Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW200013S
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:13 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello and welcome, a great big welcome, 01:11 3ABN Today Family Worship. 01:13 We're so glad you joined us. 01:15 And I mean, it's a thrill to be able to get into your home 01:18 and then, you know, this is how we become acquainted 01:20 with one another. 01:21 And we see people all the time and say, you know, 01:23 "We watch the program, we're studying with you," 01:25 we count that a real privilege. 01:27 Thank you for letting us into your home. 01:29 Today we have a wonderful subject. 01:30 I think, we have third part on it, 01:32 we're gonna be talking about "Are you ready?" 01:35 I think that's very, very important in the history, 01:38 in the world that we're living in right now. 01:39 Are you ready? 01:41 That's probably more important, the most important thing 01:42 that I can think about right now 01:43 is are we ready to meet Jesus. 01:45 There's a lot of talk going on, 01:47 a lot of things going on in the world today, 01:49 but you know what, are you ready to meet Jesus? 01:51 And we pray by the grace of God 01:52 that as we study and continue on in this lesson 01:56 as you stay along with us that these questions... 01:58 Your question will be answered 02:00 and you'll be led closer to Jesus Christ 02:01 and you will be ready to meet Him. 02:03 So today, we're, again, glad you joined us 02:05 and I'm glad my wife joined. 02:07 Chris, glad you're here today. I'm glad I'm here today. 02:09 Yeah, what a nice group we have here. 02:11 Oh, we do. Family, right? 02:13 We are family. Yes, yes. 02:15 You have somebody next to you and then next to him. 02:17 I call it a one-two punch maybe. 02:19 Okay. Oh, yeah. 02:20 The day brothers, 02:22 one to the right and one to the left. 02:23 Yeah, yeah. Ryan, I'm glad you're here. 02:25 It's a blessing to be here. That's right. 02:27 Brother Dakota, we're glad you're here. 02:29 It's a blessing to be here. Yeah, praise the Lord. 02:31 Thank you, guys, for the invitation. 02:32 I just sense that 02:33 when he's asked to do something for Jesus, 02:35 he jumps right in on both feet. 02:36 Amen. We're grateful for that. 02:38 It's nice to have the brothers 02:39 sitting together with the power. 02:41 Yes, that's right. 02:42 And then we have a mother and son. 02:44 A family. Combo family down there. 02:45 Sister Yvonne, always a pleasure. 02:48 Thank you. Thank you for coming today. 02:49 I know it takes a lot of, you know, 02:51 a lot of work to prepare and get ready, but thank you. 02:55 I don't know how to take that, but I'll think about that... 02:58 No I'm just kidding. It's so good. 03:01 Now you're preparing every day 03:02 when you open the Word of God, isn't that right? 03:03 Thank you, brother. Yeah. 03:05 Absolutely. 03:06 And Brother Jason Bradley, praise the Lord. 03:07 Yeah. Always good. 03:09 It's great to be here with you, 03:10 looking forward to diving into the subject. 03:12 Amen. Yeah. Well, we do. 03:14 I mean, we're studying the Word of God 03:16 there's nothing like it. 03:17 And we're just praising God 03:18 for this opportunity and privilege 03:20 'cause, again, I always think about, are you ready? 03:21 Are you ready to meet Jesus? 03:22 What if something should happen, 03:24 you know, in your life? 03:25 What if you are going down the street, 03:26 things are happening in the world today 03:28 with all disease, all the pestilence, 03:29 everything is going on, are you ready to meet Jesus? 03:31 But, you know, before we're gonna... 03:33 I think we are gonna have prayer first 03:34 and then we want to have a song. 03:36 And I look forward to... 03:37 I'm still learning, O, When Shall I See Jesus. 03:40 So that's why I say we need to pray first 03:42 and then we can we can sing. 03:43 Brother Jason, how about you? Would you pray for us, please? 03:45 Sure thing, sure thing. 03:47 Dear Heavenly Father, 03:48 we thank You for this wonderful opportunity 03:50 and privilege that 03:51 we have to study Your Word together. 03:53 Amen. 03:54 Lord, as we believe that we are living in the last days 03:57 and as we know that we are living in the last days, 04:00 we ask that You would help us to be ready, 04:03 help us to rightfully cover this topic. 04:08 We ask that You would guide our conversation, 04:10 send Your Holy Spirit to be with us 04:12 and be with the viewers and the listeners as well. 04:15 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 04:17 Amen. Amen, praise the Lord. 04:19 Brother Ryan, I would turn it over to you. 04:21 You can lead us in this. 04:22 Absolutely one of my favorite songs, 04:24 O, When Shall I See Jesus. 04:25 This is a song that me and Dakota know pretty well 04:28 because we sing this song often when we were 04:31 at the Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism, 04:33 receiving our evangelism training 04:35 and so we're going to do it acapella, 04:37 let me see if I can get a key here. 04:39 All right. 04:43 O, when shall I see Jesus and reign with Him above 04:48 And shall hear the trumpet sound 04:51 in that morning 04:53 And from the flowing fountain drink everlasting love 04:58 And shall hear the trumpet sound 05:01 in that morning 05:03 O, shout, glory! 05:06 For I shall mount above the skies 05:09 When I hear the trumpet sound in that morning 05:14 Gird on the gospel armor of faith 05:18 and hope and love 05:19 And you'll hear the trumpet sound 05:22 in that morning 05:24 And when the combat's ended He'll carry you above 05:29 And you'll hear the trumpet sound 05:32 in that morning. 05:34 O, shout, glory! 05:37 For I shall mount above the skies 05:39 When I hear the trumpet sound in that morning 05:45 Our ears shall hear with transport 05:49 the host of heaven sing 05:50 And shall hear the trumpet sound 05:53 in that morning 05:56 Our tongues shall speak the glories 05:58 of our immortal King 06:01 And shall hear the trumpet sound 06:03 in that morning 06:06 O, shout, glory! 06:08 For I shall mount above the skies 06:11 When I hear the trumpet sound in that morning 06:17 It's gonna be a good one. Amen. 06:18 Amen. 06:20 We could do the whole lesson on this song. 06:22 Really. Isn't that nice? 06:24 It's a good song. And we didn't... 06:30 Oh, boy. I mean, it's exciting. 06:34 It's exciting to think about when we hear that trumpet sound 06:37 and what it's gonna be like because, you know, 06:40 as Jesus says as we see these things occurring 06:43 that we're to lift up our heads for redemption draweth nigh. 06:47 And so I mean, that gives us hope, 06:49 in time of discouragement, 06:51 in a time where so many people are just... 06:54 I mean, it's amazing when you stop in here 06:56 that there's been people even a doctor 06:58 that has lost their lives. 07:01 You know, purposely they've taken their own lives 07:04 because of the depression and the stress 07:06 of what's happening in our nation. 07:09 And so we as Christians, we want to give that peace, 07:11 which is why you wrote that book. 07:13 I wish I would have grabbed a book. 07:14 COVID-19 what's the... 07:17 After COVID-19: What's Next? After COVID-19: What's Next? 07:21 We at Behold the Lamb 07:22 which we're also part of 3ABN family, 07:24 but we've been given that book 07:25 out by the hundreds and thousands 07:27 as well and we look forward to even doing more 07:30 'cause it gives such hope to people 07:32 and it'll give you hope too. 07:33 I encourage you to call 3ABN and get your own copy 07:36 or they can even go on your website, right, sis? 07:39 Yes, they can go on the 3ABN website, 3abn.tv, 07:42 and just download the booklet from there. 07:46 'Cause this all fits together, the song, our study, that book. 07:50 What a blessing. 07:51 What a blessing. Praise the Lord. 07:52 Yeah. Okay. 07:54 I keep thinking about, you know, that trumpet sound. 07:55 Somebody needs to have a trumpet, 07:57 right, and blast that trumpet. 07:58 And when I think about that, no, the coming of Jesus but, 08:01 you know, the dead in Christ rise first. 