Participants: John Lomacang, C.A Murray, Shelley Quinn, John Dinzey, Kenny Shelton
Series Code: 16HC
Program Code: 16HC000002A
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00:50 Welcome back to 3ABN Fall Camp Meeting.
00:53 Thank you for joining us. If you're just now joining us, 00:56 we had a great first hour. 00:58 A lot of testimony... lots of music. 01:00 But we're here, and we're going to have a panel. 01:02 I'm here with Dr. Yvonne Lewis. Hey! 01:04 And we're going to have a discussion, right? We are! 01:07 Sounds great. We've got a lot of questions 01:09 that folk in the audience have been writing and asking. 01:13 And this is... these folk don't know what they are. 01:17 We haven't discussed them 01:18 so you all are on the hot seats tonight. 01:20 Pastor Johnny Dinzey, Pastor C.A. Murray, 01:23 Shelley Quinn, Pastor Kenny Shelton, 01:25 Pastor John Lomacang. 01:27 So we're glad that you all are here. 01:29 Thank you for what you do for the cause of God. 01:31 And for all of you: thank you for some of the questions. 01:34 So... when I travel to churches, 01:37 and I know you do too... and you guys saw it especially 01:40 in London, people ask all sorts of questions. 01:43 And there is such a misunderstanding or maybe 01:47 a lack of knowledge... even among a lot of Christian folk. 01:50 And I'm always amazed. I'm so thankful 01:53 SDA Christians are people of the Word. 01:55 We study the Bible and we take the Bible... 01:58 and I'm sure a lot of other folks do, too... 02:00 but I'm amazed at how many people don't really know 02:03 as was said over here by somebody: "Now we know 02:06 what we believe. We didn't really know 02:08 why we believe what we believe. " 02:10 That's right. So studying the Bible is always good. 02:12 So Yvonne, let's start out with you. OK. 02:14 In fact, before we do this let's have a word of prayer. 02:16 Bro. Kenny, would you say a word of prayer for us? 02:20 Loving Father in heaven, what a privilege it is 02:23 to be part of the family of God. We thank you that we can 02:25 call upon You in our time of need. You promised to hear 02:28 and You promised to answer. We pray that Your Holy Spirit 02:31 will draw near to each of our hearts and our lives. 02:33 We pray as the questions are presented that the Holy Spirit 02:37 will give the right answer to each one. 02:39 That we may be able to under- stand it, apply it to our hearts 02:41 and our life that it may become a part of us. 02:44 Thank you for each one who is viewing, 02:45 those who are listening. We pray that this program 02:48 will uplift Your name, that we'll be drawn closer to Jesus, 02:52 we'll be building on that good foundation that lasts 02:54 for eternity. And we thank you in Jesus' name, 02:57 Amen. Amen. 02:59 So... the first question is: 03:01 how do I surrender to God? What does it mean to surrender? 03:07 I'll take that one 'cause this is one of my favorite topics. 03:12 To surrender means simply to consent or yield 03:17 to the control of God. 03:19 God will never come in... The Holy Spirit never tries 03:21 to take control. You have to consent. 03:25 And I think that this is some- thing... I spend a lot of time 03:29 studying, asking the Lord "How do I surrender? " 03:32 And He showed me some steps. 03:34 You know, the first thing: the Lord directed me to 03:39 follow the path of Christ's passion. 03:41 Luke 22:42 Jesus said: 03:45 "Not My will but Thine be done. " 03:48 That's the first step of surrender 03:50 is we have to get to that point where we're saying 03:52 "Lord, I want Your will to be done in my life... not mine. " 03:56 And we know that it is God who works in us 04:00 to will and to do His good purpose... 04:03 but not unless we are surrendered. 04:06 And then Jesus... If you think about His passion 04:10 as He went from the Garden of Gethsemane 04:12 He then went to the hill of Calvary. 04:15 And He tells us in Luke 9:23 04:18 that "If any man would come after Me, he must pick up his 04:21 cross daily and follow Me. " 04:24 To pick up your cross means to die to self. 04:27 It's to be "crucified with Christ" as Paul said. 04:32 "I've been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I 04:35 who live but Christ who lives in me. " 04:38 And this is something that we have to realize: 04:42 we can't do that even by ourself. 04:44 It is all by the power of the Holy Spirit. 04:47 Because Romans 8:13 says 04:50 that "If by the Spirit we put to death the misdeeds 04:54 of our flesh we shall live. " 04:56 But then as you go on and you're thinking about this 04:59 the most important thing is to consider Christ's resurrection 05:03 morning, because when He was resurrected... Christ doesn't 05:08 want us to stay in the grave when we're crucifying ourselves. 05:11 What He tells us in Luke 11:23 05:16 when He says: "Ask and keep on asking. " 05:19 11:13 isn't it? "Ask and keep on asking; 05:22 seek and keep on seeking; knock and keep on knocking. " 05:26 And what He is saying is if anyone like you 05:32 know how to give good gifts to your children 05:34 how much more will the Heavenly Father 05:36 give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and keep on asking. 05:39 Now, just one little thing and then I'm going to stop. 05:42 But when I was praying and asking the Lord 05:46 "What is surrender all about? " He showed me a little tiny 05:50 sugar ant next to a huge elephant. 05:53 And He said: "Shelley, your greatest human strength 05:57 can be compared to this little tiny sugar ant 06:01 whereas My strength by com- parison is like the elephant. " 06:06 To be yoked to Christ means 06:09 that suddenly here's this little ant up here 06:13 yoked to this elephantine power. 06:16 It's not by might nor by power 06:18 but by God's Holy Spirit. 06:20 So it's God who's carrying the weight. 06:24 So surrender is really a beautiful and exciting path. 06:29 OK... I don't know if there's anything else to say on that 06:32 topic. Panel? All right. 06:34 Well, I think that sometimes people are fearful 06:37 of surrendering because they think that in surrendering 06:40 to God it means I have to give up something good. 06:43 But no. The Bible says: "No good thing will I withhold 06:46 from those who walk uprightly. " 06:48 So in a nutshell I would add to what Shelley said 06:50 it's our own understanding that often prevents us 06:53 from surrendering to God. But Proverbs 3:-5-6 says: 06:57 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; don't lean on 06:59 your own understanding. " 07:00 Because think that surrendering means this 07:02 but if we don't lean on our understanding God will guide us 07:06 to someplace better than He finds us. 07:08 OK. Christ says: "He that cometh unto me 07:12 I will in no wise cast out. " So when you go 07:14 you can go in faith. I'm in Galatians 3:26... 07:18 just one text: "For you are all sons of God 07:21 through faith in Jesus Christ. 07:23 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ 07:26 have put on Christ. " 07:28 So we become the sons of God through faith in Christ. 07:30 The moment you say: "Jesus, I throw down my arms; 07:34 I wave the white flag; I am Yours" 07:37 then your conversion experience begins. 07:39 Then you become a son or daughter of Christ. 