Participants: David Shin
Series Code: POFCM
Program Code: POFCM000008
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00:39 Live from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:42 Welcome to the Pillars Of Our Faith event. 01:05 You just stand when all your courage seems to fade. 01:15 Stand when it seems that evil will prevail. 01:23 Stand for He shows us in detail that His love will never fail 01:33 and He'll stand with us. 01:35 You just stand when you've said all that you can say. 01:45 Stand and trust the Lord to make a way. 01:53 Stand and live your life from day to day, 01:59 trust God to make a way and then walk through it. 02:06 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, 02:10 He's given us love and power, 02:15 the courage to resist the tempter's snare. 02:21 Be ye not weary in doing well for only time will tell. 02:30 The work He's begun in you will help to see you through. 02:37 You know His word is true 02:40 and everything He promised, He will do. 02:44 So having done all to stand, stand. 02:54 You just stand when you feel no one's on your side. 03:04 Stand, defy the urge to run and hide. 03:11 Stand, though gloom and darkness override, 03:18 trust God to turn the tide and pull you through it. 03:23 He'll do it in the name of Jesus. 03:26 Stand for He is always there for you. 03:33 Stand and He will lead you faithfully through. 03:41 Stand, and though you know not what to do, 03:48 know that He's looking out for you and He won't fail you. 03:54 For God hath no given us the spirit of fear, 03:59 He's given us love and power, 04:04 the courage to resist the tempter's snare. 04:10 Be ye not weary in doing well for only time will tell. 04:19 The work He's begun in you will help to see you through. 04:26 You know God's word is true 04:29 and everything He promised, He will do. 04:33 So having done all to stand, stand. 04:43 Plant your feet and stand. 04:52 Amen. 04:55 Amen, amen. Praise the Lord. 04:58 Pastor C.A. Murray bringing us a message; Stand. 05:03 And by God's grace, we can stand. 05:05 Amen? Amen. 05:08 Welcome to another hour of blessing from the Lord. 05:13 We are here on 3ABN camp meeting, Pillars Of Our Faith, 05:20 and it has been a wonderful blessing from the Lord. 05:25 How many have been here since the first day? 05:27 Would you raise your hand. 05:28 Praise the Lord, many of you. 05:30 Praise the Lord. 05:31 How many have been blessed since you came here? 05:34 Would you raise your hand. 05:35 Glory be to God. Amen, amen. 05:38 Well, we have more blessings coming. 05:41 We have Ladye Love Smith. 05:43 She will be singing, I Will Give You Rest. 05:46 That in itself is a message from the Lord. 05:50 And please listen to the words as she sings this 05:54 beautiful message. 05:56 Afterwards, we have the opportunity to hear 06:01 Pastor David Shin, Standards of Christian living. 06:05 I heard the message he preached last time 06:08 and I was truly blessed. 06:10 I saw God working through him to bring us closer to Jesus. 06:15 Amen? Amen. 06:17 He is currently the pastor of the East Lansing Church. 06:22 And he is here with us to bring us closer to God's grace, 06:30 bringing us that the standards of Christian living 06:33 still apply today. 06:36 And we need to hear what these are from God's word. 06:39 So I leave you at this moment with Ladye Love Smith. 06:43 And the next voice you hear after her will be that of 06:45 Pastor David Shin. 06:47 May God bless us as we listen to his words. 09:49 Amen. 09:52 Amen, amen. 09:54 Good morning, happy Sabbath. 09:56 Happy Sabbath. 09:57 It's so good to worship with you today on this beautiful Sabbath. 10:01 It's such a privilege. 10:02 I'd like to invite you to bow your heads with me as we pray. 10:08 Father in heaven, we thank You for this beautiful Sabbath day 10:13 which is a reminder to us of our Creator God, 10:17 of creation, redemption, and sanctification. 10:23 We count it a privilege to come together this morning as 10:26 we reaffirm the pillars of truth as found in Your holy Word. 10:32 And we pray, Father, as we open Your Word this morning, 10:35 as we delve into this topic, this very relevant topic for 10:40 God's people living in the final moments of earth's history, 10:43 that You would speak to our hearts and to our minds. 10:46 Hide me behind the cross, may Jesus be uplifted. 10:50 Many Christ's love be seen and magnified here today. 10:54 For we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen. 10:59 The topic of discussion this morning is 11:02 Standards of Christian Living. 11:06 They told me they wanted a young person to talk about this topic. 11:13 And I want to tell you that I did youth ministry for 11:16 a number of years before I got to the current 11:19 district where I'm at. 11:20 And it seems that any time you mention the word "standards" 11:25 to young people, and sometimes even to adults, 11:30 there's almost a universal visceral reaction. 11:35 Do you find that? 11:36 Any time you mention Christian standards, it's almost like 11:39 this angst of, "Oh, here we go. " 11:43 And among young people, there's this common sentiment of, 11:46 "Why do we need standards?" 11:49 What are standards? 11:50 And I'd like to, for a moments, kind of give a little bit of an 11:54 introduction before we get into the heart of our message here 11:58 today and define our terms. 12:00 What are standards? 12:02 What do we mean by Christian standards? 12:04 And there's two major categories that I believe that standards 12:09 can fall into. 12:11 One of them is how it affects our bodies. 12:16 What we put in our bodies; diet, substances. 12:20 What we put on our bodies... 12:25 Watch out. 12:28 ...dress and adornment. 12:30 And what we do with our bodies. 12:33 That's the first category. 12:35 The second category has to do with our minds. 