Participants: Steve Dickman
Series Code: 16ASIC
Program Code: 16ASIC000001S
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00:18 This evening I would like to invite you to kneel as far as
00:23 possible with me. We're going to invite God's presence 00:26 with us this weekend as we meet together. 00:36 Father in heaven we're coming here tonight at the beginning of 00:39 this ASI convention. Our hearts are stirred with the music 00:44 and our hearts want to be open to the Holy Spirit tonight 00:48 and not just tonight but through this entire weekend we're 00:52 inviting Your presence here. We're just pleading that You 00:56 will send Your Holy Spirit in a remarkable way 00:59 and we're asking that each one of us will just open our hearts 01:02 and minds to receive the influence and the guidance 01:06 and the directing voice of the Holy Spirit. We believe that the 01:11 ASI family has a special work to do for You during these 01:15 closing hours and days of earth's history 01:19 And so we're praying that You will draw near to us 01:22 and impress us as to what that work should be, individually 01:26 as well as corporately. Bless us now this evening in this 01:31 meeting and be with those who will be testifying as to their 01:34 experiences with You. Be with our seminar presenters 01:39 be with our exhibiters and Lord grant mercy to the speakers 01:44 as well. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. 01:55 It's a wonderful privilege that God gives to each one of us 01:58 to be personally involved in the mission of the Church 02:02 And it's important that each one of us, pastors 02:05 and lay members alike, work together in order to accomplish 02:09 our mission. 02:17 Without our lay members being involved the work can never 02:20 get finished. It's critical that each one of us takes hold of 02:25 whatever talents God has given to us. Each one of us has 02:28 spiritual gifts intentionally designed by God to be used by 02:32 by each one of us to be coordinated together in the body 02:37 of Christ in order to accomplish His purpose here in this world 02:40 And so I encourage each one to take a look at what are the 02:46 gifts that God has given to you. What are the abilities 02:49 and how can they be used as a method of reaching people 02:54 with the message of Jesus Christ 03:20 If you were to go out here and go door to door you would find 03:23 that one in every four people speaks another language besides 03:28 English. Now of course many of those are Spanish. But there are 03:31 also thousands who speak German and Navajo,Talagog 03:36 Vietnamese and a lot more. They need to hear and know the 03:40 love of Jesus. They need to recognize what God has done for 03:43 them. It was such a joy for me on the plane coming today 03:47 to sit and talk with a family that comes from Palestine and 03:50 Jordan. They are here from places that are very difficult 03:53 to reach. In just the last 10 to 20 years, 74,000 refugees 03:59 have gotten off the plane, come down like you did today 04:03 and walk into the city fleeing war, fleeing persecution 04:06 from countries like Iraq, Somalia and Bosnia. They need 04:11 the love of Jesus Christ. How many of them have been unable 04:14 to meet Him. When I think of the huge diversity in this one 04:19 metropolitan area, I am reminded of what we saw there in 04:23 Jerusalem on Pentecost where we read in Acts chapter 2:5 04:28 it says, And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men 04:33 from every nation under heaven, sounds like Phoenix doesn't it? 04:38 In verse 8 it says those people said, how is it that 04:41 we hear each in our own language in which we were born 04:44 as we are praying for revival, are we praying for the same 04:49 results? That all these people will get to hear the good news 04:52 of Jesus in their heart language But some people are upset 04:57 at the fact that these people are coming here. Evangelism 05:00 page 570 shows us what God thinks about this situation 05:05 It says we should be able to see in the multiplying 05:09 opportunities to reach many foreigners in America 05:12 a divinely appointed means of rapidly extending the third 05:17 angel's message into all the nations of the earth. 05:21 God in His providence has brought 'em into our very doors 05:24 and thrust them as it were into our arms that they might 05:28 learn the truth and be qualified to do a work we could not do 05:32 in getting the light before men of other tongues. 05:36 So while you're in Arizona this weekend, watch for people 05:40 pray for them and share. Together let's reach the world 05:44 next door. Will you pray with me that God's strategy 05:47 might be fulfilled? Let's pray. Father in heaven, You see every 05:53 single person of every nationality, tribe and tongue 05:56 and you love them as if they were only one. So Lord, 06:00 we want to confess that we don't love them like You do 06:03 We don't care so much about the people who are different from us 06:06 So we ask you to fill us with Your heart, with Your love 06:10 for them and enable us to reach out. Please be with the church 06:14 members here in Phoenix and throughout the state of Arizona 06:17 Raise them up to reach out to these people that in some places 06:21 we can't even get into their countries are missionaries. 06:23 Use them, use us. Throw us out into Your mission field that we 06:28 might see Your work finished and Jesus return. 