Summer Camp Meeting

Behold The Branch (Zechariah 3:8)

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: SCM

Program Code: SCM230010S


00:00 [MUSIC]
00:02 >> We set our sights on the compelling stories. The 12
00:06 miners profits test
00:09 profits missed Rich was and filled with true is as relevant
00:14 today as it was then
00:17 I can find. Come next.
00:19 Joining us now,
00:20 3 ABN for an in-depth study
00:25 in the Minors.
00:31 >> Good Morning.
00:33 3. A B and can't meeting attendees.
00:38 How are you doing this morning?
00:40 Praise the Lord we got is given some powerful messages so far.
00:45 Can't mean I don't think he's going to stop now because our
00:47 need is great. The need for the hour is great.
00:51 It's my privilege to welcome you and introduce the first
00:54 speaker of the hour this morning, Pastor Steve Walberg,
00:57 who is the white horse media speaker and director. But he's
01:02 also a long-time friend, personal friend of mine.
01:06 I met Steve back in 1992. We attended together and state
01:11 in a home that he had rented there. My wife and my 6 weeks
01:14 and wholesome were with us and the number of other people we
01:17 attended together. The West Point's School of Evangelism
01:21 was a 10 day event put on by Donna. Margie, Great Mark in T
01:25 Finley with there. Ken Cox was there's a as a teacher, George
01:30 Van Damme and was there says going back quite a ways.
01:34 Steve was a pastor that time and he had a burden, got to put
01:37 his heart to do evangelism. So we've got the training
01:40 together. We've got a free set of slides of Angeles sticks,
01:44 lights,
01:46 and we went out to our of Angeles and we've got to keep
01:48 the slides. If we did at least one of Anzac series every year
01:51 for the next 3 years, which we all did so
01:54 recently went through a difficult time in my life.
01:58 And Steve invited me up to his place. He lives in a northern
02:02 Idaho. That's where some ministry as a priest Lake area
02:06 and February of 2020. And that was a turning point in my life.
02:10 So Steve is a true friend and brother in the Lord. We're
02:14 going to pray for him this morning. And then we're going
02:16 to have some special music by Celestin Dickens. I call in
02:20 Love. And then where the next what you're going to hear is
02:23 the voice of Pastor Steve Waugh Burke. He's going to be sharing
02:26 the branch from the book of Zephyr. Nia, Let's Pray
02:30 Together. Father, having thank you again, so much for this
02:32 opportunity to be at 3 being can't be. Thank you for all of
02:35 the messages you giving us.
02:37 Father continue to pour your spirit out upon a set up on the
02:41 speakers so that our hearts coming it with happened.
02:43 We pray in Jesus name, amen.
02:47 [MUSIC]
02:52 [MUSIC]
02:57 [MUSIC]
03:02 [MUSIC]
03:07 >> Some call you prove it.
03:11 Some homes, too.
03:13 Some good. Same.
03:19 Some call them can raise e some thought he was doing. And yeah,
03:29 [MUSIC]
03:34 [MUSIC]
03:36 I come and see,
03:39 I love them all to do this. I call
03:47 I come in and healing.
03:51 He's the one who's to home. But we still don't lie to me
03:56 like
04:04 >> some call it a mystery. Howard, with all the plays,
04:10 some feel this in Tucson, they could not.
04:19 [MUSIC]
04:26 I come and see.
04:29 I love them all like to I'm coming, too.
04:41 He's the one who was speaking when we still live team.
04:47 I.
04:57 >> To.
05:02 [MUSIC]
05:05 >> I I put them on like donkey some playing and I need
05:16 I love them too.
05:20 He's the one who was filled with hope when we still live to
05:24 media.
05:27 [MUSIC]
05:32 [MUSIC]
05:37 [MUSIC]
05:39 [MUSIC]
05:45 I love you, mom like to
05:52 [MUSIC]
05:57 he's the one who was with when we start lot to me I.
06:04 [MUSIC]
06:09 [MUSIC]
06:14 [MUSIC]
06:18 >> He gives them.
06:22 [MUSIC]
06:42 >> Well, good morning.
06:45 Good to be here at 3ABN.
06:47 praise the Lord Time. Thank you for that song and thank my good
06:51 friend James rapper T for introducing Me and I'm not a
06:54 habit of correcting James, but I believe he said my Texas
06:57 friends fun. I a it's really Thacker. I a
07:05 chance the good friend for a long time. He walked out.
07:07 I told him that if it all you can correct. Just to clarify
07:11 that
07:14 anyway, it's great to be here and left 3 ABN have the just
07:17 the privilege again to be here with you can't meeting 2023,
07:22 this is exciting. So if you have your Bible open up to
07:26 Zachariah
07:29 Chapter 3,
07:31 my topic is about the branch.
07:35 James. And I have also had some interesting discussions about
07:37 artificial intelligence.
07:40 And I'll just let you know that I did not consult. I as I
07:43 prepared for this talk.
07:47 I have consulted heavenly intelligence,
07:50 not artificial intelligence.
07:53 So is that a second
07:59 Zachariah
08:02 chapter 3,
08:05 the last part of verse 8.
08:08 I'll read this and then we'll pray,
08:11 says, behold,
08:14 I will bring forth
08:16 my servant the branch.
