3ABN On the Road

The Assurance Of Salvation

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Shelley Quinn

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Series Code: OTR

Program Code: OTR000578


01:01 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN On the Road.
01:03 We're live today in Salem, Oregon.
01:06 We've been having a wonderful time.
01:07 Haven't we, folks, all weekend? Amen.
01:10 We've been having a wonderful time.
01:11 The spirit of the Lord is indeed in this place.
01:14 If you're just joining us, thank you for allowing us
01:16 to come into your home as you do each and every day.
01:19 We've had a wonderful Sabbath last night and today.
01:22 And what I'd like to do to begin with,
01:25 I'd like to also say thank you to all of you here
01:28 that's coming and over on this side that's out here,
01:30 our live audience today.
01:31 But I'm especially happy to see the pastor,
01:34 senior pastor of this church, Brother Parks
01:36 and he has his family with him today.
01:38 And you all are,
01:39 we've asked you to sing a couple songs for us.
01:42 Why don't you introduce your family?
01:44 Minister to us, it's your church.
01:46 We're going to let you step as long as you want to,
01:48 you are the boss here.
01:49 But you all sing, and introduce your family,
01:51 and bless us with your music.
01:53 Thank you very much,
01:54 it's nice to be here in our own church.
01:55 Actually, thank you for redecorating,
01:57 I like it. It's very nice.
01:59 I like to introduce my wife, Shelly,
02:01 she's the best thing that ever dropped into my life.
02:03 She fell off of the waterfall and I caught her
02:06 and saved her life and then she owed her life to me.
02:08 So she did, she gave it to me.
02:11 And her name is Shelly,
02:12 and this is my oldest, Zachary.
02:14 And we thought we had a lot to say
02:17 about parenting until we had him.
02:19 And, but now he's slowly teaching us
02:22 and we're learning.
02:23 Ariana is our second in line and she is our box specialist,
02:28 she plays the piano beautifully.
02:31 And Emily Ann is five
02:34 and she actually rules the roost right now.
02:37 She's at that stage where they act like
02:38 they really don't know quite
02:39 what you're saying in the commands
02:41 and so they can say whatever they want,
02:42 and do whatever they want.
02:43 So if she sings with us, we're excited,
02:45 and if she doesn't, we're excited too.
02:48 Psalms 56:3-4 says,
02:51 "When I am afraid I will trust in You."
02:54 And for whatever you're going through right now
02:56 this is the promise, that when I am afraid,
02:58 we can trust in God.
03:00 He will not harm us. He loves us.
03:05 When I am afraid
03:07 I will trust in you
03:09 I will trust in you
03:12 I will trust in you
03:15 When I am afraid
03:16 I will trust in you
03:19 In God whose word I praise
03:24 When I am afraid
03:26 I will trust in you
03:28 I will trust in you
03:30 I will trust in you
03:33 When I am afraid
03:35 I will trust in you
03:38 In God whose word I praise
03:42 In God I trust
03:47 When I am afraid
03:51 In God I trust
03:55 In God whose word I praise
04:01 When I am afraid
04:03 I will trust in you
04:05 I will trust in you
04:08 I will trust in you
04:11 When I am afraid
04:14 I will trust in you
04:16 In God whose word I praise
04:23 Amen. Amen.
04:28 Emily Ann, that was beautiful, and the rest of you.
04:31 Yeah, we want to thank her for singing.
04:33 Thank you, Emily Ann.
04:36 In life there will come a time when fear is gone,
04:40 and we can quit,
04:41 we can put down our sword and shield,
04:43 we can quit fighting the battle.
04:46 Because the great controversy will be over,
04:48 because Jesus has done the work already.
04:51 Amen to that. Amen.
04:53 Going to lay down my sword and shield.
05:00 Gonna lay down my sword and shield
05:07 Down by the riverside
05:10 Down by the riverside
05:13 Down by the riverside
05:15 Gonna lay down my sword and shield
05:19 Down by the riverside
05:22 Down by the riverside
05:27 Gonna lay down my burden
05:33 Down by the riverside
05:36 Down by the riverside
05:39 Down by the riverside
05:41 Gonna lay down my burden
05:45 Down by the riverside
05:47 Down by the riverside
05:51 Down by the riverside
05:53 Gonna lay down my burden
05:56 Down by the riverside
05:59 Down by the riverside
06:02 Down by the riverside
06:04 Gonna lay down my burden
06:07 Down by the riverside
06:10 Down by the riverside
06:15 Down by the riverside
06:19 Down by the riverside
06:24 Amen. Thank you.