06:31 We pray in Jesus' name, Amen. 06:37 I have three wonderful ladies that are here with me and 06:40 I don't know if any of you were standing in the registration 06:43 line yesterday and you may have heard some music. Did you hear 06:46 some music? You may have heard a testimony of how God brought 06:50 some very special people here at ASI and with me on the stage 06:54 I have three wonderful ladies that came on faith to ASI 06:59 Phoenix. Next to me in Marilyn, and in the middle we have 07:04 Cookie, yes and then next to her is Rainie. Sorry got a 07:09 little nervous and I'm so grateful that you guys came up 07:12 this morning. Now I wanna ask I'm going to start with Cookie 07:15 that's your nick name and Cookie, tell us how did God 07:20 bring you to ASI 2016. Good morning. My real name is 07:26 Margie Guyton from a beautiful town called Quitman, Georgia 07:32 We wanna uh, two weeks ago I read about, in the Southern 07:37 Tidings about ASI and I said Lord I need to go there 07:42 and promote my book and to talk about the homeless that I feed 07:46 This will make my fifth year. And I said, Lord I need to go 07:50 How can I get there? And as I prayed, the Lord said, Cookie 07:55 I want you to go to Winn Dixie, to your used-to-be manager 07:58 and ask him could you see we stand and sing to raise the 08:04 money. Well he said yes. And so we sang about 50 songs 08:10 every day for four days and we were able to raise $1300 08:17 for registration, car rental, and hotel and gas fare 08:24 Now I feed the homeless. I have about 9 locations that I feed in 08:30 and I need a food truck. And I'm on GoFund.com. Please 08:36 pray for that. I, uh, I'm driving a '94 van you all 08:43 It's called chug-a-lug. I'm telling you if you all get in 08:48 you'll see why. It sounds like a locomotive train. I had 08:53 to go to the dollar store, I was so embarrassed and get me 08:55 a pair of shades one day, and I tell you the truth. So I need 09:00 I want to get, another friend of mine, her name is attorney 09:05 Shelby Sellers. She said, well Cookie you need a food truck 09:08 so she put me on there. So you all pray that people will 09:12 respond and I need your prayers and it's listed under Feedin the 09:16 Homeless, Margie Guyton. Amen. And I thank God for my cousins 09:20 that are with me. Rainie, and I've been singing her for 30 09:24 some years. We didn't even realize we were kin each other 09:27 till uh my uncle's got the David House and they work at 09:30 White House and he said those are your cousins and I realized 09:34 that Marilyn is kin too and we're glad to have her. We're 09:37 gonna add her to our additional singing. Amen, amen. So Cookie 09:41 you went to Winn Dixie, which for those who don't know 09:44 that's a grocery store, ok, in the South and you sang to raise 09:49 your way to ASI. Yes I did. And the Lord provided, amen! 09:53 Amen. And now Rainie, what was that like? 09:56 Beautiful you know. Uh we sang old fashioned gospel 10:01 we sang acapella. They don't hear that much, especially 10:05 people our age. And one day we were standin up singing and 10:08 and someone said, well what church do you all attend? 10:11 And somebody else said, we don't care what church they attend 10:14 they are bringin joy to our house. They are 10:16 relieving us our stress and it's just a blessing. 10:20 Amen. We love it, we love it and they love it also. Amen. 10:23 And I wrote a children's book I said Lord I need to hear 10:26 from this tired of begging and knocking on doors 10:28 How can I do this also? And He said what's that in your hand 10:32 like He told Moses. And I said Lord what are you talking about? 10:36 He said remember your puppy called Teardrop 10:40 that my grandfather gave me for my fourth birthday 10:43 And so I wrote the book you all in two days. 10:46 And everybody that has read it is inspired. It's called Cookie 10:51 and Teardrop gets home. A lady came up at the store 10:55 and I prayed last week they told me last Friday that they didn't 10:59 have the funds, the attorney's office are my friends 11:02 and I said don't worry, God's gonna make a way. So on Sunday 11:06 Sunday, a lady came out the store. She said what are you 11:10 all doing? And I shared with her and she read my story. 11:13 And then she said, are you all hungry? Y'all want something to 11:16 eat? I said, can you afford it? And she said, yes. And she went 11:20 across the street to Wendy's and when she came back she said 11:23 Miss Cookie I want to see that book published. She handed me 11:27 the $350 that I needed to get the book done. 11:31 Don't tell me there's nothing too hard for God. Amen, amen. 11:35 My favorite Scripture is Genesis 18:14, Is anything 11:39 too hard for God? Amen, Praise the Lord, Is this the ASI spirit 11:42 Amen. Praise the Lord. This is really seizing the ASI spirit 11:45 Thank you ladies for coming on faith to ASI. What would you 11:49 say to someone, who maybe they have a dream in their heart 11:51 Cookie and you want to encourage them to follow their dream 11:55 Just step out in faith. Take God at His word. And as I say 11:59 my favorite Scripture is Genesis 18:14, Is anything 12:03 too hard for God? We have not because we don't ask 12:07 If you, I think they want to hear them sing 12:11 Wait, do you guys have a number for us? We do 12:13 We do, we do. I think they prepared something 12:15 Alright. A song from Winn Dixie 12:26 Trials dark on on every hand and we cannot understand 12:35 All the ways that God will lead us to that blessed promised land 12:44 But He'll guide us with His eyes and we'll follow till 12:52 we die, we will understand it better