Participants: Doug Batchelor
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000398
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01:01 This song talks about God's love of course
01:03 and as we just heard in the scripture reading, 01:06 God's love is such that if we're repentant, 01:10 He will stoop down and save souls like us. 01:14 And you know we tend to throw the word love 01:16 around very loosely, but sometimes I think, 01:20 at least I personally forget what love is truly all about. 01:23 And specially God's love, Jesus' love for us, 01:26 it's the deepest sense of the word love. 01:30 That's love that where Jesus created us 01:34 and yet we rejected Him 01:36 and He's protected us and still we reject Him 01:39 and yet He's coming back for us and we reject Him. 01:44 He died for us, we reject Him. 01:46 But He's saying, I hope by the time I come back for you, 01:49 that you will accept Me and that is love, 01:53 that's because He loves us. 01:54 And I would hope that you receive 01:56 a blessing from this song as you listen to the words. 02:08 In my darkness Jesus found me 02:16 Touched my eyes and made me see 02:23 Broke sin's chains that long had bound me 02:31 Gave me life and liberty 02:38 Oh, glorious love of Christ my Lord divine 02:45 That made Him stoop to save a soul like mine 02:52 Through all my days, and then in heaven above 02:59 My song will silence never 03:03 I'll worship Him forever 03:06 And praise Him for His glorious love 03:17 Oh, amazing truth to ponder 03:24 He whom angel hosts attend 03:31 Lord of Heaven, God's Son, what wonder 03:38 He became the sinner's friend 03:46 Oh, glorious love of Christ my Lord divine 03:52 That made Him stoop to save a soul like mine 03:59 Through all my days, and then in heaven above 04:06 My song will silence never 04:09 I'll worship Him forever 04:13 And praise Him for His glorious love 04:19 My song will silence never 04:22 I'll worship Him forever 04:26 And praise Him for His glorious love 04:33 And praise Him for His glorious love 04:41 And praise Him for His glorious love 04:55 Amen. 04:59 Tonight I want to talk with you about something 05:03 that is I think one of the most crucial truths 05:07 that I can address. 05:09 And before we do go directly to the word of God, 05:13 allow me to add my prayer to those 05:15 that had been offered. 05:17 Father in heaven and now as the Sabbath approaches, 05:21 we will ask that You evict every distraction 05:24 from this place that would keep us from hearing 05:27 what the spirit is saying to the church. 05:30 I pray that You'll forgive the sins 05:32 of the one who is to speak 05:34 and that I might be a channel of truth 05:36 through which Jesus can articulate His will. 05:39 And so please be with us and speak to us, 05:41 inspire and encourage, 05:43 we ask in Christ name, 05:45 Amen. Amen. 05:49 You know I enjoy doing Amazing Facts 05:51 and one of my favorite things 05:53 is our Sunday night radio program 05:56 that is a challenge for me, 05:57 because every Sunday I usually wait till the last minutes. 06:01 So Sunday morning I wake up 06:03 and I start trying to find an amazing fact, about 300 words 06:07 that I can share with radio audience that evening. 06:10 But I really enjoyed that because I learn a lot 06:14 and I find some interesting things. 06:16 One in particular that I really enjoyed 06:18 was about the bumblebee. 06:20 They're very interesting little creatures. 06:23 I understand that a number of years ago 06:26 some aerodynamic engineers began to study 06:30 the size of the bumblebee 06:31 and his wing span and their design 06:35 and they concluded that it was aerodynamically impossible 06:38 for a Bumblebee to fly. 06:40 How many of you have heard this before? 06:42 The only thing is that they don't know 06:43 how to tell the Bumblebee that. 06:45 And so he continues to fly in spite of it, 06:49 but do you where the word Bumblebee comes from? 06:54 They were initially in early America 06:56 called the humblebee. 06:59 Very few of you I would wager have ever been 07:02 stung by a bumblebee. 07:04 They're big and they can be very menacing to a child, 07:08 but parents have often had to console the children and say, 07:10 a bumblebee will not bite you unless 07:11 you just really reach out and grab it. 07:13 They're very docile, very humble 07:16 and children could not say humblebee, 07:20 and so it evolved into bumblebee. 07:24 How many of you have kids 07:26 that have trouble with spaghetti, 07:27 they say pisghetti or something like that? 07:29 Anyone else out there, they can't say ambulance or- 07:32 The kids cant say humblebee so they called it a bumblebee. 07:36 And--but they were really they're not 07:39 a very threatening insect. 07:41 You don't want to hit when we're on a motorcycle, 07:43 I've don't that before, I thought I was shot 07:46 but they're really docile creatures. 07:50 You know, if you ever looked in C.S. Lewis book, 07:53 "Mere Christianity" he has a chapter in there 07:55 called 'The Great Sin.' 07:58 And its not that I endures everything he said 08:00 but he was quite a thinker. 08:02 And you know what he says the great sin is? 08:06 Pride, pride. 08:11 Spurgeon said we should never be proud 08:13 of race or place or face and yet I venture to say 08:19 that is probably one of the biggest challenges 08:23 that we wrestle with. 08:25 So often when we feel slighted 08:28 and when we're hurt or we feel under appreciated, 08:31 if we could boil it down and find out 08:33 what's really at the heart of the pain, 08:37 our pride has been offended. 08:41 And I think one of the biggest challenges 08:42 that we face in imitating our Savior is 08:46 is to have the neatness and humility of Jesus. 08:50 Now I was under the illusion 08:53 before I became a Seventh-day Adventist 08:55 that if I can just lay aside certain things 08:58 and once I am baptized, then I've arrived. 09:00 And I struggled with smoking was a real challenge for me, 09:03 you probable heard me say that. 09:05 I drank up until two weeks before my baptism. 09:08 And, you know, the drugs and all these typical things 09:12 that people wrestle with and once I was able to lay 09:15 those things aside and I got baptized, 09:17 the Lord allowed me to have a honeymoon, 09:20 while I have the illusion of perfection 09:21 for a little while. 09:23 And then he said, now Doug, 09:24 we're going to look on the inside. 09:27 And as the Lord began to show me what was in my heart, 09:31 I realized that these external things 09:33 that we so often focus on 09:35 are really very small in comparison 09:38 with the pride in our hearts. 