Participants: John Lomacang (Host), Pr. Cory Jackson
Series Code: FDOF
Program Code: FDOF000020A
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00:18 Hello and welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:21 My name is John Lomacang, 00:22 I am your host 00:23 for this broadcast of Dare to Dream 00:26 and our Foundation of Faith series. 00:29 If you have missed the last three messages, 00:33 I can only hope that the Lord will somehow give you 00:37 an opportunity to catch up with those wonderful messages. 00:40 First one we heard was from 'Rags to Riches,' 00:43 'Give it one more shot,' 00:44 'The breaking before the blessing.' 00:46 And Pastor Cory Jackson, really, 00:48 has allowed the Lord to inhabit 00:49 his heart and to cause him 00:52 to be a mouthpiece for the kingdom of God. 00:55 We have been so blessed. 00:56 Can we all amen to that? 00:57 We have surely been blessed here. 00:59 And Dare to Dream's purposes is to bring before you 01:03 Christ centered messages that uplift Jesus 01:07 and let each one of us know 01:08 that redemption is truly possible 01:11 through our Savior Jesus Christ. 01:13 The final message in this series 01:15 from Pastor Cory Jackson 01:17 is entitled "Didn't know that was lurking in you." 01:21 Now somebody may say, 01:23 "That's grammatically incorrect." 01:24 No, that's... That is linguistically 01:26 the way he wants to communicate it, 01:27 "Didn't know that was lurking in you." 01:30 And Pastor Cory Jackson 01:31 is a native of Chicago, Illinois, 01:34 but now he pastors the Burns Seventh-day Adventist 01:36 Church in Detroit, Michigan. 01:38 I'm sure that his congregation is supporting him 01:41 with hearty amens and the words of prayer. 01:43 He has really come a long way in his walk with the Lord, 01:47 raised in the inner city, 01:49 going through a journey of recognition, 01:52 one day the Lord grabbed him 01:53 and calibrated him for the work of the kingdom. 01:56 And we have been blessed because of that. 01:58 I've said this before, but if you've not been here, 02:01 if this is your first broadcast 02:03 that you're tuning into, 02:05 he was, as many young men 02:07 have been in this inner city, 02:09 was being influenced by the things of the inner city, 02:11 like the Black Muslims, the Black Panther, 02:14 and as he was planning to study 02:15 to be one of either of those, 02:17 the Lord turned him around and he said, 02:19 "I became a black pastor instead." 02:21 And God has really blessed this young man, 02:24 14 years in ministry, 02:26 he has three lovely children and... 02:29 But more than that, he's child of the most High God. 02:33 Also, our souls have been blessed 02:35 by a young man the Nassau, Bahamas area, 02:39 you will be blessed and surprised as you hear 02:41 the voice coming out of his humble frame, 02:43 Louis Cleare has blessed from night to night 02:46 and he's going to bring to us a message today 02:49 that truly talks about that fountain 02:50 that is never empty, 02:52 "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." 02:54 Following this ministry of music, 02:56 the next voice that you will hear 02:58 will be that of Pastor Cory Jackson. 03:15 Come Thou fount of every blessing 03:20 Tune my heart to sing Thy grace 03:28 Streams of mercy, never ceasing 03:33 Call for songs of loudest praise 03:40 Teach me some melodious sonnet 03:45 Sung by flaming tongues above 03:53 Praise His name I'm fixed upon it 03:58 Name of God's redeeming love 04:10 Hitherto Thy love has blessed me 04:15 Thou hast brought me to this place 04:23 And I know Thy hand will bring me 04:28 Safely home by Thy good grace 04:35 Jesus sought me when a stranger 04:40 Wandering from the fold of God 04:48 He, to rescue me from danger 04:53 Bought me with His precious blood 05:05 Oh, to grace how great a debtor 05:10 Daily I'm constrained to be 05:18 Let Thy goodness, like a fetter 05:23 Bind my wandering heart to Thee 05:30 Prone to wander Lord, I feel it 05:35 Prone to leave the God I love 05:43 Here's my heart oh, take and seal it 05:48 Seal it for Thy courts above 05:55 Here's my heart oh, take and seal it 06:00 Seal it for Thy courts above 06:26 Amen. 06:29 Can you say amen for Brother Louis, please? 06:31 Amen. 06:35 Every song he has sung today has followed in line 06:39 with what the sermon has been. 06:43 The interesting thing he is, 06:44 he and I had not talked before we came together. 06:48 So we had not met until we got here. 06:52 And it just shows how the Holy Spirit is in line 06:56 with the things we do once we surrender ourselves to him. 07:02 So happy Sabbath to you, again. 07:04 Happy Sabbath. 07:05 And good to see you all as we finish up 07:08 this last leg on this part, 'Foundations of our Faith.' 07:12 I have thoroughly enjoyed myself 07:17 and I've learned quite a bit each time I ministered. 07:20 So I want to thank those for 3ABN 07:23 and Foundations of Faith, more particularly, 07:26 Dr. Lewis for the invitation to minister. 07:29 Well, without further delay, we will get started. 07:33 Pastor Lomacang mentioned our subject today, 07:37 "You didn't know that was lurking in you." 07:40 So let us pray together. 07:42 Heavenly Father, we come again 07:44 asking for Your continual anointment 07:48 of this service within our Worship Center here 07:52 or around the world, and we pray, 07:54 Lord, that when it all said and done, 07:56 we would have taken all we've gained 08:00 and put it together to see 08:02 how You've been working with us and through us. 08:05 Bless us, Lord. 08:06 We pray, Holy Spirit, 08:08 do Your continual appointed work again, 08:10 touching the hearts of the people 08:13 and allowing Your Spirit to move upon me. 08:16 In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. 08:18 Again, just a little review as we're... 08:22 This final sermon today, 08:24 in terms of changes and, you know, 08:27 to give you something to think about. 08:30 You may call, you may reach, 08:32 and you've had a day, you may even wrestle, 08:35 but if that's not even enough, 08:37 or what if you don't reach those things 08:42 and the question becomes, 08:44 "do you think that God will the leave you alone?" 