by and by 13:00 Singing by and by Oh when the morning comes 13:09 And you know all the saints of God are together at home 13:18 And we'll tell the story of how we've overcome 13:27 And we'll understand it better by and by 13:36 Amen, amen. Marilyn, Cookie, Rainie God bless you. 13:40 Thank you for being here 13:45 Good evening everyone. Wow I'm surprised to see how many 13:50 people are here this evening. I think it's going to prove to 13:53 be a wonderful convention. Now no doubt you're going to see 13:58 and hear and experience a lot of wonderful things here 14:01 this weekend. But central to all of that of course is the 14:04 Word of God and Jesus Christ. I'm going to invite you to 14:08 turn in your Bibles. This is for our Scripture Reading 14:11 We're in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 we're going to read one little 14:17 verse, verse 26. 1 Corinthians 1:26 14:23 "For you see your calling brethren how that not many 14:28 wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble 14:33 are called." I expect that we're going to hear about that 14:38 in just a few minutes. It's also my privilege to introduce 14:43 the keynote speaker this evening. Now there's no doubt 14:47 in my mind that you know him. Steve Dickman is the President 14:51 of ASI. And now there's many people in this world that I 14:55 admire, but not so many that I admire more than Steve Dickman 15:00 I don't know anyone who surrounds more than he can 15:03 surround. He's the President of Harbert Hills Academy 15:06 He's the President of Laymen's Foundation. He's the President 15:10 of ASI. He's the Board Chairman of OCI. He's the Board Chairman 15:15 of ASI as well. And I think he's the Board Chairman of something 15:18 else besides. He just surrounds all of this stuff and yet he 15:22 has time to prepare a sermon and to present it to us this 15:27 evening and there's no doubt in my mind that the Lord is 15:31 going to bless us. So I just pray that while we listen 15:36 to this special music, you will send a little prayer up 15:39 in your heart to the Lord that Steve Dickman be blessed by the 15:43 Holy Spirit, that we may be blessed as well. God bless you 16:16 I lift Him up 16:20 Tis He that bids you 16:24 That the dying look 16:28 and live 16:32 To all weary, thirsty sinners 16:37 living waters will He give 16:44 And though once 16:47 so meek and lowly 16:50 Yet the Prince of Heaven was He 16:56 And the blind who grope in darkness 17:02 Through the blood of Christ shall see 17:12 Lift Him up this precious Savior 17:18 Let the multitude behold 17:23 They with willing hearts shall seek Him 17:28 He will draw them to His fold 17:34 They shall gather from the wayside 17:39 Hastening on with joyous feet 17:43 They shall bear the cross of Jesus 17:48 And shall find salvation sweet 17:53 Lift Him up the risen Savior 17:59 High amid the waiting throng 18:03 Lift Him up tis He that speaketh 18:08 Now He bids you flee from wrong 18:24 Lift Him up in all His glory 18:29 Tis the Son of God on high 18:34 Lift Him up His love shall draw them 18:40 E'en the careless shall draw nigh 18:45 Let them hear again the story 18:50 Of the cross, the death of shame 18:55 And from tongue to tongue repeat it 19:00 Might throngs will bless His name 19:07 Oh then lift Him up with singing 19:14 Lift the Savior up in prayer 19:18 He the glorious Redeemer 19:23 All the sins of men did bear 19:28 Yes the young shall bow before Him 19:32 And the old their voices raise 19:37 All the dead shall hear hosanna 19:41 And the dumb shall shout His praise 19:46 Lift Him up the risen Savior 19:51 High amid the waiting throng 19:56 Lift Him up tis He that speaketh 20:00 Now He bids you flee from wrong 20:05 Lift Him up 20:08 the risen Savior 20:12 High amid 20:15 the waiting throng 20:19 Lift Him up 20:22 tis He that speaketh 20:25 Now He bids 20:28 you flee from wrong 20:40 Now He bids 20:48 you flee 20:50 from wrong 21:15 I want to thank our musicians tonight for that great music 21:21 As we're here tonight, it certainly is my prayer 21:25 that we will lift up Jesus 21:29 Lift Him up so that the rest of the world can see 21:32 so that the rest of the world can know what a Savior we have 21:36 We invite you this evening before we open the word of God 21:40 to bow your heads with me 21:42 Father in heaven, we come here tonight and we humble our hearts 21:47 now before You, crying out to You that You would send us the 21:51 Holy Spirit. For without the Holy Spirit we cannot understand 21:55 Your word. And tonight, our desire is to understand 22:00 Your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 22:10 Saul was on his way to the city of Damascus. 22:16 So he was on his way, he was on a mission 22:20 And he was pretty certain that he was on a mission for God 22:27 until that blinding light struck and he was knocked to the ground 22:35 and he ended up blind. Tonight I want to talk to you just a 22:42 little bit about some of the experiences that Paul had 22:46 Saul had, Paul had. Saul became Paul through the calling and 22:53 the empowerment of the great God that we serve 22:57 through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a man who was a 23:01 persecutor became a preacher. 23:05 A man who was against the cause of God 23:08 converted sides and became completely dedicated 23:12 to the cause of God. 23:15 And tonight we're living in the world in such an age that each 23:20 one of us has a similar decision to make about on which side 23:27 we will stand. Whose life will we advance? Will we advance the 23:32 life of God through Jesus? Will we say as Paul did, I determine 23:38 to know nothing except the cross of Christ and Him crucified. 