Welcome to Anchors Of
Truth from Puerto Rico.
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The Unchanged with C.A. Murray.
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Hello friends, and
welcome to another night of our
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Anchors Of Truth series coming
from the beautiful island of
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Puerto Rico from the Bella Vista
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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We have had a
blessed week thus far.
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And we know tonight the
Lord is not going to disappoint.
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And so we thank you for
joining us for this very
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spirit filled evening.
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I looked at the sermon title.
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I also know the
speaker very well.
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And I know that God
has a wonderful message
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in store for you tonight.
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So invite your friends
and your family members
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to stop shuffling around.
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If you're at home and very
very busy, I would encourage you
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to sit down and tune
in to hear what the Spirit
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has to say to the church.
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We've also enjoyed
some beautiful weather.
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If you're joining us
from the islands, you know
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exactly what we mean.
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But we also pray for
our brothers and sisters
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who are enduring the cold
weather maybe there in the
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northeast of the United States.
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But the Lord, tonight,
is going to warm your heart
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as you listen to
this servant of the Lord
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break the bread of life.
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We'd also like to
remind you, tomorrow morning
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we have another sermon.
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Almost the last
sermon in our series here
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of the Anchors Of Truth.
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And on Sabbath afternoon at
3 o'clock, there's going to be
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our final message.
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So out of our series
we've had Pastor Jim Gilley,
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we also had Pastor John
Dinzey, I spoke last night,
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Pastor C.A. tonight, tomorrow
morning Pastor John Dinzey.
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And then I cap off our
series here in Puerto Rico.
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But for this evening,
we thank you for tuning in.
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We have some wonderful music
tonight, but before we get to
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the music, we also like to
come to the Lord in prayer.
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And our prayer this evening
is going to be brought to us by
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Dr. Carmen Perez, who is
the Vice President of the
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Inter-America
Division Theological Seminary.
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And she's stationed here
at the Antillean University.
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So tonight let's invite the
Lord as we invite her to come
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and bring us before
the Lord through the
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wonderful medium of prayer.
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Let us all pray.
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Heavenly Father, we
acknowledge Your presence
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in this house of prayer
and in our lives this evening.
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You are the only all
knowing, all powerful,
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and always present God.
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And we want to bring
honor and glory to Your name
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forever and ever.
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We would like to thank You
for the riches of Your kindness.
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And we know, dear Lord,
that Your forbearance and
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Your patience
towards us is always there.
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Father, we would also like
to thank You for the wonderful
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presence of Your
Holy Spirit among us,
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the wonderful
messages that we have heard.
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Father, we pray also for all of
those that will hear us tonight.
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We thank You for the wonderful
opportunity to be able to air
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live from the
Bella Vista church.
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And Father, we thank You also
for this continuing series of
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Anchors Of Truth,
Growing In Christ.
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We pray for a special
blessing for everybody that is
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here tonight and for each
one of those who will join us
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as we humbly learn together
what the Bible clearly teaches.
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We ask all of this in
the gentle and humble name
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of the true and
living God, Jesus Christ.
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Amen.
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Thank you so much.
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Just before our
music, just a few more words
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about our speaker tonight.
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Pastor C.A. Murray is not
only a colleague in ministry,
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he use to be my
pastor in New York City
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at the Bethel
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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He pastored many years in
the Northeastern Conference,
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more than 30 years of ministry.
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So he is a man of the Word.
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But at the present time, he
is the Production Manager for
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Three Angels
Broadcasting Network.
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So he wears many, many hats.
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But tonight, he's the
one that God has chosen to
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bring the message
entitled, The Unchanged.
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But before he comes, our music
tonight will be brought to us
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by Amy Soto.
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A very familiar song.
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One that reminds us that if
we are walking with the Lord,
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all things can be
well with our soul.
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So let's invite her to come
tonight and prepare our hearts
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for the message for
what God has in store for us.
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When peace like a river
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attendeth my way,
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when sorrows
like sea billows roll,
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whatever my lot,
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Thou has taught me to say,
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"It is well, it is
well, with my soul."
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It is well with my soul.
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It is well, it is
well, with my soul.
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Though Satan should tempt me,
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though trials should come,
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my blest assurance control,
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that Christ has regarded
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my helpless state,
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and hath shed His
own blood for my soul.
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It is well with my soul.
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It is well, it is
well, with my soul.
00:07:05.32\00:07:15.31
And Lord, haste the day
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when my faith shall be sight,
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the clouds be
rolled back as a scroll.
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The trump shall resound
and the Lord shall descend.
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Even so, it is
well with my soul.
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It is well with my soul.
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It is well, it is
well, with my soul.
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Amen and amen.
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Thank you so very
much, Amy. Well done.
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Good evening and happy Sabbath.
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I see we have some
people standing in the rear.
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You can come on
in and be seated.
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Or maybe I'll preach so
long that you'll just get
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weary and sit down.
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I don't know.
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But we wish you happy Sabbath.
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We have had a
wonderful week together.
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And we pray that
tonight will be no exception.
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I want to thank my friend
and colleague of many years,
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Pastor Lomacang, for his
kind and gracious introduction.
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We want to move
right into the Word.
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And I would ask you to
turn with me, if you will,
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to the gospel as
recorded by Mark.
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Mark's gospel, the 14th chapter.
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I want to read just
several verses from the gospel
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as written by Mark, chapter 14.
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Before we read the Word, let us
pray to the Author of the Word.
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Our gracious Father,
again we call upon You.
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For we realize that Your
Word is a lamp unto our feet
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and a light that
shines on the path before us.
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We ask just now for the
illumination of Your Spirit
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so that we can read the
Word and understand the Word
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and make application
of the Word to our lives.
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We ask You to be
the honored guest
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and indeed the
Teacher this night.
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And we thank You.
In Jesus' name, amen.
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I'm reading from Mark
chapter 14 verses 3 through 10.
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Mark 14 beginning at verse 3.
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I'm reading from
the New King James.
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The Bible says, "And
being in Bethany at the house of
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Simon the leper, as
He sat at the table..."
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I think your King James
may say, "as He sat at meat."
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"...a woman came
having an alabaster flask
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of very costly oil of spikenard.
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And she broke the flask
and poured it on His head.
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But there were some who
were indignant among themselves,
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and said, 'Why was
this fragrant oil wasted?
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For it might have been sold for
more than three hundred denarii
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and given to the poor.'
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And they criticized her sharply.
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But Jesus said, 'Let her
alone. Why do you trouble her?
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She has done a good work for Me.
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For you have the poor with you
always, and whenever you wish
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you may do them good; but
Me you do not have always.
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She has done what she could.'"
00:11:38.56\00:11:41.34
And that is a sermon in itself.
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"'She has come beforehand
to anoint My body for burial.
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Assuredly I say to you,
wherever this gospel is preached
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in the whole world, what
this woman has done will be told
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as a memorial to her.'
00:11:58.28\00:12:01.16
Then Judas Iscariot, one
of the twelve, went to the
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chief priests to
betray Him to them."
00:12:06.57\00:12:10.19
The Bible says, "And being
in the house of Simon the leper,
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He sat at the table."
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Or at meat, depending
on which version you have.
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Many times in reading
this particular story,
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our minds are
drawn to Mary and Martha.
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For truly this is a
story about Mary and Martha.
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And we may think
of it as their story.
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Or we may even think of
it as the story of Judas.
00:12:38.76\00:12:42.80
But there is another
name that we oft times
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don't really pay attention to.
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This is the
story within the story.
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Or the subtext under the story.
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And that name
is Simon the leper.
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It is always important
to realize and recognize
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how the Bible
introduces a person.
00:13:02.73\00:13:05.40
You always want to take note how
the Bible introduces a person.
00:13:05.43\00:13:08.57
In this same book of Mark,
we are introduced to another man
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by the name of Jarius.
00:13:12.14\00:13:13.83
The Bible calls him a ruler.
00:13:13.86\00:13:15.92
In the book of John,
we're introduced to Nicodemus.
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Again, a ruler.
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And yet, in this particular
story as written by Mark,
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Simon is not introduced
as a ruler as is Jarius,
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or as is Nicodemus.
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He is introduced
as Simon the leper.
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And when I read this, my
mind was fastened on that term,
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"Simon the leper."
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Because Mark pegs him or
links him to his disease.
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Simon's last name
is not, "the leper."
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When you are dialing trying
to find Simon in the phone book,
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you wouldn't look
up, "Simon the leper."
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And I'm sure when Simon
was born, the doctor didn't
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whack him on the bottom and
christen him, Simon the leper.
