Participants: John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000039
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00:22 Hello friends, and welcome to another
00:24 Wednesday Night Bible study 00:25 here in Thompsonville, Illinois. 00:27 Welcome to a Sharper Focus 00:29 where we're going to open the Word of God together 00:30 and study together. 00:32 So get your Bibles, get your pens, 00:34 invite your friends and family members 00:36 to sit down for the next 57 or so minutes. 00:39 And we're going to study the Word of God together 00:41 as we finalize the topic how to carry my cross 00:46 or carrying my cross, that is lesson number 12. 00:50 And then we hopefully 00:51 may start into a new lesson tonight, 00:52 lesson number 13, the transformed life. 00:54 What does it mean to be transformed? 00:56 And so if you like a copy of the lesson, 00:58 go to this website. 01:00 Don't put www asf.3abn.org, 01:04 and download the lesson syllabus for tonight. 01:07 Once again, asf.3abn.org and download the lesson. 01:11 And also at that website, 01:13 if you want to let other family members know 01:14 or friends, they can go ahead 01:16 and download all the past lessons 01:18 and look at all the past broadcasts. 01:20 So we thank you for tuning in. 01:22 The overall theme is how to live a spiritual life 01:25 in a natural body which is what all of us 01:27 have been called to do. 01:28 And so tonight, we hope that you'll be strengthened 01:30 by the power of the indwelling Christ, 01:32 and the Holy Spirit is ready to transform your life. 01:35 So join us as we begin our lesson, 01:38 let's begin that with prayer. 01:39 Let's pray. 01:41 Heavenly Father, we thank You for the opportunity 01:43 to study tonight for the Holy Spirit 01:46 who is standing ready, 01:47 to inhabit our minds and hearts, 01:51 to transform our lives. 01:53 And so, Lord, speak to us in a way 01:54 that we will not only understand, 01:57 but that we will see the need for leaning upon 02:00 the only one who is our righteousness, 02:03 and that is Christ Jesus. 02:05 Speak to us through Your Word, 02:07 those who are joining whether by television, 02:09 by radio, by internet whatever medium, 02:11 Lord, connect us together with a common bond to love 02:15 and serve the Lord. 02:17 In Jesus name we pray, amen. 02:21 Now we like to sing our song Victory in Jesus 02:23 which is our theme song. 02:24 And, Lori, are you ready to sing? 02:26 She's ready to sing. 02:27 So you join us and Lori, 02:29 and we're going to sing our theme song 02:31 Victory in Jesus. 02:41 I heard an old, old story 02:44 How the Savior came from glory 02:48 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:52 To save a wretch like me 02:56 I heard about His groaning 03:00 Of His precious blood's atoning 03:03 Then I repented of my sin 03:07 And won the victory 03:11 O victory in Jesus 03:15 My Savior, forever 03:18 He sought me and bought me 03:22 With His redeeming blood 03:26 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:30 And all my love is due Him 03:34 He plunged me to victory 03:37 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:41 I heard about a mansion 03:45 He has built for me in glory 03:49 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:52 Beyond the crystal sea 03:56 About the angels singing 04:00 And the old redemption story 04:04 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 04:08 The song of victory 04:09 Key change. 04:11 O victory in Jesus 04:15 My Savior, forever 04:19 He sought me and bought me 04:23 With His redeeming blood 04:26 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:30 And all my love is due Him 04:34 He plunged me to victory 04:38 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:42 He plunged me to victory 04:45 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:51 Can you say amen? Amen. 04:53 Well, you guys sang tonight. 04:56 You must, like the weather has gotten 04:57 a little warmer today, 04:58 so the tongues of those of us who are here in Thompsonville 05:01 have been loosed or shall I say defrosted, 05:05 and it's almost 60 degrees today. 05:07 What a blessing to be able to study God's Word together. 05:11 And so tonight, I want to just put a brief plug in. 05:14 Since this is a live program, 05:16 there's a difference in our audience 05:17 between last week and this week, 05:19 one of our dear members, 05:21 right after prayer meeting was over, 05:23 we met right after and talked about the lesson, 05:25 he was excited about it, 05:27 drove out of the church parking lot, 05:29 that is made an attempt to do so 05:31 and didn't even make it out of the church parking lot 05:32 before he died, 05:35 before he just fell asleep in Jesus. 05:39 And so our prayers are with the Hayworth family, 05:43 Budd has been so much 05:44 a part of our church fellowship, 05:45 we are really going to miss him 05:47 but we are thankful that he was faithful. 05:50 He was here. 05:52 I said to him, "I could set my watch by you 05:54 because you're always here." 05:55 And so before he left, he said to me, 05:57 "Pastor, I'll see you next Sabbath." 05:59 So when we make it to the kingdom together, 06:02 I'll say to Budd, "Happy Sabbath." 06:05 So what an appointment we have 06:07 to know that when someone falls asleep, 06:09 they fall asleep in Jesus. 06:11 Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. 06:14 From henceforth that they may rest 06:16 from their labors and their works do follow them. 06:19 So do pray, and we're having the funeral tomorrow, 06:22 and we pray that God will be glorified and more 06:24 will come to the knowledge of a saving grace. 06:26 What a way to have your chapter closed? 06:30 What a way to have the life that you live close 06:32 when the remembering that will come to your mind 06:35 when you awake in the kingdom. 06:39 You'll remember, the last thing you did was 06:41 you were at prayer meeting. 06:44 And he also stopped by my desk, there was a picture of Jesus 06:46 on the cross. 06:48 Show that. 06:49 And I wish. 06:50 I should put on the screen tonight, 06:52 it was about... 06:53 It was called "the Jerusalem obituary, " 06:55 and Jesus is on the cross, the date of his death, 06:57 and then there was another caption there, 06:59 "He paid our debt," in smaller caption. 07:03 And so, he said, 07:04 "I'm looking forward to taking this home, 07:06 put this on my den wall, 07:08 and when I wake up in the morning, 07:10 I like to look at that." 07:11 And so when he wakes up in the morning, 07:13 he won't have to look at Jesus on the wall, 07:15 he'll look at Jesus face to face. 07:17 Amen. 07:18 So what a way to have your life chapter close. 07:21 If we had spoken for maybe five more minutes, 07:25 he may have been able to get help, 07:28 but the Lord knows well. 07:32 The Lord's way is always the way of hope, 07:35 and so we look forward to seeing Budd again 07:37 when Jesus comes. 07:39 Tonight, the topic is one that is encouraging 07:43 because it talks about the cross. 07:45 You know one of the things that concerned me 07:46 is that not many people today 07:49 know what it means to follow Christ, 07:53 to take up that day-by-day cross. 07:56 We're living in a day and age, 07:58 and as I was speaking to someone today, 07:59 we're living in a day and age where people are more concerned 08:03 about the aroma of Christianity. 