Participants: C.A. Murray
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000021A
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00:32 I invite you now to turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 11.
00:35 to Matthew chapter 11. 00:38 Matthew chapter 11, and we want to consider verses 20-24. 01:01 We're expanding it just a little bit. 01:07 Matthew 11:20-24. Gracious Father be 01:15 pleased to speak this day. 01:17 Teach us those things that You would have us to know. 01:20 Help us Lord to do them that in so doing we may be children 01:27 of the Most High God. 01:29 And we thank You, Father, in Jesus' name, Amen. 01:33 Matthew 11, I begin at verse 20. 02:50 The title of our message is, Capernaum As Metaphor. 02:55 Capernaum As Metaphor. 03:02 Every now and again my mind turns to... 03:05 And I was talking with Pastor Lomacang just the other 03:09 day on this subject. 03:10 ... the many around us that are lost. 03:17 It seemed more evident when I was in New York, 03:20 particularly on Sabbath morning. 03:22 We'd travel to church and you'd see the thousands, 03:25 upon thousands, upon thousands of people; 03:28 some coming in from their Friday night binges, 03:31 others wandering aimlessly. 03:33 And I was moved to ask myself, and ask the Lord, How are we 03:38 going to save all of these people? 03:40 How are we going to get all of these millions of people? 03:46 And you can repeat that in any large city 03:49 anywhere on Planet Earth. 03:51 How are they going to know? 03:52 How are they going to learn? 03:54 And how are they going to be saved? 03:58 And sometimes I wonder even about the people here at 3ABN. 04:05 Because everybody that works at 3ABN is not 04:09 Seventh-day Adventist. 04:11 And I wonder many times how, or what the Lord is going to do 04:18 to insert Himself into the lives of those who are 04:28 resistant to His moving's. 04:30 You see, because the truth is if you are around the things of 04:36 God, and remain unmoved by the call of God, 04:41 you have to resist that call. 04:44 If you're on camera in the presence of a sermon, 04:50 or if you're in the control room listening to a testimony, 04:57 to remain resistant to that testimony you've got to, 05:04 in a sense, harden your heart. 05:06 Are you listening to me? 05:08 You've got to. Because there is with the preaching of the word, 05:13 there is in the presence of the word, a call of God through the 05:18 power of the Holy Spirit, on everyone who is in the 05:21 presence of that word. 05:23 It's just part of the word. 05:26 And the power is not in the human instrument. 05:28 It doesn't matter who's preaching. 05:30 The power is in the word. 05:31 So if you're in the presence of the word, then that power is 05:36 exercising its self in your life. 05:39 It's trying to get in. 05:41 Now the only way to keep it out is for you to bar the door. 05:46 Now you can bar the door so subtly that you don't even 05:52 know you've got your foot against the door. 05:54 But the Holy Spirit knows, and sooner or later you will know. 05:58 So I worry about those who spend time at 3ABN and yet 06:03 show no real interest in the things of God, because they are 06:10 defecto hardening their hearts. 06:13 And Ellen White says every time you say no it becomes easier 06:19 to say no the next time. 06:21 You may not even know that you're resisting the power of 06:26 God, but in fact you are. 06:30 Now that's not the sermon. 06:34 That's just some preamble. 06:35 I needed to get that out, because that's a burden that 06:37 I have at this point in my life. So forgive me. 06:41 Let's define some terms. 06:45 First of metaphor. 06:46 A metaphor is a statement or a word that really stands 06:52 for something else. 06:53 So you use this word, but really you are 06:57 saying something else. 06:59 So Capernaum then is a metaphor for something else 07:04 that I believe the Lord is trying to show us. 07:10 This series of statements that we just read in Matthew 11, 07:14 this invective is recorded by Matthew and by Luke. 07:20 And you will find, interestingly enough, a lot of the things that 07:24 are written in the book of Matthew also find their way 07:27 into the book of Luke. 07:28 They parallel in many, many instances. 07:31 We will see a couple of them here today. 07:33 But in Matthew 11:21-24 that we read, we see Christ's 07:41 sentiments and feelings. 07:44 And they are strikingly similar to the words that 07:48 are found in Luke 10. 07:51 So I'm going to ask you to turn with me to Luke 10 very quickly. 07:54 Luke 10, and we will begin reading I believe at about 13. 07:59 Turn over to Luke 10 if you will, and we will see the 08:05 striking parallels between Matthews words and Luke's words. 08:10 Then, of course, they didn't confer. 08:11 They wrote in different places at different times. 08:13 But their terminology is strikingly similar. 08:18 Here we go, Luke chapter 10. 08:20 I'm picking it up at verse 13. 08:26 The term Bethsaida means house of fish. 08:29 Beth, house of, saida, fish. 08:55 This is a little something Luke adds that Matthew does not have. 09:12 These words uttered by Jesus are among the strongest 09:18 denunciations against a city and its people to be found 09:23 anywhere in the Bible. 09:24 Jesus here is comparing Jewish towns to Gentile towns. 