Participants:
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH180317A
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00:23 And this morning as we go before the Lord in message,
00:29 I invite your prayer 00:32 as I go to the Lord in prayer. 00:38 Bow your heads with me. 00:42 Loving Father in heaven, we thank You, Lord, 00:44 for... 00:47 That the reality that when we don't see... 00:52 Your plan, when we cannot trace Your hand, 00:57 and when we don't understand 00:59 we can trust Your heart. 01:02 In this world that is steadily in decline, 01:05 we do pray that we can remember 01:08 that we have not arrived 01:09 where we are by cleverly devised plans 01:14 by the guidance and protection that You have provided for us 01:18 every moment of every day. 01:21 And now as we... 01:24 Pause to listen to the message You have ordained 01:28 for this day, 01:30 may we understand in a more real and practical way 01:34 what it means to trust Your heart, 01:36 in Jesus' name I ask, 01:39 amen. 01:44 If you have your Bibles with you this morning, 01:46 turn with me to the scripture reading. 01:49 It's Isaiah 60:1-2, 01:53 Isaiah 60:1-2, 01:59 "Arise," together, 02:01 "Arise, shine, for your light has come! 02:06 And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 02:09 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, 02:13 and deep darkness the people, 02:16 but the Lord will arise over you, 02:19 and His glory will be seen upon you." 02:25 It was called the worst dust storm in American history, 02:31 April 14, 1935. 02:36 According to some counts 02:37 it was referred to as the black blizzard, 02:41 as the Midwestern states of Texas and Oklahoma 02:48 were covered by a cloud that was estimated to be 02:52 more than a mile high 02:56 of just dust and dirt. 03:04 When the damage was estimated, it was suggested that 03:06 more than 300 million tons 03:11 of top soil was moved by winds of more than 60 miles an hour 03:16 across the Midwestern plains. 03:20 When you begin to read the personal accounts 03:23 of what occurred, 03:26 people said that you could not see 03:28 your hand in front of your face. 03:30 It was of such intensity that it was dangerous to breathe... 03:37 and surely when they saw the approaching 03:39 black blizzard as it were, 03:42 people ran for cover for more than an hour and a half. 03:49 Let me suggest to you this morning 03:51 that there is a black blizzard coming. 03:54 A dust storm is building... 03:58 On the horizon. 04:00 And it is in light of this approaching darkness 04:04 that Isaiah, the prophet 04:06 is calling on to people of God to run for spiritual cover, 04:13 as he pulls back the stage, 04:16 introducing us to an age that is approaching 04:19 with a contrast between light and darkness 04:22 will reach its extreme fulfillment. 04:27 Not too far distant we will arrive at a time 04:29 where all the grey areas no longer exist 04:34 and everyone on planet earth 04:37 will be in one camp or the other. 04:42 It is on this complete stage of divergence 04:47 that we will stand in contrast 04:50 to those who have joined the alliance of darkness 04:55 if we would continue standing with the alliance of light. 05:01 Dr. Luke, introducing us to this depraved society 05:04 writes these words in Luke 17:26, 05:09 speaking of this generation of darkness, 05:12 he writes these words, 05:14 "And as it was in the days of Noah, 05:17 so it will be in the days of the Son of Man." 05:21 And just so that we are clear 05:22 about how the days of Noah were, 05:24 Moses... 05:25 preserves the words in Genesis 6:5 05:28 when he says... 05:29 in his Genesis commentary, 05:32 "Then the Lord saw 05:34 that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, 05:39 and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart 05:42 was only evil continually." 05:46 In Desire of Ages, page 636, 05:49 the servant of the Lord writes these words. 05:52 "Everything in the world is in agitation." 05:56 Do you believe that? 05:58 "The signs of the times are ominous. 06:02 Coming events cast their shadow before." 06:07 And then she says, 06:08 "The spirit of God is being withdrawn from the earth." 06:13 In Revelation 7, John, 06:15 from the Island of Patmos, 06:17 inserts his commentary in 1:1, he says, 06:21 "After these things I saw 06:24 four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, 06:29 holding the four winds of the earth, 06:33 that the wind should not blow on the earth, 06:37 on the sea, 06:39 or on any tree." 06:44 I want to pause in this point of the sermon and say, 06:46 thank God, he is still holding the winds. 06:49 The sad reality is, many see the approaching signs, 06:54 many see the society being developed, 06:57 but many choose to ignore 07:00 and they insert 07:02 into their point of willing ignorance 07:05 things that are not contributory 07:08 to these signs at all. 07:10 The Apostle Peter tells us that in the last days, 07:12 people are going to see the world around them 07:15 going down as it were going down in flames gradually, 07:19 politically, 07:21 socially, 07:22 morally, economically. 07:26 They are going to see a weather pattern 07:27 that is unpredictable, 07:29 a society that is unhinged. 07:33 They are going to see the homes falling apart, 07:35 churches being divided. 07:37 They are going to see the rise of complacency 07:40 and the Laodicean condition, 07:42 but they are going to somehow contribute these things 07:46 to forces and circumstances completely unrelated. 07:51 Listen to the words of the Apostle Peter. 07:54 If you have your Bibles, turn with me to 2 Peter 3:3-7. 08:00 Peter gives us a commentary of this dark generation 08:04 that is being developed before our eyes. 08:08 He says, "Knowing this first: 08:10 that scoffers will come" in the what days? 08:15 "In the last days, 08:17 walking according to their own lusts, 08:20 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? 08:25 For since the fathers fell asleep, 08:28 they say, all things continue as they were 08:32 from the beginning of creation." 08:34 Before I go any further, let me just say it, 08:36 "All things have not continued as they were 08:39 from the beginning of creation." 08:41 Matter of fact, things are quite different 08:42 than they were just a few years ago. 08:45 Things are extremely different than they were 08:47 when I was being raised in high school. 08:48 Come on, some old people say amen. 08:50 Amen. 08:51 The world is quite different than it used to be 08:53 just 10 years ago. 08:54 Politically, socially, morally, economically, 08:56 every way you can think of, 08:58 the world is not the same world. 09:00 But Peter inserts why they think that. 09:03 He says in verse 5, 09:04 "For this they willingly forget:" 09:08 they choose to forget, 09:11 "that by the word of God the heavens were of old, 09:15 and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 09:19 by which the world that then existed 09:22 perished, 09:23 being flooded with water. 