Hello, and we do welcome
you to Fall Camp Meeting 2018.
00:00:49.08\00:00:55.05
We're so excited to be
here and I'm so excited
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about the topic
of this Camp Meeting:
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The Covenant Identity.
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And this is something we
all need to understand better.
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For this hour our
special guest speaker -
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and I can call him a
guest now because he has
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retired from
3ABN - is C.A. Murray.
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And C.A. is a pastor...
he's a beautiful person.
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C.A. is one of
my favorite friends.
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And he and his wife Irma have
retired and moved to Panama.
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But any time you're
part of the 3ABN family
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just as you are all and those
who are watching at home are
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you will never be
apart from the 3ABN family.
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So we're excited
to have him here.
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He is going to speak on
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A Quotient... A Quiver...
Let's see if I can say this...
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A Quiver of Quotient Questions.
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How's that for alliteration?
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But before he does
Celestine Barry-Dickens
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is going to sing for
us. We so appreciate her.
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She has a beautiful voice
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and she will sing
God Will Make A Way.
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It must have felt
strange to end up stranded
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between and army and the sea
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They must have felt forsaken
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wond'ring why God
wasn't all He said He'd be.
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When your back's against a wall
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that's the hardest place of all
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But somewhere between provision
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and impossibility.
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God will make a way
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when there seems to be no way.
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Forever He is faithful.
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He will make a road
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when you bear a heavy load.
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I know
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God will make a way.
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When the world of circumstances
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leaves you crying in the night
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and you struggle
till your strength
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is almost gone
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God will gently hold you
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in the shelter of His arms
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and carve a road for you
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to carry on...
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to carry on...
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travel on.
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God will make a way
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when there seems to be no way.
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Forever He is faithful.
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He will make a road
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when you bear a heavy load.
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I know
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God will make a way.
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When there seems to be no way...
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Forever He is faithful!
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He will make a road
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when you bear a heavy load.
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I know
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God will make a way...
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God will make
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a way.
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He will make a way...
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God will make
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a way.
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God will make a way
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when there seems to be no way.
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Forever He is faithful.
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He will make a road
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when you bear a heavy load.
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I know
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God will make a way
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when there seems to be no way.
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Forever He is faithful.
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He will make a road
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when you bear a heavy load.
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I know
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God will make a way.
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Amen and amen!
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You'll forgive me.
When the brethren back there
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give you a push in
the back and say: "Go out"
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you just go out.
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One does so unquestioningly.
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So we came out a little
early but that's all right.
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I had the privilege of marrying
Celestine earlier this year.
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Performing her wedding.
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So I will allow her that
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and forgive the
brethren in the back.
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We've got so much to talk
about and hopefully we can get
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all of this in in time.
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You will forgive me...
When the church was being formed
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and we were getting our name
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the brethren were
pushing the term Church of God.
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And James White
actually was one of those
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pushing the Church of God.
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Ellen White said: "No,
that's not a good name.
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That name actually
conceals more than it reveals.
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It hides too much stuff
and it's too indistinct. "
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So they rejected that.
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And of course later we came
up with Seventh-day Adventist
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which was the perfect title
for who we are and what we do.
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So this sermon title - A
Quiver of Quotient Questions -
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really hides too much.
What we're going to deal with
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is fishes and loaves religion
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and the anatomy of a blessing.
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So that's the sub-text, subtitle
for what we're talking about.
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And that will sort of move us
in the direction we want to go.
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Turn with me if you
will to John chapter 6.
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The book of John, the chapter
is 6. We will read verses 1-2
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and try to move
with a little dispatch.
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Shall we pray.
Father God, be with us now.
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Speak to us; speak through us.
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May You be seen;
may You be heard;
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may You be felt;
may You be experienced.
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May we take one more step
along that road that leads
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to glory. And we thank
you in Jesus' name, Amen.
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Let's read John
6 verses 1 and 2.
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You will note that this
is a long, long chapter.
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So we'll start at the beginning
and then jump to the end
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and then sprinkle some
things through the middle.
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I'm in John chapter 6 verse 1.
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"After these things... " the
Bible says... "Jesus went over
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the Sea of Galilee.
" The Sea of Galilee
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is sort of like an
upside-down teardrop.
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About 24 miles
long, 8 or 10 miles wide.
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So He went over
the Sea of Galilee
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which is the Sea of Tiberius.
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"Then a great multitude... "
the Bible says... "followed Him
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because... " get this...
"because they saw His sign
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which He performed on
those who were diseased. "
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Get the picture:
they followed Him because
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of something they saw.
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We'll return to that
in just a little bit.
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"And Jesus went
up on the mountain
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and there He sat
with His disciples. "
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Now John chapter 6 may
well be one of the most
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power-packed and
miracle-packed chapters
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in the book of John
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and perhaps even in
the entire New Testament.
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And these singular expressions
of the power and grace of God
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were responded to in
the worst possible way.
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You see, the worst thing
you can do when God blesses you
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or curses you for that matter
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is turn from Him.
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You can't allow your
blessings, your good fortune
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to push you away from God.
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You can't allow your bad
fortune, your misfortune,
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to push you away from God.
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So regardless of
what happens in your life
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the worst response you can have
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to good or bad
is to turn from God.
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Do you agree? Amen! All right.
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That's not what you want to do.
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So let us... let's
jump through the chapter
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and go to the punch
line. I'm in John 6:66.
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So you're all the
way down to John 6:66.
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The Bible says, John 6:66,
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"From that time
many of His... " What?
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"disciples went back and
walked with Him no more. "
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So we go from a bunch of
people following the Lord
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because of the miracles
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to a lot of these people
turning their backs on Jesus
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and walking with Him no more.
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So what we need to do
is find out what happened
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in the interim. We
want to ask ourselves
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some very important questions
that every Christian must ask
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themselves. At some
point in your Christian walk
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you've got to
wrestle with these issues.
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So John 6:66 tells me
now that Christ is rejected
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by a large number of the
people who once followed Him.
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They didn't like what they heard
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so they checked out.
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Now let me ask you a question:
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How many have
ever gone to church
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and heard something
that you did not know before?
00:12:05.35\00:12:07.82
Praise the Lord!
Hopefully every Sabbath
00:12:10.09\00:12:12.19
you learn a
little something more.
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Now, how many
have gone to church
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and heard something
that you did not know before
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and did not particularly like?
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OK... so how many
have gone to church
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and heard something you
didn't know and didn't like?
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Yeah. So
sometimes you come to church
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and you hear some stuff that
doesn't quite sit well with you.
00:12:33.42\00:12:36.82
Um-hmm.
00:12:37.95\00:12:39.29
How many have gone to church and
heard something you didn't know,
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you did not like, but
you knew it was the truth?
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Yeah. I had a lady
tell me once, she said:
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"I knew that what you were
saying and what I was hearing
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was the truth, but the truth is
I just didn't want to hear it. "
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Talking about
Sabbath at the time.
00:13:01.38\00:13:03.01
So sometimes you come to
church and you hear some things
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that don't quite
sit well with you.
00:13:06.98\00:13:09.72
The question is at that point:
00:13:10.12\00:13:14.09
What do you do about it?
00:13:14.29\00:13:15.62
These disciples
fell into that category
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and quit on Christ.
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Anybody here planning
on leaving the SDA church?
00:13:24.67\00:13:27.90
No!
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My question is: If you
did plan, where would you go?
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Once you know THE TRUTH -
00:13:34.61\00:13:37.01
that's right - you
going to go to half-truth?
00:13:37.21\00:13:39.11
So nobody's
planning on quitting.
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I mean, that would be dumb.
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Amen!
00:13:48.69\00:13:50.03
So you're not considering,
you're not contemplating
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on turning your back on Jesus.
00:13:52.29\00:13:54.03
But these disciples did.
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What would it take
00:14:01.27\00:14:03.20
to get you to quit on Jesus?
00:14:04.17\00:14:07.81
Give me a dollar figure.
00:14:08.68\00:14:10.21
Million? Two million?