23:43 So tonight I'd like to invite you, if you have your Bibles, 23:46 to turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and we find here 23:53 Paul speaking to the Corinthian church and this is what he says 23:58 here. Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ through 24:03 the will of God. 24:07 Paul was called. Would you agree with that? 24:10 Would you agree that he had a dramatic and miraculous calling? 24:16 Obviously, getting struck from his horse and falling to the 24:20 ground blind, it was obviously a miraculous calling by God 24:24 He goes on to say in verse 2 though, he's writing now 24:28 he's writing unto the church of God which is at Corinth 24:31 To them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints 24:38 Now, so we see that not only was Paul himself called 24:45 but in speaking to the church at Corinth, he also felt that 24:50 they were called. And they weren't just called to any 24:53 calling. He goes on to say that they were called to be saints. 24:56 How many saints do we have here tonight? 25:00 Well I don't know, that's a tough question isn't it? 25:02 It's hard to raise your hand when you know that there's 25:05 things in your life and in your world that you struggle with 25:08 that would leave you a little less saintly on some days and 25:12 a little more than less than saintly on other days. 25:16 Well he goes on to say here, not only does he talk about 25:21 church in Corinth but he goes on to indicate here, says 25:24 with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus 25:29 Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. Now if you want the 25:34 Steve Dickman interpretation of that, Paul has just said 25:37 I got called, the church in Corinth got called with all the 25:41 saints there and anybody who calls on the name of Jesus 25:44 is also called. 25:49 If you're here tonight, I'm making an assumption 25:53 that you call on the name of Jesus. 25:57 And Phoenix has a place in this as well because he says 26:00 that in every place with all that in every place that call 26:05 upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord both theirs and ours 26:09 an interesting way to say that I think that everyone is called 26:15 And that's the idea I get from this section in 26:18 1 Corinthians here that Paul says I was called, the church 26:22 is called, the saints are called and everyone who calls on 26:26 the name of Jesus is called. Are you called tonight? 26:30 Are you called tonight? I believe that each one of us 26:34 has been called. But it could be, it could be that some of us 26:42 have not been paying attention to our calling. 26:47 In fact that's the very situation that Saul found 26:52 himself in when he was on the road to Damascus 26:56 We actually find in the Spirit of Prophecy, some enlightenment 26:59 about this, talking about, if you read the section there 27:05 in Acts of the Apostles and other places you find that 27:10 Saul was being bothered. He was being bothered by the behavior 27:14 that he saw in the life of Stephen when Stephen was stoned 27:19 Saul was there, he was holding the coats. He said we've got to 27:22 get rid of this heretic. But when he participated in that 27:27 event, he looked up and he saw Stephen looking up as it were 27:30 into heaven and that calm look on his face, he said there's 27:34 something different about this man. 27:37 And I think that was wearing on him. 27:39 And the Holy Spirit was working on him. But he wasn't paying 27:44 very much attention. 27:48 Somehow God tends to get our attention. 27:55 Personally, I would like for God to get my attention in a much 27:59 easier way than it seemed He had to work with in the case of Saul 28:06 How many of you would like to be blind? 28:08 Even for just a few moments? 28:12 Yeah, I think so. I think we would like for God to work with 28:16 us in a different way. 28:20 You know he goes on here in 1 Corinthians in some very 28:25 very interesting reading here in this chapter. We're gonna 28:28 explore some of that. In verse 7 it says this and it's talking 28:32 about why, why do we get called? What is it that God wants to 28:37 do? Why is He calling us? In verse 7, so that you come behind 28:42 in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 28:48 Paul's interpretation here evidently was that we're called 28:52 and he says earlier that grace and peace and all these 28:55 wonderful things be upon you. But he says we're called 28:59 we've been asked by God to do a work for Him and God is going 29:04 to empower us to do that work and He doesn't want us to be 29:07 short on anything we need to do the work that He has called 29:11 us to do, as we wait for what? 29:15 For the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Are you waiting 29:19 tonight for the coming of Jesus, raise your hand 29:21 Do you want to see Him come soon? 29:25 A few months ago I buried my father. 