Hello, friends, we'd
like to welcome all of you
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to Sabbath School
Study Hour, coming to here
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from the Granite Bay
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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We'd like to
welcome our online members
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and those who are joining us
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on the various
television networks.
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Thank you for tuning in,
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to be a part of
our study time today.
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Also to the
members and the visitors
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right here at the
Granite Bay Church,
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it's always good to see
you, Sabbath after Sabbath,
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gathering together
to study God's Word.
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We've been studying
through our lesson quarterly
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dealing with the
subject of stewardship.
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It's called "Stewardship,
Motives of the Heart".
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Today, we find
ourselves on lesson number 10,
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entitled the
Role of Stewardship.
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So that will be our
theme for study this morning.
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For those who are
joining us online,
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if you don't have a
copy of today's lesson,
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the Role of Stewardship,
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you can download the
lesson at the following website,
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just study.aftv.org,
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at study.aftv.org.
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You can download
lesson number 10,
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and you can study along with us.
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We have a free offer,
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a book entitled
"Hidden Eyes and Closed Ears".
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That is the
free offer for today.
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Just give us a call on
our resource phone line.
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That number is 866-788-3966,
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and you can ask
for offer number 726.
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If you are
outside of North America,
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just go to the
Amazing Facts website,
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just amazingfacts.org,
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and you can
download the book for free,
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and you can read
it right there online.
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But before we get
to our study time,
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as we normally do,
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we like to lift
our voices in song.
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I'd like to
invite our song leaders
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to come join me this morning.
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We are so glad
that it's that time
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where we get to sing
together like we do every week.
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So we are singing one song today
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that ties in with our lesson.
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It's in the stewardship
section of the hymnal,
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and it's found on the 636, God,
Whose Giving Knows No Ending.
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So pay attention as we sing 636.
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We'll do all three stanzas.
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I hope that is
your prayer this week,
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serving You by loving all.
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At this time, Pastor Ross
will have our opening part.
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Let's bow our heads
for a word of prayer.
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Dear Father in heaven,
we thank You once again
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that we have this
opportunity to gather together
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and open up Your Word and
study this important theme,
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talking about how we
can be better stewards
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of the things
that You've given us.
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So Father, we pray once again
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for the Holy
Spirit to be praised
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and to guard our
hearts and our minds
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as we open up Your word,
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for we ask this
in Jesus' name, amen.
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Our lesson this morning
is going to be brought to us
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by our senior pastor here
at the Granite Bay Church,
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Pastor Doug.
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Welcome, everybody.
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I'm glad to see each of you
here at the Granite Bay Church.
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And want to remind you
those who are watching,
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we have a lot of
friends who are watching online,
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and sometimes we see
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a few days after
we've done Sabbath school,
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there are
literally thousands of people
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that study with us online.
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Some of them are...
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Some of our digital
disciples, our online members.
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And we know there's people
scattered around the country,
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other parts of the world
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that have no local
church that they can attend.
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And if you want
to know what it means
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to be one of our online
members or digital disciples,
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then just go to our website
which is granitebaysda.org,
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and we'll be
happy to contact you
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and give you more
information on that.
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We are in lesson
number 10 in our quarterly
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talking about stewardship.
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That is a very broad
and a comprehensive subject.
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And the lesson
today, in particular,
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it's called the
Role of Stewardship,
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and we have a memory verse.
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Memory verse is
from 1 Thessalonians 4:7,
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hearing your lesson
that's from the NIV.
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Now we're going to go
ahead and look at this together,
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you ready?
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1 Thessalonians 4:7,
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"For God did not
called us to be impure,
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but to live a holy life."
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And so one of the
aspects of stewardship is
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we are to manage and be stewards
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of our time in our lives
for the purpose of holiness.
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Stewardship is, like I
said it's comprehensive,
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it covers so
many different things.
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Matter of fact, right here
in the beginning of the lesson,
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I want to reiterate,
if you have any questions,
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you who are watching
online in particular,
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if you have any questions
about the lesson today,
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go ahead and send
them via Facebook.
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You can send them through
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either the
Amazing Facts Facebook,
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Granite Bay
Facebook, my Facebook page.
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We have people in the
back that are looking,
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they're scanning at
your texts and your posts,
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and you can enter those in,
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and about two-thirds of
the way through the lesson,
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I'm going to try
and take some questions.
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I think Pastor Ross said,
if you had any Bible questions,
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I think he meant
questions about the lesson,
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otherwise they could
be all over the place.
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So anything on
stewardship, we welcome.
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You know, Le Roy
Froom, great author,
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he wrote in his book,
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Stewardship in
Its Larger Aspects.
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He said, "It is not a
theory or a philosophy,
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but a working program.
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It is in verity the
Christian law of living."
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Stewardship, it's a
Christian law of living.
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"It's necessary to an
adequate understanding of life,
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and essential to a true,
vital religious experience.
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It's not simply a
matter of mental assent,
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but it's an act of the will
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and a definite,
decisive transition
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touching the whole
perimeter of life."
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Stewardship affects
where you park your car
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when you go shopping.
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You want to be a
steward of your time,
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so you try not to park too
far away from the entrance.
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Or if you want to be
a steward of your car,
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you don't park right where
they put the shopping carts
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because it
could damage your car,
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and that's bad stewardship.
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Stewardship is reaching over,
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and if you see the children
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have dropped a wrapper
in the church of something
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that you pick it up
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and throw it in the garbage can.
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Stewardship is just realizing
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that this is our Father's world,
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that your body belongs to Him,
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that we're to use our time
and our means to glorify God,
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that we have a
mission and a message...
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Lesson talks more about
that but stewardship really,
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it encompasses
every aspect of your life,
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the management of the
life, and influence, and means
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that God has given you.
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As I've said before,
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you're just here
for a short time.
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The longer you live, the
shorter you realize it is.
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And when you look back
over your life, you'll realize,
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"Did I spend my life
the way God wanted me to?"
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That's what stewardship is.
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It's about spending, not
just money, spending life.
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And so we want to...
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And we'll give an
account to God, won't we?
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You've got
stewardship of your words.
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We give an account to
God for every word we speak.
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Bible says, "You need
to budget your words."
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Did you know that?
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Solomon said, "Let
your words be few."
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And a fool's voice is
known by the multitude of words.
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So I set myself up for failure
when I stand here to teach
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because you expect me
to just keep on rambling
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for the next 50 minutes.
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So we're stewards of
everything that we do.
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And so we want to
be faithful stewards.
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All right, well,
one of the first things
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we're going to explore
here in our first heading
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is Christ as the center.
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Keeping Christ as the center
really gives you perspective
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on what the stewardship means.
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And someone, in a
moment, is going to read for me
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John 13:3,
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I got a few verses
before we get there.
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And we're using in our lesson
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the analogy of
like a chariot wheel.
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It doesn't have to
be a chariot wheel,
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you can call it a wagon wheel.
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But the whole idea is
that you've got the rim,
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you've got all the spokes
that go towards the center,
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and then you got
the hub and the axle
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right there in the middle.
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You'll see there's a
lot of different spokes,
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they all kind of
go to a common end.
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One of them is understanding
the centrality of Christ
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in everything in our
religion in the Bible.
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John 5:39,
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Jesus said, "You
search the scriptures,
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for in them you think
you have eternal life.
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These are they
that testify of Me."
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So when you're
reading the Bible,
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the Bible is all about Jesus.
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And, you know,
being a steward helps,
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it helps to realize that
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in our lives
it's all about Christ,
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it's all about the
scriptures and the messages,
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all about Jesus.
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"These are they
that testify of Me."
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In other verse on
the similar theme.
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Luke 24:27, "And
beginning at Moses..."
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This is on the road to
Emmaus, He made this statement.
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"Beginning at Moses
and all the prophets,
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he expounded unto
them in all the scriptures,
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the things concerning himself."
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So everything in the
Bible is about Jesus.
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And part of our stewardship is
as we share Christ with others,
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what is to stay the
hub of that doctrine.
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You might have all
these different doctrines,
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they're like spokes,
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but they all
point to the center,
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and what is the center?
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Christ. It's Christ.
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Jesus has to stay
the center of your life.
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You know, if you keep Christ
at the center of your life,
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chances are you're going
to be a responsible steward
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of your time, and your
energy, and your means.
00:12:16.50\00:12:20.27
Now go ahead, please
read for us, John 13:3.
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John 13:3,
00:12:23.61\00:12:25.34
"Jesus, knowing that the Father
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had given all
things into His hands,
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and that He had come from
God, and was going to God."
00:12:29.91\00:12:33.88
Yeah, and then,
of course, he goes on
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and talks about the
foot washing service,
00:12:35.22\00:12:36.95
but I want to
emphasize the part that says,
00:12:36.95\00:12:39.15
"All things were
given into His hands.
00:12:39.15\00:12:42.09
He came from God,
He's going to God."
00:12:42.09\00:12:45.43
Every word in the
Bible is about Him
00:12:45.43\00:12:47.93
in one way or the other.
00:12:47.93\00:12:49.30
That Christ really
needs to stay the hub
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and the center of our lives.
00:12:51.97\00:12:53.30
Look at Hebrews 10:7,
00:12:53.30\00:12:56.91
"Then I said, 'Behold, I
come, in the volume of the book,
00:12:56.91\00:13:01.01
it is written of me
to do your will, O God.'"
00:13:01.01\00:13:04.98
And so it's safe to say
when you talk about the Bible,
00:13:04.98\00:13:07.75
and you've heard me
say this many times.
00:13:07.75\00:13:09.38
You don't say, well,
Exodus is about Moses,
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and Genesis is about Abraham,
and Judges is about Samson,
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who we're talking about today.
00:13:21.86\00:13:24.47
Genesis is about Jesus,
and Exodus is about Jesus,
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and Numbers, and
Deuteronomy, Leviticus,
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I got that out of
order, and Joshua, and Judges,
00:13:29.40\00:13:31.94
and 1 and 2
Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings,
00:13:31.94\00:13:33.98
it's all about Jesus,
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"In the volume of the
book, it is written of Me."
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Karen and I, sometimes we'll
watch Christian programming.
00:13:38.78\00:13:42.85
And we are watching something
last night in particular,
00:13:42.85\00:13:45.99
and they said, the pastor said,
00:13:45.99\00:13:48.86
"We're going to be
looking at one of the Psalms."
00:13:48.86\00:13:52.23
And he said,
00:13:52.23\00:13:53.26
"I know some of you
don't have an Old Testament.
00:13:53.26\00:13:54.93
All you have is
your New Testaments,
00:13:54.93\00:13:56.40
but you can just listen.
00:13:56.40\00:13:58.33
And I thought,
00:13:58.33\00:13:59.63
"How sad that a pastor
would even tolerate a church
00:13:59.63\00:14:04.31
only having a
third of their Bible."
00:14:04.31\00:14:08.51
Because Jesus doesn't
begin in the New Testament,
00:14:08.51\00:14:12.88
Jesus is all the
way through the Bible.
