Participants: John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000033
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00:21 Hello, friends, and welcome to A Sharper Focus.
00:24 Thank you so much for tuning in tonight. 00:26 We thank you for taking the time, 00:27 I hope you've enjoyed the topics we've covered here. 00:30 Last topic we covered 00:32 which we're going to continue on tonight is, 00:34 "Face the Challenges." 00:35 We've talked about the challenges, 00:37 not the challenge of the economy, 00:39 not the challenge of the election 00:41 which is thank the Lord behind us, 00:44 not the challenge of what's going to happen over 00:47 whether or not the volcano up in Wyoming 00:50 is going to blow up, the super magnum a lake. 00:52 That's not the challenge we're talking about. 00:54 Whether it's economic, whether it's financial, 00:56 whether it's weather related, 00:57 whether the ice is melting or not, 00:59 is not the issue for tonight. 01:01 The issue is personal and spiritual. 01:04 And so we pray that you'll stay tuned tonight 01:06 as we go through the Bible to find out 01:08 how do we face the challenges and more importantly 01:11 what are the challenges. 01:12 We'll discover that God has an answer 01:14 to no matter what the challenge is. 01:16 We'll talk about that as we go through 01:18 all those challenges one at a time, 01:20 then talk about the divine change 01:22 that only God can make. 01:23 If you like a copy of the lesson to follow us, 01:26 go to ASF.3abn.org. 01:30 Download lesson number 11, 01:33 which is entitled, "Face the Challenges." 01:35 And then you can follow us along 01:37 as we go from question to question. 01:39 Hopefully you have your Bible because sometimes 01:42 we turn to text that are not included in our syllabus 01:44 and then we cover those together. 01:46 But before we do anything, 01:47 before we have our song which we enjoy to sing, 01:49 which we enjoy singing, we're going to have prayer 01:52 and invite the Lord's presence to continue with us. 01:55 Our heavenly Father, we thank You 01:56 for the opportunity tonight to study Your Word. 01:59 We thank You for the goodness of the Lord 02:01 that really is beyond our human comprehension. 02:04 And, Father, we do ask 02:07 that as we look at the challenges 02:08 both in our lives and our family's lives 02:12 that we see the commonality there 02:13 that it's not something that's just affecting others, 02:17 but truly it's a human problem, a human dilemma. 02:21 But we thank You tonight as we continue in the study 02:23 that Jesus is our answer, 02:25 and truly there is no dilemma that He cannot turn around 02:27 by His righteousness and by His shed blood. 02:32 So be with us, speak to us, 02:34 as we study may Your Holy Spirit 02:36 open our minds and impress our hearts. 02:38 In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 02:42 Well, we're going to sing our song "Victory in Jesus," 02:44 you know that's the only place we can find victory, 02:46 isn't that right? 02:47 Only in Christ. 02:49 So join us tonight as we sing our theme song, 02:51 "Victory in Jesus." 03:00 I heard an old, old story 03:04 How the Savior came from glory 03:08 How He gave His life on Calvary 03:12 To save a wretch like me 03:16 I heard about His groaning 03:19 Of His precious blood's atoning 03:23 Then I repented of my sin 03:27 And won the victory 03:30 How? 03:31 O victory in Jesus 03:34 My Savior, forever 03:38 He sought me and bought me 03:42 With His redeeming blood 03:46 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:49 And all my love is due Him 03:53 He plunged me to victory 03:57 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:01 I heard about a mansion 04:05 He has built for me in glory 04:08 And I heard about the streets of gold 04:12 Beyond the crystal sea 04:16 About the angels singing 04:20 And the old redemption story 04:23 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 04:27 The song of victory 04:31 O victory in Jesus 04:35 My Savior, forever 04:39 He sought me and bought me 04:42 With His redeeming blood 04:46 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:50 And all my love is due Him 04:54 He plunged me to victory 04:57 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:01 He plunged me to victory 05:05 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:12 Amen for that. 05:14 Plunged us to victory. 05:15 Notice He didn't say lifted us to victory, 05:18 but did what? Plunged us. 05:20 That's what baptism is, 05:22 plunges us in that watery grave, 05:24 and we come out to walk in the newness of life, 05:26 and then we're faced with the challenge, 05:28 how do we live a spiritual life in a natural body. 05:32 Now we become partaker of a divine nature having 05:36 escaped the corruption that is in the world 05:39 through lust, through desire. 05:41 But tonight what we're going to continue to talk about is, 05:44 what are the challenges that we face? 05:46 We discover so far that all of us have sinned. 05:50 How many of us have sinned? 05:52 Every one of us. 05:53 Then we look at our heart condition. 05:55 Our heart condition says to us 05:57 that we have hearts that are not that good. 05:59 What does he say about our hearts? 06:02 It's deceitful and desperately wicked. 06:05 That reminds of a... 06:08 We were raising a niece and she had mannerisms 06:11 that could always tell me that she's not telling the truth. 06:14 A good friend of mine, Doug Batchelor, 06:17 he used to always talk about a friend of his 06:19 that whenever he didn't tell the truth 06:20 he say, "Yup, that's the truth." 06:25 And he got so locked into his mannerisms 06:28 that all he had to do is wait for him to say, 06:30 "Yup, that's the truth." 06:32 And he knew he was lying. 06:34 And I've discovered also that people, 06:36 when the natural man takes over, 06:38 there are things that people do that 06:40 they can't even keep track of, and you say, 06:42 "There they go, there they go lying again. 06:44 The right eye is twitching." 06:45 Well, some kind of human element shows 06:48 parents are able to pick that up, 06:49 that's why sometimes... 06:52 There's a story that Nancy O'Brien talked about, 06:55 remember that was a great children's story, 06:57 how the teacher tried to figure out 07:00 who stole all the items in the class, 07:03 and she waited for somebody to confess, 07:05 and nobody would confess, and so she said, 07:09 I will find out who did it. 07:11 This shows how the human element gives off the... 07:13 It emits dishonesty, 07:15 and they wondered how she said, 07:17 "I'm going to look at everyone in the eye 07:19 and ask the question." 07:20 And she went to every student 07:22 and looked them in the eyes, straight in the eyes, 07:24 "Did you do it?" 07:26 They all responded and when she was done, 07:27 she said, "I know who did it." 07:29 And she called out his name and they find out, 07:31 well, he really was the one who did it. 07:33 And it was amazing, she said even though 07:35 that happened many years ago, and it's a true story. 07:38 She said to this very day 07:39 when the teacher was going to punish the student, 07:43 the class is waiting because she said 07:44 he's going to be severely punished 07:46 and they were waiting 07:47 'cause she went right back to the study and they said, 07:49 "Well, I thought you are going to punish him." 07:51 And she said, "He already has been. 07:53 He'll be forever known as a thief." 