29:29 I can tell you for sure I want to see Jesus come very soon. 29:34 I don't wanna hold on here. What are we waiting for? 29:36 I think we should get over whatever we're waiting on 29:40 and do whatever God is asking us to do. I believe Jesus 29:43 Himself is waiting in the heavenly courts and He wants 29:46 to see the work on this earth finished soon. 29:48 We're told that the sorrow we experience here is only a small 29:52 drop or small portion of what God Himself experiences every 29:55 day when He looks down on this planet and He sees the 29:57 starving children and He sees the sin and the death and the 30:01 wars and all of these things taking place in this planet 30:05 Don't you know that He's suffering right along with His 30:08 children? I think sometimes we ignore this and we think He's 30:11 just up there waiting with His feet propped up, waiting for 30:13 something to happen. I believe that God is experiencing our 30:18 sorrow times and infinite number of sorrows. 30:22 And He too would like to see this work get done. 30:32 Verse 8 goes on to say, Who shall confirm you unto the end 30:37 that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ 30:44 The calling that was received by Paul, the calling that he was 30:48 talking about to the Corinthian church, the calling that he was 30:51 talking about to us is a calling that we should live by the 30:58 power of God in such a way that the Holy Spirit will be 31:03 able to say of us on that day You're blameless in the power 31:08 of your Lord Jesus Christ, amen. God is calling us. He is calling 31:14 us today and in verse 9 Paul goes on to say, God is faithful 31:20 by whom you were called into fellowship of His son Jesus 31:24 Christ our Lord. We serve a faithful God, if He calls us 31:28 He is intentionally preparing to empower us to do the work 31:32 that He has called us to do. 31:37 I believe there is one thing God needs more than anything else 31:41 and it's not our abilities. As much as we would like to believe 31:46 there's something about our selves that God could just 31:48 reach down and use and say, Yeah this really is great 31:52 I'm glad this person can sing so nicely. 31:56 Listen, God needs our availability not just our 31:59 ability. We can talk about our ability, we can show off our 32:03 ability with all kinds of things we can do with our abilities. 32:07 We can post our abilities on the wall. We can advertise our 32:10 abilities on the international world-wide-web. 32:13 We can talk about them on Facebook but what God is looking 32:16 for is a people who will agree to do what He has asked them 32:20 to do; a people who will agree to work for Him according to 32:24 His calling, not according to their own ability. 32:32 We read in our verse tonight in 1 Corinthians, same chapter 32:36 in verse 26. For ye see your calling brethren, how that not 32:41 many wise men after the flesh and not many mighty and not 32:45 many noble are called. God doesn't need our human wisdom 32:49 God doesn't need our human nobility. He doesn't need our 32:52 rank, He doesn't need any of those things. He needs us as 32:56 individuals completely and totally committed to Him. 32:59 He doesn't even need our money. He said He owns the cattle 33:03 on a thousand hills. He owns the world itself. He owns all 33:07 the gold and all the silver. 33:14 You know I want to explore something here in verse 9 33:17 just a moment. It says God is faithful and I like that 33:20 because I need a faithful God. 33:24 I need a faithful God. 33:27 But it also says by whom ye were called into the fellowship 33:32 of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. What does it mean to be 33:36 in fellowship with Jesus Christ our Lord? 33:44 Philippians chapter 3. Paul expands on this just a little 33:50 Philippians chapter 3 and I'm going to read a couple of verses 33:55 here. We're gonna explore starting in verse 7 here just a 34:00 minute, but what things were gain to me those I counted 34:05 loss for Christ, yea doubtless I count all things loss for the 34:09 excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord 34:11 for whom I have suffered the loss of all things 34:14 and do count them but dung that I may win Christ 34:18 and be found in Him not having my own righteousness which is 34:21 of the law but that which is through faith in Christ, the 34:24 righteousness which is of God by faith 34:30 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection 34:35 and the fellowship of His what? 34:43 sufferings. Being made conformable unto His death 34:50 if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection 34:55 of the dead. 35:01 You see the fellowship of Jesus 35:08 is a life that will be poured out in sacrifice. 35:15 The word, the word there in Philippians was His sufferings 35:26 Jesus came with a heart that was overflowing with love for 35:34 mankind. And He poured out His life, He poured out His life 35:41 the statement in the Spirit of Prophecy says, He gave all 35:44 and then He gave Himself. 35:50 I've got a question for you tonight 35:52 If you have been called which according to what I read here 35:57 every single one of us has been called, if you have been called 36:03 have you yet given your all? 36:09 Because that's all that God wants. 36:12 We don't serve a God who's a 50% kind of God 36:15 We don't serve a God who is an 80% kind of God 36:18 We don't even serve a God who is a 99% kind of God 36:22 We serve a God who's asking for only one thing and that's 100% 36:27 Because that is His example. That is what He gave. 36:31 He poured out Himself to this world. He came from the heavenly 36:34 courts where everything is bright and glorious to this dark 36:37 world where everything is sin and sorrow and He poured out 36:40 His life here in service, selfless service to human kind 36:44 He gave us an example to live by. He showed us how to do it 36:47 He says if you follow the way I told you to do this, if you 36:51 follow the pattern of my life you'll be successful in reaching 36:56 others and bringing them to my kingdom. 