Participants: Pr. Brian McMahon
Series Code: RSH
Program Code: RSH000021
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00:09 The escalation of global terrorism, crime, immorality
00:12 and natural disasters, seems to indicate our world 00:15 is spiraling towards its ultimate hour with destiny. 00:18 Who, if anyone, will survive Earth's final events? 00:21 Discover what Bible prophecy reveals about the rapture, 00:24 the mark of the beast, and Armageddon. 00:26 Though shrouded in mystery for centuries, 00:28 the book of Revelation can be understood today. 00:32 Peer into the future, and see what wonderful things 00:35 God has planned for His people. 00:38 And now, Pastor Brian McMahon presents the powerful 00:41 Bible seminar "Revelation Speaks Hope". 00:47 Our subject for this evening is entitled: [text on screen] 00:50 I have met people who have committed sins in their life, 00:55 and those sins are so burdensome to them that they feel that they 00:59 have committed a sin that is unpardonable before heaven. 01:03 For some, they think that sin is murder, they think 01:06 "Well, I've committed murder, certainly God couldn't accept" 01:08 "me", but we know that murder is not the unpardonable sin. 01:12 Why? Because we see great people 01:14 in the Bible, such as Moses, and even David, who 01:17 committed murder, and yet God forgave them, didn't He? 01:19 In fact, they went on to become great leaders for the Lord. 01:22 Some would say "Well, perhaps it would be denying Christ," 01:26 "it would be denying Him to His face, as it were, with great" 01:30 "swearing and cursing", as some have done, but even then we know 01:34 that that is not unpardonable because Peter did that very 01:36 thing, did he not? And the Lord forgave him, 01:39 and he became a great leader in the Christian faith, 01:43 in the early church. Some say suicide is 01:45 the unpardonable sin. Well, certainly, suicide would 01:48 be a very undesirable way to leave this world, but even 01:51 suicide is not what the Bible calls "the unpardonable" sin. 01:56 God alone is the judge as to who will be saved and who 01:58 will be lost. And God alone will judge 02:01 the condition of that person's mind and heart as they left 02:04 this world, but what exactly is the unpardonable sin, 02:07 and why are we talking about it tonight? 02:10 Well, one reason we're talking about it is because Jesus 02:12 talks about it, and if Jesus talks about it, it must be 02:15 important for you and for me, wouldn't you think so? 02:18 There must be a reason. I will tell you this though, 02:20 and I hope you'll find this as good news, we're not talking 02:23 about the unpardonable sin because we think that anybody 02:26 in this room has committed it. Had you committed 02:28 the unpardonable sin, the chances are you certainly 02:31 would not be here tonight. So why are we talking about it? 02:34 We're talking about it because as we learned the steps 02:36 that lead up to the unpardonable sin, then we'll make 02:39 the decision in our hearts that we don't want to take 02:41 any of those steps. So let's go take a look 02:44 at Matthew 12:30, He says: [text on screen] 02:53 What we're seeing here is that Jesus is taking away 02:55 all neutral ground, He's saying "You're either with Me," 02:58 "or against Me", there's not sitting on the fence, you can't 03:01 just say "Well, I'm not going to make a decision" 03:03 "and somehow I'm going to slip through", no. 03:06 Jesus' is saying "there is only one of 2 sides and you have" 03:09 "to be on My side totally", and then He goes on and talks 03:12 about the one and only sin He can't forgive. 03:14 In verse 31 He says: [text on screen] 03:37 So here the Bible says all manner of sin shall be 03:41 forgiven, what's another word for "manner"? 03:44 Another word for "manner" would be "kind" of sin. 03:47 So any kind of sin, or any type of sin, the Lord says 03:52 it shall be forgiven, isn't that good? 03:55 Don't we serve a wonderful God? We read these verses in John 1:9 04:00 where it says: [text on screen] 04:07 So we may be great sinners, but don't we have a wonderful 04:09 Saviour; no matter what kind of sin you can name, 04:12 whether it be murder, or lying, or stealing, or committing 04:15 adultery, that's a kind of sin, Jesus says that can be forgiven. 04:18 So we know that we don't have to walk around with a great 04:21 burden of guilt on us, we can come to Jesus, we can lay 04:24 that burden down and He says "that can be forgiven", 04:26 we just have to claim His promises, but what about this 04:29 sin that is so unpardonable that it can't be forgiven, 04:32 the Lord says "in this world, or in the next". 04:35 Well, in order to understand the unpardonable sin we have 04:38 to understand the delicate way that the Holy Spirit speaks 04:40 to the human mind. To start doing that, let's go 04:43 to John 16:7, the Bible says: [text on screen] 04:50 "expedient" - which means "necessary", [continues to read] 05:00 Some people think the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force, 05:03 but friends, the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit is one of 05:06 the Godhead, the third member of the Godhead, it has 05:09 personality, you can wound the Spirit, you can grieve 05:12 the Spirit, you can resist the Spirit, so let's go on 05:14 to verse 8, where it says: [text on screen] 05:27 Sin, of course, because the Holy Spirit will convict us 05:29 of what is right and what is wrong, the Holy Spirit 05:32 also of righteousness, to lead us to want to do what is right, 05:34 and of judgment to come, to lead us to an understanding 05:37 that we are accountable to our Creator, but this is all 05:40 the works of the Spirit in our life. 05:43 So we know that forgiveness is a gift of God, but did you 05:46 know repentance is a gift of God as well? 05:49 ...that God gives repentance unto people. 05:52 "So is it possible", we ask, "that rather than say 'yes' " 05:57 "to God as God speaks to us, we say 'no' to God?" 06:02 Well, it is possible. Every time we say "no" to God, 06:05 Who is trying to speak to us and say "change your life" 06:08 "here, resist doing this or that evil", "stop doing this" 06:12 "mistake, give your heart to Jesus", every time the Holy 06:16 Spirit is speaking those kinds of words to us, if we resist 06:20 that voice and say "no, I don't want that" in my life, it's as 06:24 if you take a step away from that voice, and you harden your 06:27 heart and that voice is not as clear the second time because 06:29 you've resisted the conscience. So the Holy Spirit again speaks 06:32 to us and says "Come back to Me", and you take another 06:35 step away by saying "no". And every time you say "no" 06:38 it's like putting bricks in a wall between you and God. 06:41 The interesting thing about this "brick in the wall" analogy, 06:45 when you start putting bricks in the wall by saying "no" 06:47 to the voice of God, it becomes easier to say "no" again, 06:50 and pretty soon you're putting in more brings, and more bricks. 