08:20 So let's pray.
08:25 Heavenly father, but a privilege. It is to be here
08:29 again at 3ABN,
08:31 such a wonderful group
08:34 followers of Jesus.
08:36 And I pray that you'll continue to bless this camp meeting.
08:39 Bless all the speakers, the music, the people
08:42 and Lord Guide Me Guide My Mind. My heart. Everything I
08:46 say on or you may my words
08:50 be guided by the Holy Spirit.
08:54 Made this message. Be a blessing
08:57 to your people around the world
08:59 in Jesus name. We pray. Amen.
09:04 Okay. Are you ready?
09:06 Get your Bibles.
09:09 Okay. SEC Araya, 3 verse 8. Again, the last part says
09:13 behold,
09:15 I will bring forth
09:17 my servant the branch.
09:22 I thought a lot about this first hand just to start out.
09:26 It was given approximately 500 BC by the Prophet
09:32 500 years or so before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
09:38 This verse is very clearly and we can see this from also other
09:42 vs is a prediction about the coming of Jesus. He is the
09:49 branch. Now. We know that for different reasons. If you go to
09:53 the book of Jeremiah
09:55 Chapter, 23,
09:58 this makes this very, very clear.
10:01 Jeremiah 23 verse 5 starts out with the same word that we read
10:07 in second, right? Is that correct? Says behold.
10:10 And here in
10:12 Jeremiah,
10:14 23 verse 5, the prophet said, behold
10:17 the days, come says the Lord,
10:20 but I will raise to David a righteous and what that next
10:24 word.
10:26 A righteous branch
10:28 and King show rain and prosper and shall execute judgment and
10:33 justice in the year in his days. Judah shall be saved.
10:38 And Israel shelled well safely.
10:40 And this is his name whereby he shall be called. And what's
10:45 that mean?
10:47 The Lord, our righteousness. Now, this is a clear reference
10:52 to Jesus. And again in this first, he's called the brand a
10:55 branch, a righteous branch. So second Ryan says I will
11:00 bring forth the branch. And in this first, he's called a
11:03 righteous France whose name is also the Lord, our
11:07 righteousness.
11:08 Now, if you look at a righteous and righteousness,
11:13 those words are really rooted in the first part of the word,
11:17 which is right,
11:19 right?
11:21 Righteous righteousness. Ah, everything that Jesus says
11:25 is right.
11:26 He is good. He is true. He is loving. He is faithful and all
11:31 that he does is right.
11:34 And this is all part of the battle that we're in between
11:36 God and the Devil.
11:38 Satan says that God is not right. He's not good,
11:43 but he is. He's always good. He's always right. And Jesus is
11:49 right. You know that he does not only in
11:52 he's like in heaven, but his life on earth.
11:55 And as we'll get to in a little bit, also in what he says,
11:59 even his words, his words were true. And right now, why does
12:05 the bible refer to Jesus as as a branch
12:09 as the righteous branch? I thought about that quite a
12:13 bit.
12:14 I know something about branches. I've got a lot of
12:17 branches in my backyard in North Idaho. I grew up in Los
12:21 Angeles
12:22 where things are very different from North Idaho. I've been in
12:26 Idaho with my family now for about 14 years. And I have to
12:30 embark on
12:33 journey and a task to create an orchard in my backyard.
12:38 Didn't have an orchard in in the Hollywood Hills, but now
12:42 have one in Idaho. I love fruit. And so I've become
12:48 someone that has just really gotten into my fruit trees I
12:51 planted. I've got paired paired trees, peach trees, a few apple
12:56 trees, a number of plum trees and some cherry trees.
13:02 And as I've been working with my trees, obviously you have to
13:08 work with the branches,
13:10 right branches are very much a part of the tree. And one thing
13:13 that I've learned, that's very obvious. But it's very
13:15 important as we get into this bible study
13:20 is that branches are connected to trees.
13:25 That's pretty obvious, right? You have a tree. And then the
13:30 the life-giving sap
13:34 flows from that from the roots, through the tree, through the
13:39 branches.
13:41 And if it's a good branch, if it doesn't get cut off in my
13:44 printing process,
13:46 which happens once or twice a year, if it's a good branch,
13:50 it will eventually bear fruit,
13:52 right? Good fruit. So the life flows
13:58 through the tree
14:00 through the branch
14:02 eventually into into the fruit.
14:05 Now, as I let's go back to Zach Araya, as I pondered this
14:09 talking
14:10 continue to just meditate, actually recently decided to
14:13 read the whole book of Zechariah like Get the whole
14:16 context of the branch. I went through Chapter 1, 2, 3,
14:19 4, all the way to the end. And one thing that struck me in
14:24 Chapter 4
14:26 and I have concluded that the branch,
14:29 the reference to Jesus as the branch actually refers to an
14:33 olive branch.
14:36 And the reason why I conclude that is because in Chapter 4,
14:40 it talks about in Verse 11 12
14:43 the prophet had this addition of these 2 trees
14:47 and a candlestick and golden pipes. And if you look at first
14:51 11 SEC arrive for 11,
14:54 then I answered and said to him, what are these 2 and what
14:58 kind of those trees,
14:59 olive trees
15:01 up on the right side of the candlestick and up on the left
15:04 side thereof and I answered again and said to him, what be
15:07 these 2 all live in what the next word
15:10 branches, right? So we have and all of tree and an olive branch
15:14 and olive branches which through the 2 golden pipes
15:21 empty the gold and oil out of themselves.