37:01 And I don't know recently if you've read the Gospel but 37:04 Jesus didn't own a car. 37:07 In fact He told someone who was interested in following Him 37:10 I wanna be one of your disciples He said it's ok if you wanna be 37:13 my disciple but you need to understand the terms here 37:16 I don't have a house. In fact the foxes have holes, but the 37:21 Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. 37:33 We've become way too comfortable with living with who we are 37:39 or who we have become. 37:43 Our society today is fixated, somehow fixated on the idea 37:50 that if you desire it then you should have it. 37:55 And not only that but you should have it quickly. 37:59 And if you have to cheat some body else to get it, that's ok 38:04 The society is a 'ME' society if I believe it, it's ok 38:10 If I want it I should have it 38:12 It's just the society in which we live. 38:16 You know unfortunately, these ideas have crept in to our own 38:21 ranks and somehow we believe that we are due something 38:25 I should have a comfortable life I should have such and such 38:28 What do you mean I shouldn't think about this and these 38:33 material things that I'm thinking about? 38:39 For following the example of Jesus, we will be ready 38:43 and willing to answer His call 38:45 and if necessary even pour out our life unto death 38:52 Because that is what Jesus did there's no question in my mind 38:56 when I read the Scriptures, I see Him coming here. I look at 38:59 His life and it challenges me I see Him getting up early in 39:02 the morning and going to bed late at night and all the time 39:05 in between He's serving other people's needs. It records 39:08 in the Scriptures there were sometimes He didn't even have 39:10 time to eat. Because He was so busy serving the needs of 39:15 humanity around Him, He came He was talking to the woman at 39:18 the well, His disciples went to get something to eat, they came 39:21 back and they said it's time to eat, He said don't worry 39:27 He found in His service to His Father all that He needed. 39:38 I'd like to move down to verse 17 here just for a minute 39:42 and Paul is talking about his calling still. And he says, 39:46 for Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the Gospel 39:53 Now wait a minute. I thought the great commission was 39:57 to let's see, go and teach, teach all nations 40:03 baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the 40:06 Holy Spirit. Yes, is that our commission? 40:10 So what is Paul saying here, Christ sent me not to baptize 40:13 but to preach the Gospel? 40:19 Do you think we ever get distracted with the idea of 40:22 baptism? When I say that I'm not talking about baptism in a 40:25 negative way. I'm just talking about the tally sheet that we 40:28 keep sometimes. 42 and a half got baptized. I'm not sure what 40:33 the half was but we almost made it. 40:37 You know I think sometimes we're a little distracted with this. 40:40 Paul had his calling clear. He says I was sent to preach the 40:44 Gospel but then he goes on to say something that challenges 40:47 me as I think about this. He says not with the wisdom of 40:50 words. How can you preach without words? 40:58 I could try it here this evening but I think I would fail 41:00 pretty miserably in doing such a thing. But that's what it says 41:05 here. He says I was called to preach the Gospel not with the 41:10 wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of 41:14 none effect. So let's dissect this statement for just a 41:18 moment. If you're not preaching with words how are you preaching 41:26 Ok we have sign language. We could use sign language 41:29 that would be an acceptable means to preach, right? 41:32 You see I'm not using words. Well that's a form of words 41:35 isn't it sign language? I believe that what Paul is 41:38 talking about here is I want to preach with my life. I want 41:41 people to see the way I live I want people to see what I'm 41:44 doing as the hands and feet of Jesus and that's how I want to 41:48 preach the Gospel. That's how I want others to know who Jesus is 41:51 by the way I live and I think tonight that's what I need 41:55 personally in my own life. I need a better representation 41:58 through the way I live about who Jesus is. 42:01 I need to live a more self sacrificing life 42:04 I need to live a more committed life. I need to live a life 42:08 that is poured out as the life of Jesus was. I want to go home 42:12 I want to see Jesus come. I don't wanna stay here for 42:15 another 50 years. I don't know about you. I don't even wanna 42:18 stay here for another 5 years. 42:19 I don't want my grandchildren to grow up in this world 42:25 The world is sick, the world is dying. 42:29 I'm sick, I'm dying. You may not know that everybody here 42:33 is dying. Sorry to tell you the truth but you're all coming 42:36 to the end of your life. Some sooner than later. I don't 42:40 know when my time is, you don't know when your time is 42:43 but I guarantee unless Jesus comes you're gonna die. 42:51 Paul here lays this challenge on the table and he says I was 42:56 sent to preach the gospel but not with words. 43:01 How many of us have a life that rightly represents the cross 43:06 of Christ. Because he goes on to say there, lest the cross 43:11 of Christ should be made of none effect. Have we ever made 43:16 the cross of Christ of none effect by saying one thing 43:20 and doing another thing? Preaching one thing 43:23 and living another thing? 