12:39 Entertainment; what we read, what we watch, 12:44 and what we listen to. 12:48 Now, I'd like to invite you, to bring out a beautiful 12:52 illustration of how God deals with us, I want to invite you 12:56 to turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 8. 12:59 That is what we talk about when we talk about standards, 13:01 how it affects our bodies and our minds. 13:04 What we do with our bodies, what we put on our bodies, 13:06 what we put in our bodies. 13:08 And how it affects our mind, what we put into our minds. 13:11 John chapter 8. 13:13 And here we see a beautiful illustration of how 13:17 God deals with us and how God deals with this issue 13:22 of standards. 13:24 John chapter 8, I'll be reading from the New King James Version. 13:31 John chapter 8 and verse 2. 13:34 "Now early in the morning He came into the temple, 13:37 and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 13:42 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought to Him 13:45 a woman caught in adultery. 13:47 And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, 13:51 'Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, 13:54 in the very act. '" 13:56 I want you to imagine in your mind's eye. 13:57 This woman was caught in the very act of adultery. 14:00 And we're given a little bit of background in The Desire of Ages 14:03 that this was actually a trap. 14:04 It was a setup. 14:06 And this woman was dragged through the streets 14:09 by the religious leaders and thrown before Jesus. 14:13 And they say, "The law of Moses says that this woman 14:16 should be stoned. 14:17 What say ye?" 14:19 Now I want to ask you a question here this morning. 14:22 Were they right that this woman was caught in the act of sin? 14:29 They were right. 14:30 Were they wrong in the way that they handled it? 14:34 So, you can see that you can be very right 14:37 in standing up for something, but very wrong in the way 14:40 that you carry it out. 14:41 Is everyone following me here this morning? 14:43 The Bible tells us that, "They that worship Him 14:46 shall worship Him in Spirit and in truth. " 14:49 We need to have the truth, and we need to have the right spirit 14:52 in the same regard. 14:54 I can't tell you how many times as a young pastor 14:57 I've had different saints come to me and bring someone, 15:02 not literally but metaphorically, and say, 15:06 "Pastor, this person is doing such and such. " 15:09 And I say, "Have you talked to them? 15:11 Have you gone through the aspects of biblical Matthew 18?" 15:17 Now we look at this illustration and we see what Jesus 15:21 does in this story. 15:23 I'd like to go down to verse 8 for the sake of time. 15:26 "And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 15:27 And those that heard it, being convicted by their conscience, 15:31 went out one by one beginning with the oldest 15:33 even unto the last. 15:34 And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 15:38 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, 15:43 He said to her... " 15:44 Now the statement of Jesus illustrates the beauty 15:49 of how God treats the sinner and the standard. 15:54 Look at what Jesus says. 15:57 "Woman, where are your accusers?" 16:00 He said, "Has no one condemned you? 16:04 She said, 'No one, Lord. ' 16:05 And Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I condemn you. '" 16:10 And now listen to this part, "Go and sin no more. " 16:15 Jesus did not condemn the sinner. 16:18 He had mercy on the sinner, but He also upheld the standard. 16:23 Amen? Amen. 16:24 And this illustrates to us the beautiful illustration of 16:27 justice and mercy. 16:29 There's a pendulum that has been swinging even within our church. 16:32 On the one hand we say, we need to accept the sinner 16:35 and tear down the standard. 16:38 On the other hand, we have people that uphold the standard 16:42 and have no mercy on the sinner. 16:44 Are you following me? 16:45 So here you see an illustration of Jesus saying, 16:48 "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. " 16:53 Justice and mercy. 16:55 Jesus pardons the sinner while upholding the standard. 17:00 And that's the fine line that we want to walk here this morning 17:04 as we talk about Christian standards. 17:08 And I want, from the beginning as we talk about this topic, 17:13 be the first one to admit that there have been moments in time 17:19 that there have been abuse of standards. 17:24 I've heard illustrations or stories of visitors 17:28 that aren't members that come to the church 17:30 and perhaps they're not upholding a certain 17:33 standard of dress. 17:34 And a dear well meaning saint goes to them and corrects them 17:39 in the back of the lobby. 17:41 And you've heard stories like this before, and illustrations. 17:44 And I think that this is one of the reasons why people 17:47 have such a negative view of standards. 17:50 Because they perhaps personally or someone they know has 17:54 experienced an individual that has corrected them, 17:57 perhaps in not the best way. 18:01 But I'd like to point out here this morning that we can never 18:05 judge something by its abuse. 18:09 Just because something is abused does not mean 18:13 it's no longer valid. 18:15 Let me give you an illustration of this. 18:17 Water. 18:18 I believe that water is essential for life. 18:22 Most of our body, our brain, is mostly water. 18:25 We should drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day. 18:28 But water can be abused. 18:31 Did you know you can drink too much water? 18:34 I'm training for a marathon this year, by the grace of God. 18:37 The Chicago marathon. 18:38 And every year, it seems like you hear about someone 18:42 that has drank too much water. 18:45 And they flush out all their electrolytes and it 18:47 literally kills them. 18:49 I heard a story about one individual that entered 18:52 into a contest that said if you drink a certain amount of water 18:56 in a short period of time, you would get a Nintendo Wii. 18:59 And so this mother of a 3 year old drank so much water 19:02 that she died. 19:05 Water can be used for torture. 