08:02 Yes. Yes. 08:03 When I was just thinking, I seen something from my... 08:06 Okay, personal. We mentioned that... 08:07 My sister yesterday, 08:09 she had made the 15th. 08:11 She said our mother will be passed away 21 years ago. 08:15 You know, it's kind of long time but, 08:17 you know, no matter how long that is you never forget it. 08:20 That's right. 08:21 Maybe however new it, it's fresh in our minds and, 08:23 you know, my dad's been 40 some odd years 08:25 and I just haven't forgot 08:27 the sound of his voice, you know? 08:28 Yes. 08:30 His mannerisms and the things he used to say that 08:31 we thought was a little bit crazy 08:33 that we repeat right now. 08:36 The trumpet sound in the morning. 08:37 Yes. Okay, are you ready? 08:38 This is what we're going to be talking about today. 08:40 We're gonna begin our lesson number... 08:41 Question three. Question number... 08:43 You know, just quickly go over. 08:44 There was five questions 08:46 and five points that we want to, 08:47 you know, just condense them down quickly 08:49 was the first question was about today 08:51 is a day of salvation. 08:53 That's very, very important. Number two, preparation. 08:55 Number three, talking about being a beacon. 08:58 Beacon for truth. 09:00 How do we operate in this world that we live in with believers, 09:04 non-believers, and how do we handle it, 09:05 how do we talk to them. 09:06 And, you know, do we do it different... 09:08 Say your whole evangelistic series 09:10 or your pastor and you're talking to a crowd, 09:12 do you do a little bit differently 09:14 when you do one-on-one? 09:16 I think I do. 09:18 It's okay to confess to say when you're one on one 09:19 because you're talking about 09:21 one individual instead of a group, 09:22 so how do we handle that situation? 09:24 Number four, we're going to be talking about 09:26 I love that righteousness by faith. 09:28 Victory over sin, I started getting excited. 09:30 I started rocking back and forth in my chair 09:32 because, you know, that's a subject 09:33 that even those who say they understand what truth is, 09:36 they're just missing it. 09:38 And I pray that the group here 09:39 will just bring that forward today. 09:41 And the last one, Christ formed within. 09:44 That's our hope of glory. Amen. 09:45 So question number three. Mama, do you have that? 09:47 I do. 09:48 Would you read that for us and let's get started. 09:50 He has high aspirations that we're going to get 09:52 past one question today. 09:53 Oh! I always do. 09:55 This is a good one. 09:57 How may we labor in our daily lives with God 10:00 and seek to be a beacon of truth for those around us 10:03 who are not keeping God's commandment? 10:05 Mercy. Okay. 10:08 Go ahead, Ryan. I see you... 10:09 Okay. All right. 10:11 Jump at it. Come on. 10:12 Well, you know, when I read number three here, 10:16 I can't help but think of what we need to be 10:19 an example for others. 10:22 We need to make sure that 10:23 we're not being the wrong example for others. 10:26 It says how can we labor in our daily lives with God 10:29 and seek to be a beacon of truth to those around us. 10:32 Yes. 10:33 I find out that sometimes Christians 10:35 are more of a hindrance to others around them 10:37 than they are, you know, 10:39 a positive influence in bringing people to Christ. 10:41 Speak it. 10:43 And when I read this particular question, 10:46 my mind went to two passages, and I couldn't help it. 10:49 And it's interesting because these two passages 10:52 mark the very first ever 10:54 recorded sermon of Jesus in Scripture, 10:56 Sermon on the Mount. 10:57 And, of course, what you might consider 10:59 His very last sermon recorded in Scripture 11:02 which is recorded in Scripture as the Olivet Discourse, 11:05 where Christ is having a private meeting 11:07 with His disciples on the top of Mount of Olives 11:10 about one week before He's crucified. 11:12 I want to start at the end 11:13 and then go back to the beginning 11:15 and show you something marvelous here. 11:16 So first of all, I want to make this point. 11:19 First of all, we've got to recognize that 11:21 in order for us to be a beacon of truth for others, 11:24 we've got to show forth Christ to others. 11:29 And a lot of times, what we do is 11:31 we send a message to people around us that 11:33 the church is nothing more than a club. 11:36 We treat God's work, we treat the church, 11:39 we treat the work of the church, 11:41 sometimes often as a club, 11:42 and when we portray it as a club, 11:44 and the work of Christ, and the experience of Christ 11:47 as a club rather than a true genuine experience 11:51 sometimes that cannot be 11:54 a bright beacon of light to someone 11:56 but a negative light to someone. 11:58 Would you unpack that a little bit? 11:59 Yeah, actually, I do. 12:01 You know, think it for a second. 12:04 When people see us, what do they see? 12:06 They should see Jesus. 12:08 Do they see a genuine Christian, 12:11 someone who is just emitting the light of Christ? 12:16 Do they see a genuine Christian 12:17 or do they see someone just going through the motions? 12:20 Do they see a club member? 12:22 That person is a Seventh-day Adventist. 12:24 "Yeah, well, they go to that church, 12:26 you know, they're just another Christian" 12:28 or do they see this person go, 12:29 there's something special about that person? 12:31 Think it for a second. I have been a part of clubs. 12:34 I've been a part of clubs in the past. 12:36 Club members are part of clubs, they memorize creeds. 12:39 Yes. 12:41 They assemble for large gatherings. 12:45 They attend special meetings. 12:47 They sing special songs within the clubs. 12:52 They conduct community outreach events. 12:56 They help the needy in many of these types of clubs. 12:59 Yes, they do. You're right. Sound familiar. 13:02 When people, you know, while we know that 13:04 that's much of our experience as a Christian, you know, 13:07 being a true, genuine Christian in Christ 13:09 goes far and beyond just that. 13:11 We should do those things. Yes 13:12 But it goes far and beyond that. 13:14 The two passages that come to my mind 13:16 and I'm gonna let you guys kind of unpack it 13:17 after I reference these. 13:19 I want to start at the end, 13:20 Matthew 25, so this is Olivet Discourse. 13:22 Matthew 25, I'm going to reference this one. 13:24 This is simply talking about the 10 virgins. 13:27 Think of those five foolish virgins. 13:29 So there's five wise and there's five foolish. 13:32 You could probably not have convinced 13:34 those five foolish virgins 13:36 that they were not genuine Christians. 13:37 Right. True. They were convinced. 13:39 Notice, they had their lamps, they went out to meet Jesus, 13:43 the bridegroom, they had faith in the promise of this word. 13:46 They said Jesus is gonna come back, you know, 13:48 they just lacked the oil, but they didn't know that 13:51 until the loud cry had already went out. 13:53 "Hey, Jesus is coming, get ready." 13:56 And then when they arose to trim their lamps 13:57 because notice they were all slumbering and sleeping. 13:59 That's right. 14:00 Then they realize, "Oh wait, we don't have enough oil." 14:02 The non-genuine now wants to look at the genuine and say, 14:05 "Wait a second, can you give us a little bit of what you have?" 14:07 Right. And what did the genuine say? 14:09 They say, "You know what... Get your own. 14:11 You got to go and buy from them that sell, right? 14:14 And we know that in Revelation 3 14:15 Jesus is saying, "I counsel you to buy from me." 14:19 We're gonna get into that white garment in just a moment, 14:20 the wedding garment in number four. 14:23 The five foolish virgins, 14:25 if you read this particular passage, 14:28 these individuals were convinced. 14:30 They were going out in faith to meet Jesus. 14:32 That's right. 14:33 These were not some outside separated, 14:36 these are convinced individuals that they were saved 14:39 and that they were gonna be saved. 14:40 But of course they heard those most haunting words, 14:43 "Depart from Me, I don't know you, right?" 