07:56 And she said although that was years ago 07:57 and she was in school still to this very day 07:59 when she mentions his name, 08:01 the word thief or the thought that he's a thief 08:04 comes up in the same category. 08:06 And so it is with the human dilemma, 08:08 that's why it's so important to guard your heart, 08:10 guard your character. 08:11 We have great leaders and right now 08:13 our nation is fighting off this new scandal that's in politics. 08:18 I think one of our great generals, 08:21 another great man brought down... 08:22 I mean, my question is 08:24 when will that ever not be on the news 08:26 'cause it seems like from year to year 08:28 you have all the another great general brought on, 08:30 another great politician, another great leader, 08:34 because they failed to realize 08:36 the challenge that they face from morning to morning. 08:40 And as we dive into this new challenge, 08:41 we'll discover that there's no challenge 08:43 that the Lord cannot give us a remedy for, 08:46 there's no challenge that He cannot fixed. 08:49 Now here's the biggest challenge 08:50 and I want to, 08:51 I put this next text into the category 08:53 of a really big challenge. 08:55 Just read the text and then I'll go ahead and show you 08:57 why I say it's a tremendous challenge. 09:01 Try to say that a 1000 times, tremendous challenge. 09:04 Here we go. Question number five. 09:06 How naturally does the Bible tell us 09:10 we respond to the call of God? 09:13 Hmm, I left the word God out, but that's okay. 09:16 How naturally does the Bible tell us 09:18 we respond to the call, to the call of God? 09:22 How naturally do we respond to that? 09:24 Well, I can tell you that 09:26 there are more sinners in the world 09:28 than they are Christians, 09:30 and there are more people that are going their own way 09:32 than those who are seeking the way of the Lord. 09:34 So that alone will tell us that the percentage is not great. 09:38 But when we read this next text, 09:41 we'll discover that Jesus did not target the un... 09:47 Those who didn't know. 09:49 He targeted those who did know Him. 09:51 He targeted those who said they had a connection with Him. 09:54 In Matthew 23:37. 09:59 Here's the answer. 10:02 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 10:06 the one who kills the prophets and stones 10:09 those who are sent to her! 10:13 How often I wanted to gather your children together, 10:18 as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, 10:22 but you were," what's the word there? 10:25 "You were not willing!" 10:27 Isn't that amazing, just leave the word out not 10:29 and it turns a whole thing around. 10:32 One word can make the difference between 10:33 a person's weakness and a person's strength. 10:37 You are willing, beautiful, but you are not willing. 10:43 The Lord speaks about people that He had known for, 10:45 He had chosen for millennia 10:47 to be the depositories of His truth. 10:50 And one of the sad things that we have to keep in mind is 10:52 we are living in the day 10:53 where the church is described in the Bible as Laodicea. 10:56 What's the condition there? 10:58 Wretched, miserable, 11:01 poor, blind and what else? 11:04 Naked. 11:06 Five prevalent conditions. 11:09 The sad news is, the church doesn't know it 11:12 and it knows not. 11:14 You see that it knows not, it does not know. 11:17 Notice how it points the conditions out 11:19 in just like we find the word here not, 11:21 the church does not know its condition. 11:24 The Christian of the last days does not know its condition. 11:27 That's why we cannot settle for just good Christian music. 11:31 Amen. 11:33 You can't just settle 11:34 for a wonderful stained glass windows 11:35 and a lot of socialize. 11:37 And I've discovered one of the challenges today, 11:38 we live in what I call the social media generation, 11:41 people like socializing. 11:43 If you mention food, 11:45 you've got to shut the door because the food will be gone, 11:48 the people would eat it up. 11:50 If you mention entertainment or a bazaar, 11:56 you know, we get together in bazaar 11:58 sell things, plays game, people will come. 12:00 You mention Bible studies. 12:03 What happens? 12:04 Wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked, don't know it. 12:10 And reality sets in. 12:12 So if you answer the question here, 12:13 how naturally does the Bible tell us 12:15 we respond to the call of God? 12:17 Put these two words 12:19 not willing, not willing. 12:24 Now when you do that, I want you to go to Isaiah. 12:35 And I want you to go to Isaiah1 12:39 and we're going to look at verse 19 and 20. 12:42 We are not going to use verse 18 12:44 because that comes up in a future question. 12:47 All right, talking about the not willing. 12:53 I remember growing up 12:56 when parents had to go to the store, 13:00 we were raised in New York City 13:01 and sometimes when we'd go shopping for food every week, 13:04 but we didn't own a car. 13:06 Most people in New York City don't own cars 13:08 when you had the wonderful transportation. 13:09 But we didn't have a car, 13:11 nobody else took us to the food market. 13:14 We didn't have family members with a car. 13:16 So what did we do? 13:17 We used, we had two wheel drive, 13:19 left, right, left, right. 13:22 We walked to the store. 13:24 Now we always needed food, 13:25 so when it was cold, we walked. 13:29 When it was rainy, we walked. 13:33 And when it got to the point 13:35 where the snow was on the ground, 13:37 we walked. 13:38 And I could see in my mind's eye right now, 13:40 if my sister is watching this broadcast, 13:41 she can connect with me from where we lived. 13:45 My dad was a bargain shopper. 13:49 So didn't matter how far it was, 13:50 he was going to get the lesser price. 13:53 Do any of you remember shopping carts? 13:56 Right. 13:58 Not the one, the back trunk of your car. 14:00 I mean the two wheel shopping carts that you'd pull, 14:03 you put your groceries in there, 14:05 they put those brown paper bags, 14:06 am I dating myself, 14:08 they put those brown paper bags, 14:09 they stack them all the way almost halfway up. 14:11 So the next brown paper bag could fit in that 14:13 and stack it up. 14:14 And so we go shopping that our shopping carts, 14:17 two of them, I pull one, papa pull the other one, 14:21 and we'll switch out back and forth as we pull this. 14:24 But when it was cold outside, 14:28 I was not willing to go. 14:30 But, you know, you know how he offset that, 14:32 you want to eat. 14:35 I'm willing. 14:37 I'm not really willing. 14:38 I'm like the son that said, I won't go, but I went. 14:41 'Cause, you know, the alternative of 14:42 not going is don't eat. 14:45 Well, you don't want to go, fine, 14:47 because I knew that when I went, 14:50 I had a chance to put in the shopping carts 14:51 some of the things I liked. 14:53 If I didn't go, it wasn't going to happen. 14:55 So I was unwillingly willing 14:59 'cause I was selfishly motivated. 15:01 What the Lord in essence saying here is 15:03 when we are unwilling, 15:05 we don't understand the blessings 15:07 that come on the other side of being willing. 15:09 Look at Isaiah 1:19. 15:11 Isaiah 1:19. 