I want to spend my life
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mending broken people.
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I want to spend my life
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removing pain.
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Lord, let my words
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heal a heart that hurts.
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I want to spend my life
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mending broken people...
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I want to spend my life
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mending broken people.
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Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today.
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We're so happy you're
going to join us today.
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We've got this
wonderful program scheduled.
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I can't wait to
introduce you to our guest.
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Have you ever desired a deeper
relationship with the Lord?
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More confidence
in your relationship?
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Well we're going to talk
today about our compelling God.
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And our guest...
Welcome our guest today with me.
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Our guest today
is Clinton Meharry.
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And you've been on
here before, haven't you?
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I have... yes.
It's been a while.
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Yes. We were here with our
son when he played the piano
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and then another couple
of times. Um-hmm... yes.
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Well we're
happy to have you back
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because we love your topic:
the compelling love of God
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because it's so
important that we know how deep
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and how
incredible God's love for us.
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And so many of
us don't grasp that
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as much as we're trying
to work on our relationship.
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Yes. It's what changed my life
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and so I'm anxious
to share it with others.
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Well let's start off by telling
our viewers a little bit about
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who you are and
what you're doing today.
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I'm currently the pastor of
the Moses Lake and Ritzville
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SDA churches in
Washington State.
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I've been there
for about 10 years
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and excited to be able to share
what the Lord has done for me
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and how He can be
a blessing to others.
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I've been to Moses Lake and
it's a beautiful area up there.
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Gets a little too cold for
me in the winter, but that's
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more on the desert side,
isn't it? That's correct.
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Not quite so much rain. Yeah.
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But it's a small
area but a beautiful area
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that God created. So you
live in a beautiful place.
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Earlier today you
recorded a couple of poems.
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In the book that he has:
The Compelling Love of God
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that you wrote, you put
some beautiful poems in there
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that I really enjoyed.
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So before we listen to
one of those poems, though,
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I want to read a scripture
that I want to start out with.
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It's in... grab your Bibles...
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it's in
Corinthians - II Corinthians -
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chapter 5 and
it's in verse 14...
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before we start talking
about this compelling love
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that God has.
"For the love of Christ
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compels us because we judge
thus: that if one died for all
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then all died
and He died for all
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that those who live
should live no longer
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for themselves but
for Him who died for them
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and rose again. " Amen!
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So we're going to listen to one
of your poems that you recorded.
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It's actually
called Honest With God.
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That can be a little intimi-
dating: to be honest with God,
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right? So you
enjoyed writing this, right?
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Yes. Recording it for us? Yes.
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So let's take a
listen before we jump into
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the main part of
our program here.
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I'd like to share the poem
Honest With God from the book
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The Compelling Love of God:
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growing into maturity by
finding security in Christ.
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When we find security in Christ
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we are able to
be honest with God
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which can help us
grow into maturity.
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Practicing fraud when dealing
with God. How foolish it is.
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All knowledge is His.
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He knows the heart
right from the start...
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so why pretend
with a loving Friend?
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He knows our
need... sees every deed.
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He loves us
still and always will.
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Amazing grace
for the human race;
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amazing love from heaven above.
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Just as I am He COULD condemn.
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He could
neglect; He could reject.
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Instead He dies
to save our lives
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with forgiving
grace upon His face.
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The ground then
shakes. Jesus awakes!
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Enemies tremble;
friends assemble.
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Truth is
revealed; people are healed.
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Hope is revived
for love has survived.
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Joy will soon
reign... peace without pain.
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No tears in the
eye. Death will then die.
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This guarantee frees
us to be honest with God
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with no facade.
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Isn't it interesting
how we try to deceive God
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or not be honest with Him?
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Because I think
we're embarrassed
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or there's just so many
human emotions that keep us
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from being honest with God.
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And yet we know
that He knows everything.
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So it's interesting to me that
we still try to deceive Him.
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Because I love... I don't know
how you came up with the name
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of this book but the
compelling love of God
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is something that
we need to internalize.
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How did you get so passionate
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for this gospel and for God?
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It came as a
result of my own journey
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of pain and not
understanding the gospel.
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I did grow up in a
good Christian home.
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Went to church regularly
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and that was a
positive experience.
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But I'd have to say that sports
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was what we really loved.
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I was the youngest of four boys
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and we as a family played a lot
of different kinds of sports.
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When I was a
sophomore in high school
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at a Christian boarding school
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the sports leaders were
also the spiritual leaders.
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One of those was Jim Micheff
who is currently the president
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of the Michigan Conference. Yes.
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And that impressed me.
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And that year I began
to read Desire of Ages
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along with the gospels and began
to fall in love with Jesus.
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The next year I thought:
"Well I'd like to be a pastor
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and help others come to know
Jesus as a Friend and Savior
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rather than just
going through the form.
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You were quite young then.
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At age 16. Wow!
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But then the next thought
was: "Well if I'm going to be
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a pastor I'd better
take this seriously.
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How am I doing? "
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And I fell into a trap of Satan.
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I began to focus on me
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and could always
find fault with myself.
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Shouldn't have done
this; shouldn't have done that;
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and should have done this.
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And began to live with
a constant nagging guilt.
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There's a book Steps to Christ
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where the author says that
Satan desires to get our eyes
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off of Jesus and
mentions four ways.
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The pleasures of the world;
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life's cares,
perplexities, and sorrows;
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the faults of others;
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our own faults and weaknesses.
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And he got me on the last one.
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And I didn't have a good
understanding of the gospel.
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And I did go on to
Southern Adventist University
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taking theology.
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But I was struggling because
I... because of this guilt
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and the guilt and the shame.
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I contemplated giving up.
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You know, when you have
guilt and shame that leads to
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emotional and spiritual pain
and you need a pain reliever.
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Well, of course, the
gospel is the pain reliever.
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But if I didn't
understand the gospel clearly
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I didn't know
what to do with that.
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Should have gone to a pastor
or a teacher or a counselor
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but shame leads you
to hide. Um-hmm... yes.
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And so I didn't
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and food became a
temporary pain reliever.
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Not purposely, but I
began to binge on food.
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And that leads to more
guilt, more shame, more pain,
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and more pain reliever.
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And so I found myself
in the cycle of addiction.
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And out of that is when I
kind of was contemplating...
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"Well this isn't
working for me. "
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But I knew that
Jesus was the answer.
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I knew that going the other
direction was not going to be
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helpful. And almost all of us...
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I shouldn't say almost. Satan
has something for all of us
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that we are tempted in
one of those three ways.
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We all deal with guilt of
letting God down at some point.
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Yes. And it's kind of
like you say a roller coaster
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or a bouncing ball:
up and down, up and down
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between trying to do
our best for the Lord
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and then disappointing Him.
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And so it gets on
like you say this cycle.
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And we all find a
way of self-medicating
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whatever that might be.
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And quite often it
can be something good.
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Working in the ministry...
but it's a cycle of addiction
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because there's that no under-
standing the compelling love
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of God. So my senior year
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I remember hearing Ivan
Blazen give a Week of Prayer.
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And he referred to an article
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in the magazine
Christianity Today.
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The article was
called Perfectionism:
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fraught with fruits
of self-destruction.
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Oh, dear! I thought:
"That sounds like me.
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I need to get that
article. " I read the article
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and it described me.
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Someone trying hard to please
God because I wanted to go to
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heaven, be accepted, but
you could never measure up.
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And the answer
of the article was:
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Jesus accepts us just as we are.
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Well, I knew that.
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Had sung this song many times:
How many times? Just as I am.
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And then I'm justified.
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But now I'm supposed to
grow into sanctification.
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Right. And that's
where the problem was.
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If I wasn't growing like I
thought I should be growing
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must be my fault. I
knew it wasn't God's fault.
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Maybe I don't have enough faith.
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If I don't have enough
faith for sanctification,
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how do I know if I have
enough faith for justification?
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And so that cyclical
thinking kept me insecure.
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I didn't have an answer at that
time, but just out of my own
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sanity's sake I
just held onto that truth
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that Jesus
accepted me just as I was.
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Went on to Seminary;
went on to be a pastor.
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And I would still
describe my Christianity as
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performance-based. As
long as things were going well
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I felt good about myself
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but if things didn't
go well I'd blame myself.
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Still working on that relation-
ship, trying to have that
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perfect
relationship that we all want
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but not sure how to achieve it.
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Yes, yeah. I talked
about righteousness by faith.