14:45 Now, I want to do on a reference 14:46 is go back to Matthew 7. 14:48 This will be my last point and I'm going to pass it 14:49 to someone else. 14:51 Matthew Chapter 7. We see... 14:52 This is going out to Jesus 14:54 very first recorded sermon in Scripture. 14:57 This is toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount. 15:01 And then notice what Christ says here. 15:04 Same scenario that you're gonna see here that 15:07 we just read or referenced from the 10 virgins. 15:09 So Matthew 7 beginning of verse 21, 15:12 He says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 15:14 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, 15:16 but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 15:19 Many will say to Me in that day," 15:21 Now notice what these Christians, 15:22 professed believers are gonna say, 15:25 "'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, 15:28 have we not cast out demons in Your name, 15:30 and done many wonders in Your name?'" 15:33 So they're listing their Christian attributes. 15:35 Wait a second, I returned tithe. 15:37 I was a deacon in the church. 15:39 You know, I attend church every week. 15:41 Hey, I was there when we did that community 15:43 outreach event. 15:44 They are listing their Christian attributes, 15:46 but notice what Christ says to them in verse 23. 15:49 "And then I would declare to them," 15:50 same as the 5 foolish virgins, "I never knew you, 15:54 depart from Me, you who practice..." 15:56 Inequity. 15:58 Lawlessness or inequity in this case. 15:59 So when I read this question here, 16:01 how can we labor in our daily lives with God 16:05 and seek to be a beacon of truth 16:07 to those around us 16:08 who are not keeping God's commandments? 16:09 Remember, lawlessness, inequity. 16:13 The best thing we can do is seek God genuinely 16:15 to allow God to transform us genuinely. 16:18 To not just be club members, to not just treat God's Church, 16:22 God's Church movement, God's mission, His purpose, 16:25 His goal, His agenda, His work, 16:28 not just treat it as something that we just do, 16:30 but let it genuinely change us 16:32 so that people can see us and go, "Wow! 16:34 That person is different." Yes. 16:36 "There's something different about that person," right? 16:38 Oh, wow. Powerful. 16:40 Yeah, it is powerful. And how many times you have... 16:42 I tried to Google this last night 16:44 when I was studying how many time, 16:45 but it never gave me an answer 16:47 and I didn't want to look it up and try to figure it out. 16:49 That Christ said, "Be not deceived. 16:51 Be not deceived." 16:53 You see the real key is I was looking through here, 16:55 you can't give anything away that you don't have. 16:57 Yeah, that's right. That's right. 16:58 So we have to learn to be 17:00 eating and drinking of the Word of God 17:03 each and every day and praying for truth. 17:07 Praying for truth, we just went through Psalms 91, 17:10 a beautiful, beautiful passage, 17:12 those who are under the shadow of the Most High God, you know, 17:16 how do we get under that shadow? 17:18 How do we get under His wings? 17:19 We have to be living what we read, 17:22 we have to put it into our heart 17:24 rather than just into our head. 17:26 Amen That's right. 17:27 That's a real key 'cause there's a lot of people 17:29 that know, but, that word comes in a lot. 17:32 Well, yeah, but. 17:34 "Well, my mama did it this way 17:35 or my ancestors just did it this way. 17:37 Yeah, but well, you know, 17:40 we may go on a different day or this or that," you know, 17:43 rather than lining up with the Word of God. 17:46 One thing I've noticed, we've noticed, over the years, 17:49 when we're out witnessing, when we're doing evangelism, 17:52 the power of the spirit moves rapidly 17:55 when people say, "I want to know what truth is." 17:59 Yes. 18:00 And lives begin to change 18:02 and the light bulbs begin to come on. 18:04 And all of a sudden, 18:06 they're reading these things and like, 18:08 "That does makes sense." 18:09 The Lord will put it together. 18:11 And so for me, 18:13 I think that's a key to having your oil filled. 18:16 You've got to spend that time each and every morning. 18:19 Some of us, I know you have your special, my dear sister. 18:23 She's my sister-in-law and my sister-in-Christ. 18:26 And so anyway, I know she has a special time. 18:29 We decided many years ago that we were not gonna eat 18:32 of the physical food 18:33 until we ate of the spiritual food first. 18:35 Amen. Amen. 18:36 And I may be in a big hurry and, you know, 18:39 the Lord Holy Spirit's conveyed to me 18:40 I thought, okay, one person. 18:42 I got to do at least one... 18:44 But I will say when my life really began to change is 18:50 when I would sit every morning 18:52 and then all of a sudden, you know, 18:53 I'd say, "Okay, 10 minutes," 10 minutes would turn to 20, 18:57 and then 20 would turn to 40. 19:00 And pretty soon it's an hour, an hour and a half. 19:03 And that's when your life begins to change. 19:07 That's right. 19:08 Under the shadow of the most... 19:09 Yes, beautiful. 19:11 See, Brother Ryan, what you done, 19:13 you've opened something here. 19:14 Hallelujah. 19:15 So that's big punch, another punch. 19:17 And I know Brother Dakota has another punch coming on. 19:20 Maybe we'll just go right on down and... 19:22 Punch it. 19:23 On the same question because there's so much meat. 19:25 Yes, there is. Yes, there is. 19:27 And we need to chew it up a little bit. 19:29 It needs to come on out. 19:30 So, you know, everybody, just your own thoughts 19:32 that come on this question and we'll go right ahead. 19:34 Brother Dakota? Sure. Yeah. 19:35 So the question of how may we labor 19:39 in our daily lives for God 19:40 and seek to be a beacon of truth 19:42 for others around us 19:43 who do not keep God's commandments? 19:45 Well, I thought of the fact that 19:47 how can we be a beacon of truth 19:49 when we are not truth in of ourselves, right? 19:52 So the only way we can be a beacon of truth is to uplift 19:55 the truth to God's people. 19:56 Amen. 19:58 And we know in John 14:6, Jesus says, 19:59 "I am the way and the truth and the life." 20:01 So He said in John 12:32, Jesus made it very clear. 20:04 "And if I be lifted up from the earth 20:08 will draw all men to me." 20:10 So it's our job to uplift Jesus, 20:13 but we don't do the drawing, He does the drawing. 20:15 That's right. 20:17 So how are we gonna be a beacon of truth to other people? 20:18 Well, we have to realize 20:20 we have to be dependent upon God 20:21 to do the work that we cannot do. 20:23 Amen. That's right. Right? 20:24 So if we uplift Jesus, high lift it up. 20:27 He said, "I will draw all men unto Me." 20:29 Yes, yes. That's right. 20:30 So our job is to focus on Him and uplift Him. 20:33 And I thought of two examples 20:34 of this in Scripture that is just so beautiful. 20:37 I just want to cover them real quick. 20:38 All right. And that's in Mark Chapter 5. 20:40 You have the demon-possessed man, right? 20:43 Jesus has this, you know, even though the story, 20:45 He walks off the ship with his disciples, 20:49 and you know, in my mind's eye, I imagine the disciples see 20:52 this demon-possessed man running frantically at Jesus, 20:54 you know, screaming and tearing his clothes 20:56 and everything else. 20:57 And clearly, this man was a public nuisance. 21:00 You know, he was the guy who they chained him up. 21:02 You can't chain him up. 21:04 He breaks the chain, he gets away. 21:06 I mean, imagine if he was going to Kroger or Walmart 21:08 you can't even go there and enjoy yourself 21:10 because every time you see a demon-possessed man 21:12 running out there, right? 21:14 Yeah. 21:15 And this guy, he runs out there and he confronts Jesus 21:19 and the disciples, 21:21 but we know that this man is demon-possessed. 21:22 Yes. Right. 21:24 And after Jesus has this conversation 21:25 with these demons that are in this man, 21:28 he cast out the demons in the swine, 21:29 they go into the ocean, right? 