00:14:12.88\00:14:15.15
Amen? Amen.
00:14:15.15\00:14:16.62
And so keeping
that at the center
00:14:16.62\00:14:18.25
is I think a
very important chord.
00:14:18.25\00:14:21.09
All right, you can read
also, here's another great one,
00:14:21.09\00:14:25.03
I think we all know.
00:14:25.03\00:14:26.06
John 1:1-3, talking
about the prominence,
00:14:26.06\00:14:31.17
and the priority, and
the preeminence of Jesus.
00:14:31.17\00:14:35.17
"In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God,
00:14:35.17\00:14:38.74
and the Word was God.
00:14:38.74\00:14:40.91
He was in the
beginning with God.
00:14:40.91\00:14:43.01
All things were
made through Him,
00:14:43.01\00:14:45.08
and without Him,
00:14:45.08\00:14:46.21
nothing was made that was made."
00:14:46.21\00:14:49.78
So He made everything.
00:14:49.78\00:14:51.52
All things are made by Him.
00:14:51.52\00:14:53.72
He is the first and the
last, the alpha and the omega,
00:14:53.72\00:14:57.19
and so it's just very clear
00:14:57.19\00:14:59.49
that the Bible
is all about Jesus.
00:14:59.49\00:15:01.40
In Matthew 28, I like this one.
00:15:01.40\00:15:03.73
He says in verse 18,
00:15:03.73\00:15:06.37
"And Jesus came
and He spoke, saying,
00:15:06.37\00:15:08.94
'All authority has been given
to me in heaven and on earth.'"
00:15:08.94\00:15:14.21
So Christ is really everything.
00:15:14.21\00:15:16.11
Let me give you one more
verse on that before we move on.
00:15:16.11\00:15:18.45
Colossians 1:16, you
know, these words moved me,
00:15:18.45\00:15:22.52
and the power is in the Word.
00:15:22.52\00:15:23.79
And sometimes I find myself
in the Sabbath school study,
00:15:23.79\00:15:26.05
I go, oh!
00:15:26.05\00:15:27.12
Oh! Oh! Here's a good one.
00:15:27.12\00:15:28.89
Here's another
one, here's another one,
00:15:28.89\00:15:30.56
but I got to be
careful as a pastor,
00:15:30.56\00:15:32.06
not just laying one
scripture on top of another
00:15:32.06\00:15:34.93
because sometimes your
eyes begin to glaze over
00:15:34.93\00:15:37.73
when I do that.
00:15:37.73\00:15:39.07
But these words move me 'cause
that's where the power is.
00:15:39.07\00:15:42.24
It's in the Word, the
proof is in the Scripture,
00:15:42.24\00:15:45.17
and so I said, "Oh, I
can't leave that one out.
00:15:45.17\00:15:46.88
Oh! And that's
another good one."
00:15:46.88\00:15:48.91
Colossians 1:16-18,
00:15:48.91\00:15:51.05
still talking about
Christ being everything.
00:15:51.05\00:15:52.85
This one sums it up.
00:15:52.85\00:15:55.12
"For by Him, all
things were created,
00:15:55.12\00:15:57.75
that are in heaven,
and that are on earth,
00:15:57.75\00:16:00.46
visible and invisible,
00:16:00.46\00:16:02.42
whether they're
thrones, or dominions,
00:16:02.42\00:16:04.46
or principalities..."
00:16:04.46\00:16:05.53
I'm going to pause
there for a moment.
00:16:05.53\00:16:09.03
Principalities or powers,
00:16:09.03\00:16:10.50
where else do you find that
word principalities and powers?
00:16:10.50\00:16:14.17
"We wrestle not
against flesh and blood,
00:16:14.17\00:16:17.34
but against
principalities and powers."
00:16:17.34\00:16:21.18
What is it talking
about in Ephesians 6?
00:16:21.18\00:16:23.45
Who are we wrestling against?
00:16:23.45\00:16:26.08
The devil, fallen angels.
00:16:26.08\00:16:28.08
Who made them?
00:16:28.08\00:16:30.02
Oh, they weren't
devils, but it says,
00:16:30.02\00:16:33.59
"He made all things including
principalities and powers,
00:16:33.59\00:16:37.23
all things were created
through Him and for Him."
00:16:37.23\00:16:41.96
And have you ever
wondered what you're made for?
00:16:41.96\00:16:45.10
You're made for God.
00:16:45.10\00:16:46.43
"And He is before all things."
00:16:49.50\00:16:52.17
We're never
hidden from His eyes.
00:16:52.17\00:16:54.11
"And in Him,
all things consist."
00:16:54.11\00:16:56.78
Oh, wasn't for God,
00:16:56.78\00:16:57.88
we'd just sort of
vaporize and disassemble.
00:16:57.88\00:17:01.85
"And He is the head of
the body of the church,
00:17:01.85\00:17:04.32
who is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
00:17:04.32\00:17:07.52
that in all things He
may have the preeminence."
00:17:07.52\00:17:11.59
And so that's a
pretty powerful scripture
00:17:11.59\00:17:13.83
that says that,
00:17:13.83\00:17:15.40
"The foundation for
your stewardship in life
00:17:15.40\00:17:18.27
is understanding
that God is all in all.
00:17:18.27\00:17:22.04
The foundation for
faithful stewardship
00:17:22.04\00:17:24.77
is understanding
that He owns everything,
00:17:24.77\00:17:27.98
that He made everything,
that everything belongs to Him,
00:17:27.98\00:17:32.88
that everything
will answer to Him,
00:17:32.88\00:17:34.85
that He has all authority."
00:17:34.85\00:17:36.99
And so when God
says something meager,
00:17:36.99\00:17:39.92
like "Remember to be
faithful with your tithe."
00:17:39.92\00:17:43.73
And we say, "Well,
let me think about that."
00:17:43.73\00:17:46.03
What?
00:17:46.03\00:17:48.06
He's God.
00:17:48.06\00:17:50.37
He says He will
supply all of our needs,
00:17:50.37\00:17:54.10
do we really believe,
00:17:54.10\00:17:56.44
and when you understand
the prominence of God,
00:17:56.44\00:17:59.77
it helps make that I think,
it puts it in perspective.
00:17:59.77\00:18:02.88
All right, now you probably
would not normally suspect that
00:18:02.88\00:18:07.58
in a lesson
dealing with stewardship,
00:18:07.58\00:18:11.12
we'd say, "Now let's
talk about the sanctuary."
00:18:11.12\00:18:15.26
But you even learn about
the stewardship principle
00:18:15.26\00:18:20.10
through the sanctuary doctrine.
00:18:20.10\00:18:21.53
That's our next section here.
00:18:21.53\00:18:22.90
Here's a quote from
the book Evangelism,
00:18:22.90\00:18:26.60
"The correct understanding
of the ministration of Christ
00:18:26.60\00:18:30.87
in the heavenly sanctuary
00:18:30.87\00:18:32.67
is the foundation of our faith."
00:18:32.67\00:18:36.41
Now what happened
there in the sanctuary
00:18:36.41\00:18:38.91
actually teaches us about God,
00:18:38.91\00:18:41.05
teaches us about
the plan of salvation,
00:18:41.05\00:18:42.98
and in connection with that,
00:18:42.98\00:18:44.75
it teaches us about stewardship.
00:18:44.75\00:18:47.12
The whole sanctuary dealt
with bringing something to God.
00:18:47.12\00:18:51.99
You would walk through
that door with an offering,
00:18:51.99\00:18:54.66
isn't that right?
00:18:54.66\00:18:56.06
And what happened is...
00:18:56.06\00:18:57.63
The sanctuary
talks about separation,
00:19:00.74\00:19:04.24
it's got a
border, there's one door,
00:19:04.24\00:19:07.54
we're on the
outside, God's on the inside.
00:19:07.54\00:19:10.95
We're trying to
get to where God is.
00:19:10.95\00:19:13.48
The sanctuary
represents a journey.
00:19:13.48\00:19:16.38
And let's just say for
instance that here you've got...
00:19:16.38\00:19:18.82
Just use your imagination, okay?
00:19:18.82\00:19:20.72
Here you've got the
courtyard of the sanctuary,
00:19:20.72\00:19:23.32
at the other end,
00:19:23.32\00:19:24.76
the farthest you
could go from the door
00:19:24.76\00:19:27.40
is the Holy of Holies.
00:19:27.40\00:19:29.06
God's there, you're on
the outside, you're here.
00:19:29.06\00:19:31.00
There's one way
to begin the journey,
00:19:31.00\00:19:32.50
you walk through the door.
00:19:32.50\00:19:33.70
Who is the door?
00:19:33.70\00:19:35.57
Jesus is the door.
00:19:35.57\00:19:37.01
And when you get to the door,
00:19:37.01\00:19:38.41
and you're coming with
what when you first enter?
00:19:38.41\00:19:40.58
Enter His gates
with Thanksgiving,
00:19:40.58\00:19:42.41
an offering of Thanksgiving,
and you bring Him offering.
00:19:42.41\00:19:45.01
You don't come before
the Lord without an offering.
00:19:45.01\00:19:46.75
Now the Bible says,
00:19:46.75\00:19:47.85
"You don't come before a
king without an offering."
00:19:47.85\00:19:50.02
But we're really
coming to make atonement
00:19:50.02\00:19:52.15
to prepare us to
go into His presence
00:19:52.15\00:19:55.42
because our sins have separated.
00:19:55.42\00:19:56.79
The blood must be applied
00:19:56.79\00:19:58.79
before we can go
into His presence.
00:19:58.79\00:20:00.36
So first thing
you do as you come in,
00:20:00.36\00:20:01.76
first thing that
there is an altar.
00:20:01.76\00:20:03.87
It's there to
receive an offering,
00:20:03.87\00:20:06.03
a sacrifice for your sins.
00:20:06.03\00:20:09.47
Offering is made,
00:20:09.47\00:20:11.07
then after the
offering, there's a laver.
00:20:11.07\00:20:12.81
And the laver's for cleansing.
00:20:12.81\00:20:14.68
Now isn't that interesting,
00:20:14.68\00:20:15.78
why doesn't it
have the water first?
00:20:15.78\00:20:17.15
You think, "Well,
first, you get clean,
00:20:17.15\00:20:20.05
then you make your offering."
00:20:20.05\00:20:22.08
Is that how it works?
00:20:22.08\00:20:25.42
Have you heard a
parent say to their child,
00:20:25.42\00:20:27.52
"Will you get cleaned
up, so you can take a bath?"
00:20:27.52\00:20:31.13
Doesn't that sound backwards?
00:20:31.13\00:20:33.53
You take a bath so
you can get cleaned up.
00:20:33.53\00:20:36.00
So the real hard cleansing that
prepares us for everything else
00:20:36.00\00:20:39.23
is the sacrifice of
Jesus, it's the lamb.
00:20:39.23\00:20:41.54
The altar, first
thing is the lamb.
00:20:41.54\00:20:43.97
Before the children of
Israel went through the Red Sea,
00:20:43.97\00:20:47.31
what happened in Egypt?