09:32 And His audience fully recognized what 09:36 He was trying to say. 09:37 This was, to their fine Jewish sensibilities, 09:41 a slap in the face. 09:43 You're comparing three Jewish towns to two Gentile towns, 09:51 Tyre and Sidon, which were both Phoenician pagan cities that had 09:57 a relationship going back many years with Israel. 10:01 And so when Christ said to the people, It's going to be better 10:07 for Tyre and Sidon than it will be for you, they realized the 10:12 sting of those statements. 10:14 Because in the book of Ezekiel, not once but twice, 10:18 Tyre and Sidon are used as a metaphor for the Devil himself. 10:23 So Christ is saying some strong things here. 10:26 Ezekiel 28:12, I'll give you the reference, and Ezekiel 27:2. 10:32 Tyre and Sidon are used as a metaphor for Lucifer. 10:38 Capernaum was invade against by Christ for her impenitent 10:47 attitude and ingratitude, unfaithfulness in the face of 10:56 great blessings and goodness from God. 10:58 By the way, Ellen White says this over and over 11:00 again, many, many times. 11:02 One of the things that's going to keep some people... 11:04 If it doesn't keep you out of the kingdom, it certainly will 11:08 keep you from enjoying the greatest goodness that God has 11:11 to give is ingratitude. 11:14 Over and over again she talks about ingratitude. 11:18 The things that God does for you you ought to be grateful 11:24 for, and you ought to audibilize that gratitude. 11:29 You ought to say you're grateful for, not so much because God 11:35 doesn't know your heart, you need to hear yourself say 11:38 you're grateful for those things. 11:40 Because even when bad things happen to us, every bad thing 11:47 that happens to you on this side of the close of probation 11:53 is mingled with mercy. Amen! 11:58 So you break the car. 12:02 You don't break your neck. Amen! 12:09 So the house burns down, but you're not in it. 12:19 So you lose job A, but you get job B. Amen? Amen! 12:27 So there is no guarantee that bad stuff 12:31 will not happen to you. 12:33 You understand that? 12:35 Christians get cancer, and Christians get headaches, 12:38 and Christians get divorced, and Christians get fired, 12:43 and bad stuff happens to Christians. 12:47 The only difference between the Christian and the non-Christian 12:52 is when the bad stuff happens to you, you got Jesus. Amen! 12:58 You understand that? 13:00 So you got somebody to go to, you got somewhere to go, 13:04 and you are not hopeless, cause Christians die just 13:10 like non-Christians. Amen! 13:13 When the Bible says, If a man dies, shall he live again? 13:16 It's a rhetorical question. 13:18 Oh, yeah. So stuff is going to happen. 13:23 But you've got somebody to go to. 13:26 You've got somebody's head... 13:28 Ah, you've got somebody's bosom in which to lay your head, 13:32 and you're not alone. Amen! 13:36 So for those things you ought to be grateful. Amen! 13:43 Hello walls! Amen! 13:49 Bad stuff is going to happen, but you've got Jesus. Amen! 13:55 Amen? I said, Amen! Amen! 14:06 So Capernaum is, can I use the term called out by Christ, 14:13 because of an impenitent attitude, rank in gratitude, 14:20 unfaithfulness in the face of the blessings 14:24 and goodness of the Lord. 14:27 The Bible says, and Matthew makes it plain, 14:29 this is the region where Christ did most of His mighty miracles. 14:35 A lot of good stuff happened in Capernaum. 14:39 And then Matthew says it's going to be better for Sodom 14:44 in the day of judgment than Capernaum. 14:47 That's strong language. 14:52 I'm in the book, Gospel Workers. page 462. 14:55 You can write it down, Gospel Workers, 462. 14:57 Our Savior is more deeply afflicted by ingratitude 15:03 and disobedience than is a tender loving mother by the 15:08 misconduct of a wayward child. 15:10 Do you know anything about wayward children? 15:15 You know how it hurts your heart when you raise a child, 15:17 and put all you can into a child, and that child literally 15:22 spits in your face? 15:23 Do you know how it makes you feel? 15:25 I don't want your God. 15:27 I don't want your money. 15:28 I don't want your love. 15:29 I don't want your discipline. 15:31 I don't want anything to do with you. 15:35 If you have a wayward child, or a wayward 15:37 grand child, it's terrible. 15:44 You know, the first thing, the first thing that happens when 15:48 you come to the Lord, and you really bite down on religion, 15:53 the first thing that happens is a desire to share 15:56 it with other people. Amen? 15:57 Particularly your family. Amen! 16:01 You know, when you really understand how good God is, 16:05 and how God can help you, and how God blesses you, 16:08 the first thing you want to do is for everybody 16:11 else to pick that up. 16:12 And sometimes, and you've got to be forgiven for this, 16:15 sometimes you can make yourself a little bit of a pest. 16:19 But it's because you want so badly for them 16:22 to have what you have. Amen! 16:25 So if you've got a child who is knocking his head against the 16:29 sidewalk, you want that child to know you don't have to 16:32 live that way anymore. 16:33 I know somebody who can help you with that. 16:36 And to have a child reject that, and reject... That hurts! 16:43 Or to have a parent reject that, or a sister reject that, 16:47 or a brother reject that. 16:49 When I gave my heart to the Lord the first person I went 16:53 and dealt with was my sister. 