15:25 So we have all the trees with olive branches and then through
15:30 from the tree. Through the branches comes wet,
15:35 the oil.
15:36 >> And it's called Golden Oil, the golden oil. And then the
15:41 golden oil goes through the golden.
15:44 >> Pipes and eventually becomes the power
15:49 of the lamp stand so that the lamp stands can give light.
15:53 Now we know from other versus if you go back to verse 6,
15:58 it explains what the gold and oil represents.
16:04 At the end of verse 6,
16:06 the Lord said to Sarah Bubble,
16:09 he said not by might
16:12 nor by power,
16:14 but by
16:16 my spirit says the Lord of hosts. So when you put all
16:21 these pieces together, I've concluded that
16:24 the father, our heavenly father is this is an analogy is like
16:29 the tree
16:31 and Jesus is the branch,
16:36 the olive branch
16:37 and through the branch comes the oil, which represents the
16:42 holy spirit.
16:44 We have the father and the son and the holy spirit.
16:49 And then the Holy Spirit ultimately is
16:54 God's plan is that it goes through the golden pipes
16:59 and then it comes to eliminate
17:03 and to give light to the candlestick,
17:07 which represents God's people.
17:09 The church,
17:10 the light,
17:12 the word of God is a light and we are to become light. So we
17:16 have the oil comes from the father through the sun to God's
17:21 people. Now, it's also very interesting when you continue
17:24 to put some pieces together, turn to John Chapter 15 verse 5
17:30 and John, 15 verse 5
17:33 Jesus informs. That's
17:36 that he's not the only branch.
17:40 Yeah,
17:43 I don't mind those highs
17:47 in John, 15
17:49 verse 5. Jesus said I am the vine
17:53 and you are what
17:55 you are. The branches the branches, right? He that abides
17:59 in me and I in him. So the idea of the branch, the branch is
18:04 connected to the tree
18:06 and here the branch is connected to the vine.
18:09 I am the vine.
18:11 Jesus is the source, the center and you are the branches.
18:15 He that abides in me, which has to do with connection. And I in
18:19 him the same brings forth much fruit for without me. How much
18:23 can you do
18:25 right? How much we can do without me? Jesus said you can
18:29 do nothing.
18:31 So we have my understanding is that we have our father in have
18:35 in Jesus Christ, the son. It's really I could say he's
18:40 the big branch
18:42 and then he's the Channel 4, the Holy Spirit, the golden oil
18:46 to come to us. And we are the little branch since we are.
18:52 The little branch is connected to the big branch
18:56 and God's goal is that the Holy Spirit? Gold in oil
19:03 flow into our lives.
19:06 We all need oil, don't we?
19:08 I've been informed just somebody. Let me know that
19:12 there's a real sense of earnestness here at Camp
19:15 meeting this year
19:16 that people are earnestly praying, praying for the holy
19:19 spirit. For more of the holy spirit so that we have we have
19:23 life we need. We need power. We need oil. We need to go
19:28 beyond just going through the motions.
19:32 We need to have something really happening inside of our
19:34 lives
19:36 and what happened. What's what needs to happen is that oil?
19:41 We need the Holy Spirit.
19:44 Turn to chapter 16 in the book of John
19:47 John 16
19:50 verse 13,
19:53 John 16, 13
19:57 Jesus said, however,
19:59 when he
20:01 the spirit of truth
20:04 is come,
20:06 what will he do?
20:08 He will guide you into all truth.
20:14 This verse
20:16 means a lot to me.
20:19 I don't have time to go into all the details.
20:23 I became a Christian.
20:26 I became a 7th day Adventist in 1979
20:30 and the first few few years of my Christian life where we're
20:33 very good. I was very happy. I was thrilled to be a believe
20:38 are thrilled to have discovered. The Bible
20:41 discovered Jesus
20:43 discovered to discover the message of the 3 Angels in the
20:47 book of Revelation
20:49 Chapter 14 verse 6 to 12.
20:52 But as time went on about 7 years later, by the time I
20:57 the year 1986, came along, my life was a mess.
21:02 I was in a deep spiritual battle.
21:07 When a person becomes a Christian, it doesn't mean the
21:09 battles go away.
21:12 Tech sometimes to get worse. Sometimes
21:17 when Jesus was baptized
21:19 in the New Testament, then he went into the wilderness after
21:22 his baptism. And then there was the battle
21:26 with between him and the devil.
21:28 And after I became Christian 7 years later in 1986, I landed
21:32 in San Francisco area. I was passed during 2 churches and
21:36 and the battle was on
21:38 and I was confused. I was having
21:41 problems inside my head. I was sad.
21:45 There were just the devil was working on me and my Christian
21:48 experience with suffering.
21:50 When I first became a Christian, everything was
21:52 really good. I felt connected. But afterwards I felt like I
21:56 was very distant from God. I felt far away from him.