08:47 And I tell you the truth, absolutely not. 08:50 God is not one who likes to lose, 08:54 especially that which is so precious in His eyes. 08:58 So just for the sake of review, 09:02 remember, we're talking about character building 09:06 and changing who we are. 09:07 It's easy, again, to look at everybody else 09:11 and determine who needs to change, 09:14 but when we start looking at a retrospect of ourselves, 09:18 it can become very difficult. 09:19 2 Corinthians 13:5 simply says to "Examine yourselves 09:22 whether you be in the faith," prove your own selves. 09:25 So God expects that you to look at you, 09:29 not me, but you to look at you. 09:32 And I believe that if we spend more time looking at ourselves 09:35 and less time looking at others, 09:38 we would go further along in the Lord. 09:43 And so because we get to the point 09:44 where we think that we're okay because we don't smoke 09:47 or we don't drink or we don't party, that doesn't... 09:50 That's not your indicator that you've changed completely, 09:54 those are just outward things that have changed. 09:58 Any one can do that, a person who smokes too much 10:01 and is told, he can cancer, has to smoking, 10:04 and so you have to understand the epitome 10:09 this walk is having the Christian character of Christ. 10:13 And so in Ezekiel 36:26, we mentioned it before, 10:17 God promises to give us a new heart and a new spirit. 10:22 I think, all of us need a new heart and a new spirit. 10:26 He doesn't want that old heart that's cold, 10:28 but He wants that heart of flesh. 10:32 Romans 12:2 says, 10:33 "Be not conformed to this world, 10:34 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." 10:37 And it is what we think that's important. 10:41 Proverbs 23:7 says, 10:42 "So if a man thinketh, so is he." 10:45 And so whether we like it or not, 10:46 what ones think about themselves tend to demonstrate 10:49 who they really are. 10:51 And so we get that from volume 5, page 310, 10:54 which simply says, for the thoughts are wrong, 10:57 the feelings are wrong. 10:59 Thoughts and feelings combined make a moral character. 11:03 So our character is made up 11:05 by what we think and how we feel. 11:09 So you spend a lot of time thinking wrong things, 11:12 you spend a lot of time feeling the wrong way, 11:15 and you find yourself doing the wrong things. 11:18 And that's important because in the second volume 11:22 'Mind, Character, Personality,' page 670, 11:24 transformation begins with thoughts. 11:28 Thoughts is where it began, 11:30 and so we concluded with Christ's Object Lessons 11:34 page 69, "When the character of Christ 11:37 shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, 11:41 then He will come to reclaim them-- 11:43 proclaim them," excuse me, "as their own." 11:45 Oh, who, brothers and sisters, I can't wait for the day 11:49 that God's people who like Him totality. Amen. 11:51 I know a lot of that has to do with the latter rain, 11:54 but I can't wait 11:56 we can go into church and go among people 12:00 and nobody's talking bad about you, 12:02 nobody's not wanting to forgive you, 12:05 and folk not mad at you, 12:07 everybody smiling and speak to you, 12:09 and there's mercifulness everywhere. 12:12 I believe that that time 12:13 the church will explode in numbers, why? 12:16 Because now God can trust, 12:18 there's some folk can be cared for. 12:21 And so the day is coming. 12:23 And it can start with you 12:24 who's here and those who are around the world. 12:27 So as we begin part four this evening. 12:30 Proverbs Chapter 3, you know, 12:33 my little motto here is teach, preach, heal. 12:37 Proverbs Chapter 3. 12:41 Proverbs Chapter 3, and I am... 12:45 yesterday I was telling people in the back 12:48 before I came out that it's usually this time, 12:53 Pastor Murray, that we get done with church. 12:58 I'm not used to preaching twice so soon, 13:03 but I'm so glad to be here with you. 13:05 And I must tell you, I was correct earlier, 13:08 a gentleman came to me and said, 13:09 "I got a problem with one thing you said today." 13:12 And I told him, 13:13 "I'll never vow to say this again." 13:15 He says, "How is it that we have the same Father 13:18 and you say, 'we're cousins?'" 13:22 I said, "You got me there, buddy." 13:23 I said, "Never again, when I go some place, 13:26 I would say, 'These are my cousins.' 13:27 You're my brothers and my sisters." 13:30 Amen? Amen. 13:31 I really enjoyed that laughter, 13:33 and he just turned all red. 13:36 I just liked seeing that. 13:38 And I just turned all brown, and my brown is still here. 13:43 It just won't go away. 13:45 All right, Proverbs 3:5 says this, 13:51 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart," 13:55 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." 13:59 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart," 14:00 now we emphatically will say, we're doing that, 14:04 but if were honest, we're more on part B of it, 14:09 "And lean not on thine own understanding." 14:12 We tend to lean more on our, what? 14:14 Own understanding. 14:15 We trust the Lord to appoint, 14:18 but then we start leaning on this end. 14:22 God says, "Give me 10 percent." 14:24 You say, "Okay, Lord." 14:25 Your check is short, 14:27 you say, "Lord, can we negotiate? 14:29 Lord can we put this tithes on payment, 14:31 on lay away for a moment?" 14:33 You start leaning upon on your 14:35 understanding thinking that you can tell... 14:37 You can say, "God, I got you." 14:40 But we tend to trust 14:44 what we can see instead of trusting who He is. 14:49 "In all thy ways," verse 6 says, 14:50 "acknowledge him, 14:52 and he shall direct thy paths." 14:54 "Be not wise in thine own eyes." 14:59 We're gonna deal with that today. 15:01 "Be not wise in thine own eyes." 15:03 See understand this, 15:06 we can be in the presence of God, 15:09 but not be affected by His presence. 15:12 Let me say that again, 15:14 we can be in the presence of God, 15:16 meaning, we can come to church, 15:18 we can come to prayer meetings, 15:20 we can listen to sermon after sermon 15:22 after sermon, after sermon 15:25 and not be affected by His presence. 15:27 See, Lucifer was in God's presence, 15:30 but it did not affect him spiritually. 15:35 So it's possible to be in the presence, 15:38 but not affect by it, 15:40 and that's a dangerous thing. 