Anchors of Truth

Sacrificial Surrender and Sleeping Saints

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Greg & Jill Morikone (Host), Pr. Wes Peppers

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Series Code: AOT

Program Code: AOT000171A


00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth,
00:14 live from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:21 Hello friends, and welcome to Anchors Of Truth.
00:23 We're here live at the 3ABN Worship Center,
00:26 which is located in Thompsonville, Illinois.
00:28 Or you could actually say West Frankfort too.
00:30 We're kind of right on the edge of
00:31 West Frankfort and Thompsonville.
00:33 But welcome to Anchors Of Truth.
00:34 It's always a blessing to hear God's word delivered.
00:37 And this series is by Wes Peppers,
00:40 and the whole five part series is entitled,
00:42 Before Men and Angels; Theater of the Universe.
00:46 Welcome also to our audience that is here
00:48 locally at our worship center.
00:50 It's a blessing, isn't it, to hear God's word
00:52 spoken and delivered, that's for sure.
00:53 You know, Pastor Wes, I have to say that for those of you
00:56 that have been watching on 3ABN recently,
00:59 we were in Lansing, Michigan with Pastor Doug Batchelor
01:02 and Heroes Of Faith.
01:03 And the church that we were at was the
01:05 Lansing Seventh-day Adventist Church.
01:07 And that happens to be Pastor Wes' church.
01:10 He's the senior pastor there.
01:11 And I have to say, he has a wonderful church there.
01:14 A great loving church family.
01:16 And we appreciated working with Amazing Facts
01:19 and his local church to be part of the Heroes Of Faith.
01:22 That was a blessing. So we appreciate Pastor Wes.
01:24 It was fun working with him a few weeks ago.
01:26 You know, as a young man...
01:28 He's not going to tell all of his testimony
01:29 in these five part series.
01:30 He's just going to mention it here and there.
01:32 But he actually, as a young man, was an atheist.
01:34 Isn't that amazing where God can bring someone
01:36 to where he is now?
01:38 He was an evangelist for Amazing Facts,
01:42 which we just talked about, for about five years.
01:44 And he's been the senior pastor at
01:45 Lansing Seventh-day Adventist Church
01:47 oh not that long, but he's enjoying it.
01:49 And I know, us being there, his church family
01:52 loves he and his wife.
01:54 And I know his wife is here, and you're going to
01:55 tell us about his family.
01:56 Absolutely.
01:58 To me, the beautiful thing is, when God calls people
02:00 into ministry, He not only calls an individual,
02:03 like He called Pastor Wes Peppers, but He also called
02:05 His wife Marion.
02:06 And Marion and Wes are a wonderful dynamic team.
02:10 They have two precious kids.
02:11 Levi is three or three and a half,
02:14 and Liana was just born just a few months ago.
02:18 Tonight, we're not only going to hear the spoken Word
02:20 from Pastor Wes Peppers, but Marion will be
02:23 bringing the Word in music.
02:26 She will prepare our hearts for the message.
02:28 The song she will be singing is, Draw Me Nearer.
02:32 Before she sings and before we hear from Pastor Wes Peppers,
02:36 let's just bow our heads for a word of prayer.
02:39 Father we come before You in the name of Jesus
02:42 and we thank You.
02:43 Thank You for the gift of Your Son.
02:45 Thank You that You have called us as Your sons and daughters.
02:49 Thank You for the message that is in Your Word
02:52 that's going to come forth from Pastor Wes Peppers.
02:56 We just ask right now for the anointing of Your Holy Spirit,
03:00 and that our ears and minds could be opened
03:04 to what You want to share with us.
03:06 In the precious and the holy name of Jesus, amen.
03:10 Amen.
03:26 For Your nearness, Lord, I hunger;
03:31 for Your nearness, Lord, I wait.
03:36 Hold me ever closer, Father;
03:41 such a love I can't escape.
03:49 For Your nearness I am hoping;
03:54 for Your nearness, Lord, I long.
03:59 I have no need of any other;
04:04 I have found where I belong.
04:09 Yes, I have found where I belong.
04:14 So draw me nearer, Lord;
04:20 never let me go.
04:25 Closer to Your heart,
04:30 draw me nearer, Lord.
04:35 Draw me nearer, Lord.
04:48 In Your nearness there is healing;
04:53 what was broken now made whole.
04:58 Restoration in its fullness;
05:03 lasting hope for all who come.
05:08 In Your nearness I take shelter;
05:12 where You are is where I'm home.
05:19 I have need of only one thing;
05:23 to be here before Your throne.
05:29 To be here before Your throne.
05:34 So draw me nearer, Lord;
05:39 never let me go.
05:44 Closer to Your heart,
05:49 draw me nearer, Lord.
05:54 So draw me nearer, Lord;
05:59 never let me go.
06:04 Closer to Your heart,
06:10 draw me nearer, Lord.
06:14 Draw me nearer, Lord.
06:21 And keep me here, keep me here;
06:26 there's nowhere else I'd rather be.
06:32 Keep me here, keep me here;
06:37 there's nowhere else I'd rather be.
06:42 There's nowhere else I'd rather be.
06:50 So draw me nearer, Lord;
06:55 never let me go.
07:01 Closer to Your heart,
07:06 draw me nearer, Lord.
07:11 Draw me nearer, Lord.
07:16 Draw me nearer, my Lord.
07:51 Good evening, friends.
07:53 I'm glad to have you here with us tonight,
07:55 those of you who are here in our studio audience.
07:58 And those that are watching around the world,
08:00 we just welcome you.
08:01 And I'm so glad to be here for Anchors Of Truth.
08:04 Excited to open God's Word together
08:06 and see what He has to speak to us from the sacred Scriptures.
08:10 How many are thankful to be here tonight?
08:12 And we have an exciting series, I'm so looking forward to it.
08:16 Because what we're going to do is we're going to take some
08:18 very important key issues that God's people will be
08:22 facing in the last days and we're going to see how
08:25 those things are very applicable to us today,
08:29 and some of the trials and the challenges
08:31 that we're going to be facing as we look forward
08:34 to Jesus' soon return.
