Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
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And we welcome you
to the Worship Hour.
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And that's what
we're going to do today
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is worship the Lord in
spirit and in truth in His Word.
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Wherever you
are, whoever you are,
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whether you've never
walked into a church,
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or if you've been
in church for 30 years,
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God is calling you.
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Do you hear Him?
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Today, we are going
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to look at scriptures
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so we can understand
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how to
recognize the call of God.
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This is actually
a three-part series
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but it is a standalone teaching.
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What I mean by that,
is that this first lesson,
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whether you don't
hear the other two or not,
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it will still have a
spiritual blessing for you.
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I know that when
God first gave me this,
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I was amazed
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at how it
paralleled the three steps
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to surrender
that He had taught me,
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and those are to know God.
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Second, was to stop and
submit, stop resisting His love,
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stop resisting His plan
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and submit to His instruction,
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His direction
and His correction.
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But the third step was
yielding to the Holy Spirit.
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And here's the bottom line.
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We can't recognize God's call
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if we don't know God,
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if we don't
understand His character,
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His measureable love for us,
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His infinite knowledge
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and His exceedingly great power.
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But we also
cannot receive God's call
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unless we stop resisting.
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Stop resisting His
love and His plans,
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stop resisting
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and submit to His instruction,
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His direction
and His correction.
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And then thirdly,
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we cannot respond
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to God's call
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if we don't yield
to the Holy Spirit.
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Let's pray.
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Heavenly Father, we
come in the name of Jesus.
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And, Father, I thank
You for this teaching
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You gave it to me.
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I pray You'll help me
deliver it now in a way
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that people can understand.
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Oh, Lord, let the
Holy Spirit touch our ears,
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open our ears and
help each one of us to hear
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and recognize Your call.
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We thank You.
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We praise You.
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We're so grateful for Your love
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and Your plan of salvation
by grace in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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We're going to begin
with Isaiah Chapter 6.
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Isaiah Chapter 6
is perfect for this,
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because in Isaiah 6 we see,
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Isaiah recognizing God's call,
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receiving God's call and
responding to God's call.
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So let's look at that.
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"In the year that
King Uzziah died..."
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This is Isaiah 6:1.
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And let me just say this,
with the death of the king,
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and the rise of
the opposing power,
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the nation of Assyria,
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this created a
time of great crisis.
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There was great
peril in the land of Judah.
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"So in the year
that King Uzziah died,"
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Isaiah says, "I saw the
Lord sitting on a throne,
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high and lifted up,
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and the train of His
robe filled the temple."
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Isaiah was a man of God.
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He was in the earthly temple,
and he was worshiping the Lord.
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But as he pressed into
the presence of the Lord,
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God expanded his vision
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of who He is to Isaiah.
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And you know as he saw the robe
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that was filling the temple,
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what God was showing,
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that was a symbol of
His authority and His power.
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And He was reminding Isaiah
that no matter what happened,
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God was still in control.
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No matter what happened on earth
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and we need to remember that.
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Isaiah saw the
Lord high and exalted.
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And here's what I
want to say about that.
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When the powers of
darkness start closing in on us,
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what we need to do
is like Isaiah did,
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press into the
presence of the Lord,
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so that we can take
a closer look at Him.
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God is inviting us to
come to His throne of grace,
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so that we can
have peace in our heart.
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And Isaiah 6:2, he says,
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"Above it, above His
throne, stood the seraphim."
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Those are angels.
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"Each one had six wings
with two he covered his face,
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with two he covered his
feet, with two he flew."
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The seraphim covered their eyes
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because they couldn't look on
the brilliance of God's glory.
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And they covered his feet,
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I would think that
was showing submission.
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Verse 3, "One cried
to another and said:
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'Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord of hosts.
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The whole earth is
full of His glory."
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This three fold
declaration of God's holiness
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shows His
perfection in holiness.
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And you know
what holiness means?
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It simply means to
be separated from sin.
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God is completely
separated from sin.
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He cannot sin.
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As a matter of fact,
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the reason that we
can't stand before the Lord
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without the robe of
Christ's righteousness
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is love consumes sin.
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That's why the Bible
says, "God is a consuming fire."
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If we stood in front of Him
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in our own rags
of righteousness,
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it would just be...
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We'd be consumed.
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But it says then in verse 4,
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"The posts of
the door were shaken
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by the voice of
Him who cried out,
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and the house was
filled with smoke."
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There was a radiant
cloud of His Shekinah Glory.
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So this is interesting.
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Here's a man of God
in the temple of God.
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And when he gets his expanded
vision of who God is, he says,
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"Woe is me, I am undone,
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for I am a man of unclean lips,
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and I live in
the midst of a people
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of unclean lips:
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for mine eyes
have seen the King,
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the Lord of hosts."
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You know, it's interesting.
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When you see
somebody who's like,
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I'm holier than thou,
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I know they haven't
been close to the Lord,
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because the closer
we come to the Lord,
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and we're in the
brilliance of His light,
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the more we see
our spotty characters,
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the more we
recognize our own sinfulness.
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Isaiah was a good man.
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But he says later in Isaiah 64:6
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that our righteousness as human,
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it's like filthy
rags before the Lord.
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And then in verse 6, he says,
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"One of the seraphim flew to me,
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having in his hand a live coal
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which he had taken with
the tongs from the altar.
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And he touched my
mouth with it, and he said:
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'Behold, this has
touched your lips,
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your iniquity is taken away,
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your sin is purged."
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What is happening here?
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This is symbolic,
figurative language.
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I don't think he took a real
coal and put it on his slips.
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But God is responding
to Isaiah's confession
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of iniquity.
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God is cleansing him
and preparing him to receive
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and respond to the call
that God had for Isaiah.
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He had a mission for Isaiah.
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And then in
verse 8, Isaiah says,
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"I heard the voice
of the Lord, saying:
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'Whom shall I send?
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Who will go for Us?"
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And when he heard that,
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spontaneously Isaiah says,
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"Here am I, send me."
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He had seen the Lord.
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You know God is
asking that question today?
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It's a question.
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When He asked Isaiah, He
didn't say, "Go do this."
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He was waiting for Isaiah
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to respond with love,
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motivated by love.
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God never forces
us to take a step.
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He won't even force
you to accept salvation
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by grace through faith.
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God woos us with His love.
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When Isaiah saw God
in a different light,
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his heart was filled
with increased knowledge.
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You've got to know God
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to recognize His call.
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And his heart was
completely humbled,
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because he realized who he was,
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who he is, a heart...
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And his heart was
touched when God said,
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"Who shall we send for Us?"
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Isaiah recognized
that there are people
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who are lost and suffering
because they don't know God.
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And he recognized God's
call for help on the earth
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without hesitancy.
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He received God's call
knowing that if he yielded
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to God's leading,
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God would use
him in a mighty way.
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So recognizing His call
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we've got to know God.
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And that's what
I hope to do today,
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is that we will
expand your vision
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of who God is,
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because we have to know God
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to receive or
recognize His call.
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We've got to
stop and submit to Him
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to receive His call.
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And we have to
yield to the Holy Spirit
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to truly respond to God's call.
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I have to say something that
I want to apologize up front,
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because I'm not trying
to hurt anyone's feelings.
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Please, don't take this
wrong what I'm about to say.
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Few Christians are
totally surrendered.
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It takes total surrender
to respond to God's call,
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and that's not a
judgmental statement.
00:11:58.81\00:12:02.88
It's just an observation.
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You know A.W. Tozer said that...
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He was a great
writer and he said,
00:12:11.69\00:12:14.73
"If the Holy
Spirit had been withdrawn
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from the early Christian church
after the day of Pentecost,
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95% of what the church
00:12:22.74\00:12:26.47
was doing would have stopped."
00:12:26.51\00:12:29.71
But then he goes on to say,
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"If the Holy Spirit
were totally withdrawn
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from today's church,
00:12:36.82\00:12:38.65
95% of what we do
would continue on."
00:12:38.69\00:12:43.66
What's he saying?
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He's saying we're not following
the lead of the Holy Spirit.
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We don't allow Him to control
our conduct or character.
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Sometimes, we busy ourselves
with Christian service,
00:12:56.47\00:13:01.41
but we have no real prayer life,
00:13:01.44\00:13:03.41
no intimate
relationship with the Lord.