00:14:03.67\00:14:08.16
We don't identify
people by disease.
00:14:12.31\00:14:16.06
That's kind of crude and rude.
00:14:16.07\00:14:19.39
When a person has a disability,
the politically correct thing
00:14:19.42\00:14:23.52
to do is to
ignore that disability.
00:14:23.55\00:14:27.17
If someone has a cane
or a wheelchair, you don't
00:14:27.18\00:14:29.32
go up to him and say, "Well,
I see you've got a wheel chair.
00:14:29.33\00:14:31.15
How does it feel to be cripple?"
00:14:31.18\00:14:32.59
You don't do that.
00:14:33.19\00:14:34.19
That's crude, that's
uncouth. That's not life.
00:14:34.20\00:14:37.60
We don't identify
people with their diseases.
00:14:37.63\00:14:40.72
And yet, we have this
notable exception here
00:14:40.75\00:14:43.35
in the book of Mark.
00:14:43.38\00:14:44.43
He is called, Simon the leper.
00:14:44.44\00:14:46.68
Simon the leper.
00:14:47.96\00:14:49.05
There are other
Simons in the Word of God.
00:14:49.73\00:14:51.73
There is Simon the
tanner in the book of Acts.
00:14:51.76\00:14:55.30
He is identified
by his occupation.
00:14:55.33\00:14:57.43
He is a tanner of leather.
00:14:57.46\00:14:58.83
There is Simon the Canaanite.
00:14:58.86\00:15:00.68
He is identified
by his racial origin.
00:15:00.71\00:15:03.74
He is a Canaanite.
00:15:03.75\00:15:04.75
There is Simon of Cyrene.
00:15:04.76\00:15:06.14
He is identified by his country.
00:15:06.17\00:15:08.16
These things are
fairly common in the Bible.
00:15:08.19\00:15:10.70
But it is not common to identify
a person by his disease.
00:15:10.73\00:15:15.72
He is called, Simon the leper.
00:15:15.75\00:15:17.48
That statement in itself
is a statement on the fear
00:15:17.49\00:15:21.94
that this
particular disease was held in.
00:15:21.97\00:15:25.03
Simon could have been a lawyer,
he could have been a doctor.
00:15:25.89\00:15:29.74
He could have been a priest
or a senator, or even a king.
00:15:29.77\00:15:34.14
But that didn't matter.
00:15:34.17\00:15:36.70
Because once you got
this disease, you are
00:15:36.73\00:15:40.37
pegged with it forever.
00:15:40.40\00:15:41.75
The book of Luke tells us
that Simon was a Pharisee.
00:15:42.32\00:15:45.16
The Pharisees, or the parus,
in Christ's time were a group of
00:15:46.10\00:15:51.11
religio-political laypersons.
00:15:51.74\00:15:54.24
They weren't
priests in the truest sense.
00:15:54.27\00:15:56.53
They were people who were
trained in the study of the law.
00:15:56.56\00:15:59.89
It was the job of
the Pharisee to be a
00:16:00.52\00:16:03.77
sort of air sock theologian.
00:16:03.80\00:16:05.86
The Pharisees were the
interpreters of the law.
00:16:05.89\00:16:08.34
It was their job to
tell the common people
00:16:08.37\00:16:10.44
what the law meant.
00:16:10.47\00:16:11.68
So they were the
doctors, the PhD's, of the law.
00:16:11.71\00:16:15.36
They were the lord's
of the sacred writing.
00:16:15.98\00:16:18.38
They commanded
and demanded respect.
00:16:18.41\00:16:22.12
Simon was one of
these respected Pharisees.
00:16:23.03\00:16:27.61
But that high
position meant nothing
00:16:27.64\00:16:31.17
because now he would
be identified by disease.
00:16:31.83\00:16:34.38
From now on, he
would be Simon the leper.
00:16:34.41\00:16:37.63
Simon the
Pharisee, Simon the priest,
00:16:38.41\00:16:41.62
Simon the aristocrat.
00:16:41.66\00:16:43.68
Didn't matter.
00:16:44.20\00:16:45.18
Now he was Simon the leper.
00:16:46.68\00:16:48.42
There are few diseases in
ancient times, and perhaps
00:16:50.15\00:16:53.37
even modern times, that
carried the fear of leprosy.
00:16:53.40\00:16:58.73
Just the mention of
leprosy was enough to make
00:17:00.14\00:17:04.24
someone's knees shake.
00:17:04.27\00:17:06.43
Leprosy was a bacterial
infection that attacked the
00:17:07.26\00:17:11.23
nervous system,
beginning often in the limbs
00:17:11.26\00:17:15.23
and deadening the sensations
so that by the time a leper
00:17:15.95\00:17:20.44
was close to death he could
not even feel his own pain.
00:17:20.47\00:17:23.76
Many times, they
would lose fingers and toes.
00:17:24.67\00:17:27.92
Even the nose sometimes.
00:17:27.95\00:17:30.19
Scientists and archeologists
have unearthed the bones
00:17:30.22\00:17:34.66
of people who have died of
leprosy and they've seen how
00:17:34.68\00:17:37.03
the disease had even
eaten its way into the bones.
00:17:37.06\00:17:39.70
It was a dreaded
disease, a fear disease.
00:17:39.73\00:17:42.80
If you could mix cancer and
aids and just about every other
00:17:43.87\00:17:50.58
horrible disease
that we could mention,
00:17:50.61\00:17:52.63
that's what leprosy was
like back in Bible times.
00:17:52.64\00:17:57.08
It was called,
"the finger of God."
00:17:57.83\00:18:01.15
Because many Jews in
their misguided interpretation
00:18:01.98\00:18:05.80
of how God deals with His
people thought that leprosy
00:18:05.82\00:18:10.39
was God's pet
punishment for evil deeds.
00:18:10.42\00:18:15.09
They thought and they
taught, rabbinical literature is
00:18:16.39\00:18:20.39
replete with references,
they felt that when you really
00:18:20.42\00:18:23.98
got out of line, when you really
got, as we say in English,
00:18:24.01\00:18:28.06
"too big for your
britches," God gave you leprosy
00:18:28.09\00:18:31.81
as a punishment.
00:18:31.84\00:18:33.04
And so they called
it, "the finger of God."
00:18:33.42\00:18:37.02
It is interesting
that when you got leprosy,
00:18:38.89\00:18:42.08
you didn't
report to the doctors.
00:18:42.83\00:18:46.06
You went to the priest.
00:18:46.73\00:18:48.21
You had to go show
yourself to the priest.
00:18:49.61\00:18:51.10
You remember when the
ten lepers were healed?
00:18:51.11\00:18:52.99
Christ said, go to the priests.
00:18:53.29\00:18:55.20
Not the doctor,
but to the priest.
00:18:55.23\00:18:56.88
Because that was the
spiritual mindset that they had.
00:18:56.91\00:18:59.75
They felt that God gave you
leprosy and it would have to
00:18:59.78\00:19:02.69
be a priest who
pronounced you leprous and a
00:19:02.70\00:19:05.17
priest who pronounced you clean.
00:19:05.20\00:19:06.90
Not a doctor.
00:19:06.91\00:19:08.50
You couldn't
return to your family,
00:19:09.33\00:19:11.04
you couldn't
return to your friends.
00:19:11.44\00:19:13.56
You had to go to a leper colony
in the valley of the leper;
00:19:14.02\00:19:18.79
the place of the living dead.
00:19:19.31\00:19:21.76
You were not
allowed to comb your hair,
00:19:22.59\00:19:24.68
you were not
allowed to show your beard.
00:19:25.16\00:19:27.89
It was your job to
yell, "unclean, unclean,"
00:19:28.38\00:19:32.80
whenever you came near a
person who didn't have leprosy.
00:19:32.83\00:19:36.37
You could be stoned,
you could be spat upon.
00:19:36.99\00:19:41.19
You were not allowed
to encourage a leper or
00:19:41.68\00:19:45.06
even to say a
kind word to a leper.
00:19:45.09\00:19:47.95
If you had leprosy, you
were kicked out of your house,
00:19:49.11\00:19:54.17
you were kicked out of society,
you were kicked out of town,
00:19:54.70\00:19:59.22
and you were
kicked out of church.
00:19:59.52\00:20:01.85
Doctors wouldn't treat you.
00:20:02.70\00:20:05.19
You couldn't even get a
minister to pray for you
00:20:05.82\00:20:09.94
if you had leprosy.
00:20:09.97\00:20:11.55
You were considered one dead.