08:35 And we're going to see how we can be overcomers
08:38 through faith and grace in Jesus.
08:41 Amen?
08:42 How many are looking forward to that?
08:43 And so tonight our subject is,
08:46 Sacrificial Surrender and Sleeping Saints.
08:49 And a lot of people ask me, "Boy, that's a very
08:51 interesting title, Pastor Wes."
08:52 In fact, somebody said to me,
08:54 "All your titles are very interesting."
08:56 And we believe today that we are living in the last days. Amen?
09:00 We believe that Jesus is coming soon.
09:02 And I believe that we don't have time to mess around
09:06 with foolishness. Amen?
09:08 That we need to be prepared,
09:09 we need to be seeking God's presence.
09:10 And that's why I gave such bold titles. Amen?
09:14 So we're going to be seeing what we can learn from God's Word
09:16 over the next few nights.
09:18 Before we begin this evening, I just want to invite you to
09:21 bow your heads, wherever you are.
09:23 We're just going to ask God's presence to be with us
09:25 one more time.
09:27 Father in heaven, tonight we are so thankful
09:29 to be here for Anchors Of Truth.
09:31 We're thankful, Lord, that You are leading
09:33 in each one of our lives.
09:35 No matter where we are in life's journey,
09:37 whether we are truly faithful, whether our hand is securely
09:42 bound in Yours, or Lord, whether we are
09:44 floundering and struggling in our faith,
09:47 we believe tonight that You are reaching out to us.
09:50 We believe tonight that You want to give us hope,
09:52 that You want to give us victory,
09:54 that You want to give us strength.
09:55 And Lord, we are thrilled, as we open Your Word this evening,
09:59 that the precious promises of truth would speak
10:03 to our hearts this evening.
10:04 So we ask You to send the Holy Spirit to move us,
10:07 to guide us, to shake us, to convict us, to comfort us,
10:10 and give us assurance, leading us to Jesus.
10:14 And it's in His name we pray, amen.
10:17 I remember a story that I heard once, true story.
10:20 There was a young preacher who was new in town.
10:24 I know what's that like.
10:25 I haven't been to the Lansing church for very long.
10:28 And just several months ago I came there.
10:30 So I know what it's like to be the new preacher in town.
10:32 Well this new preacher was working late at night
10:35 in his church, he was in the church working on a sermon.
10:38 And as he left the church, he was catching the bus
10:42 to go on his way home.
10:44 And so he got on the bus and he gave the money to the drive,
10:49 and the drive gave him his change,
10:50 and he went to his seat and sat down.
10:53 And just before he put the money in his pocket,
10:56 he looked at it and he noticed, there was just a few coins,
11:00 but he noticed that the driver gave him ten cents too much.
11:04 One dime too much.
11:07 And his first inclination was, just like most of us would be,
11:11 to stick that money in his pocket and forget about it.
11:13 Right? How many of you would think that?
11:15 Yeah, sure we would, right?
11:16 Just, oh a dime. Not that big of a deal.
11:18 Probably overlooked. No need to worry, right?
11:22 But the Spirit of God began to convict him,
11:24 and the Spirit said to him, "You need to return that dime
11:29 when you leave the bus."
11:30 So the bus went through town, and after several stops
11:34 finally it was his stop.
11:35 And he goes to get off, and he takes that dime
11:38 and he says to the bus driver,
11:40 "Sir, you gave me a dime too much."
11:43 The bus driver took the dime into his hand and he says,
11:46 "Yes, I know."
11:48 The young man was shocked.
11:49 He says, "You knew you gave me ten cents too much?"
11:51 And he said, "Yes."
11:52 And he says, "I was testing you."
11:55 He says, "Aren't you the new preacher in town?"
12:00 That young man was taken back.
12:02 He said, "Well actually, yes I am."
12:04 And the bus driver said, "I was testing you."
12:07 He says, "I wanted to see if you were a man of integrity
12:11 and a man who was faithful to God even in small things."
12:16 The man said, "See, my wife and I, we use to attend church
12:19 many years ago.
12:21 We use to go every week."
12:23 And he said, "But through a course of events,
12:26 our lives became busy, we had children,
12:28 we had all kinds of things that we needed to tend to.
12:31 And gradually and slowly, we drifted away from the church."
12:35 And he says, "Many years went by."
12:37 And he said, "Just a few months ago,"
12:41 he said, "my wife passed away."
12:45 And he said, "It shook me to my very core."
12:48 And he said, "It made me realize that if I, myself,
12:51 were to die, I would not know that I would be
12:54 ready to meet Jesus."
12:56 And he said, "And I thought to come to your church.
12:58 But before I did that, I wanted to see if you were a man
13:04 of integrity.
13:05 If you would be a man of honesty and truthfulness
13:09 and faithfulness, even when no one else was looking."
13:14 And he said, "I'll be at your church this weekend."
13:17 The young man got off the bus and he began to shake,
13:22 as some of you probably would.
13:23 I know that I would; trembling in the balance.
13:26 And as he came off the bus, he had to grab,
13:29 there was a stop sign or something there,
13:31 he had to grab the sign just to keep from
13:32 falling down on the ground.
13:34 As he was shaking, he said to himself, he prayed this prayer,
13:38 he said, "Dear God, please forgive me,
13:41 because I almost just sold Your son for a dime."
13:49 Integrity, faithfulness...
13:52 These are some of the virtues that God's people must possess
13:56 in the last days. Amen?
13:57 They must possess an integrity that goes beyond
14:01 when people are watching you,
14:03 beyond when people have their eye on you.
14:06 We must possess an integrity in the last days
14:10 that we will do the right thing for the right reason
14:13 when no one is watching.
14:15 Because the reality is, when no one is watching,
14:19 someone really is always watching.
14:21 Amen?
14:23 And that's what we're going to find tonight.
14:24 We're going to see in our study...
14:26 We're going to study a gentleman that many of you know well.
14:29 And we're going to dive into our Bibles tonight.
14:31 We're going to study the life of Abraham.
14:34 And so we're going to go to Genesis chapter 22.
14:37 I invite you to turn there with me.
14:38 Genesis chapter 22.
