Participants: C.A. Murray
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000796
|
01:00 I'm gonna ask Kateena to come out LeForge
01:02 and sing one song and then right after that immediately 01:05 we will blessed with the sermon 01:07 by Pastor C.A Murray. 01:10 There is a passage in Revelation that speaks 01:12 of crystal clear river that flows from the throne 01:16 of God and on each side of that river is tree of life. 01:19 As I travel a bit and I meet more and more people, 01:23 I get e-mails from all over the world and they will 01:26 tell me how they will encourage me and tell me sing 01:29 on the Lord has blessed you. And I'm so blessed to receive 01:34 that kind of encouragement. And I know someday they 01:37 say sometimes they will say, I will meet you wonder 01:38 the tree of life. And I know for sure that we will. 01:41 We will spend eternity together or he says there 01:44 is no eye that has seen or ear that has heard, 01:48 the wonders that he has prepared for us. 01:54 Shall we gather at the river, 02:01 Where bright angel feet have trod, 02:07 With its crystal tide forever 02:14 Flowing by the throne of God? 02:21 Yes, we'll gather at the river, 02:27 The beautiful, the beautiful river; 02:34 Gather with the saints at the river 02:41 That flows by the throne of God. 02:52 Ere we reach the shining river, 02:58 Lay we every burden down; 03:05 Grace our spirits will deliver, 03:11 And provide a robe and crown. 03:19 Yes, we'll gather at the river, 03:25 The beautiful, the beautiful river; 03:32 Gather with the saints at the river 03:39 That flows by the throne of God. 03:46 Yes, we'll gather at the river, 03:52 The beautiful, the beautiful river; 04:00 Gather with the saints at the river 04:06 That flows by the throne of God. Yes 04:18 we'll gather at the river, I will meet you there. 04:43 I'm so very thankful for The 04:47 Three Angels Broadcasting Network. Amen. 04:50 And for what God is doing to repair this wicked world 04:58 for the second coming of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. 05:01 Amen. And his coming will not be long ladies and 05:05 gentlemen. Amen. Soon and very soon Jesus will come. 05:15 I would like to speak to you for just a little while 05:18 on this subject, "The Land of No Regrets." 05:26 The Land of No Regrets and I would ask you to turn 05:32 with me, if you will to a book in the Bible that we 05:36 don't often preach from. It is the book that follows 05:40 Jeremiah, also written by Jeremiah called Lamentations. 05:46 Lamentations chapter 1 and we will read just the first 05:54 several verses. Somewhere out here is a, is my wife 06:01 I don't spot her right now, I always have to see where 06:04 she is sitting. Okay, my wife Irma is here and it's, 06:08 it's good to have a good supportive wife. Amen. 06:12 Who tells you when you are doing good? That's right. 06:19 Who tells you when you are not doing so good? 06:25 That's right. Shall we pray heavenly Father, 06:28 there is indeed a word from the Lord and we need 06:33 to hear that word this day. Not what man has to say, 06:41 but what God has to say. Open our hearts in 06:46 understanding even before we open your word. 06:52 So, that we may hear and know, and do. 06:59 Because it is in the doing that we are like Christ Jesus. 07:03 And we thank you for his presence and his power in 07:10 Jesus name, amen. Lamentations 1:1, 07:17 the word of God says, "How lonely sits the city." 07:21 I'm reading from the New King James, 07:24 "That was full of people! How like a widow is she, 07:31 who is great among the nations! The princess among 07:35 the provinces has become a slave. 07:39 She weeps bitterly in the night; 07:41 her tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers, 07:46 she has none to comfort her. All her friends have 07:50 dealt treacherously with her; and have become her enemies. 07:57 Judah has gone into captivity, under the affliction 08:04 and a hard servitude; she dwells among the nations, 08:07 she finds no rest; all her persecutors overtake 08:13 her in dire straits. The roads to Zion mourn, because 08:20 no one comes to set feast. All her gates are desolate; 08:26 her priests sigh; her virgins are afflicted, 08:32 and she is in bitterness." Verse five, "Her adversaries 08:38 have become the master, her enemies prosper; 08:45 the Lord has afflicted her because of the multitude of 08:52 her transgressions. Her children have gone into 08:59 captivity before the enemy." The land of no regrets, 09:09 in 1974, as a senior at Oakwood College, 09:13 I know you throw these dates out 1974, 09:16 but as a senior at Oakwood College, a group of us 09:22 traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina. 09:27 We were a quire and we were going to Greensboro, 09:30 North Carolina to do a series of concerts. Friday night, 09:35 Sabbath morning, Sabbath afternoon, and I recall 09:39 the trip very well because it was fraught with emotion. 