Anchors of Truth

Come Out Wherever You Are

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Lee Venden

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Series Code: AOT

Program Code: AOT000125


00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth
00:14 live from the 3ABN worship Center.
00:21 Well we're just so happy that each one of you could join
00:25 with us this afternoon for this the final
00:28 of the series, The Revelation of Whom,
00:32 with Pastor Lee Venden.
00:34 By this time you certainly know that Pastor Venden
00:37 is the fulltime Revivalist for the Upper Columbia Conference.
00:44 I had to stop and think for a moment
00:46 the name of the Conference.
00:48 And he's the fulltime Revivalist there.
00:52 Also that he has been a pastor for 30 years.
00:56 He is married to his wife, Marji.
00:59 And they have two adult children.
01:03 So we're just happy that Pastor Venden could be with us.
01:06 It's been such a blessing.
01:08 Today's subject, Come Out Wherever You Are.
01:11 We're looking forward to that.
01:13 This morning we were blessed so much with,
01:16 Mirror, Mirror On The Wall.
01:20 And we're looking forward...
01:22 By the way, if some of you who are watching live
01:26 did not get that, it'll be at seven o'clock central time
01:30 reshowing the message that was shown here live at eleven.
01:35 So that's if you're watching live.
01:39 We're so happy that we can all be together.
01:43 That we can enjoy this series and be blessed by it.
01:47 Before Pastor Venden comes, Danny Shelton is going to
01:51 join us at this time.
01:53 And he's going to sing,
01:54 Surely The Presence Of The Lord Is In This Place.
02:12 Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place;
02:22 I can feel His mighty power and His grace.
02:32 I can hear the brush of angels' wings;
02:38 I see glory on each face.
02:43 Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
02:56 In the midst of His children the Lord said He would be;
03:06 it doesn't take very many, it can be just two or three.
03:15 And then I feel that same sweet spirit
03:21 that I felt oft times before.
03:26 Surely I can say I've been with my Lord.
03:37 Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place;
03:47 I can feel His mighty power and His grace.
03:56 I can hear the brush of angels' wings;
04:02 I see glory on each face.
04:08 Surely you feel the presence of the Lord,
04:15 for He's in this place.
04:21 There's a holy hush around us as God's glory fills this place.
04:31 I've touched the hem of His garment,
04:37 I can almost see His face.
04:41 And my heart is overflowing with the fullness of His joy;
04:51 for I know without a doubt that I've been with the Lord.
05:00 Sing it with me if you know it.
05:01 Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place;
05:11 I can feel His mighty power and His grace.
05:20 I can hear the brush of angels' wings;
05:25 I see glory on each face.
05:31 Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
05:43 Oh, surely the presence of our Lord
05:51 is in this place.
06:02 Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
06:20 Isn't it wonderful that He, you know, God Immanuel
06:28 with us, isn't it wonderful that He can be in this place?
06:32 And not just in this place, but in this place.
06:36 Let's have one more prayer.
06:41 So, Lord Jesus, I just echo as a prayer the words of that song.
06:46 Thank You.
06:48 Into my heart, into my heart, come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
06:54 Come into this place.
06:55 Come into each of our hearts.
06:56 And as we look together in Your direction,
06:58 I pray that You would stir us deeply.
07:01 May we be touched not just in our minds,
07:03 but also in our hearts.
07:06 We need the Holy Spirit for that, so I'm asking for
07:08 spiritual eye glasses and hearing aids to be
07:10 handed out to every person.
07:12 And I'm asking for that same Spirit to crowd whatever
07:15 needs to be crowded out of me so that I can
07:18 be a useful tool.
07:19 I just want to be a tool, and I'm asking for that
07:22 in Jesus' name, amen.
07:28 Well I want to begin by showing you a beautiful collection
07:32 of flowers.
07:33 Just check these things out.
07:36 Don't those look nice?
07:37 Look at the colors, the delicate petals.
07:40 Aren't they beautiful?
07:42 I have one more slide of a bunch of those same flowers.
07:45 Wouldn't you love to maybe have a whole bouquet of
07:48 those flowers, or maybe have an arrangement made
07:50 and have them sent to a friend of yours
07:52 with those beautiful flowers.
07:54 Oh, not so fast.
07:57 I want to tell you, these flowers are first cousins
07:59 to one more flower.
08:00 And here it comes next.
08:02 They are all, these flowers are carnivorous.
08:07 They are Venus Fly Traps.
08:10 There's one closing in right there.
08:11 Here comes another picture sequence.
08:13 We're going to show you another one.
08:14 There's open.
08:15 Kind of luring that insect in and then it comes down.
08:18 Here's comes the next one and one more.
08:20 And that insect is history.
08:22 See these plants, they look gorgeous on the surface.
08:29 But they are able to eat insects, small rodents,
08:36 and small children.
08:38 They are carnivorous.
08:42 They look like something they aren't.
08:44 They look better, but death lurks within.
08:48 We're going to look at a fourth angel.
08:52 And this fourth angel, we'll hear more about in a minute.
08:55 But the 17th chapter of Revelation begins
09:00 with an angel showing John a prostitute
09:03 riding on a seven-headed monster.
09:07 She is dressed in purple and scarlet,
09:11 and glittering with jewels.
09:13 And she sits on many waters.
09:17 John is instructed a little bit more about that later on,
09:19 but we're just told at the beginning
09:21 she sits on many waters.
09:22 Now her external beauty is enough to capture the attention
09:28 of the entire world.
09:30 External beauty.
09:32 Like those flowers.
09:33 She looks so good the entire world is mesmerized by her.
09:40 They are enchanted by her, she is so attractive.
09:46 Something that seems irresistible about her.
09:50 Though she looks attractive, this golden cup that she holds
09:56 is filled with abominable filth.
10:00 Try to say that seven times fast.
10:03 Abominable filth.
10:06 She's known by many names, but the one that is most
10:09 familiar to us and we have referred to already
10:12 in our series is, Babylon.
10:15 Babylon.
10:17 Now I want you to remember that Babylon
10:18 symbolizes pride and self-dependence.