00:20:47.31\00:20:49.18
Passover Lamb, right?
00:20:49.18\00:20:51.55
The lamb came before baptism,
the cross comes before baptism,
00:20:51.55\00:20:56.48
and so then came to the
water, there is the washing,
00:20:56.48\00:20:59.52
then they went
into the holy place.
00:20:59.52\00:21:00.92
This is now...
00:21:00.92\00:21:01.99
They've entered a
new dimension here.
00:21:01.99\00:21:03.43
First of all you're
justified in the courtyard.
00:21:03.43\00:21:05.99
You're sanctified
in the holy place.
00:21:05.99\00:21:08.96
You are glorified
in the Holy of Holies.
00:21:08.96\00:21:12.23
But the whole journey,
it begins with an offering.
00:21:12.23\00:21:15.90
And you bring your lamb,
you come, and you're cleansed,
00:21:15.90\00:21:20.31
you go into the holy place,
00:21:20.31\00:21:21.81
and there's
three things in there,
00:21:21.81\00:21:23.41
you got the lamb,
you got the bread,
00:21:23.41\00:21:25.71
you got the altar of incense.
00:21:25.71\00:21:27.95
Those are the three disciplines
of the Christian life.
00:21:27.95\00:21:31.05
Bread, it's Word of God.
00:21:31.05\00:21:34.36
The light is sharing your faith.
00:21:34.36\00:21:35.86
Let your light so shine.
00:21:35.86\00:21:38.13
And the incense is prayer.
00:21:38.13\00:21:40.46
The three disciplines that
help you grow as a Christian
00:21:40.46\00:21:42.90
are there.
00:21:42.90\00:21:44.13
You read your Bible, you
pray, and you share your faith.
00:21:44.13\00:21:49.07
If you're not doing any
one of those three things,
00:21:49.07\00:21:51.17
you're probably
stunted spiritually.
00:21:51.17\00:21:54.11
You need to be...
00:21:54.11\00:21:56.31
On our way to
church this morning,
00:21:56.31\00:21:57.61
Karen and I saw a graph.
00:21:57.61\00:21:58.85
There's another
Christian program on,
00:21:58.85\00:22:00.68
it said, "An increasing..."
00:22:00.68\00:22:01.85
No.
00:22:01.85\00:22:02.92
"A decreasing number
to Barna study graph.
00:22:02.92\00:22:05.89
A decreasing number
of American Christians
00:22:05.89\00:22:08.36
are reading their Bible."
00:22:08.36\00:22:10.63
And some say, "Oh,
yeah, I read my Bible."
00:22:10.63\00:22:12.03
Then the question was, "Well,
do you read it besides church?"
00:22:12.03\00:22:18.10
It's like 17% read their Bible
outside of church in the week.
00:22:18.10\00:22:22.77
So it's just surprising.
00:22:22.77\00:22:25.67
You need,
00:22:25.67\00:22:26.74
if you're going to be sanctified
00:22:26.74\00:22:27.98
there in the holy place,
00:22:27.98\00:22:29.04
you need to read your Bible,
00:22:29.04\00:22:30.71
you need to have a
regular prayer life,
00:22:30.71\00:22:32.51
and you need to be
proactively sharing your faith
00:22:32.51\00:22:35.45
using your
different gifts in some way.
00:22:35.45\00:22:37.05
Not all are
evangelists or pastors,
00:22:37.05\00:22:38.69
you can give out literature,
you can do something,
00:22:38.69\00:22:40.72
but we should be
sharing our faith.
00:22:40.72\00:22:43.32
And then when
sanctification is complete,
00:22:43.32\00:22:47.96
then you move into
the presence of God.
00:22:47.96\00:22:51.03
Now when you
look at the sanctuary,
00:22:51.03\00:22:52.93
how much of that is about Jesus?
00:22:52.93\00:22:54.40
All the spokes go
back to the same hub.
00:22:54.40\00:22:57.31
Is that right?
00:22:57.31\00:23:00.61
Who is the door?
00:23:00.61\00:23:02.24
Jesus. Jesus.
00:23:02.24\00:23:03.55
Who is the high priest?
00:23:03.55\00:23:04.95
Jesus. Jesus.
00:23:04.95\00:23:06.72
Who is the lamb?
00:23:06.72\00:23:08.38
You all know your cue.
00:23:08.38\00:23:10.05
You're just
supposed to say when I ask,
00:23:10.05\00:23:11.52
you say Jesus, right?
00:23:11.52\00:23:13.59
Who is the bread?
00:23:13.59\00:23:14.89
Jesus. Jesus.
00:23:14.89\00:23:16.76
Who is the light of the world?
00:23:16.76\00:23:18.23
Jesus. Jesus.
00:23:18.23\00:23:19.93
And in whose name do we pray?
00:23:19.93\00:23:21.93
Jesus. Jesus.
00:23:21.93\00:23:22.96
His incense is what
makes our prayers acceptable.
00:23:22.96\00:23:26.47
I'm sure I've left things out.
00:23:26.47\00:23:28.87
Jesus said, His
body is the temple.
00:23:28.87\00:23:30.64
So destroy this
temple, I will raise it up,
00:23:30.64\00:23:32.81
and he spoke of His body.
00:23:32.81\00:23:33.84
So He's not just the
door, He's the whole thing.
00:23:33.84\00:23:36.18
And so all of it is teaching
us about Christ in some way.
00:23:36.18\00:23:39.68
And now this message,
00:23:39.68\00:23:41.28
we are stewards of that message.
00:23:41.28\00:23:43.72
And so we want to be faithful
in sharing that with the world.
00:23:43.72\00:23:47.32
And now in just a moment,
00:23:47.32\00:23:48.49
someone's going to look
up for me, Galatians 6:14.
00:23:48.49\00:23:51.26
You'll have that,
Brian? Okay, hang on.
00:23:51.26\00:23:54.00
I want to read 1 John 2:1,
00:23:54.00\00:23:58.00
"My little children,
00:23:58.00\00:23:59.50
these things I've written
to you that you may not sin.
00:23:59.50\00:24:02.67
And if any one sins,
00:24:02.67\00:24:04.37
we have an
advocate with the Father,
00:24:04.37\00:24:06.61
Christ the righteous."
00:24:06.61\00:24:08.74
Now this is
important, I won't rush past it.
00:24:08.74\00:24:14.52
Is it the desire
of the apostle here,
00:24:14.52\00:24:16.82
and we are
presuming the desire of God
00:24:16.82\00:24:18.75
that we may not sin?
00:24:18.75\00:24:21.62
When Jesus healed the woman
that was caught in adultery,
00:24:21.62\00:24:25.63
He said, "Neither do I condemn,
00:24:25.63\00:24:27.86
you go and try to
sin a little less."
00:24:27.86\00:24:31.03
Is that what He said?
00:24:31.03\00:24:32.07
No. No.
00:24:32.07\00:24:33.67
And then there was a
man who Jesus healed,
00:24:33.67\00:24:36.64
and He said
00:24:36.64\00:24:40.68
"Go and sin no more unless
the worst thing come upon you."
00:24:40.68\00:24:45.08
God's goal for us always is to
run as far from sin as we can,
00:24:45.08\00:24:49.62
and yet I hear more
and more pastors say,
00:24:49.62\00:24:51.39
"Just try not to sin too much."
00:24:51.39\00:24:53.69
Really, that's the
message I'm hearing.
00:24:53.69\00:24:55.19
"We got God's grace,
don't take sin too seriously."
00:24:55.19\00:24:58.59
And I understand
where they're coming from.
00:24:58.59\00:25:00.63
There are so many
people that are so guilty
00:25:00.63\00:25:02.53
because of their failures
that they just gave up on God,
00:25:02.53\00:25:05.17
and saw this great emphasis
00:25:05.17\00:25:06.40
on the grace
part of the message,
00:25:06.40\00:25:08.84
but it seems like the pendulum
00:25:08.84\00:25:10.07
has swung too far
the other way now,
00:25:10.07\00:25:11.77
and folks are not
being told about holiness
00:25:11.77\00:25:14.38
and believing that
God gives you the power
00:25:14.38\00:25:16.81
to turn from sin.
00:25:16.81\00:25:18.95
And so here He
said, "My little children,
00:25:18.95\00:25:21.18
I write these
things that you do not sin,
00:25:21.18\00:25:22.85
but praise the
Lord if we do sin,
00:25:22.85\00:25:24.65
if anyone sins,
00:25:24.65\00:25:26.72
we have an
advocate with the Father."
00:25:26.72\00:25:29.02
So part of the
sanctuary message is
00:25:29.02\00:25:30.86
when we do fall, we
can bring our lamb, Jesus,
00:25:30.86\00:25:35.33
to the door of that.
00:25:35.33\00:25:36.73
Now how do we do that?
00:25:36.73\00:25:39.10
Is the church now the sanctuary?
00:25:39.10\00:25:43.54
Or do we come boldly
before God's sanctuary now
00:25:43.54\00:25:46.37
through Christ, through
faith in the heavenly temple?
00:25:46.37\00:25:49.84
We pray, and we see
00:25:49.84\00:25:50.85
that He ever lives to
make intersession for us.
00:25:50.85\00:25:52.91
He's our high priest.
00:25:52.91\00:25:53.98
He spreads out His
hands that are scarred,
00:25:53.98\00:25:56.38
and He pleads His own blood.
00:25:56.38\00:25:58.29
And so this is
part of the gospel.
00:25:58.29\00:26:00.06
The sanctuary message
00:26:00.06\00:26:01.62
is a very important
part of the gospel today
00:26:01.62\00:26:03.93
in helping people understand
00:26:03.93\00:26:05.19
that He is before
the Father interceding.
00:26:05.19\00:26:07.60
Amen?
00:26:07.60\00:26:09.10
Okay, you're quiet group.
00:26:09.10\00:26:11.43
Revelation 14:7,
00:26:11.43\00:26:13.60
matter of fact, we've
got this later in the...
00:26:13.60\00:26:17.57
I'll say here too.
00:26:17.57\00:26:18.87
Revelation 14:7,
00:26:18.87\00:26:20.38
"Saying with a loud voice,
Fear God and give glory to Him,
00:26:20.38\00:26:23.04
for the hour of
his judgment is come,"
00:26:23.04\00:26:25.58
part of the sanctuary message
is that we're living in a time,
00:26:25.58\00:26:28.18
an awesome time of judgment
00:26:28.18\00:26:30.69
that begins at the house of God,
00:26:30.69\00:26:32.92
"and worship him who made
the heaven, and the earth,
00:26:32.92\00:26:35.59
the sea, and
the springs of water
00:26:35.59\00:26:37.33
are returning to the
worship of God as our creator."
00:26:37.33\00:26:41.13
Go ahead and read
for us, Galatians 6:14.
00:26:41.13\00:26:44.40
Now this is under the heading
00:26:44.40\00:26:45.70
of Christ
centered doctrinal beliefs.
00:26:45.70\00:26:48.60
Okay, Brian?