09:43 One of our co-directors Nelson Bliss Junior had not 09:49 been back to that church for over a year. 09:53 Because it was just nine months prior that his father 09:57 Nelson Bliss Senior, who was the pastor to that particular 10:01 church preached a wonderful sermon that Sabbath. 10:07 He retired to his study to take off his robe, 10:12 sat in his chair, suffered a massive heart attack 10:15 and died there in his study. And Nelson Bliss Senior 10:21 had not pretty much been back in that church since 10:23 that time and so we were all worry, 10:26 we were all a bit tenuous; we were all drawing together 10:30 as we came to that church to try to bring a little cheer 10:32 to the church and to Nelson. But the trips stands out 10:39 in my mind for a couple of very important reasons one, 10:43 I have the privilege of meeting Elder Napoleon Smith, 10:49 a venerable worker for God. He had served the Lord 10:53 valiantly, he was in is 80s. And the other reason the 10:59 trip stands out in my mind is because his wife was noted 11:05 as one of the best cooks in all of the Adventism. 11:11 It was said, that no one ever let Sister Smith's 11:15 house hungry. She gladly took on the challenge 11:20 to feed all comers and she like to feed college boys. 11:26 Now, any of you know anything about young man 11:28 in college, they are hungry from the time they step 11:33 in as freshmen until the time they leave as seniors. 11:38 Amen. Their appetite is never satiated as much 11:43 as you can serve a college age male can eat. 11:50 And when we went to Greensboro, 11:52 Sister Smith took on the challenge of serving 11:55 five of us boys, who stayed at her house. 11:59 And we felt we were ready for the challenge. 12:03 And she felt, she was ready for the challenge 12:05 and I recall we sat down at the table because 12:08 we had heard of the legend of Sister Smith. 12:12 And she came out with a little plate of macaroni 12:15 and cheese and a little plate of vegetarian meat, 12:20 and a little plate of greens, and she put it before us. 12:26 Of course, we big strapping college age boys looked 12:28 at this pittance of food and said basically is that 12:32 all there is, but she says, you know, 12:36 that all I'll keep you. And then she went back 12:39 into the kitchen and got the big guns ready. 12:43 Because in about 20 minutes, she came out with the 12:45 big metal pan of macaroni and cheese, 12:48 and a big metal pan of sweet potatoes, 12:50 and a big metal pan of, of porcelain, 12:53 a big metal of pan of collard greens and, 12:55 pan after pan after pan and we, we, we decided 12:59 to just dive in as we cleared the pan, 13:01 she produce the pan, and we cleared the pan 13:05 and she produce the pan, and we cleared the pan 13:06 and she produce the pan, and a battle was on. 13:12 And true enough, we were the ones that had to wave 13:16 the white flag. She made us cry uncle that day 13:22 and while we were there sliding from our chair, 13:25 she said, now boys hold a little room because dessert 13:28 is on the way. And she brought out sweet potato 13:34 pie and pecan pie and angel food cake and, 13:37 and lemonade and, and banana pudding. 13:42 And while we were sitting there recuperating. 13:47 I have the opportunity to speak with her husband 13:50 Elder Napoleon Smith. And as an older man he had 13:56 a lot of wisdom and I have, I have always been 13:58 I want I would like to talk to older man and pick their 14:00 brains for wisdom and, and I would, I would caught 14:02 new young people. If we get a chance to sit down 14:04 and talk with some of these gray heads, 14:06 pick their brains and listen what they have to say. 14:10 You get little smart when you around a little while. 14:13 Now, I'm getting a little bit older. 14:18 I like to talk to young people and give them 14:20 the digest of, of my years. But he told me that in 1910, 14:27 talking about his one life's great regret. 14:30 He said, you know, I have one great regret in life 14:32 because in 1910, Ellen White made a trip to 14:36 Oakwood College. She came to the grounds here 14:40 in Huntsville. And as I can recall there are only 3 14:43 or 4 schools that Ellen White, one of the co-founders 14:46 of Seventh-Day Adventist church with her husband 14:49 and Joseph Bates that were specifically designated 14:53 by God to be on the particular spot, 14:55 where they are now. One is Loma Linda that, 14:57 that's spot was pointed out by God. Evendale that spot, 15:02 where Evendale sits in, in Austria pointed out by God. 15:07 Madison Academy pointed out by God and Oakwood 15:10 College. Amen. And she came to Oakwood College 15:16 and she did something that she really did. 15:19 She, she spoke from her prepared text, 15:21 but she also took questions from the audience and 15:24 she allowed time, if anyone had any questions, 15:27 if they needed prayer. She said, I will stay by and talk 15:30 with you one on one, but Elder Napoleon Smith 15:33 being a young man in the early 1900, 15:36 you know the racial situation in the South? 