15:14 So wonderful, and the thing about it is 15:17 we are shortsighted, 15:18 we are living in a generation 15:19 that believes in instant gratification. 15:22 We don't believe in delayed gratification. 15:24 We can't see the blessing way down the road. 15:27 We've got to get it now and if we don't get it now, 15:28 we don't wait for it. 15:31 Verse 19, look at what it says, 15:34 "If you are," and the next word, 15:37 "willing and obedient, 15:40 you shall eat the good of the land." 15:45 You'll get a chance to go to the store and you'll eat, 15:47 and you'll get what you like, you'll eat the good 15:50 'cause there's some things in the grocery store 15:52 I just didn't like. 15:53 But if I want, I can get some cookies, 15:55 or maybe some potato chips, 15:57 or maybe my favorite juice, 15:59 I get something so when I come home 16:01 and he'll say, "See if you didn't go, 16:03 you wouldn't have that, right?" 16:04 And I say, "Yeah, but it was cold." 16:06 And we get the scarf and wrap it around our face, 16:09 all those glass in our eyes, 16:10 we have an air muffs on, a big old hat. 16:12 It was cold. 16:13 I mean, we're talking about the ice on the ground. 16:14 And we're talking about a long walk, 16:18 easily two miles. 16:20 And that's not round trip, that's one way. 16:23 But all that, you know, you're thinking, 16:25 "I'm hungry." 16:27 And you get in the store, it's like arriving. 16:30 I arrived, I'm safe. 16:32 Only realize now it's going to be worse going back home 16:34 because I'm pulling 55 pounds of groceries, and cans, 16:38 and bottles, and bread. 16:40 And if it wasn't coal, it is when you get home. 16:43 But that's how it is. 16:44 If you're willing, you eat of the good. 16:47 But verse 20, I must include that. 16:50 But if you refuse and rebel, 16:52 you shall be devoured by the sword, 16:55 for the mouth of the Lord has spoken just like papa. 16:59 We didn't get devoured by the sword, 17:00 we just got a spanking. 17:02 That's what we got. 17:03 We could either go willingly or go after we got spanked. 17:06 So I always felt it was easier to walk 17:08 if you go willingly. 17:10 Didn't have to walk. 17:12 And if you got a spanking, 17:13 you cooled off in the cold weather. 17:15 But the Lord is so much more willing to bless us sometimes 17:19 and we are willing to be blessed. 17:20 And that's what this text starts out by saying, 17:22 God wants to bless us more abundantly 17:25 than we can ever imagine. 17:26 As the Bible says, abundantly more than 17:28 you could've ask or think, 17:30 but what's the problem? 17:31 If you want to put those two words there 17:33 in question number five, 17:34 what are the two words? 17:35 Not willing. Not willing. 17:39 Now let's go down to number six. 17:43 Number six. 17:45 Okay. 17:51 So far we've discovered that 17:53 we have all fallen short, we have corrupt hearts, 17:56 we all have turned our own way, we have been led astray, 18:00 we are not willing, 18:01 what is this next one going to say to us. 18:04 Well, I'll tell you. 18:06 There's some hope coming up here pretty soon, hold on, 18:09 we shall make a turn in the good direction. 18:12 How much like God are we in our thoughts? 18:17 Well, this is a seven point sermon right here. 18:21 How much like God are we in our thoughts? 18:26 Isaiah 55:9. 18:28 Isaiah 55:9 is where you're turning 18:31 and it'll appear on the screen in just a moment. 18:34 If you're driving in the car, do not turn. 18:37 Just listen, here is the answer. 18:41 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 18:45 so are My ways," what? 18:48 "Higher than your ways, and my thoughts than," what? 18:52 "Your thoughts." 18:54 Notice, God's thoughts are always higher. 18:57 So when it comes to this natural element, 18:59 the human condition, how high are our thoughts. 19:03 It can't be very high at all 19:05 because if you think about where our thoughts come from, 19:07 our minds, corrupt minds, corrupt hearts, 19:09 sinful bodies, sinful thought. 19:12 We're not willing, we don't want to... 19:13 Christ calls us to come to Him, 19:15 we're not willing to come to Him. 19:16 Sheep were wandering off 19:18 and if He hadn't had a staff to pull us back, 19:20 we'd be out in the wilderness all by ourselves. 19:23 It's like a bunch of unruly little children. 19:26 And the Lord looks down and says, 19:29 "Got to keep working. Got to keep working." 19:31 You know, the good news before we get to the good news. 19:33 The good news is, 19:34 one day each one of us by God's grace 19:36 is going to be in a perfect kingdom. 19:38 Amen. 19:39 And we will be like Him. 19:41 But this is what He has to work with. 19:43 And unless we understand that 19:45 we may think more about ourselves and we really are. 19:48 We think about our condition, 19:49 we say, "Well, I can't be that bad." 19:51 It's dangerous to compare yourself with somebody else 19:53 because the fact of the matter is, 19:56 you're only as good as they are. 19:59 And if they're bad and you ain't as bad... 20:03 Sorry you're not as bad, 20:05 I went Brooklyn on, you ain't as bad. 20:08 And you're not as bad, then you think you're good. 20:11 See, we have levels of good. 20:13 We mentioned some people children, 20:15 you know, you say, "Man, they are bad." 20:18 You remember that? 20:19 Those kids, they say, "Ah, they are bad. 20:22 Don't go to their house, 20:24 they'll be jumping all over you. 20:25 They are bad." 20:26 And so we measure our kids against their kids. 20:29 And when a child messes up, the mother will say, 20:33 you better go to school and see about your son. 20:36 But when they do well, "Oh, my son." 20:39 Failure is an orphan. 20:41 Failure is always an orphan. 20:43 But success has many mothers, all right? 20:46 So God's thoughts are not our thoughts, 20:48 God's ways are not our ways. 20:49 Realizing that we need to have the mind of Christ 20:52 and Paul says it so wonderfully, 20:54 "Let this mind be in you 20:56 which was also in Christ Jesus." 20:58 What's that word? Let. 20:59 You don't have to force it. 21:01 And by being on the Word of God, 21:04 by reading God's Word, it's being text into your mind. 21:09 You may say, turn to this text and that text, 21:11 Lord has been texting long before us. 21:17 It is not going to jump off the page. 21:19 When you open your Bible, 21:20 young folk in the new generation think, 21:22 this is texting. 21:24 Amen somebody? 21:26 There's a best form of texting right here. 21:27 What text did you turn to? 21:29 In fact included in my sermon this week 21:30 and if you miss, you'll hear. 21:32 Texting, that's the best texting you can do, 21:35 texting the Word of God, 21:36 one text after the other after the other. 21:39 And there's a whole lot of texting 21:40 in here by the way. 21:42 Praise God for that. 21:43 And what happens is in your text, 21:45 while God is texting to you, 21:47 your texting is going to change. 21:49 God would just say, "Did you get my text message?" 21:51 Oh, that's a good sermon. 21:54 Thank You, Lord. 21:57 Did you get God's text message? 21:59 Here it is right here. 22:01 Okay, inspiration comes at odd moments, 22:03 that's why we know God is behind it. 22:06 So what are our thoughts? Our thoughts are low. 22:08 If God's thoughts are high, what are our thoughts? 22:11 Low. 22:12 All right. 22:14 How much God are we in our thoughts? 