10:24 It is a symbol of living life apart from Jesus.
10:30 Living life apart from God.
10:32 Now, she is in league with rulers and nations to destroy
10:38 God's faithful people.
10:41 This is all there in chapter 17.
10:44 She inspires rulers and nations to attack the Lamb.
10:49 But we have good news.
10:51 Early on in the chapter, Revelation 17:14,
10:54 the Lamb, even though they attack, the Lamb will
10:56 overcome them...
11:08 Okay, then chapter 17 ends with an angel explaining
11:14 that the many waters represent the people of the earth.
11:19 People of the earth.
11:21 Chapter 18 begins with another angel whose blazing glory
11:26 lights up the whole earth.
11:28 So think about a comet or something approaching
11:31 the planet and it's just blazing with glory,
11:35 and a tail of glory streaming back from it as it's racing
11:39 towards our planet.
11:41 It's not a comet, it's another angel.
11:43 And this angel is crying with a loud voice.
11:45 And so this angel is like shouting.
11:48 There must be a sense of urgency in this angel.
11:51 He is desperate that people on the planet hear
11:54 what he has to say.
11:56 He shouts with a loud voice that Babylon has crumbled
12:00 to ruins and become home to everything evil, detestable,
12:04 wicked, and unclean.
12:06 And then in verse 3 of chapter 18,
12:10 this angel observes that all nations...
12:14 Excuse me, not all nations.
12:16 ...that all have fallen for her seductions.
12:21 All.
12:22 It's important I make that distinction.
12:24 It was a Freudian slip to throw the word, "nations," in because
12:27 it says all have fallen for her seductions and tasted her wine.
12:32 Presidents, kings, businessmen, great and small.
12:36 Everyone has traded with her.
12:39 Everyone has traded with her.
12:42 Now regardless of what you think about prostitution,
12:46 based on this chapter all sucker for what she represents.
12:53 Regardless of what you think of prostitution,
12:55 all sucker for what she represents.
12:59 What she offers then must be extremely attractive.
13:04 Or all wouldn't sucker for it.
13:08 What is it?
13:09 What is it that crosses every geographical boundary?
13:14 Christian, non-Christian, it doesn't matter.
13:17 What is it that crosses every social economic group?
13:21 What is it that permeates every country,
13:24 every age, both genders?
13:28 All.
13:30 What is it?
13:32 What is the sin that doth so easily beset?
13:36 What is it?
13:38 Hebrews 12:1, Paul says...
13:53 I'm going to tell you what it is.
13:55 The sin that so easily besets that everyone is guilty of
14:01 on the planet is self-dependence.
14:05 Doing it myself.
14:07 Doing it my way.
14:08 Living my life, good or bad, apart from Jesus.
14:16 Self-dependence and pride are the commodities that
14:19 this harlot trades in.
14:21 I think self-dependence and pride are Siamese twins.
14:26 They go together.
14:27 They go together.
14:29 Siamese twins.
14:31 This problem of self-dependence and pride is so extensive
14:36 in the world and in us that only God can fix it.
14:43 We can't.
14:44 It is too deep rooted.
14:46 We cannot fix it.
14:48 And so in verse 4 of chapter 18 God calls us to come to Him.
14:53 He calls us, yes us, to come to Him for help.
15:00 Revelation 18:4...
15:07 Please note the last two words.
15:10 "...My people."
15:12 "...My people."
15:16 It is possible to be among His people and still be
15:20 struggling with pride and self-sufficiency.
15:30 Sometimes I'll preach a sermon somewhere, and as I'm out
15:33 greeting people afterwards they'll come up and tell me,
15:35 "That was just awesome.
15:37 That was tremendous."
15:39 And I think about what H.M.S. Richards use to say
15:42 to those kinds of comments.
15:43 "Yeah," he said, "the devil was telling me that
15:45 before I was half finished.
15:49 He wanted me to think, 'Oh, you're doing a great job.
15:53 Richards, you are on top of your game.
15:56 Man, they are going to wow about this sermon.'"
16:01 One person in one of my congregations realized
16:04 and knew that I didn't like that kind of stuff
16:11 because of what it does to me.
16:13 He came out one time and he shook my hand
16:15 and then he said to me, "Pastor Venden,
16:17 that was a masterful sermon."
16:22 And he said, "And do you know what I mean?"
16:24 And he pointed like that.
16:26 And I said, "Thank you for reminding me.
16:29 If it was full of the Master, then it couldn't be me."
16:33 It would have to have been Him.
16:35 But it is easy.
16:37 It is easy.
16:41 Pride and self-sufficiency; the sin that does so easily beset.
16:48 I was asked to do an early morning camp meeting
16:51 presentation with another fellow.
16:53 A good friend of mine.
16:54 He had been my associate pastor and he later followed me
16:57 in that church as the senior pastor.
16:59 And his name is Bill Roberts.
17:02 And they asked the two of us to each do half of the
17:07 morning meetings, the early morning meetings,
17:09 for camp meeting.
17:11 Well he was suppose to do the first half and I was suppose to
17:13 do the second half.
17:15 And I love Bill Roberts.
17:18 And I came to the first meeting that he did
17:22 and I sat in back.
17:24 And I had this thought go through my head,
17:28 "I wonder how many people will be here for Bill
17:30 compared to how many will be here for me."
17:35 And I hated it, as soon as that thought went through my head.
17:37 I said, "Lord Jesus, S.O.S.
17:41 I don't want to think that way."
17:43 But there it went, that thought went through my mind.
17:46 The next morning meeting, I sat on the front row
17:50 so that I couldn't see the number of people
17:52 that were there for Bill.
17:54 Because I didn't want that anymore.
17:56 But as the week progressed, I kept thinking.
18:00 Into my head it would come again,
18:02 "I wonder how the audience size will compare
18:05 between him and me?"
18:07 And finally it was my turn to speak
18:11 when the week was half over.
18:13 And I was sitting on the front row waiting for the pulpit.
18:18 And in my head the devil was going, "Turn around and look.
18:22 This place is fuller than it was with Bill."