15:38 He determined that he did not want to hear anything 15:42 that Ellen White had to say and so when she came 15:44 to Oakwood College to talk one on one, 15:47 he made his business to be elsewhere. 15:51 And he said years later when he had given his heart 15:55 to the Lord and entered the ministry, 15:57 my one lives great regret, I have done a bunch 16:01 of things that I regret, but the one thing at the top 16:03 of the list as I had a chance to sit down and dialogue 16:07 one on one with Ellen G. White and my pride and my 16:11 prejudice kept me from that occasion. 16:17 How many times, I have read the word of God 16:19 or read this beautiful prophecy and wish I could 16:21 sit down and talk one on one with Ellen White. 16:27 So, he skipped that opportunity and he 16:30 said I have regretted it my entire life. Amen. 16:37 One year later as a young pastor at New York City, 16:39 we were all horrified by a family there that come 16:41 into watch the tennis matches at Forest Hills 16:45 and they found themselves in these 40 seconds street 16:48 subway station. And someone try to grab the 16:52 wife's purse and the thief planted a nine inch knife 16:57 into the heart of the husband, who intervened and 17:00 the corner said he died on the spot. 17:02 And I remember watching television as the wife said, 17:04 do you know, I regret forcing my husband to come here. 17:08 Amen. He didn't want to come to New York, we pushed him. 17:14 And I will regret it as long as I live. 17:19 Now, I want to change gears for just a second but 17:21 I want you to close your eyes, if you will. 17:24 Close your eyes and I want you to think about heaven. 17:28 Think about heaven for just a moment. 17:32 Now, over them again because of a curse to me that 17:35 that is a very difficult, if not impossible request. 17:40 Because when we speak of heaven, 17:43 we have to speak of heaven in terms of those things 17:46 that won't be there. Because we don't really know, 17:50 what will be there? First Corinthians chapter 2 17:54 verse 9 says, "Eye hath not seen, ears not heard, 17:57 neither have entered into the heart of man." 17:59 What will be that, so we don't quite know what will be 18:02 heaven? So, we tend of you heaven in terms of what 18:06 will not be there? There are only three people who really 18:10 know what heaven is like? That's Moses, Elijah, 18:15 and Enoch. Because they are there, 18:19 the rest of us have to guess. And it was Moses 18:24 and Elijah you recall that comforted Christ at the 18:28 transfiguration. Matthew and Mark both talk about that 18:32 incidence and they say they dialogue with Christ. 18:36 I really would have loved to have been a fly on the wall 18:39 to hear that conversation, wouldn't you? Yes. 18:43 Can you imagine what Moses and Elijah had to say 18:46 to Jesus? I know what I would have said. You see, 18:52 Moses, Elijah and Enoch were in heaven on credit. 18:58 That's right. They were in heaven on a promissory 19:01 note. They were in heaven on the condition that Christ 19:05 would be successful at Calvary. Amen. 19:09 So, their future hung on that conversation, 19:12 I would have love to heard that conversation, 19:15 I would have loved to hear Elijah will say, Jesus please 19:18 you got to make it through because if you don't make it, 19:21 we got to comeback. If Jesus were not successful 19:29 at Calvary, you and I could have never gotten in. 19:34 And Moses, Elijah and Enoch would have had 19:37 to get out. Amen. So, I know they told him Jesus 19:42 you got to rely on your father, you got to trust 19:45 in the Holy Spirit. Amen. Jesus you can't fail now, 19:50 because our passport will get rejected, 19:53 if you don't make it at Calvary. 19:56 So, we don't know exactly what will be in heaven, 20:00 but we know what won't be heaven. 20:03 No more funerals. Amen. Amen. Amen. No more sickness. 20:09 Amen. No more sadness. Amen. No more suffering. 20:12 Amen. No more doctors. Amen. No more Sabbathitis. 20:19 Yeah, Sabbathitis is the inflammation of the Sabbath. 20:23 You go to bed Friday night and everything is fine. 20:26 You wake up Sabbath morning and Oh! Boy only 20:31 happens on Sabbath. You put your car keys down on, 20:34 on Friday night. They are right there; 20:37 Sabbath morning you get up is Sabbathitis. 