00:20:12.81\00:20:16.48
Rejected by friends
and family and society,
00:20:16.99\00:20:19.84
and even the synagogue.
00:20:19.87\00:20:21.43
You couldn't even get
your pastor to pray for you
00:20:21.46\00:20:25.94
if you had leprosy.
00:20:26.64\00:20:28.02
Simon, as a Pharisee, had
no doubt heard the sentence
00:20:29.18\00:20:34.74
of leprosy
passed upon many people.
00:20:34.77\00:20:36.84
And now he heard
those same words pronounced
00:20:37.63\00:20:40.03
over his own name.
00:20:40.06\00:20:41.85
Whatever Simon was before,
from now one he was going to be
00:20:41.88\00:20:48.12
Simon the leper.
00:20:48.22\00:20:49.64
Identified by his disease.
00:20:50.25\00:20:53.62
Now let me give you
some insight into how good
00:20:55.50\00:20:59.10
the God we serve is.
00:20:59.13\00:21:00.90
Let me give you just a
little insight into the grace
00:21:01.54\00:21:04.15
of the God that we serve.
00:21:04.18\00:21:05.90
This text in Mark that
we read a few moments ago,
00:21:06.78\00:21:09.71
Mark chapter 14 beginning
at verse 3, gives us indication
00:21:09.74\00:21:14.67
that a social event of
some kind was taking place.
00:21:15.55\00:21:19.26
Now you listen to me carefully.
00:21:19.29\00:21:20.52
Mark is
describing a dinner party.
00:21:21.47\00:21:24.83
What is he describing?
00:21:25.23\00:21:26.33
A dinner party.
00:21:27.12\00:21:28.43
It is a dinner party.
00:21:29.24\00:21:30.22
Mark 14:3, a
party is being thrown.
00:21:30.25\00:21:35.31
But Mark 14:3 ought also
to throw a red flag for you
00:21:35.34\00:21:39.51
and for any Bible
student, because this passage
00:21:39.54\00:21:43.23
here in Mark is
beginning with a miracle.
00:21:43.24\00:21:45.98
The Bible says, "And
being in Bethany at the house of
00:21:46.62\00:21:51.03
Simon the leper, as
He sat at the table..."
00:21:51.06\00:21:54.81
That, ladies and gentlemen,
is a disguised miracle.
00:21:55.24\00:22:00.12
Follow me closely.
00:22:00.89\00:22:02.14
The fact that Simon the
leper was having a dinner party
00:22:02.52\00:22:09.83
ipso facto means he
is no longer a leper.
00:22:10.53\00:22:15.35
Are you following me?
00:22:15.55\00:22:16.61
Couldn't be.
00:22:17.24\00:22:18.28
Because he's having a party.
00:22:18.80\00:22:20.82
So he's not a leper.
00:22:21.46\00:22:23.27
So a miracle somewhere along the
line has already taken place.
00:22:23.30\00:22:27.24
Amen?
00:22:27.27\00:22:28.27
Because Simon the leper
is having a dinner party.
00:22:28.30\00:22:31.74
Lepers couldn't
have dinner parties.
00:22:32.16\00:22:35.65
Amen.
00:22:35.67\00:22:36.67
And if a leper did have a
dinner party, who would come?
00:22:37.25\00:22:42.00
Would you take an hors d'oeurve
from the hand of a leper?
00:22:44.37\00:22:48.32
Would you eat potato
salad made by a leper?
00:22:49.40\00:22:53.90
Would you eat a sandwich,
even a vegetarian sandwich,
00:22:55.28\00:23:00.12
given to you by a leper?
00:23:00.41\00:23:03.31
I think not.
00:23:04.27\00:23:05.55
And so the fact that Simon the
leper is having people over to
00:23:05.71\00:23:10.36
his house for dinner means
that Simon is no longer a leper.
00:23:10.39\00:23:15.35
Do you follow me? Couldn't be.
00:23:15.38\00:23:17.15
Number one, lepers
couldn't have houses.
00:23:17.18\00:23:20.13
Amen.
00:23:20.66\00:23:21.72
Two, lepers didn't have friends.
00:23:21.91\00:23:24.88
Three, lepers didn't
have anything to celebrate.
00:23:24.91\00:23:29.02
And I say again, who would
come to the house of a person
00:23:32.07\00:23:36.17
with an infectious
highly communicable disease
00:23:36.97\00:23:40.76
that you possibly, in
fact probably could catch
00:23:40.79\00:23:44.50
if you went there?
00:23:44.53\00:23:46.01
Not in Bible times.
00:23:47.00\00:23:48.47
Not even today would anyone
put themselves in for a disease
00:23:49.01\00:23:53.03
that had no
treatment and had no cure.
00:23:53.04\00:23:56.47
And so we must
assume that Mark 14 verse 3
00:23:57.07\00:24:02.96
is talking about
Simon use to be leper.
00:24:02.99\00:24:07.20
Because he's not
a leper any more.
00:24:07.87\00:24:09.80
Now this story is spoken of
four times in the Word of God.
00:24:10.24\00:24:13.66
Matthew, Mark, Luke,
John all touch on it.
00:24:13.69\00:24:15.87
And each of them
gives us more information.
00:24:15.90\00:24:18.23
But we get the clue really from
that great work, Desire Of Ages.
00:24:18.24\00:24:22.89
Ellen White says, in
point of fact, Simon had been
00:24:23.48\00:24:27.13
cured of leprosy.
00:24:27.16\00:24:28.63
And this dinner party was
sort of Simon's, shall we say,
00:24:28.66\00:24:32.64
coming out party.
00:24:32.67\00:24:33.98
This was the celebration of the
new Simon, the post leper Simon.
00:24:34.01\00:24:38.85
He wants everybody to come
to see what he is like now.
00:24:38.86\00:24:43.11
For he is no
longer Simon the leper.
00:24:43.58\00:24:46.91
Simon has been healed.
00:24:47.25\00:24:49.91
And there is only person in all
of Galilee who could heal him.
00:24:49.92\00:24:54.05
And that person was Jesus.
00:24:54.06\00:24:56.87
Rather interesting
that Simon the leper somehow
00:24:57.65\00:25:02.02
met Jesus and had gotten healed.
00:25:02.32\00:25:05.34
Now I really shouldn't do
this, but sometimes you study
00:25:05.68\00:25:07.94
this stuff and
you've got to just...
00:25:07.97\00:25:09.06
I want to show you
something real quick.
00:25:09.09\00:25:10.57
I found out how Simon
met Jesus and got healed.
00:25:11.30\00:25:14.82
Turn over real quick to
the book of John chapter 12.
00:25:14.85\00:25:17.36
And this is a whole
separate sermon, but I just
00:25:19.32\00:25:21.44
stumbled across something the
Lord showed me the other day.
00:25:21.45\00:25:23.78
And the reason this is
interesting is because the
00:25:25.78\00:25:27.69
Pharisees, of which Simon
was one, were out to put Jesus
00:25:27.72\00:25:31.90
to death almost from
the time He was born.
00:25:31.93\00:25:34.27
So why would a group of
people who wanted Jesus' death,
00:25:34.69\00:25:37.95
how could one of their chief
leaders be healed by Jesus?
00:25:37.98\00:25:42.54
I found out how right
here in John chapter 12.
00:25:42.57\00:25:44.75
John chapter 12 and
let's look at verse...
00:25:47.61\00:25:51.13
...start at verse 3.
00:25:54.78\00:25:56.00
This is the same incident
that is spoken of in Mark 14.
00:25:56.29\00:25:59.63
But John picks up
the story in chapter 12.
00:25:59.66\00:26:01.33
"Then Mary took a pound of
very costly oil of spikenard,
00:26:01.34\00:26:05.53
anointed the feet of Jesus, and
wiped His feet with her hair.
00:26:05.56\00:26:08.84
And the house was filled
with the fragrance of the oil."
00:26:08.87\00:26:13.37
Follow me? Okay.
00:26:13.40\00:26:15.15
"But one of His
disciples, Judas Iscariot..."
00:26:15.18\00:26:18.99
Who's son?
00:26:19.02\00:26:20.29
Simon's son.
That's the connection.
00:26:20.94\00:26:22.80
That's the connection.
00:26:23.81\00:26:24.88
Judas was a
disciple. Simon was his dad.
00:26:27.75\00:26:32.73
Judas was the connection
between Jesus and Simon.
00:26:32.76\00:26:36.06
You follow me?
00:26:36.09\00:26:37.09
It's his dad.
00:26:37.11\00:26:38.24
That's the connection.
00:26:38.58\00:26:39.87
There's another interesting
connection I'm going to
00:26:39.90\00:26:41.49
get to in just a little bit.