06:54 The unpardonable sin is not when a person starts putting bricks 06:59 in the wall, it's when a person has put so many bricks 07:01 in the wall, you've said "no" so many times to that voice 07:05 that you've shut off that voice entirely, and don't 07:07 hear it anymore. It's not that God stops calling 07:10 us, but we're losing our ability to hear. 07:14 To have the Holy Spirit in our life means: [text on screen] 07:25 But what about those who know what God's will is and continue 07:28 to resist and not do it? That's deliberate. 07:31 Well, Jesus said in John 14:15, and you know this from coming 07:35 to the seminar, He says: [text on screen] 07:38 We read that verse a number of times, but what often people 07:41 don't read is what comes after that, because in John 14:16,17 07:46 here's what we read, after telling us to obey Him, He says: 07:49 [text on screen] 08:07 In Acts 5:32, this is another verse that we have seen 08:10 previously, the disciples said: [text on screen] 08:23 So once again, God gives the Holy Spirit to those who desire 08:30 to obey Him. Here's another question for us: 08:32 What is the main reason that God pours out His Spirit 08:35 upon His people? Well, in Acts 1:8, 08:39 this is what we read, the Bible says: [text on screen] 08:53 So the Lord says "When I pour out My Spirit, My sons and" 08:59 "daughters will be witnesses unto Me." 09:02 This is, again, one of the main reasons God desires to fill us 09:04 with His power. Another verse, Acts 4:31, 09:07 the Bible says: [text on screen] 09:17 So the result of being filled with the Holy Ghost is not 09:20 that they could speak in tongues necessarily, there are some 09:23 times in the Bible where it tells us they were given 09:25 that gift, but that is not primarily the reason God poured 09:28 out His Spirit. God poured out His Spirit 09:30 that the gospel will be carried to all the ends of the earth 09:33 with a boldness that they did not have previously. 09:36 Let's go back to John 16:13, the Bible says this: 09:41 [text on screen] 09:56 This is telling us about another work of the Holy Spirit, 09:59 and that is that the Holy Spirit is sent to us to be a teacher, 10:04 and therefore, to resist any teaching of the Bible is not 10:10 simply to resist a teaching, per se, but is to be resisting 10:13 the Holy Spirit that is meant to guide us into that teaching. 10:16 The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, 10:19 today and forever, Hebrews 13:8, Malachi 3:6 said "I'm the Lord," 10:23 "I change not." Think about this with me, 10:25 the same Holy Spirit that inspired the Bible writers 10:30 to write down the words so many years ago that we now 10:34 call "Holy Scripture", that exact same Holy Spirit is 10:38 present here with us tonight to speak to our heart, 10:42 to lead us to understand what those words have to say. 10:45 It's the same Holy Spirit that never changes. 10:48 So when the Holy Spirit is here tonight, the Holy Spirit is 10:51 the same Holy Spirit that caused these words to be written, 10:54 no change. Therefore, if I study the Bible 10:58 and I find out what the Bible says on death, for example, 11:01 and because of my past background, because of my 11:04 past cultural upbringing, I desire not to listen to what 11:09 the Bible has to say, but I insist on clinging to what I 11:12 used to believe, I'm not just resisting a teaching, per se, 11:17 I'm resisting the Holy Spirit that desires to lead me into 11:20 the truth of that teaching. In the day when the Millennium 11:22 is over, and the second resurrection takes place 11:25 and multitude upon multitude raise up in the second 11:28 resurrection, the forever lost, there is going to be 11:31 the greatest feeling of conviction that there has ever 11:33 been, but it's going to be too late. 11:36 At that time they're going to realize when the Bible says 11:38 [text on screen] 11:40 "...that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter" 11:43 "in through the gates into the city", God said what He meant 11:46 and meant what He said. 11:49 At that time they're going to realize they should have 11:51 listened to what the Word had to say. 11:53 Once again, the Bible tells us in Revelation 19:15, speaking 11:56 of the second coming of Jesus, it says: [text on screen] 12:00 What is this sword? Well, Hebrews 4:12 says 12:03 "The Word of God is a sharp sword", so the Word of God 12:06 is pictured coming out of the Lord's mouth and smiting 12:09 the nations, why are they smitten with the Word? 12:12 Because they have not obeyed the Word, the Word was there, 12:15 they could have obeyed it, this goes right along with 12:18 John 3:19, we've covered this on a previous night. 12:21 In John 3:19 the Bible says "And this is the condemnation", 12:24 which is another way of saying "this is why people will be" 12:26 "condemned", [continues to read] 12:34 Being a committed Christian is not just living up to 12:38 the truth that you do know, it's having our minds open 12:41 to the truths that God wants to share with us that we 12:43 don't know. It's living up to what we do 12:46 know, but it's also being open to what the Bible has to say 12:49 about what we don't know, because, again, God wants 12:52 to always lead us onward. In John 7:43, here's what 12:57 we read, it says: [text on screen] 13:09 In other words, what they were saying was: 13:12 "we are convicted, this is different than what we've" 13:15 "heard, we feel that this could be right, never have we heard" 13:18 "things that have come from this man." 13:20 Okay, so then listen what they said back: [text on screen] 13:28 Can you see what they're saying? They're saying "Hey listen," 13:32 "until the popular people have believed it, then you don't" 13:34 "have to believe it, until the popular ministers believe it," 13:39 "then you don't have to believe it", it' no different today. 13:43 Let's go to 2 Thessalonians 2:9, Paul says: [text on screen] 13:54 So you see, it is Satan that depends upon the wonders 13:57 and the signs, because he can deceive people by it. 14:00 Let's read on: [text on screen] 14:08 The insincere person tries to change the Word to fit 14:12 his desires, the sincere person says "Lord, change my desires" 14:16 "to fit Your Word." Let's keep reading, it says: 14:19 [text on screen] 14:32 It's not that God sends a lie necessarily, but if you turn 14:35 away from truth, that's all there's left is lies, 14:38 you shut off the light, there's darkness, why? 14:41 Because you only have the 2. 14:43 When you turn away from truth, you're going to accept a lie 14:46 somehow, someway, Satan will provide it. 14:49 If I am going to believe with all my heart, and all my soul, 14:52 that my beloved grandmother is up in heaven right now, 14:55 is it going to make it so? No, because the Bible says 14:57 "the dead know not anything". The Bible says the dead are 15:01 asleep awaiting the call of the life giver, Jesus, in 15:04 the resurrection. So I might want to believe it, 15:07 I might be sincere in believing it, it's not going to make 15:10 it so though. Be careful of excuses friends, 15:15 because people can use excuses when they don't want to 15:18 really follow what God has to say. 15:21 There's a story in the Old Testament that I want to share 15:24 with you, and that is the story of King Saul. 15:27 King Saul started good, and then he started going his own thing 15:31 he wasn't listening to God as closely as the Lord wanted 15:34 him to, and finally the Lord was going to give him a test, 15:37 and said "King Saul, you go down among the Amalekites, they are" 15:39 "so wicked they've passed the time of their probation", 15:42 and I'm paraphrasing some here, but He said "I want you" 15:45 "to go down with your army and slay everything, EVERYTHING," 15:49 "I don't want nothing left." King Saul said "Okay," 15:52 "I'm going to do it." So there's King Saul, he takes 15:54 his army down among the Amalekites, and he slays 15:58 everything, but...here's the "but", remember what the goats 16:01 are known for? "Butting". 