20:43 No more rumourtism, no more eye glasses, 20:45 no more hospitals, no more doctors, 20:47 doctors no more age, no more aging, 20:50 no more slowing down, no more cancer, 21:06 no crack cocaine, no alcohol, no child abuse, 21:10 no sexual abuse. Amen, amen. In fact, most of the 21:15 stuff that is in this world you will forget my 21:19 pejorative English it gonna be in heaven. 21:23 All of those things that we rely on a count on, 21:26 no more cell phones ladies and gentlemen. 21:28 Great, amen. No more sole proprietors. Amen. 21:36 No more over coats, no malls, no masses, no dealers, 21:40 no Cape Mart. No weddings, no funerals, 21:50 no hair spray, no IRS, no bills, no telephone bills, 21:56 no mortgages, no rental pay, no aging, 22:05 don't be afraid to tell your age. That's right. 22:07 The other today someone walked to me and said 22:09 how old are you? I always say, how old I look? 22:14 She said about 45, I said keep that. You know, 22:19 when you are in heaven in your 2000 years, 22:22 you look just as good as you did in 500th year. 22:25 Amen. No pain, no heartache, no suffering, 22:29 no loneliness, no homelessness, no starvation, 22:32 no mental retardation, all of the things that are part 22:35 of this life simply won't be in heaven. 22:39 No, I am sorry and no regrets. 22:44 Heaven is a land of no regrets. 22:49 How many of us have ever done something that 22:50 you regret? Amen. Not only like wearing brown shoes 22:54 you know, what a black tugs you know. 22:56 I'm not telling about that who wears a mix match 22:57 socks, I'm talking about something you really regret, 23:00 something really dumb. Amen. All of us have, 23:08 all of us have. Reading a book I just finish reading 23:11 a book that called, why smart people do dumb things? 23:16 You know, someone says, something that shook 23:17 me the other day. What if we came to church 23:19 today? And on the screen instead of this sermon 23:22 there was a, a movie being shown. 23:26 On these two screens and it was called, 23:28 everything you have ever done, 23:31 every place you have ever been, everything you have 23:34 ever thought for the last 15 years. 23:39 Your life on those screens for the world to see, 23:45 any regrets? You hear it so often, don't you? 23:55 I regret, I said that. I regret I didn't speak up, 24:00 I regret I went there, I regret I didn't go, 24:05 I regret making that decision, I regret not making 24:08 that decision, I regret acting so hastily, 24:11 I regret waiting so long, I regret that 24:16 I spoke so kindly, I regret that I didn't speak 24:20 plainly enough, over and over and over our lives 24:27 are a mess of regrets, but praise God there is 24:31 a land of no regrets. Amen. Heaven is a place 24:39 where you don't have to say I'm sorry. Amen. 24:42 This second book written by Jeremiah might well 24:46 be titled regrets. "For when the weep and prophets 24:49 saw what god's people had brought upon themselves, 24:52 he wrote this book and he articulated the collective 24:55 ministry and he called it regrets. 25:00 First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 11 says, 25:01 "These things are written for admonition, 25:06 upon whom that ends of the world are come." 25:08 You see ladies and gentlemen serving Jesus 25:12 consistently keeps you and saves you from a lot 25:18 of regrets. Amen. The earlier you get to Jesus, 25:23 the less regrets you have. Amen. 25:26 I don't know anybody, who said I really regret giving 25:30 my life to Jesus? But I know a lot will say I regret 25:36 that I didn't put my hand in the hand of the master 25:38 years ago. Amen. There is a lady in the Mid-East, 25:43 she is the secret e-mail pal of mine in fact I have had 25:47 to stop writing her. She wrote me and she said 25:51 you know, I have been watching3ABN on the 25:53 computer. And I have given my heart to Jesus, 25:58 but I can't tell anybody. I have got to watch 3ABN 26:02 at 2 'o clock in the morning for fear of my husband 26:08 because; if my family here in this Muslim Country 26:11 found out that I was watching 3ABN and serving Jesus, 26:17 my husband would kill me. But she said, 26:23 I don't regret it. Amen. She said, do you think 26:27 I'm a Christian. I said yes you are. 26:31 And God will tell you the time to come out 26:33 to the closet. Amen. He will let you know, 26:37 but you keep on serving Jesus. Amen, 26:39 She is serving Jesus at what might be the cost of her life, 26:43 but she doesn't regret it. Amen. 26:47 The early you come to Jesus, the less regrets you have. 26:51 The cities were turned down, the temple was 26:52 destroyed, the women and children were sold 26:54 into slavery. The army was slant and destroyed, 26:57 the crops set a fire, a nation was destroyed, 27:00 simply because they would not obey God. Amen. 27:06 Regrets, you see ladies and gentlemen, 27:09 salvation is pretty simple ontologically. 