3ABN On the Road

Bad Press, Good Press

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Kelly Linder

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Series Code: OTR

Program Code: OTR000778


01:00 Hello. You got me again.
01:04 I'm gonna be doing a message with you today
01:08 entitled, "Bad Press, Good Press."
01:13 Another very important message.
01:16 As Adventist we should be in tune
01:18 with this sort of a message and hopefully most of us are.
01:22 Okay, but before I begin,
01:25 I need to set the stage a little bit.
01:28 So I want you to turn to
01:30 Deuteronomy 4:5-6.
01:37 Deuteronomy 4:5-6.
01:44 This should be if it's not already
01:46 a famous Adventist text. Chapter 4 verse 5 and 6.
01:54 I love this.
01:56 Moses says to the children of Israel.
01:59 "Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments,
02:02 just as the Lord my God commanded me
02:05 that you should act according to them
02:07 in the land which you go to possess.
02:10 Therefore be careful to observe them,
02:14 for this is your wisdom
02:15 and your understanding in the sight of the peoples
02:19 who will hear all these great statutes, and say,
02:22 'Surely this great nation
02:24 is a wise and understanding people.'"
02:28 You know, you think about what's being said there.
02:34 He got through Moses, he's letting the Israelites know
02:37 that if you follow Him,
02:39 you will be such an example of moral goodness and excellence
02:44 that the outside nations are gonna be drawn in.
02:48 You will fulfill your mission
02:50 as a light to the Gentiles, okay.
02:53 That's what you've been called to,
02:55 light to the Gentiles.
02:57 Now this doesn't end here.
03:01 People think, you know,
03:03 Israel separate from modern day Christianity.
03:06 They're two different things. No, no.
03:08 God has always had a plan and the plan has not changed.
03:12 It has not changed. He didn't have to fix it.
03:14 It was never broke.
03:16 And God's law is attractive, if it's understood.
03:20 The law of selfless love.
03:23 Turn to Matthew 5. Matthew 5.
03:34 Matthew 5:14.
03:39 Jesus says, "You are the light of the world.
03:44 A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
03:48 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket,
03:52 but on a lampstand, and it gives light
03:55 to all who are in the house."
03:58 This is the good one right here.
04:00 "Let your light shine-- so shine before men,
04:03 that they may see your good works
04:07 and glorify your Father in heaven."
04:12 See, this is good stuff right here.
04:14 I love the Bible. I love the Bible.
04:18 Jesus is saying, "Look, they're gonna see you
04:22 and they're gonna be drawn to your father through you.
04:24 If you really let your light shine in front of people
04:29 and the people will see.
04:31 You don't do it to be seen,
04:33 but you let it be seen that you're a follower of God.
04:38 And when they see that, they'll be drawn to it."
04:41 Okay, now set the stage
04:42 and I just want-- before we move on here,
04:45 I just want to ask for prayer.
04:48 So that they don't mess up, so that my voice holds out,
04:51 and so that I get the message across effectively.
04:55 So let's bow our heads.
04:58 Our dear, precious eternal, Father God, Lord, in Jesus name
05:04 I request that You would pour Your spirit out on me,
05:08 and do help my words to be clear as I pass them on,
05:13 the words that You told me, the words that You taught me.
05:16 Lord, and I thank You for this message
05:18 that I needed to hear.
05:21 And, Lord, I just pray that everybody else will be blessed
05:24 by the message that You give them.
05:27 Father, may we all walk away from here
05:30 with the renewed interest and being the best Christians
05:37 we can be to Your glory and honor.
05:41 And we ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, amen.
05:47 Okay, now as I said before
05:52 the title of this message is "Bad Press, Good Press."
05:59 And I want to begin it with an illustration
06:02 I think you're gonna--I think you're gonna be amused by.
06:05 Now, you know, about 10 years ago,
06:09 maybe a little longer than that,
06:11 I was working at a job in Inkster,
06:13 which is the city I grew up in, on the outskirts of Detroit,
06:16 and I was working as a security guard.
06:20 Now-- and the reason I had the job was 'cause I did--
06:24 I did a lot of work for my band, you know, I did all the artwork
06:29 and the writing and everything,
06:31 that was pretty, pretty convenient for me.
06:34 And that's why I worked there.
06:36 Now they had another guard
06:38 who worked on the other side of the building,
06:41 they had just hired him, they had just hired.
06:44 I hadn't even met the guy.
06:45 I don't--I had no idea what he looked like, nothing.
06:49 Well, as I'm sitting there one night in my shack,
06:53 I get a phone call, you know, I was working on something,
06:56 I don't know, I might have been on the phone,
06:58 I don't know.
06:59 But he calls, I get on the other line and he says,
07:03 "I'm got to be away from the desk for a few minutes."
07:06 So I said, "Okay." Gets off the phone.
07:09 A couple of hours later he calls me again.
07:13 Now remember I'm not a Christian when this happened.
07:15 He says, "I got to be away
07:17 from the desk again for a few minutes."
07:18 So I said, "Listen, man,
07:20 you ain't got to tell me every time
07:22 you got to go to the bathroom."
07:24 I said, "You just go ahead and go."
07:25 And the guy snaps at me.
07:27 He says, "I was told that I'm supposed to tell you
07:30 every time I go to the bathroom
07:32 and walk away from the desk!"
07:35 And so he snapped at me, so I snapped back.
07:37 And I said, "Listen, you,
07:38 blah-buddy, blah-blah blankety-blank.
07:40 I'll come over to you and blah-buddy, blah-blah."
07:42 And he hangs up the phone on me, okay.
07:44 So that's the end of the story for now, okay.
07:47 Now about 2½ months later,
07:52 my band had done a show out in the Jackson area,
07:55 big show, six bands, crazy, crazy.
07:58 And when my band had got done playing,
08:00 we still had plenty of time to,
08:02 you know, drink and get crazy, etcetera, etcetera.
08:06 And so that's what we did.
08:08 Before the night was over,
08:10 I ended up getting into a wrestling match
08:12 with one of the guys it was there, Nakima.
