Hi, I'm Wintley Phipps,
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and welcome to our program
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Perfecting Me,
Becoming More Like Jesus.
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I'm so glad you joined us.
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My guests today on our
program are Ruthie Jacobsen,
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Head of Prayer Ministry of
the North American division
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of Seventh-day Adventist,
Pastor Errol Stoddart,
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Senior Pastor of The
Church of the Oranges
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of Seventh-day
Adventist in Orange, New Jersey,
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and Mrs. Adly
Campos, Speaker and President
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of Family
Well-Being International.
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You'll hear from
them a little later.
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When I look back at my ministry,
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there have been three
or four major epiphanies
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that I will always cherish.
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To me an epiphany is a
personal supernatural revelation
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given by God that
illuminates your understanding
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in a profound way.
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They are God
anointed perspectives
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that have
enriched my Christian life
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more than words
could ever explain.
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The first epiphany I remember
is the day I first realized
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that God hears
and answers prayer.
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I was 16 years old
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when I experienced my
first answered prayer.
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In my prayer I said, "Lord,
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whatever You
want me to do I'll do.
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If you want me
to be a garbage man,
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I'm willing to
be a garbage man."
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And then I prayed,
"Lord, You know I like to travel
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and use my talents for You
and if that's Your will for me,
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open the doors,
let me see in some way.
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A day went by and two men came
to me on the campus and said,
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"Are you Wintley Phipps?"
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I said, "Yes."
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They said, "We've
been hearing about you
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and we want you
to travel with us
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and do singing evangelism."
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I was dumbfounded, it
was my first epiphany.
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God answers prayer.
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The second epiphany
concerns the presence of God,
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the understanding that
we've been blessed by God
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with the ability to feel
and sense the presence of God.
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The third epiphany
was the understanding
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that loving God is my
life's greatest romance.
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I'm in love with God,
God is in love with me,
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and loving God is
my greatest romance.
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Now when I bow my head and pray,
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I feel like a blind woman
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waiting on the
arrival of her lover.
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I can't see his face
but I can sense his presence
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and I can hear his voice.
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Well, the epiphany we're
gonna be talking about today
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is the
centrality and preeminence
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of Christ likeness
and the character of God.
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Nothing in Christianity
works without Christ likeness.
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Christianity is a
faith that will lose its way
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without the central
purpose of Christ likeness.
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We'll be right back.
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I feel blessed to be able to say
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I have been in only
one plane crash in my life
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and more blessed
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because I'm here
to tell about it.
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I was flying from
Seattle to Spokane
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on the small private plane
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and as we came over
the Cascade Mountains,
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it was dark and raining,
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suddenly we
crashed on the tarmac.
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You see the pilot had forgotten
to put the wheels down.
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Thankfully, we all survived.
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But this miracle is a
constant reminder to me
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that in many cases,
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we all really do want those
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who serve us to
strive for perfection.
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It may be a physician who
is caring for our diseases,
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or the mechanic who
is trying to make sure
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that our car is
in tip-top shape,
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or even the athlete we pay money
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to watch on game day,
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or the teacher, we count
on to educate our children.
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We want those who serve us,
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especially the
pilots who fly our planes
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to strive for
perfection at all times.
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We don't want
anything less from them
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than the pursuit
of perfection all day,
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everyday, and in
the case of pilots,
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every flight, every flight.
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Why? Because too
much is at stake.
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How is it then that
when it comes to serving God,
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we see the pursuit of
perfection as optional.
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We see the pursuit of
perfection as elective,
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something left entirely
up to our own discretion.
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We even believe,
we can cherry pick
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where and how and
when we want to put
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our best foot
forward to resemble,
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reflect and reveal
the character of God.
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We invite God to
come into our lives
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and then tell Him
what rooms are off limits.
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We tell Him what
habits and attitudes
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we are serious about addressing,
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and then we tell Him
which ones we expect Him
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to overlook.
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Too often, this has
crippled the advance
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and
effectiveness of God's kingdom
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and it has stained its witness.