16:04 ...but he leaves the king alive and some of their animals, 16:08 because "Hey, why slay our animals in sacrifice, why not" 16:10 "use their animals and keep ours alive?" 16:13 So he rationalizes this out. He comes back from the victory, 16:17 and who does he meet coming along the way, but the prophet 16:20 Samuel, isn't it interesting that the prophet always comes 16:23 along at just the right time? God's timing is perfect. 16:26 So the prophet Samuel comes marching down the road 16:30 and King Saul says "I've obeyed the commandment of the Lord." 16:37 And Samuel just cuts right through that and says 16:40 "Oh, is that right? Why do I hear this bleating" 16:43 "of sheep in my ears if you've obeyed God?" 16:45 "In other words, if you've obeyed God, I would not" 16:48 "be hearing the sounds of animals." 16:51 Then Samuel says this to King Saul, which is so pertinent 16:54 to our subject tonight. It says in 1 Samuel 15:22: 16:57 [text on screen] 17:11 Friends, you can do all kinds of things in the name of worship, 17:14 all kinds of things as a pretense of obeying God, 17:17 but unless you really are obeying God, the Lord says 17:21 "It means nothing", to obey is better than sacrifice, 17:25 better than the pretense of worship. 17:29 Friends, that's what God was looking for then, He's looking 17:31 for that also tonight, isn't He? Remember, if we're not 17:36 the hearers of the law, or just before God, but the doers" 17:39 "of the law shall be justified." So once again, be careful 17:42 of excuses because if we start getting down the path 17:45 of excuses, the Devil will give us 100 excuses, if not 1000, 17:49 as to why we don't have to really follow the will of God. 17:53 You can follow an excuse if you want, but you'll still be held 17:56 accountable. 17:59 I've shown some people things that in the Bible that are so 18:02 plain, so clear, you couldn't deny it, and yet they'll just 18:07 say "Well, I don't think it's that important." 18:10 What would God think of that, if you say "Well I just don't" 18:13 "think that is important." In other words, "Lord," 18:15 "You wrote that it in there, but I guess it was just" 18:18 "to fill up space." That's playing the Holy Spirit 18:21 if we think that we'll decide what's important and what's 18:23 not important. Some insist on saying 18:26 "Well, that's just the way we've always done it." 18:29 "Yes, the Bible says a different thing, but we've just always" 18:31 "done it that way, my father did, my grandfather did it," 18:34 "so I guess I'll have to do it." What that person is really 18:37 saying is "God I've already made up my mind what I'm going" 18:40 "to believe, so what You have to say really doesn't matter." 18:43 Let's just say it the way it really is. 18:46 Friends, know this: that God does not reveal all of His will 18:48 to us at any one time. He does that out of love for us, 18:51 you knew that, didn't you? Because if He did it would 18:54 overwhelm us, but what they don't realize is that because 18:56 you have been a good Christian, because you have been living 18:59 up to the light that you knew, God is blessing you 19:02 with more light, it's not to be a burden in your life, 19:05 it's a blessing to you, it's actually a reward to you 19:08 for your faithfulness. So don't think that you can't 19:12 see new light just because you've been a Christian 19:15 for past years and have not seen it before. 19:18 In other words, Jesus says "Walk while you have the light" 19:20 "lest that light turn into darkness", so the light can only 19:23 be with us a period of time. Proverbs 4:18 says: 19:26 [text on screen] 19:33 If we are not willing to continue in growth then 19:35 that verse can't possibly be fulfilled in our life; 19:38 to shine more and more unto the perfect day, as God 19:41 desires it to happen in our life. 19:43 If someone says "My church follows something differently", 19:46 we have to say to our self "What is going to be the final" 19:49 "authority in our life? Is it going to be God's Word," 19:52 "or is it going to be the church we happen to attend?" 19:54 In Acts 18:24 the Bible says [text on screen] 19:58 "eloquent man" - there's the first nice thing the Bible 20:01 has to say about this man, "and mighty in the Scripture", 20:04 there's the second nice thing, [text on screen] 20:21 "synagogue" - let's stop there. This man was eloquent, 20:25 this man was instructed in the way of the Lord, 20:28 this man was fervent in the Spirit, this man was bold 20:31 in his preaching, this man... 20:33 well, let's face it, everyone would love to have him 20:36 as a pastor in their church. You look at all those 20:39 qualifications, does that mean he couldn't be taught anything? 20:42 Does that mean he couldn't grow? Let's look what it says next: 20:46 [text on screen] 20:57 Could he learn? Yes, it doesn't matter friends 21:02 how eloquent a person is, how bold, how fervent, 21:05 how instructed, they always could be taught more. 21:09 They took him and said "You, with all of your gifts," 21:12 "can know the way of God more perfectly still." 21:15 So it is today. There are many who insist 21:19 on running to their pastors, priests or rabbis, they'll say 21:21 "Pastor, Priest or Rabbi, whatever you say is okay" 21:24 "with me, I've got a question: I learned an issue down" 21:27 "at the seminar, and I'm not really sure about it, I mean," 21:30 "it's what the Bible says, but we teach differently on it," 21:33 "so I'm going to throw it over to you, and whatever you say," 21:35 "that's okay with me". Do you know, now listen 21:38 carefully lest you misunderstand these next words, 21:41 that is a cult mentality? I'm not saying they're in 21:43 a cult, but I'm saying it's a cult mentality to simply say 21:46 "Here's our leader, and whatever our leader has to say", 21:48 it's talking about a human leader, "then that's what" 21:51 "we're going to do", that's one of the characteristics 21:54 of a cult. Friends, it's like tossing your 21:56 eternal life over to someone and saying "here, you handle" 21:59 "it for me, I can't figure it out, so you take care of it." 22:02 How dangerous is that? You see, I don't mind 22:05 if people come to me and ask me questions, in fact, I quite 22:07 enjoy it, I enjoy a good discussion in God's Word, 22:10 but even though I enjoy that, and I'm willing to give as good 22:13 answers as I know how, I don't want anyone putting their 22:15 final trust me because I'm a fallible human being. 22:18 So I will always say: put your final trust in the Bible 22:21 and follow the Bible because that's what we want to do. 22:24 So we don't want to be gullible and go down that road 22:26 and say "Well, whatever my pastor says, I'm just going" 22:29 "to take that and throw out what I've learnt." 