21:59 I was supposed to pastor to churches. I would read the
22:02 Bible and it was like a it was very far away.
22:06 And I just felt like I was in
22:10 in darkness
22:11 and I was struggling. And I remember I was actually living
22:15 just south of San Francisco in a little
22:17 in up in an apartment
22:20 in a town called Pacifica
22:22 right on the edge of a cliff looking over the Pacific Ocean.
22:26 And one night I got on my knees and I prayed a very earnest
22:31 prayer.
22:32 I turned off the lights. I prayed in the dark
22:35 and I don't remember exactly what I said. But it was
22:38 something like this act of God. I am struggling emotionally.
22:42 I'm confused. I can't seem to connect with you. I don't know
22:46 why.
22:47 I don't know what's happening. And Lord, if you don't do
22:51 something in my life and help me,
22:54 I don't think I can continue to be the pastor because how can I
22:58 stand in front of a church to churches and teach the Bible
23:02 and talk to my my church members about being connected
23:05 with you. And I don't feel like I'm connected to you.
23:09 So I just thought, Lord, you've got to do something if you
23:11 don't. I'm I just don't think I can continue to do this.
23:17 And it was at that at that moment when I prayed that
23:20 prayer in very sincere earnestness, this little voice,
23:25 that was an audible voice. But it was like the still small
23:28 voice speaking to my conscience. And the little
23:31 voice was very distinct. And this is what it said.
23:34 It said Pray for the spirit of truth to guide you into all
23:40 truth.
23:41 And it was a quote from this verse John, 16, 13. However,
23:46 when he the spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into
23:49 all truth.
23:51 And that thought came to me, pray for the spirit of truth.
23:56 And I wrestled with that.
23:58 I decided all right, OK, Lord,
24:03 and maybe that'll help me. So I started doing that.
24:07 And I also remember when I decided I'm going to pray for
24:10 the Holy Spirit. I remember right during that period.
24:14 At one point, it was almost like I had this mental picture
24:18 of all of these little faces that we're staring at me
24:22 inside my head. And they were gritty gritting their teeth
24:27 and they were looking at me and they were saying now
24:30 don't do that
24:32 anything. But that don't pray for the holy spirit. And I look
24:37 at this army of these faces. This is just kind of a mental
24:42 picture looking at me and telling me, don't pray for the
24:46 Holy spirit. And I remember looking back at them and saying
24:50 that's what I'm going to do.
24:52 I'm going to pray for the Holy Spirit.
24:55 So I started doing that.
24:57 I started praying for the spirit of truth. Just like it
24:59 says when he the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you
25:03 into all truth. I started praying for the oil
25:06 for the golden oil to come to me through the branch, through
25:10 Jesus,
25:12 from the father,
25:14 down to little me
25:16 in my apartment
25:18 south of San Francisco.
25:21 And it's been a long journey.
25:23 It's been a long journey. I've been through many ups and
25:25 downs and ins and outs and back and forth as a as a Christian.
25:30 It's been about 44 years since I first became a Christian in
25:34 1979 since 1986, when I first started praying for the Holy
25:39 Spirit,
25:40 it has now been 37 years.
25:44 37 years that I've been praying almost every day
25:49 for more of the spirit of truth to guide me into all truth.
25:54 And I tell you, if I if I were to give you one suggestion in
25:58 your life,
25:59 one suggestion from Edu, if you're struggling, if you're
26:02 confused, if you're battling,
26:05 if you feel like you're not as close to God as you want to be,
26:09 my one suggestion that there's nothing more valuable and more
26:13 important than you can do in your life and opening your
26:17 mouth and praying to God and asking him to give you the
26:21 spirit of truth to guide you into all truth
26:25 to make this a habit,
26:27 pray for the holy spirit. And the more I did that little
26:31 by little, the confusion began to go away. Little by little.
26:35 I began to see where my own steps had wandered away from
26:39 God's pure path. For my life. I began to see hidden depths of
26:44 pride inside me that I had never seen before.
26:48 That had to had been separating me from God, a hidden parts of
26:52 self-defense in pride and and different things in my
26:57 character. And the Lord started showing them to me one by one.
27:02 And I just
27:03 I thought, okay, Lord and little by little there was a
27:07 verse in Psalms. I read that said before I was afflicted,
27:10 I went astray. But now I keep your word and I thought,
27:13 Lord, have I been going astray? Is that why I'm afflicted with
27:18 my emotional turmoil
27:21 and little by little the word of God came back alive to me.
27:26 Little by little Bible verses just jumped out at me. Little
27:30 by little my conscience became more sensitive
27:34 and the path of truth became clearer.
27:37 And I saw the path and I kept on going step by step. And this
27:42 has been such such a wonderful thing.
27:45 Now. I'm happily married. I wasn't married in 1986.
27:49 I have 2 beautiful children. My son just a Christian texted
27:53 me yesterday or we were texting back and forth that he just
27:56 arrived back from from his first year of college. He's
27:58 home for the summer. He made it home safely. Looking forward to
28:03 leaving, camp meeting on Monday or Sunday and going back and
28:07 see my family and that the Lord has just been so good to me.
28:11 He has blessed. My life is blessed whitehorse media.