09:41 When Jesus began His ministry, 09:44 where did He really aim His sights? 09:47 Did He zero in on the publican extortion 09:50 or the prostitute's illicit life? 09:54 Or did He go to the Pharisees 09:56 and the Scribes and the lawyers, 09:58 who had all this form of religion, 10:01 but they were motivated by pride. 10:04 They gave to be sin of men. 10:06 They fasted to be sin of men. They prayed to be sin of men. 10:10 And all of the religion was motivated by pride. 10:15 It was pretentious. 10:18 There's a story in the Bible I like to use as a springboard 10:22 to help illustrate some of the lesson 10:25 that I think could be healthy for our souls. 10:27 In Isaiah, Chapter 39, and this story 10:31 can also be found in of course Chronicles and Kings. 10:34 Whenever some thing is mentioned three times in the Bible, 10:37 then God wants to get our attention. 10:40 Three times you will find this story recorded. 10:42 I am going to go to Isaiah, Chapter 39. 10:47 And I really changed what I thought I talk about the Lord, 10:50 just put this on my heart today as something 10:51 I thought would be valuable. 10:54 Hezekiah was about to die, he prayed, 10:58 God worked a miracle, healed him of his fever, 11:02 must have been something connected with the boil, 11:06 as a sign of his healing, he prayed, 11:11 sun went backwards ten degrees. 11:15 Now it's never happened, since never happened before, 11:20 that was a first class miracle. 11:24 People all around the world had to notice that 11:27 and the people in the east, especially Babylon, 11:30 they were not only astrologers, they were astronomers 11:34 and they could not help it notice when all the sudden 11:36 the shadow stop and then began to go in reverse. 11:40 And you get to see all of the wise men 11:43 gathered in the courtyard with the big sundials 11:45 and they are putting little pebbles down in and saying, 11:47 it is just our eyes or is it going backwards? 11:49 And sure enough they marked it, 11:50 the shadow was going backwards and it stopped again, 11:52 and it resumed its normal course. 11:55 How God perform that miracle? I don't know. 11:58 Do I doubt it? Not a bit. 12:01 He's God, He can do whatever He wants. 12:03 He can make the sun go around the earth, 12:05 if He wants to instead of the earth go around the sun, 12:07 I mean He can do it anyway He wants. 12:12 Well, because of this miracle, the people in Babylon 12:15 as well as leaders of the world were trying to find 12:17 what does this mean? 12:19 This is some kind of omen. 12:20 What was the cause of this? 12:21 And they're all speculating and word began to seek out 12:24 around the world that it was the God of Abraham 12:30 that caused this miracle as a result of answering 12:33 the prayer of Hezekiah and healing him. 12:36 And then you read in Chapter 39, first verse, 12:39 "At that time Marduk-Baladan, 12:42 the son of Baladan, king of Babylon. 12:45 He sent letters and a present to Hezekiah for he had heard 12:48 that he had been sick and recovered." 12:50 Now that was the pretense for sending 12:52 the ambassadors with the gift. 12:54 He really wanted to find out what kind of God this is 12:57 that can make the sun stop and go in reverse. 13:03 "And Hezekiah was pleased with them and showed them 13:07 the house of his treasure and the silver, 13:10 and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, 13:13 and all his armory, 13:14 and all that was found among his treasures. 13:17 There is nothing in his house or in all his dominion 13:20 that Hezekiah did not show them." 13:25 What a tragedy, now real quick, 13:28 Hezekiah-- good king or bad king? 13:31 Good king, he was one of the best kings, 13:35 he effected many revivals. 13:37 Any of you would want to have him 13:39 as an elder in your church. 13:41 Godly man, great integrity, 13:43 but you know in another passage in the Bible 13:45 when they talks about this it says, 13:47 the Lord withdrew from him, 13:49 to show him what was in his heart. 13:52 In spite of the fact that he was a godly man. 13:54 Matter of fact, when he was dying 13:56 and Isaiah said, set your house in order 13:58 you are going to die, he began to pray, 13:59 and he listed his goodness to the Lord. 14:02 He says, I've obeyed You, I kept Your commandments, 14:04 I've done what I supposed to do, 14:06 answer my prayer and heal me. 14:08 And you know he was a good man, 14:10 but he was little like that Pharisee 14:12 that stood and prayed, vest with himself, 14:13 Lord I thank thee, I am not as other man. 14:17 Comparing ourselves among ourselves, 14:19 what does that indicate? Pride. 14:22 And even though he was a godly king, 14:24 even though he lived the holy life, 14:27 when he saw this eminent, these ambassadors 14:33 who had come from Babylon with their beautiful clothing. 14:36 You know, the Babylonian clothing 14:37 was the most beautiful in the world back then. 14:39 You remember Eiken could not resist 14:41 stealing a Babylonian garment. 14:44 And so here they come with their beautiful apparel 14:47 and they have got the PhD's in the civilized world. 14:51 That was the center of learning and he's honored 14:55 that people have come from Babylon to see me. 14:59 And he wants to make a good impression, 15:02 so he takes them on a tour. 15:03 They are wanting to know about his God 15:07 but he's so preoccupied with 15:08 showing them everything in his house. 15:14 You know, I remember reading about Marco Polo 15:19 and when Nicolo and Matteo Polo, 15:23 the uncle and the father of Marco Polo 15:27 spend time with the great Kublai Khan 15:29 and the empire of the Mongol king was so vast 15:34 and there was so much treasure, 15:36 millions of subjects. 15:39 He was influenced by some of the world view 15:44 that even this catholic merchants were able-you know, 15:49 Christianity is so superior to every religion of the world, 15:51 I am sorry friends I am not gonna apologize for that, 15:53 its true. Amen. 15:55 And he sense that they had something superior 15:59 and he said when you go back, tell your great priest, 16:03 the Pope to send a hundred of his best priest 16:07 to teach our people and we will all become Christians. 16:12 Well when they finally made their way back to Venice 16:14 and sent to Rome, they told the Pope, 16:18 the greatest opportunity for world evangelism is before us, 16:22 the country of China is open. 16:25 The king of China has invited us 16:28 to send a hundred priests to teach the people our religion 16:32 and you know that they just didn't take it seriously. 