14:40 And we're going to find a very powerful story.
14:44 It's the story of Abraham taking his son Isaac up the mountain
14:48 and offering him there as a sacrifice before God.
14:53 Now, I have been an atheist in my past,
14:56 as Greg mentioned earlier.
14:58 And I remember that there are many skeptics that I've
15:01 encountered who use this story as a means to try to
15:06 give the indication or the idea that Christianity
15:09 is some type of fanatic weird religion.
15:13 How many have ever heard that before?
15:14 And many times I've encountered people and they say,
15:17 "Look at that, you see a man that wakes up and he
15:20 hears a voice telling him to go take his son up a mountain
15:24 and to sacrifice him to God."
15:25 They say, "What kind of craziness is that?"
15:28 And initially, if you look at it on the surface,
15:30 it might seem so.
15:32 But when you look deeper and you look more powerfully
15:35 into the story, you find very wonderful beautiful lessons
15:39 that we're going to look at tonight.
15:41 So Genesis chapter 22, and we're going to go through this story.
15:45 Genesis 22:1, notice what the Bible says.
15:49 It says, "And it came to pass after these things,
15:53 that God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!'
15:56 He said, 'Here I am.'" Abraham's response was.
16:00 "Then He said, 'Take now your son, your only son Isaac,
16:03 whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah,
16:05 and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the
16:09 mountains of which I shall tell you.'
16:11 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey,
16:14 and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son;
16:18 and he split the wood for the burnt offering,
16:21 and arose and went to the place which God had told him.
16:24 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes
16:27 and saw the place afar off.
16:29 And Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey
16:32 while the lad and I will go yonder and worship,
16:35 and we will come back to you.'
16:37 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it
16:39 on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand,
16:43 and a knife, and the two of them went together.
16:46 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father!'
16:49 And he said, 'Here I am, my son.'
16:51 Then he said, 'Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the
16:54 lamb for the burnt offering?'"
16:57 Now what you find in the story is a very beautiful picture,
17:01 a very beautiful painting, of the gospel.
17:04 It's very beautiful; let me make some illustrations here.
17:08 In verse 1 God makes the point, He says,
17:11 verse 1 and 2, He says, "Take your son, your only son,
17:15 whom you love, and offer him as a sacrifice."
17:21 Think about what God the Father did.
17:22 Did He give His only Son, yes or no?
17:24 Did He love His Son, yes or no?
17:26 He loved Him greatly.
17:28 The Bible says that they went on a journey to a far away land,
17:32 to a mountain.
17:33 Jesus left heaven and came on a journey, did He not?
17:36 Far away from His home to redeem us.
17:39 They journeyed about three and a half days.
17:42 Jesus was on the earth for about three and a half years, yes?
17:45 Isaac carried the wood on his back up the mountain.
17:50 He laid the wood upon Isaac's back.
17:52 Jesus bore the cross up Calvary's hill, yes or no?
17:57 Very powerful.
17:58 Isaac, the Bible tells us, you find this later in the story,
18:01 we'll read this, he laid down without a fight.
18:05 A young man in his prime, probably 20 something years old.
18:09 Abraham was a very old man.
18:10 Isaac could have easily resisted.
18:13 But Isaac had learned the lesson of submission
18:17 to his father.
18:19 And that is a lesson, dear friends, that in the last days
18:22 you and I must learn submission to God
18:25 and to His higher authority, even when there is
18:27 an opportunity to escape it.
18:30 We must not escape the will of God. Amen?
18:32 We must follow it and submit to it.
18:35 The Bible tells us that they saw a ram in the thicket
18:38 at just the right time. Yes?
18:42 And Jesus is our Lamb who came just at the right time. Right?
18:46 Isaac did not fight.
18:47 Isaiah 53 says Jesus laid down like a lamb,
18:51 like a sheep.
18:52 The ram was caught by its horns in a thicket;
18:58 and Jesus wore a crown of thorns.
19:03 The ram was Isaac's substitute, and Jesus is our substitute.
19:10 How many are thankful for this story
19:12 that illustrates the beauty of the gospel?
19:15 The only difference between this story and the gospel
19:20 is that there was an angel...
19:21 In fact, you read about it in verse 10.
19:24 It says, "And Abraham stretched out his hand
19:28 and took the knife to slay his son."
19:30 After he had laid him on the altar.
19:32 "But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven
19:34 and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!'
19:35 So he said, 'Here I am.'
19:37 And He said, 'Do not lay your hand on the lad,
19:39 or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God,
19:42 since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.'"
19:46 The only difference between this story and the true gospel
19:50 is that there was not an angel who staid the hand
19:56 that had to slay God's Son.
19:58 There was no angel to cry out to save the life of Jesus.
20:03 Jesus had to pay the price, while Isaac was able to go free.
20:10 What a beautiful picture of the gospel.
20:13 But there was a pain in God's heart that He experienced,
20:16 was there not?
20:17 A deeper pain than Abraham could understand.
20:20 God had called Abraham to this test for a
20:23 very specific purpose.
20:25 It was simply that He wanted Abraham to understand
20:29 what He Himself had gone through to provide the provision
20:35 for salvation for all humanity.
20:37 He wanted Abraham to taste the bitter cup
20:40 that God Himself, the Father, had experienced;
20:43 the cup that He had tasted.
20:45 And also that Abraham might reach the highest standard
20:50 of faith in giving all to the God of heaven;
20:59 the sacrifice of all.
21:02 God had saved Abraham's biggest test for the final
21:08 days of his life.
21:10 Abraham had had this test many times before.
21:12 He had tests of faith at different increments
21:15 of his life, but he had failed it almost every time.
21:18 And God had saved this greatest test for last,
21:22 when Abraham was the oldest and he was the weakest
21:25 that he had ever been.
21:28 And there's a parallel, friends.
21:30 Because the greatest test for humanity
21:33 are still yet to come.
21:36 The greatest test for God's church are still yet
21:39 to come in the future.
21:43 This generation of people, this church in its lukewarm
21:48 stage in the last days of earth's history,
21:50 fulfilling the prophecies of Revelation chapter 3
21:53 about Laodicea lukewarm, this church often knows the least...