28:14 He's blessed my family. He's given me some of that for trees
28:17 in my backyard. I live up in the mountains. And I just,
28:21 you know, I'm as happy as a Christian.
28:24 I'm so thankful. And it's because of the oil that he's
28:28 come through the branch,
28:31 the golden oil that has changed my life. Praise God now got
28:35 other versus show. You go to back to John and look at
28:38 Chapter 8.
28:44 We are in an incredible battle
28:49 going on behind the scenes in the invisible world and it is
28:52 intense
28:54 and it's not going to go away until Jesus comes.
28:58 It's going to get
29:00 more intense.
29:03 John Chapter 8 verse. 44 Jesus was talking to a group of
29:09 people
29:11 and he said you are of your father, the devil
29:14 and the less of your father you will do.
29:17 He was a murderer from the beginning and he abode not in
29:20 the truth
29:22 because there's no truth in him. When he speaks a lie,
29:25 he speaks of his own
29:27 for he is a liar and the father of it.
29:31 And because I tell you the truth,
29:34 you believe me not.
29:36 So here is a battle between Jesus and the religious leaders
29:41 and the issue has to do with truth
29:43 truth and lies and Jesus is essentially saying to them,
29:47 he said you, you are following lives. You are being led by
29:53 your father by the devil. And I'm telling you the truth,
29:57 but you don't believe me
29:59 now. I've concluded from this verse and many other versus
30:02 that
30:03 we're in a battle and the battle between truth and air
30:06 between God and Satan
30:08 is being fought on many fronts,
30:11 many friends, it's it's being fought in the area of Bible
30:14 doctrines.
30:16 No question about it. Talk trends are an issue
30:21 revelation. 14 12 says here's the patience of the Saints
30:25 here. Are they that keep the Commandments of God and the
30:28 faith of Jesus? Some people focus on the Commandments,
30:31 but neglect Jesus. Some people focus on Jesus, but they
30:35 neglect the commandments.
30:37 That revelation 14, 12 says here's the patience of the
30:40 Saints here. They that keep the Commandments of God and the
30:44 faith of Jesus. They put the ball together.
30:48 That's truth, Bible truth.
30:50 But the battle also has to do with that,
30:54 not just doctrines, but with what we say
30:57 with our words that come out of our mouths every day
31:01 that spring from our hearts. Just a cut quick, a few verses
31:05 in Luke 9.33,
31:08 it's interesting
31:10 that win.
31:12 Peter was on the mound with Jesus,
31:15 the mount of the Transfiguration it. Peter made
31:18 a statement. Any said, Lord, it's good for us to be here.
31:21 Should we build 3 tense one for you. One for Moses and one for
31:25 Elijah
31:26 and in look 9.33, it says that Peter did not know what he was
31:31 saying
31:34 in first Timothy One for 7. It talks about people who want
31:38 to be teachers of the law, it says, but they neither know
31:41 what they're saying nor what they so confidently affirm
31:46 in that. The 26 0st, 33
31:49 Jesus told his disciples that did that time.
31:52 They were all going to run away
31:54 from him during the final crisis of his life.
31:58 And Peter said that he told Jesus he said, though,
32:01 everybody else run away. I never will, though they deny
32:06 you. I won't.
32:08 I won't.
32:10 So not only did people sometimes say and they don't
32:13 know what they say, what they're saying.
32:16 But sometimes what they say is just flat out wrong.
32:19 Peter didn't know himself. He said I won't betray you.
32:22 I won't.
32:24 But then he did.
32:26 He did
32:29 turn to Matthew 5 years. 37
32:33 Matthew, 5.37,
32:39 the battle between truth and the air
32:43 is in the realm of doctrine, Bible doctrines.
32:47 And it also has a lot to do with what we say.
32:53 Just like Jesus told those religious leaders. He said,
32:57 I'm telling you the truth
33:00 and you don't believe me.
33:04 Matthew 5
33:06 verse 37
33:09 Jesus said, Let your Communication
33:13 B. Yes, some people see ye
33:16 and ye, which means yes, yes
33:20 or nay. Nay, which means a no, no
33:23 for whatsoever is more than these
33:28 from what?
33:30 Yes, some some Bible say comes evil and other Bible say are of
33:35 the evil one.
33:37 So Jesus is really
33:41 trying to restrict s
33:43 in our speech
33:45 2 telling the truth.
33:48 So he says let your yes be yes and your no, no,
33:53 because whatever is more than that
33:57 is of the evil one.
34:00 Now, he doesn't mean that we should only say yes and no and
34:03 not see anything else.
34:05 What he means is that we should be very
34:11 and guarded about our speech.
34:13 We need to put a check
34:16 on our lips
34:18 and what we speak and what we write,
34:21 what we post.
34:24 We live in an age of social media fury
34:28 where there's comments under YouTube videos and Facebook
34:32 page and said people are tweeting and texting and so
34:37 many times I look at tweets or texts or posts
34:41 and I think oh, my,
34:44 we need to be careful what we say.
34:48 And I've learned through the holy spirit as I've prayed for
34:51 the Holy Spirit all these years, God has really impressed
34:55 me. Steve Walberg be very careful
34:59 what you preach.
35:01 Be careful what you say. Be careful what you post.