22:31 Some will say "Well, I can't follow what I've learned." 22:34 I'll say "Why not?" "Well, others would make" 22:37 "fun of me." 22:41 What did Jesus say? "Blessed are you" 22:44 "when men shall revile you, persecute you and say" 22:47 "all manner of evil against you falsely for My name's sake," 22:50 "rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward" 22:56 "in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets that were" 22:58 "before you." So we can't think that we will 23:04 never ever face opposition because we know truth. 23:08 If someone makes fun of us for being a Christian, is that 23:11 the worst thing that can come to us? 23:14 When millions of people have laid down their life to follow 23:17 Jesus in the past? Why, as I shared with you, 23:20 I think it was a week ago, when someone makes fun 23:23 of us friends, God is giving us an opportunity to build strong 23:25 spiritual muscles. We are building the spiritual 23:29 muscles that are necessary to take us through to the end. 23:32 So rather than be glum and despondent about it, 23:35 rejoice in it, as Jesus says, and says "Listen, you have" 23:38 "a reward for following truth," but any experience like that 23:41 that comes to us is a necessary experience, did you know that? 23:44 I'm going to tell you tomorrow morning about my personal 23:46 testimony, as much as I can fit in the time that we have, 23:49 and I will share with you how I went through a lot of these 23:52 very same things, but I'm so glad now I went through them, 23:55 it wasn't enjoyable at the time, I don't think I jumped up 23:58 and was exceeding glad at the time, but I will tell you now 24:00 as I look back on it, I am glad God put me through. 24:06 There'll be those that'll come up to me and they'll say 24:09 "Well, Pastor Brian, I went to your seminar and I learned" 24:12 "the things that you shared, and I couldn't help but seeing" 24:14 "that it was in the Bible, but I went home and talked to my" 24:17 "brother-in-law and he disagrees with you" 24:20 "Pastor Brian, and furthermore, he has got a Ph.D." 24:26 I'll say "Really?" First of all, he didn't say what 24:28 he had a PhD in, it could be a PhD in Entomology, 24:32 the study of insects, we don't know. [Audience laughs] 24:36 What could it be? It might not be necessarily 24:39 Theology, furthermore, every church has PhDs. 24:41 Now, I'm not against higher education, as long as it 24:44 doesn't mix us up in the Bible, but I'm not against higher 24:47 education at all, but friends, every church has PhDs, 24:50 the Catholic church has PhDs, and the Baptist church has PhDs 24:52 and the Seventh Day Adventist church has PhDs, and there are 24:55 differences in beliefs, so PhDs are not an 24:58 assurance of having a proper understanding in the Bible. 25:00 But I like to share it this way, I say "Listen, there's no one" 25:03 "with a PhD that's going to stand beside you in" 25:06 "the judgment and answer for you." 25:09 That's number 1, number 2, the only degree we really need 25:12 to go through is what I call a TBA, we're all going 25:17 to need that, and you know why? Because that stands 25:19 for "Truly Born Again", [Audience] Amen. 25:22 ...Jesus said "unless you're born again you shall not" 25:25 "see the kingdom of heaven", so we all need a TBA, 25:28 and you know what, truly born again people will follow 25:30 the Word of God for what it says, so we don't have to 25:33 worry about that. Someone will say 25:36 "But Pastor Brian, my pastor sees differently than you do", 25:42 I like to say "Well no, it's not what I say, it's what the Bible" 25:45 "says", but nevertheless they'll say "My pastor sees differently" 25:48 "than that, and furthermore, he is so sincere." 25:53 I get this one almost as much as anything, they'll say 25:56 "He is such a sincere man, how can he be wrong when" 26:00 "he just oozes sincerity?" So how can he be wrong? 26:06 My wife and I, when we're not in seminars, we travel a lot, 26:08 we do a lot of driving, so we're going down the road 26:11 and I don't know what it is, when we're traveling together, 26:15 my wife and I, I like to be the one behind the wheel, 26:19 you know, men, what I'm talking about? 26:21 I could sit over in the passenger seat, but I don't 26:24 like it over there, I want to be the one behind the wheel, 26:26 it's a man thing. I guess it's a control thing, 26:29 I don't know, but I've got to have the wheel, I've got 26:32 to be in charge of the wheel. Then she sits over in 26:35 the passenger side there and I give her the map, and I think 26:38 "I'll let her think that she's the navigator, but who do I" 26:47 "really think is the navigator?" I think I'm the navigator, 26:50 but I'll let her play that part. So we're going down the road 26:54 and she will say to me, she'll say "honey, we need to turn" 26:58 "over here", now I think "no we don't, it's up here." 27:03 So I drive a little bit, I drive past the exit and I go up 27:06 and I'll say "no, I know where I'm going" and I'm driving 27:11 up here, right? I don't see the exit and I 27:14 think "Hmmmm...?" And I drive a little bit further 27:16 and sweat starts coming down, she says "you know, we really" 27:19 "should have turned back there", "No, it's up here, I know" 27:23 "it's up here", more sweat, [Audience laughs] 27:27 because I don't like being wrong on this. 27:29 Pretty soon I realize... I'm sincere, it's not that I 27:33 like driving 20 miles by the exit, I don't like doing that, 27:37 I don't like wasting time, but there are times when I'm 27:40 really sincere about thinking I know where I'm going. 27:45 Then what do I do? Swallow down, humble myself, 27:47 turn around, head back to where she said she should exit 27:51 because she was right, as usual. 27:53 So you see, my point being, you can be sincere, you can 27:57 still be sincerely wrong. That's why the conscience 28:01 needs to be educated with the Word. 28:03 There are people over there on the other side of the world, 28:06 and even right here in the US who will do all kinds of 28:09 incredibly brutal and horrible acts thinking that it's 28:11 the right thing because their consciences are not educated 28:14 according to the Word of God. So what is the end result? 28:17 I can't depend on feeling, I can't depend on tradition, 28:21 I can't depend on habit, all of those things can be wrong, 28:25 I can't depend even on sincerity. 28:27 God wants us to be sincere. The only thing I can do is come 28:32 to the Lord with an open heart and an open Bible and say 28:35 "Dear Lord, You show me what is right and that's what I'm" 28:37 "going to do", once again, the Spirit will lead us. 28:42 Some people "Well, I am going to do it, I'm just not" 28:45 "going to do it now." Okay, I'm going to see if you've 28:48 been paying attention now. 28:53 3 frogs are sitting on a log on a pond, and one of them 28:57 decided to jump off, so how many is left? [Audience] 2. 29:01 Most of you didn't get it, so I'm going to have to say 29:03 it again, only this time I'll emphasize the key word 29:07 and then you're going to get it: 3 frogs are sitting on a log 29:12 on a pond. One of them decides to jump off, 29:16 so how many are left? [Audience] Three. 