08:16 And in this wrestling match, I--I went charging at him
08:21 and I grabbed him around the waist.
08:23 And when I did that, he kind of kneeled over me
08:26 and grabbed me around my waist, and then the two of us did
08:29 somewhat of a Charlie Brown spin in the air
08:31 and when we came down,
08:33 he landed so hard on my ribs that they broke.
08:37 He broke my ribs.
08:38 Now for anybody who is listening to this.
08:43 If you've ever had broken ribs,
08:47 you know, I don't need to tell you. It hurts.
08:49 I mean, you can't-- you can't breathe long,
08:53 you can't sneeze, you can't cough, you can't laugh,
08:57 I mean, you can't do anything.
09:00 You can't do anything when you have broken ribs.
09:02 That's horrible.
09:04 So, I mean, I remember laying on the ground
09:05 after it happened the only thing I could say was.
09:09 I mean, I couldn't even talk, I couldn't breathe, nothing.
09:12 So anyway a couple of weeks after I had broken my--
09:17 I'm serious, not more than two weeks later
09:20 I finally meet that other security guard
09:25 who I had it out with on the phone.
09:26 So I mean here it is three months later
09:28 I've never met him.
09:29 So I'm at work with my broken ribs
09:33 and I show up to work and I go up to my shack,
09:37 my shanty, and this guy is there.
09:42 He is the guy I'm relieving. So he comes out of the shanty.
09:46 And I just tell you, this guy had maded
09:49 greasy hair like he just woke up,
09:52 his uniform was dirty and, you know,
09:57 he just-- he just looked like he was a--
09:59 he was a wreck as he came out,
10:00 and he had this very demented angry look
10:04 on his face, very angry.
10:07 And as he's coming out he says to me
10:13 "Are you the guy who bowled me out on the phone
10:16 at one time three months earlier?"
10:19 And I said, "Yeah."
10:20 And he goes, "Well, why don't we go
10:22 and discuss this outside of the gate.
10:24 We'll take care of this right now."
10:27 So, you know, I just couldn't back down from this guy,
10:31 I couldn't do it. I said, "All right, let's go."
10:33 So we went outside the gate and I misjudged this guy
10:37 because this guy started throwing those punches.
10:40 I knew immediately I was gonna get beat up,
10:43 and I did. I got beat up.
10:46 I got beat up so bad
10:48 that I finally was just laying on the ground
10:50 trying to guard my broken ribs.
10:52 Now as I'm laying there, I quit, you know, I quit.
10:56 I've got my ribs in this guy just keeps beating me
10:59 and pounding me and kicking me and punching me,
11:02 and I--and you know, I finally yelled up.
11:04 I go, "Get off from me you weirdo!"
11:07 And the guy says to me, and I kid you not.
11:09 This is exactly what he said.
11:10 He stops and I looked at him, I see him and he goes,
11:13 "You're right, I am a weirdo!
11:15 The Bible says we're strange and peculiar people."
11:18 And boom, kicks me again. True story.
11:22 And it was just like that, just like that.
11:25 Now--and the reason I told you the story.
11:28 I've had-- I can't tell you
11:29 how many stories I have that are similar,
11:32 but that one's awful.
11:33 Can you imagine?
11:35 Me having to go back
11:36 and tell all my tough punk rocker and hardcore biker
11:40 and all these different people I hung out."
11:42 Yeah, I got beat up by born again Christian the other day.
11:45 He was trying to convert me.
11:48 Anyway, but the point is this guy,
11:53 he presented me with a false "image" of who God was.
12:01 A false image of who God was.
12:03 But even then, now I wasn't a Christian at the time,
12:07 but even then I knew that he had it wrong.
12:13 I knew this guy had it wrong. And I was not impressed.
12:18 It was a false image, I was not impressed. Okay.
12:22 Well, let's think about the Great Controversy
12:23 for just a second.
12:25 Now God creates all of His creatures with freewill
12:29 because He wants us to love Him freely and intelligently
12:35 to chose to love Him, not just be program to,
12:40 I mean that means nothing. I love you, daddy.
12:43 I love you, daddy. I mean, that means nothing.
12:44 The thing that makes my children's love
12:46 valuable to me is in fact that they could choose to hate me
12:49 if they wanted to, but they don't,
12:52 they chose to love me
12:53 intelligently and willfully, willingly. Okay.
12:58 So God creates all creatures like that,
13:00 but unfortunately the byproduct of freewill
13:06 is the option to rebel. You have that option.
13:10 And God can't take it away, okay.
13:14 Prior to the fall of Satan,
13:18 nobody had ever explored that unexplored option.
13:24 Nobody had ever gone that route. And nobody knows why he did it.
13:28 He's called the mystery of iniquity.
13:30 To give a reason for, it would be to excuse it.
13:33 There is no excuse.
13:35 Why did you go that route?
13:37 How could you have gone that route?
13:39 What in a world were you thinking?
13:41 Where did that come from?
13:43 Okay. But he went that route.
13:46 Now I want you to imagine.
13:48 Satan comes back from exploring that option.
13:52 I mean, I'm just putting it in the nutshell,
13:54 but he shows up and he goes to the angels and he says,
13:59 "All right, listen. Okay, I know you're content."
14:04 By the way, this is a great argument.
14:06 I mean, I can't imagine what it might have been like for me,
14:09 if I'd been there hearing this argument.
14:11 He says, "I know you're content,
14:14 but the only reason you're content
14:16 is because you don't realize
14:18 there's a higher place you can go
14:21 and God does not want you to know
14:23 that you can go there 'cause He's selfish,
14:26 He's hogging all the glory to Himself.
14:29 He wants to keep you shackle down to His standard
14:31 or right or wrong. Right? This is what he comes out.
14:35 And look--he says, "Look, you guys, I have gone there.
14:40 And my eyes have been opened.
14:42 And I've gone to a higher place
14:44 and I'm no longer shackle down to that.
14:46 In spite of his selfishness, I've come to a higher place
14:51 and I have my own standard of right and wrong.
