Participants: David Asscherick
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000801
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01:00 I'm looking forward to tonight's presentation.
01:01 Let's begin with the word of prayer. 01:06 Father in heaven, we come before You this evening, 01:08 already You've administered to us through the preliminaries. 01:12 Father, as we have listened to the testimonies, 01:15 as we've pondered the seminars and the ones 01:17 that we are planning on attending 01:18 or better yet the one You want us to attend. 01:22 As we've heard the testimony of those that are working 01:24 with the open door in the upcoming 01:25 evangelistic meeting and Father even as we've seen 01:27 this humble trailer, You've administered to us. 01:31 You've shown us tonight that You are a real God, 01:33 that is alive in a real active powerful dynamic way. 01:38 And so, Father, we are asking tonight 01:40 that You will do something marvelous 01:42 and something supernatural. 01:44 We are asking that as we open this book, 01:46 this ancient book, this important book, 01:50 that You will perform a supernatural spiritual 01:53 transaction and that You will send Your spirit 01:56 not just into this room in a general sense 01:58 but that You will send Your spirit in the hearts. 02:02 And that Your spirit will take this message 02:04 and tailor-make it to the exact needs 02:07 of every person in attendance. 02:11 Father, tonight give us a rich experience with You. 02:16 We want to know you. 02:18 We want to see You and we want to see Jesus. 02:23 So as we open this book, this special book, 02:25 this important book, this inspired book. 02:29 We are asking that You will open our hearts 02:33 in the wonderful mighty powerful glorious name of Jesus, 02:36 let all of God's living saints say, amen. 02:44 Did you bring your Bibles this evening? 02:47 You will be needing them. 02:48 I have the privilege of pastoring 02:50 the Troy Seventh-day Adventist Church. 02:53 Now I am the associate pastor, 02:54 I used to be the senior pastor. 02:56 And I stepped down as the senior pastor 02:58 January of last year and the person 03:01 who is my senior pastor is my best friend in the world 03:04 other than my wife, his name is Nathan Renner. 03:07 Now he also happens to be the very first person 03:11 I ever went to the Lord, Jesus Christ. 03:13 Amen. Can you say, amen? 03:15 Amen. Can you imagine, 03:16 winning one of your friends to the Lord and then 10 years later 03:20 having them be your senior pastor, phenomenal. 03:23 And so he knows I'm here, he gave me the time off, 03:26 he is my boss but I'm his spiritual father. 03:31 And for a time as we were both pastoring there, 03:34 we would--we would trade off the speaking schedule. 03:37 I would preach and then he would preach 03:38 and I would preach and then he would preach. 03:40 And one of my favorite things to do after either 03:43 I had preached or Nathan had preached 03:44 just to go over to the fellowship meal hall 03:47 and to sit down and to visit with the saints 03:49 and to visit with the visitors and to see 03:50 if people have been paying attention. 03:52 I like to just ask questions very honest, 03:54 very transparent, very forthright 03:56 just to sit down at the table, everybody is eating 03:58 and so I'm trying to discern 04:00 whether or not number one, people listen. 04:03 And number two, did they get it? 04:06 And so our last question is like this, 04:07 I'll say, so you know, how you're enjoying the food? 04:09 Oh, the food is wonderful pastor. 04:11 Oh, did you get some of the kale loaf, 04:12 special kale loaf? Oh, I love that stuff. 04:14 Good, I can't stand and I'm glad you like it. 04:18 And so then eventually it will come up, 04:19 I'll say so what is-- what do you think of the sermon? 04:23 And immediately, invariably you can tell 04:26 who paid the attention and who didn't. 04:29 Now those who were paying attention, 04:30 those who got it, they will immediately 04:32 begin to say, well I like this part, I like this part, 04:34 I really like that, point that he made 04:35 where he tied those two verses together etcetera, etcetera. 04:37 But there's another class of people 04:39 who were not paying attention 04:42 and you can catch them immediately. 04:44 They will say things like, oh, I enjoyed the sermon. 04:48 And of course I don't let them off the hook, 04:50 I will say, oh, really? 04:51 What was your favorite part? 04:54 And some people will admit it--you know, 04:56 they know they are caught, they will say, 04:57 you know, really the kids were crazy 04:59 or I didn't get much sleep last night. 05:00 I didn't--I didn't really paid that much attention 05:02 but others, you know they were like trying, 05:05 you know, sort of weasel their way, 05:07 they'll say well, you know, I liked the middle part 05:09 was really my favorite part. 05:13 You know, as if I'm gonna let them get away over that. 05:15 I'm chasing them down, right. 05:17 I can see--I can see they are running scared. 05:19 I'll says, "Oh really, what was your 05:20 favorite part about the middle part?" 05:25 And some of them I tell you Lord have mercy, 05:27 some of them will say things like, 05:29 you know, I really like that point he made about God. 05:36 It is like come on give it up, you're caught, 05:38 you didn't pay attention. 05:39 Now as a professional communicator, 05:42 one of the things that I think of when I'm writing a sermon 05:45 as I'm building into a sermon its own unique architecture 05:48 is not just, is it biblical, 05:51 not just is it theologically sound but is it rememberable. 05:57 Is it what everyone? 05:58 Rememberable, because I have this radical hypothesis, 06:01 this radical thesis that I'm working on 06:03 it and it goes something like this. 06:05 You cannot apply a sermon to your daily practical life 06:09 that you don't remember. 06:12 What do you think about that? 06:13 Is that reasonably scientific? 06:15 In another words if-- if I preach the sermon 06:16 say on Sabbath and then I happened to see you 06:19 in the produce section of the local supermarket. 06:22 And I just happen to ask you in the course of the conversation. 06:25 What you thought of the sermon on Sabbath? 06:27 And today it's Wednesday and you can't remember 06:29 what the sermon is about. 06:30 I am of the mind that if you can't remember 06:33 the sermon on Wednesday, you're not applying 06:35 the sermon on Wednesday. 06:38 Are we all on the same page, yes or no? 06:39 So--so one of the things that we want to try and do, 06:41 is not just preach biblical sermons absolutely, 06:44 theologically sound sermons absolutely 06:46 but also sermons that are rememberable. 06:49 They're what everyone? 06:50 Rememberable, so you will remember this sermon 06:53 for the rest of your life I guarantee you. 06:57 Even if you have heard, a 1000 sermons, 06:59 you will remember tonight's sermon because 07:02 it has the one word title 07:04 and that one word only has two letters, 07:06 it's this-- it's the word, do, DO. 07:11 Let's all say that together. 07:13 Do, so if I saw you on a Wednesday in the market 07:17 and I said, what do you think of the sermons? 07:19 Oh, I enjoyed that sermon, pastor. 07:21 And what was it about? 07:22 You could literally say, do and you'd be right. 07:29 Open your Bibles with me to Luke 3:10. 07:32 What we're going to do is we're going to begin 07:33 by looking at three biblical vignettes 07:37 that are very, very similar in one significant respect. 