Participants: C. A. Murray
Series Code: 16HC
Program Code: 16HC000006A
|
00:49 Well, we do welcome each and every one of you
00:52 who have traveled from so far to be with us here today. 00:54 We also welcome you if you're watching by television 00:57 or by Internet or listening on the radio. 01:00 We are having a good time, are we not? 01:03 Have you been blessed? 01:04 Amen... amen. 01:06 Well, those blessings will continue this hour 01:10 because we have our own C. A. Murray. 01:13 And Pastor Murray - I'll just call him C.A. - 01:17 he's a dear friend. He's a godly man. 01:19 But he has some of the most unique sermon titles 01:24 I've ever heard. Today it is iWorm. 01:28 You know, like iPad, iPhone... iWorm. 01:32 But he's going to be talking to you about Jonah I believe 01:37 and the Laodicean church. 01:40 And it is... he's told me just a little of his sermon 01:43 the other day. It's going to be a "barn-burner" I believe. 01:47 So we're going to turn that over to him in just a moment 01:49 but you know something? We heard you all sing 01:53 last night. We liked it! 01:55 So Tim Parton is going to lead us in a congregational song: 02:00 Bless the Lord, O My Soul. 02:02 And then the next voice you hear will be Pastor C. A. Murray. 02:06 Thank you. 02:07 The Psalmist declared in Psalm 103 02:10 Bless the Lord, O my soul, 02:13 and all that is within me bless His holy name. 02:16 And he goes on to say: Forget not all of His benefits. 02:20 I love benefits! 02:22 But I love my Lord even more, and I love to bless His name. 02:25 And He loves to hear you sing, so I want us all to lift our 02:29 voice as we sing Bless the Lord, O my soul. 02:32 Bless His holy name. 02:42 Sing it out now. 06:05 Amen. 06:09 I'm not familiar with that arrangement. Well done! 06:14 Good morning yet again. 06:16 Good morning! I'm sure that you have been 06:21 vociferously welcomed... 06:25 so I will not take much more time. 06:28 If you're not welcome by now then you won't be welcome. 06:33 Turn with me, if you will, to the book of Jonah. 06:44 There are only four chapters, 06:47 and we want to consider the last of the four. 06:52 So that will be Jonah chapter 4. 06:56 Take you a moment to find it because it is not long. 07:04 If you find Obadiah, you can find Jonah. 07:08 But Obadiah is no easy trek. 07:10 And if you can find Jonah, you can find Micah. 07:14 And Micah is no easy trek. 07:16 Jonah chapter 4. 07:21 And I want to read the last verse 07:24 in the book of Jonah 07:29 and that will set the stage for what we want to talk about. 07:32 Shall we pray? Father God, 07:36 there is so much in Your Word for us. 07:42 It is so wonderful and deep and wide. 07:48 Help us, dear Lord, again as we open Your Word 07:52 to understand Your will for our lives. 07:57 To prepare ourselves to take one more step along that road 08:00 that leads to glory. For surely 08:02 we would hear a word from the Lord this day. 08:06 And we thank you, dear Father, in Jesus' name, Amen. 08:11 I've been listening to Pastor Kenny and Shelley this morning 08:18 and Pastor Ivor on last evening, and I see a thread, 08:23 a theme that is running through all of these messages. 08:28 And we hope to continue in that theme even as we speak. 08:31 I'm in Jonah chapter 4 08:34 and let's pick it up at verse 10 and 11 08:41 which are the last two verses in the book. 08:44 The Bible says: "But the Lord said 08:48 'You have had pity on the plant 08:53 for which you have not labored 08:56 nor made it grow 08:59 which came up in a night and perished in a night. 09:05 And should I not pity Nineveh, 09:11 that great city, in which are more than 120,000 09:16 persons... ' I'm reading from the New King James. 09:19 'who cannot discern between their right hand 09:24 and their left and much livestock? ' " 09:32 His name means dove... D - O - V - E. 09:37 Dove. Now there are a number of theories - 09:42 almost as many as there are theologians - 09:44 as to how that applies to this man. 09:52 In Bible times names meant a lot. 09:56 And the name as a rule had something to do with 10:02 the character of the person: 10:04 how they related to heaven, and how heaven relates to them. 10:11 So this name Dove is an interesting name for this man 10:16 Jonah. In Hosea chapter 7 verse 11 10:21 Ephraim is a synonym for the 10 northern tribes. 10:26 And Ephraim is also called a dove. 10:33 Easily deceived and senseless. 10:38 So we get a little clue as to how Hosea is used by God. 10:44 In Hosea chapter 4 verse 17 10:46 the Bible says: "Ephraim is chained to his idols... 10:49 just leave him alone. " 10:53 So there are some theologians that equate this name Dove 10:58 to chicken. Yeah, that kind of chicken. 11:04 Like when you say: "I dare you, chicken! " 11:10 And if we look at Jonah's life, 11:14 it kind of fits because among other things 11:19 he was chicken. 