09:26 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved 09:29 by the same word, 09:31 are reserved for fire 09:34 until the day of judgment 09:36 and perdition of ungodly men." 09:40 The world is on the verge of a complete breakdown. 09:45 It is in this context 09:49 that Isaiah the prophet says to the people, 09:51 arise, shine, for your light has come. 09:54 Not your light is coming, 09:56 but arise and shine. 09:58 It is in this dark generation that the apostle, 10:02 that the prophets of Old Testament and New Testament 10:06 together are saying, 10:08 if ever there was a time that the people of God 10:11 should be shining in contrast to the world, it is now. 10:18 If ever there should be a marked difference between 10:21 what's going on out there and what's going on in here, 10:24 it ought to be now. 10:28 And excuse me as I read another quotation 10:30 from God's inspired messenger. 10:34 Testimonies for the Church, 10:36 Volume 6, page 408, she says, 10:38 "The signs thickening around us 10:43 telling us of the near approach of the Son of God 10:47 are attributed to any other 10:50 than the true cause. 10:52 Men cannot discern the sentinel angel 10:55 restraining the four winds 10:57 that they shall not blow until the servants of God are sealed. 11:02 But when God shall bid His angels to lose the winds, 11:07 there shall be such a scene of strife 11:10 as no pen can picture." 11:13 Think about it. 11:15 You think about the worst war 11:17 and your mind fails in comparison to even conjure up 11:22 what's on the horizon. 11:24 You think of the worst earthquake 11:25 ever gripping this planet 11:27 and the human estimation falls far short 11:33 of even bringing to the cerebral cortex 11:37 that the slightest imagination 11:39 of what is on the horizon. 11:41 You think of the collapse of society 11:44 where every moral fiber has been finally abandoned 11:49 and it's on the horizon. 11:51 If you think where 11:54 the human feeling 11:55 for taking human life has been completely exhausted 12:00 and nothing but murder and death run rampant, 12:04 it's on the horizon. 12:06 If you think of a world where immorality... 12:10 Is not only peddling the dark 12:12 but sold in the light 12:14 on the street corners of your cities, 12:16 in your homes, through your televisions, 12:18 through your devices, 12:20 the time is not far distance, 12:22 it is being built right before our eyes. 12:28 And when it all comes to fruition 12:30 and when the stage is finally erected, 12:32 and it stands as it were on the plains of Babylon, 12:37 we will see such a scene as no pen can picture. 12:42 But the Apostle Paul explains why 12:45 humanity chooses to dismiss the signs. 12:47 Notice his words of wisdom in Romans 1:28. 12:51 In other words, as you turned there, 12:53 Paul the Apostle is saying, 12:54 "It is not that men don't understand, 12:57 it's that they don't want to understand." 13:00 It is not that God has not made the knowledge available. 13:04 But notice what he says, 13:06 in Romans 1:28, 13:08 "And even as they did not like 13:12 to retain God in their knowledge, 13:17 God gave them over to a debased mind, 13:21 to do those things which are not fitting." 13:23 In other words, 13:25 God has been knocking on the hearts 13:28 and minds of everyone in society. 13:31 And let me make it very clear, 13:32 when the day of judgment come, 13:34 there will be nobody that ever lived, 13:37 that ever would be able to say 13:39 that they have not had an opportunity 13:42 to receive God, 13:44 to know Jesus. 13:48 From the society where Jesus has been erased 13:51 from the pages of their daily lives, 13:55 till the society where Jesus is on every Bible, 13:58 on every iPad, on every device, 14:01 in every corner of the globe. 14:03 There will not be a single individual 14:06 that will be able to say 14:08 that God has not appeared to them. 14:12 Titus, the Apostle says, 14:14 "The grace of God that bring of salvation 14:17 has appeared to all men." 14:18 Has appeared to how many men? 14:20 Every society. 14:22 But Paul makes it clear, 14:24 they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. 14:29 And when I think about a particular word 14:30 that jumped out at me 14:31 when I was putting my message together, 14:33 I thought of the word debased. 14:35 What is a debased mind? 14:38 A debased mind is a degraded mind, 14:40 a contaminated mind, 14:43 a corrupted mind. 14:45 A mind that has been degraded intentionally, 14:49 a mind that has been contaminated voluntarily, 14:53 a mind that has been corrupted by one's own participation 14:58 and that which degrades, 15:00 that which contaminates, and that which corrupts. 15:03 Nothing gets corrupted involuntarily. 15:06 It always gets corrupted 15:07 by the participation of the individual 15:09 that eventually 15:11 experiences the result of his or her own choice. 15:16 They did not like to retain God in their knowledge. 15:19 They chose to push God out. 15:21 And when God is not in your mind, 15:24 every and anything 15:25 that debases, degrades, 15:27 and contaminates will be there. 15:30 Amen, somebody? 15:32 And our world, 15:34 think about it, our world, 15:36 the devil is busy 15:38 contaminating, degrading, 15:40 and corrupting our society. 15:43 Just look at your television for a brief moment 15:45 and see how many times you can sit 15:47 without choosing to change the channel. 15:50 Listen to the music on the radio 15:52 and the music being pushed by modern artists 15:56 who are choosing to intentionally corrupt 15:59 the minds of our young. 16:01 I was raised when you didn't have to go to the record store 16:04 and try to choose an album or CD where it says, 16:07 "Explicit lyrics content." 16:10 When I was being raised, you didn't have to get a rating 16:13 at the beginning of the show, rated G, rated whatever. 16:17 There were no ratings. 16:20 Right, Pastor CA. 16:21 There were no ratings. 16:23 We were raised in an innocuous society 16:26 where television was for entertainment, 16:28 not for corruption. 16:30 But somewhere along the way, the switch... 16:32 Switched over from entertainment to corruption. 16:35 Somewhere even in society, the law enforcement went, 16:38 they went from police officers 16:40 that were public servants to law enforcers. 16:46 They were peace keepers, now they are law enforcers. 16:50 Everything in our world is an agitation. 16:54 I was raised in a community where we have fun 16:56 with the people that drove by in the police car. 16:59 They'd stop and we would laugh and talk together. 17:01 Now when a police car drives by, many communities, 17:05 people are running here that aren't young, 17:08 because something has happened in our world 17:12 where society at every level 17:14 has been degraded, contaminated and corrupted. 17:18 What that means is when wrong no longer appears wrong 17:20 and sin no longer appears sin, for the mind is degraded, 17:25 contaminated, and corrupted. 