fall aside.
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Well, Johnny bothers me today;
Shelley bothers me tomorrow.
00:13:49.56\00:13:52.26
So every day I'm
saying: "Lord, free me from one
00:13:52.46\00:13:53.86
of these guys. " But
if I say every day...
00:13:54.06\00:13:56.50
If I say every day:
"Lord, draw me to You, "
00:13:56.70\00:13:59.20
then these things will
take care of themselves
00:13:59.60\00:14:02.04
because I'm using my
will in a positive way.
00:14:02.34\00:14:04.81
Use your will to
draw closer to Christ
00:14:05.01\00:14:07.54
and you will find that John and
Shelley won't bother you so much
00:14:07.74\00:14:10.95
any more. Thank you Pastor C. A.
00:14:11.15\00:14:14.78
You know also
forgiveness is reciprocal.
00:14:14.98\00:14:17.09
Forgiveness is
like a revolving door.
00:14:17.29\00:14:19.29
If you don't forgive,
you WON'T be forgiven.
00:14:20.22\00:14:23.22
But it's even deeper
than that I've discovered.
00:14:23.43\00:14:25.29
I was reading a devotion a few
weeks ago... One of my favorite
00:14:25.49\00:14:28.33
other authors outside of
Ellen White is Oswald Chambers.
00:14:28.53\00:14:30.63
And he brought out
the point... he said:
00:14:30.83\00:14:32.40
"When the devil tempts
you he doesn't tempt you
00:14:32.80\00:14:35.77
because if he tempted
you you'd always fail.
00:14:35.97\00:14:38.17
He only comes after you
to tempt the Christ in you.
00:14:38.57\00:14:42.74
He wouldn't feel the
necessity to tempt a sinner
00:14:45.01\00:14:48.28
because you are already lost.
00:14:48.48\00:14:49.95
But when you declare
that Christ's in you, he comes
00:14:50.35\00:14:52.75
to tempt the Christ in you. "
00:14:52.95\00:14:54.42
He said: "So are you willing
to allow the Christ in you now
00:14:54.62\00:14:58.26
to also extend
forgiveness as Christ did? "
00:14:58.66\00:15:01.96
When Jesus said: 'Father,
forgive them for they know not
00:15:02.26\00:15:04.70
what they do' if
Christ is really in us
00:15:04.90\00:15:06.80
we become... Christ now
extends forgiveness through us
00:15:07.00\00:15:11.24
because it is Him not us. "
00:15:11.44\00:15:13.88
So when somebody says: "Why
can't you forgive someone? "
00:15:14.08\00:15:17.38
I can't! But the Christ
in me proves that He can
00:15:17.58\00:15:20.42
because He did that at the most
critical moment of His life.
00:15:20.62\00:15:23.18
He said: "Forgive them, for
they know not what they do. "
00:15:23.39\00:15:24.99
So, in a nutshell, if I
let the Christ work in me
00:15:25.19\00:15:28.82
He will do the
forgiving... not I.
00:15:29.02\00:15:31.09
Amen! You know Danny,
an interesting thought:
00:15:31.29\00:15:34.66
interesting thought on
this is because people will come
00:15:34.86\00:15:36.97
and say: "How do I really know
00:15:37.17\00:15:41.17
that I've
forgiven that person? "
00:15:41.37\00:15:43.57
They pray about it. You know,
they may fast... they may...
00:15:43.97\00:15:46.31
Years they're praying about it.
00:15:46.51\00:15:48.38
But many of them come back
and say: "I don't know that
00:15:48.58\00:15:50.71
I have really
forgiven. I don't know... "
00:15:50.91\00:15:54.32
But you know, I found
out something very simple:
00:15:54.52\00:15:56.85
if you can...
This worked for me.
00:15:57.25\00:15:59.35
I don't know
about for anyone else.
00:15:59.75\00:16:01.22
But I know when
I get on my knees
00:16:01.42\00:16:03.22
'cause when you're working
on an issue, that you have a
00:16:03.43\00:16:05.43
situation somewhere and you
know you're supposed to pray
00:16:05.63\00:16:08.76
for that person - you
mentioned - the human flesh
00:16:08.96\00:16:11.87
does not want to
bring up that name.
00:16:12.07\00:16:13.74
But you know you should... not
only for them but for yourself.
00:16:14.14\00:16:16.37
But when you pray for that indi-
vidual and you call them by name
00:16:17.51\00:16:20.74
you know in your heart whether
you've really forgiven them
00:16:21.34\00:16:24.21
or not. Because many times
when you bring up that name
00:16:24.41\00:16:27.32
and you pray for that
person, there's something inside
00:16:27.52\00:16:30.12
that's still doing like this.
00:16:30.32\00:16:31.99
You know that you went through
the motions, you went through
00:16:32.19\00:16:34.16
what the Bible said...
there's still something stirring
00:16:34.32\00:16:36.36
inside of you.
When the time comes -
00:16:36.56\00:16:39.56
Christ in you,
the hope of glory -
00:16:39.76\00:16:41.30
when He really takes
possession, you will be able
00:16:41.50\00:16:44.77
to name that person by
name and you feel a peace
00:16:44.97\00:16:49.40
and a happiness inside.
00:16:49.60\00:16:51.57
There's no
holding back of anything.
00:16:51.77\00:16:54.18
You KNOW that God's
worked a miracle in your heart
00:16:54.34\00:16:56.95
and in your life, and
there is a peace that passes all
00:16:57.15\00:16:59.95
understanding.
Amen! Absolutely... good.
00:17:00.15\00:17:02.48
A few years ago I
was in the green room.
00:17:02.88\00:17:05.42
It was Camp Meeting; the
green room's in the back.
00:17:05.62\00:17:07.76
And somebody walked
in there and they said:
00:17:08.16\00:17:10.23
"There's a woman out there
and she's just saying terrible
00:17:10.43\00:17:14.03
things about you. "
I said: "Oh, really? "
00:17:14.23\00:17:16.97
She said: "Yeah!
She said this about you
00:17:17.17\00:17:19.77
and that you did
this and you did that. "
00:17:19.97\00:17:21.67
Well the truth of it
is: I've been in a fish bowl
00:17:21.87\00:17:24.14
for over 30 years, so
really that stuff, I don't pay
00:17:24.34\00:17:27.04
much attention to it.
00:17:27.24\00:17:28.58
I try not to pay
attention when people brag
00:17:28.61\00:17:30.58
or when they condemn you 'cause
either way you get in trouble,
00:17:30.78\00:17:33.42
right? So I didn't say too much
00:17:33.62\00:17:36.05
but we had a guest singer here.
00:17:36.25\00:17:38.02
A country girl... great singer.
00:17:38.22\00:17:40.29
She was here, and so
I didn't say anything.
00:17:40.89\00:17:43.06
So she said: "That's terrible
00:17:43.26\00:17:45.06
that somebody's
talking about him like that! "
00:17:45.26\00:17:47.66
And she said: "Listen, Danny,
00:17:48.16\00:17:49.73
don't let it bother
you. Just give it to Jesus...
00:17:49.93\00:17:53.13
don't worry. " I
hadn't said a word. I was
00:17:53.34\00:17:55.20
just sitting there. She
said: "Just don't worry about it
00:17:55.40\00:17:57.84
when people talk about
you. You know, they talked about
00:17:58.04\00:18:01.28
the Lord. Just
don't let it bother you. "
00:18:01.48\00:18:03.88
And the person who told me said:
"Also... " Looked at the lady,
00:18:04.08\00:18:07.15
said: "She was
running you down, too. "
00:18:07.35\00:18:09.62
And she said: "Who is
she? I'll slap her to sleep! "
00:18:09.82\00:18:12.85
She said... She
jumped up from her chair.
00:18:13.15\00:18:16.32
"I will slap her to sleep!
00:18:16.52\00:18:17.86
How dare she talk about me? "
00:18:18.03\00:18:19.79
I said: "Hello? What
did you just tell me? "
00:18:20.40\00:18:23.77
And she said: "Oh, yeah,
I'm sorry. I kind of lost it! "
00:18:23.97\00:18:26.70
So it's... you know, that
happens to us now and then,
00:18:26.90\00:18:30.31
right? It's easy to
encourage someone else
00:18:30.51\00:18:33.58
but when it's her she's
going to "slap her to sleep. "
00:18:33.78\00:18:36.08
Whatever that
means. I was scared of it.
00:18:37.11\00:18:39.31
My dad used to tell me that,
so I never... He never did,
00:18:39.51\00:18:42.02
but I always
minded when he said it.
00:18:42.22\00:18:44.02
Can I just add one little thing?
The reason the Lord tells us
00:18:44.99\00:18:48.06
to forgive our enemies
is because when we hold
00:18:48.26\00:18:51.56
unforgiveness in our
heart we block the flow of the
00:18:51.76\00:18:55.10
Holy Spirit. Amen!
So He's not telling them
00:18:55.30\00:18:58.70
to do... us to do that
00:18:58.90\00:19:01.07
for their benefit as
much as He is for ours.