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That is why we have
professed followers of Jesus,
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who fall anywhere it seems
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along the continuum of
dysfunctional human behavior
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from showing
contempt to strangers,
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to holding a Bible in one hand
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and the chains of
slaves in the other.
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If there's anyone who
knows that we are not perfect
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and cannot be
perfect on our own,
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it is God Himself.
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Why then would He say to
us, "Strive for perfection."
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Matthew 5:48, He says,
"Be ye therefore perfect,
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even as Your Father
which is in heaven is perfect."
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Now it is true,
none of us is perfect,
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yet God has
instructed us to pursue,
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to pursue perfection.
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And we've grown so used to
living with our imperfections
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that to us pursuing
God's standard of perfection
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seems like
reaching for the stars.
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You know, possible
but highly unlikely.
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Perhaps you've heard
the name Vince Lombardi,
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the coach of the
Green Bay Packers,
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who in a
remarkable run let his team
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to five NFL
championships during the 1960's.
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One day as he was
motivating his team,
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Lombardi said these words,
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"Gentlemen, we
will chase perfection
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and we will
chase it relentlessly,
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knowing all along,
we can never attain it."
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But along the way, he said,
"We shall catch excellence."
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To reassure, be
ye therefore perfect
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is more than a
motivational pep talk
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on the football field of life.
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It is fundamental
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to living lives of
blessing and victory.
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For as we strive
for perfection all day,
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everyday, we may not attain it,
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but we might just
hit Christian maturity
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along the way.
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To say you know
Jesus and love Him,
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means you have
committed yourself
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to the relentless
pursuit of resembling
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and reflecting His character
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all day, everyday, no excuses.
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You commit yourself
to this life journey
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not when you feel like it
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or when it is
convenient, but all day,
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everyday, no excuses.
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You commit to it not so
you can earn a ticket to heaven
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but so you can do your best
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to live up to
your highest calling
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and your supreme destiny,
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which is to be a reflection
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of His perfection.
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As the moon reflects
the light of the sun,
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each one of us was made
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to reflect the light of
God's perfect character.
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In our own way we must remember,
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it was Jesus Himself who
said, "Be ye therefore perfect."
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He would have
never said that to us,
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if He didn't want us to try,
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and if He didn't know that
in His power we could succeed.
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One writer said, they are those
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who have known the
pardoning love of Christ.
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And who really
desired to be children of God,
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yet they realize that
their character isn't perfect.
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Their life faulty and
they are ready to doubt
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whether their
hearts have been renewed
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by the Holy Spirit.
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To such I would say, do
not draw back in despair,
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we shall often have to bow down
and weep at the feet of Jesus
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because of our
shortcomings and mistakes.
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But we are not to be discouraged
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even if we are
overcome by the enemy.
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We are not cast of, we
are not rejected of God.
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Jesus is at the
right hand of God
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making intercession for us.
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At this point, when
the pot is quite thin,
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it's really easy to
make adjustments to the form,
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it's very responsive,
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just a slightest
touch, not a lot of force.
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I think about that
in terms of those of you
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who have just been
so in love with Jesus
00:10:06.60\00:10:09.34
for such a long time,
you trust Him so much.
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With just the slice nuance,
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the slightest
concept that He gives,
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puts into your hearts
and minds, and you're like,
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"You bet, I want
to do that, let's go.
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Let's go do it."
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We don't question
Him so much anymore.
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We're ready.
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You know, I think of, think of
Peter for example in the boat,
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in the storm,
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and he'd been
around Jesus long enough
00:10:37.03\00:10:40.57
that he was
ready to try new things
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if Jesus would say to do it.
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You see that's the
key, in being formed by God.
00:10:45.81\00:10:50.01
You need to
listen, you need to be open
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to what He's
doing and trust Him.
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Hear and obey, He's a great God.
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I'm gonna allow this pot
to stiffen up a little bit,
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get ready for the
next step of its life,
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very vital step.
00:11:15.87\00:11:20.11
When I'm finishing up
a pot that I have thrown
00:11:20.14\00:11:22.94
while it's still wet, I
will often choose to remove
00:11:22.98\00:11:27.68
by trimming a
portion of the clay
00:11:27.72\00:11:31.49
so that it's not heavy.
