Participants:
Series Code: TDYL
Program Code: TDYL210012A
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00:01 As you're well aware,
00:03 we're living in unprecedented times. 00:05 Join us now for Today special program. 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Mending broken people 00:23 I want to spend my life 00:29 Removing pain 00:34 Lord, let my words 00:39 Heal a heart that hurts 00:44 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 00:55 I want to spend my life 01:01 Mending broken people 01:14 Hello and welcome 01:16 to our special 3ABN Live program. 01:18 We are so glad that you have joined us 01:20 this evening. 01:21 You know, it's incredible to be sitting here 01:23 basically in the middle of nowhere, 01:24 outside of Thompsonville, Illinois, 01:26 West Frankfort, Illinois, 01:27 they've just plowed the fields around us, 01:28 getting ready for the spring planting. 01:30 And here we are going around the world. 01:32 And you know what? That's thanks to you. 01:35 Thank you for your prayers and financial support 01:37 for the ministry of 3ABN. 01:39 You know, your faithfulness just absolutely inspires us. 01:42 And we look forward to these two hours 01:44 that we can spend with you each Thursday evening, 01:47 you know, being part of the family of God 01:49 is something really incredible. 01:51 And I want to just read this to you. 01:53 We have an incredible program for you this evening. 01:55 Jill's going to talk to you a little bit about that, 01:57 but talking about the family of God, 01:59 you being part of our family. 02:01 I love reading these letters. 02:02 This one just came in from Jane. 02:04 You know who you are. 02:05 And it's an incredible letter that talks about the family, 02:08 says, "No one in my family would listen to the reasoning 02:11 as to why I became a Seventh-day Adventist. 02:15 It means so much to me 02:16 when you say from your family at 3ABN, 02:20 I literally get goosebumps when I hear that. 02:22 Thank you. Thank you. 02:24 You are my family." 02:25 So thank you, Jane, 02:26 for being a part of our 3ABN family, 02:28 but it's just great to be praising the Lord. 02:30 He's doing marvelous and mighty things, 02:32 and what an incredible privilege it is 02:35 to be alive in this moment in earth's history, 02:38 but it's exciting times. 02:39 It is exciting times, absolutely. 02:41 I always love the Thursday Night Live 02:42 because number one, it's a live program 02:44 and tonight is no exception. 02:46 We get to take your questions 02:48 and your prayer requests and your needs. 02:49 And so I'm excited about that. 02:51 I'm also excited about our guests tonight. 02:54 I would like to say we're old friends, 02:57 but that makes us old and we're not old. 02:59 This would be longstanding friends. 03:02 We went to school together. 03:03 We won't say how long ago that was. 03:04 Maybe we should. 03:06 Should we say that? No, let's move on. Okay. 03:07 So our special guest tonight is Dr. David Shin. 03:11 And he would, if you've watched 3ABN 03:13 for any length of time, he would be no stranger to you. 03:16 I'm trying to think of Pastor and Dr. Shin. 03:19 When did you first start coming to 3ABN? 03:21 How long has it been? 03:22 Wow, Faith Chapel, 2005. 03:28 2005? I think it was 2005. 03:31 So 16 years ago. Yes. 03:33 So Faith Chapel and... 03:35 Battles of Faith, did you do some programs? 03:37 Then Battles of Faith with Wohlberg 03:39 and then 3ABN Thursday Night Live. 03:42 I remember my first one, 03:44 I was like back there in the green room, 03:45 like, you know, and I asked CA Murray, 03:48 "What happens if I walk off set 'cause I can't handle this." 03:51 He says, "We'll play nature music." 03:54 That's great. Yeah. 03:56 Of course, GYCs you have done. 03:57 GYC and then 3ABN camp meeting. 03:59 So it's just been an honor. 04:01 Sanctuary Series you did? Yeah. 04:03 Sanctuary Salvation and our Savior. 04:05 And it's just been a privilege. 04:06 It's hard to believe it's been 17 years or so 04:10 18 years? 04:11 It's been a great maybe I say 04:13 partnership friendship 04:14 because Jill and I, of course counts you as a great friend. 04:16 Like she said, we went to college 04:18 together back in the... 04:19 I won't when, just the mid 90s, that's... 04:20 Thank you very much. Did I say too much? 04:23 We are going home together. That's right. 04:26 But yeah, I tell you, Pastor, you know, it's neat to see 04:27 what God has done in your life. 04:29 And this is really special this time too. 04:30 And we're giving you just a little hint on this, 04:33 but your family's with you and we want to talk about them 04:36 and they actually recorded, right, a little program today. 04:39 He's been busy today, he's recorded 04:40 like a couple of programs already today. 04:42 So you're going to see these coming up. 04:43 One of them was a Family Worship. 04:44 Yes. 04:46 So tell us about your family 'cause it's grown a little bit? 04:47 Yeah, yeah. 04:49 My wife Tennille and I were blessed in Alaska 04:52 with two kids. 04:53 All right. Hudson was born. 04:55 He's three now about to be four 04:56 and then Clara is nine months. 04:58 So yeah. 05:00 Got her hands full sleep precious commodity. 05:05 One of the best thing. They are adorable. 05:07 Oh, praise the Lord. 05:08 Your kids are, they're adorable. 05:10 Yeah, beautiful family. You have a precious wife. 05:11 Praise the Lord. 05:12 Now, when we went to school together, 05:14 we went to school together. 05:15 And then after school, Pastor David got his masters 05:17 and then doctorate of ministry 05:19 from the Adventist Theological Seminary there 05:21 in the Andrews 05:23 and then pastored for many years. 05:24 But you've recently transitioned. 05:26 So tell us about your new position there 05:28 as president of Ouachita Hills College? 05:30 Yeah. 05:31 We made the transition in October 05:32 from Anchorage, Alaska to Amity, Arkansas, 05:36 AA to AA. 05:37 Yeah. 05:39 Dramatic difference in temperature, mind you, 05:42 but I've taken 05:44 the mantle of an administrator in education 05:48 and it's been a wonderful thing. 05:49 I went to Ouachita Hills Academy 05:52 back in 1995. 05:54 Wow. Yeah. 05:55 Don't let this baby face fool you. 05:57 I didn't start when I was 12. 05:59 But, yeah, yeah, so, I graduated 06:02 from Ouachita Hills Academy 06:03 and changed my life there 06:05 dramatic transformation and conversion, 06:08 took the call to ministry 06:09 and then went on to Heartland College, 06:10 graduated from there and was in pastoral ministry 06:14 and just finishing on my doctoral dissertation, 06:16 about to go into my defense. 06:18 And then I get a call from Dr and Mrs. Clark 06:21 and the founders and their son extending the invitation 06:24 to come on board as president 06:26 of Ouachita Hills College. 06:28 And after thinking about it and praying with my wife, 06:31 I recognized the call of God. 06:33 And there's, there's no better place 06:36 to be than in educating minds for eternity. 06:40 And if you want to change the world, 06:42 you do it through education, 06:44 which is a lot of what you're doing 06:45 here on 3ABN. 06:47 You're educating for eternity. 06:48 This is an educational platform as well, 06:50 as well as an inspirational platform. 06:52 So praise the Lord, 06:53 but that's been my transition right now. 06:56 And it has been very, very nice to have spring, 07:00 an actual spring. 07:02 And, but I'll be, I'll be looking 07:04 longingly toward Alaska in mid July in Arkansas. 07:08 But hey, you got to, you don't, I don't move to areas 07:11 for temperature as you can tell 07:14 by moving to Alaska in the first place. 