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But then I went to a
conference at Andrews University
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in 1990... that summer...
00:11:58.58\00:12:01.68
and I heard someone
share some Bible studies.
00:12:02.08\00:12:05.72
One of them was on
II Corinthians 5:14-21
00:12:05.92\00:12:09.32
that literally changed my life.
00:12:09.72\00:12:12.09
I called my wife and I said:
"I will never be the same. "
00:12:12.29\00:12:14.76
And it was that study
there in II Corinthians 5
00:12:15.86\00:12:20.87
that really helped me to under-
stand the gospel more clearly.
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Paul said there as
you read in the verse
00:12:25.51\00:12:27.18
"The love of Christ compels us
00:12:27.58\00:12:30.45
for we judge thus:
that if one died for all
00:12:30.65\00:12:33.38
then all died. "
00:12:33.58\00:12:36.62
That's a perplexing statement
00:12:37.02\00:12:38.95
that doesn't make
sense 'cause we haven't died.
00:12:39.15\00:12:41.86
And so oftentimes it
just goes over our heads
00:12:42.42\00:12:45.26
and we go on. But the
person who was sharing
00:12:45.46\00:12:48.46
helped me understand
what Paul was meaning.
00:12:48.66\00:12:51.70
It's actually simple when you
see it from God's perspective.
00:12:51.90\00:12:54.70
When God created
the human race...
00:12:55.50\00:12:57.97
when God created Adam He
was creating human beings.
00:12:58.17\00:13:00.18
Took a rib from his
side and created Eve.
00:13:00.38\00:13:02.81
And before they had children,
of course, they sinned.
00:13:03.55\00:13:08.55
They chose to eat from the Tree
of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
00:13:08.75\00:13:11.42
And because we all were in him -
00:13:13.05\00:13:17.26
the seed was in him -
00:13:17.46\00:13:19.09
Paul says in Romans 5:18
that all of us were condemned.
00:13:19.29\00:13:23.57
That's the bad news.
00:13:23.97\00:13:25.33
Since Jesus created Adam
00:13:25.87\00:13:27.67
He could become
another head of the human race.
00:13:28.54\00:13:31.97
He was the head of Adam.
00:13:32.17\00:13:33.51
And that's what He chose to
do: He became a human being.
00:13:33.74\00:13:37.25
And Paul calls
Him: "The last Adam. "
00:13:37.45\00:13:40.45
The Hebrew word
Adam means mankind.
00:13:41.25\00:13:44.72
And so he
represented all of us also.
00:13:45.69\00:13:50.43
And so the justice in
the plan of salvation is
00:13:50.63\00:13:53.16
we were redeemed in
the same way, we were lost:
00:13:53.36\00:13:56.87
by the choices of these two.
00:13:57.27\00:13:59.03
And so when
Jesus went to the cross
00:14:00.04\00:14:02.30
God's perspective is we
all went to the cross in Him.
00:14:02.70\00:14:08.34
With Him; in Him. In the
Bible, there's a couple of
00:14:08.54\00:14:11.75
there's other illustrations, but
a couple of Bible illustrations
00:14:11.95\00:14:14.45
that helped me understand
that this is indeed the way
00:14:14.65\00:14:16.62
God thinks. In Genesis 25
he talks about the story of
00:14:16.82\00:14:22.86
Rebekah. She can't get pregnant
00:14:24.39\00:14:26.43
and Isaac and Rebekah
prayed and finally, she does.
00:14:26.63\00:14:29.40
And during the pregnancy
00:14:30.20\00:14:31.93
all she knows is there's
a lot of kicking going on.
00:14:32.13\00:14:34.74
Yes. She can't go
down and have an ultrasound
00:14:34.94\00:14:37.27
and find out that there's twins.
00:14:37.47\00:14:38.97
But she goes to
God and says: "God, if
00:14:39.91\00:14:42.44
all is well, if
You've answered our prayer,
00:14:42.64\00:14:44.51
why am I like this? "
00:14:44.91\00:14:47.32
And God answers
and says: "Two nations
00:14:48.12\00:14:52.32
are in your womb. "
00:14:52.52\00:14:54.26
Now of course literally
it was just Jacob and Esau.
00:14:54.89\00:14:56.83
Right. But God sees
the whole nation of Israel
00:14:57.03\00:15:00.10
in Jacob. And so God
thinks in these terms.
00:15:00.30\00:15:05.97
One person
representing a whole group.
00:15:06.17\00:15:07.90
In Hebrews chapter 6 and 7
00:15:08.74\00:15:11.64
Paul's trying to
help the Jews accept Jesus
00:15:12.51\00:15:15.38
as our High Priest.
00:15:15.78\00:15:18.81
Well the Jews have a problem
00:15:19.01\00:15:20.92
because Jesus wasn't
from the tribe of Levi.
00:15:21.08\00:15:24.29
He was from the tribe of Judah.
00:15:25.32\00:15:26.79
Yes. And so Paul says:
"Well, He was like a priest
00:15:26.99\00:15:31.66
like Melchizedek
00:15:31.86\00:15:33.36
and he wasn't from
the tribe of Levi. "
00:15:33.56\00:15:35.43
And then in chapter 7:9-10
00:15:36.03\00:15:39.27
he says: "We could say this:
00:15:39.67\00:15:41.94
that the Levites
who received tithes
00:15:42.34\00:15:46.31
paid tithes in Abraham
00:15:46.51\00:15:51.35
for he was still in
the loins of his father
00:15:51.55\00:15:53.85
when Abraham met him. "
00:15:54.05\00:15:55.38
And so Paul is saying:
that the Levites paid tithe
00:15:55.55\00:15:58.29
to Melchizedek
because they were in Abraham.
00:15:58.49\00:16:01.49
Now of course they
weren't even alive.
00:16:01.69\00:16:03.02
Yes. But that concept
00:16:03.16\00:16:05.99
is what the
gospel is based upon.
00:16:06.19\00:16:09.30
And so it's different than
our Western way of thinking
00:16:09.70\00:16:11.67
so it's easy for us to miss it.
00:16:11.87\00:16:13.47
And so God sees all of
us in Adam, and so when He
00:16:13.67\00:16:17.11
sinned we all were condemned and
when Jesus lived a perfect life
00:16:17.31\00:16:22.01
and died on the
cross we died in Him.
00:16:22.21\00:16:26.82
And so Paul says: "The
love of Christ compels us"
00:16:27.02\00:16:30.69
motivates us, because we under-
stand that if one died for all
00:16:30.89\00:16:34.32
then all died. Then verse 15:
00:16:34.52\00:16:38.19
"And He died for
all that those who live
00:16:38.39\00:16:40.46
should live no
longer for themselves
00:16:40.66\00:16:42.40
but for Him who died
for them and rose again. "
00:16:42.60\00:16:44.77
And so what he's talking
about is the motivation changes.
00:16:45.17\00:16:48.37
Um-hmm. That's
exactly what happened to me.
00:16:48.57\00:16:50.84
Before my motive was I
wanted to be a good Christian
00:16:52.24\00:16:56.11
because I wanted
to go to heaven. Yes.
00:16:56.31\00:16:57.98
And that's a good desire
00:16:58.88\00:17:01.75
but the motive is selfish. Yes.
00:17:02.25\00:17:04.45
And so this freed me
to be motivated by love
00:17:05.05\00:17:09.19
because in Christ I
already died the death.
00:17:09.39\00:17:12.39
And then verse 19- my favorite
verse in all the Bible because
00:17:12.59\00:17:16.87
it is very simple - yes -
"God was in Christ reconciling
00:17:17.07\00:17:20.17
the world to Himself not
counting their trespasses
00:17:20.37\00:17:25.07
against them. " That shouted
the unconditional love of God.
00:17:25.27\00:17:29.18
No matter who you
are or what you've done
00:17:29.38\00:17:31.71
God's saying: "I'm not
counting your sin against you.
00:17:31.91\00:17:34.15
You're free to
come just as you are. "
00:17:34.35\00:17:36.58
So wanting to... As a pastor you
00:17:38.25\00:17:42.39
need to be able to help others
00:17:42.59\00:17:45.43
find this
compelling love of God.
00:17:45.63\00:17:47.40
And I'm sure you've
been asking God for guidance
00:17:47.60\00:17:51.00
and understanding and
you had a desire for truth.