16:36 They missed this opportunity and the whole course of history 16:40 is still different today, because you know 16:43 the Popes were fighting back then, 16:44 there're couple of Popes that were trying 16:45 to be Pope back then is one of the times in history 16:49 and they just, they thought, 16:50 you know there barbaric Chinese people, 16:53 why would we waste our priest, 16:55 they begged them. 16:57 Finally they send two priests, one died in rout, 17:00 the other one gave up and turned back 17:02 and they never made it. 17:03 How different would history be today 17:06 if even those catholic priests had made it to China, 17:10 incidentally, you know 17:11 where we're baptizing people the fastest? 17:13 Catholic countries, that's right. 17:18 Hezekiah missed this opportunity, 17:20 instead of showing them his God, 17:23 he showed them everything in his house. 17:27 And you know what, people will want your God, 17:32 his God at that time was not really Jehovah, 17:36 he had made an idle out of his blessings. 17:41 You have a habit whether known or unknown 17:47 to advertise and parade what you worship. 17:52 What you worship is what you'll show people. 17:55 If you worship Jesus, when they come 17:56 to your house you're gonna show them Jesus. 17:59 But in his heart, Hezekiah, he really was in love 18:03 with all the blessing God had given him. 18:06 Says he showed them his treasure, the silver, 18:09 the gold, the spices, the precious ointment, 18:10 all his armory, all that was found among his treasures. 18:13 There was not found anything among his treasures 18:16 in his house or all his dominion 18:17 that he did not showed them 18:19 except the temple or the Lord. 18:21 Now when the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon, 18:27 she saw the house of the Lord. 18:29 She asked him questions, he talked about God. 18:33 How different it was and when God appeared to Solomon 18:36 and said what do you want? 18:38 You read that discourse there in First Kings Chapter 3, 18:41 Solomon never even mentions his name. 18:44 He refers to himself as 'Thy servants'. 18:48 You've mad thy servant king in place of his father 18:51 and give me a wiser understanding 18:53 how that I can govern your people. 18:55 He really had the right priorities 18:57 that God was on the throne and when the ambassadors, 18:59 in the early part of Solomon's reign, 19:01 when people came from around the world to Solomon, 19:04 he allowed God to get the credit, amen. 19:10 You know, I remember learning a painful lesson in this line. 19:18 Karen and I have a home you've probably heard us 19:19 talk about it if you ever watched our tapes, 19:21 up in the hills, had for 20 something years, 19:27 and designed it, build it with some friends, 19:34 got gravity flow water, solar electric, 19:38 its really nice, dug a pound out front 19:41 and a beautiful view, a nice place. 19:47 One day, I was home alone, 19:50 and I was trying to take care of something, 19:52 I ordered some propane, 19:53 because our refrigerator does run on propane 19:57 and this propane truck drives up. 20:00 A handsome young man, stocky build pops out 20:04 and looks round and then he looks at me, 20:08 he goes so how you're doing, Doug? 20:11 And I surprised, he knew my name, 20:12 this is the propane truck driver. 20:16 And I looked at him, I looked at him, 20:17 I thought oh, he looks really familiar 20:20 but not familiar and finally he identified himself 20:24 and I used to teach him 20:26 when he was a junior in Sabbath school. 20:29 Of course he grew up and I said brother so and so, 20:35 that's so good to see you and we chatted for a minute 20:38 and then he said you got a nice place here. 20:41 That's all he needed to say. 20:44 And he let the genie out of the bottle. 20:47 And I said, well, let me show you around. 20:51 And I said, you see this solar panel up 20:53 on the roof and I said, you know, 20:54 we had gravity flow water, 20:55 I want to put a Pelton wheel here 20:57 and the whole house is powered by batteries 20:59 and you see this design, its got southern exposure, 21:01 and I began to extol all the virtues of our home 21:03 and the design and the things 21:05 that we had and how we planned it, built it 21:10 and pretty soon he looked at his watch and said, 21:12 hay I got to make another delivery, 21:13 its been good seeing you, he hoped in his truck 21:15 and he drove away. 21:16 And as I saw the dust following him down the road 21:20 a little voice spoke to me, 21:22 it said, what did he see in your house? 21:26 And it occurred to me 21:27 he hadn't been to church in years. 21:30 And God gave me an opportunity to talk to him 21:32 about his soul and all I could think to do is 21:35 talk about my self really. 21:37 That's what I was doing when I talked about my house. 21:41 And I thought oh, that was one of the times 21:43 when I began to realize how entrenched 21:49 these proud materialistic 21:54 feelings are in my heart. 21:57 2000 was an interesting year 22:01 and if you go to the general conference session in Toronto, 22:06 some of your hands, the big astrodome there, 22:09 what did they call, it's not the astrodome? 22:13 I can't hear you but anyway big sky dome, 22:15 ah, whatever it is, it's an indoor stadium, 22:19 whatever that was but big place. 22:22 I went early because there was some meetings for minister 22:25 and I was part of that and Karen was gonna meet me there, 22:29 this time I met Karen here and her birthday was coming 22:35 and so when I checked into the hotel, 22:36 the hotel was attached to the stadium. 22:39 When I checked into the hotel, 22:41 I was standing waiting in line to get my room 22:44 and someone came up to me and they said Brother Doug, 22:47 we sure enjoy your TV program, that made me feel pretty good. 22:50 The clerk heard that there in Toronto 22:53 and as it became my turn, 22:54 he said, so you have a TV program 22:56 and I said yes, you know, I do. 23:00 Tried to look humble and as he's checking in, 23:04 I said, let me ask you a favor. 23:07 I said, you know my wife's gonna be joining me 23:09 and its her birthday and I sure like to have 23:12 a nice room and if you can give me a room 23:15 that faces the stadium, they actually had 23:17 some rooms that you looked down from your hotel room 23:20 into the arena where the meetings are. 23:22 Oh, boy that would be neat if I can get one of those rooms 23:24 and surprise Karen. 