17:27 One of my favorite devotionals is Oswald Chamber's 17:30 "My Utmost for His Highest." 17:33 And a few days ago, I was reading, 17:34 my wife and I read this either in the morning 17:36 or the evenings, and then we... 17:37 If the morning is our devotional, 17:39 we read our Bibles in the evening and vice versa. 17:42 But he made a statement and I believe 17:44 the Lord allowed this one to come in light 17:46 of the reality of what my sermon was going to be. 17:49 Listen to this, it's a very powerful quotation. 17:52 And by the way, if you have the book, 17:54 it's from the date March 16th. 17:57 He says, "One of the penalties of sin 18:00 is our acceptance of it. 18:05 It is not only God who punishes for sin, 18:08 but listen to this, 18:10 but sin establishes itself in the sinner 18:15 and takes its toll. 18:18 No struggling or praying 18:20 will enable you to stop doing certain things," 18:24 because sin has established itself in the sinner 18:29 and it takes its toll, it takes over. 18:31 As Paul says, in Romans 7:17, 18:34 "It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me." 18:39 When sin takes up residence in the soul 18:41 and establishes itself, he says, no struggling 18:45 or praying will enable you to stop certain things, 18:50 and the penalty of sin 18:52 is that you gradually get used to it 18:56 until you finally come to the place 18:58 where you no longer realize that it is sin. 19:02 That's degradation, that's contamination, 19:04 that's corruption. 19:06 Then he goes on to say, 19:07 "Only as we pray for the Lord 19:11 to break the hold, is there any hope for us," 19:14 what do you say? Amen. 19:15 Only as we pray for the Lord to break the hold. 19:20 There are some people that could pray and struggle 19:22 and never be freed, you know why? 19:25 Because Jeremiah 13:23 says, "When it is by human effort, 19:29 we will never be able to accomplish our own freedom." 19:33 Listen to the words. 19:35 Can the Ethiopian change his skin? 19:36 What's the answer? 19:38 No. 19:39 Or the leopard its spots? 19:40 What's the answer? No. 19:42 Then may you also do good 19:44 who are accustomed, 19:47 there's that word, accustomed. 19:49 The word accustomed means that is my practice. 19:53 You see, the Bible says of Jesus, 19:55 when He went into the synagogue, 19:57 He stood up to read as His custom was. 20:02 He practiced, being in the synagogue, 20:04 on the Sabbath, 20:06 reading and so it became something that was easy to do. 20:09 When we are practicers of sin, 20:11 and we become accustomed to it. 20:14 We cannot free ourselves from it 20:16 because it takes up residence in our soul, 20:20 into sin itself. 20:23 We become so unfamiliar with it 20:26 that it becomes us. 20:29 When we refuse to abandon what we know to be wrong, 20:33 it is like slowly getting into cold water. 20:35 Have you ever done that before? 20:38 Ever got into cold water before? 20:40 I was in a situation once where we were... 20:42 I was at Oakwood University, 20:44 it was Oakwood College at the time. 20:46 And I was in the Edward's Hall dorm, 20:51 3B2C, 20:53 Pastor CA know what I am talking about, third floor, 20:55 3B2C, that was my room. 20:59 And I'd get up every morning to run 21:01 and my roommate, 21:02 who was also from New York, 21:03 he would say to me, "You're crazy." 21:06 Because I'd get up in the morning to run 21:08 during the winter months and it was practically cold. 21:11 It wasn't as cold as here. 21:12 but I'd get up in the morning to run. 21:14 Every morning I'd run the whole campus and come back. 21:16 By the time I got back, 21:18 he's just getting out of bed, 21:19 wiping the crust out of his eyes, 21:21 and I am all awakened. 21:22 I'm excited 21:24 and, you know, just like the urban flavor, 21:26 he'd say, "You're crazy?" 21:28 You know, I'd come into the room, 21:29 I am all excited, "Wake up Chris, wake up." 21:31 He'd say, "Leave me alone. 21:33 Are you crazy running out there in that cold weather?" 21:34 But this is what I remember more than that. 21:37 As I'd get back, and by the time I got back, 21:40 everybody already showered. 21:42 So there was only cold water left. 21:45 And I got to get ready, 21:47 I had to shower, 21:48 go to breakfast, then get ready to go to class. 21:51 But all the cold water is all that's left. 21:57 I wasn't going to class sweaty and smelling? 22:01 So you kind of go like... 22:06 Just me and you, cold water. 22:08 Who's gonna win? 22:10 And you get in there and you kind of go, whoa. 22:13 You know what I am talking about? 22:15 But because you... 22:17 It shocks you at first, 22:19 but because you stay in it, 22:22 all of a sudden you get accustomed to the cold water. 22:27 That's how sin is. 22:29 You know it's not good for you, it's going to shock you. 22:33 But the longer you stay under it, 22:36 your body adjusts 22:38 to something that will shock 22:40 somebody's system into reality. 22:44 That's how sin is, 22:46 you slide your way into it. 22:48 It shocks you initially 22:51 but because you stay in it, 22:54 your body adjusts to it. 22:57 That's how sin is. 22:59 You get into a cold tub, 23:03 you get into a cold lake, 23:06 you become a member of the polar bear club 23:08 and they dive into the ice in the winter. 23:11 Nothing is more foolish, 23:15 but because they get in it, 23:18 and they stay in it, 23:20 and they've done it over and over. 23:22 It gets easier every time 23:25 to dive into something that will shock 23:28 the system of the normal person. 23:30 That's how sin is. 23:34 The danger of sin is not just the sin itself 23:37 but getting used to it. 23:39 You see when the world gets to the place 23:40 where its completely dark, 23:43 when the darkness is introduced 23:44 and we don't reject it, after a while, 23:47 the mind convinces itself 23:51 that darkness is light. 23:55 Now we know darkness is darkness 23:59 but if light becomes darkness, 24:02 how dark is the darkness? 24:06 Here, do you follow me? 24:08 Now if I turned a flashlight on, and that's dark to you, 24:12 how dark will it be if I turned the flashlight off? 24:16 That's why when you look at the conditions 24:17 that Revelation talks about in Revelation 16, 24:20 the reason why we are moving 24:21 towards the system of gross darkness 24:24 is in the religious world, 24:27 people don't want light, they want religion, 24:29 they want to have a good old party, 24:31 they want to feel good. 24:33 Nowadays, in Christianity, the new term is "experience." 24:37 And our church is being affected 24:38 by that same foolishness. 24:41 All around... 24:42 Did you experience God, hey? 24:44 Go Jesus. 24:46 Look at some of our universities 24:48 making a fool out of themselves 24:50 for feeling and experience. 24:52 That same nonsense will lead you down to experience hell. 24:55 You can be emotional but that ain't righteousness. 