06:28 Beautiful.
06:30 I love it.
06:31 You all can come back to 3ABN and sing anytime you want.
06:34 In fact, this is an open invitation
06:36 for you to come back not only to sing,
06:38 pastor, but preach.
06:39 We love to have you back there.
06:41 Your church has told us
06:42 what a good preacher you are and we believe it for sure.
06:45 Isn't that great to see young people
06:47 and singing for Jesus?
06:49 Now they did such a great, great job.
06:51 Well, speaking of another young man,
06:53 well, he's young to me,
06:54 and I'd like to introduce to you Brother Jamie Jorge.
06:58 How many of you have seen Jamie on 3ABN?
07:00 All right, how many of you
07:01 are blessed by his ministry and music?
07:04 Okay, Brother Jamie,
07:05 you have a lot of supporters here.
07:06 We want you to take your time to minister,
07:08 to preach, to sing if you choose.
07:10 You said no earlier, just play,
07:12 but if you choose to sing, we'll try out on one song
07:15 and then we'll let you know about the rest
07:17 but we know that we love your talent
07:20 and you have given your talents to God,
07:23 and you have an incredible gift.
07:26 And we're glad that you're working at it,
07:27 we're glad that we know you're out on the front lines,
07:30 and we're going to continue to pray for you,
07:31 and uphold you as you go out
07:33 on the battlefields for the Lord.
07:35 Thank you and God bless you and your ministering to us.
11:18 I believe that only when we get to heaven
11:21 will we come to understand
11:23 a little bit better God's love for us
11:25 in sending Jesus to die for us
11:29 because it was a great deal
11:33 that he did for us.
11:36 And If he did so, why not take the opportunity
11:40 to accept that gift to salvation.
11:45 About a year ago or so we had a movie
11:47 that became very well known,
11:50 that came out about the crucifixion of Jesus.
11:56 And it made a lot of waves in many,
11:58 many different circles
12:00 and it did an amazing job
12:02 at concentrating on the physical punishment
12:06 and beating that Jesus took.
12:09 But the movie missed the point.
12:12 Because we are told that what caused Jesus'
12:17 greatest suffering was the fact
12:19 that He was being separated from His Father
12:22 by the sins of the world.
12:25 And not to downplay
12:26 what He went through physically through that suffering
12:29 but that apparently was nothing compared
12:32 to this emotional anguish that He went through.
12:37 And so when we say that,
12:40 ah, it's no big deal if we do this,
12:42 or no big deal if we do that.
12:45 It hurts Jesus when people sin,
12:49 that's what cost Him His life.
12:53 And this next song that I want to share with you
12:57 asks us the question if we were there.
12:59 And of course, none of us alive today
13:02 were at the crucifixion.
13:05 But for those that sin,
13:09 we may as well have been there
13:12 because it's those sins that crucified Him.
13:16 Yet, he was victorious over the cross,
13:20 He was victorious over sin, and over death, and over Satan.
13:24 And because of that,
13:26 we have the assurance of the gift of salvation.
13:30 He was crucified, He was nailed,
13:33 but He rose.
13:36 This spiritual is titled "Were you there."
20:23 Thank you, Jamie. Beautiful.
20:26 Just the way I taught him, just the way.
20:30 Not really, I'm just kidding.
20:33 I'm standing next to Micki, with Micki McDowell.
20:37 Let me get your microphone real close up here.
20:38 Okay.
20:40 All right. You're not nervous, are you?
20:41 Yes.
20:43 No, you're not nervous. All right.
20:45 Lord, help this young lady not to be nervous
20:47 because she's just standing up doing
20:49 what You've called her to do,
20:50 to be a witness unto all the world.
20:52 Tell me a little bit about yourself,
20:54 okay, your background.
20:56 Where you raised in a Christian home?
20:59 No, I was raised in...
21:01 You put this real close like this.
21:03 Raised in Southeastern Alaska, on a small Indian village.
21:06 Really?
21:07 Yeah? I came to Salem when I was 12.
21:10 Okay, you have a beautiful smile,
21:12 you look like everything in your life
21:14 just been a barrel of fun and a bed of roses,
21:16 probably nothing bad ever happened to you.
21:19 How am I doing?
21:21 Not now, things are great now.
21:23 Yeah, things are great now.
21:24 You've gone through a lot of things.
21:25 Tell me what happened.
21:27 Talk to me for a little bit just about your son.
21:29 My son?
21:30 I have my 10 year old boy, he's resting with the Lord,
21:34 it will be four years in a couple days.