29:19 Three, you got it now. Why? 29:22 Because deciding to is not the same as doing it. 29:25 You can sit there all day long and say "I'm going to do it," 29:28 "I'm going to do it," Friends, when you really 29:31 want to do something, you're going to do it right now. 29:33 Can I say I am going to quit smoking after I smoke this pack 29:37 and this pack, and this carton, am I really sincere? 29:40 Can I say "Yes, you know, I've got a shoplifting habit," 29:43 "and I am going to quit stealing, yes I'm going" 29:46 "to quit stealing, I just want to hit this store, and that" 29:48 "store, and hit that store over there"? [Audience laughs] 29:51 When you really are sincere you're going to quit right now, 29:54 you're going to do it right now, that's what it really means. 29:57 Turn with me to Psalm 51, the Bible says: "If I regard" 30:02 "iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." 30:05 Well, why is that? Because you're planning to do wrong. 30:08 You can't fully repent, at the same time plan to do what's 30:12 wrong. David, of course, did something 30:15 that was very, very wrong. When he did his horrible sin 30:19 with Bathsheba, he thought that he might have gotten away 30:22 with something, but God sent the prophet Nathan up to David 30:25 and in essence he said "David, you know when you did that," 30:28 "God wasn't sleeping. God wasn't off in some corner" 30:31 "somewhere and didn't watch it. God knew all that you did." 30:34 The wonderful thing about David is that David is a man that knew 30:38 how to repent, didn't he? He could do some things 30:41 wrong at times, but boy, could this man repent, 30:44 And that might be what sets David above some of us 30:47 sometimes, but Psalm 51, here's a beautiful passage here, 30:51 we can't read it all through, I hope that you will if you 30:54 haven't already. Let's go down to verse 10, 30:56 put your name right in there: [text on screen] 31:05 Verse 11 is the vital verse: [text on screen] 31:14 Why did David pray "Lord, don't take your Holy Spirit from me"? 31:17 Because David knew that if God took the Holy Spirit from him, 31:21 he would remain in his sins, because it's only the Holy 31:24 Spirit that leads him to want to repent. 31:27 David said in Psalm 19:13, David said: [text on screen] 31:40 "Presumptuous sins", David said "Don't let me commit those," 31:44 "those are sins, when you go into it knowing what you're" 31:47 "doing, but you're going to do it anyway." 31:51 So here's the question folks: what is the sin against 31:54 the Holy Spirit? What is the 1 sin that can't be forgiven? 31:56 Let me try and say it in as simply a language as I know how: 31:59 the sin that God does not forgive is when you know 32:02 something is wrong, but you persistently continue to do that 32:08 thing which is wrong, and you refuse to do that which is right 32:11 and finally, you don't hear God's voice anymore calling 32:14 you to want to repent. 32:17 There's a wall of resistance that's been built up in 32:20 the mind, there's a callousness that's gone there, 32:23 that's what Paul means when he says to Timothy 32:26 that the conscience is seared with a hot iron, remember 32:29 reading that? That's what he's talking about, 32:32 there's a callousness there that all of a sudden, it's not 32:34 that that person can't be forgiven, God could forgive it, 32:38 any type of sin can be forgiven, the unpardonable sin is not 32:41 murder per se, an adultery per se, or lying, or stealing 32:44 per se, God can forgive all of those things, can't He? 32:48 It might be what might be considered a little thing, 32:50 but that person consistently cherishes it, and holds on to 32:53 it, and won't let it go, it's not that God wouldn't forgive 32:57 it, but that person doesn't want it to be forgiven, 33:00 so they don't give it over to God, they don't let God 33:03 forgive it. [text on screen] 33:16 Jesus sent the Holy Spirit into this world, we read in John 16, 33:21 to convict of sin, righteousness and judgment, and to lead us 33:26 into all truth. So if we refuse to allow 33:30 the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, we're refusing 33:33 the Holy Spirit to do the work that He was sent into this world 33:36 to do. When the Bible says that 33:38 the Holy Spirit was sent to convict of sin, remember 33:41 what we learnt what sin was? Sin is the transgression 33:46 of the law. So that means that the Holy 33:49 Spirit is going to convict us of where we are 33:52 transgressing God's law. It might be that we're 33:55 committing adultery. When someone might first 33:58 commit adultery they might be convicted about it, 34:01 but you can do something and be convicted about it, 34:04 but then remain in it, and keep doing it, 34:07 and doing it, and pretty soon they don't feel 34:10 anything wrong with it, "No big deal" they'll say. 34:12 What have they done? They've pushed the Holy 34:14 Spirit's voice away. I'm going to share with you 34:17 my personal testimony tomorrow morning, but I will tell you 34:20 this, there was a time in my life when God was convicting 34:23 me about His law, and there was finally a time when it built up 34:26 in my mind to such a degree I said "I can no longer" 34:29 "continue to do this and sin against God." 34:31 That's what conviction is, that's what conscience is, 34:34 God wants us to have our spiritual antenna up on high 34:37 so that we will easily, continually, receive those 34:41 messages from the Holy Spirit. Sin in our life is a slow 34:48 strangulation of the spiritual nature. 34:53 Some people will say to me, they'll say "Well, I can't" 34:56 "keep the Sabbath", I'll say "Why can't you keep" 34:59 "the Sabbath?" They'll say "Well, if I keep" 35:03 "the Sabbath I can't make the kind of money I'm making now." 35:06 "And because I've been working on that day, I've been able" 35:09 "to not only get a bigger house, I've been able to get 2" 35:12 "of the most late models cars, I've been able to get" 35:15 "a ranch in the High Desert, I've got a lot of things" 35:20 "because I worked on that time." When that person raises 35:26 up in the second resurrection and they're outside of the walls 35:31 of the New Jerusalem, which we've talked about on the night 35:34 of the Millennium, and they're saying "Lord, Lord, why?" 35:37 "Why am I not in, why am I outside and not inside" 35:40 "those walls?" And Jesus says "You did not" 35:44 "show yourself a faithful steward, you did not show" 35:47 "yourself desirous of keeping the laws of heaven," 35:50 "and because I couldn't trust you there, I can't trust you" 35:54 "here". And that person will say 35:56 "But Lord, look what I've been able to accumulate." 36:00 "I worked on the Sabbath, sure I did, but I got a lot of stuff" 36:03 "from it." The Lord is going to say 36:06 "Well where's those things now? What good are all those things" 36:10 "to you now?" I don't know all Jesus would 36:13 say to that, but He might say something like this: He might 36:15 turn to the New Jerusalem and say "Well you know what?" 36:20 "We own it all here, we own everything here." 36:26 "And all of this glory could have been given to you" 36:29 "for free for eternity, but you did not choose to be faithful" 36:37 "on earth, I can't trust you here." 36:40 Friends, when light comes, we need to see it as a 36:43 precious thing. Don't say to yourself: 36:47 "One day I'll quit smoking, let me smoke this carton first." 