07:16 But yeah, praise the Lord. Amen. 07:17 Praise the Lord. Yeah. 07:19 So then tell us just a little bit about Ouachita, 07:20 our program tonight, 07:22 our two hour live is actually surrendering 07:23 our idea. 07:24 So we're going to talk about that, 07:26 but while you're talking about Ouachita College. 07:27 Tell us a little bit about that because someone may say, 07:29 I've never heard of that. 07:30 Hey, maybe I want to send my kid there, 07:31 or maybe they want to go to the college, 07:33 tell us about that? 07:34 Yes, yes. 07:35 Ouachita Hills was started 07:37 by the vision of Dr. Mrs. Clark. 07:38 They started their academy in their own home 07:40 and it grew to an academy 07:42 and later they started the college. 07:44 And a fundamental difference in Christian education 07:49 is that Christian education takes on the perspective 07:52 of not only educating for this life, 07:55 but for eternal life. 07:56 In the highest sense, the work of education 07:58 and the work of redemption are one. 08:01 And so, Christian education takes on this perspective 08:04 that our goal is not to train young people 08:09 where their primary objective of driving an SUV, 08:13 living in the suburbs, 08:14 getting a nice nest egg of retirement, 08:17 and then retiring and riding off into the sunset 08:19 and that's it. 08:21 I'm not saying there's anything in and of itself bad with that, 08:24 but the secular education takes on that limited perspective 08:27 whereas Christian education takes on the possible, 08:31 total possible existence of man 08:35 and not only serve us in this life, 08:36 but serve us in the life to come. 08:38 And Ouachita Hills Academy and College 08:41 endeavor to ground the principles of education 08:46 upon that broad perspective of eternity 08:50 and the theme of education 08:54 should be restoration 08:57 of the mind, body and soul back to the image of God. 09:00 And the unique thing about Ouachita Hills 09:03 is that there is this, 09:05 this work study program that educates not on the mind, 09:10 but the physical as well. 09:12 And we have a unique canvassing program 09:15 in which the young people are able to pay their way 09:17 through school. 09:19 And with the ballooning costs of education today, 09:23 you're talking 30, 40, $50,000 a year 09:26 for a year of college. 09:28 So you can be graduating 09:30 from college 80 to a $100,000 in debt, 09:33 easy, easy. 09:35 And Ouachita Hills College is affordable. 09:37 It's only 10,000 a year. 09:39 And the vast majority of the students 09:41 because of the canvassing program 09:43 are able to... 09:44 Are able to sell in literature. 09:45 Yes, because of... 09:47 Yes, selling Christian literature 09:48 door-to-door, 09:49 it's also missionary work, 09:51 at the same time they're able to pay 09:52 their way through school 09:54 and the vast majority of them 09:55 graduate with little or no debt. 09:56 So praise the Lord. 09:58 We want to train missionaries for the Lord, Jesus. 09:59 And we can't have them have this burden of debt 10:01 on their shoulders, 10:03 so that they can't even be a missionary. 10:05 And so, Ouachita Hills college 10:08 has this value of training missionaries, 10:12 and also providing an education that is affordable. 10:15 So we have a theology degree, we have a business degree, 10:17 we have a music degree, we have an education degree. 10:19 Nice. Good. 10:21 So four? 10:22 Four major emphasis and bachelors, 10:25 and we also have associate degrees as well. 10:27 And this fall, we're starting a media minor. 10:30 Media minor, and the vision is so that every student 10:34 can have the opportunity to learn how to harness 10:37 the internet platform for ministry. 10:39 Amen. So praise God for that. 10:40 Amen. Amen. 10:42 That's great. 10:43 We need to talk about 10:44 some internship possible at 3ABN. 10:46 Absolutely. 10:47 So that's a discussion for another time. 10:48 Absolutely. Yes. 10:50 But if they want to get in contact, 10:51 I actually have a little website 10:52 written down here, but it's ohc.org, 10:54 if they want more information. 10:55 Yes. 10:57 Ouachita Hills College, 10:59 the website is www.ohc.org. 11:05 And you could find all the information there, 11:07 phone number, address, and everything like that. 11:09 It's an incredible school. 11:10 And we just want to encourage you 11:12 if you're a parent or a grandparent, 11:13 and you have children 11:15 who are high school or college age, 11:16 that you would definitely check out 11:18 Ouachita Hills Academy and College. 11:20 Greg and I have been there and we believe in the mission 11:23 and support that. 11:25 So very grateful for your leadership 11:26 there at Ouachita Hills College. 11:28 I want to remind you that this is a live program. 11:30 I want to give you 11:32 the contact information right now, 11:33 and then we'll launch into our subject for tonight. 11:36 But the contact information for you to text us. 11:39 Let's start with that. 11:41 The texting number is (618) 228-3975. 11:46 That number again is (618) 228-3975. 11:50 You can text us your questions 11:52 or you can email in your questions 11:55 to live@3abn.org. 11:59 That's live@3abn.org. 12:03 We're talking tonight about 12:04 surrendering our ideas to scripture. 12:08 And, you know, it's an amazing topic to me 12:11 because I think about when you enter marriage, 12:13 you have presuppositions, do you not? 12:15 You have an idea of, 12:17 this is what marriage would entail, 12:18 or if you start a new job, 12:20 you think I have an idea of what this job entails. 12:23 But many times I love your topic 12:25 because many times 12:26 when we study the Word of God, 12:28 we don't realize that we bring 12:30 to our study of the Word of God presuppositions 12:34 or our own concepts or ideas. 12:38 Yes, absolutely. 12:40 When we think about studying the Bible, 12:43 typically we focus on methodology, 12:46 which is like how, the, 12:48 how to the approach 12:50 of how you break down the Scripture 12:52 and that's important, 12:53 but there's also other elements 12:55 that take place in the process of interpretation. 12:58 You have the subject, which is me. 13:01 You have the object, which is Scripture. 13:02 In between you have methodology. 13:04 And the Bible actually has a lot to say about the subject. 13:09 In other words, what is going on 13:12 to the person involved in the Bible study? 13:16 Are there ideas already in there from culture, 13:20 from politics, from my family 13:22 upbringing that I bring to the table 13:24 prior to which is presuppositions, 13:27 pre meaning before suppositions ideas. 13:30 So you have ideas that you bring to the text. 13:34 And many people are not even aware 13:35 that there are presuppositions 13:38 lenses through which you read Scripture, 13:42 and presuppositions are powerful things 13:45 because you look at Jesus. 13:47 The Bible says that Jesus is the Word. 13:50 And from an external appearance, 13:53 Jesus looked like a peasant first century Jew, 13:59 didn't have a lot of money and was going around 14:01 with a bunch of fishermen. 14:03 But it was interesting because the Jewish population, 14:09 the elite of the Jewish population 14:11 looked at Jesus, 14:12 they didn't see anything. 14:13 Yeah. 14:15 They didn't see anything, when John the Baptist said, 14:17 "Behold, the lamb of God 14:18 who takes away the sins of this world." 