00:19:01.27\00:19:04.31
That's right. Danny,
something we learned in London:
00:19:04.71\00:19:07.41
Dr. Chitty, who was our
nightly medical presenter,
00:19:07.61\00:19:11.38
he did an excellent
job. He made an example
00:19:11.58\00:19:14.68
that I want all of us to
just visualize. He said...
00:19:14.88\00:19:17.22
Somebody asked the question:
"How heavy is that glass
00:19:17.42\00:19:20.96
of water? " And it was
just an 8-ounce glass of water.
00:19:21.12\00:19:24.19
They said: "It's
not that heavy. "
00:19:24.39\00:19:25.79
Said: "Well
then... pick it up. "
00:19:25.99\00:19:27.33
And anyone in the room from
the smallest to the youngest
00:19:27.53\00:19:30.63
could pick it up. "This
is really not that heavy. "
00:19:30.83\00:19:33.97
He said: "Well then,
keep holding onto it... "
00:19:34.17\00:19:36.71
All right... "and I'll
tell you when to put it down. "
00:19:37.74\00:19:40.58
He said: "The glass is not
heavy initially, but the longer
00:19:41.64\00:19:44.61
you hold it the heavier it
gets. " Amen! There you go!
00:19:44.81\00:19:48.32
That's what unforgiveness is.
The longer you hold it - OK -
00:19:48.52\00:19:51.09
something that is ever so
light in its initial impact -
00:19:51.39\00:19:54.86
becomes heavy when
you refuse to let it down.
00:19:55.06\00:19:57.83
So if you want to be free:
forgiveness first frees you
00:19:58.33\00:20:02.73
before it frees
the other person.
00:20:03.03\00:20:04.63
Jesus said: "Father, forgive
them... " so He died a free Man.
00:20:04.83\00:20:08.10
We have no question
that our Savior died
00:20:08.50\00:20:10.91
with forgiveness in
His heart and not anger.
00:20:11.11\00:20:14.48
Good. All right, Yvonne.
00:20:14.68\00:20:16.14
The next question is:
John 17:3 says "Eternal life
00:20:16.68\00:20:21.52
is to know the
Father and Jesus Christ. "
00:20:21.72\00:20:24.05
We stress having a
personal relationship with Jesus
00:20:24.45\00:20:27.66
but never mention having a
relationship with the Father.
00:20:27.86\00:20:30.53
How do we know the Father?
00:20:30.93\00:20:32.89
Hebrews 1:3 says that
00:20:34.56\00:20:39.70
Jesus is the
"effluence, " the exact image
00:20:39.90\00:20:44.87
of the Father. If you
know Jesus, Jesus said:
00:20:45.27\00:20:48.34
"If you've seen Me,
you've seen the Father. "
00:20:48.54\00:20:50.51
The reason Jesus came to
earth other than to, of course,
00:20:50.71\00:20:54.68
save us from our sins
00:20:54.88\00:20:57.12
was that we could
know who the Father is
00:20:57.52\00:21:02.76
because He was the exact
representation of the Father.
00:21:03.16\00:21:06.46
And if... You know, the thing
that none of us understand -
00:21:06.86\00:21:11.30
and I'm not saying
I'm there yet, either -
00:21:11.50\00:21:13.10
none of us understand
how much God loves us.
00:21:13.60\00:21:16.14
God loves us so
much, and He is so loving
00:21:16.54\00:21:19.11
and He is so
wonderful and giving.
00:21:19.31\00:21:21.98
But when we know Jesus
we will know the Father.
00:21:22.18\00:21:26.68
So to have a personal
relationship with Jesus
00:21:26.88\00:21:29.58
is to have a personal
relationship with the Father.
00:21:29.98\00:21:32.79
Didn't Jesus one time -
talking to the disciples?
00:21:33.96\00:21:38.26
They came up to Him and they
said: "Show us the Father. "
00:21:38.46\00:21:41.60
Remember that?
"Show us the Father. "
00:21:42.00\00:21:43.37
And I - this is just in
my own mind - but I'm...
00:21:43.77\00:21:46.13
I'm just sure that those sweet
little tears just came down His
00:21:46.33\00:21:50.14
cheeks and He looked right
into their eyes and He said:
00:21:50.34\00:21:53.38
"You know, have I not been
with you? " Talking about time,
00:21:53.58\00:21:56.98
He said: "If you have seen
Me, you have seen the Father. "
00:21:57.18\00:22:00.08
I thought how moving that was
that the King of the universe...
00:22:00.58\00:22:05.09
They're saying: "Show
us the Father" and He said:
00:22:06.09\00:22:07.92
"This is... this is
Him. Emptied of self,
00:22:08.22\00:22:10.89
I came to show you what
the Father's all about. "
00:22:11.09\00:22:13.53
So I thought that just
what an illustration that was:
00:22:13.93\00:22:16.70
that really I know who God
is to the best of my ability
00:22:16.90\00:22:21.04
as I behold Jesus I behold God.
00:22:21.24\00:22:25.21
I'm in Hebrews 1:1.
"God, who in various times
00:22:26.47\00:22:28.91
and in various
ways spoke in times past
00:22:29.11\00:22:31.01
to the fathers by the prophets
00:22:31.21\00:22:32.81
has in these last days
spoken to us by His Son. "
00:22:33.01\00:22:36.28
So God is speaking
to us through Jesus.
00:22:36.69\00:22:38.85
"Through whom He made the world.
Who, being the brightness of His
00:22:39.05\00:22:42.42
glory, the express
image of His person,
00:22:42.62\00:22:44.89
and upholding all things
by the word of His power. "
00:22:45.09\00:22:47.90
I echo what Pastor Kenny said.
00:22:48.30\00:22:50.30
As you see Jesus you see God.
00:22:50.50\00:22:53.03
And God was willing to
give up Christ, and Christ was
00:22:53.23\00:22:56.84
willing to come. So if
you want to know who God is
00:22:57.04\00:22:59.81
it's like looking at a twin.
00:23:00.01\00:23:01.84
As you see who Jesus is
and you see what He does
00:23:02.04\00:23:05.48
that's what the Father who
sent Him is and what He does.
00:23:05.68\00:23:09.02
And as an extension of
that, don't you think that God
00:23:09.62\00:23:12.55
sent Jesus to this earth
00:23:12.75\00:23:14.92
to reveal
Himself to human beings?
00:23:15.32\00:23:18.99
You know, because we
needed somebody to relate to
00:23:19.49\00:23:24.87
and the Father sent Jesus.
00:23:25.07\00:23:29.00
Also, this verse is a
reiteration of John 14.
00:23:31.11\00:23:34.31
In John 14 Jesus
continually had to break through
00:23:34.71\00:23:38.35
more than a thousand
years of head knowledge
00:23:38.75\00:23:41.78
that never made it to the heart.
00:23:41.98\00:23:43.39
The Jewish people that He
had chosen to be the vessels of
00:23:43.79\00:23:45.89
truth said they knew Him.
00:23:46.09\00:23:47.56
Remember He said:
"You believe in God... "
00:23:47.76\00:23:49.69
What also?
"believe also in Me. "
00:23:49.89\00:23:52.79
And so in John 17 the
Lord was speaking to a people
00:23:52.99\00:23:56.23
who claimed to know God.
And if you look at John 17:3
00:23:56.43\00:23:59.43
again He says: "And
this is life eternal:
00:23:59.63\00:24:01.57
that they may know You...
" They already say they know
00:24:01.77\00:24:05.01
You... "the only true God... "
00:24:05.21\00:24:07.08
And they said
there was only one God -
00:24:07.28\00:24:08.64
the Hebrews believed that
from Old Testament times -
00:24:08.84\00:24:10.95
but then He
added: "You know God AND
00:24:11.15\00:24:14.45
Jesus Christ
whom You have sent. "
00:24:14.65\00:24:16.99
Because what
they were hesitant of
00:24:17.39\00:24:20.42
is accepting Jesus, the
Son who revealed the Father.
00:24:20.62\00:24:24.06
And so He was saying this
to people that had claimed
00:24:24.46\00:24:26.16
to know the Father. But
He said: "You can't stop
00:24:26.36\00:24:27.90
there. You've got
to also accept My Son.
00:24:28.10\00:24:30.33
If you accept Him, then
you really do love Me. "
00:24:30.53\00:24:33.17
OK. The book of John
and the book of Hebrews
00:24:34.14\00:24:36.71
basically have the same burden.
00:24:37.01\00:24:39.24
They are to ratify,
to verify, to affirm
00:24:39.44\00:24:42.64
that Jesus is - to use modern
parlance - "the real deal. "
00:24:42.84\00:24:46.31
You don't need to look
anyplace else, you don't need
00:24:46.72\00:24:48.48
to go anyplace else.
When you've got Jesus
00:24:48.68\00:24:50.72
you've got all you
need. And you never know that
00:24:50.92\00:24:53.19
Jesus is all you need
until Jesus is all you got.
