3ABN On the Road

Somebody Must Be Martha

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: C.A. Murray

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Series Code: OTR

Program Code: OTR000792


01:00 The fame that I might want and all the things
01:08 that seem so dear I'd rather have Him than any
01:18 praise That men may give to me I want Him
01:30 to have control And be the breath of life in me
01:40 I'd rather have Jesus I'd rather have Him than
01:49 anything As I go on through life with Him
02:03 There can be no other way I want Jesus
02:14 more than anything, more than anything. Amen.
02:36 That was absolutely incredible
02:38 and I don't want the quire to go anywhere.
02:40 We're gonna ask you to minister another
02:42 song for us, and as soon as they're finished
02:45 ministering. We're going to have pastor
02:48 C.A. Murray come and share our morning
02:52 worship service, but right now I would
02:54 like to introduce to you Girvan Coley, and he's a
03:00 gentlemen that I met out in the lobby a
03:02 little earlier and he had the most
03:04 incredible testimony. Tell us a little about
03:07 your testimony Girvan. Well at first,
03:10 the first I'm about this 12 feet satellite dish.
03:16 I didn't buy with no intention of being
03:18 a Christian; I bought because I wanted
03:21 to listen my Jamaican Reggae music and stuff
03:25 like that. Where were you living at the time,
03:27 when you bought? Still living Lauderhill
03:29 here, but I was. You were here in Lauderhill
03:30 and you bought one of those big 12 foot dish.
03:33 Big dish 12 feet dish, and it's so unfortunate
03:38 that I'm, this radio station came off the
03:41 air, because they couldn't support it,
03:43 I'm just running down the satellite this
03:47 Sunday evening saw Donny was interviewing
03:52 somebody and I said what and because I
03:56 wasn't an Adventist, my mother was and
03:58 some of my family but I wasn't into church,
04:01 I was always playing disco Satan playing
04:05 music, and running down the disc and I saw
04:09 this station and I said God, this is so you know
04:13 it was interesting and beginning to
04:16 listen to views and then I get stuck to it.
04:20 People get stuck on 3ABN quite often,
04:25 we're addictive. And by watching it,
04:29 I begin to realize that you know more
04:35 about I get more serious and then I
04:39 started to come to church. What church did you
04:42 start coming to? This Lauderhill church here.
04:43 Okay. And by coming to church, when the
04:48 elder who come to give me Bible study I told
04:51 I was ready he didn't have to, because I
04:54 already get both from 3ABN and bought
04:57 what I know that when I was smaller. So I
05:00 said to myself this got to be the church and
05:02 God has blessed me that since I've been
05:04 here, now I've become a deacon. Praise God.
05:08 And I'm happy, it's only pity that I wasn't in
05:12 here from the day I was born. Amen, amen.
05:15 And coming here I tell the people in Lauderhill
05:19 about 3ABN. Alright, thank you. I'm so
05:22 fortunate so many of us get stuck to 3ABN.
05:25 And we are so happy that 3ABN is here
05:27 today. Amen. Thank you very much Girvan,
05:30 thank you God bless you. We want
05:33 everyone of you to get stuck on 3ABN don't we.
05:36 You know the most incredible thing happens
05:39 I told you this a little earlier, when you get
05:41 3ABN in your community or in your life, a change
05:46 starts taking place. Girvan was speaking
05:50 of it, when he came to church, of course
05:53 the pastor wants to give you, your Bible studies,
05:56 but he said I'm ready, why was he ready
05:59 because he had been learning these
06:02 teachings, these truths that are so
06:06 important to us, by some of the best
06:08 Bible teachers in the Seventh-Day Adventist
06:10 church by watching Three Angels Broadcasting
06:12 Network. We get this testimony from
06:16 all over the world, people say, the pastors
06:19 will write and tell us people just walk-in off
06:22 the street ready for baptism. I believe this
06:26 is my confidence that Three Angels
06:27 Broadcasting Network is one of the greatest
06:30 evangelistic tools in the world today.
06:33 Amen. We just ask that you keep us in your
06:35 prayers. Well that wonderful choir now
06:38 is gonna to come back and minister and
06:40 then pastor C.A. Murray. He is just, we have
06:43 known him, he has been in 3ABN now
06:45 for two years, when he first came we
06:48 didn't know what we were gonna to do with him.
06:50 Now we don't know what we would do
06:52 with out him. We have found such a
06:55 servant's heart in him, and a man
06:58 that's really after God's own heart. So
07:00 after the choir Pastor C.A. will
07:02 come and minister the morning
07:03 service, God bless you all. Amen.
07:41 He's Worthy, God's Worthy, almighty
07:43 Creator, alpha, Omega, Beginning And The End.
07:48 Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which Was
07:53 And Is, and Is To Come. He's Worthy,
07:57 God's Worthy, almighty Creator, alpha, Omega,
08:02 Beginning And The End. Holy, Holy,
08:06 Lord God Almighty, which Was And Is,
08:09 and Is To Come. Hallelujah, hallelujah,
08:19 hallelujah, hallelujah. Blessing And Glory,
08:29 Wisdom And Power, God Of My Rock,
08:33 In Him Will I Trust. My Strong Tower And
08:38 My Refuge, Savior, Deliverer And Soon
08:42 Coming King. Hallelujah, hallelujah,
08:51 hallelujah, hallelujah. The King Will Come
09:01 In The Clouds With Great Power And Glory
09:06 With Him. Oh, But No Man Knows The Day Nor
09:10 The Hour, But We Await His Soon Return.