15:43 Because sometimes we get so used to the monotony of things 15:46 that we've heard it before and sometimes 15:48 we hear sermon after sermon after sermon after sermon, 15:52 and it seem like it's not talking to you, 15:54 but listen to me closely, if you're listening to it, 15:58 it's for you. 16:00 No matter how good it is or how shabby it may be, 16:03 it's for you. 16:05 So the Bible says, 16:06 "Be not wise in thine own eyes. 16:09 Isaiah Chapter 55. Isaiah Chapter 55. 16:14 Isaiah, the 55th chapter. 16:19 Isaiah 55... Isaiah 55:8-11. 16:25 Isaiah 55:8-11, the Bible says it this way, 16:31 "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 16:33 and neither are your ways my ways,' says the Lord. 16:37 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 16:40 so are my ways higher than your ways 16:42 and my thoughts than your thoughts. 16:45 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, 16:48 and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, 16:51 and maketh it bring forth and bud, 16:54 that it may give seed to sower, 16:56 and bread to the eater. 16:57 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth." 17:02 It shall not return unto me void," or empty 17:06 "It shall not return unto me void or empty, 17:11 but it shall accomplish that which I please, 17:14 and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." 17:17 Now I really like verse 11, 17:20 'cause God says that when I start it, 17:24 I'm gonna finish it. 17:26 That may mean, you need to get broken, 17:28 but what He starts, He's gonna finish. 17:30 And it simply says that we can't understand 17:33 the workings of God. 17:35 So one of the things that I tend to do 17:37 when we come to the end of something 17:38 is to make sure that people are very cautions 17:41 and very aware and don't take this thing lightly 17:44 because there's a devil who does not just sit down 17:47 and lay down, he does not just sit down 17:52 and lay down and think that okay, 17:54 you then came to Jesus and you gave all your life 17:56 and so everything's gonna be smooth sailing, 17:58 that's not the type of devil we know. 18:01 He will even take a Sabbath break 18:03 and start stuff up at sunset. 18:08 And so you have to understand that God says what I started, 18:12 I'm gonna compete, but you have to be careful. 18:16 I want to take you to a story of Daniel Chapter 1. 18:22 Daniel Chapter 1, leads you to a point you 18:25 "Didn't know that was lurking in you," 18:29 can find out what that is shortly. 18:31 And everyone, listen to me now, 18:33 everyone has something lurking in them. 18:37 Whether they want to admit it or not, 18:38 but everybody got something lurking in them. 18:43 Daniel Chapter 1, and I'll read some verses and, 18:48 kind of, talk about what's going on, 18:50 I'm just gonna summarize some things, 18:52 and Daniel Chapter 1, 18:53 we know that Nebuchadnezzar invaded Babylon, 18:57 brought some subjects back from Jerusalem, 19:00 and verse 5 says, "And the king appointed them 19:03 a daily provision of the king's meat 19:05 and of the wine which he drank. 19:07 So nourishing them three years, 19:09 that at the end thereof they might stand before the king." 19:13 Verse 8, "But Daniel purposed in heart 19:17 that he would not defile himself 19:18 with the portion of the king's meat, 19:20 nor with the wine which he drank. 19:22 Therefore he requested of the price of the eunuchs 19:25 that he might not defile himself." 19:28 Verse 12, "Prove thy servants," 19:30 Daniel says, "I beseech thee, just give us 10 days, 19:35 and give us vegetables or pulse 19:37 to eat and water to drink." 19:39 Verse 15, "And at the end of the ten days," 19:41 the Bible says, 19:43 "their countenances were fairer and fatter in flesh 19:46 than all the children which did eat 19:48 the portion of the king's food." 19:50 Verse 20, "And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, 19:54 that the king inquired or questioned of them, 19:56 he found them ten times better than all the magicians 20:00 and astrologers that were in all his realm." 20:02 So point in simple is this, 20:06 Daniel and his friends were taken captives, 20:08 they were the smart ones. 20:09 The king says, they need to be on my diet, 20:12 listen here, because these boys, 20:14 which theologians believe, they were about 17-years-old, 20:16 when they were captured they understood 20:19 what they believe, 20:21 they said, "We're not gonna eat the king's food, 20:23 drink his wine. 20:25 Put us to the test and watch." 20:27 And after 10 days, the Bible says, 20:29 they were ten times wiser, the times stronger. 20:34 And the king gets his first impression 20:36 through the health message. 20:38 He realizes, there is something different 20:40 about these boys, so automatically 20:42 God is beginning to work 20:44 and Nebuchadnezzar just doesn't know it yet, 20:47 but he's already beginning to work in His behalf. 20:51 Daniel 2:5, the king has a dream, 20:55 and the dream disturbs him 20:57 and "The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, 21:00 'The thing is gone from me. 21:02 If you will not make known unto me the dream, 21:05 with the interpretation thereof, 21:06 you shall be cut in pieces, 21:08 and your houses shall be made a dunghill.'" 21:10 Now I don't know about you, but that's a heck of a dream, 21:13 that you got so mad, you are so bothered 21:17 that if your own people can't recite the dream, 21:20 you're gonna start killing them. 21:21 Now I've had some bad dreams when I've woken up, 21:24 but I've never thought to kill anybody from dream. 21:27 So it tells you off the bat that this dream 21:30 is something of a different nature. 21:32 Verse 15 says, 21:35 "And he said to the Arioch the king's captain, 21:37 Why is the decree so hasty from the king?" 21:40 This is Daniel talking, 21:41 "Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. 21:43 Verse 16, "Then Daniel went in, 21:45 and desired of the king that he would give him time, 21:48 that he would show the king the interpretation." 21:51 Verse 18 says, 21:52 "That they would desire mercies of God of heaven 21:55 concerning this secret that Daniel and his fellows 21:58 should not perish with the rest 21:59 of the wise men of Babylon." 22:02 Verse 32, "This image's head was of fine gold, 22:06 his breast and his arms of silver, 22:08 his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, 22:12 his feet part of iron and part of clay." 22:14 Was the dream, Daniel interprets the dream, 22:17 and verse 47 says, 22:19 "The king answered unto Daniel, 22:21 and said, Of a truth it is that your God," 22:23 is a big G of the little g's, 22:26 "and a Lord of kings, and revealer of secrets, 22:30 seeing that thou revealeth this secret. 