00:17:51.20\00:17:54.60
Yes. And so by
searching for truth
00:17:54.80\00:17:57.51
and praying and asking,
God gave you an understanding
00:17:57.71\00:18:01.18
of some verses that
you can share with others
00:18:01.38\00:18:04.61
to help them understand
how to get out and off of this
00:18:04.81\00:18:08.68
cycle - yes - of
condemning ourselves and also
00:18:08.88\00:18:13.66
to understand the
joy of living in Christ.
00:18:13.86\00:18:18.79
Amen... amen... yes.
00:18:18.99\00:18:20.33
So understanding this
helped me to understand why
00:18:20.46\00:18:24.63
and how God could
forgive me. Um-hmm.
00:18:24.83\00:18:26.63
And before when I
was still struggling
00:18:26.84\00:18:30.51
I begged God to
forgive me: "Please forgive me.
00:18:30.71\00:18:33.88
Please forgive me. " And I'd get
up and I wouldn't feel forgiven.
00:18:34.08\00:18:37.08
But after I understood
what Jesus had already been...
00:18:38.15\00:18:41.45
He's not counting
my sin against me.
00:18:41.65\00:18:43.65
I John 1:9 doesn't
say to beg Him to forgive.
00:18:43.85\00:18:47.86
It says to
confess... to be honest.
00:18:48.06\00:18:50.39
Simply ask and be honest... yes.
00:18:50.59\00:18:51.93
He said He's:
"faithful to forgive. "
00:18:51.96\00:18:54.20
And so now if I
happen to fall in some way
00:18:54.36\00:18:56.56
I don't pray: "Lord, please
forgive me. " I say: "Lord,
00:18:56.97\00:18:59.33
I'm sorry. I failed... that's
not the way I want to live.
00:18:59.53\00:19:02.50
Thank you for
already forgiving me" -
00:19:02.90\00:19:06.57
yes - "based upon the promise. "
00:19:06.78\00:19:08.41
And so
understanding that forgiveness
00:19:08.91\00:19:11.11
it broke the cycle
in the area of the guilt
00:19:11.31\00:19:14.65
and so I was able to be freed
from that cycle of addiction.
00:19:14.85\00:19:19.19
And yes, I love to share
with people and help others
00:19:19.39\00:19:21.92
come to experience
that freedom as well.
00:19:22.12\00:19:24.69
Because God loves us so much.
00:19:25.09\00:19:27.63
He doesn't want us
to live in self-doubt
00:19:27.83\00:19:31.13
and not accepting
what He's given us.
00:19:31.33\00:19:34.34
He has given us this incredible
gift of love and forgiveness
00:19:34.54\00:19:38.17
wanting... That's His
desire. What He created us for
00:19:38.37\00:19:42.21
is to be with Him. Yes.
00:19:42.41\00:19:44.41
So I do want to go to heaven
but I want to go to heaven
00:19:44.61\00:19:48.58
because I finally
realized and understood
00:19:48.78\00:19:51.65
what you've come
to the conclusion of:
00:19:51.85\00:19:53.49
I want to be in heaven because
I want to be with God. Amen!
00:19:53.69\00:19:57.03
I want to be with Jesus. Yes.
00:19:57.23\00:19:59.06
I want to be in that love,
00:19:59.26\00:20:02.93
that amazing life with God.
And then everything else is just
00:20:03.13\00:20:08.27
frosting on the cake. Yeah.
00:20:08.47\00:20:10.27
But the desire to
spend eternity with God
00:20:10.47\00:20:13.24
is where understanding
the compelling love of God
00:20:13.44\00:20:16.68
comes from. And
it DOES free you.
00:20:16.88\00:20:19.21
And having... I love this book.
00:20:19.41\00:20:23.59
I think we have a copy of it
00:20:23.79\00:20:25.75
called The
Compelling Love of God.
00:20:26.15\00:20:29.72
And people can get this
book and it helps us understand.
00:20:29.92\00:20:35.16
You wrote this book
to help people understand
00:20:35.36\00:20:37.70
how to reach this
level of relationship.
00:20:37.90\00:20:41.00
Yes. And the subtitle of
the book is: Growing to maturity
00:20:41.20\00:20:45.17
by finding security in Christ.
00:20:45.37\00:20:47.28
And that's really
the focus of the book
00:20:47.48\00:20:49.41
because I tried it the
other way around: trying to find
00:20:49.61\00:20:52.98
security BY
growing into maturity.
00:20:53.18\00:20:55.22
But I could
never be good enough.
00:20:55.42\00:20:56.75
And so it's finding security
in Christ. In His righteousness
00:20:56.82\00:21:01.12
and His perfect life and death
that now we're able to live
00:21:01.32\00:21:05.03
for His glory motivated by love
00:21:05.23\00:21:08.50
because of the
security He gives us.
00:21:08.90\00:21:10.77
The focus is on God and His love
00:21:10.97\00:21:13.30
and not on our own ability.
00:21:13.50\00:21:15.30
So this made a huge
difference in your life:
00:21:15.70\00:21:18.07
understanding this gospel.
Absolutely... yes... yeah.
00:21:18.27\00:21:21.54
It helps us to understand or
have the assurance of salvation.
00:21:21.74\00:21:25.75
In I John 5:10-11
00:21:26.41\00:21:31.69
I'm just going to look it up
00:21:32.09\00:21:33.76
there and share it with us.
00:21:33.96\00:21:35.32
I John chapter 5.
00:21:35.72\00:21:37.49
Because it helps all of us
to have a clearer understanding
00:21:37.89\00:21:41.70
of who God is in really
understanding His gospel.
00:21:41.90\00:21:45.37
Yes. It says here: "He
who believes in the Son of God
00:21:45.57\00:21:48.70
has the witness in himself.
00:21:48.90\00:21:51.81
He who does not
believe God has made Him a liar
00:21:52.01\00:21:55.21
because he has not
believed the testimony
00:21:55.41\00:21:58.25
that God has given of His Son. "
00:21:58.45\00:22:00.12
That's a pretty strong word.
If I don't believe the testimony
00:22:00.32\00:22:02.45
I'm saying:
"God, You're a liar. "
00:22:02.65\00:22:04.22
Well, what's the
testimony? Verse 11:
00:22:04.62\00:22:06.49
"And this is the
testimony that God HAS given us
00:22:06.69\00:22:11.39
eternal life and
this life is in His Son. "
00:22:11.59\00:22:14.83
And so God has earned
eternal life for everyone.
00:22:15.83\00:22:20.94
He qualified
everyone for eternal life.
00:22:21.14\00:22:23.30
So he then says in verse 12:
00:22:25.11\00:22:28.11
"He who has the Son has life;
00:22:28.31\00:22:30.05
He who does not have the
Son of God does not have life. "
00:22:30.25\00:22:33.05
Well God gave Jesus to the world
00:22:33.45\00:22:35.45
and He
represented the human race.
00:22:35.65\00:22:36.99
So as I mentioned
He qualified everyone.
00:22:37.32\00:22:39.92
But then we know that
some people will be lost.
00:22:40.56\00:22:42.49
So the question is:
why would anyone be lost
00:22:42.69\00:22:44.69
if He's already
given us eternal life?
00:22:44.89\00:22:46.43
In John chapter 3
he talks about that.
00:22:46.83\00:22:51.00
Verse 16 reads -
that's a very famous verse:
00:22:51.40\00:22:55.97
"For God so loved the world
He gave His only begotten Son
00:22:56.17\00:22:59.34
that whoever believes
in Him should not perish
00:22:59.54\00:23:01.94
but have
everlasting life. " Absolutely.
00:23:02.14\00:23:04.81
And He's not condemning us.
00:23:05.48\00:23:08.78
And those who are condemned...
In verse 19 it says:
00:23:08.98\00:23:12.92
"they are condemned
because they love darkness
00:23:13.12\00:23:17.73
rather than light. "
00:23:17.93\00:23:19.26
And so that... so if you
love darkness, if you love sin,
00:23:19.29\00:23:22.76
what you're saying is you don't
want a Savior from that sin.
00:23:22.96\00:23:25.70
And so when Jesus comes
00:23:26.80\00:23:29.04
you would
rather not be with Him.
00:23:29.24\00:23:31.87
In fact, you'd rather die and
cry for the rocks and mountains
00:23:32.07\00:23:35.78
to fall on you. And
so Jesus is - out of love
00:23:35.98\00:23:39.28
and sadness - He
honors our choice.
00:23:39.48\00:23:41.75
And that's the reason,
anyone will perish in the end.