00:13:03.45\00:13:06.41
Some people feel defeated,
00:13:06.45\00:13:09.52
and they feel like
they've hit a wall.
00:13:09.55\00:13:12.72
I tell you what, I remember...
00:13:12.75\00:13:14.72
Don't think you're alone.
00:13:14.76\00:13:16.09
We all go through these times.
00:13:16.12\00:13:17.86
I remember once when
I've been running after God.
00:13:17.89\00:13:21.73
And all of a sudden one
day I woke up and realize,
00:13:21.76\00:13:24.67
"Whoops, what's happened?"
00:13:24.70\00:13:26.63
And I felt like I'd hit
a wall and I said, "Lord,
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explain this to me."
00:13:29.20\00:13:31.77
And what the Holy
Spirit impressed on my mind is,
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"I will soon explain
the wall of resistance
00:13:36.38\00:13:41.55
that you are hitting."
00:13:41.58\00:13:43.25
And I thought, "Yes,
yes, that's just exactly."
00:13:43.28\00:13:46.19
I felt like I was up against
the wall, and it was a...
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something was resisting.
00:13:49.29\00:13:51.69
And then it took
a couple of weeks
00:13:51.73\00:13:54.26
of seeking the
Lord, but you know
00:13:54.30\00:13:58.00
what I finally was
impressed upon my mind was this.
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"The wall of
resistance that you are hitting
00:14:02.44\00:14:06.88
is a wall of self-preservation."
00:14:06.91\00:14:12.28
Do you hear that?
00:14:12.31\00:14:13.65
The wall of
resistance that we hit
00:14:13.68\00:14:16.85
when we are going
forward in the Christian life
00:14:16.89\00:14:19.39
is a wall of self-preservation.
00:14:19.42\00:14:23.59
See, the more
we give up of self,
00:14:23.63\00:14:27.36
the more we're emptied of self,
00:14:27.40\00:14:29.20
the more we can be
filled with the Holy Spirit.
00:14:29.23\00:14:32.43
But there are
times we can be walking
00:14:32.47\00:14:34.64
with the Lord in certain ways,
00:14:34.67\00:14:37.11
as long as He doesn't get
over in this area of our life.
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There's that self-preservation,
"I want to keep this,"
00:14:41.18\00:14:45.48
and that's what stops us.
00:14:45.51\00:14:47.62
You know, some people are
just lukewarm carnal Christians,
00:14:47.65\00:14:51.99
they play church.
00:14:52.02\00:14:54.36
It doesn't have to be this way.
00:14:54.39\00:14:57.59
It doesn't have to be this way.
00:14:57.63\00:15:00.60
We need to ask ourselves,
00:15:00.63\00:15:02.96
what is it that surrenders me
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or hinders me?
00:15:07.50\00:15:09.04
Let me repeat that.
00:15:09.07\00:15:10.41
What is it that hinders me
00:15:10.44\00:15:14.31
from total surrender?
00:15:14.34\00:15:17.18
What is it?
00:15:17.21\00:15:19.91
When we look to God...
00:15:19.95\00:15:23.62
I remember I had
my own Isaiah moment.
00:15:23.65\00:15:26.86
I was God had...
00:15:26.89\00:15:28.32
I was praying for a
couple of hours every day
00:15:28.36\00:15:31.59
and I was pressing into
the presence of the Lord.
00:15:31.63\00:15:35.03
And I heard or recognized
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the call of God on my life.
00:15:39.40\00:15:41.57
He expanded my
vision of who He was.
00:15:41.60\00:15:45.34
The more I was in the
Word, the more I was praying,
00:15:45.37\00:15:50.25
and communicating with God.
00:15:50.28\00:15:52.58
He expanded my vision.
00:15:52.61\00:15:55.22
And for the
first time in my life,
00:15:55.25\00:15:58.12
I felt accepted.
00:15:58.15\00:16:00.09
I felt loved.
00:16:00.12\00:16:02.42
And what happened was,
00:16:02.46\00:16:04.69
I stopped resisting His love,
00:16:04.73\00:16:08.66
His plan, and I decided,
00:16:08.70\00:16:12.40
"Yep, this is God calling me."
00:16:12.43\00:16:16.27
And I completely turned away
00:16:16.30\00:16:21.61
from my former way of life.
00:16:21.64\00:16:24.31
I learned to yield
to the Holy Spirit.
00:16:24.35\00:16:27.32
And I wish I could
sit here and tell you
00:16:27.35\00:16:29.95
that I walk yielded,
00:16:29.98\00:16:32.39
totally surrendered every day.
00:16:32.42\00:16:35.22
I don't think any of us do.
00:16:35.26\00:16:37.43
I think it's
something we're walking a goal,
00:16:37.46\00:16:40.00
we're walking toward.
00:16:40.03\00:16:41.70
But then on the other hand,
00:16:41.73\00:16:43.06
there's times that I feel like
I'm doing service for the Lord.
00:16:43.10\00:16:47.57
I'm studying.
00:16:47.60\00:16:49.07
And maybe I didn't
pray to be yielded,
00:16:49.10\00:16:51.67
and at the end I'm going,
00:16:51.71\00:16:53.07
"Lord, was I
following Your lead?"
00:16:53.11\00:16:55.74
And I realized,
yes, I was because I look
00:16:55.78\00:16:59.91
at what I've
produced and I realized,
00:16:59.95\00:17:02.62
"You know what?
00:17:02.65\00:17:04.19
Only God could have
done this through me."
00:17:04.22\00:17:06.92
So God will...
00:17:06.96\00:17:09.99
He's calling us.
00:17:10.03\00:17:11.56
He will use us
despite our shortcomings.
00:17:11.59\00:17:14.80
Let's look at
recognizing His call.
00:17:14.83\00:17:18.60
The idea of
talking about knowing God
00:17:18.63\00:17:20.87
in such a short period of time.
00:17:20.90\00:17:23.14
I've been studying now
00:17:23.17\00:17:25.47
since I started really studying.
00:17:25.51\00:17:28.58
It's been over 20 years,
00:17:28.61\00:17:30.48
and I learned
something new about God
00:17:30.51\00:17:32.78
and His character every day.
00:17:32.81\00:17:35.88
But what I'm going
to do is just give you
00:17:35.92\00:17:37.65
a few scriptures
00:17:37.69\00:17:39.22
that will be like
a silhouette of God
00:17:39.25\00:17:41.46
because I think
there's three important things
00:17:41.49\00:17:44.46
to understand about God
00:17:44.49\00:17:48.40
to recognize His
call on your life.
00:17:48.43\00:17:51.70
And the first of that
00:17:51.73\00:17:53.60
is to know God's infinite love,
00:17:53.64\00:17:57.71
His immeasurable love.
00:17:57.74\00:18:00.94
Jesus said in John 17:3,
00:18:00.98\00:18:03.78
"This is eternal life
that they may know you,
00:18:03.81\00:18:08.62
the only true
God and Jesus Christ
00:18:08.65\00:18:12.42
whom You have sent."
00:18:12.45\00:18:14.09
You know,
00:18:14.12\00:18:15.66
this isn't an
intellectual knowledge.
00:18:15.69\00:18:21.30
I've met people that know
a whole lot about the Bible,
00:18:21.33\00:18:25.10
but they don't have a
living fellowship with God.
00:18:25.13\00:18:28.37
When He, when it's
talking this Word, no.
00:18:28.40\00:18:32.17
This is like the intimacy
between a husband and a wife.
00:18:32.21\00:18:36.34
They knew each other.
00:18:36.38\00:18:38.28
God is calling
us into an intimate,
00:18:38.31\00:18:42.85
loving relationship.
00:18:42.88\00:18:45.75
And when you understand
how much God loves you,
00:18:45.79\00:18:50.76
let me tell you something,
00:18:50.79\00:18:52.13
you're going to
fall in love with Him.
00:18:52.16\00:18:53.96
You can't help but
respond to His love.
00:18:54.00\00:18:57.10
And in 1 John 4:19, it says,
00:18:57.13\00:19:01.37
"We love Him
because He first loved us."
00:19:01.40\00:19:05.91
God wants to be your father,
00:19:05.94\00:19:08.48
your Abba, your Daddy.
00:19:08.51\00:19:12.55
We just...