21:58 At least in North America, I should say.
22:01 There are many folk around the world that know what it means
22:04 to suffer for Christ's sake.
22:05 And I'm not saying that every person,
22:07 but you understand the point I'm making here.
22:10 ...that the church in North America knows, this generation,
22:13 knows the least about what it means to suffer for Christ
22:16 of any generation before us.
22:18 But before it's all said and done, they will know the most
22:21 of what it means to suffer for Christ before Jesus comes.
22:25 And so God, at the very end of time,
22:27 we will pass that test as well.
22:31 And God will wait until humanity reaches its weakest point of
22:34 earth's history before they pass that test.
22:38 And why does God do this?
22:40 Very simply, because He can show His greatest wonders.
22:45 Because that which is the weakest, He will make
22:48 the strongest by His power.
22:51 He will wait until humanity, our church, God's people,
22:55 have no ounce of self-trust left in their bones
23:00 as they pass the final test of earth's history.
23:03 How many are thankful today for the grace of God?
23:05 His power, His grace, will sustain His people.
23:09 Now backing up in the chapter, if you go to verse 2 and 3,
23:15 you know, God gave Abraham some very specific,
23:20 not specific, but very vague directions, did He not?
23:23 He did not tell him everything that He was going to do.
23:26 He just said, "Take your son, go up to this mountain,
23:29 and then I'll tell you what to do.
23:31 You're going to offer him as a sacrifice."
23:34 You know, Abraham didn't know everything
23:38 that God was planning for him.
23:40 But he obeyed anyway.
23:42 Now imagine if you woke up in the middle of the night
23:44 and you heard the same voice that Abraham heard
23:47 telling you to take your son or your daughter
23:50 up to this mountain to sacrifice them.
23:52 I would think to myself that I had gone crazy.
23:55 How about you?
23:56 I would think, "Man, I've lost it here.
23:58 What is this happening?
23:59 I'm hearing this voice telling me to slay my son."
24:03 And yet, here is the ironic thing,
24:05 is that Abraham obeyed anyway.
24:07 Why? Why did he obey?
24:08 It's simply this:
24:10 Because he had heard God's voice speak to him before.
24:15 When He told him that he would be the father of many nations,
24:19 when He gave him that promise, Abraham knew and understood
24:22 the voice of God.
24:24 And so when God called him to something radical,
24:27 to something that seemed strange,
24:29 something that seemed unlike God's character,
24:32 Abraham had been so close to his Father
24:37 that he knew the voice and he obeyed.
24:41 Dear friends, God's going to call us to radical things
24:43 in the last days.
24:45 I'm not saying He's going to call us to this.
24:46 I don't know what He'll call us to.
24:48 But He's going to call us to radical things.
24:50 And it's only if we know His voice in peace
24:55 that we will hear and understand and know His voice
24:58 when difficulties and trials come.
25:01 Are you hearing God's voice in your difficulties today?
25:04 Are you seeking His presence?
25:07 During those three days that he made that journey,
25:10 I'm sure it seemed very quiet.
25:14 God's voice, we're told in the book, Patriarchs and Prophets,
25:17 he did not hear God's voice during the journey.
25:20 God seemed to be silent.
25:21 And sometimes, the dark times of our lives,
25:23 God seems silent, doesn't He?
25:25 He seems quiet.
25:26 He seems like He's not speaking to us.
25:29 And sometimes in the silence, we're tempted with the thought
25:33 that maybe God didn't really mean
25:35 what He said when He said it.
25:38 "Maybe God said that, but maybe now He doesn't mean it.
25:41 Because He's not speaking to me, even though I'm praying.
25:43 Maybe I don't really need to do that.
25:45 I don't really need to follow through with that thing
25:47 that He's asked me to do."
25:49 And here's the point:
25:53 God may have been silent, but He wasn't absent.
25:58 He was drawing close to Abraham.
26:01 But there was someone else who was drawing close to him;
26:03 and that was Satan.
26:05 And he was seeking to bring the dark clouds of doubt
26:07 over Abraham's eyes, trying to get him to decide against
26:13 what God had asked him to do.
26:16 Abraham pressed on.
26:18 You see, this temptation was even more severe
26:21 and more difficult than the temptation that Adam
26:24 had in the Garden of Eden.
26:25 Do you know why?
26:28 Because Adam's compliance and obedience to God's command
26:33 would have brought no suffering upon himself.
26:36 It would have actually brought eternal happiness and joy.
26:40 Yet Abraham was willing to obey when it would bring
26:44 a great loss to himself, a great personal loss.
26:49 Abraham, and God our Father through giving up Jesus,
26:52 was willing to do what Adam did not.
26:57 Which was give up his most prized possession,
27:01 his only son.
27:03 Adam would not give up Eve.
27:06 But God gave up His Son, Abraham gave up his son.
27:08 Can you see how beautifully Abraham is modeling
27:12 the gospel?
27:13 Very powerful.
27:15 But some people might say, "But hey, God, do I
27:17 really need to give up my son?"
27:19 Abraham could have asked that question.
27:21 He probably did ask that question to himself.
27:24 Why then would he need to be willing to give up his son?
27:27 Because, very simply, before Abraham could become the
27:30 father of the nations, he would need to understand
27:33 and would need to suffer and know what God Himself
27:37 would go through.
27:39 He must drink of the cup that Jesus drank from
27:42 if he were to be the father of the nations.
27:44 And God's glory never comes without
27:47 some kind of pain, does it?
27:49 It never comes without some sort of pain.
27:52 See, Lucifer wanted to be like God, but he was
27:55 unwilling to suffer loss.
27:58 And the glory of God is another phrase for the character of God.
28:04 And the character of God always comes
28:07 or is always willing to handle and willing to give great loss
28:11 to benefit others.
28:14 It's a selfless love.
28:15 There's no stronger power in the universe
28:18 than the selfless love of God.
28:22 How many of you would agree with that tonight?
28:24 So the sacrifice of Isaac impresses upon us
28:31 and upon Abraham the truth of the gospel.
28:34 So you must understand something.