21:37 We found out a year before he passed away
21:40 that he had a incurable bone marrow disease
21:44 and he had two bone marrow transplants
21:46 at Doernbecher Hospital.
21:48 And he loved the Lord, you know.
21:50 He loved the Lord.
21:51 He knew he was going to pass away
21:52 and he was okay with it.
21:54 And I look forward to seeing him again.
21:55 Okay, so you had a lot of questions
21:57 about where he was when he died?
22:00 I did. I did, I really,
22:02 I actually taught my other children
22:03 and I taught him that he would go straight to heaven,
22:06 because that's what I thought.
22:07 And you know,
22:09 he knew that he couldn't come back and talk to us,
22:12 you know, because it's not in the word
22:13 that he could.
22:15 But, you know, I thought he went to heaven.
22:17 And as I began watching 3ABN,
22:19 I started seeing that you know,
22:22 the word doesn't say that.
22:24 Well, how did you watch 3ABN?
22:26 How did you get the system?
22:28 I get it on the satellite, Three Angels' Satellite dish.
22:32 Okay. You have a dish, and so you decided,
22:36 I think you told me before that you had cable
22:39 but you want to shut it off, that you were tired of.
22:41 It's horrible.
22:42 Okay. Yeah.
22:44 Regular cable television,
22:45 but you heard of the system called Sky Angel,
22:47 and you wanted to purchase that?
22:49 Yes.
22:50 Well, there's a lot of channels but then for some reason
22:52 you started centering in on 3ABN, why?
22:54 I always, you know,
22:55 and now I don't even change
22:57 to the any of the other channels.
22:59 It's just I was, I was brought to it
23:01 what I heard was good,
23:03 you know, it was the word of God,
23:05 I stood with the word, It wasn't about worldly things.
23:09 It was about God.
23:10 Okay, who were some of the first people
23:13 that you started watching?
23:16 I am going to blank now.
23:18 Steve, you told me. That's right?
23:20 Yes. Steve Wohlberg was the one person where I learned.
23:22 The guy that we had last night here.
23:24 Last night, that was,
23:25 it was just incredible that he was here
23:27 because I never imagined I would meet him.
23:29 I learned so much truth
23:30 from watching him in his seminars, you know.
23:34 I got the Three Angel Message
23:35 about jewelry and about, you know,
23:39 the Sabbath especially, and just about the truth.
23:42 I didn't know any of those things
23:44 and it was awesome to have him here.
23:47 Were you praying for truth?
23:48 Yes.
23:50 Okay, you were asking God for truth
23:52 and you started watching 3ABN,
23:54 you believe that that was truth.
23:56 What about when they began to preach
23:58 on what happens to you when you die?
24:00 I mean, that's your's feeling that your son's in heaven
24:03 but all of the sudden
24:04 it sounds like that these preachers
24:06 are saying your son and those that die are just
24:09 resting in the Lord,
24:10 waiting for the second coming, how did that impact you?
24:14 At first, it was very confusing
24:16 and when I would go to the pastors
24:17 I know that they never had the right answers
24:20 until I spent time watching the 3ABN
24:23 and getting in the word.
24:25 And now I have such peace in it.
24:28 You know, I know that he'll meet me in the sky
24:30 when Jesus comes and--
24:32 All right.
24:34 Now are you a baptized member of the Adventist Church?
24:37 I was going to be baptized today but the Lord...
24:40 What happened?
24:42 I think 3ABN came to town.
24:43 Oh, that's what happen, 3ABN.
24:46 Well, we don't want to stand in a way of a baptism.
24:48 Is there any water around her, we could
24:50 Oh, no.
24:51 Maybe we could and so,
24:53 so you're putting it off,
24:55 you'll be baptize in next few weeks.
24:57 On the 30th, I'll be baptized, yes.
24:59 All right. Can you all say amen?
25:01 Amen.
25:03 Okay. You're doing a great job.
25:06 All right, see, Jesus says,
25:08 go and tell what I've done for you.
25:10 So you're already an evangelist
25:11 because now you're learning truth
25:14 and all you're doing is telling people
25:15 what Jesus has done for you.
25:16 So becoming, joining God's family has made
25:21 a big difference in your life, hasn't it?
25:22 Yes, it has.
25:23 You said you're happy now. Yes.
25:25 You wasn't always happy before?
25:26 Not at all.
25:27 Lot of questions that you had about now
25:29 and the afterlife has been answered.
25:32 You feel at peace about it?
25:33 I do. You do.
25:34 And I'm excited.
25:36 I ask God to do this
25:37 and well, it happened very quick.
25:39 He's a good God.
25:41 He answers all of our prayers, He supplies all of our needs.