00:23:41.95\00:23:45.35
Because the
compelling love of God
00:23:45.55\00:23:46.99
one of the components of that
00:23:47.39\00:23:49.46
has to be free choice.
00:23:49.66\00:23:50.99
Exactly.
00:23:51.19\00:23:52.53
Love IS free choice.
00:23:52.56\00:23:53.90
It can't be
anything BUT free choice.
00:23:53.93\00:23:56.10
So God always gives
us this free choice.
00:23:56.30\00:23:58.60
And it depends on what we
choose to do with our life.
00:23:59.00\00:24:02.24
If we choose to
try and follow God,
00:24:02.44\00:24:04.57
if we choose to accept
this gift that He gave us
00:24:04.77\00:24:07.98
that He desires for us,
00:24:08.18\00:24:10.55
we have eternal life.
But if we choose to...
00:24:10.75\00:24:14.35
to follow the world...
if we decide others things
00:24:14.55\00:24:17.22
in our life are more important
and that's what we want
00:24:17.42\00:24:19.52
and what we desire... If
you love the things of the
00:24:19.72\00:24:23.22
world, you will be
miserable with God.
00:24:23.43\00:24:26.23
You don't want to spend eternity
with someone that you don't know
00:24:26.63\00:24:29.96
don't like and actually hate.
00:24:30.17\00:24:31.97
You would not be happy there
00:24:32.37\00:24:34.07
and it would ruin it
for yourself and everybody.
00:24:34.27\00:24:37.44
So God's compelling
love is free choice.
00:24:37.84\00:24:40.91
We will be in heaven if
that's where we choose to be.
00:24:41.11\00:24:44.85
Amen... that's
right. And if we don't,
00:24:45.05\00:24:47.28
that's our choice.
00:24:48.88\00:24:51.95
But a lot of people struggle
because they don't understand
00:24:52.15\00:24:55.22
this compelling love.
00:24:55.42\00:24:57.13
Yeah. And I think it's helpful
00:24:57.33\00:24:59.63
to understand how
Jesus is a complete Savior
00:24:59.83\00:25:02.50
from all aspects.
00:25:02.70\00:25:04.03
Well, there's like...
You talk in the book about
00:25:04.07\00:25:06.97
three different
aspects of sin. Yes.
00:25:07.17\00:25:09.47
What are those aspects?
00:25:09.67\00:25:11.44
There's the
wages of sin is death.
00:25:11.64\00:25:15.38
OK. And then
there's slavery to sin.
00:25:15.58\00:25:19.31
Jesus says if you practice
sin you are a slave to sin.
00:25:19.51\00:25:22.72
We can't help but
sin without a Savior.
00:25:23.12\00:25:25.29
And then there's all
the evil effects of sin.
00:25:26.19\00:25:29.26
You know, there's the disease.
00:25:30.03\00:25:32.73
Being a paraplegic and
all that, quadriplegic.
00:25:34.73\00:25:37.07
Can you imagine getting
to heaven and God comes in
00:25:37.27\00:25:40.20
with a nice golden wheelchair.
00:25:40.40\00:25:41.80
"Here's this
wonderful wheelchair! "
00:25:42.00\00:25:43.61
That's not what I'm expecting.
00:25:43.81\00:25:45.71
You expect a new body.
00:25:45.91\00:25:47.98
All the evil
effects of sin are gone.
00:25:48.18\00:25:50.15
So all 3 of those are important.
00:25:50.35\00:25:52.51
And through the
perfect life and death of Jesus
00:25:52.71\00:25:55.78
with us going
through Him to the cross
00:25:55.98\00:25:57.89
He freed us from
the wages of sin.
00:25:58.09\00:26:02.06
In Him, we did die.
00:26:02.26\00:26:04.03
And that's how and why God
can qualify us for eternal life.
00:26:04.69\00:26:09.13
He pays all the
wages for all of that sin.
00:26:09.90\00:26:14.30
Yeah. A little illustration:
00:26:14.50\00:26:16.20
when my daughter
was three years old
00:26:16.40\00:26:18.14
and my son was about four
00:26:18.54\00:26:20.98
I took them both with me to
a small Christian bookstore.
00:26:21.18\00:26:23.58
I was trying to
find a greeting card.
00:26:23.78\00:26:25.18
After I found it I
said: "OK kids, let's go. "
00:26:25.38\00:26:27.25
And my son was there but
I didn't see my daughter.
00:26:27.45\00:26:30.69
Couldn't figure
out where she went.
00:26:30.89\00:26:32.22
And I was looking all
over and couldn't find her
00:26:32.55\00:26:35.66
and finally called the police.
00:26:35.86\00:26:38.26
And just then she
came out from behind
00:26:39.16\00:26:42.46
this fake-looking
fireplace that was a heater.
00:26:42.66\00:26:46.40
Oh... So relieved! I
put her on my shoulders
00:26:46.60\00:26:49.77
and paid for the card and we go.
00:26:49.97\00:26:52.97
And I take her off, and
I feel my hair sticking up.
00:26:53.17\00:26:56.85
And I come down and
there's caramel on her face
00:26:57.05\00:27:00.62
and now on her
blouse and now on my hair.
00:27:00.82\00:27:03.42
I realized she
had taken some caramel
00:27:03.82\00:27:06.32
and at three years old
felt like she needed to hide.
00:27:06.52\00:27:10.13
Well, I went
back and as her parent
00:27:10.53\00:27:14.76
I took
responsibility for her actions
00:27:14.96\00:27:19.37
and paid for the candy.
00:27:19.57\00:27:22.07
Because she couldn't...
she has nothing to pay with.
00:27:22.70\00:27:24.87
And that's what Jesus
did. As our heavenly Parent
00:27:25.64\00:27:28.34
He took
responsibility for all our sin
00:27:29.61\00:27:33.92
and took that
with Him to the cross.
00:27:34.32\00:27:36.75
But as adults we
have a tendency to
00:27:37.82\00:27:40.66
feel
responsibility for our own sin
00:27:40.86\00:27:44.89
and try to pay the
price for our own sin.
00:27:45.09\00:27:48.33
And it doesn't work - no - be-
cause we could never pay enough,
00:27:48.53\00:27:51.57
we could never earn enough,
we could never be good enough.
00:27:51.77\00:27:55.10
You're right. And we
feel like we fail Jesus.
00:27:55.30\00:27:58.01
If we do understand
that He paid that price,
00:27:58.21\00:28:00.38
then it's like we failed
Him when we didn't live up to
00:28:00.58\00:28:03.41
what we should be doing
that we know to do. Yeah.
00:28:03.61\00:28:06.05
So again... guilt.
00:28:06.25\00:28:07.58
So understanding what He has
accomplished for the human race
00:28:07.75\00:28:10.59
it's mine because I'm
part of the human race.
00:28:10.79\00:28:13.25
And I can rest in that truth.
00:28:13.46\00:28:15.42
And then when I
want Jesus as my Savior
00:28:15.82\00:28:17.89
the Holy Spirit comes in
and He begins the process
00:28:18.09\00:28:20.86
of saving me from the slavery
to sin, the transformation.
00:28:21.06\00:28:25.53
So we have to keep in
mind that there's that song
00:28:25.73\00:28:28.67
I think of that says
when Jesus was on the cross
00:28:28.87\00:28:31.47
He was looking
down through time.
00:28:31.77\00:28:34.14
He paid our sin... He paid
the wages for our sin forward.
00:28:34.54\00:28:39.75
Not just backward - yes -
but forward because He saw
00:28:39.95\00:28:44.22
all these sins. Amen. So
He already paid for that sin
00:28:44.42\00:28:47.42
that He knew we
were going to commit
00:28:47.62\00:28:49.56
that we didn't maybe
want to or desire to.
00:28:49.76\00:28:52.63
But that's all paid for,
and it's hard to wrap our mind
00:28:52.83\00:28:56.33
around the fact that
Jesus paid this price -
00:28:56.53\00:29:00.67
the wages of sin forward -
yes - through the end of time.
00:29:00.87\00:29:04.27
Yeah, and by doing that...
what it enabled Him to do is
00:29:05.47\00:29:09.18
be just when forgiving us,
00:29:09.38\00:29:11.61
qualify everyone
for eternal life,
00:29:11.81\00:29:14.08
and restore our
freedom of choice.
00:29:14.28\00:29:16.28
'Cause if He didn't do that
all we'd have is condemnation
00:29:16.55\00:29:18.55
from what Adam brought.