00:24:53.39\00:24:56.32
All right! One last
thing to add to that:
00:24:56.52\00:24:58.49
True... this is
a powerful point.
00:24:58.69\00:25:00.03
Jesus continually was
established to let people know
00:25:00.16\00:25:03.73
"You're not going to get to
the Father if you ignore Me. "
00:25:03.93\00:25:06.27
See, there's only one
Mediator between God and man:
00:25:06.74\00:25:09.27
the Man Christ Jesus.
00:25:09.47\00:25:10.81
The only way you
can get to the Father...
00:25:11.17\00:25:12.74
"No man cometh unto
the Father but by Me. "
00:25:12.94\00:25:15.71
He continually said it
to a people who had grown
00:25:15.91\00:25:18.81
recalcitrant on that they
knew God but they refused to
00:25:19.01\00:25:21.88
accept Jesus. So that's why
that was continually reiterated
00:25:22.08\00:25:24.92
in the New
Testament. Amen. Johnny?
00:25:25.12\00:25:27.42
I would like to add
I agree with all that.
00:25:27.62\00:25:30.03
It's just marvelous that
a relationship with Jesus
00:25:30.23\00:25:34.20
is a relationship
with the Father. Yes!
00:25:34.40\00:25:36.80
In John chapter 1,
John chapter 14, 17.
00:25:37.00\00:25:39.83
Here is John chapter 1
verse 18: "No man has seen God
00:25:40.04\00:25:43.51
at any time. The
only begotten Son
00:25:43.71\00:25:46.01
which is in the bosom of the
Father: He hath declared Him. "
00:25:46.21\00:25:48.88
Jesus came to
reveal who the Father was
00:25:49.28\00:25:52.55
and how He was.
00:25:52.75\00:25:54.08
And that's why
He was able to say
00:25:54.12\00:25:57.65
"He who has seen Me
has seen the Father. "
00:25:57.85\00:26:00.79
And Jesus said: "If a man
love Me he will keep My words
00:26:01.46\00:26:06.26
and I will come to him.
And the Father will love him
00:26:06.46\00:26:10.43
and we will love and
make our abode with him. "
00:26:10.63\00:26:12.57
So we are having a relationship
with the whole godhead
00:26:12.77\00:26:17.47
as we do this. OK... thank you.
00:26:17.67\00:26:19.87
This one I
thinks' a trick question.
00:26:20.28\00:26:22.14
It said: "Why is it that
Danny Shelton hasn't aged
00:26:22.84\00:26:25.38
in 30 years? " Now,
I think you did that
00:26:25.58\00:26:29.25
because I said I'm
not bothered by insults
00:26:29.45\00:26:32.85
or compliments, but on
this one I changed my mind.
00:26:33.05\00:26:36.06
Whoever said that I'm
going to give you a tip!
00:26:36.26\00:26:38.56
Here's a tip. No...
that was a trick question
00:26:38.76\00:26:42.20
but thank you... that was nice.
00:26:42.40\00:26:43.73
That's a way of smoking
you out. He wants to find out
00:26:43.93\00:26:45.93
who said that. I
noticed there were several hands
00:26:46.13\00:26:50.24
that were raised.
They went for the money.
00:26:50.44\00:26:52.21
Yeah, I saw
several... several people.
00:26:52.41\00:26:54.78
Why is Satan released at
the end of the 1,000 years
00:26:55.48\00:26:59.81
to deceive the nations?
00:27:00.02\00:27:01.52
I will start by saying
this: during the 1,000 years
00:27:05.09\00:27:10.96
Satan has an
opportunity to see the results
00:27:11.16\00:27:15.33
of his work, the
results of his leadership
00:27:15.53\00:27:19.37
in the world. He
sees the destruction
00:27:19.57\00:27:22.44
and the ruin that
there is on the earth.
00:27:22.64\00:27:25.37
After the 1,000 years, you
would hope to see some change
00:27:26.01\00:27:30.25
in an individual that
has had an opportunity
00:27:30.65\00:27:33.31
to see the results
of what he has done.
00:27:33.52\00:27:35.28
But after the 1,000 years
the Bible reveals that he goes
00:27:35.68\00:27:39.05
back to what he has done before.
00:27:39.25\00:27:40.86
He tries to get people
together to fight against God.
00:27:41.06\00:27:45.26
There is no change. He has
become... He has let wickedness
00:27:45.46\00:27:50.03
consume him so he is
not who he was before.
00:27:50.23\00:27:53.74
He is the
devil... the adversary...
00:27:54.14\00:27:56.77
and that's who he will always be
00:27:56.97\00:27:59.74
until... let me
finish that by saying
00:27:59.94\00:28:02.58
until the time when he has
to pay for the sins that he has
00:28:02.78\00:28:06.68
committed. And the Bible
says that "the wages of sin
00:28:06.88\00:28:08.82
is death. "
00:28:09.22\00:28:10.55
He is chained with a
chain of circumstances.
00:28:10.69\00:28:12.82
It is not that he
is chained per se,
00:28:13.02\00:28:15.42
but there's simply
no one for him to tempt.
00:28:15.62\00:28:18.16
"The Lord Himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout,
00:28:18.56\00:28:20.63
with the voice of the
archangel and the trump of God.
00:28:20.83\00:28:22.63
The dead in Christ rise first,
then we which are alive and
00:28:22.83\00:28:24.90
remain... " So all of
the saved are in heaven.
00:28:25.10\00:28:28.37
The wicked have been destroyed
by the brightness of His coming.
00:28:28.77\00:28:31.81
So he's here and
there's nothing for him to do.
00:28:32.01\00:28:34.54
There's no one
here for him to tempt.
00:28:34.94\00:28:36.85
At the end of the 1,000-year
period when the Holy City's
00:28:37.25\00:28:40.58
coming down, those
dead are being re-awakened
00:28:40.78\00:28:42.88
preparatory to the
executive judgment.
00:28:43.99\00:28:47.12
Well, Satan has not changed
because there's nothing for him
00:28:47.32\00:28:50.96
to change. He
has no Holy Spirit.
00:28:51.16\00:28:52.49
There's nothing to change,
so he goes about doing what
00:28:52.59\00:28:54.20
he's always done. He simply
does what he's always done.
00:28:54.36\00:28:56.87
He whips up these
people in a frenzy because
00:28:57.27\00:28:59.97
they think they can take
the city. And then at that point
00:29:00.17\00:29:02.10
judgment comes down.
So it's just preparatory
00:29:02.30\00:29:05.17
to the final
eradication of sin and sinners.
00:29:05.37\00:29:08.71
And of course, the arch-sinner,
the originator of sin,
00:29:08.91\00:29:11.98
is going to be
destroyed at that time also.
00:29:12.18\00:29:13.85
I would say just to
add to those comments
00:29:14.45\00:29:17.45
with which I agree: he
is released for our benefit
00:29:17.65\00:29:21.69
because when we see...
I mean, we always want...
00:29:21.89\00:29:25.93
if we've got a loved one
who hasn't followed the Lord,
00:29:26.13\00:29:29.26
accepted the Lord...
And after they've died
00:29:29.46\00:29:31.83
and when they raised up
in the second resurrection
00:29:32.03\00:29:34.27
our hope would be: "Oh,
they're going to change. "
00:29:34.47\00:29:37.37
But when the Lord releases Satan
00:29:37.77\00:29:40.68
we see that all of those who
came up in the 2nd resurrection,
00:29:40.88\00:29:45.95
the
resurrection of condemnation,
00:29:46.15\00:29:48.05
there was no change of heart.
00:29:48.45\00:29:50.55
They would never
have been happy in heaven.
00:29:50.75\00:29:52.75
And so then we
will be fully convinced
00:29:53.15\00:29:57.26
that God's judgments
were absolutely perfect.
00:29:57.66\00:30:01.56
You know, it just continues
on because in Matthew chapter 24
00:30:01.96\00:30:04.93
Jesus was saying: Be careful
that you're not deceived. "
00:30:05.33\00:30:09.40
That's right. Three or
four times there in Matthew.
00:30:09.60\00:30:11.64
And then you notice in
Revelation I think it's 20
00:30:11.94\00:30:15.24
verse 8 it says as soon as
Christ brings him back to life
00:30:15.64\00:30:20.12
as it were out
of the prison house
00:30:20.32\00:30:21.98
brings him back he
goes out to do what?
00:30:22.18\00:30:24.05
To deceive. Continue the
same work that he did before.
00:30:24.25\00:30:28.22
It says right now: "And he shall
go out to deceive the nations. "
00:30:28.62\00:30:31.66
So he just does the
same work, proving once again
00:30:32.06\00:30:35.10
that God is
correct in His judgment.
00:30:35.30\00:30:37.50
Everything He does is correct.
00:30:37.70\00:30:39.17
The enemy is
doing the same thing.
00:30:39.37\00:30:41.60
And there's a prophecy
that needs to be fulfilled.