16:55 And then the next person was my mother. 16:58 And I determined... I told the pastor, I want to come home 17:01 to my home church and do a week of prayer. 17:03 And I actually told Him, Lord this week my mother is leaving 17:07 the African Methodist Episcopal Church and becoming 17:10 Seventh-day Adventist. 17:11 I claimed her for Jesus. 17:13 I preached Monday, made an appeal. 17:14 She sat there. I preached Tuesday; made an appeal. 17:16 She sat there. I preached Wednesday; made an appeal. 17:18 She sat there. I preached Thursday; made an appeal. 17:19 She sat there. Friday night I said, Lord this is the night. 17:22 I preached fifteen minutes and I appealed for forty. 17:30 I said, That woman is getting out of that seat tonight! 17:37 So I did everything Ellen White says. 17:39 I took her to the cross. 17:40 I held her over the flames of hell. 17:44 I talked about the love of Jesus. 17:46 I talked about going to heaven and being left here by herself. 17:49 I did everything I could; I preached. 17:52 And she's rocking and crying. 17:53 Sitting in the bench rocking and crying, rocking and crying, 17:56 rocking and crying, rocking and crying. 17:58 And after forty solid minutes of appeal up she stood, 18:04 joined the Seventh-day Adventist church, and was the happiest 18:09 person on the planet till the day she died. 18:12 Loved being a Seventh-day Adventist! 18:16 Loved it! So when you come to the Lord the first thing you 18:20 want to do is bring others who need to come to the Lord. 18:23 That's, that's part of having that burning, 18:25 that fire shut up in your bone. 18:27 And when your child, or your parent, or your brother, 18:30 or your sister rejects that it hurts! 18:36 But it doesn't hurt as bad as it does when we reject Jesus. 18:40 And Ellen White says Christ is wounded deeply 18:48 when people reject Him, when they turn their backs on Him, 18:53 when they don't serve Him, when they are 18:57 ungrateful and disobedient. 19:03 I'm in the book, Messages to Young People. 19:07 Messages to Young People, page 365. 19:10 Here's a term that I never thought I'd 19:12 hear Ellen White use. 19:13 She uses the term stupid ingratitude. 19:17 That's why I give you the reference. 19:19 Messages to Young People, 365. 19:22 She says, We worship the blessings and beauty of the 19:28 Lord and forget about the God who gave them. 19:35 She says that is stupid ingratitude. 19:40 She's saying, don't get hung up on the good things of the Lord. 19:43 Don't get hung up on the cookies and milk, or the gifts. 19:47 Keep your focus on the God who gives you all 19:50 of those good things. 19:52 Don't get dissuaded or distracted by the blessing. 19:57 Focus on the God who gives the blessing. 20:02 Does that make sense? 20:03 She says, when you get hung up on the blessing 20:05 that's stupid ingratitude. 20:12 5th Volume of the Testimonies, 5th Volume of the Testimonies, 20:16 page 5. The great sin of the Jews was that of neglecting 20:24 and rejecting present opportunities... 20:27 We're going to come back to that in just a little bit. 20:29 ... Present opportunities as Jesus views the state of His 20:34 professed followers today He sees... 20:38 Here's the list: base ingratitude at the very top. 20:43 Hollow formalism. That's having the air of righteousness, 20:47 but not your share of righteousness. 20:49 Hypocritical insincerity, Pharisaical pride, 20:55 and latent apostasy. 20:59 And she says to those, heaven is lost to them. 21:05 So then Capernaum was a city that Jesus often visited. 21:14 It became His base of operations in Galilee. 21:20 Matthew even calls it His own city, His chosen city. 21:24 I visited Capernaum on at least five occasions, 21:28 and it is a popular tourist city to this very day. 21:35 The name means Nahum's village in Hebrew, 21:40 but it is not connected with the Prophet Nahum. 21:42 The town was about 1,500 to 2,000 people. 21:46 How big is West Frankfort? 21:48 7,000? Okay, it's much bigger. 21:52 Well, Capernaum with about 1,500 to 2,000. 21:54 It is mentioned in all four gospels. 21:58 The citify sits on the north western shores of 22:02 the Sea of Galilee. 22:04 It is noted for having two synagogues. 22:09 The second near the house of Peter. 22:14 You remember Shelley, you go there, you've got a synagogue 22:16 here, and just from here to the school is the house of Peter; 22:18 right close to the synagogue. 22:21 It's a beautiful city. 22:23 It sits right on the Sea of Galilee. 22:26 Now the Sea of Galilee is not, they call it a sea. 22:29 It is not really a city. 22:30 A sea, the Mediterranean is a sea. 22:32 The Sea of Galilee is a decent sized lake about 13 miles long, 22:38 about 8 miles across. 22:40 There's no place on the Sea of Galilee where you cannot 22:43 see the other shore. 22:44 So it's not really a sea, it's just a decent sized lake: 22:48 depth about 25 feet deep, but teaming with fish about the 22:53 size of Washington, D.C. 22:59 The city also lies on or near the plain of Genesaret, 23:04 or Genesaret depending on how you want to pronounce that. 23:07 Ellen White says in the days of Christ the climate was nice. 23:10 It was tempered by the sea itself. 23:13 In the time of Christ it flourished with palm 23:15 trees and olive trees. 23:18 And if you go there today, one of the interesting things about 23:20 Capernaum is the stones that they use for crushing the olives 23:24 are still lying around. 