09:15 Hallelujah, glory, Glory, hallelujah, praise
09:23 His Name. Hallelujah, glory, Glory,
09:27 hallelujah, praise His Name. Hallelujah, glory,
09:35 Glory, hallelujah, praise His Name. Hallelujah,
09:41 glory, Glory, hallelujah, praise His Name.
09:48 Hallelujah, glory, Glory, hallelujah,
09:53 praise His Name. Hallelujah, glory,
09:59 Glory, hallelujah, praise His Name.
10:04 Hallelujah, glory, Glory, hallelujah,
10:10 praise His Name. Hallelujah, glory, Glory,
10:16 hallelujah, praise His Name. Hallelujah,
10:22 glory, Glory, hallelujah, praise His
10:27 Name, Hallelujah, glory, Glory,
10:32 hallelujah, praise His Name.
10:55 Amen. Thank you choir, thank you
10:58 so very much, thank you Mollie,
10:59 thank you Emily, thank you Melody.
11:01 Do you not feel the presence of a Lord
11:04 in this place? God is so very, very good.
11:07 Our time is far spend, and I was thinking
11:12 about doing something seasonal but I have a
11:14 burden that I want to sort of lay on you
11:16 today. During this time of year when
11:19 everyone is celebrating the birth of Christ
11:21 it is a season of the soul. This is a time
11:24 of year, when the hearts of secular
11:27 people are open to the Gospel. Amen.
11:31 And so I want to come from that mind set,
11:33 that framework as we deal with the subject,
11:36 somebody must be Martha. I ask you
11:41 to turn with me, if you will to the
11:43 gospel as written by Dr. Luke. Chapter 10,
11:48 and we shall consider as our platform text,
11:53 verses 38 through 42, Luke chapter 10
12:00 verses 38 through 42, now I'm gonna to
12:09 ask the sound man, John turn me down
12:13 just a little cause I'm starting to get loud
12:15 here in a few minutes and I don't want to
12:18 scream in anyone ears, not too much.
12:21 Luke chapter 10, thanks John 38
12:26 through 42, the word of God says now it
12:29 happened as they went that He entered a
12:33 certain village; and a certain woman named
12:36 Martha welcomed Him into her house.
12:40 And she had a sister called Mary, who
12:45 also sat at Jesus' feet, not a bad place
12:50 to be, and heard His word, but Martha was
12:55 distracted with much serving, and she
13:00 approached Him and said, "Lord, do You
13:03 not care that my sister has left me to
13:08 serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."
13:15 And Jesus answered and said to her,
13:19 "Martha, Martha, you are worried and
13:22 troubled about many things. But one
13:26 thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that
13:32 good part, which will not be taken
13:36 away from her." Amen. Somebody must
13:41 be Martha. Father God, open our ears
13:47 and our hearts to hear a word from the Lord,
13:55 because we need to see Jesus. It's all about
14:00 and always has been about Jesus. And so
14:06 now in this place at this time, around this
14:09 globe that you created, give us Jesus
14:13 and we thank you in his name, amen.
14:18 This is the second sermon in a series of
14:21 sermons that I've written about this
14:22 family I've studied this family thoroughly.
14:25 And I've really come to love them I think I
14:29 might have read a book if I ever get time,
14:31 and I put all of these messages in a book
14:34 the first sermon is identified by disease
14:36 the case of Simon the Leper. The second
14:39 somebody must be Martha, the third she
14:42 have done what she could that's Mary's
14:44 story. Lazarus story is called up he popped,
14:47 out he hopped dead man walking alive again.
14:51 Amen. And the last in the series born to
14:55 raise a fuss, the Judas in us. So I've
15:01 studied this family thoroughly I feel I know
15:04 them and I have found that one of the
15:06 most exciting and interesting ways to
15:08 study the word of God is study the
15:11 stories in the Bible. Amen. To study the
15:14 interplay, the characters in the Bible,
15:16 because when you study the Bible that
15:17 way the characters come alive. And you
15:20 see merit in your life and in their life the
15:25 same experiences, you find yourself going
15:27 through the same things and the same
15:29 experiences and you see as you watch
15:32 interaction, the interplay, the
15:34 interposition of God and their lives you
15:37 see that the same God who was patient
15:41 and loving and long suffering with them
15:43 is patient and loving and long suffering with
15:47 you. Amen. And you are forced to the
15:51 conclusion that God is good. Amen
15:54 Now you don't understand me. Yes.
15:56 Because God is not just good. God is
16:00 insistently good. God is incessantly good.
16:04 God is consistently good. God is
16:07 intransigently good. Amen! God is good
16:11 yesterday. God is good today.
16:13 God is good tomorrow. God is inexorably
16:15 good. God is implacably good. God is just,
16:18 he is just, he is just good. And every time
16:25 you read about God and how He treats
16:27 His children you are forced to the
16:29 realization that God is so very, very good.
16:32 This I must admit is my favorite family
16:34 in the Bible. We meet them fully grown,
16:39 we've got Lazarus who is the oldest. We've
16:42 got Martha who is the middle child and Mary
16:46 is the baby. By the way psychologist
16:48 say there is interesting dynamic that happens
16:50 when you have three or more children
16:52 in a family. Psychologist will tell
16:55 you that usually the oldest of the child
16:57 tends to be a little authoritarian and bossy.