24:59 If emotion is righteousness, 25:00 look at the Mount Carmel showdown all day long. 25:04 All day long yelling for their God to respond, 25:06 nobody... 25:08 The phone was disconnected. 25:10 'Cause when you worship the false gods, 25:12 you could be emotional all you want, 25:14 but ain't no God is gonna respond to that. 25:16 And all Elijah did was got down on his knees and said, 25:19 "Lord, if God be God, then respond by fire." 25:23 You want fire in your life? 25:24 Humble yourself before God. 25:27 Forget about emotion. 25:33 When light becomes darkness in you, 25:36 how great is that darkness? 25:38 how great is that darkness? 25:40 That's why it is in this age that the prophet screams, 25:43 "Darkness will cover the inhabitants. 25:45 Gross darkness the people." 25:47 But... 25:49 The glory of God shall be risen upon you 25:51 and shall be seen on you. 25:53 It will only be seen on us if we embrace the truth. 25:57 But even deeper than that, if we love the truth. 26:03 Because Paul, the Apostle, writes in 2 Thessalonians, 26:05 "Because they received not a love of the truth 26:08 that they might be saved." 26:10 God sends them a strong delusion 26:12 that they will believe a lie. 26:13 Let me make it clear. 26:14 When what God has given you, you no longer want, 26:17 He'll give you what you don't want. 26:19 Let me say that, He'll give you what you do want. 26:22 I used to sit down at the dinner table. 26:24 My mother used to day, "That's dinner." 26:27 I'd say, "I don't want that." 26:28 She said, "Well, that's all you're getting." 26:30 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 26:33 "Here's God's Word." "I don't want that." 26:34 "Well, that's all you are getting." 26:37 And so what happens we go outside of God's Word. 26:39 We find our popular speaker, teachers having itching you 26:42 as we pick this evangelist there, 26:44 or that TV personality there, 26:46 or that one that makes me feel good, 26:47 I'm gonna laugh every time I look at his sermons. 26:49 You could laugh your way to hell. 26:53 Jesus didn't laugh His way to the cross. 26:55 The disciples didn't laugh 26:57 their way to persecution in dungeons. 26:58 They didn't laugh. 27:00 They stood for what was right. 27:02 And somehow, this modern age has made Christianity 27:05 into a marshmallow religion. 27:07 "Is your ship coming in?" 27:08 "What ship? 27:09 I didn't send any ship out." 27:12 My salvation is nearer than when I first believed. 27:14 That's coming. 27:17 But nowadays, the eyes are bad. 27:19 And if we start looking in the wrong direction, 27:21 and it's so sad when some of our churches are wondering, 27:23 "Well, why are we not awake?" 27:25 Well, you ain't awakers, you ain't preaching, 27:26 and you are not living, and you are not embracing, 27:29 and I've come to the place, thank you Jesus, 27:31 I've come to the place where I don't feel 27:33 that it's not what I'm doing up here, 27:35 but it's what you are doing down there. 27:38 I don't come to your house and feed you 27:39 but if you ain't eating God's Word, you will be complacent. 27:42 If you are not feasting on God's Word day by day 27:45 in your own personal life, 27:46 you are starving by the time you come on Sabbath morning. 27:49 Emaciated. 27:51 And lot of preachers are trying to give you candy 27:53 on Sabbath morning, 27:55 I hope I'm not doing that. 28:02 The Apostle Paul continues to talk 28:03 about this gross darkness 28:05 and he says in 2 Corinthians 4:4, 28:07 he says that, "The gross darkness is orchestrated." 28:10 It's not coincidental. 28:11 Notice his words. 28:12 2 Corinthians 4:4, notice who is behind it. 28:16 He said, "Whose minds the god of this age has blinded," 28:22 why? 28:23 "Who do not believe." 28:26 I don't believe that. 28:29 I've had people tell me, "I know about the Sabbath 28:30 but I don't believe it." 28:32 Well, because you don't believe it. 28:34 I like what's the Chronicle... 28:35 What's the guy in Chronicle, what's his name, 28:36 Chris Hudson? 28:38 He'd say, "The truth is the truth 28:39 whether you believe it or not." 28:41 Amen? 28:43 It's ain't the truth 'cause you believe it? 28:45 Four is four whether you believe it or not? 28:47 Two plus two is four whether you believe it or not? 28:50 But so many of our pastors are giving people 28:52 what they believe and what they don't believe. 28:54 I'm gonna tell you what the Bible says. 28:57 Your mind is blind 28:59 but the Word of God is not the problem. 29:01 He said, "Who do not believe." 29:02 Why? 29:03 Lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ 29:06 who is the image of God should shine on them. 29:10 The devil doesn't want 29:11 the glory of God to shine on anybody. 29:14 But here is where we come in. 29:16 Here is where we come in. 29:17 If they miss the glory of God 29:19 that was given to them from the courts of glory, 29:22 the glory of God ought to shine through us. 29:29 The glory of God ought to shine through our lives. 29:31 How can you be a child of a light, 29:33 but darkness is shining through your life. 29:36 The glory of God has to shine through us, 29:38 that's what the apostle says, 29:39 that's what the prophet says. 29:41 But the question is, 29:42 how does the God of this age create blindness? 29:46 How does he do it? 29:48 He does it by creating substitutes. 29:52 I thought about that the other day. 29:54 I was looking on the internet about substitutes, 29:55 and I came to find out that there's this one substance 29:57 that has been substituted more than any other 29:59 and that's sugar. 30:02 Sugar substitutes, remember that? 30:05 If you are old enough, remember saccharin? 30:09 Everybody wanted saccharin, 30:10 another big thing, you got to rest strike them, 30:12 until they found out that it causes cancer. 30:14 Some of you are looking for substitutes 30:16 and it's causing cancer in your spiritual life, 30:18 come on now. 30:20 Back down on your sugar 30:21 but stay away from the substitutes 30:24 or give it over sugar altogether. 30:25 But don't accept any substitutes 30:27 because there is no substitute for genuine truth. 30:31 Any substitute for the truth is a lie. 30:35 No matter how good it feels, 30:36 no matter how much enthusiasm is behind it, 30:38 any substitute for the truth is a lie. 30:43 Don't accept it. 30:45 But this is a point that is so very important. 30:48 Whatever you decide to substitute for truth, 30:50 just like saccharin, and false things created in laboratories. 30:55 Eventually, your body 30:57 and your mind will crave the substitutes 31:00 because you no longer want the real thing. 31:04 So there are substitutes for Bible study. 31:06 What is it? 31:07 The Grammys? What is it? 31:09 What are you doing on Wednesday night? 31:10 What's your substitute? 31:12 We have studies on Wednesday nights. 31:13 What's your substitute? 31:17 Some of us who live so close to the church, 31:19 we could fall out of our house right into the church. 