And this is eternal
life that they may know You,
00:00:06.03\00:00:10.27
the only true God,
00:00:10.31\00:00:12.47
and Jesus Christ,
Whom You have sent.
00:00:12.51\00:00:16.31
Welcome to 3ABN
Australia Homecoming.
00:00:20.48\00:00:24.02
We're so glad
that you are joining us
00:00:31.06\00:00:34.16
from all around the world,
00:00:34.20\00:00:35.76
and also those
here this evening.
00:00:35.80\00:00:38.33
We want to thank you for
taking the time to join us
00:00:38.37\00:00:42.14
at the 3ABN
Australia 2018 Homecoming.
00:00:42.17\00:00:46.47
And with me up the
front is Jill Morikone,
00:00:46.51\00:00:49.94
she's the general
manager for 3ABN USA,
00:00:49.98\00:00:53.72
and it's a pleasure
to have you here, Jill.
00:00:53.75\00:00:55.75
We're looking
forward to the programs
00:00:55.78\00:00:57.55
that people will
be able to enjoy,
00:00:57.59\00:00:59.92
and to be a blessing in
your search for the truth,
00:00:59.95\00:01:03.16
and to know God.
00:01:03.19\00:01:04.53
Amen, Thank you so much, John.
00:01:04.56\00:01:06.03
It is a privilege for
my husband Greg and I,
00:01:06.06\00:01:08.30
and the rest of the 3ABN team
00:01:08.33\00:01:09.96
who came here down under
00:01:10.00\00:01:12.30
to see what God is
doing here in Australia.
00:01:12.33\00:01:15.60
It's a privilege to be
here with you and your wife,
00:01:15.64\00:01:17.71
and the team
with 3ABN Australia,
00:01:17.74\00:01:19.67
and I love the
theme, Knowing God,
00:01:19.71\00:01:22.21
taken from John 17:3,
00:01:22.24\00:01:25.31
"This is life
eternal, that they might know
00:01:25.35\00:01:27.82
the only true
God in Jesus Christ,
00:01:27.85\00:01:31.12
whom thou has sent."
00:01:31.15\00:01:32.52
So what an incredible
theme for this camp meeting.
00:01:32.55\00:01:35.86
It is, and it's
been an impression
00:01:35.89\00:01:38.19
by God upon my mind
now for two or three years
00:01:38.23\00:01:41.86
that people need
to know the reason
00:01:41.90\00:01:45.90
and understand the meaning
00:01:45.93\00:01:48.00
of what God wants
for every one of you,
00:01:48.04\00:01:51.24
and everyone sitting here,
God wants to spend eternity.
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Did you hear what I said?
00:01:55.18\00:01:56.51
Eternity with you,
00:01:56.54\00:01:58.35
not just the
threescore years and ten.
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God wants you
because He loves you so much
00:02:02.05\00:02:06.12
to be with Him eternally.
00:02:06.15\00:02:07.59
And tonight,
we've got John Lomacang,
00:02:07.62\00:02:10.83
and his presentation
is By His Character.
00:02:10.86\00:02:15.43
So knowing God,
00:02:15.46\00:02:17.37
and you're going to be
talking about subjects,
00:02:17.40\00:02:19.17
Knowing God by His Character.
00:02:19.20\00:02:22.57
Amen. Absolutely.
00:02:22.60\00:02:24.21
But before Pastor John
presents the Word of God,
00:02:24.24\00:02:27.24
we're going to
hear the Word of God
00:02:27.28\00:02:28.61
through music.
00:02:28.64\00:02:29.98
And we brought
with us Tim Parton,
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he's the general manager
00:02:31.95\00:02:33.92
of the Praise Him Music Network.
00:02:33.95\00:02:36.85
He's a man of God, and
a gifted anointed singer,
00:02:36.89\00:02:40.19
and musician, and
a personal friend,
00:02:40.22\00:02:42.76
and we're so blessed he
will be ministering a song,
00:02:42.79\00:02:45.03
He is to Me.
00:02:45.06\00:02:46.66
Thank you. So we will...
00:02:46.70\00:02:48.50
Next voice you hear after
Tim will be John Lomacang.
00:02:48.53\00:02:53.80
He's the Lion of Judah
The sweet Rose of Sharon
00:03:01.31\00:03:05.61
The fairest of
10,000 The Ancient of Days
00:03:05.65\00:03:09.55
The Alpha, Omega
The King of all glory
00:03:09.58\00:03:13.62
The bright Morning Star
And the God of my praise
00:03:13.66\00:03:18.06
Who can describe
everything that He is?
00:03:18.09\00:03:22.13
All I can say is
He's mine and I'm His
00:03:22.16\00:03:27.70
'Cause the One who
walks On the wings of the wind
00:03:27.74\00:03:32.04
Walks beside me
00:03:32.07\00:03:35.88
And the One who's
holding The world in His hand
00:03:35.91\00:03:40.02
Holds my heart
00:03:40.05\00:03:43.95
He spoke and the
world was created in space
00:03:43.99\00:03:48.29
And yet He was
willing to die in my place
00:03:48.32\00:03:52.36
Redeemer, Redeemer, Deliverer
00:03:52.39\00:03:55.16
The ransom who set my soul free
00:03:55.20\00:03:59.83
Hallelujah
00:03:59.87\00:04:02.04
What a Savior He is to me
00:04:02.07\00:04:06.78
He's the strength in my weakness
00:04:12.11\00:04:14.38
The joy in my sorrow
00:04:14.42\00:04:16.38
The peace like a river
that flows through my life
00:04:16.42\00:04:20.62
His new morning mercies
And hope for the journey
00:04:20.66\00:04:24.49
And love that will
conquer the struggle and strife
00:04:24.53\00:04:28.96
Who can describe
everything that He is?
00:04:29.00\00:04:32.93
All I can say is
He's mine and I'm His
00:04:32.97\00:04:38.61
'Cause the One who
walks On the wings of the wind
00:04:38.64\00:04:43.18
Walks beside me
00:04:43.21\00:04:46.95
And the One who's
holding The world in His hand
00:04:46.98\00:04:51.32
Holds my heart
00:04:51.35\00:04:55.32
He spoke and the
world was created in space
00:04:55.36\00:04:59.69
And yet He was
willing to die in my place
00:04:59.73\00:05:03.87
Redeemer, Deliverer
00:05:03.90\00:05:05.93
The ransom that set my soul free
00:05:05.97\00:05:11.57
Hallelujah
00:05:11.61\00:05:13.88
What a Savior He is to me
00:05:13.91\00:05:20.42
Oh, I can't describe
everything that He is
00:05:20.45\00:05:24.82
All I can say is
He's mine and I'm His
00:05:24.85\00:05:30.36
'Cause the One who
walks on the wings of the wind
00:05:30.39\00:05:35.00
Walks right beside me
00:05:35.03\00:05:38.83
And the One who's
holding The world in His hand
00:05:38.87\00:05:43.14
Holds my heart
00:05:43.17\00:05:47.24
He spoke and the
world was created in space
00:05:47.28\00:05:51.68
And yet He was
willing to die in my place
00:05:51.71\00:05:55.75
Redeemer, Deliverer
00:05:55.78\00:05:57.82
Ransom that set my soul free
00:05:57.85\00:06:03.63
Hallelujah
00:06:03.66\00:06:05.59
What a Savior He is to me
00:06:05.63\00:06:09.36
What a Savior He is to me
00:06:11.87\00:06:19.21
Amen. Amen.
00:06:34.02\00:06:38.96
Thank you, Tim.
00:06:38.99\00:06:40.76
Thank you for that message.
00:06:40.80\00:06:42.13
What a Redeemer
and Savior, He is to me
00:06:42.16\00:06:47.37
Tonight we're going to
turn our minds and our eyes
00:06:47.40\00:06:50.64
to God's Word.
00:06:50.67\00:06:52.61
But before we do that,
I'd like to open with a word,
00:06:52.64\00:06:56.58
not with a word of
prayer, but with a prayer.
00:06:56.61\00:07:00.75
Recently, I've
ran into an older lady
00:07:00.78\00:07:02.75
who said to me,
00:07:02.78\00:07:04.92
"Why do we say a word of prayer,
00:07:04.95\00:07:06.45
and then say
more than one word?"
00:07:06.49\00:07:09.59
And she has
really messed my mind up.
00:07:09.62\00:07:12.63
So when I say, "Let's
have a word of prayer,"
00:07:12.66\00:07:14.33
I have to rephrase that
until I get to the place
00:07:14.36\00:07:16.67
where I could understand
it's not a single word,
00:07:16.70\00:07:19.60
but it is, in
fact, an entire phrase.
00:07:19.63\00:07:22.14
So bow your heads with me
as I have many words of prayer.
00:07:22.17\00:07:27.21
Loving Father in
heaven, as we open Your Word,
00:07:27.24\00:07:32.61
we pray that You
will speak to our hearts,
00:07:32.65\00:07:37.25
that You'll transform our minds,
00:07:37.29\00:07:38.89
and You'll help us to understand
00:07:38.92\00:07:40.99
what it means to know God.
00:07:41.02\00:07:44.53
In Your precious
and holy name I pray,
00:07:44.56\00:07:47.30
amen.
00:07:47.33\00:07:49.90
Open your Bibles
with me to John 17:3.
00:07:50.10\00:07:55.04
It's a very familiar passage,
00:07:55.07\00:07:56.47
one that we have
repeated many times before,
00:07:56.50\00:08:00.34
but in looking at it
again for the first time,
00:08:00.38\00:08:03.85
I've seen what I didn't see
the first time I looked at it.