27:14 It is not that complex. John 3:6 says, 27:20 "Flesh is flesh, spirit is spirit, so my syllogism is 27:29 obey and live, disobey and die." It's not that complex 27:37 on paper. obey God and live, disobey and die. 27:46 And God doesn't have to lay awake nights planning 27:49 ways for you to suffer. Amen. All he is got to do is 27:53 step back. That's right. And let you run your own 27:57 life. That's right. And you will destroy yourself. 28:03 That's right. Ladies and gentlemen, 28:05 our protestation to the contrary we are not 28:09 that smart. That's right. Umm! Now J. D. Quinn 28:16 is a few hour short of a Ph.D. I'm a few hours 28:20 and several thousand dollars short of a Ph.D. 28:26 The pastor of the church Reggie has a PhD, 28:31 but I found out some about PhDs. 28:34 You stay in school long enough and give them enough 28:38 money they will give you a PhD just to get rid of you. 28:42 That's right. It doesn't mean you are not intelligent, 28:45 it just means you have endurance. That's right. 28:48 We are not that smart, I mean blesses heart 28:52 the pastor has the PhD, but it took Danny Shelton 28:56 and Shelley Quinn, not know Danny in that case, 28:58 not quite sure about Shelley. I know neither 29:01 one have a PhD to write a simple little book onto 29:05 the anointing of God. Amen. To teach the PhD 29:10 about the Sabbath. Amen. So, it doesn't matter 29:13 how much schooling you have. Amen. Didn't matter 29:16 how many letters you have behind your name. Amen. 29:19 If you got the spirit of God in your heart. That's right. 29:22 God can raise you up. Amen. And a high school 29:25 educated carpenter can teach our PhD, a thing or two. 29:38 We are not that bright. God didn't invent guns. 29:41 Amen. God didn't invent bombs, God didn't invent 29:45 asbestos, God didn't invent thalidomide, 29:49 God didn't invent steroids, God didn't invent red 29:53 dye number 2, God didn't invent crack or smack 29:57 or horse or heroin or oxycontin 30:00 or Methamphetamine. That's right, that's right. 30:09 God didn't invent LSD, he didn't invent RPG's, 30:10 he didn't invent PCB's, he didn't invent STD's, 30:12 he didn't invent DDT. We are not that bright 30:20 and without the leading of an almighty God, 30:24 we will destroy ourselves. Listen I say in 20 years, 30:27 we are all gonna be under water. Amen, amen. 30:31 So, unless you know, how to walk on water? 30:39 Lamentations chapter 1 and Lamentations chapter 4. 30:41 In fact, let's go to Lamentations 4:12 and 13, 30:44 the clock is staring at me and scaring me. 30:48 Lamentations 4:12 and 13, "The kings of the earth, 31:01 and the inhabitants of the world would not have 31:04 believed that the adversary and the enemy 31:06 could enter the gates of Jerusalem. 31:09 Thirteen, because of her sins of the sins of her 31:14 prophets and the iniquities of her priests 31:17 who shed in her midst the blood of the just." 31:22 They knew why calamity had come upon them; 31:26 want you to get my point now. 31:28 God had told them why? God had showed them why? 31:36 You see, when you are going astray, 31:40 God gives you repeated warnings. Amen. 31:45 If your spiritual tires go flat, it is usually 31:51 not because of a blow out. It's usually a slow leak. 32:00 You see, the tire going down and you don't address 32:05 the problem. That's right. And you get up one 32:08 morning and the spirit is gone. Really someone go 32:15 from on far to God to ice cold spiritually in one step. 32:20 You ease your way off. And all alone the road 32:24 God's given you warnings, you need to stop, 32:28 God's given you warnings, you need to check yourself 32:29 as Shelley said, you need to look at yourself, 32:30 you need to stop, you need to stop, and you ignore 32:32 those warnings in one time you go to find God 32:34 and God is gone. Amen. For seven hundred 32:40 years God appealed with his people Israel, 32:43 but rather and seeking safety in the arms of God 32:46 they saw safety in diplomacy. They saw, 32:49 thought, sort safety in contracts and compacts. 32:56 You see, there were two great thoughts. 32:57 Give your quickest through lesson. There was Babylon 33:01 to the North, North East, Egypt to the South, 33:04 South West. And the Jews sought safety in diplomacy, 33:11 when Babylon would come up, they would run down 33:14 to Egypt somebody's daughter would marriage, 33:17 somebody's son they sign a nonaggression 33:20 pack that wasn't worth the paper that it 33:21 was on. Amen. And they would safe for a while 33:25 then when Egypt would come north, 33:27 they run to Babylon, somebody's daughter would 33:30 marriage somebody's son, they signed a nonaggression 33:32 treaty with Babylon against Egypt. 