17:06 That's because the oldest child usually
17:08 gets over parented. You know that's the
17:11 experiment child, that's the one you really
17:14 worried about. My sister is a great example,
17:17 she is a nurse. Bossy, one day I came home
17:22 and she had a dent in the front of the car.
17:24 I said Donna what happened he wouldn't
17:26 move out of the way. Type A Choleric
17:29 personality, that's the first born. Then you
17:31 have the baby. Psychologist tell you
17:33 that, they will tell you that the baby of the
17:35 family tends to be a little spoiled, a little
17:38 self-centered, a little self-willed because
17:40 they're under parented. You see by the
17:42 time you've had three, four, five, six children
17:45 you're so tired of saying clean up your
17:47 room and wash the dishes and you know
17:48 the baby's case and those of you who
17:50 are older children know that that last one
17:54 didn't get the same kind of parenting you got.
17:56 True, then you just wore your parents out so
18:00 that, that last that baby sort of escapes
18:03 a little bit. He gets by with murder,
18:05 but hardly enough the doctor I mean the
18:08 psychologist says that it is the baby who
18:12 usually are the entrepreneurs, the
18:14 inventors and the ones who take risks,
18:17 who will step out and do things that
18:19 the other two will not do, Danny Shelton
18:22 is the baby of the boys in the family.
18:24 And a baby is the one that usually
18:26 sets out and does wonderful things, then
18:31 you've got the middle child. The middle
18:33 child that I could say can be a little
18:36 schizophrenic, because he is not quite
18:39 sure what's going on. Sometimes he
18:42 gets parented, sometimes he gets neglected,
18:44 sometimes he is in charge of the family,
18:45 sometimes he's treat like the baby,
18:47 but interestingly enough, the doctor says
18:51 that genius tends to reside in that middle
18:57 child, and I should know because I'm a
19:05 middle child. So we've got Mary, Martha
19:12 and Lazarus and they lived in the city of
19:14 Bethany. We have no record of their parents,
19:17 their lineage. I found out just recently in my
19:20 research that Simon the Leper was their uncle
19:24 and that's very, very interesting. We don't
19:27 have time to go into all of that today, but with
19:32 Lazarus, it was love and faith in Jesus at
19:37 first sight. Lazarus greatly loved Jesus,
19:42 and the Bible says Jesus greatly loved
19:47 Lazarus. There were two men who just
19:50 bounded to each other and who loved each
19:52 other. I believe that Lazarus was Christ's
19:55 closest friend on Earth. They loved each
19:59 other, they cared about each other. Lazarus
20:02 was closer than even the disciples. He was
20:06 Christ's closest buddy on earth. What would
20:09 it be like us some one could say to you,
20:11 Jesus and you are best friends? You talk
20:15 about dropping in what do you know well
20:17 I know President Bush, who you know, Jesus.
20:26 Best friend on earth they loved each other
20:29 I mean Lazarus respected Jesus as Lord
20:32 and Savior, but more than that he just loved
20:34 him as a friend, close were Lazarus and Jesus.
20:40 And so Ellen White says he was often
20:42 at their house, he liked to go to this
20:44 particular house to relax. He could be
20:47 himself at this house, he could as it were
20:50 let us head down at his house. You know,
20:53 you know you like to go places where you
20:55 can relax. Where you're not challenged,
20:57 I remember as a young pastor go into a house,
20:59 visited a house and a lady had 100 cuckoo
21:02 clocks in her house. She had collected cuckoo
21:05 clocks from all over the world. Every hour on
21:08 the hour, 100 cuckoo clocks went off
21:10 cuckooing. You talk about bed now, but the
21:16 reason I remember the house is because while
21:18 we were waiting for dinner to come, she had
21:21 there on the coffee table a large golden or
21:24 bronze locust. I never seen something like
21:27 that in my life, and it was anatomically
21:31 collect, it had the wings and the head
21:32 and the thorax and the abdomen and all the
21:34 legs and these eyes bugging out and it
21:36 sit there waiting for dinner this locust is
21:37 staring at me. And so, we were talking about
21:42 it and I was closest one, I wanted to feel
21:44 if it was solid or hallow, so I picked it
21:47 up and I felt it was heavy she had got
21:49 it from Morocco or some trip to North Africa,
21:51 but when I put it down I put the locust
21:54 down facing away from me. And when
21:58 the lady came into call us to dinner,
22:00 I notice her eyes went right to that locust,
22:02 and then her eyes went to me. And then
22:07 she walked over, she picked up her golden
22:11 locust and then she planted it back down
22:13 on the table just like it was before.