00:19:12.58\00:19:13.92
A dear friend of ours had a
funeral service this weekend.
00:19:13.95\00:19:18.19
He was in his 70s.
00:19:18.22\00:19:21.36
He was a man of God,
00:19:21.39\00:19:23.63
and he always
called God, his Daddy.
00:19:23.66\00:19:27.80
He had been the prodigal son.
00:19:27.83\00:19:30.80
He'd been in
ministry, turned away, returned.
00:19:30.83\00:19:34.44
But he said God never left him,
00:19:34.47\00:19:37.51
not for one
minute through it all.
00:19:37.54\00:19:40.34
So when we think of 1 John 4:19,
00:19:40.38\00:19:45.05
we love God when we understand
00:19:45.08\00:19:49.22
how much He loves us,
He wants to be your Abba.
00:19:49.25\00:19:53.72
He knows the number
of hairs on your head.
00:19:53.76\00:19:56.59
The Bible says that He
captures your tears in a bottle.
00:19:56.62\00:20:00.26
He's recording every
sorrow that you go through,
00:20:00.30\00:20:04.30
your name,
00:20:04.33\00:20:06.37
you are tattooed on His hands.
00:20:06.40\00:20:09.47
So if we don't
understand His love,
00:20:09.50\00:20:13.07
we will never totally surrender.
00:20:13.11\00:20:15.98
1 John 4:8 says, "God
is love." That is His...
00:20:16.01\00:20:20.62
The core of who He is.
00:20:20.65\00:20:23.62
It's not just emotional.
00:20:23.65\00:20:26.42
God is holy,
because God is love.
00:20:26.45\00:20:29.02
And as I said,
"Love consumed sin."
00:20:29.06\00:20:32.29
He manifest His love to us
00:20:32.33\00:20:36.16
by coming from heaven.
00:20:36.20\00:20:39.57
Get this.
00:20:39.60\00:20:41.07
God came down from
heaven to become a man.
00:20:41.10\00:20:46.57
He condescended to become a man
00:20:46.61\00:20:51.38
and to fulfill His plan
of the everlasting covenant.
00:20:51.41\00:20:56.32
The everlasting
covenant is the Lamb,
00:20:56.35\00:20:58.92
who was slain
from the foundation
00:20:58.95\00:21:01.16
of the earth.
00:21:01.19\00:21:02.52
I'll tell you, if you
could get this in your mind,
00:21:02.56\00:21:04.16
and I'm getting
out of order here.
00:21:04.19\00:21:06.90
But if you could
get it in your mind
00:21:06.93\00:21:10.03
what God sacrificed for you
00:21:10.07\00:21:12.53
to become a man
and to die for us...
00:21:12.57\00:21:16.24
I praise God every day
00:21:16.27\00:21:20.04
for what He has done for us.
00:21:20.08\00:21:22.48
And what He's showing us
00:21:22.51\00:21:25.15
is that salvation is by grace.
00:21:25.18\00:21:28.82
And let me tell you,
00:21:28.85\00:21:30.19
it was so in the Old
Testament, and in the New.
00:21:30.22\00:21:33.99
As a matter of
fact, Hebrews 11:7
00:21:34.02\00:21:37.03
is talking about
Noah, who built the ark,
00:21:37.06\00:21:40.20
who was warned
divinely of the things
00:21:40.23\00:21:44.23
that had never happened before.
00:21:44.27\00:21:46.23
And listen to what it says.
00:21:46.27\00:21:47.74
Hebrews 11:7, it says,
00:21:47.77\00:21:51.04
"He prepared an ark for
the saving of his household
00:21:51.07\00:21:54.78
because he's
moved by godly fear."
00:21:54.81\00:21:58.01
And then it says, "His
actions condemned the world
00:21:58.05\00:22:02.02
who would not believe."
00:22:02.05\00:22:03.69
But here is the point,
00:22:03.72\00:22:05.05
"Noah became heir
of the righteousness,
00:22:05.09\00:22:10.86
which is by faith."
00:22:10.89\00:22:12.76
What does that
word righteousness mean?
00:22:12.79\00:22:15.43
Righteousness means
to be in right standing
00:22:15.46\00:22:19.37
with God,
00:22:19.40\00:22:20.74
to do things His right way.
00:22:20.77\00:22:24.34
But it comes to us by faith.
00:22:24.37\00:22:28.24
You know, God never changes.
00:22:28.28\00:22:29.84
He says in Malachi 4:6,
"I'm the Lord, I change not."
00:22:29.88\00:22:33.45
Hebrews 13:8 says,
"Jesus is the same yesterday,
00:22:33.48\00:22:37.19
today and forever."
00:22:37.22\00:22:38.69
So trust me, we
don't have time today,
00:22:38.72\00:22:41.99
but I'm doing
deep Bible studies.
00:22:42.02\00:22:44.63
It has always been God's plan
00:22:44.66\00:22:47.86
to save His people by grace.
00:22:47.90\00:22:51.90
My mother, growing
up, my poor mother,
00:22:51.93\00:22:55.87
she saw God as
two different beings.
00:22:55.90\00:22:58.17
She looked in the Old Testament
00:22:58.21\00:22:59.87
and she saw God has been angry.
00:22:59.91\00:23:02.68
The Old Testament
is all about Jesus.
00:23:02.71\00:23:05.61
God wasn't angry.
00:23:05.65\00:23:06.98
In Jeremiah when he was
warning through the prophet,
00:23:07.02\00:23:09.82
He was trying to get
His people to repent.
00:23:09.85\00:23:12.85
But I grew up,
looking through that lens,
00:23:12.89\00:23:16.22
I had a love affair with Jesus
00:23:16.26\00:23:19.43
but I was scared to
death of the Father,
00:23:19.46\00:23:21.86
because I thought
He was watching me
00:23:21.90\00:23:24.37
ready to set me the
second I did something wrong.
00:23:24.40\00:23:27.84
And then one day as I
was reading Hebrews 1:3,
00:23:27.87\00:23:31.74
I realized it says that
00:23:31.77\00:23:34.08
Jesus is
exactly like the Father.
00:23:34.11\00:23:38.71
He's the imprint.
00:23:38.75\00:23:40.08
He is the out ring
of the glory of God.
00:23:40.12\00:23:44.39
So as loving as Jesus was,
00:23:44.42\00:23:48.16
so is the Father.
00:23:48.19\00:23:49.72
As loving and as
compassionate as Jesus is,
00:23:49.76\00:23:54.96
so is the Father.
00:23:55.00\00:23:57.57
In Hebrew, I found a word,
because sometimes people say,
00:23:57.60\00:24:02.74
"Grace isn't in
the Old Testament."
00:24:02.77\00:24:04.47
Yes, it is but
there's something even better.
00:24:04.51\00:24:08.11
There's a Hebrew
word and we talk about it,
00:24:08.14\00:24:10.41
agape love, grace.
00:24:10.45\00:24:12.31
There's a Hebrew word that's
used over 250 times about God.
00:24:12.35\00:24:17.62
It's hesed, H-E-S-E-D.
00:24:17.65\00:24:22.29
All throughout
the Old Testament,
00:24:22.32\00:24:23.99
it's talking about
God's steadfast love.
00:24:24.03\00:24:28.33
It's His loving-kindness,
His grace, His mercy,
00:24:28.36\00:24:32.37
His faithfulness, His goodness,
00:24:32.40\00:24:34.77
His devotion, His generosity,
00:24:34.80\00:24:39.01
His patience, His loyal love.
00:24:39.04\00:24:43.38
It's a word that you
cannot translate into English
00:24:43.41\00:24:46.55
in one word.
00:24:46.58\00:24:47.95
And you know,
it's interesting to me,
00:24:47.98\00:24:51.32
His love is not a feeling.
00:24:51.35\00:24:55.16
God expresses His love by doing.
00:24:55.19\00:24:58.23
In Psalm 136:1, it says,
"Give thanks to the Lord,
00:24:58.26\00:25:01.40
for He is good, His
mercy endures forever."
00:25:01.43\00:25:05.53
That word mercy means hesed.
00:25:05.57\00:25:09.64
It means His steadfast
love, His patience, His loyalty.