07:42 OK... all right. Here's a question that we probably all 07:47 deal with and have dealt with in our lives 07:50 but it's a good question: 07:51 How can I forgive someone who has really hurt me? 07:56 How do we do that? 07:58 It's easy to tell someone else how to forgive, 08:02 but when it's us... You know, Danny, I think that's 08:05 probably a process that every one of us 08:08 as a born-again Christian faces in our life. 08:13 But I found out that I was just not capable 08:16 within myself. That's right. I cannot forgive. 08:19 Only Christ living in us makes us capable 08:23 to be able to forgive. So by beholding Him 08:25 we become changed and then we see where there's changes 08:29 that need to take place. And I'm so thankful 08:31 that He comes in and He makes those changes 08:33 inside of us so that we can "love our enemies. " 08:37 Love those who despitefully use us. 08:40 That's an impossibility with me... in the flesh. 08:43 You can't do it... you can't do it on your own. 08:44 Some people say: "I just can't love that person; 08:46 I just can't get along with that person. " 08:48 You know, because it's Christ in you the hope of glory. 08:50 Let Him come in... let Him love 08:53 and you'll see that things will change in your heart 08:55 and in your life as Christ takes possession. 08:58 And then it's easier to love and to be forgiving. 09:03 There is a statement by Ellen White in the Spirit of Prophecy 09:06 where she says two things: 09:08 "If we would lay aside pride and the love of self, 09:13 most disagreements could be taken care of in five minutes. " 09:19 The fact of the matter is that the sin of the church 09:22 is the sin of pride. We are told it is the hardest to diagnose, 09:27 almost impossible to cure, 09:29 and just about the whole church is infected. 09:31 So one of the ways to begin to forgive others 09:35 is ask God to show you yourself. 09:38 And if you say: "Well, she pushes my buttons" 09:42 it simply means you have buttons there to be pushed. 09:45 You've gotta ask God: "Lord, remove those buttons. 09:47 Pop those buttons so that they are not pushed any more. " 09:50 But as we look at ourselves we see the wounds that we bring 09:55 to Christ... how we crucify Him afresh. 09:57 And when you get a good look at yourself 10:00 then you are ready to look at others and to forgive. 10:03 And could I add to that something the Lord 10:07 really impressed upon me once as I was praying 10:10 to be forgiven. There's only one time in my life 10:14 I've struggled to forgive someone. 10:16 And this person did a lot of harm to me. 10:18 But the Lord kept telling me... You know what I'm saying 10:21 when I said: "He tells me. " I Kings 19:12... 10:25 The still small voice of the Lord when the Holy Spirit 10:27 impresses a thought upon your mind. 10:30 And He would say: "Forgive him and I will forgive you. " 10:36 And I thought: "Lord, I don't want to forgive him. " 10:39 I mean... I just... I wanted to hold onto it 10:42 and I didn't know how. And as I prayed 10:44 the Lord told me to pray for his salvation. 10:47 And I said: "OK, I will... 10:50 but You know I don't mean it. " 10:52 I could have cared less if this man was saved or not. 10:56 But as I... Confession is good for the soul 11:00 yet hard on the reputation. 11:02 That's where I was at. 11:04 And so as I began praying for him something really interesting 11:08 happened: God began to show me this man through His eyes... 11:13 that he was lost and suffering. 11:16 And suddenly God's love was poured into my heart 11:20 for this man, and I really did care about his salvation. 11:25 And as soon as I found that I cared for his salvation 11:29 guess what? The forgiveness had come. 11:32 Johnny: I wanted to add 11:35 when you read the Bible you see things in there that 11:39 you say: "Well how can I do that? Love your enemies? " 11:43 And somebody slaps you on one side of your face 11:46 give them the other. 11:48 And you say: "Well, you see, what God asks us to do 11:52 He gives us the ability to do. " 11:55 And that's why the first thing we must do is be willing 11:59 to allow God to do in us 12:02 that which we know we cannot do of ourselves. 12:05 So when we surrender - as you were mentioning - 12:08 God begins a work in our lives 12:11 that will amaze us as we look back. 12:14 "You mean I forgave that person? " 12:16 Because God works in you to do things 12:19 that you cannot really do for yourself. 12:21 Here in Matthew chapter 6- the Lord's Prayer - it says: 12:28 "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. " 12:31 That's Matthew 6:12. 12:32 And then 14 and 15: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses 12:36 your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. 12:39 But if you forgive not men their trespasses 12:41 neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. " 12:44 So the first part is surrender. 12:46 Ask the Lord: "Lord, give me the love for my enemy. " 12:49 Because sometimes I've heard things people say: 12:54 "If I weren't a Christian... " 12:58 Anybody say that? 13:00 "If I weren't a Christian... " 13:02 And so there's work for God to do in us 13:04 when we have those expressions come out in our anger. 13:08 'Cause sometimes we may say them jokingly 13:10 but if we allow God to work in us He will transform us 13:14 into the likeness of Jesus. 13:16 You know so many times... I'm sorry, John, we target our 13:18 prayers for certain things like: "Lord help me not to do this; 13:22 Lord help me not to do that. " 13:23 I have always felt that to try to use your will 13:26 not to do something is an incorrect use of the will. 13:29 Because some days you can stop doing things by force of... 13:32 of... your own force of nature. 13:35 You can say: "Today I will not smoke. " 13:37 But tomorrow you may not be that strong. 13:39 So you don't want to use your will not to do something. 13:42 You want to ask: "Lord, draw me closer to You. " 13:44 Because as you draw closer to Christ 13:47 these things will begin to fall aside. 13:49 Well, Johnny bothers me today; Shelley bothers me tomorrow. 13:52 So every day I'm saying: "Lord, free me from one 13:54 of these guys. " But if I say every day... 13:56 If I say every day: "Lord, draw me to You, " 13:59 then these things will take care of themselves 14:02 because I'm using my will in a positive way. 14:05 Use your will to draw closer to Christ 14:07 and you will find that John and Shelley won't bother you so much 14:11 any more. Thank you Pastor C. A. 14:14 You know also forgiveness is reciprocal. 14:17 Forgiveness is like a revolving door. 14:20 If you don't forgive, you WON'T be forgiven. 14:23 But it's even deeper than that I've discovered. 14:25 I was reading a devotion a few weeks ago... One of my favorite 14:28 other authors outside of Ellen White is Oswald Chambers. 