07:42 We're in Luke 3. 07:43 What chapter everyone? 07:45 Luke 3. John the Baptist is preaching. 07:49 We'll pick it up in verse 4, Luke 3:4. 07:53 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah 07:55 the prophet saying, "The voice of one crying 07:57 in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, 07:59 make his paths straight. 08:00 Every valley shall be filled and every mountain 08:02 and hill brought low, the crooked places 08:04 shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth. 08:07 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." 08:09 Verse 7, "Then he said to the multitude, 08:11 John is speaking, that came out to be baptized 08:13 by him brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee 08:16 from the wrath to come. 08:17 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 08:20 and do not begin to say to yourselves, 08:22 We have Abraham as our father.' 08:24 For I say to you that God is able to raise up 08:26 children to Abraham from these very stones. 08:28 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. 08:32 Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit 08:35 is cut down and is thrown into the fire." 08:39 John the Baptist is preaching with power, 08:42 he's preaching with conviction, 08:43 he's preaching with the sense of certainty. 08:45 And as the multitudes were going out 08:48 to see this strangely clad man standing up to his way, 08:52 he is in the muddy waters of the River Jordan. 08:53 The crowds were going out. 08:55 Some of the religious leaders of the day 08:58 were interested in John's influence 09:00 and they wanted to go out to also see what all of the fuss 09:02 was about and perhaps even to capitalize 09:05 on some of his popularity. 09:07 And so apparently on-- on one occasion 09:09 there is John and he's preaching, 09:10 he says don't--don't begin to say to yourselves, 09:12 we have Abraham as our father and he's preaching away. 09:15 And there are people there Pharisees, 09:17 religious leaders, scribes and others standing 09:19 on the bank of the River Jordan. 09:20 And John must have directed his attention 09:23 to these when he said, brood of vipers, 09:25 who told you to come here? 09:29 I can imagine them saying, 09:33 did he just called us a herd of snakes. 09:37 Don't even begin to say-- don't even think 09:40 about saying within yourselves 09:41 that we have Abraham as our father. 09:43 Surely, he's not talking to us. 09:45 If God wanted to, He could raise up children 09:47 unto Abraham from these very stones. 09:51 And even now he says the ax is laid to the root of the tree, 09:54 every tree that does not bear good fruit 09:56 is thrown into the fire. 09:59 Have you ever heard one of those sermons, 10:00 that you felt was preached just for you? 10:06 Say amen if that's true. 10:08 Amen. You're thinking to yourself, 10:09 I cannot believe the pastor is airing my dirty laundry 10:12 in front of all these people...right. 10:15 The pastor is preaching and-- and all of the sudden 10:18 you have the sense this-- this resolute sense that God 10:22 is speaking right to you and that the pastor has written 10:24 the whole sermon just for you. 10:28 Beloved, that's not the pastor. 10:31 That's the Holy Spirit, amen. 10:33 That's one of the great things 10:35 about the foolishness of preaching. 10:36 I mean there is no way even the most gifted orator, 10:40 even the most gifted speaker 10:41 could not tailor-make a message 10:43 that would meet the needs and idiosyncrasies 10:45 of every single person in this room. 10:47 So there-- there is a supernatural element 10:50 to the preaching of God's holy word. 10:51 Can you say, amen? Amen. 10:52 We have to remember this by the way. 10:54 Preaching is not entertainment. 10:58 In fact I like to tell people never get to the place 11:00 where you enjoy listening to a sermon. 11:04 If it is something that you enjoy 11:06 in the entertainment sense, this is not a good situation. 11:10 You should listen to a sermon saying this. 11:12 Not I hope the preacher does a good job. 11:13 Now oh, I really like this guy. 11:15 He's one of my favorite preacher. 11:16 You should be thinking God speak, amen. 11:21 Amen. Speak to me 11:22 in your own inimitable way. 11:24 So that I know you are speaking, 11:26 so you've had one of those experiences, I've had it. 11:29 When God is speaking right to you and you know it. 11:34 Some element of your life, you suddenly find 11:39 to be is out of harmony with God's revealed 11:43 will and the preacher through the foolishness of preaching 11:46 is able to put his finger, better yet the finger 11:48 of the Holy Spirit right on that area of your life 11:51 and you think to yourself, I need to make reform, 11:54 I need to make change, 11:56 I'm not living right in every area. 11:57 I need to straighten up in some aspect. 12:00 Are you hearing what I'm saying, say amen? 12:02 Okay, now that's the Holy Spirit. 12:04 So there's no point in getting mad at the preacher 12:06 someone else say, amen. Amen. 12:08 Okay, so here we go. 12:10 Right I got to cover my tracks. 12:14 So the Spirit of God is speaking and clearly 12:15 that's what's happening here on the banks of the River Jordan, 12:17 I mean, the Spirit of God is speaking right through John, 12:20 John is speaking right to the point, 12:22 right to the issue he was a fearless man. 12:24 He said don't begin to say to yourselves 12:26 and he goes to the whole thing. 12:27 The ax is laid to the root of the tree 12:29 and those people know at that moment 12:31 with crystal clarity God is speaking to them. 12:36 Their life is out of harmony with God's revealed will. 12:43 Now more often than not, I'm going to hazard a guess, 12:49 that when you have the experience of hearing 12:51 one of those sermons that you feel like was written 12:53 and composed just for you, your response 12:57 go something like this. 12:59 You say to yourself that preacher is right, 13:01 that pastor is right, better yet the Bible is right 13:04 and I'm going to do something about it. 13:09 I'm going to what, everyone? 13:11 Is that sort of what happens in the mind, yes or no? 13:13 Okay--you know, maybe I really 13:15 shouldn't be doing X Y Z and you know what? 13:17 I'm gonna do something about it by the grace of God. 13:21 This--this response, this reaction 13:24 is something that is built in a very fiber and fabric 13:27 of us as human beings. 13:29 Now you're still there in Luke 3. 13:30 Now look at verse 10. 13:32 John is preaching his heart out. 13:33 Look at the response of the people. 13:36 We're in what verse, everyone? 13:38 Verse 10. So the people asked him, saying, 13:42 "What shall we do then?" 13:49 That's the immediate response. 13:51 John is preaching, they're under conviction, 13:53 they realize their life is out of harmony 13:54 with God's revealed will. 13:55 And their immediate response, the knee-jerk reaction is, 13:59 what do we do? 14:02 Well, obviously what they're saying is, 14:03 what do we do in order to make it right. 14:06 Is that clear everyone, yes or no? 14:08 What do we do in order to remedy the situation? 14:11 What do we do to make this situation right, okay? 14:16 Now open your Bibles to Acts 9 14:19 that's the first scriptural vignette we go from Luke 14:21 through John to Acts, Acts 9. 