28:37 Every single thing that was precious to Abraham
28:41 in his life, all his hopes, all his dreams, all his joys,
28:46 all the promises of God, everything that he lived for
28:50 was wrapped up in that one boy named Isaac.
28:55 Everything that he loved, everything that he cherished,
28:58 everything that he possessed, everything that he lived for
29:01 was in Isaac.
29:02 And here is God asking him to lay his son upon the altar
29:08 to be slain.
29:12 Essentially he was saying, "God, everything that I live for,
29:15 you're asking me to give away."
29:17 "That's exactly right, Abraham."
29:20 And that's exactly right for you and I tonight;
29:23 that God asks us to give all.
29:25 And listen, friends, it is only when you and I
29:31 in these last days are willing to give up everything,
29:36 we are willing to lay everything that we possess on the altar,
29:43 that we will see the wonders of God,
29:46 and we will know His presence,
29:48 and we will experience His power,
29:50 unlike we ever have before.
29:52 It is only when we lay all; our jobs, our bank accounts,
29:57 our houses, our vehicles, our families,
30:01 those things that we hold near and dear to our hearts,
30:04 it's only when we lay them all upon the altar
30:07 that we are able to see the wonder and true power of God.
30:10 Because listen, friends, Abraham did not know where that
30:14 sacrifice was coming from.
30:16 He thought that he was going to have to slay his son.
30:18 But he believed in the promise that he would come back,
30:22 that God would raise him from the dead.
30:23 Look there in verse 5, it says, "And Abraham said to his
30:27 young men, "Stay here with the donkey;
30:29 and the lad and I will go yonder and worship..."
30:32 And look at this, he says, "..and we will..." Do What?
30:36 "...we will come back..."
30:37 He doesn't say, "And I will come back."
30:39 He says, "And we will come back."
30:41 He believed that God had the power, if he would slay his son
30:44 there on the altar, he believed that God had the power
30:47 to raise him from the dead.
30:50 And he didn't understand everything.
30:51 He didn't understand why all these things were happening.
30:54 And we in our own circumstances don't always understand why.
30:57 But the truth is that we must trust and obey.
31:03 That's the lesson that we're trying to instill
31:05 in my son when he's disobedient.
31:07 "Son, you must trust us that what we're asking you to do
31:10 is for your best interest.
31:12 And if you really believe that we love you,
31:14 you will know and trust that we never will hurt you.
31:17 And anything we ask you to do is for your own good."
31:21 That's the lesson that God's people in the
31:23 last days must learn.
31:24 It is a lesson that God's people today have not yet learned.
31:28 But we must learn it.
31:30 We must learn it.
31:32 And it wasn't until Abraham laid everything upon the altar
31:38 that he found the means of escape for his son.
31:42 It wasn't until Abraham surrendered Isaac to God,
31:49 that's when the ram appeared in the bushes.
31:51 You see?
31:52 Many people say, "Well, God, I don't want to
31:55 give this thing up.
31:56 Can't You just provide another way?"
31:58 No, He will not until we surrender that thing to Him.
32:01 Are you with me?
32:03 Not just that thing, but everything.
32:08 Everything.
32:10 And it's only in our lives when we yield all to Christ
32:12 that we will see the hand of God move in ways that
32:16 will seem like utter impossibilities to us now.
32:20 I remember when I first was coming to Christ,
32:25 when I was an atheist, I studied the Bible
32:29 to try to prove it wrong,
32:31 to try to prove that God didn't exist.
32:34 And I pulled out this old Bible that my grandma had given me,
32:37 and I knocked the dust off that thing,
32:39 and I opened that thing and I said,
32:41 "Let me read about this foolishness."
32:43 I said, "Let me read about this nonsense.
32:46 Let me prove that there's no God."
32:47 And when I do that, I was going to commit suicide.
32:53 Because I said, "I'm going to prove that this life
32:55 is meaningless, without purpose, and without hope.
32:59 And then I'm going to die.
33:00 And it's going to be all over."
33:02 And the only thing that kept me from going through with it
33:06 right at that moment was that I was trying,
33:10 I wanted to do it in such a way that it would cause my family
33:13 to suffer and feel guilty for the rest of their lives.
33:15 That's how deranged I had become.
33:18 And I opened that Bible and began to study
33:20 the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation.
33:22 And I began to see that God had a plan for this world
33:25 long ago, and that He unraveled that plan through the
33:28 prophecies hundreds and even thousands of years
33:32 before they ever came to pass.
33:34 And the more I studied that, the more I saw that,
33:37 the more real the Bible became to me
33:38 and the more God began to speak to my heart.
33:40 And I began to come to the realization
33:42 that this book is no ordinary book.
33:46 It is a book that is divinely inspired,
33:49 it is a book that gives direction to this world,
33:52 and it's a book that can give direction
33:53 to our lives personally.
33:57 And when I read about the Lord Jesus
34:00 and what He had done for me, my heart melted.
34:02 And I was 22 years old.
34:03 And I knelt down beside my bed and I wept, and I cried,
34:09 because I had never seen a love like His.
34:13 And I claimed that promise in John 6:37, when He says,
34:17 "All who come to Me, I will by no means cast away."
34:24 And I cried before God for hours,
34:27 because my life was a living wreck.
34:32 I had so many addictions.
34:34 I had alcohol addiction.
34:35 I used to drink, many times, a case of beer per day.
34:40 Per day.
34:42 I was addicted to video games.
34:43 I played a video game once for three days and two nights
34:47 without sleeping.
34:49 I was addicted to pornography.
34:51 I was addicted to tobacco.
34:53 I remember many times, there were times when I would have
34:58 a beer in one hand, a dip in my lip, a chew of tobacco
35:03 in my mouth, and a cigarette in the other hand.
35:05 Many times.
35:07 And there were times when I'd try to give up that tobacco
35:10 and I would throw it away.
35:12 And I would find myself on my hands and knees
35:14 digging through the trash can.
35:17 And one day, as God had already begun to work in my life,
35:20 one day God spoke to me and He said, "Is this the thing
35:23 that you're worshiping?"
35:26 He said, "Look, you're on your knees.
35:28 You're digging in the garbage.