14:30 And he brought out the point... he said: 14:32 "When the devil tempts you he doesn't tempt you 14:35 because if he tempted you you'd always fail. 14:38 He only comes after you to tempt the Christ in you. 14:45 He wouldn't feel the necessity to tempt a sinner 14:48 because you are already lost. 14:50 But when you declare that Christ's in you, he comes 14:52 to tempt the Christ in you. " 14:54 He said: "So are you willing to allow the Christ in you now 14:58 to also extend forgiveness as Christ did? " 15:02 When Jesus said: 'Father, forgive them for they know not 15:04 what they do' if Christ is really in us 15:07 we become... Christ now extends forgiveness through us 15:11 because it is Him not us. " 15:14 So when somebody says: "Why can't you forgive someone? " 15:17 I can't! But the Christ in me proves that He can 15:20 because He did that at the most critical moment of His life. 15:23 He said: "Forgive them, for they know not what they do. " 15:25 So, in a nutshell, if I let the Christ work in me 15:29 He will do the forgiving... not I. 15:31 Amen! You know Danny, an interesting thought: 15:34 interesting thought on this is because people will come 15:37 and say: "How do I really know 15:41 that I've forgiven that person? " 15:43 They pray about it. You know, they may fast... they may... 15:46 Years they're praying about it. 15:48 But many of them come back and say: "I don't know that 15:50 I have really forgiven. I don't know... " 15:54 But you know, I found out something very simple: 15:57 if you can... This worked for me. 15:59 I don't know about for anyone else. 16:01 But I know when I get on my knees 16:03 'cause when you're working on an issue, that you have a 16:05 situation somewhere and you know you're supposed to pray 16:08 for that person - you mentioned - the human flesh 16:12 does not want to bring up that name. 16:14 But you know you should... not only for them but for yourself. 16:17 But when you pray for that indi- vidual and you call them by name 16:21 you know in your heart whether you've really forgiven them 16:24 or not. Because many times when you bring up that name 16:27 and you pray for that person, there's something inside 16:30 that's still doing like this. 16:32 You know that you went through the motions, you went through 16:34 what the Bible said... there's still something stirring 16:36 inside of you. When the time comes - 16:39 Christ in you, the hope of glory - 16:41 when He really takes possession, you will be able 16:44 to name that person by name and you feel a peace 16:49 and a happiness inside. 16:51 There's no holding back of anything. 16:54 You KNOW that God's worked a miracle in your heart 16:57 and in your life, and there is a peace that passes all 17:00 understanding. Amen! Absolutely... good. 17:02 A few years ago I was in the green room. 17:05 It was Camp Meeting; the green room's in the back. 17:08 And somebody walked in there and they said: 17:10 "There's a woman out there and she's just saying terrible 17:14 things about you. " I said: "Oh, really? " 17:17 She said: "Yeah! She said this about you 17:19 and that you did this and you did that. " 17:21 Well the truth of it is: I've been in a fish bowl 17:24 for over 30 years, so really that stuff, I don't pay 17:27 much attention to it. 17:28 I try not to pay attention when people brag 17:30 or when they condemn you 'cause either way you get in trouble, 17:33 right? So I didn't say too much 17:36 but we had a guest singer here. 17:38 A country girl... great singer. 17:40 She was here, and so I didn't say anything. 17:43 So she said: "That's terrible 17:45 that somebody's talking about him like that! " 17:48 And she said: "Listen, Danny, 17:49 don't let it bother you. Just give it to Jesus... 17:53 don't worry. " I hadn't said a word. I was 17:55 just sitting there. She said: "Just don't worry about it 17:58 when people talk about you. You know, they talked about 18:01 the Lord. Just don't let it bother you. " 18:04 And the person who told me said: "Also... " Looked at the lady, 18:07 said: "She was running you down, too. " 18:09 And she said: "Who is she? I'll slap her to sleep! " 18:13 She said... She jumped up from her chair. 18:16 "I will slap her to sleep! 18:18 How dare she talk about me? " 18:20 I said: "Hello? What did you just tell me? " 18:23 And she said: "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. I kind of lost it! " 18:26 So it's... you know, that happens to us now and then, 18:30 right? It's easy to encourage someone else 18:33 but when it's her she's going to "slap her to sleep. " 18:37 Whatever that means. I was scared of it. 18:39 My dad used to tell me that, so I never... He never did, 18:42 but I always minded when he said it. 18:44 Can I just add one little thing? The reason the Lord tells us 18:48 to forgive our enemies is because when we hold 18:51 unforgiveness in our heart we block the flow of the 18:55 Holy Spirit. Amen! So He's not telling them 18:58 to do... us to do that 19:01 for their benefit as much as He is for ours. 19:04 That's right. Danny, something we learned in London: 19:07 Dr. Chitty, who was our nightly medical presenter, 19:11 he did an excellent job. He made an example 19:14 that I want all of us to just visualize. He said... 19:17 Somebody asked the question: "How heavy is that glass 19:21 of water? " And it was just an 8-ounce glass of water. 19:24 They said: "It's not that heavy. " 19:25 Said: "Well then... pick it up. " 19:27 And anyone in the room from the smallest to the youngest 19:30 could pick it up. "This is really not that heavy. " 19:34 He said: "Well then, keep holding onto it... " 19:37 All right... "and I'll tell you when to put it down. " 19:41 He said: "The glass is not heavy initially, but the longer 19:44 you hold it the heavier it gets. " Amen! There you go! 19:48 That's what unforgiveness is. The longer you hold it - OK - 19:51 something that is ever so light in its initial impact - 19:55 becomes heavy when you refuse to let it down. 19:58 So if you want to be free: forgiveness first frees you 20:03 before it frees the other person. 20:04 Jesus said: "Father, forgive them... " so He died a free Man. 20:08 We have no question that our Savior died 20:11 with forgiveness in His heart and not anger. 20:14 Good. All right, Yvonne. 20:16 The next question is: John 17:3 says "Eternal life 20:21 is to know the Father and Jesus Christ. " 20:24 We stress having a personal relationship with Jesus 20:27 but never mention having a relationship with the Father. 20:30 How do we know the Father? 20:34 Hebrews 1:3 says that 20:39 Jesus is the "effluence, " the exact image 20:45 of the Father. If you know Jesus, Jesus said: 20:48 "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father. " 20:50 The reason Jesus came to earth other than to, of course, 20:54 save us from our sins 20:57 was that we could know who the Father is 21:03 because He was the exact representation of the Father. 21:06 And if... You know, the thing that none of us understand - 21:11 and I'm not saying I'm there yet, either - 21:13 none of us understand how much God loves us. 21:16 God loves us so much, and He is so loving 21:19 and He is so wonderful and giving. 21:22 But when we know Jesus we will know the Father. 21:26 So to have a personal relationship with Jesus 21:29 is to have a personal relationship with the Father. 21:33 Didn't Jesus one time - talking to the disciples? 21:38 They came up to Him and they said: "Show us the Father. " 21:42 Remember that? "Show us the Father. " 21:43 And I - this is just in my own mind - but I'm... 21:46 I'm just sure that those sweet little tears just came down His 21:50 cheeks and He looked right into their eyes and He said: 21:53 "You know, have I not been with you? " Talking about time, 21:57 He said: "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. " 22:00 I thought how moving that was that the King of the universe... 