14:53 And look, I'm not dead, I'm not dead.
14:58 Maybe he can't kill me.
15:00 Who knows what he was thinking?
15:01 I mean, who knows what Satan was thinking?
15:03 Maybe He can't kill me.
15:05 You know, I've gone to that higher place, I become like God.
15:08 Maybe He can no longer kill me.
15:10 Maybe that's why He wanted to keep me
15:11 away from exploring that option in the first place
15:13 'cause He didn't want me to be equal to Him.
15:15 You know, anyway the point is
15:19 he comes after having explore that option
15:23 and he goes to those angels
15:26 and he presents to them an image of God that he devised,
15:31 a false image that he crafted.
15:34 This is what God's like. This is what God's like.
15:38 And of course, we know a third of them
15:41 were impressed, were impressed.
15:44 Two-thirds of them were not impressed
15:46 and they stayed back.
15:48 They said, we never had a reason to doubt God,
15:49 we're staying back.
15:51 One-third says, "Well, he does have a pretty good argument.
15:53 How do we really know?"
15:54 So they go. Very bad move. Very bad move.
15:58 And then we know he follows to earth.
16:00 He shows up in the garden, same exact argument.
16:04 Eve-- now did God really say
16:09 that you can't eat of every tree in the garden?
16:13 In other words, God's holding back something.
16:16 He's selfish, He's holding back something.
16:20 He's holding back that option.
16:22 She says, now we can eat of all the trees,
16:24 but the one if we eat of that we will die.
16:26 Satan says, "You will not die.
16:29 I'm not dead. I'm not dead.
16:32 But God doesn't want you to know
16:35 that in the day you partake of that fruit,
16:38 your eyes will be open,
16:39 and you'll be like God, knowing good from evil.
16:42 He wants to keep you shackle down.
16:43 He doesn't want your eyes to be open.
16:45 He doesn't want you to know that you can be as high
16:48 and as grand as He is." See, he does the same thing.
16:52 He presents that same false image.
16:54 From the beginning of time,
16:56 Satan has presented a false image
17:00 of who God is meant to make
17:02 a wrong impression or false impression,
17:04 but those who are true, those who are true seekers
17:07 and those who are truly committed
17:09 will not be impressed. Okay.
17:12 Now when it comes to falsely representing God,
17:20 I have to say and I think most people here will agree,
17:25 but the way-- the method he uses.
17:28 The most affective way
17:30 that Satan keeps people away from religion,
17:36 away from God I should say,
17:37 away from Christ is through religion.
17:42 See, we need to, you know,
17:43 I really believe we need to realize this all the time.
17:47 Satan has a vested interest in turning the Adventist Church
17:50 into just another denomination. That's not the case.
17:54 The Adventist Church has a special, special mission.
17:59 We're not just another denomination.
18:02 We can't afford to pretend that we are one.
18:05 We need to realize that.
18:07 Satan's very hard at work through false religion.
18:09 He is a counterfeiter, okay.
18:11 And he uses religion most effectively
18:13 to keep people from finding Christ.
18:16 He creates the false image of who God is in religion.
18:20 It leaves a wrong impression on those who accepted,
18:22 but those who are true seekers
18:24 and committed to Christ will not be impressed.
18:27 When I--back in those days when I was in my band.
18:30 We--we used to make fun of these guys
18:33 who were, you know, they were like
18:35 the Satan worship cheese metal.
18:38 You know, they had the big hair
18:39 and took themselves very serious
18:41 and their skin tightly at large.
18:43 Their black outfits and their upside down crosses.
18:46 We worship the devil, all this kind of stuff.
18:50 My friends and I basically laughed at them.
18:53 I thought, well they're just stupid.
18:55 We just thought what in the world you guys,
18:57 come on, it's a show.
18:59 If I knew them guys now, I would tell them, look,
19:04 "If you really want to serve your master well,
19:07 go join the ministry
19:09 'cause that's where his highest ranking officials are at,
19:13 keeping people away from God. Ministry, ministry."
19:18 I want to give a few examples. Okay.
19:22 You've turned on the TV however many times,
19:25 you find on the TV the "Televangelist."
19:28 The "Televangelists" are the modern day
19:31 equivalence of the-- the traitors in the temple.
19:36 Christ needs to drive them out with a whip.
19:39 These are the traitors in the temple.
19:41 You run into these guys, some of them are fake faith healers,
19:46 we need to call it what it is.
19:48 And I am unapologetic
19:50 when I state they're fake faith healers.
19:54 You have the prosperity preachers
19:56 that think that God's all about you making money,
19:59 that's the richest that Christ wants you to have, wrong.
20:03 It's very shallow, it's very superficial,
20:05 and it's more greedy than it is godly.
20:09 You have the prosperity, name and claim.
20:14 And, guys, when you pray God, give me a Cadillac,
20:16 you tell Him what color. This is ridiculous.
20:23 You know, and then you have people
20:24 who mean well, I think,
20:26 but they actually will reduce the Bible
20:30 to be just a psychology self help book.
20:36 Now I have to say since I've been a Christian,
20:39 I have come to realize
20:41 that this is a psychological self help book.
20:44 It has helped me-- helped me many, many times.
20:47 But with that said, it's way, way, way more than that.
20:52 I mean, that's an aspect of it.
20:54 There are other things that you get from this book.
20:58 A lot of other things.
21:00 So anyway, I see these "Televangelists"
21:02 and I asked myself, you know, even in the old days
21:05 it's just really what Christ had in mind?
21:09 Is this what He had in mind?
21:11 I mean, ask yourself that somebody
21:12 you might watch these--
21:14 these "Televangelists," and you might enjoy them,
21:15 but you got to ask them always, is this what Christ wanted?
21:22 Oh, yeah, there it is.
21:24 There is Christianity. It was always like that.
21:25 Even in Jesus day, He was just like these "Televangelist."
21:29 I don't think so. This is a method Satan uses.
21:32 This is the false image of God, meant to make an impression,
21:38 but the people of God will not be impressed by it,
21:42 and the true seekers of God will not be impressed by it.