23:26 He said let me see what I can do 23:27 and so he taps away on his keyboard few minutes 23:30 and hands me the keys and said, I think you like this. 23:33 So I go upstairs with my bags, I don't know 23:36 how he was able to do this, but he gave me Papal suite, 23:43 this was the room that the team owner 23:47 reserves for games. 23:50 It was you know if this was the stadium, 23:52 it was the room that was a like right in the middle, 23:55 sticks out, balcony overlooks the whole stadium. 24:00 And I went out there and I tell you 24:01 it just took my breath away. 24:04 I thought yeah, Karen's gonna like this. 24:08 And it was really something because you know, 24:10 when everybody's meeting, if you were there, 24:12 50,000 people, Seventh-day Adventists in the stadium. 24:16 I walked out of the balcony, 24:17 I take a little wash cloth and I waved it from there- 24:25 I really thought I'll go on like this. 24:28 It was something I'll tell you, 24:29 you really have to be there, 24:31 matter of fact you know John Lomacang, 24:33 we had my parents along Karen and John and Angie 24:36 and we all went up there for main Sabbath session. 24:38 We sat there, we can look down on the stadium 24:40 and it was really something you know 24:41 when they talked about North American division, 24:43 we all waved our towels and shouted up there 24:46 but then this-it was either Friday night 24:49 after getting the room, 24:51 Friday night or Sabbath sometime, I don't remember 24:54 when all the next speakers were gonna be 24:56 brought out and introduce, I don't think 24:58 you can remember that. 24:59 Its probably a lot bigger in my mind 25:00 than anyone else's mind, 25:01 but they brought them all out and they, 25:03 they you know as they said, 25:05 here we got that 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 25:08 and I was standing backstage. 25:11 There's a point to this, stay with me. 25:15 I was standing backstage and there I am with Mark Finley 25:19 and Ken Cox, Lonnie Melashanko, Dwight Nelson 25:25 and a little voice said within me. 25:29 Oh, that is a great company to be in. 25:33 I said and you're almost like one of them 25:37 and I am having these thoughts 25:40 and I don't know if you read my mind 25:42 or if the Lord just gave him a word but out of the blue, 25:46 Dwight and I were standing next to each other and he said, 25:50 Doug just remember, you're never more like 25:53 the devil when you are proud. 25:57 And I thought, 26:00 man, talk about the voice from heaven, 26:08 and you know, it took a little wind out of my sails, 26:12 when he said that? 26:14 But, yeah, I couldn't forget that. 26:16 Later I read something that I think Andrew Murray said, 26:19 it's almost the same thing. 26:21 Not only is that you never are you more like 26:23 the devil than when you're proud, 26:24 never are you more like Jesus than when you are humble. 26:30 Never are you harder for the devil to reach 26:34 than when you're humble. 26:38 And so he showed him everything in his house 26:40 and Isaiah the prophet came to Hezekiah, 26:42 I am still in Chapter 39 of Isaiah. 26:45 He said where these people come from 26:46 and what did they see in your house? 26:49 What did they see in you house? 26:53 What did they see in you house? 26:56 Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. 27:00 Everyday God brings us in contact with people. 27:04 Sometimes it's our family, 27:06 most of the time it's out family. 27:09 Sometimes its strangers and the Lord is asking, 27:14 what did they see in your house? 27:17 Are you showing them what you have 27:22 or are you reflecting your God? 27:25 And you know it's almost as though he was oblivious 27:27 to the real meaning of the question. 27:29 Hezekiah sounds like he's begging, 27:31 he says, "Oh, yeah, this is great I've showed them 27:34 everything that was in my house, 27:35 there is nothing among my treasure 27:37 I've not shown them." 27:39 Then Hezekiah said, want to hear the word of the Lord. 27:43 "Behold the days are coming when all that is in your house 27:45 that your fathers had accumulated until this day, 27:48 shall be carried to Babylon, 27:49 nothing shall be left says the Lord" 27:55 People are going to want what you promote. 27:59 They're gonna want what you worship. 28:03 And if you grandstand your stuff, 28:06 people aren't gonna love you because you have stuff. 28:09 Most of the time they will resent it, amen. 28:16 But if you advertise your God, they gonna want your God. 28:19 They gonna want what makes you happy 28:22 and if you act like it's your things 28:24 that make you happy, your possessions or your positions 28:28 that what they gonna want, 28:30 but that's not how it works with God. 28:34 In the world we put the value on the car 28:37 that the man drives. 28:40 God wants to know what kind of man drives the car. 28:43 In the world they put the value 28:45 on what kind of house does the family live in? 28:48 God is much more concern with 28:50 what kind of family is living in the house? 28:53 In the world, they say wow, 28:56 look at the dress that woman is wearing 28:59 and God is more concern with 29:00 what kind of woman is wearing the dress. 29:03 We get it all backwards. 29:09 Everything you have will be carried away 29:10 to the Babylon and Babylon's gonna fall. 29:16 Humility is a strange thing, someone once said, 29:18 the moment you think you've acquired 29:20 it is the very moment that you've lost it. 29:23 You can never get to the place where you say, 29:25 I have arrived. 29:28 Oswald Chamber said, there's nothing 29:29 more awful than conscious humility. 29:32 It's the most satanic type of pride. 29:36 So we got to be careful about this false humility. 29:41 I don't know if you would be willing to admit, 29:43 if you've ever seen a beauty pageant or any part of one, 29:47 my step mother was Miss Kentucky. 29:50 She would give me the inside scoop on what 29:53 really happens in some of these Miss America pageants 29:55 and some of you read Becki Trueblood book, 29:58 who was Miss Idaho. 29:59 She used to travel with the Heritage singers 30:01 and we knew Becki and the other girls 30:04 that come out and they, oh they act like 30:06 they just love each other and they are so happy, 30:08 and when someone else win they want to scratch their eyes out. 30:12 It's false humility. 30:14 And sometimes we demonstrate this false humility 30:19 when someone offers us a complement and they say 30:22 oh, you've done such a nice job. 30:24 Oh, no not me, you know, 30:25 and we think we've done our self, yes I did. 30:29 It's like someone saying to Tiger Woods, 30:30 you're a good golfer. 