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At the end of making a pot,
when it's still somewhat soft,
00:11:35.26\00:11:39.13
I flip it over
upside down on the wheel
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and I trim away the excess clay
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that's there and
I refine the form
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in that process.
00:11:47.27\00:11:48.60
When you pick up a pot
of mine and you examine it,
00:11:56.48\00:11:59.55
you look at the bottom of it
and my name is written on it.
00:11:59.58\00:12:03.85
And that signifies the fact
00:12:03.89\00:12:05.85
that this pot was
not made in a factory,
00:12:05.89\00:12:08.52
was not made by machinery
00:12:08.56\00:12:10.16
but it was made by a person,
00:12:10.19\00:12:11.66
it's an individually
uniquely created thing.
00:12:11.69\00:12:16.77
In nature God has
created seasons of life,
00:12:16.80\00:12:21.27
there's spring, there's summer,
there's fall, there's winter.
00:12:21.30\00:12:24.94
In our own lives
00:12:24.97\00:12:26.31
and in the action
of making pottery,
00:12:26.34\00:12:29.04
there are also seasons,
00:12:29.08\00:12:30.58
there are times
of tremendous growth
00:12:30.61\00:12:32.65
and excitement.
00:12:32.68\00:12:34.02
There are times when everything
seems to be dormant and still,
00:12:34.05\00:12:38.55
almost like a
winter time in our lives.
00:12:38.59\00:12:41.39
There's a time when I make pot
00:12:41.42\00:12:43.32
in which I let it dry little bit
00:12:43.36\00:12:45.39
before I attach a
handle, before I decorate it,
00:12:45.43\00:12:48.43
before I alter
the shape a little bit
00:12:48.46\00:12:51.47
and that pot might feel
like, "He's forgotten me."
00:12:51.50\00:12:55.64
But I've not, I'm just
waiting for the perfect moment
00:12:55.67\00:12:59.37
and I'm watching for that time
and He does the same with us.
00:12:59.41\00:13:05.71
Well, this pitcher is
been shaped on the wheel
00:13:05.75\00:13:11.99
and it now has a handle,
00:13:12.02\00:13:16.19
from its
perspective it's a complete pot.
00:13:16.22\00:13:20.30
But reality is that
its story is not finished.
00:13:20.33\00:13:26.03
Even though it's a pitcher
and its form is complete,
00:13:26.07\00:13:31.24
if I were to
pour ice tea into it
00:13:31.27\00:13:33.81
or water and put flowers in,
00:13:33.84\00:13:36.81
in its raw state of clay,
it would totally disintegrate,
00:13:36.85\00:13:41.85
and so it has to go
through another stage,
00:13:41.88\00:13:45.69
actually several
stages yet to come
00:13:45.72\00:13:48.76
before the story of this
pitcher could be complete.
00:13:48.79\00:13:51.49
Joining us again are my
guests, Ruthie Jacobsen,
00:13:56.30\00:13:59.17
Adly Campos and
Pastor Errol Stoddart.
00:13:59.20\00:14:03.17
We were talking about
having epiphanies and,
00:14:03.20\00:14:06.71
you know, one came to
my mind, my wife said that
00:14:06.74\00:14:09.68
when we were recording,
00:14:09.71\00:14:12.21
we bumped into
each other on the campus
00:14:12.25\00:14:14.42
and she was looking down at
me and I was looking at her,
00:14:14.45\00:14:17.92
and she said the
Lord spoke to her
00:14:17.95\00:14:20.79
and said there he is,
he's gonna be your husband.
00:14:20.82\00:14:24.99
And she said she looked
down at my platform shoes
00:14:25.03\00:14:27.50
and then looked up with my bell,
00:14:27.53\00:14:29.53
my bellbottom pants
and said, "Okay, Lord.
00:14:29.56\00:14:32.80
Yeah, I suppose.
00:14:32.83\00:14:34.17
We've been together 41
years but it took an epiphany,
00:14:34.20\00:14:36.91
that's my point.
00:14:36.94\00:14:38.27
Amen.