22:06 They're saying: "Show us the Father" and He said: 22:08 "This is... this is Him. Emptied of self, 22:11 I came to show you what the Father's all about. " 22:13 So I thought that just what an illustration that was: 22:16 that really I know who God is to the best of my ability 22:21 as I behold Jesus I behold God. 22:26 I'm in Hebrews 1:1. "God, who in various times 22:29 and in various ways spoke in times past 22:31 to the fathers by the prophets 22:33 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. " 22:36 So God is speaking to us through Jesus. 22:39 "Through whom He made the world. Who, being the brightness of His 22:42 glory, the express image of His person, 22:45 and upholding all things by the word of His power. " 22:48 I echo what Pastor Kenny said. 22:50 As you see Jesus you see God. 22:53 And God was willing to give up Christ, and Christ was 22:57 willing to come. So if you want to know who God is 23:00 it's like looking at a twin. 23:02 As you see who Jesus is and you see what He does 23:05 that's what the Father who sent Him is and what He does. 23:09 And as an extension of that, don't you think that God 23:12 sent Jesus to this earth 23:15 to reveal Himself to human beings? 23:19 You know, because we needed somebody to relate to 23:25 and the Father sent Jesus. 23:31 Also, this verse is a reiteration of John 14. 23:34 In John 14 Jesus continually had to break through 23:38 more than a thousand years of head knowledge 23:41 that never made it to the heart. 23:43 The Jewish people that He had chosen to be the vessels of 23:46 truth said they knew Him. 23:47 Remember He said: "You believe in God... " 23:49 What also? "believe also in Me. " 23:52 And so in John 17 the Lord was speaking to a people 23:56 who claimed to know God. And if you look at John 17:3 23:59 again He says: "And this is life eternal: 24:01 that they may know You... " They already say they know 24:05 You... "the only true God... " 24:07 And they said there was only one God - 24:08 the Hebrews believed that from Old Testament times - 24:11 but then He added: "You know God AND 24:14 Jesus Christ whom You have sent. " 24:17 Because what they were hesitant of 24:20 is accepting Jesus, the Son who revealed the Father. 24:24 And so He was saying this to people that had claimed 24:26 to know the Father. But He said: "You can't stop 24:28 there. You've got to also accept My Son. 24:30 If you accept Him, then you really do love Me. " 24:34 OK. The book of John and the book of Hebrews 24:37 basically have the same burden. 24:39 They are to ratify, to verify, to affirm 24:42 that Jesus is - to use modern parlance - "the real deal. " 24:46 You don't need to look anyplace else, you don't need 24:48 to go anyplace else. When you've got Jesus 24:50 you've got all you need. And you never know that 24:53 Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you got. 24:56 All right! One last thing to add to that: 24:58 True... this is a powerful point. 25:00 Jesus continually was established to let people know 25:03 "You're not going to get to the Father if you ignore Me. " 25:06 See, there's only one Mediator between God and man: 25:09 the Man Christ Jesus. 25:11 The only way you can get to the Father... 25:12 "No man cometh unto the Father but by Me. " 25:15 He continually said it to a people who had grown 25:19 recalcitrant on that they knew God but they refused to 25:22 accept Jesus. So that's why that was continually reiterated 25:25 in the New Testament. Amen. Johnny? 25:27 I would like to add I agree with all that. 25:30 It's just marvelous that a relationship with Jesus 25:34 is a relationship with the Father. Yes! 25:37 In John chapter 1, John chapter 14, 17. 25:40 Here is John chapter 1 verse 18: "No man has seen God 25:43 at any time. The only begotten Son 25:46 which is in the bosom of the Father: He hath declared Him. " 25:49 Jesus came to reveal who the Father was 25:52 and how He was. 25:54 And that's why He was able to say 25:57 "He who has seen Me has seen the Father. " 26:01 And Jesus said: "If a man love Me he will keep My words 26:06 and I will come to him. And the Father will love him 26:10 and we will love and make our abode with him. " 26:12 So we are having a relationship with the whole godhead 26:17 as we do this. OK... thank you. 26:20 This one I thinks' a trick question. 26:22 It said: "Why is it that Danny Shelton hasn't aged 26:25 in 30 years? " Now, I think you did that 26:29 because I said I'm not bothered by insults 26:33 or compliments, but on this one I changed my mind. 26:36 Whoever said that I'm going to give you a tip! 26:38 Here's a tip. No... that was a trick question 26:42 but thank you... that was nice. 26:43 That's a way of smoking you out. He wants to find out 26:46 who said that. I noticed there were several hands 26:50 that were raised. They went for the money. 26:52 Yeah, I saw several... several people. 26:55 Why is Satan released at the end of the 1,000 years 27:00 to deceive the nations? 27:05 I will start by saying this: during the 1,000 years 27:11 Satan has an opportunity to see the results 27:15 of his work, the results of his leadership 27:19 in the world. He sees the destruction 27:22 and the ruin that there is on the earth. 27:26 After the 1,000 years, you would hope to see some change 27:30 in an individual that has had an opportunity 27:33 to see the results of what he has done. 27:35 But after the 1,000 years the Bible reveals that he goes 27:39 back to what he has done before. 27:41 He tries to get people together to fight against God. 27:45 There is no change. He has become... He has let wickedness 27:50 consume him so he is not who he was before. 27:54 He is the devil... the adversary... 27:56 and that's who he will always be 27:59 until... let me finish that by saying 28:02 until the time when he has to pay for the sins that he has 28:06 committed. And the Bible says that "the wages of sin 28:09 is death. " 28:10 He is chained with a chain of circumstances. 28:13 It is not that he is chained per se, 28:15 but there's simply no one for him to tempt. 28:18 "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, 28:20 with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. 28:22 The dead in Christ rise first, then we which are alive and 28:25 remain... " So all of the saved are in heaven. 28:28 The wicked have been destroyed by the brightness of His coming. 28:32 So he's here and there's nothing for him to do. 28:34 There's no one here for him to tempt. 28:37 At the end of the 1,000-year period when the Holy City's 28:40 coming down, those dead are being re-awakened 28:43 preparatory to the executive judgment. 28:47 Well, Satan has not changed because there's nothing for him 28:51 to change. He has no Holy Spirit. 28:52 There's nothing to change, so he goes about doing what 28:54 he's always done. He simply does what he's always done. 28:57 He whips up these people in a frenzy because 29:00 they think they can take the city. And then at that point 29:02 judgment comes down. So it's just preparatory 29:05 to the final eradication of sin and sinners. 29:08 And of course, the arch-sinner, the originator of sin, 29:12 is going to be destroyed at that time also. 29:14 I would say just to add to those comments 29:17 with which I agree: he is released for our benefit 29:21 because when we see... I mean, we always want... 29:26 if we've got a loved one who hasn't followed the Lord, 29:29 accepted the Lord... And after they've died 29:32 and when they raised up in the second resurrection 29:34 our hope would be: "Oh, they're going to change. " 29:37 But when the Lord releases Satan 29:40 we see that all of those who came up in the 2nd resurrection, 29:46 the resurrection of condemnation, 29:48 there was no change of heart. 