08:08 How does it draw me by its aroma? 08:11 How does Christianity taste 08:13 rather than the life of Christianity? 08:17 And in America in particular, 08:18 our Christianity has been turned into an enterprise. 08:21 It's one of the quickest ways to make money in this country, 08:24 just get a church, open the doors, sell product, 08:27 make it exciting, lights, camera, action, music, 08:30 and you have all the earmarks of Christianity 08:33 but what Jesus really wants 08:34 is that life that has been transformed 08:37 by the crucified Savior, 08:39 and He wants us to live not only the crucified life 08:43 but the risen life. 08:44 And so that's why the topic tonight is important. 08:47 Those who live the crucified and risen life 08:50 are those who look forward to coming 08:52 into the presence of Christ 08:54 to look forward to meeting Jesus 08:55 face to face in peace. 08:57 Tonight, I'd like to jump right into the lesson 08:59 because after this one, we'll go to our new lesson 09:02 which is about the transformed life. 09:04 What does it mean to be transformed? 09:06 I want to go down that road next 09:07 but let's start with question number 16 tonight, 09:10 and if you've downloaded the syllabus from our website, 09:13 you should have that in front of you. 09:14 Question number 16 is as follows. 09:17 What is the obligation of those that accept 09:19 the death of the cross? 09:21 What is the obligation of those that accept 09:24 the death of the cross? 09:26 Question number 16. 09:28 And if you have it with you, the answer is found 09:32 in the Book of Romans. 09:34 Romans chapter 6, we're going to look together at verse 19. 09:38 Romans 6:19 is where we'll find the answer. 09:43 What is the obligation of those that accept 09:45 the death of the cross? 09:47 There's an obligation, it's not just to say, 09:49 "Oh, I'm wearing my cross. 09:51 Oh, I have a picture of the cross, 09:53 or I have a cross artwork." 09:55 The obligation is very important. 09:57 Okay. 09:58 Now let's look at that together. 09:59 I'll go to that question here. 10:01 Here it is. 10:03 And the answer will first appear on the screen. 10:05 Let's look at that together. 10:07 Paul the Apostle says, speaking about the obligation, 10:10 "I speak in human terms because of the," what? 10:14 "Because of the weakness of your flesh." 10:17 Romans 6:19. 10:21 All right? 10:22 "I speak in human terms 10:23 because of the weakness of your flesh. 10:25 For just as you presented your members 10:28 as slaves of uncleanness 10:33 and of more lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, 10:36 so now present your members as slaves of, " what? 10:40 "Righteousness for," what? 10:43 "For holiness." 10:45 So if you ask... 10:46 If the answer that you put... 10:49 The answer that you should put is 10:52 what is the obligation of those that accept 10:53 the death of the cross that we should do what? 10:56 Present our members as what? 10:59 Slaves of righteousness, present our members. 11:03 Now when we say members, we're not talking about 11:05 church members. 11:07 The Bible talks about our hearts, our hands, 11:09 our mind, our life, present those, 11:12 allow those to be instruments of righteousness. 11:15 You know, you can hit somebody with your hand 11:17 but you can also embrace them with your hand. 11:20 You can push somebody with your arms and your hand 11:23 or you can help bear their burden, 11:25 carry their load. 11:27 You can use your mouth to praise or to curse. 11:30 The Bible warns us of that in the Book of James. 11:33 We can use our minds to be the place where Christ abides 11:36 or where the world is corrupting 11:38 by its influences. 11:40 So the Lord is, in essence, saying to us 11:41 in a very, very real way 11:43 that we should sanctify our hands, 11:46 sanctify our hearts, sanctify our minds, 11:50 sanctify our tongues, everything about our members. 11:54 Even the feet, the direction that we walk, 11:56 the thoughts that we think, 11:58 everything should be sanctified. 12:00 So it's broader than just presenting your members. 12:05 But I want you to see the word slaves 12:06 because it has a negative connotation 12:09 to some degree, 12:10 but what it means is one you present your members 12:12 to Christ for the purpose of righteousness, 12:16 they are connected to Him. 12:19 And does a slave have the freedom to do 12:22 what he or she chooses? 12:24 Yes or no? No. 12:25 No. 12:26 So what that is in essence saying 12:28 is when you say to the Lord, "I want to be Your slave." 12:31 You're saying, I want to do everything 12:33 that You want me to do. 12:34 An amen to that? Amen. 12:36 So and that connotation is not negative. 12:38 This is simply saying, "Lord, not my will 12:40 but Your will be done." 12:42 And the word there slave is another other word, 12:44 if you want to use a lighter word, 12:45 "I want to be the one who serves you." 12:49 We never think of the people 12:50 in the restaurant as our slaves, 12:52 but they are servants. 12:54 See? 12:55 But in fact, why they are there? 12:56 Why do they work there? 12:59 To serve us. 13:00 In the very same way, 13:02 the Christian lives to do, what? 13:04 To serve the Lord. 13:06 The Christian lives to serve one another. 13:10 And right, and there are many who live to serve Satan. 13:12 There's the kingdom of light 13:14 and there is the kingdom of darkness. 13:16 We've got to make sure that 13:17 whoever we serve is going to be the one 13:19 that has our lives. 13:21 Now question number 17, 13:24 question number 17. 13:27 What is the "Daily Cross" 13:29 that we must submit ourselves to? 13:32 We're in the same book, Romans 6:11, 13:38 Romans 6:11. 13:39 What is the Daily Cross 13:41 that we must submit ourselves to? 13:45 Paul said in Romans that he died daily. 13:49 Well, what did that mean? 13:51 Verse 11, all right? 13:54 Here is the answer, verse 11. 13:57 "Likewise," 13:59 this is a continuation of a statement 14:00 made before in verse 10. 14:01 He says, "Likewise, 14:04 you also reckon yourselves to be," what? 14:08 "Dead indeed to sin, 14:11 but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." 14:16 So if you ask the question or answer the question, 14:19 what is the Daily Cross 14:20 that we must submit ourselves to, 14:22 the cross of what? 14:25 What's the purpose of the cross? 14:30 Say that again. 14:31 Crucify. Right. 14:33 The cross was... 14:34 The only purpose for the cross was to crucify. 14:38 Cross is not a garden instrument, 14:40 the cross was to serve the purpose of crucifixion. 14:42 So if the cross is the one 14:43 that you are going to bear daily, 14:45 that means you're going to be dead daily. 14:47 And according to this, 14:48 you're going to be dead to, what? 14:50 To sin, day by day. 14:52 When we think of the fact, 14:54 and this is the beauty of this study 14:57 and of this very challenge. 14:59 When we think of what we're getting ready for, 15:02 we're getting ready for eternity. 15:04 We're not getting ready for our church picnic. 15:07 We're not getting ready to go to the beach. 15:08 We're not getting ready for a Christmas cantata. 15:10 We're getting ready for, what? 15:12 Say it again, eternity. Say that with me, eternity. 15:15 We're getting ready 15:16 to live in the presence of a sinless God, 15:21 a God who hates sin so much... 15:26 that all the angels that sin had to be... 15:31 I'm going to use a different word, 15:32 I know cast out, were evicted, 15:35 He could not allow sin to continue there. 