43:31 It says this in verse 18, for the preaching of the cross 43:35 is to them that perish, foolishness. 43:39 I would suggest to you tonight that there are many who would 43:46 discourage you from a complete and total absolute 100% 43:53 commitment to follow Jesus. They will be your friends 43:57 They might be your family, they might be your work acquaintances 44:00 who would tell you what are you doing? This is stupid. 44:05 You're not thinking about yourself. You're not thinking 44:09 about the future. What are you gonna do when it comes time to 44:12 retire. What are you gonna do when it comes time for such 44:14 and such. 44:19 I want to retire in a different country. It says Abraham was 44:24 looking for that city whose builder and maker was God. 44:27 That's where I wanna retire. 44:30 You know there's some practical realities in this world and I 44:32 don't know how to interpret them I'm not here to give you any 44:34 answers. But I am here to stir up your thinking. 44:37 What is Jesus calling you to do tonight? I can't answer 44:41 the question for you. I can barely answer it for myself 44:45 But I think He's calling me to do more than I think is possible 44:49 humanly. I believe He's calling me to do more than what I think 44:53 I should do from a human standpoint. 44:55 Because when I look at the cross of Christ, when I look at 44:58 the Gospel that was preached by Jesus through His life 45:02 when I look at the sacrifice He made, I realize that I have 45:06 so far done nothing. 45:10 I'm not coming close. I'm not near the mark. I'm not yet 45:14 approaching what God wants me to do. Because He's calling 45:18 for that kind of commitment that is beyond our understanding 45:21 But if you go on in verse 18 it says this, but unto us 45:25 speaking of this preaching of the cross through our life 45:29 because in verse 17 he just told you he's not gonna preach 45:32 with words, he's gonna preach with his life and it says 45:35 for the living, I'm gonna say it that way, the living of the 45:40 cross is to them that perish foolishness but if you're 45:44 living the cross you're living the life that Jesus lived here 45:48 on this earth, it will be unto us which are saved the power 45:52 of God. You need the power of God in your life. 46:00 Time's running out here. I wanna skip down here 46:05 I wanna read a couple of verses here at the end 46:08 Verse 27. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world 46:15 to confound the wise. 46:17 And God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound 46:21 the things which are mighty, and the base things of the 46:25 world and the things which are despised God, hath God chosen 46:29 yea and the things which are not to bring to naught the things 46:35 that are. So God has a totally and completely different scheme 46:39 of choosing things. I don't know if you notice that 46:41 So I'm not choosing the wise, I'm not choosing the wealthy 46:45 I'm not choosing you know, all these things. Not wise, not 46:49 noble, not mighty. I'm choosing the foolish things. I'm choosing 46:53 the weak things, I'm choosing the base things, I'm choosing 46:56 the despised things. I'm choosing the things that are not 46:59 to even make naught the things that are. God has a plan 47:03 to take the weak things and make them His instruments 47:07 and sometimes we feel weak don't we? 47:11 Sometimes we think it can't happen, it's not possible. 47:16 John 15:16 says this, You didn't choose me. You didn't 47:21 me, I chose you. 47:25 And if you read that verse in a very personal way you will 47:31 discover that God has chosen you 47:35 Yes we are called and yes we are chosen but there's one 47:38 thing in our theme here Called, Chosen, Committed 47:43 My Bible says I was called, my Bible says I have been chosen 47:47 but my Bible does not say that I have committed 47:50 That's my choice. That's a decision that I will have to 47:54 make. There's no chance that I could misinterpret the calling 48:00 of God if I read the Scriptures There's no chance that I could 48:03 misinterpret that God has chosen me specifically and 48:06 individually if I read the Scriptures. 48:09 But the choice is mine and the choice is yours tonight 48:14 about commitment. What level of commitment will you make? 48:21 And it's unfortunate from a human standpoint anyway 48:25 that God has only one number that He knows about 48:29 and that's the 100% commitment 48:36 With me it's completely impossible that I should even 48:40 be able to consider a 100% commitment, because I'm a 48:44 selfish human being. I was born that way. The Bible says I was 48:49 born in sin. I was born a selfish person. 48:55 I've been trying to get over it but it's hard. 48:56 How many of you know that? It's hard. It's hard. 49:03 But I have the promise of this thing that Paul said in 49:07 Philippians 1:6, Being confident of this very thing that He 49:15 who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the 49:19 day of Jesus Christ. God wants to start, 49:23 I mean He wants to finish what He starts. 