29:50 They would never have been happy in heaven. 29:53 And so then we will be fully convinced 29:57 that God's judgments were absolutely perfect. 30:01 You know, it just continues on because in Matthew chapter 24 30:05 Jesus was saying: Be careful that you're not deceived. " 30:09 That's right. Three or four times there in Matthew. 30:11 And then you notice in Revelation I think it's 20 30:15 verse 8 it says as soon as Christ brings him back to life 30:20 as it were out of the prison house 30:22 brings him back he goes out to do what? 30:24 To deceive. Continue the same work that he did before. 30:28 It says right now: "And he shall go out to deceive the nations. " 30:32 So he just does the same work, proving once again 30:35 that God is correct in His judgment. 30:37 Everything He does is correct. 30:39 The enemy is doing the same thing. 30:42 And there's a prophecy that needs to be fulfilled. 30:44 I'm going to just answer this question in two points. 30:46 You know, when Satan... when Lucifer was cast out 30:49 he exalted himself the Bible says. 30:52 He made the claim: "I will be, I will be, I will be like 30:55 the Most High. " The Lord gave a prophecy 30:59 through the prophet Ezekiel. He said that Lucifer was 31:03 perfect from the way... from the day he was created 31:07 until iniquity was found in him. 31:08 But then he said to him in Ezekiel 28 verse 18 31:14 he says - speaking about his end - 31:16 everyone's going to witness Lucifer's end. 31:18 Everyone is going to witness Satan's end. 31:20 So for that to occur he has to be released 31:24 at the end of the thousand year because this has yet to be 31:27 fulfilled. He says: "Therefore I have brought forth 31:30 fire from your midst that devoured you 31:33 and I turned you to ashes upon the earth 31:35 in the sight of all who saw you. 31:37 All who knew you from among the people 31:39 are astonished at you. You have become a horror 31:42 and shall be no more forever. " 31:44 That's yet to be fulfilled. 31:45 And at the end of the thousand years that will be fulfilled. 31:48 But one last thing that's even more powerful than that. 31:50 Satan had claimed ownership. Adam gave over 31:54 the dominion of the earth to Satan 31:57 so he considers himself the one who owns everything 32:00 on the earth. He's in charge of the wickedness, the sin, 32:02 the crime. But in the Year of Jubilee 32:05 when the slave is set free 32:07 the land is returned to its rightful owner. 32:10 And Satan will witness the land - the earth - 32:13 being returned to its rightful owner, God, 32:15 and all the slaves of sin being finally set free. 32:19 That happens at the end of the thousand years. 32:21 Did we give you the reference for that, the reference there? 32:24 Revelation 20 for the thousand years. 32:26 I don't know if we've given a reference. 32:28 So Revelation 20. We didn't give a reference. 32:30 Yes, there in Revelation chapter 20 I do have good news 32:34 concerning that time of release. 32:35 It says in Revelation 20:3: 32:37 "He must be loosed for a little season. " 32:41 So, you know, you're talking about 1,000 years 32:43 but then he's loosed for "a little season. " 32:46 Amen. All right. Thank you. 32:48 That's pretty neat. Every- body has a different perspective 32:52 but when you put it together it comes to one really good 32:55 clear point. I have another question. 32:58 Right before that you saw me stand up 32:59 and say I was giving money. That really wasn't for a tip. 33:03 That was for... to buy new eyeglasses. 33:05 Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho. OK, now we'll get back to this one. 33:09 OK. Here's a good question. It says: Is it OK if we are 33:12 supportive of our grandchildren and attend their activities 33:16 such as ball games on Friday nights or Sabbath? 33:20 You love your grandkids. I've got 8 of them. 33:22 Love their ears off. I mean, they're wonderful kids 33:25 so I like to support them all I can. 33:28 This question is do we love them enough to support them 33:32 on their activities if it's involved on the Sabbath. 33:35 A better question is do you love them enough to 33:37 give them a right example? 33:39 Isaiah 58:13-14 "If thou turn away thy foot 33:42 from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day 33:45 and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, 33:47 honorable, and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways 33:50 nor finding thine own pleasure or speaking thine own words 33:53 then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord 33:55 and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the 33:57 earth and feast upon the in- heritance of Jacob thy father 33:59 for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. " 34:02 There's no equivocation, no vacillation, no hesitation. 34:06 You've gotta serve the Lord. A lot of people have died 34:09 trying to keep the Sabbath. A ball game, no little ball game 34:11 keep you out of the kingdom. All right; all right! 34:15 Good. And it's not about not loving your grandchildren 34:18 but they need to see an example. 34:20 I was in a situation when I was about 16... 34:23 15, 16 years old... I was down, invited to go down 34:26 South with a whole lot of folk that didn't keep the Sabbath. 34:28 And I remember they woke up on Sabbath morning. 34:31 There was no one to tell me not to go with them. 34:33 The lady who had raised me in the Adventist church 34:34 had already died. I was... I had no one to tell me not to. 34:39 This Sabbath morning they said: "We're going to have a picnic. " 34:42 And since I went with this family that invited me there 34:45 when the time came - they had all the picnic baskets 34:48 ready, I'm 15, 16 years old, 34:51 And when they said: "Everybody get in the car" 34:53 I said: "You know, it's the Sabbath. 34:56 I'll be here when you get back. " 34:58 Hmmm. I'm in a stranger's house. 35:00 They took me down South to visit with their family. 35:04 And they said: "What do you mean this is the Sabbath? " 35:06 "This is the Sabbath. I'm going to stay here 35:09 at your house and I'm going to honor the Sabbath. 35:11 I'll be here when you get back. " 35:12 And I looked back on that and I thought to myself: 35:15 "Wow! I'm in THEIR house. 35:17 I'm a long way from home. I'm just a teenager. 35:20 Who doesn't want to have fun on the Sabbath? " 35:23 And I stood up then and said: "I won't do it. " 35:25 And you know, I believe that that left an impression 35:28 on them that: "Yes, when it comes to loving 35:32 we've got to love the Lord first... " Amen! 35:34 "and then leave the examples to tell of our love for God. " 35:37 Maybe we should ask, then, for our viewers 35:41 why can't we attend activities or watch ball games 35:46 or basketball... why can't we do that 35:49 on the Sabbath? They said Friday evening 35:52 to Saturday evening... which is described in the Bible 35:55 as the Sabbath. So why can't anybody do that? 35:58 What's wrong with attending events like that on Sabbath? 36:02 You know, Bro. Danny, I was thinking here 36:04 you know even in our home - raised up - we were challenged 36:08 about proper Sabbath observance because we liked to play sports. 