15:38 And you know, even that act was an act of love for us 15:41 because he says, "There's no way 15:44 that I'm going to maintain a sinful environment 15:47 if I'm going to get this place ready for My children 15:49 to live with Me eternally." 15:50 So when you think about a person 15:52 that's inviting you over for dinner, 15:54 if you came over, and you know, 15:56 all the dishes were dirty and the table was dirty 15:59 that you're eating on and... 16:02 There's stuff on your fork, there's stuff on my fork too. 16:05 And everybody says, "Can I get another fork? 16:08 Can I get another knife? Can I get another spoon? 16:10 My napkin has a stain on it. My plate is broken. 16:12 There's some stuff on the bottom of my plate." 16:14 Can you imagine going through all that, and the person says, 16:17 "Oh, don't worry about it. 16:18 It's just probably just stuff from my kids, 16:21 it's probably not harmful. 16:23 Don't worry about it, you'll be okay. 16:24 I mean, if you get cold, I mean, 16:26 it probably wouldn't kill you." 16:28 You think, "Boy!" 16:30 They invited me into germ headquarters. 16:33 Well, we don't want to go to heaven to germ headquarters. 16:36 We don't want to go to a sinful place. 16:38 So the Bible says in Revelation chapter 22, 16:41 "Nothing is going to enter into heaven that defiles." 16:44 So what does that mean? 16:46 He that has this hope in himself purifies himself 16:49 even as he is pure. 16:53 Now people have put a different emphasis 16:55 on the 'even as he is pure'. 16:56 Christ has purified us, and he's saying to us, 16:58 "Now, what I want you do is maintain, 17:01 maintain that purity that I placed you in." 17:04 And is it easy? No. 17:06 That's why the death is important to have, 17:08 how often? 17:10 Daily. 17:12 Every moment. Every moment. 17:14 I'll just see if you guys can get it. 17:16 Thank you. 17:17 Every moment, because the challenge is, 17:19 you may feel great when you leave your house. 17:22 Fifteen miles later, you may not feel so great. 17:25 It could be a phone call 17:26 that takes you from great to ugh. 17:30 You could go to work 17:31 and somebody can just give you a look like, "So whatsoever! 17:35 So why are you so happy?" 17:36 And all of a sudden, 17:37 you can say hi to somebody at work, 17:39 and they say, "So you're talking to me now?" 17:42 And it can just throw you into a tailspin. 17:44 So it's so vitally important that you not allow 17:48 all the fiery darts of the wicked one to stick. 17:54 Because that's what happens, 17:55 the devil's trying to figure out, 17:57 "Which dart could I hit to shake you? 17:59 Which dart could I hit, annoy you with today?" 18:03 None, if we have the shield of faith, 18:05 that's what the purpose of it is by the way. 18:07 If we have the shield of faith and commit ourselves to Christ, 18:09 we have to not worry. 18:10 We don't have to worry about all those things. 18:12 So day by day, when we die to sin, 18:16 we are alive because when you die, 18:19 the only way that you could have life 18:21 is if you have life, 18:22 and that life source comes from somebody else 18:25 and that is from Christ. 18:26 All right. 18:27 Number 18, moving right along, number 18. 18:31 What has the death of the cross delivered us from? 18:37 What has the death of the cross delivered us from? 18:43 Very important question. 18:44 We've been delivered from what? 18:47 All right. 18:48 Galatians 6:14 is where we find this next answer, 18:51 Galatians 6:14. 18:53 What has the death of the cross delivered us from? 19:01 The writings of Paul the Apostle 19:03 are so concentrated. 19:08 They're like a... 19:09 They're like a 16-ounce-can of Hawaiian Punch. 19:14 Just don't try to drink it unless you add 19:17 six cups of water to it 'cause it will, at best, 19:20 send you into a diabetic coma. 19:23 It's so sweet. 19:24 But if you break that down, if you dilute it, 19:28 and you take it a little at a time, 19:29 you'll be able to ingest it given the right period of time. 19:33 That's how the words of the Apostle Paul are. 19:34 And sometimes, the unjust thing is sometimes, 19:37 Paul has been pitted against Christ, 19:40 or the Book of Galatians 19:42 has been pitted against the Book of Romans, 19:44 or 2 Corinthians has been pitted against 1 Corinthians. 19:48 One of the examples, you have the scripture there, 19:51 "To be absent from the body 19:52 is to be present with the Lord." 19:54 In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, I think around verse 8. 19:58 Well, that's true, but the one who wrote that also wrote, 20:01 "And this mortal must put on immortality." 20:04 And so if you read the whole caption from, 20:07 I think, verse 8 all the way down to verse 11, 20:09 he says the hope he had was that 20:12 mortality would be swallowed up in life. 20:14 So he believes, "Yes, 20:15 one day, we will be absent from this body." 20:18 How many of you are happy for that? 20:19 Amen. 20:20 Right, Brother Rick. 20:22 Your knee won't be hurting anymore. 20:24 One day, you'll be absent from the body, 20:25 the question is when? 20:28 Not when you die, but when the trumpet sounds? 20:31 Putting on that immortality, putting on that incorruption, 20:35 then, then we are ready to take our journey to heaven. 20:39 But let's look at this, Galatians 6:14, 20:42 here it is on the screen. 20:43 Are you ready, Dave? Here we go. 20:45 The question once again is... 20:49 what has the death of the cross delivered us from? 20:51 Here it is. 20:53 "But God forbid that I should boast 20:56 except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, 20:59 by whom the world has been," what? 21:02 "Crucified to me and I to the world." 21:06 So once again, crucifixion. 21:08 If you look at these things that we are being cut off from, 21:10 in other words crucifixion, okay, 21:12 what has also been taken to the cross, 21:14 not just you but the Lord is also saying, 21:17 "Take the world to the cross and get rid of that too. 21:19 Crucify that too." 21:21 And so Paul is, in essence, saying, 21:22 "This post cross life excludes the world. 21:28 This post cross life excludes the world. 21:32 I've been crucified not only to the sinful life 21:36 but I've been crucified to the ways of the world." 21:40 And so if you ask the question, 21:41 what has the cross delivered us from? 21:45 What two words would you put down? 21:47 The world. The world. 21:49 Now go with me to Isaiah 25. 22:00 Isaiah 25... 22:05 the ultimate deliverance. 22:15 This text is only for those 22:18 who know they don't belong down here. 22:20 All right. 22:21 This text is only for those 22:23 who know they don't belong down here. 22:24 You really wouldn't be glad to be delivered from the world 22:27 if you think you belong down here, 22:29 but if you know you don't belong here, 22:31 think of this as the... 22:35 During the World War 22:37 where America went to prisoner of war camps 22:43 and delivered all those who had been taken captive. 22:46 Think of it that way. 22:48 And they could hear the planes coming, 22:51 they could hear the tanks coming, 22:52 they could hear the sound of vehicles 22:55 that they identify as American vehicles. 