22:15 See she gave me a message, and I got the
22:19 message. The message was keep your
22:22 cotton picking hands off my locust. So I,
22:24 but from then on I felt uncomfortable you know
22:26 you can't relax and I felt very, very
22:28 uncomfortable. Now I'm watching my step and
22:31 watching what I do, my point is Jesus like
22:33 to come to this house, because he could relax,
22:36 he could be himself, he wasn't challenge,
22:38 he wasn't threatened, he was believed in
22:41 this house and he was received in this house
22:43 and they loved him in this house what must it
22:46 have been like to have been Jesus. Never
22:50 get any peace, never get any rest, never get
22:53 any down time, never have time when you
22:55 can just be yourself. Pharisees looking at
22:58 your heels, Sadducees trying to trip you
23:00 up with your words, Scribes writing every
23:03 thing down not because they want to take it
23:05 home and study it, but they want to have
23:06 something to accuse you of, so they could put
23:09 you to death. And so Jesus liked to come
23:16 to this house. Hey, what if Jesus pulled a
23:19 Zacchaeus on your right now and said
23:21 I'm coming to your house right now. Would
23:24 you have to say Jesus give me about just
23:26 half hour head start. So I could go home
23:29 and clean out my refrigerator or my CD
23:33 rack or my video rack. Hmm, or maybe you are
23:44 saying because your house is not in the best
23:46 part of town. Well let me disabuse you
23:49 of that fear, because Jesus is not concerned
23:52 about your house. Amen. Jesus is far to busy
23:56 trying to get inside your heart. Amen.
23:59 And if your heart is clean you don't worry
24:03 about your house. He was born in a stable
24:05 and grow up in Nazareth so He is not fussy
24:08 about a accommodations, he is trying to get
24:10 inside your heart and if your heart open
24:12 he would be glad to come to your house. Amen.
24:14 And so Christ liked to come to his house,
24:17 because he was believed in this house
24:19 and received in this house and they follow
24:22 him and they listen. We know about Lazarus
24:25 and his love for Jesus. And Mary's love
24:29 was equal to that of her brother. Mary had
24:33 been so blessed by Jesus that when he came she
24:37 sat at his feet and hung on his every word.
24:41 Well why not, he had freed her from sin,
24:45 he had lifted her up, so she is transfix,
24:49 she is in froze, she is in ruptured,
24:51 every word is like dew in the morning from the
24:55 lips of Jesus. I know the kind of girl that
24:57 Mary was. I've studied her thoroughly.
25:01 Mary is kind of soft and dazzle and perhaps
25:05 easily led and maybe even a little naive,
25:09 but she is a kind of girl that puts her whole
25:12 heart into everything she does. She is a
25:15 kind of girl pastor make a great Christian, because
25:18 she doesn't do anything half way. She doesn't
25:21 have to when she puts herself into something;
25:23 she puts it in all the way. She gives her
25:26 all that's the kind of girl she is but sadly,
25:29 she has also the kind of girl that makes fairly
25:32 easy prey for a slick talking pair of pants.
25:41 And she met a slick talking pair of pants.
25:44 You know where she met Him, in church.
25:48 You know who he was, her pastor. He was
26:00 also her uncle. His name was Simon,
26:04 he is known as Simon of Bethany, Simon the
26:10 Pharisee, Simon the leper. You see, ladies
26:17 and gentlemen I cannot stress too strongly
26:19 you've got predators even in the church.
26:23 That is why, that is why, that is why
26:27 you've got to keep your eyes on Jesus.
26:31 Amen! You can lean too heavenly on
26:35 your pastor, on the elder, on the conference
26:40 president, on Danny Shelton, on your
26:44 humble servant or anybody else. You've
26:48 got to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, Amen!
26:51 because there are predators even in a
26:52 church. You got one church that is spent
26:55 $772 million trying to clean up pastor mal
26:59 fees. You know Ellen White says that one
27:03 out of every three in the church today is a
27:07 predator and unconverted and not ready
27:10 for Jesus to come, one out of three.
27:12 Now do me a quick favor, glance at the
27:14 person on either side of you. Don't stair
27:17 that's impolite, just glance. Now if you
27:20 didn't see a predator or other side.
27:32 Ellen White says in her monumental book
27:34 the Desire of Ages, Simon led her into sin,
27:37 her uncle, her pastor led her into sin.
27:41 Now Ellen White does not elaborate
27:44 on the precise nature of the relationship
27:46 between Simon and Mary, and I believe
27:51 that to the digest of your pure minds,
27:53 I will not speculate, safe to say. Whatever
27:58 the assignations were between Simon and
28:01 his niece, he did have an inappropriate
28:05 relationship with her and whatever kind
28:09 of shenanigans and older authority
28:13 figure can get into with a young
28:15 impressionable girl Simon evidently got into
28:20 with Mary and Ellen White says he did her
28:24 a great wrong, a great wrong. You see I
28:38 know the kind of girl Mary was. Mary is a
28:41 type of soft girl that if a fellow begins to
28:44 disabuse himself on a day, she would say
28:47 don't touch me don't, don't, don't, don't
28:48 put your hands on me don't, don't, don't
28:49 touch me don't do that, don't do that,
28:51 don't do that, but Martha's a little
28:52 different. You see somebody must me Martha.
28:58 Ellen White in describing Martha says
29:00 she was naturally positive and assertive
29:04 in personality. Amen. Naturally positive
29:08 and assertive. In other words, she stood
29:12 up for herself. Martha didn't back down
29:15 from anybody. Where as Mary was shy
29:18 and retiring and kind of dulcet and kind of
29:20 sweet, didn't want to break a nail, Martha
29:22 would break your neck. You see, again if a
29:28 man begins to do disabuse himself
29:29 on a day, Mary would say please don't
29:31 touch me, don't do that, don't, don't touch me,
29:33 don't handle me, don't, let's just read a Bible,
29:34 let's have our Bible study, let's be nice,
29:36 don't touch me but Martha will straighten
29:37 you out. See my words say unless
29:40 you what that I'm broken you need to
29:43 put your hand in your pocket. Amen!