11:22 And we get to see that in just a little bit. 11:27 The evidence for that is not sure, so a lot of this is 11:30 speculation. And theologians do lot of speculating sometimes 11:33 when the don't have hard evidence. But it is interesting 11:36 that his name would be called Dove. Not something 11:39 exalted like Hosea... whose name means salvation 11:41 or God has saved. Dove. 11:44 Why would you call a guy Dove unless he's chicken? 11:53 Most scholars say that the book is written by the man 11:56 whose name it bears. And if it was, then he wasn't really 12:00 that much chicken because it takes a lot to talk about 12:02 yourself the way Jonah talked about himself in his book. 12:07 Now we all know the story of Jonah and the whale. 12:11 And of course there is some theological debate about Jonah 12:14 and the whale because most scientists will tell you 12:18 that whales are so built that they can't swallow people. 12:22 Although they are the largest of the animals 12:25 whales eat by straining small bits of food 12:30 through their baleen and they have very small throats. 12:34 So even if they could get their mouth open wide enough 12:38 to swallow a man he could never get down the throat 12:40 because though they are big animals 12:42 they have very small throats. 12:43 What the scientists forget 12:46 is that God can do anything He wants! 12:50 So if God can prepare a fish with a big mouth... 12:55 I mean, you've got a lot of people 13:01 with big mouths... 13:04 um-hmm... 13:06 So if He could prepare people with big mouths 13:09 then you can have a fish with a big mouth. 13:11 God can do whatever He wants. 13:14 Amen. 13:16 I said Amen. Amen! 13:18 That's what I said. 13:24 So today I want to take a look at Jonah in just 13:27 a slightly different context. I want to see Jonah 13:31 as a metaphor for Laodicean Adventism. 13:37 Um-hmm. 13:40 I think in looking at the story of Jonah 13:42 if we just look at it as an isolated incident in the 13:45 Old Testament we miss the import of the book 13:48 because really there's a lot in Jonah that looks a whole lot 13:52 like what we see in the mirror every morning. 13:56 The metaphor for Laodicean Adventism 14:02 in light of a Great Commission. 14:06 This sometimes listless attitude 14:12 that we have towards evangelism 14:14 and our relationship with God 14:17 is bespoken in the book of Jonah. 14:22 The story of Jonah is then OUR story. 14:27 Last night Pastor Ivor said that we are Joseph. 14:30 This morning I'm telling you you are also Jonah. 14:35 Jonah is an anti-hero. 14:40 We don't often see it but the book of Jonah 14:44 is the preeminent missionary book in the Old Testament 14:47 and other than the book of Acts perhaps the whole Bible. 14:52 But Jonah is not someone that we should hold up as a role model. 14:57 He is an anti-hero. 15:00 This book highlights among other things 15:03 God's desire to share the message with everyone. 15:10 It tells you why God calls a people, a church, 15:14 or a person. There was never ever a time, brothers 15:17 and sisters, when God did not want to save the whole world. 15:20 Old Testament and New. 15:22 God has never been exclusive. 15:25 He's never been One who didn't care. 15:31 Evangelism is not a New Testament phenomenon. 15:35 It's a "God phenomenon" through- out the books of the Bible. 15:40 Just like the commandments existed before Mt. Sinai; 15:44 just like the vision of clean and unclean animals 15:47 existed before Leviticus 11; 15:50 the active targeting of missionary activity 15:54 to people of heathen communities 15:56 did not originate with Christ's Great Commission in Matthew 28. 16:01 Elijah and Elisha had ministries outside of Israel. 16:06 They had ministries to heathen people. 16:09 Two senior figures in the Old Testament spent significant 16:13 amounts of time trying to evangelize 16:17 the wider non-Jewish community. 16:19 It is a mistake to think that God doesn't love them 16:24 as much as He loves us. 16:27 Amen. I said "Amen. " 16:31 Amen. That's what I said. 16:37 Jonah was called to minister to a people 16:40 who were not only non-Jews 16:44 but they were enemies of the Jewish nation. 16:47 Now that's tough to go and share God with people 16:50 who hate your guts. 16:53 But that's what he was called to do. 16:56 A hundred years after Jonah's mission 16:59 Assyria destroyed the 10 northern kingdoms. 17:03 It disappears in 722 BC and did not re-appear 17:08 until AD 1948. 17:14 Three millennia, but the truth is, brothers and sisters, 17:19 God doesn't hate anyone. Amen? 17:24 God loves everyone. 17:30 God is no respecter of persons. 17:34 And I keep having to say this because there are those who hold 17:38 this atavistic thought that because you are vegan 17:42 you are more acceptable with God. 17:49 Being vegan doesn't bring you closer to the Lord. 17:55 Amen. 18:00 God loves everyone. 