00:26:48.60\00:26:49.64
"But God forbid
that I should boast
00:26:49.64\00:26:51.74
accepting the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
00:26:51.74\00:26:55.38
by whom the world
has been crucified to me,
00:26:55.38\00:26:58.31
and I to the world."
00:26:58.31\00:27:00.55
What was the
center of Paul's boasting?
00:27:00.55\00:27:03.18
And he's using
that word sort of a...
00:27:03.18\00:27:05.62
In a little bit
of an analogist way,
00:27:05.62\00:27:09.09
said, "The only thing
that I have to boast about
00:27:09.09\00:27:11.56
is the Christ and the cross."
00:27:11.56\00:27:13.86
That is central.
00:27:13.86\00:27:15.36
Jesus said, John 14:6,
00:27:15.36\00:27:17.47
"I am the way, the
truth, and the life,
00:27:17.47\00:27:21.20
no one comes to the
Father, except through Me."
00:27:21.20\00:27:24.11
He is the door,
00:27:24.11\00:27:25.97
He is all in all
as we've discovered.
00:27:25.97\00:27:28.38
And He says, "I am the truth."
00:27:28.38\00:27:30.58
So sad that Pilate
there, Pontius Pilate,
00:27:30.58\00:27:33.98
he was standing in the
presence of truth incarnate,
00:27:33.98\00:27:37.12
and he said, "What is truth?"
00:27:37.12\00:27:38.65
and then he
turned and walked away,
00:27:38.65\00:27:40.06
he did not even
wait for an answer.
00:27:40.06\00:27:41.82
How sad to be that close
to the embodiment of truth,
00:27:41.82\00:27:46.80
and not listen to
what He had to say.
00:27:46.80\00:27:49.30
But to be cynical about
it, "Huh, what is truth?
00:27:49.30\00:27:51.07
Who knows what truth is?"
00:27:51.07\00:27:52.17
Truth was right
there in front of him.
00:27:52.17\00:27:54.37
The greatest concentration
of truth in the universe
00:27:54.37\00:27:56.30
was in front of him,
00:27:56.30\00:27:57.54
and he turned and walked away.
00:27:57.54\00:27:59.81
How many other
people still do that?
00:27:59.81\00:28:03.31
How many people
stay in a hotel room
00:28:03.31\00:28:04.81
with a Bible right
there by their bedstead?
00:28:04.81\00:28:07.72
Thanks to Gideons, and
they've never opened it up.
00:28:07.72\00:28:11.52
So close to truth.
00:28:11.52\00:28:14.86
Now, when we talk
about the different doctrines
00:28:14.86\00:28:18.16
in the Bible,
00:28:18.16\00:28:19.29
and that you would present
in an evangelistic meeting.
00:28:19.29\00:28:22.53
How was Jesus
supposed fit into that?
00:28:22.53\00:28:25.53
For example, when
we preach the doctrine,
00:28:25.53\00:28:29.94
well, you know, we're
Seventh-day Adventists,
00:28:29.94\00:28:31.37
so we talk about the Sabbath.
00:28:31.37\00:28:33.58
People think about Baptists,
00:28:33.58\00:28:35.01
they think about
baptism by immersion,
00:28:35.01\00:28:37.28
and then people
think about Pentecostals,
00:28:37.28\00:28:41.25
they will typically think
about speaking in tongues,
00:28:41.25\00:28:43.55
and there's a lot more doctrine
to Seventh-day Adventism
00:28:43.55\00:28:46.76
than just the Sabbath,
00:28:46.76\00:28:47.76
but it's their sort of
card of finding our name,
00:28:47.76\00:28:51.49
but should the
Sabbath ever be preached
00:28:51.49\00:28:54.00
outside of the context of Jesus?
00:28:54.00\00:28:58.07
Or should...
00:28:58.07\00:28:59.03
How is Jesus connected
with a Sabbath doctrine?
00:28:59.03\00:29:03.74
It talks about
Him as our creator.
00:29:03.74\00:29:05.57
It talks about the
rest that we have in Christ.
00:29:08.61\00:29:12.15
Now once we've got
the spiritual rest,
00:29:12.15\00:29:13.65
do we still need
physical rest once a week?
00:29:13.65\00:29:16.69
And once we understand that
00:29:16.69\00:29:18.32
we're to worship
Him seven days a week,
00:29:18.32\00:29:20.06
do we no longer
need weekly worship?
00:29:20.06\00:29:22.52
Corporate worship together?
00:29:22.52\00:29:24.46
No, of course,
that's still there too.
00:29:24.46\00:29:26.23
When we talk about
the doctrine of death,
00:29:26.23\00:29:29.20
how does Jesus fit in with that?
00:29:29.20\00:29:30.90
Well, it's true,
in death He rested.
00:29:34.20\00:29:36.47
Is He also our resurrection?
00:29:36.47\00:29:38.57
Yeah.
00:29:38.57\00:29:39.64
Christ says that
He is the resurrection
00:29:39.64\00:29:41.41
and the life.
00:29:41.41\00:29:42.48
What about the law?
00:29:42.48\00:29:44.21
If you're going to talk about
the doctrine of the law of God,
00:29:44.21\00:29:47.22
people think, "Well,
don't talk to me about the law,
00:29:47.22\00:29:48.98
talk to me about Jesus."
00:29:48.98\00:29:50.02
You ever heard
that, something like that?
00:29:50.02\00:29:52.02
They think that
talking about the law
00:29:52.02\00:29:53.29
is not talking about Jesus.
00:29:53.29\00:29:55.66
Jesus is the rock.
00:29:55.66\00:29:57.93
He is the law that is
written in our hearts.
00:29:57.93\00:30:00.36
He said, "He that
hears these words of Mine
00:30:00.36\00:30:01.93
is building on the rock."
00:30:01.93\00:30:04.13
And the law was
written on a rock.
00:30:04.13\00:30:06.13
And the God... The
New Covenant is what?
00:30:06.13\00:30:08.64
The law of God
written on our heart
00:30:08.64\00:30:10.61
through love for Christ.
00:30:10.61\00:30:12.01
And so He is everything.
00:30:12.01\00:30:13.61
The health message.
00:30:13.61\00:30:15.78
People think, "Well, you know,
00:30:15.78\00:30:17.01
we'll talk about the
clean and the unclean foods,
00:30:17.01\00:30:20.55
and just don't eat this,
00:30:20.55\00:30:22.58
and you can go
ahead and eat that,
00:30:22.58\00:30:23.79
don't eat too much of this."
00:30:23.79\00:30:26.52
Should that be
done outside of Christ?
00:30:26.52\00:30:29.49
Isn't He the great
physician, first of all?
00:30:29.49\00:30:32.96
And Christ is our
healer, and He fasted 40 days,
00:30:32.96\00:30:36.10
and we probably
could live without pork.
00:30:36.10\00:30:39.63
You know what I mean?
00:30:39.63\00:30:41.30
So you just look at Christ,
00:30:41.30\00:30:42.57
and look at His
life in self-denial.
00:30:42.57\00:30:44.94
And you think, you know,
00:30:44.94\00:30:46.64
it should always be
done in the context of Jesus.
00:30:46.64\00:30:49.28
Now, I've got
more in my lesson here,
00:30:49.28\00:30:50.58
but I see some
questions on the screen.
00:30:50.58\00:30:54.72
Some people wrote questions,
00:30:54.72\00:30:55.98
it looks like a few of them are
on the subject of stewardship.
00:30:55.98\00:30:59.82
So we're going to
answer some of those, right?
00:30:59.82\00:31:01.99
Here's a questions
that came in on Facebook,
00:31:01.99\00:31:04.29
it looks like it came in.
00:31:04.29\00:31:05.36
"Is sending my tithe
00:31:05.36\00:31:06.96
to a non-Christian
humanitarian organization
00:31:06.96\00:31:10.13
equivalent to tithing?"
00:31:10.13\00:31:12.57
Well, I would say
no. What do you say?
00:31:12.57\00:31:15.60
No, because it tells us
that the tithe was set aside
00:31:15.60\00:31:19.37
for the
proclamation of the gospel.
00:31:19.37\00:31:22.08
And while I might care
about, you know, dogs and cats,
00:31:22.08\00:31:26.18
I would never send
tithe money to the ASPCA
00:31:26.18\00:31:29.52
or an animal shelter,
00:31:29.52\00:31:31.15
and think that I was using
that to proclaim the gospel.
00:31:31.15\00:31:33.59
You'd really have to sort of
torture your logic to do that.
00:31:33.59\00:31:37.79
And so no, tithe is different,
00:31:37.79\00:31:40.13
but there are
00:31:40.13\00:31:41.43
number of good humanitarian
organizations out there,
00:31:41.43\00:31:44.23
and I think Christians
should sometimes think about
00:31:44.23\00:31:47.27
supporting those things.
00:31:47.27\00:31:48.37
I don't think Christians
should be known as the people
00:31:48.37\00:31:49.84
that only give to the church,
00:31:49.84\00:31:51.54
they don't give to
any worthy project.
00:31:51.54\00:31:54.41
We got a project here in town
00:31:54.41\00:31:56.24
where they help
people get off the streets,
00:31:56.24\00:31:59.08
loaves and fishes.
00:31:59.08\00:32:01.02
And there's a couple of them
00:32:01.02\00:32:02.45
that help people
struggling with drinking,
00:32:02.45\00:32:03.99
try and get off of it.
00:32:03.99\00:32:05.09
And that's a great, those
are some great ministries.
00:32:05.09\00:32:06.92
They do it in the
Christian context,
00:32:06.92\00:32:08.89
but that's not we use tithe for.
00:32:08.89\00:32:11.09
So there are some
good humanitarian charities
00:32:11.09\00:32:13.83
out there,
00:32:13.83\00:32:15.30
and there's some
charity out there,
00:32:15.30\00:32:16.87
they just go around
00:32:16.87\00:32:17.87
and people that are
dying from waterborne disease,
00:32:17.87\00:32:19.97
they're drilling wells for
them in these poor countries.
00:32:19.97\00:32:22.64
That's a great thing,
providing clean water.
00:32:22.64\00:32:24.54
That's kind of
Christian, isn't it?
00:32:24.54\00:32:26.41
But I don't want
to use tithe for that.
00:32:26.41\00:32:28.41
See, that's what's
different. Our next question.
00:32:28.41\00:32:30.68
"Isn't second tithe
the same as stewardship
00:32:30.68\00:32:33.85
or is it different?"
00:32:33.85\00:32:35.55
Well, both,
first and second tithe
00:32:35.55\00:32:37.65
are connected with stewardship.
00:32:37.65\00:32:39.82
The second tithe was different.
00:32:39.82\00:32:41.66
The second tithe is typically
something that's mentioned
00:32:41.66\00:32:44.99
that was done
connected with the feasts.
00:32:44.99\00:32:48.23
They might take
another tenth with them.