49:27 And He's gonna keep working on us. He's gonna keep helping us 49:30 And I believe that if we will commit ourselves under His 49:36 calling and His choosing that He will do some absolutely 49:40 amazing things with us. You're here this weekend at ASI. 49:44 You didn't come here by accident 49:47 You're here because God called you here 49:50 You're gonna go to the exhibit hall because there's someone 49:52 God wants to connect you with there. There's ministry 49:55 happening all over the world that needs people. Jesus Himself 49:58 said, The harvest truly is great but the laborers are 50:03 few. God is looking for people He could do it with the angels 50:07 it's true but He's chosen to do it with people. He's chosen 50:10 to do it with people like me and people like you. 50:14 Let's simply say, ok He called some fishermen and it says 50:19 they turned their back on their nets and they left their nets 50:22 and they went and followed Jesus. And they left all 50:25 behind and followed Him. He called the rich young ruler 50:28 The rich young ruler turned away and Jesus was sad 50:31 when he turned away because He had given a call to this 50:33 young man. He saw potential in him, but the young man 50:36 refused to leave behind things that he was attached to 50:43 Revelation chapter 17 and verse 14. 50:54 It says this 51:01 Talking about the war that's going on, the great war 51:05 says these, speaking of the beast, these shall make war 51:07 with the lamb and the lamb shall overcome them. 51:12 For He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. And they 51:16 that are with Him are called and chosen and faithful 51:20 God is looking for a generation that will accept His call 51:23 God is looking for a generation that will accept His choosing 51:26 God is looking for a generation who will be faithful to make a 51:29 commitment to Him and tonight you as a living, breathing 51:33 human being on planet earth have the opportunity to accept 51:38 that call to make a commitment to God and to be a part of this 51:42 group. It says the Lamb shall overcome them for He is Lord 51:46 of Lords and King of Kings and that's who we serve. 51:48 And all things are possible through Christ. 51:53 I wanna be in that group. The war is on, you gotta choose 52:00 your side. I've heard people say you need to choose your 52:02 battle. I think you need to choose your side. 52:07 You need to choose your side and make a 100% commitment. 52:11 That's what I wanna do. May God grant us mercy here this 52:15 week that we will understand His calling and realize the 52:18 generation in which we live and step up to the idea that 52:21 there's some commitments that we need to make for Him. 52:25 God bless you. 52:37 You know Steve preached his heart out tonight 52:41 And He's talking about the desire that God must have 52:45 for us to be committed. And it's not just Steve but it's 52:49 all of your ASI leadership, this longing for every one of us 52:52 to be called and committed to our Lord. 52:56 We have the privilege of singing a song 52:58 to direct your mind to the God he was talking about 53:01 to our wonderful Savior Jesus Christ. 53:15 I feel quite sure if I did my best 53:21 I could maybe impress you 53:25 With tender words and harmony 53:30 a clever rhyme or two 53:33 But with all I've done in the time we shared 53:38 is turned your eyes on me 53:43 then I failed at what I've been called to do 53:47 there's someone else I want you to see 53:53 Will you love Jesus more 53:59 When we go our different ways 54:03 When this moment is a memory 54:08 Will you remember His face? 54:13 Will you look back and realize 54:17 you sensed His love more than you did before 54:23 I pray for nothing less than for you to love Jesus more 54:39 I'd like to keep these memories 54:44 In frames of gold and silver 54:48 And reminisce a year from now 54:53 about the smiles we shared 54:57 But above all else I hope you will come 55:02 to know the Father's love 55:07 And when you see the Lord face to face 55:11 you'll hear Him say well done 55:17 Will you love Jesus more 55:22 When we go our different ways 55:27 When this moment is a memory 55:32 Will you remember His face 55:36 Will you look back and realize 55:40 You sensed His love more than you did before 55:47 I pray for nothing less than for you to love Jesus more 55:56 Will you love Jesus more 56:01 When we go our different ways 56:06 When this moment is a memory 56:11 Will you remember His face? 56:15 Will you look back and realize 56:20 You sensed His love more than you did before 56:26 I pray for nothing less 56:30 than for you to love Jesus more 56:36 I pray for nothing less 56:40 than for you to love Jesus more 56:53 Let's bow our heads for prayer 57:01 Father in heaven, You've blessed us tonight 57:06 Through music, through the spoken word. 57:10 Our hearts have been drawn to you as we recognize 57:14 that there was nothing in us that deserved the great 57:17 sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf 57:20 You have called us and You have chosen us 57:25 It's because of Your initiative that each one of us 57:29 is alive. And whether we acknowledge You or not 57:32 all heaven has been given for each person 57:38 the mercies, the graces, the gifts that we have 57:42 everything that we are and everything that we have 57:45 is stamped with the cross of Jesus Christ 57:49 Father I pray that our eyes would be drawn to you 57:52 that we will behold You and by beholding we'll become changed 57:58 and transformed and committed 58:02 We cannot decide in our own strength to be committed 58:07 Our hearts are selfish but Father You give us everything 58:11 that we need to be committed to you. As we continue these 58:16 meetings I just pray that Your Holy Spirit which has been 58:19 present with us tonight will continue with each speaker 58:23 and with each meeting, drawing us closer to You, empowering us 58:29 to greater service. |
Revised 2022-06-01