14:20 They looked at Jesus 14:22 and saw nothing but an imposter 14:25 because of the presuppositions of what the Messiah was to be. 14:28 And those were cultural presuppositions 14:31 that Jesus was to come as a King 14:33 or the Messiah was to come. 14:34 So cultural meaning that was taught in the schools, 14:37 or maybe what mommy and daddy told them, okay. 14:40 It was a political lens conveniently 14:42 so that the Messiah would come and overthrow the Romans 14:46 and re-establish the Jewish prominence 14:49 as a political entity. 14:51 So that was a very powerful idea. 14:54 And that presupposition was an ideal 14:59 that they weren't willing to give up 15:01 I've never thought of it as an ideal, 15:02 but it's an interesting one. 15:04 Yeah. 15:05 Absolutely 'cause they held to that. 15:06 The held to that, 15:08 no matter how much evidence that Jesus gave, 15:09 no matter that Jesus rose a man from the dead after four days. 15:15 You can read the Bible, you know, the Jews were there 15:18 and where did they go? 15:19 Where did they go? 15:21 They went back to Jerusalem and what was their discussion? 15:23 Oh, Jesus might be the Messiah. 15:24 No, they said, "We want to kill Jesus 15:26 and we want to kill Lazarus as well." 15:28 The evidence. Right. 15:30 That's idolatry. 15:31 In other words, you have a dead man 15:32 that's been raised alive. 15:34 And rather than relooking at your ideas, 15:38 they rather kill the evidence. 15:41 They rather kill the evidence. 15:42 And so, it's not the availability 15:45 or the lack of availability of truth. 15:48 It's the hypocrisy of the search. 15:50 So people like, you know, show me the truth, 15:52 show me the truth, show me the truth. 15:53 And then you show them the truth. 15:55 And it conflicts with their presupposition, 15:57 which is an ideal. 15:58 And rather than having this challenge their idea, 16:01 they'd rather kill the evidence because this is an ideal. 16:04 This is an idol. 16:05 And these are even religious ideas... 16:07 Religious ideas. 16:08 Because these are religious leaders. 16:09 Yes, absolutely. 16:11 So shows you how powerful these ideas are. 16:15 And we hold on to them. 16:17 And many times we think of ideals 16:19 in terms of like materialism my car, 16:22 my house, my job, my bank account. 16:25 And those are real ideals, 16:26 but we live in an age 16:28 our ideals are also ideological, 16:31 our ideas. 16:32 Wow. 16:34 And if we're coming to a place 16:35 that is so polarized in society, 16:37 where we can look at the same evidence, 16:40 the same video clip, the same information, 16:45 and people are on opposite sides 16:49 of the conclusion of viewing the same evidence. 16:52 Why is that? 16:53 Is because of the presuppositions 16:55 that are there. 16:56 And that's why our world is so polarized 16:58 because we hold on to those ideas. 17:01 So this is what we're talking about tonight, 17:02 because the key word here 17:03 that I see on this title is surrendering. 17:05 Absolutely, surrendering. 17:06 So you're going to tell us how we, 17:08 because we all have these presuppositions. 17:10 We all have these ideas. Yeah. 17:13 And we get them from culture. 17:14 We get them from the media. 17:16 Every time we read a news article, 17:18 every time we listen to the radio, 17:20 every time we go on the internet, 17:22 we are getting ideas in our head 17:24 that are presuppositional, 17:26 that are frameworks 17:27 that impinge on how we see the world 17:31 and we get them unconsciously. 17:33 And many people think that they're being objective 17:36 when reality they're viewing life 17:39 through the lens 17:40 of their chosen presuppositional framework. 17:42 That was my question. 17:43 How do I know I have a presupposition? 17:45 Because it's easy to say, 17:46 well, this person leans to the right 17:48 and this person leans to the left, 17:49 but I'm balanced. 17:51 So how do I even know if I have a presupposition 17:54 that I'm holding on to? 17:56 I've never met a person that's imbalanced 17:58 or thinks that they're imbalanced. 18:00 Or thinks that they are imbalanced. 18:01 Everybody thinks they are balanced. 18:04 And here's the thing 18:06 is that all of us will push in our study today. 18:09 All of us have ideas in our head 18:13 that God is calling us to surrender. 18:17 Oh, wow. All of us, all of us. 18:20 So I'm not exempt from tonight's study. 18:21 None of us have, have, can come to the place 18:27 where we say all the ideas in my head 18:31 are as pure as God is on His throne right now. 18:37 And I don't have any area in my mind 18:39 that I need to surrender. 18:41 And the beauty of it is 18:43 that in our study of Scripture, 18:47 even for the converted and sanctified person, 18:50 we always go back to the text 18:52 and we read and the Holy Spirit says, 18:55 hey, there's an idea in there 18:58 that you got from society that I'm calling you to let go. 19:02 Oh, wow. 19:04 And look, sanctification is the work of a lifetime. 19:06 Sure is. 19:08 When we typically think of sanctification 19:10 in terms of our addictions and character and granted, 19:12 that's so true, 19:14 but the Bible points out 19:15 that sanctification also involves 19:18 what's in here in terms of our ideas. 19:21 And that's why the Bible says, 19:22 bringing into captivity every thought 19:25 to the obedience of Christ. 19:27 In other words, the sanctification of ideas 19:30 is a process that goes into your entire lifetime. 19:35 Wow. It's never done. 19:37 You don't say, oh, I finally arrived. 19:39 I had become balanced and yes, perfect. 19:40 Yeah, yeah. That's dangerous. 19:43 Purely objective. Yeah, yeah. 19:44 That's actually a dangerous place to be. 19:46 Yes, it is. 19:48 And so you can be in a humble position 19:49 standing on the platform of truth, 19:52 but in a position of saying, Lord, sanctify my ideas 19:56 through a continual process of surrender. 19:59 So the sanctification of ideas is a never ending process. 20:02 You're going to walk us through this tonight. 20:04 Yeah. Yeah, yeah. 20:06 Shall we pray? Yes, absolutely. 20:08 Absolutely. 20:10 Father in heaven, Lord, tonight, 20:12 we ask for the Holy Spirit, 20:15 the great teacher to guide our thoughts. 20:18 We've just acknowledged our weakness. 20:20 We are fallen. We are frail. 20:23 We are need of the Holy Spirit. 20:25 And so we ask for the Holy Spirit 20:27 to inspire our study, 20:30 be with all those that are joining us tonight, 20:32 you know, where they're at, 20:34 you know, the struggles and the heartaches 20:35 and the burdens that they bear, 20:38 may You minister to them tonight. 20:40 And as we open the Word of God, 20:42 may You inspire, may You instruct, 20:46 may You lead us by Your grace 20:49 as we go through this topic of surrendering every thought 20:53 to the obedience of Christ, 20:54 for we ask these things in the precious name of Jesus. 20:57 Amen. Amen. 20:59 Wow, powerful. Amen. 21:03 Well, let's go to our first text here. 21:07 I have it here on our study guide. 21:09 And when we, when we look through this idea 21:12 of surrendering our ideas, 21:15 the foundational starting point, 21:19 even before we can begin a discussion 21:22 about sanctifying our ideas 21:25 is that the Bible brings out that ground zero 21:30 is this concept of conversion. 21:33 Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. 21:34 That's right. 21:36 And which is ultimately surrender. 21:38 Surrendering of our heart to Jesus is the ground 21:42 from which surrendering our ideas comes from. 21:45 So we can't even talk about surrendering our ideas 21:49 if we don't talk about conversion 21:52 and giving our heart to the Lord, Jesus Christ. 21:54 And this is so essential. 21:57 This is from 1 Corinthians 2:14, 22:00 "But the natural man receiveth not the things 22:02 of the Spirit of God: 22:04 but they are foolishness to him: 22:06 neither can he know them, 22:08 because they are spiritually discerned." 