18:03 God is a God of love and mercy, 18:07 and God is not willing that ANY should perish. 18:11 God calls out a people 18:14 so that those called-out people can call out people 18:18 by calling others. 18:23 Amen. 18:27 I said "Amen. " Amen! That's what I said. 18:31 God called you to call others. 18:33 That's why you were called out. You were called out to call out. 18:38 And if the called out don't call out 18:41 there's no reason for being called out. 18:47 Not called out to sit here and say "Amen. " 18:52 Amen. 18:55 Called out to call others out. 19:02 It is the purpose of God that the plan of salvation 19:06 shall not be wrought out independent of human 19:09 instrumentality. Amen. 19:12 God planned it for you to have a part in calling others. 19:19 He has not chosen angels 19:22 but men of like passion as ourselves 19:26 to proclaim the gospel to the human race. 19:28 It is important that all who have been partakers 19:32 of this great salvation communicate to others 19:36 that which has been made known to them. Review and Herald 1886. 19:40 God has planned it that you have a part in the salvation 19:44 of your fellow human beings. 19:46 God could do it all by Himself 19:50 if He wished to... but He doesn't want to. 19:54 He wants you to have a part in laboring with Him. 19:58 So God calls out people for many reasons... 20:03 two of which I will give you. One: He calls out people 20:06 so that they can be saved. 20:10 You're working for others enhances the prospects 20:15 of your being saved. Amen. 20:19 Yes. Like someone said yesterday 20:21 in our Board meeting. He said: "I could be 20:24 a Christian as a monk in a cave. " 20:29 Maybe... but that's not God's will. 20:34 God's will is that you come to Him 20:37 and then go and help others. 20:42 Another reason He calls us is that He can use us 20:46 as agents of salvation for other individuals. 20:50 In Genesis chapter 6 verse 3 the Bible says 20:54 that "My Spirit will not always strive with mankind. " 20:59 Now the implication is that in that text 21:03 is that God's Spirit IS going to strive with mankind 21:06 for a while. We're part of that striving. 21:11 Let me use a couple big words. 21:13 There are two realities to that text 21:14 "My Spirit shall not always strive with mankind. " 21:17 There is an ontological reality 21:19 and there is an eschatology reality. 21:22 Actually there's a third reality, but if I said that 21:24 I'd just be showing off. If I said that there was also 21:26 an epistemological reality that's just showing off 21:28 and I don't want to do that. 21:33 But there are two realities. One is an ontological reality. 21:36 That means that when the Bible says: "My Spirit will not always 21:39 strive with mankind" it means that for you as an individual 21:43 God's not always going to work with you. 21:45 Now... praise the Lord He will work with you as long as 21:49 you are alive. Amen. 21:52 But sooner or later you're going to die. 21:58 There is nobody here... there is nobody walking the earth today; 22:01 there is nobody alive who is beyond the reach of God. 22:05 Do not worry yourself unnecessarily about the 22:07 unpardonable sin. If you're here today, 22:10 you may not have a perfect life but you are not beyond the reach 22:13 of God. Amen? If you're bad, you can get good; 22:17 if you're good, you can get better; 22:19 and if you're better, you can get even better than that. 22:21 Amen? So don't worry about unpardonable sin. 22:24 That's not for you... that's not for now. 22:26 Rid yourself of that. 22:28 If you feel a little something going on in your heart, 22:30 if you want to get better, if you want to hear the Word 22:33 of God, you're not too far for God to reach you. 22:36 And even if you think you're beyond the reach of God 22:39 you probably are not. 22:40 Amen? Amen! So that's the ontological reality. 22:44 The other is the eschatological reality. 22:47 That means that the Spirit of God is not always going to 22:49 be here on the earth trying to convert people. 22:52 Sooner or later God is going to say 22:54 "Let him who is just be just still; 22:56 let him who is filthy be filthy still; 22:58 let him who is righteous be righteous still; 23:00 let him who is unrighteous be unrighteous still. " 23:02 Whatever you want... that's what you're going to get. 23:06 "For My Spirit will not always strive... " But for here and now 23:09 God's Spirit IS striving. 23:12 And we are part of that striving. 23:15 I Peter 3 verses 18 and 20 talk about the Spirit 23:19 of God or the preaching of the antediluvians to the spirits 23:24 in prison... which simply means that those souls who were in 23:27 prison to sin: God wanted to save them too. 23:30 God has always wanted to save people. 