30:31 He says, no, no, I can't golf, no. 30:35 Miniature golf may be, 30:36 but you know I am- that's not called humility, 30:41 that's called lying. 30:44 You know in the Bible Paul says in Romans 12, verse 3, 30:48 "That we ought to have a realistic knowledge of 30:51 who we are and what we have, 30:53 what we don't have, what our gifts are? 30:55 You can do that without being proud 30:57 and without having false humility. 31:00 Romans Chapter 12, verse 3, 31:01 "For I say though the grace given me to everyone 31:03 who is among you, not to think of them self 31:06 more highly than he ought to think." 31:09 You ought to have a realistic view 31:11 of who you are in Christ, seems like 31:15 we've got couple of extremes. 31:16 You probably met people that are so self conscious 31:19 that you're afraid, you walking 31:21 on in aids whenever you're around me, 31:22 you gonna afraid you gonna offend them. 31:24 You know these people who seems 31:25 so hypersensitive and insecure, that is a form of pride, 31:29 because they are preoccupied with what 31:32 every body thinks of them. 31:35 You know, something I've learn is I could never do 31:38 what I am doing if I was hypersensitive. 31:41 Now most you folks are here 31:42 I assume because you might be my friends, 31:45 you might like me, but can believe me 31:46 I get a lot of mail that is not very friendly. 31:51 Some of it's from outside the church. 32:00 And if I took everything, everybody said too seriously, 32:04 I'll just implode. 32:06 You just, you got to ask the Lord to give me 32:07 grace to be realistic. 32:09 Now somebody else brought to my attention, 32:14 I was praying in front of somebody one time 32:17 and I was praying that God would give us 32:20 humble hearts and he said 32:21 you are not suppose to pray that. 32:22 I said what? 32:23 He said no, nowhere in Bible do you find that. 32:26 He says what you find in the Bible, 32:27 it says humble your self. 32:30 God can humiliate you if you exalt yourself, 32:33 He can abase you, but what the Lord wants us 32:38 for us to choose to humble our self. 32:41 Just think about that as you read through 32:44 the number of scriptures, you'll be amazed 32:46 how often it says, it's in our scripture reading. 32:50 If we humble ourselves in pray, 32:52 that means we choose to humble ourselves. 32:57 This is one of the most important things 32:58 I think the church needs to learn, you know why? 33:02 Humility will promote, first of all, better Christianity. 33:07 When we humble ourselves before God, 33:09 we have a lot more peace. 33:11 So much of the trouble that we get into is 33:13 because of our pride. 33:16 So many of the disasters that we encounter is 33:18 because of our pride. 33:20 I have a little amazing fact for you. 33:23 I've got a scar under my left eye, 33:26 one of my left hand, one on my left foot, stitches. 33:32 All three times I was showing off. 33:36 It makes me think of the scripture, 33:37 if your eye offends you, if your hand offends you, 33:39 if your foot offends you. 33:42 Haughty Spirit goes before a fall. 33:44 I'll not give you the history behind all these things. 33:46 But every time I look at my left hand, 33:49 look in the mirror, you know, 33:50 I'm wearing glasses now, it's my left eye. 33:53 I had a bike accident, was showing off, 33:56 landed on my eye and stepped on a glass bottle, 34:01 showing off I was going to dive off 34:02 some rocks living in there cave up there 34:04 to some tourists that came by, 34:07 stepped on a baby food jar. 34:10 I don't know what it was doing in the creek, 34:11 I have never seen it before. 34:14 Cut my foot open and I've just got these little reminders 34:18 and God is like saying, you know, 34:21 a haughty spirit goes before a fall. 34:23 And in spite of that it is so natural for us 34:26 to gravitate back to the selfish pride. 34:32 You know when you're crucified with Christ, 34:36 you don't get offended near as much. 34:40 You've ever seen a dead person get offended? 34:42 I have done lot of funerals and you know, 34:45 often it's an open casket and people come up 34:48 and give a little testimony and sometimes 34:49 they may say something that's even bordering 34:51 and disparaging about the deceased. 34:54 I've never heard them complained or object. 34:58 The Bible says, he that is dead is freed from sin. 35:03 And if we are crucified with Christ, 35:06 that's where the real humility comes from. 35:08 We choose to experience that. 35:11 You probably heard the story about 35:13 when Muhammad Ali was at the peak of his career, 35:17 he wasn't known for being a humble boxer, 35:20 that's oxymoron, isn't it. 35:24 And he was in first class on this airplane 35:26 traveling somewhere and this steward, 35:28 this flight attendant came down the isle 35:31 and asked him to buckle his seatbelt. 35:34 And he says superman don't need no seatbelt. 35:38 And she said, that's true, 35:39 but superman don't need no airplane either, 35:41 so you gonna buckle your seatbelt. 35:47 No man should think more highly of himself 35:49 that he ought to think, the Bible says. 35:53 Here are some examples in the Bible of how 35:55 when we humble our self, what a radical difference 35:57 it can make? 36:00 You remember King Ahab, good king or bad king? 36:03 Bad. Bad king. 36:04 But you know even after he threw his wife Jezebel, 36:08 allowed Nabeth to be murdered, 36:10 so that he could take his vineyard. 36:13 When Elisha, the prophet confronted him 36:15 and condemned him for that. 36:16 The Bible says Ahab humbled himself greatly. 36:22 And you know, the Lord did, 36:23 even a wicked king like Ahab 36:26 because he humbled himself, the Lord prolonged his life 36:30 and gave him many more years of peace. 36:34 The Bible talks about when Josiah humbled himself 36:38 before the Lord, God said the curse 36:41 that I said I'm gonna bring I'm not bring in his days 36:43 because he has humbled himself. 36:45 The worst king whoever lived, what was his name? 36:50 Manasseh, well, you can probably take 36:51 an election between Ahab and Manasseh. 36:53 But Manasseh was definitely the longest living worst king. 36:56 Offered his children, put idols in the temple of the Lord, 37:01 55 years he reigned. 37:04 He was carried off to prison by the Assyrians 37:06 and while in prison he humbled himself greatly 37:10 before the Lord and the Bible heard his prayer, 37:13 even Manasseh. 