00:29:18.75\00:29:20.09
And then the transformation that
happens with the Holy Spirit
00:29:20.22\00:29:23.43
doesn't make us more qualified.
00:29:23.63\00:29:25.69
It enables us to
bring glory to God,
00:29:25.89\00:29:27.93
be a blessing to others
as the fruit of the Spirit is
00:29:28.13\00:29:30.93
growing out of our
lives and enables us
00:29:31.13\00:29:34.40
to want to be with Jesus.
00:29:34.60\00:29:37.24
So if the
transformation doesn't happen
00:29:37.64\00:29:39.47
we don't want to be with
Christians 'cause we like
00:29:39.67\00:29:43.24
the things of the
world. I remember vividly
00:29:43.45\00:29:45.41
before I became a Christian
00:29:45.61\00:29:46.95
that I did not want to
"hang around" with Christians
00:29:46.98\00:29:50.02
because they just... even
though I ignored it and tried
00:29:50.22\00:29:53.09
to act like that wasn't
it but I just felt guilty
00:29:53.29\00:29:56.46
being around them
because I knew my life wasn't
00:29:56.66\00:29:59.06
what it should be. So
you do not want to be around
00:29:59.26\00:30:02.76
what makes you uncomfortable
and makes you feel guiltier.
00:30:02.96\00:30:07.24
Yeah, yeah. And so as we come...
surrender our lives to Jesus
00:30:07.44\00:30:12.07
the Holy Spirit comes in.
00:30:12.27\00:30:13.61
Romans 12:2: "Be transformed
00:30:13.71\00:30:17.95
by the renewing of
our mind. " The peace.
00:30:18.15\00:30:20.38
Yeah. Well, we have
believed a lot of lies.
00:30:20.58\00:30:23.69
Satan tells us lies;
the world tells us lies;
00:30:24.59\00:30:26.45
we tell ourselves lies.
Most of the Christian world
00:30:26.65\00:30:29.22
today believes Satan's first lie
00:30:29.42\00:30:32.13
"You shall not die. "
00:30:32.33\00:30:34.26
Yeah. There's
so many people that
00:30:34.46\00:30:36.03
are Christians that believe
there's some kind of eternal
00:30:36.23\00:30:40.17
life for everybody in
one place or the other.
00:30:40.37\00:30:43.51
And that was Satan's first lie.
00:30:43.71\00:30:46.24
And so it's very
hard for me to understand.
00:30:46.44\00:30:48.48
"How can you
believe Satan's lie? "
00:30:48.68\00:30:50.38
It's right there in the
Bible. Right... exactly.
00:30:50.58\00:30:53.48
Yeah, so the Holy Spirit's
process is leading us into all
00:30:53.68\00:30:57.25
truth. And He will lead
us as fast as we are willing
00:30:57.45\00:31:00.76
to surrender. He's very...
patient? patient and careful
00:31:00.96\00:31:05.66
'cause if He showed
us everything all at once
00:31:05.86\00:31:07.30
it would overwhelm us.
00:31:07.50\00:31:09.00
But little by little.
One illustration of my life
00:31:09.20\00:31:13.84
and this is my story, not going
to be in anyone else's story
00:31:14.07\00:31:18.77
but I grew up I
mentioned with lots of sports.
00:31:19.17\00:31:23.75
And when I was in Green Bay...
I should say when I was in
00:31:23.95\00:31:27.48
Wisconsin... I heard a lot
about the Green Bay Packers.
00:31:27.68\00:31:30.75
Yes. And it's
very popular there,
00:31:30.95\00:31:34.92
especially when
they were doing well.
00:31:35.12\00:31:36.46
Getting excited about it.
00:31:36.56\00:31:38.19
And I remember the Holy Spirit
tugging on me a little bit.
00:31:38.59\00:31:42.66
And I thought: "Well
maybe I'd better not waste
00:31:42.86\00:31:45.87
too much time. "
That's kind of what I thought.
00:31:46.07\00:31:47.50
And I'd struggle a little
bit. I wasn't sure if I really
00:31:47.70\00:31:50.21
accomplished not
wasting too much time.
00:31:50.41\00:31:52.71
And then we moved to Indiana
00:31:53.44\00:31:55.58
and I didn't hear
about the Packers as much
00:31:55.78\00:31:57.68
but then I heard about
the Indianapolis Colts.
00:31:57.88\00:32:00.22
And they were doing pretty good
00:32:00.42\00:32:02.08
and so I began to follow them.
00:32:02.88\00:32:04.65
And again the conviction came
00:32:05.55\00:32:07.62
and I'd: "OK... gotta
not waste too much time. "
00:32:07.82\00:32:12.66
But it was more
specific. It says: "The passion
00:32:12.86\00:32:15.60
for the sports was stealing the
passion that belong to God. "
00:32:15.80\00:32:19.63
Those were the
thoughts that came to my mind
00:32:19.83\00:32:21.17
as I tried to rationalize.
00:32:21.64\00:32:23.47
Well lots of people watch the
sports and they seem to be OK.
00:32:23.67\00:32:25.74
But I knew that
was rationalization.
00:32:26.14\00:32:27.84
I didn't want anything
to come between me and God.
00:32:28.04\00:32:30.75
And the thought came again:
"The passion for the sports
00:32:31.25\00:32:33.88
is stealing the
passion that belonged to God.
00:32:34.08\00:32:36.48
It's poison to your soul. "
00:32:36.89\00:32:38.92
And when I heard that, I
knew I had to make a decision.
00:32:39.42\00:32:43.46
But I didn't want to for
two reasons: I enjoyed it.
00:32:45.09\00:32:48.20
OK... that was one.
But the REAL reason:
00:32:48.40\00:32:50.43
I was afraid of failure
00:32:50.63\00:32:52.50
'cause I'd been
wrestling with this.
00:32:52.70\00:32:54.20
Even sometimes I'd say:
"Well I'm not going to watch it
00:32:54.60\00:32:56.34
any more" and then
I'd get back into it.
00:32:56.54\00:32:58.87
Um-hmm. And so... But again
I didn't want anything to come
00:32:59.07\00:33:02.41
between me and God and
apparently, this was happening.
00:33:02.61\00:33:05.48
And I said: "God, I surrender. "
00:33:06.25\00:33:09.55
"I don't want this
to steal the passion
00:33:10.39\00:33:14.06
that belongs to You. You're
going to have to help me. "
00:33:14.26\00:33:18.23
And as soon as I
said that the thought came
00:33:21.13\00:33:23.16
"Cancel the newspaper. "
00:33:23.37\00:33:24.70
And that made all
the sense in the world
00:33:25.53\00:33:27.74
'cause what would I
do? I'd get the newspaper
00:33:27.94\00:33:29.37
and first thing I'd do
is go to the sports page
00:33:29.57\00:33:31.01
and read about who's playing who
00:33:31.84\00:33:34.84
and that would fuel the passion
to want to watch the next game.
00:33:35.04\00:33:38.38
So I canceled the newspaper.
00:33:39.41\00:33:41.15
And not having that
around that begins to die
00:33:41.98\00:33:47.02
and the passion and the love for
the Bible began to be restored
00:33:47.22\00:33:51.39
to its rightful place.
00:33:51.59\00:33:52.93
And so that's an
illustration of the Holy Spirit
00:33:53.73\00:33:56.20
bringing conviction. And
I say that that's my story
00:33:56.40\00:33:58.53
'cause I don't condemn a
person if they watch sports.
00:33:58.73\00:34:01.07
Each of us have our own journey.
00:34:01.27\00:34:02.60
Each of us have
our own journey. Yeah.
00:34:02.90\00:34:04.24
Because I know that
my passion was reading
00:34:04.34\00:34:10.28
because I learned that as a
little girl as a way of escape.
00:34:10.48\00:34:14.02
So my passion was reading.
00:34:14.22\00:34:16.69
So I had to give
up my library card
00:34:17.29\00:34:21.16
because I would
do the same thing.
00:34:21.36\00:34:23.29
"I'll only get a couple of
books or one book or whatever. "
00:34:23.49\00:34:26.46
But when you cut
back from a passion
00:34:26.86\00:34:29.50
you can do it
only for a little while
00:34:29.70\00:34:31.67
and then you get back
into the routine again.
00:34:31.87\00:34:35.20
So each individual...
Satan looks for... each person
00:34:35.60\00:34:40.58
has their own unique issues.