00:32:48.23\00:32:51.37
They could use
that along the way
00:32:51.37\00:32:52.97
to subsidize their
travel to the feast,
00:32:52.97\00:32:55.04
they could give it to the poor,
they could help buy provisions,
00:32:55.04\00:32:58.07
or by sacrifices that
they might bring to the temple,
00:32:58.07\00:33:00.74
and this was a second tithe.
00:33:00.74\00:33:02.38
It was something
separate from the first tithe
00:33:02.38\00:33:05.38
which is right off the top
00:33:05.38\00:33:06.45
that went towards the storehouse
00:33:06.45\00:33:08.38
and the priesthood.
00:33:08.38\00:33:09.78
We have some
others that have come in.
00:33:09.78\00:33:11.62
"Wasn't the tithe done away with
00:33:11.62\00:33:14.16
like the feast days?"
00:33:14.16\00:33:15.96
No.
00:33:15.96\00:33:17.03
Keep in mind
00:33:17.03\00:33:18.59
that one of the ways
you can draw a distinction
00:33:18.59\00:33:20.26
between the feast
days and tithe is,
00:33:20.26\00:33:22.80
ask yourself did it
exist before the Exodus,
00:33:22.80\00:33:26.43
do you find it in Genesis.
00:33:26.43\00:33:29.10
There were a
number of annual Sabbaths
00:33:29.10\00:33:31.41
that came in the Book of
Exodus connected with the...
00:33:31.41\00:33:37.08
They're written on paper,
00:33:37.08\00:33:38.61
and they were connected with
the temple and its services,
00:33:38.61\00:33:42.38
these were nailed to the cross,
00:33:42.38\00:33:43.82
but the weekly Sabbath,
00:33:43.82\00:33:45.69
it goes all the
way back to Genesis.
00:33:45.69\00:33:47.12
Matter of fact, goes back
to before sin, doesn't it?
00:33:47.12\00:33:50.29
Do you find an example
of the principle of tithe
00:33:50.29\00:33:53.13
in Genesis?
00:33:53.13\00:33:55.23
Yeah, it goes all the way back.
00:33:55.23\00:33:57.30
And so... and then
does Jesus repeat it?
00:33:57.30\00:34:00.27
When He says in Matthew 23:23,
00:34:00.27\00:34:02.34
"You pay tithe of your mint,
and your anise, and your cumin,
00:34:02.34\00:34:05.11
and you've omitted
the weightier matters
00:34:05.11\00:34:06.74
of the law,
justice, mercy, and faith.
00:34:06.74\00:34:09.08
these you ought to have done,"
00:34:09.08\00:34:10.51
notice the last
part of this verse,
00:34:10.51\00:34:11.91
"and not leave
the other undone."
00:34:11.91\00:34:14.45
He says, "You're
meticulous in your tithe,
00:34:14.45\00:34:16.35
and that's good."
00:34:16.35\00:34:18.39
He says, "But don't neglect
the most important things,
00:34:18.39\00:34:20.69
justice, mercy, faith.
00:34:20.69\00:34:23.49
These you ought to have done.
Don't let the other be undone."
00:34:23.49\00:34:26.96
Christ could have said,
00:34:26.96\00:34:28.50
"Don't worry
about tithe anymore,"
00:34:28.50\00:34:29.66
but He didn't.
00:34:29.66\00:34:31.00
And Paul said, "Those
who preached the gospel
00:34:31.00\00:34:33.13
live of the gospel."
00:34:33.13\00:34:34.20
That's what tithe is all about.
00:34:34.20\00:34:35.44
The Levites, their fulltime job
00:34:35.44\00:34:37.44
was to go
through the communities,
00:34:37.44\00:34:39.11
preach the gospel,
they lived of the tithe.
00:34:39.11\00:34:41.24
Paul repeats that same principle
00:34:41.24\00:34:42.68
for New Testament Christians.
00:34:42.68\00:34:44.38
Most evangelical
pastors still believe in tithe.
00:34:44.38\00:34:49.38
There are some that
think it's part of the old law.
00:34:49.38\00:34:53.19
But, yeah, I think
most do believe it.
00:34:53.19\00:34:55.89
Okay, I see another question.
00:34:55.89\00:34:58.16
"The only way I
can afford to pay tithe
00:34:58.16\00:35:00.66
is by working on Saturday."
00:35:00.66\00:35:01.93
Sorry.
00:35:04.97\00:35:06.00
"What's more important,
00:35:06.00\00:35:07.40
paying tithe or not
working on Saturday?"
00:35:07.40\00:35:11.94
I would disagree with
your premise for your question
00:35:11.94\00:35:15.28
that the only way that
you're going to be able
00:35:15.28\00:35:16.78
to afford to pay tithe
is by working on Saturday.
00:35:16.78\00:35:19.65
How do you know that?
00:35:19.65\00:35:21.22
If you are paying your
tithe first and not last,
00:35:21.22\00:35:26.29
God will supply your
needs if you're faithful.
00:35:26.29\00:35:29.22
Doesn't mean
you won't be tested,
00:35:29.22\00:35:31.56
but if you take up
God on His challenge,
00:35:31.56\00:35:34.03
He says, "Prove me now."
00:35:34.03\00:35:35.76
I've never seen God fail.
00:35:35.76\00:35:36.90
If you think that you proved God
00:35:36.90\00:35:38.33
and He failed the
test, let me know.
00:35:38.33\00:35:40.27
But God says, "Prove me,"
He is inviting us to test Him,
00:35:40.27\00:35:44.01
"and be faithful in this,
00:35:44.01\00:35:45.17
and see if I don't open
for you the windows of heaven."
00:35:45.17\00:35:47.48
How many of
you... All right, studio,
00:35:47.48\00:35:50.18
get ready for an audience shot.
00:35:50.18\00:35:52.95
Find some really
happy-looking people
00:35:52.95\00:35:54.42
before you do.
00:35:54.42\00:35:56.75
And I want to ask this question,
00:35:56.75\00:35:58.59
how many of you can
say you've proved God
00:35:58.59\00:36:00.46
on the tithe issue,
00:36:00.46\00:36:01.49
and He has come through for you?
00:36:01.49\00:36:03.06
Raise your hands.
00:36:03.06\00:36:04.49
Okay, there you
got the testimony
00:36:04.49\00:36:05.99
of our Sabbath school class.
00:36:05.99\00:36:08.00
So try it, the jury is
in that God is faithful.
00:36:08.00\00:36:11.93
Do we have another question?
00:36:11.93\00:36:13.54
Yup.
00:36:13.54\00:36:15.30
It said, "You mentioned
that those on Social Security
00:36:15.30\00:36:18.84
didn't have to pay tithe."
00:36:18.84\00:36:21.11
No, I didn't say that.
00:36:21.11\00:36:24.61
I said that if
when you, you know,
00:36:24.61\00:36:26.92
if you're giving
out of your check,
00:36:26.92\00:36:28.75
Social Security every week
00:36:28.75\00:36:30.99
or every, you know, two weeks
when you get your paycheck,
00:36:30.99\00:36:33.49
and you're paying
tithe on your gross.
00:36:33.49\00:36:35.16
In theory, you have paid tithe
00:36:35.16\00:36:37.03
on some of your
Social Security income.
00:36:37.03\00:36:40.06
But I would never
even worry about that,
00:36:40.06\00:36:41.63
I just pay on your gross
when you first get it in.
00:36:41.63\00:36:45.33
And it said, "Isn't
not giving our tithe,
00:36:45.33\00:36:47.64
not trusting God to give to us?
00:36:47.64\00:36:49.90
Yeah, I think we should just...
00:36:49.90\00:36:51.84
You can never outgive God.
Be faithful with your tithe.
00:36:51.84\00:36:54.64
All right, if you get
some more questions in,
00:36:54.64\00:36:56.18
just pop them up on the screen,
00:36:56.18\00:36:57.45
I've got more lesson, I'm
gonna go back to right now.
00:36:57.45\00:37:00.42
And we're talking about
00:37:00.42\00:37:01.58
Christ-centered
doctrinal beliefs.
00:37:01.58\00:37:03.82
Ephesians 1:19, and it says,
00:37:03.82\00:37:07.92
"And what is the
exceeding greatness
00:37:07.92\00:37:09.79
of His Power
towards us who believe,
00:37:09.79\00:37:11.33
according to the
working of His mighty power,
00:37:11.33\00:37:13.80
which He worked in Christ,
00:37:13.80\00:37:15.26
when He raised
Him from the dead,
00:37:15.26\00:37:16.83
and seated Him at His right hand
00:37:16.83\00:37:18.80
in the heavenly places,
00:37:18.80\00:37:20.20
far above all
principalities and powers,"
00:37:20.20\00:37:23.24
we talked about the
principalities and powers,
00:37:23.24\00:37:26.04
"and might, and dominion,
and that every name is named,
00:37:26.04\00:37:29.98
not only in this age,
but in the age to come,
00:37:29.98\00:37:32.58
and He put all
things under His feet,
00:37:32.58\00:37:34.92
and gave Him to be
the head over all things
00:37:34.92\00:37:37.75
to the church,
which is the body,
00:37:37.75\00:37:39.35
the fullness of Him
who fills all in all."
00:37:39.35\00:37:42.52
Look at the great experlatives
00:37:42.52\00:37:43.96
that Paul is using
to talk about Christ
00:37:43.96\00:37:45.76
is above everything
00:37:45.76\00:37:46.83
and everything
is under His feet,
00:37:46.83\00:37:48.16
and He's all in all and overall.
00:37:48.16\00:37:50.83
Here we see the Son
exalting the Father,
00:37:50.83\00:37:52.67
and the Father exalting the Son.
00:37:52.67\00:37:54.47
And if you look
in 1 Corinthians 2:2,
00:37:54.47\00:37:58.94
Paul, he says,
"For I am determined
00:37:58.94\00:38:00.98
not to know any thing among you,
00:38:00.98\00:38:03.14
except Jesus
Christ and Him crucified."
00:38:03.14\00:38:06.01
So it's pretty clear that
00:38:06.01\00:38:07.12
the emphasis of the
New Testament writers
00:38:07.12\00:38:09.05
was the centrality of
Jesus in every doctrine.
00:38:09.05\00:38:12.75
Whatever it is you're
going to teach on Amazing Facts,
00:38:12.75\00:38:15.06
teachers, evangelists,
00:38:15.06\00:38:16.86
we always tell them,
00:38:16.86\00:38:17.96
"Make sure you keep the
Christ in the middle of it."
00:38:17.96\00:38:20.16
And one of the
classes I teach for AFCOE
00:38:20.16\00:38:22.83
is that Christ in all the Bible.
00:38:22.83\00:38:24.87
It's one of my favorite themes
00:38:24.87\00:38:26.00
is whatever
doctrine you're teaching,
00:38:26.00\00:38:28.34
whatever story you're teaching,
00:38:28.34\00:38:30.14
look for the
gospel in that story
00:38:30.14\00:38:32.17
because I think
you find it everywhere.