37:16 So it's a prudent thing to do for us to humble ourselves 37:18 before the Lord, you can help postpone 37:22 or avert disaster and prolong your peace. 37:26 Andrew Murray said this, 37:28 humility is perfect quietness of heart. 37:32 It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing 37:34 that has done to me, to feel nothing done against me, 37:38 it is to be at rest when nobody praises me 37:41 when I'm blamed or despised it's to have a blessed home 37:44 in the Lord, where I can go and shut the door 37:46 and kneel to my father in secret 37:49 and I'm at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, 37:53 when all around and above is troubled. 37:57 That's why humility offers peace. 38:00 So much of our turmoil that we experience 38:03 is because we feel like someone took advantage of us 38:07 or they didn't appreciate us. 38:09 Or we were slighted and if you could trace it down, 38:15 coles into what the real problem is, analyze it. 38:19 The computer would spit out the word pride, 38:22 it's the great sin. It's the sin of the devil. 38:26 It's the sin he used to bring down the world 38:28 when He told Eve, you would be like God. 38:31 It was pride. 38:33 If we would humble ourselves and pray. 38:37 Haughty spirit goes before fall, you know, 38:39 when you're going through some form of judgment, 38:43 because you haven't humbled yourself. 38:45 The smartest thing to do is embrace the punishment. 38:49 Somebody once said, it always lessens the blow 38:53 if you draw near the one who holds the rod. Amen. 39:01 I know that my mom was about five feet three 39:07 and she didn't spank us very often, 39:09 she usually waited until she was in a fit of rage 39:14 but she wasn't very good at it. 39:16 Because I mean, she never played baseball or anything. 39:20 But she get a belt or something and trying to spank us 39:23 and you know, my brother and I would run around 39:25 like squirrels while she's trying to do it. 39:29 But we found that if we drew closer to her, 39:34 it makes it hard to hit somebody when they're hugging you. 39:43 John, you're the one who holds the rod. 39:47 Seven Testimonies page 210, 39:50 "Everyone has undiscovered traits of character 39:52 that must come to light through trial. 39:55 God allows those who are self sufficient 39:57 to be solely tempted 39:59 that they might understand their helplessness." 40:02 Now God often puts us to tests 40:04 like He did Hezekiah to find out, 40:07 but God already knows it, 40:08 so we can find out what's in our hearts 40:11 and often we find out that what's in our hearts 40:14 is this problem of pride. 40:17 Now I want you to consider something 40:18 that I think is one of the most important issues. 40:21 Would you like to be a better soul winner? 40:25 When we humble ourselves before the God, 40:27 before the Lord, it is the most important thing 40:30 that we can do to be more effective for Christ. 40:35 When was it that the disciples 40:37 had the greatest number of baptisms? 40:42 Well, you know, it does tell us that 40:43 they baptized during the time of Christ ministry. 40:46 Matter of fact, they baptized more people 40:48 than John the Baptist, it never gives us the number. 40:52 We know that by the Day of Pentecost, 40:54 there was only a 120 in the upper room, 40:56 but they have been arguing and fighting among themselves 40:59 which of them was the greatest. 41:03 Now I'm a pastor and so I still speak that language 41:09 and virtually all of the conflict 41:14 that we experience in churches 41:19 can be analyzed as pride. 41:22 Someone got a position on nominating committee board, 41:24 that's a real catalyst for trouble, isn't it? 41:27 If that doesn't do it for you, its former building committee 41:30 or a decorating committee or a music committee 41:35 and someone gets slighted, someone gets passed up, 41:40 they're not reinstated, 41:42 also when they stop coming to church 41:44 or they start a civil war. 41:47 You've been there, hah? 41:50 But when the disciples put aside their differences, 41:53 stop striving for the highest place, 41:57 that's when the Lord was able to pour out the Holy Spirit. 41:59 Amen. Amen. 42:00 Psalm 51, King David humbled himself before the Lord, 42:03 you know, after he sinned with Bathsheba. 42:05 He laid on his face for seven days. 42:09 When you humble yourself, it's a form of repentance. 42:13 A lot of people say they want to sin like David 42:16 and they say well, you know, David sinned 42:17 and God forgive him, but I found very few people 42:20 who are willing to humble themselves 42:21 and repent like David. 42:24 I've known a lot of church members 42:28 that have made the same mistakes that David made, 42:31 but not the arriving part, Bathsheba part, 42:36 but I've never seen any of them 42:37 lay on their face for seven days and weep. 42:41 He humbled himself 42:42 and you know, what his concern was? 42:43 Psalm 51, verse 12 and 13, 42:46 "Restore unto me the joy of your salvation 42:49 and uphold me with Your free spirit, 42:51 then I will teach transgressors 42:53 Your ways and sinners will be converted onto you." 42:56 Sinners will be converted. 42:58 Humble yourself before the Lord, 43:00 sinners will be converted. 43:02 Simon Peter fell down at Jesus feet 43:05 after Jesus filled the net, he said Lord, depart from me, 43:08 I'm a sinful man, he humbled himself 43:10 and you know, what Jesus said, 43:11 follow me now and you'll catch men. 43:14 After he humbled himself, 43:15 Jesus said now I can make you a fisher of men, 43:17 because you know you can't do it. 43:20 Whenever I go into an evangelist meeting, 43:23 and everything is running smoothly I get really scared, 43:27 that meeting is destined to flop. 43:30 But when before the meeting, we've all these challenges 43:33 and we need to humble ourselves 43:34 and get on our knees and beg for God 43:36 to bless for his namesake. 43:38 You know, it's really easy for me 43:39 to get my wires crossed 43:41 and think that a successful evangelistic meeting 43:44 is for my benefit. 43:47 And the Lord has to get my attention every now and then, 43:50 and say Doug, the success of this meeting 43:52 is not for your glory, it's for My glory. Amen. 43:57 You're surprised to hear me, admit these things, don't you? 44:02 That's true. 44:06 Only reason I'm feeling okay about telling you 44:08 as I just figure you probably the same way. 44:15 Isaiah falls down before the Lord, 44:18 he says Lord, it's me, I'm a sinful man. 44:20 I am a man of unclean lips, 44:21 and I dwell among the midst of people of unclean lips, 44:24 for my eyes have seen the King. 44:26 And then after he humbles himself before the Lord, 44:28 the Lord says who shall I send, 44:30 who will go for us? He says, here am I send me. 44:33 When did the conversion start to happen? 