33:34 And for seven hundreds years they went back 33:36 and forth using diplomacy instead of prayer. 33:42 And for a little while it worked. You see, 33:46 that's the thing ladies and gentlemen about sin. 33:49 That's what make sin so enticing. Amen. 33:51 For a while it works. Sin looks good, 33:58 what they did not understand is 34:01 that you're only safe in Jesus as long as you're 34:06 following the will of Jesus. Amen. Burglar alarms 34:10 are not gonna save you. Amen. Lock doors 34:13 are not gonna keep you. Amen. All of these things 34:16 cannot help you, when I was at the Ephesus Church 34:18 in Manhattan I had an elder buy a Cadillac 34:21 spend $47000 on it and put an $5000 alarm system. 34:25 I don't know they had this alarm system for $5000. 34:30 His wife said he loves that car so much, 34:31 if he could put that thing in a bedroom with us 34:33 he tried to do it. The alarm system was so 34:37 sophisticated that you didn't have to touch 34:40 the car, if you just stood near the car, 34:42 the car would say you are violating my faith, 34:45 my space step back. You know, what that car is? 34:55 Well, if you know, you need to call him because 34:59 he didn't have a clue. Forty days, he had that car. 35:07 And they stole it right out of his car port, took it. 35:13 I brought a car had a club on it, had an Anti-Theft 35:16 system parked in the conference office parking 35:19 lot in broad day light. Twenty seconds they took it. 35:26 Accept the Lord build a house. Amen. 35:30 Accept God watches the house, the watchman watches 35:34 in vain. We are not that smart. We need Jesus 35:41 to direct our steps. Amen. And so they saw diplomacy 35:44 back and forth, back and forth, 35:46 back and forth, but they would forgot to know 35:49 that the only safe in Jesus as long as you stay 35:52 in Jesus. Listen let me tell you some, 35:54 how many husbands do we have here? 35:55 Husbands stand up, all husbands. 35:58 Stand up really good, husbands. Gentlemen, 36:04 did you know, that you could cheat on your wife 36:09 and she won't know? Be seated, all wives stand up, 36:23 all wives. All wives blessed your heart you look 36:28 good too. Hey, did you know, that you could 36:32 cheat on your husband, and he won't know? 36:36 Did you know that? It's true, be seated. 36:42 Now, there is one little thing I forgot to tell you. 36:45 You can only do it for a while. 36:51 Now, the book that I read said, 36:53 wives are much more sagacious than husbands. 36:58 That's right. So, gentlemen when you slip out 37:04 is gonna be a short while. Oh! Yes. Not gonna 37:09 last long. That's right. But that's how sin is? 37:13 That's why pastors have to preach so hard against 37:17 sin because sin works. Sin is firm, sin is enticing, 37:23 but what you don't understand is that it 37:26 only works for a while. That's right, that's right. 37:32 Then the rent comes do. The mortgage has to 37:36 be pay. The taxes have to be filed. 37:41 And you have to pay on your lifestyle. 37:43 Satan gives you a little and demands and offer a lot. 37:49 And most of us can't keep up the payments 37:53 and your up keep becomes your down fall and 37:57 you are left with a mouth and a mindful of regrets. 38:05 Seven hundred years it worked, 38:09 but they forgot that you are only God's people 38:13 as long as you were doing God's will. 38:16 Doesn't matter, if your name is on the rolls of the 38:21 Seventh-Day Adventist church or any other 38:23 church that doesn't guarantee you a place 38:27 in heaven. Amen. Because you are only in Jesus 38:30 as long as you are in Jesus. Amen. And if you, 38:36 you will forget my pejorative English ate in Jesus, 38:40 you ate in Jesus. And just because your name 38:43 is written down here, doesn't mean it's written 38:45 up there. Amen. Proverbs 14:34 says, 38:49 "Righteousness exalted a nation, 38:52 but sin is a reproach to any people or church 38:56 or pastor or person or school." Amen. 39:02 So, they ignored God's warnings and followed 39:05 their own course. And for a while it indeed worked, 39:11 but that's how sin is? They were alcoholics who 39:21 function well, who fly our airplanes and drive our cars, 39:30 and for a while it works. You can smoke cigarettes 39:39 and not have any visible affects. 39:43 And maybe even avoid lung cancer for a while. 39:49 You can take drugs and many do, and seem to 39:56 function quite well. And do so for a while. 40:04 You can cheat on your tests at school and you will 40:09 get by and may not even get caught and all will 40:15 seem well for a while. Oh! I see. 40:20 But be not deceived God says, Galatians 6:7, 40:24 "God is not mocked." Amen. He will not be fooled. 40:30 What you sow, you will reap. Amen. 40:34 And April 15th comes around every single year. 40:39 That's right. Better read the fine print on the devils 40:44 contract. Because they only lasts for a while. 