36:50 Or don't say "One day I'll keep the Sabbath, let me make a few" 36:53 "more dollars first." Or don't say "I'm going to soon get" 36:56 "my anger under control, let me get rid of my spouse first" 37:00 [Audience laughs] Don't say that friends. 37:02 The problem is not the Sabbath, and the problem is not your 37:05 spouse, the problem is we need new hearts, and if we get 37:10 a new heart it'll solve these issues, and when God has 37:13 people that have new hearts, and God has people that want 37:16 to serve Him, and the Holy Spirit writes His law in their 37:19 heart, that they want to do all that God says, but then 37:22 what does God do with these precious people? 37:25 Well the Bible has an answer to that in 1 Corinthians 12:13 37:28 it says: [text on screen] 37:43 In other words, what we're told here is that God will then 37:46 take these precious people that desire to follow all that 37:49 the Bible says, and He baptizes them into that 1 body. 37:54 What body is that? Friends, that's the body that 37:56 we've been covering about here in these last nights 37:59 of the seminar, the one that the Bible calls "God's remnant". 38:02 God's remnant people are those people that God is using 38:06 to give a message of truth around this world. 38:09 In Acts 2:41, remember that the Scripture says: [text on screen] 38:15 Are you glad to receive His word out there tonight? 38:18 [Audience] Yes. Friends, some of you have 38:21 been baptized, I know, and some of you are planning on it 38:23 as well, and we praise God for that, but then it says 38:26 "And the same day there were added onto them", "them" being 38:29 the church, "about 3000 souls". So did God just let them be 38:32 baptized and wonder out into the world without putting 38:34 them to work? No, He says "I've got a body" 38:37 "for you to join" and He added them unto God's church. 38:40 Verse 47 says: [text on screen] 38:46 How does God add people to His church? 38:48 How does He awaken people to a knowledge that they need 38:51 to be added to His church? He does it by sending a 38:54 message around the world, did you know that? 38:56 In Revelation 14, and we've read this a number of nights, 38:59 it says: [text on screen] 39:09 Friends, why a loud voice? Because the soft voice you won't 39:12 pay attention to, the soft voice you won't think is important. 39:16 What the Bible is telling us by giving us this passage 39:20 is that in the last days, the Lord is going to shout a 39:23 message to the world "Babylon is fallen, is fallen; it's not" 39:27 "coming back, there's truth to follow. There's a message" 39:32 "to listen to, don't stay in Babylon", this is the loud 39:35 voice. In other words, urgent times 39:39 demand an urgent message. We're not living in pleasure 39:44 as usual, business as usual type of times. 39:47 God says "I've got a message, I've got a people to give" 39:50 "that message", and Revelation only gives 2 groups folks, 39:54 it gives Babylon and the remnant, those are the only 39:57 2 choices we have, in all of the book of Revelation is says 40:00 there is Babylon, and all the world is wondering after 40:02 the beast, and all that goes with that, and then there's 40:05 the remnant. Friends, as the old cliché says 40:08 "Either we are part of the problem, or part" 40:11 "of the solution." 40:13 those are the only 2 sides. Jesus says "You are for Me," 40:16 "or you are against Me." We've looked at all 40:18 the wonderful characteristics of God's remnant church, 40:21 we studied that this last week, I hope that you were here 40:24 and if you weren't I pray you'll get the information on this. 40:26 Friends, God has a people that's giving that very message, 40:29 and He says He will do it before Jesus comes back. 40:32 Are we living in the last days? [Audience] Amen. 40:35 Can you say it louder than that for me? 40:37 [Audience says louder] Amen. Did God say He's going to have 40:40 a message go all the way around the world before Jesus comes 40:43 back. [Audience] Amen. 40:45 Did He says it's going to be every nation, kindred, tongue 40:47 and people? Yes. 40:50 Then we should be able to see that message tonight, 40:52 and we do, and that message is found in the church 40:55 that happens to be bringing you this seminar, 40:57 the Seventh Day Adventist church, and not because those 41:00 people are anything more special or sanctified, but here is 41:03 a group that God is calling and adding to daily, such as should 41:05 be saved and friends, it is our privilege to know this message. 41:08 Would you please turn with me to Matthew 10, Jesus says 41:11 regarding message "If any man has ears to hear, let him hear". 41:13 Friends, I hope you've got big ears tonight, I've hope 41:16 that you've got ears that are listening to what God 41:19 has to say, Matthew 10:32-39, kind of a long passage, 41:22 but you might be sitting there saying "Well you know Pastor," 41:25 "I'm getting a lot of heat at home, I've got a spouse that's" 41:28 "giving me a terrible problem", and I'm sorry to hear that, 41:31 but it's often the truth. Sometimes those who are closest 41:33 to us are most outspoken against us when we want 41:36 to follow truth, it's just a sad thing, but Jesus even speaks 41:39 to this issue, and in Matthew 10:32 the Bible says: 41:43 [text on screen] 41:59 Let me interject something here, Jesus came to bring 42:03 peace within, but outside there could be a sword of trial 42:07 and difficulty at times, let's keep reading: [text on screen] 42:27 "and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me" 42:30 "is not worthy of Me, and he that taketh not his cross," 42:33 "and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me". 42:40 Jesus tells us that sometimes those that are persecuting us 42:46 can be those that are closest to us. 42:48 Have you ever noticed that sometimes you can have 42:51 nobody really pay attention to you, you can be out 42:54 in the world as I was, living for self, and for foolish pride, 43:01 and nobody bothers you, and then all of a sudden you want to come 43:04 to a prophecy seminar and do what's right, and you've got 43:06 more counselors than you know what to do with. 43:09 Isn't that right? And people are coming up to you 43:12 out of nowhere calling you from across the country at times 43:15 saying "Oh, hang on a second, are you really sure you want" 43:17 "to do that?", and all you want to do is follow the Bible. 43:20 And they say "Oh, don't go so fast, that would be fanatical", 43:23 or "don't do that, that'd be legalism", and they've got 43:26 all these ways of trying to talk you out of doing what is 43:28 the Christian life. Isn't it amazing? 43:31 They didn't care about you when you were out in the world, 43:34 but then you want to get your act together and straighten out 43:36 and walk according to the ways of Jesus, and they want to give 43:39 you all this counsel; friends, don't be fooled by it. 43:42 Many people want to keep you back from following the Word 43:45 of God because if what you're doing is right, that is 43:47 convicting to them that what they're doing is wrong, 43:50 and the old saying is "Misery loves company", and often 43:52 they would rather hold you back than follow what the Word says 43:55 them self, that's just the basic facts of the matter, 43:59 and I know you've gone through it. 44:02 I love it when people say "I'm willing to change my" 44:05 "understanding of Scripture." "Why?" 44:08 "Because I'm getting ready for heaven." 