00:34:40.78\00:34:44.81
So your issue is YOUR issue.
00:34:45.01\00:34:47.22
And so you need to
find out what your issue is
00:34:47.62\00:34:50.15
and then with
prayer and the Holy Spirit
00:34:50.35\00:34:54.16
will give you an
answer of how to...
00:34:54.36\00:34:57.33
what you need to
do. What I needed to do
00:34:58.43\00:35:01.40
to change that
passion from a worldly issue
00:35:01.60\00:35:06.47
even if it's nothing
bad. It's not sinful to read.
00:35:06.67\00:35:09.14
It's not sinful to read sports.
00:35:09.34\00:35:11.51
But Satan has a way of
tempting Christians with
00:35:11.71\00:35:14.21
something that's "not that bad"
00:35:14.41\00:35:16.54
and then stealing like you
say their passion from the Lord.
00:35:16.75\00:35:20.45
Yes... yeah. And so as
the Holy Spirit leads us
00:35:20.65\00:35:24.12
we grow to maturity
and that enables us to be
00:35:24.32\00:35:28.16
a blessing to others
and enjoy being with God.
00:35:28.36\00:35:31.56
Yes. And as I mentioned
the evil effects of sin
00:35:31.96\00:35:37.03
that one He overcomes at
the same timing when He gives us
00:35:37.23\00:35:39.83
brand new bodies and then
eventually creates a new heaven
00:35:40.04\00:35:43.00
and a new earth.
So as we understand
00:35:43.20\00:35:45.64
how He saved us from all three
it helps bring perspective.
00:35:45.84\00:35:49.98
Because some people get
very disappointed with God
00:35:50.18\00:35:52.81
when He doesn't
heal a loved one.
00:35:53.01\00:35:56.58
Well He hasn't
promised healing all the time.
00:35:57.25\00:36:01.66
When. He hasn't promised
the healing when we may want it.
00:36:01.86\00:36:05.89
Right. But He has promised
it at the second coming.
00:36:06.09\00:36:08.23
Um-hmm. And so we
need to understand
00:36:08.43\00:36:10.57
how He saves. Now what are the
three? Recap those 3 sins again.
00:36:10.77\00:36:16.04
The wages of sin is death.
00:36:16.24\00:36:18.67
The answer to that is
embracing that Jesus is
00:36:18.87\00:36:23.14
the One who died for
the sins of the world
00:36:23.35\00:36:25.98
and I went to
the cross with Him.
00:36:26.18\00:36:27.85
So the debt HAS been paid. Yes.
00:36:28.05\00:36:30.05
Then the second one?
00:36:30.45\00:36:31.79
Slavery to sin.
00:36:31.99\00:36:33.49
Without a Savior
we can't help but sin.
00:36:33.89\00:36:36.29
And so the Holy
Spirit leads us into truth
00:36:36.49\00:36:39.19
and delivers us
from the slavery to sin.
00:36:39.39\00:36:41.70
Um-hmm. And that
enables us to bring glory to God
00:36:41.90\00:36:44.27
and be a blessing
and enjoy being with God.
00:36:44.43\00:36:46.37
And the evil effects of sin.
00:36:46.77\00:36:48.87
And that is overcome
at the second coming.
00:36:49.27\00:36:51.84
Yes... yes. So
what part do we play
00:36:52.04\00:36:57.15
in this response? What is our...
00:36:57.35\00:37:01.05
We all want to "do something.
" We want to be involved.
00:37:01.25\00:37:04.05
So what? Jesus had done it all.
00:37:04.25\00:37:06.86
God has a perfect plan.
00:37:07.06\00:37:09.22
It's all taken care of
so what part DO we play
00:37:09.42\00:37:12.73
that is not works?
00:37:12.93\00:37:14.80
Our part is
being honest with God.
00:37:15.00\00:37:17.23
Confession. Tough
to do. Yeah... and
00:37:17.43\00:37:20.20
it's in the context of His love
00:37:20.40\00:37:22.24
that frees us to be honest
00:37:22.44\00:37:24.91
when we know that
He doesn't condemn us.
00:37:25.11\00:37:28.48
And so then once
we are honest with God
00:37:29.54\00:37:34.48
then confess that
and then repentance.
00:37:34.68\00:37:38.39
Repentance is a
Greek word metanoia.
00:37:38.59\00:37:42.46
Most people have heard
of a different Greek word
00:37:42.66\00:37:44.79
metamorphosis.
00:37:44.99\00:37:46.33
Metamorphosis is
a change of body.
00:37:46.39\00:37:48.56
Metanoia is a change of mind.
00:37:48.76\00:37:51.13
Paranoia is something
gone wrong in the mind.
00:37:51.53\00:37:53.54
Metanoia: change of mind.
00:37:53.74\00:37:55.60
So I was going away from God
00:37:55.80\00:37:57.31
I choose to go God's direction.
00:37:57.71\00:38:00.24
I have no power to
carry out that choice -
00:38:00.64\00:38:02.71
um-hmm - but that is my respon-
sibility to make the choice.
00:38:02.91\00:38:06.41
And so when I choose to
surrender the Holy Spirit
00:38:06.61\00:38:09.28
does that work within
us of transforming us.
00:38:09.48\00:38:12.35
And then... So a lot
of this is our own choice
00:38:12.75\00:38:15.99
and our own decision. The
biggest part is making that
00:38:16.19\00:38:19.29
decision and then
trusting the Lord to guide us
00:38:19.49\00:38:22.96
through how we accomplish that.
00:38:23.16\00:38:25.80
Yeah. But our CHOICE is
just making that choice first.
00:38:26.00\00:38:30.47
Something that was helpful to me
00:38:30.67\00:38:32.37
in looking at some
of the Bible verses
00:38:32.57\00:38:34.44
like I mentioned
earlier in my struggle with time
00:38:34.84\00:38:38.05
I wasn't sure if I had enough
faith or the right kind of faith
00:38:38.25\00:38:40.88
you know. And so how do I
know if I'm really justified?
00:38:41.08\00:38:43.65
Looking at the Bible
Romans chapter 3:23-24
00:38:44.05\00:38:47.92
says: "All have sinned
and fallen short of the glory
00:38:48.32\00:38:52.26
of God. Being
justified freely by His grace
00:38:52.46\00:38:57.50
through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus. "
00:38:57.70\00:38:59.73
Now that word all is the noun
for all three of those phrases.
00:39:00.64\00:39:04.41
All have sinned; all fall
short of the glory of God;
00:39:05.21\00:39:07.74
all being justified
freely by His grace.
00:39:07.94\00:39:11.95
So because Jesus
represented all of us
00:39:12.61\00:39:15.22
and went to the cross
00:39:15.42\00:39:16.75
He justified the human race.
00:39:16.79\00:39:20.26
Yes. Romans 5:18:
00:39:20.46\00:39:22.76
"By Adam's choice
all of us were condemned;
00:39:22.96\00:39:26.39
even so by the
righteousness of One
00:39:26.80\00:39:28.40
the free gift came to all
men resulting in justification
00:39:28.60\00:39:31.57
of life. " And so when I
understood that He justified
00:39:31.77\00:39:36.14
the human race by His
perfect life and death
00:39:36.34\00:39:40.08
I believed that truth
because it was true...
00:39:41.98\00:39:46.41
not to make it true.
00:39:46.61\00:39:48.85
So before my faith:
OK, that made me justified
00:39:49.95\00:39:53.59
which turned my
faith into a form of merit.
00:39:53.99\00:39:57.49
And in the book Faith and Works
00:39:59.09\00:40:01.56
Ellen White says:
"Be exceedingly careful
00:40:01.76\00:40:04.73
to not turn faith
into a form of merit. "
00:40:04.93\00:40:07.54
And here's how it
opens the door to legalism
00:40:07.94\00:40:10.47
because a lot of
things are tied to faith.
00:40:10.87\00:40:13.01
So if I really
believed then I'd be baptized.
00:40:13.21\00:40:16.18
So if that's my
thinking then I would say:
00:40:16.58\00:40:19.05
"Well I'm really not
justified until I'm baptized. "
00:40:19.25\00:40:21.05
Tithing is an
expression of faith
00:40:22.12\00:40:24.79
so if I really
believed I'd tithe.
00:40:25.19\00:40:27.52
So I'm really not
justified until I tithe.