22:10 And so, typically when we think of conversion, 22:13 we think about conversion of our hearts. 22:14 That's right. Yes. 22:16 But there is also illumination that takes place 22:20 in how we perceive spiritual things. 22:24 So when we look about the changed life, 22:27 we cannot separate the changed life 22:30 from the changed perception of reality. 22:35 So if you are converted, 22:37 you're going to see things differently. 22:39 You're going to recognize things differently. 22:42 You're going to view reality differently. 22:45 So that's, that's ground zero. 22:46 And when you look at the conversion of Paul, 22:49 or I should say Saul of Tarsus to Paul the Apostle, 22:54 it was not only a conversion of life 22:59 in terms of his heart. 23:01 This is talking about a traumatic reversal 23:05 in how he viewed Jesus Christ. 23:08 You're talking about an all or nothing guy. 23:10 This guy is out to kill every Christian. 23:13 The Bible says, he's dragging them 23:15 out of homes and placing them in prison. 23:17 And he's on to the road to Damascus. 23:19 And he's a member of the Sanhedrin. 23:21 He's killing Christians. 23:22 He sees Jesus. He meets Jesus. 23:25 And in just a few verses, 23:27 he goes from killing Christians to being a Christian, 23:30 to preaching Jesus. 23:32 So you're talking about a dramatic reversal. 23:36 And in one of my favorite books, 23:37 Acts of the Apostles, 23:39 the author brings out this idea 23:42 that on the road to Damascus when he saw Jesus 23:46 that through his mind flashed 23:49 the prophetic record of Scripture, 23:51 and he put them all together 23:53 and suddenly he was making sense 23:56 of all those prophecies that were in his head. 23:59 And what you're noticing with Paul 24:02 is that suddenly those texts in his head 24:07 that were not a part of his interpretive lens 24:13 were really replaced by or were really in there, 24:18 the interpretive lens up to that point 24:20 had been tradition, 24:21 had been the first century presuppositional framework, 24:25 but the data was in there. 24:26 They just weren't operating 24:28 in terms of 24:30 a macro hermeneutical perspective 24:32 in terms of the interpretive lens. 24:34 And this is important for us to recognize as Christians. 24:37 You can have texts in your mind, 24:41 but if it's not operating as the lens 24:43 through which you view reality, 24:46 you're going to come to a different conclusion. 24:48 In other words, we can be a Christian all our lives 24:51 and have data in our mind from the text. 24:54 But if we have the media, if we have society, 24:57 if we have culture, 24:58 that's going to become our worldview 25:00 for interpretation, 25:01 then this data is not functioning 25:04 in the way that it should be. 25:05 And that's the issue with Saul of Tarsus 25:08 who later became Paul. 25:09 So I'm thinking of the Ten Commandments, right? 25:12 Many denominations read the Ten Commandments, 25:13 Exodus 20, fourth commandment 25:15 being the seventh day Sabbath, right? 25:17 And then, okay, don't think anything of it, right? 25:19 Still go to church on Sunday, thinking as Sabbath. 25:22 But that's what culture, family tradition. 25:25 They've got the text in their mind tradition, 25:27 but yeah, the viewing aspect 25:29 that you're talking about, right? 25:31 That would be an example. Absolutely. 25:32 I mean, how many people know the Ten Commandments? 25:34 Everybody, it's plastered everywhere, 25:36 but you read many people, 25:37 99% of the people read the fourth commandment 25:41 and they just go right over it. 25:42 Why? 25:44 Because tradition has become 25:45 the macro hermeneutical framework 25:47 for interpreting that text. 25:49 And rather than letting that text challenge 25:54 the idea that's framing what that text is. 25:58 So, presuppositions are powerful, are powerful. 26:03 So, Saul of Tarsus, 26:05 his conversion experience 26:07 was not only a reversal of the heart 26:12 and a transformation. 26:13 It was also a dramatic ideological reversal 26:17 in which he had to let go 26:19 of these precious ideals in his mind 26:23 that he had been holding onto 26:25 and enacting out by killing Christians. 26:27 He's got to come to the conclusion of like, 26:29 who are you? 26:31 Remember when Jesus appeared, who are you? 26:32 And he says, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." 26:35 And then he's like, huh, I'm wrong. 26:39 Yeah. 26:41 In other words, these ideas have been ideals 26:44 and suddenly he comes to the conviction 26:48 that he's wrong. 26:49 And here's the moment that we all face at some point 26:54 on a macro or micro level, bigger, small. 26:57 What do we do when we come in contact 27:01 with the Word 27:02 and its overwhelming evidence 27:05 that challenges our most precious ideas 27:08 and says, David, 27:11 those ideas are wrong and they're ideals 27:14 and you need to let them go? 27:16 Whoo, I mean, I mean like that's, 27:18 that's where Saul of Tarsus was, 27:20 because look, this is not just talking about 27:22 an ideological change. 27:23 This changes everything. Of course. 27:24 He loses his position on the Sanhedrin, 27:26 you know, what are people 27:28 going to think of him, you know? 27:29 And you know, all of these social dynamics. 27:30 That's the pride. 27:32 I mean, it's gotta be there too, right? 27:33 I'm wrong. Yeah. 27:35 I'm wrong here. 27:36 Like, you mentioned on the Sanhedrin, 27:37 I mean an important role he is taking it 27:39 and to make that type of reversal. 27:40 Yeah. 27:41 You would think pride would be just right there. 27:43 No, no, not at all. 27:44 I'm not going to do that. Yeah. 27:46 You can imagine. That's the pressure version. 27:47 Yeah. 27:48 You can imagine the pressure to say, you know what? 27:50 I don't care what I saw on the road to Damascus, 27:51 like I'm not going to believe it. 27:52 My position, that's better. Absolutely. 27:54 To reason in there. 27:56 And here's the thing. 27:57 What happens to the person that persistently says, 28:02 I'm going to hold on to this idea, 28:05 no matter how much this is telling me, 28:09 I need to let it go. 28:10 What would have happened to Saul of Tarsus if he said, 28:13 I don't care how many texts 28:15 my mind is bringing to the conviction? 28:17 I don't mean to care 28:18 how legitimate this vision of Jesus is. 28:21 I'm going to hold on to my idea from culture 28:24 rather than surrender, 28:26 submit and surrender to the Christ 28:28 and to Scripture. 28:30 Book of Acts would be very different, 28:32 you know, the early Christian Church 28:34 would be very different, 28:35 the gospel going to the Gentiles. 28:37 Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. 28:39 And so we have the majority of the New Testament today 28:41 because one man stood up and said, 28:44 look, I'm going to let this ideal go. 28:47 Yep. I was wrong. 28:48 I was wrong. Wow. 28:50 Because of the text, because of the text 28:52 and this is where we're at. 28:54 And look, it's easy to stand in the 21st century 28:58 and look at the Bible, say, 28:59 "Oh, look at those idolatry of ideas they had. 29:01 Oh, there's prehistoric, pre-scientific people. 29:05 We don't have idolatry of ideas today. 29:09 Let's not be so naive. Let's not be so naive. 29:12 Could it be possible that today from the media, 29:16 from what we're reading, 29:18 from what we're listening to from our family, 29:19 from our culture, 29:21 we have ideas that are embedded in our brain 29:23 that are just as much ideals that society is calling us to, 29:29 to hold on to. 29:30 And we'd rather reinterpret the text 29:34 and surrender the idea to Lord Jesus. 