31:21 Don't show up on Wednesday night Bible study, why? 31:24 Because pastor John is talking. 31:26 I'm gonna get straight with you. 31:28 Noah talked for 120 years. 31:30 What were their substitute? 31:32 Well, they got substitutes 31:33 but they ended up on the outside of the ark. 31:35 Let me tell you something, church, 31:36 I'm talking to my people now. 31:38 You can ignore Bible studies all you want, 31:40 but the time is gonna come that your ignorance 31:42 is gonna be so stark 31:44 because you didn't come when the Word of God 31:46 was being taught. 31:48 We got Wednesday night, we got Thursday night. 31:51 If you can't make one, make the other. 31:53 But you cannot ignore Bible studies. 31:55 Why? 31:57 Because you know what? 31:58 Somewhere along the way you got down into the cold water 32:00 and it is comfortable now. 32:02 Cannot break yourself away. 32:06 I like this morning's devotion in Oswald Chamber's. 32:10 He says, "The problem with so much of us 32:13 is we don't understand what we are dealing with." 32:16 We are dealing with a corruptible body. 32:18 We may be born again but we got one more thing 32:20 that we are fighting with until the day that Jesus comes, 32:23 sorry, until the day we are made into His image perfectly. 32:27 We got this corruptible body. 32:28 This what? 32:30 It's called sinful flesh. 32:32 You may be born of the spirit, 32:34 but you got to battle every morning with sinful flesh. 32:36 Sinful flesh remembers what brings you pleasure 32:40 and it will present that to you 32:41 to get you to walk away from the things that you need. 32:45 So the sinful flesh will say, 32:47 "We don't need to go to prayer meeting." 32:50 And like a fool you'd say, "You know, you are right." 32:54 Listen to me. 32:56 Oswald Chamber said, 32:57 "When the flesh says sit, listen to Jesus. 33:01 He says, go. 33:03 When the flesh says, eat, Jesus says, don't eat that. 33:07 When the flesh says, yawn, Jesus says pray." 33:12 And we give in to the flesh. 33:14 We give in to the flesh more than we give in to the spirit. 33:18 That's why the Bible says, 33:19 "Those who are led by the Spirit, 33:22 these are the sons of God, these are the children of God." 33:26 But so often now, 33:28 Christianity has become this comfortable practice 33:30 in so many of our churches. 33:31 I have even... 33:32 I don't want to be too clear, 33:34 I don't want to be too specific, 33:35 but I remember meeting a pastor who told me, 33:37 "I'm comfortable baptizing people with jewelry on." 33:41 I said, "I'm not." 33:44 So the Lord said to me, "Now, 33:45 are you comfortable with what he is comfortable with? 33:47 Or you are comfortable with what My Word teaches?" 33:50 I said, "Lord, I'm comfortable with what Your Word teaches." 33:54 If you're comfortable to law, the standards 33:56 because you don't want to offend somebody, 33:58 you do that and then you stand before God 34:00 and give Him an account for what you decide to do. 34:03 You can't modify God's Word. 34:05 When you accept the call to stand here, 34:07 you got to do two things, 34:09 you got to ode your life in harmony with it, 34:11 and then live it and preach it. 34:17 There are no substitutes. 34:18 John 3:19, "This is the condemnation, 34:22 that light has come into the world, 34:23 and men loved darkness rather than light 34:26 because their deeds were evil." 34:29 Three dangers we have to guard against, so you hear me? 34:31 How many dangers did I say? Three. 34:33 Here they are. 34:34 The first one, to be exposed to the light 34:36 and refuse to embrace it. 34:39 To be exposed to the light and refuse to embrace it. 34:43 It's like somebody shows up to rescue you 34:46 in the midst of a power outage 34:49 and you say, "I'll find another way." 34:51 And they drive away and you see the light going away 34:53 and all of a sudden, you are caught in abject darkness, 34:56 and you have no idea where you are going. 35:00 The second danger is to have the light 35:02 and refuse to walk in it. 35:05 The first one, exposed to the light 35:06 and refuse to embrace it. 35:08 There are those that have heard hundred, 35:10 maybe thousands of sermons 35:12 and walk away from it every Sabbath, 35:15 because they have been so immersed in cold water, 35:17 they can't feel the truth. 35:20 Well, there are those that have... 35:22 They have accepted the truth, 35:25 but they have not embraced the truth. 35:28 The difference between that is having your wife 35:30 and hugging your wife. 35:33 Some of you never hug your wife. 35:36 You might have her but she don't... 35:37 She is dying for lack of touch. 35:39 The truth is the same way, 35:41 some of the truth is dying for lack of embrace. 35:44 We got the truth in our Bibles, in our Sabbath school lessons, 35:47 in our quarterlies, in all the writings on our shelves, 35:49 but we don't embrace it, 35:51 because we're embracing everything else. 35:55 Got to embrace it. 35:57 You got to do what? Embrace it. 35:59 You know what embrace means? 36:00 If you have a water ski, that's what embrace means. 36:03 You try to water ski with one finger, see what happens. 36:08 Embrace it like your very existence 36:11 depends on how much you hold on. 36:15 And the third category. 36:17 Oh, this is even more devious than the first and the second. 36:20 The third one is, creating a version 36:25 of what you believe walking in the light means. 36:29 Creating your own version 36:31 of what you believe walking in the light means. 36:34 Now let me make this clear. This is deep. 36:36 You see many of us walk in the light, 36:38 but what that means is we walk in the light 36:40 according to the standards we set up. 36:44 We say, "I'm an Adventist, but I'm gonna just do this." 36:49 I'm an Adventist, but I'm only gonna do this. 36:54 I've heard it, I've been there. 36:56 I've talked to people in Phoenix like that. 36:58 I'm an Adventist, but I still believe in speaking in tongues. 37:02 I talked to somebody like that in Phoenix. 37:04 Now I know what the Bible said. 37:07 But I still believe in that 37:08 because that's what I used to be. 37:10 I talked to somebody who said, "Now why do you want that?" 37:13 Because it makes me feel good, 37:15 and it brings me peace. 37:16 I said, "No. 37:17 But the Bible says my peace 37:19 I leave with Jesus gives you peace." 37:20 So eventually, thank you Jesus. 37:22 Eventually, I kept on with his sister until she said, 37:25 "So I guess I must abandon it." 37:26 I said "Yeah." 37:27 'Cause it ain't in harmony with God's Word. 37:29 Whatever is not in harmony with God's Word, 37:31 abandon your version of what it means to walk in the truth. 37:35 Amen. Your version. 37:37 I like what Pastor CA did in this church. 37:39 I haven't come up and do it, but I remember it. 37:41 I'll let you do another sermon, but I must feel it right now. 37:45 How many of you want to be saved? 37:46 How many of you want to be saved, raise your hand. 37:48 There better not be a hand down here. 37:51 How many of you want to be saved? 