29:49 She's positive she stands up for herself,
29:51 in other words Simon would have never
29:54 done to Martha what he did to Mary because
29:59 Martha wasn't that type of girl.
30:01 Martha would not allow any guy to abuse her
30:05 or to do that kind of thing. You see,
30:07 you push up on Martha you're gonna to get your
30:09 feelings hurt and your skull fractured.
30:17 Somebody must be Martha. We get some insight
30:21 into their respective characters at the death
30:23 of their brother Lazarus. Mary and Martha
30:28 both Bible says accosted Jesus.
30:31 Mary met him in town outside of the house,
30:36 but to show you that kind of person Martha was,
30:39 the Bible says Ellen White backs us up,
30:41 Martha met him on the road, Martha left town,
30:44 didn't let him get into town she met him
30:46 on the road. No greetings as you look
30:49 at John 11:21, no how you doing, how this happen,
30:52 how are things going and in describing
30:55 Martha's state of mind, Ellen White says
30:59 she met Jesus and the words she uses
31:02 is agitated, when Martha went out on the road
31:07 she met Jesus agitated. Now there's agitated
31:11 and there's agitated. Parenthetically
31:16 I need to say this; Martha is as converted as
31:24 Mary and Lazarus. I need to put a pin there,
31:29 there is some theology that tribes to pin her
31:31 as some Godless loose cannon, it is not true.
31:35 Martha is as converted as Lazarus and Mary,
31:41 but she is a different personality
31:44 and her brother is dead. This is a very close
31:50 family and the leader of the family,
31:55 the oldest boy is now dead, and the one man
31:58 who could have healed him, when he gets
32:02 the telegram, delays his leaving,
32:08 Bethany is two miles from Jerusalem, stops
32:14 and heals other people along the way
32:18 and then strolls into Bethany four days late.
32:23 Well, excuse me Martha is just a little ticked off.
32:32 And her anguish coalesces around one
32:38 repeating phrase, if you would have been here.
32:47 He wouldn't be dead. Jesus delay was purposeful.
32:55 You see the Lord does not cause pain unnecessarily,
33:01 Jesus had a plan. There was a lesson
33:05 he was trying to teach and the truth
33:08 is you sometimes can learn lessons in pain
33:15 that you cannot learn in pleasure.
33:18 You know you tell your child don't touch
33:20 the stove it's hot, don't touch the stove it's hot,
33:22 don't touch the stove it's hot,
33:23 you wear your lungs out telling him
33:25 don't touch the stove it's hot,
33:26 he touches the stove one time.
33:28 You don't have to tell him anymore.
33:33 Pain is a great insulator, I to this day,
33:37 I have a burn on my chest I was ready to take
33:39 my shirt off and show my muscles,
33:44 because when I was three years old,
33:46 my mother cooked us a pot of hot soup,
33:50 and my cousin was over there and he decided
33:54 at 5 we got to have some soup now.
33:57 So I pulled a pot of bowling hot soup
34:00 down on me, and six months and
34:03 several thousands dollars worth of skin
34:05 grafting later I left the hospital,
34:06 so now I have no time taste talent
34:09 inclination to be in the kitchen,
34:11 I hate the kitchen. Can't cooking
34:14 and don't want to learn? My wife cooks, Irma cooks,
34:17 I wash the dishes and I'm a very good dishwasher
34:20 she'll tell you. In fact, I rather wash them myself
34:24 than used the dishwasher, we have a running battle
34:26 about that she says put it in the dishwasher
34:27 and no I rather do it myself,
34:28 cause I'm so good at it, can't cook.
34:33 So pain is a great insulator it teaches us
34:36 lessons, but right now Martha is not concerned
34:38 learning any lesson. She is not concerned about
34:41 learning any lesson. All she knows is that
34:44 in that cold tomb is the rotting corpse
34:47 of what used to be her beloved brother
34:49 and her pain is crystallized and coalesces
34:52 around one repeating phrase, if you would have
34:57 been here, wouldn't be dead,
35:02 he wouldn't be dead. And then, Jesus response
35:10 in the shortest text in the Bible you know
35:12 it all John 11:35 two words, Jesus wept.
35:19 Now there are those who are watching who said
35:22 look at Jesus crying, he must be crying
35:27 because Martha turned that sarcastic, sardonic,
35:31 ebonic, bionic, tongue loose on him,
35:35 and he is crying for that, but I submit to you today
35:39 that's not why Christ is crying.
35:41 There were people plotting to take his life,
35:43 there were people plotting to kill him,
35:45 a few harsh words don't bother Jesus.
35:49 Yes, let's me tell you something parenthetically,
35:54 you can go to Jesus mad, you can,
36:00 you can go mad yeah. You won't stay
36:05 that mad long, because you can't stay mad
36:08 in the presence of Jesus, you will go angry,
36:11 you know sometimes we go through things
36:14 through life that just bother us,
36:17 you can say Lord it's not that I don't believe you,
36:20 it's not that I don't love, it's not that
36:22 I don't trust you, it' not that
36:24 I don't want to follow you, but I'm going through
36:25 some awful times here Lord and I just
36:28 want to know why. That is not so thin skin
36:33 that upsets him, because he's got the answer.