35:30 What extent will you go to fulfill your addiction?"
35:36 And that struck my heart.
35:41 And when I was thinking about committing suicide,
35:44 God also spoke to my heart and He said, "If you're willing to
35:46 take your life, won't you just be willing to give it to Me?
35:52 Try Me out and see what I'll do for you."
35:55 And so I did.
35:57 And God gave me victory.
35:58 I knelt down upon my hands and knees, 22 years old,
36:02 and I gave my life to Christ.
36:05 And the power to overcome those addictions came in a moment.
36:09 In a moment.
36:11 I stopped smoking, I stopped drinking,
36:13 I stopped chewing, I stopped playing games,
36:15 I stopped watching pornography.
36:17 I stopped doing all these different things.
36:19 The power of God is real, dear friends.
36:22 And He works in different ways in different people.
36:24 He doesn't always give it to everybody right then.
36:26 He gives us the victory then,
36:28 but sometimes we need to learn things.
36:29 But He does it different ways for different people.
36:31 But the truth is that when we believe by faith,
36:34 He will give it to us.
36:37 This is what Abraham...
36:38 I had to be willing to come to the point where I
36:41 would surrender all.
36:43 I had to use all my human strength and reach the place
36:48 within my human strength that I couldn't do it
36:52 anymore on my own.
36:55 I couldn't do it anymore.
36:56 Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to know that
36:59 God is the rock at the bottom.
37:03 And that's what happened to me.
37:07 And this generation of God's people who live in the last days
37:13 must have that experience.
37:16 But you know what friends?
37:18 God doesn't just want us to experience it then.
37:19 He wants us to experience it now. Amen?
37:23 He wants us to experience it now.
37:26 So Abraham takes him up.
37:28 And verse 10 through 12, look at this.
37:31 It says, "Abraham stretched out his hand
37:32 and he took the knife to slay his son.
37:34 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven
37:36 and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!'
37:38 So he said, 'Here I am.'
37:39 And He said, 'Do not lay your hand on the lad,
37:44 nor do anything to him...'"
37:46 But I want you to notice this next little phrase.
37:48 He says, "...for now I..." What?
37:52 "...I know that you fear God, since you have not
37:57 withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
38:01 I found this phrase very interesting.
38:03 Because God says, "...for now I know..."
38:05 But I have a question.
38:07 Didn't God already know?
38:11 Didn't God already know what Abraham would do?
38:13 Because God knew his heart, yes?
38:16 God already knew.
38:17 So my question was, why then would God cause him to do it?
38:21 It wasn't for God, because He already knew.
38:25 I want to propose to you tonight that it was for three different
38:27 categories of people.
38:29 Number one, it was for Abraham.
38:32 Why? Because Abraham had previously faltered
38:35 in his faith.
38:37 Are you with me?
38:38 He had previously faltered.
38:40 And before he could be the father of the nations,
38:42 he would have to demonstrate that he could have an experience
38:45 in his life that his faith in God and his trust in God
38:49 would not waver despite his circumstances.
38:52 You see, when he was in the previous places,
38:55 and the Pharaoh and the king asked him about
38:58 his sister and his wife Sarah, he lied.
39:01 He failed the test.
39:03 And God rebuked him for it.
39:04 Twice he did the same thing.
39:06 And now here he was; and God, he had to have an experience
39:11 in which his faith and trust would not falter
39:13 despite his circumstances.
39:14 And let me tell you what, friends, God is looking
39:16 for that same thing from us in the last days.
39:21 And He will give us experience after experience
39:25 because He loves us.
39:28 And He wants us, through His grace and through His power,
39:32 to submit, and then overcome.
39:37 That is the experience that we must have.
39:43 So what about you tonight?
39:46 Those of you watching on TV?
39:49 Do you believe that promise that God has for you?
39:53 When times are tough, when your loved one dies,
39:57 when they're sick, when you lose your job,
40:02 when difficulties arise,
40:04 where's our faith and where's our trust?
40:07 Are we trusting?
40:08 The second person that it was for was Satan.
40:14 It was for Satan.
40:16 Because Satan had accused Abraham before God,
40:19 just like he had done to Job, you see.
40:22 He had done the same thing.
40:25 And as Abraham passed the test, by God's grace,
40:29 it would be a testimony to Satan.
40:31 And God could point to Abraham just like He pointed to Job
40:34 and say, "Here is a man that I can trust
40:37 to do My will despite what happens in his life."
40:41 Are you with me?
40:44 Sometimes people say, "Well, why do bad things happen?
40:47 Why doesn't God stop them.
40:48 Why doesn't God hold His hand?"
40:50 How do we know that He's not?
40:53 Sometimes God allows certain things to happen
40:56 to get our attention.
40:58 But He holds His restraining hand over Satan
41:01 so that he doesn't take our lives.
41:03 And it's going to be amazing when we get to heaven
41:06 and when we get to watch that replay of earth's
41:08 final events in our life, and we're going to see
41:11 all the times when we thought,
41:12 "Oh man, this is really, really bad.
41:14 How could God let this happen to me?"
41:16 Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
41:17 And we're going to see how God held His restraining hand
41:20 over that situation, and it would have been ten times
41:23 or a hundred times or a thousand times worse
41:27 if He had not done that.
41:30 And instead of saying, "Why, God?"
41:31 we're going to fall down and say, "Thank You, Jesus.
41:34 Thank You for Your power."
41:37 You see, friends, the universe must see the full capacity
41:40 of Satan's plan.
41:41 And that's why God allows some things to happen.
41:44 That's why God sometimes brings us into these trials.
41:47 Because the world and the universe must see Satan's
41:51 full plan to realize that he never really had a
41:54 plan in the first place.
41:58 And God uses us.
42:02 Not as chess pieces.
42:05 Because God only works through people who yield to Him.
42:09 But He uses us to display His glory and His wonders
42:14 to the universe.
42:18 God sometimes allows us to suffer to prepare us
42:21 for a greater task.
42:23 See, Abraham suffered because God was preparing him
42:25 to be the father of the nations.
42:27 To be the seed from whom which Jesus would come through.
42:32 Isn't that amazing?