21:45 Another method He uses is fanaticism.
21:49 I, you know, a lot of people don't know it,
21:51 but when I was a teenager for about a year
21:55 I was involved in a fanatical church,
21:57 a huge fanatical church.
21:59 I had a good friend in the church with me
22:01 by the name of Dave, okay.
22:03 Now Dave and I we didn't act fanatical,
22:07 but the truth is we felt guilty because we didn't act fanatical.
22:11 We thought we didn't have any guts.
22:13 We thought that we were shame to the gospel,
22:15 because we didn't act fanatical.
22:18 And there was a guy we knew in the church, name Bell,
22:20 who was a serious fanatic
22:24 and he was regarded highly in the church
22:27 because he was fanatical.
22:29 And we decided, well maybe this is the guy
22:32 we should hangout with, maybe some of him will rub off on us.
22:35 So we hooked with this guy
22:37 and we decided to go to the Fairlane mall over Inkster,
22:40 I mean over in Dearborn, and we walked into this place
22:45 and it was absolutely horrifying.
22:47 I mean, it was just awful.
22:49 This guy was walking up to every person he's seen.
22:53 I went, just wanted to go buy some records
22:55 or you know, look at some clothes or something.
22:58 He is walking up to every person he sees in the mall
23:02 and getting in their face and saying,
23:03 "Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?"
23:05 Brother, 'cause I'm telling you, if you don't there's gonna be
23:08 repercussions etcetera, etcetera.
23:09 And people are looking at him like he's insane
23:12 and here's Dave and I were embarrassed out of our mind
23:14 and feeling guilty for being embarrassed.
23:19 Well, now I look back and I'm glad
23:21 that I was embarrassed, I'm glad.
23:23 Now I want to read.
23:27 Fanaticism is a serious deadly spiritual condition.
23:31 I just want to say that.
23:33 Fanaticism is false zeal, counterfeit zeal.
23:37 I have to say, you know,
23:39 when I'm giving Bible studies, especially in prophecy,
23:42 when I'm teaching prophecy,
23:44 can I go deep into prophecy with people.
23:46 And I want them to be firmly rooted in it,
23:49 either church members or outsiders,
23:51 I want them to see who we are.
23:53 When I start teaching prophecy, I can tell you now.
23:55 Sometimes my-- I can start out lethargic
23:59 and as the study goes, my blood starts to--
24:01 starts to flow and then pretty soon I'm standing up
24:04 and I'm doing body language
24:06 and I'm--I'm just-- I'm hammering it in.
24:08 My actual physicality is altered by the truth.
24:12 And I call tell you it's not fanatical, it's genuine zeal.
24:15 Matter of fact, I have to calm myself down
24:19 so that I don't look ridiculous.
24:20 I have to go, take it easy, take it easy.
24:24 So I mean, I'm really, really into it.
24:26 But that's different, that's different.
24:28 Fanaticism is counterfeit zeal,
24:30 and you can spot it, you can see it.
24:32 When you see counterfeit zeal, you know, it's counterfeit.
24:36 I want to read this from Life Sketches page 85.
24:40 Fanaticism.
24:41 You wanna hear what a problem fanaticism is.
24:45 I was so happy when I came in the church and read this.
24:48 She says, "As I returned to Portland,
24:50 there were increasing evidences
24:52 of the desolating effects of fanaticism.
24:55 Some seemed to think that religion
24:56 consisted in great excitement and noise.
24:59 They would talk in a manner that would irritate unbelievers,
25:03 and have an influence to arouse hatred against themselves
25:06 and the doctrines they taught.
25:08 Then they would rejoice that they suffered persecution.
25:12 Unbelievers could see no consistency in such a course.
25:16 The brethren in some places were prevented
25:19 from assembling for meetings.
25:20 The innocent suffered with the guilty.
25:24 I carried a sad and heavy heart much of the time.
25:26 It seemed so cruel
25:28 that the cause of Christ should be injured
25:30 by the course of these injudicious men.
25:33 They were not only ruining their own souls,
25:35 but placing upon the cause--
25:38 placing upon the cause a stigma not easily removed.
25:43 And Satan loved to have it so.
25:45 It suited him well to see the truth
25:47 handled by unsanctified men, to have it mixed with error,
25:51 and then all together trampled in the dust.
25:54 He looked with triumph upon the confused,
25:57 scattered state of God's children."
25:59 And you know, what's interesting?
26:01 She says, "They're placing upon the cause
26:03 a stigma not easily removed."
26:07 What would she think now if she lived in our time?
26:09 What would she say? She was so right, so right.
26:14 So fanaticism, for me, that's a big one, that's a big one.
26:18 I absolutely despise it to be honest with you.
26:21 It makes me sick. Okay, I--all right.
26:26 Now I want to talk about the hell doctrine, okay.
26:31 You know, I think I said before in my testimony.
26:34 I had prayed to God that He would show me the right way.
26:37 I said, "God, I don't know the right way.
26:40 I know You exist.
26:41 Intellectually, it's undeniable."
26:43 Though it's unfathomable, it's also undeniable.
26:46 So but what-- what do I know?
26:48 I don't know the right way to go,
26:49 I need You to show me.
26:51 I throw my hands up and say, show me, show me the way.
26:57 And I also said, this is the point.
27:00 "Give me an indicator
27:03 that this is something worth looking into.
27:06 Adventism showed up in my life very soon after that
27:10 and the indicator God gave me
27:13 as a part of my prayer request answered was the hell doctrine.
27:19 I discovered that Adventist don't teach it
27:22 and they show me the truth about hell.
27:24 And when they show me that truth,
27:26 Christianity look that much more plausible."
27:29 And I said, "Maybe this is God's answer.
27:31 Maybe I should look into this."
27:32 And I looked into it and it was the right way.
27:35 But hell, I'm just saying I feel so,
27:38 so strongly about this.
27:41 Hell, the idea of the hell burns forever and ever
27:44 torturing you for all eternity
27:46 is so absolutely horrifying and so evil.