29:37 So when they question I'm gonna say, 29:38 yes, it's very much alive and well. 29:40 I know even in my own life, 29:42 you know, 'cause you know, we tend to hang on to things 29:44 and yeah, you're absolutely right. 29:45 Yes. 29:46 So it's very pertinent, relative relevant 29:49 to right we're dealing with right now. 29:50 Absolutely. 29:52 So I want to read this from the book, 29:54 Acts of the Apostles page 125, 126, 29:57 "The foundation of Paul's faith 30:00 was the sure word of prophecy. 30:02 Here in the solitude of the desert in Arabia, 30:05 he emptied his mind, 30:07 his soul of the prejudices and traditions, 30:10 this is presuppositions, 30:12 that hitherto shaped his life 30:14 and received instruction from the source of truth." 30:19 So here the Bible says in the Book of Galatians 30:21 that he spent three years in Arabia 30:23 and there's something to be said about that. 30:24 Because many times, 30:26 God prepares men 30:28 by placing them in the wilderness. 30:32 You look at David, 30:34 he calls him to be king and says, 30:35 go back to being shepherd. 30:37 You look at Moses 40 years in the wilderness. 30:40 I think here Paul. John the Baptist. 30:42 John the Baptist, John the Baptist, 30:44 and here Paul, you look in the Book of Acts, 30:47 you see his conversion, 30:48 then you don't see him for a while. 30:50 Well, he was in Arabia for three years. 30:52 And here Acts of the Apostles indicates 30:54 that during that time 30:56 he intentionally went through a process 30:59 of surrendering prejudices and traditions. 31:04 What are those? Presuppositions. 31:06 You know, all those ideas. 31:07 He's like, "Oh, that's unbiblical, 31:09 that's unbiblical, that's unbiblical. 31:10 I need to let that go." 31:12 So he went through this intentional process 31:13 and the person that emerges on the other side 31:16 of that in the Book of Acts is Paul the Apostle. 31:19 This is intense study that he was going through. 31:21 You know, it's interesting that God did 31:23 that such dramatic, right? 31:24 Boom. Right? 31:25 Who are your persecuting? 31:27 You're persecuting Jesus Christ. 31:28 That was dramatic, right? 31:29 That's dramatic. Yeah. 31:31 But then God allowed him 31:32 because he could have given him everything, 31:34 but he allowed him to go through that experience 31:35 to study in depth search of the Word of God 31:37 for three years. 31:38 Three years. That's powerful. 31:39 And it's where God says, look, 31:41 I want to put the pause button 31:44 and have you engage the Word of God, 31:47 so that you can have a solid foundation. 31:49 And when you look in the Book of Acts, 31:51 the apostle that got it 31:55 in terms of emptying his mind of the presuppositions 31:57 more than any other apostle was the Apostle Paul, 32:00 was the Apostle Paul. 32:01 And we'll go through that study as we continue today. 32:04 I had a question, I was just thinking 32:06 of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, 32:08 and they had presuppositions, right? 32:09 And Jesus Himself began with Moses 32:12 and the prophets and unfolded the scriptures 32:14 that they already knew, 32:16 but it was like their minds 32:18 were open to see it in a new way. 32:20 So what I was wondering, 32:22 because of course you could say, 32:23 well, that was Jesus Himself teaching them. 32:25 In this sense, God Himself taught Paul 32:28 in the wilderness there in Arabia. 32:30 Do you think when we... 32:32 When the Holy Spirit impresses on our minds 32:35 these presuppositions and we set them aside, 32:38 do you think that's a individual work 32:40 that's just between us and God 32:42 or do other people have input 32:44 sometimes into that process 32:46 of identifying these presuppositions 32:48 and helping us rid ourselves of that? 32:51 Yeah. That's a fascinating question. 32:52 Because when you see in the Book of Galatians, 32:54 he says he spent three years in Arabia, 32:56 but then after that he went and visited Peter. 33:00 So it tells you that theological reflection 33:03 takes place in solitude and community. 33:07 There's a tension between the two. 33:09 So, that you can't say, look, 33:11 I've gone through this process by myself. 33:12 I have no accountability to the body. 33:15 So the individual theological reflection, 33:17 it can enhance the vision of the body 33:21 like Paul did, but at the same time, 33:23 there's accountability by the body 33:26 in terms of continuity and corroboration. 33:30 So, absolutely. 33:31 I think that God works through the church 33:35 through the Holy Spirit. 33:36 And it is through this collective process 33:40 that is also individual. 33:43 And you can see that in the life of Paul 33:45 in terms of his own transformation, 33:47 but you see immediately after the road 33:50 to Damascus experience, what does God do? 33:53 Puts him in contact with Ananias, the church. 33:57 So, it's not like, hey, you're on your own, 33:59 you know, lone ranger, just go for it. 34:02 But you also see that personal 34:05 and that collective 34:06 in terms of how this process takes place. 34:09 And so absolutely, 34:11 I think that through the community of faith, 34:13 through the church, 34:14 we are challenged in terms of ideas and look, 34:19 every, every sermon, 34:21 every sermon is an opportunity for the Holy Spirit 34:23 to work and say, 34:24 you know, David, 34:26 there's some ideas in there 34:27 that that you need to rethink and reevaluate 34:32 every Bible study in a small group and so forth. 34:35 There's an opportunity for us to say, 34:36 Lord, I surrender my ideas to you. 34:39 Yes. 34:41 I was thinking of the early Christian Church leaders too, 34:42 because here's Paul who was after them 34:44 and killing them. 34:45 And now they've also got ideas about him, right? 34:47 And then here he comes to them for help. 34:48 Yeah. 34:50 They've got also then changed their ideas of Paul, 34:51 like, okay, God is doing a work in him, right? 34:54 Yeah, absolutely, in the beginning. 34:56 Yeah. Yeah. They were scared. 34:58 You're right. 34:59 I would be scared too. Yeah, yeah. 35:01 I mean, this guy's like, you know, the Gestapo, 35:03 they're going out to kill you, 35:04 and then suddenly he's preaching 35:06 and you're kinda like, "Whoa, what's going on." 35:08 So this was, this was a dramatic shift 35:10 in the Christian Church and the Christian community 35:13 and involved an individual that did like, 35:16 he's going, you know, he's all or nothing. 35:17 He's going killing Christians. 35:20 And then he's then converting others 35:22 to Christianity, dramatic. 35:24 The church then has to the next step, 35:25 them saying, okay, God is doing something in his life. 35:28 Yeah. So, he challenged them. 35:30 And then he comes around to challenge them 35:33 on their own presuppositional framework. 35:35 Isn't that amazing actually? Yeah. 35:37 Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit. 35:38 Yeah. The Holy Spirit works. 35:40 And the beauty of this 35:41 is when I come in contact with individuals 35:44 that are like just never in my human estimation, 35:49 going to give up their ideas, you know, just entrenched. 35:53 Paul gives me hope, right? 35:55 Is that, look, you can never write anyone off. 35:57 And in the first century, 35:59 if there was someone that you could write off 36:01 and say like, look, this person 36:03 is never going to get it, 36:05 never gonna join Christianity. 36:07 It would have been Paul, 36:08 like he would have been number one, 36:09 say like, look, that brother is hopeless. 36:11 I mean, he's killing us. All right. 