00:14:13.38\00:14:14.78
So you're saying - I heard it
scattered throughout the crowd -
00:14:18.15\00:14:21.22
that there is no
amount of money in the world
00:14:21.62\00:14:24.56
that would get me
to quit on Jesus. Amen!
00:14:24.76\00:14:27.90
You don't have enough
cash in the Bank of New York
00:14:28.10\00:14:30.40
or the United States to get
anybody here to leave Jesus.
00:14:31.23\00:14:34.30
Which is interesting because
a lot of people quit on Jesus
00:14:34.70\00:14:37.27
for a lot less.
00:14:37.47\00:14:38.81
Um-hmm.
00:14:40.48\00:14:41.81
Come to church. Pastor
says something you don't like
00:14:42.21\00:14:44.51
you're ready to quit on Jesus.
00:14:44.71\00:14:46.05
Or somebody treats you
wrong or says something
00:14:48.35\00:14:50.62
or they didn't acknowledge
you after all the work you did
00:14:50.82\00:14:52.92
so you're done!
00:14:53.12\00:14:54.69
So some of us give up on
Christ for surprisingly little.
00:14:57.63\00:15:01.43
This is something that my
pastor who is sitting out there
00:15:05.33\00:15:08.60
alluded to in a sermon
he preached some time ago
00:15:08.80\00:15:10.97
and we both kind
of played with this.
00:15:11.84\00:15:14.28
How many... how many
want to go to heaven?
00:15:14.48\00:15:16.41
Put your hands down.
00:15:18.08\00:15:19.41
How many really
want to go to heaven?
00:15:19.45\00:15:21.28
Hands down.
00:15:22.25\00:15:23.59
How bad do you
want to go to heaven?
00:15:24.29\00:15:26.32
REAL bad!
00:15:30.89\00:15:32.23
No other place to go.
00:15:37.27\00:15:38.63
For how many here...
- that's a good point -
00:15:39.70\00:15:42.60
Next time I'm preaching
this I'll put that in there.
00:15:43.00\00:15:45.24
For how many here is going to
heaven the most important thing
00:15:46.17\00:15:49.38
in your life? Amen.
00:15:49.58\00:15:52.15
See, that's a trick question.
00:15:52.35\00:15:53.68
Yeah, that's a trick question.
00:15:56.55\00:15:57.89
Going to heaven was
never intended to be the most
00:15:57.92\00:15:59.82
important thing in your life.
00:16:00.02\00:16:01.36
Going to heaven was
never intended by God to be
00:16:01.46\00:16:03.83
a bulwark against sin.
00:16:04.03\00:16:05.83
Going to heaven was
never intended to be something
00:16:06.23\00:16:08.20
that tends you to righteousness.
00:16:08.40\00:16:10.70
The one thing that will keep
you in the hour of temptation
00:16:11.70\00:16:15.20
is your love for Jesus. Amen.
00:16:15.40\00:16:18.74
Heaven is just
cherry on the sundae.
00:16:19.24\00:16:22.18
Amen. Yeah.
00:16:22.38\00:16:24.65
When Potiphar's wife
sexually assaulted Joseph
00:16:25.15\00:16:30.25
he didn't say to her
00:16:31.39\00:16:33.46
"If I do this thing,
I can't go to heaven. "
00:16:34.39\00:16:37.36
Did he? No. No!
00:16:38.76\00:16:41.20
Because heaven is not
supposed to be an inducement
00:16:42.00\00:16:44.27
for righteousness...
loving Jesus is.
00:16:44.47\00:16:47.24
Amen! So he said:
"How can I do this
00:16:47.44\00:16:50.64
and sin against my God? "
00:16:50.84\00:16:53.31
II Corinthians 5:14
00:16:56.08\00:16:58.15
"The love of
Christ constraineth us. "
00:16:58.35\00:17:00.62
And I like that word because
we sometimes confuse it with
00:17:01.22\00:17:04.99
restrain... and
it's not restrain.
00:17:05.19\00:17:07.92
Restrain means to hold back.
00:17:08.12\00:17:09.46
Love of Christ
doesn't hold you back.
00:17:09.56\00:17:11.36
Constrain means to move
in the appropriate direction.
00:17:11.86\00:17:17.30
I could give you a
whole Greek thing on this
00:17:18.33\00:17:20.04
but I don't have time.
00:17:20.24\00:17:21.57
Constrain means sometimes
God says "Get up and go"
00:17:22.24\00:17:25.57
and sometimes God says "Whoa! "
00:17:25.97\00:17:28.84
Amen? Amen. Yeah.
00:17:29.04\00:17:30.71
Sometimes He pushes you forward;
00:17:30.91\00:17:32.45
sometimes He holds you back.
00:17:32.65\00:17:33.98
So to constrain means to move
in the appropriate direction
00:17:34.02\00:17:38.42
as directed by God.
00:17:38.62\00:17:40.06
Sometimes it's move; sometimes
it's stop and stand still
00:17:40.26\00:17:42.79
and see the
salvation of the Lord.
00:17:42.99\00:17:44.39
God does not RESTRAIN you
but He will CONSTRAIN you!
00:17:44.59\00:17:48.23
He will push you in the
best spiritual direction
00:17:48.43\00:17:51.43
for your life. Amen.
00:17:51.63\00:17:54.14
Sometimes
"Whoa!" Sometimes "Go! "
00:17:55.14\00:17:57.67
But it's the
appropriate move for you.
00:17:58.51\00:18:01.41
So the love of Christ
moves you and pushes you
00:18:02.58\00:18:05.25
in the right direction. Now
let's go back to John chapter 6.
00:18:05.45\00:18:08.05
Try to get through
this as fast as we can.
00:18:08.25\00:18:10.02
The chapter begins with
the feeding of the 5,000...
00:18:10.22\00:18:13.59
one of the most notable miracles
in the entire Word of God.
00:18:14.09\00:18:19.59
The Bible tells
us that that 5,000
00:18:20.73\00:18:23.57
does not include
women and children
00:18:23.77\00:18:28.10
so we can
easily swell that 5,000
00:18:28.30\00:18:31.67
without doing
violence to the text to 15,000.
00:18:31.87\00:18:35.28
Would you accept that number?
00:18:35.68\00:18:37.01
Got a lot of women;
you've got a lot of children.
00:18:37.15\00:18:38.48
You've got 15,000 people
00:18:38.65\00:18:40.25
and there's nothing
to feed them with except
00:18:42.32\00:18:46.02
five barley loaves, two fishes.
00:18:46.22\00:18:48.42
Interestingly enough,
barley in Mesopotamia -
00:18:49.39\00:18:53.50
ancient Egypt - was
used for making beer.
00:18:53.70\00:18:56.00
And so we're not
talking about a high-end lunch.
00:18:56.97\00:18:59.67
This is...
barley's pretty coarse.
00:18:59.87\00:19:01.70
It's filling and it's nutritious
00:19:02.10\00:19:04.31
but it's not fine dining.
00:19:04.47\00:19:07.24
If you're hungry,
barley looks pretty good.
00:19:07.64\00:19:09.41
Amen.
00:19:10.11\00:19:11.55
So John is clear and I
want to make this clear:
00:19:12.71\00:19:15.95
in verse 2 one of the reasons
they were following Jesus
00:19:16.15\00:19:20.96
was because He was
healing diseased people.
00:19:21.66\00:19:25.09
Amen.
00:19:25.49\00:19:26.83
He was gathering this crowd
00:19:26.96\00:19:28.83
because they knew
if you follow this guy
00:19:29.03\00:19:32.50
you can get stuff from Him.
00:19:32.70\00:19:34.74
Follow my logic? Right.
00:19:35.84\00:19:37.27
We stick with Him
He's going to bless us.
00:19:38.14\00:19:40.48
Ellen White says He would go
to entire towns and when He left
00:19:40.68\00:19:42.74
nobody was sick.
00:19:42.94\00:19:44.35
So He crossed the Sea of Galilee
00:19:48.08\00:19:50.09
also named for the
Roman Emperor Tiberius called
00:19:50.29\00:19:52.72
the Sea of Tiberius.