22:57 And think of this as you read that. 23:00 "And it will be said in that day they could hear. 23:03 But in this case, it's God, "Behold, this is our God." 23:07 Isaiah 25:9, "Behold, this is our God. 23:10 We have waited for Him, and He will do" what, 23:14 "save us, this is the Lord, we have waited for Him, 23:20 we will be" what, 23:21 "glad and rejoice in His salvation." 23:24 When you realize that we were not transformed 23:27 or saved to stay in this world the way it is, 23:30 you'll be glad when deliverance comes. 23:34 Isn't that true? 23:35 When you realize, 23:37 "I've been looking forward to this, " 23:38 and I know I've told you guys about this a number of times 23:40 and even those who are maybe listening to the program 23:42 right now. 23:43 I've talked about the fact that I enjoy astronomy, 23:46 not astrology, astronomy. 23:48 And I am often taken back by how much space is out there 23:52 and how little and insignificant our planet is. 23:55 I don't know about this 23:56 but, Hannah, do you agree that there's a whole lot more 23:59 that we want to see that we haven't seen yet? 24:00 Oh, you bet. 24:02 I mean, when you look at the stars at night, 24:04 those stars, keep in mind, not any one of those stars, 24:08 not any of one of those stars 24:09 is within the circumference of the nine planets which is, 24:13 "my very educated mother just served us nine pickles." 24:17 Okay. 24:19 That's the way you remember it. 24:20 My, Mars, Very Venus, Educated Earth, Mother Mercury. 24:26 Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, 24:31 Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Pluto. 24:36 My very educated mother just served us nine pickles, 24:39 that's how you remember the planet. 24:41 Did you know that? 24:42 Okay, now I just help you with your astronomy. 24:45 When you pass the test, give me some of those points. 24:48 But that's how we remembered that. 24:49 And then the sun is always in the middle, 24:51 the sun is always in the middle. 24:52 When you look up at stars at night, 24:54 none of those stars are within those 24:56 rotating nine planets, none of them. 24:59 They're all so far out, 25:01 yet our world is so insignificant. 25:03 When you go to Pluto, our world is so invisible 25:06 just that Pluto. 25:07 And by the way, I heard that... 25:11 This is probably a sad story, 25:12 I heard that Pluto was no longer a planet that counts. 25:16 It's been taken out of the chain, 25:18 but it's still out there, so I'll still count it. 25:21 But they said, "It's so far." 25:22 Scientists are saying it really has no relevance 25:25 to the balance of our rotating planets, 25:28 but my point is God wouldn't allow it to be there 25:32 if it didn't serve a purpose. 25:34 But my point I'm making is, I can't wait to one day 25:37 we go beyond all these nine planets, 25:39 and then we are finally out there. 25:42 Did you see the guy that jumped out of that... 25:44 He did the skydive. How high was it again? 25:47 Does anybody remember? Four miles? 25:49 Twenty four miles above the earth. 25:50 Twenty four miles above the earth. 25:52 It looked beautiful. 25:53 I have the video, I look at it periodically. 25:56 He must have stood there for a brief moment and said, 25:58 "Man, so this is what it's like." 26:03 But he couldn't survive out there 26:05 without all of that apparatus. 26:08 Yet when Jesus comes, 26:10 all we're going to need to survive 26:12 is that transformed life. 26:14 So these texts 26:16 that we're talking about tonight 26:17 is helping us get ready for the world to come. 26:23 So when it sounds like I'm kind of 26:24 being a little difficult, 26:27 you won't get upset with me when Jesus comes. 26:29 I guarantee you. 26:31 We're saying, "Come on, guys, get ready, get packed. 26:34 We're just about getting ready to leave here." 26:37 There's a favorite song I had 26:38 from the Heritage singers. 26:40 It won't be long then we'll be leaving here. 26:44 It won't be long we'll be going home. 26:46 That's what this topic is all about. 26:48 It's not about theology, it's about, "Come on. 26:50 Let's get this thing together. 26:51 We're about to get out of here." 26:53 And all the world has tried to give us to substitute 26:55 it cannot even begin to dent the imagination 27:00 when we think about what God has in store 27:02 for those that love Him. 27:05 I mean, if there's so much in just one galaxy, 27:07 and scientists are saying there are 27:09 hundreds of billions of galaxies, 27:11 now do you ask the question why do we need eternity. 27:16 Anyway, let me get back on the lesson. 27:17 So much for the astronomy but that's something 27:20 to get your mind out of this world. 27:22 If you go to the chapter right before that, 27:24 let me tell you why it's important 27:25 to get ready to get out of here. 27:27 Look at Isaiah chapter 24, 27:30 I want you to see a couple of verses here. 27:32 All right. 27:33 Isaiah 24:1, since I started on that line of thinking, 27:38 let me give you something to consider to ponder. 27:40 See, no matter how nice the place where you live is, 27:45 even if you lived on the 69th floor 27:47 in a 4.5-million-dollar apartment 27:50 overlooking the bay in Miami, 27:55 and that's a view. 27:57 Even if you lived up there, 27:58 it's insignificant compared 28:00 to what Christ has in store for us 28:02 because the problem is not so much the nice view 28:04 but this text tells you the reason 28:05 why we need to get ready to get out of this world. 28:07 Here it is. 28:09 Verse 4, "Behold... 28:10 Isaiah 24:1, 28:14 "Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty 28:17 and makes it waste, distorts its surface, 28:21 and scatters abroad its inhabitants, 28:24 and it shall be as with the people 28:25 so with the priests, 28:27 as with the servant so with his master, 28:29 as with a maid so with her mistress, 28:31 as with the borrower so with the seller, 28:34 as with the lender so with the borrower." 28:37 I said borrow, but I meant buyer. 28:39 "As with the creditor so with the debtor, 28:42 the land shall be entirely emptied 28:46 and utterly plundered. 28:48 For the Lord has spoken this word. 28:53 The earth mourns and fades away, 28:55 the world languishes and fades away. 28:58 The hearty people of the earth languish. 29:01 The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants 29:04 because they have transgressed the laws, 29:07 changed the ordinance, 29:09 broken the everlasting covenant. 29:11 Therefore, the curse has devoured the earth 29:14 and those who dwell in it are desolate. 29:17 Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned 29:19 and few men are left." 29:21 One day, that prophecy is going to come to pass 29:23 in such stark contrast to what seems to be 29:26 a relative environment of peace and safety. 29:28 But if you're getting ready for the coming of the Lord, 29:30 you would not be upset when those circumstances 29:33 begin to manifest themselves around us 29:35 because you'll say, "Hey, 29:36 I'm not going to be down here anyway. 29:38 I'm getting ready to get out of here, 29:39 I'm getting ready to leave." 29:41 Amen for that? Amen. 29:42 Question number 19, is that where we are? 29:46 What specifically are we to put to death on a daily basis? 29:53 What specifically are we to put to death 29:55 on a daily basis? 29:57 I like the fact that I use the word specifically there, 29:59 because sometimes people say, "Okay. 30:01 I die daily. 30:02 I ask the Lord to put my sinful ways to death today." 