36:38 He knows, I mean just because we don't know
36:43 doesn't mean he doesn't know.
36:48 So you can go to him upset. It's alright;
36:51 you won't stay upset long. So he wasn't crying
36:55 because Martha was upset. Some were saying,
37:00 he is crying because his best friend is dead,
37:07 and I reject that theory, because when you can
37:13 dunk death like a basketball,
37:18 when you can kick death like a football,
37:22 when you can tell death where to go
37:25 and how far to go and when to stop
37:27 and when to leave, when death is your slave,
37:32 death is nothing to cry about. Jesus knew
37:37 what he was about to do, so he wasn't crying
37:41 for the dead, Christ was crying for the living,
37:45 and so Jesus says roll away the stone,
37:50 and Martha true to her nature.
37:52 You know she has always got to speak up,
37:54 roll away the stone? He's been in there four days,
37:58 do you know what that smells like?
38:04 But the stone is indeed rolled away.
38:07 And Jesus turns to Martha and says,
38:12 you are going to see your brother again
38:22 and Martha she can't contain herself,
38:26 because she is Martha. Somebody must be Martha.
38:33 You don't think I know about the
38:35 resurrection Jesus, I know about the resurrection,
38:41 I know all about the resurrection.
38:43 I preach the resurrection, I teach
38:46 the resurrection, I know the soteriology
38:49 of the resurrection, I know the ecclesiology
38:51 of the resurrection, I know the theology
38:53 of the resurrection, I know all about
38:55 resurrection, I live in the blessed home of
38:58 the resurrection. There is nothing anybody
38:59 could tell me about the resurrection.
39:01 I know and understand the resurrection
39:03 and Jesus had to stop her and midst
39:06 and say yes Martha what you will understand
39:09 is I am the resurrection and the life,
39:16 he that believes in me though he were dead
39:19 yet shall he live. Amen! The resurrection
39:22 is more than a dry theology.
39:24 The resurrection is living and breathing
39:27 and walking and talking, this is the resurrection
39:30 standing right in front of you.
39:31 It's the resurrection that's eating your food
39:33 and sleeping in your bed and walking these
39:35 dusty streets, is the resurrection.
39:37 I am the incarnation of the resurrection.
39:40 You want to know what the resurrection
39:41 is all about, look at me. You've been giving me
39:47 the theology of the resurrection.
39:50 Now I want you to understand the Dunamis,
39:53 the power of the resurrection.
39:56 Lazarus, get up out of that tomb
40:01 and up he walk and out he hopped,
40:03 still wrapped in his grave clothes
40:05 and Jesus said loose him and let him go. Amen
40:13 It's the power of the God we serve.
40:18 So we understand a little bit more now
40:20 about Martha, she's not a bad girl.
40:25 She just needs to know, like we need to know.
40:36 She is a servant, and if the church is to do
40:42 the will of God, we need to serve,
40:47 we need to serve, we need to serve.
40:51 Remember this, deeds of kindness tear down walls
40:59 of separation and open up avenues for salvation,
41:05 are you hearing me. Deeds of kindness
41:09 break down walls of separation,
41:14 open up avenues for salvation.
41:16 Now allow me to get iconoclastic
41:19 for just a moment, Because my thesis is this,
41:24 the Seventh-Day Adventist Church has been Mary
41:29 far too long. We've been married for 175 years.
41:41 Somebody must be Martha. Amen.
41:45 There is nothing wrong, ladies and gentlemen,
41:48 with sitting at the feet of Jesus. You got to sit,
41:53 you got to have before you go,
41:57 but our problem is brothers and sisters
42:00 we've been sitting too long.
42:03 Everybody wants to be Mary, we want to spend
42:08 all our time sitting at the feet of Jesus,
42:10 but if the works gonna be done,
42:12 if lives are gonna be saved,
42:15 if the world is gonna be lightened with the power
42:19 of the glory of God, somebody must be Martha,
42:25 been Mary too long. Mary is, and always been,
42:29 has always been the Diva of distinction
42:31 in the New Testament. We've lauded and applauded
42:33 her for sitting at the feet of Jesus,
42:35 oh yes, we need to sit at the feet of Jesus,
42:37 but once you sat, you've got to get up and get.
42:43 Forgive my pejorative English,
42:45 you need to raise yourself from your seat
42:49 and move into the street, because you are not
42:53 gonna save the world in here, if indeed all
42:57 we do is come and sit and sing and pray
42:59 and say oh how I love Jesus while thousands
43:03 are dying and going to Christ-less graves
43:05 we do ourselves and our God
43:07 an egregious disservice. Look at the story,
43:10 look at the story Mary is sitting, Mary is sitting
43:12 and Martha is running back and forth,
43:13 back and forth, back and forth, back and forth,
43:15 and every time she passes that living room,
43:20 there's her sister sitting at the feet of Jesus
43:26 and the pots are boiling and so is Martha,
43:32 and so it's like an Isle of Lucy comedy,
43:35 she filters her angst through Jesus.