18:26 And I said, "S.O.S., Lord Jesus.
18:30 I don't want this sin that so easily besets.
18:35 Pride and self-sufficiency.
18:38 Will You save me from myself?"
18:42 And all of a sudden as I'm there praying,
18:44 someone taps my knee.
18:46 I look over, it's Bill Roberts.
18:49 And he says, "Lee, could I just pray for you before you go on?
18:52 Can we just slip over to the side for a minute?
18:53 I just want to pray for you."
18:55 And I said, "Yes."
18:57 We went over to the side and Bill started praying for me
19:02 a prayer that was so self-effacing.
19:05 "Lord Jesus, I want you to use my friend, Lee, today.
19:08 I want Jesus to be lifted up."
19:10 And he just prayed this beautiful prayer for me.
19:12 And as he prayed, I wept.
19:15 And as he prayed, I felt the Holy Spirit
19:19 flush the toilet of my heart.
19:24 Free of all of that stuff.
19:26 I couldn't get rid of it.
19:28 But as Bill prayed, the Holy Spirit did it for me.
19:31 And when he finished, I said, "Bill, I'll tell you later
19:35 why that prayer meant so much to me.
19:37 But you will never know at the moment
19:39 how important it was."
19:42 It is the...
19:44 I was talking to James Rafferty at the Arizona camp meeting.
19:48 We were there together.
19:49 And I told him, "Man, man, I just don't want people
19:53 to tell me they liked it.
19:55 I just can't seem to handle it."
19:57 He said, "Yeah," he said, "It's the final frontier.
20:02 It's the one that's just hanging out there for us.
20:06 Hanging out there."
20:14 It is possible to be among God's people and to still be
20:18 struggling with pride and self-sufficiency.
20:22 You see, you would have to be in her before He could call you
20:27 out from her.
20:30 Right?
20:32 Have to be in her before you could be called out from her.
20:34 God's people have been in Babylon far more frequently
20:41 and for far longer than the Jews were held captive.
20:47 God's people have been in Babylon for 6000 years.
20:53 God's people.
20:56 God's people.
21:03 In 1 Kings 2 verse 2, King David says...
21:13 Now he was talking to Solomon.
21:16 And I'm sure that he was talking about the fact that
21:18 he was going to be dying soon.
21:20 He was getting on in years, he didn't know how many
21:22 he had left, and he was telling him, "It's not long from now
21:24 and I'm going to be dying."
21:27 But as I read that verse, I thought, "Yeah, David,
21:31 I'm about to go the way of all the earth."
21:34 Other translations say, "I'm about to go the
21:36 way of all men."
21:38 All men.
21:39 You know what the way of all men is.
21:41 It is not death.
21:44 It is pride and self-sufficiency.
21:46 That is the way of all men.
21:48 And it happens even to God's people.
21:52 David starts out humbly, dependent upon God.
21:55 You go up against Goliath with a few smooth stones
21:58 and you know, you know, that you are outclassed.
22:05 Humanly speaking, you know you are outclassed.
22:07 You don't even come up to the guy's naval, you know.
22:13 But David says, "I come to you in the name of
22:16 the Lord of hosts."
22:18 And God powers that slingshot and directs that stone,
22:22 and the giant falls.
22:24 And David knows who's responsible.
22:29 And David serves God with a pure heart.
22:32 But King Saul is impressed.
22:35 And he says, "David, I want to make you head of my army.
22:38 Go out there and win some more for us."
22:41 So David goes out.
22:43 And as he comes back, he is victorious.
22:46 Well you know what?
22:47 I use to think he was a mighty general, but actually
22:49 it doesn't take rocket science to know that if you go to God
22:52 first and say, "Shall we go up against this host,"
22:55 and God says, "Yes, go up against this host
22:56 and I will give them into your hand,"
22:58 then you're going to win.
23:00 So David wasn't like such a wonderful general
23:03 as he was such a quick guy to run to the Lord
23:06 and get his marching orders before he went to battle.
23:09 And God said, "Okay, go up against this one
23:11 and I'll give them to you."
23:12 And David goes.
23:13 And he comes back and the people say,
23:15 "Saul has killed his thousands, but David has killed
23:19 his ten thousands.
23:21 Oh David, you do good work."
23:24 And David kept hearing that.
23:27 And he began to become independent and self-sufficient.
23:35 And he began asking God fewer and fewer times before going.
23:40 And he began taking more and more of the credit
23:42 until one day, in his distance from God, he sees Bathsheba.
23:49 And you know the rest.
23:51 He takes a horrible fall.
23:53 But horrible falls don't happen overnight.
23:57 What was going on was David had been neglecting
24:00 his walk with God.
24:02 And as time passed, he became more and more susceptible
24:06 to the devil.
24:09 David was a man of God.
24:12 David was a man of God.
24:16 His son Solomon, David calls him to him and he says,
24:19 "You know, I'm going to go the way of all men."
24:21 He says, "I've gathered all this stuff together
24:24 to build a temple and I want you to do it."
24:25 And then he says to him, "Remember now,
24:27 remember to seek the God of your father.
24:30 And if you seek Him, He will be found of you."
24:33 And Solomon starts out great.
24:36 God comes to him in a dream.
24:38 These are people who have communion with God.
24:42 God comes to him in a dream and says,
24:43 "Okay, so you're about to take the throne.
24:46 What would you like from Me?"
24:47 You know the story.
24:48 Solomon says, "I'm like a baby.
24:50 I don't even know how to come or go.
24:52 I mean, I am so inadequate and insufficient,
24:55 I just need wisdom from above.
24:56 I need strength from above. I need guidance from above.
24:59 I am a nobody."
25:00 And God says, "I am so glad that you see that.
25:03 And with that in mind, here's what I'm going to do for you."
25:07 And Solomon becomes known for being...
25:10 And he builds a temple for God's glory,
25:13 but what does he let them call it?
25:17 It's called, Solomon's temple.
25:21 Solomon's temple.
25:22 One of the wonders of the ancient world.