25:45 And I see that in you, I see something,
25:47 a beautiful smile that only comes from someone
25:49 knowing Jesus and experiencing that relationship.
25:52 I want to do something special with you,
25:54 I want to pray and I want to ask
25:55 all of our viewers to pray,
25:57 and I am going to ask the church family here to pray.
25:59 Because Satan is not through with any of us,
26:02 he's out to steal, kill,
26:03 and to destroy but we have to understand that Jesus says,
26:06 He's come to give us life and give it more abundantly.
26:08 And so what I want to,
26:11 the church to agree with you is that the Lord
26:13 would put a protective hedge about you and your family.
26:17 And no matter what Satan tries to do,
26:19 you can look at him and basically laugh at him
26:21 and say, forget it, I don't belong to you,
26:23 I belong to God, right?
26:24 Right.
26:26 And so that you'll stay safely in the arms of Jesus.
26:28 You'll continue to read your Bible,
26:31 to watch 3ABN, to go to church,
26:33 and then most importantly,
26:34 to share with your friends and neighbors.
26:36 Go and tell what God has done for you.
26:39 The favor is on the go.
26:41 So now as you begin to witness to others,
26:43 that will be the greatest impact
26:45 that on some people
26:47 that it's not what they read, it's not what they hear.
26:49 But knowing you and seeing the change in your life,
26:53 people are going to say, I wonder,
26:54 I wonder what has Micki got,
26:56 I want whatever she has.
26:57 And of course, what they're seeing is you
26:58 as Jesus being lifted up.
27:00 And you remember Jesus says,
27:02 "I if I be lifted up from the earth
27:04 will draw all men unto me."
27:06 Micki, God bless you.
27:07 I want to say special prayer and I am going to ask
27:08 our viewers at home to pray.
27:10 Dear Father, we thank You
27:11 for Micki for her love for You,
27:14 for the beautiful smile that You have placed
27:17 within her heart so that she can smile
27:19 with the world because she has found answers
27:21 that she's been looking for, for so many years.
27:24 We thank You for Your Bible, for Your truths,
27:27 we thank You that you have allowed 3ABN
27:29 to reach out to people just like Micki
27:31 all around the world, people that are looking
27:34 for answers to this world's
27:35 problems not only day today but for tomorrow.
27:38 Thank You that most of all that she has found Jesus Christ
27:42 as Lord and Savior of her life.
27:44 Lord, we thank you for the opportunity of ministry
27:47 and now we just pray a protective hedge about Micki
27:49 that no matter what Satan tries to do to discourage her,
27:53 to get her to change her mind about being baptized,
27:56 to get her to look,
27:58 focus on other things of this world.
28:00 We just pray that as she looks to You,
28:02 the things of earth will grow strangely dim
28:05 in the light of Your glory and Your grace.
28:07 Thank You for hearing, for answering prayers.
28:10 Amen. Amen. Thank you.
28:11 All right. Anything else you want to say to the folk?
28:14 No.
28:16 All right, you okay?
28:17 I am okay. All right. God bless you.
28:18 Thanks so much. Okay.
28:20 She did great, didn't she? All right.
28:22 You can please be seated. Thank you.
28:24 Thank you.
28:28 Hey, now that's what I call fun.
28:30 How about you? That's fun.
28:31 I'd love to go to places
28:33 and hear testimonies of what God is doing
28:35 in the lives of people.
28:39 Where we travel, people come up and say,
28:41 I've been watching 3ABN,
28:42 for some people say, I've never joined a church,
28:45 I've never even set foot in an Adventist church,
28:47 but when we come to certain areas,
28:49 since they watch 3ABN, they'll show up at church
28:52 and we get to meet them
28:53 and introduce them to the church family here.
28:55 Next, I'd like to introduce my daughter Melody,
28:57 my brother Tommy.
28:59 And, Melody, you gonna be doing at least
29:00 a couple songs for us, okay.
29:17 Desperately she pushed her way
29:23 Through the crowd
29:26 They were crushing her now,
29:30 They were crying aloud
29:34 But she didn't care
29:38 It was her only hope
29:44 This was an issue of life
29:48 And she could no longer cope
29:53 If she'd ever be healed,
29:58 If she'd ever be whole
30:02 Then he was the one
30:06 And she knew in her soul
30:11 She had to touch him
30:15 Oh she said I can touch him
30:22 He's here within my reach
30:26 I can touch him
30:31 Oh I feel the healing flow
30:36 My faith has made me whole
30:41 It is Jesus and I can touch him
30:55 There comes a time
30:58 When you give all you can give
31:04 You've exhausted your mind
31:08 You don't think
31:10 You can live
31:13 Tormented by fear
31:17 You face the unknown
31:23 People are there
31:26 Yet you feel all alone
31:31 Then you reach out in faith
31:36 And confess once again
31:41 Jesus is here
31:44 And there's healing in him.