00:25:09.67\00:25:14.64
It's translated in the
English Standard Version,
00:25:14.68\00:25:20.52
as His steadfast love
00:25:20.55\00:25:24.35
endures forever.
00:25:24.39\00:25:26.89
One of my favorite scriptures,
00:25:26.92\00:25:30.86
if you want to get
good picture of God,
00:25:30.89\00:25:34.03
Zephaniah 3:17.
00:25:34.06\00:25:38.17
Zephaniah 3:17
says, "The Lord your God."
00:25:38.20\00:25:41.97
This is His covenant name.
00:25:42.00\00:25:44.87
"Jehovah, your
God is in your midst,
00:25:44.91\00:25:49.94
the Mighty One will save."
00:25:49.98\00:25:53.58
Now, get this.
00:25:53.62\00:25:56.25
We know He's a Savior.
00:25:56.28\00:25:58.85
But let me ask you,
do you see the way...
00:25:58.89\00:26:01.76
Do you see God the way
00:26:01.79\00:26:03.12
He's about to be
described right here?
00:26:03.16\00:26:06.23
He will rejoice
over you with gladness.
00:26:06.26\00:26:10.60
He will quiet you with His love.
00:26:10.63\00:26:15.87
He will rejoice
over you with singing.
00:26:15.90\00:26:21.44
Is that how you see God?
00:26:21.48\00:26:24.75
God wants a very
intimate personal Father
00:26:24.78\00:26:30.29
and child relationship.
00:26:30.32\00:26:33.05
And you know,
when we come to Him...
00:26:33.09\00:26:36.49
You know, if a father
sees a child fall down
00:26:36.52\00:26:39.79
and bang up his
knee, what does he do?
00:26:39.83\00:26:42.83
He doesn't go over
and scold the child.
00:26:42.86\00:26:45.87
He picks the child
up, bandages his knee.
00:26:45.90\00:26:49.10
He helps him to overcome
00:26:49.14\00:26:52.27
so that he won't stumble again.
00:26:52.31\00:26:54.98
That's God.
00:26:55.01\00:26:56.38
And He quiets him with His love.
00:26:56.41\00:26:59.85
He sings over
him with rejoicing.
00:26:59.88\00:27:03.22
That's what God does with us.
00:27:03.25\00:27:06.96
If you don't see God this way,
00:27:06.99\00:27:10.19
I hope you'll pray and ask Him,
00:27:10.23\00:27:13.03
"Lord, open my eyes,
00:27:13.06\00:27:15.80
open my heart that I may see
00:27:15.83\00:27:19.90
who you really are.
00:27:19.93\00:27:21.47
Help me to know You're singing
over me, Lord, with rejoicing."
00:27:21.50\00:27:26.07
In John
15:12-14, Jesus says this,
00:27:26.11\00:27:31.58
"This is My commandment,
00:27:31.61\00:27:34.98
that you love one
another as I have loved you."
00:27:35.02\00:27:39.35
And let me tell you something,
00:27:39.39\00:27:40.86
there is no
greater love than for God
00:27:40.89\00:27:46.49
who established the
penalty for sin, which is death.
00:27:46.53\00:27:50.73
But all along He
planned on coming
00:27:50.77\00:27:53.34
and paying that penalty.
00:27:53.37\00:27:56.47
There's no greater love than
what our God has done for us.
00:27:56.50\00:28:01.98
He says in verse 13, John 15:13,
00:28:02.01\00:28:05.48
"Greater love has no man
than this than to lay down
00:28:05.51\00:28:09.55
one's life for His friends.
00:28:09.58\00:28:12.42
You are my friends
00:28:12.45\00:28:14.66
if you do what I command you."
00:28:14.69\00:28:19.26
You know, we think of a mother
00:28:19.29\00:28:22.60
who will lay down
her life for her child.
00:28:22.63\00:28:26.03
Maybe we think of
the Secret Service,
00:28:26.07\00:28:28.54
a man who will take a
bullet for the President.
00:28:28.57\00:28:33.14
Or we might think of a captain,
00:28:33.17\00:28:35.74
who will throw
himself over a grenade
00:28:35.78\00:28:39.68
to save his troops.
00:28:39.71\00:28:42.42
God did much more
than taking a bullet
00:28:42.45\00:28:46.25
or falling on a grenade for us.
00:28:46.29\00:28:49.22
When He came down from earth,
00:28:49.26\00:28:53.03
He became one of us.
00:28:53.06\00:28:55.83
That is so amazing.
00:28:55.86\00:28:57.83
And the love of God far exceeds
00:28:57.87\00:29:02.57
any sacrifice
that anyone can make.
00:29:02.60\00:29:06.44
2 Peter 3:18 says
this, and I encourage you,
00:29:06.47\00:29:11.35
2 Peter 3:18,
00:29:11.38\00:29:13.98
this is something we
all should consider daily.
00:29:14.02\00:29:18.25
Peter writes, "Grow in the grace
00:29:18.29\00:29:21.72
and knowledge of
our Lord and Savior,
00:29:21.76\00:29:25.89
Jesus Christ."
00:29:25.93\00:29:27.73
When we understand
what He's done for us,
00:29:27.76\00:29:31.53
how He humiliated Himself,
how in Philippians 2:5-8,
00:29:31.57\00:29:37.11
it talks about God coming down,
00:29:37.14\00:29:40.91
taking on the form of
a man and dying for us.
00:29:40.94\00:29:45.28
We can see
00:29:45.31\00:29:47.18
that God loves us
00:29:47.22\00:29:51.29
above all.
00:29:51.32\00:29:54.36
As a matter of fact, the
Lord once told me to try to...
00:29:54.39\00:29:58.76
I try to remember to do this.
00:29:58.79\00:30:01.76
God said, "Tell My people
00:30:01.80\00:30:06.07
they are worth
nothing less than the price
00:30:06.10\00:30:09.77
that I paid for them
00:30:09.80\00:30:12.04
with My own precious life
blood of My covenant Son."
00:30:12.07\00:30:17.65
You may have heard
someone say to you growing up,
00:30:17.68\00:30:20.92
"You're worthless.
00:30:20.95\00:30:22.32
You'll never
amount to anything."
00:30:22.35\00:30:24.39
And sometimes people
will pray and they'll say,
00:30:24.42\00:30:26.76
"Oh, Lord, we're so worthless."
00:30:26.79\00:30:28.59
Now, I want to jump
up and I want to say,
00:30:28.62\00:30:31.16
"No, no, no, we've
got great worth to God."
00:30:31.19\00:30:35.36
Great worth.
00:30:35.40\00:30:37.30
We may be undeserving, yes.
00:30:37.33\00:30:39.60
We don't deserve
anything God did for us,
00:30:39.63\00:30:42.27
but He puts a high value on us.
00:30:42.30\00:30:46.57
And the heart of
the everlasting gospel
00:30:46.61\00:30:49.14
of the Lamb who was
slain from the foundation
00:30:49.18\00:30:51.91
of the world is the
incarnation of Christ,
00:30:51.95\00:30:56.62
the death of Christ
00:30:56.65\00:30:58.45
that His crucifixion
00:30:58.49\00:31:00.36
and His resurrection.
00:31:00.39\00:31:03.16
God has always
planned to save humanity
00:31:03.19\00:31:07.70
in the person of Jesus Christ.
00:31:07.73\00:31:11.60
You know, it's interesting.
00:31:11.63\00:31:14.27
If you don't understand
00:31:14.30\00:31:16.20
why this was such,
00:31:16.24\00:31:19.64
how can I say this?
00:31:19.67\00:31:22.28
To think of the sacrifice,
00:31:22.31\00:31:23.85
to me of our God coming down
00:31:23.88\00:31:27.88
and taking on our flesh,
it's a permanent sacrifice.
00:31:27.92\00:31:33.25
The cross,
00:31:33.29\00:31:34.96
He came up out of the
grave and rose victoriously.
00:31:34.99\00:31:38.73
But listen to this.
00:31:38.76\00:31:40.53
Luke
00:31:40.56\00:31:42.23
24:36-39
00:31:42.26\00:31:48.20
is talking about
after the resurrection.
00:31:48.24\00:31:52.84
Jesus showing the
nail wounds in His hands
00:31:52.87\00:31:58.51
to prove it was Him
that He wasn't a ghost.