44:10 And some people, because you've come to this seminar, 44:13 you're saying "I'm changing my diet", "Why?" 44:16 "Because I'm getting ready for heaven, I want heaven's diet." 44:18 Some of you are saying "I'm changing my dress", "Why?" 44:21 "Because I'm getting ready for heaven". 44:24 Some of you are saying "I'm changing my day of worship." 44:26 "Why?" "Because I want to get on" 44:29 "heaven's schedule." I'll tell you, that's why we're 44:31 doing it, we're not doing it for any other reason other than 44:34 we love Jesus and we're getting ready for eternity here, 44:37 that's what it's all about. That's the price 44:39 of discipleship. I know that some of these 44:42 decisions that you've been making are difficult now, 44:44 and I could have, if I wanted to, and some of these other 44:47 pastors that are present here, if they wanted to, 44:50 they could get up here and preach smooth things, 44:52 but the Bible says "Don't preach smooth things, preach" 44:55 "the straight truth", and they'll say "Pastor, you know," 44:58 "you preach straight, and this church is straight." 45:00 Let me tell you something, I thank God it's straight. 45:03 The Bible doesn't talk about going the broad road, it says 45:06 we should go the straight and narrow way; 45:08 that's the way we want to go in. Night by night I could have 45:11 stood up here and preached the smooth things if I thought 45:14 I wanted to get a larger audience at times, but God says 45:16 "Don't do that, love the people enough to tell them the truth", 45:19 and I do love you enough, by God's grace, to want to share 45:22 truth with you, and as I said one other night, I'd rather 45:24 preach the truth to 1 person sitting here tonight 45:27 and have a clear conscience about it, then compromise 45:29 and get an audience of 10,000, I can't do that by God's grace. 45:32 There might be others willing to do that, but I'm not going 45:35 to do it, and you don't want me to do it, amen? 45:38 [Audience] Amen. I know it. 45:40 I thank God for all the decisions that have been made 45:43 in this seminar, but I know there's going to be some more 45:45 made tonight, by God's grace, and I hope that you'll just be 45:48 sitting there saying "Lord, whatever passes me, I'm going" 45:51 "to move ahead, and I'm going to follow what I know is right." 45:54 Tonight I want to encourage you, and I want to please with you, 45:56 if you hear a conviction in your heart, if you feel it, 45:59 then God is trying to move you ahead. 46:02 There was a time when I was 14 years old and I got the most 46:04 amazing present as a Christmas present. 46:08 Are you ready for this? This was hot on the market, 46:11 newest technology, just out. I opened up this gift and my 46:18 eyes about popped out because there in front of my very eyes 46:22 and in my hands was a radio alarm clock. 46:26 They took a radio and they took an alarm clock, and they managed 46:30 to put it together in 1 package, isn't technology 46:33 amazing? Am I old or what? 46:35 [Audience laughs] So we had not seen this before, 46:41 and it was one of those alarm clock where as the numbers come 46:45 over, they were like little flaps, it would turn and fall, 46:50 anybody have one? [Audience laughs] 46:53 You get mesmerized by it, you watch it because you think 46:56 "It's about to turn, it's about to turn, there it went." 46:59 [Audience laughs] Ahh, we didn't have much 47:01 to do back then, [Audience laughs] 47:04 but it had something else. On the top of it was a big 47:10 wide rectangular bar, and it said "Snooze Button" on the top. 47:15 So what I did was, I said this was new technology too, 47:18 I thought, so what I did was I put my bed, and here's my little 47:21 night table, and I put that radio alarm clock just an arms 47:24 length where the snooze button was, so that if I woke up 47:27 my hand could just turn over, and whack, right on that white 47:30 button, 5 more minutes, and then I could even do it 47:33 this way, whack...and you get to be really good at it, 47:36 I could hit that thing. I learned something by hitting 47:39 the snooze button, if you hit that snooze button too 47:41 many times, each time the alarm is going off and you shut 47:45 it off, and the alarm goes off and you shut it off, 47:47 pretty soon you can snooze right through that alarm. 47:50 I used to be a real estate agent, I'll tell you a little 47:53 bit about that tomorrow morning, but when I was a real estate 47:56 agent we would ask people who were living right near 47:59 a railroad track how many trains came by, because we knew whoever 48:01 wanted to buy the house would ask the same question, 48:04 so we'd say "Well, you're living right here by the railroad" 48:07 "tracks, how many trains come by?", and they'd say 48:09 "What trains?" We'd say "The trains that come" 48:12 "by here in the day, how many?" "I don't know, I heard them" 48:15 "when we first moved here, but we've lived here so long" 48:18 "I don't hear them anymore, I couldn't tell you if there's" 48:20 "1 train, 5 trains, I don't know, we just ignore them," 48:23 "we tune it out." That's why the Bible says 48:25 "Saying with a loud voice", because God is saying 48:28 "don't tune it out, tune it in, don't snooze while the message" 48:32 "is being preached around the world, calling people to come" 48:36 "into God's remnant fold." Friends listen, don't tune 48:40 the Spirit out tonight either. In Romans 8:14 we read 48:44 these words: [text on screen] 48:51 So God's children might say "Lord, I might be 15 years" 48:55 "of age and starting out in life", or "I might be 85 years" 48:58 "of age, grey haired, and I don't know how many years" 49:01 "I've got left, but I still want to follow Your Spirit." 49:03 Whatever it is, we tune God in because we're sons 49:06 and daughters of God, and those who desire to be led, they are 49:09 the true family of God. I want to know if God is 49:12 pleading with you tonight friends. 49:15 So often people say "Well Pastor Brian, I sense God is leading" 49:18 "me, I feel His Spirit convicting me, and I know" 49:22 "that I should make changes in my life, I'm just not going" 49:25 "to do it now." It reminds me of the man 49:29 who wanted to have a sidewalk. So he made the forms for his 49:32 sidewalk, and then he went out and he mixed up the cement 49:35 mixture, the concrete mixture, and he came with his machine 49:39 and he poured it out, then after pouring it out he said 49:43 "Ahh, kind of hungry, I think I'll go to lunch", 49:47 any contractors here? Any sidewalk makers here? 49:51 Friends, when you pour it out you don't go to lunch, 49:55 that's not the time to go to lunch, why? 49:57 Because there's a period of time when that mixture is 50:01 pliable, workable, movable, but if you go lunch and you come 50:06 back, that mixture, which was once so soft, is now hard 50:10 as concrete. In the same way, the human 50:14 heart is like that. We could have hearts that are 50:16 moved by God's Spirit, and want to do God's will, and we 50:20 may want to move forward, but you don't know how the Devil 50:23 is going to attack you in days to come, and if you tell 50:25 the Devil "I'm not going to do it now, I'll do it 3 months" 50:28 "from now, 6 months from now, someday...", friends, do you 50:31 know what the Devil's favorite word is? 50:33 "Tomorrow", because as long as the Devil can get you to say 50:36 "tomorrow", tomorrow he'll say what? "Tomorrow". 