14:25 When you get there, feel free to say, amen. 14:27 Amen. Acts 9. Now here in Acts 9, 14:31 we find the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, okay. 14:35 I'm beginning in verse 1, Acts 9:1. 14:37 "Then Saul, still breathing 14:39 threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, 14:41 went to the high priest and asked letters from him 14:43 to the synagogues of Damascus, 14:45 so that if he found any who were of the way, 14:47 they were not yet called Christians 14:49 they were simply referred to as the way. 14:51 Whether men or women he might bring them 14:53 bound to Jerusalem is looking for letters of permission. 14:55 Verse 3."As he journeyed he came near Damascus, 14:58 and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 15:01 Then he fell to the ground, and he heard 15:02 a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, 15:05 why are you persecuting Me?" 15:06 And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" 15:10 Just stop for a moment. 15:11 Get the picture in your mind, 15:13 it's not a difficult one to grasp. 15:15 Saul is on his way to Damascus and he has permission 15:18 that if he finds any of these crazy radical fanatic people 15:22 who are associated with Jesus of Nazareth, 15:24 he can take them, men and women buying them 15:27 and bring them back to Jerusalem and so he's--going, 15:30 and suddenly light, light shines around him 15:32 and he falls to the ground. 15:36 Now he, he has the sense 15:38 that he is in the immediate presence of God. 15:40 He doesn't know exactly who that God is but he knows 15:43 it's divine because he says, who are you Lord? 15:48 Who are you what, everyone? 15:49 Right, he knows he's in the presence of God. 15:53 Who are you Lord? 15:56 Now it would be an understatement 16:00 of significant proportions to say, 16:03 that Saul of Tarsus was totally unprepared 16:06 for the answer to that question. 16:08 Are you with me, yes or no? 16:10 See, think of it this way. 16:11 He thinks that if he finds followers of Jesus 16:15 and he arrests them and puts them in prison, 16:17 he thinks he's really doing God a service. 16:20 He thinks that that's what God would want him to do. 16:22 What he's about ready to find in a moment 16:24 is that the very people that he was willing to imprison 16:26 are actually followers of this God, 16:29 Jesus, totally unprepared. 16:35 Who are you Lord? 16:38 Now here's the equivalent to this. 16:40 Imagine with me, I'm driving 16:41 on my way here down to Southern. 16:42 I'm driving on I-75 there and suddenly somewhere 16:47 in Kentucky a bright light shines on the interstate 16:50 and we pull over the Honda Odyssey 16:52 and I have a sense that I'm in the immediate 16:54 presence of God and there is a bright light 16:55 and I can't see anything and I say, 16:57 "Who are you Lord? 16:58 "Why are you persecuting Me?" 17:00 Who are you? 17:03 And then there's the silence and the answer comes back, 17:08 I am the pope. 17:16 Okay, would that be a revolutionary for me? 17:21 Yeah. I'd say, who? 17:26 I'm the-- really? 17:32 Sorry about all those evangelistic sermons, right? 17:39 Now let me clear you something, 17:41 we know that's not gonna happen but the point is, 17:44 is that just as radical 17:47 as that would be was Saul's experience. 17:52 Just as radical, who are you Lord? 17:56 Look at the response in your Bible. 17:58 I am Jesus 18:04 whom you are persecuting. 18:06 I guarantee you that Saul thought to himself 18:09 in that moment, you've got to be kidding me. 18:13 Who? I am Jesus, I'm Jesus of Nazareth. 18:16 I'm the one that these people 18:18 that you are going to throw in prison 18:19 and bind and bound-- bound and bring to Jerusalem, 18:22 I am the Guy, I am Him, I am Jesus, 18:26 I am God, I'm real I am your savior. 18:29 Now, Saul suddenly has the realization 18:31 that what he thought was the will of God 18:33 was in fact not the will of God and he realizes 18:37 that his life is radically out of harmony 18:40 with God's revealed will. 18:41 Are we all clear on that, yes or no? 18:42 I mean His whole world has instantaneously 18:45 in one nanosecond been turned upside down. 18:50 Notice what is his knee-jerk response? 18:55 What's the first thing he says? 18:58 Let's take a look at it. 18:59 We're there in verse 6, 19:01 So he trembling and astonished, 19:04 that's another way of saying, 19:05 he was beside himself. 19:06 Couldn't believe it. 19:08 So he trembling and astonished said, 19:11 reading from the New King James version, 19:12 Lord, what would-- what do you want me to what? 19:18 Do, isn't that interesting? 19:21 That is the very same thing that the people 19:24 who were standing there on the banks of the River Jordan, 19:26 when John the Baptist was preaching his heart out 19:28 and those people realized that their life 19:30 was radically out of harmony with God's revealed will. 19:31 Their immediate visceral knee-jerk reaction was, 19:34 what do we do? 19:36 Hey, so to here with Saul, so to here with Saul. 19:40 Saul realizes that his life was radically 19:42 out of harmony with God's reveled will. 19:43 His whole world just turns upside down in a moment 19:45 and the first thing he says is, "What do I do?" 19:49 Well, obviously what he's saying is, 19:51 what do I do to make it, what? 19:54 Right. Acts 2, third vignette. 19:59 Go with me if you would, Acts 2, 20:00 Peter is preaching, it's the day of Pentecost. 20:02 It's what day, everyone? 20:04 Day of Pentecost. 20:05 Peter's preaching his heart out 20:07 and he is coming to the-- to the close 20:10 of this marvelous well architectured message 20:14 that he's putting together piece by piece, 20:16 point by point quoting from the Old Testament, 20:18 quoting from the Psalms 20:20 and he's bringing it all together. 20:21 And in verse 36 the word 'therefore' occurs. 20:25 Does everyone see that, yes or no? 20:27 Verse 36, 'therefore', now when you see the word, 20:30 'therefore' in the Bible, ask yourself, 20:32 what's that therefore? 20:38 Right, we need to learn how to read the Bible intelligently, 20:41 can you say, amen? Amen. 20:42 Hey, you can read five chapters 20:44 but if you don't understood what you read, 20:46 what good did it do you? 20:48 We need to learn how to think when we're reading, amen. 20:50 And so, so you see there in verse 36, 20:53 'therefore', in other words this is the conclusion, 20:55 that what that word 'therefore' means. 20:56 Point number 1, point number 2, point number 3, 20:58 point number 4, therefore here is my conclusion. 21:01 Peter's been preaching his heart out, 21:02 preaching his guts out. 21:03 The Holy Spirit has fallen and he says, 21:06 therefore, let all the house of Israel know of a certainty 21:12 that this Jesus whom you crucified 21:15 is both Lord and Messiah. 21:20 You think that was startling news to the people 21:23 that were listening to that presentation, yes or no? 21:24 Amen. I mean he could 21:26 not have been bolder. 21:29 Therefore all the house of Israel 21:31 know that you killed the Messiah. 21:39 They realized obviously in that moment as the Holy Spirit 21:45 just pours and sweeps into their hearts, 21:48 of their lives and their plan of action 21:51 in crucifying Jesus of Nazareth 21:52 50 days before that, that decision 21:55 was radically out of harmony with God's revealed will. 21:59 That they are personally culpable 22:01 in the death of God's own Son. 22:05 Now what do you-- what do you think? 22:07 Just--just venture a guess with me if you would? 