00:30:42.10\00:30:44.67
I'm going to just answer
this question in two points.
00:30:44.87\00:30:46.61
You know, when Satan...
when Lucifer was cast out
00:30:46.81\00:30:49.48
he exalted
himself the Bible says.
00:30:49.68\00:30:52.41
He made the claim: "I will
be, I will be, I will be like
00:30:52.61\00:30:54.98
the Most High. "
The Lord gave a prophecy
00:30:55.18\00:30:59.62
through the prophet Ezekiel.
He said that Lucifer was
00:30:59.82\00:31:03.06
perfect from the way...
from the day he was created
00:31:03.26\00:31:07.03
until iniquity was found in him.
00:31:07.43\00:31:08.76
But then he said to
him in Ezekiel 28 verse 18
00:31:08.80\00:31:14.00
he says -
speaking about his end -
00:31:14.20\00:31:16.77
everyone's going to
witness Lucifer's end.
00:31:16.97\00:31:18.61
Everyone is going
to witness Satan's end.
00:31:18.81\00:31:20.61
So for that to occur
he has to be released
00:31:20.81\00:31:24.75
at the end of the thousand
year because this has yet to be
00:31:24.95\00:31:26.82
fulfilled. He says:
"Therefore I have brought forth
00:31:27.02\00:31:30.15
fire from your
midst that devoured you
00:31:30.35\00:31:33.19
and I turned you to
ashes upon the earth
00:31:33.39\00:31:35.32
in the sight of all who saw you.
00:31:35.52\00:31:37.09
All who knew you
from among the people
00:31:37.49\00:31:39.43
are astonished at you.
You have become a horror
00:31:39.63\00:31:42.26
and shall be no more forever. "
00:31:42.46\00:31:44.33
That's yet to be fulfilled.
00:31:44.53\00:31:45.87
And at the end of the thousand
years that will be fulfilled.
00:31:45.93\00:31:48.14
But one last thing that's
even more powerful than that.
00:31:48.34\00:31:50.17
Satan had claimed
ownership. Adam gave over
00:31:50.57\00:31:54.38
the dominion of
the earth to Satan
00:31:54.58\00:31:56.88
so he considers himself
the one who owns everything
00:31:57.28\00:32:00.28
on the earth. He's in charge
of the wickedness, the sin,
00:32:00.48\00:32:02.25
the crime. But in
the Year of Jubilee
00:32:02.45\00:32:05.12
when the slave is set free
00:32:05.32\00:32:07.22
the land is returned
to its rightful owner.
00:32:07.62\00:32:10.03
And Satan will
witness the land - the earth -
00:32:10.43\00:32:13.19
being returned to
its rightful owner, God,
00:32:13.40\00:32:15.36
and all the slaves of
sin being finally set free.
00:32:15.56\00:32:18.17
That happens at the
end of the thousand years.
00:32:19.10\00:32:20.84
Did we give you the reference
for that, the reference there?
00:32:21.04\00:32:23.87
Revelation 20 for
the thousand years.
00:32:24.07\00:32:26.74
I don't know if
we've given a reference.
00:32:26.94\00:32:28.28
So Revelation 20. We
didn't give a reference.
00:32:28.34\00:32:29.98
Yes, there in Revelation
chapter 20 I do have good news
00:32:30.38\00:32:34.18
concerning that time of release.
00:32:34.38\00:32:35.72
It says in Revelation 20:3:
00:32:35.75\00:32:37.59
"He must be loosed
for a little season. "
00:32:37.79\00:32:41.36
So, you know, you're
talking about 1,000 years
00:32:41.56\00:32:43.76
but then he's loosed
for "a little season. "
00:32:43.96\00:32:46.19
Amen. All right. Thank you.
00:32:46.39\00:32:48.70
That's pretty neat. Every-
body has a different perspective
00:32:48.90\00:32:52.37
but when you put it together
it comes to one really good
00:32:52.57\00:32:55.27
clear point. I
have another question.
00:32:55.47\00:32:58.01
Right before that
you saw me stand up
00:32:58.21\00:32:59.74
and say I was giving money.
That really wasn't for a tip.
00:32:59.94\00:33:03.04
That was for... to
buy new eyeglasses.
00:33:03.35\00:33:05.71
Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho. OK,
now we'll get back to this one.
00:33:05.91\00:33:09.05
OK. Here's a good question.
It says: Is it OK if we are
00:33:09.25\00:33:12.75
supportive of our grandchildren
and attend their activities
00:33:12.95\00:33:16.66
such as ball games on
Friday nights or Sabbath?
00:33:16.86\00:33:19.76
You love your
grandkids. I've got 8 of them.
00:33:20.16\00:33:21.96
Love their ears off. I
mean, they're wonderful kids
00:33:22.36\00:33:24.97
so I like to
support them all I can.
00:33:25.17\00:33:28.04
This question is do we
love them enough to support them
00:33:28.44\00:33:31.74
on their activities if
it's involved on the Sabbath.
00:33:32.24\00:33:35.78
A better question is
do you love them enough to
00:33:35.98\00:33:37.71
give them a right example?
00:33:37.91\00:33:39.25
Isaiah 58:13-14 "If
thou turn away thy foot
00:33:39.65\00:33:42.68
from the Sabbath, from doing
thy pleasure on My holy day
00:33:42.88\00:33:45.22
and call the Sabbath a
delight, the holy of the Lord,
00:33:45.42\00:33:47.76
honorable, and shalt honor
Him, not doing thine own ways
00:33:47.96\00:33:50.39
nor finding thine own pleasure
or speaking thine own words
00:33:50.59\00:33:53.19
then shalt thou
delight thyself in the Lord
00:33:53.40\00:33:55.06
and I will cause thee to
ride upon the high places of the
00:33:55.26\00:33:57.50
earth and feast upon the in-
heritance of Jacob thy father
00:33:57.70\00:33:59.57
for the mouth of the
Lord hath spoken it. "
00:33:59.77\00:34:01.90
There's no equivocation,
no vacillation, no hesitation.
00:34:02.10\00:34:05.87
You've gotta serve the
Lord. A lot of people have died
00:34:06.57\00:34:09.11
trying to keep the Sabbath. A
ball game, no little ball game
00:34:09.31\00:34:11.75
keep you out of the
kingdom. All right; all right!
00:34:11.95\00:34:14.52
Good. And it's not about
not loving your grandchildren
00:34:15.32\00:34:18.09
but they need to see an example.
00:34:18.29\00:34:20.12
I was in a situation
when I was about 16...
00:34:20.52\00:34:23.09
15, 16 years old... I
was down, invited to go down
00:34:23.29\00:34:26.03
South with a whole lot of folk
that didn't keep the Sabbath.
00:34:26.23\00:34:28.40
And I remember they
woke up on Sabbath morning.
00:34:28.60\00:34:30.93
There was no one to
tell me not to go with them.
00:34:31.13\00:34:32.97
The lady who had raised
me in the Adventist church
00:34:33.17\00:34:34.54
had already died. I was... I
had no one to tell me not to.
00:34:34.74\00:34:38.74
This Sabbath morning they said:
"We're going to have a picnic. "
00:34:39.14\00:34:41.94
And since I went with this
family that invited me there
00:34:42.14\00:34:45.31
when the time came - they
had all the picnic baskets
00:34:45.51\00:34:48.78
ready, I'm 15, 16 years old,
00:34:48.98\00:34:51.69
And when they said:
"Everybody get in the car"
00:34:51.89\00:34:53.79
I said: "You
know, it's the Sabbath.
00:34:53.99\00:34:56.62
I'll be here
when you get back. "
00:34:56.83\00:34:58.16
Hmmm. I'm in a stranger's house.
00:34:58.19\00:35:00.23
They took me down South
to visit with their family.
00:35:00.63\00:35:03.73
And they said: "What do
you mean this is the Sabbath? "
00:35:04.13\00:35:06.30
"This is the Sabbath.
I'm going to stay here
00:35:06.50\00:35:09.40
at your house and I'm
going to honor the Sabbath.
00:35:09.60\00:35:11.04
I'll be here
when you get back. "
00:35:11.24\00:35:12.57
And I looked back on
that and I thought to myself:
00:35:12.81\00:35:14.81
"Wow! I'm in THEIR house.
00:35:15.01\00:35:17.61
I'm a long way from
home. I'm just a teenager.
00:35:17.81\00:35:20.72
Who doesn't want to
have fun on the Sabbath? "
00:35:20.92\00:35:22.88
And I stood up then
and said: "I won't do it. "
00:35:23.08\00:35:25.45
And you know, I believe
that that left an impression
00:35:25.95\00:35:28.32
on them that: "Yes,
when it comes to loving
00:35:28.52\00:35:31.83
we've got to love
the Lord first... " Amen!
00:35:32.03\00:35:33.90
"and then leave the examples
to tell of our love for God. "
00:35:34.10\00:35:37.43
Maybe we should ask,
then, for our viewers
00:35:37.83\00:35:40.70
why can't we attend
activities or watch ball games
00:35:41.10\00:35:46.71
or basketball...
why can't we do that
00:35:46.91\00:35:49.48
on the Sabbath?