23:33 So Jonah now is called 23:36 as an agent... an arm of salvation. 23:42 He is called to do God's bidding 23:45 just as you and I are called to do God's bidding. 23:50 He is a prophet of God. 23:53 He is a representative of God. 23:56 More than a representative, he is a soldier in the army of 24:00 God. But when God calls him to get up out of his comfortable 24:04 house and go to the Assyrian community 24:07 Jonah refuses! 24:13 We see Jonah as narrow, 24:17 stubborn, hypocritical, 24:22 and graceless. 24:26 And he's a representative of the kingdom of grace! 24:35 But more than that, his sin lay in 24:40 not only the lack of godly love 24:43 for a dying and lost people 24:46 but an inordinate love of himself, 24:51 his comfort, and his own world view. 24:56 Ladies and gentlemen: that is the textbook definition 25:01 for the Laodicean church. 25:06 As a prophet now he parallels the status 25:10 of God's people today. 25:17 Christ in His message to Laodicea 25:20 has no commendation. 25:23 You know that. There are two churches 25:25 to which He has nothing good to say: 25:27 Sardis and Laodicea. 25:30 Nothing good. Sardis because they are hypocritical. 25:37 He says: "You look like you're alive 25:40 but you're really dead. " 25:44 And Laodicea because "you're neither dead nor alive. " 25:50 "You're lukewarm. " The term Laodicea means a people judged, 25:55 a people judged by God. 25:58 And as God judged His prophet so God is now 26:02 judging His church. 26:04 Listen to what Ellen White says. 26:07 "To those who are indifferent at this time 26:11 Christ's warning is: 'Because thou art lukewarm, 26:16 neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of My mouth. ' " 26:21 Now if that were not bad enough, listen to what she says 26:24 further: "The figure of spewing out of His mouth 26:30 means that He cannot offer up your prayers 26:36 or your expressions of love to God. " That's serious! 26:41 Let me read it again. 26:44 "The figure of spewing out of His mouth 26:47 means that He cannot offer up your prayers 26:52 or your expressions of love to God. " 26:58 "He cannot endorse your teaching of His Word 27:02 or your spiritual work in anywise. " 27:08 So if you're in a listless, backslidden, Laodicean... 27:13 Laodicean condition, 27:17 even your works in His behalf get you no credit. 27:25 You know, Ellen White uses the expression - I read this 27:27 years ago - of a dishcloth: how a dishcloth cleans 27:31 dishes while it itself is getting dirty. 27:35 She says God can use the unconverted 27:38 to convert folk. 27:43 So just because folk are coming to the Lord 27:46 through a particular preacher or preaching 27:49 doesn't mean that God endorses that person. 27:54 See, the power is in the Word. 27:58 And God can clean up others using a dirty rag! 28:06 Um-hmm. Now when you get a rag that's dirty 28:11 you've got two choices: either wash the rag 28:15 or throw it out. 28:18 Yeah. Use a towel one or two days 28:21 then it's time to change the towel. Amen? 28:25 Cause as you're getting clean what's happening to the towel? 28:29 Yeah. So either wash the towel 28:32 or get rid of it. So God can get clean results 28:38 using imperfect instruments. 28:41 By the way, if God had to wait for the church to be 28:43 totally clean before He used it 28:45 the church would never get anything done. 28:50 He's not waiting for you to get perfect. 28:53 In using you He is perfecting you. Amen? 28:58 So if you refuse to get used - 29:01 yeah - 29:03 if you refuse to get used you are getting dirty. 29:09 And God's going to either have to wash you - 29:11 in hot water by the way - 29:17 or throw you out! 29:19 Amen! 29:25 So He cannot endorse your teaching of His Word 29:28 or your spiritual work in anywise. 29:30 "He cannot present your religious exercises 29:34 with the request that grace be given you. " 29:37 That's rough. 29:38 That's frightening. 29:40 Sixth volume of the Testimonies page 408 paragraph 2: 29:49 "Could the curtain be rolled back, 29:52 could you discern the purposes of God 29:55 and the judgments that are about to fall upon a doomed world... " 30:00 You know, this world is about to go through some "stuff" 30:03 ladies and gentlemen. 30:06 The judgments of God are coming! 30:10 So could you... "could the curtain be rolled back, 30:13 could you discern the purposes of God 30:16 and the judgments that are about to fall upon a doomed world, 30:20 could you but see your own attitude, 30:25 you would fear and tremble for your own soul 30:30 and for the souls of your fellow men. " 30:37 "Earnest prayers of heart-rending anguish 30:41 would go up to heaven; 30:43 you would weep between the porch and the altar 30:48 confessing your spiritual blindness and backsliding. " 30:53 Again, sixth volume of the Testimonies 30:57 page 408. 