50:38 The next day, and the next week, the Devil will still 50:41 come to you and say "don't do it now, just do it tomorrow." 50:44 Pretty soon you run out of tomorrows, and that's exactly 50:47 what the Devil's hoping for. So don't say tomorrow, 50:49 say "Lord, by your grace, I'm going to make a decision today." 50:53 "Today is the day of salvation", so says the Word of God. 50:57 I know that many of you might be sitting there tonight saying 51:00 "Pastor Brian, since I've been coming to this seminar" 51:03 "I have been going through such turmoil in my mind." 51:07 "I have been having fitful sleeps", I can relate, I went 51:13 through this, "I have been waking up in a sweat," 51:17 "I have been going through a spiritual tug of war", 51:21 and that's exactly what it is. You're saying "What is going" 51:24 "on in my mind?", I'll tell you what's going on 51:27 dear friends. There's a battle called 51:30 "The Great Controversy" between good and evil, between Christ 51:32 and Satan, there are armies on both sides, and both are 51:35 vying for our loyalty. In your mind you're making 51:39 a decision for God, or not. When the Devil knows that 51:44 you are right in that valley of decision, that moment 51:47 of decision, the Devil is going to try as hard as he can 51:50 to hold you back. God isn't going to just let 51:52 you go without a fight friends, God is going to fight 51:55 as hard as He possibly can, as hard as you will let Him 51:58 fight, He will fight for you, and for me. 52:01 So what you have is a spiritual tug of war, it's the Spirit 52:04 of God fighting against the Spirit of Satan, both sides 52:06 desiring to have your allegiance, and here's the good 52:09 news, when you say "Lord, I'm going to follow what's" 52:12 "right, Lord, I am going to do what the Bible says," 52:15 the Lords says to Satan: "Get thee behind this person" 52:17 "because they are giving Me permission to work in their" 52:20 "life", God steps in and all of a sudden, what was so fitful 52:23 a sleep, now all of a sudden you can sleep like a baby 52:26 because the best pillow in the world is a peaceful conscience. 52:33 You, all of a sudden, will be able to sleep so well 52:36 because you know you really did what is right. 52:39 I want to share a verse with you before we go home tonight, 52:42 it's found in Isaiah 41:10. God weeps over those who 52:54 turn away, but even though He weeps over those who turn 52:59 away, God will not change what the Word has to say. 53:06 In the days of Noah God said "If 8 are getting in the Ark" 53:09 "then 8 all that I will take." 53:11 The Lord is no different tonight. 53:14 In the story of the rich young ruler, the rich young ruler 53:17 came to Jesus and said "Lord, what must I do to have" 53:21 "eternal life?" Jesus says "If thou will enter into life," 53:24 "keep the commandments", and he said "all these things" 53:27 "have I done from my youth, what yet I lack?" 53:29 Jesus saw the point in his life where he was covetous, 53:34 He put His finger right on that soft spot, and He said 53:37 "This is your problem", and He named it, He says 53:40 "Go and sell what you have and give it to the poor, and come" 53:42 "follow Me." Friends, that man counted 53:45 the cost, he thought the cost was too high, he turned 53:50 around and walked away. The part that impressed me 53:54 so much when I read that story is not just tragically that he 53:59 turned away, but that Jesus did not compromise His principles 54:05 for that man. He loved that man, He longed 54:09 for that man in His kingdom, but Jesus didn't run after 54:11 that man and say "Oh, wait, wait, now hold it a second," 54:14 "ahhh, let me reconsider, you're walking away, okay," 54:17 "meet Me half way, sell half of what you have." 54:21 "I'll give a little, you give a little." 54:23 Did Jesus do that? No, Jesus laid out the terms 54:26 and He said "this is what it's going to take." 54:29 You see, dear friends, for some of you it's going to mean 54:32 giving up worldly friendships, walking away from peers 54:37 that don't want to follow the Word of God. 54:39 For some of you it might be sacrificing some finances 54:42 because you won't work on God's Sabbath, I don't know 54:45 what it's going to be for you, but whatever it is, God is there 54:49 to see you through, greater is He that is with us, than he 54:52 that is against us. Isaiah 41:10 us a promise 54:59 for all of us, and I would like to ask you if you would 55:02 read this out loud with me together, okay? 55:05 Let's go, together Isaiah 41:10, here we go: [text on screen] 55:15 "I will strengthen thee", [text on screen] 55:23 Friends, that's a promise to all of you tonight. 55:26 God isn't going to leave you, God isn't going to forsake you 55:29 when you want to do right. If God was with you 55:32 when you did things wrong in ignorance, how much more 55:35 is God going to want to be with you when you want to do 55:38 what's right? Don't think that God isn't 55:40 striving with you, the very fact that you are still here 55:45 after 20 nights is the sign that God is striving with you 55:50 and that you are willing to hold on and still come. 55:54 That's a great sign. That should encourage you 55:57 that God is with you, and God is working in you because you are 56:02 here after all of these nights. In Psalm 29:11 it says this: 56:07 [text on screen] 56:13 Many of our relatives did not know the things that we've 56:18 learned in this seminar, our fathers, mothers perhaps, 56:20 grandfathers, great grandfathers maybe even more so, 56:24 maybe they didn't know the truth of the clean and unclean foods, 56:27 maybe they didn't know the truth of the Sabbath, 56:29 maybe they didn't know the truth of the state of the dead, 56:32 but God is calling people around this world to understand 56:35 what the Bible says, so that He could have a people 56:37 ready for Jesus. Shall we stand tonight 56:40 as we close with a prayer. Father in heaven, I thank You 56:43 again that we can come tonight, open Your word, and realize that 56:49 You are leading Your people, some ever so gently, 56:52 some with great conviction, but Lord, you are leading 56:55 as a good shepherd will, the sheep of Your pasture. 56:58 You will speak, and Your sheep will hear Your voice and follow. 57:02 So may all of us have the kind of hearts that long to be 57:06 molded, filled with Your Spirit, and lead by the heavenly 57:10 Shepherd. So guide us now we pray tonight, 57:14 continue to bless tonight, and tomorrow night, and each 57:18 night that we come together, that all these things 57:21 that we have learnt can be part of our faith, the Christian 57:23 faith, the faith of Jesus. Bless us now, and send us 57:27 from this place, but Lord, not from Your presence ever, 57:30 and bring us back again we pray, tomorrow morning. 57:32 In Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17