00:31:58.55\00:32:02.98
He was flesh and blood.
00:32:03.02\00:32:04.89
But He said to them,
00:32:04.92\00:32:07.32
"A spirit does not have flesh
00:32:07.36\00:32:09.76
and bones as you see I have."
00:32:09.79\00:32:13.83
He walked the earth 40
days after His resurrection.
00:32:13.86\00:32:18.33
He ate with them.
00:32:18.37\00:32:20.54
And according to the scriptures,
00:32:20.57\00:32:23.64
He ascended to
heaven in that flesh.
00:32:23.67\00:32:26.91
He will return in the flesh.
00:32:26.94\00:32:30.25
Acts 1:11 says, "The same Jesus,
00:32:30.28\00:32:33.11
who was taken up
from you into heaven
00:32:33.15\00:32:35.45
will so come in a
like manner as you saw Him
00:32:35.48\00:32:39.05
go into heaven."
00:32:39.09\00:32:40.56
So what is it saying?
00:32:40.59\00:32:42.19
It's saying that
His physical presence
00:32:42.22\00:32:45.99
has been limited,
00:32:46.03\00:32:48.80
because He became the last Adam.
00:32:48.83\00:32:52.13
He replaced the first Adam
00:32:52.17\00:32:54.60
through whom
death came to all of us.
00:32:54.64\00:32:57.64
Jesus became the
last covenant Son of God,
00:32:57.67\00:33:02.61
the One who would
be the representative
00:33:02.64\00:33:06.05
of mankind at the throne of God.
00:33:06.08\00:33:10.45
He is mysteriously fully God,
00:33:10.49\00:33:15.22
but fully man.
00:33:15.26\00:33:17.73
But He has limited His
physical presence forever.
00:33:17.76\00:33:21.63
And what?
00:33:21.66\00:33:23.00
How does He live with
us now? Listen to this.
00:33:23.03\00:33:26.17
Ephesians 3:16-21,
00:33:26.20\00:33:30.17
Paul was praying for
the Ephesians and he says,
00:33:30.21\00:33:33.14
"I pray that
you'll be strengthened
00:33:33.17\00:33:34.51
with might through His Spirit
00:33:34.54\00:33:36.18
in the inner man that Christ..."
00:33:36.21\00:33:39.11
This is Chapter
3:17 of Ephesians,
00:33:39.15\00:33:43.45
"That Christ may
dwell in your hearts
00:33:43.49\00:33:48.12
through faith that you being
rooted and grounded in love."
00:33:48.16\00:33:53.29
Now, let me stop.
00:33:53.33\00:33:55.26
How does Christ
dwell in our hearts?
00:33:55.30\00:33:57.90
He's going to go on to say,
00:33:57.93\00:33:59.63
"It's through the
power of the Holy Spirit,
00:33:59.67\00:34:02.17
because they are one."
00:34:02.20\00:34:04.54
Christ dwells in our
hearts through faith.
00:34:04.57\00:34:08.04
When we receive the Holy Spirit,
00:34:08.08\00:34:11.91
God the Father and the
Son dwell in us through faith.
00:34:11.95\00:34:16.95
But he says this
and it's so great
00:34:16.99\00:34:19.85
that you being
rooted and grounded in love.
00:34:19.89\00:34:24.83
Some people in
the church are rooted
00:34:24.86\00:34:26.46
and grounded in fear.
00:34:26.49\00:34:28.00
Some people are baptized
because they don't want to...
00:34:28.03\00:34:30.30
You know, they accept
the Lord as their Savior,
00:34:30.33\00:34:32.63
because they don't want
to suffer the second death.
00:34:32.67\00:34:36.44
You've got to be
rooted and grounded in love.
00:34:36.47\00:34:38.77
Grow in the grace and
the knowledge of our Lord.
00:34:38.81\00:34:42.38
God loves you so much.
00:34:42.41\00:34:44.78
And he goes on and he says,
00:34:44.81\00:34:46.72
"That you might
know the love of Christ,
00:34:46.75\00:34:49.32
which passes
knowledge that you can be filled
00:34:49.35\00:34:53.42
with all the fullness of God."
00:34:53.46\00:34:56.93
And then he says,
"God's able to do exceedingly,
00:34:56.96\00:35:00.70
abundantly above
anything we can ask or think,
00:35:00.73\00:35:05.87
according to His power."
00:35:05.90\00:35:09.34
And this is that dynamite power
00:35:09.37\00:35:11.74
that were strengthened through
the spirit in our inner man.
00:35:11.77\00:35:16.58
When you
understand God's love for you,
00:35:16.61\00:35:21.22
let me tell you something,
00:35:21.25\00:35:22.82
you're going to see a
powerful change in your life.
00:35:22.85\00:35:26.19
I promise you,
00:35:26.22\00:35:27.99
you will not sulk
around feeling self-pity.
00:35:28.02\00:35:34.00
You will not be fearful of God.
00:35:34.03\00:35:37.63
And then I love what Paul says.
00:35:37.67\00:35:39.53
He can't think
of any other words.
00:35:39.57\00:35:41.80
He talks about the
width, the breadth,
00:35:41.84\00:35:44.57
the length, the depth,
and the height of God's love.
00:35:44.61\00:35:48.38
The breadth of God's love,
is it extends to all people?
00:35:48.41\00:35:52.21
The length, it
extends to all time.
00:35:52.25\00:35:55.98
The depth,
00:35:56.02\00:35:57.35
it extends to the
lowest human condition
00:35:57.39\00:36:00.76
and the height to heavens.
00:36:00.79\00:36:04.76
God wants to transform us.
00:36:04.79\00:36:07.53
John 3:16 says,
00:36:07.56\00:36:08.93
"He saves us from
the penalty of sin."
00:36:08.96\00:36:11.13
Listen, "God so loved the world
00:36:11.17\00:36:13.60
that He gave His
only begotten Son."
00:36:13.64\00:36:17.31
That only begotten
means it's a covenant term.
00:36:17.34\00:36:21.18
He was chosen when
He came down to earth.
00:36:21.21\00:36:25.08
He was a covenant Son,
00:36:25.11\00:36:28.08
begotten of God
chosen to fulfill
00:36:28.12\00:36:31.82
the everlasting covenant.
00:36:31.85\00:36:33.62
And then he goes on, he says,
00:36:33.66\00:36:35.16
"That whoever believes in Him,
00:36:35.19\00:36:37.86
Jesus Christ,
should not perish."
00:36:37.89\00:36:41.76
That word perish means
00:36:41.80\00:36:43.97
complete utter destruction.
00:36:44.00\00:36:48.50
If you believe in Christ
and trust in Him for salvation,
00:36:48.54\00:36:52.37
you're not going to
be utterly destroyed
00:36:52.41\00:36:55.88
when God remakes the new earth.
00:36:55.91\00:36:59.91
But it says you will
have everlasting life.
00:36:59.95\00:37:02.75
Two choices,
00:37:02.78\00:37:04.25
you can end up utterly destroyed
00:37:04.29\00:37:06.96
or have everlasting life.
00:37:06.99\00:37:09.32
He saves us from
the power of sin.
00:37:09.36\00:37:12.46
1 John 3:8 says,
00:37:12.49\00:37:14.73
"He who sins is of
the devil for the devil
00:37:14.76\00:37:16.77
sin from the beginning,
00:37:16.80\00:37:18.17
and for this purpose the
Son of God was manifested
00:37:18.20\00:37:22.54
that He might destroy
the works of the devil."
00:37:22.57\00:37:27.78
And the beautiful thing is,
00:37:27.81\00:37:30.18
He is going to save us
from the presence of sin.
00:37:30.21\00:37:34.52
When you consider
Revelation 21:4, it says,
00:37:34.55\00:37:37.65
"God will wipe away
every tear from our eyes
00:37:37.69\00:37:40.62
and there's going
to be no more death,
00:37:40.66\00:37:43.39
or sorrow, or crying,
00:37:43.43\00:37:45.93
no more pain,
00:37:45.96\00:37:47.73
because the former
things have passed away."
00:37:47.76\00:37:51.70
I don't know about you.
00:37:51.73\00:37:54.50
Recently, I found
myself watching the news
00:37:54.54\00:37:58.57
and afterwards I sigh and I cry.