00:40:27.72\00:40:29.56
Sabbath keeping is
an expression of faith
00:40:30.49\00:40:32.03
so I'm really not justified
until I keep the Sabbath.
00:40:32.23\00:40:34.63
We don't say it in those terms
00:40:34.83\00:40:37.20
but when my faith is
what makes me justified
00:40:37.40\00:40:39.97
but our thinking kind
of goes that direction.
00:40:40.17\00:40:42.84
And so when we
realize He created the truth
00:40:43.41\00:40:47.84
He justified us.
00:40:48.04\00:40:49.38
I believe that
truth because it is true.
00:40:49.58\00:40:53.21
Now everything is a response
to what He's already done.
00:40:53.42\00:40:57.85
Yes. I understand that and
that makes a huge difference.
00:40:58.75\00:41:03.73
I relate some
things to like marriage.
00:41:03.93\00:41:06.83
You do not marry someone
and then fall in love with them.
00:41:07.03\00:41:09.83
When you fall in love
with them and you marry them
00:41:10.33\00:41:12.47
you don't follow the
rules because you marry them
00:41:12.67\00:41:15.14
and you have these rules.
00:41:15.34\00:41:16.74
You follow... You automatically
00:41:16.94\00:41:20.21
do what you want to do for this
person because you love them.
00:41:20.71\00:41:24.11
Right. And that's
what God is asking of us.
00:41:24.31\00:41:26.72
Yes. "Choose to
be married to me. "
00:41:26.92\00:41:28.68
"Choose to have this
relation- ship that I've already
00:41:28.88\00:41:31.25
done all this for you
00:41:31.45\00:41:32.79
and I just want you
to grow in that love
00:41:32.99\00:41:35.52
and that relationship. "
00:41:35.72\00:41:37.06
And that frees us to respond.
00:41:37.63\00:41:40.76
Children. You know, if
you do something for a child,
00:41:42.46\00:41:45.57
they run up, they
throw their arms around you
00:41:45.77\00:41:48.47
and they just love on you
because that's a response to
00:41:48.67\00:41:52.84
something that you
did that they liked.
00:41:53.04\00:41:54.88
So... Understanding
this concept of justification
00:41:55.78\00:42:00.22
helps understand the Sabbath -
00:42:01.22\00:42:03.75
oh yes - more
carefully because God says
00:42:03.95\00:42:06.55
the Sabbath... How does the
gospel relate to the Sabbath?
00:42:06.76\00:42:09.19
So the Sabbath is a
sign that God created us
00:42:09.39\00:42:13.56
but it's also a sign that God
is the One who sanctifies us.
00:42:13.76\00:42:18.13
Exodus 31:13.
00:42:18.33\00:42:19.73
And how He sanctifies us...
00:42:20.14\00:42:21.60
that's what the
gospel's all about.
00:42:21.80\00:42:23.14
In Hebrews chapter
10 verse 10 it says:
00:42:24.04\00:42:27.54
"By that will" - the will
of Jesus going to the cross -
00:42:27.94\00:42:30.38
"By that will we
HAVE BEEN sanctified
00:42:30.58\00:42:35.28
through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all. "
00:42:36.02\00:42:38.85
And then there's a
balancing statement
00:42:40.09\00:42:41.82
in verse 14: "He
has perfected forever
00:42:42.02\00:42:45.99
those who are
being sanctified. "
00:42:46.39\00:42:49.00
And so these three
aspects of the sin problem
00:42:50.50\00:42:53.17
He makes us holy in every way.
00:42:53.37\00:42:55.17
So legally He makes us holy
00:42:55.77\00:42:58.57
through the perfect
life and death of Jesus.
00:42:58.77\00:43:00.28
He has made us sanctified
00:43:00.48\00:43:02.31
and we stand perfect in that
00:43:02.91\00:43:06.68
all the while we're growing.
00:43:06.88\00:43:08.58
So our assurance of
salvation is based totally upon
00:43:08.98\00:43:11.52
Jesus' righteousness for us:
00:43:11.72\00:43:13.79
His perfect life and death.
00:43:13.99\00:43:15.52
But then we grow
in sanctification
00:43:15.92\00:43:18.59
and we always have the
freedom to stop that process.
00:43:18.79\00:43:21.56
You know if I had said
to the Holy Spirit, to God,
00:43:22.40\00:43:25.20
"Lots of people watch
football. I think it's OK"
00:43:25.40\00:43:28.60
and began to justify
that and I pursued that
00:43:28.80\00:43:30.87
what I'm saying is: "I
don't want a Savior from that. "
00:43:31.07\00:43:34.14
No matter what it is.
And so when I'm saying that
00:43:34.94\00:43:37.11
I'm stopping the process.
00:43:37.31\00:43:39.31
And if I continue down that road
00:43:39.51\00:43:41.32
I will be like we
talked about earlier
00:43:41.52\00:43:44.22
I'd cry for the rocks
and mountains to fall on us.
00:43:44.42\00:43:46.12
But all the while I AM growing.
Day by day surrendering -
00:43:46.62\00:43:49.89
by choice - by day-to-day choice
I stand perfect in Christ.
00:43:50.09\00:43:54.63
And so the Sabbath
is a constant reminder
00:43:55.63\00:43:58.27
of this everlasting gospel.
00:43:58.47\00:44:00.54
We have been made holy
00:44:00.94\00:44:02.27
through the perfect
life and death of Jesus.
00:44:02.37\00:44:03.97
We are being made holy
00:44:04.37\00:44:06.24
through the indwelling
Holy Spirit spiritually
00:44:06.44\00:44:09.38
and we will be
made holy physically
00:44:09.58\00:44:11.71
at the second coming of Jesus.
00:44:11.91\00:44:13.38
On the Sabbath He
wants us to remember
00:44:13.58\00:44:15.28
all of those things - yes - and
to worship, spend time with Him.
00:44:15.48\00:44:18.95
People ask me
you know, especially
00:44:19.35\00:44:22.46
family or non-Adventists:
"Well what do you do
00:44:22.66\00:44:25.29
on the Sabbath? What
is the Sabbath for? "
00:44:25.49\00:44:26.86
And I realize it's not a
list of rules and regulations.
00:44:27.26\00:44:31.43
The Sabbath was
created to spend time with God
00:44:31.83\00:44:35.70
and to grow my relationship.
00:44:35.90\00:44:38.01
So if I decide what
I'm going to do or not do
00:44:38.21\00:44:40.91
the only question is: "Does
this grow my relationship with
00:44:41.11\00:44:44.78
God? " Yes. "Is this
good for the gospel? "
00:44:44.98\00:44:47.72
"Does this help someone else? "
00:44:47.92\00:44:49.92
In other words,
outside of myself
00:44:50.12\00:44:52.59
looking out of
myself and looking to God
00:44:53.86\00:44:56.79
and looking to
Jesus is this something
00:44:56.99\00:45:00.23
that helps my relationship
grow with Jesus? Yeah.
00:45:00.43\00:45:03.93
That's how I answer it.
00:45:04.33\00:45:05.80
And that answer can be
different for everyone.
00:45:06.00\00:45:08.14
One thing may help you grow.
00:45:08.54\00:45:11.44
Something that you might
do on the Sabbath helps you
00:45:12.04\00:45:14.41
grow your relationship but
it may not help someone else.
00:45:14.61\00:45:16.78
So the Sabbath, what you do
00:45:16.98\00:45:18.95
or don't do, is very personal
00:45:19.15\00:45:20.88
but it's also very much focused
00:45:21.08\00:45:23.69
on God. Yes.
With the Holy Spirit.
00:45:23.89\00:45:27.26
Go to the Holy Spirit
and pray about something.
00:45:27.46\00:45:29.99
The Holy Spirit
always answers us.
00:45:30.19\00:45:32.53
Do we listen? And
do we choose to follow?
00:45:32.73\00:45:35.93
Yeah. When we understand the
Sabbath in light of the gospel
00:45:36.13\00:45:39.13
it protects us from both
legalism and lawlessness.
00:45:39.33\00:45:43.00
Oh absolutely!
00:45:43.20\00:45:44.54
Yes. Lawlessness being
"I'm free from doing... "
00:45:45.27\00:45:50.58
Free to do
whatever I want to do. Yes.
00:45:50.78\00:45:52.15
"It's not a big deal if I
sin because He's paid it all
00:45:52.35\00:45:55.18
so I can just kind of relax
and do whatever I want to do. "
00:45:55.38\00:45:59.15
There are two sides of
the boat to fall out of.