27:51 I mean, it would drive a person
27:53 absolutely out of their mind to try to comprehend it,
27:56 try holding a hot match to your finger for three seconds, okay.
28:01 Now imagine your whole body.
28:02 Imagine you putting your kids in--
28:06 you know, taking your kid's hand
28:08 and putting on the stove for five seconds.
28:10 Could you do that?
28:11 That is so unbelievably cruel
28:13 and yet God, our Father is gonna put us
28:16 into a place of eternal torment for all eternity.
28:18 I don't think so.
28:20 Now when I used to do door-to-door work.
28:25 I had a question on my survey, okay.
28:28 And I did a real survey.
28:29 I wanted to find out what people thought.
28:31 And on my survey, one of my questions was,
28:35 "Do you find it difficult to reconcile supposedly loving God
28:39 with the God that sentences sinners to an eternity
28:43 in the torturing flames of fire."
28:45 And I thought this was a good question.
28:47 I thought this will get a lot of people interested.
28:50 I was surprise.
28:51 I was shocked to find out
28:53 that probably about 90% of the people
28:56 I talked to said, "No, I don't have a problem with it.
28:59 They chose to go to hell." And I'd say, "No, they didn't.
29:04 Nobody would choose to go to hell."
29:06 And if God was as merciful as He says He is,
29:09 He wouldn't put them there.
29:11 He would just take the life away.
29:12 What's the point in teaching them a lesson
29:16 from which they could never had benefited from having learnt.
29:19 There's no point.
29:21 So anyway the hell doctrine,
29:23 I had a debate with a guy, one of my old jobs
29:26 and he and I were talking about this very subject,
29:31 and at the end of the conversation he says,
29:33 "All right, Kelly, tell me this.
29:35 If there is no hell, why should I be a Christian?
29:38 Why should I go on being a Christian?"
29:40 I said, "Man, if the only reason that you're Christian,
29:44 is because you're afraid of God frying you for all eternity,
29:46 then you're not one." It's true.
29:49 How can you be a Christian if that's your motivation?"
29:53 I mean, Romans 2:4 says, "It's the goodness of God
29:57 that leads us to repentance." The goodness of God.
30:01 See, I'm attracted to God's character,
30:03 that's what wins me over,
30:05 has nothing to do with punishment.
30:07 Well, there is-- there is a little bit,
30:09 there is a little bit of motivation there,
30:10 but by enlarge God's character has really won me over.
30:16 I see God is the most excellent thing
30:18 that it is possible to obtain.
30:20 I mean, it's everything I believe in it,
30:23 it's everything I want to be, okay.
30:26 So anyway Romans 2:4.
30:31 "The goodness of God leads you to repentance not hell."
30:33 The hell doctrine is Satan creating a false image
30:36 of who God is which makes a wrong impression,
30:40 but the true people of God
30:41 and the true seekers of God are not impressed.
30:44 They're not impressed. Okay. Cheap grace, legalism.
30:50 Cheap grace, I can earn my salvation, legalism.
30:54 I mean, cheap grace, Christ died
30:56 so that I can conveniently go on sinning
30:58 and still expect to eat from the tree of life.
31:01 Legalism, I can earn my salvation.
31:03 Righteousness by works,
31:05 but we know righteousness is not by works, it is by faith.
31:08 I have been won back over to Christ.
31:11 I have been won back over the evidence.
31:14 The witness is that God is good.
31:17 I've been won back to Him, He's reconciled me.
31:20 These two doctrines, cheap grace
31:22 and legalism are another false image,
31:26 meantally make a wrong, a false impression on people,
31:29 but the true people of God
31:31 and the true seekers of God are not impressed.
31:34 And finally, 'cause I can go on and on all day.
31:37 But this is the final one I wanna use.
31:38 During the Dark Ages, the church,
31:41 "The Church" in the name of "Christ"
31:45 murdered so many-I mean, think about the martyrdom
31:48 and the tortures, Spanish inquisition,
31:50 the imprisonment, the fines, the war etcetera.
31:54 I mean, so many evil things.
31:57 I don't know if anybody here has read the book,
31:59 "Foxe's Book of Martyrs."
32:01 I did and I can say it was hard reading
32:04 not because it was wordy,
32:05 but because it was so absolutely horrifying.
32:09 I had to stop reading at two-thirds of the way,
32:11 I had to put it away 'cause
32:13 it was too hard to read, you know.
32:15 These are the things we're looking at.
32:17 Satan uses these things.
32:19 I've heard people say, "More wars have been in fought
32:21 in the name of Christianity than any other reason."
32:24 And sadly, that's the truth.
32:27 Okay, the devil misrepresents God,
32:29 does it through religion.
32:30 He creates a false image,
32:32 he crafts a false image of who God is,
32:36 meant to make a false impression,
32:38 but the true people of God
32:40 and the true seekers of God are not impressed, okay.
32:45 Satan in attempting to ruin God's image,
32:47 he creates a false image of who God is
32:49 with the intension of leaving a wrong impression
32:52 or making a mark on those
32:54 who accept this inaccurate portrayal.
32:57 There's two kinds of people that are impressed by this.
33:00 First, there is the people who accept this false image
33:03 and worship this false image,
33:05 but then there is the other group.
33:06 And these people are the ones
33:08 who are repelled by this false image
33:10 and they throw the baby out with the bathwater.
33:13 Satan loves it. Satan loves it.
33:16 Some people reject religion for all the right reasons,
33:19 and Satan loves it when they do.
33:23 Okay, now turn to 2nd Peter 2:1-2.
33:29 2nd Peter 2:1-2.
33:39 It says, therefore--I'm sorry, I'm on the wrong one.
33:42 2nd Peter 2:1-2.
33:48 It says, "But there were also false prophets among the people,
33:52 even as there will be false teachers among you,
33:55 who will secretly bring in destructive heresies,
33:58 even denying the Lord who bought them,
34:01 and bring on themselves swift destruction."
34:03 You deny God with your actions.
