Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM200011S
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00:01 A great controversy rages between good and evil
00:03 and humanity is caught in the crossfire. 00:06 Satan has crafted his most cunning end-time deceptions 00:09 but his plans are doomed to fail. 00:11 Get ready to anchor your minds in truth 00:13 as the Bible exposed his lies 00:16 and prepares us for our soon-coming Savior. 00:19 And now live from the Campus Hill Church of SDA's 00:22 in Loma Linda, California, 00:24 we bring you this presentation of: 00:31 Good afternoon and welcome to Winter Camp Meeting 00:34 here from the Campus Hill Church in Loma Linda, CA. 00:37 Happy Sabbath! Happy Sabbath! 00:40 What an incredible day we've had so far! 00:43 And we're in for another treat this afternoon. 00:46 We're so glad that you have tuned in at home and you are 00:49 watching us for our Winter Camp Meeting here as well. 00:52 Our speaker of the hour this afternoon is Pastor Ryan Day. 00:57 He joined the 3ABN family almost two years ago. 01:01 And we are so blessed because he's a student of the Word 01:04 of God. He's a man of prayer, 01:07 and he has an incredible sing- ing voice. But this afternoon 01:10 we're going to hear him open up the Word of God 01:14 and share with us. The title of his message 01:16 is Grace Plus. 01:19 Before he comes and ministers 01:21 Tim Parton is at the piano and will be doing an amazing 01:24 song: Wonderful Peace. 01:27 After Tim plays and sings the next voice you will hear 01:30 is that of Pastor Ryan Day. 01:43 Far away in the depths 01:47 of my spirit tonight 01:53 rolls a melody 01:56 sweeter than psalm; 02:03 In celestial-like strains 02:08 it unceasingly flows 02:13 o'er my soul 02:16 like an infinite calm. 02:24 Peace! peace! 02:29 wonderful peace, 02:33 coming down from the Father 02:39 above, 02:44 Sweep over my spirit 02:50 forever, I pray, 02:56 in fathomless 03:00 billows of love. 03:09 I am resting tonight 03:15 in this wonderful peace, 03:20 I'm resting sweetly 03:23 in Jesus' control, 03:28 For I'm safe 03:32 from all danger 03:35 by night and by day... 03:40 and His glory 03:43 is flooding my soul. 03:51 So I sing: Peace! peace! 03:57 wonderful peace, 04:01 coming down 04:04 from the Father above, 04:11 Sweep over my spirit 04:17 forever, 04:20 I pray, 04:27 in fathomless 04:32 billows 04:34 of love. 04:47 Amen! 04:54 Mr. Parton never ceases to amaze. Phenomenal musician, 04:58 Amen? Amen! My brother from another mother! 05:03 Well... you awake? 05:06 Are you sure? Not going to be falling asleep on me 05:09 after eatin' that fine dinner? 05:11 All right. If I see you out there sleepin' 05:15 I'm going to make everyone stand up and I don't know... 05:17 do jumping jacks or the hokey pokey or something. 05:20 We can't be falling asleep in God's house 05:22 'cause we have a very very important message 05:25 to talk about this evening. 05:28 The title of the message is Grace Plus. 05:32 Interesting title. 05:34 You know, I have to give a shout out right now. 05:36 I don't know if she's watching. She may be watching 05:38 but I actually was not originally supposed to deliver 05:42 this message. The person who was originally supposed to 05:45 deliver this message was Ms. Shelley Quinn. 05:48 And God bless her heart... she has been 05:51 through it in the past few months. 05:54 My heart breaks that she can't be here with us 05:56 because I know that she was so much looking forward 05:59 to being here to deliver this message. 06:01 And I'm a little semi-nervous because I know that 06:04 this is just right down her alley, this type of message. 06:07 She's the champion of communicating God's grace. 06:11 And to be able to be given the opportunity 06:13 to stand in her place and preach this message 06:15 is a huge honor. And when you say your prayers 06:18 please lift up a prayer for Ms. Shelley Quinn. 06:21 She's had a very serious back surgery 06:24 recently and of course has another one coming up. 06:26 But Shelley, if you're watching: we love you! 06:28 We know you're back home recovering, 06:30 and thank you so much for your ministry. 06:33 Before we go any further, though, I want to say 06:35 a prayer. Isn't that important? 06:37 Amen! Absolutely. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. 06:40 Father in heaven, Lord, we thank you so much 06:44 for the fact that we are alive and well and here 06:48 to listen to Your Word. 06:50 To be able to wake up another day and breathe another fresh 06:53 breath of life because we know You sustain our life, Lord. 06:57 You are a God of grace indeed. 07:00 You are a God of love and mercy and compassion. 07:03 And we want to uplift You today as we have in song 07:06 and in message throughout this Camp Meeting. 07:08 But Lord, now we ask that You give us as You have been 07:11 give us the spiritual eyesight and the spiritual hearing 07:16 and the spiritual mind of Christ 07:18 to be able to understand, to comprehend, and to rightly 07:22 divide Your Word of truth at this hour. 07:24 I thank you, Lord, again for this wonderful opportunity 07:27 and I ask that You just help me just disappear from this message 07:30 that Jesus Christ can appear 07:33 and that the Holy Spirit will speak to each and every one 07:35 of our hearts and minds. That's our prayer 07:36 in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen! 07:39 Grace Plus! 07:41 Man! Grace plus what? 07:48 It was a sunny day in northeast Arkansas. 07:53 I was a junior in high school 07:56 and I was in a math class. I'll never forget it. 08:01 I was in math class 08:02 and class was particularly boring up to this point 08:07 as you could imagine math class to be. 08:10 And interestingly enough 08:13 all of a sudden on kind of the back side of the building 08:18 that we were in we heard this very loud boom! 08:24 Now previous to this 08:27 the caretaker of the grounds had been mowing the grass. 08:33 We thought as students 08:35 that the caretaker of the grounds 08:38 had somehow forgotten how to drive that mower 08:41 and we thought she just plowed the mower 08:44 into the side of the building. 08:45 And so we began to stand up and walk towards 08:50 the window, some of the students in the class. 