00:08:03.88\00:08:08.75
John 17:3, and I'm reading
00:08:08.78\00:08:11.85
from the New King James Version.
00:08:11.89\00:08:15.22
"And this is eternal
life that they may know you,
00:08:15.26\00:08:20.63
the only true
God and Jesus Christ,
00:08:20.66\00:08:24.53
whom you sent,
00:08:24.57\00:08:27.10
knowing God by His character."
00:08:27.14\00:08:30.84
Tonight, come with
me on a digital journey
00:08:30.87\00:08:34.14
with mind blowing realities.
00:08:34.18\00:08:38.85
Whether we realize it or not,
00:08:38.88\00:08:40.22
we live in the most
prolific information age
00:08:40.25\00:08:42.98
known to humanity
00:08:43.02\00:08:44.79
where we are surrounded,
00:08:44.82\00:08:47.79
whether conscious or unconscious
00:08:47.82\00:08:49.72
by a world that
has taken us captive,
00:08:49.76\00:08:53.40
by its creative abilities.
00:08:53.43\00:08:56.40
And by the time we notice
the impending digital tsunami
00:08:56.43\00:08:59.93
escaping it is futile.
00:08:59.97\00:09:02.54
I've noticed how the
world has changed around me
00:09:02.57\00:09:04.57
in just my short life,
00:09:04.61\00:09:07.11
and as my hair gets
grayer by the moment,
00:09:07.14\00:09:11.11
I discovered that this
world is becoming less and less
00:09:11.15\00:09:13.72
of a place that I
want to spend eternity,
00:09:13.75\00:09:16.45
and I'm looking forward
to eternity with Christ.
00:09:16.48\00:09:19.42
But tonight I want
you to walk with me
00:09:19.45\00:09:21.12
through the
development of the age
00:09:21.16\00:09:22.52
in which we live to
understand in a very real way
00:09:22.56\00:09:28.16
why we are becoming
less and less informed
00:09:28.20\00:09:33.10
of the most effective
ways of getting to know God.
00:09:33.13\00:09:37.27
According to
Steven E. Schoenherr,
00:09:37.31\00:09:40.94
who wrote in 2004,
00:09:40.98\00:09:42.64
a book entitled
The Digital Revolution,
00:09:42.68\00:09:45.78
he says the following words.
00:09:45.81\00:09:48.45
"The Digital Revolution,
00:09:48.48\00:09:49.85
also known as the
Third Industrial Revolution,
00:09:49.88\00:09:54.02
is a shift from the
mechanical and analog technology
00:09:54.06\00:09:59.49
to do digital
electronics which began anywhere
00:09:59.53\00:10:03.13
from the late
1950s to the late 1970s."
00:10:03.16\00:10:08.44
He also goes on to
suggest that the revolution
00:10:08.47\00:10:10.91
did not just start about
50, or 60, or 70 years ago,
00:10:10.94\00:10:15.04
but it predates even
the Industrial Revolution.
00:10:15.08\00:10:20.05
And he states
that the foundation
00:10:20.08\00:10:22.52
that we are now standing on
00:10:22.55\00:10:24.12
in the creative world around
us began some 100 years ago.
00:10:24.15\00:10:29.39
He says, in less than 100 years,
00:10:29.42\00:10:30.99
the rising tide of
revolution has transformed us
00:10:31.03\00:10:36.56
from the Agricultural Revolution
00:10:36.60\00:10:39.27
and the Industrial Revolution
00:10:39.30\00:10:41.67
to the Digital Revolution
that has overwhelmed us
00:10:41.70\00:10:45.37
by the information age.
00:10:45.41\00:10:47.98
I was standing in
front of a professor one day,
00:10:48.01\00:10:51.81
and he says, "If we
can gauge the environment
00:10:51.85\00:10:55.12
that we now live in..."
00:10:55.15\00:10:56.48
If tonight we had the ability
to show you the radio waves
00:10:56.52\00:11:00.99
that are flying
around this room,
00:11:01.02\00:11:02.96
you'll duck for
fear of your life.
00:11:02.99\00:11:07.50
With infrared technology
and wave perceiving technology,
00:11:07.53\00:11:11.87
right now we are surrounded
by a world that we had no idea
00:11:11.90\00:11:16.00
would capture our minds
00:11:16.04\00:11:17.91
and take our
intellect on a journey
00:11:17.94\00:11:19.94
without our permission.
00:11:19.97\00:11:22.14
But the information age
00:11:22.18\00:11:23.55
is the information
age that has come to us.
00:11:23.58\00:11:26.21
And the one
thing that is left out
00:11:26.25\00:11:27.72
is the information
about who God really is.
00:11:27.75\00:11:32.69
And so here we are locked
00:11:32.72\00:11:34.96
into an age where our devices
00:11:34.99\00:11:37.09
are incessantly and continuously
00:11:37.13\00:11:39.39
becoming smarter than we are.
00:11:39.43\00:11:41.10
Joseph Schumpeter,
an Austrian economist
00:11:44.87\00:11:49.37
and professor of
Harvard University
00:11:49.40\00:11:50.77
wrote in 1939
the following words.
00:11:50.81\00:11:53.61
He said, "The notion
of the Digital Revolution
00:11:53.64\00:11:58.05
is part of the theory of
socioeconomic evolution."
00:11:58.08\00:12:03.99
Listen carefully,
00:12:04.02\00:12:05.59
"Which consists of
an incessant process
00:12:05.62\00:12:09.12
of creative destruction."
00:12:09.16\00:12:12.63
He says our
computers, and our cell phones,
00:12:12.66\00:12:14.86
and the Internet has pulled us
00:12:14.90\00:12:17.40
into a process
called creative destruction.
00:12:17.43\00:12:21.40
Sounds like an oxymoron.
00:12:21.44\00:12:22.77
How do you create and
destroy at the very same time?
00:12:22.80\00:12:26.24
But follow closely,
00:12:26.27\00:12:28.31
he says, "The process
of creative destruction
00:12:28.34\00:12:31.01
is the process of
industrial mutation."
00:12:31.05\00:12:35.15
You'll get it in the moment.
00:12:35.18\00:12:37.32
"Incessantly revolutionizing
the economic structure
00:12:37.35\00:12:41.39
from event,
incessantly destroying the old,
00:12:41.42\00:12:45.43
and incessantly
creating the new."
00:12:45.46\00:12:48.66
And that's where
the phrase comes in,
00:12:48.70\00:12:50.20
"Out with the old, and the new."
00:12:50.23\00:12:52.37
If you've been
around long enough,
00:12:52.40\00:12:53.74
you know that the
world 30 years ago,
00:12:53.77\00:12:56.04
40 years ago is not
the same world today.
00:12:56.07\00:12:58.47
Can I get an amen?
00:12:58.51\00:13:00.31
The world has
changed tremendously.
00:13:00.34\00:13:03.75
Creative destruction, however,
00:13:03.78\00:13:05.15
demands an
answer to the question,
00:13:05.18\00:13:07.02
what is being created,
and what is being destroyed?
00:13:07.05\00:13:09.78
Let me suggest to you
00:13:09.82\00:13:11.15
before I go to the professionals
00:13:11.19\00:13:12.72
that what is being
destroyed in our world today
00:13:12.75\00:13:15.12
is a personal
relationship with Christ,
00:13:15.16\00:13:19.19
and the continual
relationship with the devices
00:13:19.23\00:13:22.10
that cannot
communicate back to us.
00:13:22.13\00:13:24.67
I said to one young
person sitting in my office,
00:13:24.70\00:13:27.10
if you would turn off
your cell phone and look at it,
00:13:27.14\00:13:29.57
when it's in the off position,
00:13:29.60\00:13:31.37
you will see a reflection
00:13:31.41\00:13:32.87
of the only person that matters,
00:13:32.91\00:13:34.61
and that's you.
00:13:34.64\00:13:37.01
But you have to
turn your devices off
00:13:37.05\00:13:40.05
to make that connection.
00:13:40.08\00:13:42.05
I had two young
ladies sitting on my couch
00:13:42.08\00:13:43.65
in my office at the church,
00:13:43.69\00:13:45.12
and they were sitting
very close to one another.
00:13:45.15\00:13:47.52
And in the quiet,
hood of my office,
00:13:47.56\00:13:49.39
as I was
looking through my mail,
00:13:49.42\00:13:50.76
one turned to the other
and said, "Did you get it?"
00:13:50.79\00:13:55.13
And the other
one said, "Get what?"
00:13:55.16\00:13:57.67
And they said, "The
message I just sent to you."
00:13:57.70\00:14:00.90
And I said, "Why
don't you just talk to her
00:14:00.94\00:14:04.07
rather than sending her messages
00:14:04.11\00:14:05.87
through a cell phone."
00:14:05.91\00:14:08.34
We live in an age now
that has taken us away
00:14:08.38\00:14:10.58
from communication face-to-face
00:14:10.61\00:14:13.65
to communication
with digital devices.
00:14:15.88\00:14:18.89
But it gets even
deeper than that.
00:14:18.92\00:14:20.29
Roy Debjani, in a book entitled,
00:14:23.63\00:14:27.70
Cinema in the Age of
the Digital Revolution,
00:14:27.73\00:14:30.63
he says, "Central to
the focus of the revolution
00:14:30.67\00:14:33.94
is mass production,
00:14:33.97\00:14:36.40
and the widespread
creative destruction
00:14:36.44\00:14:39.77
of the environment around us.
00:14:39.81\00:14:43.61
The process of
creative destruction
00:14:43.65\00:14:45.28
has so permeated our
world to such an extent
00:14:45.31\00:14:49.82
that it is continually
destroying one reality
00:14:49.85\00:14:53.72
and replacing it with another.