22:32 The the king made Daniel a great man, 22:35 and gave him many great gifts, 22:37 and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, 22:41 and chief of the governors over 22:42 all the wise men of Babylon." 22:45 So point number two, 22:46 he's impressed again through prophecy. 22:50 He has this dream, 22:52 Daniel and his friends go into a all night prayer session, 22:56 reveals what the dream is to the king, 22:58 and the king says, "Oh, I'm so glad." 23:01 And I know Arioch was happy 23:03 because he helped preserve their lives. 23:05 See, if you stay right and live right, 23:07 you can help preserve somebody else's life. 23:08 Amen? Amen. 23:10 And so the king, again, is impressed by God. 23:14 Impression number two, the prophecy, just follow me, 23:18 we are gonna see this thing in a minute, third time. 23:22 Daniel Chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar decides, 23:26 he's gonna take the dream and interpret his way. 23:30 He thought, I'm gonna take the head of gold, 23:31 I'm gonna make it 90 feet tall. 23:33 Put it in the plain Dura, at the sound of the music 23:36 everybody bowed down. 23:39 Whoever does not bow down, guess what? 23:43 You'll get burned up. 23:47 And so verse 6 says, "Whoso falleth not down 23:51 and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst 23:54 of a burning fiery furnace." 23:56 Now because you're all family, 23:58 I'm gonna treat you all family. 24:00 Amen? Amen. 24:01 Verse 16 says, "Shadrach, Meshach, 24:04 and Abednego, answered." 24:07 Come on, now, 24:11 that's what it says, "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, 24:14 answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, 24:17 we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 24:20 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us 24:24 from the burning fiery furnace, 24:26 and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 24:28 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, 24:31 that we will not serve thy gods, 24:33 nor worship the golden image 24:35 which thou hast set up. 24:36 Then Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, 24:39 and the form of his visage was changed 24:41 against Shadrach, Meshach," And what? "Abednego. 24:45 Therefore he spake, and commanded 24:47 that they should heat the furnace 24:49 one seven times more that it won't be heated." 24:53 So he got so mad then he said, "Turn this fire up. 24:58 The brothers will make me mad." 25:01 If you read the rest of the story, 25:03 the Bible said that the men 25:04 who were taken them burned up. 25:06 Now you should... 25:07 Nebuchadnezzar to see some thing right there, 25:09 that these are some different brothers, 25:11 they're not the same type of men that used to. 25:15 Throws them inside the furnace, 25:18 Nebby looks in, and he sees four of them. 25:22 He says, "Man, I thought we threw in there." 25:25 it's four, now one looked like the Son of man. 25:30 And so what's interesting is this, 25:32 the only thing that was burned off 25:34 was the things that was binding them together. 25:37 You got to understand that when you're with Christ, 25:39 the only thing He'll burn off 25:41 is that's what binding you down. 25:42 God is not into seeing you bound down for nothing at all, 25:46 he wants you to be free, absolutely free. 25:49 He don't want the enemy 25:50 binding you down with anything. 25:53 Verse 28 says, "The Nebuchadnezzar spake, 25:57 and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, 26:02 and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, 26:07 and delivered his servants that trusted in him, 26:09 and have changed the king's word, 26:11 and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve 26:15 nor worship any god, expect their own. 26:18 Therefore I made a decree," I make a law, 26:21 "That every people, nation, and language, 26:23 which speak any other thing against 26:25 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 26:27 shall be cut in pieces, 26:29 and their houses shall be made a dunghill, 26:32 because there is no other God 26:34 that can deliver us after this sort." 26:35 Impression number three, 26:37 Nebuchadnezzar gets more serious with this thing. 26:42 He makes a law that God denies, 26:44 God doesn't ask for forced worship, 26:47 but he sees faithfulness and commitment 26:50 and he said from his mouth, he projects from his own mouth 26:54 that there is no other God out there. 26:58 Impression number three, 27:01 it seems like brother Nebby is making a change. 27:06 Now if you don't know Nebby is, 27:07 you haven't watched Veggie Tales. 27:10 In Veggie Tales you've got kids, 27:12 they call him Nebby. 27:14 I call him brother Nebby too. 27:18 Now you will think, after all these three interchanges, 27:21 health message, prophetic message, 27:23 faith and commitment 27:24 that this brother would see that there's a God in heaven. 27:31 But sometimes, just like us, it takes much more than that 27:35 for God to get our attention, 27:37 that even though we can acknowledge 27:38 that there's a God in heaven, 27:40 we will not follow the same God of heaven. 27:43 And brothers and sisters, I tell you, 27:44 that's tragedy in itself, when God has revealed so much 27:48 to His people in their lives and they still decide 27:51 that they're gonna do things themselves. 27:53 "Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, 27:56 and lean not onto thy own understanding." 27:58 I've talked to people and they explain to me 28:01 why they can't give them self fully 28:02 to the Lord right now, 28:03 and they're leaning on their own understanding. 28:09 Chapter 4 comes in, 28:11 now this where a little preaching takes place. 28:14 Chapter 4 comes in. 28:16 Now remember this, recap the first three chapters, 28:19 God is doing everything possible 28:22 to grab Nebby's heart, He's doing... 28:24 And He's using the people that's faithful 28:29 to grab his attention, but yet still, 28:32 Nebuchadnezzar wants to do things his way. 28:35 He wants to make sure that the prophecy of Daniel 2 28:37 does not come into existence. 