36:12 And we knew we weren't sup- posed to be playing basketball 36:15 and doing different things, but I noticed that sometime 36:18 if I thought mom and dad weren't looking 36:20 and there's a basketball laying out there in the grass... 36:23 It wasn't hurting anybody... it was just there 36:24 and I walked by it I think the enemy said: 36:27 "Pick it up and shoot it; see if you can make one. " 36:29 I'd pick one up, shoot it, and then it'd be like the 36:30 Holy Spirit'd say: "That's not what you're supposed to do. " 36:33 We find ourselves confused on 36:37 social gatherings on the Sabbath. 36:39 We find ourselves confused attending a lot of 36:42 family get-togethers and all kinds of things 36:45 that God said on specifically the seventh day He blessed, 36:49 He sanctified, He set it apart. It belongs to Him. 36:51 And I found this works in my life very simple: 36:54 It's His day, and the only thing that He wants us to do 36:57 is have communion with Him and do those things that 37:00 please Him on that day. 37:02 It's not about family and doing other things. 37:04 He gives you six days to do that. 37:05 This day belongs to Him and only godly things 37:08 should be done on the seventh-day Sabbath. 37:11 You referenced there Genesis 2 and verse 2 37:17 where He says: "On the seventh day... " This was at creation... 37:20 "God ended that which He had done 37:23 and He rested on the seventh day from all His work 37:26 which He had done. And He blessed the seventh day 37:28 and He sanctified the seventh day. " 37:31 The... In this scripture pas- sage, in these two scriptures, 37:35 the seventh day is mentioned three times. 37:37 He blessed it; He sanctified it; He rested on it. 37:41 To sanctify means to set some- thing apart for holy purposes. 37:45 So God instituted the Sabbath right in the Garden 37:50 of Gethsemane... Gethsemane? The Garden of Eden. 37:53 And He did it so that it would be a joy. 37:57 Jesus said the Sabbath wasn't made... Man wasn't made 38:02 for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for mankind. 38:05 So God knew, when He gave the Ten Commandments, 38:09 in His fourth commandment He said: "Remember 38:13 the Sabbath day. " You can't remember something 38:15 that you haven't forgotten or haven't already been told about. 38:18 God knew we would forget and that we'd work ourselves 38:21 to death and that we would forget about Him. 38:24 So He set aside a temple in time 38:27 so that we could have special time with Him, 38:31 special time with our family. 38:33 The Sabbath is a blessing, and when you understand God's 38:37 covenant love - and we're going to be talking about that 38:40 tomorrow morning, I hope you'll be joining us... 38:42 But when you under- stand God's covenant love 38:45 and understand that God will help us... 38:48 I mean, it's a promise... His commandments are promises 38:52 that He will help us to keep this. 38:54 And when we're in covenant relationship with the Lord 38:57 you can't wait for the Sabbath. 39:00 Amen. 39:02 Speaking of sanctified - I'm in Exodus 31:13- 39:04 "Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep 39:07 for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations 39:10 that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. " 39:14 So not only is the day sanctified 39:16 but it is a sign of a sanctification process 39:19 between God and man. 39:21 And to do otherwise is to be outside of that sanctification 39:24 process. God NEEDS the time with us. 39:26 He desires the time with us, and more than that 39:29 we NEED the time with Him. 39:32 Yes. Amen; amen. OK... thank you. 39:35 Will there be absolutely no night in heaven 39:39 as Revelation tells us? OR is this only in the city 39:43 of New Jerusalem? 39:47 Personally... Can I lay it out here? 39:51 I believe it is in the New Jerusalem. 39:53 When the New Jerusalem comes down to earth 39:57 there's going to be no more night there. 39:59 No more night in heaven, but when it comes down to earth, 40:01 when we go out into the earth, it says that 40:04 we're going to come in and still be worshiping 40:10 every Sabbath and on the new moons we would come in. 40:13 So I think that there will be night and day 40:15 on the new earth but not in the city of Jerusalem 40:18 because the Son and the Father are the light thereof. 40:24 That's right. I can't add any more to that. 40:27 In the New Jerusalem in heaven there'll be no night there. 40:30 In the earth we will revert back to the seasons 40:34 before sin, and Jesus established the sun, 40:38 moon, stars for the seasons. 40:41 So we will still have the seasons but as it would have 40:44 been before sin. And that's in the new earth. 40:47 OK... all right. 40:50 Here's a question; I'm glad you all are answering it 40:53 and not me. I answered it one time and I got in trouble 40:56 on live television. A scripture that says 40:59 that "two in the field: one was taken, one was left behind. 41:03 Two men in a bed: one was taken, one was left behind. " 41:06 And I said: "Well, if two men's in a bed 41:09 I doubt either one of them are going. " 41:11 So... I got some letters from people and phone calls 41:16 that I was "phobia" of some kind... I'm not sure. 41:19 But anyway. So I'm going to let you guys answer that one 41:23 and stay out of it. What does that mean? 41:25 And then it says: Which one was left behind 41:28 and which one was taken? 41:29 If two men in a field or two people in a field, 41:32 because I know I've heard some folk are saying 41:34 "Well, the one that's left behind... " You know 41:37 both sides of that. So you tell us. 41:39 I'll let the theologians on either side answer me 41:41 because they're looking up their scriptures. 41:43 But here's what I have to say about that. 41:46 It doesn't matter to me which one is which. 41:51 I've heard wonderful pastors, theologians, argue 41:55 that the taken are the ones who go to heaven. 41:57 The ones who are left here on the earth are the ones 41:59 who are destroyed by the brightness of His coming. 42:02 Then I've heard people turn around and say just 42:04 the opposite thing. All I want to be 42:07 is on the right train that's going to heaven... 42:09 whether that's the ones that's taken or the one's that's left. 42:13 Amen. We've kicked this back and forth. 42:15 I think Pastor John and I have certainly kicked this 42:17 back and forth. When you go to the Greek - 42:20 and I think Shelley's point is very very important - 42:22 the fact that you are alive with a person doesn't mean 42:25 that you're alive with Jesus. What this is trying to say 42:28 is that because a husband wife are together 42:30 husband can't go for the wife, wife can't go for the husband. 42:33 Each person goes as an individual 42:35 and that's the important thing. Whether you're taken or left 42:37 as long as the gate closes behind you 42:41 you're in the right place, and that's what is important 42:43 I think about that scripture. 42:45 But you know there's a Bible truth here that we cannot miss. 42:50 If we miss this, we're setting ourself up 42:52 for the thousand year millennial reign, you know, 42:55 here on earth. Because I Thessalonians says you know 42:58 when Jesus comes the dead in Christ rise first. 43:00 We which are alive and remain will be caught up 43:03 to meet Him in the air. 43:04 II Thessalonians says the wicked are struck dead 43:06 by the brightness of His coming. 