00:14:38.31\00:14:39.64
But, Ruthie, you've had
an epiphanies in your life
00:14:39.67\00:14:42.58
where God spoke to you in
just incredible ways at just,
00:14:42.61\00:14:46.35
it was a majestic revelation
that is stuck with you.
00:14:46.38\00:14:50.69
Maybe you can
share one of those?
00:14:50.72\00:14:53.96
Well, one was an
experience in London,
00:14:53.99\00:14:55.92
we took over a 100
teenagers over there
00:14:55.96\00:14:58.09
in European Prayer Conference
at Glenbrook Park Academy,
00:14:58.13\00:15:01.43
and here we
thought we were going to be
00:15:01.46\00:15:04.20
a blessing to them,
00:15:04.23\00:15:05.57
and I think the
Lord used the kids
00:15:05.60\00:15:07.44
with Barry Peters over there.
00:15:07.47\00:15:09.27
But the most
exciting that happened,
00:15:09.30\00:15:11.54
the most
thrilling thing was that,
00:15:11.57\00:15:13.34
I think we had a
plan from the enemy,
00:15:13.38\00:15:15.98
we had a kid who
came with pornography
00:15:16.01\00:15:19.11
and all kinds of
things from the wrong side.
00:15:19.15\00:15:23.45
And he was disruptive,
00:15:23.49\00:15:25.89
so we talked to him and we said,
00:15:25.92\00:15:27.82
"No, we can send you home
00:15:27.86\00:15:29.96
or we can give
you another chance."
00:15:29.99\00:15:33.63
He said, "Don't send me home
and so the kids prayed over him
00:15:33.66\00:15:38.93
and we just saw a
miracle, we saw a miracle
00:15:38.97\00:15:43.07
and that it was the power of
salvation working right there,
00:15:43.10\00:15:47.31
he was baptized,
00:15:47.34\00:15:49.21
and so we had
thrilling things happened
00:15:49.24\00:15:51.61
with the kids that we took
00:15:51.65\00:15:53.52
than the kids that we
were working with over there
00:15:53.55\00:15:55.48
that we could see the
test of power of the gospel,
00:15:55.52\00:15:59.29
that's the power
of the blood of Jesus.
00:15:59.32\00:16:01.92
Amen. Amazing.
00:16:01.96\00:16:03.29
Pastor Stoddart,
tell us about an epiphany
00:16:03.32\00:16:05.66
that you would recall?
00:16:05.69\00:16:08.73
Well, every year for the
first 40 days of the year,
00:16:08.76\00:16:11.47
I invite my church to
fast and pray for 40 days,
00:16:11.50\00:16:14.60
first 40 days of the new year,
00:16:14.64\00:16:16.50
and this year around
in the week number four,
00:16:16.54\00:16:19.14
we were fasting and praying,
and in the first service,
00:16:19.17\00:16:21.54
I was on my knees in church
and just crying out to God,
00:16:21.58\00:16:24.65
and the Spirit of
the Lord just spoke to me
00:16:24.68\00:16:27.28
and almost is
if I heard God say,
00:16:27.32\00:16:30.49
"Pine Forge app,
the Pine Forge app."
00:16:30.52\00:16:33.82
And I got up of my knees
00:16:33.86\00:16:35.19
and I said to one of the elders,
00:16:35.22\00:16:36.56
remember Pine Forge.
00:16:36.59\00:16:38.09
And I never went to Pine
Forge, it was never my academy.
00:16:38.13\00:16:43.13
Pine Forge is an
academy in Pennsylvania,
00:16:43.16\00:16:45.07
beautiful place, the
campus where our conference,
00:16:45.10\00:16:48.77
our office is stationed.
00:16:48.80\00:16:51.04
And so I got up off my knees,
00:16:51.07\00:16:53.01
said to the elder men,
remember Pine Forge Academy.
00:16:53.04\00:16:56.58
And the Lord just
kept that thing on my mind.
00:16:56.61\00:17:00.22
I called the principal,
the vice principal, I said,
00:17:00.25\00:17:02.18
"The Lord told me to
tell you the Pine Forge app."
00:17:02.22\00:17:06.25
And I called them, we
worked on the Pine Forge app.