37:52 Come on, let's do it again. 37:53 All right. Okay, put your hand down. 37:55 How many of you really want to be saved? 37:58 All right. 37:59 Come on up here. Anyway, wait. 38:01 He says, some of you ain't going to be saved 38:05 because of your spouse. 38:08 You put your spouse ahead of God. 38:10 Am I doing right so for? 38:12 Some of you ain't going to be saved because of your job. 38:16 You put your job ahead of God. 38:19 Some of you ain't going to be saved, I may add some stuff. 38:21 Some of you ain't going to be saved 38:22 because you put your beliefs ahead of God's Word. 38:25 Some of you ain't going to be saved because of your bling. 38:29 You put your jewelry ahead of God's Word. 38:33 You put your way of life ahead of God's Word. 38:35 You put your version of Adventism ahead of God's Word. 38:42 How many of you want to be saved now? 38:46 If you want to be saved, you got to walk in the light 38:49 not according to your standard 38:50 but according to God's standard. 38:52 Amen. 38:53 We are living in such a dark age. 38:55 We're living in such a dark age. 38:57 Oswald Chamber says, "For many of us walking in the light 38:59 means walking according to the standard we have set up. 39:04 If the standard by which you walk 39:05 has not been set up by God's Word, 39:07 the standard is darkness." 39:08 Only God's Word is reliable to determine the standard. 39:15 Isaiah 59, the latter part, 39:17 "That's why we got to keep God's Word nearby us." 39:19 Can I get an amen on that? 39:21 We got to keep God's Word nearby us 39:24 like a sword in the battle. 39:26 The last part of Isaiah 59:19 says, 39:29 "When the enemy comes in like a flood, 39:32 the Spirit of the Lord will lift up 39:33 a standard against him." 39:35 God's Spirit lifts the standard, not us. 39:40 And our church today is going through a standard storm. 39:44 Some churches are thrown out, Ellen White over here. 39:46 Some churches want women ordination 39:48 more than they want salvation. 39:50 All this foolishness. 39:52 The devil's got us making idiots out of ourselves. 39:55 And the church that should be so perfectly united, 39:58 have made so many internal gods 40:00 that they don't know which one is which. 40:03 And that's why a storm is gonna come, 40:04 a storm has to come. 40:06 A storm has to come to this church. 40:09 God's got to send a storm to wake some of us up. 40:12 He's got to send earthquakes into our lives 40:14 to wake some of us up 40:15 because until our house is crumbled beneath our feet, 40:17 we will not look up to God. 40:19 Amen. 40:20 So He's got to send a storm. 40:22 Some of us are so recalcitrant in the way we live, 40:24 we don't care what God's Word says. 40:26 We made an idol of how we feel about other people. 40:31 Another danger is, 40:35 the Lord dealt with me in this message. 40:37 Another danger is, there are those that are not comfortable 40:40 with God's Word at this point in their lives. 40:44 Let me make that clear. 40:45 Some people say, "Well, yeah, 40:47 I'm gonna eventually join the church but right now... 40:51 See I got this job." 40:54 Going to go to hell for a job. 40:57 Some people know about the truth, but they say, 40:59 "At this point, my spouse is not comfortable 41:03 with going to church on the Sabbath. 41:05 So I'm gonna chill with him or her for right now 41:08 because I'm not comfortable with God's Word 41:10 at this point in my life." 41:13 They have not rejected God's Word, 41:15 it just don't fit right now. 41:18 That's what Agrippa said, 41:20 "I'll call you at a more convenient time." 41:23 And it never... 41:25 I think it was Festus, 41:27 and the convenient time never came. 41:32 And then Agrippa said, 41:33 "You almost persuaded me to be a Christian, 41:35 but as one of my favorite preacher said 41:37 to be almost persuaded is to be totally lost." 41:42 To be almost saved is to be totally lost. 41:46 John 12:35 says, 41:50 "A little while longer the light is with you." 41:52 This is a powerful passage. 41:54 "A little while longer and the light is with you, 41:56 walk while you have the light." 41:59 While what? 42:00 While you have the light, lest darkness overtakes you. 42:04 "He who walks in darkness 42:05 does not know where he is going." 42:11 And there's some people, they have a life 42:13 but they walk away from it. 42:14 So they think, "Well, I didn't really... 42:15 I mean, I didn't... 42:17 I did not intellectually, I mean it's confusing." 42:18 It is confusing at best when you walk away from the light. 42:20 You know why? 42:22 Because you think, "Well, 42:23 I haven't intellectually abandoned the life." 42:25 But you have physically abandoned the life. 42:27 When you intellectually and physically are going 42:29 in two opposite directions, that's called confusion. 42:33 When you say in your mind, I still believe its truth, 42:36 but I'm going in this direction, 42:38 you are in confusion. 42:42 When you walk in darkness, 42:43 when you know about the light and you walk in darkness, 42:45 you don't know where you are going 42:48 and the danger is we think that somewhere along the way, 42:51 but Jesus said to His disciples, 42:53 "Walk in the light while you have it." 42:55 What does that mean? 42:57 Eventually, 70 disciples walked away from Jesus 43:00 and never walked with Him ever again, 70 of them. 43:04 If 70 disciples could walk away from Jesus, 43:09 I don't feel so bad when people say to me, 43:12 "Pastor, I ain't coming to church anymore." 43:13 "Why?" 43:15 Because of something you said in your sermon. 43:16 "Was it a lie?" "No." 43:17 "But it offended me." 43:20 And Peter... 43:22 The lawyer looked at Peter and said, 43:23 "You leave in two or I'm a Peter today." 43:25 He said, "Lord to whom shall I go?" 43:28 Amen. 43:30 We got to get to the place in these days 43:31 when the world is calling us to compromise, 43:34 when the church is calling us to compromise, 43:36 when voices in the church are calling us to compromise. 43:39 We got to look at Jesus and say, "To whom shall I go?" 43:43 You have the words of life and the danger is, 43:48 people think that God is going to always be available 43:50 but Noah said it in those days, 43:52 "My spirit shall not always strive with man." 43:56 Shall not always strive with man. 43:58 When light is repetitiously rejected, 44:01 the ultimate deception occurs. 44:03 Look at Proverbs 14:12, 44:06 Proverbs 14:12, 44:09 Luis, you might have to ear this in two parts. 44:13 I love you, my brother. 44:16 Proverbs 14:12, 44:18 when the truth of God is repetitiously rejected, 44:21 the ultimate deception occurs. 44:23 Here it is. 44:24 "There is a way that seems right." 44:26 Together, there is a way that what? 44:28 "Seems right to a man but its end 44:32 is the way of death." 44:36 The danger of walking in the darkness 44:39 when there's a cliff ahead of you is eventually, 44:43 you'll reach the tipping point where there is no coming back. 44:48 Nobody ever fell up a cliff. 