30:07 But in fact, what does that actually mean? 30:09 What is really being put to death? 30:11 All right. 30:13 Colossians 3:5 to 7, 30:16 Colossians 3:5 to 7. 30:20 Okay. 30:21 Wow. 30:24 Just apply this spiritually, do not apply this literally. 30:28 "Therefore put to death your members 30:32 which are on the earth." 30:34 Not church members but your... 30:37 Okay? 30:38 Your members. 30:40 Look at them, look at the things 30:41 that fight against us. 30:44 "Which are on the earth," together, what are they? 30:48 "Fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, 30:54 and covetousness which is idolatry. 30:59 Because of these things the wrath of God 31:03 is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 31:06 in which you yourselves 31:08 once walked when you lived in them." 31:11 Isn't that right? 31:13 That's how we used to be. 31:14 He said, "This is what I need you 31:16 to get rid of every day. 31:17 Since you may not have been... 31:19 "Okay, what do you want me to do, Lord." 31:20 He says, "Okay, let's go over that list one more time." 31:22 "What do you want me to do?" 31:24 "Get fornication out of your mind, 31:26 get all that stuff is unclean out of your mind. 31:28 Make sure that your passion is a passion for good. 31:30 Get those evil desires out. 31:32 If you're covetous, stop being covetous. 31:34 Don't be an idolatrous person." 31:38 That also means, I'm going to add to that, 31:39 "Don't be an idle person." 31:41 You know what happens? 31:42 Satan find work for idle hands to do. 31:45 If you're doing nothing, the devil says, 31:47 "Oh, you don't have a job? 31:48 I'll give you a job." 31:50 And more people get in trouble 31:51 because they have nothing to do 31:54 than those who have too much to do. 31:56 And then he says, "Therefore put, therefore... 32:01 Let me go back. 32:02 "Therefore put to death your members 32:03 which are on the earth," put them to death. 32:06 Make sure that they are dead. 32:07 Make sure that when you leave the house, 32:09 these things are in the back yard, buried in. 32:11 You're not going to go out there and get them 32:12 when you come back. 32:15 Right? 32:16 So what's the answer now? 32:17 What specifically are we to put to death 32:19 on a daily basis? 32:22 Sinful members. 32:25 And by the way, let me just put this, 32:26 let me add this. 32:28 I'm going to put this back in the context of the text. 32:29 It says, "Put to death your members." 32:31 Now, what is the overall theme of our study? 32:34 How to live a... 32:36 Spiritual life. 32:37 In a natural body. 32:39 The natural body is still something 32:41 we have to contend with. 32:44 It's this tent. 32:46 It's this house that Paul talked about 32:49 that we have to deal with on a day-by-day basis 32:51 because really, you're a Christian 32:53 but have you forgotten the things you used to do? 32:56 Have you forgotten? 32:57 Have you forgotten, David? 32:59 Anybody forgot what you used to do? 33:00 Anybody? I wish I could. 33:03 Aren't there certain things you wish you never did? 33:04 Come on. Can I get an amen? 33:06 There's certain things you wish you never said or never seen, 33:08 a place you wish you'd never been, 33:10 'cause it's like a computer hard drive 33:13 that you just cannot clean. 33:15 Matter of fact, you know what they say? 33:17 There's a forensic condition going on in our heads. 33:19 Some people try to wipe their hard drive clean, 33:21 but scientists are able to forensically recall 33:23 all the things that are there. 33:24 That's how sin is, it has a forensic nature to it. 33:27 It buries itself way 33:29 into the faculties of your mind. 33:31 And when you think that you are all delivered, 33:34 something happens that day 33:35 that remind you of four years ago, 33:39 that remind you of how much we really do need 33:41 to keep leaning on Christ. 33:43 So every day, we can say, 33:45 "Okay, now what do I want to do bad today?" 33:48 We can even ask that question. 33:50 Don't even go down the inventory. 33:51 And let me make another suggestion. 33:54 Sometimes, 33:56 if you are the kind of person that's continuing to pray, 33:59 "Lord, help me with my cigarettes." 34:01 That's today. 34:03 Tomorrow, "Lord, help me with my cigarettes." 34:05 That's the next day, 34:07 "Lord, help me with my cigarettes." 34:12 You know what that's called? 34:14 If you think about the psychological impact, 34:16 you are continuing to dig this groove in your mind 34:19 and the groove is riding on your hard drive, 34:22 cigarettes, cigarettes, cigarettes, 34:24 cigarettes, cigarettes, cigarettes. 34:28 Instead of saying, "Lord, thank you 34:29 for the victory over cigarettes." 34:32 The word that is, 34:33 the powerful word is going to be victory, 34:34 victory, victory, victory. 34:36 "Thank you for the victory. 34:38 Thank you for the victory." 34:39 That's what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:57, 34:42 "But thanks be to God who gives us the victory." 34:47 I don't know if this is all tight there, 34:50 this is not scriptural 34:51 but I've been told by a psychologist. 34:53 He says, "When people continue to repeat the negative things, 34:57 even if they are asking for help. 34:59 Like people say, "Man, I need some help." 35:01 And they are making 35:03 no concerted effort on their part 35:06 to even cooperate with the agencies 35:08 that can bring them deliverance, 35:10 they are simply reiterating the thoughts 35:12 that will become the very chain that binds them." 35:17 Did you get that? 35:19 By that negative reinforcement, they are creating chains 35:23 that are so strong that all their minds 35:25 are going to remember of all the negative things 35:28 that they continue to pray for rather than saying, 35:31 "Heavenly Father, 35:33 I thank You that You set me free today. 35:35 Help me by Your grace to live in that liberty 35:40 that I've received for this day. 35:41 I'm going to walk out of here, 35:43 Lord, and I'm going to walk in Your freedom. 35:45 And make sure that where my feet go, 35:47 You clear the path so I find no contact with those things 35:52 that will bring a temptation in my way." 35:54 Do you know when the Lord... 35:55 When you ask that prayer, do you know 35:57 what Jesus says in 1 Corinthians 10:13? 36:01 "No temptation has overtaken you, 36:05 but such as is common to man. 36:08 But God is faithful who will not allow you 36:14 to be tempted beyond which you are able, 36:17 but with the temptation make a way of escape 36:20 that you may be able to bear it." 36:23 So when a temptation comes, I tell you today, I prayed, 36:27 I got in my car out of specific meeting today. 36:29 I prayed from the time I left the house 36:31 to the time I got to my destination, 36:33 and I had a good old audible conversation with God. 36:37 You ever talked to God? 36:39 I'm talking about out loud. 36:40 Heavenly Father, I am so glad, Lord, 36:44 that I am on Your mission today. 36:46 Father, go with me, 36:49 send Your angels to accompany me. 36:52 Give me a mind to know that You are at work. 36:55 Father, I'm going not to defend You, 36:57 You need no defending, 36:59 I'm just going to go and witness to Your goodness, 37:01 witness to Your truth. 37:03 And, Father, help me to be humble about it, 37:05 help me that You may be seen and may Your truth 37:09 and Your Word prevail. 