08:52 And as we began to pull back the shades 08:55 and look outside there was nothing to be seen. 08:57 And then at that very moment 09:00 there was a loud roar and a who-who-who-who-who-who. 09:07 The ground began to shake. 09:09 Whoo-ee! Now for you people in California 09:12 that ain't nothing, right? 09:15 You're like: "Yeah, whatever... earthquake. " 09:18 "Yeah, right. " 09:19 In northeast Arkansas that's a big deal. 09:22 Listen, it was a big earthquake. I mean, it shook! 09:26 4.5! Whoo! 09:32 We were shaking... we were shaking; we were trembling. 09:38 We had never experienced this before. 09:39 Actually, where I grew up in northeast Arkansas 09:42 we live on a very active fault line. It's just not maybe 09:46 as active as the West Coast. 09:47 But it's actually a notorious fault line: the New Madrid 09:50 fault line. And this particular day 4.5 09:54 we felt it; it terrified us. But what was interesting: 09:57 I'll never forget the teacher's reaction. 09:59 Now you would expect - of all people in the classroom - 10:02 the one person to be able to hold their composure 10:05 should have been the teacher, right? 10:08 As soon as that ground began to shake 10:10 she said: "Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! What do we do? 10:13 What do we do? What do we DO? " 10:19 I got up from my chair 10:21 and I walked over beside the front door there 10:24 where there was stuck to the side of the wall 10:28 Emergency Drills... which we had done many times. 10:34 I said: "I think we're supposed to get under our desks 10:37 and take cover. " 10:38 She said: "That sounds like a good idea. " 10:43 The teacher didn't know! 10:45 And it hit me in that very moment: "Like OK, 10:48 what else? " You know, right? If there's another type of 10:50 disaster or something happened we've gotta fend for ourselves 10:53 because the teacher don't even know what to do. " Right? 10:55 But you know, my friend, I tell you that story 10:57 because the Bible tells us of a time of trouble 11:01 that is coming in the near future. 11:03 And even in the writings and inspiration of Mrs. White 11:05 we are told that a time of shaking 11:08 will come upon the church 11:11 and that this shaking will be caused by 11:16 the straight truth and the preaching of the straight truth 11:19 of God's Word. 11:21 Now I'm just lettin' you know 11:23 today you're going to hear some straight preaching. 11:26 All right now, you may not like some of the things 11:28 I have to say. I prayed in advance. 11:30 I have to believe in faith that the Holy Spirit 11:33 is speaking today. We're going to go directly 11:35 to the Word of God and we're going to talk about 11:37 one of the most foundational significant topics 11:41 in Christianity. We're going to go to the very heart and soul 11:44 of the gospel and we're going to ask ourselves 11:45 a simple question: how are we saved? 11:50 Are we saved by grace alone? 11:53 Or are we saved by grace plus something else? 11:58 That's the question we're asking. 12:01 Come with me to Luke chapter 3. We're going to go to our Bibles. 12:04 Luke chapter 3. 12:07 This is going to set us up very nicely because 12:10 this particular text is talking about John the Baptist. 12:14 John the Baptist was a very interesting gentleman. 12:17 We find that John the Baptist is out in the middle 12:22 of the wilderness, and he is... He's been getting 12:26 the attention of everyone around the community, right? 12:29 I mean, word has spread 12:31 that there's this weird crazy-dressed lookin' fella 12:35 out in the wilderness, you know, preaching the gospel. 12:39 Preaching the straight truth, and he's stirring up the masses. 12:41 We're going to be starting in verse 4 Luke chapter 3. 12:44 Verse 4 and we're going to read through verse 10. Notice 12:47 what the Bible says. Luke chap- ter 3 beginning with verse 4. 12:50 "As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet 12:53 saying: 'the voice of one crying in the wilderness 12:56 prepare the way of the Lord. 12:57 Make His path straight. every valley shall be filled 13:01 and every mountain and hill brought low. 13:03 The crooked places shall be made straight 13:06 and the rough ways smooth. 13:08 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. ' " 13:13 John the Baptist was that individual who was to show up 13:16 and make that path straight. He was to preach a straight truth 13:20 testimony message to the people to prepare them 13:23 for the soon arrival of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. 13:26 But this brother was a little bit more than just a straight 13:29 teacher, right? He REALLY preached! 13:32 Notice the next verse here... verse 7: 13:35 "Then he said to the multi- tude... " So there's a multitude 13:38 of people gathered. He's preach- ing and notice what he says: 13:41 "He said to the multitude that came out to be baptized 13:44 unto him: 'Brood of vipers! 13:47 Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ' 13:50 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance and do not 13:54 begin to say to yourselves: 'We have Abraham as our father ' 13:57 for I say to you that God is able to raise up children 14:00 to Abraham from these very stones. " Amen? 14:04 "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the tree. 14:07 Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit 14:10 is cut down and thrown into the fire. " 14:14 Now if I were to come out here today 14:16 and the very words out of my mouth 14:19 would have been: "What's up, brood of vipers? " 14:27 You know, that's... We don't preach like that today, right? 14:31 I'm not saying there's not some people that do. 14:34 You know, there's some people that... they say some stuff, 14:37 right? Gets them in trouble. 14:40 But John was a straight preacher 14:42 and he's preaching the straight testimony of God's Word. 14:46 He knows, by the power of the Holy Spirit 14:48 dwelling in him, he knows for sure 14:51 that these people who are coming need to hear the gospel 14:55 because Jesus Christ the Messiah is on His way. 14:58 And he's preaching the truth; he's preaching repentance, 15:02 he's preaching confession. 15:03 And these people are hearing the message 15:06 and they're cut to the heart. 15:09 They recognize that what he's preaching to them is truth 15:12 and that their lives are not in harmony with that truth. 