25:25 Something happened and Solomon began to drift
25:30 from dependence upon God to dependence upon himself
25:34 until he let them call God's temple, Solomon's temple.
25:38 And we know the fall.
25:40 For being the wisest man who ever lived,
25:43 he did a lot of stupid things.
25:45 He really did.
25:49 Moses.
25:51 Moses meets with God, talks with God.
25:56 Spends days talking with God, weeks talking with God.
26:01 Audible voice.
26:04 Comes back from time with God and his face is shining.
26:08 It's radiating.
26:09 People say, "Could you put on a veil?
26:10 We can't even handle looking at you, man.
26:12 You are too... You're just overwhelming us."
26:15 This is what happens; he's so close to God
26:17 that he radiates the glory of God.
26:21 Forty years with a pillar of fire at night and a
26:25 pillar of cloud by day.
26:28 He's seen miracle after miracle after miracle.
26:31 And finally at the end of this 40 years when it looks like
26:34 the children of Israel are going to murmur and complain
26:36 and get turned around again, he strikes the rock and says,
26:40 "Must we bring forth water from this rock for you rebels?"
26:48 "Must we..."
26:49 He knew good and well that he was no part of it.
26:53 He could hit that rock until the cows come home
26:56 and there's not going to be any water coming out of it.
26:58 But he said, "Must we..."
27:00 He took the glory, he took the credit.
27:02 That doesn't happen by accident.
27:03 You read the story and you find out that Moses had been
27:06 weary with labor for God.
27:10 And in his work schedule he had worn thin.
27:16 And his daily devotional life had worn thin.
27:19 It is possible to be a worker for God and find yourself
27:23 so immersed in trying to do His work that you find
27:26 less and less time to spend for Him and with Him.
27:29 And that's what happened with Moses.
27:31 And in that vulnerable stage he falls.
27:36 He takes glory that he knows good and well is not his.
27:39 And you know the rest of that story.
27:42 Abraham, he's given dreams.
27:44 God talks to him.
27:45 Jesus comes and meets him.
27:47 They walk face to face.
27:50 He is called by God, "My friend.
27:53 My friend Abraham."
27:56 I'm calling these people men of God.
28:00 These are God's people.
28:03 And he gets down there in Egypt and he says,
28:05 "Oh man, Sarah is so good looking.
28:07 They're going to kill me to get her."
28:10 So he lies to save himself.
28:13 Now who is he depending on?
28:15 Himself.
28:18 Then a little later, he and Sarah's figuring out
28:21 on the promise, you know.
28:22 "Well we were promise we'd have all these children.
28:24 We don't have any yet.
28:25 Maybe it is that God helps those who help themselves.
28:27 Maybe we need to do our part, we expect Him to do His part.
28:30 So you father a child with Hagar.
28:31 God will be so thankful we finally got a kid going
28:34 that he'll bless that kid and it'll take off from there."
28:37 And so they depend upon themselves.
28:42 They take things into their own hands.
28:45 And we still have trouble in the Middle East and around
28:47 the world with terrorism today as a result of what happened
28:51 when Abraham tried to do it himself.
28:55 Do it himself.
28:56 This is a man who walked and talked with the
29:00 Lord Jesus Christ in person.
29:06 Jacob, he's given dreams.
29:09 He sees a ladder from earth to heaven.
29:11 He sees angels coming up and down.
29:14 He talks with God.
29:16 God protects him.
29:17 Oh there's angel bands commissioned to watch over him.
29:21 He has family worship.
29:24 He builds altars to God everywhere he goes.
29:27 And yet, he tried to get the birthright by deception.
29:33 He tried to help God out.
29:37 He comes back with his family, his brother is coming for him.
29:41 He's doing everything he can on his own to save his skin.
29:46 Finally he comes to the point where he divides his group.
29:49 I mean, this is a guy who is working as best he can
29:52 to save himself.
29:55 And yet, he's a man that God had spoken with and given dream to.
30:03 He spends 20 years trying to learn the lesson
30:10 of absolute surrender.
30:12 Which he finally learned at Jabbok.
30:16 But up until then, God's man struggling with self-dependence.
30:22 Joshua goes to Jericho.
30:26 He follows God's instruction.
30:28 He meets with Jesus in person.
30:31 The Caption of the Lord of hosts gives him the battle plans
30:34 and says, "This is what we're going to do.
30:36 And I'm going to take care of it and you're going to
30:38 see a great victory."
30:39 And Joshua goes forth in the strength of that promise
30:42 and under those guidelines and under that battle plan.
30:45 And it happens to Jericho just like Jesus told him it would.
30:49 And Joshua comes from Jericho and he says to his men,
30:53 "We did good.
30:56 Man, we kicked those people so...
30:59 Tell you what, Ai, just a little place over here,
31:03 we'll just go over there and take a small group.
31:05 We'll clean them up too.
31:06 Let's just go mop the floor with them.
31:09 You saw what we just did to Jericho, we can do that...
31:11 We don't even need to take the army out.
31:12 Just take a handful. Let's just go over there."
31:14 And you know what happened.
31:16 3000 men, or whatever, died because Joshua,
31:19 a man of God who has just met with Jesus, who...
31:25 I'm calling that God's people.
31:28 Someone who's talking to Jesus person to person;
31:30 that's God's people.
31:33 And God's people goes to Ai depending on himself
31:38 just a few days later.
31:39 Depending on himself.
31:41 Slips into self-dependence.
31:46 Elijah is up on Mount Carmel.
31:49 Have mercy.
31:50 This is a guy...
31:51 On Mount Carmel he's the Lone Ranger.
31:55 He prays for fire to come out of the sky.
31:58 It does; it consumes the altar, it consumes the sacrifice,
32:01 it consumes the water around the altar.
32:04 Then under God's direction he asks for the
32:07 false prophets to be killed.
32:08 They are.
32:09 Then he calls for rain, and it comes
32:12 in such torrents that they can't even see the road.
32:15 And the king's horses can't find their way.
32:18 So then under God's power and under God's direction,
32:21 Elijah runs in front of the horses for 18 miles
32:25 through the rain, the torrential rain,
32:27 and guides them all the way back to the palace.