19:07 We've heard about it in the news and so forth. 19:10 So water can be abused. 19:12 Does that mean that we now say, "You know, I'm not going to 19:15 drink any more water anymore. 19:16 I'm just going to drink pop. " 19:18 No. Alright? 19:20 So the illustration and the point is simply this. 19:22 Just because something is abused, such in the case 19:25 of standards, does not mean that standards are no longer valid. 19:30 Another point I'd like to make is in Ephesians chapter 2 19:36 verse 8 through 10, and we know this. 19:38 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, 19:43 and this is not from yourselves; it is a gift of God, 19:48 not by works, so that no one can boast. " 19:52 Before we get into the heart of today's message, I'd like to 19:55 establish from the beginning that standards do not save us. 20:03 Amen? Alright? 20:05 I'm going to qualify this a little bit later, but I want to 20:08 establish from the beginning that standards do not save us. 20:11 Standards is not the means of salvation. 20:15 We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 20:19 I do not believe in righteousness by vegetarianism. 20:27 Now don't get me wrong, I'm a vegetarian. 20:29 I believe in our health message. 20:32 But when Christ comes in the clouds of glory, we're not 20:35 going to say, "Let me in, I'm a vegetarian. " 20:36 Do you understand me? 20:39 We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 20:45 Now, if the question is... This is the rub. 20:50 If standards do not save us if standards is not part of a 20:57 meritorious working out of our salvation that gives us 21:01 points with God to enter into the kingdom of heaven, 21:04 then why do we need standards? 21:09 What is the biblical reasoning for why we should have 21:13 certain guidelines for how we treat our bodies and our minds? 21:20 I'd like to illustrate for us, three different reasons 21:23 for standards from the word of God. 21:24 I believe there's more, but I'd like to establish these, 21:27 I believe, pivotal reasons for standards. 21:30 And I believe that a lot of young people have some 21:33 misunderstandings about this, and I hope by the grace of God 21:36 that at the end of this study will have a little bit more 21:39 clarity on this issue. 21:42 Reason number one has to do with the nature of humanity. 21:47 I'd like to invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 7. 21:51 Reason number one, the nature of humanity. 21:54 Why do we need standards if standards is not meritorious 21:58 for our salvation? 22:02 The nature of humanity. 22:05 Romans chapter 7 and verse 14. 22:08 Just to give you a little bit of a background, Romans is 22:12 a book that is illustrating the nature of the gospel 22:15 and he has just illustrated the beauty of justification. 22:19 That when we come to God and ask for forgiveness, instantly 22:23 we can stand before God as if we have never sinned. 22:27 That's beautiful. 22:29 After justification, he talks about baptism and he's about 22:32 to make the transition from justification to sanctification, 22:37 from the imputed to the imparted gospel. 22:41 And in between this transition of 22:44 justification to sanctification, 22:45 between what God did for us and what God does in us, 22:50 we have in Romans chapter 7 this almost autobiographical 22:56 experiential existential revelation of a struggle 23:01 that I believe Paul was going through at some point in 23:04 his Christian experience. 23:05 Romans chapter 7 verse 14. 23:09 And notice he speaks in first person. 23:12 "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, 23:17 sold under sin. 23:18 For what I am doing, I do not understand. 23:22 For what I will to do, that I do not practice; 23:27 but what I hate, that I do. " 23:30 This is like a tongue twister. 23:32 "If then I do what I will not do to, I agree with the law 23:37 that it is good. 23:38 Now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. " 23:44 He goes on. 23:45 "For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, 23:48 nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, 23:51 but how to perform what is good I do not find. 23:54 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; 23:57 but the evil that I will not to do, that I practice. 24:00 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, 24:04 but sin that dwells in me. " 24:07 What is Paul talking about? 24:09 It sounds like he almost has this psychological disorder. 24:14 The things that he wants to do, he doesn't do. 24:17 And the things that he hates, that he does. 24:21 Have you ever had that experience before? 24:23 You want to do something, you know that conscientiously 24:27 this is the thing that you should be doing, 24:29 but you do not do it. 24:30 And you have something else that you hate, 24:34 yet it has a chain on your life and you just can't stop. 24:38 This is what we call the battle between what we call our 24:42 carnal nature on one side and between our spiritual nature. 24:46 And what the Bible illustrates is that our flesh is at war 24:50 with the spirit, and the spirit is at war with the flesh. 24:54 They're at odds. 24:55 It seems like we almost have a split personality. 24:58 I'm not talking about a psychological disorder. 25:00 But there's this real conflict. 25:02 How many of you have ever experienced that? 25:03 You have this conflict between the flesh and the spirit, 25:07 between your spiritual nature and your carnal nature. 25:10 It's very, very real. 25:12 And if we don't experience it, we're either dead or not human. 25:15 It's a reality of human existence. 25:20 Now the question that arises for us at this point is, 25:25 how do we get the victory and what is the reality of what 25:30 happens at conversion? 25:32 Before we get into that, I want to read to you this statement. 25:34 It's from a book that's called, 25:36 Stop Me Because I Can't Stop Myself. 