37:10 May You even speak to the heart of the one 37:13 that I'm going to meet with. 37:15 And when it's over, Father, may You get all the glory. 37:18 You know what, it's like, I felt like a soldier 37:21 going to the battlefield with every weapon I ever had. 37:26 I knew the enemy wouldn't even want to be in my path 37:28 but I remembered, 37:30 I'm still not able with all that weaponry to be effective. 37:35 That's why the Lord even says, "I'll surround you 37:37 but I'll also fight the battle for you." 37:40 So these things that are the great weapons 37:43 that we deal with on a day-by-day basis, 37:45 these great weapons, fornication, 37:46 uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness 37:49 which is idolatry, these things are day-by-day remnants, 37:53 they are the residue in the sinful nature 37:55 that as time goes on, if we choose, 37:58 if we stop yielding to that, as time goes on, 38:02 we won't even remember how to be covetous. 38:06 Because truly, 38:07 if you are yielding to Christ every day, 38:10 there should be continual deliverance in your life. 38:12 Am I telling the truth? 38:14 You should not be a Christian for 15 or 20 38:16 or however long, and say, 38:17 "Man, you know, I'm still struggling." 38:19 My question is, do you really believe 38:23 that He is able to save you from your sins? 38:26 And if you really believe that, why does it seem 38:28 that you are incapable of experience and that victory? 38:32 There's not any fault on His part, 38:34 but maybe like the guy that one day we pray for a guy. 38:40 He said, "I need prayer 38:42 to overcome my addiction to cigarettes." 38:44 "Okay, great. 38:45 Let's get the elders together and we're going to anoint you 38:47 and pray for you." 38:49 When the prayer was done, 38:51 I said, "Do you have any more cigarettes?" 38:52 He said, "I got one pack left." 38:55 I said, "Where is it?" He said, "In my truck." 38:56 I said, "Go, get it." He said, "Wait a minute. 38:58 That's my last pack." 39:01 I said, "But you ask us to pray for you to be delivered 39:05 but you don't want to deliverance 39:06 until after your last pack." 39:08 Now that sounds hilarious 39:10 but what if a thief asked for prayer? 39:14 "Thank you for praying for me, but I have just one more bank 39:17 that I'm going to rob today." 39:21 But let's go further. 39:22 The murderer, "I'm tired of killing people 39:25 but I had just one more hit after you pray for me, 39:28 and then I'll be okay." I mean, this really gets dark. 39:32 So we can't even see sin in hilarious light 39:35 because if you pray, the Lord will deliver you, 39:36 but the thing that we are told here to do 39:39 is put to death your members, put to death that desire 39:44 to want to stick with that thing. 39:48 And when you do that, you'll find a freedom 39:50 that you say, 39:51 "You mean to tell me it was that easy all along?" 39:54 If you put that thing... 39:55 Anything that's been put to death can't live. 39:59 If it's been put to death, it has no more power over you. 40:02 Go to the next question, question number 20, 40:06 question number 20. 40:09 How should we daily approach our new life walk in Christ? 40:16 Some of these questions almost sound redundant, 40:19 but they are not. 40:20 They're just looking at the same accident 40:22 from different angles. 40:24 They're looking at the same life 40:25 but from different perspectives. 40:27 All right. 40:28 How should we daily approach our new life walk in Christ? 40:31 We're in the New Year now, this is 2013. 40:33 And sometimes, people say, 40:35 "Lord, I want to be successful this year." 40:37 That is so general that the Lord says, 40:39 "Successful, how? What do you need?" 40:42 You have to be specific. You have to be specific. 40:45 "Lord, help me to have a more dedicated life, 40:48 help me day-by-day to study more of Your Word, 40:51 help me when the opportunities come 40:54 to be there in the fellowship, 40:55 to study the Word of God together." 40:57 People don't set spiritual goals. 40:59 If people were as tenacious about their spiritual goals 41:02 as they are about their financial goals, 41:05 that's neither here nor there because some people are so 41:07 not tenacious about their financial goals, 41:09 right, Brother Rick? 41:11 But if we would set goals and give dates to them, 41:13 if we would say, "Okay, by such and such a date," 41:16 watch this, "by such and such a date, we'll be debt-free." 41:19 Have you ever had people say that? 41:22 Wouldn't it be nice if somebody said, 41:23 "By such and such a date, I'll finish my Bible." 41:28 That was a great chance for an amen right there. 41:29 Amen. 41:31 "By such and such a date, 41:32 I would have been attending church every Wednesday 41:35 for X amount of months in a row." 41:38 We don't set spiritual goals. 41:40 This year what I want to do differently is 41:42 I want to study my Sabbath School lesson 41:43 one page a day. 41:45 It won't take me about 15 minutes maybe the tops. 41:48 You'll discover when you do that, 41:49 all of a sudden, your taste buds start shifting 41:52 and you start thinking, "Man, that's really good." 41:54 And my wife and I talked about this. 41:56 We have this new Bible program called 'Bible is' on the iPad. 41:59 You can listen to 15 or 16 chapters 42:02 before you know it, and you're drawn in. 42:06 I said to my wife the other day, 42:08 because after we turned on the news, Jill. 42:14 They show some actors that are... 42:16 You know, everybody is crazy over Justin Bieber 42:17 and I thought, "Oh, no." 42:21 What we just read, this is crazy. 42:25 Why are we wasting time with people 42:26 that want to be idolized? 42:28 "Turn it off. 42:29 Let's get back into the word." 42:34 When your mind 42:36 is focusing on eternal things... 42:39 As a songwriter says, 42:40 the things of this earth grows, what? 42:42 Strangely dim. 42:44 And people that don't focus on those same things, said... 42:47 They call you and say, "Have you seen American Idol?" 42:48 And I said, "Look, there is no more American Idol 42:52 in my future. 42:53 There's no more The Voice, there's no more Can You Sing, 42:56 there's no more can you sing a note on the key." 42:59 I mean, I don't really care who wins anymore 43:01 because I want to win my life in Christ. 43:02 Amen? Amen. 43:04 But this world has such a way of pulling you down. 43:06 And people get together, "Hey, did you get the new... 43:08 Did you get the new, what? 43:10 Ask me, did you get a new life in Christ? 43:13 It would be nice if some of those kinds of questions 43:15 come forth from Christians mouth 43:16 rather than, did you get the new, 43:18 and then they mention some device 43:20 that's going to lose interest in about two months. 43:23 Well, here's the answer. 43:28 "Not that I have already attained, " 43:30 how many of you have attained? 43:32 "Or am I am already perfect?" 43:34 Are we perfect yet? No, but here is the point. 43:37 Don't say that because when you say, 43:38 "I'm not perfect, " you're giving a license to sin. 43:41 "But I," do what? 43:42 Together, "press on that I may lay hold of that 43:46 for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. 43:52 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, 43:56 but one thing I do," let's read this together, 43:58 "forgetting those things which are," where? 44:01 "Behind," and what else? 44:03 "Reaching forward to those things 44:06 which are" what? 44:07 "Ahead." 