28:40 How dare another kingdom come up under Babylon, 28:43 will never be. 28:47 Daniel 4:5 says, 28:53 "I saw a dream which made me afraid, 28:57 and the thoughts upon my head and the visions 29:00 of my head troubled me." 29:03 "Thus the visions," verse 10, "of my head in my bed. 29:08 I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth 29:11 and the height thereof was great. 29:14 The tree grew and was strong, 29:16 and the height thereof reached unto heaven, 29:20 and the sight thereof of the end of all the earth. 29:24 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, 29:29 and in it was meat for all. 29:32 The beasts of the field had shadow under it. 29:35 The fowls of heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, 29:39 and all flesh was fed of it. 29:42 I saw in visions of head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher 29:47 and an holy one came down from heaven. 29:50 He cried aloud and said thus, Cut down the tree, 29:54 cut off his braches, shake off his leaves, 29:57 and scatter his fruit, 29:59 let the beasts get away from under it 30:02 and the fowls from his branches." 30:05 Now he has these vivid dreams and he sees this large tree 30:11 and he see that at this tree, everybody is feeding up onto 30:16 this tree and then all of a sudden he sees 30:17 a holy one come down and just start cutting it off, 30:21 and things scattering thereabout. 30:23 Now any type of dream like that would just scare me to death. 30:29 And so he grabs Daniel again and he grabs Daniel again, 30:34 this time it's a little bit different, 30:37 this time it's more personal, 30:39 this time God has said, "I've had enough." 30:43 This time God is trying to help him understand, 30:45 "I'm trying to save you, Nebby. 30:48 I didn't just allow you to go capture Jerusalem 30:51 and bring back captives 30:52 just so that you can brag and boast, 30:54 but there's a purpose because 30:56 I'm a God who likes to save all 30:58 and don't want to see anybody lost. 31:00 He is that type of God, He has that type of resume, 31:03 He's not just King of the Jews, 31:05 He's King of the world. 31:07 He's King of kings and Lord of lords. 31:09 He's our sovereign God. 31:11 He's a merciful God. 31:13 He's a longsuffering God. 31:14 He's a God that is, is so sweet and so good, 31:18 but He's a God also that has a stopping point, 31:21 when His children are going too far, 31:23 he knows how to pull the chain back. 31:27 So he says, Nebuchadnezzar, I've helped you out to show 31:30 you three different impressions 31:32 and you still have not called, 31:34 and you still have not come to understand 31:36 what I'm trying to get to you. 31:38 So let me personalize it now. 31:42 Verse 22, Daniel tells him, 31:45 I can imagine with a shaky voice, 31:48 'cause he's talking to the monarch, 31:49 he's talking to the king and he says, 31:52 "It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong." 31:57 My mother used to say, "Boy, you have grown beyond 31:59 your britches. 32:01 You are a little bit too big for your britches now." 32:04 Now if you don't know what that means, 32:05 ask somebody who is older and has a color like mine, 32:09 or it doesn't matter. 32:10 But she said, "you've been grown out." 32:11 Or in other words, you've gotten too big for yourself. 32:15 "For thy greatness is down, and reacheth unto earth, 32:19 and thy dominion to the end of the earth." 32:22 So he explains to him that this thing now is personal, 32:25 it's all about you now. 32:29 Verse 27, he gives him some advice, 32:34 he says, "Wherefore, O king, 32:36 let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, 32:38 and break off your sins by righteousness, 32:42 and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, 32:45 if it be a prolonging of thy tranquility." 32:49 So he says, all right, king, here is the deal, 32:51 this thing can change for you, 32:53 but you just have to do two things. 32:55 How many things? Two things. 32:57 Two things, all you have to do is repent 33:00 and be merciful to the poor, that's it, seems easy enough, 33:04 but see, that's the most hardest thing 33:06 for somebody who is prideful. 33:08 That's the most hardest thing for someone who is boastful. 33:11 That's the most hardest thing for someone who is arrogant. 33:15 He says, King, all you have to do, look at it you all, 33:18 he says, all you have to do is break off your sins 33:21 by righteousness and your iniquities 33:23 by showing mercy to the poor. 33:26 That's all you have to do. 33:27 Now if God came to you in the night season tonight 33:30 and says, here's what I need you to do, 33:31 I just need to do these two things, 33:33 otherwise you're gonna die, 33:35 or otherwise, some thing is going to happen to you. 33:37 You'll probably jump out your bed 33:39 and start trying to work that thing out. 33:44 And so we would think that this brother who has acknowledged 33:50 that there's a God in heaven would do it. 33:54 Verse 29, 34:00 now if you look at verse 16, 34:04 it tells you to let his heart be changed 34:09 from a man's heart to beast heart. 34:13 He gives this prophecy verse 29 says, 34:16 "At the end of twelve months." 34:20 "At the end of twelve months." 34:21 Listen to me now. 34:23 God gave this brother a whole years 34:25 to get his act together. 34:27 At the end of twelve months, you know, I like numbers. 34:30 At the end of one year, at the end of 365 days, 34:36 at the end of 25 weeks, at the end of 8,736 hours, 34:42 at the end of 524,160 minutes, 34:46 at the end of 31,449,600 seconds, 34:52 he gave this brother one years to get himself together. 34:55 See there are times that God, He may say a prophecy, 34:58 but He gives you time to get your life together, 35:01 so after one years, 35:02 somebody has been through 1000 prayer meetings, 35:05 one year, they've been to church, one year, 35:09 they've heard 3ABN on the row, 35:11 one year, they've heard 'Dare to Dream,' 35:12 one year, they heard, 'Anchor of Truth' One year, 35:17 that he gives people one year to get yourself together, 35:20 one year to come off the club, 35:22 one year to stop being mean and nasty, 35:24 one year to get your life together, one year. 35:29 Tell me, we don't serve a merciful God. 35:32 One year to stop stealing, one year to stop conniving, 35:35 one year to stop hustling, one year to stop cussing, 35:38 one year. 35:42 One year, he gave him. 35:46 And this brother, at the end of twelve months, 35:48 stepped out in verse 30 and says, 35:50 "The king spade and said, Is not this great Babylon 35:55 that I have built 36:03 for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, 36:07 and for the honor of my majesty?" 