43:08 Two in a field: one is saved, one is lost. 43:10 One's going up to meet Him in the air; 43:12 the other is struck dead. Jeremiah is very clear 43:14 on that what the earth will be as we talked about 43:17 the thousand years. So there is a Bible truth there 43:20 that we have to look at and examine to say: 43:23 "This is what the Bible teaches. " 43:24 One's going up; the other is struck dead. 43:27 Nothing happens for that thousand years 43:29 to the wicked. So then what do you have? 43:30 It simply says: "Two in the field; two in the bed. " 43:33 Husband and wife you mentioned. One might be saved 43:36 one might be lost. 'Cause we get to heaven by our own commitment 43:38 not on the coat tail of someone else or because someone said. 43:42 It's our own personal commitment to Jesus Christ. 43:45 So I look at it there's a lot of different ways you can go. 43:47 Say: "Yeah, I want to make sure I'm the one that's going up 43:49 and not down or struck dead. " 43:51 But the whole thing is: in every aspect, every question 43:55 that is asked, there's truth that can be found 43:59 in the Word of God, and we cannot bypass that 44:02 to be pleasing, you know, to someone else 44:04 or maybe to get along with someone else. 44:06 There's a truth: one will go, the other will remain... 44:09 but not alive... they're dead. 44:12 There's a whole difference there. 44:14 That's the whole different thing we talked for the thousand-year 44:16 millennium. And here's the context of that whole thing. 44:18 Thank you for making that point clear. 44:20 Matthew and Luke coordinate this truth together. 44:25 In Matthew we find Noah is used as the example, 44:29 the context. The Bible says: "As it was in the days of 44:33 Noah... " What happened? "for as in the days before 44:36 the flood... " Matthew 24 verse 38... 44:38 "they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage 44:40 until the day that Noah entered the ark. 44:42 And did not know until the flood came and 44:45 took them all away. 44:48 So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. " 44:50 Then he used the two men in the field, the two women grinding 44:53 at the mill. But now the question is asked: 44:55 the flood came and took them away. Did the flood take them 44:58 to safety or destruction? 45:00 So wherever the flood took them, the ones that were taken 45:03 were taken in destruction. To support that Luke adds his 45:07 portion. Luke 17 verse 35 or 36: 45:13 "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken 45:15 and the other left. And they answered and said to Him: 45:19 'Where Lord? ' So He said to them: 45:21 wherever the body is there the eagle will be gathered 45:25 together. " If you want to find out where they were taken 45:29 look for where the eagles are. 45:31 That's where... They're taken to destruction. 45:34 They're not taken in safety. 45:37 That's why Paul says: "We which are alive and remain 45:40 shall be caught up together with them. " 45:42 But the challenge is: the Greek for taken is perilambano 45:47 which means gather to yourself. 45:49 That's where the challenge is in the exegesis of that text. 45:53 That if you follow John's logic - which is solid - 45:56 the taken is taken in destruc- tion... except he flips it. 45:59 He uses a term that means gather to himself. 46:02 So the taken there is taken to himself. 46:05 So there is some give and take. 46:09 And that's why I think Shelley's point is so pertinent 46:12 and I co-sign it because the burden is 46:14 that one cannot go for the other. Each man must go for 46:18 himself. Whether it's taken to destruction 46:20 or taken to the bosom of Christ 46:22 you've gotta go one for one with Jesus. 46:26 This has been tossed around for a while. 46:31 John 14 says Jesus said 46:36 "I will go and I will come back... " 46:40 He says... "and I will receive you unto Myself. " 46:43 That's that word perilambano... 46:45 the same word that's used, taken. 46:49 So the word taken means received, gathered to Himself. 46:53 So the word took in Matthew 24 46:58 is not the same Greek word for taken. 47:02 They're two different words. 47:03 So we have here these two different ideas presented. 47:07 And what you have to look in Matthew 24 47:12 is that it says: "Watch, therefore... " 47:16 It is repeated several times. 47:19 What we are to do is watch, therefore, 47:23 so that you are not taken unawares 47:26 that Jesus is coming so that when He comes 47:29 you will go with Him. 47:31 I can go further with this. I can even give you 47:35 Testimonies to Ministers page 234-239 47:40 Ellen G. White addresses this issue and says: 47:43 "One is taken, and the name is retained in the Book of Life. " 47:48 So my understanding is that the one taken 47:52 is the one that is received by Christ into heaven. 47:56 Well, I think what I get out of this is 47:59 you want to be prepared to meet the Lord 48:03 because some of us are going to make it to heaven 48:06 and some will be struck down by His brightness. 48:08 So there's two different... you can look at it both ways. 48:13 The important thing is where will we be - that's right - 48:16 at the second coming. Or when we die, are we ready 48:18 to meet Jesus. We only have about nine more minutes. 48:21 Have we got time for another question? We do. 48:23 I think this one kind of sums up everything. 48:25 Briefly describe what you would recommend to Christians 48:28 for how to prepare for Christ's second coming. 48:32 Micah 6:8: "He has showed thee, O man, 48:35 what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee 48:37 but to do justly, love mercy, 48:41 walk humbly with thy God. " 48:43 Amen. 48:46 I Thessalonians 48:49 3 and verse 12 and 13 48:53 Paul writes to the Thessalonians. He says: 48:56 "May the Lord make you increase and abound in love... " 49:01 Who's doing the action? It's the Lord. 49:03 "to one another and to all just as we did to you 49:07 so that... " for the purpose of... 49:10 "so that He may establish your hearts blameless 49:15 in holiness before our God 49:18 and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. " 49:22 I believe that if we want to be ready 49:25 to be received into heaven - we really want to be ready - 49:30 we need to open up our hearts. Romans 5:5 says 49:33 God will pour His love into our hearts 49:35 by the power of the Holy Spirit. 49:37 This isn't a syrupy, sappy, sweet love. 49:42 This is a self-sacrificing love; it's divine love. 49:46 And as, you know, God IS love 49:49 so the more we receive that love into our heart 49:53 the more we become like God. 49:55 We become self-sacrificing and He will establish us 50:00 blameless in holiness. 50:03 Anyone else? No, honestly, we missed the question. 50:06 Kenny and I were talking. What was the question? 50:09 Oh! Well... that's your tough luck now! 50:11 You've gotta pay attention. 50:13 Should we give them another chance? 50:15 Yes, we'll give them one more chance. 50:17 I wasn't listening so she'll read it again 50:20 so you can have another chance. 50:22 Confession is good for the soul! That's good... that's right. 50:24 I was going to expose him but he went ahead and exposed me 50:27 so we've both been exposed. Sorry! 50:30 Briefly... You didn't fall asleep like C.A. Murray did 50:33 before a sermon one day. 50:35 But I won't tell that on live television. 50:38 Thanks. Briefly describe what you would recommend 50:42 to Christians for how to prepare for Christ's second coming. 50:49 Daily relationship. 50:51 Daily relationship. 