36:13 And, but it gives us hope. It gives us hope. 36:16 So to those of us 36:18 that have experienced persecution, 36:21 just recognize that the proponent 36:24 of persecution, 36:26 the person that's at the point of that 36:28 could be a Paul, could be a Paul. 36:31 And just to, by the grace of God exhibit 36:33 a Christ-like character 36:34 and that anyone can have a theological reversal 36:38 if Paul can, if Paul can. 36:39 Yep. 36:40 And so this is a beautiful thing. 36:42 So conversion is essential. 36:46 Conversion involves the surrender of our lives 36:50 to Jesus as Savior and Lord, 36:53 and lordship involves ideological ideals as well. 36:58 So you say, Lord, I surrender my life 37:00 and my ideas, whoo, to your lordship. 37:04 And that's what Paul did. 37:06 This was a surrender of ideas. 37:08 There's another thing that involves 37:11 the ground for continued spiritual illumination, 37:17 conversion. 37:18 And then when you look at the sanctuary model, 37:21 there's the courtyard 37:23 where we experienced conversion. 37:25 You come in the Lamb of God 37:27 and you surrender, you're baptized. 37:30 Justification. Yeah, justification. 37:32 And that's what Paul has experienced here. 37:34 And you see the surrender of life, 37:36 the surrender of ideas, 37:37 but then you go into the Holy Place experience. 37:40 And the unique thing about the Holy Place experience 37:43 is that the articles of furniture 37:47 are situated in a way 37:49 that there is not a clear numerical order. 37:53 In other words, the structure of the sanctuary 37:55 you walk in 37:56 and it's clear what's number one, right? 37:58 The altar, okay, then the laver, 38:00 then the next compartment is the Holy Place. 38:03 But then you go in there and they're not in align. 38:06 True. They're in... 38:07 That's right. They're in a configuration. 38:12 You're kind of like, okay, which one do I do first? 38:15 Yeah. Yeah. 38:16 It's kind of like, okay, 38:18 there's not a clear, implied order. 38:21 And I believe that's intentional. 38:22 I believe that's intentional. 38:24 All of those articles of furniture 38:27 have the Hebrew word tamid that is associated with them, 38:30 which involves continually and daily. 38:34 And so the lampstand was to be 38:36 continually burning daily burning, 38:39 the bread was to be continually 38:41 before the presence of God. 38:42 And then the altar of incense 38:44 was to be continually giving off 38:46 the incense. 38:48 And so you get in there. 38:49 And the implication is that the tamid 38:52 is that the Holy Place experience 38:56 is to be a cyclical experience. 38:58 Oh, that's good. 39:00 In other words, there to A B experience concurrently. 39:04 Wow. 39:05 At the same time continually at the same time, 39:09 you know, the courtyard experience 39:12 is very particular. 39:14 In other words, it's a point like justification, 39:16 you know, you just, it happens, 39:17 you know, and, and then you go in 39:19 through the Holy Place 39:20 and it's like this never ending cyclical experience. 39:25 Now, an interesting part of the Holy Place experience 39:28 is that the priest would come in 39:31 daily with the oil 39:33 and pour the oil into the lampstands. 39:38 The priest represents Jesus, Hebrews Chapter 8, 39:41 the oil represents the Holy Spirit. 39:44 The candlesticks represent us, the church. 39:46 And notice what's happening? 39:48 It's being poured in, 39:50 the Holy Spirit is being poured in by Jesus, 39:52 into His church, into us. 39:54 The result of that is what? 39:56 Light, there's light. So you can see. 39:58 So you can see, and there's only one source 40:00 of light in the Holy Place. 40:02 They didn't have a skylight. 40:04 The one source of light was that candlestick. 40:07 Right. The candlesticks. 40:09 And the interesting thing is, 40:10 when you go into the sanctuary 40:12 and you face the candlesticks, 40:13 and then you turn around toward the right, 40:15 you see the bread, right? 40:16 Yeah. 40:18 The only way to see the bread is with the light. 40:20 Oh, that's good. 40:21 And you only get the light from the Holy Spirit. 40:24 Yeah. Fascinating. 40:25 Fascinating. 40:26 Now, that is fascinating. 40:28 So the key to continual spiritual illumination 40:33 is the filling of the Holy Spirit 40:35 on a daily basis. 40:37 So you experience justification. 40:39 You go into the Holy Place. 40:40 To continual experience, you need light every day, 40:43 you need the illumination, 40:44 you need the fruit of the spirit. 40:46 And the way that you see the bread 40:49 is through the spirit, 40:50 the light, that light that comes out. 40:52 And so this is an important part. 40:54 So ground zero, the courtyard, 40:57 justification, surrender of our life to Jesus, 41:00 and then the continued indwelling 41:03 of the Holy Spirit inside of us, 41:05 so that we can see, 41:07 so that we can see 41:08 and understand spiritual things. 41:09 And so it's a continual process 41:11 that keeps on going after that. 41:14 Yeah, very fascinating. 41:15 And, you know, the Book of Luke was written by the same author 41:19 as the Book of Acts. 41:21 And it's interesting 41:23 because if you go to Luke Chapter 1, 41:25 you can see how being filled with the Holy Spirit 41:30 brings with it illumination. 41:34 If you go to Luke Chapter 1 41:36 and you see the description 41:41 of John the Baptist to Zacharias, 41:45 it's fascinating description. 41:46 Luke 1:15, 41:48 here's Zacharias is being given a description 41:51 of his son who is to be born of Elizabeth. 41:54 In Luke 1:15, 41:55 "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord 41:58 and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. 42:02 He'll be filled with the Holy Spirit, 42:04 even from his mother's womb." 42:06 So here we have a description, very unique. 42:10 And look, the Book of Luke begins with John the Baptist 42:14 being filled with the Holy Spirit. 42:16 The Book of Acts begins with the church 42:18 being filled with the Holy Spirit, 42:20 same author, same author. 42:21 So here in utero, 42:23 the Bible says that John the Baptist 42:26 is going to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 42:29 Now, I don't know exactly what that all means, 42:32 but I will tell you what the Bible describes, 42:35 what it does. 42:36 So if you go to Luke Chapter 1, 42:39 we have this story that continues on 42:41 because Mary's told that she's going to be 42:44 with child as well. 42:46 And then Mary goes and greets Elizabeth 42:49 in Luke1:40, 42:54 or I should say, verse 39. 42:56 "Now Mary arose in those days 42:57 and went into the hill country of Judah, 43:00 and entered into the house of Zacharias 43:03 and greeted Elizabeth. 43:04 And it happened, while Elizabeth heard 43:06 the greeting of Mary, 43:07 that the baby leaped in her womb, 43:10 and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 43:13 Then she spoke with a loud voice and said, 43:15 'Blessed are you among women, 43:17 for blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43:20 Why is it granted to me, 43:22 that the mother of my Lord should come to me?'" 43:25 So let me show you what's happening here. 43:28 Mary's just been told you're going to have a child. 43:30 And that child is going to be God. 43:33 At this time, Elizabeth is six months pregnant 43:35 with John the Baptist, 43:36 who the Bible says is filled with the Holy Spirit. 43:38 So this is the picture. 43:39 Mary comes in the house says, hi, Mary. 43:43 Elizabeth looks at Mary and says, you're pregnant. 43:48 And you're pregnant with God. 43:51 I mean, that's exactly what's happened. 