22:16 We're not. 22:17 Just put that we're not. 22:19 Let's not fool ourselves. 22:21 Okay, number seven. 22:23 Question number seven. 22:27 We're about to get some help in just a moment here, 22:29 so hang on, Brother Derek. 22:30 We're going to dive into a good section here. 22:33 You hanging on. Huh? 22:34 Okay, here we are. 22:36 Here's the next question. 22:37 How does our speech reveal our need of God? 22:41 How does our speech reveal our need of God? 22:46 I'll tell you. 22:48 James 3:8, just the mention of the book, 22:50 you all know where I'm going, right? 22:53 Boy, this book is something else. 22:56 It's like going to a divine doctor and he says, 22:58 "Open your mouth, 23:00 let me see your tongue and you go, huh. 23:02 And this is what he said. 23:05 This is what he says when we open our mouth. 23:07 Here it is. 23:09 "But no man can tame the tongue. 23:12 It is an unruly evil, full of" what? 23:17 "Deadly poison." 23:20 Some people say, "He lost his mind. 23:23 Did you hear his language, deadly poison." 23:27 Then sometimes it comes in the form of gossip, 23:30 and backbiting, and spreading rumors, 23:35 and leading into those rumors like 23:38 I got it from a reliable source. 23:42 The tongue is an unruly evil 23:47 full of deadly poison, 23:49 you can't tame it. 23:51 Now let me ask you a question. 23:52 We've got to get this to sink in. 23:54 What if you went to the pet shop, would you ask, 23:57 "You know, I want a pet, I want an unruly evil pet." 24:02 Give me the most evil pet you have in here. 24:05 You say, "What?" 24:07 I want an unruly evil pet and make sure that 24:12 when it bites, it's full of deadly poison. 24:16 Man, we don't sell rattlesnakes. 24:18 We sell dogs and cats here. 24:20 What you're describing is a rattlesnake. 24:22 The Bible is in essence saying 24:24 the human tongue is like a rattlesnake. 24:27 Unruly, evil. 24:28 We were in Australia not too long ago, 24:30 I think it was earlier this year 24:32 and we went to one of those parks, 24:33 I can't remember the name of it, 24:34 but that was talking about 24:36 three or four of the most deadly snakes in Australia. 24:38 And each one was described at... 24:41 When it talked about the power of its venom. 24:44 I have pictures of it and you look at, 24:45 it looks like any other snake, that's why I always say, 24:47 never try to classify the condition of a person 24:50 by what you see on the outside 24:52 because it may look like a copperhead 24:54 or it may look like just a regular garden snake, 24:57 but it wasn't. 24:58 So they describe it this way. 25:00 Now that snake, 25:01 the guy that's in there has on thick leather boots 25:03 and pant leg all way up and he's got the whip 25:05 and, you know, the whole nine yards, 25:06 not the whip with, anyway the pull of control. 25:10 And he takes it out of a garbage can, 25:11 I think he's wiggling me, drops on the ground 25:12 and steps back very quickly. 25:14 And he says, now that snake as he's talking to crowd 25:16 that standing around this glass enclosure 25:18 as a snake is looking at all these people thinking 25:22 why is there a glass there 25:24 because he's unruly, 25:25 an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 25:28 Snakes look at people that way 25:29 because they're full of deadly... 25:30 They have no good intentions, that's the human term. 25:34 So he says, now that snake if it bites you, 25:36 within 30 minutes you'll be paralyzed, 25:38 you'll have an asphyxiation, 25:41 you would not be able to breathe. 25:44 And then, okay, he puts that one away, 25:45 brings another one, little small one, 25:47 that one, you'll be paralyzed in about a half an hour 25:51 and you'll wish you were dead 25:53 because the pain that follows that paralyze 25:55 feeling is an awful pain. 25:57 You would wish you were dead. 25:59 And I'm thinking, where do you... 26:01 And somebody said, 26:02 "Where do you find these snakes?" 26:04 Oh, they're in the outback in Australia. 26:06 He said that one will bite you 26:08 and you think you just got scratched 26:09 until you fall down flat and you're paralyzed. 26:12 And I'm thinking, Australia. 26:14 Stay in America, we love you Australians. 26:18 And then the last one he says, 26:19 now, that snake, if that one bites you, he said, 26:22 "Only one person in Australia has survived 26:24 the bite of that snake." 26:25 One. 26:27 Young man was out one afternoon 26:28 with his father walked through bushes 26:29 and had got bitten by the snake knowing 26:32 he instantly took out his knife on his hip 26:35 and slashed his leg, I mean, cut himself, 26:39 gashed himself where the snake bit him 26:41 in the attempt to stop the deadly poison. 26:45 Well, he did survive after being in a coma 26:47 for two weeks or two months something to that effect. 26:50 Is still enough of the poison got in that he was in a coma. 26:54 He was the only one that survived 26:55 because of his instant reaction. 26:57 He said that one usually kills you within 30 minutes. 27:00 And there is no anti-venom for it. 27:03 That's why it's the deadliest snake. 27:05 Nothing to offset that 'cause most people don't, 27:08 that poison is so toxic. 27:11 The point of the matter is, 27:12 this verse is not about a snake, 27:14 this verse is about what? 27:16 The tongue. 27:18 You wouldn't have a snake like that in your house. 27:20 But it says, each one of us has snakes in our house, 27:25 deadly poison. 27:27 And the sad thing about it is, 27:29 if you read the beginning of the verse, 27:31 it says, "No man can tame it." 27:34 That's why we need divine help. 27:36 So are you all ready now to go for the divine help? 27:39 Say yes. Say amen. 27:41 Do we all need help? Yes. 27:43 Do we need help? 27:44 I know, you know by now. 27:46 You've been following us along, 27:47 you know that right now each one of us needs help. 27:50 So let's go to question number eight. 27:52 Need some help as they would say, 27:54 "Help me, Lord." 27:56 Lord said, "Okay, 27:58 no matter about your heart, your condition 27:59 which you got from Adam, your mind, 28:00 the fact that you just won't respond to my call, 28:03 the fact that you go astray all the time, 28:05 you have horrible thoughts 28:06 and you can't control your tongue." 28:09 How many children would you want? 28:12 Would you take care of kids 28:13 for weekend with somebody like that? 28:15 Could you take care of my kid for the weekend? 28:17 Sure. 28:18 Any problems? Well, yeah. 28:22 This kid is, never does anything right, 28:27 never does anything good, 28:29 his thoughts, corrupt, his heart, deceitful. 28:32 If his mouth is moving, he's lying. 28:36 Would you want to watch a kid like that for the weekend? 28:38 And then watch out what he says 28:39 'cause he'll try his best to get out at you. 28:41 Would you want to watch a child for that weekend? 28:44 That's the condition. 28:45 God looks at His children and He says, 28:47 "No matter how bad your condition is," 28:49 good news for you tonight, He can change that. 28:51 Question number eight. Here it is. 28:53 How completely does the Bible tell us 28:55 our deliverance can be? 28:58 How completely does the Bible tell us 29:01 our deliverance can be? 29:02 Now last we turn to Isaiah 1. 29:05 This time go to verse 18. I like this. 29:08 We're going to go to the physician. 