25:41 Have you ever experienced that before? 25:42 "I feel guilty because of what I'm doing but I can't stop. 25:48 When I get these urges, nothing seems to relieve them 25:52 except for... " and you fill in the blank. 25:54 "If I don't get out to this place when I have these urges, 25:58 maybe my wife asks me what I'm doing or some 26:01 emergency comes up, I feel incredibly anxious 26:05 and I get very irritable. 26:07 The way I treat my wife and family is horrible. 26:10 I leave them alone for hours, I lie to them, 26:12 I cancel family plans. 26:15 And it's all due to this. " 26:18 Perhaps you have a habit, an addiction in your life that 26:21 you just can't break. 26:22 It's enchained you. 26:26 You just can't get the victory over this aspect of your life, 26:29 whatever it may be. 26:31 The Bible points out to us that on one hand we have our 26:34 spiritual nature, on the other hand we have our carnal nature. 26:37 And what the Bible tells us is that our will, naturally, 26:40 when we come into this world, is enslaved to our carnal nature. 26:45 That's why we can't help ourselves. 26:47 We naturally have this bend and if left to our own devices 26:51 we will sin. 26:53 We're born into this world with a warped carnal nature. 26:57 And that's the reality of what happened because of Adam's sin. 27:02 The question is, what happens at conversion? 27:07 When I get on my knees every single day, from the first 27:11 moment a number of years ago when I said, 27:13 "Lord, take my will. " 27:14 What happens is that our will, which has been enslaved 27:17 by the flesh, by the carnal nature, becomes free. 27:22 Now, this is one of the classic misunderstandings as to what 27:26 happens after conversion. 27:28 I think some people naturally assume that after conversion 27:32 you no longer have to deal with the carnal nature. 27:36 I can't tell you how many people I've baptize and they 27:39 go down into that water. 27:40 And baptism is beautiful, it's a glorious experience. 27:42 I believe that heaven is very near. 27:44 And they get up the next morning and they're like, 27:46 "What's wrong? 27:47 I thought I would no longer have to deal with these 27:50 passions and these tendencies and these habits of my life. " 27:56 I want to give you an illustration of this 27:58 about the carnal nature. 28:01 I was working in south central Los Angeles as a Bible worker. 28:05 It was a marvelous experience. 28:06 We were going door to door on a regular basis. 28:10 No mail out, just door to door evangelism. 28:12 Twenty Bible workers. 28:15 And we pitched a tent on Florence and Figueroa. 28:18 It was marvelous because we saw thousands of people 28:22 come through that tent. 28:24 And I was in Watts picking up some interests in this van 28:29 and there were some young people on the street. 28:33 And they saw that I was sitting in this van, 28:36 and for whatever reason they started saying some things 28:39 about me that I will not repeat. 28:43 And I want to tell you that this was an ironic situation because 28:48 here I am doing evangelism for the Lord. 28:51 This is the epitome of what you would call 28:55 authenticity in Christianity. 28:57 You're doing evangelism, going door to door. 28:59 I'm out picking up these contacts. 29:00 And as these individuals are saying these things at me, 29:04 there was a volcano of negative emotions that started erupting 29:11 within my heart. 29:12 Can you relate to me? Anyone else human in this room? 29:15 Have you ever had an instance when someone has crossed you? 29:18 Perhaps you're going to work one morning and they 29:19 cut in front of you. 29:20 And you have this visceral reaction within your heart 29:23 and within soul. 29:24 Well that's what was happening. 29:25 There was this visceral reaction that was coming up 29:28 within my heart. 29:29 It was the flesh that was crying out. 29:31 Now the question is, why is that there? 29:35 I've given myself to the Lord, why is my 29:37 carnal nature still there? 29:40 If you go to Romans chapter 8, Paul illustrates to us the 29:44 nature of what it means to be a Christian and 29:47 walk this Christian walk. 29:48 And how it relates to this entity that we call the flesh 29:51 and this other entity that we call the Spirit. 29:55 In Romans chapter 8, "There is therefore now no condemnation 30:03 to those that are in Christ Jesus... " 30:06 Now notice this part, notice the nuances of verse 1. 30:10 "... who do not walk according to the flesh, 30:14 but according to the Spirit. " 30:16 Notice that Paul did not say that there is no longer the 30:20 flesh to deal with. 30:21 He says we have to make the choice. 30:24 In other words, at conversion we're freed from 30:26 bondage to the flesh. 30:27 But we still have these two entities; 30:29 the flesh and the spirit. 30:30 And every day as a Christian we have to make a decision, 30:34 a choice, to walk in the Spirit and not walk in the flesh. 30:40 Can you say amen? Amen. 30:42 It does not mean that the carnal nature is 30:44 no longer in existence. 30:46 It means that now we are freed by the grace of God to 30:49 make the decision, in His strength and His power, 30:52 to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. 30:57 And the beauty of it is that as we make it a habit 31:01 to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh, it becomes easier. 31:07 I can remember the first time I tried to drive a 31:09 stick shift car. 31:10 It was horrendous. Whiplash, stalling. 31:15 I remember I got to this one stop light, you've probably 31:18 experienced this, and it was on an incline. 31:19 It was a horror for a young stick shift driver. 31:23 And I'm sitting there, I'm sweating. 31:25 And suddenly, I go and stall and the light changes and 31:28 the people behind me are honking. 31:30 And so I just spun out on the next change. 31:33 But today, by the grace of God, I've made 31:36 stick shift driving a habit. 31:39 And I don't even think about it anymore. 