I've been on that sea
00:19:52.92\00:19:54.72
several times.
00:19:54.92\00:19:56.26
And by the way, all
four gospels record the
00:19:56.42\00:19:58.89
feeding of the 5,000
00:19:59.09\00:20:00.43
because it is a
monumental miracle.
00:20:00.46\00:20:02.46
This is a great miracle.
00:20:02.66\00:20:04.00
You've got 15,000 people;
00:20:04.03\00:20:05.87
you've got 5 little pieces
of bread and two small fishes
00:20:06.07\00:20:10.14
and all 15,000 get fed.
00:20:10.34\00:20:13.38
Lazarus being raised from
the dead immediately put Jesus
00:20:16.11\00:20:19.18
on the Pharisees'
assassination hit list.
00:20:19.38\00:20:22.22
And the feeding of the
15,000 would spread His fame
00:20:23.18\00:20:27.29
far and wide was a PR boost
00:20:27.49\00:20:31.63
for Christ and the
emerging... I was going to say
00:20:31.83\00:20:34.50
emerging church.
That may get confused.
00:20:34.70\00:20:36.93
I'll say and the new
church, the nascent church.
00:20:37.13\00:20:39.30
Don't want to get
emergent in there.
00:20:39.50\00:20:40.97
They said to themselves:
"If you walk with this guy,
00:20:41.84\00:20:44.87
if you follow Him, you
can get stuff from Him. "
00:20:45.07\00:20:48.64
Now let me give
you a little sidebar.
00:20:50.35\00:20:52.18
Jesus the Bible
says said to Philip:
00:20:53.25\00:20:56.65
"Where are we
going to get enough food
00:20:57.05\00:20:59.52
to feed these people? "
00:20:59.72\00:21:01.06
Now ain't that interesting?
00:21:02.02\00:21:04.03
Philip didn't ask Jesus...
00:21:05.09\00:21:07.30
Jesus asked Philip.
00:21:07.70\00:21:10.17
The Lord asked the disciple:
"Where we gonna get food? "
00:21:10.90\00:21:14.17
Do you think Christ
ever asked a question
00:21:17.74\00:21:19.71
that He did not
know the answer to? No!
00:21:19.91\00:21:22.04
Can you find any place
in the Bible where Christ
00:21:22.24\00:21:24.11
asked a
question for information?
00:21:24.31\00:21:26.35
Christ doesn't ask
us for information.
00:21:26.75\00:21:28.35
He asks us strategically
because He's trying to work out
00:21:28.75\00:21:32.79
something in us.
00:21:32.99\00:21:34.56
Now how do I know that?
00:21:35.56\00:21:36.96
Because I can
read and so can you.
00:21:37.16\00:21:39.83
The Bible says:
"This He did to test him. "
00:21:40.03\00:21:45.77
Amen. Brothers and
sisters, do you not know that
00:21:45.97\00:21:49.27
God tests His children?
00:21:49.47\00:21:51.17
Anybody here ever
been tested by God?
00:21:52.54\00:21:54.91
I mean after you
came to the Lord.
00:21:55.31\00:21:57.21
Yeah. Truth is once
you come to the Lord
00:21:58.08\00:22:00.02
that when the testing starts.
00:22:00.22\00:22:02.75
Amen.
00:22:02.95\00:22:04.29
So God tests your fidelity,
00:22:04.55\00:22:07.32
your faith, your loyalty.
00:22:07.52\00:22:09.22
It's all being tested by God.
00:22:09.42\00:22:10.83
And so God is testing
Philip and I like the next line.
00:22:11.03\00:22:14.73
The Bible says:
"because He already knew
00:22:15.13\00:22:18.13
what he would do. "
00:22:18.33\00:22:19.67
Amen.
00:22:20.04\00:22:21.37
See, just because you're clue-
less doesn't mean that Jesus is.
00:22:21.40\00:22:23.81
Yeah... He knows
what he's going to do.
00:22:25.91\00:22:27.61
You just need
to ask and find out
00:22:28.01\00:22:30.91
so you can follow.
00:22:31.11\00:22:32.45
So Christ is testing
Philip because He already knew
00:22:32.48\00:22:35.62
what he was going to do.
00:22:35.82\00:22:37.15
He knew what he had in mind.
00:22:37.19\00:22:39.09
So even in the church
of God God tests people.
00:22:39.49\00:22:43.12
Amen.
00:22:44.03\00:22:45.36
And all of those tests
really are working on your
00:22:48.03\00:22:51.10
divine resume.
00:22:51.30\00:22:52.83
Christ not only
read the back of the book
00:22:54.84\00:22:59.64
He wrote the back of the book.
00:23:01.71\00:23:03.31
In fact, He IS
the back of the book.
00:23:05.35\00:23:08.25
He knows what He's going to do.
00:23:09.42\00:23:10.99
Amen? And He knew
what He was going to do
00:23:11.62\00:23:13.66
in this particular instance.
00:23:13.86\00:23:15.19
Now, so along
with these miracles
00:23:15.26\00:23:17.29
He is testing the
faith of the disciples
00:23:17.49\00:23:19.59
as He tests our faith
every day of our walk with Him
00:23:19.79\00:23:22.83
in some way.
00:23:23.03\00:23:24.47
"So I understand,
well, there's this kid here.
00:23:27.94\00:23:30.17
Got a sack lunch: five
barley loaves, two fishes,
00:23:30.37\00:23:34.01
but it's hardly worth men-
tioning with so many people. "
00:23:34.21\00:23:37.95
So his faith fatigues also.
00:23:38.15\00:23:41.68
The outshot of the miracle
is what began with one basket
00:23:43.92\00:23:48.29
of food fed 15,000 people
00:23:48.49\00:23:52.69
and there were 12 baskets left.
00:23:53.09\00:23:56.73
That, ladies and
gentlemen, is a miracle. Amen!
00:23:57.13\00:24:01.14
Everybody ate...
everybody was full.
00:24:02.54\00:24:05.71
Now, let's look at
the response in verse 14.
00:24:05.91\00:24:10.31
You are in John chapter 6
00:24:10.51\00:24:12.88
go to verse 14.
00:24:13.08\00:24:16.05
"Then those men when
they had seen the sign
00:24:21.69\00:24:25.39
that Jesus did said:
'This is truly the Prophet
00:24:25.59\00:24:30.40
who is come into the world. ' "
00:24:30.60\00:24:32.63
So this statement
00:24:32.83\00:24:35.70
came from the mouths of
00:24:35.90\00:24:38.64
and the full bellies of
people who had benefitted
00:24:38.84\00:24:42.94
from this miracle. Amen.
00:24:43.14\00:24:45.68
When they saw this
00:24:46.08\00:24:48.38
then they're ready to
say: "This has gotta be God
00:24:48.58\00:24:51.55
'cause we're full. "
00:24:51.75\00:24:53.46
One follows on the other.
00:24:57.23\00:24:59.93
Very important.
00:25:01.26\00:25:02.60
That statement was made
because stomachs were full
00:25:03.10\00:25:06.97
and they had
received a blessing from God.
00:25:07.17\00:25:09.80
So here's my question:
00:25:10.01\00:25:11.41
is serving the Lord
because He blesses you
00:25:12.11\00:25:16.24
is that true service? No.
00:25:16.44\00:25:20.25
You spoke too quickly.
00:25:20.65\00:25:22.08
Let me ask it again.
00:25:24.05\00:25:25.75
If you are serving the
Lord because He blesses you,
00:25:26.69\00:25:31.06
is that true service?
00:25:31.26\00:25:32.89
You said it again.
00:25:34.83\00:25:36.26
Remember: worship
of the Lord includes
00:25:37.63\00:25:40.90
who you worship,
when you worship,
00:25:41.10\00:25:43.44
how you worship,
and why you worship.
00:25:43.64\00:25:46.17
And as we were
talking about last night
00:25:46.57\00:25:48.21
these questions will be agitated
again as we come down to the
00:25:48.41\00:25:52.11
close of this earth's history.