31:49 You can touch him
31:54 You can touch him
32:01 He is here within your reach
32:05 You can touch him
32:10 Oh just feel the healing flow
32:15 Your faith will make you whole
32:20 It is Jesus
32:23 and you can touch him
32:31 We can touch him
32:38 He is here within our reach
32:42 We can touch him
32:46 Oh, just feel the healing flow
32:52 Your faith will make you whole
32:57 It is Jesus
33:00 And we can touch him
33:05 It is Jesus
33:11 It is Jesus
33:17 And we can touch him
33:31 This next song I wasn't planning on doing
33:33 but I had a request from Karen Firestone.
33:37 And it's entitled "I Know The Plans,"
33:39 it's the song that Dave Layman
33:41 and I wrote based on Jeremiah 29:11.
33:45 Are you going to sing it with me?
33:48 He said, should he?
34:09 I know it may seem hopeless
34:12 The darkness closes in
34:16 You're tired and you're weary
34:19 As you look at where you've been
34:23 You can't see beyond the present
34:26 When you're looking at the past
34:29 You thought things would turn out differently
34:33 Then you hear God say at last
34:37 I know the plans I have for you
34:44 And they are plans to prosper you
34:51 To give you hope and a future
34:56 Lead you on life's journey
34:59 Call on me and I will see you through
35:05 I know the plans I have for you
35:17 The rocks and cliffs may leave some scars
35:20 You thought too deep to heal
35:24 You're desperate and you're broken
35:27 And life seems all too real.
35:31 The road may take you on a path
35:34 That changes all your plans
35:38 But that's when God takes over and says
35:42 Leave it in my hands
35:45 I know the plans I have for you
35:52 And they are plans to prosper you
36:00 To give you hope and a future
36:04 Lead you on life's journey
36:07 Call on me and I will see you through
36:13 I know the plans I have for you
36:20 And though your dreams may have died
36:24 You're hurting inside
36:28 God has something better for you
36:34 He knows the plans He has for you
36:41 And they are plans to prosper you
36:48 To give you hope and a future
36:53 Lead you on life's journey
36:56 Call on Him and He will see you through
37:02 God knows the plans He has for you
37:17 Aren't you glad that God has plans for you?
37:20 That His plans for us is to prosper,
37:23 to do well and to make it to the kingdom of heaven.
37:31 Thank you, Melody.
37:32 Next, I'd like to introduce Sister Shelley Quinn.
37:36 She taught Sabbath school here for this morning,
37:38 Shelly's been a great addition, she and her husband JD
37:41 to Three Angels Broadcasting Network.
37:43 She is a woman of the word,
37:45 studies the word and she's, God has given her great gift
37:48 for teaching and for sharing.
37:49 And we've asked her to spend the next few minutes
37:51 sharing whatever's on her heart with you.
37:57 When Danny told me last night
37:59 that I had 20 minutes to speak this afternoon,
38:02 I prayed and I asked the Lord,
38:03 what would You have me share this afternoon.
38:06 And immediately I was impressed with the idea
38:11 that I should speak on the assurance of salvation.
38:15 Now, in just a few minutes
38:16 it's difficult to talk about that.
38:18 So again I prayed
38:20 and I continued to pray and said,
38:21 Lord, are you sure that's what you'd have me to speak on?
38:24 But you know something, this morning it was so,
38:28 isn't it wonderful how God works?
38:30 He sent me not one but three people
38:33 who were saying, I'm not sure that I'm ready,
38:37 I'm not sure that I'm saved.
38:40 And I thought, okay, Lord, that's confirmation
38:42 that this is what You want me to talk about.
38:45 If you have your Bibles,
38:46 please open to Ephesians 2 and verses,
38:51 we're going to start with verse 5, Ephesians 2:5.
39:03 Actually I want to start with verse 8.
39:07 Ephesians 2:8, the Bible says,
39:10 "For it is by grace that you have been saved
39:14 and that not of yourself.
39:17 This salvation came as a gift from God,
39:23 not because of the works that you've done,
39:25 lest any man should boast
39:28 for we are God's own handiwork.
39:32 We are his workmanship,
39:34 recreated in Christ Jesus
39:37 that we may do those good works
39:40 which God predestined for us
39:44 before hand that we should walk in them."