23:25 You can really see how olive oil was made in the first cold 23:30 pressing, and all that kind of stuff. 23:31 All of those stones are lying around, and you really get a 23:33 beautiful idea it was a fishing capital but it's also a 23:37 capital of olive oil, orchards, vineyards, 23:42 orchards, vineyards, fields, beautiful flowers. 23:46 Ellen White says in the days of Christ water gushed 23:49 from the mountainsides. 23:50 It came right out of the rocks of the mountain. 23:52 So it was obviously a beautiful place. 23:55 Capernaum would have reminded you of a resort town. 24:00 You had the lake on one side, the hills and mountains on the 24:04 other, and then off in the distance up north you've got 24:06 Mount Hermon, the headwaters of the Jordan River. 24:09 Now when you look at the topography of Galilee, 24:14 the Jordan River starts up north. 24:18 Mount Hermon goes underground, comes out of the ground 24:21 at Caesarea Philippi. 24:24 There's a spring there. 24:25 There used to be a temple there. 24:27 It comes down and then the Sea of Galilee is a big bulge 24:31 in the Jordan River. 24:32 It's just this big bulge. 24:34 Then at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee the Jordan River 24:36 continues south all the way down to the Dead Sea. 24:39 So you're up north in Galilee. 24:41 Many times you'll hear the Bible talk about 24:43 going up to Jerusalem. 24:45 Jerusalem is actually south of Galilee, 24:47 but its elevation is higher. 24:50 So it can be cold and snowing in Jerusalem, 24:53 and you've got on a winter coat. 24:54 By the time you get down to the Dead Sea you're stripped down, 24:58 because it's blistering hot down there. 24:59 It's just that Jerusalem is so much higher in elevation 25:03 than the surrounding towns. 25:05 So it is north; Galilee is north of Jerusalem, but Jerusalem is 25:09 higher in elevation. 25:11 Ellen White talks about the fishing boats bobbing in the 25:14 water, and she says, Everywhere there was this stir of activity. 25:18 It was a busy little town. 25:20 A town where they fished and a very, very important town 25:24 because of where it was. 25:26 Now we're talking about Capernaum as metaphor. 25:29 As such, it was the perfect place to be the headquarters 25:35 for the Savior's work. 25:37 Because not of its size, but because of its strategic location, 25:45 as well as its beauty and commodious atmosphere. 25:50 Now stick with me. We're told that it was on the highway from 25:55 Damascus to Jerusalem, and on the highway from Damascus 26:01 to Egypt, and on the highway from Jerusalem 26:05 to the Mediterranean. 26:07 So because of where it was, it was the perfect place to be 26:14 the headquarters for the ministry of Jesus. 26:17 It was on a great thorofare. 26:20 People from many walks of life, and many countries lived there 26:26 stopped there, shopped there, rested there, worked there, 26:33 traded there, vacationed there, worshipped there, fished there, 26:40 sold fish there, or simply passed through Capernaum 26:45 on their way to someplace else. 26:48 So the importance of Capernaum was not its size, 26:53 it was its mission. 26:56 It was a center of commerce, and as such it 27:02 was a center of news. 27:04 That's how news traveled then. 27:05 People would come in and talk, and tell stories, and then pass 27:09 on and take those stories other places. 27:11 So whatever happened in Capernaum was carried to other 27:14 cities, other countries, other towns, other households, 27:18 other villages, by the travelers and merchants who 27:22 passed through Capernaum. 27:24 So even though Capernaum was not a huge city population wise, 27:30 it was an important city because of what it was, where it was, 27:36 and what happened there. 27:38 Not unlike when I was thinking of Capernaum, 27:41 I was thinking of Thompsonville. 27:42 It ain't a big town. 27:44 And the truth is, if 3ABN was not here 27:51 I probably wouldn't be here. 27:54 Now how many are here because of 3ABN? 27:57 Raise your hand. Uh huh, yeah. 28:02 I'm a New Yorker. Well, I used to be a New Yorker. 28:04 I really can't take New York anymore. 28:05 But I'm here because 3ABN is here. 28:10 And a whole lot of other people are here because 3ABN is here. 28:14 So 3ABN, or Thompsonville is important not because of what it 28:23 is inheritantly, but because something big is going on here. 28:27 Does that make sense? Amen! 28:29 Well, that's what Capernaum was. 28:31 Capernaum was a big-time town although it didn't have big-time 28:36 population, or big-time numbers, because Christ chose to make 28:41 that His headquarters for ministry. Amen? 28:44 And it was what went through Capernaum, what went out of 28:48 Capernaum that made Capernaum important, and the work that 28:55 Christ had given Capernaum to do. 28:59 So Capernaum then stands as a metaphor for every humble soul 29:05 who uses his or her God given gifts to advance 29:10 the work of God. Amen? 29:12 In Volume 9 of the Testimonies, page 255, 29:16 Ellen White states this: It is God's design that His gifts 29:22 may flow through human channels. 29:30 God's gifts to humans flow through humans to other humans. 29:37 That's God's design. 29:39 God could give directly to those He wanted to bless. 