36:09 Ellen White says in Patriarchs and Kings, 36:11 therefore a moment the prophecy 36:13 seemed to affect Nebuchadnezzar, 36:15 but overtime it starts wearing out. 36:17 You know how it is, we hear a sermon, 36:18 we have a week of prayer, we go to camp meeting, 36:20 and then that thing just stirs us 36:22 and it moves us and after a while 36:24 it just starts fading off. 36:28 Don't have the same effect that it used to have. 36:31 And we find ourselves going back 36:33 and doing things we used to do, 36:35 we have to be very careful of that, 36:37 'cause it's easy to slip back. 36:38 I tell people, you're just 36:39 60 seconds from being unconverted. 36:46 And the Bible says, "While the word," verse 31, 36:48 "was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice 36:49 from heave saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, 36:50 to thee it is spoken, 36:52 the kingdom is departed from thee." 36:55 Verse 33, "The same hour the thing was fulfilled upon 36:57 Nebuchadnezzar and he was driven from men 37:00 and did eat grass as oxen and his body was wet 37:04 with the dew of heaven, 37:05 till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, 37:07 and his nails like bird claw." 37:09 The man then lost his mind, he became a maniac. 37:15 One year, he had. 37:18 One year, he was given one year to call out 37:23 to Jesus, one year to reach, 37:26 one year to wrestle, one year to surrender, 37:30 one year to let go and let God in, one year. 37:36 And he decided to be a knuckle head and he says, 37:38 "You know what? 37:39 I'm Nebuchadnezzar, what you thought. 37:44 The Bible says that he went and lost his mind. 37:49 Scholars believe, he lost his mind for seven years, 37:53 hair became unkempt, fingernails, long. 37:56 For seven years, listen, one year, 37:59 and you lose your mind for seven years, 38:02 that's a long time, you all. 38:04 When you've had this over here for one year 38:06 and you lose your mind for seven years. 38:08 Listen, I've been around some folk 38:10 that have lost their mind. 38:11 As a matter of fact, I see them every Sabbath. 38:17 But I've been around some folk 38:19 who have literally lost their mind 38:20 and you can't reason with them, 38:22 you can't talk to them, 38:23 and it is, like you wonder what zone they're in. 38:28 One year, you all, listen to me, 38:30 don't ever take this thing for granted. 38:31 One year, seven years. 38:34 Listen, one year, 38:38 he's lost his mind. 38:42 Can you imagine, this is the king, 38:45 and Prophets and Kings says 38:46 that he was humiliated around the world. 38:51 God had to humble him. 38:55 Some of us, it's gonna take the beast to come out of us. 38:59 See, you didn't know that thing was lurking in you. 39:01 See, if you don't deal with you, 39:04 that thing that's lurking in you 39:06 is going to come out and when you look around 39:07 and you say, well, how did that come out? 39:09 Well, its been there. 39:11 It's just been lurking, you've been petting it 39:13 on the side when the sun set. 39:15 And so it's been lurking to come out. 39:17 So if you, if you sneak and watch pornography 39:20 then one time, it's gonna start coming out. 39:22 It's in there, it's been lurking. 39:24 If your meanness is there, 39:26 and it's going to come out one day, 39:28 then you're gonna try to fasten it up by saying, 39:30 you know what? I really didn't mean it. 39:31 Yes you did. It just came out. 39:35 See we all have something that's lurking in us. 39:39 If we're not careful, it's gonna come out of us 39:41 if the blood of Jesus does not swallow it. 39:45 We all got something in us, it's by God's grace 39:48 that we're not killers. 39:49 It's by God's grace, we're not murderers. 39:51 It's by God's grace, we're not thieves. 39:53 It's by God's grace! 39:56 We all have something that's lurking on the inside of us 39:59 that nobody sees but Jesus. 40:01 And this thing in Nebuchadnezzar was lurking 40:03 for a while and even though he acknowledged 40:06 that there's a God of heaven, 40:07 it was still on the inside of him. 40:10 And God had to help him lose his mind, 40:12 for he can realize how important it is. 40:17 My brothers and sisters, I get scared for us sometimes, 40:20 when we don't want to admit that we're challenged 40:21 by some things and we find ourselves lurking in the dark. 40:26 We wonder why this happened and that happened. 40:27 It's no accident, it's no mystery, 40:29 that thing has always been there. 40:33 All of us have a beast on the side of us. 40:35 Listen, every time I come to church 40:37 there's monkeys and tigers, oh my! 40:42 I don't have to... 40:43 Listen, I told my son one time 40:44 listen, you don't have to worry 40:46 about me taking you to the zoo, 40:47 you see it every week, son. 40:48 It's for your mission, I'm the zoo master, amen. 40:55 All you got to do is catch somebody on the wrong day 40:58 and still on one of them, big old corn, 41:00 it's gonna start coming out at you. 41:06 But we all got some lurking on the inside of us, amen? 41:10 We all got some that's on the inside, 41:13 if we're not careful. 41:16 Listen to me, if the story ended there, 41:20 we in trouble, 41:22 but in 2 Peter 3: 9 it says, 41:24 "The Lord is not Slacking concerning his promise, 41:27 as some men count slackness, 41:29 but is longsuffering towards us, 41:31 not willing that any," should what? 41:33 "Should perish, but that all should be," What? "Saved." 41:36 See I told you, God's was are not like my ways. 41:38 See, if that was me with Nebuchadnezzar, 41:40 I would have gotten rid of Nebuchadnezzar, 41:41 men are, you're not worthy, get up out of there. 41:43 But God says that my word would not come back void, 41:46 and because it won't back void, 41:47 He's gonna prosper that thing, so go to Job 14, 41:49 I want to show you something. 41:51 We're gonna come back to Job 14, 41:52 Job 14, just over a book or two 41:55 just go over right before the book of Psalms, Job 14. 41:58 Job the 14th chapter. 42:00 Or if you're at home, 42:02 you're trying to figure of what Job is, it's Job, 42:04 J-O-B, Job. 42:06 Job, Job, same thing. Job, Job 14, amen. 42:10 When I first came to the church, they said, 42:11 turn the book of Job. 42:13 I'm thinking, you spell that J-O-B-E something. 