They said Friday evening
00:35:49.68\00:35:52.31
to Saturday evening...
which is described in the Bible
00:35:52.51\00:35:55.15
as the Sabbath. So
why can't anybody do that?
00:35:55.35\00:35:58.72
What's wrong with attending
events like that on Sabbath?
00:35:58.92\00:36:01.86
You know, Bro.
Danny, I was thinking here
00:36:02.06\00:36:04.33
you know even in our home -
raised up - we were challenged
00:36:04.49\00:36:07.86
about proper Sabbath observance
because we liked to play sports.
00:36:08.06\00:36:12.33
And we knew we weren't sup-
posed to be playing basketball
00:36:12.73\00:36:15.77
and doing different things,
but I noticed that sometime
00:36:15.97\00:36:18.21
if I thought mom
and dad weren't looking
00:36:18.41\00:36:20.68
and there's a basketball
laying out there in the grass...
00:36:20.88\00:36:22.84
It wasn't hurting
anybody... it was just there
00:36:23.04\00:36:24.51
and I walked by it I
think the enemy said:
00:36:24.71\00:36:27.18
"Pick it up and shoot it;
see if you can make one. "
00:36:27.38\00:36:28.92
I'd pick one up, shoot
it, and then it'd be like the
00:36:29.12\00:36:30.75
Holy Spirit'd say: "That's not
what you're supposed to do. "
00:36:30.95\00:36:32.69
We find ourselves confused on
00:36:33.09\00:36:35.76
social
gatherings on the Sabbath.
00:36:37.26\00:36:38.93
We find ourselves
confused attending a lot of
00:36:39.13\00:36:42.53
family get-togethers
and all kinds of things
00:36:42.73\00:36:45.07
that God said on specifically
the seventh day He blessed,
00:36:45.27\00:36:48.80
He sanctified, He set it
apart. It belongs to Him.
00:36:49.00\00:36:51.27
And I found this works
in my life very simple:
00:36:51.67\00:36:53.98
It's His day, and the only
thing that He wants us to do
00:36:54.38\00:36:57.68
is have communion with
Him and do those things that
00:36:57.88\00:36:59.85
please Him on that day.
00:37:00.05\00:37:02.22
It's not about family
and doing other things.
00:37:02.42\00:37:04.02
He gives you
six days to do that.
00:37:04.22\00:37:05.55
This day belongs to
Him and only godly things
00:37:05.82\00:37:08.46
should be done on
the seventh-day Sabbath.
00:37:08.66\00:37:10.76
You referenced there
Genesis 2 and verse 2
00:37:11.16\00:37:16.83
where He says: "On the seventh
day... " This was at creation...
00:37:17.03\00:37:20.00
"God ended that
which He had done
00:37:20.40\00:37:23.44
and He rested on the
seventh day from all His work
00:37:23.64\00:37:25.81
which He had done. And
He blessed the seventh day
00:37:26.01\00:37:28.41
and He sanctified
the seventh day. "
00:37:28.61\00:37:30.61
The... In this scripture pas-
sage, in these two scriptures,
00:37:31.31\00:37:35.38
the seventh day is
mentioned three times.
00:37:35.58\00:37:37.49
He blessed it; He
sanctified it; He rested on it.
00:37:37.89\00:37:40.99
To sanctify means to set some-
thing apart for holy purposes.
00:37:41.19\00:37:45.33
So God instituted the
Sabbath right in the Garden
00:37:45.73\00:37:49.96
of Gethsemane...
Gethsemane? The Garden of Eden.
00:37:50.17\00:37:53.34
And He did it so
that it would be a joy.
00:37:53.74\00:37:57.31
Jesus said the Sabbath
wasn't made... Man wasn't made
00:37:57.51\00:38:01.88
for the Sabbath. The
Sabbath was made for mankind.
00:38:02.08\00:38:04.88
So God knew, when He
gave the Ten Commandments,
00:38:05.48\00:38:09.22
in His fourth
commandment He said: "Remember
00:38:09.62\00:38:13.09
the Sabbath day. " You
can't remember something
00:38:13.29\00:38:15.62
that you haven't forgotten or
haven't already been told about.
00:38:15.82\00:38:18.36
God knew we would forget
and that we'd work ourselves
00:38:18.56\00:38:20.90
to death and that we
would forget about Him.
00:38:21.10\00:38:24.20
So He set aside a temple in time
00:38:24.40\00:38:27.67
so that we could have
special time with Him,
00:38:27.87\00:38:31.51
special time with our family.
00:38:31.71\00:38:33.48
The Sabbath is a blessing,
and when you understand God's
00:38:33.88\00:38:37.68
covenant love - and we're
going to be talking about that
00:38:37.88\00:38:40.65
tomorrow morning, I
hope you'll be joining us...
00:38:40.85\00:38:42.45
But when you under-
stand God's covenant love
00:38:42.65\00:38:45.05
and understand
that God will help us...
00:38:45.45\00:38:48.79
I mean, it's a promise...
His commandments are promises
00:38:48.99\00:38:51.76
that He will
help us to keep this.
00:38:52.16\00:38:54.23
And when we're in covenant
relationship with the Lord
00:38:54.43\00:38:57.17
you can't wait for the Sabbath.
00:38:57.57\00:39:00.04
Amen.
00:39:00.24\00:39:01.57
Speaking of sanctified
- I'm in Exodus 31:13-
00:39:02.00\00:39:04.67
"Surely My
Sabbaths you shall keep
00:39:04.87\00:39:06.68
for it is a sign between Me and
you throughout your generations
00:39:07.08\00:39:10.35
that you may know that I am
the Lord who sanctifies you. "
00:39:10.55\00:39:14.18
So not only is
the day sanctified
00:39:14.58\00:39:16.52
but it is a sign of a
sanctification process
00:39:16.72\00:39:19.55
between God and man.
00:39:19.75\00:39:21.09
And to do otherwise is to be
outside of that sanctification
00:39:21.42\00:39:24.16
process. God
NEEDS the time with us.
00:39:24.36\00:39:26.70
He desires the time
with us, and more than that
00:39:26.90\00:39:29.26
we NEED the time with Him.
00:39:29.46\00:39:31.83
Yes. Amen;
amen. OK... thank you.
00:39:32.03\00:39:35.00
Will there be
absolutely no night in heaven
00:39:35.67\00:39:39.27
as Revelation tells us?
OR is this only in the city
00:39:39.47\00:39:43.68
of New Jerusalem?
00:39:43.88\00:39:45.71
Personally... Can
I lay it out here?
00:39:47.98\00:39:51.25
I believe it is
in the New Jerusalem.
00:39:51.65\00:39:53.66
When the New
Jerusalem comes down to earth
00:39:53.86\00:39:56.79
there's going to be
no more night there.
00:39:57.39\00:39:59.26
No more night in heaven,
but when it comes down to earth,
00:39:59.46\00:40:01.63
when we go out into
the earth, it says that
00:40:01.83\00:40:04.43
we're going to come in
and still be worshiping
00:40:04.63\00:40:09.84
every Sabbath and on the
new moons we would come in.
00:40:10.24\00:40:13.01
So I think that
there will be night and day
00:40:13.21\00:40:15.64
on the new earth but
not in the city of Jerusalem
00:40:15.84\00:40:18.45
because the Son and the
Father are the light thereof.
00:40:18.65\00:40:23.05
That's right. I
can't add any more to that.
00:40:24.29\00:40:26.55
In the New Jerusalem in heaven
there'll be no night there.
00:40:27.06\00:40:30.43
In the earth we will
revert back to the seasons
00:40:30.83\00:40:33.93
before sin, and
Jesus established the sun,
00:40:34.13\00:40:38.13
moon, stars for the seasons.
00:40:38.33\00:40:41.10
So we will still have the
seasons but as it would have
00:40:41.60\00:40:44.21
been before sin. And
that's in the new earth.
00:40:44.41\00:40:47.78
OK... all right.
00:40:47.98\00:40:50.05
Here's a question; I'm
glad you all are answering it
00:40:50.58\00:40:53.52
and not me. I answered it
one time and I got in trouble
00:40:53.72\00:40:56.05
on live television.
A scripture that says
00:40:56.45\00:40:58.85
that "two in the field: one
was taken, one was left behind.
00:40:59.05\00:41:03.49
Two men in a bed: one was
taken, one was left behind. "
00:41:03.69\00:41:06.70
And I said: "Well,
if two men's in a bed
00:41:06.90\00:41:08.86
I doubt either one
of them are going. "
00:41:09.06\00:41:10.67
So... I got some letters
from people and phone calls
00:41:11.03\00:41:16.40
that I was "phobia" of
some kind... I'm not sure.
00:41:16.60\00:41:19.54
But anyway. So I'm going to
let you guys answer that one
00:41:19.74\00:41:22.81
and stay out of it.