00:37:58.61\00:38:03.18
And I'm not
talking literal tears
00:38:03.21\00:38:06.61
but I feel like
my soul is weeping.
00:38:06.65\00:38:10.05
And I go before
the Lord and it's like,
00:38:10.09\00:38:11.95
"Lord, how can people do this?
00:38:11.99\00:38:15.99
How can evil like this exist?"
00:38:16.02\00:38:19.89
And you know,
00:38:19.93\00:38:21.96
Jesus said in John 10:10,
00:38:22.00\00:38:24.13
"The thief, the devil
comes not but to steal,
00:38:24.17\00:38:29.14
kill and destroy."
00:38:29.17\00:38:31.04
But then He
says, "I've come that
00:38:31.07\00:38:32.41
you may have abundant life."
00:38:32.44\00:38:35.58
Satan is the one who operates
00:38:35.61\00:38:38.81
by the love of power.
00:38:38.85\00:38:41.12
God's Kingdom
operates by the power of love.
00:38:41.15\00:38:46.86
So when we consider
the Ten Commandments,
00:38:46.89\00:38:50.16
I just want to say something.
00:38:50.19\00:38:52.76
The Ten Commandments
are God's law of love.
00:38:52.79\00:38:56.50
The first four
are about love to God.
00:38:56.53\00:39:00.54
The next six on
the second tablet
00:39:00.57\00:39:03.20
are about love to mankind.
00:39:03.24\00:39:06.37
And some people see that
00:39:06.41\00:39:09.98
as being a restriction.
00:39:10.01\00:39:12.85
I don't.
00:39:12.88\00:39:14.22
When I look at the Commandments,
00:39:14.25\00:39:15.58
I think of God has, kind of,
00:39:15.62\00:39:18.65
hedged me in to keep me
on that narrow path of life
00:39:18.69\00:39:23.66
but He lets me run freely.
00:39:23.69\00:39:26.43
He enlarges my steps, and
I have this abundant life,
00:39:26.46\00:39:30.67
living within the parameters
of His Ten Commandments.
00:39:30.70\00:39:35.77
Isaiah 48:18.
00:39:35.80\00:39:38.04
Listen, you can
get the point of God,
00:39:38.07\00:39:42.71
His heart,
00:39:42.74\00:39:44.21
His motivation for
giving us His Commandments.
00:39:44.25\00:39:48.72
It's not that
God's up there saying,
00:39:48.75\00:39:50.55
"All right, do it like this."
00:39:50.59\00:39:53.72
No, that's not our God.
00:39:53.76\00:39:56.36
Listen to his heart.
00:39:56.39\00:39:58.09
Isaiah 48:18,
00:39:58.13\00:40:00.90
"Oh that you had
heeded My Commandments,
00:40:00.93\00:40:05.83
then your peace would
have been like a river,
00:40:05.87\00:40:10.81
and your righteousness
00:40:10.84\00:40:13.14
like the waves of the sea."
00:40:13.17\00:40:16.61
God wants you to
experience peace,
00:40:16.64\00:40:21.68
that perfect
sense of being settled,
00:40:21.72\00:40:26.45
of being secure,
of being comforted.
00:40:26.49\00:40:30.43
He wants peace for you,
00:40:30.46\00:40:34.16
and He wants
righteousness for you.
00:40:34.20\00:40:37.43
In fact, He imparts
His righteousness to us
00:40:37.47\00:40:42.60
when the Holy
Spirit is living in us,
00:40:42.64\00:40:45.51
and Christ's righteousness
is actually imputed
00:40:45.54\00:40:49.61
or credited to our account.
00:40:49.64\00:40:52.18
God is not a God who
is restrictive and stern.
00:40:52.21\00:40:58.02
God is a God that everything
He does is motivated by love.
00:40:58.05\00:41:03.36
Everything He does is
for your eternal benefit
00:41:03.39\00:41:08.86
because our life here
on this earth is a vapor,
00:41:08.90\00:41:13.03
is just a split second,
on the line of eternity.
00:41:13.07\00:41:18.21
God wants you in heaven.
00:41:18.24\00:41:21.11
He wants you to be
on the earth made new.
00:41:21.14\00:41:24.95
Romans 5:8 says,
00:41:28.05\00:41:30.72
"God demonstrates
His own love for us.
00:41:30.75\00:41:34.79
In that while we
were still sinners,
00:41:34.82\00:41:39.26
Christ died for us."
00:41:39.29\00:41:41.76
Do you think you are
unworthy of God's love?
00:41:41.80\00:41:47.34
Think again.
00:41:47.37\00:41:48.70
God can't help but love you.
00:41:48.74\00:41:50.71
That's who He is.
00:41:50.74\00:41:52.54
And why wouldn't we trust
00:41:52.57\00:41:56.78
a love like that?
00:41:56.81\00:42:00.28
We've got to know God.
00:42:00.32\00:42:03.39
To recognize His
call on our lives,
00:42:03.42\00:42:07.52
we need to surrender.
00:42:07.56\00:42:09.42
But we also need to recognize
His infinite knowledge.
00:42:09.46\00:42:13.90
You know, we think
we're pretty smart.
00:42:13.93\00:42:18.17
We think that...
00:42:18.20\00:42:21.44
It all started in
the Garden of Eden.
00:42:21.47\00:42:25.54
The fruit of the
knowledge of good and evil,
00:42:25.57\00:42:30.28
just one fruit,
one some black fruit,
00:42:30.31\00:42:33.11
some red fruit, one fruit.
00:42:33.15\00:42:36.89
The point is the knowledge.
00:42:36.92\00:42:39.12
God didn't want us
to experience evil.
00:42:39.15\00:42:44.83
But as soon as we choose
the fruit from that tree,
00:42:44.86\00:42:48.56
as soon as we say,
"I'll be my own god.
00:42:48.60\00:42:53.03
I'll decide what's good for me.
00:42:53.07\00:42:54.60
I'll decide what's bad for me."
00:42:54.64\00:42:57.41
Then we're going to experience
the consequences of evil.
00:42:57.44\00:43:01.74
God has an intelligence
00:43:01.78\00:43:03.51
and a power that
is superior to ours.
00:43:03.55\00:43:05.88
Isaiah 55:9 says this.
00:43:05.91\00:43:09.45
This is God speaking,
00:43:09.48\00:43:11.19
"As the heavens are
higher than the earth
00:43:11.22\00:43:14.62
so are
00:43:14.66\00:43:18.39
My ways higher than your ways,
00:43:18.43\00:43:21.36
and My thoughts
higher than your thoughts."
00:43:21.40\00:43:25.80
I want to tell you something.
00:43:25.83\00:43:27.57
There is no human
whether he is a scientist,
00:43:27.60\00:43:31.57
a philosopher, theologian,
00:43:31.61\00:43:36.75
a pastor,
00:43:36.78\00:43:38.11
there's no body that completely
understands God's ways.
00:43:38.15\00:43:43.92
They're beyond
our comprehension.
00:43:43.95\00:43:47.36
What God calls,
00:43:47.39\00:43:48.82
He gives us plenty of
information as to who He is.
00:43:48.86\00:43:52.66
And He says to us,
00:43:52.69\00:43:54.76
"Come and learn to trust Me."
00:43:54.80\00:43:57.60
Proverbs 3:5-6,
00:43:57.63\00:43:59.50
"Trust in the Lord
with all your heart,
00:43:59.53\00:44:02.17
lean not on your own
00:44:02.20\00:44:05.11
limited understanding,
00:44:05.14\00:44:08.71
in all your ways acknowledge Him
00:44:08.74\00:44:11.65
and He will direct your path."
00:44:11.68\00:44:13.82
See knowing God,
00:44:13.85\00:44:15.62
when you understand His love,
00:44:15.65\00:44:17.79
when you
understand that He is a God,
00:44:17.82\00:44:21.49
who, as he says,
00:44:21.52\00:44:23.43
in Isaiah 46:10
00:44:23.46\00:44:25.99
that He sees the
end from the beginning,
00:44:26.03\00:44:30.07
and He declares
it to be so saying
00:44:30.10\00:44:33.34
My counsel shall stand.
00:44:33.37\00:44:35.64
We don't see the
end from the beginning.
00:44:35.67\00:44:37.87
Thank God.