00:14:53.76\00:14:56.66
But in order for
creative destruction,
00:14:56.69\00:14:59.06
and is marched to continue,
00:14:59.09\00:15:01.06
it must abandon
each fading generation
00:15:01.10\00:15:04.57
and embrace the
emerging generation.
00:15:04.60\00:15:08.94
Simply said,
00:15:08.97\00:15:10.31
"Young people today
are smarter than we are."
00:15:10.34\00:15:15.11
You don't have to
say amen, it's a fact.
00:15:15.14\00:15:16.71
Consider Exhibit
A of the incessant
00:15:21.35\00:15:25.95
creative destructive march.
00:15:25.99\00:15:28.36
In February
2004, three young men,
00:15:28.39\00:15:31.09
and I'm going to
give their first names.
00:15:31.13\00:15:33.19
One named Eduardo,
another named Chris,
00:15:33.23\00:15:36.70
and the third one name Dustin,
00:15:36.73\00:15:39.03
under the guidance
00:15:39.07\00:15:40.40
of a university
dropout named Mark
00:15:40.44\00:15:44.01
launched a small startup company
00:15:44.04\00:15:46.47
code named Facebook.
00:15:46.51\00:15:50.95
Beginning in March 2004,
00:15:50.98\00:15:54.75
Facebook journeyed
from Harvard, to Stanford,
00:15:54.78\00:15:58.35
to Yale, to Colombia University,
00:15:58.39\00:16:01.29
and finally the
Palo Alto, California.
00:16:01.32\00:16:05.13
By December 2004,
00:16:05.16\00:16:07.10
Facebook broke the
ceiling with 1 million members.
00:16:07.13\00:16:13.37
By 2005,
00:16:13.40\00:16:16.30
Facebook broke the
ceiling with 5 million members.
00:16:16.34\00:16:23.01
In 2006,
00:16:23.04\00:16:26.01
Facebook exploded
to 12 million members.
00:16:26.05\00:16:31.25
That's just a year later.
00:16:31.29\00:16:33.39
By 2012,
00:16:33.42\00:16:37.53
Facebook had 36 million members.
00:16:37.56\00:16:41.33
By 2014, they had
360 million members.
00:16:44.40\00:16:50.07
And one year later, they
broke a half billion mark
00:16:50.11\00:16:53.51
in June of 2015
with 500 million members.
00:16:53.54\00:16:58.98
That's in June.
00:16:59.01\00:17:00.35
But by December,
00:17:00.38\00:17:02.32
they had added 100 million more,
00:17:02.35\00:17:04.89
as December
2015 came to a close.
00:17:04.92\00:17:08.46
So that I could end
the insanity quicker.
00:17:08.49\00:17:11.46
By December...
00:17:11.49\00:17:12.83
By June 2018,
00:17:15.56\00:17:19.17
that's this year,
00:17:19.20\00:17:21.30
Facebook now has
2.23 billion users,
00:17:21.34\00:17:26.04
28.7% of the world's population.
00:17:26.07\00:17:30.05
The question once again
is, what are they creating
00:17:30.08\00:17:31.88
and what are they destroying?
00:17:31.91\00:17:34.08
The suggestion is that
the more information we get,
00:17:34.12\00:17:37.09
the more intelligent we become.
00:17:37.12\00:17:39.72
But what I'm
seeing in the world today
00:17:39.75\00:17:41.09
is the more information we get,
00:17:41.12\00:17:43.16
the more
incapacitated we become.
00:17:43.19\00:17:45.69
If the information
that's permeating our minds
00:17:45.73\00:17:47.96
is not coming from God's Word,
00:17:48.00\00:17:49.86
we are not becoming
more intelligent by design,
00:17:49.90\00:17:53.64
we are becoming more
complacent by intent.
00:17:53.67\00:17:56.44
Our world is
creating the environment
00:17:56.47\00:17:59.17
to get us to pay less
attention to the book,
00:17:59.21\00:18:04.55
and may we pay attention
00:18:04.58\00:18:06.38
or more
attention to the Facebook.
00:18:06.41\00:18:09.18
It's in this generation
00:18:09.38\00:18:10.72
that God is saying to
the Facebook generation,
00:18:10.75\00:18:13.02
it is time to get
back to the real book.
00:18:13.05\00:18:15.12
Can I get an amen?
00:18:15.16\00:18:17.29
God is saying to us
00:18:17.33\00:18:20.10
that it is not more
information that we need,
00:18:20.13\00:18:22.93
but it is more
transformation that we need.
00:18:22.96\00:18:27.94
But the billion dollar question
behind the repetitive behavior
00:18:27.97\00:18:31.37
of this digital
revolution was introduced
00:18:31.41\00:18:34.11
by a
recalcitrant Pharaoh of Egypt.
00:18:37.45\00:18:41.45
If you have your Bibles,
read it with you tonight,
00:18:41.48\00:18:43.08
turn to Exodus Chapter 5.
00:18:43.12\00:18:45.49
Notice the question he posed.
Notice the question he posed.
00:18:45.52\00:18:49.99
Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh said,
00:18:54.23\00:18:57.87
"Who is the Lord that
I should obey His voice
00:18:57.90\00:19:00.84
to let Israel go?
00:19:00.87\00:19:02.97
I do not know the Lord,
nor will I let Israel go."
00:19:03.00\00:19:07.41
Pharaoh answered the
question or asked the question,
00:19:07.44\00:19:12.65
"Why should I
obey the voice of God
00:19:12.68\00:19:14.48
if I do not know Him?"
00:19:14.52\00:19:17.15
Now follow that very carefully.
00:19:17.19\00:19:19.85
He suggested that
if we spend more time
00:19:19.89\00:19:23.43
getting more
information about God,
00:19:23.46\00:19:25.46
then we become
aware of who He is.
00:19:25.49\00:19:27.83
But in reality,
00:19:27.86\00:19:29.20
Pharaoh cancelled His obedience
to God by simply saying,
00:19:29.23\00:19:34.20
"If I knew more about Him,
00:19:34.24\00:19:36.20
it'll be a lot
easier for me to obey Him."
00:19:36.24\00:19:38.87
But what I'd like
to suggest tonight
00:19:38.91\00:19:41.61
that it is not
knowing more about God,
00:19:41.64\00:19:44.41
but knowing God
that makes the difference
00:19:44.45\00:19:48.62
between obeying
and disobeying God.
00:19:48.65\00:19:51.65
Might I suggest tonight
that the text in John 17:3
00:19:51.69\00:19:55.76
is not saying that
we should know more
00:19:55.79\00:19:57.59
about God before
we get to obey Him,
00:19:57.63\00:20:01.73
but when we obey Him,
00:20:01.76\00:20:03.90
we get to know more about God.
00:20:03.93\00:20:07.44
It is in the obedience
00:20:07.47\00:20:08.80
that the
revelation of God is revealed,
00:20:08.84\00:20:10.97
not in the information
about God that the revelation
00:20:11.01\00:20:14.61
of the
relationship of God is born,
00:20:14.64\00:20:16.88
but it's in the
obedience to the voice of God
00:20:16.91\00:20:22.38
that the relationship
of God with God is built.
00:20:22.42\00:20:26.39
Go to 1 Samuel 3:8, 9,
00:20:26.42\00:20:30.36
so that I can
make my point clear.
00:20:30.39\00:20:32.19
We peek it at the
life of a young man,
00:20:35.66\00:20:38.40
a young man by
the name of Samuel.
00:20:38.43\00:20:41.00
1 Samuel 3:8, 9,
00:20:41.04\00:20:44.97
As Samuel was
taking his evening rest,
00:20:45.01\00:20:47.38
not too far distant
from where Eli was resting,
00:20:47.41\00:20:51.68
he continued to hear a voice
that he was not familiar with,
00:20:51.71\00:20:54.72
and we pick the story up
00:20:54.75\00:20:57.55
in 1 Samuel 3:8, 9,
00:20:57.59\00:21:02.09
"And the Lord called
Samuel again the third time,"
00:21:02.12\00:21:05.96
the what time?
00:21:05.99\00:21:07.76
The third time.
00:21:07.80\00:21:09.26
"So he arose and
went to Eli and said,
00:21:09.30\00:21:12.70
'Here I am, for
you did call me.'
00:21:12.73\00:21:18.07
Then Eli perceived
00:21:18.11\00:21:19.87
that the Lord
had called the boy.
00:21:19.91\00:21:22.68
Therefore Eli said to Samuel,
00:21:22.71\00:21:24.41
'Go lie down, and it shall be,
00:21:24.45\00:21:28.72
if He calls you
that you may say,"
00:21:28.75\00:21:32.29
together,
00:21:32.32\00:21:33.66
"speak, Lord, for
your servant hears.'
00:21:33.69\00:21:37.23
So Samuel went and
laid down in his place.'"
00:21:37.26\00:21:41.06
Ellen White said that
Samuel was just the youth,
00:21:41.10\00:21:43.70
and we understand the story.
00:21:43.73\00:21:45.07
He was a boy, the
Bible says, he was a boy.
00:21:45.10\00:21:46.90
Even though he was
dedicated to the Lord
00:21:46.94\00:21:48.90
when he was just a child,
00:21:48.94\00:21:50.64
God had not yet
directly spoken to Samuel,
00:21:50.67\00:21:53.31
so Samuel was not
familiar with the voice of God,
00:21:53.34\00:21:57.21
but he was told
by the experience
00:21:57.25\00:21:58.61
and the age of
Eli that the next time
00:21:58.65\00:22:00.52
you hear the voice of God,
00:22:00.55\00:22:01.88
the next time
you hear that voice,
00:22:01.92\00:22:03.82
it's going to be
the voice of God,
00:22:03.85\00:22:05.35
simply say, 'Speak, Lord,
for your servant heareth."