22:10 Hazard a guess? What do you think 22:12 their immediate knee-jerk response is? 22:15 What do you think they're gonna say? Just take a guess. 22:17 Exactly right. 22:19 Take a look at it there in verse 37, 22:20 "Now when they heard this, heard what? 22:24 Heard that they had killed the Messiah. 22:26 The one that the Jews had been looking forward 22:29 to it with hopeful expectancy for more than 1200 years, 22:32 when they heard this. 22:35 They were cut to the heart. 22:37 That's another way of saying that 22:38 they were absolutely devastated. 22:42 When they heard this, they were cut to the heart 22:43 and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 22:46 "Men and brethren, 22:50 what shall we do?" 22:55 Now obviously, obviously by implication 22:58 what they're saying is, what should we do 23:01 in order to make this, what? Right. 23:06 In each of these three scriptural vignettes, 23:09 John the Baptist is preaching 23:10 there on the banks of the Jordan River, 23:12 Saul on the road to Damascus 23:14 and here with Peter on the day of Pentecost. 23:16 In every instance the people there found out in a moment 23:19 that their lives were radically 23:20 out of harmony with God's revealed will. 23:21 And an each instance the response was the same, 23:24 what do we do? What do we do? What do we do? 23:27 Why would they say that? 23:30 I'll tell you why. 23:32 Because that is built into the very fiber 23:34 and the very fabric of who and what you are as a person. 23:39 That when you realize, your life is out of harmony 23:42 with God's revealed will, your immediate 23:44 instantaneous knee-jerk response 23:46 is to want to do something to make it right. 23:50 Are we all together everyone, yes or no? 23:53 What do we do? 23:54 What do we do? What do we do? 23:57 When we sense that God is displeased with our lifestyle 24:00 or our actions or our choices, 24:02 we say, "God I want to do something about it, 24:05 just show me what to do." 24:09 What's our presentation entitled? 24:10 Do. Do, you're right. 24:13 So then, imagine with me, 24:17 that on this side of the platform 24:18 we are going to place every single non-Christian religion. 24:24 Every single non-Christian religion 24:26 is on this side of the platform, okay? 24:28 And then over here is Christianity, okay? 24:32 So over here we have Hinduism, 24:33 we have Buddhism, the Buddhism is more 24:35 of an atheistic philosophy but for the purposes 24:37 that we have tonight will say Buddhism is here 24:39 and Islam is here and Judaism is here 24:42 and Darwinism is here and animism is here. 24:44 It's all over here, all non-Christian religions 24:46 we're just gonna lump over here. 24:47 Now by doing this we are not saying incidentally 24:50 that they are all the same. 24:52 We, we don't want to be over generalizing here. 24:55 We don't want to be stereotypical. 24:57 We realize that there are radical significant 24:59 and substantive differences in these various religions 25:01 but I'm gonna show you tonight is, 25:03 there is a single scarlet thread 25:05 that runs through every single one of these religions. 25:09 So over here all of the non-Christian religions 25:11 and over here is what, everyone? 25:14 The Christian faith. 25:15 Okay, this is the Christian faith over here. 25:17 Now what is it? 25:18 At the most fundamental elemental core 25:21 that separates that from that. 25:28 What is it? 25:32 Several years ago I saw a video. 25:34 You've probably seen video similar to it. 25:37 And this was a video where, where devotees 25:40 of a certain religion that will remain 25:41 for our purposes tonight unnamed 25:43 were making their way on a spiritual pilgrimage. 25:47 And they were walking, 25:48 I don't remember exactly how far it was? 25:49 It was traditional, 25:51 oh, the better part of several miles. 25:53 And as they were walking, were just the men. 25:56 And they would take every step, 25:57 they were clothed just in kind of a loincloth, 25:59 they have no shirt on. 26:01 And every step they would take, 26:04 they had a-- it could be a leather strip 26:06 or it could be some sort of a knife 26:08 with on a little bit of a chain or something like that. 26:11 They would take a step and they would then 26:13 whip themselves, either around their legs or over their back. 26:16 Every step, so they take a step 26:18 and whip themselves on the back hard. 26:21 And take another step and they whip themselves here, 26:23 take another whip themselves on the inside of the thighs. 26:25 By the time they finally arrived at the place 26:29 where they were going to offer their oblations 26:31 and their devotions they were bloody frothing masses, 26:34 many of whom had past out perhaps some have even died 26:38 in this rigorous ceremony as they were making their way, 26:41 making their way, making their way. 26:42 Dehydration, blood loss, etcetera 26:45 and I looked at that thing, 26:46 I thought why are they--why? 26:49 I'll tell you exactly why. 26:51 They are going to do something that will cause their God 26:58 to look down upon them with favor and say wow, 27:01 look at their devotion, look at how they prostrate 27:06 themselves, look at how they even 27:07 flagellate themselves in my name. 27:09 I am so happy with them and with what they're doing. 27:14 And so make it even easier and shorter 27:15 what they're basically doing is, 27:17 they're saying, I am going to appease 27:19 God by my actions. 27:21 Look at how austere I am. 27:22 Look at how devoted I am, 27:24 I am going to show and by the way their devotion 27:26 in many instances is admirable, 27:28 not the object of their devotion but their devotion, 27:31 if you understand what I'm saying, say amen. 27:32 No question about that. 27:34 The point is-- is they're going to do something 27:36 to make their God happy. 27:40 Martin Luther, let's go there. 27:44 Martin Luther would spend hours upon hours 27:47 scrubbing the floors of the monastery wall 27:50 scrubbing, scrubbing, why? 27:52 Because they were dirty, not so much that. 27:54 He was-- he was trying to do something 27:56 to so humiliate himself to so condescended, 27:59 God look down and say, look at that sinner, 28:01 I mean, look at the way he applies himself. 28:04 He would walk up stairs on his knees. 28:06 What's he doing? 28:07 He's trying to appease God. 28:12 There is a cardinal elemental fundamental truth, 28:16 a scarlet thread that separates 28:18 every one of these from this. 28:25 And so you don't have to take my word for it. 28:27 I'd like to read it to you from the Desire Of Ages. 28:31 It's an old book, you've probably never heard of it. 28:35 Desire of Ages, page 35. 28:37 Listen carefully, very carefully, 28:41 Through heathenism, Satan had for ages 28:45 turned men away from God." 28:48 So for so good. 28:50 Through heathenism we can understand this. 28:52 "Through heathenism, Satan had for ages 28:53 turned the minds of people away from God 28:55 but he won his greatest triumph 28:58 in perverting the faith of Israel." 29:02 That's really where he won the battle 29:04 was when he perverted the faith of Israel, 29:06 by contemplating and worshiping their own conceptions. 29:09 The heathen had lost a knowledge of God 29:12 and had become more and more corrupt, 29:13 so it was with Israel. 29:15 Now, follow carefully. 29:16 The principle that man can save himself 29:20 by his own works lays at the foundation 29:24 of every heathen religion. 