43:53 I mean, you can't even tell, 43:55 I mean, she's not showing right. 43:56 You're pregnant and you're pregnant with God. 43:59 Wow. Wow. 44:00 Now, how did she know that? 44:03 Look at her description in verse 44, 44:05 "For indeed, as soon as the voice 44:06 of your greeting sounded in my years, 44:09 the babe leaped in my womb for joy." 44:12 So here's, what's happening. 44:13 In other words, in utero John the Baptist 44:17 filled with the Holy Spirit 44:19 recognized that he was in the presence of God. 44:24 Whoo! 44:26 So I don't know exactly what it means to be filled 44:28 with the Holy Spirit in utero, 44:29 but I'll show you what it does. 44:31 It gives you spiritual perception. 44:34 Oh, that's good. 44:36 That's impossible to have any other way in utero. 44:38 Yeah. 44:39 You know, you know, two mothers meet, 44:43 leaps in the womb, you know, and it's like... 44:45 You're pregnant with God. Yeah. Yeah. 44:46 And so, and then not only that, 44:48 but it says that Elizabeth was filled 44:50 with the Holy Spirit. 44:51 So Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. 44:54 John the Baptist is filled with the Holy Spirit, 44:56 the baby leaps in her womb, the baby recognizes. 44:59 And then Elizabeth being filled with the Holy Spirit 45:01 puts it all together, baby leaping. 45:05 And then the Holy Spirit reveals to her, 45:07 you're in the presence of the mother, 45:09 of the mother of, you know, 45:11 someone that's bearing God in utero 45:14 and says, look, you're pregnant, 45:16 and you're pregnant with God. 45:18 In other words, the Holy Spirit is a source of illumination. 45:24 Without the Holy Spirit, 45:25 we can't understand spiritual things. 45:27 Because look, if Mary had walked 45:29 through the streets of Judea on her way to Elizabeth, 45:35 she would look like a peasant like anybody else. 45:38 You wouldn't be able to tell she was pregnant with God. 45:41 But Elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit was like, 45:44 you're pregnant and you're pregnant with God. 45:46 Now here's the question. 45:47 Here's the question. 45:49 When the Holy Spirit told Elizabeth 45:52 you're in the presence of the mother of God, 45:55 in other words, pregnant with God, 45:58 why didn't she just like, 46:01 you know, if I got that impression, 46:03 I'd be like, ah, no. 46:05 I mean, like, I must be hearing things 46:08 like this is crazy. 46:09 Like, why was it that immediately 46:12 and she didn't just think that the baby's moving, 46:14 you know what I'm saying? 46:15 And, but immediately she's like, 46:17 you're pregnant. 46:18 You're pregnant with God. 46:20 Why was it that she was able to accept 46:21 this revelation so quickly? 46:23 Because her husband obviously had some issues 46:25 with faith. 46:26 It's like Angel Gabriel is like, 46:27 your wife's going to have a child. 46:29 And he's like, ha-ha, you know? And then he's mute, you know? 46:32 And so, this is a woman of faith. 46:34 Why was it that she was able to say 46:37 you're pregnant and you're pregnant with God? 46:39 It was because for six months 46:42 she was carrying a miracle. 46:47 She was carrying a miracle, 46:49 every kick, every move of that baby. 46:51 I mean, she's well past menopause. 46:53 You know, she's on, you know, she's geriatric, 46:57 you know, for a veteran, you know, she's you know, 46:59 excuse the term, but you know, I mean, 47:01 she's well beyond child rearing. 47:03 Okay. And, but she's pregnant. 47:04 She's the talk of the town, she's showing. 47:06 All right. 47:07 And so when the revelation came Mary's pregnant with God, 47:12 she's like, okay, she believes it 47:15 because in order to believe the miracle, 47:18 you got to be experiencing a miracle. 47:22 So Elizabeth was experiencing a miracle? 47:24 She is experiencing the man of miracle. 47:26 So look, if you want to believe the miracle, 47:30 got to experience the miracle. 47:33 So someone is saying tonight, 47:34 I want to experience the miracle. 47:36 I want the Holy Spirit in my life 47:37 so that I can experience God and I can understand. 47:41 And these presuppositions in my mind will be taken away, 47:44 but they say, I don't know how to receive the Holy Spirit. 47:47 Absolutely. How do I get the Holy Spirit? 47:48 How to get the Holy Spirit? 47:50 Jesus says, God is more willing to give the Holy Spirit 47:53 to those that ask him, 47:54 Luke Chapter 11, same book 47:56 to those that ask him more than parents 47:58 are willing to give good gifts to their children. 48:00 In other words, the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift 48:01 that heaven longs to bestow upon men. 48:03 And he says, ask and keep on asking. 48:07 So that's ground zero. 48:09 Ask for the Holy Spirit and asking for the Holy Spirit 48:12 is one of those prayers that's always a yes prayer. 48:17 Forgiveness, always a yes prayer. 48:18 That's right? Right? 48:20 Christ like temper always a yes prayer, 48:23 you know, new car may not always be yes prayer, 48:27 you know, and we pray for these things, 48:28 Oh, I want a new house, new job, 48:30 you know, all these things that are material, 48:33 but spiritually God's like, 48:35 okay, well maybe so, maybe wait, 48:37 but look, I want to give you so much more than this. 48:41 And the Holy Spirit brings with him 48:42 all the other blessings in his train, 48:44 Christ dwells in us through the agency 48:46 of the Holy Spirit. 48:47 And when you ask for the Holy Spirit, 48:49 it's not like let me think about it. 48:51 You can know and believe 48:52 regardless of the way that you may or may not feel 48:55 that you receive the Holy Spirit 48:58 because of Jesus' promise. 49:00 And look, I'm a parent and I am sinful, 49:06 you know, in terms of falling and all those types of things. 49:08 But it's amazing when my son asks for something, 49:12 it's like sinner that I am, 49:15 I long to give him what he asks. 49:19 You know, especially if it's something that is good, 49:21 you know what I'm saying? 49:22 But he says, look, if you being evil, 49:24 know how to give good gifts to their children, 49:26 how much more your heavenly Father 49:28 give the Holy Spirit to those that ask him. 49:30 So the posture of God is like, 49:33 I want to give the Holy Spirit to you. 49:36 And He longs for our consent. 49:39 So ask. 49:40 Ask, asking is like authorization. 49:43 God is not going to barge His way into your life. 49:46 But when you give Him permission, 49:48 He's like, okay, we have authorization. 49:51 Amen. We have access. 49:52 So how do you experience the miracle? 49:53 'Cause you're talking about that. 49:55 So Elizabeth, you know, being filled 49:56 with the Holy Spirit, 49:57 but then you're talking about she's experiencing a miracle. 49:59 So how is someone practically right now 50:00 experienced a miracle? 50:01 Experiencing a miracle, 50:03 you know, the miracle is conversion 50:04 being born of the Spirit. 50:06 Okay. 50:07 And being born of the Spirit is a miracle in and of itself. 50:12 And we experienced the miracle by saying, 50:15 Lord, I'm willing to be made willing, 50:20 beauty of surrender. 50:21 You say, Lord, come into my heart, 50:24 come into my life, transform me. 50:27 And we do that on a daily basis. 50:29 We give that consent 50:31 that, that opening for God to move and He's ready. 50:35 And you have the resource of heaven 50:36 that Jesus bought at Calvary that are channeled to us. 50:41 And we can experience that conversion today. 50:43 So that's, that's where it is. 50:45 And then every day after that, 50:46 we experienced the Holy Place experience 50:48 where we're asking for the Holy Spirit, 50:49 we're in prayer and the Word of God. 50:51 And it's this never ending cycle 50:54 of continually experiencing the miracle on a daily basis. 