31:02 So if we are indeed lukewarm, 31:05 neither hot nor cold, 31:08 and unacceptable to God in that state, 31:12 if the Laodicean church is indeed a church devoid 31:16 of commendation, what then was the relationship 31:20 between God and Jonah when he was in the belly of that fish? 31:31 And what if he had died in that fish? 31:36 And what if he had died on the way to Tarshish? 31:42 So the Bible says that Jonah "cried out. " 31:47 So let me ask you a question: 31:50 what did he cry out for? 31:54 Did he cry out for Nineveh? 31:57 Unh-umm. 31:59 Cried out for Jonah. 32:02 He cried out for himself. 32:04 It was a selfish cry for deliverance. 32:11 An argument could be proffered - 32:13 and argument, indeed, could be made - 32:18 that running from the will of God - 32:22 an unacceptable activity of Jonah - 32:27 parallels the miserable, spiritually blind and naked 32:33 Laodicean message. 32:36 Aren't you glad that we serve a God 32:40 who's always the same? 32:42 Amen! I mean... seriously. Amen! 32:45 He's being punished. 32:47 He's in the belly of a fish 32:51 and he cries out for God... not that God would 32:55 deliver him or deliver Nineveh. 32:59 "I just want to get out of this mess! " 33:02 Ellen White says when Satan saw what his sin had done 33:05 in heaven he felt bad. 33:08 Didn't feel bad for heaven... 33:12 felt bad that he got kicked out! 33:16 When we were kids it was easy to get us to repent. 33:22 When my father did this... 33:26 easy to repent! 33:30 You know, when the hammer's going to come down 33:32 it's easy to get sorry 33:34 when you're about to get yours. 33:38 So Jonah now cries out for deliverance... 33:41 not for Nineveh... for himself! 33:44 And yet with that God heard his plea. 33:50 That's why I'm so glad I'm not godless. 33:53 God has said: "What you calling Me now for? " 33:58 But God heard his plea. 34:01 And I'm so glad that we serve a God... every time you go to 34:04 God you get the same God. 34:08 Every time! 34:10 God never has a bad day. 34:13 Amen. And I'll tell you the truth: 34:17 I do. 34:19 Um-hmm. 34:21 I have days when I want to be bothered 34:27 and I have days when I don't want to be bothered. 34:33 Amen... I said "Amen. " Amen. That's what I said. 34:39 But God never has a bad day. 34:41 Never has a bad day! 34:43 Every time you go to God you get the same God. 34:46 And so Jonah selfishly calls out to God 34:49 from the belly of the whale. Not for the Ninevites 34:52 but for himself. 34:55 And God hears that prayer and God delivers him. 35:01 I wonder if it's going to take a whale of an experience 35:06 to get the Adventist church where God wants it to be? 35:12 To get us ready to do the work of God. 35:16 Christ said of the Laodicean church 35:19 "I wish that you were hot or cold. " 35:21 And that wish - the word is ethelo - is not... is not just 35:26 "I wish. " It's... it's: "You ought to be hot or cold. 35:29 You MUST be hot or cold. 35:31 You have to be hot or cold. " 35:33 The worst thing you can be in the church of God 35:36 is indecision. 35:39 Be indecisive. 35:41 Decide! 35:44 On or off... but not lukewarm. 35:52 The Laodicean message, by the way, brothers and sisters, 35:55 we are told in the first volume of the Testimonies page 187 35:58 is an individual message. 36:01 It's not a church message because everybody in the 36:04 Laodicean church is not in the Laodicean condition. 36:07 Praise God! Amen! There are some people who are on fire 36:11 for the Lord. The problem is: 36:14 not enough people are on fire for the Lord. 36:20 So the Laodicean message is an individual message. 36:24 Galatians says: "Let a man examine himself 36:29 to see whether they're in the faith. " That's why 36:31 most people come to church they bring two tools: 36:34 a rake and a shovel. 36:37 And usually when folk are screaming "Amen... " 36:39 they've got the shovel out. 36:41 "Church needs to get right. " "Amen, Pastor. " 36:45 "Amen. " Shoveling it onto the person next to them. 36:47 And you ought to have a rake: "Amen... amen... 36:50 amen... amen. " 36:52 Using the wrong tool. 37:00 Here's what Ellen White says: 37:02 "It would be more pleasurable to the Lord 37:05 if lukewarm professors of religion had never 37:08 named the name of Jesus. " 37:11 That's hard! 37:13 "It would be more pleasurable to the Lord 37:16 if lukewarm professors of religion had never named 37:20 the name... named His name. 37:23 They are a continual weight to those who would be faithful 37:28 followers of Jesus. " So for those who want to run 37:31 if you're just shuffling, they've got to drag you 37:34 with them. "They are a stumbling block 37:39 to unbelievers. " The late C. D. Brooks used to say there 37:43 are some people so useless God can't use them 37:45 and the devil doesn't even want them. 37:49 That's first volume of the Testimonies page 188. 