44:51 Think about that. 44:53 Nobody ever fill up a cliff, 44:55 but they have fallen down a cliff. 44:56 Some people live their lives 44:57 so close to the cliff spiritually, 44:59 that they're gonna fall off eventually. 45:01 I was watching the news the other night 45:03 and there was a particular show on television 45:05 where Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Winfrey made a statement, 45:07 I don't listen to everything she says, 45:09 but she hit a chord and I didn't forget it. 45:12 She said, "The darkness is spreading so fast these days 45:17 that you must become a soldier of the light, 45:20 the darkness is there to show you your light." 45:25 And I thought that is deep. 45:29 The darkness is spreading so fast these days. 45:33 You must become a soldier of the light. 45:37 The darkness is there to show you your light. 45:43 We've had darkness and darkness is gradual. 45:47 The world has gone through changes 45:49 from the beginning of civilization 45:50 to the very present, very quickly. 45:53 The age of antiquity 45:54 from Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. 45:56 That's a long in the past. 45:58 There was a different understanding 45:59 than the classic age of antiquity. 46:02 During the times of Christ, the Greek and Roman empires. 46:05 Antiquity, classic antiquity. 46:08 Then the Dark Ages, the decline of the pagan empire of Rome 46:12 and the rise of the papal empire of Rome, 46:14 when Europe merged under the Roman rule. 46:17 Then the early age of enlightenment, 46:19 during the time of the Reformation 46:21 began in the year 1090. 46:23 Then early modern history from the 16th century. 46:26 It was called The Age of Discovery. 46:29 When all of a sudden, the Bible began to mean something 46:32 because the Bible was once again 46:33 put in the hands of the common man. 46:35 And the Protestant Reformation began. 46:38 People that stood on God's Word alone. 46:42 And then, late modern history, the 18th century. 46:45 When the American Bible Society and the Advent movement began. 46:48 Come on, say amen somebody. 46:50 God began to raise up a movement that says, 46:52 "All I want is the Word of God. 46:54 Nothing else." 46:58 And then the industrial revolution, 47:00 and then we finally find contemporary history 47:03 which modernists say from 1945, from the end of World War II 47:07 to the present has been contemporary history. 47:11 What has happened with contemporary history? 47:14 The devil went back through his chronicles and said, 47:16 "At what point 47:17 in the development of human history 47:19 have I been most successful?" 47:21 It was the Dark Ages. 47:24 So because he doesn't create anything, 47:27 he went back and decided to implement the tactics 47:31 that were best during the Dark Ages. 47:33 Follow me carefully, this is powerful. 47:36 He raised up pagan Rome, 47:39 then he brought pagan Rome down 47:41 and he raised up papal Rome. 47:44 And papal Rome is enforced to this very day. 47:46 He was successful in bringing Europe into complete darkness, 47:50 also called "The Medieval Times." 47:52 When evil was grand. 47:54 Read Foxe's Book of Martyrs. 47:55 You want to see evil? 47:57 You have to have a strong stomach 47:58 to read that book to see the atrocities 48:00 perpetrated on human life. 48:03 And he thought that was the point 48:04 where the world best fits the kind of demon I am 48:09 and so he decided, 48:11 "I got to bring that back." 48:13 But there's a difference now, 48:14 praise God, there's a difference now. 48:17 See the difference now is the light got out. 48:21 Amen. Amen. 48:23 The light got out. 48:24 Hallelujah. 48:26 He couldn't turn the light on too bright in the dark ages, 48:28 but the light is out. 48:30 The light is on now. 48:32 God's got a movement all over this world, 48:34 the light is on now. 48:36 You can't turn off the light 48:38 because the devil don't have the switch. 48:40 The light is on now. 48:43 Somebody got a light in Europe, and in the Philippines, 48:45 and in the Caribbean, and in Ireland, and in Europe, 48:48 the light is on now. 48:50 And the devil's going, "How am I gonna do it?" 48:52 So he decides to do it through immorality, 48:56 through violating the marriage, sexual immorality, adultery, 49:02 Sabbath breaking Satanists. 49:04 You know something's wrong 49:06 when Satanists and Christians believe the same thing, 49:10 that you have an immortal soul. 49:12 Darkness. 49:14 When the scriptural gospel 49:15 has been replaced with the social gospel, 49:17 when political corruption is applauded, 49:19 supported, and celebrated, Lord, have mercy. 49:22 Our church, all over the world, at least in this nation, 49:27 has become so politically inoculated 49:31 that it's getting to the place 49:32 where Adventists are becoming of no value 49:35 because we talk more about Donald Trump than Jesus. 49:41 There was the Obama-ites when he was in office. 49:43 Now they have the Trump-ites. 49:44 The only trumpet that's your sound is the gospel trumpet. 49:47 Stop taking sides on the left and right 49:49 and take sides on the center. 49:52 We come to church and talk about what he said 49:54 and what she didn't say, and who's in trouble 49:55 and what's not in trouble. 49:56 We are in trouble. 49:58 Got to get back to the gospel God has given us. 50:01 Darkness is covering the inhabitants. 50:03 When we are more in favor of human frailty 50:06 than divine perfection, something's wrong. 50:09 That's what's happening in our world today. 50:12 We get together in our little pockets 50:13 and discuss what was said, what wasn't said, 50:14 and who didn't and who what... 50:18 I need a drink. 50:23 And we forget that we have been called to hold up the light. 50:30 And right in the midst of our meandering in the maze 50:33 of mediocrity and pondering at the pool of popularity 50:36 and negotiating at the table of the enemy, 50:38 in the midst of this chiasm of confusion, 50:41 Protestantism and Catholicism is building the grand stage. 50:47 And Rome is saying, "Come on home", 50:49 and the daughters are coming home. 50:52 And when it's all said and done, 50:53 we'll be the only one still holding up the light. 50:55 But that may not be true 50:56 if that's not the case in your life. 51:01 Can the blind lead the blind? 51:03 Will they not both fall into the pit? 51:07 Today, my brothers and my sisters, 51:09 I'm gonna just narrow this down so it won't be edited. 51:12 But I'm gonna say this, we've got to find an answer 51:16 to the darkness in human history. 51:18 We've got to find an answer to the darkness 51:19 in this world that's corrupt to the core. 51:22 You know when people get to the place 51:25 where they hate those that are good, 51:28 something is wrong. 