34:05 You can claim to be a Christian and pay Him lip service all day,
34:07 but you deny Him with your actions.
34:09 Action speak louder than words.
34:13 Verse 2, "And many will follow their destructive ways,
34:18 because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed."
34:24 These are the false prophets that are in the church,
34:26 they're among you and because of whom
34:30 the way of truth will be blasphemed.
34:33 Satan's false image makes its mark on the mind,
34:37 the core, the heart, the character.
34:40 And ultimately it's revealed in the behavior of those
34:44 who are impressed by it,
34:46 but God's people who truly know Him will not be impressed,
34:49 it will not make its mark on them.
34:52 God's people are to be a courtroom witness
34:54 of the true character of God.
34:56 They're to remove the obstacles of belief
34:58 and bring the baby back, bring the baby.
35:02 You don't wanna throw this away.
35:04 Now I believe and I know
35:06 that God will have people at the end of time.
35:09 An end time Elijah
35:10 who does a work of reform and restoration.
35:12 Jesus said, "Elijah is coming and he will restore all things."
35:17 And he's already come. Jesus said that.
35:19 We know there is an end time Elijah, right?
35:24 End time Elijah does a work of reform and restoration.
35:27 Elijah restores all things, working in correlation
35:31 with the cleansing of the sanctuary.
35:32 He repairs the altar, literally Elijah
35:36 and restores God's image in the minds of the people.
35:41 He prepares the way for Elisha, a type of Christ.
35:45 John the Baptist, another Elijah restores religion
35:50 and prepares the way for the first coming of Christ.
35:52 End time Elijah working in correlation
35:55 with the cleansing of the sanctuary
35:57 restores the true image of God in the minds of the people
36:02 paving the way for the second coming of Christ, okay.
36:06 Elijah restores God's image in the mind of the people
36:09 and gives glory to the true God of heaven.
36:13 Turn to Revelation 14:6-7.
36:20 Revelation 14:6-7.
36:29 Okay.
36:30 "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven
36:33 having the everlasting gospel
36:35 to preach to those who dwell in the earth,
36:38 to every nation, tribe, tongue and people.
36:41 Saying with a loud voice, fear God, and give glory to him
36:47 for the hour of his judgment has come.
36:51 Fear God, and give glory to him
36:55 for the hour of his judgment has come
36:57 and worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea,
37:00 and springs of water, give glory to him
37:03 the hour of His judgment has come."
37:05 What does it mean? 'Cause this is end time Elijah.
37:08 What does it mean to give glory to God?
37:12 Bible Commentary Volume 7 page 979,
37:17 that's Bible Commentary Volume 7 page 979,
37:22 "To give glory to God
37:24 is to reveal His character in our own,
37:28 and thus make Him known.
37:30 And in whatever way we make known the Father
37:33 or the Son, we glorify God." That's so important.
37:37 And I'm gonna read it again.
37:40 "To give glory to God
37:42 is to reveal His character in our own,
37:46 and thus make Him known.
37:48 And in whatever way we make known the Father
37:51 or the Son, we glorify God."
37:56 In what way does the true character of God
37:59 manifested self in us.
38:01 Jesus says, "By their fruits you'll know them."
38:04 And He also said,
38:05 "By this all men will know that you are my disciples
38:07 that you have love one for another."
38:10 Okay, it's the actions of love, the fruits of the spirits.
38:17 If anybody here has ever heard the quote
38:20 so and so is too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good.
38:26 Well, you know, I've heard it
38:28 and I understand what they mean by that quote.
38:31 What they're talking about there is,
38:32 the religious person who really doesn't go in the outside world,
38:36 really doesn't do anything, but go to church meetings,
38:38 go to church and, you know, as a part of all these
38:41 church functions etcetera, etcetera.
38:43 Yeah, I can understand that respect.
38:45 But the true, the person who is truly heavenly minded
38:50 will not be of no earthly good.
38:52 Let me read this. Another CS Lewis quote.
38:57 Okay, let me just find it here real quick.
39:02 Okay, 178.
39:04 He says, "If you read history
39:06 you will find that the Christians
39:08 who did most of the present world,
39:09 for the present world were just those
39:13 who thought the most of the next.
39:15 The Apostles themselves, who set on foot
39:18 in the conversion of the Roman Empire,
39:20 the great men who built up the Middle Ages,
39:22 the English Evangelicals
39:24 who abolished the slave trade all left their mark on earth,
39:28 precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven.
39:32 It is since Christians have largely ceased
39:34 to think of the other world that they have become
39:37 so ineffective in this.
39:39 Aim at heaven and you will get this world thrown in."
39:43 Free of charge.
39:44 Aim at earth and you will get neither.
39:47 And I couldn't agree more, couldn't agree more.
39:51 The Galatians 5:22-23.
39:59 Galatians 5:22-23.
40:07 The fruits of the Spirit.
40:12 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
40:17 longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
40:20 faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
40:24 Against such there is no law."
40:26 Character, the character of God, okay.
40:30 1st Corinthians 13:4-8.
40:34 I'm just gonna rattle off a few here.
40:37 1st Corinthians 13:4-8. Okay.
40:42 "Love suffers long and is kind love does not envy
40:46 love does not parade itself, is not puffed up,
40:49 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own,
40:52 is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity,
40:57 but rejoices in the truth,
40:58 bears all things, believes all things,
41:01 hopes all things, endures all things.
41:04 Love never fails."
41:08 You see, that's beautiful, that's beautiful.
41:10 Love is powerful.
41:11 It's been reduced in this world to be fluffy,
41:15 emotionalism and it does include emotion,
41:18 but love is powerful. Love is God.
41:23 Love is the character of the true God, okay.
41:28 Philippians 4:8.
41:32 Philippians 4:8.
41:34 I just got a couple more, so bear with me.
41:39 Philippians 4. I forget where it's at.
41:47 Oh, oh. Well, I'll just read it. I got it written right here.
41:53 It says, "Finally brothers."
41:54 One of my favorite text,
41:56 I guess I should know where it's at.