15:16 So notice verse 10: "So the people asked him saying: 15:22 'What shall we do? ' " 15:29 "What shall we do? " 15:34 Kind of like the teacher in my illustration. 15:37 "What do we do? What do we do? What do we do? " 15:41 You see, it's not necessarily a fundamental bad thing 15:47 to respond when the Holy Spirit is convicting us 15:51 with the question of: "What shall we do? " 15:53 But we must put it in its proper context 15:56 and ask ourselves: "How does this 'do' concept, 15:59 doing, how does it fit within the context of the gospel 16:04 and the plan of salvation? " 16:06 "What shall we do then? " Acts chapter 9... 16:10 Go with me to Acts chapter 9. By the way, get your Bibles ready. 16:12 We're going to flip to a few scriptures relatively quickly. 16:14 Acts chapter 9... we're going to be 16:16 looking at verses 3 through 6. 16:19 This is the chapter that contains Paul's conversion. 16:25 Paul had been persecuting Christians. In fact, 16:27 you can read in Acts chapter 7 Stephen is stoned. 16:30 Acts chapter 8 is a record of Paul there going into different 16:34 places, arresting Christians, persecuting Christians. 16:38 Now we come to Acts chapter 9. 16:41 Paul is on his way to Damascus 16:44 to arrest more Christians. 16:46 Notice what the Bible says, 16:48 Acts chapter 9 beginning with verse 3 16:50 and going on to verse 6. 16:52 It says: "As he journeyed he came near to Damascus 16:55 and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 16:57 Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him: 16:59 'Saul, Saul... why are you persecuting Me? ' " 17:05 "And he said, " verse 5: "Who are you, Lord? " 17:08 "Then the Lord said: 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 17:13 It is hard for you to kick against the goads. ' 17:16 So he trembling and astonished said... " 17:23 What did Paul say? 17:27 Can you imagine in that very moment what Paul was 17:32 going through? 17:34 Can you imagine in that very moment 17:36 he had been convinced. His mind was made up 17:40 in that very moment and previous to that 17:42 that these Christians who follow Jesus, who believe that Jesus 17:45 Christ is the Messiah, he was convinced that they were 17:49 the enemies of God and that Jesus was some false teacher. 17:51 That He was some false prophet. And to hear those words 17:54 lay upon his ears... "It is ME! It's Jesus... 17:59 the One you are persecuting. " 18:00 His whole world was turned upside down in that moment. 18:04 But you know by his response 18:07 that there was not a question in his mind 18:09 of what he was experiencing in that very moment 18:12 and what he heard come upon his ears. 18:14 There was not a question in his mind 18:16 that he knew indeed that Jesus was indeed Lord 18:19 because he said: "Yes, Lord! " 18:21 Right? As he was trembling. 18:25 But his question as he was trembling and astonished 18:30 he said: "Lord, what 18:32 do You want me to do? " 18:37 You see, there is a natural inclination about us. 18:41 There's a natural response 18:42 that when we find ourselves in a very tough tribulation 18:46 time period, in a very tough situation, 18:49 in a very tough, trying time or moment in our life 18:51 or in fact, we might even find ourselves in which 18:54 our lives are not in harmony with the Word of God 18:56 we might find ourself asking in response to that: 18:59 "What in the world am I supposed to do? " 19:03 This record is found over and over and over 19:06 throughout the Scripture. I want to read one more: 19:08 Acts chapter 2. Go with me to Acts chapter 2. 19:10 What do we find happening in the 2nd chapter of Acts? 19:20 Acts chapter 2... this is the Day of Pentecost: 19:23 exactly 50 days after Jesus Christ had been crucified 19:27 or resurrected. So notice this right here: 19:30 Acts chapter 2 and we're going to actually be reading 19:33 verses 34 to 37. Now notice: they'd received the Holy Spirit. 19:39 Peter is full of the Holy Spirit and Peter begins to preach 19:42 a powerful life-changing sermon. 19:44 These brothers and sisters are gathered around. 19:47 They're listening to Peter as he's full of the Holy Spirit 19:49 preaching to them the gospel. 19:51 And he begins to preach it to them straight. 19:53 He begins to give them the straight truth of God's Word. 19:56 And here we go, verse 34. Notice what it says: 19:59 "For David did not ascend into the heavens 20:01 but he said to himself: 'The Lord said to my Lord 20:05 sit at My right hand till I make Your enemies Your footstool. ' " 20:08 Verse 36... this is key... notice: 20:10 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly 20:15 that God has made this Jesus 20:19 whom you crucified 20:21 both Lord and Christ. " 20:28 Y'all didn't hear that. Let me read that one more time: 20:30 He said: "Therefore let all the house of Israel 20:33 know assuredly that God has made this Jesus 20:35 whom you crucified both Lord and Christ. " 20:41 OK. Now... their response - 20:44 a quite interesting one - 20:46 because basically essentially what Peter has just delivered 20:49 to them is he told them: "Remember that Jesus 20:52 that you killed about 50 days ago? " 20:55 "Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. " 20:57 "Yeah, remember that Messiah that Moses spoke about 21:00 in the books, in the law? " 21:04 "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. " "Remember that Messiah that 21:06 Isaiah spoke about? Remember the Messiah that 21:08 Malachi spoke about? Remember the Messiah that all of the 21:11 prophets spoke about that was to come and to save the people 21:13 from their sins and to deliver them? " 21:15 "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We know that. " 21:17 "You MURDERED HIM 50 days ago! " 21:22 "While you were crying out 'Crucify Him! Crucify Him! ' 21:25 you were hanging your Messiah 21:31 on a tree. " 21:35 What was the response? 21:37 Verse 37: 21:41 "Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart 21:44 and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles 21:47 'Men and brethren, 21:50 what shall we do? ' " 21:56 "What shall we do? " 21:58 "What do we do about it? " 21:59 Is that a bad question? 