00:26:41.52\00:26:42.70
But I want you
to get the picture.
00:26:43.08\00:26:44.90
That's how Simon met Jesus.
00:26:44.93\00:26:47.56
Jesus healed Him
and he was a happy man.
00:26:48.26\00:26:52.09
Of course he was a happy man.
00:26:52.12\00:26:54.14
Because Jesus had given
him a new lease on life.
00:26:54.17\00:26:58.57
Jesus had revoked
his death sentence.
00:26:58.87\00:27:02.15
Who wouldn't be happy?
00:27:02.18\00:27:03.45
You're a pariah,
you're an outcast.
00:27:04.15\00:27:06.96
You've got to live by yourself.
00:27:06.99\00:27:08.76
You've got a death sentence.
00:27:08.79\00:27:10.17
Christ comes along, heals you,
and gives you a brand new life.
00:27:10.20\00:27:15.09
Wouldn't you be happy?
00:27:15.12\00:27:16.26
Of course you would.
00:27:16.96\00:27:18.05
The problem was, Ellen
White says, he was thankful
00:27:18.85\00:27:21.50
but he wasn't converted.
00:27:22.16\00:27:23.65
I'll give you a little sidebar.
00:27:24.81\00:27:26.48
So many times in the Word
of God you'll hear Christ,
00:27:26.80\00:27:29.34
at the beginning of His
miracles, say something like,
00:27:29.37\00:27:32.46
"Thy faith has made thee whole."
00:27:32.49\00:27:34.49
You'll never
find that with Simon.
00:27:35.36\00:27:37.15
There is no profession of
faith with Simon's healing.
00:27:38.30\00:27:41.49
Ellen White makes it clear
in the book, Desire of Ages,
00:27:42.34\00:27:44.63
Christ healed Simon
without a profession of faith.
00:27:44.93\00:27:49.29
In other words, Simon
was a rat before his healing.
00:27:49.32\00:27:56.53
And he was a rat...
00:27:57.33\00:27:58.65
What's the Spanish word? Ratón?
00:27:58.68\00:28:00.24
...after his healing.
00:28:01.28\00:28:03.16
He wasn't changed.
00:28:04.23\00:28:06.12
Christ healed Simon
without a profession of faith.
00:28:06.15\00:28:11.66
So Simon was thankful to be
healed, but he wasn't saved.
00:28:11.69\00:28:16.66
He hadn't given
his heart to the Lord.
00:28:16.89\00:28:18.73
He was happy to
have a new lease on life,
00:28:18.99\00:28:21.40
but he wasn't saved.
00:28:21.43\00:28:24.04
I am convinced,
ladies and gentlemen,
00:28:24.07\00:28:26.15
that there will be a lot
of people who will not make it
00:28:26.45\00:28:28.93
to the kingdom of God
because of their ingratitude
00:28:28.96\00:28:33.15
for the goodness of God.
00:28:33.18\00:28:34.57
When you look at your
life, every time you count
00:28:34.60\00:28:37.57
two and two you get four.
00:28:37.60\00:28:39.16
Every morning you
wake up in your right mind,
00:28:39.47\00:28:41.45
you ought to be
thankful to the Lord.
00:28:41.48\00:28:43.13
That ought to make
you thankful enough
00:28:43.16\00:28:44.68
to surrender each
and every day to Him.
00:28:44.71\00:28:46.68
Amen?
00:28:46.69\00:28:47.69
Some people are going
to miss out on the kingdom,
00:28:48.98\00:28:51.13
not because of the sins
they commit, but because of
00:28:51.16\00:28:54.03
their ingratitude for the
grace that God has shown them.
00:28:54.06\00:28:58.65
Simon was happy to be cured.
00:28:59.56\00:29:01.31
He was happy to
have Christ as Savior,
00:29:01.81\00:29:04.14
but he didn't
want Jesus as Lord.
00:29:04.17\00:29:07.10
Ellen White says his
principles were unchanged.
00:29:07.13\00:29:10.06
Nothing had changed about Simon
except his physical condition.
00:29:10.09\00:29:13.97
His heart was just as
black after his healing
00:29:14.00\00:29:17.27
as it was before his healing.
00:29:17.30\00:29:19.40
Character was unchanged,
his principles untransformed.
00:29:20.36\00:29:24.73
There are many in the church
today who are happy to have
00:29:25.69\00:29:27.88
the joys and blessings of Jesus.
00:29:27.91\00:29:31.13
But they don't want
to surrender to Him.
00:29:32.19\00:29:33.88
They don't want
to make Him Lord.
00:29:34.46\00:29:36.16
They follow Christ for the
goodies, for the blessings.
00:29:36.46\00:29:39.34
But they don't want
to give Him their lives.
00:29:39.37\00:29:43.69
They haven't taken the
final most important step.
00:29:46.83\00:29:49.30
And that is surrender to Jesus.
00:29:49.60\00:29:51.58
To Simon, Jesus was a good man.
00:29:51.59\00:29:55.55
Powerful man.
00:29:56.20\00:29:57.56
Exceptional teacher.
00:29:57.91\00:29:59.45
Worker of miracles.
00:29:59.75\00:30:01.85
But he didn't
accept Jesus as Lord.
00:30:02.17\00:30:06.92
It's not enough to be Savior,
we've got to make Him Lord.
00:30:07.55\00:30:11.19
So now he's throwing a party
00:30:11.89\00:30:13.59
to celebrate his
new lease on life.
00:30:14.34\00:30:16.47
It's a party,
ladies and gentlemen.
00:30:16.82\00:30:18.71
Food, drinks.
Everybody is there.
00:30:19.16\00:30:22.71
It's the social
event of the season.
00:30:22.74\00:30:25.75
One of those parties
where everybody who is somebody
00:30:26.68\00:30:30.68
has to show up.
00:30:31.01\00:30:32.31
You cancel your calendar
for this particular party
00:30:32.61\00:30:35.81
because this is a party
thrown by Simon the Pharisee.
00:30:35.84\00:30:39.35
This is an
expensive lavish party.
00:30:39.38\00:30:42.03
You should just check out
the guest list of this party.
00:30:43.37\00:30:46.82
A veritable who's who of
liars and extortioners and
00:30:48.44\00:30:52.93
curiosity seekers and gate
crashers and would be saints.
00:30:52.94\00:30:57.42
And twelve
unconverted disciples.
00:30:57.45\00:31:01.87
There are Pharisees there.
00:31:03.53\00:31:05.41
The Pharisees were there
to see what they could do
00:31:05.98\00:31:09.89
to trap Jesus.
00:31:09.92\00:31:11.68
There were other
people there because they knew
00:31:13.32\00:31:17.17
that Lazarus was
going to be at the party.
00:31:17.20\00:31:19.64
And Luke says in his gospel,
some people came to the party
00:31:20.17\00:31:23.89
because they had
heard that Lazarus was
00:31:23.92\00:31:26.02
raised from the dead.
00:31:26.05\00:31:27.14
And they just wanted
to see what a walking
00:31:27.16\00:31:29.46
dead person looked like.
00:31:29.49\00:31:31.29
So they came to the party too.
00:31:31.71\00:31:33.47
There were some who
wanted to see what a
00:31:34.49\00:31:36.31
healed leper looked like.
00:31:36.34\00:31:38.23
So they came to the party.
00:31:38.26\00:31:40.41
So Pharisees are there
and Sadducees are there.
00:31:40.98\00:31:44.83
Now the Sadducees,
you must understand,
00:31:44.86\00:31:46.88
are the true
priestly aristocracy.
00:31:46.91\00:31:49.55
When you talk about the
high priest in the land,
00:31:49.58\00:31:52.14
you're talking about Sadducees.
00:31:52.17\00:31:54.35
These are the real priests.
00:31:54.97\00:31:56.78
These are the
ecclesiarchy of the church,
00:31:57.48\00:32:00.82
the crème de la crème.
00:32:00.85\00:32:02.02
These are the top guys.
00:32:02.05\00:32:03.38
They came to the party also.
00:32:03.39\00:32:04.99
But Sadducees
didn't believe in angels.
00:32:05.02\00:32:07.74
Sadducees didn't
believe in miracles.
00:32:08.69\00:32:11.07
Sadducees didn't
believe in the judgment.
00:32:11.59\00:32:14.07
Sadducees didn't believe
in man cooperating with God.
00:32:14.37\00:32:18.13
Sadducees didn't believe in
the work of the Holy Spirit.
00:32:18.16\00:32:21.51
Sadducees didn't
believe in the resurrection.