00:17:06.29\00:17:09.76
Now, Pine Forge
Academy has an app.
00:17:09.79\00:17:11.76
This is one of the most,
00:17:11.79\00:17:13.13
one of the most
enlightening moments
00:17:13.16\00:17:15.83
that God just
spoke this thing to me
00:17:15.86\00:17:18.10
about a way to help
Christian education,
00:17:18.13\00:17:20.80
to help our young people
to be able to go to school,
00:17:20.84\00:17:24.84
to be able to
afford Christian education.
00:17:24.87\00:17:27.11
So we launched the Pine
Forge app at camp meeting
00:17:27.14\00:17:30.21
and it's just
exciting to see people on board
00:17:30.25\00:17:33.01
downloading the Pine
Forge app, watching sermons,
00:17:33.05\00:17:35.25
listening to the young
people give their devotionals,
00:17:35.28\00:17:37.65
and giving to
Pine Forge Academy.
00:17:37.69\00:17:39.49
Praise God. How
about you, Sister Campos?
00:17:39.52\00:17:44.53
The one that I
just, I'm amazed that is
00:17:44.56\00:17:48.83
when I was
invited for the first time
00:17:48.86\00:17:51.20
to hold a week of prayer
in the state of New York.
00:17:51.23\00:17:54.64
I have never done that before,
00:17:54.67\00:17:56.91
so I was a little afraid
of accepting the invitation,
00:17:56.94\00:18:01.54
nevertheless, I accepted
the challenge in God's name.
00:18:01.58\00:18:06.21
The church had 20 members
00:18:06.25\00:18:08.82
and I was to speak
to the young people.
00:18:08.85\00:18:11.75
When I began
speaking to the young people,
00:18:11.79\00:18:14.62
I began preaching in English,
00:18:14.66\00:18:17.29
because I knew they
understood better the English
00:18:17.33\00:18:19.59
than the Spanish.
00:18:19.63\00:18:21.66
But then the
parents wanted to understand
00:18:21.70\00:18:23.63
what I was saying
to the young people
00:18:23.67\00:18:25.40
so I had to speak half English,
00:18:25.43\00:18:28.34
half Spanish back and forth
00:18:28.37\00:18:30.44
in order for
everyone to understand
00:18:30.47\00:18:33.01
what I was saying.
00:18:33.04\00:18:34.68
I began to visit the
young people in their homes.
00:18:34.71\00:18:38.21
And as I visited them,
00:18:38.25\00:18:39.58
I discovered that a lot
of them were not baptized.
00:18:39.61\00:18:42.05
They have never been
asked to be baptized,
00:18:42.08\00:18:44.55
so I invited each
and every one of them
00:18:44.59\00:18:47.49
to give their lives to the Lord.
00:18:47.52\00:18:49.56
At the end of
that week of prayer,
00:18:49.59\00:18:52.09
we had 20 baptisms
for the glory of God.
00:18:52.13\00:18:55.56
Amen.
00:18:55.60\00:18:56.93
It was then that I
understood that something has,
00:18:56.97\00:18:59.63
something for me
to do in His work.
00:18:59.67\00:19:02.54
Not just as a mother of four,
00:19:02.57\00:19:05.07
or a wife of the
pastor but now I,
00:19:05.11\00:19:07.64
it was my time to do
something for the Lord
00:19:07.68\00:19:10.31
and He has done amazing things.
00:19:10.35\00:19:13.75
When I never dreamt that I
could do anything like that,
00:19:13.78\00:19:18.69
He has used me and
for His all around glory,
00:19:18.72\00:19:21.79
I continue to minister.
00:19:21.82\00:19:23.49
You know there is a
scripture that says that,
00:19:23.53\00:19:25.46
"By one offering,
00:19:25.49\00:19:27.76
He has perfected those
that are being sanctified."
00:19:27.80\00:19:33.30
Which is one of the
greatest epiphanies of my life,
00:19:33.34\00:19:37.87
that God sees us as perfected,
00:19:37.91\00:19:42.44
while we're being sanctified.
00:19:42.48\00:19:45.35
God sees us as perfect
while He is perfecting us.