22:01 It's not on the surface necessarily a bad question 22:06 because the truth of the matter is, my friends, 22:08 the essential nature of us all 22:10 in the very essential nature of inquiring about what 22:14 we must do... there's almost an essential connection 22:17 in which we actually desire to please the people 22:20 and to show a sense of connectivity and committedness 22:24 to that person or that thing in which we feel like 22:27 we are now disconnected from. 22:29 In this case, they thought: "Hey! We know God! " 22:33 "We're of the elite... we're the Hebrew of Hebrews. " 22:35 "We are Israelites. We're here at the Feast of Pentecost. " 22:39 "We're worshipping the Lord. " 22:40 And they just heard the message that: 22:42 "You crucified your Messiah. " 22:44 So their natural response: "Hey! What do we do now? " 22:48 "Now what do we do? " 22:50 There's nothing wrong with asking the question: 22:53 "What must I do? " but we also need to make sure 22:56 and put it in its proper context 22:58 that we do not allow that very concept of doing 23:01 to become the very gospel in which we are saved by. 23:07 Because sometimes we can ask the question: "What must I do? " 23:10 and we turn that "do" aspect into something that saves us. 23:16 I love my wife. 23:20 How many husbands do we have in here? 23:23 Do you love your wife? Amen, right? 23:26 But you don't love your wife as much as I love mine. 23:29 I love my wife. In fact, I will do ANYTHING for my wife. 23:36 Because while I know that my relationship with my wife 23:40 is not solely founded upon something that I do 23:45 it is a way in which I show her that I love her. 23:50 You know, I can walk around my house all day long and say: 23:53 "I love you, mm; I love you, mm; I love you, mmm! " 23:57 "Well would you do the dishes? " "No! " 24:01 And I hate doin' dishes! 24:03 I really do! 24:04 In fact, in my home I do the cooking; my wife does 24:07 the dishes. She likes doin' dishes. 24:10 I can't stand doin' dishes. 24:11 I hate that nasty like... You know, you just... 24:14 I just feel like I've got some kind of like bacteria 24:17 and like nasty little critters crawling up in between 24:20 my fingers and up in my fingernails. And I just... 24:23 I just don't like doin' dishes. 24:25 Now, when my wife needs me to do dishes 24:27 she comes and says: "Hey, do you mind doing the dishes? " 24:29 You know what I say to her? "Anything I can do for you. " 24:34 "What can I do for you? " 24:39 Now I love my wife so much 24:42 that there's times that I will ask her 24:45 "What is it that I can do for you? " 24:48 "What can I do? " 24:50 One day she got cunning and she said: 24:55 "I want a cat. " 25:00 "What must I do? " 25:03 That's the essential question. I will do anything for my... 25:06 "Baby, what do you want? I'll do it. " 25:08 "Lord, what do You want me to do? " Right? 25:10 "Lord, I want to open my... " "If my life's not in harmony 25:14 with Your will, what must I do? " 25:17 I want to take you now to a final text: John chapter 6. 25:20 It's this concept of what shall we do. 25:23 Looking at what must we do and how does this "do" factor 25:27 fit into grace, and then we're going to take it 25:30 into a different direction with the remaining time that we have. 25:32 John chapter 6. Jesus is about to really, really help us to see 25:36 this in a much clearer light. 25:41 So Jesus has just performed one of His mighty miracles. 25:48 Five thousand people... or 5,000 men the Bible says... 25:53 that had been following Jesus. 25:56 Jesus performs one of the greatest miracles. I mean, 25:59 it's probably the largest record fish fry in history. 26:04 You guys didn't get that. That's a southern thing I guess. 26:08 Fish fry. In the south we do a lot of fish fry's. 26:12 They don't do that over here? 26:13 Not in California? All right. 26:16 I'll be sure not to use that one next time. 26:20 John chapter 6, we're going to start in verse 26. 26:23 Jesus has just performed this miracle. He's gotten in a boat. 26:25 Now He's on the other side of the Sea of Galilee 26:28 and guess who he runs into? 26:31 Some of those people who were there when He broke the fish 26:34 and the bread. Now He's on the other side. 26:36 He runs into these people. Of course it's like: "Hey! 26:39 You know, there's Jesus! Let's go catch up with Jesus. 26:41 Because He performed those miracles - He fed us the food - 26:44 maybe He could do something else and feed us again. " Right? 26:47 "Maybe He can perform some more miracles. " 26:50 Notice John chapter 6 verse 26. It says: "Jesus 26:52 answered and said: 'Most assuredly I say to you 26:54 you seek Me not because you saw the signs 26:57 but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 26:59 Do not labor for the food which perishes 27:01 but for the food which endures to everlasting life 27:03 which the Son of Man will give you because God the Father 27:06 has set His seal on Him. ' " 27:10 So in a sense, in a very nice, compassionate way, 27:12 Jesus is... He's correcting them and saying: "No, no, no, no. 27:15 You didn't come for the right reason; 27:16 you didn't come with the right spirit. 27:18 Here's what you need to do. " Right? 27:20 But then notice what they say to him... verse 28: 27:23 "What shall we? " Do. Ah, that was a little weak. 27:28 "What shall we? DO? " All right, you guys can't sleep on me. 27:33 And then of course they add: "that we may work the works 27:36 of God. " 27:39 "What do we do? " 27:41 Now what's fascinating is Jesus' response. 27:46 Verse 29: "Jesus answered and said to them: 27:50 'This is the work of God: that you 27:55 perfectly obey and keep all the commandments 27:59 that you may be perfect at all times. ' " 28:06 Is that what your version says? 28:07 No. What does your version say? 28:11 Hmm. "What shall we do, Lord? " 28:18 He said: "This is the work of God: that you may believe 28:22 in Him who sent Me. " Right? 28:26 And then notice the response they give Him. 28:29 Verse 30: "Therefore he said to Him: 'What sign will you perform 28:33 then that we may see it and believe you? ' " 28:36 "What works will you do? " 28:38 Right? Now essentially 28:43 they were asking a question that was a good question 28:46 because we're about to find out that salvation... 28:48 You may not know this. There may be some who came here 28:50 today that say: "Ryan, I never really saw it that way. " 28:53 "I never really understood the gospel in that way. " 28:55 Because there are a lot of people, my friends, that are 28:58 deceived on this topic. 