00:22:05.39\00:22:09.52
But notice carefully
what the text is saying.
00:22:09.56\00:22:13.70
He's not saying,
00:22:13.73\00:22:15.06
"Have God give you more
information about Himself
00:22:15.10\00:22:17.33
before you say, 'Speak, Lord,
for your servant heareth.'"
00:22:17.37\00:22:20.84
He's saying, "As
soon as God speaks,
00:22:20.87\00:22:25.77
be obedient to His voice
00:22:25.81\00:22:28.31
that you may get
to know who He is."
00:22:28.34\00:22:32.21
It was his immediate
obedience to the voice of God
00:22:32.41\00:22:36.12
that created in Samuel the
kind of life that he lived.
00:22:36.15\00:22:38.75
And as you follow
the life of Samuel,
00:22:38.79\00:22:40.66
he existed from king to king,
00:22:40.69\00:22:42.62
he existed on the
platform of stern integrity,
00:22:42.66\00:22:46.90
unshakeable faith,
00:22:46.93\00:22:49.90
because he made the decision
to listen to the voice of God
00:22:49.93\00:22:54.20
the moment he heard it,
00:22:54.24\00:22:56.47
not needing any more
information about God,
00:22:56.50\00:22:58.87
but simply saying, "Speak, Lord,
00:22:58.91\00:23:01.11
for your servant heareth,"
00:23:01.14\00:23:03.35
which we pick up the story
00:23:03.38\00:23:06.01
to understand the segue.
00:23:06.05\00:23:07.38
He said, "And now the Lord came,
00:23:07.42\00:23:09.18
and stood, and
called at other times,
00:23:09.22\00:23:12.25
Samuel, Samuel! And
this time Samuel said,
00:23:12.29\00:23:16.42
'Speak, Lord, for
your servant hears.'"
00:23:16.46\00:23:19.96
It is in first
responding to the voice of God
00:23:20.00\00:23:23.57
that we get to know
the character of God.
00:23:23.60\00:23:27.17
Let me say it again.
00:23:27.20\00:23:30.47
It is in responding first, when?
00:23:30.51\00:23:34.34
First to the voice of God
00:23:34.38\00:23:37.08
that we become familiar
with the character of God.
00:23:37.11\00:23:40.02
Because really the question is
00:23:40.05\00:23:41.62
why would I listen to the voice
of someone that I don't know?
00:23:41.65\00:23:43.99
But I'm suggesting
when it comes to God,
00:23:47.59\00:23:50.56
if you listen to
the voice of God first,
00:23:50.59\00:23:54.53
then you get to know who God is.
00:23:54.56\00:23:56.36
That's why the
Christian walks by faith.`
00:23:57.83\00:24:00.87
We walk not by
information, we walk by faith.
00:24:00.90\00:24:04.87
When we walk by faith
00:24:04.91\00:24:06.84
then God sees fit to
reveal to us information.
00:24:06.88\00:24:11.98
But if we say like
Pharaoh did, I don't know God,
00:24:12.01\00:24:14.68
I don't understand Him,
00:24:14.72\00:24:16.05
I've never heard
His voice before,
00:24:16.08\00:24:17.42
therefore I cannot be obedient.
00:24:17.45\00:24:18.79
We are in essence saying,
00:24:18.82\00:24:20.16
obedience is based on an
abundance of information.
00:24:20.19\00:24:23.12
But obedience is not based
on an abundance of information,
00:24:23.16\00:24:26.86
obedience is based on
faith in the voice of God.
00:24:26.90\00:24:32.83
The voice of God
today being the Word of God,
00:24:32.87\00:24:35.77
not impressions,
00:24:35.80\00:24:37.41
not somebody
else's words about God,
00:24:37.44\00:24:40.04
but simply speaking,
00:24:40.08\00:24:41.98
simply having God
speak to us directly,
00:24:42.01\00:24:45.35
and being willing to
hear the voice of God.
00:24:45.38\00:24:48.18
In 2 Timothy 3:7,
turn in your Bible there.
00:24:48.22\00:24:52.45
You see, the
information age has enrolled us
00:24:52.49\00:24:54.46
in an endless
pursuit for knowledge,
00:24:54.49\00:24:56.52
but look at the
words of the Apostle Paul
00:24:56.56\00:24:59.83
to Young protégé, Timothy.
00:24:59.86\00:25:03.23
He is saying the information age
00:25:03.26\00:25:05.23
tries to convince us
00:25:05.27\00:25:06.77
that the intellectual
pursuit is necessary
00:25:06.80\00:25:09.80
before we
understand to know God.
00:25:09.84\00:25:12.81
But you look at the
life of the disciples,
00:25:12.84\00:25:15.24
they didn't go to
institutions of learning,
00:25:15.28\00:25:18.21
they did not have degrees,
00:25:18.25\00:25:20.25
they did not
spend time in places
00:25:20.28\00:25:23.55
where training and
knowledge was proliferated,
00:25:23.59\00:25:27.22
they spent time in
the presence of God
00:25:27.26\00:25:30.59
through Jesus Christ,
00:25:30.63\00:25:32.09
and that's what
made the difference
00:25:32.13\00:25:34.26
between
information and transformation.
00:25:34.30\00:25:39.70
They were called an ignorant,
00:25:39.73\00:25:41.74
and unlearn, and unintellectual,
00:25:41.77\00:25:45.17
but when they
saw the power of God
00:25:45.21\00:25:47.08
through the
lives of the disciples,
00:25:47.11\00:25:48.91
they knew that they had
been in the presence of Jesus.
00:25:48.94\00:25:52.61
Let me suggest, we have...
00:25:52.65\00:25:55.32
I can't say we have become
but we have been for some time,
00:25:55.35\00:25:58.75
our church of higher learning,
00:25:58.79\00:26:00.12
and there is nothing
wrong with higher learning.
00:26:00.16\00:26:04.36
But I like to suggest to
you, as Jesus said to Martha,
00:26:04.39\00:26:09.16
the best place to be
is at the feet of Jesus.
00:26:09.20\00:26:13.27
The place where we are
elevated from the common days,
00:26:13.30\00:26:16.60
and the common ways
of life to the place
00:26:16.64\00:26:18.87
where we can
become an instrument
00:26:18.91\00:26:20.88
in the hand of God
00:26:20.91\00:26:22.28
is when we spend time
in the presence of God.
00:26:22.31\00:26:25.11
It is not more
information that we need,
00:26:25.15\00:26:28.35
but it's transformation
00:26:28.38\00:26:30.12
that makes the
information about God
00:26:30.15\00:26:32.65
a point of growth.
00:26:32.69\00:26:34.02
Notice what the
Apostle Paul says
00:26:34.06\00:26:35.52
in 2 Timothy 3:7,
00:26:35.56\00:26:37.49
he says,
00:26:37.53\00:26:38.86
"Ever learning
and never able to come
00:26:38.89\00:26:42.40
to the knowledge of the truth."
00:26:42.43\00:26:44.53
So the information
age, the digital age,
00:26:44.57\00:26:48.07
that's a tongue
twisting word, the digital age,
00:26:48.10\00:26:52.44
is not an age that brings to us
00:26:52.47\00:26:54.18
more information about God,
00:26:54.21\00:26:56.54
but it's a
creative destructive age
00:26:56.58\00:26:59.55
attempting to take
away the information
00:26:59.58\00:27:01.48
that God has
already made known to us
00:27:01.52\00:27:04.45
because I would say to you
that if all the electricity
00:27:04.49\00:27:07.59
in the world had
gone off for two weeks,
00:27:07.62\00:27:11.89
all the communication
devices had ceased to operate,
00:27:15.00\00:27:21.67
and the
internet was nonexistent,
00:27:21.70\00:27:25.64
the generation I was
born for the last 24 years
00:27:25.67\00:27:29.24
would end into
pandemonium and chaos
00:27:29.28\00:27:33.78
But those of us
that have gray hair
00:27:33.82\00:27:35.98
would simply pick
up our Bible and say,
00:27:36.02\00:27:37.65
"Speak, Lord, for
thou server heareth."
00:27:37.69\00:27:41.26
Amen.
00:27:41.29\00:27:43.36
I think that we
need to have a blackout
00:27:43.39\00:27:45.99
to find the light again.
00:27:46.03\00:27:50.13
I think that we need
to get these smart devices
00:27:50.17\00:27:53.37
to stop working,
00:27:53.40\00:27:54.74
so that our minds
could start working.
00:27:54.77\00:28:00.04
I think we need to trust
less in what man is showing us,
00:28:00.08\00:28:03.98
and what God has
already shown us,
00:28:04.01\00:28:07.22
so that we can come
back to center stage
00:28:07.25\00:28:09.92
in getting to know God.
00:28:09.95\00:28:11.65
It's amazing what Paul
continues to say because, Paul,
00:28:11.69\00:28:15.79
when he went to Rome,
00:28:15.82\00:28:17.16
he entered into a
philosophical society
00:28:17.19\00:28:19.23
that was highly intellectual.
00:28:19.26\00:28:21.16
When he exposed
himself to the Greeks,
00:28:21.20\00:28:23.77
he exposed himself
to men of deep learning,
00:28:23.80\00:28:28.67
men of experience, men
of great minds of science,
00:28:28.70\00:28:32.81
and psychology,
and great arguments,
00:28:32.84\00:28:36.31
and he had very little success.