29:10 Remember earlier we read in Matthew, he said, 29:12 I want to gather you but you wouldn't come, 29:14 so he had an invitation again. 29:16 And by the way, this is the early invitation. 29:18 And in Matthew again, he reminded the Israelites 29:20 of this invitation. 29:22 He said, let's talk about it. 29:23 Come, I would gather you together 29:25 if you would respond, but you're not willing. 29:27 Here is the answer. 29:29 How completely? Here's the answer. 29:31 The Bible says, "Come now, and let us do," what? 29:35 "Reason together." 29:37 Let's talk about it says the Lord. 29:40 "Though your sins are like scarlet, 29:43 they shall be as white as snow, 29:46 though they are red like," what? 29:48 "Crimson, they shall be as wool." 29:51 Isn't that good news? 29:52 How completely does the Bible tell us 29:56 our deliverance can be? 29:58 Night, day, dark, light, 30:04 evil, good, sinner, son and daughter. 30:11 How complete is our deliverance? 30:13 Amen to that? Amen. 30:14 That deliverance is coming. 30:16 That's the aim that God has for every one of us. 30:19 He wants us not to be discouraged by our condition, 30:22 but to be encouraged by the one who says, 30:24 "Come, let's talk about it." 30:26 I have learned something. 30:28 I've been injured so many times in basketball, 30:31 never got paid to play a single basketball game, 30:34 got trophies in school, but never got paid to play. 30:36 It wasn't a profession, but I have my broken bones. 30:40 When you understand your condition, 30:41 you don't mind going to the doctor. 30:42 My first very bad break was an elbow on my face, 30:45 I got three broken bones, and two in the nose. 30:51 When the pain set in and I got rushed to the hospital, 30:55 when I got there, the nurse said, 30:57 "We're going to give you a needle." 30:59 And the doctor said, "Right about now I don't think 31:00 he's concerned about the pain from the needle." 31:04 There's pain, then there's pain, right? 31:07 Here's what I mean by that. 31:09 There's the pain of our condition 31:11 and then there is the painful process 31:12 of being remolded into the image of God, 31:14 because you know why it's a painful process? 31:16 Because it's not natural, it is not a natural thing. 31:18 We don't like to naturally be molded. 31:20 It's just not something we want to do 31:22 because it is about our will versus God's will, 31:25 it's about our desires versus God's desires, 31:28 it's about our thoughts 31:29 being replaced by God's thoughts. 31:32 It's about our straying being redirected 31:35 into stay in the fold, and the shepherd's 31:38 got that staff, pulling us back. 31:42 We want to go... Ah, get back here. 31:44 Everything he's done is designed to not fit 31:49 in harmony with our natural tendencies. 31:51 And so he says in this verse, "Let's talk about it." 31:54 Where is the toothache? Where is the sin ache? 31:57 What's the problem? Where is the heart issue? 31:59 Where is the mind issue? Where is the life issue? 32:01 Come let's talk about it. 32:03 And then he looks at it, he says, that's really bad, 32:05 but I'm going to tell you this. 32:07 That root canal may hurt some but next week 32:10 you'll be glad you did it, all right? 32:12 Though it shall be. 32:14 We've got to look to the shall be. 32:16 Amen to that? 32:17 So the answer to that is 32:18 how completely does the Bible tell us 32:20 our deliverance can be? 32:22 Complete. All right. 32:25 Couldn't give a better answer myself. 32:27 Couldn't give a better answer myself. 32:29 Question number nine. Question number nine. 32:31 Let's move a pace here. 32:33 All right, here we go. 32:35 What kind of change can we expect 32:37 when we submit to Christ? 32:40 What kind of change can we expect 32:43 when we submit to Christ? 32:46 We're turning to 1 John 1:9. 32:49 Another theologian's text 32:51 that some of you know by heart. 32:54 What kind of change can we expect? 32:59 In 2008, just around December of 2008, 33:02 with our brand new car, we ran into a deer. 33:06 Let me rephrase that, the deer ran into us, 33:09 because we were minding our own business, 33:11 saw the deer on the side of the road. 33:14 It was a buck for those of you who are city dwellers. 33:18 That's a male with a lot of horns. 33:21 A buck in the city is a dollar bill. 33:24 But a buck in the country is a deer with some big horns, 33:26 right? 33:28 So I'm on the side of the road 33:30 just continued at our pace of 60-62 miles an hour. 33:33 I saw it, my light hits his eyes, 33:35 we were standing there. 33:36 When we got closer, he lowered his horns 33:38 and like the goat, the he goat there in Daniel, 33:41 he swiftly crossed the highway, 33:43 rammed into the front of our car, 33:46 $10,200 damage. 33:49 All the airbags deployed on the left side. 33:51 Thank the Lord, the front one didn't deploy 33:53 because it had knocked me silly. 33:55 But all the curtain airbags, car was messed up, axle bent, 33:59 car was just four months old. 34:02 Oh, my brand new Honda, 34:06 four months old, damaged beyond. 34:08 It just looked horrible. Couldn't drive it. 34:11 But we were safe, we were safe. Thank the Lord for that. 34:16 But we submitted that to the body shop there 34:19 in Carbondale to Toyota, and I was hoping, 34:24 I was hoping they'd say, "It was totaled." 34:26 Come on, you know what I'm talking about. 34:28 Brand new car, right? 34:30 But they looked at that car and they said, 34:31 know what he said, 34:33 "We could fix it like it was brand new." 34:35 And I'm looking at it. 34:36 Fender messed up, doors messed up, back 34:39 'cause the deer not only hit the front left, 34:41 tore everything, the fender, the passenger door, 34:44 the driver's door, he rolled all along the left 34:48 from the front and the back was messed up. 34:50 All the bags deployed. 34:52 And I'm thinking, "Can't you just hold it out 34:54 and give us a new car." 34:57 And when I went to pick up my car 35:00 three weeks later. 35:02 I'm looking for the damage. 35:05 And I couldn't find it. 35:06 And I thought to myself, "If man can do that 35:11 to damaged metal, 35:14 what can God do to a damaged heart? 35:16 What can God do to an unruly tongue? 35:19 What can God do to thoughts that are so low 35:21 that God's thoughts are high than the heavens 35:24 and yours are not even in the neighborhood? 35:26 If man can do that to metal, 35:28 what can God do to the humanheart? 35:30 That simply submits to Him. 35:31 Here's the answer, 1 John 1:9, look at what it says? 35:35 It starts with a powerful word, a huge word, 35:37 "If we confess our sins, He is," what? 35:42 "Faithful and just to forgive us our sins 35:47 and to do," what? 35:48 "Cleanse us from," how much? 35:50 "All unrighteousness." 35:53 You know what unrighteousness means. 35:56 The opposite of righteousness is what? 36:00 Here's a new word wrongteousness. 36:03 It's not in the dictionary, 36:05 but it's the opposite of righteousness, 36:07 wrongteousness, spelled W-R-O-N-G 36:12 and you could add the rest of it. 36:14 T-E- O-U-S-N-E-S-S. Wrongteousness. 36:18 Everything that's wrong in our lives, 36:19 the Lord can fix it. 36:20 Amen to that. He's that kind of God. 36:23 And when you submit your life to the Lord, you'll say, 36:25 but what about all those dents in my life? 36:27 What about all those things that were broken 36:29 and turned out of the way? 36:30 What about all those things that were being deployed 36:31 like bad words, bad thoughts, bad deeds, 36:34 bad ideas, being deployed from our minds, 36:36 and our hearts, and our lives? 