31:41 And you just get in the car and drive. 31:45 You're not thinking first, second, third. 31:46 It has become a habit. 31:49 And it's the same way as a Christian. 31:50 When you come to Jesus and you make it a habit of 31:53 walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh 31:55 that the flesh becomes weaker. 31:57 And friends, we need make it a habit to starve the flesh. 32:02 Amen? Amen. 32:04 And feed the Spirit. 32:10 Paul says, "I die daily. " 32:14 We're told in Ministry Of Healing, page 452, 32:18 "The life of the apostle Paul was a constant 32:21 conflict with self. 32:23 His will and his desires every day conflicted with duty 32:28 and the will of God. 32:30 Likewise, for every converted reborn and justified Christian 32:37 the process of sanctification involves hard stern 32:42 battles with self. " 32:46 Then the question is, then where does standards come in? 32:52 Where does standards come in? 32:53 It's right here. 32:55 This is what I believe to be one of the classic 32:58 reasons for standards. 33:00 It's because after conversion, we still have to deal with 33:04 the carnal nature. 33:06 And so one reason for standards is that it forms a boundary, 33:11 a fence, a line, around our carnal nature 33:16 to keep us from falling. 33:19 Even though standards do not save us, 33:23 but they do keep us from being lost. 33:26 Amen? Amen. 33:27 And so as a Christian, because every single day we have to 33:30 make the decision between the carnal nature and the 33:32 spiritual nature, we put some boundaries around our flesh 33:36 to keep us from falling, to keep our flesh in check. 33:41 I want to tell you about a personal standard that I 33:43 made for my life. 33:45 I'm a television addict. 33:49 I just can't help myself when it comes to television. 33:53 I watch 3ABN on the internet. 33:55 Alright? 33:57 But this is the thing, I have chosen as a standard 34:02 not to have a television in my home. 34:04 That's a personal standard. 34:05 Are you following me? 34:07 Because I know that I can't help myself, 34:09 and so I put this boundary around it and I say 34:11 no television in the home. 34:13 I'm not saying that having a television 34:15 in your home is a sin. 34:16 Are you following me? 34:17 But I put this standard, this boundary, because 34:20 I know myself and once I put a television in the home 34:23 it's a slippery slope. 34:26 By the time I step on the top, I'm down at the bottom. 34:29 And so I put this standard around the flesh 34:33 and saying it's a boundary. 34:34 It's kind of like a cliff. 34:36 If you go over the cliff, that is the area of sin. 34:40 And so what a standard is, it's like a fence before the cliff 34:45 that tells you that you're in a boundary, a danger area. 34:48 It's a positive thing. 34:50 It's not to be a hammer to beat people up, 34:52 but standards should be presented as a boundary, 34:55 as a good thing that is there for our safety and benefit. 34:58 As we walk the Christian experience, it is there 35:01 to keep our flesh in check. 35:07 In the college that I attended, it was out in the country 35:12 and there were these hills that you got to the top of them 35:18 and you had to essentially get to the top before you could 35:22 see if another car was coming. 35:24 And in the country, there were not very many police to monitor 35:28 the situation so people would just fly over this hill 35:31 at incredible speed. 35:33 And there was this one instance when a school classmate of mine 35:37 was going over this hill and as fate would have it, 35:39 at the top she met another car that had crossed over 35:42 and it was a head on collision. 35:45 The child that was in the passenger seat was 35:47 thrown out of the car, died immediately. 35:51 The county came in just a few weeks later. 35:55 And you know what they did on that country road? 35:58 They put some doubled yellow lines. 36:00 There were no lines. 36:02 There were no boundaries. 36:05 And so all of us viewed those lines, not as a negative thing, 36:09 but as a positive entity that was there for our benefit. 36:14 And that is the same way with standards. 36:20 Standards do not save us but they keep us from being lost. 36:26 G.K. Chesterton said this, "Don't ever take a fence down 36:31 until you know the reason it was put up. " 36:35 I like that. 36:36 "Don't ever take a fence down until you know 36:39 the reason it was put up. " 36:40 And I can't tell you how many people go through this 36:42 methodology of deconstruction. 36:44 They say, "We don't need these fences. 36:47 We don't need these boundaries. " 36:48 And they start to take them down not knowing why 36:51 they were put up in the first place. 36:52 And what he's saying is stop before you take the fences down. 36:56 Ask why they were put there in the first place. 36:58 And one reason for standards is because of the reality 37:02 of the human nature, the reality of the flesh. 37:05 Even after conversion. 37:10 How does this apply to standards, 37:12 what we put in our body? 37:15 You know, there's certain substances, certain foods, 37:20 that feed our carnal nature 37:24 and that obliterate our spiritual nature. 37:29 God asks us to avoid those substances and foods. 37:33 As a child, there were certain foods my parents found out 37:37 very quickly, I'm very sensitive to food, that it would 37:41 radically change my behavior. 37:43 And so they started, they said, "Man, when we feed David this, 37:47 it affects him. 37:48 He becomes very hyperactive and unmanageable. " 37:50 And they changed my diet and immediately 37:53 my behavior started to change. 37:55 There's a relation between what we put into our bodies 37:58 and how it affects our carnal nature. 38:02 What we put on our bodies. 38:05 Because of the reality of our carnal nature, there are 38:07 certain things that we put on our bodies that appeals 38:10 to our carnal nature and also appeals to the carnal nature 38:13 of other individuals. 38:15 Everyone following me along these lines? 