40:51 I had a young lady that wrote about it in my book. 40:54 I knew what she said, the first time a young man 40:57 offered me a hit of crack, I didn't really want it, 41:03 but I wanted him and that's what he was offering. 41:08 So, I took it, I lost him, but the crack 41:14 had its hold on me. And before she died bless her 41:21 heart she got rid of him and the crack and found Jesus. 41:31 Amen. But so many get out there and never get back. 41:34 That's right. And are left with just regrets. 41:39 And you see how the devil has tricked you? 41:45 And the gold is just fools gold. And the laugh 41:49 that you hear is no longer the joyous rivalry 41:52 of friends and comrades. It is the self satisfy snicker 41:57 of Satan, who slamming the door on your cage 42:03 and leaving you with a handful of regrets. 42:07 And so in 605 BC at the Battle of Carchemish, 42:15 Nebuchadnezzar got tired of the shuttle diplomacy. 42:20 And in Jeremiah 46 verse 2, Jeremiah talks about 42:25 this battle where Nebuchadnezzar, 42:29 his father Nabopolassar, his legend Nebuchadnezzar 42:38 conspire together to fight and destroy Pharaoh 42:42 Necho and totally rearrange the balance of power 42:46 in the ancient Middle East. Egypt from that day 42:52 forward became a second class nation, 42:55 never to raise its head again, Babylon became 42:59 the first of the world empire and on the way back 43:05 with the defeated Egyptian army Nebuchadnezzar 43:10 was left to clean up a small Jewish problem. 43:17 He came in, Zedekiah was on the throne. 43:23 God told Zedekiah don't fight Nebuchadnezzar. 43:26 He is my agent to punish you. Oh! Yes. 43:32 But God's people couldn't see how anybody could ever 43:35 teach them anything. I see. Umm! And so Zedekiah 43:43 fought and lost and Nebuchadnezzar decided 43:48 to slit the throat of his two sons, which was the last 43:52 thing that Zedekiah saw before they put his eyes 43:55 out with red hot pokers. He was marched back 44:00 to Babylon and died on the way. And so Jeremiah 44:08 is left now to write Lamentations. 44:14 And no one ever thinks its gonna be them ladies 44:18 and gentlemen. Lamentations 4 said, 44:23 we never thought that an army would come into 44:26 Jerusalem, but that is the rally in cry of the damp, 44:34 2.75 million dead of aids, we never fought. 44:40 Ten million worldwide HIV never thought it could be me, 44:45 475,000 new using drug addicts in New York City 44:50 alone, 1.75 million abortions every year, 44:55 3.35 million working alcoholics, 45:02 197,000 cancer deaths and declared cancerous 45:07 every year, and no one ever thought it would be them. 45:17 Well, excuse me ladies and gentlemen be not deceived, 45:25 watch your soul you reap and you are left within regrets. 45:31 Turn with me, if you will quickly Numbers 45:33 chapter 23 verse 32, in fact flip that Number 32:23. 45:54 Numbers chapter 32 verse 23. Numbers 32:23, 45:57 important text, "But if you do not do so, 46:02 then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; 46:06 and be sure your sin will find you out." 46:14 Ladies and gentlemen, if we lose out on the kingdom, 46:15 it won't be God's fault. Amen, amen. 46:19 The fault would be ours, but praise God there 46:23 is a land of no regret. But you know, 46:26 ladies and gentlemen talk about regrets. 46:28 Can you imagine, what it would be like to feel 46:31 what you are feeling now to sit, 46:33 where you are sitting now to know about the God 46:35 of heaven and then miss out on heaven come 46:37 judgment day. You talk about regret. 46:45 Christ returned and you run into the rocks and the 46:48 mountains saying fall on us. There is gonna be a land 46:58 where nobody is gonna hit you. Amen. Nobody 47:04 is gonna lie to you. Nobody is gonna lie on you. 47:10 Nobody is gonna lie about you. 47:13 Nobody is gonna lie for you. Nobody is gonna 47:17 molest you. Nobody is gonna steal from you. 47:22 Nobody is gonna assassinate your character. Amen. 47:26 Nobody is gonna break into your house. 47:29 Nobody is gonna take your car. 47:31 Nobody is gonna steal your identity. 