32:29 I would call that a high day.
32:32 You know.
32:33 That's a pretty high day.
32:34 And he's sitting outside the palace with his back
32:36 against the wall, and Jezebel says, "You tell that guy
32:39 I'm going to have his head by this time tomorrow."
32:41 And someone comes out and tells him,
32:43 "Jezebel says she's going to kill you by tomorrow."
32:45 And just like that, this man of God who has had
32:49 heaven at his beck and call, if you will,
32:53 runs, takes off running from the head of women's ministries.
32:58 Bam.
33:00 He goes racing across the desert to save himself.
33:06 You see it again.
33:08 Save himself.
33:09 Hezekiah, he's dying.
33:12 The prophet comes to him and says,
33:13 "God says that, you know, He's heard you pray
33:15 and He's going to heal you.
33:16 But if you want to make sure, you know,
33:18 if you want to see a little promise that He's going to
33:20 come through, He's willing to give you a sign.
33:23 So what would you like; you can have the sundial go forward,
33:25 you know, 10 degrees, or it can go backwards,
33:27 you know, 10 degrees."
33:28 And Hezekiah says, "Cool, man."
33:33 So he asks for the sundial to be moved.
33:36 And God moves the earth.
33:38 Moves the earth so that Hezekiah can have a little sample
33:42 that God's going to do what He says He's going to do.
33:44 He moves the earth and scientists in Babylon
33:50 see the earth going whoa, and they say,
33:52 "What's going on here?"
33:54 And then someone says, "We heard that there's a
33:56 king over in... Hezekiah.
33:58 God did something for him."
33:59 And they go, "Really?
34:00 That must be some God.
34:02 Let's go meet him and find out about his God."
34:04 They come to meet him and find out about his God.
34:06 And what does he say?
34:07 "Whoa guys, let me show you some of my treasure.
34:09 Okay, I have over here I've got this,
34:11 and over in this room I've got this.
34:12 And guess what, I own all of that right over there.
34:15 And right now I'm trying to acquire this piece of property,
34:17 and I think I'm probably going to get it.
34:18 And do you know how much it's worth, by the way?
34:19 Did I tell you how much that's worth?"
34:21 And this and that and the other thing.
34:23 He shows them all his treasure, "I am somebody."
34:27 Doesn't even tell them about God.
34:29 Doesn't even tell them... This is a man of God.
34:32 A man of God.
34:35 Peter walks on water.
34:38 Turns around, looks at the rest of the disciples in the boat,
34:42 "Check it out.
34:43 Wimps.
34:45 Cowards."
34:47 Voom.
34:49 He's taking some pride.
34:51 He's starting to feel for just a moment that he somehow
34:53 was in charge of all that.
34:54 It was him that was doing it.
34:56 Not.
35:00 By the way, where's Elijah and Moses right now?
35:06 Isn't that encouraging?
35:08 Isn't it encouraging to you to realize that you can be
35:12 God's people and still be struggling with independence
35:16 and pride, Babylon, and end up in heaven one day
35:22 because of the mercy and grace of God.
35:24 Isn't that wonderful how He's patient with us?
35:28 These folks are the cream of the crop, friends.
35:33 I'm talking about the cream of the crop.
35:38 David says, "I go the way of all men."
35:42 The cream of the crop.
35:44 All men.
35:48 This is a message that we are slow to
35:50 learn and quick to forget.
35:51 But the loud cry message of the fourth angel
35:55 is not a warning to stay away from some particular
35:59 denomination with headquarters in Rome.
36:02 The loud cry message is that Babylon is not next door.
36:07 Babylon lives in me.
36:10 It lives in me.
36:14 And Jesus shouts to us in His book,
36:19 "Babylon is going to fall."
36:22 Remember the tower of Babel.
36:24 It crumbled.
36:26 And so He says, "It's going to fall.
36:28 My people, My people, in every denomination,
36:33 My people, even in non-Christian worlds,
36:39 countries, nations, My people come out.
36:42 The tower is about to crumble.
36:44 And I don't want you destroyed with it when it goes down."
36:47 That's what He's saying.
36:48 "We can fix this," He's saying.
36:51 "I see the problem.
36:53 The cream of the crop had the problem.
36:56 I see it in you.
36:57 But we can fix this. So come, come, come.
37:01 Come out of her, My people.
37:04 Come out of Babylon, My people."
37:07 Friends, we have to recognize the personal application
37:11 of this book or we miss the point.
37:14 We miss the point.
37:16 We don't want to miss the point.
37:18 I don't want to be destroyed when the tower comes down.
37:22 Revelation 18:4-5, "Come out of her, My people."
37:25 Can you hear Him shouting?
37:27 He's got His hands cupped around His mouth.
37:35 "Come out of her, My people."
37:37 The limit has been reached.
37:39 God is about to destroy her forever.
37:41 Come out, come out, wherever you are.
37:44 Come out while there's still time.
37:56 9/11. I'll never forget 9/11.
37:59 We were moving the day that 9/11 happened.
38:02 They were loading our moving van.
38:05 And everything was packed.
38:07 And all of a sudden, neighbors came running out and they
38:09 started shouting at us, "Turn on the TV, turn on a radio.
38:12 You're not going to believe what's happening."
38:14 We said, "We don't have a TV or a radio
38:15 we can turn on; everything is packed."
38:16 "Oh," they said, "well the twin towers," you know.
38:18 And they started telling us what was going on; 9/11.
38:21 And then of course you remember that they suddenly shut down
38:24 all the airspace over the United States and all planes.
38:27 That was something.
38:28 We just lived 18 miles by air, by crow, from Sea-Tac,
38:32 Seattle Tacoma International Airport.
38:35 So air traffic always, always, always.
38:37 All of a sudden the sky is empty and quiet for the whole day.
38:40 9/11
38:41 I couldn't watch it because we loaded up and then we moved.
38:45 So we're driving all day on 9/11 and I never did.
38:47 We got to the motel that night as we were in route
38:50 to where we were going to go, move,
38:52 and then we turned on the television in the motel.