51:30 The Bible says, it's going to be so corrupt 51:32 that people are going to be despisers 51:34 of those that are good. 51:36 "When the world begins to despise those that are good, 51:39 darkness has covered the inhabitants 51:41 and gross darkness has covered the people." 51:44 And my challenge to you today, 51:47 in a world where Jesus has been deleted, 51:49 where morality is now... 51:53 Where morality is denied and immorality is celebrated, 51:57 in a world where even amongst our own ranks, 52:00 darkness is becoming more palatable than light. 52:03 When we're saying that the everlasting gospel 52:06 is no longer the relevant gospel. 52:09 When we're saying the three angels' messages 52:11 must be abandoned in favor of feeling 52:14 and emotion and experience. 52:17 God is saying, this is the generation that I'm saying, 52:20 "Arise and shine, for your light has come. 52:24 And the glory of the Lord shall be risen upon you, 52:26 for behold darkness will cover the inhabitants 52:29 and gross darkness the people." 52:31 But, thank God for the word but. 52:34 Come on, somebody? 52:35 But in this case the Lord will rise over you 52:40 and His glory will be seen on you. 52:43 Amen. 52:44 Let me ask you the question today. 52:46 Here my appeal is to the point. 52:49 How many of you are determined by God's grace, 52:53 that the glory of the Lord will be seen on you? 52:57 Would you stand with me? 53:00 Would you stand with me? 53:03 This is the age of darkness 53:04 but somebody has got to be in the light 53:07 and I love it, the benefits of the light, 53:09 Jesus said, "If you walk in the light 53:11 as He is in the light, you will have fellowship 53:14 with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ, 53:17 His Son, will cleanse us from all sin." 53:22 You got to walk in the light. 53:24 There's another dust storm coming 53:26 and it's going to be ferocious. 53:28 It's going to be ferocious, just play softly for me. 53:31 I thought you were already there. 53:32 It's going to be ferocious. 53:34 It ain't gonna be a dust storm in the Midwest, 53:37 not in Texas, and Oklahoma, and Kansas, 53:40 it's going to be a dust storm that is planet size. 53:44 And it's coming. 53:45 It's coming but God is saying to His people, 53:48 "While the dust is coming. 53:50 Run for cover in the righteousness of Jesus." 53:55 Run for cover on the foundation of His unshakable Word, 54:00 run for cover under the angel's wings. 54:07 When there is going to be destruction all around us, 54:10 somebody is going to be in the secret place. 54:13 He that dwelleth in the secret place 54:15 of the most High shall abide 54:16 under the shadow of the Almighty. 54:18 And I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge 54:20 and my fortress, my God in him will I trust." 54:24 Today God is calling somebody to the secret place, 54:27 where truth is love, 54:29 where unity among brothers and sisters is celebrated, 54:33 where even our attitude 54:34 toward somebody else has been abandoned 54:36 because we cannot afford to misrepresent Jesus. 54:40 If there's somebody here today 54:41 that wants to make that commitment, 54:43 let me make a point today 54:44 and the Lord is saying to me, Pastor John, go further. 54:47 There may be somebody here today 54:48 that did not ever give their lives 54:50 to the truth of God's Word. 54:52 You may not be, by profession 54:54 and by existence a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 54:57 But God is calling you today to make your decision 54:59 and you're here. 55:03 And you want to say, "Lord Jesus, 55:04 I see the dust storm coming. 55:08 And I want to be a part of those 55:13 that are going to be in that rank of saved people." 55:17 If God is saying to you today, my brother, my sister, 55:20 if the Lord is saying to you today, 55:21 it's time for you to join those who hold up the light, 55:27 and you're here today and you know you need to be baptized. 55:32 Don't worry about the details, 55:34 the Lord will work out the details. 55:35 But you know you need to be baptized. 55:37 Don't think about what you got to get right 55:39 because you can't get it right first. 55:42 Don't worry about the details. 55:43 God is just simply saying, 55:45 "I want to know where your heart is, 55:48 I want to know where you stand." 55:50 Not your circumstances but where you stand? 55:53 Where you want to be when all the cloud is all past? 55:57 Will you still stand there, 55:59 or will you be covered with a 300 tons of darkness? 56:03 Will you be covered 56:05 by the righteousness of Jesus Christ? 56:07 Is there somebody here today 56:08 that want to make that decision? 56:11 Is there somebody here today that want to make that... 56:12 I'm looking around. 56:14 I know there's got to be somebody here, 56:16 we can't all be perfect. 56:18 I don't believe that to be the case. 56:26 I never knew we had a perfect church before. 56:29 I never knew we had everybody in Jesus already, 56:32 or maybe that's the case here. 56:36 But if the Lord is calling you, make your call today. 56:41 The decision is all He is looking for. 56:47 The storm is coming. 56:49 It's time to hold up the light. 56:56 Father in heaven. 57:02 You told us storm is coming. 57:09 I'm praying Lord that You'll pour some warm water 57:11 in that cold tub, 57:16 that You might execrate and rescue your children, 57:18 that you might pull them 57:19 out of what they've become comfortable with, 57:22 that you might make their comfort so uncomfortable, 57:28 that they'll cry out for your deliverance, 57:33 that you'll make their darkness so dark, 57:39 that from the depths of their soul they'll scream 57:41 for the light to be turned back on one more time. 57:45 Father, You've given us the blessing of understanding 57:51 the truth as it is in Your Word and as it is in You. 57:56 And in this age of compromise and complacency 57:58 and where there are coalitions being built 58:03 and where there is a drawing to one side and to the other, 58:08 where there's a polarization taking place. 58:11 Help us to stand and hold on 58:14 in the midst of this dust storm. 58:18 And we do pray, Lord Jesus, 58:22 that when the storm is over, 58:25 that You will call us to rise 58:29 above the plains of destruction. 58:31 That you will call us to enter into the joy of our Lord 58:35 eternally, perfectly, and permanently. 58:41 And that we will look back on our lives 58:43 and at the moments of decision, 58:44 at the intersections of choosing 58:46 the darkness above the light, 58:48 at the intersection of choosing the light above the darkness, 58:51 we will be able to look back at that pivotal moment and say, 58:54 thank You Father 58:58 for holding up the light. 59:03 And so, Lord Jesus, I thank You today 59:05 for Your light that has never ever grown dim. 59:10 But may we now as lights in this dark world as candles 59:16 that are out in the open. 59:18 May Jesus be seen, reflected and revealed in us, 59:24 on us and through us, 59:28 in Jesus' name I pray. 59:32 And all of God's children said amen. |
Revised 2018-07-16