35:06 Be careful what I say to my family and what I say to you.
35:13 I want to read to you a quote that has been
35:16 very powerful in my life. It's kind of been like an
35:20 operating system, you know, think of the computer. And
35:23 there's an operating system that's always running in the
35:25 background. There's a quote that I read in the book.
35:28 Thoughts from the Mount. A blessing said number of years
35:30 ago that has become like an operating system
35:34 in the back of my head.
35:36 This is from Page 67. I read a few sentences page. 67, 68 69.
35:43 It says in its commenting on this verse, this is thoughts
35:47 from the Mount of Blessings explaining the sermon on the
35:50 Mount, which is also called the Mount the sermon that Jesus
35:53 gave where he gave the blessings in Matthew 5, where
35:56 he said blessed are the poor in Spirit. Blessed are the pure in
35:59 heart. So this book is a comment on
36:01 this. These chapters and especially this verse
36:05 about you're yes, yes and no, no. So that's what it says on
36:08 page 67.
36:10 It says Jesus teaches that the exact truth
36:14 should be the law of speech.
36:18 Let your speech be. Yes, yes, no, no. And whatever is more
36:22 than this is of the evil one.
36:26 Listen to this. If these words of Christ were heeded,
36:31 they would check
36:34 the utterance of evil surmising
36:37 and unkind criticism
36:40 4 in commenting upon the actions and the motives of
36:44 another who can be certain of speaking the exact truth.
36:50 So when I read that, I thought, Lord, I need to comment a lot
36:53 less
36:55 on the motives and the actions of others.
36:59 And don't you think that would be good for all of us
37:02 to be more careful about what we say
37:05 about other people?
37:10 It says who can be certain of speaking the exact truth,
37:14 how often pride
37:16 passion,
37:18 personal resentment,
37:20 color. The impression given
37:24 everything Christians do should be as transparent as the
37:28 sunlight.
37:29 Truth is of God deception and every one of its myriad forms
37:34 is of Satan.
37:36 Listen to this. And who ever in any way
37:41 departs
37:43 from the straight line of truth
37:48 is betraying himself
37:50 into the power
37:52 of the wicked want.
37:55 In other words, if if the things that we say about this
37:59 or that or this person or that person or this issue or that
38:04 issue, if the things that we say in the sight of God
38:10 departing from the straight line of truth,
38:16 we are betraying ourselves just like Judas who betrayed Jesus
38:21 with a kiss.
38:24 We are betraying ourselves
38:27 into the power
38:29 of the weekend. One.
38:31 Wow.
38:34 When I read this and I thought about my talk today, I
38:38 I thought about
38:40 a very tragic news story
38:43 that's been on the news a lot for the last 2 weeks. Maybe
38:46 you've heard about a young 18 year-old boy
38:50 named Cameron Rock Roberts.
38:54 Have you heard that story? It's just it's been repeated so
38:58 many times. Evidently what happened was he had just
39:01 graduate graduated from high school
39:04 in Louisiana,
39:05 and he was with a group of his friends and they they had
39:09 rented.
39:11 I have a little well was kind of like a it was a cruise boat.
39:15 But it was a small boat that looked like a pirate ship.
39:18 And they were, you know, taking a cruise out in the Bahamas
39:23 with a bunch of their friends just celebrating.
39:26 And it was it was night and they were near Little Island
39:31 called Apple
39:32 and
39:35 some of them were drunk.
39:36 And evidently some of the kids on the on the little on this
39:41 boat, the ship.
39:42 I dared this 18 year-old teenager to jump into the water
39:48 at night
39:50 and then they would throw him a life preserver and pull him
39:54 out.
39:56 And I must have been a battle in his head but said some of
40:00 his friends said, talk to it, don't do it,
40:03 but he decided to do it. So he jumped.
40:07 He jumped into the water and some people took that video of
40:10 him in the water. And one of these videos has been watched
40:14 like over 10 million times
40:16 and they it looked like there. He was swimming back to the
40:20 over to the buoy. And it looked like there was some kind of
40:23 shadowy form underneath the water near him. And there were
40:27 a lot of sharks in that water
40:30 and and first and then he's
40:33 started going away from the movie.
40:37 That was it.
40:39 They never saw him again.
40:41 They search for his body for look for him for 2 days and
40:44 finally gave off, gave up the search.
40:47 And so that boy died.
40:49 He died because he he jumped
40:52 into the water into the shark-infested water.
40:56 And it's I thought about that. There's a parallel to me.
40:59 I think I'm thinking about the statement
41:02 that we can jump
41:04 2 conclusions
41:09 that we really don't know what where
41:12 jumping, too,
41:14 like Peter, he didn't know what he was saying.
41:19 And and there's so much going on in the world these days.
41:21 People jump to conclusions about this or that or the other
41:24 thing and their words are not checked. And if we like it says
41:29 here,
41:30 it says whoever in any way departs from the straight line
41:33 of truth is betraying himself into the power of the week.
41:36 And one just like that boy jumped off that
41:44 into the shark infested waters.
41:47 If we jump
41:49 to conclusions and say things that we really don't know if
41:55 they're right or not,
41:57 we are jumping into the shark infested
42:02 waters of the devil,
42:04 the power of the wicked one. And then it says yet it is not
42:08 a light or any easy thing to speak. The exact truth,
42:12 it's not easy.