29:44 But God has made it so that His gifts come to humans, to flow 29:51 through humans, so that other humans can be blessed. 29:54 And in blessing them you yourself are blessed. 29:58 Counsels on Stewardship, page 71, God requires no less of us 30:05 than He required of His people anciently. 30:08 His gifts... Now she's talking about money, 30:11 but don't limit this to money. 30:13 She's talking about those talents that you have. Amen? 30:16 God's gifts to us are no less than they were anciently. 30:22 In fact, they are greater to us than they were to Israel of old. 30:27 Let me explain. God is pleased to give us more. 30:35 Amen! Amen! I said Amen. Amen! 30:42 You're scaring me there a little bit. 30:43 If you think you don't have anything, 30:48 get on a plane and go to India. 30:55 You don't have to go that far. 30:56 Get on a plane and go to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 31:03 Get on a plane and go to Granada, Nicaragua. 31:08 Go to El Salvador. 31:10 Go to Mexico. Go to Tijuana. 31:17 God has given us more. 31:22 He's not given you more so you can have more. 31:28 He's given you more so you can do more. 31:32 Amen, or ouch! Amen! 31:38 He's given you more so that you have more to do with. 31:43 We've got more. Now, I'm not saying you've got 31:47 everything you want. 31:49 Most people don't. I'd like a little more. 31:55 Amen! But the truth is I've got more. 32:02 I wonder why John, Pastor Lomacang says, Amen. 32:05 Sometimes you folks scare people up here. 32:07 Amen! Amen! Anybody here who doesn't have anything? 32:14 You've got more. Amen! Amen. 32:19 So God has given us more. 32:21 Now stay with me. Stay with me. 32:23 He's given us more means, more ways, more media. 32:31 Here it comes again, more opportunities. 32:35 And His service requires, and ever will require more. 32:44 Did you hear that list of projects that 32:48 Dee Casper read this morning? 32:50 You've got young people going to school; need help. 32:56 You've got young people going on mission trips; need help. 32:59 You've got young people who want to better themselves; need help. 33:03 Amen! So if your ear is mistuned, you came away from 33:11 that... Every time I come to church they're 33:14 asking for my money. 33:19 Or you heard, you know, I got a little chance to do a little 33:25 something to help somebody's child. 33:30 And the Bible doesn't say you have to bankrupt yourself. 33:33 Amen. Just do a little more. 33:42 And the calls for sacrifice are not going to be less as we get 33:50 closer to the end of this earth's history. 33:52 They are going to be more. 33:58 They are going to be more. Amen. 34:01 You know, I think the worst thing in the world is to die 34:03 and leave a fortune for your kids to fight over. 34:08 Ah, bless her heart, Mae Chung, she said, I'm not leaving no 34:11 fortune for my kids to fight over. 34:13 Everybody's a doctor. 34:15 They've got plenty of money. 34:17 I'm giving it to Jesus. 34:20 Nothing wrong with that. 34:21 So the calls are going to be more because 34:25 God has given us more. 34:27 His service requires more. 34:30 We've got to be prepared to give more. 34:32 And we're not just talking about more money. 34:34 Don't limit it to money. 34:35 God's talking about more of you. Amen! 34:40 More of your heart, more of your time, more of your love, 34:46 more prayer, more praise, more of your sacrifice. 34:54 Now, I'm going to walk through some stuff real quick. 34:57 And I need to preamble this by saying, What I'm going to say 35:02 is not any attempt to deify, or lionize myself or Irma. 35:07 But Danny always says, Your best testimony is your own 35:11 personal testimony. 35:12 So I'm going to give you ours, and do with it what you will. 35:19 When we got here at 3ABN I took a pay cut. 35:25 Now that's not unusual because most people came here 35:27 and took a pay cut, so Hallelujah, Amen! 35:30 But I decided, and Irma agreed with me, that we would give 35:33 a little of our money back to 3ABN every month. 35:38 Now this has nothing to do with Blessings on the Go. 35:41 This was previous to Blessings on the Go. 35:42 We've always done this. 35:44 So we get the little receipt... 35:45 I grabbed one here. 35:47 ...from 3ABN. It says that you, you know, 35:51 you give a little something every month. 35:52 I put my finger over the amount here so you can't see that. 35:54 Ah, we give a little every month. 35:55 Now what we do... This has nothing to do with 3ABN. 36:00 We give it to 3ABN, but it has nothing to do with 3ABN. 36:04 This is a covenant that we made with God. 36:07 So it's us and God; nothing to do with 3ABN. 36:11 This says, this little bit that Irma and I give, both of our 36:16 names are on it, says, We don't make enough money, 36:21 but somehow we have enough money. 36:25 Do I need to unwrap that, or do you understand that? 36:27 Are you getting that? 36:29 I'd like to make more. Amen! 36:36 So I don't make enough, but I have enough. Amen! 36:44 And so some months we have to triage. 36:48 This bill will get paid. 36:51 You gotta wait. Cause I don't make enough. 36:59 But I have enough. 37:01 Nobody's starving. Amen. 37:05 Nobody going to jail. 37:09 I said, Amen. Amen! 37:10 We eat okay. We've got to dance with the bills every now 37:16 and again, but that's alright. 37:17 Helps your faith. And I'll tell you something else. 37:23 A few years ago I wanted to open up a savings account 37:26 at SIU Credit Union. 