00:19:45.38\00:19:51.65
Now, I wanted to ask
you, Pastor Stoddart.
00:19:51.69\00:19:54.26
If we are perfect and
God sees us as perfect,
00:19:54.29\00:19:58.89
while we're being sanctified,
00:19:58.93\00:20:02.43
is it possible that
He sees us as perfect,
00:20:02.46\00:20:07.80
even though we may stumble,
00:20:07.84\00:20:09.67
even though we
may make mistakes?
00:20:09.70\00:20:12.41
Oh, absolutely,
absolutely and I love the fact,
00:20:12.44\00:20:16.21
you know, one of the epiphanies
that I had many years ago
00:20:16.24\00:20:20.98
was coming in
contact with the word,
00:20:21.02\00:20:24.09
the original word or perfection.
00:20:24.12\00:20:27.42
One of the words
uses the word tamim.
00:20:27.46\00:20:29.82
And it means to walk with God.
00:20:29.86\00:20:33.33
And really, it is
in the walking with God
00:20:33.36\00:20:37.13
that perfection happened.
00:20:37.17\00:20:38.83
Yes.
00:20:38.87\00:20:40.20
Most of the times we have been
afraid of the word perfection
00:20:40.24\00:20:42.47
because we are thinking
absolute behavioral conformity
00:20:42.50\00:20:47.88
with no possibility for failure.
00:20:47.91\00:20:49.91
Yes.
00:20:49.94\00:20:51.28
But it is about the
walk, that daily walk.
00:20:51.31\00:20:56.12
As the Apostle Paul
says, "Walk in the spirit
00:20:56.15\00:20:59.29
and you shall not
fulfill the lust of the flesh."
00:20:59.32\00:21:02.52
And the idea is, that
if I'm walking with God,
00:21:02.56\00:21:06.43
He's constantly grooming me
00:21:06.46\00:21:08.80
and moving me on this continuum,
00:21:08.83\00:21:11.83
the Lord's
reflecting His character.
00:21:11.87\00:21:13.57
Yes, I want to share a thought
and then have you react to it.
00:21:13.60\00:21:19.24
You know, when we get to heaven,
00:21:19.27\00:21:21.88
we will still be
growing in character.
00:21:21.91\00:21:26.05
Absolutely.
00:21:26.08\00:21:27.42
So even, I mean even
when we get to heaven,
00:21:27.45\00:21:32.32
we're still not as
perfect as we're going to be.
00:21:32.35\00:21:39.13
And react to that, tell
me what comes to your mind
00:21:39.16\00:21:42.86
when you hear that,
that when we get to heaven,
00:21:42.90\00:21:45.43
we're still going to be growing,
00:21:45.47\00:21:47.24
we're still gonna be learning
00:21:47.27\00:21:49.10
more about the character of God.
00:21:49.14\00:21:51.27
As a matter of fact,
00:21:51.31\00:21:52.67
the sermon of
the Lord says that,
00:21:52.71\00:21:55.24
the principles
00:21:55.28\00:22:00.08
of the character of God
00:22:00.12\00:22:03.22
form the foundation of
the continuing education
00:22:03.25\00:22:09.22
of the angels in heaven.
00:22:09.26\00:22:11.99
So even the angels in
heaven are still learning more
00:22:12.03\00:22:17.07
and more throughout eternity
about the character of God.
00:22:17.10\00:22:21.60
And so I say, what is
so deep, what is so vast,
00:22:21.64\00:22:26.84
that you can spend
eternities studying it
00:22:26.88\00:22:30.01
and still not exhaust it.
00:22:30.05\00:22:32.51
So the perfection that God,
00:22:32.55\00:22:35.38
when God made us
in His character,
00:22:35.42\00:22:37.52
He also made us
to continue to grow,
00:22:37.55\00:22:40.26
just like plants grow,
00:22:40.29\00:22:41.62
just growth is a
part of their process.
00:22:41.66\00:22:44.13
Sister Campos, as I see
00:22:44.16\00:22:45.49
and maybe the Lord
has put in your heart
00:22:45.53\00:22:46.86
something you
can share about that?