21:31 And then he has a conversation with this man that the man 21:33 that he just set free from all of these demons. 21:36 And he tells them, he says... 21:38 The man basically begs Jesus to go with Him. 21:40 We read in verse 18. 21:41 It says, "And when he was coming to the ship, 21:44 he that had been demon-possessed, 21:47 prayed him that he might be with him. 21:49 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, 21:53 'Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things 21:57 the Lord hath done for thee, 21:58 and hath had compassion on thee.'" 22:00 Amen. So notice what Jesus tells us. 22:02 He says very clearly to him, listen, you can't go with me 22:04 because I have a work for you to do. 22:06 Yeah. That's right. 22:07 And these people here, you know, 22:08 in the region of Decapolis don't know me. 22:11 So I need you to go tell them 22:12 what good things I've done for you. 22:14 Amen. Amen. And so the purpose of... 22:17 Again, how we're going to be a beacon of life 22:19 it is to again uplift Jesus and His character to the world. 22:22 That's right. 22:24 And one other example 22:25 and then I'll let you guys move on 22:26 because I have to talk about this one. 22:28 Well, go ahead. Philip and Nathanael. 22:29 Yeah. You guys know the story. 22:31 John Chapter 1, we're in verse 45. 22:34 So Philip finds Nathanael after discovering who Jesus is. 22:38 "And he says, unto him, 'We have found him, 22:40 of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, 22:41 did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 22:45 And Nathanael says unto him..." 22:46 Now we all probably can relate 22:48 to this what Nathanael is about to say. 22:49 He responds, here comes Nathanael, Phillip rather. 22:54 And Philips got a beautiful, 22:55 marvelous precious truth to share with Nathanael. 22:59 And we've all probably have been in that place 23:01 where we try to witness to our family, 23:02 try to witness to our loved ones. 23:04 Right. And what do they do? 23:05 They kind of immediately just shoot us down. 23:06 Yes. 23:08 This is what Nathanael did to Philip. 23:10 Phillips trying to tell him about the Messiah. 23:11 And he says, he responds to Philip and says, 23:13 "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" 23:16 That's that doubt. 23:18 Whatever truth you share with your family, your friends, 23:20 your loved ones, that's that doubt. 23:21 Yes. 23:22 "Can that really be true," you know? 23:24 And notice the response. 23:25 Jesus saw Nathaniel... I'm sorry. 23:27 "And Nathanael said unto him, 23:29 'Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?'" 23:30 Verse 46. 23:31 "Philip says unto him," What did he say? 23:34 Come and see. Come and see. 23:37 Yeah. It's so simple, really. 23:38 Yes. 23:40 He doesn't argue with him, 23:41 he doesn't enter into some kind of debate with him. 23:43 You know, as sometimes we are tempted to do. 23:46 When someone shoots us down 23:48 and we sharing a truth with them 23:49 or sharing Jesus with them, 23:51 we tend to want to argue with them. 23:53 "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! 23:54 We want to, you know, 23:55 get involved in a dialogue with them that 23:57 would lead to nowhere good. 23:59 But he says, "Look, come and see for yourself." 24:01 And then in other words, 24:03 what Philip was inviting Nathaniel to do 24:06 was to calm and behold Jesus for himself. 24:08 That's right. 24:09 And then notice the response, notice the change. 24:12 "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, 24:13 and says unto him, 'Behold an Israelite indeed, 24:16 in whom is no guile.' 24:18 Nathanael said unto him, 'When knowest thou me?' 24:22 Jesus answered and said unto him, 24:23 'Before that Philip called thee, 24:25 when thou was under the fig tree, 24:27 I saw thee.'" 24:28 And then notice Nathanael's change of heart. 24:31 He had one experience with Jesus. 24:33 And then Nathanael says, 24:35 "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, 24:38 thou art the King of Israel." 24:40 When we encourage people to behold Jesus for themselves 24:44 and uplift Jesus, I think that's how 24:46 we're going to be a beacon of truth to people. 24:48 Psalm 34, "O taste and come see that the Lord is good." 24:53 That's right. 24:54 I want to just make one quick comment 24:55 because what he touched on was the doubt. 24:58 Right. The doubt. 25:00 And a lot of times when we're in doubt, 25:01 we go to other people. 25:03 I can think back, when I was probably, 25:06 I don't know, maybe my late 20s, 25:07 early 30s and I was... 25:09 Well, it was kind of a neat story. 25:11 Well. 25:13 Some of you around here, you know, 25:14 I like to do a lot of natural things, 25:16 so I normally don't get sick. 25:18 And this time I got sick and I had been babysitting 25:21 for one of the friends 25:22 that I went to high school with. 25:24 And her husband was a pharmacist 25:27 and so I could not get well. 25:30 And pretty soon, I had to go in, I thought, 25:32 "Okay, I've got to go to the pharmacy." 25:34 And when I got in there, 25:36 he said, "Just a minute, just a minute." 25:38 And so he ran back, he got this book and it was on, 25:43 I guess I can say it, National Sunday Law book. 25:45 Well, sure you can. 25:46 And he says, "Do you know anything about this book?" 25:48 Yes, I did. 25:52 And immediately I knew why I was there. 25:57 He said he had thrown it away, 25:59 he picked it up and started reading it 26:00 and he wanted to know more. 26:02 So we started, actually, 26:04 you and I, both started trying to give him Bible studies. 26:07 And it seemed like there would always be 26:09 something that would come up. 26:10 And finally, he decided that he was gonna go to his priest 26:15 and his priests wouldn't give him any answers, 26:16 so he went to Bellville, you know, 26:18 an hour and a half away, to talk to a priest up there. 26:21 And the priest said... 26:23 Well, you know, I'll never forget this. 26:25 Go on. "The Bible is a good book. 26:29 Read it if you want to. 26:32 But do you really believe that 26:35 God would ask Abraham to kill his own son? 26:38 You really believe that he parted the Red Sea? 26:43 It's a good book. There is lot of good stories. 26:45 Read it if you want to." 26:47 So what that story of Nathanael and Philip just pointed out 26:51 is Nathanael went to Christ himself. 26:54 There you go. He went to that good book. 26:57 He tasted and he saw, of course, the book was living, 26:59 the word was alive on earth at that time. 27:02 But he can still live in our hearts. 27:04 That's right. If we just come to Him. 27:06 But don't allow the doubt to keep you from the truth. 27:10 Amen. That's right. 27:11 Very good. Yeah... 27:13 Keep ahead into this. This is good as going. 27:15 This is some good work. Come here, some good work. 27:19 Well, you know, it's so funny 27:20 because there's a book that I've never read 27:23 and it was in Danny's office the other day, 27:26 and I picked it up. 27:27 It's Last Day Events. And I hadn't read it before. 27:31 And the Lord gave me this information 27:35 through this book for this question. 27:38 Amen. And it was so interesting. 27:39 So if we look in Genesis 5, we see the story of Enoch. 27:45 It's really quick. 27:48 But Enoch is a great example of how to be a beacon of truth 27:52 for those around him who... 27:56 They weren't keeping the commandments. 27:57 It was a situation that was similar to our society, 28:01 it was similar to ours, 28:02 lots of lawlessness, inequity or whatever. 28:05 And Enoch walked with God 28:08 for 300 years before he was translated. 28:13 The Bible says and he was not... 28:15 He just, the Lord just took him with him. 28:18 Why? What did Enoch do? 28:20 And it was in Last Day Events. 28:23 It says, "He educated his mind and heart 28:27 to ever feel that he was in the presence of God, 28:30 and when in perplexity, 28:32 his prayers would ascend to God to keep him. 28:35 Enoch refused to take any course 28:38 that would offend his God." 28:40 Yes. Nice. 28:42 Now that is... 28:43 To me, that's a powerful statement. 28:45 That's sumptuous. 