00:38:32.17\00:38:35.41
All right, the
three angels' message,
00:38:35.41\00:38:37.35
our mission, here's
where you talk about the wheel,
00:38:37.35\00:38:39.41
but this is where the wheel
meets the road, so to speak.
00:38:39.41\00:38:41.95
How does the
stewardship effect what we say?
00:38:41.95\00:38:44.85
In the book, Nine
Testimonies to the Church,
00:38:44.85\00:38:49.36
page 19,
00:38:49.36\00:38:50.99
"In a special sense,
00:38:50.99\00:38:52.76
the Seventh-day
Adventist have been set aside
00:38:52.76\00:38:55.60
in the world as
watchmen and light bearers.
00:38:55.60\00:38:57.97
To them has been
entrusted the last warning
00:38:57.97\00:39:01.00
for a perishing world.
00:39:01.00\00:39:02.67
On them is
shining wonderful light
00:39:02.67\00:39:04.81
from the Word of God.
00:39:04.81\00:39:06.21
They've been given a work
of the most solemn import,
00:39:06.21\00:39:09.04
the proclamation
of the first, second,
00:39:09.04\00:39:11.65
and third angels' messages.
00:39:11.65\00:39:13.58
There is no other work
00:39:13.58\00:39:14.75
that is of so
great and importance.
00:39:14.75\00:39:16.99
They are to allow nothing
else to absorb their attention."
00:39:16.99\00:39:20.42
How many of you have been coming
00:39:20.42\00:39:21.49
to our midweek Bible study?
00:39:21.49\00:39:22.92
This will put you on
the spot. Some of you.
00:39:22.92\00:39:25.93
Hasn't it been good?
00:39:25.93\00:39:27.96
We've been doing the
three angels' message,
00:39:27.96\00:39:31.13
and I think last week,
I talked about Babylon,
00:39:31.13\00:39:33.44
and how to come out.
00:39:33.44\00:39:35.20
And we posted that on Facebook,
00:39:35.20\00:39:37.67
and it's got like
80,000 hits on it.
00:39:37.67\00:39:40.74
So people out there
are interested in that,
00:39:40.74\00:39:42.78
so out there, we
got 80,000 people,
00:39:42.78\00:39:45.15
but in the room, we got 30,
00:39:45.15\00:39:48.08
we had 50 out of 500 members.
00:39:48.08\00:39:52.02
Guilt.
00:39:52.02\00:39:54.99
If you didn't pick up on that,
00:39:54.99\00:39:58.03
we're here, Tuesday, 7
o'clock, here for study,
00:39:58.03\00:40:00.83
we're going through
the three angels' message,
00:40:00.83\00:40:02.20
and we're doing
it thoroughly too.
00:40:02.20\00:40:03.70
I think we spent
weeks just on verse 6,
00:40:03.70\00:40:06.90
and there's new
things all the time.
00:40:06.90\00:40:09.70
What are those messages?
00:40:09.70\00:40:10.77
Let me read them
to you real quick,
00:40:10.77\00:40:12.47
and this is Revelation 14:6-12,
00:40:12.47\00:40:14.98
she said this
should be a priority.
00:40:14.98\00:40:16.68
This is what happens
just before Jesus comes,
00:40:16.68\00:40:19.31
it tells in verse 14,
00:40:19.31\00:40:21.58
"I looked down on cloud
one like the son of man."
00:40:21.58\00:40:24.62
And so actually it's a
little later than that.
00:40:24.62\00:40:30.16
That's Jesus coming,
00:40:30.16\00:40:31.23
so the messages that go to world
00:40:31.23\00:40:32.49
before Christ comes,
00:40:32.49\00:40:34.13
"I saw another angel
flying in the midst of heaven,
00:40:34.13\00:40:36.60
having the everlasting gospel
00:40:36.60\00:40:38.30
to preach to those
who dwell on the earth,
00:40:38.30\00:40:40.20
to every nation,
tribe, tongue, and people."
00:40:40.20\00:40:42.17
That's a global message.
00:40:42.17\00:40:44.34
"Saying with a loud voice,
00:40:44.34\00:40:45.61
Fear God, and
give glory to him..."
00:40:45.61\00:40:47.74
That's a message
of reverence for God,
00:40:47.74\00:40:49.64
we need to practice reverence.
00:40:49.64\00:40:52.01
"Give glory to Him
00:40:52.01\00:40:53.11
for the hour of
His judgment is come.
00:40:53.11\00:40:55.55
Let people know that we're
living in a time of judgment
00:40:55.55\00:40:58.25
prior to the second coming."
00:40:58.25\00:41:00.52
You know people think
that's a difficult doctrine.
00:41:00.52\00:41:02.52
It's really a
very simple doctrine.
00:41:02.52\00:41:04.36
How many of you know
that when Jesus comes,
00:41:04.36\00:41:07.03
He's dispensing rewards
when He comes, is that clear?
00:41:07.03\00:41:10.73
Behold he comes,
my reward is with me,
00:41:10.73\00:41:12.63
to give to every man
according as his work shall be,
00:41:12.63\00:41:14.74
okay.
00:41:14.74\00:41:15.80
So does it makes sense to you,
00:41:15.80\00:41:17.01
some investigation
takes places before He comes.
00:41:17.01\00:41:20.48
That's called the
pre-advent judgment.
00:41:20.48\00:41:22.68
It's an investigation
that happens before He comes,
00:41:22.68\00:41:24.75
we're living in
that time right now.
00:41:24.75\00:41:28.18
And it says,
00:41:28.18\00:41:29.35
"Judgment has come,
worship Him who made..."
00:41:29.35\00:41:31.62
We're to worship the creator.
It's a revival and worship.
00:41:31.62\00:41:34.46
"The heaven, and earth,
00:41:34.46\00:41:35.56
and the sea, and
the springs of waters."
00:41:35.56\00:41:36.96
He is the creator,
00:41:36.96\00:41:37.96
you wouldn't have an
evolution as to people were
00:41:37.96\00:41:40.60
understanding the
three angels' message.
00:41:40.60\00:41:42.63
"And another
angel followed, saying,
00:41:42.63\00:41:44.07
Babylon is fallen, is
fallen, that great city,
00:41:44.07\00:41:46.43
because she's made all nations
00:41:46.43\00:41:47.90
drink the wine of the
wrath of her fornication."
00:41:47.90\00:41:50.44
Go to Revelation 18 says,
00:41:50.44\00:41:51.64
"Babylon is fallen, is fallen,
come out of her, my people,
00:41:51.64\00:41:54.54
or you'll receive of her plagues
00:41:54.54\00:41:55.74
and partaker of her sins."
00:41:55.74\00:41:56.98
And so it's an
important message.
00:41:56.98\00:41:58.75
People need to
know what is Babylon,
00:41:58.75\00:42:00.32
and how do people get out.
00:42:00.32\00:42:02.65
And then there,
you've got the third angel.
00:42:02.65\00:42:05.52
"Follows with a
loud voice saying,
00:42:05.52\00:42:06.79
'If anyone worships
the beast and his image,
00:42:06.79\00:42:09.26
and receives his mark in
his forehead, or in his hand,
00:42:09.26\00:42:11.83
he himself will drink
the wine of the wrath of God
00:42:11.83\00:42:14.36
that is poured
out with full strength
00:42:14.36\00:42:16.43
into the cup of
his indignation.'"
00:42:16.43\00:42:18.00
The most fearful
warning in the entire Bible,
00:42:18.00\00:42:21.20
I challenge you to
find a more fearful warning
00:42:21.20\00:42:23.97
than the one that says,
00:42:23.97\00:42:26.01
"They will drink the
wine of the wrath of God
00:42:26.01\00:42:28.28
poured out without mixture
into the cup of his indignation
00:42:28.28\00:42:31.88
and tormented
with fire and brimstone
00:42:31.88\00:42:33.98
in the presence
of the holy angels,
00:42:33.98\00:42:35.58
and in the presence of the Lamb,
00:42:35.58\00:42:37.12
and the smoke of their torment
ascends up for ever and ever,
00:42:37.12\00:42:39.85
and they have no
rest, day or night,
00:42:39.85\00:42:42.19
who worship the
beast and his image."
00:42:42.19\00:42:44.16
And yet you're
going to hear people say,
00:42:44.16\00:42:45.69
"Ah, don't talk about
the mark and the beast?"
00:42:45.69\00:42:48.43
Have you heard that?
00:42:48.43\00:42:50.03
Don't we have a
message of warning?
00:42:50.03\00:42:52.77
The Bible says, "If you
know the enemy is coming,
00:42:52.77\00:42:55.07
and you do not warn them,
they're going to be destroyed,
00:42:55.07\00:42:57.81
but their blood, I'll
require at your hands."
00:42:57.81\00:43:00.84
And so we have a message
of warning in that third angel
00:43:00.84\00:43:03.78
to avoid the most
fearful proclamation
00:43:03.78\00:43:07.02
in the entire Bible.
00:43:07.02\00:43:08.35
People say, "Oh,
the Old Testament
00:43:08.35\00:43:09.92
is judgment and plagues,
00:43:09.92\00:43:11.15
New Testament is love."
00:43:11.15\00:43:12.39
This is New Testament,
00:43:12.39\00:43:14.82
tormented, fire and
brimstone, present law.
00:43:14.82\00:43:17.89
We got to warn people, amen.
00:43:17.89\00:43:19.73
This is a message
that goes to the world.
00:43:19.73\00:43:22.03
How that they need to
avoid the beast and his image,
00:43:22.03\00:43:24.33
so don't ever fall
for that mushy nonsense
00:43:24.33\00:43:27.20
you hear pastors say,
00:43:27.20\00:43:28.50
"We don't need to talk
about the mark and the beast."
00:43:28.50\00:43:32.11
Jesus said to do it,
so we're going to do it.
00:43:32.11\00:43:33.74
Amen?
00:43:33.74\00:43:36.14
And you know what?
00:43:36.14\00:43:38.18
Those pastors
don't get baptisms.
00:43:38.18\00:43:41.65
When you preach the
three angels' message,
00:43:41.65\00:43:44.29
it converts.
00:43:44.29\00:43:46.15
When you do that in
an evangelistic program,
00:43:46.15\00:43:48.12
there is power,
00:43:48.12\00:43:49.22
people understand
the relevance of it,
00:43:49.22\00:43:50.96
and it reaches people.
00:43:50.96\00:43:52.43
Amen.
00:43:52.43\00:43:55.33
"Here is the
patience of the saints.
00:43:55.33\00:43:57.00
Here are those who keep
the Commandments of God,
00:43:57.00\00:43:59.13
and the faith of Jesus."
00:43:59.13\00:44:01.20
Part of stewardship is keeping,
00:44:01.20\00:44:03.51
and that would include
keeping the Commandments of God.
00:44:03.51\00:44:06.41
All right,
00:44:06.41\00:44:08.61
I'm going to jump down
because I see the clock,
00:44:08.61\00:44:10.48
and part of stewardship,
00:44:10.48\00:44:12.55
and this is where our
memory verse came from,
00:44:12.55\00:44:14.95
deals with holiness.