00:25:52.31\00:25:53.88
It was so in Christ's time
00:25:54.95\00:25:57.85
and according to the
three angels' messages
00:25:58.25\00:26:01.46
it is present
truth for our time.
00:26:01.66\00:26:03.53
Why do we serve Him?
00:26:04.89\00:26:07.50
Peter said in
Matthew chapter 19 verse 27
00:26:07.86\00:26:10.27
"See, Lord... we
have left all for You. "
00:26:10.47\00:26:13.54
We've given up
everything; what's in it for us?
00:26:14.14\00:26:18.31
Now though that may not
necessarily be a godly question
00:26:19.84\00:26:23.45
I don't think it offends God
00:26:23.65\00:26:25.18
because it's
asked too many times.
00:26:25.38\00:26:27.52
And if it's not asked with
our mouths we ask it with our
00:26:27.72\00:26:30.49
body language and with the
way we respond to the Lord.
00:26:30.69\00:26:33.25
So I don't think
the Lord is offended
00:26:33.46\00:26:35.82
even though it is not
necessarily a godly question
00:26:36.02\00:26:38.66
and He is willing to answer it.
00:26:38.86\00:26:41.43
Matthew records it; Mark
records it; Luke records it.
00:26:42.20\00:26:45.30
"What's in it for me? "
00:26:45.50\00:26:47.77
"What do I get out of this? "
00:26:48.80\00:26:50.67
Now that's the same spirit
that moved John... or rather
00:26:51.57\00:26:54.78
that moved the
mother of James and John
00:26:54.98\00:26:56.85
in Matthew 20 to ask
00:26:57.05\00:27:00.18
"When you get to
heaven, Lord, put one of my sons
00:27:00.38\00:27:02.42
on the left; put the
other on the right. "
00:27:02.62\00:27:05.15
And what was Christ's response?
00:27:05.35\00:27:06.69
"Lady, you don't
know what you're asking. "
00:27:06.72\00:27:08.52
Serving the Lord to
get stuff is selfish
00:27:14.76\00:27:20.60
and ungodly and it's
not of the right spirit.
00:27:22.84\00:27:28.18
So these people
were looking at Jesus
00:27:28.94\00:27:31.11
and they noticed
that the boat was gone.
00:27:32.01\00:27:34.52
So this
entourage got into a boat,
00:27:35.02\00:27:36.95
sailed to the other
side of the Sea of Galilee,
00:27:37.15\00:27:40.79
rode over to Capernaum.
And when they got there
00:27:40.99\00:27:44.56
look at Christ's
response to this group of people
00:27:44.76\00:27:48.63
who are following Him
all the way to the other side
00:27:48.83\00:27:51.80
of the Sea of Galilee. I'm
in John chapter 6 verse 26.
00:27:52.00\00:27:54.87
These are
Christ's words, John 6:26:
00:27:55.87\00:27:59.04
"Jesus answered them and said:
00:28:02.18\00:28:05.11
'Most assuredly I
say to you you seek Me
00:28:05.31\00:28:08.92
not because you saw the signs
00:28:09.12\00:28:11.82
but because you ate of the
loaves and were filled. ' "
00:28:12.02\00:28:15.82
"That's why you're
following after Me. "
00:28:18.66\00:28:20.23
"That's why you crossed
all the way across this lake:
00:28:20.43\00:28:22.46
'cause I fed you. "
00:28:22.66\00:28:24.53
"You are following Me
for fishes and loaves. "
00:28:25.63\00:28:30.14
Amen. "So you're following Me
00:28:31.04\00:28:34.51
for what you can get from Me. "
00:28:35.01\00:28:38.31
Is that a legitimate
reason to follow Jesus?
00:28:39.38\00:28:41.85
Christ said it Himself: "You're
full now so you're happy. "
00:28:44.19\00:28:48.52
By the way, have you ever asked
yourself "What is a blessing? "
00:28:54.30\00:28:57.63
Can you define a blessing?
00:29:00.24\00:29:02.34
Little tougher than you
think. What is a blessing?
00:29:02.74\00:29:06.17
Because they're
following Him for blessings.
00:29:06.37\00:29:08.24
Two questions... that's
why I said this is a quiver
00:29:10.71\00:29:13.65
of quotient questions.
00:29:13.85\00:29:15.18
Question number one:
should we follow the Lord
00:29:17.39\00:29:21.32
for blessings?
00:29:21.52\00:29:23.16
Should we follow
the Lord... SHOULD WE
00:29:31.73\00:29:34.97
follow the Lord for blessings?
00:29:35.17\00:29:38.14
How many say yes?
00:29:40.61\00:29:42.04
How many say no?
00:29:42.24\00:29:44.08
How many don't know?
00:29:46.31\00:29:47.65
No, you should not
follow the Lord for blessings.
00:29:50.79\00:29:52.99
Question number two:
can we follow the Lord
00:29:56.52\00:30:01.20
and not have blessings?
00:30:02.26\00:30:04.27
Can we follow the Lord
and not have blessings?
00:30:12.27\00:30:17.85
No.
00:30:19.11\00:30:20.45
You follow the Lord
you will be blessed.
00:30:21.52\00:30:23.55
Amen... Amen!
00:30:23.75\00:30:25.52
I said "Amen. " Amen!
00:30:27.16\00:30:29.29
Did I say "Amen? " AMEN!
00:30:30.13\00:30:32.56
In other words, if
you follow the Lord
00:30:34.16\00:30:37.17
can - should -
blessings be expected
00:30:38.30\00:30:42.60
in the life of a Christian?
00:30:42.80\00:30:44.14
Should you be
looking for blessings?
00:30:44.57\00:30:47.21
Um-hm-hm-hm-hm.
00:30:50.25\00:30:51.81
I think you should.
00:30:54.32\00:30:55.65
God is still in
the blessing business.
00:30:58.55\00:31:00.86
Blessings do not stop or cease
with the closing of the writings
00:31:01.26\00:31:04.79
of the book of
Revelation. We get blessings
00:31:04.99\00:31:06.96
here and now
today. Hallelujah! Amen!
00:31:07.16\00:31:10.23
Amen! But you
should expect blessings.
00:31:10.43\00:31:14.04
I'd expect the Lord to bless me.
00:31:14.24\00:31:16.27
Amen.
00:31:17.31\00:31:18.94
Can you have a blessing
00:31:22.51\00:31:26.92
that makes you feel bad?
00:31:28.25\00:31:30.39
So then, do all
blessings make you feel good?
00:31:34.56\00:31:38.13
Laughter.
00:31:41.50\00:31:44.53
Can a negative
experience be a blessing?
00:31:45.90\00:31:48.90
Yes. So what determines
00:31:49.10\00:31:53.01
whether a particular
experience is a blessing or not?
00:31:53.21\00:31:56.34
'Cause it makes you feel good?
00:31:58.35\00:31:59.71
Already said no.
00:32:00.88\00:32:02.22
Is a blessing a blessing
00:32:03.72\00:32:06.12
if you don't
acknowledge it as a blessing?
00:32:06.32\00:32:08.76
Can a blessing be a
blessing even though you don't
00:32:11.89\00:32:14.50
accept it as such? Yes.
00:32:14.70\00:32:16.56
You're doing pretty good.
00:32:17.03\00:32:18.37
In other words, if a
blessing happens to you
00:32:20.80\00:32:24.14
and you don't accept it as such,
00:32:24.34\00:32:25.97
it is still a blessing.
00:32:26.17\00:32:27.51
So then what
constitutes a blessing?
00:32:29.41\00:32:32.71
Laughter.
00:32:36.75\00:32:38.15
I asked a couple
people at random.
00:32:39.12\00:32:41.02
I didn't ask Pastor John
00:32:41.22\00:32:42.56
'cause he would have
given me the correct answer
00:32:42.72\00:32:44.16
so I didn't bother with him.