37:52 "They are a weight to believers and a stumbling block 37:55 to unbelievers. " So they're not helping the church 37:59 and they're keeping folk from coming in the church. 38:03 Ellen White said that the Laodicean message 38:07 is applicable to all who profess to be Christians. 38:11 And James White repeated that statement in the Review 38:14 and Herald in 1856. Christ said: "I would you ought 38:19 to be hot or cold. " It is an obligation 38:23 for you to decide whose side you're going to be on. 38:26 And let me say this to you quickly: 38:28 everybody - every Christian - sooner or later in your walk 38:31 with Jesus is going to have to answer the question 38:34 "How much is Jesus worth to me? " 38:39 And it will determine if you will go forward 38:42 or if you will just tread water. 38:45 You've gotta answer that question. 38:47 How much am I willing to sacrifice for the Lord? 38:51 How much of my comfort am I willing to give up 38:53 for the Lord? 38:55 How much of my life am I willing to re-arrange for the Lord? 38:58 Every Christian will have to answer that question. 39:01 It is a duty to be hot or cold. 39:04 Jonah cried and prayed for himself, not for the lost souls 39:09 of Nineveh. He didn't care about them. 39:14 Let me read you something from the book Evangelism. 39:16 I date all my books. That's a habit I have. 39:19 Put my name on the bottom and the date on the top. 39:21 I bought this May 1, 1973. 39:27 Couple days ago. 39:34 Ellen White... this is page 34. 39:37 "I appeal to our brethren who have heard the message 39:40 for many years: it is time to wake up the watchmen. 39:43 I have expended my strength 39:48 in giving the message the Lord has given me. 39:51 The burden of the needs of our cities 39:54 has rested so heavily upon me 39:56 that it has sometimes seemed that I should die. " 40:03 That's powerful! 40:07 I've done evangelism over the years. 40:09 I've done maybe 35 or 40 meetings. 40:14 And I've done long evangelistic meetings. 40:16 I've preached 6, 7, 8 weeks. 40:18 I started preaching right after 4th of July 40:20 and preached straight through till after Labor Day 40:22 many times in New York City. 40:25 I preached so hard I preached myself in the hospital 40:28 on two occasions. Fasting and praying for souls 40:30 and you're preaching, not eating. You're running back 40:32 and forth. On two occasions. 40:35 Evangelism used to be my weight control when I was pastoring. 40:39 I would lose 22 pounds every summer doing evangelism. 40:42 So I could fatten up during the winter and lose it 40:45 during the summer. 40:49 At least 30 meetings. 40:51 I baptized my mom, 40:56 my dad, 40:58 my wife... 41:03 Amen... 41:05 step-son, step-daughter, 41:09 and a lot of other folk. 41:13 But I have never felt like I was going to die. 41:19 I never had that burden that I feel sometimes 41:22 like I'm going to die. 41:25 How about you? 41:27 Do you think you're going to die if you don't take the gospel 41:30 to your next-door neighbor? 41:33 Do you feel like you're going to die if you don't share the 41:35 gospel with the people that you work with? 41:40 Or worse... people who con- sider themselves your enemies? 41:44 Are you going to die if they don't get the gospel? 41:48 Never felt that. 41:52 But Ellen White says: "I agonized over the cities 41:56 to the point I feel I'm going to die. " 41:59 And Jonah didn't feel like he was going to die for Nineveh! 42:05 He prayed for Jonah 42:09 and was only concerned about Jonah. 42:13 Praise God the Lord graciously heard and answered 42:19 his prayer. You see brothers and sisters, 42:24 God is undoubtedly blessing the church. 42:27 There's no doubt that God is blessing the church. 42:29 But that doesn't mean that the church is perfect. 42:36 Doesn't mean that the church is not making mistakes. 42:40 Doesn't mean the church can't do better. 42:42 Doesn't mean the church has a ways to go. 42:47 You see, the Laodicea's said to themselves 42:49 "We are rich and increased with goods" 42:52 and they were telling the truth! 42:56 They were rich... they were increased with goods. 43:02 But that thinking can get in the way sometimes. 43:06 And Ellen White says: "Don't neglect the warning. " 43:12 "Since you've got all of this stuff, 43:15 don't let the stuff delude you into thinking 43:19 that you're perfect with God. 43:21 Luke chapter 12 verse 15 43:23 "A man's life does not consist of the things that 43:26 he possesses. " The good- ness of the Adventist church 43:29 does not consist of "the stuff we got. " 43:33 Got a great educational system. 43:35 Got a great hospital system. 