00:44:14.95\00:44:16.92
We've been given
lives, we've been given minds,
00:44:16.92\00:44:21.29
and with our lives and
with the things we think,
00:44:21.29\00:44:23.39
God has called us
to be pure in heart.
00:44:23.39\00:44:26.23
He's called us the holiness.
00:44:26.23\00:44:27.40
We will give an
account to what we do,
00:44:27.40\00:44:29.10
that's
stewardship, with what we have,
00:44:29.10\00:44:31.03
and one of the things
He's given you is a mind.
00:44:31.03\00:44:33.37
We need to pray the
Lord will brainwash us.
00:44:33.37\00:44:37.14
Wash our brains.
00:44:37.14\00:44:38.27
Anyone in for that?
You know what I mean.
00:44:38.27\00:44:41.54
And that we can be sanctified,
00:44:41.54\00:44:43.95
and that we can be
made pure in heart.
00:44:43.95\00:44:46.58
Hebrews 9:14,
00:44:46.58\00:44:48.22
"Of how much more
shall the blood of Christ,
00:44:48.22\00:44:50.49
who through the eternal Spirit,
00:44:50.49\00:44:52.42
who offered Himself
without spot to God,
00:44:52.42\00:44:54.99
cleanse your
conscience from dead works
00:44:54.99\00:44:57.53
to serve the living God?"
00:44:57.53\00:44:58.76
He cleanses you in
here, in your conscience too.
00:44:58.76\00:45:01.93
Someone's going to
read for me in a moment.
00:45:01.93\00:45:03.80
1 Thessalonians 4,
you got that, Mangie?
00:45:03.80\00:45:07.14
All right, you're next.
00:45:07.14\00:45:08.70
Luke 1:35,
00:45:08.70\00:45:10.84
"And the angel
answered and said to Mary,
00:45:10.84\00:45:12.97
'The Holy Spirit
will come upon you,
00:45:12.97\00:45:14.71
and the power of the
Highest will overshadow you.
00:45:14.71\00:45:17.95
Therefore, that holy one
00:45:17.95\00:45:20.18
who will be born is
called the Son of God.'"
00:45:20.18\00:45:22.62
Jesus is that holy one,
and He needs to be born in us.
00:45:22.62\00:45:27.02
All right, go ahead please.
00:45:27.02\00:45:28.59
1 Thessalonians 4:7 and 8,
00:45:28.59\00:45:31.19
"For God did not
call us to uncleanliness,
00:45:31.19\00:45:35.36
but in holiness.
00:45:35.36\00:45:37.43
Therefore he who reject this
does not reject man, but God,
00:45:37.43\00:45:44.07
who has also given
us His Holy Spirit."
00:45:44.07\00:45:48.18
Hard to imagine that
00:45:48.18\00:45:49.28
someone would reject
the teaching of holiness.
00:45:49.28\00:45:52.01
Paul is not talking
about people in the world
00:45:52.01\00:45:53.95
who reject it,
00:45:53.95\00:45:55.02
they have no concept.
00:45:55.02\00:45:56.35
He's talking about
people in the church
00:45:56.35\00:45:57.79
that would reject
the teaching of holiness.
00:45:57.79\00:46:00.39
Do we have that
in the church today?
00:46:00.39\00:46:02.96
Absolutely.
00:46:02.96\00:46:04.59
And people, you
talk about holiness,
00:46:04.59\00:46:05.76
they call it legalism,
00:46:05.76\00:46:07.66
as though obedience is legalism.
00:46:07.66\00:46:10.00
God has called us the holiness.
00:46:10.00\00:46:11.60
Holiness means you're set aside.
00:46:11.60\00:46:14.07
You strive for purity
of mind, purity of life,
00:46:14.07\00:46:16.40
purity of heart,
00:46:16.40\00:46:17.97
and you are to be
stewards of that life
00:46:17.97\00:46:20.28
to lead everyone keep
his vessel in holiness,
00:46:20.28\00:46:23.11
the Bible says.
00:46:23.11\00:46:24.55
Hebrews 12:14,
00:46:24.55\00:46:26.18
"Pursue peace with all people,
00:46:26.18\00:46:28.25
and, " catch this,
00:46:28.25\00:46:29.62
"holiness, without
which no one will see God."
00:46:29.62\00:46:35.02
Now the Lord
imputes holiness to us
00:46:35.02\00:46:40.06
through sanctification
and justification.
00:46:40.06\00:46:42.76
He imparts holiness to us
00:46:42.76\00:46:45.03
through
sanctification as we follow Him.
00:46:45.03\00:46:47.87
And there will be battles.
00:46:47.87\00:46:50.14
You are going to
wrestle, you're going to strive,
00:46:50.14\00:46:52.31
you're going to run,
00:46:52.31\00:46:53.38
there's
struggles of self-denial.
00:46:53.38\00:46:55.28
If people aren't told
this, they're being fooled.
00:46:55.28\00:46:58.08
If you want to be
a Bible Christian,
00:46:58.08\00:47:00.05
there are struggles,
and there are great rewards.
00:47:00.05\00:47:03.39
But, you know, on your
way to the Promised Land,
00:47:03.39\00:47:05.39
there are battles to fight.
00:47:05.39\00:47:07.32
But the reward of
holiness and the peace of mind
00:47:07.32\00:47:11.83
that passes understanding.
00:47:11.83\00:47:14.63
1 Peter 1:15,
00:47:14.63\00:47:16.50
"But as He who has
called you is holy,
00:47:16.50\00:47:18.87
so also be holy
in all your conduct
00:47:18.87\00:47:22.34
because it is written.
00:47:22.34\00:47:23.64
'Be holy, for I am holy.'"
00:47:23.64\00:47:25.67
And none of us is going to say,
00:47:25.67\00:47:26.74
"Oh, yeah, I
think I'm holy enough."
00:47:26.74\00:47:28.14
We all feel like we fall
short, but what is our goal?
00:47:28.14\00:47:31.38
To be like Christ,
00:47:31.38\00:47:32.48
and He was that holy one
00:47:32.48\00:47:34.28
that was conceived
of the Holy Spirit.
00:47:34.28\00:47:36.45
Isaiah 35:8, the Bible says,
00:47:36.45\00:47:38.69
"A highway will
be there, a road,
00:47:38.69\00:47:40.52
and it will be called
the highway of holiness.
00:47:40.52\00:47:43.69
And the unclean
will not pass over it."
00:47:43.69\00:47:46.29
This is the way.
Jesus is the way.
00:47:46.29\00:47:48.73
Philippians 4:19,
00:47:48.73\00:47:50.77
"And my God will
supply all your need
00:47:50.77\00:47:53.17
according to the riches
in glory by Jesus Christ."
00:47:53.17\00:47:56.30
So when we're
talking about stewardship,
00:47:56.30\00:47:58.51
and God
supplying all of our need,
00:47:58.51\00:48:00.84
so often we think,
"Ah, my bank account,
00:48:00.84\00:48:03.21
God will supply all of my need."
00:48:03.21\00:48:05.68
But when we're
talking about holiness,
00:48:05.68\00:48:07.65
and we say, "God
will supply all my need,"
00:48:07.65\00:48:09.58
what are you thinking?
00:48:09.58\00:48:12.32
Aren't you thinking of
the grace that you need,
00:48:12.32\00:48:14.52
the power of the
Spirit to resist temptation,
00:48:14.52\00:48:18.09
to keep your eyes
in the right place,
00:48:18.09\00:48:20.96
to keep your head
in the right place,
00:48:20.96\00:48:22.70
to keep your
ears in right place?
00:48:22.70\00:48:24.97
That's what it means. God
will supply all your need.
00:48:24.97\00:48:26.80
This is, He
supplies all your need
00:48:26.80\00:48:28.17
that you need to be
what He wants you to be.
00:48:28.17\00:48:31.21
Let me read one more
thing, and then I'm done.
00:48:31.21\00:48:33.84
"The sanctification of the soul
00:48:33.84\00:48:35.54
by the working
of the Holy Spirit
00:48:35.54\00:48:37.18
is the implanting of
Christ nature in humanity.
00:48:37.18\00:48:40.48
Gospel religion is
Christ in the life,
00:48:40.48\00:48:42.92
a living act of principle.
00:48:42.92\00:48:45.05
It is the grace of
Christ revealed in the character
00:48:45.05\00:48:47.62
and wrought out in good works.
00:48:47.62\00:48:49.46
The principles of the
gospel cannot be disconnected
00:48:49.46\00:48:52.53
from any
department of practical life.
00:48:52.53\00:48:54.63
Every line of
Christian experience
00:48:54.63\00:48:57.13
and labor
00:48:57.13\00:48:58.40
is the representation
of the life of Christ."
00:48:58.40\00:49:01.50
We are to represent Jesus
in the world by our lives.
00:49:01.50\00:49:04.17
We are stewards of our influence
00:49:04.17\00:49:07.08
among other things.
00:49:07.08\00:49:08.14
Amen?
00:49:08.14\00:49:09.21
I want to remind our
friends that are watching
00:49:09.21\00:49:11.35
or some are just listening
00:49:11.35\00:49:13.31
that we do have a free offer
00:49:13.31\00:49:14.52
and it's called
Hidden Eyes and Closed Ears,
00:49:14.52\00:49:17.59
talks about being
open to the Holy Spirit,
00:49:17.59\00:49:19.52
726 is the offer you'll
ask for when you call 800...
00:49:19.52\00:49:23.63
I'm sorry, 866-788-3966,
that's 866-Study-More.
00:49:23.63\00:49:28.80
We'll send it to you for
free, please send for this.
00:49:28.80\00:49:30.80
It'll bless you, read
it, share it with a friend,
00:49:30.80\00:49:33.67
and God bless you
00:49:33.67\00:49:35.10
till we study His word
together again next week.
00:49:35.10\00:49:37.51
Among the people
living in the tropics,
00:49:48.75\00:49:50.49
for thousands of years,
00:49:50.49\00:49:52.02
the coconut has been
a virtual tree of life.
00:49:52.02\00:49:55.22
The people use it for
food, for clothing, for water,
00:49:55.22\00:49:58.83
for tools, for soap,
00:49:58.83\00:50:00.90
it does just about everything.
00:50:00.90\00:50:03.30
The coconut has also
saved a lot of lives.
00:50:03.30\00:50:07.07
During World War II,
pilots that were shot down
00:50:07.07\00:50:09.80
or sailors that were
stranded on Pacific Islands,
00:50:09.80\00:50:12.24
they lived for many months
00:50:12.24\00:50:13.61
on nothing other
than the coconut trees
00:50:13.61\00:50:15.98
that were on their islands.
00:50:15.98\00:50:17.51
Yes, sir, the
coconut is a tree of life.
00:50:17.51\00:50:21.02
One of the amazing
things about coconut
00:50:21.02\00:50:23.08
is they're designed so
they're actually able to float
00:50:23.08\00:50:25.52
across oceans.