28:46 Because there's so many things that we can do that offend God, 28:49 that hurt God, that push Him away from us. 28:51 Yes. 28:52 But Enoch refused to do anything 28:56 that would offend his God. 28:58 It says, "He would pray, 29:00 'Teach me Thy way, that I may not err. 29:02 What is Thy pleasure concerning me? 29:04 What shall I do to honor Thee, my God?'" 29:07 That's right. 29:08 "Thus he was constantly shaping his way 29:11 and course in accordance with God's commandments, 29:14 and he had perfect confidence 29:16 and trust in his Heavenly Father..." 29:18 Amen. "That He would help him. 29:20 He had no thought or will of his own. 29:23 It was all submerged in the will of his Father." 29:26 And that's what the Savior did. That's right. Yeah. 29:29 That's right. Everything he... 29:31 He wanted to please the Father 29:34 and that's where we have to live. 29:36 That's right. 29:38 Where we want to please the Father, 29:40 where we want to do what pleases Him. 29:42 Right. 29:44 And in so doing, we will be a beacon of truth 29:47 and light for those around us. 29:49 Amen. Oh, that's some good thought. 29:51 Yes. Praise him. 29:52 All right. 29:55 You know what, not only she is preaching 29:57 but I want a copy of that because I want to remind myself 30:01 that something each and every one of us 30:03 should be praying each and every day. 30:05 Amen. Amen. 30:06 Especially as we see these progression of disasters 30:11 and pestilence and things that are taking place. 30:14 We need to be ready, and we're not. 30:16 How do we... 30:18 And we can take their examples in Scripture for us, you know, 30:22 especially, of course the Savior 30:24 and how He lived His life in connection with the Father 30:27 and how we can follow that example. 30:30 So it's powerful. Powerful information. 30:33 What you just gave us was a reflection of the Savior. 30:37 Amen. 30:38 You know, and that's what God is waiting for all of us to be 30:41 a reflection of His image. 30:43 Yes, yes. Absolutely. 30:45 You know, when I think about today's day and age, 30:48 I go back in time to Daniel. 30:51 Now we look at Daniel 1:8, you know, 30:55 you wonder how could somebody survive 30:58 the political climate that Daniel had to face 31:02 where you have King Nebuchadnezzar 31:05 where he is like, you know, 31:06 "If you don't serve the false god, I'll kill you, 31:10 if you don't serve the one true God, I'll kill..." 31:11 I mean, he's all over the place. 31:13 This guy's a mess, right? 31:14 So, you know, in Daniel 1:8, it says, 31:20 "But Daniel purposed in his heart 31:23 that he would not defile himself 31:25 with a portion of the king's delicacies 31:27 nor with the wine which he drank, 31:29 therefore, he requested of the chief of the eunuchs 31:31 that he might not defile himself." 31:34 We have to make a choice... Yes, right. 31:36 Who we're going to serve or whom we're going to serve. 31:41 And so we have a decision to make. 31:44 You know, it starts God is a God of love. 31:47 So He doesn't force himself upon us. 31:49 Yes. So we open the door. 31:51 He wants to come in, but we have to open that door. 31:55 So we have a part to play there. 31:58 Another thing is that, 32:00 you know, prayer is a powerful tool. 32:05 Absolutely. Powerful tool. 32:06 Of course. 32:08 So what I'm about to say now, I want you to know that 32:10 I believe that prayer is a powerful tool. 32:14 But prayer without action, it is dead. 32:18 That's right. 32:19 So, you know, you can say, "Oh, I'm a Christian. 32:23 Oh, my brother, you suffering over there, you're out there. 32:26 It's 3 degrees outside. 32:28 I've got 15 coats over here. 32:30 But you know what, 32:32 I'm gonna pray for you that God will warm you up. 32:35 I'm gonna pray that you will be warmed." 32:37 And meanwhile, I'm driving back to my warm house 32:40 with my warm coat on. 32:44 And I'm praying for change. You have to take action. 32:49 I mean, if you look at Matthew 25:34, 32:53 let's just run through this ever so quickly. 32:56 Matthew 25:34-40. 33:02 "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 33:04 'Come, you blessed of My Father, 33:06 inherit the kingdom prepared for you 33:08 from the foundation of the world, 33:10 for I was hungry and you gave Me food, 33:13 I was thirsty and you gave Me drink.'" 33:14 Now notice it doesn't say I was hungry 33:17 and you prayed for me, 33:18 I was thirsty and you prayed for me. 33:20 It says, "I was a stranger and you took me in. 33:24 I was naked and you clothed me. 33:26 I was sick and you visited me. 33:28 I was in prison and you came to me,' 33:31 then the righteous will answer him saying, 33:34 'Lord, when did we see You hungry 33:36 and feed you or thirsty and give You drink? 33:38 When did we see You a stranger 33:40 and take You in or naked and clothe you? 33:43 Or when did we see You sick or in prison and come to You?' 33:46 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, 33:48 I say to you, inasmuch as you did it 33:51 to one of the least of these my brethren, 33:52 you did it to Me." 33:54 So notice, it's not saying, you know, I was sick 33:57 and you prayed for me, which prayer is important. 34:01 But if you know how to help somebody, 34:03 if you can assist them, you know, 34:06 you need to be doing so. 34:08 So that's one way that 34:11 we can exude or exemplify 34:15 a Christ-like position. 34:21 Then also, if you look 34:22 in Galatians 2:20-21, it says, 34:28 "I have been crucified with Christ. 34:30 It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. 34:34 And the life I now live in the flesh, 34:36 I live by faith in the Son of God, 34:38 who loved me and gave Himself for me. 34:40 I do not set aside the grace of God, 34:44 for if righteousness comes 34:45 through the law, then Christ died in vain." 34:49 So by Christ, you know, it's through Christ. 34:53 We don't even have to do the heavy lifting. 34:55 We have to live our life for him. 34:58 And I like what you were saying earlier, Ryan, 35:00 because, you know, really our example 35:02 should say more than our mouth does. 35:04 And, you know, and I think that when we're carrying, 35:08 when we're being a beacon of truth, 35:10 we have to have the Holy Spirit, 35:13 not be the Holy Spirit. 35:15 Yes. 35:16 And so when you go into churches, 35:17 you see some people coveting the role of the Holy Spirit. 35:22 That's right. Oh, no, no, no, no. 35:24 That's not gospel right there. 35:26 You know, like, you shouldn't... 35:28 Wait, what are you wearing? Oh, this person made it... 35:32 You don't know this person's walk, 35:33 this person's journey, where they are with God, 35:36 how he's working on their hearts. 35:38 That's right. 35:40 And then you're trying to tell them that, 35:42 "Oh, you can't be in here. 35:43 You smell like cigarettes." Yeah, that's right. 35:45 You smell like this, that and that. 35:48 They have to be introduced to Christ. 35:50 And they have to see Christ 35:52 within the people that are in the church. 35:55 So I mean, I think all of these things are crucial. 35:58 Absolutely. 36:00 You just said something that's so key there. 36:02 So key there. 36:03 You just hit the nail on the head. 36:05 Yes. Yes. 36:06 The Holy Spirit. That's right. 36:09 We can't do all these things without the leading, 36:11 guiding power of the Holy Spirit. 36:12 That's right. 36:13 And that's the thing I think that a lot of... 36:15 It goes back to what I was saying earlier. 36:16 A lot of Christians are trying to be Christians 36:19 without the power of the Holy Spirit. 36:21 Put it this way. 36:22 Christ says on the Sermon on the Mount, 36:25 go back to the Sermon on the Mount. 36:27 He said, "I am the light of the world." 36:29 But then He points to the church. 36:30 He says, "You are the light of the world." 36:32 Now here's what's amazing is that, 36:33 as the church, we cannot create light, remit light, 36:37 and of ourselves. 36:38 It's kind of like the relationship 36:40 between the sun and the moon. 36:42 Christ is the true light. He's the sun, right? 