29:28 Did you hear that? 29:30 What principle lays at the foundation 29:31 of every heathen religion? 29:33 The principle that man can save himself by his own, what? 29:36 Works. Continue on. 29:38 "It had now become the principle--" 29:40 Are you ready for this? 29:42 "Of the Jewish religion. 29:45 Satan had implanted this principle." 29:52 My lovely wife is sitting right over here 29:54 as I told you last night, I waited a full six weeks 29:57 before I asked her to marry me. 30:00 It was a decision not to be rushed. 30:02 It was a decision to be thoughtfully and, 30:04 and meditatively mulled over. 30:06 And so I waited a full six weeks. 30:08 I was prepared to do within the first six hours. 30:10 So you can appreciate my patience 30:12 in my long-suffering. 30:17 Now as you can probably imagine, 30:19 there were a few things that I didn't 30:20 learned about in those introductory six weeks. 30:29 I think the A students are all sitting over here, 30:30 I'm sorry about that. 30:32 I just feel like they are getting it more. 30:37 One of those things was that she doesn't like garlic and onions. 30:42 Okay now, I'm not saying 30:43 that would've been a deal breaker, okay. 30:46 But it--it might have pushed it back to seven weeks 30:48 I mean it's possible. 30:51 I--I love garlic and onions. 30:54 Anyone here want to say, amen? Amen. 30:57 And by the way I've tried it all, 30:58 I'll say, sweetie, it's so good for you, 31:00 she--she is unconvinced, okay? 31:01 Now if you think I'm vigorous about this, 31:04 my wife's mother I think she has, 31:07 you know, my wife has the two brothers, 31:09 two sisters and I think that my wife's mother Maria, 31:12 believes that there is maybe something wrong 31:14 with Violeta because she's Romanian. 31:17 I mean, she doesn't like garlic and onion, 31:19 there's something wrong here. 31:21 And so what she will sometimes do, 31:23 I've seen her doing on a number of occasions. 31:25 She will prepare a dish, 31:26 she makes the most marvelous food. 31:28 And she--she'll sneak away into a clandestine corner 31:31 of the kitchen and she will begin to chop up garlic 31:36 and or onions or mushrooms, 31:37 I forgot to mention mushrooms. 31:39 But mushrooms would not have been a deal breaker with me. 31:41 And she'll chop these things up, I mean, just into almost, 31:44 you know, almost submicroscopic bits. 31:47 And what she'll do is she will then implant 31:51 them into the dish, right. 31:53 And she'll serve it and I tell you my mother-in-law 31:55 is a cutest thing you've ever seen. 31:57 She--she is about, she is about that tall. 32:01 She has the roundest most beautiful face. 32:04 She is just the picture of innocence 32:06 and cuteness, she says-- Okay, 32:10 so you never think that she was, you know, 32:13 clever like I'm gonna trick you know. 32:14 So what she'll do is she'll take this stuff 32:16 and she'll sneak it into the dish. 32:18 She sneaks it in. 32:19 Now she thinks she's chopped it so small that Violeta 32:21 is not gonna notice it and then at the end of the day, 32:24 she would say, uh-huh, you liked it. 32:26 There was all kinds of garlic or whatever in that but 32:29 invariably what happens is, you know, 32:31 we sit down, we pray for the food. 32:32 So Violeta will say, 32:38 mom she knows immediately 32:41 it was just amazing, she-- mom did you put garlic in this? 32:45 And she say, she-- she it doesn't work, 32:52 I mean you just can't do it, I've been there, 32:55 you just can't, it's like the Pentagon, 32:57 you just can't get it in there, right? 32:58 It's just top secret. 33:03 Well, listen. 33:05 That is what Satan did with this principle 33:08 that is the foundation of all heathen religions. 33:10 You see the principle that lays the foundation 33:13 of all heathen religions is the principle 33:15 that man can save himself by his own what? 33:17 Works. Now notice what she says 33:19 there in that statement. 33:20 She says that-- that the devil had been using 33:22 one of the most important tools in his toolbox, 33:24 uh-huh, heathenism to be turning the minds of people 33:27 away for centuries upon centuries upon centuries 33:29 but he won his greatest triumph not through heathenism 33:32 but when he took that principle 33:33 and he implanted it in Israel. 33:38 If anyone should've known the great truths 33:40 of righteousness by faith, it was Israel. 33:43 They had the whole sanctuary service 33:45 that was righteousness by faith, by faith, by faith, 33:48 in the lamb, in the lamb, in the priest, 33:50 in the priest, the whole thing 33:51 was righteousness by faith. 33:52 And somehow Satan amazingly, 33:55 supernaturally implanted this principle, 33:58 so that when Jesus shows up on the scene, 34:00 the Pharisees believe that they're going to be saved 34:03 by their rigorous adherence to the Mosaic Law. 34:09 He had implanted this principle. 34:12 It's the foundation of all of that and worse yet, 34:18 it caters exactly to your carnal nature, 34:24 so your carnal nature and--and frankly 34:26 my nature the moment that I learn that God is upset, 34:29 the moment that I learn that God is offended, 34:30 the moment that I learn that the my life is radically out 34:32 of harmony with God's revealed will. 34:34 My knee-jerk response is, what shall I do? 34:39 I'm going to do something to make God happy. 34:41 I'm gonna do something to make God love me, 34:43 I'm gonna do something and God 34:44 is gonna look down and say, ooh! 34:46 That's one of my guys right there. 34:47 Look at David Asscherick, he is powerful, 34:49 he is awesome, he is what? 34:54 The principle that man can save himself 34:57 by his own works is the scarlet thread that runs through 35:01 every single one of this face. 35:08 The Christian faith is different. 35:12 The core of the Christian faith 35:18 is that you can't do anything. 35:23 You're dust, you're dirty dust. 35:30 What you're gonna do? 35:31 What are you going to do to appease and infinitely holy, 35:36 infinitely righteous, infinitely existing God, 35:39 what you're gonna do? 35:41 Give me a break. 35:43 You don't serve a little statue beloved. 35:47 You serve the invisible omnipotent, 35:49 omnibenevolent God of the universe. 35:51 What you are gonna do? 35:56 Well, there is one thing you can do. 36:00 Open your Bible to John 6. 36:03 John, what chapter, everyone? 36:06 John 6. So Jesus has an encounter here. 36:12 We'll pick it up in verse 25. 36:14 You know the story the day before Jesus 36:15 has fed the 5,000 with the loaves and fishes, 36:17 right, remember the story everyone, yes or no? 36:20 Okay, He fed the 5,000 with the loaves and fishes 36:22 and--and so He must have made some very good sandwiches 36:25 that day because people were so enthusiastic about, 36:28 you know, Jesus' sandwiches that they actually walked 36:32 all the way around the lake to get some more. 36:37 That's--that's true story, it's biblical. 36:39 And they pretended like they just happen to circumstantially, 36:43 serendipitously oh, oh, oh look, oh, it's Jesus. 36:50 Oh, you know, oh you walk that way and we walk this way, right. 36:54 So we pick it up in verse 25 John 6:25. 36:56 "And when they found him on the other side of the sea, 36:58 they said to him, ''Oh, Rabbi, 37:01 when did you come here?'' 37:06 But Jesus knows what they're up to. 37:08 Verse 26. "Jesus answered and said to them, 37:10 "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, 37:12 not because you saw the signs, 37:13 but because you ate of the" what? 37:15 "The loaves." And I know 37:16 what you're looking for, you're hungry. 