00:28:36.34\00:28:38.25
When he got to Rome,
00:28:38.28\00:28:39.75
he changed his approach
to intellectual stimulation,
00:28:39.78\00:28:43.49
and he said, "I
desire to know nothing,
00:28:43.52\00:28:45.75
but Christ and Him crucified."
00:28:45.79\00:28:49.42
And then the gospel
in the Book of Romans
00:28:49.46\00:28:52.59
became one of the
most beautifully proclaimed
00:28:52.63\00:28:56.10
and powerful
messages of the age.
00:28:56.13\00:28:58.63
To this very day, my
favorite book in the Bible
00:28:58.67\00:29:00.64
is the Book of Romans.
00:29:00.67\00:29:02.80
Because Paul
began Romans by saying,
00:29:02.84\00:29:04.81
"You keep your philosophy,
you keep your intellect,
00:29:04.84\00:29:07.44
just give me God,
and that's all I need."
00:29:07.48\00:29:11.58
"I desire to know nothing,
but Christ and Him crucified."
00:29:11.61\00:29:14.68
You see, if all we have is God,
the only one we need is God.
00:29:14.72\00:29:21.46
That's what He said to Jeremiah,
00:29:21.49\00:29:23.66
"You will seek Me,
and you will find Me,
00:29:23.69\00:29:27.66
when you search
for me with," how much?
00:29:27.70\00:29:30.27
"All your heart."
00:29:30.30\00:29:31.63
Jeremiah 29:13,
Paul said to the Romans,
00:29:31.67\00:29:36.74
as intellectual as they were,
"There is none who understands,
00:29:36.77\00:29:42.04
there is none
who seeks after God."
00:29:42.08\00:29:44.38
This is the age,
00:29:44.41\00:29:46.68
and I'm watching it
from an American standpoint,
00:29:46.72\00:29:49.52
but I've understood
that here in Australia
00:29:49.55\00:29:51.22
it's just about the same.
00:29:51.25\00:29:53.52
You know, one
of the first things
00:29:53.56\00:29:54.89
we do when we get off a plane
00:29:54.92\00:29:56.26
is we try to
find ways to connect.
00:29:56.29\00:30:00.10
You know, we bring off
our smartphones from America,
00:30:00.13\00:30:04.27
and it just becomes
kind of disheartening
00:30:04.30\00:30:08.30
when you get off the
plane and you can't connect.
00:30:08.34\00:30:12.24
Anybody know what
I'm talking about?
00:30:12.27\00:30:15.38
But go back about 30 years.
00:30:15.41\00:30:17.81
Sorry, go back about 40 years,
00:30:17.85\00:30:20.92
when if you were
disembarked from a plane,
00:30:20.95\00:30:24.99
you didn't think
about connecting,
00:30:25.02\00:30:27.69
you just want to get in
your car and drive home.
00:30:27.72\00:30:30.86
And all we got to do
nowadays to be abnormal
00:30:30.89\00:30:34.50
is to have a
Bible and no device.
00:30:34.53\00:30:38.83
All we've got to do
nowadays to connect to God
00:30:42.00\00:30:45.77
is to disconnect from the world.
00:30:45.81\00:30:49.78
All we've got to do today
00:30:49.81\00:30:51.61
as one young man said
to his father and mother
00:30:51.65\00:30:56.08
because when
they had the lights on
00:30:56.12\00:30:57.45
the electricity was working,
the daughter was in her room,
00:30:57.49\00:31:00.82
the son was in his room,
the mother was on the couch,
00:31:00.86\00:31:04.73
and the dad was in
his, in his man cave,
00:31:04.76\00:31:08.70
and they were all connected
to some kind of device.
00:31:08.73\00:31:12.03
When the power went off,
and it didn't come back on
00:31:12.07\00:31:14.07
in the next two
minutes, his son ran down
00:31:14.10\00:31:16.27
the steps and says,
"Mom, Dad, what do we do?"
00:31:16.30\00:31:20.68
And they said, "Let's
get to know each other."
00:31:20.71\00:31:24.88
And for the next three days,
00:31:24.91\00:31:27.48
all they did was look
each other in the face,
00:31:27.52\00:31:32.55
and talk to one another.
00:31:32.59\00:31:35.49
And after three days
when the power came back on,
00:31:35.52\00:31:39.46
the son discovered the
parents that he had never known
00:31:39.49\00:31:42.96
because prior to that,
00:31:43.00\00:31:46.43
he thought that
information on a cell phone,
00:31:46.47\00:31:50.47
on the internet,
on the television
00:31:50.51\00:31:53.11
would enhance his life.
00:31:53.14\00:31:55.31
But the only
information that we need today
00:31:55.34\00:31:57.11
to enhance our lives
00:31:57.15\00:31:59.35
is the information
found in the Word of God.
00:31:59.38\00:32:02.75
You see, what is
happening in our world today
00:32:02.78\00:32:04.52
is Satan is
seeking to accomplish
00:32:04.55\00:32:07.56
among the
Israel of the last days
00:32:07.59\00:32:10.59
that which he accomplished
00:32:10.63\00:32:11.96
among the
Israelites of the early days.
00:32:11.99\00:32:14.66
In the book,
Acts of the Apostles,
00:32:14.70\00:32:17.80
Ellen White
said on page 13 that,
00:32:17.83\00:32:22.04
"God chose Israel to
reveal His character to men.
00:32:22.07\00:32:27.68
He desired them to
be as wells of salvation
00:32:27.71\00:32:30.78
in the world.
00:32:30.81\00:32:32.15
To them were
committed the oracles of heaven,
00:32:32.18\00:32:34.92
the revelation of God's will.
00:32:34.95\00:32:37.02
In the early days of
Israel, the nation of the world,
00:32:37.05\00:32:42.02
through their corrupt practices
had lost the knowledge of God."
00:32:42.06\00:32:46.90
The nations that
surrounded Israel
00:32:46.93\00:32:49.10
so had
permeated Israel's mindset
00:32:49.13\00:32:51.60
that the message to
which God had entrusted them,
00:32:51.63\00:32:54.87
the message that He
had entrusted to them
00:32:54.90\00:32:57.51
had lost its power
00:32:57.54\00:33:00.91
because they chose not
to hear the voice of God,
00:33:00.94\00:33:03.04
they chose not to
receive the revelation of God.
00:33:03.08\00:33:05.51
In Romans 1:21 says it this way.
00:33:05.55\00:33:09.42
He says,
"Although they knew God,
00:33:09.45\00:33:10.89
they did not glorify Him
as God, nor were thankful,
00:33:10.92\00:33:14.09
but became vain in
their imaginations,
00:33:14.12\00:33:16.69
and their foolish
hearts were darkened."
00:33:16.73\00:33:20.60
And so I'm going to say
this because this is not true,
00:33:20.63\00:33:25.33
but if I were the devil.
00:33:25.37\00:33:26.74
And you smile because you
know, it's not true, praise God.
00:33:30.54\00:33:34.94
But if I were the devil,
00:33:34.98\00:33:36.31
and I knew that the
message that God has given to us
00:33:36.34\00:33:39.81
is the message that
will prepare the world
00:33:39.85\00:33:42.22
for His second coming,
00:33:42.25\00:33:43.79
I would create
00:33:43.82\00:33:45.15
every possible
diversion that I can
00:33:45.19\00:33:49.42
to get a people with the message
00:33:49.46\00:33:53.03
to not share the message
00:33:53.06\00:33:55.66
or not to even express
interest in the message.
00:33:55.70\00:34:00.47
And they would cancel
that interest by saying,
00:34:00.50\00:34:04.17
"If I only had more
information about the message,
00:34:04.21\00:34:09.34
then I'd be able to share it."
00:34:09.38\00:34:11.38
And today, our church
00:34:11.41\00:34:13.38
is locked in a pursuit
00:34:16.92\00:34:19.65
of the wrong
kind of information.
00:34:19.69\00:34:22.92
And I would suggest to
you that we simply get back
00:34:22.96\00:34:28.66
to the business that
God has called us to,
00:34:28.70\00:34:31.87
proclaiming the
threes angels' messages
00:34:31.90\00:34:35.57
that there will be such
a unity in God's Church,
00:34:35.60\00:34:39.57
not new
information, not new technology,
00:34:39.61\00:34:43.98
but the everlasting gospel.
00:34:44.01\00:34:45.78
Can you say amen?
00:34:45.81\00:34:47.58
The gospel from
the Garden of Eden,
00:34:47.62\00:34:49.85
the gospel from
the Mount of Sinai,
00:34:49.88\00:34:52.15
the gospel from
the wilderness journey
00:34:52.19\00:34:55.02
of the Israelites,
it's the same gospel.
00:34:55.06\00:34:57.13
There's salvation
in only one person,
00:34:57.16\00:34:58.99
His name is Jesus.
00:34:59.03\00:35:00.66
If we would get back
00:35:00.70\00:35:02.03
to the
proclamation of that gospel,
00:35:02.06\00:35:04.77
I believe the
world will be warned,
00:35:04.80\00:35:07.20
and Jesus would come.
00:35:07.24\00:35:09.37
I mean, can you imagine?
00:35:09.40\00:35:10.74
Think about the whole context,
00:35:10.77\00:35:12.81
the Lord turned the world
upside down in just a short,
00:35:12.84\00:35:16.34
about 34 years
00:35:16.38\00:35:18.41
through the lives
of just 12 disciples.