43:38 It's a blessing to the church as is 3ABN! 43:44 Amen. Amen! 43:47 I said "Amen. " Amen! That's what I said. 43:57 Don't let that delude you into thinking that you don't need 43:59 anything else. 44:02 Christ is saying beneath all of this stuff 44:06 you may be wretched and miserable and poor and blind 44:11 and naked. 44:14 So Christ is calling us to a higher standard. 44:19 He's calling us to "gold tried in the fire. " 44:22 Translation: faith tested in the flames of affliction. 44:29 We need our faith tested. 44:32 Jonah bemoaned his fate 44:35 but did not reaffirm his faith. 44:40 One of the things to be sorry... 44:42 It is one thing, rather, to be sorry for the consequences of 44:44 your sin and quite another to be sorry for the sin itself. 44:48 As children of God 44:55 we must be sorry for the sin itself. 44:58 Satan, says Ellen White, when he got "jettisoned" from heaven 45:01 was sorry for the results... not for the sin. 45:05 So now Jonah begins to preach. Praise the Lord! 45:09 But his heart wasn't in it. 45:11 And the reason we know that his heart wasn't in it 45:15 is because when the people repented 45:19 from the greatest to the least, 45:22 when the revival that he wanted happened 45:27 Jonah got upset. 45:31 Chapter 4 verse 10 we see what's going on 45:36 in Jonah's mind. 45:39 You see, if you have the mind of Christ 45:41 and you preach Christ and people respond to your preaching 45:44 that ought to make you glad. Amen? 45:48 When souls are turned away from destruction 45:51 you ought to be happy. 45:53 But the Bible says in Jonah chapter 4 verse 1 45:59 "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly 46:02 and he became angry. " 46:05 Now what kind of mind gets mad when God has mercy? 46:10 You say: "Fear God... give glory to Him 46:15 because judgment is coming, " 46:17 and the people fear God and give glory to Him 46:21 and you're all "bent out of shape? " 46:25 Does that make sense? 46:27 You got what you wanted! 46:32 And you ought to be happy and you ought to rejoice. 46:37 Acts chapter 17 verse 11 says: 46:39 "The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked 46:42 but rather that they turn from their sin. " Amen! 46:46 That's repeated in II Chronicles 7, Jeremiah 25, 46:50 Zechariah 1:4... over and over again. 46:53 God doesn't get any kicks out of killing folk. 46:55 He wants us to turn and live! 46:58 So if you preach Christ and they turn and live, 47:01 what's the problem? 47:06 So God had on Nineveh the same mercy 47:10 that God had on Jonah. Amen? 47:14 See, you've got to look at it that way. 47:16 When you want God to punish your neighbor for doing bad stuff 47:20 to you... you've got to remember 47:24 that maybe God is holding back the bad stuff 47:27 on you for what you've done to somebody else. 47:31 Amen? You know, I had a teacher in school... 47:34 he used to tell us... and I didn't understand it till I got 47:37 out of Oakwood College, graduated with my degree... 47:39 he used to say: "As bad as it is to breathe 47:42 second-hand smoke, it's worse to blow smoke up your own nose. " 47:48 And it took me years to understand that. 47:53 So be honest with yourself. 47:55 God forgives them just like God is forgiving you! 48:01 So when God has mercy on them 48:03 remember it's the same God 48:06 who's having mercy on you. 48:08 Amen? 48:10 So God has mercy on Nineveh 48:13 and Jonah is upset. He says: "That's why 48:17 I didn't go in the first place. " 48:19 "That's why I didn't... 'cause I knew... I knew You, God! 48:24 I knew You! " 48:26 "I knew You were going to repent; I knew You were 48:28 going to give them a break. I don't like those people 48:31 anyway! I don't like them and they don't like me. 48:33 I knew You were going to do that. 48:34 You're going to repent; You're going to make a liar out of me. 48:37 You're going to forgive them and embarrass me! 48:43 I wish I was dead! " 48:47 "Sick of it! Preaching, preaching, preaching. 48:51 telling them that hell is going to come, 48:53 going to be destroyed. And here You go: 48:55 You repent... making me look bad! " 48:59 "I just want to die... I wish I was dead! " 49:10 "I knew You were going to pull some stunt like that! " 49:16 And it's interesting... 49:19 because there is someone else who said "Just kill me, " too. 49:24 Interesting, interesting, interesting 49:27 juxtaposition. 49:30 Moses... Moses said the same thing to God. 49:33 "Lord, just kill me... just kill me. " 49:38 But Moses was in response to God saying 49:41 "This is a stiff-necked people. Hard-headed. 49:45 Why don't I just blot them out 49:47 and start over with you? " 49:50 Moses said: "No, don't do that... kill me 49:53 and let them live. " 49:56 Now Jonah says 49:59 "OK, Lord, You didn't kill them so kill me. " 50:05 You see the difference? 50:07 One is somebody acting like Christ; 50:10 the other is somebody acting like... um-hmm. 50:15 Like the devil! 