00:45:59.35\00:46:00.69
Let's stay in the
boat with the Lord
00:46:00.72\00:46:02.82
and our free choices.
00:46:03.02\00:46:04.46
Also, I think this gospel
00:46:04.86\00:46:07.50
relates to the three
angels' messages too.
00:46:07.66\00:46:10.23
Absolutely. In
verse 6 it says there
00:46:10.43\00:46:14.17
the everlasting gospel will go
00:46:14.37\00:46:16.04
to all the world. And so that's
00:46:16.24\00:46:18.17
how Jesus is saving us from all
00:46:18.37\00:46:19.94
3 aspects of the sin problem.
00:46:20.14\00:46:21.74
The healthy
response to the gospel
00:46:21.94\00:46:24.58
is verse 7: "Fear
God; give glory to Him
00:46:24.78\00:46:27.98
for the hour of
His judgment is come;
00:46:28.18\00:46:29.58
and worship Him. "
The unhealthy response
00:46:29.78\00:46:33.19
is verse 8:
"Babylon is fallen because
00:46:33.39\00:46:36.36
she MAKES all nations drink. "
00:46:36.56\00:46:39.93
Or with verse 13
I mean chapter 13:
00:46:40.13\00:46:42.66
"He makes all nations worship.
" The counterfeit system.
00:46:42.86\00:46:46.57
And so the opposite
of the gospel is force.
00:46:47.30\00:46:51.51
And so the gospel goes forth
00:46:52.27\00:46:54.94
and people are called to
respond one way or another.
00:46:55.14\00:46:56.88
And then 9 through 11-
the third angel's message
00:46:57.28\00:46:59.81
is the call to
decide. Everyone must decide.
00:47:00.02\00:47:03.08
And the Sabbath
being a sign of the gospel
00:47:03.49\00:47:06.72
is basically an
outward representation
00:47:08.36\00:47:14.16
of where your heart is.
Have you embraced the gospel?
00:47:14.36\00:47:16.67
The counterfeit
will be the opposite.
00:47:17.17\00:47:20.80
Sunday has become
a counterfeit of it.
00:47:21.30\00:47:24.14
Now most people who keep
Sunday they don't think of that.
00:47:24.34\00:47:26.91
They're worshiping
God; they love God.
00:47:27.11\00:47:28.54
There's many devout, loving
Christians - bros. and sisters -
00:47:28.74\00:47:32.21
who go to church on Sunday.
I don't condemn them at all.
00:47:32.41\00:47:37.15
But the Bible talks about
the Sabbath being the sign
00:47:37.55\00:47:40.39
of the everlasting gospel.
00:47:40.59\00:47:42.66
And Satan hates those who
keep the commandments of God.
00:47:43.16\00:47:46.90
Revelation 12:17.
00:47:47.10\00:47:48.43
And God identifies those who
keep the commandments of God.
00:47:48.76\00:47:51.17
And so there will be a
commandment... there's always
00:47:51.37\00:47:54.67
and outward demonstration
that shows where your heart is.
00:47:54.87\00:47:58.84
So my conviction is
the Sabbath versus Sunday
00:47:59.24\00:48:03.21
will be an outward demonstration
00:48:03.41\00:48:05.55
as to - yes - are you
embracing the everlasting gospel
00:48:05.75\00:48:08.42
or a counterfeit.
00:48:08.62\00:48:10.29
It's very hard for me to explain
00:48:10.89\00:48:13.56
that there is, because
I've been a Sunday worshiper
00:48:13.76\00:48:16.22
and a Sabbath worshiper
now from a conviction of what
00:48:16.42\00:48:20.50
the Word of God says.
00:48:20.70\00:48:22.30
And there's something about the
Sabbath that is not explainable
00:48:23.00\00:48:26.63
that is different; it is unique.
00:48:26.84\00:48:29.30
It's like I step in to
where God inhabits the Sabbath.
00:48:29.57\00:48:34.01
You know our
time is running out.
00:48:34.21\00:48:36.44
I want us. There is a
Signs of the Times thing
00:48:36.64\00:48:39.01
A Love Letter from Jesus.
00:48:39.21\00:48:41.08
I want people to be
able to know about this
00:48:41.48\00:48:44.65
and to be able to get it.
So if you would like to contact
00:48:44.85\00:48:48.29
Clinton, you can go
to the website which is:
00:48:48.49\00:48:51.26
OR you can contact him through
00:49:00.44\00:49:03.41
e- mail which is:
00:49:03.61\00:49:05.01
'Cause we've
covered a lot of things here
00:49:13.78\00:49:15.55
that might bring up questions
00:49:15.75\00:49:17.39
that people want. You know
00:49:17.59\00:49:20.36
there's... isn't
there something special?
00:49:20.56\00:49:23.02
So people can order the book
00:49:23.22\00:49:25.46
or the Love
Letters but we also have
00:49:25.66\00:49:28.93
an app that has
been put together called:
00:49:29.13\00:49:31.73
And so we put The
Compelling Love of God
00:49:40.08\00:49:42.84
on there - the first half -
00:49:43.04\00:49:45.01
That takes you to an app, right?
00:49:48.35\00:49:50.25
That'll take you to a website
00:49:50.45\00:49:52.09
where Troy, the one
who developed the app,
00:49:52.29\00:49:55.99
will explain how they
can get The Compelling Love
00:49:56.19\00:49:59.36
on their phone or tablet.
00:49:59.56\00:50:01.86
And they can also invite
some people to join them.
00:50:02.06\00:50:06.43
And it becomes like a small
group devotional virtually.
00:50:06.84\00:50:11.51
So it can be? A
Bible study group
00:50:11.91\00:50:14.41
learning about the compelling
love of God thru this app. Yeah.
00:50:14.61\00:50:18.01
And this is part one:
the first half of the book
00:50:18.21\00:50:20.25
focused on finding
security in Christ.
00:50:20.45\00:50:23.49
It's a great discipleship tool
00:50:23.69\00:50:26.09
if you want to
introduce someone to Jesus.
00:50:26.29\00:50:28.52
And you can walk
with them through the app.
00:50:28.72\00:50:31.29
You can TEXT each
other through the app.
00:50:31.49\00:50:32.89
There's questions you can type
00:50:33.09\00:50:35.96
and both of you or whoever's
on the group can see it.
00:50:36.16\00:50:38.80
And it also gives
some encouragement
00:50:39.00\00:50:41.47
because when someone
else is doing it with you
00:50:41.67\00:50:43.17
it helps you to stay on task
00:50:43.37\00:50:46.51
and do it on a daily basis.
00:50:46.71\00:50:48.04
It sounds like
it's a two-way street...
00:50:48.21\00:50:50.05
a two-way thing here...
00:50:50.25\00:50:51.58
where the church members can
do it to grow themselves first
00:50:51.61\00:50:54.18
as a small group and
then go out with friends
00:50:54.38\00:50:59.42
and family. It's so hard.
00:50:59.62\00:51:01.29
Let's put that up on
the screen one more time.
00:51:01.69\00:51:04.29
OK, that one right
there: DevoteAbility.com/Love
00:51:09.16\00:51:13.34
That is a
wonderful tool right there.
00:51:13.74\00:51:17.24
Yes. It's brand new. I think
it will be an excellent way
00:51:17.44\00:51:20.68
for people to use it.
Both the app and the material
00:51:20.88\00:51:23.71
on there is free. OK.
00:51:23.91\00:51:25.25
But also people
like paper copies
00:51:25.51\00:51:28.08
and so some people would
rather have a paper copy -
00:51:28.28\00:51:30.02
yes - and they can
order that as well.
00:51:30.22\00:51:32.05
OR they can actually
download all the lessons
00:51:32.25\00:51:34.66
on the website for free.
00:51:34.86\00:51:36.19
On the website. They
can go to that website again
00:51:36.39\00:51:39.69
CompellingLove.org
Yeah, CompellingLove.org
00:51:39.89\00:51:42.73
and get all of
the things from there.
00:51:42.93\00:51:45.23
We are going to take...
We're going to be right back.
00:51:45.43\00:51:47.80
Don't go away.
We are going to take
00:51:48.00\00:51:50.01
a little short break here
00:51:50.21\00:51:51.61
and then we'll have some
closing thoughts for you, OK?
00:51:51.81\00:51:55.21
So stay tuned...
we'll be right back.
00:51:55.61\00:51:58.55