00:32:21.89\00:32:24.68
I mean, good night.
00:32:24.73\00:32:25.78
Why get out of
bed in the morning?
00:32:25.81\00:32:27.09
You go to your pastor and
he doesn't believe in God,
00:32:28.02\00:32:30.34
doesn't believe
in the Holy Spirit,
00:32:30.35\00:32:31.66
doesn't believe in miracles,
doesn't believe in changes,
00:32:31.67\00:32:34.26
doesn't believe in
cooperating with God,
00:32:34.29\00:32:36.27
doesn't believe in the judgment,
00:32:36.30\00:32:37.31
doesn't believe
in the resurrection.
00:32:37.34\00:32:38.52
What does he got to say to you?
00:32:38.55\00:32:39.94
And yet, the Sadducees were
the true priests of the temple.
00:32:41.58\00:32:46.01
But they believed in nothing.
00:32:46.11\00:32:48.68
They, too, were there.
00:32:48.71\00:32:50.58
And it is interesting,
you read the Word of God,
00:32:51.71\00:32:54.91
Luke, in telling the
story, says they were plotting
00:32:56.91\00:33:00.26
to see how they
could put Lazarus to death.
00:33:00.29\00:33:04.41
Now Jesus had just
raised Lazarus from the dead.
00:33:04.78\00:33:07.96
And the ministers were
plotting to see how they could
00:33:08.95\00:33:12.40
put him to death.
00:33:12.43\00:33:14.18
Because just the fact
that he was alive was testimony
00:33:14.21\00:33:18.14
to the power of Jesus.
00:33:18.17\00:33:20.05
So there were people at
the party who were trying to
00:33:20.83\00:33:22.79
find out ways, "How can we
get rid of Jesus and Lazarus
00:33:22.82\00:33:27.43
before the Passover."
00:33:27.46\00:33:29.22
They wanted them both dead.
00:33:29.84\00:33:31.30
So this is an interesting party.
00:33:31.95\00:33:34.10
This is an
interesting dinner party.
00:33:34.13\00:33:36.14
There are all kinds
of texts and subtexts,
00:33:36.15\00:33:39.11
all kinds of things going on.
00:33:39.12\00:33:40.68
People there for
different reasons.
00:33:40.71\00:33:42.57
A house full of people,
most celebrating something that
00:33:42.60\00:33:46.91
they really didn't understand.
00:33:46.94\00:33:49.05
Besides Jesus, there were only
three truly converted people
00:33:49.79\00:33:54.49
in that entire gathering.
00:33:54.52\00:33:56.15
Certainly wasn't Simon,
although it was his house.
00:33:57.09\00:34:00.47
It was just Mary,
Martha, and Lazarus.
00:34:01.16\00:34:05.73
Here's where
the story gets good.
00:34:07.26\00:34:08.90
Ellen White tells us,
and the Bible also indicates,
00:34:11.04\00:34:15.33
that Christ
strategically placed Himself
00:34:15.92\00:34:19.77
at the head of the table.
00:34:19.80\00:34:21.08
He put Himself at the
head of the table with Lazarus
00:34:22.10\00:34:25.48
on one side and Simon
the leper on the other.
00:34:25.51\00:34:29.59
That was no accident.
00:34:30.43\00:34:31.82
Christ wanted to be between
these two strategic individuals.
00:34:32.41\00:34:37.63
Lazarus, who has just
been raised from the dead,
00:34:37.66\00:34:40.69
on one hand.
00:34:40.72\00:34:42.17
Simon, who had just come
back basically from the dead,
00:34:42.69\00:34:47.01
on the other.
00:34:47.04\00:34:48.36
And Jesus, the giver
of life, in the middle.
00:34:48.60\00:34:51.78
And so all eyes were focused
on that end of the table.
00:34:52.30\00:34:56.81
You've got Lazarus who had
just come out of the grave,
00:34:56.84\00:35:00.12
Simon who had just
gotten a new lease on life,
00:35:00.73\00:35:03.99
and the Giver of life
sitting in the middle.
00:35:04.02\00:35:05.97
Everybody was looking
at that end of the room
00:35:06.00\00:35:08.33
to see what was going to happen.
00:35:08.34\00:35:09.83
All this
intrigue swirling around.
00:35:10.74\00:35:12.93
It was like a
modern day soap opera.
00:35:12.95\00:35:14.54
Kind of like a novella.
00:35:14.57\00:35:16.05
Into the mix of all
this intrigue comes Mary
00:35:18.71\00:35:22.44
at the most inopportune time.
00:35:23.23\00:35:26.31
She decides to crawl
to the end of the table,
00:35:26.34\00:35:31.27
open up a jar of
very costly ointment,
00:35:32.96\00:35:38.45
and pour it on the head
and feet of Jesus as a secret.
00:35:38.84\00:35:44.63
But soon the smell of the
ointment broadcast her secret.
00:35:46.76\00:35:49.84
Everybody in the room who is
looking at that end of the table
00:35:49.87\00:35:53.51
sees this little
intrigue between Mary and Jesus.
00:35:54.35\00:35:57.73
And immediately
tongues begin to wag.
00:35:58.52\00:36:00.56
You know how we do.
00:36:00.59\00:36:01.87
"What in the world
is she doing with Jesus?
00:36:03.64\00:36:09.07
Do you see what's going on?
00:36:10.14\00:36:11.43
Do you see what that
woman with that reputation
00:36:12.12\00:36:15.86
is doing with Jesus?"
00:36:15.89\00:36:17.31
Everybody picks it up.
00:36:19.58\00:36:21.00
Judas picks it up.
00:36:21.86\00:36:23.33
Judas, who can never
control himself, speaks out.
00:36:24.15\00:36:27.67
Simon is thinking
something in his heart.
00:36:28.78\00:36:32.84
Simon is thinking in his heart,
00:36:33.82\00:36:35.67
"If He really was the Savior,
He would know what kind of woman
00:36:38.23\00:36:45.59
is handling Him.
00:36:45.62\00:36:47.80
And He wouldn't
let that happen."
00:36:49.86\00:36:51.35
Simon thinks it, Judas says it.
00:36:52.74\00:36:56.83
"Why is this money being wasted?
00:36:58.90\00:37:03.85
We could have saved this
money and given it to the poor."
00:37:06.06\00:37:11.25
Now let me make
a quick side turn.
00:37:12.94\00:37:14.67
Because that's also a ruse.
00:37:14.70\00:37:16.82
Ellen White says Judas was
a treasurer for the disciples.
00:37:16.85\00:37:19.92
He held the money.
00:37:20.61\00:37:21.79
So basically he was saying,
"Why wasn't the money put
00:37:22.34\00:37:25.37
in my pocket?"
00:37:25.38\00:37:26.51
And Ellen White also
says he was embezzling
00:37:27.06\00:37:29.41
money from the disciples.
00:37:29.42\00:37:30.42
He was stealing money and
using it for his own good.
00:37:30.43\00:37:33.13
And she says had he gotten
that money for the spikenard,
00:37:33.16\00:37:36.40
he would have spent it on
himself like all the rest.
00:37:36.43\00:37:38.26
You see all the intrigue
that is going on in this story?
00:37:38.29\00:37:40.55
There's story, upon
story, upon story, upon story.
00:37:40.58\00:37:43.15
And Jesus is aware of it all.
00:37:43.18\00:37:45.18
He knows what Simon is thinking.
00:37:47.26\00:37:48.89
Everyone is turning their
nose up at this poor woman.
00:37:50.20\00:37:53.05
It is difficult to
understand, many times, how we
00:37:54.68\00:37:57.70
in the church can be
guilty of the same sin
00:37:57.73\00:38:00.48
and not see it in ourselves,
but see it so clearly in others.
00:38:00.51\00:38:03.59
So everyone is
turning their nose up at Mary.
00:38:09.60\00:38:12.14
But Mary is not aware of
any of this because her act
00:38:12.17\00:38:15.09
is an act of love
and faith to her Lord.
00:38:15.12\00:38:18.83
And Simon is saying in
his heart, "If He were the
00:38:18.86\00:38:22.57
Son of God, He wouldn't let
a woman like that touch Him."
00:38:22.60\00:38:26.74
You remember I told
you Simon was unchanged?
00:38:26.77\00:38:28.52
He was unchanged and unconverted
though he was healed?
00:38:28.55\00:38:32.16
Ellen White tells us a
little sideline about Simon.
00:38:34.05\00:38:37.60
My time is slipping
away so I've got to go fast.