What does that mean?
00:41:23.01\00:41:25.01
And then it says:
Which one was left behind
00:41:25.21\00:41:27.82
and which one was taken?
00:41:28.02\00:41:29.35
If two men in a field
or two people in a field,
00:41:29.38\00:41:31.92
because I know I've
heard some folk are saying
00:41:32.12\00:41:34.19
"Well, the one that's
left behind... " You know
00:41:34.39\00:41:37.23
both sides of
that. So you tell us.
00:41:37.43\00:41:39.29
I'll let the theologians
on either side answer me
00:41:39.49\00:41:41.63
because they're
looking up their scriptures.
00:41:41.83\00:41:43.47
But here's what I
have to say about that.
00:41:43.67\00:41:46.20
It doesn't matter to
me which one is which.
00:41:46.60\00:41:51.04
I've heard wonderful
pastors, theologians, argue
00:41:51.24\00:41:55.38
that the taken are
the ones who go to heaven.
00:41:55.58\00:41:57.51
The ones who are left
here on the earth are the ones
00:41:57.71\00:41:59.68
who are destroyed by the
brightness of His coming.
00:41:59.98\00:42:02.42
Then I've heard people
turn around and say just
00:42:02.62\00:42:04.49
the opposite
thing. All I want to be
00:42:04.69\00:42:07.49
is on the right train
that's going to heaven...
00:42:07.69\00:42:09.62
whether that's the ones that's
taken or the one's that's left.
00:42:09.82\00:42:12.83
Amen. We've kicked
this back and forth.
00:42:13.43\00:42:15.76
I think Pastor John and I
have certainly kicked this
00:42:15.96\00:42:17.53
back and forth. When
you go to the Greek -
00:42:17.73\00:42:20.04
and I think Shelley's
point is very very important -
00:42:20.24\00:42:22.44
the fact that you are
alive with a person doesn't mean
00:42:22.64\00:42:25.47
that you're alive with Jesus.
What this is trying to say
00:42:25.67\00:42:27.91
is that because a
husband wife are together
00:42:28.11\00:42:30.71
husband can't go for the wife,
wife can't go for the husband.
00:42:30.91\00:42:33.05
Each person
goes as an individual
00:42:33.25\00:42:35.08
and that's the important thing.
Whether you're taken or left
00:42:35.28\00:42:37.59
as long as the
gate closes behind you
00:42:37.79\00:42:40.96
you're in the right place,
and that's what is important
00:42:41.16\00:42:43.29
I think about that scripture.
00:42:43.49\00:42:44.83
But you know there's a Bible
truth here that we cannot miss.
00:42:45.23\00:42:49.36
If we miss this,
we're setting ourself up
00:42:50.13\00:42:52.17
for the thousand year
millennial reign, you know,
00:42:52.37\00:42:55.20
here on earth. Because I
Thessalonians says you know
00:42:55.40\00:42:58.37
when Jesus comes the
dead in Christ rise first.
00:42:58.57\00:43:00.38
We which are alive and
remain will be caught up
00:43:00.78\00:43:02.84
to meet Him in the air.
00:43:03.04\00:43:04.38
II Thessalonians says
the wicked are struck dead
00:43:04.48\00:43:06.35
by the brightness of His coming.
00:43:06.55\00:43:07.88
Two in a field: one
is saved, one is lost.
00:43:08.12\00:43:10.52
One's going up to
meet Him in the air;
00:43:10.72\00:43:12.05
the other is struck
dead. Jeremiah is very clear
00:43:12.22\00:43:14.56
on that what the earth
will be as we talked about
00:43:14.76\00:43:16.93
the thousand years. So
there is a Bible truth there
00:43:17.13\00:43:20.30
that we have to look
at and examine to say:
00:43:20.50\00:43:22.86
"This is what
the Bible teaches. "
00:43:23.06\00:43:24.53
One's going up; the
other is struck dead.
00:43:24.73\00:43:27.24
Nothing happens
for that thousand years
00:43:27.44\00:43:28.80
to the wicked. So
then what do you have?
00:43:29.00\00:43:30.61
It simply says: "Two in
the field; two in the bed. "
00:43:30.81\00:43:33.38
Husband and wife you
mentioned. One might be saved
00:43:33.68\00:43:35.81
one might be lost. 'Cause we get
to heaven by our own commitment
00:43:36.01\00:43:38.55
not on the coat tail of someone
else or because someone said.
00:43:38.75\00:43:41.68
It's our own personal
commitment to Jesus Christ.
00:43:42.08\00:43:44.72
So I look at it there's a lot
of different ways you can go.
00:43:45.12\00:43:47.29
Say: "Yeah, I want to make
sure I'm the one that's going up
00:43:47.49\00:43:49.46
and not down or struck dead. "
00:43:49.66\00:43:51.19
But the whole thing is: in
every aspect, every question
00:43:51.69\00:43:55.26
that is asked, there's
truth that can be found
00:43:55.46\00:43:59.07
in the Word of God,
and we cannot bypass that
00:43:59.27\00:44:02.00
to be pleasing, you
know, to someone else
00:44:02.20\00:44:04.31
or maybe to get
along with someone else.
00:44:04.51\00:44:06.14
There's a truth: one will
go, the other will remain...
00:44:06.54\00:44:09.78
but not alive... they're dead.
00:44:09.98\00:44:12.55
There's a whole
difference there.
00:44:12.75\00:44:14.08
That's the whole different thing
we talked for the thousand-year
00:44:14.28\00:44:16.42
millennium. And here's the
context of that whole thing.
00:44:16.62\00:44:18.39
Thank you for
making that point clear.
00:44:18.59\00:44:20.56
Matthew and Luke
coordinate this truth together.
00:44:20.96\00:44:24.53
In Matthew we find
Noah is used as the example,
00:44:25.29\00:44:29.20
the context. The Bible
says: "As it was in the days of
00:44:29.40\00:44:33.20
Noah... " What happened?
"for as in the days before
00:44:33.40\00:44:35.80
the flood... "
Matthew 24 verse 38...
00:44:36.00\00:44:37.87
"they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage
00:44:38.44\00:44:40.78
until the day that
Noah entered the ark.
00:44:40.98\00:44:42.61
And did not know
until the flood came and
00:44:42.91\00:44:45.28
took them all away.
00:44:45.48\00:44:48.05
So also will the
coming of the Son of Man be. "
00:44:48.35\00:44:50.75
Then he used the two men in the
field, the two women grinding
00:44:50.95\00:44:53.05
at the mill. But now
the question is asked:
00:44:53.25\00:44:55.29
the flood came and took them
away. Did the flood take them
00:44:55.49\00:44:57.83
to safety or destruction?
00:44:58.03\00:44:59.59
So wherever the flood took
them, the ones that were taken
00:45:00.53\00:45:03.57
were taken in destruction.
To support that Luke adds his
00:45:03.77\00:45:07.00
portion. Luke 17 verse 35 or 36:
00:45:07.20\00:45:13.07
"Two men will be in the
field; one will be taken
00:45:13.27\00:45:15.58
and the other left. And
they answered and said to Him:
00:45:15.78\00:45:18.85
'Where Lord? '
So He said to them:
00:45:19.05\00:45:21.28
wherever the body is
there the eagle will be gathered
00:45:21.48\00:45:25.55
together. " If you want to
find out where they were taken
00:45:25.75\00:45:29.12
look for where the eagles are.
00:45:29.32\00:45:30.66
That's where...
They're taken to destruction.
00:45:31.46\00:45:33.86
They're not taken in safety.
00:45:34.06\00:45:37.30
That's why Paul says: "We
which are alive and remain
00:45:37.50\00:45:40.07
shall be caught up
together with them. "
00:45:40.47\00:45:42.40
But the challenge is: the
Greek for taken is perilambano
00:45:42.74\00:45:46.88
which means gather to yourself.
00:45:47.28\00:45:49.31
That's where the challenge
is in the exegesis of that text.
00:45:49.51\00:45:52.85
That if you follow
John's logic - which is solid -
00:45:53.05\00:45:56.48
the taken is taken in destruc-
tion... except he flips it.
00:45:56.69\00:45:59.35
He uses a term that
means gather to himself.
00:45:59.55\00:46:02.36
So the taken there
is taken to himself.
00:46:02.66\00:46:05.76
So there is some give and take.
00:46:05.96\00:46:09.40
And that's why I think
Shelley's point is so pertinent
00:46:09.60\00:46:12.07
and I co-sign it
because the burden is
00:46:12.27\00:46:14.70
that one cannot go for the
other. Each man must go for
00:46:14.90\00:46:18.07
himself. Whether
it's taken to destruction
00:46:18.27\00:46:20.01
or taken to the bosom of Christ
00:46:20.21\00:46:22.14
you've gotta go
one for one with Jesus.
00:46:22.34\00:46:25.41
This has been
tossed around for a while.