42:15 They said, Job, when they finally came out and spelt it, 42:17 that's Job, said it real loud, 42:19 tell you how ignorant I was in the church, 42:21 but they just said, Amen to the brother. 42:24 They figured out I was new, they didn't know no better. 42:27 I was like, that's Job! 42:28 All right, Job 14, are we there? 42:30 Verse 7, the Bible says, oh, I love... 42:33 Listen, there's a God that love, 42:35 He is so merciful, He is so kind, 42:37 He is so everlasting, I just love this God. 42:40 The Bible says, 42:42 "For there is hope of a tree, if it be," What? 42:45 "cut down," we're going to come back to that, 42:47 "that it will sprout again, 42:49 and that the tender branch there of will not cease. 42:51 Through the root thereof was old in the earth, 42:54 and the stock thereof die in the ground. 42:57 Yet through the scent of water it will bud, 43:00 and bring forth boughs like a plant." 43:03 I like that promise. 43:04 When you get down and out you need to garner that chapter 43:07 and put a old P, God says that at center of water, 43:11 not that water didn't touch you, 43:12 but when you smell like water is coming. 43:14 Oh, have mercy. Shoot! Shut your mouth! 43:17 Listen, it comes again, it re-sprouts again, 43:20 it comes alive again. 43:21 Listen, I don't know about you, 43:23 but when you're down and out 43:24 and you need just little water, 43:25 it do something to you. Amen. 43:29 Daniel 15... 43:31 Daniel 4, you're gonna see what I mean. 43:32 Daniel 4, listen, if he left it at Daniel 4, 43:35 see I'm encouraged by Nebby, 43:38 I'm encouraged that even if I may not call right 43:41 or even if I don't reach and, even if I have not wrestled, 43:44 God says, I can still tame you. 43:46 Listen to me now, I can... 43:48 Now it may take you going out your mind, 43:50 but He still can tame you. 43:51 Amen. 43:53 And for some of us, you're gonna have to loose your mind 43:54 before Christ get it. 43:58 Daniel 4, look at this promise here, 44:00 and I didn't read it on purpose. 44:03 Verse 15 says, same story he says, 44:05 "Nevertheless," I like when the Bible says nevertheless, 44:08 "leave the stump of his roots in the earth," 44:11 Oh, shoot you! 44:12 I thought I'll get you excited. 44:13 He says, "Cut down the tree, 44:15 but leave the root in the earth." 44:17 When the root is there that means 44:18 there is some hope that's left, 44:19 there's some sustain that's left. 44:21 He says, "Leave the root in the earth, 44:23 even with a band of iron and brass 44:26 in the tender grass of the field, 44:28 and let it be wet with the dew of heaven." 44:30 See, I like that part, C.A. Murray. 44:33 Here's the reason why I like it, he says, 44:34 "Cut Cory down, but save the root. 44:37 Cut him down, down off his anger, cut off his temper, 44:40 come off his impatience, 44:42 but, but, but don't chop him all the way down, 44:44 let his root stay in the earth." 44:46 And I like the part, it says, put a band around. 44:48 See, there's a guy in my church, 44:50 he's a tree trimmer, and a tree cutter. 44:52 He says, Pastor Jackson, you know what that band means? 44:55 That prevents you from cracking." 44:56 Oh, have mercy! 44:58 When he told me that, I almost lost it. 45:00 He says, Listen, cut down the tree, 45:02 but put a band around it 45:04 so it don't crack anymore, so it won't split into half. 45:07 See I got to chop him down 45:08 so I can him build him back up. 45:10 He may have to lose his mind, but, hey, 45:12 he's going to be built back up and much better. 45:15 Amen. 45:17 God never leaves us nor forsake us. 45:20 He may chop us down, but He's gonna build you up. 45:23 He may put you in solitary, but He's gonna build you up. 45:26 He may shake the stuff off your life, 45:28 but He's gonna build it back up. 45:29 And he says, "With the dew of heaven." 45:31 Oh, my goodness! 45:33 Oh! wish I had a witness in this place. 45:35 What the dew of heaven, let it be water, 45:38 Oh, Holy Ghost, yes sprinkle Your water upon me 45:41 so I can grow again. 45:43 Amen. 45:46 Nebuchadnezzar finally got it. 45:49 In verse 34 in that same text he says, 45:54 "And at the end of the days 45:56 I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes unto heaven 46:02 and my understanding returned unto me 46:05 and I blessed the most High God." 46:08 "I blessed the most High God 46:11 and praised and honored Him that liveth for ever, 46:15 whose dominion is an everlasting dominion 46:18 and his kingdom is from generation to generation. 46:21 And all the inhabitants of the earth 46:23 are reputed as nothing. 46:25 And he doeth according to his will 46:28 in the army of heaven, 46:30 and among the inhabitants of the earth, 46:31 and non can stay or restraint his hand and say to him, 46:35 "what are You doing? 46:37 "What are You doing?" 46:38 You can't say, "God, what are You doing?" 46:41 You don't have the power. 46:42 And he says, "At the same time my reason returned unto me, 46:46 and for the glory of my kingdom, 46:48 my honor and brightness returned unto me. 46:51 And my counselors and my lords sought unto me, 46:54 and I was established in my kingdom 46:56 and excellent majesty was added unto me. 46:59 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, 47:01 " No longer the fool in Daniel 1, 47:03 no longer the idiot in Daniel 2, 47:06 no longer the dummy in Daniel 3, 47:08 now I, the converted Nebuchadnezzar, 47:11 "Praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, 47:14 all whose works are truth and his ways justice, 47:18 and those that walk in pride, he is able to abase." 47:22 He said, "Oh, now I've had an experience. 47:24 Oh, now I've seen it one of the king said, 47:27 the coming of the Lord. 47:28 Oh, now I can understand why worked the way He did." 47:31 Why? 'Cause he's just trying to save us 47:34 and He had me lose my everlasting mind 47:36 so I can come to this place. 