00:38:37.63\00:38:39.45
Simon could make
that statement about Mary,
00:38:41.86\00:38:44.33
because when you read
that book, Desire Of Ages,
00:38:45.57\00:38:47.80
you find out this.
00:38:47.81\00:38:49.37
We don't know precisely what
kind of trouble Mary go into
00:38:50.77\00:38:57.60
to get her reputation.
00:38:57.63\00:38:59.46
But Ellen White says in
the book, Desire Of Ages,
00:39:00.68\00:39:03.01
whatever trouble she got into,
Simon led her into trouble.
00:39:05.06\00:39:12.94
Did you hear me?
00:39:13.59\00:39:14.60
Surely he could say, "If
Christ knew what kind of woman
00:39:15.74\00:39:19.61
she was," because
Simon was the one who made
00:39:20.21\00:39:24.57
her that kind of woman.
00:39:24.60\00:39:26.06
Are you listening to me?
00:39:26.09\00:39:27.20
Simon was partially responsible
for the life Mary had.
00:39:28.43\00:39:33.56
Now it is my belief,
and I'm doing research,
00:39:33.59\00:39:36.99
I believe that Lazarus
and Simon were brothers.
00:39:37.02\00:39:42.38
I believe that
Simon was Mary's uncle.
00:39:42.91\00:39:47.56
That would mean that Simon
was responsible for some kind of
00:39:48.45\00:39:55.66
abuse of his own niece.
00:39:55.69\00:39:57.50
So surely he could say,
"If Christ knew what kind of
00:39:59.60\00:40:03.47
woman she was," because he
made her that kind of woman.
00:40:03.50\00:40:07.10
And all this is
going on at this party.
00:40:07.93\00:40:10.24
And Christ has healed him.
00:40:10.27\00:40:12.32
But his heart is
unchanged and he is unthankful.
00:40:14.30\00:40:17.87
Well she is there in the house.
00:40:21.30\00:40:22.96
And she is fixed on Jesus.
00:40:23.94\00:40:25.76
And she is in love with Jesus.
00:40:25.79\00:40:28.02
And she is not concerned
about Simon or anybody else.
00:40:28.05\00:40:32.38
Her love for Christ is supreme.
00:40:32.39\00:40:35.67
But Jesus did know the
kind of person that she was.
00:40:37.21\00:40:41.06
And he also knew the
kind of person Simon was.
00:40:42.36\00:40:45.35
Isn't it wonderful that
Christ knows us intimately
00:40:46.05\00:40:50.90
but He doesn't let that
stop Him from saving us?
00:40:50.91\00:40:54.86
From blessing us?
00:40:54.89\00:40:56.69
From helping us
when we call upon Him?
00:40:57.09\00:40:58.92
Christ knows you
better than you know yourself.
00:40:58.93\00:41:02.12
Amen?
00:41:02.71\00:41:03.71
You know, sometimes
we do things and we say,
00:41:03.80\00:41:06.45
"Was that me, did I
do that? Did I say that?
00:41:06.48\00:41:08.83
That couldn't be me."
00:41:09.13\00:41:10.49
That's because we
don't always know ourselves.
00:41:11.18\00:41:13.16
I'll give you a secret.
00:41:13.85\00:41:15.08
The Lord knows you
better than you know yourself.
00:41:18.54\00:41:22.16
Amen?
00:41:22.56\00:41:23.60
Satan also knows you
better than you know yourself.
00:41:25.39\00:41:30.27
He does.
00:41:31.07\00:41:32.13
He has studied you
for six thousand years.
00:41:32.16\00:41:33.84
And if you read the Word of God,
the same trick he was pulling
00:41:34.05\00:41:36.21
three thousand years
ago, he's pulling them today.
00:41:36.24\00:41:38.40
And they still work.
00:41:38.43\00:41:39.67
Then there's you, and
you think you know yourself.
00:41:40.48\00:41:44.31
But you don't know yourself.
00:41:47.01\00:41:49.83
And you know how I know
you don't know yourself?
00:41:49.86\00:41:51.86
Because sometimes you do
things that surprise you.
00:41:52.27\00:41:55.16
Amen.
00:41:57.42\00:41:58.42
And when you do
things that surprise you,
00:41:58.49\00:42:01.18
the only person
who's surprised is you.
00:42:01.64\00:42:06.02
God knew. Not surprised.
00:42:07.85\00:42:10.61
Satan knew. Cause
it; not surprised.
00:42:10.91\00:42:14.22
The only person
scratching their head...
00:42:14.23\00:42:16.05
That's why you
cannot hope to defeat Satan
00:42:19.73\00:42:22.88
without the power
of the almighty God.
00:42:22.91\00:42:24.88
Amen?
00:42:25.33\00:42:26.33
Got to have God.
00:42:26.62\00:42:27.86
So Christ knew
what was going on.
00:42:28.33\00:42:30.20
He knew what was going
on in the heart of Mary,
00:42:30.23\00:42:32.32
and He knew what was going
on in the heart of Lazarus.
00:42:32.35\00:42:36.18
And so Jesus had to give this
still proud unconverted Pharisee
00:42:39.29\00:42:44.42
named Simon a little hand slap.
00:42:44.45\00:42:47.49
Christ told him a story.
00:42:48.63\00:42:50.19
He said, "Simon, when
I came into your house,
00:42:50.88\00:42:53.08
you didn't kiss Me,
you didn't wash My feet,
00:42:53.60\00:42:57.22
you didn't greet
Me, you didn't serve Me.
00:42:57.68\00:43:00.89
You didn't do anything for Me.
00:43:00.92\00:43:02.99
But this young girl did.
00:43:03.02\00:43:06.52
She hath done what she could."
00:43:06.55\00:43:10.29
And in Mark chapter 14 verse
8, 8 and through 10 really,
00:43:11.12\00:43:16.62
Christ memorializes her.
00:43:16.65\00:43:18.33
Jesus says, "Whenever
the full gospel is preached,
00:43:18.36\00:43:21.72
you've got to tell
this story of Mary.
00:43:22.25\00:43:23.95
Because she did what she could."
00:43:25.49\00:43:26.81
Ladies and gentlemen, that's
all Jesus asks of any of us.
00:43:26.84\00:43:30.33
Do what you can.
00:43:30.86\00:43:34.56
He doesn't ask for
everybody to preach sermons.
00:43:35.31\00:43:37.26
Because everybody can't.
00:43:37.29\00:43:38.97
He doesn't ask
for everybody to sing.
00:43:39.40\00:43:41.50
Because everybody can't.
00:43:41.53\00:43:43.20
He doesn't ask for
everybody to be colporteurs.
00:43:43.68\00:43:47.37
Because everybody can't.
00:43:47.40\00:43:48.37
I tried. I can't do it.
00:43:48.40\00:43:49.96
I can't sell books.
00:43:50.35\00:43:51.43
When I was in college, we had
to sell books on one vacation.
00:43:51.46\00:43:55.04
You know, you had to preach
some, you had to sell books.
00:43:56.40\00:43:58.46
You had to do everything.
00:43:58.49\00:43:59.48
I tried selling
books. I can't do it.
00:43:59.51\00:44:01.45
If I had to sell books for a
living, I would starve to death.
00:44:02.28\00:44:05.54
Because people
would give me a story.
00:44:06.34\00:44:07.86
I'd give them Desire Of
Ages or the Conflict Series.
00:44:07.89\00:44:11.69
And they'd say,
"Oh, I can't afford it.
00:44:12.13\00:44:13.88
I don't have the
money, but I really want it."
00:44:13.91\00:44:15.81
And I'd say, "Okay, take it."
00:44:15.84\00:44:17.17
You can't eat that way.
00:44:18.45\00:44:19.85
So I know I can't do retail.
00:44:19.88\00:44:21.70
I can preach, but
I can't sell books.
00:44:21.73\00:44:24.19
So God doesn't
ask me to sell books.
00:44:24.22\00:44:26.03
Praise the Lord.
00:44:26.06\00:44:27.32
He asks me to do what I can.
00:44:27.35\00:44:30.70
I can sing a little bit,
I can preach really loud.
00:44:30.73\00:44:35.10
And that's what God says do.
00:44:35.13\00:44:37.11
Amen.
00:44:37.14\00:44:38.47
Christ says, "Do what you can."
00:44:38.82\00:44:43.18
Amen?
00:44:43.21\00:44:44.32
"And if you do what you
can, I'll give you blessings
00:44:44.35\00:44:48.05
to do a little bit more."
00:44:48.08\00:44:49.68
And so Mary did what she could.
00:44:49.71\00:44:53.42
She loved Christ and
she showed that love.