44:08 With some oomph now, 44:10 "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward 44:14 call of God in Christ Jesus." 44:18 Not enough people are pressing. 44:21 If you want to know what it's like to press, 44:22 get on the train to New York City at rush hour. 44:25 That's what they do, they press. 44:27 I also saw that in Japan in the subway stations. 44:32 They have subway attendants with white gloves. 44:37 And the art on the trains in Japan, 44:40 it's not that you're not concerned 44:41 if anybody's going to be next 44:43 because you are sardine packed in. 44:45 They literally... 44:46 You just see it. 44:48 They stand and they push you in 44:50 like they're packing sardines in a can 44:52 that's about to be shipped to America. 44:54 That's what... 44:56 They do that. 44:57 So you don't ask questions, 45:00 "Whose leaning on me?" 45:02 The entire city of Japan is leaning on you. 45:07 That's what the word press mean. 45:09 If you want to know what press is, 45:11 look at a football player that just got an interception, 45:15 and they only have 15 seconds. 45:17 You want to see somebody pressing? 45:20 He is running like he has never run in his life before. 45:23 A person who is trying to not drown. 45:25 You want to see a person that's pressing... 45:30 a person being chased by an angry dog. 45:31 You want to see somebody that's pressing, 45:34 I tell you, we don't have enough Christians 45:36 that are pressing for the goal, of what kind of call? 45:41 Upward call. 45:42 So here's the answer. 45:44 How should I daily approach our new life walk in Christ? 45:47 Come on. Here it is. 45:48 Press toward the goal. Write that down. 45:51 Together, press toward the goal. 45:54 Not enough people have the spiritual goal. 45:56 And you know what, 45:58 I'm convinced some people are lethargic and happy. 46:03 There are those people that set their watches for noon. 46:09 Let me not go down that road right now. 46:12 But some people have 46:13 so little spiritual activity in their lives. 46:15 I wonder, 46:17 how are they going to make it in heaven? 46:20 "I'm ready to go back to earth, enough of this praise stuff. 46:23 Can I go?" 46:27 I mean, that's not even going to be the case, we know that. 46:30 So we've got to develop... 46:32 We've got to develop an appetite 46:33 for spiritual things, 46:34 we've got to set some goals. 46:36 It's 2013, this is January. 46:39 This is our, 46:40 second or first broadcast in January? 46:43 Second, right, second one. 46:45 Set some goals for January. 46:47 Set some goals, some spiritual goals. 46:49 Don't just be a person ever learning, 46:51 never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 46:54 Set some goals, don't be just a library of information 46:56 because everything you learn, you'll be held accountable 46:59 for whether or not 47:00 you've applied that to your life. 47:01 Set some spiritual goals. 47:03 Press, because God has an upward call 47:06 on all of our lives, and with it comes a prize. 47:10 All right? 47:11 And number 21, number 21. 47:16 Why must we make the daily commitment 47:19 to die to the flesh? 47:24 Why must we make 47:26 the daily commitment to die to the flesh? 47:31 Okay, why? 47:33 Philippians 3:10, and this is huge, 47:37 this text is huge. 47:39 It's one of those, are you ready' texts. 47:41 All right. 47:43 Now 47:45 somebody says, "Okay, the curtain's about to begin." 47:48 Have you ever waited outside till it was time 47:51 to enter into something? 47:52 I remember, we used to live on the West Coast 47:56 and you had in the amusement parks. 47:58 You know, every now and then, 47:59 show at 3:15, another one at 3:45, 48:02 another one at 4:15, another one at 4:45, 48:05 and you're running to the park, and you get to the curtain, 48:07 and say, "Oh, it's too late." 48:11 And you stand outside, and you get in line, 48:12 and you're waiting. 48:14 Or you're waiting for a ride to begin, you're in the line, 48:15 and then you're right there. 48:17 "Are you ready to go? 48:18 Are you ready? No turning back. 48:21 Now when you go in, you're going to learn things 48:22 that you've never known before. 48:24 Are you ready?" 48:25 And the curtain goes up and you go in. 48:27 And then you are amazed for the time you're there. 48:30 But my point is this. 48:32 Unless you are willing to make that commitment to go in, 48:34 you'll never learn what it's like to be in. 48:36 Unless you make that commitment 48:38 to dive into the Christian life, 48:39 you'll never know what it's like to be in. 48:41 We talk about the power 48:42 but unless you make the commitment, 48:44 you'll never know what that power is all about. 48:46 So look at the answer. 48:48 Philippians 3:10, to the question, 48:50 why must we make the daily commitment 48:51 to die to the flesh? 48:53 I love this. 48:55 Together, "That I may know Him and the," what? 49:01 "Power of His resurrection and the," what? 49:04 " Fellowship of," what? 49:07 "His suffering being conformed to His death." 49:12 That almost, if you listen to the only word death, 49:15 it sounds bad. 49:17 But you know what happened after Jesus died? 49:19 Come on, somebody tell me. 49:21 He rose. 49:22 And what did He say on the other side, 49:24 "All power, all authority is given to Me." 49:28 You will never know that 49:30 unless you're willing to be conformed to His death. 49:33 You'll never know the power of His resurrection 49:35 unless you're saying, "Okay, okay. 49:37 I'm willing to die." 49:40 Because this body is not doing any good, 49:42 this life I've lived is not doing any good. 49:45 Matter of fact, we've had some of the best transformations 49:47 in this church by people that have come 49:49 to the end of their rope and said, 49:50 "Pastor, if I don't get help, 49:52 I don't think I'm going to make it another week." 49:54 We've got members now that are very active, 49:56 on fire for the Lord, very active in ministry, 49:58 in the church. 50:00 Jill knows about that. 50:01 But they came to a point in their lives 50:03 where they saw the uselessness of the life they lived. 50:06 But they realized, "How long have I been smoking? 50:09 How long have I been living like this, 50:11 drinking, and carousing, and running after drugs, 50:14 and crime, and women, and frivolous things? 50:18 Man, look at me. 50:20 I feel worn out, I feel like nothing's left." 50:24 The good news is 50:25 when you're at the end of your rope, 50:26 Jesus has some more rope. 50:28 And this time, it's not for you to hang yourself 50:31 but for Him to draw you to Himself. 50:33 So you never had a place where you can start over 50:35 all over again but once again, the emphasis is, 50:38 that I may know the, what? 50:40 Power. 50:42 There's a power there that's available. 50:44 And unless your life is transformed, 50:46 you'll never know what it's like. 50:48 Now let's go to a few questions about the transformed life. 50:53 I lead all the way up to it, now you have your new syllabus. 50:56 Unless you know about the power of His resurrection, 50:58 you'll never know about the transformed life. 51:03 How to live a transformed life? 51:06 Transformed... 51:08 Years ago, a new toy came out. 51:11 I had not heard about it until I saw a kid bend his car 51:14 into a robot. 