41:57 "Finally brethren, whatever things are true, noble,
42:01 just, pure, lovely, credible, virtuous, praiseworthy,
42:09 meditate on these things."
42:12 Christ reveals God's character by coming from the highest place
42:16 to take the lowest place.
42:18 Reveals God's love and self sacrifice
42:21 and God's just integrity in His life
42:23 of perfect obedience to God's law of selfless love.
42:28 And why did He do it?
42:29 Well, it's like we've been talking about.
42:31 He did it to duplicate God's image in us.
42:36 His excellence, His courage, His faithfulness,
42:39 His dignity, His purity, His integrity, His concern
42:43 and love even for His enemies. Okay.
42:47 On the other hand, down here at the end
42:50 we don't want to be caste in with the mainstream
42:56 who published the bad press, the bad press.
43:02 2nd Timothy 3:1-5.
43:08 2nd Timothy 3:1-5.
43:17 "But know this,
43:18 that in the last days perilous times will come.
43:21 For men will be lovers of themselves,
43:23 lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
43:28 disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving,
43:33 unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control,
43:37 brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty,
43:42 lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
43:44 having a form of godliness." You see that's the catch.
43:49 See, everybody reads and they think,
43:50 oh, these are worldly people. Well, yeah, they are worldly.
43:54 But they hide behind the title of Christianity.
43:58 They take the name Christianity and they take that name in vain.
44:04 They have a form of godliness, but they deny its power.
44:08 Of course they do.
44:09 All those actions speak louder than words.
44:11 They deny its power. Okay.
44:16 And then Paul goes on to say,
44:18 "From such people turn away."
44:21 Now that might seem harsh,
44:23 I mean we sometimes we compromise,
44:25 you know, we want to join our ranks
44:28 with people that are, from these,
44:33 you know, these other belief systems now.
44:37 It's our greatest privilege
44:39 to partake in the divine nature, okay.
44:42 And we want to do that,
44:44 but we can't damage our credibility.
44:47 That's why Paul says, I've nothing to do with them
44:50 because if I show up for study with somebody,
44:55 you know, somebody that I know
44:56 and bring with me somebody like that,
45:00 you know, like what we just described here.
45:03 What does that do for my credibility?
45:05 This person is claiming to be a Christian
45:07 and yet they are acting totally different
45:09 and I'm going oh, yeah, he's my buddy,
45:10 we're brothers in Christ. No, we're not. No, we are not.
45:15 And I'm not going to damage God's name by doing that. Okay.
45:20 And I'm not talking about struggling with sin,
45:21 we're all strugglers.
45:23 And I'm talking of our blatant disregard of God's law
45:26 out loud in the open.
45:28 I won't damage my credibility
45:30 by taking a person like that to a study with me, okay.
45:35 As I said before, our greatest privilege
45:37 to partake of the divine nature
45:39 and present Christ to the world through our own character
45:42 and allow God's true image to be reproduced in us.
45:48 And as God's press agents
45:49 we look for every opportunity for God's image
45:53 to be vindicated as it is reproduced in us.
45:57 People will see your good works
45:58 and glorify your Father in heaven.
46:01 See, I hope when I'm not around, I hope people will say,
46:04 Kelly Linder, yes, I know that guy.
46:07 Yeah, he's a Christian, but he's real, you know,
46:09 I mean he's a real Christian, you know.
46:12 He's the real thing, or you know,
46:15 Charlotte, she's a true Christian.
46:17 She's friendly, she's affectionate.
46:21 Pastor Bill, here's a guy, here's a Christian
46:23 who actually makes God look good.
46:26 Here's Jennifer Dollarhide.
46:28 She always looks for the best in other people.
46:30 She is always understanding. Okay.
46:34 Jose Skrobowski, my friend, okay.
46:37 He really knows how to back up his belief.
46:41 He has a reason that he can share with you
46:43 for his belief, okay.
46:45 And I can go on and on and on.
46:46 My wife Sonia Linder, you know,
46:49 people say behind her back people say,
46:52 wow, your wife is something else
46:54 and that's because as a Christian,
46:56 she always, always goes out of her way,
46:59 she always goes the extra mile.
47:02 And she does it unselfishly, not for the praise of others,
47:05 she does it unselfishly.
47:07 See, this speaks to people about our God.
47:11 These traits say something about the God we worship, you know.
47:15 See, I hope that when we're not around,
47:19 I hope people will say, I like those
47:23 Seventh-day Adventists, I like them.
47:27 They really seem to be genuine,
47:29 they seem to be true Christians.
47:32 What they promote make sense.
47:34 What they promote is attractive
47:36 and I'm attracted to their God, see.
47:39 And actually, you know, by saying that.
47:43 You know, the fact is that's what
47:45 our mission is down here at the end.
47:48 Our mission is to serve Christ in such a way
47:53 that when we're not around, the public opinion will be,
47:58 yeah, like the Adventists,
48:00 they have a bright light shining, you know.
48:03 The nations will say, surely this is a wise
48:06 and understanding people, you know.
48:09 Elisha is to restore that,
48:11 that's what end time Elisha does,
48:13 you know, This is what, this is what we need to realize
48:17 that our mission is down here at the end.
48:20 Okay, we're preparing the way for the second coming.
48:23 We're doing a work of reform and restoration.
48:29 And I've an appeal, okay. I've an appeal.
48:33 You know, a lot of people know me that one of the strongest
48:35 aspects of my ministry is and I believed God called me to is--
48:41 the fact that I can't, that I have a very hard time
48:43 stomaching what to me appears to be
48:47 just counterfeit in religion just, I mean,
48:50 you know, sometimes its so obviously counterfeit
48:53 and it makes God look so, so bad.
48:58 So I have to make the appeal, you know.
49:02 If you are in the church and you live a mediocre life,
49:09 you know, you attend all the church meetings.
49:16 You say all the right things.
49:18 You wear the clothes, you know,
49:21 you talk the talk etcetera, etcetera, okay.
49:25 You know, you're just another cog in the machine,
49:29 you know, just another conformist.