00:32:44.36\00:32:45.69
I asked a number of
people "What is a blessing? "
00:32:47.46\00:32:51.23
And they said:
"A blessing is like
00:32:52.40\00:32:56.91
when you're blessed. "
00:32:58.11\00:32:59.64
And we have
trouble really defining
00:33:06.11\00:33:10.22
what a blessing is.
00:33:10.42\00:33:11.92
How can we be so nebulous
about a word we use so much?
00:33:12.32\00:33:16.22
I often tease Jill Morikone
because she is the queen
00:33:17.29\00:33:21.46
of "It is a blessing. "
00:33:21.66\00:33:23.00
If you talk to Jill
more than five minutes,
00:33:23.03\00:33:24.70
somewhere you will hear her
say: "It was such a blessing! "
00:33:24.90\00:33:26.97
So what is a blessing?
00:33:30.21\00:33:31.67
And if you don't know
what it is, how can you be sure
00:33:33.01\00:33:35.84
when you are blessed?
00:33:36.24\00:33:37.61
Well, the New Testament
as you know, and the clock
00:33:40.35\00:33:42.72
is becoming my enemy here,
00:33:42.92\00:33:44.35
The New Testament as you
know was written in Koine Greek
00:33:44.75\00:33:47.82
which means common Greek or
what I call "street Greek. "
00:33:48.62\00:33:53.19
So when you have a language
that has so much jargon in it
00:33:53.80\00:33:57.47
and is so highly inflected,
00:33:57.83\00:34:00.40
you develop a lot of
ways of looking at things
00:34:01.24\00:34:03.41
and explaining things.
Because, you know, it has
00:34:03.61\00:34:07.04
a lot of what we
could call "slang" in it.
00:34:07.24\00:34:11.05
So the New Testament word
- one of them - for blessing
00:34:12.08\00:34:16.85
is makarios.
00:34:19.55\00:34:22.32
What is interesting is
that the Old Testament word
00:34:23.69\00:34:26.96
for blessing is - and
it's Aramaic cockney -
00:34:27.16\00:34:31.87
is baruach...
00:34:32.07\00:34:36.91
baruach...
00:34:37.11\00:34:38.44
Old Testament word for blessing.
00:34:38.47\00:34:39.81
But what I want to focus
on is the Greek word makarios.
00:34:40.98\00:34:45.01
People will tell you
that the word blessing,
00:34:46.25\00:34:48.08
particularly when you
look at it in the Beatitudes,
00:34:48.28\00:34:50.55
can be translated happy.
00:34:50.75\00:34:52.75
And that is correct. It is
insufficient but it is correct.
00:34:53.56\00:34:56.83
Happy is not deep enough.
00:34:57.56\00:35:00.10
It only scratches the
surface of what a blessing is.
00:35:00.50\00:35:04.23
Now, let me toss something
in that you may not know.
00:35:05.30\00:35:07.34
The Beatitudes can be
broken down pretty much like
00:35:07.54\00:35:12.67
the Ten Commandments.
00:35:12.87\00:35:14.21
Beatitudes 1
through 4 deal with God;
00:35:14.38\00:35:16.95
Beatitudes 5
through 10 deal with man.
00:35:17.15\00:35:19.75
And if we add verse 12, the
"Rejoice and be exceeding glad"
00:35:19.95\00:35:22.58
you get the ten.
00:35:22.78\00:35:24.49
There is no way you
can live in this world
00:35:26.42\00:35:29.92
and be happy all the time.
00:35:30.83\00:35:33.06
Amen.
00:35:34.30\00:35:35.90
Do Christians have bad days?
00:35:36.10\00:35:38.10
Yes. Yes they do.
00:35:38.30\00:35:40.14
Does it mean that
they are not blessed?
00:35:40.64\00:35:42.97
No it doesn't.
00:35:43.37\00:35:44.77
You can be blessed
even when you're not happy.
00:35:45.17\00:35:51.01
Yeah. No one can always be happy
00:35:53.25\00:35:56.69
but you can always be blessed.
00:35:57.19\00:35:59.85
Psalm 128:1: "Blessed is
everyone who fears the Lord,
00:36:00.26\00:36:04.69
who walks in His ways. "
00:36:04.89\00:36:07.90
Romans 4:7: "Blessed
are they whose sins -
00:36:08.10\00:36:11.60
anomia, lawless
deeds - are forgiven. "
00:36:11.80\00:36:14.90
That's a blessing.
00:36:16.20\00:36:17.97
The objective
state of blessedness
00:36:21.38\00:36:25.05
has nothing to do with
your outward circumstances.
00:36:25.35\00:36:30.69
Amen.
00:36:31.39\00:36:32.75
Yeah, blessing doesn't mean
you've got everything you want.
00:36:33.15\00:36:37.83
Does it? No. Luke
chapter 12 verse 15 says:
00:36:38.03\00:36:42.20
"A man's life does not
consist of the abundance
00:36:42.40\00:36:45.40
of his possessions. "
00:36:45.60\00:36:48.40
So you can have a lot of
stuff and not be blessed.
00:36:48.60\00:36:52.01
Um-hmm.
00:36:52.41\00:36:54.08
Or you can be
poor and be blessed.
00:36:54.48\00:36:58.81
Yeah. Riches does not define
00:37:00.72\00:37:03.59
God's love for you or
your relationship with Him
00:37:03.79\00:37:06.42
or the state of blessedness
that you find yourself in.
00:37:06.62\00:37:09.39
Has very little
to do with money.
00:37:09.59\00:37:11.56
So if you think that being
blessed is because of stuff
00:37:13.76\00:37:17.10
that's
fishes-and-loaves thinking.
00:37:17.30\00:37:20.67
Your outside circumstances
can be an absolute train wreck
00:37:21.60\00:37:26.27
but you can still be blessed.
00:37:26.47\00:37:28.08
When I had prostate cancer
00:37:28.28\00:37:30.41
they found it in a late stage
00:37:31.48\00:37:33.31
and the doctor told me:
"You know, you're blessed
00:37:33.52\00:37:35.75
because it's still encapsulated,
00:37:36.82\00:37:38.75
hasn't spread
all over your body. "
00:37:38.95\00:37:40.56
Now when you hear
prostate cancer...
00:37:41.69\00:37:44.29
and the doctor
said: "You're blessed. "
00:37:44.49\00:37:46.43
When I had my
six-bypass surgery -
00:37:46.73\00:37:49.63
so I tease
Danny... Danny had four -
00:37:49.83\00:37:51.73
Said: "Wimp! I had six! "
00:37:51.93\00:37:53.67
my Jewish heart surgeon said
00:37:57.14\00:38:01.38
"You are blessed! "
00:38:01.58\00:38:03.68
Three months before that
surgery I did a full meeting
00:38:05.38\00:38:08.18
in the Philippines. Came
back and did a full meeting
00:38:08.38\00:38:11.15
in Panama. Came back and
flew to Christmas Valley, OR,
00:38:11.35\00:38:14.99
a town about the
size of this room,
00:38:15.19\00:38:17.43
and had a pre heart attack.
00:38:17.63\00:38:20.26
Flew back here and
they took me to Heartland.
00:38:21.56\00:38:26.30
They did the contrast
dye and all that yada-yada
00:38:26.50\00:38:29.04
blah blah blah
and then they said:
00:38:29.24\00:38:30.57
"You're in trouble. "
00:38:30.77\00:38:32.17
So they put me in an
ambulance; sent me to St. Louis,
00:38:32.37\00:38:34.54
and the best heart surgeon
in this part of the country
00:38:34.74\00:38:40.62
decided to take one
more case... and it was mine.
00:38:40.82\00:38:44.12
He checked me out and
sent me home and said:
00:38:44.32\00:38:46.55
"You are the healthiest
sick person in this hospital. "
00:38:46.76\00:38:49.36
He said: "I've got some
people that are ready to die.
00:38:52.23\00:38:54.40
I'm going to take
care of them first.
00:38:54.60\00:38:56.20
You come back in 10 days and
we'll fix your little problem. "
00:38:56.40\00:38:59.17
Six bypasses.