38:56 And suddenly I see the stuff that most people had been
38:58 watching all day long.
39:00 The re-runs of the towers coming down and the people running.
39:04 Then the bodies falling as they jump to try and avoid,
39:07 you know, being burned.
39:09 Horrific, America will never forget 9/11.
39:12 Are you aware that there were a number of people
39:16 who didn't die in 9/11 who should have?
39:20 Who could have.
39:22 But the reason they didn't was because they had,
39:25 for one reason or another, not gotten to work that day.
39:30 One man was late because his son had just started kindergarten
39:35 and he went to take him to that first day,
39:38 and stayed and lingered to make sure everything was okay.
39:41 Another fellow was alive because it was
39:43 his turn to bring doughnuts.
39:44 And he stopped to get the doughnuts at a bakery
39:45 and there was a long line.
39:46 By the time he got done, there was
39:48 no place to take the doughnuts.
39:51 One woman was late because her alarm clock didn't go off
39:54 that morning and she slept past and had to get to work late.
39:57 And by the time she got there, there was no work.
40:01 Another one got stuck in the New Jersey turnpike
40:04 because of an auto accident that slowed down traffic to a halt
40:07 and they sat there waiting to get to work,
40:08 stewing about, "I'm going to be late.
40:10 I'm going to be late. I'm going to be late."
40:11 Voom.
40:13 "I'm glad I was late. I'm glad I was late."
40:17 Another one missed the bus.
40:20 And by the time the next one in the route came by
40:22 it was too late to get to work.
40:25 Because there was no work left.
40:27 Another one spilled food on her clothing and had to take time
40:30 to go back in and change and clean up the mess.
40:33 Another one's car wouldn't start.
40:35 Another one went back to answer the telephone
40:37 and ended up having a conversation that delayed them
40:39 such that they were late.
40:42 One had a child that dawdled and wouldn't get ready for school.
40:46 And by the time they finally got the kid ready for school
40:49 it was too late to get to work on time.
40:52 Another one couldn't get a taxi.
40:54 Another one's shoes were brand new that day and they were
40:57 walking to work and they were getting blisters.
40:59 And so they went to a drug store to try and find Band-Aids
41:02 so they could put them on so their feet
41:03 wouldn't hurt so much.
41:04 And they couldn't find a drug store with Band-Aids
41:06 and so they kept looking until they found one.
41:08 And in the time it took them to find Band-Aids
41:09 there was no place to go to work.
41:15 They didn't perish because they came out of the tower,
41:20 so to speak.
41:21 They weren't in it when it collapsed.
41:24 And the angel with the loud cry saying, "Come out.
41:28 Come out so that you're not in it when it collapses.
41:32 Come out of her, My people.
41:34 Come out of Babylon, My people.
41:37 In every church, come out of Babylon, My people."
41:43 Well the only way you can come out of her, "My people,"
41:47 is by coming to Jesus.
41:50 Coming to Jesus.
41:53 All people have this problem.
41:54 That's what the Scripture said.
41:55 All people have this problem.
41:59 The difference between Christians and non-Christians
42:02 is that Christians do something about it.
42:04 What they do is they come to Jesus.
42:06 "Just as I am without one plea,
42:10 except that Your blood was shed for me.
42:13 Just as I am, I come.
42:15 Oh Lamb of God, I come."
42:16 They come to Jesus to have it removed.
42:20 When I was having my ordination into ministry
42:23 my father was the man who had been asked to speak
42:27 for my ordination service.
42:28 I didn't know he was going to be there.
42:30 And Don Schneider had arranged for it.
42:32 And it was a wonderful treat and surprise to find my dad
42:35 showing up at my ordination.
42:38 I'll never forget what he said to me and the other pastor
42:41 who would be ordained that day.
42:43 He said, "I'm going to tell you a story about Aunt Zelda.
42:47 So, Lee, when you're uncle, my brother, and I
42:51 were just kids, we use to love to go to Aunt Zelda's house.
42:55 Because Aunt Zelda made some of the best homemade bread
43:00 you could ever want to eat.
43:03 Oh my, and she knew that whenever we came that
43:05 we would want to eat it.
43:06 So she would make it so that it would be timed just as we were
43:08 getting there, she'd know when we were going to get there,
43:10 she'd be pulling a fresh loaf of bread out of the oven.
43:13 And we'd smell it as we would walk in.
43:14 And she had her own garden with raspberries and strawberries,
43:18 and she made her own preserves fresh out of the garden.
43:21 And she had a cow, and they had their own butter and cream.
43:25 And she would smear some real butter onto that fresh bread,
43:29 and she'd put some jam on there."
43:31 And then he said, "It would have been terrible if she had just
43:34 eaten that in front of us.
43:38 Well she didn't do that.
43:39 No, she gave us slices.
43:42 That was good, that was better.
43:45 It would be even better if she gave us the whole loaf."
43:49 But he said, "There was something that Aunt Zelda
43:51 could have done to be even better than that.
43:53 She could give us the recipe for the bread
43:57 so that we don't have to wait to come to Aunt Zelda's
43:59 in order to have it."
44:01 And then my dad said, "Preacher, every time you stand behind a
44:06 podium, remember to talk about the Bread of life.
44:14 And talk about Him with such a fresh experience
44:16 you've come from the oven.
44:18 You've just pulled this loaf out because you just spent
44:21 fresh time with Him.
44:23 And you come and you describe what the bread tastes like
44:26 so beautifully, by the grace of God, that people start
44:29 salivating for Jesus.
44:32 And then after they've been attracted to them,
44:35 don't forget the second part.
44:37 Here's the second part.
44:38 Now give the recipe.
44:40 Give the recipe every time.
44:42 Never preach about the matchless charms of Jesus
44:46 without reminding people how they don't have to wait
44:49 until the next weekend in order to taste the bread.
44:52 And take them through it again, take them through it again."
44:55 Well, I haven't honored my dad's admonition
44:59 because we've been kind of going on a subject that
45:03 includes Jesus, but we haven't given much recipe.