39:47 Now, let me ask you something.
39:50 Are we saved by grace?
39:52 Yes, through faith.
39:56 What happens if we don't have
40:00 faith to believe that we are saved?
40:05 If we are saved by grace through faith,
40:08 it takes those two things,
40:09 what happens
40:11 when we don't have the faith to believe that we are saved?
40:16 What does the Bible say in Hebrews 11:6?
40:21 "Without faith it is impossible to please God."
40:28 I remember one day
40:30 when I was looking at that scripture
40:32 and I went before the Lord and I said,
40:34 Lord, you walked this earth,
40:37 You know what it's like down here.
40:40 You know how confusing it is for us,
40:43 You have been tempted
40:44 with everything that we've been tempted.
40:46 How can You say without faith
40:48 it's impossible to please You.
40:51 Because walking by faith and not by sight is difficult,
40:55 is it not?
40:57 It certainly is for me at times.
41:00 And so I was earnestly asking God,
41:03 show me why, Father, help me to understand
41:06 why can't I please You without faith.
41:09 Is that the way you study your Bible?
41:12 I want to encourage you,
41:13 when you don't understand something,
41:14 go before the Lord and ask Him.
41:17 And say, why, Lord? He is eager to teacher us.
41:22 And immediately He took me to 1 John 5:10,
41:27 and I would like you to open your Bible there, 1 John 5:10.
41:36 This is the answer
41:38 why we cannot please God without faith.
41:45 I've got a new Bible
41:46 and my pages are sticking together.
41:49 1 John 5:10 begins like this,
41:52 and I'm reading from the amplified,
41:54 "He who believes in the Son of God,"
41:58 he who trusts in Him, he who relies on Him,
42:02 he who adheres to His teachings.
42:04 "He who believes in the Son of God
42:06 has the testimony within himself,
42:12 he who does not believe God
42:14 in this way has made him out to be," a what?
42:21 A liar.
42:22 "A liar."
42:25 When you won't accept God's testimony,
42:30 it is like a slap in the face to our creator,
42:35 to our Father God.
42:36 We are saying to him, you're a liar.
42:42 Can God lie? No, He cannot lie.
42:46 So we got to accept His testimony.
42:49 And let's see, let's read on in here
42:52 what the testimony about His son is.
42:54 "This is the testimony, God gave us eternal life
43:00 and this life is in whom?
43:04 "In his son.
43:06 And he who possesses the Son has life.
43:10 He who does not possess the Son does not have life."
43:15 Do you possess the Son of God?
43:20 Have you been born again?
43:22 If you have been,
43:24 now I want to clarify one thing,
43:26 I'm not talking about assurance of salvation
43:30 being once saved, always saved.
43:34 We can backslide to the point that we apostatize
43:38 and turn away from God.
43:40 But God intends for you
43:43 to have assurance of your salvation.
43:46 I was teaching once and a little lady came up to me
43:48 and she said, Sister White says
43:50 that we cannot say that we are saved.
43:54 She had taken that out of a compilation works
43:57 of Sister White.
43:59 And it did more or less read that way in this compilation.
44:03 But in context in her writings
44:06 she said that we cannot say
44:09 we are saved in the essence of being
44:12 once saved, always saved.
44:14 But what she did say is that we can have
44:17 assurance of our salvation.
44:19 And that's what I want you to have today.
44:23 You know the Bible says
44:26 in John 3:3-5, Jesus told Nicodemus,
44:31 "Unless you be born again
44:32 you cannot see the kingdom of God.
44:35 Unless you be born of water and the spirit,
44:40 you cannot enter the Kingdom of God."
44:43 I believe it's two stages, we first see the truth
44:47 and then we enter into this truth.
44:50 But when you are born again of the Spirit of God,
44:55 you possess the Son.
44:57 And the Bible says in 1 Peter, let's turn there.
45:00 In 1 Peter 1:23.
45:03 How are we born again? First, by the Spirit of God.
45:07 I won't say first.
45:08 Let's just say
45:10 there's two components, by the Spirit of God.
45:13 And in 1 Peter 1:23, the Bible says,
45:17 "You have been born again not from a mortal origin,
45:23 but from one that is immortal
45:25 by the ever living and lasting Word of God."
45:31 We are born again by the word.
45:33 "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word,"
45:39 Romans 10:17.
45:40 So we are born again by the word and by the Spirit
45:44 and when we are born again, we possess the son.
45:49 And what did we just read in 1 John 5:10-15,
45:55 that we, when we possess the Son of God,
45:58 we have immortal life.
46:01 In James 1:18, let's look there very quickly
46:04 because this combines both of these.