00:22:46.90\00:22:50.50
Well, it is amazing, amazing
00:22:50.53\00:22:53.97
to be able to study
the character of God.
00:22:54.00\00:22:56.97
We have only but just a
little tinsy bit of the light
00:22:57.01\00:23:01.88
about God's character.
00:23:01.91\00:23:04.28
So yes, I can understand that,
00:23:04.31\00:23:06.68
it will take all eternity
to be able to understand
00:23:06.72\00:23:11.82
totally, completely.
00:23:11.85\00:23:13.82
He's beautiful, the perfection,
00:23:13.86\00:23:16.66
the sacredness of His character.
00:23:16.69\00:23:20.13
How would, Ruthie, what
do you think about that?
00:23:20.16\00:23:23.63
Well, I agree with that.
00:23:23.67\00:23:27.24
And, you know,
00:23:27.27\00:23:28.60
it says something
about God's love for us,
00:23:28.64\00:23:31.87
that He wants us to grow,
00:23:31.91\00:23:33.44
He wants us to become
more and more fulfilled,
00:23:33.48\00:23:37.45
more and more able to
minister and to be used and I...
00:23:37.48\00:23:43.92
It's overwhelming thought
and I think we're gonna take,
00:23:43.95\00:23:47.82
it's gonna take eternity
for us to try to thank Him...
00:23:47.86\00:23:51.63
Yes, absolutely.
For being that kind of.
00:23:51.66\00:23:55.00
You know, I...
00:23:55.03\00:23:56.36
People often ask, you know,
00:23:56.40\00:23:58.50
"How do I know God's character?"
00:23:58.53\00:24:02.00
And I often tell
them, study the word,
00:24:02.04\00:24:06.07
and by the way this is
another epiphany for me.
00:24:06.11\00:24:09.34
This is a key God gave
me that just blew my mind.
00:24:09.38\00:24:13.05
God said, "Go back
and study the word."
00:24:13.08\00:24:16.35
And whatever God
asked you to be in His word,
00:24:16.38\00:24:21.79
He already is.
00:24:21.82\00:24:24.46
Whatever He asked you to
be in His word, He already is.
00:24:24.49\00:24:29.63
And He is so in perfection.
00:24:29.66\00:24:33.70
Absolutely.
00:24:33.74\00:24:35.07
So, you know,
just think of that.
00:24:35.10\00:24:36.44
Go ahead, go ahead, Pastor.
00:24:36.47\00:24:37.97
You know, the thing
that jumped out at me
00:24:38.01\00:24:40.71
as you were talking
about it when He is at.
00:24:40.74\00:24:43.24
As a pastor, I'm doing a
series on 1 Corinthians 13,
00:24:43.28\00:24:47.42
the love chapter and you know,
00:24:47.45\00:24:49.68
you talk about
love suffers long,
00:24:49.72\00:24:51.92
it's kind, doesn't envy
and you go down the lift,
00:24:51.95\00:24:54.69
you go, you look at Galatians,
00:24:54.72\00:24:56.56
Paul talks about
fruit of the spirit,
00:24:56.59\00:24:59.06
and you look at all of that.
00:24:59.09\00:25:00.43
And each one of those
individual subject matters
00:25:00.46\00:25:04.53
is a sermon.
00:25:04.57\00:25:05.90
Kindness is a
sermon. Yes, right.
00:25:05.93\00:25:07.40
So imagine, if we are saying
the character of God is loving,
00:25:07.44\00:25:12.27
kind, generous,
merciful, good, great,
00:25:12.31\00:25:16.81
you talk about a subject matter
00:25:16.85\00:25:19.28
that you can study into infinity
00:25:19.31\00:25:22.32
and still not complete it.
00:25:22.35\00:25:23.69
Yes.
00:25:23.72\00:25:25.05
Because even when I
finish writing a sermon
00:25:25.09\00:25:26.76
and I look at it and
I listen to it, if I do,
00:25:26.79\00:25:29.29
I see how many things
I missed in the sermon.
00:25:29.32\00:25:32.06
Yes.
00:25:32.09\00:25:33.43
How many things I didn't
cover in that subject matter.