36:44 And we are the moon. 36:46 Okay, the moon gives off light, but it only gives off light 36:49 and as much as it reflects the light of the sun. 36:51 That is right. 36:52 This is powerful 'cause when you said 36:53 Holy Spirit that just came to my mind, 36:55 a passage that came to my mind here is 36:58 2 Timothy Chapter 3. 37:00 Paul says in the opening verses of 2 Timothy Chapter 3, 37:02 he says, "But know this that in the last days, 37:05 perilous times will come." 37:06 And then he gives this incredible list. 37:09 And the list he gives here 37:11 is describing the spiritual condition 37:13 of the church. 37:15 I'll just name a few of them here. 37:16 "For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, 37:18 boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents." 37:22 Mercy. 37:23 Okay, "Despisers of good, without self-control, traitors, 37:27 headstrong, haughty." 37:28 He gives us big, long list of things that... 37:31 These are individuals, people that have these things, 37:34 these character deficiencies 37:37 because they don't have the Holy Spirit. 37:38 And then he leaves this one for last. 37:40 Notice verse 5, 2 Timothy 3:5, he says, 37:44 "Having a form of godliness, 37:48 but denying its power 37:51 and from such people turn away." 37:53 What's our question again? Let's go back to our question. 37:56 How may we labor in our daily life with God 37:58 and seek to be a beacon of truth, 38:00 here's the light, a beacon of light, 38:02 a beacon of truth for those around us 38:04 who are not keeping God's commandments? 38:06 Notice verse 5, again, "Having a form of godliness, 38:09 but denying its power 38:10 and from such people turn away." 38:12 So to get this right here, I go back to the sanctuary. 38:15 Oh, man! I love that. 38:18 We need to be having a courtyard experience. 38:20 Okay. 38:22 You have to have a courtyard experience 38:23 before you have a Holy place experience 38:25 and you have to have a holy place experience 38:27 before you can go into the Most Holy Place. 38:29 Yeah. 38:30 Now there's only one light source in the holy place. 38:33 Come on. This is good stuff. Amen. 38:35 There's only one light source in the holy place. 38:39 It's the seven-branch candlestick. 38:41 Now how did that... 38:43 Know that light always burnt, right? 38:44 There was never a time 38:46 when one of those lights went out burning. 38:47 That's right. 38:49 How did that light constantly burn? 38:51 Oil. 38:53 Because the priest had to make sure that 38:55 those little vials, those little bowls of oil 38:58 were always, 39:00 every single day 24/7 filled with oil. 39:04 That is good. Yeah. 39:05 We cannot enter the Most Holy Place, 39:08 get this, where God's presence is. 39:11 And the whole Bible is all about God 39:14 wanting to be with his people, and hopefully, 39:16 God's people wanting to be with Him. 39:18 Yes, we cannot enter the Promised Land 39:20 until we have had a genuine holy place experience. 39:22 Hallelujah. 39:23 But the problem is, 39:25 is we're like these five foolish virgins, 39:27 we got the lamp, we ain't got any oil. 39:31 And we think the light is burning 39:34 until the midnight cry goes out. 39:36 And then it's like, "Wait a second. 39:38 I don't have enough oil." And so that's... 39:40 When you said Holy Spirit, that just sparked in me, 39:43 having a form of godliness but denying its power. 39:46 How many Christians and this... 39:48 Man, this is powerful thought. 39:49 How many of us are having a form of godliness, 39:55 but we're denying its power. 39:57 What power? 39:58 Acts 1:8. 40:00 Come on. Come on. 40:03 "But you will receive the Holy Spirit 40:04 and you shall receive the power to be a witness." 40:08 We cannot, my friends, this is vitally important. 40:10 We cannot. 40:12 And this even sets us up for number four here, 40:14 and we're going to get to that eventually. 40:16 But we cannot put on the wedding garment. 40:18 We cannot be a beacon of light to others, 40:21 we cannot be that sufficient, 40:23 foundational example for someone else 40:25 to show them the real Christ 40:27 if we're having a form of godliness 40:29 but we're denying the power of the Holy Spirit 40:31 to do a genuine transformation in our life. 40:35 And that's what's says in Galatians. 40:36 This is powerful. Yes, it is. 40:38 You know, a lot of people make the mistake 40:39 of putting more faith in the power of Satan 40:41 to keep them in sin. 40:43 And they do in the power of God. 40:44 Oh, come on now. 40:47 And I think we need to understand 40:48 like the question here that we're looking at is, 40:51 you know, how can we labor in our daily lives 40:55 just to be a beacon of truth and a light for other people. 40:58 Well, what is light? 41:01 Light is the absence of darkness. 41:05 So that means we are not to have any darkness in us. 41:08 And the only way that can happen 41:09 if Jesus is sitting on the throne of our hearts. 41:11 It's the only way it can happen. 41:12 Amen. 41:14 And so yeah, absolutely, we have to remember... 41:15 As Jason was saying earlier, you know, 41:17 our actions have to meet that. 41:19 And we need to remember that people don't care 41:21 how much we know until they know how much we care. 41:23 Oh, there you go. True. 41:24 And so ministering to people's needs and, 41:27 you know, living the gospel message 41:28 that Jesus has commanded us 41:30 to live by His power, not our own. 41:32 No. Can we ever accomplish this? 41:33 That's right. And then... 41:35 Go ahead. No, no, no. 41:36 Go ahead. Go ahead. 41:38 We shouldn't think that the world can't see that 41:41 we have a form of godliness 'cause they can see it. 41:46 That's right. 41:47 And they will say, you know, something's not right. 41:51 No, we should be the ones that reflect the God, 41:56 that reflect the Savior because the world will see that 42:00 we have a form of godly man. 42:02 That's right. 42:03 You know, sometimes in that, 42:05 you know, a form of godliness and the power, 42:07 I think, as Christians, 42:08 sometimes we have come to the point 42:10 in our Christian experience that we stop taking credit 42:14 for which the Holy Spirit is doing. 42:17 You know, a lot of times, you know, a man said, 42:19 "This one did this, this one did this, 42:21 this was doing that," 42:22 it's all through, right, man can't do it. 42:24 We can't do any good thing on our own. 42:25 That's right. Only the Holy Spirit within. 42:29 And we want Jesus to be seen. 42:31 There are couple things I thought about here 42:32 what everyone's been talking about so good, 42:34 how do we labor in our day life? 42:36 First thing I went through in my mind was, 42:38 how did Christ labor? 42:39 How did He labor? What did he do? 42:40 What was His ministry? 42:42 What was His life's work while He was here. 42:45 And Luke 19:10, 42:47 quickly we'll go into question number four, 42:49 said, for the Son of Man came... 42:50 You know that passage well. 42:52 For the Son of Man came to seek and do what? 42:53 Save. 42:55 And you say that which was law, His ministry, 42:57 His work and our ministry. 42:59 Our work must be to seek and to save those who are lost. 43:03 And we have a message to give. 43:05 Now the importance of laboring too we talk about here. 43:07 We want to look at this importance 43:09 of laboring for Christ. 43:10 Mark 4:33 says, 43:12 "And with many such parables spake 43:14 He the word to them as they were able to hear it." 43:18 So again, following the example of Jesus Christ 43:20 and that we have to be aware of who we are talking to. 43:24 That's right. That's good. 43:25 Where they are at in their Christian experience. 43:29 They don't try to land on... 43:30 So we'll say give them the meat. 43:32 When they are still babies, they need the milk. 43:34 They don't have the teeth to chew on it, right? 43:36 So, you know, I mean, to me it's common sense. 43:39 And that's exactly what Jesus did. 43:41 He said, I have a lot of things I'd like to say, many things. 43:44 I have a lot of things I'd like to say, 43:45 but you can't bear them. 43:47 There's no use to say. You can't chew it. 43:49 You can't swallow. You can't understand it. 43:51 That's right. 