38:17 And this is where the principle of modesty comes into play. 38:20 It's because of the reality of the carnal nature. 38:24 And when we put things on, or we do not put things on, 38:28 it affects... 38:32 it affects other individuals. 38:43 Have mercy. 38:52 When we talk about this issue of modesty and adornment, 38:59 in Genesis chapter 35 verses 1 and 2, the Bible says, 39:01 "And God said to Jacob, 'Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there 39:05 and make there an altar unto God that appeared unto thee 39:09 when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. ' 39:12 Then Jacob said unto his household and to all that 39:15 were with him, 'Put away the strange gods that are among you 39:17 and be clean and change your garments. '" 39:20 Here we have Jacob about to meet the Lord, and the Lord says, 39:23 "Take away the strange gods that are among you. " 39:28 You know, we're about to meet the Lord and it's time that we 39:31 get the strange gods from among us. 39:33 What strange gods is he talking about? 39:35 If you look in verse 3 and 4, "And let us arise and go to up 39:38 to Bethel and I'll make there an altar unto God 39:40 who answered me in the day of my distress and was with me 39:43 in the way in which I went. 39:44 And they gave unto Jacob," notice this, "all the strange 39:48 gods which were in their hand and the earrings 39:51 which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the 39:55 oak which was by Shecham. " 39:58 From a Biblical standpoint, one reason the Lord doesn't 40:01 want us to adorn ourselves with jewelry and adornment 40:03 is that it appeals to our carnal desire for the pride of life 40:07 and feeds our carnal nature. 40:12 There's nothing inherently wrong with gold or silver. 40:16 You know, it's going to be asphalt in heaven. 40:20 But He knows our carnal nature and when we put those things 40:23 on us, it's not helping us in our Christian walk. 40:26 Amen? 40:27 It's feeding our flesh and not feeding our spirit. 40:31 What we do with our bodies. 40:33 This has to do with activities that appeal to our 40:35 carnal nature and sensuality. 40:39 Let's talk about the mind. 40:40 There's certain things that appeal to our carnal nature 40:42 when it comes to entertainment; what we read, what we watch, 40:46 and what we listen to. 40:47 We know what those are. 40:50 It's at this point that we need to say to the Lord, 40:53 when we talk about surrendering these things to Him, 40:55 putting these boundaries around our flesh. 40:59 This is found in Christ's Object Lessons and I pray that 41:01 this is a prayer of every heart here. 41:04 "Then the language of the soul will be, 'Lord, take my heart 41:08 for I cannot give it. ' 41:11 It is Thy property, keep it pure for I cannot keep it for Thee. 41:15 Save me in spite of myself, my weak unchristlike self. 41:20 Mold me, fashion me, raise me me into a pure and holy 41:25 atmosphere where the rich current of Thy love can 41:27 flow through my soul. '" 41:31 This should be the plea of every heart to say, 41:32 every morning when you get up you say, 41:35 "Lord, I surrender my life to You. 41:37 Help me by the grace of God to walk in the Spirit 41:40 and not in the flesh. 41:41 And help me to put up these fences, these boundaries, 41:44 these guidelines around my carnal nature that keeps me 41:47 from walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit. " 41:50 Is that your desire to do that today? 41:53 So the first reason for standards is the reality of 41:57 the carnal nature after conversion. 42:00 And we must endeavor as Christians to feed the Spirit 42:05 and starve the flesh. 42:09 The second reason is the nature of salvation. 42:16 First reason, the nature of humanity. 42:18 The second reason, the nature of salvation. 42:22 I'd like to read to you the statement from 42:23 the book Education. 42:24 "By infinite love and mercy, the plan of salvation 42:28 had been devised and a life of probation was granted. " 42:31 Notice this, "To restore in man the image of his Maker, 42:35 to bring him back to the perfection in which 42:38 he was created, to promote the development of body, 42:42 mind, and soul, that the divine purpose of his creation 42:45 might be realized; this was to be the work of redemption. 42:49 This is the object of education, the great object of life. " 42:54 Notice that the operative word within this 42:56 quotation is "restoration". 42:59 In other words, when we talk about salvation, 43:03 it is not just the forgiveness of sins from the past. 43:07 That's a part of it. 43:08 But what God does, what God's end goal is, His talent 43:13 is to bring us back to Adam's state before the fall. 43:18 That's His intention. 43:20 Justification is a part of the process. 43:23 And I believe in the Protestant mantra 43:25 of righteousness by faith. 43:27 How He covers us for the sins of the past. 43:30 But you'll notice when you look at the sanctuary, 43:33 it is a process to get to the place of the Shekinah glory. 43:38 That is the goal. 43:39 When Adam stood in Edenic perfection, he could stand 43:42 before God in communion face to face. 43:46 But because of sin, we have been cut out, 43:49 outside of the sanctuary. 43:51 And what God wants us to do, He wants to bring us into the 43:54 courtyard experience of justification. 43:57 He doesn't want to leave us there. 43:59 He brings us into the holy place of sanctification, 44:03 and finally glorification. 44:05 Salvation is a process. 44:09 It's a walk. 44:10 It's an endeavor in which God wants to restore us. 44:14 That is the operative word that we want to talk about when we 44:17 talk about the nature of salvation. 44:21 Now we have these three entities. 44:23 Justification, the beautiful endeavors of justification. 44:29 That means that I can come to the Lord just the way that I am. 44:32 And I kneel down and I say, "Lord, please forgive 44:34 me of my sins. 44:35 I want to be restored into reinstatement before You. " 44:38 Then I can stand before God in that instant just as if 44:42 I had never sinned. 