44:37 When they humbled themselves. 44:41 Nine testimonies 189, 44:44 "If we would humble ourselves before God, 44:47 and be kind, notice she says humble ourselves, 44:50 and be kind, and courteous 44:52 and tenderhearted and pitiful, 44:54 there would be a hundred conversions to the truth 44:57 where now there is one." 44:59 If we would humble ourselves. 45:03 And I'll tell you what. 45:05 It isn't easy because we're in the world today 45:11 that worships pride. 45:15 Everywhere you turn, we're being bombarded 45:18 with the message to worship yourself. 45:23 Number one magazine many years ago used to be Life, 45:27 then look, now they got a magazine called Self, 45:31 Life went out of business. 45:34 It tells you about the change 45:35 in people's perspectives, right? 45:38 We've become very self worshipping in our culture. 45:44 Humility will increase wisdom. 45:46 God will give wisdom to the humble. 45:48 Proverbs 11 verse 2, "When pride comes, 45:51 then comes shame, but with the humble is wisdom." 45:56 Somebody said that when your head swells, 45:59 your brain shrinks. 46:03 And isn't it true that when a person is proud, 46:05 they make really dumb decisions. 46:09 When Absalom was lifted up with pride, 46:11 he picked the wrong councilors and he died. 46:15 He rejected the wise councilor and he picked his friends, 46:18 that's what Abram did. Pride did it. 46:24 King Sol, God chose him and God said 46:26 when you're small in your own eyes, 46:28 I anointed you king. 46:30 But then he became big in his own eyes 46:31 and he was more concerned with what the people thought of him 46:33 than what the Lord thought of him. 46:35 He self destructed. 46:39 The devil will ultimately self destruct as well. 46:44 Look at some of the wisest people in the Bible. 46:48 Daniel, Bible says though he'd be wise like Daniel. 46:53 You know when Nebuchadnezzar said to Daniel, 46:54 are you able to interpret the dream? 46:56 Daniel humbled himself, he said no 46:57 but there's God in heaven, He will tell the king. 47:00 Joseph was brought before pharaoh. 47:02 He says I understand that you understand dreams 47:04 and he said God will give the pharaoh an answer. 47:07 They humbled themselves. 47:09 God was able to give them wisdom 47:10 because they would recognize 47:11 what the source of it would be. 47:17 I was thankful, I almost said something to over Gallimore 47:22 whenever I read that someone's gonna introduce me 47:24 that makes me very nervous. 47:27 Ah, my secretary, bless her heart, 47:32 ah, my mother-in-law is my secretary. 47:40 But unlike some mother-in-laws she likes me. 47:44 And conferences, when I go to camp meeting, 47:48 they'll say do you have a little bio on Doug? 47:51 She sends them three pages and figures, 47:53 they'll pick something out of it. 47:56 I went to a camp meeting one time, 47:57 they thought that I wanted them to read the whole thing, 47:59 I didn't even know they got it. 48:02 And so just before I got up to speak, 48:03 someone gets up and they read 48:05 these three pages, it is drippy stuff. 48:12 And you know when I got up to preach, 48:13 I felt absolutely useless. 48:18 Because I just, how can the Lord use me after that. 48:22 And so I always tremble, 48:23 I almost said hell to Gallimore, 48:25 the less you say the better. 48:28 No, really I mean that. 48:30 Because I've just know it's a rule of life. 48:32 If I want God to bless me with wisdom, 48:34 matter of fact, even while I'm preaching, 48:38 even while I'm preaching, 48:39 I'll hear the devil say, 48:41 oh, Doug that was really a good point 48:43 and I'll say you be quiet. 48:44 Lord, thank you for that, that point. 48:47 He didn't know I was schizophrenic 48:49 as I stood before you, hah? 48:51 Have these conservations within myself, 48:54 it's true, absolutely true. 48:56 And I want God to have the glory, I really do. 48:59 And it's battle that we fight all the time, 49:01 but you know why? 49:03 'cause the devil he can almost neutralize 49:05 anything God wants to do in us 49:06 and through us by inflating us. 49:13 Mama whale told the baby whale, 49:17 be careful when you get to the top 49:19 and you start to blow is when you get harpooned 49:23 and so the more God blesses 49:26 the more careful we need to be. 49:29 Haughty Spirit goes before a fall. 49:31 Christ's Object Lessons, page 154, 49:35 "The evil that led to Peter's fall, 49:38 that shut the Pharisee out of communion with God 49:40 is proving the ruin of thousands today. 49:43 There is nothing, nothing so offensive to God 49:47 or so dangerous to the human soul 49:50 as pride and self-sufficiency." 49:53 You know the condition of the Laodicean church is, pride. 49:57 They think they are rich and increase 49:59 with goods, its pride. 50:02 And they don't know, what their condition is 50:05 that they are poor and wretched and miserable 50:07 and blind and naked. 50:08 And have you notice that as you read the Bible 50:10 God deliberately goes out of his way 50:13 to choose the humble instruments. 50:16 And those are the ones you can operate through. 50:19 He did not reveal them resurrection to Peter, James 50:21 and John or even his own mother, 50:24 but to Mary Magdalene. 50:26 He didn't show all the treasure to the king 50:28 but he showed it to four lepers. 50:30 You know, the story I'm talking about-- 50:32 during the famine in Israel. 50:35 God chooses humble instruments. 50:39 So the more we allow the devil's propaganda 50:43 of trying to get route in our hearts 50:45 the less God can do through us. 50:50 We need to humble ourselves before the Lord. 50:54 You pra for me. 50:56 You know, I want the Lord to bless. 50:57 I want to be a great preacher. 51:00 Now do you know, why I mean that. 51:02 I do I want to be great for God and I mean that. 51:05 I want the Lord to use me as much as he possibly can. 51:09 But at the same time I want to maintain the balance 51:12 where I don't get where I start to think that it's me. 51:16 Because I know, you read the book of Job, 51:18 you can loose everything in one day. 51:21 Isn't that right? 51:23 Like Nebuchadnezzar you can loose your mind in one day. 51:25 Why did he loose his mind? 51:27 Pride, humility fosters wisdom, 51:30 pride breeds insanity. 51:34 You know, when you meet people they're crazy. 51:37 They all think they're Caesar and Napoleon. 