36:38 He says, here it is, here's your life. 36:41 And you think, you measuring the lines. 36:44 I'm a detail guide, Greg, and I look at the lines. 36:47 You know, like in printing, you measure up all those lines, 36:50 he's in the print shop you make sure everything is, 36:52 you know, lined up and plushed, I mean plumb. 36:55 I was looking at those lines and thought, "Man, 36:57 the lines on the front door match up perfectly 36:59 with the lines on the back door," 37:01 'cause you don't want a car 37:03 with the lines that will whack you. 37:04 You go back and it seemed like for guys that are detail guys, 37:07 it is like the huge, it's the huge transgression. 37:11 You put on new doors and my lines are not lined up. 37:15 Right, irritates you. 37:17 Like missing word in the text, like we just had. 37:22 But they lined that thing up so perfectly. 37:23 And I thought to myself, "If they can do that to metal, 37:27 what can God do to a human life?" 37:29 The hope that I have is God has never, 37:32 He has never excluded anybody 37:35 from His shop of refurbishing human lives, 37:40 getting them brand new starts, fixing all the dents, 37:44 taking out all the things that have been smashed, 37:47 and broken, and look beyond repair. 37:50 So the answer, what kind of change can we expect 37:52 when we submit to Christ? 37:56 Complete cleansing. Complete cleansing. 38:00 You can put the word there complete. 38:03 Can't find a better word, full restoration. 38:07 If we confess, that's the key. 38:10 He forgives, but we have to begin by saying, 38:14 "I've got a problem." 38:16 And we talked about those problems 38:17 in the first seven questions of this syllabus. 38:23 All right, let's go down to number 10 now. 38:26 Number 10. 38:28 What kind of truce does the Bible tell us 38:32 forgiveness brings? 38:34 What kind of truce does the Bible tell us 38:37 forgiveness brings? 38:38 And the reason I used the word truce 38:40 is because we don't know that, 38:41 but we are born at war with God. 38:44 We are born, this nature that we have 38:46 is at war with God. 38:48 It is at war with His righteousness. 38:51 It's at war with His perfection. 38:53 But when we come into a relationship with Christ, 38:55 there's a truce. 38:56 And the Bible describes the kind of truce that we have 38:59 when we accept the righteousness of Jesus. 39:02 Romans 5:1 is we're going to turn to. 39:05 Romans 5:1. All right? 39:08 Let's look at that, Romans 5:1. 39:11 And the Bible reads as follows. 39:14 "Therefore, having been justified by," what? 39:19 "Faith, we have peace with God..." 39:23 That is the truce, 39:24 "through our Lord Jesus Christ." 39:27 The truce is we have what? 39:29 We have what kind of peace? Complete peace. 39:32 A peace that passes all understanding. 39:34 We have a peace that does not even need 39:36 to be explained. 39:38 I like the way that some of the translations say that 39:40 a peace that does not need to be explained, 39:43 we have a peace. 39:44 When you have a peace with God, there's a truce, a treaty. 39:49 When we are in relation with God, 39:52 when things between us and God are removed, 39:54 there's a truce. 39:55 We have peace with God and I tell you this. 39:58 If you want anybody to get upset with you, 40:00 just make sure it's not God. 40:04 Right, 'cause if anybody else is upset with you, 40:06 you don't have to worry about that that much. 40:08 I mean every problem we have with humanity 40:10 will be resolved sooner or later. 40:12 At least that's our hope and our prayer. 40:14 But if you have a problem with God 40:16 that has not been settled, that's an eternal issue. 40:19 Seek to have a truce with God, having been justified by faith. 40:24 When we are saved by grace through faith, 40:26 we are justified. 40:28 We are brought into a relationship with God. 40:29 And now we have a peace, 40:31 a peace that we could never have imagined that we have. 40:34 It's like when you resolve an issue between two people, 40:36 it seems tough when you first start talking. 40:39 But then after an hour and a half, 40:41 two hours, three hours, however long it takes. 40:44 You look at each other completely exhausted and say, 40:47 "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." 40:50 And all of a sudden, you have a truce. 40:53 And all the stuff that was being deployed 40:55 from your mind and your mouth didn't matter after that 40:58 because you have a truce, you found a common ground 41:00 where you can measure the benefits 41:03 of being at peace with one another. 41:05 Wow. That's beautiful. 41:08 The answer is, what kind of truce 41:09 does the Bible tell us brings forgiveness? 41:12 Peace with God. Peace with God. 41:16 If you want to be angry with somebody, don't get... 41:18 I've heard people say, I'm angry with God. 41:21 And I've heard Christians say that. 41:22 Have you heard that? 41:24 I mean, if you're a Christian and you're angry with God, 41:27 then you must be happy with the devil. 41:30 I don't know, I can't get that one. 41:32 I'm mad at God right now. 41:36 Which means, you aim at the devil. 41:39 If you're mad at God, the devil is happy, right? 41:41 If you're mad at the devil, then God is happy. 41:43 So be very, very careful where that anger is directed. 41:50 Let me just put it way, be angry and sin not. 41:55 That's why I like that fact 41:56 when the Lord came into the marriage supper 41:58 and He saw a man there without the wedding garment, 42:01 the Lord said, "How did you come in here 42:02 without a wedding garment?" 42:03 And He realized, it's not going to help if I say anything. 42:08 He said not a word. 42:11 I have had experiences in my life 42:13 where things were not going the way 42:14 that I would like it to go and I was so angry, 42:17 I didn't say anything. 42:18 Did you get so angry, you don't say anything? 42:21 You're okay? 42:24 You're going to make it? 42:28 Something wrong? 42:31 That's when you're steaming, right? 42:34 When you can't even get a word out. 42:37 And sometimes you at that point say, 42:38 "Look, don't let me get started." 42:40 Right. 42:42 That's a good thing to do, don't get started 42:44 because sin will take over 42:45 and you'll say a lot of stuff that you'll regret. 42:48 You do things that you would never want to do. 42:50 So don't get started. 42:52 You want to have a truce with others 42:54 and you want to have peace with God. 42:55 Praise God for that. 42:57 Let's go to number 11. Moving right along. 43:00 How does the Bible describe our unlimited access to God? 43:06 I remember, 43:08 I went to one of the sporting good stores. 43:11 I found a book, not a beer, but a book. 43:14 I had a book in my pocket. 43:15 I went to one of those sporting goods stores years ago 43:18 and when you buy a certain sneakers, 43:20 certain gym shoe inside of the gym shoe 43:23 because I paid so much for, 43:24 there was a little grey purple card, 43:28 and it had the title on it unlimited access. 43:32 And I thought unlimited access to what? 43:36 Do I now have access 43:37 to all the sneakers in the store? 43:39 I mean, unlimited access. No. 43:42 But what's the unlimited access? 43:43 You get 20% discount. 