00:44:37.91\00:44:39.47
Thank God we
don't, but God does.
00:44:39.51\00:44:43.61
He looks at us. He sees us.
00:44:43.65\00:44:46.31
If you're in Christ,
00:44:46.35\00:44:47.95
He sees you as a
finished project.
00:44:47.98\00:44:50.55
He knows you're
under construction
00:44:50.59\00:44:52.69
but He knows what's coming.
00:44:52.72\00:44:54.99
So we cannot,
00:44:55.02\00:44:57.89
just because we
don't understand God,
00:44:57.93\00:45:01.23
if we just
recognize His love for us,
00:45:01.26\00:45:06.30
recognize His plan for us,
00:45:06.33\00:45:09.17
then what will
happen is we'll trust Him.
00:45:09.20\00:45:13.27
Our God is all knowing.
00:45:13.31\00:45:16.34
He is a friend, not a foe.
00:45:16.38\00:45:18.85
And you know what?
00:45:18.88\00:45:21.12
He wants to be your life coach.
00:45:21.15\00:45:23.62
He says in Jeremiah 29:11-14,
00:45:23.65\00:45:27.96
"I know the
plans I have for you.
00:45:27.99\00:45:30.63
Plans to prosper
you not to harm you,
00:45:30.66\00:45:33.66
plans to give you
a hope and a future."
00:45:33.70\00:45:37.73
But then He says this,
00:45:37.77\00:45:40.20
"Then you will call upon me
00:45:40.24\00:45:43.64
and come and pray to Me."
00:45:43.67\00:45:45.04
When?
00:45:45.07\00:45:47.18
When do we call upon God
and come and pray to Him?
00:45:47.21\00:45:51.21
When we recognize
He's a benevolent God,
00:45:51.25\00:45:55.18
and He's got a good plan,
00:45:55.22\00:45:57.05
a plan that's so much better
than the one we're living.
00:45:57.09\00:46:00.49
When we see God as
this all loving being,
00:46:00.52\00:46:05.33
who has our
eternal benefit in mind,
00:46:05.36\00:46:07.83
then we call upon Him
and come and pray to Him.
00:46:07.86\00:46:12.07
And God says, "I
will listen to you.
00:46:12.10\00:46:14.27
You will seek Me and
find Me when you seek Me
00:46:14.30\00:46:16.37
with all of your heart.
00:46:16.40\00:46:19.14
I'll be found by you."
00:46:19.17\00:46:21.24
Why wouldn't we trust a God
00:46:21.28\00:46:25.28
of such superior knowledge?
00:46:25.31\00:46:29.42
If we know His
love, know His knowledge,
00:46:29.45\00:46:33.99
we're ready to surrender.
00:46:34.02\00:46:36.26
But there is a third thing
00:46:36.29\00:46:37.63
I want us to consider
in our short time today.
00:46:37.66\00:46:41.63
We need to recognize
God's exceedingly great power.
00:46:41.66\00:46:46.43
His power is limitless.
00:46:46.47\00:46:48.77
In Isaiah 46:9-10, He says,
00:46:48.80\00:46:52.24
"Remember the
former things of old,
00:46:52.27\00:46:54.81
for I am God and
there is no other.
00:46:54.84\00:46:58.41
There is no other God."
00:46:58.45\00:47:00.48
He says, "I am God
and there is none like Me.
00:47:00.52\00:47:04.62
Any other god is a
00:47:04.65\00:47:09.26
counterfeit set
up and established,
00:47:09.29\00:47:12.66
I'll say by Satan."
00:47:12.69\00:47:14.86
He says, "I declared
the end from the beginning
00:47:14.90\00:47:19.00
and from ancient
times the things to come."
00:47:19.03\00:47:23.00
God will accomplish His
will in every situation.
00:47:23.04\00:47:27.48
You can't thwart it.
00:47:27.51\00:47:30.58
But He will never force you.
00:47:30.61\00:47:33.01
God's power is creative.
00:47:33.05\00:47:35.32
The word in the
beginning with God created,
00:47:35.35\00:47:37.92
it's bara and
it's only used of God.
00:47:37.95\00:47:41.59
God can create
something out of nothing.
00:47:41.62\00:47:45.66
Our creativity,
00:47:45.69\00:47:47.36
we're using things
that are around us.
00:47:47.40\00:47:50.20
But all the
heavens and the earth
00:47:50.23\00:47:52.43
were created by God,
00:47:52.47\00:47:55.00
who became a person.
00:47:55.04\00:47:57.41
Listen to this. I love it.
00:47:57.44\00:47:59.41
"Our creator is
the one who came down
00:47:59.44\00:48:03.88
and took on the flesh in
the person of Jesus Christ."
00:48:03.91\00:48:08.12
In Colossians 1:16, it says,
00:48:08.15\00:48:11.99
"For by Him," speaking of
the person of Jesus Christ,
00:48:12.02\00:48:16.36
"all things were created,
00:48:16.39\00:48:18.89
both in the
heavens and on the earth,
00:48:18.93\00:48:21.20
visible and invisible,
00:48:21.23\00:48:22.56
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities,
00:48:22.60\00:48:26.84
all things have been
made through Him and by Him."
00:48:26.87\00:48:30.41
Jeremiah said, "Our Lord, God,
00:48:30.44\00:48:34.04
You have made the heavens
and the earth by Your great arm
00:48:34.08\00:48:39.58
and Your outstretched power.
00:48:39.61\00:48:42.08
There's nothing
too hard for You."
00:48:42.12\00:48:44.79
That's Jeremiah 32:17.
00:48:44.82\00:48:50.66
And then I love
what the psalmist says
00:48:50.69\00:48:53.33
in Psalm 100:3,
00:48:53.36\00:48:56.30
"Know that the Lord He is God.
00:48:56.33\00:48:59.37
It is He who made us."
00:48:59.40\00:49:03.14
You didn't crawl out,
00:49:03.17\00:49:04.87
your ancestors didn't crawl out
00:49:04.91\00:49:07.81
of some
primordial pool of sludge.
00:49:07.84\00:49:11.85
No, God created
you in His image.
00:49:11.88\00:49:16.45
And you know,
00:49:16.48\00:49:18.89
I'm going to tell
you a quick story.
00:49:18.92\00:49:20.32
I hope I have time.
00:49:20.36\00:49:22.12
I interviewed a
policeman from San Francisco.
00:49:22.16\00:49:25.49
He worked with the gangs,
00:49:25.53\00:49:27.50
kids who were incarcerated.
00:49:27.53\00:49:31.67
And when he went in and
he worked with these kids,
00:49:31.70\00:49:34.54
they all thought
they came from monkeys.
00:49:34.57\00:49:36.71
But once they
realize where they came from,
00:49:36.74\00:49:39.77
once they
realized who created them,
00:49:39.81\00:49:44.65
their whole
attitude on life changed.
00:49:44.68\00:49:47.45
And he said, "It was a
remarkable transformation."
00:49:47.48\00:49:51.39
We cannot buy all of
this garbage of evolution.
00:49:51.42\00:49:57.06
We have to trust
the Word of the Lord.
00:49:57.09\00:50:01.03
Do you not know His power?
00:50:01.06\00:50:04.00
You know what
Jesus said in Mark 12:24?
00:50:04.03\00:50:09.37
He said that some people
are mistaken in their beliefs,
00:50:09.40\00:50:13.58
because you did not
know the scriptures,
00:50:13.61\00:50:18.21
or the power of God.
00:50:18.25\00:50:20.42
If you don't
understand who God is,
00:50:20.45\00:50:23.69
find someone that can help
you in a study or get online.
00:50:23.72\00:50:27.96
Go to Amazing Facts,
00:50:27.99\00:50:29.36
pick up their
Bible studies online,
00:50:29.39\00:50:32.29
or Voice of
Prophecy, or It Is Written.
00:50:32.33\00:50:35.70
There's so many good
online Bible studies.
00:50:35.73\00:50:39.47
Learn for yourself.
00:50:39.50\00:50:41.40
Don't accept what someone
has told you in the past.
00:50:41.44\00:50:45.54
Learn for yourself
because with God Jesus says,
00:50:45.57\00:50:49.71
"All things are possible."
00:50:49.74\00:50:52.31
God's power is
protective and sustaining.