45:06 We have talked about spending time with Him.
45:08 We have talked about being in daily fellowship with Him.
45:11 We have talked about the need for communion and union.
45:14 We've talked about an intimate personal relationship with Him.
45:17 But we haven't actually given the handles for it
45:21 to pick it up and run with.
45:23 And that's what I do full time.
45:25 We do a 13 part seminar.
45:27 It's called, All About Jesus, revival seminar.
45:31 And we unpack the handles and how to carry that relationship
45:35 into a personal experience that is tangible and real and solid.
45:38 But I have 11 minutes until we're going off the air.
45:40 And so what I'm going to do for you is I'm going to give you
45:43 a synopsis of a 13 part seminar in less than 11 minutes.
45:48 Because I want you to have the recipe as well as the bread.
45:51 Okay?
45:52 So we're going to put a little picture up
45:53 of a three legged stool.
45:55 That three legged stool represents a
45:57 personal relationship with Jesus.
45:59 There are three legs on the stool.
46:01 And each of those legs represents the ingredients
46:04 or the building blocks for a personal
46:07 relationship with Jesus.
46:09 Alright, in the seminar we have a special presentation
46:12 for each of the legs and some other stuff on top of it.
46:14 But in a nut shell, the first leg is Bible study.
46:18 But there's a very important caveat.
46:20 It is Bible study for the purpose of
46:23 getting to know Jesus.
46:25 This is huge.
46:27 I can't over emphasize how huge this is.
46:29 He told us, "I'm giving you this Book."
46:31 Remember, "You search the Scriptures because
46:33 in that you think you have eternal life,
46:34 but these are they which testify of Me.
46:36 And yet you don't come to Me that you find life."
46:38 See, He's saying, "This Book is a love letter
46:40 from My Father and Myself.
46:42 This is what We use to commune with you,
46:44 to fellowship with you, to grow in a personal
46:46 intimate walk with you.
46:47 I didn't give this to you so you could prove that
46:49 you're on the winning side of the debate.
46:50 I gave this to you so that you and I
46:52 can become better friends."
46:54 So it's Bible study for the purpose of getting to
46:57 know Jesus better.
46:58 On a daily basis.
47:00 Okay, this is the recipe for bread.
47:01 This is the recipe.
47:03 The second leg of the stool is prayer,
47:07 for the purpose of communion with God.
47:12 This is hugely different from prayer because I'm in trouble
47:14 and I need help.
47:16 This is not 911, this is not the emergency number.
47:20 Jesus is good about being there for help.
47:23 He's good, He's okay with that.
47:25 But He wants to do far more for you and me than simply
47:28 answer our troubled needs.
47:30 He wants to be our friend.
47:32 He wants us to experience the joy of friendship with Him.
47:37 He wants us to know Him.
47:43 And so He says, "Could we talk?
47:46 Could we talk?
47:48 Let's talk."
47:49 And begin talking with Jesus as one would talk with a friend.
47:55 When I talk to my friends, I don't spend the conversation
47:59 asking for favors.
48:02 When I talk with my friends, I say,
48:04 "So, you know, what's been going on?
48:10 What do you have to share?
48:11 Here's what I have to share.
48:13 Oh, I love that story.
48:15 Tell it to me again."
48:17 And as you use the Word of God while you're in prayer,
48:20 you'll discover that you'll hear His voice speaking
48:22 to you through these pages.
48:23 He says, "My sheep know My voice."
48:26 And we've been told that the Bible is as surely
48:31 the voice of God as if we could hear Him with our own ears.
48:36 That's a direct quote.
48:38 So there He is.
48:39 And He's waiting to talk to you and to talk to me.
48:41 So prayer becomes an interactive experience
48:44 with God and His Word.
48:46 That's the second leg of the stool.
48:47 This is called, a relationship with Jesus stool.
48:49 The third leg of the stool is share.
48:52 As you begin to get more excited about a friendship with Jesus,
48:55 you have something to share.
48:56 Now you have something to share.
48:58 If you don't know Jesus, you don't have anything to share.
49:00 If you don't know Jesus, all you have to share
49:02 is information and facts.
49:03 That's all you have.
49:04 You have to know Jesus before you can share Jesus.
49:09 Sharing Jesus is something more than
49:11 giving out a piece of paper.
49:13 Sharing Jesus is saying, "Let me tell you what
49:15 Jesus means to me."
49:17 Remember those demoniacs?
49:20 Jesus cast them out into the pigs and then the people come.
49:22 And you know that story.
49:24 And then they say, "Would You leave us,
49:25 because You're hard on the local economy."
49:27 So Jesus is leaving and the demoniacs say,
49:29 "Could we go with You," and Jesus says to them...
49:31 I believe this is witnessing 101 taught by Jesus.
49:35 The book of Mark.
49:37 And He says, "No, I want you to go home to your friends
49:41 and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you."
49:45 That is witnessing 101.
49:47 And you know what?
49:48 When you tell people what great things the Lord has
49:50 done for you, nobody argues with you.
49:52 This is amazing.
49:54 If you try to prove to someone that you are more correct
49:57 than they are, they dig in and they come back with their
50:00 counter arguments.
50:01 But if you tell someone what Jesus means to you,
50:04 what He's doing in your life, the transforming power
50:07 of His grace, how He has given you victory in this or that,
50:10 besetting sin, and you share this fresh experience
50:14 of release and freedom and joy in Christ,
50:16 they don't argue.
50:17 They go, "Really? Is that real?
50:21 I mean, you can have that kind of walk with God?"
50:24 I was doing a seminar in Oregon and I said this.
50:30 I said, "You know, when you tell people what Jesus
50:32 means to you, they don't argue," and there was a young man...
50:34 Well I call him young now that I'm almost sixty.
50:36 I call him young.
50:37 It's amazing how that young looks like as you get older.
50:39 And he was a young fellow, he was probably about 35 or 40.
50:43 And he had a family sitting there with him.
50:47 And when I said, "You tell people what Jesus
50:49 means to you and they don't argue," he said,
50:51 "Got that right.
50:53 Eighteen years on crack, Jesus set me free.