44:43 And when God looks at me He doesn't see David Shin. 44:47 He sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 44:52 How fast is justification? 44:56 Justification, when you ask for forgiveness, 44:59 I praise the Lord, instantaneous. 45:02 You're reinstated. 45:05 The next process is sanctification and it has 45:08 to do with character development. 45:12 How long does sanctification take? 45:16 A lifetime. 45:17 Now that is very interesting. 45:19 Justification is instantaneous. 45:22 You can stand before God as if you have never sinned 45:24 and you are considered saved. 45:26 But sanctification has to do with character development 45:29 and it takes a lifetime. 45:32 God brings trials, circumstances, into our lives 45:36 to perfect our Christian character. 45:40 Now this is an interesting point when we talk about 45:44 glorification and we're given immortal bodies. 45:47 So we have justification, instantaneous. 45:49 Sanctification, a lifetime. Character development. 45:52 And glorification, which happens when Jesus comes 45:56 and we're given new bodies. 45:58 Praise the Lord. Amen? Amen. 46:00 I won't be 5 foot 6 anymore. 46:04 I'll be tall, by the grace of God. 46:06 We'll be given new bodies, new minds. 46:09 No more chiropractors, no more health care. 46:12 Praise the Lord. 46:13 No more back aches. 46:15 We'll be given immortal minds and immortal bodies 46:18 and our sinful nature will be taken away 46:21 at the second coming of Jesus Christ. 46:24 That's glorification. 46:27 Now when we talk about sanctification, we say that 46:31 it takes a lifetime. 46:32 And in Proverbs chapter 4 verse 18 it says, 46:35 "But the path of the just is as a shining light that shineth 46:38 more and more unto the perfect day. " 46:41 Notice that this metaphor is used of the sun, 46:44 talking about this process of sanctification. 46:47 And notice that when the sun comes up, 46:50 it is a gradual process. 46:53 It gets more and more perfect until the perfect day. 46:57 Imagine if you'd been a room of darkness for 5 years and 47:00 someone comes suddenly and shines a 5000 watt 47:03 spotlight on you. 47:05 It would be unbearable. 47:06 And so what God does is He shines a little light 47:10 on your path and says, "Walk in it. " 47:13 And as you take that step, He shines a little bit more light 47:16 and then you walk in that as well. 47:18 And it's a walk of Christian experience. 47:20 God only shows you as much light as you can walk in. 47:24 But it's a walk, it's a journey. 47:26 And what God does is He takes you from the depths of sin 47:30 and brings you step by step to the ideal. 47:34 Did you hear that? 47:36 God take you from the depths of sin and moment by moment 47:39 as you walk the Christian walk, He brings you 47:42 to the ideal. 47:45 Now this is the beauty of it. 47:49 Christ's Object Lessons, again, page 65. 47:53 "At every stage of development," talking about the Christian life 47:57 and Christian experience, "our life may be perfect; 48:02 yet if God's purpose for us is fulfilled, there will be 48:05 continual advancement. 48:07 Sanctification is the work of a lifetime. " 48:10 Now I want you to notice this. 48:11 At every stage of this walk, as long as God is showing me 48:15 the light and I'm walking in the light, God says you are 48:18 perfect at every stage. 48:20 Can you say amen? Amen. 48:21 In other words, our idea of perfection is dynamic. 48:24 It's not static. 48:25 In other words, as long as you're always doing what God 48:28 entitles you to do and walking in the light, 48:30 you are considered perfect. 48:32 You are considered justified and sanctified. 48:36 And by the grace of God, some day you will be sanctified. 48:40 And this brings us to our element. 48:43 Standards shows us God's ideals and where He desires to take us. 48:51 So you have on one entity; you have sin, 48:54 you have what is permitted, and you have the ideal. 48:59 And God wants to bring you from sin to the ideal. 49:03 And it's a walk of Christian experience. 49:06 Now let me illustrate this. 49:09 You have sin, just to use the illustration of diet. 49:12 There are certain things that are not permitted in the Bible. 49:14 Alright? 49:15 Leviticus chapter 11, no camel sandwiches, ok? 49:19 So you have certain things that are not permitted in the Bible. 49:23 Then you have those things that are permitted. 49:26 There are certain flesh foods that are considered clean. 49:30 Then God has the ideal. 49:33 You know, in heaven there won't be any steak. 49:36 Alright? 49:38 So God wants to bring us to the ideal. 49:41 Now, the permitted area is not sin. 49:45 But it's not the ideal. 49:47 It's not forbidden, but God is bring us in our walk. 49:49 And as long as you keep walking in the light, in your 49:53 Christian experience where you are in your growth 49:55 of sanctification, you are considered perfect in His eyes. 49:59 The key is, just keep walking. 50:04 Just keep walking. 50:06 Whatever God shows you in your Christian experience, 50:08 no matter how small it may be, walk in it. 50:12 Live it. Believe it. 50:15 Don't worry about what so and so is going through, 50:18 what so and so is doing. 50:19 Remember Peter said, "What about John?" 50:21 Jesus said, "Don't worry about him, just focus on you. " 50:25 So whatever light God has shown you, walk in it. 50:29 Live it. 50:32 John chapter 12 verse 35 says, "Walk while ye have the light, 50:36 lest darkness come upon you. " 50:41 Reason number one, the reality of human nature. 50:45 Reason number two, the nature of salvation. 50:49 It's a process. 50:50 And standards shows us God's ideal and where He 50:54 desires to take us. 50:56 And reason number three is the nature of our 51:01 relationship to God. 51:03 The Bible says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. " 51:09 We have this concept in the Bible of loving the truth. 