00:50:52.35\00:50:56.18
Hebrews 1:3 says
that Jesus propels,
00:50:56.22\00:50:59.69
He maintains, He
sustains all of the universe
00:50:59.72\00:51:03.69
by His mighty Word of power
00:51:03.73\00:51:08.13
and He never gets weary.
00:51:08.16\00:51:11.47
Isaiah 40:28-29
says, "Have you not known?
00:51:11.50\00:51:17.31
Have you not heard
that everlasting God,
00:51:17.34\00:51:21.18
the Lord, the Creator
of the ends of the earth,
00:51:21.21\00:51:24.81
He neither faints nor is weary?
00:51:24.85\00:51:28.58
His
understanding is unsearchable.
00:51:28.62\00:51:32.52
He gives power to the weak,
00:51:32.55\00:51:35.09
and to those who have no might,
00:51:35.12\00:51:38.43
he increases understanding."
00:51:38.46\00:51:41.46
One of my favorite verses
00:51:41.50\00:51:43.63
is 1 Peter 1:3-5.
00:51:43.67\00:51:48.40
Here, He's talking about,
00:51:48.44\00:51:51.47
"We are kept by the power of God
00:51:51.51\00:51:55.88
for salvation and will be ready
00:51:55.91\00:51:59.41
to be revealed
in the last time."
00:51:59.45\00:52:03.42
Remember what we
said about Ephesians 3:16
00:52:03.45\00:52:07.12
is that we are
strengthened with might,
00:52:07.16\00:52:12.69
dynamite, with the power of God
00:52:12.73\00:52:16.67
when the Holy
Spirit indwells us.
00:52:16.70\00:52:21.67
God's power is yours
00:52:21.70\00:52:25.44
if you will surrender to Him.
00:52:25.47\00:52:28.94
And 2 Peter 1:3-4 says,
00:52:28.98\00:52:34.28
"His divine
power has given to us,
00:52:34.32\00:52:38.35
all things that
pertain to life and godliness."
00:52:38.39\00:52:42.09
Did you hear that?
00:52:42.12\00:52:43.46
By His divine power,
00:52:43.49\00:52:46.36
God gives us everything
we need when we call on Him.
00:52:46.39\00:52:49.86
He's just
waiting for us to call.
00:52:49.90\00:52:52.40
So many of us suffer
through our consequences
00:52:52.43\00:52:56.44
rather than going
to God and saying,
00:52:56.47\00:52:59.11
"Help me overcome."
00:52:59.14\00:53:02.34
But then he goes on.
00:53:02.38\00:53:04.25
He says, "Through
the knowledge of Him,
00:53:04.28\00:53:07.42
who called us by
His glory and virtue,"
00:53:07.45\00:53:11.05
and this is 2 Peter 1:4,
00:53:11.09\00:53:13.86
"By which, by
God's glory and virtue
00:53:13.89\00:53:17.29
have been given to
us exceedingly great
00:53:17.33\00:53:21.83
and precious promises
00:53:21.86\00:53:24.90
that through these promises..."
00:53:24.93\00:53:28.77
And not one word of God's
promises have ever failed.
00:53:28.80\00:53:32.84
There's still many to
be fulfilled in the future,
00:53:32.87\00:53:37.01
but you can count on that.
00:53:37.05\00:53:39.35
You can count
on Philippians 1:6,
00:53:39.38\00:53:42.68
that He who has
began a good work in you
00:53:42.72\00:53:45.65
will complete it,
00:53:45.69\00:53:47.06
because He says He's given us
00:53:47.09\00:53:48.96
His exceedingly great
and precious promises,
00:53:48.99\00:53:53.53
that through these promises,
00:53:53.56\00:53:55.90
you may become partakers
00:53:55.93\00:53:58.97
of the divine nature.
00:53:59.00\00:54:01.30
Oh, hallelujah,
think about that.
00:54:01.34\00:54:05.47
You know, I think of DNA,
00:54:05.51\00:54:07.94
spiritual DNA, DNA,
Devil's Nature Acquired.
00:54:07.98\00:54:13.28
That's, kind of,
00:54:13.31\00:54:14.88
what condition we're
in before we come to God.
00:54:14.92\00:54:18.09
But here, he's talking
00:54:18.12\00:54:21.42
about when we
accept God's promises,
00:54:21.46\00:54:24.66
we can acquire
the divine nature,
00:54:24.69\00:54:30.17
DNA, the Divine Nature Acquired.
00:54:30.20\00:54:34.84
He will cause you
to be a new creation,
00:54:34.87\00:54:39.74
and the old will be gone.
00:54:39.77\00:54:43.14
Now, I just have
to say this one thing.
00:54:43.18\00:54:47.12
God's plan of
salvation isn't that
00:54:47.15\00:54:50.82
you fret with a furrowed brow,
00:54:50.85\00:54:55.06
trying to be accepted by Him.
00:54:55.09\00:54:58.19
God's plan of
salvation isn't by works,
00:54:58.23\00:55:03.10
it's by grace.
00:55:03.13\00:55:04.97
And He will empower
you to do the good works
00:55:05.00\00:55:08.37
He created you to do.
00:55:08.40\00:55:10.11
Listen to what
Jesus said in Luke 18:17.
00:55:10.14\00:55:15.24
He lets us know that
God's plan of salvation
00:55:15.28\00:55:18.91
is a life of total
dependence upon God.
00:55:18.95\00:55:22.35
Luke 18:17,
"Assuredly, I say to you,
00:55:22.38\00:55:26.35
whoever does not
receive the kingdom of God
00:55:26.39\00:55:30.13
as a little child
will by no means enter it."
00:55:30.16\00:55:33.96
You know what?
00:55:34.00\00:55:35.33
Children have no
resources of their own.
00:55:35.36\00:55:37.27
They live in a state
of trust and dependence.
00:55:37.30\00:55:42.10
And we've got to
abandon our pride
00:55:42.14\00:55:44.81
and depend on our God.
00:55:44.84\00:55:47.94
Paul heard the Lord say to him,
00:55:47.98\00:55:50.58
and it's recorded
in 2 Corinthians 12:9.
00:55:50.61\00:55:53.75
Jesus told Paul,
00:55:53.78\00:55:55.72
"My grace is sufficient for you,
00:55:55.75\00:55:59.99
for my strength is made
perfect in your weakness."
00:56:00.02\00:56:05.33
Do you know that?
00:56:05.36\00:56:07.70
Are you trusting
00:56:07.73\00:56:09.96
that God can
strengthen you to do all things
00:56:10.00\00:56:12.77
through Christ Jesus?
00:56:12.80\00:56:14.30
He can.
00:56:14.34\00:56:15.90
Why wouldn't we
trust a power like that?
00:56:15.94\00:56:19.51
Like Isaiah,
we've got to know God
00:56:19.54\00:56:22.78
to recognize His call.
00:56:22.81\00:56:26.72
And that's the first step
00:56:26.75\00:56:31.29
of surrender, knowing God.
00:56:31.32\00:56:34.52
Then we have to
stop resisting His love,
00:56:34.56\00:56:39.39
stop resisting His plan,
00:56:39.43\00:56:42.16
submit to His authority
00:56:42.20\00:56:44.40
so that we can receive His call.
00:56:44.43\00:56:47.80
And then to respond to His call,
00:56:47.84\00:56:49.77
it's the third
step of surrender.
00:56:49.80\00:56:51.74
It is yielding to
the Holy Spirit's power.
00:56:51.77\00:56:55.51
I'm so glad that you joined us.
00:56:55.54\00:56:57.05
And I hope that you will be able
00:56:57.08\00:56:59.11
to join us next time
00:56:59.15\00:57:01.45
for Receiving The
Call of God, part two.
00:57:01.48\00:57:06.69
Let me say a
quick prayer for you.
00:57:06.72\00:57:08.36
Father, we come
in the name of Jesus.
00:57:08.39\00:57:10.66
Help us, oh, Lord, to recognize,
00:57:10.69\00:57:14.40
receive and respond
00:57:14.43\00:57:16.67
to Your call for
abundant life here
00:57:16.70\00:57:19.67
and eternal life
everlasting in Jesus' name.
00:57:19.70\00:57:23.30
Amen. Thank you
for joining us. Bye.
00:57:23.34\00:57:26.34