43:52 And so, you know, he left it for another time. 43:55 And then we realized that the message... 43:57 And I like what you all were saying here, 43:59 the message that we give must be 44:00 with Holy Spirit power. 44:02 Amen. There's no doubt about it. 44:03 Luke 4:32 says, and... Ooh. 44:08 I like it because when Jesus spoke even those doubters 44:11 sometimes, those unbelievers 44:12 and even some of the church leaders, 44:14 you know what they did? 44:16 They were astonished 44:17 at His doctrines or His teachings. 44:19 Yes. 44:20 When people talk with you and me 44:23 and the Holy Spirit is present, 44:25 I really believe they will be... 44:27 Maybe they don't even want to hear, 44:28 but they're going to be astonished 44:29 by what comes out of the mouth. 44:31 It's not you. It's not me. 44:32 That's the Spirit of the Living God. 44:34 Amen. 44:35 I know, in times you've talked to people and you know... 44:37 It seemed like they didn't quite have an interest, 44:39 but when you begin to lift up the name of Jesus, 44:42 you were talking about here, 44:43 all of a sudden, they were captivated. 44:45 They were a captive audience. 44:46 They weren't locked up, but they were like... 44:48 They're wanting to leave until they kind of wanted to, 44:50 but yet all of a sudden, they wanted to hear it too. 44:51 That's right. 44:53 And they would stay as long as you would lift up Jesus 44:55 and tell them about Jesus 44:56 and that the hope that's in Christ, 44:57 they would just stay there 44:59 and they would just bask in there 45:00 and there's results like this here we talk about here, 45:04 it's important when we're laboring, 45:05 it's the message we give must be with power, 45:07 and then we must... 45:09 There's results at the end of this, 45:10 just like it was in Luke 24:32, 45:14 the walk to Emmaus, you know, we know what happened, 45:16 the bottom line on that... 45:19 I just I want to see about us. 45:21 I swear I want to feel it in my own life. 45:23 Amen. 45:24 When I read the Word of God, it's not just reading words. 45:27 Yes. It's power. 45:28 It's living... That's what, it's living power. 45:31 It's igniting something inside of me 45:33 that needs to be ignited. 45:34 It's been... Our hearts burn... 45:36 That's exactly what they said. 45:39 That's what it said, and our hearts burn within us 45:41 as He opened up the scriptures to us. 45:44 And certainly that was Old Testament too, 45:45 was it not? 45:47 That's right. That was just... 45:48 Our hearts burned. And that's what I want to do. 45:51 I read the Word of God sometime I feel like 45:53 it is not different to anyone else 45:55 and I feel like my heart's just on fire. 45:57 It's just burning within and something got to be escape. 46:00 There's got to be something that just comes out. 46:02 Yeah, you've got to tell somebody 46:03 and you even also start talking to the dog. 46:07 Talk to the dog about it. You know what I'm saying? 46:10 My brother, Ivor Myers, would say, 46:11 "We need more heartburn." 46:13 We need more heartburn. 46:15 Don't try to take something to cover it up either, 46:17 go on and just let it all out. 46:19 That heartburn will be healed 46:20 and everything will be good. 46:22 Anything else to add on the question number three? 46:24 I'm starting to get excited. 46:25 There's a lot of things to add on the question. 46:27 First of all, I want to go back to the brothers here. 46:29 All right. 46:30 Brothers, the sons of thunder here. 46:33 Because, you know, 46:35 you talked about the Holy Spirit, 46:37 and I think it's very important 46:38 because we're coming in at tight 46:40 and as we're teaching the Three Angels' message, 46:42 we realize that there are more than one... 46:45 There's more than one spirit at work in this world. 46:48 There's more than one spirit. 46:49 You see, the enemy tried to kill. 46:51 He tried to stamp out the church. 46:53 When he couldn't, what did he do? 46:56 He joined the church. 46:58 And so we have to weigh everything 47:00 by thus sayeth the Word of God. 47:02 Amen. 47:04 You know, it is written, Christ said, it is written, 47:06 it is written to go back. 47:08 But we're going to see miracles, 47:10 we're told even so much that fire may come down from heaven 47:13 or will come down from heaven in the sight of men. 47:15 We know that the Antichrist, the spirit is already here, 47:18 we know that the Antichrist will appear someday 47:21 and will present himself as Christ on this earth. 47:25 And so it is so important that 47:28 we know the Word or we will be to see... 47:31 That goes back because 47:33 he is imitating the spirit of God 47:36 so closely that we in our little finite mind, 47:40 we cannot fully comprehend that 47:42 unless we're filled with the true spirit of God 47:45 and we're basing everything on the Word of God. 47:49 So I think that's very important to me. 47:51 And another thing you said, 47:52 Jay, oh, Jay, I could have another sermon on 47:55 what you said. 47:56 I just have to go back. 47:58 We were doing, several years ago, 48:00 we were doing an 48:01 evangelistic series in our church. 48:03 You know, most of the time, 48:04 we all get together, we go to a civic center, 48:06 we go to a big place and we hold a meeting. 48:09 Well, this time, we had enough people 48:11 that were interested that we held it in our church. 48:14 People came in, whether they were smoking, 48:17 whether they were drinking, 48:18 they wore whatever they wanted to wear. 48:21 And, you know, we let them in and we love them. 48:24 And we ended up losing two whole families. 48:30 Eight souls were baptized after that little few weeks, 48:35 but we lost two whole families because they said, you know, 48:38 why are they allowed to wear that in our sanctuary? 48:40 Why is this... 48:42 Why is she allowed to go up front with you? 48:44 Yeah, that's right. 48:47 We are telling love... 48:49 Christ, you know, one thing that we talked about 48:51 and I know you know Thomas Jackson. 48:53 Yeah. 48:54 Thomas Jackson is such a man of God. 48:56 Yes. 48:57 And I love him and his wife Laverne. 48:58 Yeah. 49:00 That, you know, you could meet Thomas 49:01 and Thomas knows the Word of God inside and out. 49:03 And he could look at... 49:05 You could have a cigarette in your hand, 49:06 you could you could have been the pastor, 49:08 I know this pastor doesn't do... 49:09 Let's say you're the pastor in church 49:11 and all of a sudden he catches you. 49:12 Thomas is not going to go up. 49:14 He's not going to tell you throw the cigarette down. 49:15 He's going to love you. 49:17 And all of a sudden, you know, 49:18 the conviction comes from the power of God. 49:19 That's right. 49:21 You know, and that's we're to do. 49:22 We talk to people that has happened too. 49:24 He never one time looked at what they were doing 49:27 or what they had in their hand. 49:29 He looked right into their eyes. 49:30 That's right. And just love them. 49:32 To me, that's... Years ago... 49:35 Christ method alone. Yes, that's right. 49:37 That's right. 49:39 And there's just one more thing 49:40 before if we even go to question number four. 49:42 All right. 49:44 One more thing because we've been talking about 49:45 how to get ready to give, 49:48 how we prepare ourselves to give, 49:50 how we fill up our lamps with oil to give, 49:53 it's got to be running over so that we can give it away. 49:56 But I think it's important that we kind of give a few steps. 50:00 Well, what do I do? 50:01 I've got all this inside of me and my heart's been burning 50:04 as I've been having my family worship 50:07 or myself worship in the morning, you know, 50:09 so how do I go about that? 50:11 And one thing that I learned years ago 50:14 is when we are in prayer that 50:16 we pray that God will open the door. 50:18 Amen. Don't get out. 50:20 There's so many, bless your hearts, 50:23 so many people I've met over the years, 50:26 all of a sudden, they learn these truths, 50:27 and they want to go 50:28 and they want to hammer it over somebody, 50:30 and they're not ready for it. 50:32 But if you ask God, "God, open the door," 50:35 all of a sudden, someone will come to you, 50:37 someone will come to us, and they'll say, you know, 50:40 "Why is it that you do that? 50:41 Why do you believe the way you do?" 50:44 I've had the best Bible studies that way. 50:47 And as I was thinking about that, in preparation for this, 50:50 how many of you've ever lost something that was so valuable? 