00:35:18.45\00:35:23.42
If the Lord can turn
the world upside down
00:35:23.45\00:35:26.05
and reach the ends of the earth
through a small handful of men
00:35:26.09\00:35:30.46
filled by the power of God,
00:35:30.49\00:35:32.63
what will He be able to
do if the church get back,
00:35:32.66\00:35:37.43
if the church gets back
00:35:37.47\00:35:39.83
to the message
that God has given us
00:35:39.87\00:35:42.44
for the last 135 years?
00:35:42.47\00:35:47.08
But here we are,
00:35:47.11\00:35:48.44
and don't misunderstand me
because I am writing a book.
00:35:51.18\00:35:56.62
But the last thing
we need is another book.
00:35:56.65\00:36:00.62
But when it come
out, I hope you buy it.
00:36:00.66\00:36:04.56
All the information
necessary for salvation
00:36:04.59\00:36:07.83
can be found between the heirs
00:36:07.86\00:36:10.27
of Genesis and Revelation.
00:36:10.30\00:36:15.20
If we would simply
get back to this age,
00:36:15.24\00:36:19.04
to the age of turning pages,
00:36:19.07\00:36:22.98
to the age of spending
time in the Word of God,
00:36:23.01\00:36:28.38
to the age of beginning
our day and ending our day
00:36:28.42\00:36:31.55
in the presence of
God, at the feet of Jesus.
00:36:31.59\00:36:37.79
If we would get back
to the devotional life
00:36:37.83\00:36:40.00
of living our lives in
the presence of a holy God,
00:36:40.03\00:36:43.83
if we would pray more
00:36:46.84\00:36:49.50
and work for the
advancement of God's kingdom,
00:36:49.54\00:36:53.44
there will be
no more information
00:36:53.48\00:36:54.94
that we would need,
00:36:54.98\00:36:56.44
but it will be transformation
that we would experience
00:36:56.48\00:37:00.72
My wife and I, over
the last couple of years
00:37:00.75\00:37:04.69
have prayed for God
to transform our lives.
00:37:04.72\00:37:07.82
And he has done it
00:37:07.86\00:37:09.22
in a powerful
and a very real way.
00:37:09.26\00:37:14.16
We begin our day in prayer,
and the study of His Word,
00:37:14.20\00:37:19.17
we end our day in
prayer or devotional thought,
00:37:19.20\00:37:21.37
and the study of God's Word.
00:37:21.40\00:37:23.61
We travel and we
carry our Bibles with us.
00:37:23.64\00:37:26.84
Whenever I travel, I have three.
00:37:26.88\00:37:28.98
I have...
00:37:29.01\00:37:30.35
My travel itinerary
00:37:30.38\00:37:31.71
has three very
important components.
00:37:31.75\00:37:35.58
My wife...
00:37:35.62\00:37:36.95
I should put it in
the order of priority.
00:37:41.06\00:37:44.19
My God, my wife, and my Bible.
00:37:44.23\00:37:49.43
And I've learned
that when I carry my God,
00:37:54.27\00:37:58.21
my wife, and my Bible,
00:37:58.24\00:38:03.55
I really don't care
00:38:03.58\00:38:07.88
what's happening in
the world around me.
00:38:07.92\00:38:11.65
I was invited to South
Africa a number of years ago,
00:38:11.69\00:38:17.26
and only one ticket
was being purchased for my
00:38:17.29\00:38:20.40
attending this
large camp meeting,
00:38:20.43\00:38:23.06
I was going to be
the speaker there,
00:38:23.10\00:38:26.20
and they said,
00:38:26.23\00:38:27.57
"We're looking
forward to you coming,"
00:38:27.60\00:38:29.80
and I said, "Can
you purchase the ticket
00:38:29.84\00:38:32.01
for my wife to be there?"
00:38:32.04\00:38:33.38
They said, "We can't afford it."
00:38:33.41\00:38:36.18
I said, "How many people
am I going to be speaking to?"
00:38:36.21\00:38:38.05
They said about 9,000.
00:38:38.08\00:38:40.62
I said, "You mean to
tell me that 9,000 people
00:38:40.65\00:38:42.65
can't afford one more ticket?
00:38:42.68\00:38:44.72
They said, "No,
it's not in our budget."
00:38:44.75\00:38:46.25
I said, "Then cancel me."
00:38:46.29\00:38:50.03
They said, "But
you're in the advertising."
00:38:50.06\00:38:53.46
I said, "Well, I'll come
00:38:53.50\00:38:55.76
if you pay for my
wife to go with me.
00:38:55.80\00:38:58.87
'Cause I have my
Bible, I have my God,
00:38:58.90\00:39:00.57
but that's only two
items in my itinerary,
00:39:00.60\00:39:03.41
I need all three.
00:39:03.44\00:39:04.77
Come on, married
people, say, amen.
00:39:04.81\00:39:08.44
So I ran into a very
strong South African lady,
00:39:08.48\00:39:14.95
who had every
answer to every argument
00:39:14.98\00:39:17.42
that I raised
until I said to her,
00:39:17.45\00:39:21.79
"I'm not coming unless
you buy a ticket for my wife."
00:39:21.82\00:39:26.59
She asked me the
question, she said,
00:39:26.63\00:39:27.96
"So if you bring
your wife with you,
00:39:28.00\00:39:29.96
what is she going to do?"
00:39:30.00\00:39:32.73
I said, "She's
going to be my wife."
00:39:32.77\00:39:34.30
'Cause after I'm
done talking to you,
00:39:37.34\00:39:39.77
I need to go back
home and balance myself.
00:39:39.81\00:39:43.91
Because it is not what happens
00:39:43.95\00:39:45.35
in the public
arena that creates us,
00:39:45.38\00:39:49.78
but it's what
happens in the quiet moments
00:39:49.82\00:39:52.52
when the lights are off,
when the music is not playing,
00:39:52.55\00:39:56.12
and when nobody
is paying attention
00:39:59.19\00:40:01.36
to my voice except my God,
00:40:01.40\00:40:06.63
and my wife,
00:40:06.67\00:40:08.64
and I'm
listening to God's voice,
00:40:08.67\00:40:11.31
and I'm listening
to the my wife's voice.
00:40:11.34\00:40:14.01
And it's so good to know that
00:40:14.04\00:40:15.38
because of her
relationship with God,
00:40:15.41\00:40:17.25
there's no conflict there.
00:40:17.28\00:40:18.78
Isaiah 30:21,
00:40:25.82\00:40:27.46
"The foundation
00:40:30.89\00:40:33.63
of being able to
reveal the character of God."
00:40:33.66\00:40:35.66
Let me preface it by saying
00:40:40.77\00:40:42.10
it's responding
to God's voice first
00:40:42.14\00:40:44.67
that we become familiar
with the character of God.
00:40:44.71\00:40:49.34
Your ears shout, Isaiah 30:21,
00:40:49.38\00:40:53.75
"Your ears shall hear
a word behind you saying,
00:40:53.78\00:40:59.15
'This is the way, do," what?
00:40:59.19\00:41:02.06
"Walk ye in it.'"
00:41:02.09\00:41:03.43
Whenever you
turn to the right hand
00:41:03.46\00:41:05.99
or whenever you
turn to the left,
00:41:06.03\00:41:09.00
and in Christ's
Object Lessons, page 289,
00:41:09.03\00:41:12.30
servant of the Lord says,
00:41:12.33\00:41:14.60
"As an obedience
to His natural laws,
00:41:14.64\00:41:18.41
the earth
produces its treasures.
00:41:18.44\00:41:21.94
And so also in
obedience to God's moral laws,
00:41:21.98\00:41:26.78
the heart of the people of God
00:41:26.82\00:41:30.35
are to reflect the
attributes of His character.
00:41:30.39\00:41:35.36
Listen carefully to that.
00:41:35.39\00:41:37.23
The earth listens
to the voice of God,
00:41:37.26\00:41:40.50
obedient to the laws
that God put in place,
00:41:40.53\00:41:43.30
and it produces a harvest.
00:41:43.33\00:41:45.97
If we would listen
to the voice of God,
00:41:46.00\00:41:50.61
the very revelation
of the character of God
00:41:50.64\00:41:54.34
would be revealed to the world
00:41:54.38\00:41:55.71
because I've
learned in my studies,
00:41:55.74\00:41:57.48
and this is why the Lord
continually said to the Jews
00:41:57.51\00:41:59.98
when they asked for a sign,
00:42:00.02\00:42:01.35
when Moses asked,
"Show me Your glory."
00:42:01.38\00:42:03.89
One of the reasons why the Lord
00:42:03.92\00:42:05.49
did not show any
of them His glory
00:42:05.52\00:42:08.32
is because the glory of God
is not to be revealed to us,
00:42:08.36\00:42:12.93
the glory of God is to
be revealed through us.
00:42:12.96\00:42:18.50
That's why the Lord
said to His disciples,
00:42:18.53\00:42:20.70
"Have I been with you so long
00:42:20.74\00:42:22.07
that you have
not seen the Father."
00:42:22.10\00:42:23.87
Jesus came to be the express
revelation of the character
00:42:23.91\00:42:26.91
and the person of
God, but Jesus is not here.
00:42:26.94\00:42:30.11
And then He said,
00:42:30.15\00:42:31.48
"A greater works
than these you'll do."
00:42:31.51\00:42:33.25
Now here's what He meant.
00:42:33.28\00:42:34.98
And I'm learning this.
00:42:35.02\00:42:36.52
After 31 years of
pastoring and preaching,
00:42:36.55\00:42:38.85
I'm learning this in
a more beautiful way.
00:42:38.89\00:42:41.32
He's in essence saying,
00:42:41.36\00:42:43.02
"The more you get to know
Me by obeying My voice..."
00:42:43.06\00:42:48.80
I'm not speaking
about information,
00:42:48.83\00:42:50.57
I'm speaking
about transformation.