42:16 And how often that says we cannot speak the truth
42:21 unless we know the truth.
42:24 So there's a whole lot of things that faces all the
42:26 times. And if we don't have a full or accurate understanding
42:31 of what we have to do with
42:33 what we we shouldn't comment on what we don't know.
42:39 We cannot speak the truth
42:41 unless we know the truth and how often preconceived
42:45 opinions,
42:47 mental bias,
42:49 imperfect knowledge,
42:52 errors of judgment
42:54 prevent right understanding of matters with which we have to
42:57 do.
42:59 We cannot speak the truth unless our mines are
43:04 continually guided by him. Who is truth?
43:11 We've got to be connected to the branch.
43:15 We have to have the gold and oil of the Holy spirit guiding
43:19 our minds, the spirit of truth to guide us into all truth.
43:24 And if we're not being guided by the truth, by the word of
43:27 God and by the Holy Spirit and by Jesus Christ,
43:31 we cannot know the truth and we cannot speak the truth.
43:37 We can not speak the truth unless our minds are
43:39 continually guided by him who is truth.
43:44 And then finally says here in speech as in life,
43:48 the followers of Christ will be simple, straightforward and
43:52 true
43:54 for they are preparing for the fellowship of those holy ones
43:58 in whose mouth was found. No guile.
44:03 And that is a quote from
44:07 the book of Revelation, which I will
44:10 quote before I'm dead.
44:13 Go back to Zach Araya, chapter 3,
44:21 back to the branch chapter.
44:25 And as I've read these verses and I've read Mount of
44:27 Blessings and that since I've been praying for the spirit of
44:30 truth since 1986
44:33 and and there's many times when I I'll say something and then
44:37 that little voice will speak to my mind and say, are you sure
44:41 about that?
44:43 What you just said
44:47 and the Lord has spanked my conscience many times
44:52 and he says still working with me. I heard somebody once
44:57 say God's not going to take us out of the oven, half-baked.
45:01 He's going to bake us. He's going to work with this.
45:05 He's going to mold. That's in fashion us. And my point is
45:09 that the holy spirit is going deep,
45:12 deeper and deeper and deeper. Jesus is the way and the truth
45:15 and the life. His word is the truth. The Holy Spirit is the
45:19 truth.
45:20 Those people were being led by the devil. He said your father
45:24 is the devil and you're not speaking the truth. He's a liar
45:28 and the father of lies. And I'm telling you the truth. And why
45:31 do you believe me?
45:33 The battle is going on all around us and inside of us in
45:37 every home, in every heart, in every city, in every social
45:41 media platform,
45:43 every doctrinal discussion,
45:46 the winds are blowing.
45:49 The battle is on
45:50 and the battle is between
45:53 Jesus and the devil
45:56 between truth and the error between right and wrong.
46:02 And if we get on the wrong side and if we say things that
46:06 aren't right, and if we jump to conclusions like that, boy
46:09 jumped into the water,
46:11 we can end up on the side of the devil and not even know it
46:17 very dangerous.
46:19 We need to put a check.
46:22 There's a verse in songs that says said a watch
46:26 O Lord
46:28 on my mouth.
46:30 Keep the door of my lips.
46:34 Keep the door of my lips. God help me to be careful
46:38 about what I say and the branches mention. Is that
46:41 correct? 3 verse
46:45 at the end of verse 9.
46:49 The Lord says in the context of the branch,
46:53 I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
47:01 One day
47:03 was the day
47:05 when the truth
47:08 personified
47:10 hung on a cross.
47:12 He was surrounded by people that were saying things that
47:15 were not right
47:17 and Jesus was faithful. He was pure. He was true.
47:22 He never spoke one lie and there he was hanging up on a
47:27 cross on that day
47:29 and praise the Lord. The good news is that in spite of all
47:33 the lies and misinformation and things that we've said
47:39 and done
47:40 throughout our lives, all of us
47:44 one time or another.
47:46 The good news. It's that on one day,
47:50 the son of God, the branch,
47:53 the simplest one Christ, our righteousness
47:58 paid the price.
48:02 The one who is right,
48:04 pay the price for those who have done wrong
48:08 for those who haven't spoken the truth, those who haven't
48:12 kept the Commandments of God,
48:14 those who have
48:16 had idols and other gods and dishonored their parents and
48:20 haven't loved God or their neighbor as themselves.
48:24 That's why Jesus died.
48:27 I will remove the sin of that land in one day.
48:33 I have to go to Zachariah
48:35 13.
48:36 First one,
48:43 13 verse one.
48:46 I love this verse.
48:49 Is that correct? 13 1 says in that day
48:53 there should be a fountain opened
48:56 to the House of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
49:00 for sin and 4 and clean this
49:07 praise God.
49:09 There is a fountain
49:12 that has been opened
49:14 as a result of Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sins
49:21 for your son for mind. So when I began to pray for the Holy
49:24 spirit in 1986, I pray God, please help me. Get me out of
49:29 this crisis said I'm in.
49:32 I'm going to do what you've said.