42:33 And sometimes God allows us to go through trials
42:36 because that's the only place where we can learn
42:39 the lesson that we need to learn in a broken world that we live.
42:44 You see, if God just fixed every pain that we had,
42:50 if He just fixed every time we got in trouble,
42:53 if we got into trouble and then He just came and just like a
42:55 genie or a magic wand and He just put us right out of that,
43:00 He would not be a deliverer, He would be an enabler.
43:06 You get that?
43:07 God is not an enabler, He is a deliverer.
43:11 He gives the power, the grace, and the strength that we need
43:15 to carry us through that trial.
43:17 How many can say amen to that?
43:20 Sometimes God will refer our name to the devil.
43:23 Just like He did Job.
43:25 He said, "Have you considered My servant Job?"
43:29 Now put your name in there;
43:30 "Have you considered my servant..." Whoever.
43:33 Right?
43:36 And God sometimes allows us to suffer because He trusts us
43:43 to suffer for His name's sake and bring glory to Him.
43:49 He trusts us to endure persecution.
43:53 He trusts us because we trust Him.
43:59 Think about that for just a minute.
44:01 2 Corinthians chapter 4, if you'll go there
44:05 in your Bibles, 2 Corinthians chapter 4.
44:07 A very powerful verse you're probably very familiar with.
44:11 Verse 8 says, 2 Corinthians chapter 4,
44:14 "We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed;
44:17 we are perplexed, but not in despair;
44:19 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not..." What?
44:24 "...destroyed: always carrying about in the body
44:28 the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus
44:31 may also be manifested in our body."
44:33 Sometimes it feels like we are dying on the outside.
44:38 Sometimes it feels like we're dying on the inside.
44:41 But as we bear it patiently and with grace,
44:45 and with trust, God forms life within us
44:51 and His glory is seen to the world. Amen?
44:54 Verse 16, "Therefore we do not lose heart.
44:57 Even though our outward man is perishing,
44:59 yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
45:02 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,
45:05 is working for us a far more exceeding
45:08 and eternal weight of glory..."
45:10 Hallelujah, yeah?
45:11 "...while we do not look to the things which are seen,
45:14 but at the things which are not seen."
45:16 That's God's hand.
45:17 That's by faith we look through the clouds of darkness.
45:20 "For the things which are seen are temporary,
45:22 but the things which are not seen are eternal."
45:25 How many of you can say amen to the Lord today?
45:28 Even in the suffering, God is there. Amen?
45:30 God suffers with us.
45:32 And Abraham understood this,
45:34 through his willingness to give all to Jesus.
45:36 We can never come to the knowledge of these truths
45:39 unless we're willing to give all to Jesus.
45:42 And the third group that it was for,
45:46 the title of our series, Before Men and Angels,
45:49 was for the rest of the universe.
45:55 For the universe to see the glory of God.
46:01 Abraham would trust and believe in God even when he was alone
46:06 and no one was watching.
46:08 The Bible tells us in James 2:23,
46:11 "'Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him
46:13 for righteousness.'
46:15 And he was called the friend of God."
46:18 The friend of God.
46:20 Imagine having that title, friends.
46:22 The friend of God.
46:24 Because he trusted and he believed explicitly.
46:27 He was willing to surrender all.
46:29 The Bible tells us in James 2:21-22,
46:33 "Was not Abraham our father justified by works
46:37 when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
46:40 Do you see that faith was working together with his works,
46:44 and by works faith was made perfect?"
46:50 Think about this.
46:53 There are many who say today, "Only believe in Christ
46:58 and you will be saved.
47:00 Works are not needed in the life."
47:02 How many have heard people say that before?
47:04 "We just need faith, and that's it."
47:08 Well I believe we need to have faith, amen?
47:10 Faith is a beautiful...
47:11 I have studied the subject of faith for more than
47:14 the last year very much in depth.
47:16 And I am just in awe of the truth that's in God's Word
47:19 about that subject.
47:22 But works are needed.
47:23 Why are works needed? Not for salvation, you see.
47:26 We cannot earn our way for salvation through works
47:32 rather than grace, because grace is given.
47:35 As a measure of grace, if we worked for it,
47:37 it wouldn't be grace, right?
47:38 It's given as unmerited favor.
47:42 And here is the truth:
47:43 That God knows the heart, does He not?
47:45 People say, "Well God knows my heart."
47:47 Well sure He does.
47:48 So then why the works? Why are works necessary?
47:52 It's very simple.
47:53 The works that Abraham committed outwardly
48:00 was a revelation of what was happening inwardly.
48:05 God knew his heart, and God knew that he would
48:10 make the right decision, but the rest of the universe did not.
48:15 And Satan did not.
48:18 Because Satan cannot read the heart.
48:19 The rest of the universe cannot read the heart.
48:21 Only God.
48:22 And so the works were manifested for the rest of the universe.
48:25 Because God could read his heart,
48:28 but everyone else couldn't.
48:30 That's why works are so important in the Christian life.
48:33 Not for our salvation, because we're saved by grace,
48:36 but for other's salvation.
48:38 As they see God working in us, they are drawn to Christ
48:42 through our works that are demonstrated by a heart
48:46 that has been transformed by grace.
48:48 How many are thankful for the grace of God today?
48:51 You know what, friends? We need good works in our lives.
48:54 The Bible is very clear about this all the way through,
48:56 all the way through.
48:58 Abraham was faithful when no one else was watching.
49:02 Why?
49:03 Because the rest of the universe looked on.
49:07 Notice this statement from the book, Patriarchs and Prophets.
49:11 A very, very powerful statement.
49:13 It says, "The sacrifice required of Abraham
49:17 was not alone for his own good, nor solely for the benefit of
49:21 succeeding generations; but it was also for the instruction
49:25 of the sinless intelligences of heaven and of other worlds.
49:29 The field of the controversy between Christ and Satan,
49:33 the field on which the plan of redemption is wrought out,
49:36 is the lesson book for the universe.
49:40 Because Abraham had shown a lack of faith in God's promises,
49:44 Satan had accused him before the angels and before God
49:48 of having failed to comply with the conditions of the covenant,
49:51 and unworthy of its blessings.