50:52 Um-hmm. 'Cause if you get to the point where you say 50:54 "Well I need to get ready... " You know, one of the things 50:56 that I've heard so often is: "Well I need to get ready; 50:57 I need to get ready. " And every year: "I need to get 50:59 ready; I need to get ready. " Well if that was your attitude 51:02 about vacation you'd never go on vacation. 51:04 Am I making the point clear? Yeah. 51:06 You need to remain ready. 51:08 "Be ye also ready. " 51:10 He didn't say: "Get ye also ready. " He said: 51:11 "Be ye also ready. " 51:13 At such an hour as you think not He's coming. 51:15 So we can't be saying every day: "I need to get ready. " 51:17 Be ready! But you know, the point is, we talk so much about 51:21 the second coming. I don't know if I'll be alive 51:23 at the second coming. I could go tonight. 51:26 So - to your point - we need to be ready. 51:29 It's got to be a day-by-day thing. We can't be saying: 51:33 "Oh, I've got to be ready for Christ's second coming. " 51:36 I've got to be ready if Jesus came for me today 51:40 'cause no man is promised tomorrow. 51:43 You know, even being ready for me... And you read it a lot 51:47 in the Spirit of Prophecy, read a lot in the Bible... 51:49 if we live in the judgment hour we are supposed to be 51:53 afflicting our souls. We're supposed to be doing 51:56 some self-examination of how we stand 51:59 with our heavenly Father. 52:01 And if we're all honest, we know basically how we stand. 52:05 We know if we're holding on to this, we know 52:07 if we're going this direction or that. 52:09 If you're really honest. Self-examination 52:11 means confessing our sins. 52:13 We must in this judgment hour 52:16 be sending, as we confess our sins, up to the judgment. 52:20 They have to be sent there to be taken care of, 52:22 to be forgiven. The blood covers right now 52:25 or they'll come back to get us. So we need Jesus 52:28 to cover our life, cover our sins. So we pray, 52:31 we send them to the heavenly sanctuary 52:33 that they can be forgiven right now 52:36 or they will come back and meet us in the judgment. 52:39 So I just, myself every day... we talk about Bible study 52:42 and prayer and the love of Christ and preparing 52:44 and reading the Word and doing worship... all good. 52:47 We have to be doing it. 52:48 But I really have to look. And I don't want to look at 52:51 anything or anybody. 52:53 I see one example for me is Jesus Christ. 52:55 I look at Him; He's the One I gauge by. 52:58 And every time I look at Him and I start gauging my life 53:01 by Him I see how short I come 53:04 in character from being like Jesus. 53:07 But it doesn't depress me; it drives me to His feet - Amen! 53:11 and I say: "Oh, Lord, You can do this thing... 53:13 I can't do it on my own so please help me. " Amen! 53:16 Because it's a character thing that we're looking at 53:18 right now that needs to be like Christ. 53:20 And I want to add this because I know you 53:22 and you're a very joyous person. 53:23 We're talking about afflicting the soul. That is a time of 53:26 self-examination. But I John 1:8-9 says that 53:30 "When we confess our sins He is faithful and just 53:33 to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all 53:35 unrighteousness. " So it is not that you're running around 53:39 flogging yourself - afflicting your soul. 53:41 It's that the joy of the Lord becomes your strength 53:44 when you know you're forgiven. 53:45 And so you know I think Christians should be the most 53:48 joyous people on earth. 53:51 But there is that daily thing of self-examination. 53:54 Because if we want to repent it's more than 53:59 just saying: "Oh Lord, forgive me. " 54:01 It's recognizing our sin, letting God... godly sorrow. 54:06 The Holy Spirit brings repentance. 54:09 Then we confess our sin, and that's the clearinghouse 54:12 of our conscience. Then we must receive His forgiveness. 54:17 And then we pray for the gift of repentance. 54:21 Acts 5:32 says that God gives us the gift of repentance 54:25 to turn us around to come right back to Him. 54:29 Yvonne. Yeah, and then we have to... and you've all kind 54:33 of hit on this, and I think this is really important: 54:35 that we have to take our eyes off of ourselves 54:39 and put our eyes on Jesus. So often it's all about us 54:42 and "Oh, I can't do this. " No! Let's just... If we stay 54:46 connected to the power source 54:48 we will have the power to resist sin. 54:51 So by the grace of God we can be confident 54:55 that He that has begun a good work in us 54:58 will be faithful to complete it. That's right. 55:00 What I try to keep in mind is we have two natures. 55:04 We have a spiritual nature and a "beastly" nature, 55:07 a physical nature. And whichever one we feed the most 55:10 is the one that grows. Vonda was talking about earlier 55:13 her watching daytime programs and all of these all the time. 55:17 But when she quit doing that and began to take in the Word 55:20 of God it changed her life. 55:22 So in preparation - for me - it's "What am I taking in? 55:27 What am I watching? What am I listening to? 55:29 What am I talking about in preparation to be like Jesus? " 55:33 Turn your eyes upon Jesus - yes - look full in His wonderful 55:36 face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim 55:39 in the light of His glory and grace. 55:41 We only have about a minute, and so... and I think that this 55:45 is a good time for prayer. And maybe Pastor C.A. we'll ask you 55:49 to do it. And those of you in the audience, 55:51 those of you at home, it might be a good time to 55:53 say: "Lord... " Kenny talked about self-examination. 55:56 "Lord, where am I? What would You have me to do? " 55:58 And maybe just quickly and quietly re-dedicate your life 56:03 to the Lord. Amen... good. 56:06 Gracious Father, we come to You now with humble hearts 56:09 and yet our hearts are glad. We're glad to know that 56:12 on the other end of this prayer and every prayer 56:15 there is God who loves us with an everlasting love 56:18 and who has commended that love to us in that while we were 56:21 yet sinners Christ died for us. 56:25 So we don't have to beg for Your love... 56:27 You've already given us Your love. 56:29 We don't have to beg for Your mercy 56:31 for we have been recipients of Your mercy. 56:33 We don't have to beg for Your grace 56:35 for You shower Your grace without limit and without end. 56:38 Help us, Lord, now to abide in You. 56:42 For You have said that if we abide in You 56:44 we will bear much fruit. Yes! 56:48 Fruit of righteousness, fruit of salvation, 56:51 fruit of eventual glorification. 56:53 But You've also said: "Without Me you can do nothing. " 56:57 So dear Father, be pleased 56:59 to give us Jesus. Always and only Jesus. 57:03 Inward and outward Jesus. 57:05 Up and down Jesus. 57:07 Surround us with Jesus. 57:09 May it all be not about us 57:11 but about our loving, loyal, and precious Jesus. 57:15 Oh Father, drown us as it were in Jesus. 57:19 Submerge us in Jesus. 57:21 Surround us in Jesus. 57:23 May we live, eat, talk, breathe, sleep, 57:26 wake, walk, Jesus. 57:29 Amen. And may we be pleased on that day 57:32 to see Jesus face to blessed face. 57:35 Oh Father, that is our goal, that is our end. 57:39 That is our commitment and our dedication: 57:42 always and only Jesus. 57:44 And we thank you, dear Father, in Jesus' name, 57:48 Amen. |
Revised 2017-02-15