43:45 That's not unlimited access, that's 80% limit, right? 43:48 He's limiting me to 80%. I only get a 20% discount. 43:51 You call that unlimited access. 43:53 Well, you know when God talks about unlimited access, 43:55 that's exactly what He means, right? 43:57 Unlimited access. 43:59 When God turns the situation around, 44:01 the access is the limitless. 44:04 Look at Hebrews 4:16. Hebrews 4:16. 44:08 Unlimited access. 44:11 I tell you guys mess around with people 44:12 that give you limited access. 44:14 You line yourself up with God, line up with God, 44:17 there is no limit to the access you have to God. 44:20 Here is the answer. 44:22 Hebrews 4:16, "Let us therefore come," how? 44:27 "Boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy 44:33 and find grace to help in," what? 44:35 "Time of need." 44:37 You know when you come boldly before the throne of grace, 44:39 that's in the context of the strong tower language. 44:43 You know the Bible says, "Our God is a strong tower 44:45 that we could run into. 44:47 When you read in the Bible about the tower, 44:49 God was our refuge and our strength." 44:52 That refuge, that tower that we can run into. 44:56 If somebody was chasing you and your life was in jeopardy, 45:00 the priest waited for you 45:02 at the door of the City of Refuge. 45:05 And once you got in there before that person caught you, 45:07 as long as that priest is alive, you're safe. 45:11 Now I don't know if you got that. 45:13 Because how long is our High Priest alive? 45:15 Forever. 45:16 If we run into that tower, which is Jesus Christ, 45:18 as long as the High Priest is alive, we're safe. 45:22 And in Bible times you can stay in that, 45:26 the house of safety 45:28 until the priests and the people, 45:32 actually the people when you read the story, 45:33 the people gave you the right to exist outside. 45:38 When that matter was settled satisfactorily, 45:41 the people of that community said, 45:43 "You now have the right to return to the community. 45:45 And we as a community will see that no harm comes to you." 45:49 Isn't that wonderful. 45:51 But you ran and by the way, the way to the City of Refuge 45:55 had to remain unhindered. 45:57 There can be rocks, it was a smoothest ground 45:59 because that person had to run with his life in his mind 46:03 right into the City of Refuge, we can run in and be saved. 46:06 That's what it means by, it says, 46:07 "Come, boldly before the throne of grace." 46:10 When you get in that city, what do you get? 46:12 You obtain mercy 46:13 and you find grace to help when? 46:15 In time of need. 46:17 Beautiful. Isn't that wonderful? 46:20 You got to remember that in your life no matter 46:21 what you struggle with, there is a strong tower, 46:23 His name is Jesus, for our Lord is a strong tower 46:27 that we can run into and be saved. 46:30 A lot of times people don't take advantage 46:32 or don't benefit. 46:33 I wouldn't even say take advantage, 46:34 they don't benefit from what God is made 46:36 available to them 46:37 and they tried to resolve their issues on their own. 46:40 That's why the church has less people 46:43 than it really could 46:44 because there's some people that say, 46:45 you know, when I get my life together, 46:50 well, let's see what you're going to work with. 46:53 You go back to the first seven questions, 46:54 how much do they have to work with? 46:56 Nothing. 46:57 Messed up mind, messed up heart, full of sin, 46:59 corrupt tongue, corrupt thoughts. 47:01 Your mouth can't say anything right. 47:04 What do you have to work with? 47:06 Deceitful heart, you don't have anything to work with, 47:07 nothing that's good. 47:09 So you got to run to Christ and you'll be saved. 47:12 Let's go to number 12. 47:16 And the answer to number 11, 47:17 how does the Bible describe our unlimited access to God? 47:20 Come boldly. Come boldly. 47:27 He's saying, "Run, run, run." 47:30 And I'm waiting for you. Number 12, here it is. 47:33 What kind of resources 47:34 does salvation make available to us? 47:37 What kind of resources 47:39 does salvation make available to us? 47:42 When you don't have a lot, 47:44 and all the sudden a lot is made available to you. 47:48 It's like publishers clearing house. 47:50 I don't gamble. 47:51 I don't understand 47:53 the publishers clearing house thing, 47:54 I don't know if it's a gamble or what it is. 47:55 But when people get that doorbell ring 47:57 and they open the door and they say, 47:59 "You won the publishers clearing house sweepstakes." 48:02 That's what they call it, I guess. 48:05 And people often just fall to their knees, 48:08 they cry now, they're just so excited. 48:13 I think that's how we should be when we understand 48:17 the things that are made available to us through Christ. 48:19 It's not a temporary check from an earthly institution. 48:24 It is resources here, there and throughout eternity. 48:29 Look at the way that Peter says it here, 2 Peter 3. 48:33 2 Peter 1:3 and 4. 48:36 2 Peter 1:3 and 4. Beautifully said. 48:43 "As his divine power," whose power? 48:47 "His divine power says, 48:52 has given to us how many things..." 48:55 Now remember, earlier we had problems 48:57 with all, all, all, we're like sheep, 48:58 all have gone astray, all, all, all, but this says, 49:01 as his divine power has given to us how many things, 49:03 "All things that pertain to," what? 49:06 "Life and godliness through the knowledge of Him 49:11 who called us by," what? 49:13 "Glory and virtue." 49:15 That text is a text that you can ponder and think. 49:18 You mean all things pertaining to life and godliness 49:21 I have access to. 49:24 How many things for life 49:29 and for godliness? 49:33 So if you want to live godly, is there a way to do it? 49:37 Is there a way to do it? 49:38 Because how much has God made available? 49:40 All. 49:42 Nothing makes me more disappointed 49:43 when I see something in the catalog 49:45 and go to the store and they say, 49:46 "We're out of stock." 49:49 "You have another set?" 49:50 "Oh, it's discontinued." "Could I pay for getting well?" 49:54 "Actually that sale was only on our stock." 49:58 So if I order one, well, 49:59 it's going to be the regular price. 50:02 But not with God because He's made all things 50:05 that pertain to life and godliness. 50:07 And it says has given to us, has given to us. 50:11 We have access to a God 50:13 who just wants to give us things. 50:14 He wants to change and transform our lives. 50:16 So when you look at what I'm talking about here 50:19 of facing the challenge, the challenge is great, 50:21 but God is greater than the challenge. 50:24 His blessings are far above 50:26 the challenges you face on day by day basis. 50:28 You may be struggling but read the text in. 50:30 And once again, think on this text, 50:32 pray on this text, like Shelley says, 50:34 life affirmation say, "Lord, thank You for giving me 50:37 all things that pertain to life and godliness," 50:40 claim the text. 50:42 So it becomes not just a part of your mind, 50:44 but a part of your life, all right? 50:46 So the answer is. 50:49 what kind of resources. 50:51 Three letter word, spell it to me somebody? 50:54 A-L-L. All. 50:57 All the resources. All the resources are there. 51:00 And by the way, let me read the rest of the verse, 51:01 I forgot. 