47:35 Nobody is gonna take your job. Nobody is gonna take 47:39 your husband. Nobody is gonna take your wife. 47:44 Nobody is gonna take your life. You will never be angry, 47:49 you will never be angry. Amen. You will never be 47:54 angry, you will never be lonely, you will never 48:02 be sick, you will never be sick, 48:08 you will never get mad, you will never be put upon, 48:14 you will never be spit upon, you will never be hit upon, 48:21 you will never be ridiculed, you will never be 48:23 ostracised, you will never get hurt, 48:28 you will never be guilty and you will never hurt 48:30 anyone else. When the Christ returns with 10,000 48:38 of his angels, don't you want to be there. Amen. 48:44 With all you have heard about heaven, 48:45 with all we have talked and read about heaven 48:47 to miss out on heaven Oh! My dear God talk about 48:51 regrets. Amen. And it won't matter than because 48:57 it will be too late. And no one will mourn you. 49:04 And Malachi says the lost will be ashes under the feet 49:10 of the saints. And the time is getting away from this, 49:14 so let me close, Jill if you will come up. 49:20 I read a story some years ago. I'm told it is true. 49:25 And so I, I will relate it to you as such. 49:30 There was a young man, who grow up in a very 49:31 well to do family and it was always expected since 49:34 he was the number son that he would take over 49:39 for his dad and run the company, 49:44 but he had other ideas particularly once 49:47 he gave his heart to the Lord he determined 49:51 that he wanted to go to the mission field 49:57 and serve humanity and serve Jesus. 50:01 Now, this didn't sit well with his dad because 50:04 the dad pretty much had things mapped out. 50:08 And so he said to his son during a second 50:13 year in college. Now, I have, I have prepared 50:16 your education, but unless you have a change 50:19 of heart. I'm cutting off your funds and you are 50:24 gonna have to go on your own because 50:26 we had a plan here. And the plan was you will take 50:29 over for me, when I retire. And the young man, 50:34 who waved his options, but he determined 50:36 it was better rather to obey God even then his 50:40 own dad. And so, his father cut off his funds 50:48 and the young man took his Bible and he wrote 50:52 two words inside the cover. No resources, 51:02 now since he didn't have any money, 51:05 he had to work and then go to school and work 51:07 and go to school. He couldn't go strict through straight 51:10 as he had plan to, he left the university and went 51:13 to a small missionary college and he had to work. 51:16 So, what should have been a 4 year educational 51:19 stand now becomes 5, become 6, 51:22 become 7 because he got to work some years, 51:24 go to school some years, work some years, 51:27 go to school some years. In his junior year, 51:33 which was his six year of college, he went home for 51:37 a visit invited by his mother, his dad re-floated 51:43 the offer, if you change your mind I will pay you 51:47 back debts, get you to school, get you through 51:51 school and it will go on as before. 51:55 He and his father had another falling out. 51:57 Because he had determined to serve the Lord, 52:01 left home he wrote again in his Bible under no 52:07 resources two words no retreat, no retreat. 52:16 Eight years of work to complete four years 52:21 of school with a plan to go to the mission field, 52:28 but he had work so long and so hard that the long 52:31 nights and the cold weather conspired to ruin 52:36 his health. And when it was time for him to go 52:39 to the mission field, he was physically unable to do so. 52:45 In fact, he got so ill that the doctors feared 52:49 for his life. And they send a call to his parents, 52:54 if you want to see your son you need to get here 52:58 in a day or so because we don't think he 53:02 is going to make it. And the parents hopped 53:06 on a plane and also rented a car and arrived 53:11 at the hospital two hours after he died. 53:19 And the mother was sad, but the father was 53:21 enraged. Because he never got to the mission field, 53:27 he never got to do anything that he had promise to do, 53:30 he never got to take over the company, 53:33 and so they gathered up his belongings and took 53:35 them home. And the, the most precious of them 53:37 was that Bible. But the father forbear that the 53:41 Bible ever be read, ever be opened, 53:45 ever be touched and so the mother lovingly put 53:49 it on the coffee table in the living room. 53:52 And every year on his birthday, she would open 53:54 it and read a passage. But one day as she was 53:59 reading the Bible, her husband came in and he 54:01 saw her reading the Bible and he flew into 54:03 an absolute rage. He said, I told you never open 54:08 that Bible, never bring that Bible into the house, 54:11 what do you reading that book for? 54:12 And he grabbed the Bible and he slung it 54:14 against the wall prepare to strike his own wife, 54:20 but as the Bible hit the wall, a flip opened 54:22 to the last page. And there was one of the 54:27 notation in that Bible just two more words written 54:32 on the same day that he passed you know 54:38 what they were, no regrets. No resources, 54:46 no retreat, no regrets. Brothers and sisters 54:54 there is a land of no regrets, where the wicked 55:00 will seize from troubling and the 55:03 people of God will live forever more. |
Revised 2014-12-17