00:38:59.37\00:39:00.70
He said: "Man...
you're blessed. "
00:39:01.50\00:39:04.11
Um-hmm.
00:39:05.74\00:39:07.21
Open heart surgery... BLESSED!
00:39:07.71\00:39:10.15
Amen.
00:39:10.35\00:39:11.75
So blessing has nothing to do
with the outward circumstances.
00:39:15.95\00:39:18.55
What, then, is a blessing?
00:39:20.39\00:39:23.76
Ooh, you know, I've got
to tell you one more thing.
00:39:23.96\00:39:25.96
There is this interesting
word in the New Testament
00:39:26.36\00:39:29.86
and let's see if I've
got it written down here
00:39:30.37\00:39:31.80
because it's
kind of a cool word.
00:39:32.83\00:39:34.94
In any event in
Acts chapter 19...
00:39:38.91\00:39:44.35
you remember the story
about the seven sons of Sceva
00:39:44.55\00:39:47.02
who went out to... they
were vagabonds, exorcists?
00:39:47.22\00:39:49.98
They saw Paul casting out devils
00:39:50.19\00:39:51.92
and they said: "Let's
go cast out some devils
00:39:52.12\00:39:53.82
and see if we
can get some fame. "
00:39:54.02\00:39:55.62
And the devil said
to them: "Paul I know...
00:39:55.82\00:39:58.29
who? " Yeah... "Jesus
I know; Paul I know...
00:40:00.73\00:40:04.40
who are you? "
00:40:05.00\00:40:06.33
Talk about total disrespect.
00:40:07.17\00:40:08.50
And then the Bible says
the man in whom the devil was
00:40:08.67\00:40:11.84
leaped on them.
00:40:12.04\00:40:14.11
That word for
leaped is the same word
00:40:14.98\00:40:18.08
that is used for blessed.
00:40:18.28\00:40:20.15
Ain't that interesting?
00:40:22.78\00:40:24.42
You see, sometimes
blessings slip in on you
00:40:25.82\00:40:29.02
and you may not even know it.
00:40:29.22\00:40:30.56
And sometimes the
Lord just knocks you down
00:40:31.79\00:40:35.53
and blesses you
in such a strong way
00:40:35.73\00:40:39.17
that everybody knows it.
00:40:39.37\00:40:41.27
Amen? Amen! Yeah.
00:40:41.47\00:40:44.57
Sometimes the Holy
Spirit leaps on you
00:40:44.77\00:40:47.34
and a blessing follows.
00:40:48.18\00:40:49.81
So what then is a blessing?
00:40:52.78\00:40:55.98
We need to get through this.
00:40:56.18\00:40:58.22
I was looking for an
object lesson some time ago,
00:40:59.25\00:41:02.06
and the best way to
describe what a blessing is
00:41:02.56\00:41:06.59
is through the use of a yo-yo.
00:41:06.80\00:41:09.16
You know you can't
find a yo-yo anymore?
00:41:11.10\00:41:13.64
My wife and I drove
all over southern Illinois.
00:41:15.10\00:41:17.14
We went to Target;
we went to Wal-Mart;
00:41:17.34\00:41:19.41
we went to Sam's
Club; we went to Toys-R-Us.
00:41:19.61\00:41:22.01
They don't make yo-yos any more.
00:41:24.25\00:41:25.95
They said... Toys-R-Us told us
00:41:26.15\00:41:28.75
"We have an electronic yo-yo. "
00:41:28.95\00:41:30.79
I don't want an electronic
yo-yo; I just want an up-down
00:41:32.85\00:41:34.72
yo-yo. Couldn't find one.
00:41:34.92\00:41:37.26
All the way to Carbondale.
00:41:37.46\00:41:39.23
Somebody went to
St. Louis for me.
00:41:39.43\00:41:41.53
They said: "I'm going to St.
Louis; I'll find you a yo-yo. "
00:41:41.73\00:41:43.63
Couldn't find a yo-yo.
00:41:43.83\00:41:45.17
That's a little
far to get a yo-yo.
00:41:49.17\00:41:51.44
You see, a blessing is something
00:41:51.84\00:41:57.31
that comes from God
00:41:57.51\00:41:59.75
and gives glory back to God.
00:42:01.32\00:42:04.35
It's like a yo-yo.
00:42:04.55\00:42:05.89
Starts with God;
comes down to you;
00:42:06.09\00:42:07.66
and goes back to God.
00:42:07.82\00:42:09.36
If you don't give God the glory,
00:42:09.56\00:42:12.13
your blessing is truncated.
00:42:12.33\00:42:14.80
It's incomplete.
00:42:15.66\00:42:17.00
It is atrophied.
00:42:17.17\00:42:18.73
It is favor that comes from God
00:42:18.93\00:42:21.67
and gives glory back to God.
00:42:21.87\00:42:23.97
If you just take the
blessing and never give glory
00:42:24.91\00:42:28.04
to the person who
sent the blessing to you,
00:42:28.24\00:42:30.78
your blessing is cut short.
00:42:30.98\00:42:32.78
It's not complete.
00:42:33.18\00:42:34.52
So it's like a yo-yo: starts
with God; goes down to you;
00:42:34.55\00:42:37.22
comes back to God.
Tell you a quick story.
00:42:37.42\00:42:39.22
When I was pastor of the
Ephesus church I had a lady
00:42:39.62\00:42:41.42
by the name of Carolyn Antonio.
00:42:41.62\00:42:43.59
She was deaconess; she was
part of the hostess committee.
00:42:44.19\00:42:46.90
Really really wonderful person
00:42:47.10\00:42:48.43
who also was going to
have open-heart surgery.
00:42:48.46\00:42:50.67
She said: "Pastor, I want your
face to be the last thing I see
00:42:50.87\00:42:54.44
before they put me under. "
00:42:54.64\00:42:55.97
So I had to get up
early in the morning
00:42:59.97\00:43:02.11
and drive into
Manhattan, Pastor John.
00:43:02.31\00:43:05.48
Mt. Sinai Hospital up on
5th Avenue by Central Park.
00:43:05.68\00:43:08.58
Trying to find a
parking space up there is...
00:43:08.98\00:43:11.65
I got there an hour... two
hours before... and it took me
00:43:12.05\00:43:14.82
an hour to find
some place to park.
00:43:15.02\00:43:16.52
That's Manhattan.
00:43:18.06\00:43:19.66
So when I get there she
already had the epidural,
00:43:19.86\00:43:22.70
the first shot when
they're putting you under.
00:43:22.90\00:43:25.00
And I was standing
there with the surgeon
00:43:26.03\00:43:28.80
and the surgeon was
looking at her chart
00:43:29.20\00:43:32.04
and he said: "Man...
this is one lucky lady.
00:43:32.24\00:43:35.38
She should be dead. "
00:43:35.58\00:43:36.91
Now this is the
honest-to-goodness truth.
00:43:37.05\00:43:39.11
Hand up. She sat
up on that gurney
00:43:39.31\00:43:43.72
and said: "I'm not
lucky, I'm blessed. "
00:43:44.12\00:43:47.72
Amen!
00:43:47.92\00:43:49.52
And went back to sleep.
00:43:49.72\00:43:51.06
I'm telling you the truth.
00:43:51.39\00:43:53.40
And the doctor
looked at me and said:
00:43:53.60\00:43:55.80
And I said: "Don't ask
me... you're the doctor. "
00:43:59.63\00:44:01.77
You know, that doctor called
down to the anesthesiologist.
00:44:01.97\00:44:04.71
He said: "Get up here! "
00:44:04.91\00:44:06.61
And the anesthesiologist
came and said to her...