00:44:54.53\00:44:57.89
And so Christ
is saying to Simon,
00:44:57.90\00:45:00.18
"You didn't do
these things for Me."
00:45:00.21\00:45:01.88
Christ is beginning to dig
at Simon's pontifical patina.
00:45:01.91\00:45:05.72
He's beginning to pull
down his pride and his prejudice
00:45:05.73\00:45:09.38
and his arrogance.
00:45:09.41\00:45:10.48
Christ is trying to show
him that, "Your looking down
00:45:10.51\00:45:16.42
on this little girl and
your disgust at her repentance,
00:45:16.45\00:45:23.73
your hating of her repentance,
doesn't say anything about her,
00:45:23.76\00:45:28.16
it says something about you."
00:45:28.19\00:45:30.21
And so Christ is trying to
tell Simon that He wants him
00:45:33.70\00:45:37.36
and that He loves him still.
00:45:37.39\00:45:38.59
He's trying to tell this man
who thought of himself as more
00:45:41.21\00:45:43.92
righteous than Mary that in
despising her love of Christ
00:45:43.95\00:45:49.38
he was showing that
his sin was greater.
00:45:50.02\00:45:53.63
Because he was adding to his own
sin by hating her repentance.
00:45:54.79\00:46:02.45
And when Simon
answered Christ's little parable
00:46:04.14\00:46:06.73
and said, "The one who
forgives more loves more,"
00:46:07.96\00:46:11.58
Simon was actually condemning
himself as David did when Nathan
00:46:11.88\00:46:17.10
gave him that
story about the ewe lamb.
00:46:17.13\00:46:19.55
He had passed
judgment on himself.
00:46:19.94\00:46:23.44
Simon realized, like
David did some 700 years before,
00:46:24.83\00:46:28.71
that he was a
sinner in need of a Savior.
00:46:29.20\00:46:33.24
You see, sometimes Jesus has
to give us a little wrist slap
00:46:34.20\00:46:42.15
to get our attention.
00:46:42.97\00:46:44.19
I tell the story of how I
thought I was called to be
00:46:45.61\00:46:50.15
a minister from age 10.
00:46:50.18\00:46:53.10
I had a little bird
fall out of his nest.
00:46:55.38\00:46:57.44
And our little group
got together and we had a
00:46:58.33\00:47:01.37
funeral for that little bird.
00:47:01.40\00:47:02.76
Got a little cigar box,
got some little drums and a
00:47:03.91\00:47:07.75
little tiny
piano with twelve keys.
00:47:07.78\00:47:09.70
And we marched down the
street in a funeral procession.
00:47:09.73\00:47:12.22
Dug a little hole.
00:47:12.25\00:47:13.36
And I preached my first
sermon over a little bird.
00:47:13.39\00:47:16.19
And I knew then I
wanted to be a preacher.
00:47:16.20\00:47:17.96
But I got kind of good
at basketball in high school
00:47:17.99\00:47:20.67
and got a scholarship to
play basketball in college.
00:47:20.70\00:47:23.55
To this day when I try
on my shoes, I've got to
00:47:24.75\00:47:26.94
try on my left one first.
00:47:26.97\00:47:28.84
Because I broke my
ankle. Not one, twice.
00:47:29.38\00:47:33.47
Playing basketball on
Friday two years in a row.
00:47:34.03\00:47:37.80
And the doctor said it is
very unusual to get the exact
00:47:39.10\00:47:44.92
same fracture of an ankle.
00:47:44.95\00:47:47.47
But he held up the
x-rays after my second fracture,
00:47:47.76\00:47:50.43
and there it was
the exact same break.
00:47:51.60\00:47:53.67
Friday night in
college playing basketball.
00:47:54.63\00:47:57.95
And my pastor came to
the hospital and said,
00:47:58.73\00:48:01.63
"This time it's your ankle.
00:48:01.83\00:48:04.09
Next time it may be your neck."
00:48:04.78\00:48:07.49
Christ will let you
break your ankle to keep you
00:48:12.53\00:48:17.85
from breaking your neck.
00:48:17.88\00:48:19.62
You hear me?
00:48:20.31\00:48:21.31
And so Jesus was giving
Simon a little slap on the wrist
00:48:22.44\00:48:26.45
because He was
trying to save Simon.
00:48:26.48\00:48:29.10
He still loved Simon enough
and cared about Simon enough
00:48:29.73\00:48:33.22
to try to win Him back.
00:48:35.58\00:48:37.25
Christ was warning him
that his sins stood unpardoned.
00:48:37.28\00:48:42.52
Now Christ could
have sat at that party,
00:48:42.55\00:48:44.23
He could have
stood up at that table,
00:48:44.26\00:48:45.91
and turned to Simon and said,
"You're looking down on Mary.
00:48:45.94\00:48:49.11
You are the cause
that she is what she is."
00:48:49.31\00:48:55.49
But He didn't do that.
00:48:56.91\00:48:58.07
Because that
wouldn't have won Simon.
00:48:59.99\00:49:01.82
That would have turned him away.
00:49:02.37\00:49:03.95
And so Jesus tells him a story.
00:49:05.47\00:49:06.94
And only Simon understands
that the story is made for him.
00:49:06.97\00:49:11.30
"This young girl has
given her heart to Me
00:49:12.17\00:49:15.32
and turned her life around.
00:49:15.35\00:49:16.99
And the best you
can do is hate her?
00:49:17.02\00:49:20.80
Is that how you repay
the love I've shown you
00:49:22.14\00:49:25.36
by healing you from leprosy?"
00:49:25.76\00:49:27.99
And in the book, Desire
Of Ages, Ellen White says,
00:49:31.10\00:49:35.65
Simon at that moment
realized, he realized that Jesus
00:49:35.68\00:49:42.17
didn't want to destroy him,
didn't want to embarrass him.
00:49:42.20\00:49:47.52
Jesus wanted to save him.
00:49:48.13\00:49:50.56
And it was the fact that
Christ privately rebuked him
00:49:51.43\00:49:56.39
instead of publically humiliate
him that broke his heart.
00:49:56.42\00:50:01.16
And at that very
party, at that very instant,
00:50:01.64\00:50:05.10
on that very night, Simon became
a follower of Jesus Christ.
00:50:05.13\00:50:10.02
He still carried the name, but
he no longer carried the shame.
00:50:11.60\00:50:17.17
He will always
be Simon the leper.
00:50:17.84\00:50:20.62
But now it
became a badge of honor.
00:50:21.98\00:50:24.88
Because he could say when
they called him Simon the leper,
00:50:25.92\00:50:28.88
"Yeah, I use to
be Simon the leper.
00:50:28.91\00:50:31.06
But I met a Man called
Jesus and I'm a leper no more."
00:50:31.09\00:50:35.09
You know, I found
out something interesting
00:50:35.12\00:50:36.26
about Latino culture.
00:50:36.27\00:50:38.33
My wife is from Panama.
00:50:38.63\00:50:39.83
I found out that if you
get stuck with a nickname
00:50:39.86\00:50:42.78
in Latino culture, you
carry it until you die.
00:50:42.81\00:50:44.76
Is that true?
00:50:44.79\00:50:45.82
If you say something or do
something one time in your life
00:50:46.48\00:50:49.35
and they get a little
handle on you, a little hook,
00:50:49.36\00:50:51.56
you'll carry that until you die.
00:50:51.80\00:50:54.24
There is a good
friend of ours in Panama,
00:50:54.27\00:50:56.95
she's the pastor's wife.
00:50:57.11\00:50:58.31
She's seventy
something years old.
00:50:58.34\00:50:59.81
They started calling her,
because she's a little brown,
00:50:59.84\00:51:01.77
they started calling her
"chumby" maybe at 10 years old.
00:51:01.80\00:51:07.40
She's 70 years
old, great grandmother.
00:51:07.43\00:51:08.95
They're still
calling her "chumby."
00:51:08.98\00:51:10.10
So you get a handle
and it stays with you.
00:51:11.66\00:51:14.24
So he was Simon the leper.
00:51:14.99\00:51:18.11
But now it was just an
opportunity to talk about Jesus.
00:51:19.22\00:51:22.61
Because people would
ask him, "Why are they
00:51:23.44\00:51:26.05
calling you Simon the leper?
00:51:26.06\00:51:27.11
You don't look
like a leper to me."
00:51:27.13\00:51:29.13
And he could say,
"I use to be a leper.
00:51:29.14\00:51:31.64
My life use to be a waste.
00:51:32.01\00:51:33.98
I use to be as one dead.