49:54 God desired to prove the loyalty of His servant
49:57 before all of heaven, to demonstrate that nothing
50:00 less than perfect obedience can be accepted,
50:03 and to open more fully before them the plan of salvation."
50:09 Think about that for just a minute.
50:11 Isn't that powerful?
50:13 God allowed Abraham to go through that experience
50:16 so that the rest of the universe could understand more deeply
50:21 the plan of the gospel.
50:26 The plan that God cannot only redeem humanity,
50:34 but that He could restore them back into His image.
50:38 Think about that for just a minute.
50:40 Because that's the argument of the universe.
50:42 That's the argument between Christ and Satan.
50:44 The great controversy, if you will;
50:46 is God's power, is His grace sufficient, not to just
50:52 forgive man from sin, but to be able to restore him
50:56 back into the image of God.
51:00 Can God's grace not just cleanse, but can it re-create?
51:06 That's powerful, friends.
51:08 And the demonstration of Abraham was evidence
51:11 that indeed it can.
51:12 And dear friends, that is the exact experience that
51:15 you and I will go through in these last days.
51:17 How much more is it true,
51:21 if Abraham's actions brought satisfaction to the rest of the
51:25 universe of understanding God's plan, how much more is it true
51:28 for you and I today living in the last days
51:31 that we also, like Abraham, must lay everything on the altar?
51:35 We must have the sacrifice of all
51:38 and we must lay our whole life upon the altar
51:43 before God's wonders can be seen before the universe.
51:45 And Jesus is waiting in these last days
51:48 for His people to come to a place, His church,
51:51 His beloved church whom He loves, to come to a place
51:54 of absolute total surrender and consecration
51:59 to His will for their lives.
52:02 Dear friends, in today's western culture,
52:08 we are far from that.
52:12 We are far from that.
52:14 Never has a generation loved more comfort
52:20 and joys of the pleasures of this world
52:26 than this generation.
52:29 In fact, this is the greatest problem with our society today.
52:33 And we think we have to have a pill for everything.
52:36 Abraham was willing to lay his most prized possession
52:40 on the altar.
52:43 What about this final generation of God's people?
52:47 The Bible tells us in Galatians 2:20
52:53 that I have been what?
52:56 "I have been crucified with Christ:
53:01 And I no longer live, but Christ lives within me.
53:07 The life I now live in the body I live by faith
53:11 in the Son of God, who loved me and who gave Himself for me."
53:22 The ultimate sacrifice, dear friends, in these last days
53:25 is the sacrifice of self.
53:30 And we must be willing, as God's people in the last days,
53:33 to give away all in order to receive all of God's promises.
53:42 Just a number of years ago, I was diagnosed with
53:45 a certain kind of cancer.
53:47 And I believe that they have some pictures that they'll show,
53:51 those who are watching.
53:52 And I almost was on my deathbed.
53:56 Actually, I was on my deathbed.
53:59 I laid upon the hospital bed for forty days.
54:01 I was in ICU for two weeks.
54:04 And I was at my last breaking point.
54:08 The doctors thought that I would die.
54:10 And they called my wife back one night,
54:13 she went home from the hospital, and they called her back.
54:16 And night after night, they thought that I was going to die.
54:21 And I reached a point in my life where I had to say
54:26 to the Lord, "Lord, You have to take complete control
54:30 of my life.
54:33 Because if You don't, I'm going to die."
54:36 And I had never reached that point.
54:38 I mean, I had surrendered to Jesus,
54:40 I had done those things before, but I had never come to the
54:43 point where I was completely and totally surrendered,
54:46 except on the day that I first accepted Jesus.
54:48 But you know how the battle rages.
54:50 And I came to the place, it was either surrender complete
54:53 control to God or I knew I was going to die.
54:57 And I made that decision, it was about three o'clock in the
55:00 morning, and I said, "Lord Jesus, You take my life.
55:02 And whatever You see fit, whether I live or whether I die,
55:06 whatever happens, just let Your glory be known."
55:12 And friends, you talk about having the sense
55:15 and the feeling of feeling frail,
55:17 and the Bible says that we are but dust and life is fragile,
55:21 I experienced that to its fullness.
55:25 And I called upon the Lord my God.
55:29 And He came down and He rescued me.
55:33 Just like He rescued Isaac.
55:36 And just like He'll rescue each one of us today
55:39 if we are willing to yield our wills entirely to Him.
55:42 This is what it's going to take for Jesus to return.
55:46 Because the Bible tells us that Jesus will not return
55:48 until there's a people on earth who look like Him,
55:51 who talk like Him, who act like Him.
55:53 People who keep the commandments of God, Revelation 14:12,
55:58 and have the faith not just in Jesus,
56:01 but the faith of Jesus.
56:03 You see, faith in Jesus must, as God continues to work
56:08 in our hearts and in our minds, faith in Jesus must become
56:12 the faith of Jesus.
56:15 So dear friends, I laid on that hospital bed
56:19 and I gave all to Jesus.
56:20 What about you tonight?
56:22 Have you given all to Jesus?
56:25 Have you given Him your houses, your bank accounts,
56:29 your cars, your children, your spouses, your parents?
56:33 Have you given Him everything in your life?
56:37 The decisions that you make, are you making every day
56:41 to live them for Jesus or for yourselves?
56:46 Jesus is calling us to the sacrifice of all,
56:49 not to be sleeping saints in the last days,
56:53 but to give him all in our lives.
56:56 Would you make that decision tonight?
56:58 Those of you watching this evening, would you
57:00 make that decision?
57:01 How many of you would make that decision this evening?
57:03 Let me see your hands tonight.
57:05 Let's pray together.
57:06 Father in heaven, we thank You so much for the opportunity
57:10 that we have to know You and to understand the depths
57:14 that You went through to save us and to redeem us.
57:17 Father, we ask that You give each of us a measure of faith,
57:20 that may our hearts, Lord, be one with Yours.
57:23 And may we have the faith that Abraham had
57:27 living in these last days.
57:28 And may You carry us all the way through to Your second coming.
57:31 We pray this in Jesus' precious name, amen.


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Revised 2016-03-29