00:44:07.84\00:44:10.95
said to the doctor:
00:44:11.11\00:44:12.45
"What's the
problem? " The doctor said:
00:44:12.48\00:44:13.82
"That woman just spoke to me. "
00:44:14.22\00:44:15.98
And the anesthesiologist
said: "No way! "
00:44:17.42\00:44:19.95
He said: "I'm telling
you she just spoke to me. "
00:44:20.36\00:44:24.49
And the anesthesiologist
said: "Well, what'd she say? "
00:44:25.69\00:44:28.43
She said: "I'm blessed. "
00:44:31.93\00:44:34.60
True story. And the
anesthesiologist said:
00:44:35.70\00:44:40.41
"Well I guess she is! "
00:44:40.61\00:44:42.04
You know that doctor
held up that procedure
00:44:45.68\00:44:47.85
a full hour to make sure
00:44:48.05\00:44:51.25
that she was
under because as he said
00:44:51.45\00:44:55.29
"She ain't supposed
to be talking to me! "
00:44:55.49\00:44:57.93
Waited a whole hour just
to make sure that she was out.
00:45:00.16\00:45:03.16
Now that story is
twenty-seven years old.
00:45:05.63\00:45:09.70
You think that doctor
ever forgot that lesson?
00:45:09.90\00:45:12.07
No! I doubt it.
00:45:12.27\00:45:14.31
She said: "I'm
blessed" and indeed she was.
00:45:14.81\00:45:20.02
So let's head home
'cause my time is slipping away.
00:45:24.29\00:45:26.69
Blessings - and I
want to reinforce this -
00:45:30.86\00:45:33.50
are items of favor
00:45:34.40\00:45:37.37
that come from the hand of God
00:45:37.57\00:45:40.30
that lead us to
give glory to God.
00:45:40.70\00:45:44.81
Jesus explained to His disciples
00:45:48.08\00:45:50.88
what real bread was all about
00:45:51.28\00:45:54.32
just as He explained
to the woman at the well
00:45:56.58\00:45:59.15
what real water was all about.
00:45:59.35\00:46:01.79
He said: "If you
drink this water,
00:46:03.43\00:46:05.09
you'll never thirst again. "
00:46:05.49\00:46:07.03
It's a blessing.
00:46:07.43\00:46:08.76
"Moses gave you manna
00:46:08.93\00:46:11.60
but you had to eat it every day.
00:46:11.80\00:46:13.84
The bread of heaven gives
you life and eternal life. "
00:46:14.04\00:46:19.14
So the disciples
said in verse 34:
00:46:22.28\00:46:24.85
"Lord, give us this bread. "
00:46:25.25\00:46:29.88
Just as the woman at the well
said "Lord give me this water. "
00:46:30.29\00:46:36.02
How many here accept the fact
that Jesus is the Bread of Life?
00:46:37.69\00:46:40.93
You believe that?
00:46:41.13\00:46:42.63
You buy into that?
00:46:42.83\00:46:44.33
Does anybody have a
problem with that illusion?
00:46:45.83\00:46:49.84
With Christ using
that demonstration
00:46:50.04\00:46:52.41
that "I am the Bread of Life? "
00:46:52.61\00:46:53.94
Well, good for you
00:46:57.71\00:46:59.11
because these disciples
had a problem with that.
00:46:59.88\00:47:04.42
Go with me to verse 41.
00:47:05.49\00:47:07.26
Verse 41...
you're in John chapter 6.
00:47:08.49\00:47:10.59
We're looking at verse 41.
00:47:11.09\00:47:12.93
Look at this: "The
Jews then complained
00:47:15.30\00:47:20.54
about Him because He said
00:47:20.94\00:47:24.61
"I am the bread which
came down from heaven. "
00:47:24.81\00:47:28.51
They didn't like that.
00:47:30.05\00:47:31.38
Didn't like the idea
that He was the Bread of Life
00:47:31.51\00:47:34.22
so they complained.
00:47:37.69\00:47:39.12
They didn't want to hear that
00:47:40.02\00:47:42.36
because it was a little
too sacrificial for them.
00:47:42.56\00:47:46.46
You remember in verse
15 of this same chapter...
00:47:46.96\00:47:49.40
There's a lot
happening in John chapter 6.
00:47:49.60\00:47:52.47
In verse 15 the Bible says
this same crowd was going to
00:47:52.67\00:47:56.91
force Jesus to be king.
00:47:57.11\00:47:59.24
That was their agenda.
00:48:00.14\00:48:01.98
"We are going to make You king
00:48:02.94\00:48:06.21
and now You're giving us
this Bread of Life, sacrifice,
00:48:06.41\00:48:10.65
dying on the cross stuff.
We don't want to hear that. "
00:48:10.85\00:48:13.25
"We didn't sign on for that. "
00:48:14.36\00:48:15.89
So then Jesus loses
part of His congregation
00:48:18.96\00:48:24.60
because they were in
it for fishes and loaves
00:48:25.57\00:48:28.17
and not sacrifice. And
they didn't want to hear about
00:48:28.37\00:48:31.57
sacrifice and they
didn't want to hear about bread.
00:48:31.77\00:48:34.64
They wanted to
hear about kingship.
00:48:35.68\00:48:38.11
So let's begin in verse 52
00:48:39.18\00:48:42.08
and I'll try to read
real quick. I'm in verse 52
00:48:42.28\00:48:44.85
of John chapter 6.
May I encourage you?
00:48:45.05\00:48:47.26
Go home and read
this whole chapter.
00:48:47.46\00:48:48.79
There's a lot of things
going on that we don't have
00:48:48.92\00:48:51.56
time to touch. "The
Jews therefore quarreled
00:48:51.76\00:48:57.07
among themselves
saying: 'How can this man
00:48:57.27\00:48:59.47
give us His flesh to eat? ' "
00:48:59.67\00:49:03.17
That's what really
kind of turned them off.
00:49:03.57\00:49:05.94
"Then Jesus said to them:
'Most assuredly I say to you
00:49:07.01\00:49:09.91
unless you eat the
flesh of the Son of Man... '
00:49:10.11\00:49:13.01
They didn't want to hear that...
'and drink His blood... '
00:49:13.21\00:49:14.95
Didn't want to hear that...
'you have no life in you. ' "
00:49:15.15\00:49:17.65
"Whoever eats My
flesh and drinks My blood
00:49:18.15\00:49:21.12
has eternal life. " Now
He's speaking metaphorically,
00:49:21.32\00:49:25.43
but they didn't
want to hear this
00:49:25.63\00:49:26.96
literally or metaphorically.
00:49:27.00\00:49:28.90
"And I will raise
him up in the last day.
00:49:30.33\00:49:32.40
For My flesh is food indeed;
My blood is drink indeed.
00:49:32.60\00:49:36.34
He who eats My
flesh and drinks my blood
00:49:36.54\00:49:38.67
abides in Me and I in him.
00:49:38.87\00:49:40.51
As the Living Father sent Me
and I live because of the Father
00:49:40.71\00:49:46.01
so he who feeds on Me
00:49:46.21\00:49:49.32
will live because of Me.
00:49:49.52\00:49:52.29
This is the bread
which came down from heaven
00:49:52.69\00:49:54.62
not as your fathers
ate manna and are dead.
00:49:54.82\00:49:58.13
He who eats this
bread will live forever. "
00:49:58.33\00:50:01.20
Does that insult anybody here?
00:50:01.40\00:50:03.60
Does that turn you off?
00:50:04.83\00:50:06.60
Well it did these disciples
00:50:07.10\00:50:09.04
because their
motives were wrong.
00:50:09.44\00:50:11.71
Because they were following
Jesus for fishes and loaves
00:50:12.11\00:50:15.61
and Christ says: "I
have no fishes and loaves
00:50:15.81\00:50:18.05
for you... all I
have is sacrifice. "
00:50:18.25\00:50:21.58
So let's go now
down to verse 64.
00:50:25.39\00:50:27.86
Verse 64.
00:50:29.12\00:50:31.59
Christ speaking again:
00:50:34.96\00:50:36.77
"But there are some of
you who do not believe. "
00:50:38.10\00:50:41.20
Now... He's
talking to His disciples.
00:50:41.40\00:50:43.74
And if truth be known,
these are not really disciples.
00:50:43.94\00:50:46.14
These were groupies.
00:50:46.34\00:50:47.91
Um-hmm. This is
not the inner 12.