50:54 I mean, if I lose something, 50:55 it's like I'm not content till I find it. 50:57 I pray about it, Lord... It had to be valuable. 51:00 You don't have to be naive. But I'm like Lord, 51:02 I know I'm supposed to have this verse... 51:08 You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? 51:11 You know, and it made me 51:12 think of the woman with her 10 pieces of silver. 51:16 This is Luke 15:8-10, 51:23 "Either what woman having 10 pieces of silver," 51:27 I'd love to have just one, to be honest, 51:30 "If she lose one piece doth not light a candle, 51:34 so she can sweep." 51:35 Got to have that truth out there 51:37 that light of the word. 51:38 That's right. 51:39 "And sweep the house," and listen to this, 51:41 "and seek diligently till she find it." 51:46 I think, as Christians, brothers and sisters, 51:48 you at home, 51:50 we need to be seeking diligently 51:53 for those lost souls. 51:56 I just thought that really... Absolutely. 51:58 Yes. 51:59 Something to build upon 52:00 'cause many times we feel full 52:02 but we don't know how to give it. 52:03 So we asked God open the doors and then begin to seek. 52:08 And He's going to answer those prayers, is He not? 52:09 Yes. 52:10 But rest of it goes on to say, "We rejoice." 52:12 That's right. We rejoice when they come in. 52:14 That's verse 9. 52:16 Yeah, when she found it, she called her friends, 52:18 she called her neighbors. 52:19 She said, you now, "Rejoice with me 52:21 for I have found the piece that I had lost." 52:24 I mean, think about it, 52:25 how many of us have ever lost our car keys? 52:27 I mean, I've been late for work 52:28 and I'm praying for my car keys. 52:30 Right. 52:31 You know, and all of a sudden, 52:33 I find it, Hallelujah, thank you, God. 52:34 How much more it says there in the... 52:37 The last part of that, it says there is, 52:39 "Joy in the presence of angels of God 52:42 over one sinner repenting." 52:44 To me that's a real miracle. 52:45 Amen. Good. 52:47 That's a real miracle. That's a powerful point. 52:51 You just said that. 52:52 Actually, before we even went into that, 52:54 I was thinking the same thing, the same way that she was. 52:56 To me, that's the key there. 52:58 Notice how she first lit a lamp. 53:00 Yes, yes. 53:01 Got to see, you got to see. 53:04 Lit a lamp. She first lit a lamp. 53:06 Oh! 53:07 The word of God is light unto my path. 53:08 We cannot be a light until the lamp is lit. 53:11 That's right. And you got to have the power. 53:13 But here's what's amazing though. 53:15 And I'm going to say this 53:16 'cause I know we're coming down to our closing moments here. 53:19 You know, so many people want to be 53:20 a beacon of light to others. 53:23 But first, if we're excited about the transformation that 53:28 God has done in us and we want to be excited about 53:32 telling someone else 53:33 about the transformation they can have, 53:36 tell your faith about it Yes. 53:39 Come on. Happy about the truth, right? 53:42 That's right. What does verse 9 say? 53:44 And when she found it she was with heavy drudgery. 53:47 No. No. 53:49 I found my lost coin. 53:51 Have you had someone tell you the truth 53:53 or try to explain to you the truth 53:54 or try to share Christ with you with this as Ellen white, 53:57 I'm just quoting Ellen White, with heavy drudgery, 53:59 almost like it's painful to share, right? 54:01 Absolutely. Sing a song of... 54:03 We sometimes do this in our worship services 54:05 when we sing these powerful hymns 54:07 with just like... 54:08 He just opened another sermon here. 54:09 Yes! 54:11 When you are not having just a form of godliness, 54:13 but you have the power 54:15 of the indwelling Spirit within you, 54:17 you can help it bubble over. 54:19 I recognize that people have different personalities. 54:21 We'll recognize that, you know, I may share the gospel 54:24 in a very over exciting type way. 54:26 Someone else's excitement 54:28 may be a little different than mine. 54:29 But it's very, very clear if you're going to be 54:31 a beacon of light for someone else 54:33 and you're sharing Christ with someone else 54:34 and you want them to know the Christ did you know, 54:37 you can't go and share that 54:38 truth with them as if you're not excited about it. 54:41 If you're not excited about it, 54:42 how can they get excited about it? 54:44 Why should they? 54:45 Exactly. It's truth. 54:47 Why do I want what you have if you look miserable? 54:51 You know, it's interesting 54:53 because we all exert an influence 54:54 over somebody else. 54:55 That's right. 54:57 And you know when we travel and we go to other places, 55:00 we go out of the country, 55:01 it's interesting when we come in contact with people 55:04 who have watched the network, 55:06 you know, because they'll talk to us first 55:09 as if they've never seen 55:10 the net, they just talk to us and kind of try 55:13 and you know see how we truly are as people 55:16 and then they come out with, "Oh, we love 3ABN. 55:20 We love, you know, Salvation and Symbols and Signs. 55:23 3ABN Today Family Worship," or, you know, 55:26 then they let you know that 55:28 they know who you are after they've had that interaction, 55:32 see what your character is like. 55:33 Yeah. 55:35 I've never heard of someone winning the lottery 55:36 and not being excited about it. 55:38 I know it's a horrible example to give, 55:40 but I've never heard someone say, 55:41 "Oh, you know, I'm so excited I just won $20 million." 55:47 That's right. You know, going like so... 55:49 Yeah. 55:50 And the kingdom of heaven 55:52 is so much more than whatever this world can offer. 55:53 Yeah. 55:54 Go ahead and let Brother Dakota say. 55:56 Yeah, give us some... 55:57 We've less than a minute and a half or so. 55:59 So go on, then we'll... 56:00 Well, I think Ryan made a good point, you know, 56:02 about us needing to act like a... 56:04 I'm reminded of a story. 56:07 This recorded 56:08 of the Arch Bishop of Canterbury, 56:11 which is the leader of the Church of England, 56:13 going into a restaurant, 56:15 and he walks in and he sees this famous actor, 56:18 and he starts dining with him, you know, 56:19 and they're eating and he says, 56:22 "Please explain to me how it is," you know, 56:24 the leader of the Church of England, he says, 56:26 "How it is that you captivate your audience the way you do?" 56:29 He said, "And that you just went over there 56:31 and you can make them cry, you can make them happy, 56:33 you can affect their emotions." 56:34 And he goes, "Well, with due grace, 56:37 I do ask that you would let me to be frank with you." 56:39 And he goes, "Sure." 56:40 He said, "We actors, we talk about things 56:45 that are very untrue, but we act like they're true." 56:49 He said, "You ministers talk about things 56:52 that are very true and act as if they're not." 56:55 Oh. There you go. 56:57 And that went home with me. So I'll just leave it there. 57:01 Yeah. Oh, that's good. We'll wind it down. 57:03 Do you have something you want to... 57:04 Well, I think we're out of time. 57:06 We had talked about... 57:07 I said, we should go out singing the song again. 57:09 But we're kind of out of time to do that. 57:11 But oh, When Shall I See Jesus? You know what, that is... 57:16 Beautiful. That's what this is all about. 57:18 And we want to get everybody ready. 57:19 Spirit of Prophecy tells us as we do this work, 57:22 as we're going out 57:23 and we're sharing the love of God 57:25 that we're actually plucking souls. 57:27 Close it out, sweetheart. 57:29 Until next time, precious friends, 57:31 may our Lord and Savior continue 57:33 to richly bless you and yours. 57:35 Amen. |
Revised 2020-06-11