00:42:50.60\00:42:52.43
"The more you are willing
to be obedient to My voice,
00:42:52.47\00:42:55.40
the more equipped you
would be to reveal to the world
00:42:55.44\00:42:58.21
that character that I possess."
00:42:58.24\00:43:02.34
God is not wanting to
reveal to the world information,
00:43:02.38\00:43:05.21
He's wanting to reveal
to the world transformation
00:43:05.25\00:43:08.02
through the lives of
those who have come in contact
00:43:08.05\00:43:11.15
with the only one
00:43:11.19\00:43:13.32
that can cause
the light of His glory
00:43:13.36\00:43:16.19
to shine to the world.
00:43:16.22\00:43:17.59
That's why Jesus said,
00:43:17.63\00:43:18.96
"Let your light
so shine before men,
00:43:18.99\00:43:20.73
that they may see your
00:43:20.76\00:43:23.40
good works and
glorify Your Father,
00:43:23.43\00:43:25.50
which is in heaven."
00:43:25.53\00:43:27.74
When Jesus came, the
Father was hid in His Son.
00:43:27.77\00:43:32.84
And so also the character of God
00:43:32.87\00:43:36.21
was revealed through His Son.
00:43:36.24\00:43:38.25
Servant of the Lord says,
00:43:38.28\00:43:39.68
"As the character of
God was revealed through
00:43:39.71\00:43:43.05
the life of His Son,
00:43:43.08\00:43:45.12
so also the character
of God is to be revealed
00:43:45.15\00:43:49.56
through the life of His people."
00:43:49.59\00:43:52.96
So this idea of
knowing God by His character.
00:43:52.99\00:43:57.57
He's not asking God to
reveal to us His character,
00:43:57.60\00:44:00.97
but asking God to
reveal to the world
00:44:01.00\00:44:03.44
His character through us,
00:44:03.47\00:44:08.24
which brings me to my
second and last point,
00:44:08.28\00:44:11.25
we get to reveal the
character of God by first,
00:44:11.28\00:44:15.55
allowing His glory to
be revealed through us.
00:44:15.58\00:44:18.95
Exodus 3:2 is
where you're turning.
00:44:18.99\00:44:22.36
Exodus 3:2,
00:44:22.39\00:44:24.06
"And the angel of
the Lord appeared to Him
00:44:37.81\00:44:40.58
in a flame of fire
from the midst of a bush.
00:44:40.61\00:44:46.01
So he looked, and behold,
the bush was burning with fire,
00:44:46.05\00:44:49.48
but the bush was not consumed."
00:44:49.52\00:44:52.89
When you look at the story,
00:44:52.92\00:44:54.26
Moses was arrested
by an unusual spectacle.
00:44:54.29\00:44:58.93
The burning of the bush was
not what captured his attention?
00:44:58.96\00:45:01.86
What captured Moses'
attention was the phenomena
00:45:01.90\00:45:04.50
that the bush was burning,
but the bush was not consumed.
00:45:04.53\00:45:10.77
Some writers
suggest that the bush
00:45:10.81\00:45:12.34
was not really burning,
00:45:12.37\00:45:14.04
but that it was the
angle of the sun reflecting off
00:45:14.08\00:45:16.24
the odd leaves of the bush,
00:45:16.28\00:45:18.51
but I don't believe that theory.
00:45:18.55\00:45:20.75
I believe that God
can make any tree burn
00:45:20.78\00:45:23.55
without being consumed.
00:45:23.59\00:45:24.92
Come on, somebody say amen.
00:45:24.95\00:45:26.29
And you'll
understand in just a moment
00:45:26.32\00:45:27.66
why I say that.
00:45:27.69\00:45:29.02
You see, the burning bush
00:45:29.06\00:45:30.39
was an
antitypical representation
00:45:30.43\00:45:31.93
of the character of God.
00:45:31.96\00:45:33.90
And Moses only
got a glimpse of that,
00:45:33.93\00:45:35.93
and just a light glimpse
00:45:35.96\00:45:38.27
of the glory of God
revealed on that mountain,
00:45:38.30\00:45:40.64
when God said to Moses,
"Hide in the cleft of the rock,
00:45:40.67\00:45:43.51
and when I pass by, just peek."
00:45:43.54\00:45:46.91
And the peeking...
00:45:46.94\00:45:49.14
Oh, if we can
see the glory of God,
00:45:49.18\00:45:50.78
just the peek, he peeked,
00:45:50.81\00:45:53.92
and God revealed
just enough for Moses
00:45:53.95\00:45:56.08
to know that He is God,
00:45:56.12\00:45:57.49
and the glory was so
abundant that when he came down,
00:45:57.52\00:46:00.49
he had his own personal shades,
00:46:03.69\00:46:08.10
so that His
glory could be peeked.
00:46:08.13\00:46:12.47
Now follow this carefully.
00:46:12.50\00:46:15.04
When Moses got a
glimpse of God's glory,
00:46:15.07\00:46:19.81
the glory of God was
transferred to Moses.
00:46:19.84\00:46:24.25
When we are given a glimpse
00:46:24.28\00:46:28.05
of God's glory
in our daily lives,
00:46:28.08\00:46:33.39
there's a
transformation that takes place,
00:46:33.42\00:46:35.89
not an abundant
insertion of information,
00:46:35.92\00:46:39.73
but a transforming
power that can only come
00:46:39.76\00:46:44.07
when we are in the
very presence of God.
00:46:44.10\00:46:48.57
And I would like
to suggest to you
00:46:48.60\00:46:49.97
that the presence
of God is revealed
00:46:50.01\00:46:52.74
in the written word of God,
00:46:52.77\00:46:55.71
a book that needs
to be in our presence
00:46:55.74\00:46:57.68
more than it really is.
00:46:57.71\00:47:01.15
The unattractive
nature of the bush
00:47:01.18\00:47:04.65
was a forecast of how God
00:47:04.69\00:47:06.19
will be revealed through Christ.
00:47:06.22\00:47:08.36
But look at verse 3, 4.
00:47:08.39\00:47:11.86
Because when Moses
began to investigate the bush,
00:47:11.89\00:47:15.13
the bush began to
investigate Moses.
00:47:15.16\00:47:18.77
"Then Moses said,
'I will now turn aside
00:47:18.80\00:47:20.64
and see this great site,
why the bush does not burn?'
00:47:20.67\00:47:26.24
So when the Lord saw
that he turned aside to look,
00:47:26.27\00:47:29.94
God called to him
from the midst of the bush
00:47:29.98\00:47:32.25
and said, 'Moses, Moses,'
and he said, 'Here I am.'"
00:47:32.28\00:47:35.88
When Moses began to
investigate the bush,
00:47:35.92\00:47:39.59
the bush began to
investigate Moses.
00:47:39.62\00:47:44.56
Now what does it have to
do with the character of God?
00:47:44.59\00:47:49.23
And as I close, I
don't see a clock.
00:47:49.26\00:47:51.50
Okay, great.
00:47:51.53\00:47:52.87
As I close, the
clock just appeared.
00:47:52.90\00:47:55.57
Thank you for the clock.
00:48:00.24\00:48:01.58
As I close, I
want you to absorb this
00:48:04.81\00:48:07.38
'cause I'm going to unpack it
00:48:07.42\00:48:08.78
in the next nine
minutes that I have.
00:48:08.82\00:48:13.92
It was from a
seemingly worthless bush
00:48:13.96\00:48:20.10
that Moses was reminded
00:48:20.13\00:48:22.63
that he was in the
presence of Almighty God,
00:48:22.66\00:48:27.34
and that brief
revelation did not inform Moses,
00:48:27.37\00:48:32.67
but it transformed Moses.
00:48:32.71\00:48:36.38
So I'll throw some
questions into the pot
00:48:36.41\00:48:40.72
that I'll pose in just a moment.
00:48:40.75\00:48:45.05
The experience of the
bush was anything but simple.
00:48:45.09\00:48:49.32
What happened to the bush?
00:48:49.36\00:48:51.26
It was anything, but homely.
00:48:51.29\00:48:54.16
And what was
reflected through the bush
00:48:54.20\00:48:55.76
was anything but common place.
00:48:55.80\00:48:58.50
Because that day
00:48:58.53\00:48:59.87
the most powerful
revelation of God's character
00:48:59.90\00:49:02.14
was revealed in the
message of the burning bush.
00:49:02.17\00:49:06.21
But the question I
pose to you tonight
00:49:06.24\00:49:07.78
because we are the
ones that are called
00:49:07.81\00:49:10.81
to reveal to the
world the character of God,
00:49:10.85\00:49:13.21
and the question is
how we're going to do that?
00:49:13.25\00:49:15.55
How could a God,
that is so profound,
00:49:15.58\00:49:17.85
choose a bush that is so common?
00:49:17.89\00:49:22.12
How could a God,
that is so abundant,
00:49:22.16\00:49:23.83
select the bush
that is so barren?
00:49:23.86\00:49:27.53
How could the
inadequate reflect the divine?
00:49:27.56\00:49:33.47
And how could the
homely reveal the heavenly?
00:49:33.50\00:49:37.31
I had to grapple
with those questions.
00:49:37.34\00:49:39.84
Before I post them to you,
00:49:39.87\00:49:41.21
I had to grapple
with them in my life.
00:49:41.24\00:49:42.58
And I came to discover
00:49:42.61\00:49:44.28
that the story of
your life and mine
00:49:44.31\00:49:47.02
is not what we know,
00:49:47.05\00:49:51.22
but it's who we know.