00:50:49.81\00:50:52.15
This is that group of
people who attached themselves
00:50:52.35\00:50:55.12
to Jesus because He
was giving them stuff.
00:50:55.32\00:50:58.62
Amen.
00:51:00.19\00:51:01.82
So Christ is saying: "There are
some of you in this vast crowd
00:51:02.22\00:51:05.56
who do not believe. "
00:51:05.76\00:51:07.90
"Your words are
coming from a full stomach
00:51:09.36\00:51:13.84
not a full heart. "
00:51:14.04\00:51:15.37
"For Jesus knew
from the beginning
00:51:20.28\00:51:24.05
who they were who
did not believe. "
00:51:24.25\00:51:27.55
They knew why they
were following Him.
00:51:27.75\00:51:30.02
The question that we
need to ask ourselves
00:51:30.32\00:51:32.35
is why are we following Him?
00:51:32.55\00:51:34.36
Amen. He knows. Do we?
00:51:34.56\00:51:38.43
"But there are some
of you who do not believe
00:51:41.30\00:51:43.16
for Jesus knew
from the beginning
00:51:43.37\00:51:44.70
who they were
who did not believe
00:51:44.87\00:51:46.53
and who would betray Him. "
00:51:46.74\00:51:49.50
Ladies and gentlemen: He knows.
00:51:49.70\00:51:52.37
Let's go to 66.
00:51:58.15\00:52:00.58
"So from that
time... " the Bible says...
00:52:01.08\00:52:04.12
"many of His disciples went back
00:52:04.32\00:52:09.09
and walked with Him no more. "
00:52:09.29\00:52:14.20
Is Jesus only Jesus
when things are good?
00:52:19.70\00:52:24.07
Would God still be God
had the three Hebrew boys
00:52:25.27\00:52:29.44
perished in the fiery furnace?
00:52:29.64\00:52:31.81
So each of us must
ask himself/herself
00:52:36.35\00:52:40.32
"Why am I in this? "
00:52:40.52\00:52:43.59
Amen? "Why am I following Him? "
00:52:44.59\00:52:48.90
Am I following Him
because of the blessings?
00:52:50.57\00:52:53.60
Am I following Him for
fear of not following Him?
00:52:54.94\00:52:59.24
You see, my mom -
who I baptized - read
00:52:59.44\00:53:03.78
Great Controversy and a
book called, by Ferdinand Chai.
00:53:03.98\00:53:07.95
Ah... can't remember
the name of the book.
00:53:08.15\00:53:10.19
But it scared her
into the Adventist church.
00:53:10.39\00:53:12.92
She was so
afraid... bless her heart.
00:53:15.06\00:53:17.86
Now once she got in it was the
best thing that ever happened
00:53:18.06\00:53:20.46
to her. I mean,
she loved being a SDA.
00:53:20.66\00:53:25.40
But the thing that
lit the fire was fear
00:53:26.10\00:53:29.70
and then fear turned into love
00:53:33.31\00:53:35.04
and love turned into
a salvation experience
00:53:36.24\00:53:38.41
and she died in the Lord. Amen.
00:53:38.61\00:53:42.22
How many of us
are following the Lord
00:53:46.32\00:53:49.26
for fishes and loaves?
00:53:49.46\00:53:52.79
How many of us are following
the Lord for what He gives
00:53:54.46\00:53:58.53
to His people?
00:53:58.73\00:54:00.07
That is a question that
each Christian at some time
00:54:01.97\00:54:04.81
in his walk with
Christ answer for himself:
00:54:05.01\00:54:08.01
"Why am I in this? "
00:54:08.21\00:54:11.81
Was talking with
someone the other day
00:54:15.42\00:54:17.02
and we were discussing bacon.
00:54:17.22\00:54:20.06
You know they put
bacon on everything!
00:54:22.76\00:54:24.56
There is a store
in Marion, Illinois,
00:54:26.70\00:54:31.23
that sells
chocolate-covered bacon.
00:54:31.63\00:54:34.87
And I was talking with someone
on the... that there are some
00:54:43.01\00:54:47.08
scientists who say
that bacon is not even food.
00:54:47.28\00:54:49.82
And we're talking about
the thing that as Christians
00:54:51.69\00:54:54.99
we deny ourselves.
00:54:55.19\00:54:57.16
Can't eat bacon.
Can't drink beer.
00:54:58.16\00:55:02.26
Can't drink wine.
00:55:03.16\00:55:04.63
Not supposed to drink coffee.
00:55:06.00\00:55:07.70
Can't eat pork chops.
00:55:13.24\00:55:14.81
Can't eat shrimp.
00:55:16.48\00:55:17.91
Can't eat lobster.
00:55:18.31\00:55:19.88
Can't eat crab.
00:55:20.28\00:55:21.68
Give 10 percent of
your check... plus.
00:55:26.15\00:55:29.69
No pepperoni on your pizza.
00:55:30.63\00:55:32.63
All this can't stuff.
00:55:35.06\00:55:36.56
You know, when you
become a Seventh-day Adventist
00:55:36.77\00:55:40.04
that can't list gets long.
00:55:40.24\00:55:43.51
Amen. Yeah, it does.
00:55:45.17\00:55:47.74
But once you fall
in love with the Lord
00:55:50.11\00:55:51.78
it's not
can't... it's don't wanta.
00:55:52.18\00:55:55.38
Amen!
00:55:55.58\00:55:58.15
Yeah... the Lord said:
"The prince of this world
00:55:58.35\00:56:01.59
is coming and he
has nothing in Me
00:56:01.79\00:56:03.86
and nothing in Me
responds to the devil. "
00:56:04.06\00:56:05.96
Not that I
can't... I don't wanta.
00:56:06.16\00:56:08.16
I'm not ordering pepperoni pizza
00:56:08.56\00:56:10.57
and chocolate-covered
bacon makes my stomach turn.
00:56:10.77\00:56:14.14
Amen! Just the thought of
it. I've never tried it...
00:56:14.34\00:56:16.67
just talking about
chocolate-covered bacon?
00:56:16.87\00:56:20.48
Trot down to
Larry's House of Cakes.
00:56:20.98\00:56:23.21
They have a whole thing
of chocolate-covered bacon.
00:56:23.41\00:56:25.21
It's not that I
can't... just don't wanta
00:56:25.61\00:56:27.82
'cause I want to serve the Lord.
00:56:28.22\00:56:29.88
Let me close with
this: got one minute.
00:56:30.09\00:56:31.75
This is really really good.
00:56:31.95\00:56:33.29
From the book Desire of Ages.
00:56:33.46\00:56:35.12
"By the public
rebuke of their unbelief
00:56:37.43\00:56:41.70
these disciples were still
further alienated from Jesus. "
00:56:41.90\00:56:45.27
Because He called them out
00:56:45.47\00:56:46.80
'cause you've got full stomachs.
00:56:46.84\00:56:48.50
I'll give you the
reference in just a minute.
00:56:48.70\00:56:50.71
"They were greatly displeased
and wishing to wound the Savior"
00:56:51.77\00:56:55.98
so they want to hurt Jesus...
00:56:56.18\00:56:57.51
You ever think when
you turn away from Jesus
00:56:57.55\00:56:58.88
are you hurting Jesus?
00:56:59.01\00:57:00.35
You're hurting yourself.
00:57:00.42\00:57:01.75
"and gratify the
mouths of the Pharisees.
00:57:01.78\00:57:04.12
They turned their backs on
Him and left Him with disdain.
00:57:04.32\00:57:08.02
They had made their choice;
00:57:08.42\00:57:09.96
had taken the form
without the spirit;
00:57:10.36\00:57:14.33
the husk without the kernel.
00:57:14.53\00:57:15.90
Their decision was
never afterward reversed.
00:57:16.10\00:57:19.83
They walked no more
with Jesus, " which means
00:57:20.04\00:57:21.94
they were lost
00:57:22.14\00:57:24.31
because He didn't
meet their expectations.
00:57:24.51\00:57:29.14
We must meet His
expectations. Amen?
00:57:29.34\00:57:33.45