00:46:26.72\00:46:29.82
John 14 says Jesus said
00:46:31.02\00:46:35.79
"I will go and I
will come back... "
00:46:36.86\00:46:40.43
He says... "and I will
receive you unto Myself. "
00:46:40.63\00:46:43.67
That's that word perilambano...
00:46:43.87\00:46:45.57
the same word
that's used, taken.
00:46:45.97\00:46:48.80
So the word taken means
received, gathered to Himself.
00:46:49.00\00:46:52.87
So the word took in Matthew 24
00:46:53.27\00:46:58.45
is not the same
Greek word for taken.
00:46:58.65\00:47:01.82
They're two different words.
00:47:02.02\00:47:03.35
So we have here these two
different ideas presented.
00:47:03.59\00:47:06.99
And what you have
to look in Matthew 24
00:47:07.39\00:47:12.76
is that it says:
"Watch, therefore... "
00:47:12.96\00:47:15.96
It is repeated several times.
00:47:16.36\00:47:18.70
What we are to do
is watch, therefore,
00:47:19.50\00:47:23.27
so that you are
not taken unawares
00:47:23.47\00:47:26.31
that Jesus is coming
so that when He comes
00:47:26.51\00:47:29.41
you will go with Him.
00:47:29.71\00:47:31.21
I can go further with
this. I can even give you
00:47:31.61\00:47:34.32
Testimonies to
Ministers page 234-239
00:47:35.12\00:47:39.85
Ellen G. White
addresses this issue and says:
00:47:40.06\00:47:43.43
"One is taken, and the name is
retained in the Book of Life. "
00:47:43.63\00:47:47.73
So my understanding
is that the one taken
00:47:48.83\00:47:52.07
is the one that is
received by Christ into heaven.
00:47:52.47\00:47:56.10
Well, I think what
I get out of this is
00:47:56.50\00:47:59.31
you want to be
prepared to meet the Lord
00:47:59.71\00:48:02.84
because some of us are
going to make it to heaven
00:48:03.14\00:48:06.35
and some will be
struck down by His brightness.
00:48:06.55\00:48:08.75
So there's two different...
you can look at it both ways.
00:48:08.95\00:48:13.46
The important thing is where
will we be - that's right -
00:48:13.66\00:48:16.19
at the second coming. Or
when we die, are we ready
00:48:16.39\00:48:18.79
to meet Jesus. We only
have about nine more minutes.
00:48:18.99\00:48:21.70
Have we got time for
another question? We do.
00:48:21.90\00:48:23.23
I think this one kind
of sums up everything.
00:48:23.26\00:48:25.40
Briefly describe what you
would recommend to Christians
00:48:25.60\00:48:28.27
for how to prepare for
Christ's second coming.
00:48:28.47\00:48:30.61
Micah 6:8: "He has
showed thee, O man,
00:48:32.77\00:48:35.11
what is good and what
doth the Lord require of thee
00:48:35.31\00:48:37.78
but to do justly, love mercy,
00:48:37.98\00:48:40.95
walk humbly with thy God. "
00:48:41.35\00:48:43.49
Amen.
00:48:43.69\00:48:45.39
I Thessalonians
00:48:46.55\00:48:48.36
3 and verse 12 and 13
00:48:49.82\00:48:53.26
Paul writes to the
Thessalonians. He says:
00:48:53.56\00:48:56.03
"May the Lord make you
increase and abound in love... "
00:48:56.23\00:49:01.07
Who's doing the
action? It's the Lord.
00:49:01.27\00:49:02.90
"to one another and to
all just as we did to you
00:49:03.74\00:49:07.24
so that... " for
the purpose of...
00:49:07.64\00:49:10.15
"so that He may
establish your hearts blameless
00:49:10.35\00:49:14.88
in holiness before our God
00:49:15.08\00:49:18.59
and Father at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. "
00:49:18.79\00:49:21.89
I believe that if
we want to be ready
00:49:22.62\00:49:25.39
to be received into heaven
- we really want to be ready -
00:49:25.79\00:49:30.00
we need to open up our
hearts. Romans 5:5 says
00:49:30.20\00:49:33.13
God will pour His
love into our hearts
00:49:33.34\00:49:35.44
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
00:49:35.64\00:49:37.27
This isn't a
syrupy, sappy, sweet love.
00:49:37.47\00:49:42.38
This is a self-sacrificing
love; it's divine love.
00:49:42.58\00:49:46.21
And as, you know, God IS love
00:49:46.41\00:49:49.68
so the more we receive
that love into our heart
00:49:49.98\00:49:53.66
the more we become like God.
00:49:53.86\00:49:55.56
We become self-sacrificing
and He will establish us
00:49:55.76\00:50:00.03
blameless in holiness.
00:50:00.23\00:50:01.56
Anyone else? No, honestly,
we missed the question.
00:50:03.40\00:50:06.60
Kenny and I were
talking. What was the question?
00:50:06.80\00:50:08.80
Oh! Well... that's
your tough luck now!
00:50:09.00\00:50:10.97
You've gotta pay attention.
00:50:11.17\00:50:12.87
Should we give
them another chance?
00:50:13.07\00:50:15.58
Yes, we'll give
them one more chance.
00:50:15.78\00:50:17.51
I wasn't listening
so she'll read it again
00:50:17.71\00:50:19.81
so you can have another chance.
00:50:20.02\00:50:21.35
Confession is good for the soul!
That's good... that's right.
00:50:22.08\00:50:24.52
I was going to expose him
but he went ahead and exposed me
00:50:24.72\00:50:26.89
so we've both
been exposed. Sorry!
00:50:27.09\00:50:30.26
Briefly... You didn't fall
asleep like C.A. Murray did
00:50:30.46\00:50:33.36
before a sermon one day.
00:50:33.56\00:50:34.90
But I won't tell
that on live television.
00:50:35.30\00:50:37.37
Thanks. Briefly describe
what you would recommend
00:50:38.10\00:50:41.97
to Christians for how to prepare
for Christ's second coming.
00:50:42.17\00:50:45.74
Daily relationship.
00:50:49.28\00:50:50.85
Daily relationship.
00:50:51.05\00:50:52.51
Um-hmm. 'Cause if you get
to the point where you say
00:50:52.71\00:50:54.68
"Well I need to get ready...
" You know, one of the things
00:50:54.88\00:50:56.22
that I've heard so often
is: "Well I need to get ready;
00:50:56.28\00:50:57.75
I need to get ready. "
And every year: "I need to get
00:50:57.95\00:50:59.29
ready; I need to get ready. "
Well if that was your attitude
00:50:59.35\00:51:02.19
about vacation you'd
never go on vacation.
00:51:02.39\00:51:03.86
Am I making the
point clear? Yeah.
00:51:04.83\00:51:06.66
You need to remain ready.
00:51:06.86\00:51:08.63
"Be ye also ready. "
00:51:08.83\00:51:10.17
He didn't say: "Get
ye also ready. " He said:
00:51:10.20\00:51:11.53
"Be ye also ready. "
00:51:11.57\00:51:12.90
At such an hour as
you think not He's coming.
00:51:13.07\00:51:15.14
So we can't be saying every
day: "I need to get ready. "
00:51:15.54\00:51:17.51
Be ready! But you know, the
point is, we talk so much about
00:51:17.71\00:51:20.88
the second coming. I
don't know if I'll be alive
00:51:21.08\00:51:23.35
at the second
coming. I could go tonight.
00:51:23.55\00:51:25.71
So - to your point
- we need to be ready.
00:51:26.11\00:51:29.78
It's got to be a day-by-day
thing. We can't be saying:
00:51:29.98\00:51:33.25
"Oh, I've got to be ready
for Christ's second coming. "
00:51:33.56\00:51:36.26
I've got to be ready
if Jesus came for me today
00:51:36.46\00:51:40.53
'cause no man is
promised tomorrow.
00:51:40.73\00:51:43.63
You know, even being ready
for me... And you read it a lot
00:51:43.83\00:51:46.94
in the Spirit of Prophecy,
read a lot in the Bible...
00:51:47.14\00:51:48.84
if we live in the judgment
hour we are supposed to be
00:51:49.04\00:51:52.81
afflicting our souls.
We're supposed to be doing
00:51:53.01\00:51:55.94
some
self-examination of how we stand
00:51:56.14\00:51:59.31
with our heavenly Father.
00:51:59.51\00:52:00.85
And if we're all honest, we
know basically how we stand.
00:52:01.02\00:52:05.25
We know if we're
holding on to this, we know
00:52:05.45\00:52:07.46
if we're going
this direction or that.
00:52:07.66\00:52:09.32
If you're really
honest. Self-examination
00:52:09.52\00:52:11.63
means confessing our sins.
00:52:11.83\00:52:13.46
We must in this judgment hour
00:52:13.66\00:52:16.03
be sending, as we confess
our sins, up to the judgment.