29:01 We're talking about the great controversy: 29:03 end-time deceptions. One of the greatest deceptions 29:06 floating around in our church today and in 29:08 the churches all across the world 29:10 are people that have this belief - this concept - 29:14 that it takes grace + something else to get them to heaven. 29:20 In fact, I know that there may be some in this room 29:22 'cause when I asked that question earlier 29:23 some of you may not have understood the question. 29:25 But if you did understand the question, some of you responded 29:28 grace plus. Whoo! 29:32 What does the Bible teach? 29:34 How shall we be saved? 29:41 I want to read this interest- ing quote from Desire of Ages 29:44 page 35. 29:47 Desire of Ages page 35. 29:50 "Through heathenism Satan has for ages turned men away 29:56 from God. But he won his great triumph 30:01 in perverting the faith of Israel. 30:05 By contemplating and worshiping their own conceptions 30:09 the heathen had lost a knowledge of God 30:12 and become more and more corrupt. " Did you catch that? 30:15 Notice what it goes on to say: 30:17 "So it was with Israel. " Same thing! 30:20 Just like the heathen, Israel reached the point 30:23 in their lives, the point in their experience with God, 30:26 that they took upon the concept that they needed to work 30:29 their way to salvation. Notice what it continues on to say: 30:33 "The principle that man can save himself by his own works 30:37 lay at the foundation of every heathen religion. 30:42 It had now become the prin- ciple of the Jewish religion. 30:45 Satan had implanted this principle. 30:50 Wherever it is held, men have no barrier against sin. " 30:55 Did you catch that? 30:57 You have no barrier against sin when you create 31:01 this mentality and take upon yourself 31:04 the ideology - the philosophy - 31:06 that in order for you to be saved 31:08 it takes grace plus something else. 31:13 Something that you can do to help get yourself 31:17 or gain yourself closer to God's favor. 31:21 Now I'm telling you, my friends: 31:22 I struggled with this concept for a long time 31:27 because I grew up in a cult 31:29 that taught that in order to have salvation 31:32 you must work your way. You must show and prove to God 31:36 that you are worthy of His grace... 31:39 that you are worthy of salvation. 31:41 I haven't always been a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 31:45 And so when I really began to study my Bible 31:47 I struggled with this for a long time. 31:49 "Lord, what? How do we make sense of this grace 31:53 and works conversation? " 31:55 Where does it fit in? Are works important? 32:00 Works ARE important. 32:02 But if you place works on the wrong side of the equation 32:07 you might take upon yourself a mentality, 32:11 a very scary deceptive mentality, 32:13 that in her words she says: "Whatever is held in this 32:17 particular state men have no barrier against sin. " 32:21 In other words, you can never overcome sin 32:24 because YOU can't overcome sin. 32:28 You don't have the power in and of your own self. 32:31 You can't muster up the courage; you can't muster up the faith. 32:35 You can't muster up enough strength to get you 32:38 out of this sin problem. 32:40 And see: we throw these concepts around. We talk about 32:43 them in conversation and we'll say stuff like: 32:46 "You know, Jesus saves. Believe in Him. " 32:48 I put a Facebook post a few days ago 32:50 just asking people just a simple question: 32:53 "What does it take to be saved? What does it take for 32:57 a person to gain salvation in Jesus Christ 33:00 or to be saved and to make it to heaven? " 33:02 So I got hundreds of responses. 33:04 It was more or less a survey. 33:06 I just wanted to see what people thought. 33:07 Now many people gave what I believe to be a very accurate 33:10 Biblical answer, but I was still fascinated by 33:13 how many people their very first response was: 33:16 "Keep the commandments; keep the commandments; 33:18 keep the commandments; keep the commandments... " 33:20 All the way down: commandment keeping! 33:24 Is it important to keep the commandments? 33:26 Yes it is! 33:28 Does it save you? 33:29 No! 33:32 Where does faith, grace, and works 33:37 fit into this equation of salvation? 33:42 I hate onions. 33:46 I can't stand onions. 33:50 I am convinced that there will for sure be avocado 33:54 hanging on the Tree of Life. I know that. 33:56 AMEN! 33:57 There will be no onions in heaven. 34:01 Now you think I? Hey... I'm not playing! 34:03 I have Biblical proof there will be no onions in heaven. 34:09 OK... two points here real quick: 34:12 number one: when God created Adam and Eve in the beginning 34:16 they were basically "fruitarians. " 34:17 You know, vegetables came after sin. 34:20 OK... God's going to re-create the heavens. 34:22 He's going to return it back to the same way, right? 34:26 All right now, if you don't believe that one, point #2 34:28 should get you. The Bible says that when we go to heaven 34:30 and we're with Jesus Christ there will be no more crying 34:32 and no more tears. 34:37 I hate onions! Now understand 34:41 I like cooked onions. Now when I cook, I cook with onions. 34:45 But I cook them little buggers until they are translucent 34:48 and soft. And there's something about when you cook with onion 34:52 it just adds flavor. When you put it into the food it just 34:54 enhances the flavor of the food, right? 34:57 I love that! With onion, put some garlic in there, too. 35:00 With some mushrooms! Yeah... Oh, all right. 35:03 We're not here to talk about food; 35:05 we're here to talk about grace. 35:06 All right... hold on. But here's the thing, though. 35:09 For me onions in their raw state are just nasty. 35:14 I don't know what it is. Like I've seen people... 35:16 My wife can eat an onion like an apple. 35:18 She's like the onion queen. 35:20 And every time we go to like Subway or somewhere 35:22 she piles on the onions. And she knows I hate onions 35:24 and she'll come and get right in my face and go 35:26 "I love you! " 35:28 Whoo! 35:32 And to me, if I could apply... 35:35 I don't know. To me, like, if I could imagine the way 35:40 that garbage truck juice tastes it would taste like onions. 