46:07 In James 1:18, this is, we got to have
46:13 our spiritual Nike shoes on because we're going
46:15 to just kind of run through these quickly.
46:18 But it is so important
46:21 because I meet so many precious souls
46:24 who are tormented,
46:26 who do not know that they have assurance of salvation.
46:30 And if you don't believe you can have
46:32 assurance of salvation, it's like you're saying,
46:34 I don't have faith to believe you, Father.
46:37 James 1:18 to begin with,
46:42 "It was of His God's own free will
46:46 that He gave us birth as his children by," what?
46:52 "By His word of truth."
46:54 Born again of immortal seed, seed that cannot perish,
46:59 imperishable seed.
47:01 "So that we should
47:03 be a kind of first fruits of His creatures."
47:08 God has given us birth by his immortal.
47:13 word of truth.
47:15 And then turn over and let's look
47:16 at verses 21 and 22 in this,
47:20 because we will see
47:24 the spirit comes into play as well.
47:31 He says, "But be doers of the Word
47:33 and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves.
47:39 For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it
47:42 and being a doer of it, he is like a man
47:45 who looks carefully
47:46 in the natural face in a mirror."
47:49 But then it's like he's observing himself,
47:51 observing who he is in Christ.
47:55 But then he walks away and forgets what he looks like.
47:59 We play a part in this, do we not?
48:03 We definitely do play a part.
48:06 But salvation, there is nothing that you
48:09 and I can do to save ourselves.
48:12 Amen?
48:14 Nothing.
48:16 And that thrills me to know that salvation is God's work.
48:21 It is all up to God.
48:23 But he tells us in Ephesians, excuse me,
48:26 in 1 Corinthians 1:30, the Bible says,
48:29 it is because of God that we have been positioned
48:34 in Christ Jesus who has become for us our wisdom from God,
48:40 our righteousness from God,
48:43 our sanctification and our redemption.
48:46 When you are born again
48:48 you are placed in the body of Christ,
48:51 you're positioned spiritually in Christ Jesus.
48:55 And unless you divorce yourself from God,
48:57 you have assurance of salvation.
49:00 Absolutely, totally.
49:02 Let's look at Ephesians again,
49:04 and I want to go Ephesians 4:30.
49:07 I've got so many scriptures running around in my mind.
49:10 I wrote down a few but I'm just thinking,
49:13 oh, Lord, give us assurance of the salvation.
49:17 And in Ephesians 4:30, the Bible says this.
49:26 Looking at the wrong chapter, that's why.
49:28 He says, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God
49:33 by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
49:39 God has branded you, if you will.
49:42 He has put a deposit down on you in earnest,
49:45 saying, this is my property, you belong to me,
49:50 this is my child, you are mine.
49:53 But we can count on God to complete the good work
49:57 that He began in us if we will merely cooperate with Him.
50:02 Philippians 1:6,
50:04 Paul says that we can be confident
50:08 that He who began a good work in us
50:12 will complete it, until that day.
50:16 And he says in Philippians 2:13.
50:19 Let's turn there
50:20 because I'd like to read that to you.
50:22 And I'd like to read it to you from the Amplified.
50:24 In Philippians 2:12-13.
50:33 Philippians 2 says,
50:36 I am going to begin with kind,
50:37 I am not going to read the whole thing to you.
50:40 Listen from the Amplified,
50:41 this may help your understanding.
50:45 "Therefore, my dear ones,
50:47 as you have always obeyed my suggestions so now,
50:50 not only with the enthusiasm you would show in my presence
50:54 but much more because I am absent,
50:57 work out your own salvation."
51:00 And the Amplify says, the work out,
51:04 is explaining what the Greek is saying there,
51:06 "Cultivate it, carried out to the goal,
51:09 fully complete your own salvation
51:12 with reverence
51:14 and awe and trembling, with self-distrust,
51:18 with serious caution, with tenderness of conscience,
51:23 watchfulness against temptation,
51:26 timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God
51:30 and discredit the name of Christ.
51:33 And I used to read this verse and I would tremble.
51:37 And I would think, oh, Lord, help me,
51:40 help me to work out my own salvation.
51:42 Oh, Lord.
51:43 I tried so hard to work out my own salvation.
51:48 But then finally one day the Lord said this,
51:52 read the next verse, go on with it my child.
51:56 And you know what he says in the next verse,
51:58 "But not in your own strength for it is God
52:01 who is working in you to will
52:04 and to do according to His good pleasure."
52:09 Those are two different steps
52:11 God first works in us to line
52:14 our will in agreement with His will.