51:14 You know, we don't think of loving truth. 51:18 We think of understanding truth. 51:19 But the Bible gives this interesting word, 51:22 a relational word, when it comes to truth. 51:25 In 1 John chapter 3 verse 22, the Bibles says, 51:29 "And we receive from Him anything we ask because 51:31 we obey His commandments," and it doesn't end there. 51:34 And it says, "and we do what pleases Him. " 51:38 That is a relational word. 51:40 In other words, we don't only do what He commands 51:43 but we also do what pleases Him. 51:45 This is the other angle on Christian standards. 51:50 Now I've heard this statement before thrown around 51:53 and I will agree that there's certain things that 51:56 aren't salvational issues. 51:58 But I'm talking more about the attitude. 52:01 Have you ever heard someone say, 52:02 "You know, that's not a salvational issue. " 52:05 What if, husbands, your wife was about to leave the home 52:11 and she says, "Honey, before I leave the home, 52:14 can you give me a kiss?" 52:17 And you say to her, "Um, are you going to divorce me if I don't?" 52:25 And she says, "No, of course I won't divorce you 52:30 but I'd really like a kiss before I go on my day. 52:33 It would really make me happy today. " 52:35 "Well, I don't want to. 52:36 If you're not going to divorce me because I don't, 52:38 I don't want to. " 52:40 Imagine if your wife comes to you and says, 52:41 "Honey, can you do the dishes? I'm kind of busy right now. " 52:43 "Well, are you going to divorce me if I don't?" 52:47 You know, that would be a horrendous situation 52:50 and a horrendous marriage. 52:51 You know, I've been married two years and you know 52:54 the little things matter. 52:56 And in a relationship with Jesus, that's the way 52:59 many people treat Him. 53:00 You say, "Am I going to be lost, are You going to keep me 53:02 out of the kingdom because I don't do this?" 53:05 The Bible uses this relational word, and when you 53:09 love the Lord, you desire to do what pleases Him. 53:13 It's not your desire to get as close to the edge as possible. 53:18 You want to be far away from that edge. 53:22 You want to do those things that pleases Him. 53:28 The little things matter. 53:32 I give Bible studies to individuals and it seems like 53:39 at every point in our Bible studies, we get to this point 53:42 of Christian lifestyle and standards. 53:45 And our discussion can get pretty dynamic and engaging 53:50 at certain points. 53:53 And I remember this one gentleman I was talking to 53:55 and we were talking about Christian standards 53:57 and we were going about this. 53:58 And it usually comes from the angle of what the church wants 54:02 or what the church prescribes. 54:04 And I say to him, "This is not the church. " 54:09 And to make this a little bit more real, I say, 54:12 "Brother or sister, if Jesus were sitting in this chair 54:16 right now and He asked you to do something, 54:22 would you do it?" 54:25 If He asked you not to eat certain foods, would you do it? 54:30 If He asked you to dress modestly, would you do it? 54:36 You know what the answer is 100% of the time? 54:39 Yes. Yes. 54:41 It puts it in perspective when suddenly they think of 54:44 Jesus sitting in that chair and Jesus says, 54:46 "Would you do this for Me?" 54:48 It crystallizes it. 54:50 It makes it from an angle of a relationship. 54:52 And the answer is always, "Yes, I will do it. " 54:58 And so we need to look at this from the angle of our 55:01 relationship with God. 55:02 When we're in a relationship with our husband and wife, 55:05 we don't do the minimum. 55:08 We do the maximum. 55:10 We do the above and beyond. 55:13 You know, there are certain things that your husband 55:15 or wife would not like you to do. 55:17 Not that it's wrong, but it bugs them. 55:20 And so you don't do it because you love them. 55:23 And what God is saying in our dynamic relationship with Him, 55:27 there are certain things that please Him. 55:30 He wants us to do these things. 55:37 Our standards have to do with what we put in our bodies. 55:42 The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 55:44 chapter 6 verse 20, "Do you not know that your body is the 55:49 temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received 55:54 from God, and you are not your own? 55:57 You were bought at a price. 55:59 Therefore honor God with your body. " 56:04 I've heard so many times, "You know, it's my body. " 56:06 When you accept the Lord Jesus Christ, He says, 56:09 "It's My body. It's My temple. 56:13 I want you to take care of it. 56:15 I want you to be careful what you put into your bodies 56:18 and into your minds. " 56:21 So this morning, we have gone through the three aspects 56:24 of Christian standards. 56:26 Number one, the reality of human nature. 56:30 God wants us to put some boundaries around our flesh. 56:34 Amen? 56:35 To keep our flesh in check because after conversion 56:37 we still have to deal with our carnal nature. 56:39 Number two is the nature of salvation. 56:42 That salvation is not only about justification, 56:45 it's about restoration. 56:47 God's intention is to bring us back to the image of God. 56:51 And number three is our relational angle, 56:54 it's the nature of our relationship with God. 56:58 I'd like to read to you this statement as we close. 57:01 "Then the language of the soul will be, 57:03 'Lord, take my heart for I cannot give it. 57:07 It is thy property, keep it pure for I cannot keep it for Thee. 57:11 Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. 57:16 Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, 57:22 where the rich current of Thy love 57:24 can flow through my soul. '" 57:27 Is that your desire here today? 57:29 I'd like to invite you to raise your hand if that's your desire, 57:32 to walk in the light as Jesus is in the light. 57:36 I'd like to invite you to bow your heads with me as we pray. |
Revised 2014-12-17