35:44 I just... I don't like onions! 35:47 But, you know... I'll tell you how bad I don't like onions. 35:50 When I was going to AFCOE, the Amazing Facts Center 35:52 of Evangelism up in Roseville, California, 35:53 this was a few years ago, one of our favorite places 35:56 was Don Quixote. It was a burrito place. 35:58 Man, they make... Has anybody been to Don Quixote's? 36:01 They have a Don Quixote's around here? 36:02 No? These burritos are like the size of newborn babies. 36:07 That's how big they are. 36:09 And so I'm in the line at Don Quixote's 36:12 and they begin to make my burrito. 36:14 And it's kind of like Subway, you know. They put the rice 36:17 and then they put the beans. And they slide it down 36:19 and they put... they start adding all the veggies 36:20 and all the sauces and everything you want. 36:22 This particular day I went in there 36:24 I tell these people: "No onions! " 36:27 And this lady makin' my burrito 36:28 she gets to the tomatoes and the lettuce 36:31 and she's puttin' all that and then she slaps a big ole spoon 36:33 of onions on there. 36:36 Now you've gotta understand I HATE raw onions. 36:39 I taste them I gag. 36:43 And on this particular day 36:45 she tried to pull them all off but I just knew there was 36:47 going to be a little tiny piece in there. 36:49 And sure enough. I bit into it... 36:52 Oh! I had to throw the whole burrito away. 36:57 I know, that's wasteful. I hate it. 36:58 I had to repent after that, but I wasn't about to eat 37:00 that onion-infested burrito. 37:02 The point of this illu... There's a point to the 37:04 illustration I promise you. Just hang with me here. 37:06 My mother knew growing up I didn't like onions 37:09 but she loved to cook with onions. 37:11 And sometimes she did a fantastic job 37:13 making sure that the onions were cooked all the way through 37:16 so that I didn't feel that - squish sound - you know. 37:20 There's just something about that, right? 37:21 And so... But sometimes she didn't do such a good job. 37:24 She thought just by chopping them up real fine 37:26 and puttin' them into the food and not telling me about it 37:28 that I wouldn't realize. 37:29 But see, she didn't realize that God had made me 37:32 with this inner onion radar. I just know it's there. 37:35 And so I would literally sit at the table 37:37 and my mom... she'd try to hide, slip those onions in there. 37:40 And I would taste the food and I would get that crunch 37:43 and automatically my gag reflexes would start going off. 37:47 I tell that because essentially that's exactly 37:50 what has happened. Satan did this with Israel. 37:53 He slipped it... he snuck in 37:56 this concept, this thought, that man can save himself 38:00 by his own works. 38:01 And my friends, if you think for a moment 38:03 that the devil can sneak that in to God's chosen people in Israel 38:07 and that concept, that blasphemous thinking, 38:11 is not going to be snuck into God's church, God's own 38:14 church in the last days, you've got another think coming. 38:17 I meet people all the time 38:19 and I ask them a simple question: "How is one saved? 38:23 In just a few paragraphs, few words, few sentences 38:25 tell me how one must be saved. " 38:27 I am baffled at how many what you would consider 38:30 mature Christians start naming off all of the things 38:35 that a person must do to gain salvation. 38:40 Now you may be sitting here today in compete disagreement 38:43 with what I'm saying but guess what? 38:44 If you study your Bible responsibly, you will find out 38:48 that the Bible teaches us that in order for us to be saved 38:51 and I know what Mrs. White teaches. We really don't know 38:54 that we're saved until Jesus comes back, right? 38:56 You know, I used to be among those people who would 38:58 walk around saying: "I'm saved. " You know? 39:00 And if you have that assurance of salvation, 39:02 you have that confidence, praise the Lord. 39:03 But Mrs. White says you must not be goin' around 39:05 saying that you are saved. 39:07 We can have that assurance, we can have that confidence 39:09 but we will not know that we are FOR SURE saved 39:12 until Jesus returns. Amen? 39:13 How can I know that I am in a saving relationship with Jesus 39:17 and that my name will be written upon the Lamb's Book of Life? 39:21 Ephesians chapter 2. Go with me there: Ephesians chapter 2. 39:24 Somebody pray for that clock. That clock's goin' too fast! 39:27 Ephesians chapter 2. 39:31 We're gettin' somewhere... we're gettin' somewhere. 39:33 Ephesians chapter 2. Now this is that famous passage 39:37 of Scripture that we often quote 39:39 when we're talking about how one is saved. 39:42 Now this is actually... This is a very truthful passage 39:46 in Scripture. Ephesians chapter 2, and what verses 39:51 do you think I'm gonna go to? 39:53 Notice how you immediately went to 8? Most of us read 39:56 verses 8 and 9, right? 39:58 And those are very key important scriptures. 40:00 But you'll notice that verse 8 starts with: "For by... " 40:04 Right? "For by grace... " 40:06 You know, that's a response to something that he said before 40:08 that. I'm going to start at verse 4 40:09 and then read down to those verses. 40:11 Notice verse 4: "But God, who is rich in mercy, 40:15 because of His great love with which He loved us... " 40:20 Amen? 40:22 "even when we were dead in trespasses 40:25 made us alive together with Christ. 40:28 By grace you have been? " Saved! Whoo, I like that! 40:33 Here we go, verse 6: "and raised us up together 40:35 and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus 40:39 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding 40:42 riches of His? " Grace! There it is again! 40:45 "His grace in His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. " 40:49 Now here comes the famous verses 8 and 9. 40:51 "For by grace you have been saved through? " Faith. 40:56 So notice: you received the unmerited favor of God. 41:01 You received the divine grace of God. 41:02 You were saved by that grace through what? 41:06 It's your faith, right? 41:08 It's your faith that brings about the grace 41:10 that saves you, right? Let's continue reading: 41:14 "that not of yourselves... " 41:18 You can't save you. 41:21 "But... but there's just something that I want to do 41:25 that I know is going to make God like me more. " 41:28 Right? Some of us have this mentality. We don't even realize 41:32 that we have it. 