49:35 Pray for the spirit of truth to guide
49:38 to guide you into all truth. The more I did that the more I
49:42 started seeing the error
49:44 and the mistakes and the wanderings and the eye,
49:49 the hidden sins in my own life.
49:54 But I had never seen before. You know, you first become a
49:57 Christian. God shows you the big things
50:00 which you give those things up. But then as time goes on,
50:03 he's he refines like tuning a guitar, you know, tuning a
50:08 piano and he goes deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper.
50:12 Any shows you things you never thought you would you'd ever
50:15 see.
50:17 And then every point we have a choice to make a mic enough.
50:19 Follow what the holy spirit showing me. I can to let God
50:22 purify my character, purify my life peer 5, my words.
50:28 And the the good news is that when we get convicted
50:33 that we've done wrong, we need to realize that there's a
50:37 fountain
50:38 that's been opened
50:41 force in and for uncleanness
50:44 and that's the fountain of forgiveness and cleansing
50:49 through Jesus and through the blood that he shed on the
50:53 cross.
50:54 And that fountain is open to all of us.
50:58 It's here at 3ABN
51:02 in that day, there will be a fountain open.
51:05 So as you pray during this camp meeting
51:09 and as you keep praying when you leave camp meeting,
51:12 pray, God show me my my mistakes
51:16 and show me the Fountain.
51:18 Show me that cleansing showing your heart that you love me.
51:22 Still no matter what I've done, you still love me
51:27 and you want to cleanse me and wash me
51:30 from all of my sense so I can be cleaned before the Lord
51:35 Revelation Chapter 14
51:39 revelation. 14 is the chapter
51:44 that was quoted in mount a blessings
51:52 talking about a group called the 144,000
51:55 and chapter 14 verse 4. It says the these aren't they which
51:59 were not to filed with women
52:01 which ladies don't get upset about that. It's the the Women
52:06 of Babylon,
52:08 the false churches and false doctrines.
52:11 They're not to filed with women for their virgins. These are
52:15 they which followed the lamb wherever he goes,
52:18 they're connected to Jesus.
52:20 These were redeemed from among men being the first-fruits 2
52:24 got into the land and in their mouth
52:27 was found. Know what
52:30 no guile or deceit or a deception in their mouths for
52:34 they are without fault
52:37 before the throne of God.
52:41 God is preparing a people.
52:46 He's preparing you and he's preparing me. He's preparing
52:50 people around this world
52:53 to be cleansed from Sen
52:58 clans from evil.
53:00 And part of that has to do with what we say
53:04 says in their mouth.
53:07 That's down. No deception.
53:09 They are without fault before the throne of God.
53:12 God is trying to develop the people,
53:16 speak the truth,
53:19 not just about doctrines,
53:22 but about
53:23 anything that comes our way during the course of the day.
53:29 And so we need to put our we need to put our
53:33 lips in check
53:35 and think Lord, before we
53:38 like Peter, he just spoke
53:45 and that boy just jumped
53:49 and before, you know, when something comes our way and we
53:52 get into a discussion
53:55 or whatever it is,
53:58 don't just don't just talk
54:02 about whatever happens to come in your head
54:08 before you speak
54:11 and say less.
54:13 God gave us 2 years and one mouth for a reason.
54:18 He wants us to listen more than we talk.
54:22 Somebody wrote that we need to talk less and pray more.
54:26 Roberts says you see in the multitude of words said he's
54:30 not absent.
54:34 A wise man holds his time.
54:37 A wise man is careful
54:39 about what he sense.
54:42 It's as if even a fool. If he holds his tongue is considered
54:46 winds. He said that the book of Proverbs
54:51 Cleese, he asked, he says God is in heaven and you are honor.
54:54 So let your words be few.
54:57 We need to have well chosen careful words
55:03 before we speak.
55:04 Back to our original text.
55:08 Zechariah
55:11 chapter 3
55:23 says here now Joshan with the high priest. You and your
55:27 fellows that sit before you for. They are men wondered that
55:32 if God can develop people in this world who follow the lamb
55:36 wherever he goes and who put their words in check and who
55:40 only speak the truth,
55:42 who the who truth, where where for them
55:45 truth is the exact a lot of speech.
55:48 Then these people are going to be wondered at
55:52 the universe will look at them and co amazing.
55:56 Look what God has done
55:59 for behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch
56:04 and that is Jesus Christ.
56:08 Jesus lived his life connected to the father
56:14 and through the branch comes, the branch is connected to the
56:18 tree and through the branch comes the oil,
56:22 the golden oil
56:24 of the Holy Spirit.
56:26 And the spirit is the spirit of truth,
56:29 guiding us into all truth.
56:32 And God wants us to be little branches
56:37 connected to Jesus. The big branch
56:41 connected to the father,
56:43 the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit.
56:47 So the golden oil of truth flows into our lives
56:52 and also comes out of our mouse.
56:55 That is God's plan.
56:56 He wants us to get ready
56:59 for the last battle
57:02 between truth and they're between right and wrong.
57:06 So we can be ready
57:09 to go to heaven
57:11 to be with Jesus
57:12 [MUSIC]
57:17 [MUSIC]
57:22 [MUSIC]
57:27 [MUSIC]
57:32 [MUSIC]


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Revised 2023-06-15