00:52:16.23\00:52:20.40
They have to be sent
there to be taken care of,
00:52:20.60\00:52:22.77
to be forgiven. The
blood covers right now
00:52:22.97\00:52:25.17
or they'll come back to
get us. So we need Jesus
00:52:25.57\00:52:28.41
to cover our life,
cover our sins. So we pray,
00:52:28.61\00:52:31.11
we send them to
the heavenly sanctuary
00:52:31.31\00:52:33.38
that they can be
forgiven right now
00:52:33.78\00:52:36.58
or they will come back
and meet us in the judgment.
00:52:36.79\00:52:38.92
So I just, myself every
day... we talk about Bible study
00:52:39.12\00:52:42.46
and prayer and the
love of Christ and preparing
00:52:42.66\00:52:44.36
and reading the Word and
doing worship... all good.
00:52:44.56\00:52:47.16
We have to be doing it.
00:52:47.36\00:52:48.73
But I really have to look.
And I don't want to look at
00:52:48.93\00:52:51.47
anything or anybody.
00:52:51.67\00:52:53.00
I see one example
for me is Jesus Christ.
00:52:53.37\00:52:55.34
I look at Him;
He's the One I gauge by.
00:52:55.54\00:52:58.17
And every time I look at
Him and I start gauging my life
00:52:58.37\00:53:01.18
by Him I see how short I come
00:53:01.38\00:53:04.51
in character
from being like Jesus.
00:53:04.91\00:53:06.95
But it doesn't depress me;
it drives me to His feet - Amen!
00:53:07.15\00:53:11.22
and I say: "Oh, Lord,
You can do this thing...
00:53:11.42\00:53:13.25
I can't do it on my own
so please help me. " Amen!
00:53:13.46\00:53:15.99
Because it's a character
thing that we're looking at
00:53:16.19\00:53:18.36
right now that
needs to be like Christ.
00:53:18.56\00:53:20.10
And I want to add
this because I know you
00:53:20.30\00:53:22.26
and you're a very joyous person.
00:53:22.46\00:53:23.80
We're talking about afflicting
the soul. That is a time of
00:53:23.90\00:53:26.63
self-examination. But
I John 1:8-9 says that
00:53:26.84\00:53:30.21
"When we confess our
sins He is faithful and just
00:53:30.41\00:53:33.24
to forgive us of our
sins and cleanse us from all
00:53:33.44\00:53:35.68
unrighteousness. " So it is
not that you're running around
00:53:35.88\00:53:39.48
flogging yourself -
afflicting your soul.
00:53:39.68\00:53:41.42
It's that the joy of the
Lord becomes your strength
00:53:41.82\00:53:44.35
when you know you're forgiven.
00:53:44.55\00:53:45.89
And so you know I think
Christians should be the most
00:53:45.92\00:53:48.62
joyous people on earth.
00:53:48.82\00:53:50.83
But there is that daily
thing of self-examination.
00:53:51.03\00:53:54.63
Because if we want
to repent it's more than
00:53:54.83\00:53:58.87
just saying: "Oh
Lord, forgive me. "
00:53:59.17\00:54:01.10
It's recognizing our sin,
letting God... godly sorrow.
00:54:01.30\00:54:06.51
The Holy Spirit
brings repentance.
00:54:06.71\00:54:09.11
Then we confess our sin,
and that's the clearinghouse
00:54:09.31\00:54:12.18
of our conscience. Then we
must receive His forgiveness.
00:54:12.38\00:54:17.39
And then we pray for
the gift of repentance.
00:54:17.79\00:54:21.22
Acts 5:32 says that God
gives us the gift of repentance
00:54:21.42\00:54:25.79
to turn us around to
come right back to Him.
00:54:25.99\00:54:29.40
Yvonne. Yeah, and then we
have to... and you've all kind
00:54:29.80\00:54:32.80
of hit on this, and I
think this is really important:
00:54:33.00\00:54:35.50
that we have to take
our eyes off of ourselves
00:54:35.70\00:54:38.67
and put our eyes on Jesus.
So often it's all about us
00:54:39.07\00:54:42.24
and "Oh, I can't do this. "
No! Let's just... If we stay
00:54:42.44\00:54:46.11
connected to the power source
00:54:46.31\00:54:48.58
we will have the
power to resist sin.
00:54:48.78\00:54:51.25
So by the grace of
God we can be confident
00:54:51.45\00:54:54.82
that He that has
begun a good work in us
00:54:55.02\00:54:58.56
will be faithful to
complete it. That's right.
00:54:58.76\00:55:00.73
What I try to keep in
mind is we have two natures.
00:55:00.93\00:55:03.83
We have a spiritual
nature and a "beastly" nature,
00:55:04.03\00:55:07.07
a physical nature. And
whichever one we feed the most
00:55:07.27\00:55:10.01
is the one that grows.
Vonda was talking about earlier
00:55:10.21\00:55:12.87
her watching daytime programs
and all of these all the time.
00:55:13.07\00:55:17.51
But when she quit doing that
and began to take in the Word
00:55:17.71\00:55:20.48
of God it changed her life.
00:55:20.68\00:55:22.18
So in preparation - for me
- it's "What am I taking in?
00:55:22.58\00:55:27.02
What am I watching?
What am I listening to?
00:55:27.42\00:55:29.49
What am I talking about in
preparation to be like Jesus? "
00:55:29.69\00:55:33.19
Turn your eyes upon Jesus -
yes - look full in His wonderful
00:55:33.40\00:55:36.06
face, and the things of
earth will grow strangely dim
00:55:36.26\00:55:39.40
in the light of
His glory and grace.
00:55:39.60\00:55:41.47
We only have about a minute,
and so... and I think that this
00:55:41.67\00:55:44.81
is a good time for prayer. And
maybe Pastor C.A. we'll ask you
00:55:45.01\00:55:49.08
to do it. And those
of you in the audience,
00:55:49.28\00:55:50.81
those of you at home,
it might be a good time to
00:55:51.01\00:55:53.15
say: "Lord... " Kenny
talked about self-examination.
00:55:53.35\00:55:56.42
"Lord, where am I? What
would You have me to do? "
00:55:56.62\00:55:58.59
And maybe just quickly and
quietly re-dedicate your life
00:55:58.99\00:56:03.16
to the Lord. Amen... good.
00:56:03.36\00:56:05.06
Gracious Father, we come
to You now with humble hearts
00:56:06.53\00:56:09.23
and yet our hearts are
glad. We're glad to know that
00:56:09.63\00:56:12.67
on the other end of
this prayer and every prayer
00:56:12.87\00:56:14.84
there is God who loves
us with an everlasting love
00:56:15.04\00:56:18.31
and who has commended that
love to us in that while we were
00:56:18.71\00:56:21.68
yet sinners Christ died for us.
00:56:21.88\00:56:24.71
So we don't have to
beg for Your love...
00:56:25.11\00:56:27.08
You've already
given us Your love.
00:56:27.28\00:56:28.98
We don't have to
beg for Your mercy
00:56:29.38\00:56:31.29
for we have been
recipients of Your mercy.
00:56:31.49\00:56:33.19
We don't have to
beg for Your grace
00:56:33.39\00:56:34.96
for You shower Your grace
without limit and without end.
00:56:35.36\00:56:38.46
Help us, Lord,
now to abide in You.
00:56:38.86\00:56:41.83
For You have said
that if we abide in You
00:56:42.03\00:56:44.40
we will bear much fruit. Yes!
00:56:44.60\00:56:48.00
Fruit of righteousness,
fruit of salvation,
00:56:48.20\00:56:50.91
fruit of eventual glorification.
00:56:51.31\00:56:53.61
But You've also said: "Without
Me you can do nothing. "
00:56:53.81\00:56:56.95
So dear Father, be pleased
00:56:57.45\00:56:59.55
to give us Jesus.
Always and only Jesus.
00:56:59.75\00:57:03.32
Inward and outward Jesus.
00:57:03.72\00:57:05.72
Up and down Jesus.
00:57:05.92\00:57:07.29
Surround us with Jesus.
00:57:07.49\00:57:09.32
May it all be not about us
00:57:09.52\00:57:11.43
but about our loving,
loyal, and precious Jesus.
00:57:11.63\00:57:15.66
Oh Father, drown us
as it were in Jesus.
00:57:15.86\00:57:19.17
Submerge us in Jesus.
00:57:19.37\00:57:21.37
Surround us in Jesus.
00:57:21.57\00:57:23.10
May we live, eat,
talk, breathe, sleep,
00:57:23.30\00:57:26.44
wake, walk, Jesus.
00:57:26.64\00:57:29.44
Amen. And may we
be pleased on that day
00:57:29.84\00:57:32.28
to see Jesus
face to blessed face.
00:57:32.48\00:57:35.22
Oh Father, that is
our goal, that is our end.
00:57:35.62\00:57:39.45
That is our
commitment and our dedication:
00:57:39.65\00:57:41.89
always and only Jesus.
00:57:42.09\00:57:44.56
And we thank you, dear
Father, in Jesus' name,
00:57:44.96\00:57:47.86
Amen.
00:57:48.06\00:57:49.40