00:49:51.25\00:49:54.26
The power of the
ministry to which we are called
00:49:54.29\00:49:58.79
is not in our information,
00:49:58.83\00:50:02.06
but it is in our transformation.
00:50:02.10\00:50:05.63
And only as we are
transformed can we understand
00:50:05.67\00:50:09.54
that God uses the mundane
to reveal the miraculous.
00:50:09.57\00:50:14.74
God uses the common
to reveal His character.
00:50:14.78\00:50:18.95
God uses those things
that seemed to have no value
00:50:18.98\00:50:22.68
to expose and reveal to
the world infinite value.
00:50:22.72\00:50:26.59
Let me make my point, go
to 1 Corinthians 1:27-29.
00:50:26.62\00:50:31.13
Here it is, I
entered into evidence,
00:50:31.16\00:50:33.56
the words of the Apostle Paul.
00:50:33.60\00:50:35.76
Notice what he says,
1 Corinthians 1:27-29,
00:50:35.80\00:50:41.40
"But God has chosen the,"
what kind of things, friends?
00:50:47.98\00:50:52.15
"The foolish things of the world
00:50:52.18\00:50:55.35
to put to shame the wise."
00:50:55.38\00:50:57.62
When I read that, I
realized I do did not know
00:50:57.65\00:51:00.89
that the Apostle Paul
said anything about me,
00:51:00.92\00:51:04.59
until I read that.
00:51:04.63\00:51:06.96
Because I grew up,
I was very foolish.
00:51:07.00\00:51:11.23
And, well, I want to
insert you into my story,
00:51:11.27\00:51:16.67
but I would like to suggest
you that we all at one time
00:51:16.71\00:51:18.97
or another did foolish things.
00:51:19.01\00:51:20.34
Come on, say, amen.
00:51:20.38\00:51:22.54
"But God in His mercy chose
the foolish things of the world
00:51:22.58\00:51:26.28
to put to shame the
wise," the burning bush,
00:51:26.31\00:51:29.82
"and God has chosen the
weak things of the world
00:51:29.85\00:51:32.45
to put to shame the
things which are mighty,"
00:51:32.49\00:51:34.56
the burning bush,
00:51:34.59\00:51:36.42
"and the base
things of the world,
00:51:36.46\00:51:40.06
and the things
which are despised,
00:51:40.10\00:51:42.23
God has chosen.
00:51:42.26\00:51:43.77
And the things which
are not to bring to nothing,
00:51:43.80\00:51:47.24
the things that are,
00:51:47.27\00:51:49.80
and that no flesh
should glory in His presence."
00:51:49.84\00:51:53.51
You see the glory of God,
00:51:53.54\00:51:55.81
the character
of God was revealed
00:51:55.84\00:51:59.51
through the burning bush.
00:51:59.55\00:52:02.35
After 31 years of marriage,
after 31 years of ministry,
00:52:02.38\00:52:07.79
and 35 years of marriage,
00:52:07.82\00:52:10.46
I'm coming to
discover that when God found
00:52:10.49\00:52:14.20
my wife and I in New
York City as young teenagers,
00:52:14.23\00:52:20.14
that He was choosing
00:52:20.17\00:52:21.50
the foolish things of the world,
00:52:21.54\00:52:23.54
the weak things of the world,
00:52:23.57\00:52:26.94
the base things of the world,
00:52:26.98\00:52:28.74
the things which are despised,
00:52:32.45\00:52:33.92
so that I would never use
00:52:38.75\00:52:44.46
His gifts
00:52:44.49\00:52:47.70
to rob Him of His glory.
00:52:47.73\00:52:52.33
And so when we travel and
come to places like Australia,
00:52:52.37\00:52:56.81
and wherever else God sends us,
00:52:56.84\00:53:00.41
we sometimes come
with the humble recognition
00:53:00.44\00:53:02.51
that there's something about
us that must make us special.
00:53:02.54\00:53:07.08
I want to tell you tonight...
00:53:07.12\00:53:08.45
I'm simply a burning bush.
00:53:12.09\00:53:16.16
And only by God's grace,
have I not yet been consumed.
00:53:16.19\00:53:21.73
But there's a reason for that
00:53:21.76\00:53:23.90
because God has chosen this bush
00:53:23.93\00:53:27.64
not to burn for my glory,
00:53:27.67\00:53:31.01
but to burn for His glory.
00:53:31.04\00:53:36.04
When the Lord appeared to
Moses in that burning bush,
00:53:36.08\00:53:40.12
the bush was burning with fire,
00:53:40.15\00:53:42.92
but the bush was not consumed.
00:53:42.95\00:53:47.02
How will the Lord appear
00:53:47.06\00:53:48.82
to the world except
He lights a fire in us?
00:53:48.86\00:53:52.66
How will the character of
God be revealed to the world
00:53:52.69\00:53:57.43
except the character of God
will be revealed to the world
00:53:57.47\00:54:00.64
through us.
00:54:00.67\00:54:02.74
He's just saying amen,
don't pay any attention to him.
00:54:02.77\00:54:06.24
I wish I got
some amens from you.
00:54:06.27\00:54:07.88
How will they see
the character of God
00:54:12.31\00:54:16.28
except it is
reflected through us?
00:54:16.32\00:54:20.56
How will they
hear the salvation,
00:54:20.59\00:54:22.96
and the message of God,
except they hear it through us.
00:54:22.99\00:54:27.90
But our pitfall is to
think that we were chosen
00:54:27.93\00:54:31.17
because we were special.
00:54:31.20\00:54:33.77
But the reality is,
00:54:33.80\00:54:35.27
we became special
after we were chosen.
00:54:35.30\00:54:40.31
When Jesus found me,
I was a dried up bush,
00:54:40.34\00:54:43.35
no glory to speak
of, no fruit to brag of.
00:54:43.38\00:54:47.85
But only Jesus
can turn a barren bush
00:54:47.88\00:54:51.39
into a fruitful tree.
00:54:51.42\00:54:52.75
Come on, say amen.
00:54:52.79\00:54:54.92
In the ministry
we get caught up in
00:54:54.96\00:54:56.62
and try to be so many
things to so many people,
00:54:56.66\00:54:59.29
now I just want
to be a burning bush.
00:54:59.33\00:55:02.30
That's all I want
to be, a burning bush.
00:55:02.33\00:55:04.30
Come on, burning
bushes, say amen.
00:55:04.33\00:55:06.33
I don't want to be a bush.
00:55:06.37\00:55:07.84
I don't want to have
a whole lot of leaves,
00:55:07.87\00:55:09.40
I don't want to be pretty,
00:55:09.44\00:55:10.77
I just want to
be a burning bush.
00:55:10.81\00:55:12.34
I just want the glory of
God in somehow to be revealed
00:55:12.37\00:55:16.48
through this
mediocre mundane frame,
00:55:16.51\00:55:21.25
so that when my
name is forgotten,
00:55:21.28\00:55:24.42
the glory of God
and the character of God
00:55:24.45\00:55:27.09
will be remembered.
00:55:27.12\00:55:29.96
I spent so many years
trying to avoid the flame
00:55:29.99\00:55:32.23
until I read this
story about the burning bush.
00:55:32.26\00:55:37.50
I finally realized that
00:55:37.53\00:55:40.14
we are called to
embrace the fire,
00:55:40.17\00:55:42.94
so that the character of God
00:55:42.97\00:55:44.71
could burn away
anything that is not about Him,
00:55:44.74\00:55:48.58
so that the
world can finally see
00:55:48.61\00:55:50.58
the character
of God that is Him.
00:55:50.61\00:55:54.88
The fire refines us,
00:55:54.92\00:55:58.05
and consumes
whatever does not reflect
00:55:58.09\00:56:00.79
the character of God.
00:56:00.82\00:56:02.92
And, friends, I say in closing,
00:56:02.96\00:56:05.29
Jesus did not
come to burn us up,
00:56:05.33\00:56:08.86
He came to light us up.
00:56:08.90\00:56:11.93
He did not come to consume
us, He came to ignite us.
00:56:11.97\00:56:17.31
So why is the character
of God so vitally important?
00:56:17.34\00:56:20.34
If you spend all your
time receiving your information
00:56:20.38\00:56:22.81
from a digital device,
00:56:22.84\00:56:24.88
except you're
reading your Bible through it
00:56:24.91\00:56:27.48
or maybe reading the writings
of the servant of the Lord,
00:56:27.52\00:56:30.99
you'll never get the
ammunition you need to reflect
00:56:31.02\00:56:33.99
the most beautiful character
that is the glory of God.
00:56:34.02\00:56:37.39
The servant of the Lord
says in Christ's Object Lessons,
00:56:37.43\00:56:39.56
page 67, "Christ is
waiting and longing.
00:56:39.59\00:56:42.80
Christ is waiting
with a longing desire
00:56:42.83\00:56:45.07
for the manifestation
of Himself and His church.
00:56:45.10\00:56:48.97
And when the character of Christ
00:56:49.00\00:56:51.67
shall be perfectly
reproduced in His people,
00:56:51.71\00:56:54.98
then He will come to
claim them as His own.
00:56:55.01\00:56:58.85
If you want the character of God
00:56:58.88\00:57:00.42
to be revealed in your life,
00:57:00.45\00:57:02.25
pray for your life to become
00:57:02.28\00:57:03.99
nothing but a burning
bush to the glory of God.
00:57:04.02\00:57:08.79
Let us pray.
00:57:08.82\00:57:10.16
Father in heaven,
00:57:13.46\00:57:14.86
consume us
00:57:14.90\00:57:16.90
that the glory of God
may be seen through us.
00:57:16.93\00:57:20.07
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
00:57:20.10\00:57:23.20