49:31 Your personality has been checked at the door,
49:34 you just come in and assimilated yourself to the collective.
49:42 You know, this is mediocrity, you know.
49:44 We've been called to higher standard
49:46 and if you're person who is religious
49:50 and doesn't care whatsoever,
49:52 has no concern with how God
49:54 is misrepresented by these injudicious men.
50:00 Then just keep doing the same thing you've always done,
50:04 because if you're unwilling to surrender,
50:09 all of these boring selfish character traits.
50:16 If you're unwilling to surrender those to Christ,
50:20 nothing is going to change.
50:22 It's not going to change.
50:24 And I would say, you might as well not be a religious person,
50:28 you might as well just go indulge and get married, okay,
50:32 because God wants the best from His people.
50:37 Daniel and his friends were found 10 times better.
50:43 This is what God calls us to.
50:45 Not boring mediocrity, not just going,
50:49 you know, going the extra mile,
50:51 that's what we're called to do, going the extra mile.
50:56 Always have it in mind, always think.
50:59 Christ is in my presence right now.
51:01 God is with me right now. How do I look to the people?
51:06 Not selfish, not.
51:08 How do I look, you know, that's totally different.
51:11 I'm saying, how do I look to the glory of God?
51:16 How do I look to the glory of God?
51:19 So if you're one of those people that just really doesn't care.
51:25 You just, you show up to church,
51:27 you're just a pew warmer, you know.
51:31 You are one of the choir that's been preached to.
51:33 Again just keep doing the same thing you've always done.
51:39 But the rest of you,
51:42 the rest of the people in this church, in God's church,
51:46 whether they're in the Adventist church
51:48 or whether they're in the other churches.
51:51 In your heart stand up
51:54 or even physically stand up and make your decision.
51:59 We want to be beautifully Christian.
52:02 We want to do incredible amazing
52:05 miraculous things in the name of Christ.
52:10 We want to have the fruits of the Sprit.
52:14 We want to be that light shinning on the hill.
52:19 A light of the world, the salt of the earth.
52:22 We want to be the light to the Gentiles, true Israel,
52:25 that we would have these character traits,
52:29 these laws, these statutes,
52:31 all these wonderful, wonderful characteristics of God.
52:36 This is who we want to be.
52:39 We want to surrender all of our weak,
52:41 cowardly, lazy, proud, unloving,
52:44 uncaring petty imperfection at His feet
52:48 to have Him to modify the deeds of our human nature,
52:53 our fleshly human nature to rise above human nature
52:59 and to partake in the divine nature to the glory of God.
53:05 To be true witnesses representatives of Him
53:09 to present to the world, the true image of God.
53:17 This is our prayer, isn't it?
53:18 Every morning, I want to-- actually I want to write out
53:21 every beautiful, incredible,
53:25 character trait that God has to offer,
53:27 when I write them all on a piece of paper
53:29 as many as I think of top to bottom.
53:32 This is what I want to do, I need to pray this prayer.
53:35 I need it, I need that excellence.
53:37 God give me that excellence.
53:38 And I want to fold it up and I want to lay it down
53:40 and I want to pray over God,
53:42 make me like this to Your glory.
53:45 I want to be Daniel.
53:47 May I dare to be Daniel to Your glory.
53:51 May people in this world look at us and go,
53:54 wow, I like these people, I like these people, you know.
53:58 You know what, in Proverbs, Proverbs 2.
54:03 We really want to read this, okay.
54:07 Proverbs 2. Going in the wrong way.
54:11 Hurrying, going to fast.
54:13 Proverbs 2, sorry, okay.
54:22 Sorry Proverbs 3:1-3.
54:28 "My son, do not forget my law,
54:30 but let your heart keep my commands,
54:34 for length of days and long life
54:36 and peace they will add to you.
54:39 Let not mercy and truth forsake you,
54:44 bind them around your neck,
54:46 Write them on the tablet of your heart,
54:49 and so find favor and high esteem
54:54 in the sight of God and man."
54:59 This is the design right here.
55:01 You know I want to mention.
55:03 Christ had credibility with those tax collectors,
55:05 sinners, prostitutes, drunkards and publicans.
55:09 He had credibility with them.
55:11 Religion has lost all credibility with them.
55:13 But when they met Him,
55:15 they said, whoa, this guy is different.
55:17 This guy is different. They saw He had an authority.
55:19 Actually that was my experience when I came into this church,
55:22 I said, this is different.
55:24 I saw an authority in here, I didn't see anywhere else.
55:27 I'm not going to apologize for saying that,
55:29 I'm not being arrogant, I'm stating a fact.
55:30 I was won over for a reason. Okay.
55:34 We want to partake in divine nature.
55:36 We want to be like Christ, plain and simple.
55:41 'Cause we may we publish the good press,
55:44 'cause down here at the end of time,
55:46 there is going to be a movement
55:47 that present a false image of who God is.
55:53 There is going to be a large number of people
55:54 that worship that false image.
55:57 They're going to force, try to force everybody
55:59 to worship that false image and whoever doesn't,
56:03 who doesn't receive that mark,
56:05 will go through a terrible trial. Okay.
56:09 We need to stand up and be those instruments of excellence,
56:12 so that we won't sell out and fall
56:15 when that testing time comes. That's what I want, okay.
56:19 I don't know if I'm there, but that's what I want.
56:21 Let's pray.
56:23 Dear heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for hearing us today.
56:27 We desire to be the best Christians You can make us.
56:31 We love You. We honor You.
56:33 We are absolutely won over to you.
56:36 Our God, You are so much more than the world can know,
56:39 so much more than we can know.
56:42 Lord, touch our hearts and strengthen us.
56:45 Fill us with Your Spirit we ask.
56:49 Help us to truly know and understand
56:53 exactly who You are and to be inspired by that
56:57 to become more and more like Jesus everyday
57:00 to have that dignity and that excellence and goodness.
57:07 Father, be with us,
57:09 we pray in Jesus name. Amen.


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Revised 2014-12-17