37:19 You want another sandwich. 37:21 Verse 27, follow this through, verse 27. 37:25 Notice what Jesus says, 37:27 "Do not labor for the food which perishes." 37:29 Stop working for the food that perishes. 37:34 "But for the food which endures to everlasting, what? 37:38 Life, which the Son of Man will give you because God 37:40 the father has set his seal on Him. 37:43 Do these people instantaneously know 37:46 that Jesus is onto them, yes or no? 37:50 I mean, they're having the same experience here that, 37:52 that the people there on the banks 37:53 of the River Jordan had, that Saul 37:55 have on the road to Damascus and that the people 37:56 did on the day of Pentecost, they're--they're pretending 37:58 like they just, you know, serendipitously ran 38:00 into Jesus and Jesus says, 38:01 "I know what you're looking for and don't play games." 38:06 By the way it's very interesting. 38:08 Many times in the Bible, you find Jesus 38:10 actually discouraging the crowds from following Him. 38:15 Jesus would rather have 12 people 38:17 that were worshiping Him in spirit and in truth 38:19 than 12,000 that were worshiping Him in error. 38:22 Jesus is not about numbers as such, 38:25 He is more about quantity than-- quality rather than quantity. 38:31 Jesus could have had all the followers He wanted, 38:33 He could have lured them with some supernatural magic show, 38:35 so they come on the other side of the lake there 38:38 and they-- oh, Jesus, oh look--what amazing. 38:40 Hey, do you got any more of those, 38:41 those sandwiches and Jesus says, 38:43 I know what you're looking for. 38:45 And stop caring and laboring for the food that perishes. 38:47 What you really need is the food 38:49 that endures to everlasting life. 38:50 And I'm gonna give it to you and the people said, 38:54 "Oh, He is onto us." 38:58 He knows the Spirit of God has pierced their heart and they, 39:01 they know they are standing in the presence of somebody 39:03 who can read their very motives, their very thoughts. 39:09 What do you think? 39:10 What do you just think they might say? 39:15 What do you, what do you think they just might say? 39:16 Help me out here. 39:19 Yes, you're exactly right. 39:20 You're smart bunch especially this group over here, 39:22 look at what they say. 39:24 Verse 28, they said to him, 39:27 What shall we-- let's all say it together, 39:29 do that we may work the works of God. 39:32 In other words, wow, Jesus we can tell 39:34 that God is happy with you. 39:35 What can we do to work the works of God? 39:39 We want God to be pleased with us, 39:42 just like He's pleased with you. 39:43 We want God to manifest Himself on us 39:44 just like He manifest Himself on you. 39:46 Jesus, what can we do? 39:53 Are you ready for Jesus' answer? 40:04 What did Jesus say when they ask that question? 40:08 Jesus, what do we that-- we want to make God happy. 40:10 We realize that You are on to us. 40:12 We realize that we were really following You 40:14 because of the sandwiches, I mean, what can we do? 40:17 What can we do to work the marvelous works of God? 40:21 Verse 29, are you ready for this? 40:23 I hope and pray you are ready, God have mercy. 40:25 Here we go verse 29. 40:26 "Jesus answered and said to them, 40:28 'This is the work of God, drum roll please, 40:33 that you believe in Him whom He hath sent." 40:40 Believe. You want to make God happy. 40:45 You want to work the works of God. 40:46 You want to make your life right with God, believe. 40:51 Well, that sounds just like 40:52 what Jesus said to Nicodemus, doesn't it? 40:54 Nicodemus. I know you're having trouble grasping this, 40:56 but please listen to me carefully. 40:57 For God so loved the world, Nicodemus, 41:00 that he gave His only begotten Son, 41:02 Nicodemus, that whosoever believeth 41:07 in him should not perish but have everlasting life. 41:10 That sound just like the Apostle Paul, 41:12 the great preacher of grace. 41:14 He said, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, 41:15 for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one, who? 41:21 Believes to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 41:25 They said, what do we do, 41:26 we want to work the works of God, what can we do? 41:28 And Jesus said, this is the work of God, 41:30 here it is, believe on Him, whom He has sent. 41:36 Beloved here is the bottom-line core 41:39 of what separates all of this from this. 41:43 Over there I'm going to do something, 41:46 that is going to make God happy. 41:49 I'm going to do something to appease God. 41:52 I'm going to do something in order to put 41:54 my life right with God. 41:56 Something I do, is gonna cause God looked out 41:59 upon me and say, wow, that David is something, 42:02 he's got his act together, over here but over here 42:05 the great truth of the gospel is you can't do anything. 42:12 God had to do it. 42:14 Amen. You are in such a pickle, 42:18 you couldn't even lift your head off of the pillow. 42:22 You were stuck. 42:25 You can't do anything to appease God. 42:28 He's infinitely Holy, He's infinitely awesome, 42:31 He's infinitely righteous and you're dirty dust. 42:36 So God looked down. 42:39 And God said, "I want to rescue those people 42:42 who were in the bad way. Amen. 42:45 But I cannot compromise the principles of my law, 42:48 for is the very foundation and essence of my character. 42:54 How can I exercise with justice and mercy? 42:57 And then he looks to Jesus. 43:00 And they have that council that Ellen White 43:02 talks about in Early Writings and they discuss. 43:04 There's only one way and Jesus comes down 43:09 and Jesus lives His life as a man. 43:13 Beloved, I want you to think about that for just a moment, 43:14 the infinite eternal illimitable God 43:17 of the universe became a man. 43:22 Now that in and of itself is a condensation 43:25 that we will never understand properly 43:26 not even given eternity. 43:28 But more than that He became a man 43:31 in the lightness of sinful flesh and then worst than that, 43:35 He died naked, bruised, beaten, bloody, 43:37 battered and bludgeoned on a tree. 43:44 And God looks down. 43:46 And God says, 43:49 "Now I can accept that." 43:54 You believe in what God has done. 43:59 Amen. The core of the Christian faith, 44:02 beloved, is that it is not about 44:04 what you do but about your belief in what God has done. 44:08 Amen. Over here something 44:10 I do the core and the center is me, 44:12 something I do, I'm going to recommend 44:14 myself to God, I'm going to do something 44:16 that God is gonna look at me. no, no, no, over here 44:19 God looks down and He sees His Son 44:21 and we put our faith in His Son and He accepts His Son 44:25 and because we put our faith in His Son, 44:26 we also are accepted in the beloved. 44:29 Amen. Not on the basis of what we do 44:33 but on the basis of what He has done. Amen. 44:38 Jesus, what do we do? 44:39 We want to work the works of God too. 44:41 This is the work of God. 44:43 Southern Adventist University and visitors, 44:45 this is the work of God, believe on Him whom He has sent. 44:51 Amen. And there's Jesus. 44:58 Hanging naked and blooded on that tree 45:01 and you look and you say, that's important, 45:06 that's very important for solemn, for somber. 