'Well, I've gotta do this 41:34 because God will love me more. " 41:36 "I've gotta do this because, well... 41:38 that's the only way I can be saved. " Right? 41:40 Now let's continue. It says in verse... 41:43 Excuse me. We're continuing in verse 8 into verse 9 here. 41:47 "You have been saved through faith and not of yourselves. " 41:49 It is the gift of what? "It is the gift of God... " 41:52 Here it is... verse 9: "not of works! " 41:56 So does works save you? 41:58 No! What are we saved by? 42:01 Grace! GRACE ALONE! Amen! 42:05 You are saved, you are justified 42:10 by grace alone. 42:13 Not of works. "OK, " you say: "But Ryan, 42:16 works are important. " Works ARE important. 42:18 We're going to put it in its proper context in just a moment. 42:20 But I just want to establish for a moment 42:22 you are saved by grace alone, right? 42:25 Notice continuing, verse 9: "Not of works lest 42:28 anyone should boast. " If the Lord had made His plan 42:31 of salvation that you had to work, you had to do all this 42:35 stuff in order to please Him, 42:37 we would be some prideful boasting people, right? 42:41 You know, we would be doing anything and everything. 42:43 Our focus would not be in the right place. Pride would be 42:48 the key sin in our life because we think that there's 42:51 something we can do to gain us closer to God. 42:54 But most people when they read verses 8 and 9 42:57 in Ephesians chapter 2 they forget verse 10. 42:59 And this is where we're going to try to start making sense 43:02 of how does this faith, grace, and works equation... 43:05 how does this fit into the equation of salvation. 43:08 How do we? Where do we put it in its proper context? 43:10 Notice verse 10, 'cause verse 10 is the response 43:13 to what he said in verses 8 and 9. 43:15 "For we are His workmanship 43:18 created in Christ Jesus for... " What? 43:21 "for good works. " So are we saved by our good works? 43:25 No! We're saved by grace through faith 43:28 but we are saved by grace through faith so that we might 43:31 do some good? Works! Whoo! I like that! 43:35 I like it! Let's continue on. 43:37 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus 43:40 for good works which God prepared beforehand 43:42 that we should walk in them. " 43:44 Don't be like the guy who was studying his Bible 43:48 and he was really really really confused on how this whole 43:51 grace/works thing really worked out because, 43:53 you know, he was really struggling in his faith. 43:55 So much that it bothered him so much he laid down his 43:58 head in his bed one night. He finally received his 44:01 answer through a dream. 44:04 He's in this dream and he finds himself in this 44:07 beautiful bright place. And he eventually finds himself 44:11 at heaven's gates. 44:13 OK... what did I say this was? 44:15 I said this was a dream. I just want to make that clear. 44:18 OK? And guess who's waiting for him at the gates in his dream? 44:22 Peter. And he says: "Where am I at? " 44:25 "Well, you're in heaven. " Right? This is a dream. 44:29 He says: "Oh! So I made it to heaven? " 44:31 And he said: "Well... not quite. " 44:34 He said: "You see, you've gotta have 100 points 44:39 to get into heaven. " 44:41 "A hundred points? What are you talking about? " 44:43 "Yeah, you've gotta have 100 points. " 44:45 "Oh, OK. Well... how do I get these 100? " 44:48 "Well, just tell us about your relationship with the Lord. 44:51 You know, tell us about your life. When you get 100 points 44:54 we'll let you through. " "Oh, OK. " 44:56 "Well hey... I've got it! I was married to the same woman 44:59 for over 50 years. The same woman! " 45:01 "All right... that's good. That's worth 3 points. " 45:06 "Three points? " He starts gettin' upset. 45:09 And again, this is a what? Dream. This is a dream. 45:12 All right. Just gotta make that clear. 45:13 "Three points? What? OK. Oh, I started a soup kitchen 45:18 at my church and we fed the homeless and the veterans 45:21 and all the people in the community 45:23 so that we could do the good deeds for the poor 45:25 and the needy. I started that and I helped out in that. " 45:28 "All right, that's good; that's worth two points. " 45:30 "Two points? " "OK, I attended church; 45:36 I returned tithe; I was a deacon; 45:38 and I was always supportive in the community. " 45:42 "Surely that's gotta be account- ed for a lot there, right? " 45:45 "That's worth a good point. " 45:49 "A point? " He says: "Man! " 45:51 He says: "That's almost impossible for me. 45:55 It's only going to be by the grace of God 45:57 that I get in there! " And he goes: 45:58 "Bring! You got it! That's worth 100 points. 46:01 Come on in. " 46:16 We live in a world where peoples' natural response 46:22 they say: "What can I do? " 46:25 "What must I do? " 46:28 And I saw a sermon many years ago 46:33 and never forgot it. 46:35 But I remember this minister made a difference between 46:39 the heathen religions and Christianity. 46:43 You know what the major difference is between the 46:45 heathen religions and Christianity? 46:48 Because the heathen religions of the world... we're talking 46:51 about you know non-Christian religions... 46:53 Over here you have to do... you have to do something 46:57 to gain favor with God. 46:59 That's why you've got these... You know, I've seen these 47:01 programs on like National Geographic 47:03 where you've got these guys walking and they're like 47:04 beating themselves. Have you seen this? 47:07 A bloody mess beating themselves because somehow 47:10 in their mind they're saying: "Yeah, with every whip 47:12 smack God loves me more. " 47:14 "Smack... He loves me even more now. " 47:16 Smack. And they think that be- cause they're putting themselves 47:20 through this pain and sacrifice 47:23 that somehow some way God loves them more. 47:25 Like God's looking down - some sick, sadistic God - 47:28 saying: "Yeah, yeah... you're almost there. 47:30 Keep going. " You know, you've got these guys 47:32 that walk across the hot coals because they're trying to 47:35 appease the gods, right? 