37:29 So I told Dave Carson, Take X amount of dollars out 37:34 and put it in the account. 37:35 Somehow he took X amount of dollars out 37:40 and put it back into 3ABN. 37:44 And I didn't recognized that for about eight months. 37:46 So when I went to SIU to ask them what my balance 37:49 was they said zero. 37:56 What? So I went to Dave and at the same time somehow Brian 38:03 realized the mistake. 38:04 So as I'm coming down the hall, Brian's coming towards me. 38:06 He said, C. A. we have your money. 38:09 I said, I know! And then I heard myself say, Keep it. 38:21 Shelley. I heard myself, J. D., say, Keep it. 38:27 And as the words left my mouth, my other self said, 38:31 Are you crazy? You need that money! 38:39 But I said, Keep it. 38:44 And then later that year we went to a camp meeting in 38:51 Lawson Creek, was that Oregon or California, Boo? 38:56 Oregon? California? 39:02 A town about as big as the inside of this church. 39:07 And someone came to me after the sermon and said, 39:09 The Lord impressed me to give you a little something. 39:12 It wasn't the exact same amount, but it was close enough 39:16 that I know it came from God. 39:18 Now I don't guarantee, could not, would not guarantee 39:23 that every time you do something good for the Lord 39:25 the Lord's going to give you something back. 39:27 That's not why you do good. 39:29 You do good because good is what good people do, 39:32 whether you get it back or not. 39:35 And if you don't get it back now, you're going to get 39:39 it back one day. Amen. Amen! 39:42 So give it to the Lord. 39:44 Now, forgive me. That's not sermon, 39:47 that's a little rabbit trail I went down. 39:49 That's ecclesiological obiter dictum. 39:51 I took five minutes of your time and I apologize. 39:57 But I do need to say this. 40:00 The most miserable person in the world... 40:06 Well, let me back it up and say it this way. 40:08 My wife has dual citizenship. 40:12 She is a Panamanian citizen and she is an American citizen. 40:19 And it's funny because when she goes to Panama... 40:22 In fact she went back this last time. 40:24 She went to the doctor and, of course she switched to Spanish. 40:28 The doctor said, You're not from here are you? 40:32 And when she comes here people say, 40:36 You're not from here are you? 40:40 So she speaks her English with a Spanish accent, 40:43 and her Spanish with an English accent. 40:50 And she's content. But if you try to hold dual citizenship 40:57 in the kingdom of light, and the kingdom of darkness, 41:02 you will be a miserable individual. Amen! Amen. 41:10 You can't be happy in Jesus unless you give Him all. 41:18 It's miserable trying to serve Lord with half your heart. 41:24 Anybody know what I'm talking about? Amen! 41:27 Sabbath you're sitting there waiting for the sun to go down 41:34 so you can do your thing. 41:40 Gotta go in my pocket and give them my money. 41:43 Pastor begging me to come to prayer meeting 41:45 on Wednesday night. 41:46 Gotta stay in church. 41:48 Gotta cook food for potluck. 41:49 You know, trying to serve the Lord is miserable 41:52 if you're not all in. You know that? 41:55 The only happy Christian is a thoroughly committed Christian. 42:02 If you're half stepping you are miserable. 42:08 You're going to become apathetic, and sooner or later 42:11 you will filter your way out. 42:14 Because you can't stay in Christ with half a heart. 42:20 James says, what was it? James 1:8. 42:26 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. 42:28 This thing doesn't make you happy unless you're all in. 42:33 If you're half in you're half baked, and pretty soon 42:39 you'll find your way out. 42:40 And if you stay physically, you will leave mentally. Amen? 42:45 You've got to give it all to Him. 42:48 And any less does you no good. 42:51 It surely does not... Does the kingdom of God no good. 42:54 Now, you may be thinking that I'm going to say, So you might 42:59 as well just stay home. 43:00 I ain't going to say that. 43:03 Come anyway. Huh? Even if you've got to drag; come on. 43:10 The Bible says the Lord loveth a cheerful giver. 43:12 Even if you hate giving money to the Lord, give it anyhow. Amen. 43:18 Because in giving, in coming just maybe God may get through. 43:25 But if you're at home in your bed; can't get through that. 43:28 You've gotta be here. 43:30 Perhaps He can get you in your bed, but it's a better chance 43:34 He gets you when you come here. Amen? Amen. 43:36 So you've got to give Him all. 43:37 He deserves all, and it's best for you when you give Him all. 43:42 Let's look at His ministry very quickly. 43:45 Desire of Ages, page 353. 43:48 Ellen White says, Christ was never rude, never needlessly 43:52 spoke a severe word, never gave needless pain 43:55 to a sensitive soul. 43:56 He did not censure human weakness. 43:59 He fearlessly denounced hypocrisy. 44:05 He uttered, she says, His most scathing rebukes 44:12 with tears in His eyes. 44:14 You see, Christ did not mince words when it came to sin. 44:19 If you look at the word scathing, scathing means harsh, 44:23 devastating, blistering, scorching ferocious, cutting, 44:27 sharp, vitriolic, severe. 44:28 So Christ said what needed to be said as respects sin, 44:34 but He was always kind and loving to sinners. Amen? 44:39 So there were times when stuff needed to be said. 44:43 And Christ did not bite His tongue but He spoke sharply 44:48 against sin, and kindly to sinners. 