51:40 They never think they're homeless. 51:44 Have you noticed that? 51:48 One of the things that keeps me perspective, 51:51 I don't know, if I should say this, 51:55 and do you guys have family radio? 51:57 Any of you in family, any of you of heard gone 51:59 in Harold Camping? 52:02 Yeah, I think I can say this, 52:06 Harold camping bless his heart. 52:08 I've talked to him before. 52:09 He started a great Christian radio station. 52:12 They got the best music out there, 52:14 some of the best I should say. 52:16 There're some good ones. 52:17 And but he comes on and he attempts 52:22 to answer Bible questions. 52:25 Matter of fact one of the reasons 52:26 that I wanted the Bible answer program 52:29 is because I listen to Harold Campaign, 52:30 I heard so many bad answers 52:32 I thought someone's got to get this right. 52:34 And the Lord opened the door 52:35 where I could have a Bible answer program. 52:37 But his answers were just so convoluted and weird. 52:41 I mean he predict the second coming of Lord 1996. 52:45 Any of you've heard that. 52:46 He's got he has probably got 52:48 one of the largest Christian radio programs 52:49 in North America stations anyway. 52:52 It helped our evangelistic meeting 52:54 when he predicted the second coming. 52:57 In the town where we were at that time. 52:59 But do you know I hear people get on the radio. 53:03 And now they would say, Brother Camping, 53:05 thank you for taking my call. 53:07 I just love you so much you're such a wonderful teacher. 53:11 You've the truth and it is going on and on. 53:14 And do you know whenever I'm inclined 53:19 to believe the compliments that people share with me. 53:23 I remember people compliment Brother Campaign too. 53:26 Somebody said to me one time compliments are like perfume 53:32 you can sniff it, but don't swallow. 53:37 Many a bee is drowned in his own honey, right? 53:40 So someone compliments you just take it graciously, 53:44 but don't take it too seriously. 53:48 The main point that I wanna leave with you 53:54 or may be before I get to that final point. 53:59 They told me I could go to 9:15 54:02 my watch is still on California time. 54:05 So, no I'm just kidding. 54:13 What can we do to encourage humility in our own hearts? 54:18 Well, there are several things we can do, 54:20 go visit Niagara Falls. 54:23 Go to the Redwood and stand at the base of the tree. 54:26 Get out in God's creation 54:27 and you begin to get perspective 54:29 of how small we really are. 54:31 When you look through a microscope 54:32 or look through a telescope 54:34 it really tells you, how big God is? 54:38 And helps us realize that we're not as much as we think. 54:41 Psalms 8, verse 3 and 4, "When I consider the heaven 54:43 in the work of your fingers the moon and the stars 54:45 that you've ordained what is man 54:47 that you're mindful of him. 54:49 But the son of man that you consider him." 54:52 These are some things you can do to stimulate it. 54:54 Look at the cross nothing will help you 54:59 get perspective better than if you calibrate your heart 55:02 at the foot of a cross. 55:05 Look at what Jesus did for you, why? 55:07 Because you're sinner. 55:10 And instead of standing and praying 55:12 Lord I think that I'm not as other man. 55:15 You'll smite upon your breast 55:16 and say Lord have mercy upon me a sinner. 55:20 Lord have mercy upon me a sinner. 55:25 Philippians, Chapter 2, verse 5 through 8, it says, 55:29 "Jesus humbled himself taking on the form of a servant. 55:35 He humbled himself and became obedient 55:37 even to the point of death. 55:38 Even to death of the cross." 55:43 You know, I'd like to close with our scripture reading. 55:49 "If my people who had called by my name 55:53 will humbled themselves and pray." 55:56 What's the best way to humble yourself? 55:58 In prayer ask God to forgive us 56:01 for our selfishness and our pride. 56:04 If we do this God want you to humble yourself, why? 56:07 If we humble ourselves He will lift us up, 56:09 James Chapter 4 says. 56:10 He wants to lift you up, but He can't lift you up 56:12 if you're lifting yourself up. 56:14 If we humble ourselves and submit before God, 56:18 He can then lift us up. 56:20 He who humbles himself will be exalted. 56:22 If you exalt yourself you'll be humble. 56:24 If my people that are called by my name 56:26 or humble themselves and pray and seek my face 56:29 and turn from their wicked ways. 56:31 You can't do that until you humble yourself. 56:35 Then God says, "I will hear from heaven 56:38 I'll forgive their sin I'll heal their land." 56:43 This is something God wants to do for the church. 56:45 He wants to pour out the Holy Spirit. 56:46 He wants to heal us spiritually. 56:48 He wants there to be a revival. 56:50 When was the revival in Israel? 56:52 When the people fell down on their knees 56:53 and they fell on their faces and they said, 56:56 the Lord he is God after those years of famine. 56:58 They said the Lord he is God, the Lord he is God. 57:01 Then he sent the rain, amen. 57:04 If we would humble ourselves as they did back then. 57:07 He has shown the old man what is good 57:10 and what does the Lord require of the-- 57:12 but to do justly to love mercy 57:16 and to walk humbly with thy God. 57:20 If you'd like to ask the Lord to give you the grace 57:25 and determination to humble yourself before Him, 57:29 do you lift your hands with me right now? 57:32 Lord helps us. 57:33 Let's pray, 57:34 Father in heaven thank you for this simple truth. 57:41 We can see that all the way from Genesis to Revelation, 57:44 that this is not only a battle between love and selfishness. 57:48 It's a battle between pride and humility. 57:50 The spirit of Christ and spirit of the enemy, 57:53 Lord the devil has painted pride 57:56 as something to be embraced. 57:59 He's tried to make it attractive 58:00 and he's tried to make it novel, 58:01 but we know that it is deadly, it's a sickness. 58:05 We pray to you'll cleanse us 58:06 from this unhealthy form of pride 58:09 and help us to have the mind of Christ who humbled Himself. 58:13 I pray that that mind will be in us 58:15 that we will let that mind be in us. 58:19 Please bless these people I pray that 58:22 as we reach the final weekend of this camp meeting. 58:25 We can all experience a total outpouring of Your spirit, 58:28 that will prepare us for the work you've us 58:30 to do in our homes, in our communities 58:32 and the second coming of Jesus 58:34 and it's in His name we pray, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17