45:11 And then at almost the next breathe, we'll say. 45:13 Now what do I get to do? 45:17 I tell you what you get to do. 45:19 You get to praise God for what He has done. Amen. 45:23 What are you gonna do? Now I'm a vegan vegetarian. 45:28 And I make no apologizes for that. 45:33 But sometimes we think to ourselves, 45:35 you know what. I see what God has done. 45:38 And it is marvelous, it is awesome, it is important. 45:40 But you know what? 45:42 I think I need to spice the mixture up a little bit. 45:46 I think I need to add in a little of my own righteousness 45:49 and you know what, I think I want to become a vegetarian. 45:52 I think then God will really be happy with me 45:54 and He'll look down and He'll say, 45:55 there is my son and there is David, the vegetarian. 46:04 Now beloved, you cannot say, no one in this room can say, 46:07 oh, he was making fun of health reform. 46:09 You got to give me a break. 46:10 I was health reformer before I even knew 46:11 what a health reformer was. 46:13 I was a vegan before I even knew 46:14 what a Seventh-day Adventist was? 46:15 Listen, I believe in eating right 46:18 and living right and being happy and healthy. 46:20 Can someone say, amen. Amen. 46:22 But I don't think for a moment that my vegetarianism 46:25 recommends me to a Holy God. Amen. 46:30 We say, I'm gonna keep the Sabbath. 46:32 Good for you. 46:34 You should keep the Sabbath. 46:37 And I mean keep the Sabbath in spirit and in truth. Amen. 46:40 Not just go to church Sabbath morning 46:42 and then go home and take a nap. 46:44 Or worse yet, is he really gonna say this. 46:47 Go to church and then go out to a restaurant 46:50 and call that Sabbath keeping. Amen. 46:52 So, oh, yeah, yeah, we're gonna, 46:53 oh yeah, we'll meet you at T.G.I. Friday's, 46:55 we'll go keep the Sabbath at T.G.I. Friday's. 46:57 Listen, let just be crystal clear about something. 47:00 You're not keeping a Sabbath, 47:02 if you are eating at T.G.I. Friday's 47:04 on the Sabbath, okay. 47:06 Because there's this little thing in the commandment 47:08 that says, that you don't work and your son doesn't work 47:11 and your daughter doesn't work and nobody 47:13 and the stranger that is within your gates, 47:15 they don't work either. Amen. 47:17 You know what that means, the stranger 47:18 that are within your gates. 47:20 It doesn't mean that if no one's in your gates, 47:22 you can cause all the people outside to work, 47:23 what it means is... right. 47:28 So the ladies, the ladies are just thinking, 47:31 I really need my lawn moved, 47:33 so tonight I'll my husband sleep outside of the gate 47:36 so tomorrow on the Sabbath, he can mow the lawn. 47:39 Beloved, what it means is those people 47:41 that you have influence over it, your spirit influence. 47:44 Why would you cause other people to work on the day 47:46 that you're taking his day. Amen. 47:49 And you hear some people say, 47:50 "Oh, but they're gonna work anyway. 47:53 Oh, well, they already gonna work." 47:54 I mean, they're already working and it's so much easier for me. 47:58 Well, let me tell you something. 47:59 Let's follow that to its logical conclusion. 48:01 Thieves are gonna steal, 48:02 whether or not you buy stolen goods. 48:09 Yes or no, come on. Yes. 48:11 So you say, well, I didn't tell him to steal, 48:14 I just purchased the DVD player for $50. 48:19 Is anybody gonna be comfortable with that yes or no? 48:22 Beloved, listen to me, 48:24 we should be keeping God's Holy Sabbath 48:26 not as a legalistic requirement but out of a love relationship 48:30 for what He has done, amen. Amen. 48:32 Your Sabbath keeping, even if it's done correctly, 48:35 even if it's done in spirit 48:36 and in truth does not recommend you to God, 48:38 it is a love response to God. Amen. 48:42 All right, so let's wrap all these up here. 48:47 Do? 48:51 What shall we do? 48:53 What shall we do? What shall we do? 48:55 Built into the very fiber and fabric of humanity. 48:59 I'm gonna do something, God's gonna be happy with me 49:02 and He's gonna look down, He's gonna think, wow. 49:03 He's really... 49:05 Open your Bibles to Philippians 3. 49:07 Let's wrap this up. 49:10 Philippians 3. 49:17 You can do something, 49:20 you can believe on Him whom He has sent. 49:25 Philippians 3. 49:30 Who wrote the Book of Philippians, 49:31 who was that tell me? That's Paul, that's right. 49:35 And Paul was concerned. 49:39 Paul was concerned that there were people 49:43 who were influencing the church at Philippi 49:46 and they were saying something like this. 49:48 They were saying, yes, Jesus is important 49:49 but you also have to do this and this and this and this. 49:53 So it's Jesus plus something else 49:55 that equals salvation, okay. 49:58 So we pick it up in verse 1, Philippians 3:1. 50:00 "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. 50:03 For me to write the same things to you, 50:04 is not grievous, but for you it is safe. 50:06 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers." 50:10 Look at this, "Beware of the mutilation." 50:14 That is the pejorative way, 50:16 a sarcastic way of referring to the Jews. 50:18 He's talking about circumcision here. 50:20 He says, "Beware of those who mutilate themselves." 50:22 Now of course God gave the ordinance of circumcision 50:25 but the problem was is that 50:26 people were now trusting to circumcision. 50:29 Because remember, 50:30 "The principle that man can save himself 50:31 by his own works, lay at the foundation 50:32 of every heathen religion, 50:34 but it would become a principle of the Jewish religion." 50:36 So they actually started to trust in this ceremony 50:40 rather than looking through this ceremony 50:41 and what the ceremony represented on the other side. 50:45 Beware of the mutilation, you got to hang in there. 50:48 "For we are the circumcision, who worship God in Spirit 50:51 and rejoice in Christ Jesus, 50:52 and have how much confidence in the flesh." 50:53 How much confidence? "Though I might--" 50:56 Now Paul here begins to kind of recites, 50:57 took out his chest, you know, burst his buttons a little bit, 50:59 he begins to recite his own spiritual resume. 51:02 You're ready, here we go. 51:03 "Though I also might have confidence in the flesh. 51:06 If anyone else thinks 51:07 he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so. 51:09 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, 51:11 of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, 51:14 concerning the law, a Pharisee, 51:17 concerning zeal, I persecuting the church, 51:19 concerning the righteousness 51:21 which is in the law, I was blameless." 51:24 Paul here says, people are coming in 51:25 and they're telling you, yeah, Christ is good. 51:27 Yeah, Christ is important. 51:28 Yeah, righteousness by faith, 51:29 all of that stuff, but you got to be circumcised also. 51:32 So it's Jesus plus my works. 51:36 And Paul says, if anybody could boast about what they've done, 51:40 I could boast more than any of these people 51:41 that are harassing you, I could boast 51:43 and then he recites his spiritual resume. 51:45 Now, pick it up in verse 7, 51:47 "But what things were gain to me, 51:50 those I counted loss for Christ." 51:53 What things does he talking about in context, 51:55 all of that stuff that he had done 51:58 before he had a saving relationship with Jesus. 