00:25:33.46\00:25:36.56
And so, you know, many authors
have written on these subjects
00:25:36.60\00:25:40.77
and they still
have not exhausted it
00:25:40.80\00:25:43.24
and so it is with God.
00:25:43.27\00:25:45.01
We will have
eternity and still not exhaust
00:25:45.04\00:25:47.31
the study of His character.
00:25:47.34\00:25:48.68
Absolutely, and we'll
have eternity to grow more,
00:25:48.71\00:25:52.11
to become more like
the character of God.
00:25:52.15\00:25:54.25
Thank you so much
for being with me today.
00:25:54.28\00:25:56.05
Many years ago, in the 1950s,
00:26:00.62\00:26:03.12
a pastor was
traveling on a Greyhound bus.
00:26:03.16\00:26:05.93
He was seated next
to a college student,
00:26:05.96\00:26:08.06
who noticed when the
pastor pulled out his Bible
00:26:08.10\00:26:10.63
and began to read.
00:26:10.67\00:26:12.53
When they came to a
rough stretch in the road,
00:26:12.57\00:26:15.34
the ride became
really rough and bumpy.
00:26:15.37\00:26:18.14
As the bus started
to jostle them around,
00:26:18.17\00:26:20.01
the pastor asked the young man,
00:26:20.04\00:26:21.81
"Are you ready
for the temptations
00:26:21.84\00:26:23.65
you will face in college?"
00:26:23.68\00:26:25.45
The young man
said to the pastor,
00:26:25.48\00:26:27.48
"I don't have a
problem with temptation,
00:26:27.52\00:26:30.02
I've strong willpower.
00:26:30.05\00:26:31.75
And the minister
quietly took a pencil
00:26:31.79\00:26:33.36
out of his pocket and said,
00:26:33.39\00:26:34.86
"Would you like to see
me make this pencil stand up
00:26:34.89\00:26:37.26
on the cover of this Bible,
00:26:37.29\00:26:39.03
even though our bus is
going down a very bumpy road?"
00:26:39.06\00:26:42.16
The young man said,
"I'll believe it when I see it,
00:26:42.20\00:26:45.10
I don't think you can do that."
00:26:45.13\00:26:46.90
"See there" said the
pastor, "I'm doing it."
00:26:46.94\00:26:49.84
The young man laughed and
said, "But you didn't tell me,
00:26:49.87\00:26:52.47
you would hold up the
pencil with your hand."
00:26:52.51\00:26:55.31
"I didn't have to tell you,"
00:26:55.34\00:26:56.68
the pastor said.
00:26:56.71\00:26:58.05
"Have you ever seen a
pencil stand up on its own
00:26:58.08\00:27:00.32
without someone holding it?"
00:27:00.35\00:27:02.35
The pastor then
let go of the pencil,
00:27:02.38\00:27:04.05
it shuttered and fell over.
00:27:04.09\00:27:06.35
"The only reason you stand"
00:27:06.39\00:27:08.12
the pastor said
to the young man,
00:27:08.16\00:27:10.23
"is because God is
holding you up with His hand.
00:27:10.26\00:27:13.80
If God were to remove
His hand of protecting grace,
00:27:13.83\00:27:17.80
you like all of us would
immediately fall into sin."
00:27:17.83\00:27:22.10
And so whatever perfection
00:27:22.14\00:27:24.27
we attain along the
way belongs to Jesus.
00:27:24.31\00:27:28.54
While God Himself
uses that word liberally,
00:27:28.58\00:27:31.91
with great hope and optimism,
00:27:31.95\00:27:33.98
many today have begun
to see it as offensive.
00:27:34.02\00:27:37.92
God has made
Himself crystal clear.
00:27:37.95\00:27:41.56
He wants His people
to strive for perfection.
00:27:41.59\00:27:48.26
I'm Wintley Phipps.
00:27:48.30\00:27:50.13
Thank you for
being with us today
00:27:50.17\00:27:52.37
and, remember,
00:27:52.40\00:27:53.84
to be a Christian
means to be Christ like.
00:27:53.87\00:27:58.54