50:57 You know, this may be a strange comment or question 50:58 to tell you right now, 51:00 because we've got another hour or something. 51:01 This first hour has gone by in a hurry. 51:02 But you know, I think 51:04 there's someone actually right now, 51:05 Pastor David, I just feel impressed 51:07 that someone right now is saying, 51:08 can I do that right now? 51:09 Can I do that right now, pastor? 51:11 Absolutely. 51:12 So would you mind just talking to your camera 51:13 right here just now, 51:15 usually we do that at the last hour, 51:16 but yeah, just talk to someone right now. 51:18 'Cause I think somebody has to hear that right now. 51:19 Can I do it now? Absolutely. 51:20 You know, if you're on the fence 51:22 and you're wondering whether this is all possible, 51:24 maybe you're dealing with an addiction in your life. 51:26 Maybe you're at the end of your rope. 51:28 Maybe you're struggling with something in your life. 51:30 Revelation 3:20 is applicable for you. 51:33 It presents Jesus, a knocking on the door 51:36 of our hearts and saying, 51:37 if any person opens the door, I will come in. 51:42 And right now Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart. 51:46 He wants to transform your life. 51:48 And look, there's many moments 51:50 in our lives when we feel just on our backs, 51:54 when we feel like the rug 51:55 has been pulled out of under us, 51:57 maybe you're feeling like that 51:58 because of 2020 52:00 and all the things that we've gone through, 52:01 maybe you've lost your job. 52:03 You know, this is an opportunity for you 52:06 to look beyond the physical, into the spiritual. 52:11 Because when we feel at our at our limits, 52:16 when we feel that the world is against us 52:18 and when we look toward heaven, 52:20 it's actually a beautiful thing 52:23 in terms of recognizing our need, 52:25 that this world cannot fill that void 52:28 in our own hearts and our own lives. 52:30 And so you can go to God today and say, 52:32 Lord, this is the way I feel. 52:34 Take my heart because I can't give it, 52:36 you know, give me the desire to desire. 52:40 Give me the gift of repentance. 52:42 And repentance is a genuine sorrow for sin 52:44 and turning away from it. 52:46 And the thing is, it's a gift. 52:47 We can't even fabricate this on our own. 52:49 We can go to God today and say, Lord, I'm not sorry. 52:52 Help me to be sorry. 52:54 Wow. I love this sin. 52:55 Help me to hate it. 52:57 And you can surrender your life to God today and say, 52:59 "Lord, I give you my will, I give you my heart, 53:02 help me to be willing to be made willing." 53:04 And He will do it for you right now today. 53:08 And you can kneel down wherever you are and say, 53:10 "Lord, take my heart, take my life." 53:13 And He will come into your heart and life 53:16 and work in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 53:21 Yeah. Amen. Boy. 53:22 That's powerful appeal. Yeah. 53:23 Thank you. Yeah. 53:25 I think that's just a powerful thing. 53:26 If you know, you know, there's people 53:27 all over looking that are trying to find hope. 53:30 Yes. Yes. 53:31 People are searching. Like God can do something. 53:33 Yeah. Absolutely. 53:34 So powerful. This is just powerful. 53:37 Don't feel like you're alone tonight. 53:39 I just think in, 53:40 as you were sharing that, David, 53:41 I was thinking of a woman who called me just this week 53:43 in the office and she said, 53:44 "Jill, I see your walk with God 53:47 and I want it too." 53:49 And she said, "I just want to experience Jesus. 53:53 I want to find Him for myself. 53:54 How do I do that?" 53:56 And so what Pastor David 53:57 just shared his life, transformed me. 54:00 Jesus can come in. 54:02 He will change your heart and life 54:04 and take out some of those presuppositions. 54:08 This has been an incredible first hour. 54:09 I know we're coming down to the end of the first hour. 54:12 Would you give us a recap of what we have unpacked 54:15 and uncovered this first hour? 54:17 And then we'll take a short break. 54:20 Absolutely. 54:22 You know, when we look at our ideas, 54:25 there's ideas in there that that are ideals 54:29 and God works with us where we're at. 54:32 He meets us where we're at. 54:33 And He brings us to the foot of the cross in the courtyard 54:37 where we surrender our lives to Him. 54:40 In that we also surrender our ideas to Him 54:43 and the conversion experience. 54:45 The miracle is accessible to all of us today. 54:49 And we move through the courtyard 54:51 into the Holy Place experience 54:52 where we continually are being filled 54:55 with the Holy Spirit so that we can see. 54:57 And it's a continual process of surrendering ideas to God. 55:00 So the beauty of it is 55:02 that we are in this continual never ending cycle 55:08 of engaging the Word of God, 55:10 which is the table of showbread 55:12 receiving the Holy Spirit and praying. 55:14 And through this cycle, 55:15 God is sanctifying our ideas on a continual basis. 55:21 And the thing is 55:22 that as those ideas are being sanctified 55:25 and giving us more clarity in the lens that we're viewing, 55:29 that helps us to see more of the text in a new way. 55:34 It's progressive. It's progressive. 55:37 And I recently had a presuppositional change 55:39 in my own mind where I had known 55:42 this concept for years, 55:43 but then through a Bible study, it enhanced my perspective. 55:47 And I was like, 55:48 "Oh, I never saw it like that before." 55:50 And it came into my presuppositional framework 55:51 and suddenly I was reading through Scripture 55:53 and I saw it everywhere. 55:54 I saw it everywhere, everywhere. 55:56 You know, I'd read the Bible through, 55:57 you know, multiple times, but then I had a framework 56:00 that was enhanced by Scripture that enabled me to see more. 56:04 And the beauty of it is even in heaven, 56:08 we'll be getting a deeper and deeper appreciation of God 56:14 as God is infinite. 56:17 We will be getting a more vivid 56:20 and beautiful picture of God 56:24 for all eternity. 56:26 And, but we'll never ever get there 56:28 as God is infinite. 56:30 And so, our progression extends into the life beyond. 56:35 We won't be experiencing sanctification 56:37 on the level that we're on now, 56:39 but in terms of enhancement in heaven, 56:41 it's continual. 56:42 And that's why in heaven, we can never say, 56:43 look, I'm bored. 56:45 I've known everything there is to know about God. 56:47 It's never ending. Amen. 56:48 Never ending Absolutely. 56:50 I wanna encourage you to stay tuned 56:52 because we have a full second hour. 56:54 We're going to jump into some incredible examples, 56:56 I think from the Book of Acts about presuppositions, 56:59 but we're talking nine about surrendering our ideas 57:03 to scripture. 57:04 And I don't know, maybe tonight 57:06 the Lord's pricked my heart as Pastor David talked to 57:08 in a couple areas and ideas, 57:10 presuppositions that I might carry. 57:12 So I would just encourage you to take your ideas to God, 57:17 take your ideas to the Holy Spirit 57:20 and make sure that you study the Word of God 57:24 with a converted heart, 57:25 with a heart that's open to say, 57:27 yes, God, I want to take off the lenses 57:29 that I looked through, 57:31 that I look at Scripture 57:33 and I want to look at it through your eyes. 57:35 And so we want to encourage you to stay tuned 57:37 for the second hour 57:39 and to text in or email in your questions 57:42 for Pastor David. 57:43 We'll be right back. |
Revised 2021-10-06