44:52 Because He was trying to root out sin, not destroy sinners. 44:56 The Bible says that Christ always had a kind word for those 45:07 who He was addressing. 45:12 And then we find out that even the demons are subject to 45:17 the will of God at Capernaum. 45:23 We're in the temple and a demon possessed man comes in 45:28 and people are scattering. 45:31 Christ stands and rebukes the demon. 45:35 And where did that happen? 45:37 In the synagogue at Capernaum. 45:40 And so it was at Capernaum that it was first said, 45:43 Even the demons are subject to Jesus. 45:46 So now as the people are dumbfounded Christ slips out 45:50 and goes right next door to Peter's house. 45:52 Peter's mother is sick with a fever that the Bible gives 45:56 indication, and so does the Spirit of Prophecy, is caused by 45:59 oppression from a demon. 46:01 Peter rebukes the fever, which means he rebukes, 46:06 or causes the fever, which is a demon. 46:08 She arises and serves them all. 46:12 Where did that happen? Capernaum. 46:13 And I've got to move real fast. 46:15 It's Saturday night. 46:17 The people have been waiting all day to go and see Jesus. 46:19 But Ellen White says they are afraid to see Jesus because 46:22 they are afraid of the Scribes and Pharisees. 46:24 So they lay in their homes during the day, 46:27 and no sooner does the sun go down than the line formed. 46:30 And people begin to come to Christ for healing. 46:34 And Ellen White says it was at Capernaum that Christ healed 46:38 every single one of them. 46:39 Nobody was left. Late into the night He's healing, and healing, 46:43 and healing, and healing. 46:45 And then He goes and spends the rest of the night in 46:49 prayer with His Father. 46:51 She says they came on couches, they came on crutches, 46:54 they came on canes, they crawled. 46:56 Some carried their friends. 46:58 Some camped out. You know the story of the men who let, 47:01 the man who was let down through the roof for Christ's healing? 47:04 Where did that happen? Capernaum. 47:07 Some of Christ's greatest miracles happened at Capernaum. 47:11 Ellen White says, After two solid days of healing the people 47:15 said, Capernaum never witnessed a day like this. 47:19 The air was filled with the voices of praise 47:23 and the voices of deliverance. 47:26 Matthew 7-11, all of those miracles, 47:35 all of that information took place in Galilee, 47:43 in or near Capernaum. 47:48 I'm time conscious, and I'm trying to cut and paste 47:50 as I go along here. 47:54 Christ not only healed in Galilee, but He also broke 47:59 Spiritual convention in Galilee. 48:02 When I say that... Jack Nicholson once said, If you want 48:05 to make an omelet you've got to break some eggs. 48:06 Christ also in His healing, broke politically correct eggs. 48:14 Not only did He heal, He tore down and disassembled mistakes. 48:21 I'll tell you one more healing, then I've got to jump over, 48:23 and we've got to end this. 48:25 You've got a Roman soldier. 48:27 Oh, by the way, the woman with the issue of blood; Capernaum. 48:32 While He is healing... No, Jairus comes to Christ and says, 48:42 My daughter is about to die. 48:44 You need to come to my house. 48:45 Okay. So Christ is going to Jairus' house. 48:49 Meanwhile the woman with the issue of blood stops Him. 48:53 You know the story. 48:54 He's supposed to be healing Jairus' daughter. 48:56 And Jairus is waiting while Christ is doing this whole 48:59 thing with this woman who is less than nothing to Jairus. 49:02 He's a big time ruler, but he's got to wait in line while Christ 49:06 deals with this woman. 49:08 Then the servants of Jairus say, Don't bother. 49:13 The child's dead, so don't even bother with the Messiah. 49:17 Long story short: child lives, woman healed. 49:21 Where did that take place? Capernaum. 49:24 So the Bible says that some of Christ's greatest miracles 49:31 took place in Capernaum. 49:32 One last one. The disciples get in a boat. 49:37 Headed across the sea. 49:40 Storm comes down off the mountain. 49:42 Boat's pitching, flipping. 49:45 Christ comes walking to them on the water. 49:50 You know the story. 49:51 Peter says, If it's You... 49:53 You never start a sermon with the Lord 49:55 with the word if anyway. 49:57 But it is, If it's You, bid me walk to You on the water. 50:03 Where's the boat heading? Capernaum. 50:05 So you've got a list of miracles in Capernaum 50:10 that are without equal. 50:12 That are without equal in any place in the world. 50:18 So then, it is mind blowingly sad that after all that Christ 50:29 had done the people of Capernaum, 50:33 leaders in general, rejected Jesus. 50:36 That is why you've got this invective in Matthew 50:43 and in Luke, Christ's denunciation of Capernaum. 50:50 So I've got to flip over a lot of pages and say this: 50:55 When you look at your life you ought to be able to see a 51:00 pattern of what I call providential interposition. 51:05 In other words, you ought to be able to see where Jesus has 51:09 stuck His hand in your life and done you good. Amen. 51:14 And for that you ought to be grateful to Him. 51:19 And the fact that you have a knowledge that God has taken 51:24 care of you ought to be enough incentive for you 51:30 to surrender your life to Him. 51:33 Because the truth is if you've been in Jesus 51:37 life simply ain't that bad. Amen. 51:44 You'll forgive my pejorative English. 