52:01 He says, "But what things were gain to me, 52:03 those things that I used to trust it." 52:04 He says, "I counted them all but lost, 52:07 when I met Jesus on that Damascus Road." 52:10 Look at there in verse 7, 52:11 "But what things were gain to me, 52:12 those I counted loss for Christ." 52:15 Yes doubtless, I count all things 52:18 but lost for the excellency 52:20 of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, 52:23 for whom I have suffered the loss of all things 52:25 and do count them but dung, 52:29 that I may win Christ and be found in Him, 52:31 not having my own righteousness which is of the law, 52:33 but that which is through the faith of Christ, 52:34 the righteousness which is of God by faith. 52:39 That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, 52:41 and the fellowship of His sufferings, 52:42 being made conformed under His death, 52:45 if, by any means, I might attain 52:46 under the resurrection of the dead. 52:47 Not as though I have already attain, 52:49 either we are already perfect, 52:50 but I press on if that I may apprehend 52:53 that for which also I apprehended of Christ Jesus. 52:55 Brethren, he says, I count not myself to have apprehended, 52:57 I'm not perfect, but there's one thing I do. 52:59 I forget those things that are behind." 53:01 In context what's behind? 53:03 All of his old works that he used to trust. 53:04 You're, forgetting those things which are behind 53:06 and reaching forward into those things that are before. 53:08 I press on toward the mark 53:10 of the price of the high calling 53:11 of God in Jesus Christ. Amen. 53:16 Now let's rewind. 53:20 Let's rewind and go look at verse there, 53:22 that is so strong so as to almost be unbelievable. 53:28 Now I'm reading here from the New King James. 53:30 I recited there from the King James, 53:31 but let's look at verse 8. 53:33 "Yes indeed, I also count all things but loss 53:34 for the excellency of the knowledge 53:35 of Christ Jesus my Lord, 53:36 for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, 53:37 and do count them as rubbish." 53:41 Any other versions out there read rubbish. 53:45 Raise your hands if your Bible says, rubbish. 53:47 Let me tell you that is rubbish. 53:50 Because the word is dung 53:53 and the translators of the New King James 53:55 did not want to offend our finer sensibilities. 53:58 And so they said, you know rubbish. 54:02 That's not what Paul said. 54:04 Paul said, all of that stuff that I was trusting in, 54:06 before I came to faith in Christ. 54:08 Before I realize that it is Jesus death alone 54:10 that can recommend me to God. 54:12 All of that stuff I was trusting it before, 54:13 he says, it's all dung. 54:16 You know, what dung is? 54:19 Do you have dung in Tennessee? 54:22 I'm from Wyoming. And we have lots of dung. 54:26 We have more dung than people in Wyoming. 54:29 There's dung every where. 54:30 Okay, so you know what dung is, right, okay. 54:34 Dung is dodo, okay. 54:42 So let's put it together then. 54:43 What's Paul saying, you know what Paul is saying. 54:45 Paul is saying, before I came to faith in Christ, 54:48 before I realize that the true ground of my acceptance 54:50 with God is what Jesus has done 54:52 and not what I do, 54:53 that the locus of the Christian faith 54:55 is not with me, it's with God. 54:58 He said, before I knew that, I was trusting in all of my do, 55:01 but now I discovered that my do is dodo. 55:13 You won't forget that one. 55:20 You love him. 55:26 Isaiah says our righteousness's are as filthy rags. 55:31 Notice with me that Isaiah does not say 55:32 all righteousness is as filthy rags. 55:37 He said, our righteousness's are as filthy rags. 55:44 You do need a righteousness that will enable you to stand 55:48 in the sight of a Holy God without a mediator. 55:51 You are going to need that righteousness. 55:55 I don't trust that you're filthy rags. 55:58 They won't even get you out of the gate. 56:01 They won't even get your head off the pillow. 56:04 You are going to need an infinite righteousness. 56:08 You are going to need a perfect holiness and righteousness. 56:13 You think where am I ever gonna get such a thing? 56:15 You know, where you're gonna get it? 56:16 You're gonna get it at the foot of the cross. 56:21 When you say, Jesus, I lay all of my do here 56:26 and I accept what You have done. 56:32 The heart and soul of the Christian faith 56:34 beloved is not primarily about what you do 56:38 but about what God has done and as you know. 56:44 Is obedience important? 56:45 Absolutely, of course, 56:46 we're gonna talk about obedience tomorrow morning. 56:47 There's no question obedience is very important, 56:50 absolutely important and even essential 56:52 but obedience has to be put in its right context 56:56 or our do becomes dodo. 57:05 The message of righteousness by faith 57:09 is the core of the Seventh-day Adventist message. Amen. 57:13 People were writing to Ellen White 57:15 and they're saying Ellen White, the Three Angels' Messages, 57:19 how does righteousness by faith 57:20 factor into the Three Angels' Messages 57:22 and she wrote back without equivocation 57:23 and she said righteousness by faith 57:27 is the Three Angels' Messages in verity. 57:32 Beloved, the cornerstone of Adventism is not the Sabbath. 57:37 The Sabbath is an important part, 57:38 nobody would deny that. 57:40 The core of Seventh-day Adventism 57:42 is biblical Christianity 57:43 and the core of biblical Christianity is faith, 57:46 trusting God to do what God has said 57:49 and trusting and believing that Jesus died for your sins 57:53 and His death, His burial 57:55 and His resurrection was the death you deserved 57:57 was the burial that you deserve 57:58 and His resurrection can become your resurrection. 58:03 It's the righteousness that you can't acquire 58:08 by believing. 58:12 Many of our young people and do not tell me for a moment 58:16 that I'm just whistle Dixie. 58:18 I've done too many weeks of prayers, 58:20 I've sat down with too many triad, 58:22 academy students and too many triad Adventist young people, 58:25 who told me in the plainest language, 58:27 they never understood 58:28 the principle of righteousness by faith. 58:31 That is a crime. 58:37 If our young people are gonna leave the church, 58:39 we need to let them. Amen. 58:43 They want to leave the church, we need to let them, 58:44 God lets them, we need to honor their commitment 58:46 but let's not let them leave the church on a pretense. 58:51 They need to hear the truth. Amen. 58:54 Don't for a moment let them think 58:56 that they're turning their back on a church. 58:57 They're not turning their back on a church, 58:59 they're turning their back on their Savior. Amen. 59:04 It's not all about having your name in the books, 59:06 it's not all about being at the right educational institution. 59:09 It's about trusting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. 59:14 That is the core of what it means to be 59:15 a Seventh-day Adventist, beloved. 59:17 Are there other idiosyncratic things 59:19 in the Seventh-day Adventist faith? 59:20 Yes, there are and there are all important 59:22 but let's not mistake, 59:23 let's not make the terrible mistake 59:24 of taking the accouterments of Seventh-day Adventism 59:28 and making it the core. 59:30 We don't want a major in the minors 59:32 and minor in the majors. 59:34 We got to keep Jesus right in the center, 59:36 someone say, amen. Amen. 59:38 Because it's much easier to walk away from a church 59:40 than to just walk away from Jesus. |
Revised 2014-12-17