51:15 And I thought, "What is that?" 51:17 Little kid is walking around, and I just see him. 51:20 And by the time he was done, this car was a robot, 51:22 and then he twisted the robot back into a car. 51:23 And I said, "What is that?" 51:25 "It's transformer," he said. 51:27 Well, I took electronics. 51:30 That was my study in School of New York, 51:32 and I have a degree in that. 51:35 A transformer to me is something 51:36 that has power in it, right? 51:38 Or used to either step up or step down power. 51:42 And there's step up transformer, 51:43 there's step down transformers, 51:44 but this guy had this car that turned into a robot. 51:46 And I thought, 51:48 "Oh, so that's also a transformation." 51:50 And I said, "Actually, he's right." 51:52 If we transformed, 51:55 we could be changed from what we were 51:58 into what we never was, 52:00 into what we never were. 52:01 So we could be a sinful human being 52:04 touched by the hand of God and He'll bend our life. 52:07 And before you know, 52:08 we have a different appearance altogether. 52:11 He shapes us and molds us, 52:13 like the Bible says In Jeremiah, the Potter, 52:15 He shapes us and molds us. 52:17 And we begin to appear in a way that we never appeared before. 52:22 Now I want to begin with the text 52:25 that each one of us knows very well. 52:27 This is going to be our catapulting text. 52:29 Romans chapter 12. 52:32 Does anybody not know where I'm going? 52:34 I mean, if we're talking of the word transformed, 52:36 do you not know where I'm going? 52:38 Where am I going, Dan? 52:40 Romans 12, right? 52:42 It is the national anthem of transformation. 52:48 This is how transformation takes place. 52:51 Okay. 52:52 What's the verses, honey? Verse 2, 1 and 2. 52:54 Verse 1 and 2. 52:55 This is the national anthem for transformation. 52:59 Okay. 53:01 Listen to the appeal by the Apostle Paul. 53:04 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, 53:08 by the mercies of God that you present your," what? 53:13 "Bodies," another word for members, 53:15 "that you present your bodies," and what kind of sacrifice? 53:18 "Living sacrifice." 53:20 What does God want from us? 53:22 He wants us to be, what? 53:24 Together, holy, and what? 53:26 Acceptable to God 53:28 which is your reasonable service. 53:30 The NIV, I like the way it says there, 53:32 which is your spiritual act of worship, 53:34 that's how that ends here. 53:35 But now let's go to the verse. 53:38 Verse 2. 53:40 "And do not be conformed to," what? 53:43 "This world but be," what? 53:45 "Transformed by the renewing of your mind 53:50 that you may prove 53:52 what is that good and acceptable and," what? 53:55 "Perfect will of God." 53:57 Do you know why people don't... 53:59 This text is a huge text. 54:01 If you try to talk to somebody who is so deep in the world 54:03 about things of Christ, 54:04 it's like trying to speak Greek to a guy from Japan. 54:11 The best you can do is... 54:15 You just might hum a song because that just as good. 54:18 Am I telling the truth? 54:20 If a person is so deep in the world, 54:24 I could share about this whole story with my sister. 54:27 You know, I love my sister well, 54:28 and even if she heard this, I wouldn't be ashamed about it. 54:31 She put a will together 54:33 and she's going to send me her will, and she says, 54:35 "I know my brother is responsible, 54:37 he will carry out my wishes, 54:38 and you know I want my ashes to be sprinkled in the ocean 54:41 in St Thomas in the Virgin Islands, 54:42 and I know you'll carry on my wishes 54:44 from our property being... 54:46 And at my funeral, 54:47 I want my funeral to be like a party." 54:50 Yeah, I want Whitney Houston or I want Luther Vandross 54:53 at my funeral. 54:55 I said, "No, no, no, no, no. Wait a minute." 54:57 Before I said no, I said, 55:00 "There are certain things about your will 55:01 that will not be carried out by me. 55:04 So you put that in there, 55:05 that will not be carried out by me. 55:07 So you're talking about your ashes bring sprinkled, 55:09 I'm not concerned about your ashes, 55:10 I'm concerned about your salvation. 55:13 So let me add a part to that will 55:14 that you have not included, 55:16 here's the part I want to add to that will 55:17 that you may be baptized into the Lord before you die." 55:20 I told her that. 55:22 Some of us don't tell our relatives 55:23 how we feel about their salvation. 55:25 We have loved ones that we're praying for 55:26 but we never tell them we're praying for them. 55:29 We never tell them 55:30 how we feel about their eternity. 55:31 Some people have relatives that they, 55:33 or in the way we act, and sometimes you have friends, 55:35 the way you act, 55:36 it's almost like you say, 55:38 "I don't care if my friends are lost." 55:40 If you really love people like Jesus does, 55:42 you will wrestle with them. 55:44 "Look, I rather wrestle with you, 55:46 and you get upset with me, and you be saved, 55:48 than me saying nothing, you remain my friend, 55:50 and you'll be lost. 55:52 Because Ecclesiastes, a beautiful text, 55:55 "Faithful are the wounds of a friend 55:59 but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." 56:01 So I rather said to my sister, "No, no, no, no, no, no. 56:04 What? So I'm... 56:05 By God's grace, I said, "When I come to New York, 56:08 we're going to have a conversation." 56:10 So God's working it out. 56:12 Because, see, I'm going to be preaching, 56:14 we're going to New York for a funeral, 56:15 I'm going to be preaching that Sabbath at a church 56:19 where she said she's bringing, she's coming 56:21 and all her friends are there. 56:24 My sermon is about 56:26 getting ready for the Lord to come. 56:28 Because I tell you, I told my sister. 56:32 I said like CD Brooks 56:35 and women are getting too far in this 56:36 but I'm laying some foundation. 56:38 CD Brooks said, "A man said to his son one day, 56:40 'Son, what are you doing to get ready for eternity?' 56:44 And the son just didn't pay much attention to the father. 56:49 He said, "I just want you to know, 56:50 I'm going to miss you but not always. 56:54 I am going to shed tears over your lost but not always." 57:00 And I said heaven is going to be a beautiful place 57:02 but how much more beautiful my time there is going to be 57:05 if I can spend it with my sister. 57:07 We've gone through so much together. 57:09 It doesn't make sense for me to be in eternity 57:12 and you not be there. 57:13 We've struggled so hard together, 57:14 we've gone through so much together. 57:16 How beautiful it would be 57:19 for us to spend eternity together. 57:21 So I know we're not going to get to a question tonight, 57:23 but I'm just letting you know, 57:24 this transformed life is more than just, 57:26 "Oh, we're going to have a party, 57:28 we're going to have a good time. 57:29 This is about a good time that will never end 57:31 because at the right hand of our Lord 57:34 are joys for evermore." 57:38 And so, friends if you tune in next week, 57:40 we'll continue on our study. 57:41 As a matter of fact, next week, 57:43 we start with one of our anchors series. 57:46 I believe it's going to be Ty Gibson. 57:48 So tune in for that 57:49 and then we'll continue our study 57:51 the week after that. 57:52 But let me just say it this way, 57:53 the Lord has a plan for your life 57:55 if you continue studying the Word of God. 57:58 One day, everything that you've studied 57:59 will come into a sharper focus. 58:03 God bless you. Let us pray. |
Revised 2018-11-05