00:51:34.30\00:51:36.09
But I met a Man called
Jesus and I am a leper no more."
00:51:36.12\00:51:40.75
And that same Jesus
can cure you of the leprosy
00:51:42.45\00:51:46.97
of sin in your own life.
00:51:47.00\00:51:50.08
Christ was not
out to expose him.
00:51:50.11\00:51:52.40
Christ was out to win him.
00:51:52.43\00:51:54.75
Desire Of Ages, page
568, I want to read something
00:51:56.27\00:51:59.67
just real quick in the
time that is left to me.
00:51:59.70\00:52:02.23
"When to human eyes her
case appeared hopeless,"
00:52:03.22\00:52:06.40
talking about Mary, "Christ saw
in Mary capabilities for good.
00:52:06.44\00:52:09.85
He saw the better
traits of her character.
00:52:09.86\00:52:11.89
The plan of redemption
has invested humanity with
00:52:11.92\00:52:15.66
great possibilities, and
in Mary these possibilities
00:52:15.69\00:52:19.14
were to be realized.
00:52:19.17\00:52:20.50
Through His grace she became
a partaker of the divine nature.
00:52:20.53\00:52:24.75
The one who had
fallen, and whose mind had been
00:52:24.78\00:52:28.09
a habitation of demons,
was brought very near to the
00:52:28.12\00:52:31.80
Savior in
fellowship and ministry.
00:52:31.81\00:52:33.66
It was Mary who sat at
His feet and learned of Him.
00:52:33.69\00:52:36.25
It was Mary who poured upon His
head the precious spikenard oil,
00:52:36.26\00:52:39.59
and bathed His
feet with her tears.
00:52:39.62\00:52:41.08
Mary stood beside the cross and
followed Him to the sepulcher.
00:52:41.11\00:52:44.91
It was Mary who was first at
the tomb after His resurrection.
00:52:44.94\00:52:48.25
It was Mary who first
proclaimed the risen Savior.
00:52:48.28\00:52:51.22
Jesus knows the
circumstances of every soul."
00:52:51.25\00:52:54.66
Amen?
00:52:54.67\00:52:55.67
Everything going on in
your life Christ knows.
00:52:55.68\00:52:57.67
But that does not turn Him away.
00:52:57.70\00:52:59.27
"You may say, 'I am
sinful, very sinful.'
00:52:59.30\00:53:02.24
You may be; but the worse you
are, the more you need Jesus."
00:53:02.27\00:53:08.72
Amen?
00:53:08.73\00:53:09.89
"He turns no
weeping, contrite one away."
00:53:11.37\00:53:15.11
What is that text?
00:53:15.14\00:53:16.14
I think it's Matthew 12:20 that
talks about the smoking flax.
00:53:17.15\00:53:20.91
He's not going to
crush you, you know.
00:53:21.35\00:53:22.95
If you come to Him, He
will always be there for you.
00:53:22.98\00:53:25.74
Read that when you get a chance.
00:53:25.77\00:53:27.28
It's got to be Matthew 12:20.
00:53:27.31\00:53:28.87
"He does not tell to any
all that He might reveal."
00:53:29.63\00:53:33.21
You know, when Christ is trying
to call you, He doesn't even
00:53:33.24\00:53:36.35
reveal all of your sins to you.
00:53:36.38\00:53:38.27
He spares you that.
00:53:38.66\00:53:40.03
He just cleans you
up as you come to Him.
00:53:40.36\00:53:42.49
He doesn't tell you
everything about yourself.
00:53:42.50\00:53:44.37
Because He's not trying to
wash your face with your sins.
00:53:44.40\00:53:47.03
He's trying to save you
and bring you to salvation.
00:53:47.23\00:53:50.50
Amen?
00:53:50.51\00:53:51.51
Alright, one last line.
00:53:51.52\00:53:52.64
"He bids every
trembling soul take courage.
00:53:53.26\00:53:57.91
Freely will He
pardon all who come to Him
00:53:57.94\00:54:03.03
for forgiveness
and restoration."
00:54:03.06\00:54:05.46
You can't go too far,
you can't run too fast,
00:54:05.49\00:54:08.30
to get away from Jesus.
00:54:08.80\00:54:10.12
If you've got enough
sense to call, I'm telling you
00:54:11.13\00:54:13.99
He's got enough love to answer.
00:54:14.02\00:54:15.53
If He can save Simon, the hard
headed, hard hearted Pharisee
00:54:15.56\00:54:22.06
who led a young girl into sin,
don't you think He can save you?
00:54:22.09\00:54:25.96
If He wasn't turned off by
Simon's laundry list of sins,
00:54:26.99\00:54:30.50
He is not going to
be turned off by yours.
00:54:30.53\00:54:33.78
There is room and
grace at the cross
00:54:33.81\00:54:36.86
for each and every one of us.
00:54:36.89\00:54:39.43
I've got to go over
and end with a quick story.
00:54:39.46\00:54:42.05
When the Mennonite missionaries
went up to the North Pole
00:54:43.64\00:54:49.23
to Alaska above the Arctic
Circle and met with the Eskimos
00:54:49.26\00:54:53.13
and tried to
bring them the gospel,
00:54:53.16\00:54:54.74
they found that in the
Eskimo tongue, there was no
00:54:54.77\00:54:58.77
word for "grace."
00:54:58.80\00:55:00.57
They just didn't
have it in their language.
00:55:00.75\00:55:04.33
They were a people of judgment.
00:55:04.36\00:55:05.66
You do something wrong to
me, I do something wrong to you.
00:55:05.67\00:55:08.15
You hurt my cow,
I kill your chicken.
00:55:08.18\00:55:10.42
They had no concept of grace.
00:55:10.45\00:55:13.47
And so they had to
invent a word for "grace."
00:55:14.12\00:55:17.44
I've got to read this word.
00:55:17.64\00:55:18.73
It's called,
issumagijoujunnainermik
00:55:18.76\00:55:24.75
Yeah, issumagijoujunnainermik.
00:55:25.82\00:55:31.23
It's translated, "not being
able to think about it anymore."
00:55:32.38\00:55:36.89
Amen.
00:55:37.37\00:55:38.53
That's their word for "grace."
00:55:38.56\00:55:39.94
Issu... Well, never mind.
00:55:39.97\00:55:41.69
That's their word for "grace."
00:55:42.84\00:55:44.12
It means, "not being able
to think about it anymore."
00:55:44.15\00:55:46.57
That's what God does for us.
00:55:46.60\00:55:48.68
He doesn't think
about it anymore.
00:55:49.24\00:55:50.96
He forgets about it.
00:55:50.99\00:55:52.19
He tosses it into
the depths of the sea.
00:55:52.22\00:55:54.38
Puts out the "no fishing" sign.
00:55:54.41\00:55:55.88
It's not going to
come back anymore.
00:55:55.91\00:55:58.09
Forgiveness, they say, is
the fragrance that a rose petal
00:55:58.12\00:56:03.54
gives when it is crushed.
00:56:03.57\00:56:05.59
Isn't that beautiful?
00:56:06.23\00:56:07.22
That's what grace is all about.
00:56:07.55\00:56:08.94
You bring your broken
down dead life to Jesus
00:56:09.47\00:56:15.75
and He gives you
a brand new life.
00:56:16.98\00:56:20.33
I'm learning a song,
Pastor John, that's called,
00:56:21.01\00:56:23.18
"New Lives For Old."
00:56:23.21\00:56:25.24
It's kind of a complicated
song but I ran across the words,
00:56:25.67\00:56:28.58
"God gives you
new lives for old."
00:56:29.19\00:56:31.70
You bring your broken
down life and God will give you
00:56:31.73\00:56:36.69
a brand new life
for your old one.
00:56:36.72\00:56:39.90
That's what He did for Simon.
00:56:40.64\00:56:42.00
He gave him a new
life for his old one.
00:56:42.69\00:56:45.83
He gave him a new
heart for his old one.
00:56:46.31\00:56:49.59
And we find out that
Simon the Pharisee, the leper,
00:56:50.56\00:56:57.46
became one of Christ's
most loyal, trusting, steadfast,
00:56:58.06\00:57:05.40
loving disciples.
00:57:06.36\00:57:09.05
Simon, like
Nicodemus, gave up Pharisaism
00:57:09.84\00:57:15.52
and became a Christian
in love with Jesus Christ.
00:57:15.97\00:57:20.99
And I submit to you,
if He did it for Simon,
00:57:21.48\00:57:25.89
by the grace of the
living God, He'll do it for you.
00:57:26.69\00:57:31.26