43:38 Now that's her sister, she could have said
43:40 sis get up and give me a hand,
43:42 but she's trying to drive the nail in
43:44 so she says Jesus, tell my sister,
43:50 she was sitting right there. Jesus tell her
43:54 to get in here and help me. Now I want you
43:59 to lock down on what Jesus does not say,
44:05 its very interesting, His rebuke of Martha
44:08 is incredibly mild. In fact, it is not a rebuke,
44:12 it is not, look at what He does not say,
44:16 He didn't say Martha, you need to put those
44:21 pots down and get in here yourself
44:24 did you notice that, he didn't say that,
44:26 he didn't say Martha one thing thou lackest,
44:31 he didn't say Martha, you must be born again,
44:35 he didn't say Martha sell all you have
44:38 and follow me, it was an incredibly mild rebuke.
44:42 What Christ basically said was, Mary needs this,
44:50 and for her this is better, I am not gonna
44:55 take it away from her. You see Martha
44:58 didn't need it, because Martha already
45:02 had a connection with Jesus,
45:03 Martha was already strong willed
45:05 and firm in the faith, but Mary had been abused
45:09 by her uncle, and treated as dirt
45:13 and so Mary needed what Christ had to give,
45:16 Mary needed what Martha already had,
45:20 and so Mary had to stay at the feet of Jesus,
45:23 Martha already had that, there's nothing wrong
45:26 with serving people, there's nothing wrong
45:28 with hustling pots and pans and making your house
45:31 nice for people. First, you got to sit
45:35 at the feet of Jesus, but after you've gotten
45:37 what God has to give you, you got to get up
45:39 and share it with the world.
45:42 You got to set the table. We here in the
45:45 Seventh-Day Adventist Church are eating
45:46 a seven course gourmet meal
45:49 and the world is eating potato chips,
45:52 and we got to tell them Jesus saves.
45:55 Now, let me tell you something in just
45:57 a last few minutes, this comes from testimonies
46:00 volume 6, page 118 listen to this,
46:06 all who wok for God should have the Martha
46:11 and Mary attributes blended.
46:16 You got to have some Mary and some Martha,
46:20 one, a willingness to minister that's Martha.
46:25 Hey somebody must be Martha, and a sincere love
46:31 of the truth that's Mary, you got to love the truth
46:35 then you got to be willing to take the truth.
46:38 Mary and Martha blended together,
46:40 listen to this, self and selfishness
46:45 must be put out of sight. Amen.
46:49 If you're gonna for work for Jesus
46:50 you got to forget about yourself.
46:52 Self and selfishness must be put out of sight.
46:56 God calls for earnest women workers,
47:01 workers who are prudent, warmhearted, tender
47:06 and true to principle. As men and women,
47:10 he calls for persevering women as Martha,
47:14 who will take their minds from self
47:17 and their personal conveniences
47:20 and will center them on Christ.
47:24 You see Ellen White says it,
47:25 over and over and over again there is no limit
47:28 to the usefulness of one who put himself
47:31 aside opens up their heart for Jesus
47:33 and lives a life wholly dedicated to the master.
47:36 No limit to the one, when Danny started this thing
47:40 back in 1984. Let's let me just,
47:42 let me allow me this digression,
47:45 its just a some ecclesiological
47:47 obiter dictum, some eschatological
47:49 gastroenteritis, not in my notes,
47:51 just thought about this. 1984,
47:55 the Lord spoke to Danny and said,
47:58 build a television station that reaches
48:00 the world, carpenter, high school education,
48:03 no money. So you're either insane
48:11 or you know Jesus. In early 1800's,
48:19 the Lord spoke to a seventeen year old girl
48:22 and said start a Church and she began immediately
48:29 to preach, insane or you know Jesus huh.
48:36 You know, when I came to 3ABN I've spent
48:40 30 years in New York, pastor of a 2000 member
48:44 church, worked in a conference office.
48:45 Now I'm going to Thompsonville, Illinois,
48:47 what I can't even find on a map. Amen.
48:53 And I walk in for a prayer and praise day,
48:56 we start everyday up, Mollie will tell you
48:57 with prayer and praise, and Danny gets up
49:00 and says, we're broke, and somebody says
49:06 glory to God. We don't have any money,
49:13 praise the Lord, put it over my shoulder.
49:16 So I'm trying to see, he didn't say hope,
49:24 he didn't say rope, he didn't say soap,
49:29 he said broke. We don't have any money,
49:33 glory to God. So I'm figuring, maybe it's like
49:39 the Church, because the pastor will tell you that
49:42 the Seventh-Day Adventist Church never spends
49:43 every dime, never does, from general conference
49:47 on down, you spend 95 percent,
49:49 you budget 95 percent. So when the church says
49:51 we're broke that means we got five percent
49:54 we're not willing to touch. So I figured,
49:57 Danny's got five percent someplace,
50:00 he's not willing to touch, and he said no
50:03 we're broke, have any money
50:07 and they've been broke for 22 years.
50:11 Praise the Lord, amen, amen, amen.
50:14 World wide ministry, flat broke,
50:17 and everybody gets paid. Amen, amen, amen.
50:22 And everything is new. Yes.
50:25 I got a brand new laptop computer.
50:27 Mollie just got a brand new lap top computer.
50:29 She was playing with it last week,
50:30 Edward got brand new cameras,
50:32 brand new state of the art equipment. Amen.
50:35 Worldwide ministry, just put up a station in Papua,
50:40 New Guinea. Listen, listen, the station
50:44 went on air on Tuesday. Sabbath,
50:49 people started walking in the
50:50 Seventh-Day Adventist churches, Wednesday,
50:52 Thursday, Friday, Sabbath. Amen.