47:41 Tell me, we don't serve a good God? 47:43 That'd do what He can and what He won't to save. 47:46 I told you, God doesn't like to lose, 47:48 and He'll do anything to let you see 47:51 that He's the number one of your life. 47:54 He does not like to lose one bit. 47:58 And so I'm just thankful that Nebby 48:01 had another chance and we're told, 48:03 and it's by writing that from this moment, 48:06 Nebuchadnezzar became a Christian, a son of God. 48:09 Oh, he had to lose his mind and there's some times, 48:12 you all, we just have to lose it 48:14 in order to gain it back. 48:17 And as brother Louis comes out and sings this last song, 48:20 I want you to listen real closely to the words, 48:23 listen real closely to what's going on. 48:26 Because listen, some of us have to lose it 48:30 in order to gain it. 48:50 All to Jesus I surrender All to Him 49:03 I freely give 49:08 I will ever love and trust Him 49:17 In His presence daily live 49:26 I surrender all I surrender all 49:44 All to Thee, my blessed Savior 49:53 I surrender all. 50:06 All to Jesus I surrender 50:15 Humbly at His feet I bow 50:24 Worldly pleasures now forsaken Take me, Jesus, 50:37 take me now 50:42 I surrender all I surrender all 50:59 All to Thee, my blessed Savior 51:08 I surrender all. 51:17 I surrender all. 51:30 All to Jesus I surrender 51:39 All to Him I freely give 51:48 I will ever love and trust Him 51:57 All to Him I freely give 52:06 I surrender all 52:26 We come to point where the song indicated, 52:32 there's a need for a complete surrender. 52:35 Again, as I mentioned, sometimes 52:37 we look at the fact that 52:40 we've been in church, we've been exposed, 52:44 we've been around, 52:46 we've read our Bibles through 52:48 two or three times in a year. 52:52 Let me tell you this with no disrespect, 52:54 it doesn't matter how many times you read your Bible, 52:56 if it doesn't change you, 52:57 then you've wasted time reading it. 53:02 We've read those little red books, 53:05 they're not red anymore, they're little blue books, 53:07 but have we completely surrendered all to Jesus? 53:12 We have sermons after sermon, 53:14 we attend convocation after convocation, 53:18 and we hear this, we hear that, 53:21 and sometimes we just get immune to things. 53:26 And I'm here to tell you that the very thing 53:28 that happened to Nebuchadnezzar 53:30 could happen to either one of us. 53:33 The very things we read about in the news 53:36 can happen to us. 53:39 The very things that we pray about for others 53:43 can become us if we're not careful. 53:46 We're not immune to the situations 53:49 that take place around us. 53:52 And just because one attend church faithfully and weekly, 53:57 does not mean they're not susceptible to Satan's poison. 54:02 What we have to learn to do is to surrender all. 54:06 In 1 Corinthians 15: 31, Paul says, "I die daily." 54:13 When you wake up, one must wake up to die 54:17 because if we're not careful, our messages 54:22 breathe arrogance. 54:25 It can breathe arrogance to the individual 54:29 because of the prophetic messages that we know, 54:32 the health message we live by, the day in which we worship 54:36 and the times we live in, 54:41 baptizing daily 18 million strong 54:45 and those thing in itself, if we're not careful, 54:49 can make us arrogant. 54:51 The same as it was with Nebuchadnezzar. 54:55 So you can extol God 54:57 or you can say there's none other like Him, 54:59 or you can see the benefits of the health messages 55:02 and things of that nature, 55:04 but if you don't surrender completely 55:07 then how can God fix you? 55:11 And since I've been in this thing, 55:12 preaching faithfully for 14 years, 55:15 I've seen some folk that walked away, 55:18 they didn't want to give God all, 55:21 and I've seen folk on the inside, 55:22 struggle because they've been a part of this thing, 55:24 they've been born into it. 55:27 But it takes a complete surrender 55:30 to Foundations of our Faith of Christ, 55:32 of course, it is Christ. 55:34 But He wants to build upon that foundation 55:37 and He wants to build it in a ways 55:39 that the house looks like Him, 55:42 resembles Him, talks like Him, smells like Him, 55:46 dresses like Him, eat like Him, 55:48 worship like Him, all those things. 55:53 And so as you stand to your feet with me, 55:56 as you're at home, as you stand to your feet as well, 55:58 you can be in harmony with us. 56:00 I'm challenging each and every one of you 56:02 in this Worship Center. 56:05 I'm challenging each and every one of you around the globe, 56:07 that if you have not surrendered 56:09 your life to Christ, you ought to do it right now. 56:12 'Cause you find yourself in a situation 56:13 that is unheard of, but that thing's been lurking in you, 56:18 and because it's been lurking in you, 56:19 the enemy's gonna find the right time 56:21 to bring it out of you. 56:22 And so he studies one like a stealth bomb, 56:25 like a stealth helicopter, he's silent. 56:28 And Ellen White says, "Things don't come out quickly, 56:31 it's a slow process." 56:35 So now is your time to say, "Lord, 56:36 if there is anything in me, 56:38 I need You to kill it right now. 56:40 If there is anything lurking in me, Lord, 56:41 I need it to die. 56:43 Matter of fact, tell the Lord what it is 56:44 that's lurking in you." 56:45 You know what it is, I can't tell... 56:47 You know what it is. 56:48 God knows your heart, so your eyes are closed 56:50 and you'll tell Him right now, 56:51 "Lord, kill the thing that's in me right now, 56:54 that's lurking in me, whether it is gossip, 56:56 whether it is backbiting, whether it is jealously, 56:59 whether it is envy, whether it is pornography, 57:01 whether it is stealing. 57:02 You tell God what's in you right now. 57:05 Tell Him what's there so that that thing can be gone, 57:08 so that the blood of Jesus can drown that thing out. 57:12 Maybe you've got a heart that doesn't forgive. 57:14 Maybe you've got a heart that's conditional, 57:16 I don't know, it's time for you to tell God right now 57:19 before you lose your mind. 57:22 Lord, take it from me. 57:23 And as I pray with you that's here 57:25 and those around the world, 57:27 I am challenging you 57:29 to allow God's character to be in you in totality, 57:33 so that when he comes his character 57:34 shall be perfectly reproduced in us 57:36 so we can go home, you all. 57:39 Father, in the name of Jesus, we spend this time here 57:43 not just for program, Lord, but for ministry. 57:46 We pray that hearts would have been touched, 57:48 and souls would have warmed 57:49 and lives would have been kept by thee, Lord. 57:51 And so we're asking in the name 57:53 of Jesus that you answer this prayer in Jesus name. 57:56 Amen. |
Revised 2016-01-11