00:50:25.52\00:50:27.12
Coconuts can go
thousands of miles
00:50:27.12\00:50:28.72
after many months
00:50:28.72\00:50:29.92
be washed up on some
deserted sandy beach,
00:50:29.92\00:50:32.73
then they take
root, sprout, come to life
00:50:32.73\00:50:37.27
and they'll develop
a whole new ecosystem,
00:50:37.27\00:50:39.97
holding islands in
place through a hurricane.
00:50:39.97\00:50:42.17
When the ancient
Polynesian travelers
00:50:42.17\00:50:44.64
crossing oceans
00:50:44.64\00:50:45.77
saw an island
with coconut trees,
00:50:45.77\00:50:47.78
they knew there was hope.
00:50:47.78\00:50:49.08
It's amazing how in
virtually no time at all,
00:50:49.08\00:50:51.98
those living on Pacific Islands
00:50:51.98\00:50:53.95
know how to make
baskets and all kinds of tools
00:50:53.95\00:50:56.95
from the leaves
of the coconut tree.
00:50:56.95\00:50:58.62
The coconuts even
serve different purposes
00:51:01.82\00:51:03.83
at different times
in their development.
00:51:03.83\00:51:05.49
The younger green
coconut, they're full of water,
00:51:05.49\00:51:08.16
that'll keep you alive.
00:51:08.16\00:51:11.90
You can even make
utensils from the coconut.
00:51:11.90\00:51:14.30
My spoon is part
of the green shell
00:51:14.30\00:51:17.47
and here this
is a coconut jelly,
00:51:17.47\00:51:20.61
makes good for breakfast.
00:51:20.61\00:51:21.78
The more mature coconuts,
that's where you get the meat,
00:51:24.55\00:51:27.28
but you want to make
sure that they're not bad,
00:51:27.28\00:51:29.02
the way you test this
00:51:29.02\00:51:30.25
is you can hear
the water inside.
00:51:30.25\00:51:31.82
You bring that mike over here.
00:51:31.82\00:51:34.42
Can you hear it?
That's a good one.
00:51:34.42\00:51:36.66
How about we take a bite?
00:51:36.66\00:51:38.46
Now that makes meal
that will really fill you up
00:51:38.46\00:51:40.50
and it cleanse your
teeth at the same time.
00:51:40.50\00:51:42.50
Throughout the Bible,
00:51:45.50\00:51:46.57
Jesus uses a number of metaphors
00:51:46.57\00:51:48.57
to remind us that
everything we need to survive
00:51:48.57\00:51:50.81
comes from Him.
00:51:50.81\00:51:51.94
He says that
He's the living water.
00:51:51.94\00:51:54.08
Jesus tells us He
is the bread of life.
00:51:54.08\00:51:56.68
His robe covers us
with righteousness.
00:51:56.68\00:51:59.58
He is our good
shepherd that protects us.
00:51:59.58\00:52:01.98
Jesus is the living vine
through which we get our life
00:52:01.98\00:52:05.05
and our nourishment.
00:52:05.05\00:52:06.42
You might say Jesus
is like the coconut tree,
00:52:06.42\00:52:09.32
a tree of life.
00:52:09.32\00:52:11.03
You know, the first few
verses in the Bible tell that
00:52:11.03\00:52:13.29
God provided a
tree of life for man
00:52:13.29\00:52:15.46
so he could live forever,
00:52:15.46\00:52:17.03
but because of sin, man was
00:52:17.03\00:52:18.17
separated from that
tree and from the garden.
00:52:18.17\00:52:21.17
But through trusting in Jesus
00:52:21.17\00:52:22.70
and trusting in His
sacrifice on the cross,
00:52:22.70\00:52:25.07
we once again will have
access to the tree of life
00:52:25.07\00:52:27.81
and have eternal life
with Him in the kingdom.
00:52:27.81\00:52:30.48
But this is all made possible
because we trust in Jesus,
00:52:30.48\00:52:33.48
who is the real tree of life.
00:52:33.48\00:52:35.52
Jesus said, "Unless you eat
My flesh and drink My blood,
00:52:35.52\00:52:38.02
you have no life in you."
00:52:38.02\00:52:39.49
But when we accept
Christ as our sacrifice
00:52:39.49\00:52:41.92
and we allow Him to cleanse us
00:52:41.92\00:52:43.29
and fill us with His Spirit,
00:52:43.29\00:52:44.63
we become new creatures,
00:52:44.63\00:52:46.03
and we can be with Him
00:52:46.03\00:52:47.13
and sharing the gift of
everlasting life with others.
00:52:47.13\00:52:50.70
Matter of fact, we
could do that right now
00:52:50.70\00:52:52.27
by tossing a coconut out
00:52:52.27\00:52:53.77
and praying that it
lands on a deserted beach.
00:52:53.77\00:52:56.00
Amazing Facts, changed lives.
00:53:15.39\00:53:18.33
My greatest wish
00:53:24.20\00:53:26.74
is that my children will see me
00:53:26.74\00:53:29.67
the way I see my own father.
00:53:29.67\00:53:35.54
He's a very devoted man.
00:53:35.54\00:53:37.85
And that kind of
framed my childhood
00:53:37.85\00:53:39.78
going forward from there
00:53:39.78\00:53:41.15
where I was always
involved in church work,
00:53:41.15\00:53:45.25
and I had a very rich experience
00:53:45.25\00:53:48.16
with the Lord at a young age,
00:53:48.16\00:53:51.79
all the way up through college.
00:53:51.79\00:53:53.36
Then after I got married,
00:53:53.36\00:53:55.63
I got in a
company called Comcast.
00:53:55.63\00:53:58.67
And I spent the past
roughly eight and a half years,
00:53:58.67\00:54:02.77
nine years at Comcast.
00:54:02.77\00:54:05.01
And I was actually
watching television with my son.
00:54:05.01\00:54:09.24
And a Comcast
commercial came on the air.
00:54:09.24\00:54:13.31
And he said, "Oh,
daddy, that's Comcast,
00:54:13.31\00:54:16.65
that's where you work, daddy."
00:54:16.65\00:54:19.59
And most fathers would be
proud of something like that,
00:54:19.59\00:54:22.99
but it really struck me that,
00:54:22.99\00:54:25.83
you know, my
son is getting older
00:54:25.83\00:54:27.66
and he does not see me
as a servant of the Lord.
00:54:27.66\00:54:30.07
He sees me as a
servant of my company.
00:54:30.07\00:54:33.74
And I knew that I would
have to make some changes,
00:54:33.74\00:54:38.11
because I wanted him to
know me as a man of God.
00:54:38.11\00:54:43.38
I never thought I
would be a preacher
00:54:43.38\00:54:44.85
or anything like that.
00:54:44.85\00:54:46.95
But I knew that there
was room in the work for me
00:54:46.95\00:54:50.99
and for my talents.
00:54:50.99\00:54:54.52
And I wanted my son to
see me operating in the work.
00:54:54.52\00:55:00.93
That's when I knew that my
time there was coming to an end.
00:55:00.93\00:55:05.20
I was sitting in
my office one day
00:55:05.20\00:55:07.37
and I was kneeling in prayer,
00:55:07.37\00:55:09.27
I said, God, now show
me what You want me to do
00:55:09.27\00:55:12.31
because, you know,
00:55:12.31\00:55:14.68
it seems like a
big move here and...
00:55:14.68\00:55:20.78
Everyone is thinking, I'm crazy.
00:55:20.78\00:55:23.25
And I don't know exactly how,
00:55:23.25\00:55:27.82
you know, things are
gonna go if they don't go well.
00:55:27.82\00:55:31.96
You know, the
crazy thought when you,
00:55:31.96\00:55:33.66
you're thinking about God
00:55:33.66\00:55:36.00
and I lifted my
head up in prayer
00:55:36.00\00:55:40.17
and they were
just like a flock of...
00:55:40.17\00:55:43.81
Oh, maybe 300 birds
that were just flying
00:55:43.81\00:55:48.08
and they were
swooping down over the water
00:55:48.08\00:55:50.71
and they would fly back up
00:55:50.71\00:55:52.61
and then, they would
chase each other around
00:55:52.61\00:55:55.45
and, you know,
I was just looking
00:55:55.45\00:55:56.62
at the pattern
of the giant flock,
00:55:56.62\00:55:59.02
and the promise of the Lord
came to me where He says that,
00:55:59.02\00:56:03.79
you know, He takes
care of the sparrows,
00:56:03.79\00:56:07.23
and you don't see
them worrying about
00:56:07.23\00:56:10.23
how they are going to be
taking care of from day to day.
00:56:10.23\00:56:13.57
You know, they don't, you know,
wring their hands wondering,
00:56:13.57\00:56:17.57
you know, will there be
any worms to eat tomorrow?
00:56:17.57\00:56:20.31
And that promise
really stood out to me
00:56:20.31\00:56:24.81
and He said, "How
much more do I love you?
00:56:24.81\00:56:27.68
You know, I'm not
gonna send you on a mission
00:56:27.68\00:56:30.25
to do My work
00:56:30.25\00:56:32.22
and leave you high and dry,
00:56:32.22\00:56:34.19
because you
claim to be My child,
00:56:34.19\00:56:36.26
you claim to be My son."
00:56:36.26\00:56:38.06
And everyone knows that,
00:56:38.06\00:56:41.16
that assurance
allows me to know that,
00:56:41.16\00:56:43.83
whatever happens here,
whatever happens after here.
00:56:43.83\00:56:49.40
We're sons of God
00:56:49.40\00:56:51.24
and there are certain things
that we shouldn't worry about.
00:56:51.24\00:56:55.61
From the day we
arrived at AFCOE,
00:56:55.61\00:56:59.68
it's been obvious
that God has blessed
00:56:59.68\00:57:02.82
the Amazing Facts
Ministry, the AFCOE program,
00:57:02.82\00:57:06.35
and I will be using
my AFCOE experience,
00:57:06.35\00:57:11.03
no matter where I
go to reach people
00:57:11.03\00:57:13.73
because the personal touch
of face-to-face evangelism,
00:57:13.73\00:57:19.53
speaking and
sharing the Word of God
00:57:19.53\00:57:22.20
out of your own mouth,
00:57:22.20\00:57:23.91
there's no replacement for that.
00:57:23.91\00:57:26.07
And Amazing Facts has been
very instrumental in helping me
00:57:26.07\00:57:30.38
find the area of the work of God
00:57:30.38\00:57:35.78
and show me how
large and how broad it is.
00:57:35.78\00:57:39.39
It's been a tremendous blessing
00:57:39.39\00:57:41.42
to be in a place
where we are around people
00:57:41.42\00:57:45.49
seeking to do God's will
00:57:45.49\00:57:47.23
and listening for
His voice in their life,
00:57:47.23\00:57:50.00
and that's very,
very important today.
00:57:50.00\00:57:52.50
Together we have
spread the gospel
00:58:00.08\00:58:02.48
much farther than ever before.
00:58:02.48\00:58:05.31
Thank you for your support.
00:58:05.31\00:58:07.28