50:17 Same words, but they're coming from two totally different 50:21 perspectives. Moses is saying: "Save them, take me. " 50:26 Jonah is saying: "If You're not going to kill them, 50:29 You might as well kill me 'cause I can't take it anymore. 50:33 I can't take it; I can't take it. Just kill me. 50:35 My life is over... I can't stand it. " 50:40 See, that's why I'm saying I'm so glad we serve the kind of God 50:43 we serve because he asks two times in that conversation, 50:46 he said: "I want to die... just kill me. " 50:51 See me... I would have given him what he wanted. 50:58 You ask me twice in the same conversation 51:02 "I want to die... just kill me. " 51:05 "Oooh K. " 51:14 But aren't you glad we serve a merciful God? Amen! 51:17 Who doesn't always give you what you want or even 51:19 what you ask for. He gives you what you need. 51:23 So God is wrestling with this guy. 51:26 This ought to give us all hope because he's in God's fate. 51:33 Two times... kill him. 51:38 And then the Bible says he stomps out of the city 51:41 and sits down on the ground to see if God will finally 51:43 change His mind and kill them. 51:46 He's mad. Sun beatin' down on him 51:49 and God still has mercy. 51:51 During the night God allows a plant to grow up. 51:53 The Bible calls it a gourd. 51:55 And there's some theological variants on what it is, but it 51:58 grew up big enough to cover him. 51:59 And it grew up in one night. That's a miracle of God. 52:03 You go to sleep one night. The next morning a plant's 52:05 big enough to cover your whole body from the sun. 52:08 And one night later God has a worm kill that plant. 52:12 Another miracle! 52:14 Now Jonah's hot. 52:17 "God, what is the matter with You? 52:22 You killed my plant? " 52:30 "That's my plant, Man... that's my plant! " 52:35 "You took out my... You save them and You kill my plant? " 52:43 And then God says: "What are you whining about? 52:49 You didn't plant that plant. 52:53 You didn't water that plant. 52:56 You didn't fertilize that plant. 52:57 You had nothing to do with that plant. 52:59 My plant. 53:03 So I sent a worm to kill the plant 53:07 because I'm trying to get you to see yourself. 53:10 You're in My face over a plant that I let die 53:15 and you're angry over a whole nation 53:19 that I let live. " 53:23 See, that's a warning to the Adventist church. 53:26 "Get your priorities straight. " 53:30 I was on the phone with a pastor the other day. 53:32 He was asking for some counsel 53:34 'cause he's got a little issue in his church. 53:37 Folk up in arms over stuff. E- mails flying back and forth. 53:41 Facebook, texts... all kinds of stuff. 53:47 And I was telling him: "If your people had the same 53:52 energy to fight the devil 53:57 like they're fighting each other... " 53:59 I mean, you've got hot texts flying back and forth. 54:02 Folk getting bent out of shape. 54:04 Elders walking out of meetings. 54:07 Could put that energy in fighting Satan! 54:11 If you fought the devil like you fight your brother and sister 54:13 in church, Christ would have been here long ago! Amen! 54:19 Gettin' bent out of shape over a plant... 54:25 and there's a whole world out there dying. 54:31 And that's what's wrong with the Laodicean church. 54:36 Lazy... listless. 54:40 Focused on the wrong thing. 54:44 Jesus is coming soon. Amen! 54:50 And we're majoring in minors 54:53 and we've gotten our eyes off of Christ. 54:57 That's why 3ABN has pivoted into front-line evangelism. 55:05 Because there's no more time to sit and talk about doing 55:07 the will of God or think about doing the will of God. 55:12 It's time to DO the will of God! Amen! 55:17 Amen? Amen! And the Laodicean message 55:20 I repeat is an individual message. 55:25 Every member has to ask himself 55:30 "Lord, is it I? " 55:33 "Am I doing Your will or am I not doing Your will? " 55:37 And the sad truth of this book... You see how it ends. 55:41 It just ends. 55:44 It ends with a nation that is converted 55:50 and a prophet who is not. 55:54 It just ends. 55:57 Nineveh is saved. 56:00 Jonah is lost. 56:05 The last line is him arguing with God. 56:12 "Where's my plant? I want my plant! " 56:20 And he didn't know that just beyond the wall 56:24 a whole nation had turned to God. 56:29 And he's focused on the plant. 56:31 And so God says: "Is it right for you to be mad? " 56:36 You know what Jonah's response is? 56:39 "Yeah, it's right for me to be mad! 56:41 I'm so mad I could die! " 56:48 That's the last thing he said to God. 56:51 And the Bible ends the story right there. 56:56 I wonder if he ever got right with God. 56:59 I wonder if he ever came to his senses. 57:03 I don't know. 57:05 Let's ask God when we get to heaven. 57:11 Amen? Amen. 57:13 Keep your eyes on Jesus. Amen! |
Revised 2024-10-08