50:57 And when I tell people what He's done for me,
50:59 they don't say, 'I would disagree with that point.'
51:02 They say to me, 'How can I know your Jesus?'"
51:05 They are attracted to a Person who has
51:08 power to transform lives.
51:12 So the third leg of the stool is you start spilling over
51:15 about what Jesus means to you.
51:18 That's the third leg.
51:19 This isn't rocket science.
51:21 This is three things; Bible study, prayer, and share.
51:23 But you know what?
51:24 It's the three things that most of us find very difficult to do.
51:28 It is simple to describe, it is difficult to do.
51:31 And the reason it's difficult to do is because every time you
51:33 get serious about spending quiet time alone with God,
51:36 the devil is going to get serious about
51:37 giving you some distraction.
51:38 Because he knows when you're doing that,
51:40 you're doing the one thing that's needful.
51:42 Remember what Jesus said to Martha?
51:44 He said, "What Mary is doing is the one thing that's needful."
51:46 That's the one thing that's needful.
51:49 And so when you go after the one thing that's needful,
51:51 the devil goes after you.
51:53 And he will use stuff... This is amazing to me.
51:56 I use to think the devil was all about trying to get us to be
51:58 evil, wicked, mean, mad, and nasty.
52:00 Actually, the devil doesn't care whether you're naughty or nice.
52:03 Doesn't matter to him.
52:05 He's perfectly happy to have you nice,
52:06 as long as you are not in friendship, fellowship,
52:10 relationship with Jesus.
52:11 You can be as nice as you want, because one day
52:13 you're going to be lost for eternity being nice.
52:17 You'll be one of the nicest people who are destroyed.
52:20 "Well isn't he nice."
52:23 We're not saved for being nice.
52:25 We're saved for being in relationship with Jesus.
52:27 John 17:3, "This is life eternal, that they know Thee,
52:31 the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent."
52:34 This is life eternal.
52:35 It's who you know. It's who you know.
52:38 Jesus is saying, "You want to go to heaven?
52:40 I'll tell you how to get eternal life.
52:42 You've got to know the right people.
52:43 You have to have friends in high places."
52:48 A policeman stopped a woman for speeding and
52:50 he's looking at her driver's license.
52:53 He said, "Ma'am, it says on your license that you're
52:54 suppose to wear you glasses to while you drive.
52:56 So we have two infractions; you're speeding
52:58 and you're not wearing your glasses."
52:59 And she said to him, "I have contacts."
53:03 And he said, "Lady, I don't care who you know.
53:04 You are suppose to wear glasses."
53:07 Well he had a different conception of "contacts"
53:09 than she had.
53:10 You want to go to heaven, you're going to have to have contacts.
53:14 And now I'm not talking about eye wear.
53:16 You have to know Jesus, you have to know His Father.
53:18 And that doesn't happen by accident.
53:20 It happens by the three legged stool experience
53:22 very deliberately and very intentionally on a daily basis.
53:25 That's how it happens.
53:26 And we people who work for Jesus...
53:28 I'm talking now about a preacher here.
53:30 I'm talking about myself.
53:31 The devil is going to do everything he can to
53:33 make that difficult for me to do, because he knows
53:36 if I don't have that going...
53:40 ...it's curtains, man, it's curtains.
53:43 So he will get me so distracted with trying to work for Jesus,
53:49 visit for Jesus, call for Jesus, preach for Jesus,
53:53 study for Jesus, that I don't take time for Jesus one on one.
53:58 The three legged stool.
54:01 It's not optional.
54:03 It's the basis of the Christian life.
54:07 You're never going to know someone
54:08 you don't spend time with.
54:10 And knowing Jesus is what eternity is based on.
54:16 Well, I'm going to end on a little trinity of quotations.
54:27 The first one comes from a book called, Faith I Live By.
54:30 "I saw another mighty angel commissioned to descend
54:32 to the earth to unite his voice with the third angel's..."
54:35 Now we're talking about this fourth angel that says,
54:37 "Come out of her."
54:39 "...to unite his voice with the third angel and give power
54:42 and force to that message."
54:44 So this voice, this shouting angel, is giving power
54:48 and force to the three angels' message.
54:51 See this is...
54:52 I'm here at 3ABN.
54:54 Three Angels Broadcasting Network.
54:58 And this angel is bringing his voice to add power
55:02 to the three angels.
55:05 This broadcasting network is determined to declare it
55:07 before the world.
55:09 He adds his voice to give power to their message.
55:11 "The work of this angel joins in the last great work
55:14 of the third angel's message as it swells to a loud cry."
55:17 That was the first one. Here's the second one.
55:19 Testimonies, volume 6, "The message of Christ's
55:21 righteousness is to sound from one end of the earth
55:24 to the other to prepare the way for the Lord.
55:27 This is the glory of God.
55:28 This is what's going to close the work of the third angel."
55:31 The third angel's message gets closed by a focus
55:35 on the righteousness of Christ and His matchless love.
55:39 That's what closes the work.
55:40 And one more, Letter to Battle Creek.
55:55 He crowds out the self in me and creates in me
55:59 a Christ-like dependence and character.
56:03 "Many have lost sight of Jesus."
56:06 Oh dear, how could we let that happen?
56:28 I'm helpless to rid myself of Babylon.
56:32 But one of His priceless gifts to the helpless human agent
56:36 is His own righteousness, His own power,
56:38 Hs own transforming love.
56:44 Which is to be proclaimed from
56:46 Three Angels Broadcasting Network.
56:50 And I thank God for the proclamation that
56:52 goes forth from this place.
56:58 Praise You, Jesus.
57:00 He's going to get it done.
57:01 And when He gets it done, we're going to go home.
57:03 When we go home we're going to go, "I know You."
57:06 And He's going to say, "I know you too.
57:09 And I came for My friends, and I'm so glad you're one of them."
57:12 Lord Jesus, I've got ten seconds to say
57:15 thank You for being our friend.
57:18 We want to be friends with You from now until You come.
57:22 Amen.


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Revised 2014-12-17