50:54 Four days walking in the Seventh-Day Adventist
50:57 broke, we don't have any money, but got vision.
51:03 Yes. Let me finish this. We have to center
51:08 on Christ, speaking the words of truth praying
51:10 with the persons with whom they can obtain access,
51:14 laboring for the conversion of souls.
51:16 Somebody must be Martha, see Martha is not
51:19 generic men can be Martha. Danny is a Martha.
51:25 I went to 3ABN, because God said get out
51:28 of New York, and get out to the cornfields
51:34 and serve me there and I wanted to be where
51:37 the blessings are, because I saw
51:40 the blessings of God on 3ABN. Amen.
51:43 On 3ABN, I am gonna depart from my sermon
51:46 for just a minute to tell you something.
51:47 Listen, it's such a powerful story.
51:50 You got a fellow in the Western Indies,
51:53 in Jamaica, sitting in a bathroom,
52:02 getting ready to kill himself, gun in hand,
52:06 getting ready to take his life.
52:09 He even got the door locked. Can't get in,
52:17 and he comes out for some reason and he turns up
52:21 the stereo because he doesn't want anybody
52:22 to hear the gunshot now he's getting ready
52:24 to kill himself but he's being consider.
52:25 So he turns up the stereo, so nobody can hear it.
52:30 Walking through the living room in the dark,
52:35 he knocks over the remote control,
52:45 he knocks over the remote control.
52:50 Now all of you from Jamaica, even I've been
52:51 to Jamaica 15 times I know all about Jamaica,
52:54 3ABN is all over Jamaica. Amen! So in the dark,
53:00 gun in hand, he knocks over the remote control
53:03 and bless your soul what's on.
53:05 3ABN. Amen! Praise the Lord.
53:09 Mark Finley is there, Mark Finley is there. Amen.
53:12 And at that time Mark Finley just happens to be
53:16 saying if you're thinking about taking your life
53:20 don't do it. And to punctuate the thing
53:27 one of our big studio lights explodes boom,
53:31 and a gun drops to the ground. Amen.
53:34 The gun drops to the ground. Amen.
53:40 Hey all, the gun drops to the ground,
53:47 and he drops to his knees. Amen.
53:52 And when he gets up from his knees,
53:54 he calls and he gets our pastoral department.
54:07 I can't even tell you no I have to tell you.
54:13 He's a theology student today. Amen!
54:16 He is studying for the ministry.
54:19 Studying ladies and gentlemen
54:21 for the ministry, not only did he not take
54:25 his own life, he is studying to save lives.
54:30 That's the power of this ministry.
54:32 Now I'm gonna tell you something else,
54:33 it's not in my notes forgive me,
54:34 but it is true I'm convicted of this.
54:37 In 1984, when God spoke to Danny,
54:44 the Adventist Church stepped into a new age.
54:50 Amen. Listen to me, I'm very serious
54:52 about this I was convicted about this last night.
54:53 When my wife was kicking me in the bed,
54:57 she has, she has restless legs syndrome,
55:00 she does and every night again
55:01 she will have a night when she's just
55:02 she's kicking and she didn't really sleep well
55:05 last night. And I've got news I used to hate it
55:07 but now I kind of look forward to the kicks.
55:10 But since I was awake my mind began to turn
55:13 and this occurred to me that when 3ABN
55:17 went into international satellite television,
55:21 the church entered a new age.
55:23 You see, you see don't God always uses
55:26 the most improbable. He used William Foy,
55:30 Hazen Foss, Ellen White, Danny Shelton. Amen.
55:36 Now, you're saying Danny Shelton equal to
55:39 Ellen White. I'm saying God picks his people.
55:43 He didn't pick him because they're perfect.
55:45 He doesn't pick them because they're sinless,
55:47 he picks him because they're just
55:49 foolish enough to put the full weight
55:51 of their faith on Him. Amen! Praise the Lord.
55:53 So in 1984, Danny called, God called Danny Shelton
55:58 and a new era of television began.
56:00 See I know that because I was working
56:02 with the church at that time,
56:04 I was listening to the discussions about ACN,
56:07 I was listen to the discussions
56:09 about first Wednesday, I was listening to the
56:12 discussions about ATN, I was in the committees
56:16 discussing how is the church gonna move
56:20 into the most powerful medium ever created
56:23 for the influencing of the hearts and minds of men
56:26 and women and that is television
56:28 and while we were in committing meetings
56:30 Danny Shelton was putting 3ABN on. Amen.
56:36 And then 11 years later I was on a production crew
56:42 of Net 95 and Net96 and Net98 and Net99
56:48 by Net95 3ABN was the 11 years old.
56:55 Lives had been changed for 11 solid years.
56:59 I am saying that God picks His people.
57:03 He picks His time. He picks His place
57:06 and when God builds that up
57:08 no one can tear it down. No one can destroy it,
57:11 there and there will be those will try
57:14 what enterprise has God ever tried to erect
57:17 on planet earth that some devil filled person
57:20 didn't try to destroy, we're not worried about
57:23 that for greater is He that is in us
57:26 then he that is the world. Amen.
57:30 And if we're gonna to do what God has called us
57:33 to do, if we're gonna to spread this gospel
57:35 to the ends of the earth, if we're gonna go further
57:38 and faster than ever before time to stop being
57:41 Mary, somebody, somebody, somebody must be Martha.


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Revised 2014-12-17