51:45 Now I'll take myself. 51:47 We were in Sabbath school. 51:49 Jeff... A couple of weeks ago we were talking about... 51:51 And I think Jill was teaching. 51:52 We were talking about looking at your life and realizing that 51:57 even though it may sound kind of bad, 52:00 with Christ it ain't so bad? 52:03 I have been blind twice; blind. 52:06 I went to blind school from... 52:08 I went to first grade in public school. 52:10 Had to repeat first grade in blind school. 52:13 I was blind till sixth grade. 52:17 Just as unexplained as my eyes went out, they came back. 52:22 Back in public school with glasses about as thick as, 52:26 as the edge of this desk. 52:30 Beat up, fought all the time, but I could see! 52:38 I've had a dozen eye operations; at least a dozen. 52:44 They poked and prodded. 52:45 I'm functioning basically on one eye. 52:49 But you know what? You can function on one eye. 52:55 Amen. Amen! At age three, trying to be cute, my cousin 53:03 pulled down a pot of boiling hot soup on my chest. 53:09 Peeled the skin off. 53:11 So now I've got this scar on my chest. 53:13 It looks like the island of Barbados. 53:19 So when I go to the beach I tend to keep my shirt on. 53:24 Because I'm trying to hide my muscles? No. 53:30 Open heart surgery; not one, not two, not three, not four, 53:35 not five, six bypasses. 53:40 Prostate cancer. And as I said to Jeff that day, 53:47 when I look back at my life, I don't think 53:50 I've had it that tough. Amen? 53:55 And I'm grateful to God for what I do have. 54:05 Sometimes we look at our bank account; broker than glass. 54:15 We're praising the Lord! Amen? 54:18 We don't drive the latest car. 54:20 We don't drive last year's model, or last years, last years 54:25 model, or last years, last years, last year's model, 54:27 or last years, last years, last years model. 54:31 But we drive! And see, Route 57 goes to Chicago. 54:36 It doesn't go to Heaven. 54:39 So it doesn't really matter what kind of car you're driving. 54:43 Because we have friends that have new cars, 54:45 and we can ride with them. 54:46 Ha, ha, ha! That's right. 54:51 Amen? Amen! So see, you've got to be 54:55 grateful for what you have. Amen? 54:59 And with all of that you've got Jesus! 55:03 And one day you will have eternity. 55:08 So the message from Capernaum is look at what 55:13 God has done for you. 55:15 Look at the mighty miracles He has done in your life. 55:19 And if your eyes are open, and your brain is working, 55:22 you know God has been good for you. 55:24 Now I know there are people in here who are suffering. 55:26 Because every night when Irma and I pray, 55:27 we run down the list. 55:29 I'm looking at people who are going through stuff. Amen! 55:35 But they've got Jesus! 55:38 And when you've got Jesus you've got all you need. 55:42 And you never know that Jesus is all you need 55:44 until Jesus is all you've got. Amen! 55:47 So when you reflect, which is why Ellen White says, 55:51 every day we ought to spend a few quiet peaceful moments, 55:54 not with your wife, not with your husband, just you and God. 55:57 And reflect on how good God has been to you. 55:59 And it will make you grateful. 56:05 And gratitude, by the way, is the pin number that allows God 56:10 to give you more. Uh huh. 56:15 If you're not grateful for what you've got, you've got an 56:19 account, but you ain't got no pin number. Uh huh. 56:25 So gratitude is the pin number that gives you access to more. 56:34 And if you're faithful with what you have, God will be pleased 56:38 to give you more, because He can trust you with it. 56:43 And so the great sin of Capernaum, and she says it 56:48 in the reading I have. 56:50 But I don't want to go back to it. 56:52 I would take too much of your time. 56:53 She says the great sin of Capernaum is the sin of these 56:55 last days: ingratitude and unthankfulness. 57:00 We need to be thankful for what God has given us. 57:05 Because He's given us the promise of eternal life. 57:10 That's the greatest gift He can give you. 57:13 And He's given you the ability to change from what you are 57:24 to what He wants you to be. 57:27 That may be the greatest gift in the world. 57:35 And Capernaum is metaphor for realizing what 57:41 God has done for you. 57:43 He has given you all, and He deserves no less than your all. 57:52 Amen, and Amen. I want you to stand. 57:55 We're just going to have prayer, and then we're 57:57 going to go over to... 57:58 And forgive me. I know I took a lot of time. 58:00 Announcements J. D.? 58:01 After prayer. After prayer. Okay, okay. 58:07 Bible study is a fantastic thing. 58:09 And you get into the word, and this stuff kind of just, 58:14 begins to percolate. 58:16 And it's easy to take an hour. 58:19 I was an hour preaching! 58:21 But once you get in there it surrounds you, 58:25 and there's so much in there. 58:27 So I apologize, almost, for keeping you so long. 58:33 Shall we pray? Father God, please help us to reflect 58:38 on Your goodness, and in gratitude give our all to You. 58:45 For there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, 58:49 but to trust You, and obey You, and surrender our lives to You. 58:55 And we thank You dear Father, in Jesus' name, Amen. |
Revised 2017-10-23