51:03 The rest of the verse, it says, "By which have been given to us 51:09 exceedingly great and precious promises, 51:13 that through these you may be," what? 51:16 "Partakers of the divine nature, 51:19 having escaped the corruption 51:22 that is in the world through," what? 51:25 "Through lust." 51:26 In other words, we have desires that are preventing us 51:28 from receiving all these wonderful, 51:29 tremendous blessings, 51:31 but the Lord is making available to us. 51:33 He says, "You don't have to worry about that. 51:34 All the things that are natural are borrowing these blessings." 51:37 If you ignore the natural, 51:39 if you turn away from the natural, 51:41 and turn to the spiritual, this text become a promise, 51:47 this text becomes the promise. 51:49 How much can you draw from that? All. 51:52 Exceedingly great and precious promises. 51:55 Now I see why Pastor CA says, God is not good in bad times, 51:59 He's great. 52:01 Praise God for that. Wonderful thought. 52:03 So the question is all, the answer is all. 52:08 Okay, question number 13 moving right along. 52:12 What peace can we find 52:14 when we stumble in our Christian growth? 52:17 You've got to have some peace there 52:19 that goes beyond your stumblings 52:21 because we're not perfect as we are growing. 52:24 And by the way, let me just say something, 52:26 don't live in though we are not perfect neighborhood 52:30 because you can get comfortable 52:32 with your, we're not perfect statements. 52:34 And a lot of times when people say 52:35 "We're not perfect." 52:37 What they are in essence doing is excusing the things 52:38 that they do. 52:39 Well, I'm not perfect. Well, we know that. 52:42 But if you are perfect, 52:44 go to one who is perfect, right? 52:46 Matter of fact going to a doctor and he says, 52:48 I'm gonna looking at you, but I'm not perfect. 52:51 Let me give you a needle, but I am not perfect. 52:54 Don't tell me that you gonna give me a needle, 52:55 don't tell me you're not perfect 52:57 while I'm lying in this chair with one mouth wide open, 52:59 right? 53:02 Count to 10, you'll be under anesthesia, 53:04 but before you go, I just want to you know 53:05 I've made a few mistakes on this surgery in the past. 53:09 So do you want to hear that? 53:12 We don't have that kind of God. 53:13 Praise Lord for that. We've got a perfect God. 53:16 So in your stumblings, 53:17 what kind of peace can you find? 53:19 What kind of peace can you find? 53:22 Let me see here, where am I? Here, okay... 53:26 Did I put that in there? Okay, let's turn... 53:30 It's number 13, let us turn to the text. 53:33 I don't think I wrote that one in, 53:35 let's turn to the text, but it's in the syllabus. 53:38 1 John 2:1. 1 John 2:1. 53:42 "I want to go right past that to the next question. 53:44 1 John 2:1. 53:46 I have it in my syllabus, 53:47 but I didn't put a slide together 53:49 shows you that God is still working on me. 53:52 Yes, He is. 53:54 Here it is, that's what happens when my wife is not around, 53:56 She can point out in my imperfections. 53:59 She helped me tremendously. 54:01 Here it is, "My little children, 54:04 these things I write to you, that you may not," what? 54:08 "May not sin, and if anyone sins, 54:13 we have, what? 54:15 "An Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous." 54:21 I did give them the text. 54:22 I forgot to give myself the text, 54:24 but they have it. 54:26 If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, 54:28 an advocate. 54:30 You know what an advocate is? 54:32 A lawyer, simple word. 54:36 He's going to take your interest. 54:37 He's going to understand your condition. 54:39 And somebody once said, 54:40 "If you going to be dishonest with anybody, 54:42 don't be dishonest with your lawyer." 54:46 'Cause I've seen lawyers say, "Why didn't you tell me that? 54:51 Why did you let us get in the court 54:53 and that comes up as a shock to me." 54:55 But I want to tell you today, 54:57 nothing comes up as a shock to our heavenly lawyer. 54:59 Amen? He knows it all. 55:01 So if He knows it all, confess it. Confess it. 55:04 I know it, but I want to hear you say, 55:06 like a parent will know that some children 55:08 are involved in habits and practices 55:11 they think their parents don't know about. 55:14 And the parent will say, "Until she or he confesses, 55:17 I'm not doing anything. 55:19 They're not getting that gift they want." 55:20 But when they come out and finally confess it, 55:23 the parent will say, "You know how long 55:24 I've been waiting for you to admit that. 55:26 I've known about it, but until you admitted it, 55:29 I couldn't do anything for you. 55:30 I couldn't help you at all." 55:31 And that's what an advocate is all about. 55:33 When we admit our condition, God can help us with something 55:36 that we need help with. 55:37 Amen? 55:39 But until we admit it, we can't get help. 55:42 And who are we fooling. 55:44 If we say we have no sin, we fool ourselves, 55:47 we deceive ourselves 55:49 'cause He knows it, the advocate knows it. 55:51 So the answer here to number 13 is, 55:54 we have an advocate. 55:56 What peace can we find when we stumble,? 55:58 We have an advocate, we've got a lawyer. 56:02 We've got a lawyer. Praise God for that. 56:05 Number 14. Number 14. 56:09 All right. 56:11 How do we know that Jesus can deliver us 56:13 from any kind of sin? 56:15 From any kind of sin. 56:17 One of my favorite texts. 56:19 In the Bible they both have the same verse and number, 56:22 but a different book. 56:23 Daniel 7:25, "He shall think to change times and laws." 56:27 Hebrew 7:25 is my favorite text. 56:29 Here it is together. 56:31 How do we know that Jesus can deliver us 56:34 from any kind of sin? 56:36 This is a real city text right here. 56:38 Here it is, 56:40 "Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost 56:46 those who come to God through Him, since He," what? 56:52 "Always lives to make intercession for them." 56:55 The King James, I like the way he said. 56:57 He ever liveth to make intercession for them. 57:01 So as I say in the city... 57:03 I'm doing a lot of cities, but I don't know, 57:06 I'm in a New York frame of mind, 57:08 going back to the city. 57:09 He's able to save us from the gutter most 57:13 to the uttermost. 57:14 Amen for that. 57:16 You don't have a lot of gutters out here, 57:17 we got side road and white lines. 57:19 But in the city where there are gutters everywhere, 57:21 you know, people that have fallen in their lives afar, 57:23 we say, they're in the gutter. 57:24 That's what we say. 57:25 He's able to reach down to the gutter 57:27 to the gutter most and save us to the uttermost. 57:30 Now so far we've seen that God's plan for deliverance 57:33 is far better than the condition 57:36 that we found ourselves in at birth, 57:37 isn't that right? 57:39 If you think about how bad life is, 57:41 don't spend time on that, think of how great God is, 57:44 that God adopt pastors. 57:46 Think of how great the God that we serve is. 57:49 And then you'll realize that it's not the gutter most 57:51 that's your problem, 57:53 but it's the uttermost that is your promise. 57:55 Continue studying God's Word. 57:57 And if your life is out of focus, 57:58 you'll discover by giving your life to Him, 58:00 it will come into A Sharper Focus. 58:03 God bless you. |
Revised 2018-10-18