47:36 And it's like that's daft. 47:39 But when you get over into Christianity 47:42 you know what separates the Christian God 47:44 from this over here? 47:49 Is that over here you have to do something 47:54 to make God happy 47:56 and to gain salvation and favor with the Lord. 47:59 But over here God 48:03 did what you couldn't do - Amen! - 48:06 to save you by His grace up on a cross. 48:08 I mean, when you really think about the cross 48:11 and you see Jesus hanging upon a cross 48:15 and you just picture that in your mind. 48:16 You're looking... you're at the foot of the cross 48:18 and your staring at your Savior on a cross 48:20 you look at that and what is your response? 48:23 "Man! Wow! My sins did that? " 48:28 "I crucified my Savior? " 48:31 "He had to die for something that I did 48:33 and He never did anything wrong? " 48:36 "Man! Whoa! That's deep, right? " 48:43 And then we ask the question: "Now what can I do? " 48:51 "Ryan, I'm going to be a Sabbath keeper. " 49:04 You SHOULD keep the Sabbath! 49:07 You SHOULD keep the commandments of the Lord. 49:10 But what does the Bible say on how we gain salvation? 49:13 How we are saved? 49:14 By Sabbath keeping? No! 49:20 You see, because of what Christ has already done for you 49:25 in sharing and saving you by His divine grace 49:30 the natural response should be: "Lord! 49:33 I want to be a Sabbath keeper. " 49:36 But you don't keep the Sabbath 49:38 because you think it's going to save you. 49:40 That's not Biblical. 49:41 "Well but Ryan, hold on. But surely 49:44 becoming a vegetarian surely saves me in some aspect? " 49:49 Right? And let me tell you something, my friend: 49:52 you should be. It just makes scientific sense. 49:54 Take all the other stuff out of the way, 49:57 all of the religious information that we have 50:00 and the beautiful information that we have on the health 50:03 message: you should be a vegetarian. It just makes sense! 50:07 But at the end of the day, my friends, does vegetarianism 50:09 save you? But there's a lot of people 50:11 even within the Adventist church 50:13 that have this mentality 50:15 that: "My goodness... if they don't choose broccoli, 50:18 you know, over some other type of whatever 50:22 that somehow God doesn't love them enough. " 50:24 Or that somehow that's going to gain... 50:26 No, broccoli's great; all of those things are great. 50:29 You should want to do those things because God has saved you 50:32 not because you think it's going to save you. Amen! 50:35 And we treat our relationship with God as if, you know, 50:38 when we make the mistake or we make the bad choice... 50:40 But let me tell you something: I'm not cutting that down 50:41 at all... we ALL make bad choices. 50:43 And we should not shove that or sweep that under a rug 50:47 as if our bad choice is just like some blah thing. 50:49 Like: "Oh... oops! " Sin is not an oops. 50:53 But we live in a world today even within Adventism 50:56 and there's this great divide. You've got people 50:59 at opposite ends of the spectrum. 51:01 You've got in one area a group of people that says: 51:03 "Well, you've gotta do this and you've gotta do that. " 51:05 "You've gotta do this or other- wise you're not a Christian. " 51:08 And then you've got a group of people over here that's like: 51:10 "Oh well... I'm saved by grace through faith. 51:13 There's nothing else that I need to do 51:15 because I'm saved" and then con- tinue to live in a life of sin! 51:19 We have to get the proper balance, my friends. 51:25 I watched a series years ago 51:27 that transformed my thinking on how to have a personal 51:31 relationship with Jesus. It was a series entitled 51:34 All About Jesus Revival Seminar by Lee Venden 51:37 I think it was. 51:38 And I love the model that he has in that, OK? 51:40 Beautiful! Catch this: 51:42 It's not about what you do... 51:44 See, right there I just lost some of you. 51:48 Because when you say that... when you say: "It's not about 51:50 what you do" "How can you say that? " 51:55 It's not about what you do 51:57 it's who you KNOW. 52:00 And who you know changes what you do! Amen! 52:07 I'm going to say that one more time: 52:08 It's not about what you do it's who you KNOW. 52:12 And who you know changes what you do! 52:17 So in closing I want to read this text. 52:18 Paul in Philippians chapter 3 verses 1 through 8. 52:21 It's powerful here! 52:22 I'm not going to read all these texts, but Paul 52:25 is basically... he's laying it all out. 52:28 He's talking about how he used to be the Pharisee of 52:32 Pharisees, the Jew of all Jews. 52:34 In fact, notice Philippians chapter 3. 52:36 I'm going to read verses 5... 5 onward. 52:38 "Circumcised the eighth day; of the stock of Israel; 52:41 of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; 52:43 concerning of the law; a Pharisee concerning zeal; 52:46 persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness 52:49 which is in the law; blameless. " 52:51 He's saying: "Look, I've done all these things. " 52:53 "I kept the law perfectly; I've done all of this stuff 52:55 perfectly. " But notice then what he says in verse 7: 52:59 "But what things were gain to me 53:01 these I have counted loss for Christ. " Why? 53:06 Because before it was what I can do to gain favor 53:09 but now notice what he says: 53:11 "Yet indeed I also count all things loss 53:13 for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus 53:15 my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things 53:18 and count them as? " You see, you have the word 53:22 rubbish there but I prefer the King James version. 53:25 "Dung. " 53:29 "Dung! " 53:32 You know what dung is? 53:34 Poo-poo! 53:37 My friends, understand this in closing here. 53:40 I have just a few seconds here. 53:42 Paul says that all those works, all those things that he'd 53:46 done... he was the best a doin' them. 53:49 But we have to put this in its proper context. 53:52 We are saved by grace through faith alone... 53:56 not of works. He says: "I count my works 53:58 as doo-doo. " 54:01 The lowest of... Not even dirt! LOWER than dirt! 54:04 When we put that in its proper context, my friends, 54:07 God can work miracles in our life. 54:10 He wants to save us by His grace. 54:11 How many want to be saved by His grace this evening? 54:14 Praise the Lord! Why don't you stand with me 54:15 as we close in a word of prayer, have a word of prayer. |
Revised 2020-06-08