52:18 And then once He's got us where we're desiring
52:21 what He desires, there is another,
52:25 He will, He promise us
52:26 He's going to work in us to do.
52:28 But will God force us to do anything?
52:30 No.
52:32 So what do you think there exists between
52:34 God working in us to will and God working in us to do.
52:40 One simple step of faith.
52:43 When God lines your will up with His will,
52:46 He says take that step of faith.
52:48 And as soon as you step out in face saying,
52:51 yes, Lord, I want to do what you have asked of me,
52:55 then the power of God shows up and He works in you to do
53:00 according to His good pleasure.
53:02 Hallelujah.
53:04 Isn't that exciting to know
53:06 that we are 100 percent dependent upon God,
53:10 just as Jesus.
53:11 We spoke of this in Sabbath school this morning.
53:14 When He emptied Himself of all of His glory
53:18 that He had with the Father before the world began,
53:21 when He emptied Himself and came down to earth,
53:25 He put himself in the very same position
53:27 that you and I would have to be in,
53:29 where He was totally dependent upon the Word of God,
53:32 upon the Holy Spirit's power
53:34 and upon communing with the Father.
53:36 And He showed us that it could be done.
53:38 So we want to know
53:40 that we can have assurance of our salvation.
53:44 Turn to Hebrews 12, Hebrews 12.
54:00 Hebrews 12.
54:03 Actually, I wanted to go to verse--
54:05 to Chapter 13.
54:08 The Bible says in Hebrews 13,
54:11 we're going to begin with verse 20.
54:15 "Now may the God of peace,"
54:18 Jehovah Shalom,
54:22 "May he, who brought again
54:24 from among the dead our Lord Jesus,
54:27 that great Shepherd of the sheep,
54:30 by the blood of the everlasting covenant,
54:34 may he strengthen you and make you
54:37 what you ought to be,
54:39 Make He equip you with everything good thing
54:42 that you may carry out His will,
54:45 while He Himself works in you
54:48 and accomplishes
54:49 that which is pleasing in His sight,
54:53 through Christ Jesus."
54:56 You and I are in the same boat.
55:00 For us to be saved, we have to accept the gift.
55:05 And once we've accepted the gift through faith,
55:09 the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17,
55:12 that we have been born again, we are new creations.
55:16 The old is gone and the new has come.
55:19 The problem is we spend so much time
55:22 looking back into the past, don't wait.
55:25 And we find out that
55:27 some of that stuff is following us
55:29 and we think all the old hasn't gone.
55:32 Has the new really come?
55:34 Then, Lord,
55:35 why am I still doing these things?
55:39 Because, Romans 4:17,
55:41 the Bible says that God calls things
55:43 that are not as though they already were.
55:46 The day that you said,
55:48 I will receive You, Lord Jesus as my Savior."
55:51 If you were born again of His Word
55:54 and His Spirit then this is the testimony
55:57 of God that you have eternal life.
56:01 Will you receive it? By faith.
56:04 Will you accept it?
56:06 And know that Romans 5:17 says that those who have received
56:11 an abundance of grace
56:13 and the gift of righteousness
56:16 will rule and reign in life through Christ Jesus.
56:22 Yes, we can turn our back on God.
56:27 Most of us though are not turning our back.
56:29 You know what we're doing?
56:31 Most Christians today,
56:32 I find are walking in the right direction,
56:36 it's just they're turning their head all the time.
56:39 One day the Lord clearly impressed
56:42 this thought upon my mind.
56:43 He said, turned to me full face, my child.
56:46 You're going in the right direction
56:48 but get your eyes on Jesus Christ,
56:51 the author and finisher of your faith,
56:53 quit looking behind and look forward.
56:57 I want to encourage you today,
56:59 you can have assurance of your salvation
57:03 as long as you are surrendering
57:05 control of your life to Christ.
57:08 And I want to tell someone out there who is watching,
57:12 who has not made that move yet
57:14 because they think that they are so unworthy
57:18 that God could not love them.
57:20 I want to tell you that you are worth
57:23 nothing less than the price that Jesus Christ paid for you
57:27 while you were still a sinner.
57:29 He paid with His own blood,
57:32 that's how much you're worth.
57:34 So everyone in here
57:36 who is the redeemer to the Lord,
57:37 the Lord, Psalm 107:2 says,
57:40 let the redeem of the Lord say so.
57:42 And I want you to repeat after me,
57:44 I am the redeem of the Lord.
57:50 Hallelujah.
57:51 Hallelujah.
57:53 You've got assurance of your salvation


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Revised 2016-03-03