Participants: Ron Halvorsen
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000049
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:16 The Truth As It Is In Jesus with Ron Halvorsen. 00:22 Hello and welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:25 And thank you for joining us for Anchors Of Truth. 00:28 I also just want to say a big "thank you" for those of you 00:31 around the world that are watching and supporting, 00:34 praying for 3ABN and supporting us financially, 00:37 as we endeavor to take this gospel of the kingdom 00:40 into all the world. 00:41 I'm thankful for our home church, for those of you that 00:44 come week after week, those of you that support. 00:46 Many of you work at 3ABN. 00:47 Many of you are from the communities. 00:50 This has been a great series. 00:52 Elder Gilley, and I think John, C.A., and a number of others 00:56 said we need something. 00:57 And we had been talking about our Pillars Of Faith. 00:59 We've done a Pillars Of Faith series in music. 01:01 We've done a Pillars hymns. 01:03 And they said we need to keep getting truth out to the world 01:06 because that's what we as Seventh-day Adventists 01:09 believe that our message is; to take present truth 01:12 into all the world. 01:13 Am I right? 01:14 And so, we can do that in a number of ways. 01:17 And one of the ways is to take advantage of the wonderful 01:20 facility that God has given us right here in southern Illinois, 01:24 West Frankfort, Thompsonville area, 01:26 the 3ABN Worship Center. 01:28 That we literally have the cameras, the equipment, 01:30 and can take this gospel to the kingdom around the world. 01:33 I'm amazed that this signal will go up today, 01:36 22,300 miles to space. 01:39 It'll hit ten different satellites around the world 01:42 and virtually anywhere on planet earth. 01:44 Where there is people inhabited continents, 01:47 people will get this signal and can watch it. 01:50 I've been in those recently. 01:51 I was down in Australia and New Zealand and could watch 3ABN. 01:54 Half way around the world. 01:55 It took me 30 some hours, from the time 01:57 I left home to get there. 01:59 But you turn on the channel and it's a good crisp 02:02 channel coming out. 02:03 And those of you out here that work at 3ABN, 02:06 a good clear picture is everywhere. 02:08 I was in Chile some time ago with Jorge and others 02:10 and we saw the signals down there. 02:12 So God has blessed. 02:14 And we have a message to take to the world. 02:16 It's the undiluted three angels messages. 02:18 One that would counteract the counterfeit. 02:20 And today, Elder Halvorsen is part of that. 02:23 We have him as our speaker. 02:24 Formally introducing him, he's a prayer coordinator 02:28 for It Is Written. 02:29 It says he's going to Las Vegas to do prayer walks 02:32 for the upcoming series there. 02:34 But he's also an author as well as an evangelist. 02:37 He has, From Gangs To God. 02:39 That's a very interesting book. It's a great book. 02:41 His story is incredible. 02:43 And also, Prayer Warriors. 02:45 Which all of us need to read this. 02:47 I think it helps tune us up for the power of prayer. 02:51 And so, Elder Halvorsen and his wife. 02:55 I'm glad that she's here. 02:56 I hadn't really met her before, but we've had some time 02:58 to get to know each other. 02:59 Wonderful people. 03:00 Wonderful man of God, a couple of God, 03:03 who has been in evangelism for 50 some years. 03:06 The devil has tried to kill him in a number of ways, 03:08 but he's still here. 03:09 Still giving the gospel message to the world. 03:11 That's what it's all about, isn't it. 03:14 What I'm going to do is ask you at home, if you want to, 03:16 and those of you here, if you want to bow your heads 03:18 with me today. 03:19 We're going to ask God's blessings on this program. 03:23 Heavenly Father, we thank You today for Your blessings 03:26 and Your love and Your plan of salvation, 03:28 for this beautiful Sabbath day that we can worship You. 03:31 And Lord, we pray today for the anointing of Your Holy Spirit 03:35 upon everything that's said and done in this service today. 03:37 And we pray that You'll bless Elder Halvorsen 03:40 as he's never been blessed before, 03:41 and those that are listening around the world. 03:43 You've already prepared their hearts, our hearts. 03:46 Because no matter how long we've been serving You, 03:49 there's always something that we can do to draw closer to You. 03:52 And help us to be open today to the truth that we'll be 03:55 hearing today about salvation and You. 03:57 In Jesus' name I pray, amen. 04:01 They've asked me to sing a song. 04:02 And I'm going to do a little song that the Lord gave me 04:04 this past year entitled, All My Praise. 04:20 All my praise, 04:25 I give You all my praise. 04:33 That's all I have to offer You. 04:44 I now build a sanctuary 04:49 so deep within my heart. 04:55 And all my praise 04:58 I offer up to You. 05:07 I love You Lord, 05:11 oh how I love You Lord. 05:19 I bear my heart and soul to You. 05:30 I'm an empty broken vessel 05:35 filled with hurt and pain inside. 05:40 Still I offer up 05:44 all my praise to You. 05:53 Fill me Lord, 05:57 oh please fill me Lord 06:05 with Your Holy Spirit. 06:10 Fill me now. 06:15 For I long for Your anointing 06:21 that I may work for You. 06:28 Fill me Lord, 06:31 touch me Lord just now. 06:39 All my praise, 06:43 I give You all my praise. 06:52 That's all I have to offer You. 07:03 I now build a sanctuary 07:07 so deep within my heart. 07:14 And all my praise 07:17 I offer up to You. 07:24 Oh, and all my praise 07:29 I offer up to You. 07:53 That's beautiful, isn't it. 07:55 Give Him all our praise, give Him all our praise. 08:00 First, I want to take a little time to welcome our 08:03 viewing audience, wherever they are around the world. 08:06 We welcome you to this very special series 08:11 on Anchored In The Truth As It Is In Jesus. 08:15 This is the fourth in a series of five. 08:18 This afternoon at 3:00 o'clock, I'll expound the Word of God 08:22 and take you back again to Jesus and the promise; 08:26 coming again. 08:28 When the New Testament Christians met, 08:30 they use to say, "Maranatha." 08:33 "Maranatha." 08:35 "Jesus is coming again." 08:38 I don't know about you, but I've been excited as I've been 08:40 looking at Jesus and seeing Him in a different way every evening 08:44 and afternoon. 08:45 This afternoon I'm looking forward to it. 08:48 I love to talk about Jesus. 08:50 In fact, I was at a church and I had been there about two years. 08:54 And after I had finished preaching about Jesus, 08:57 I came off the platform and a woman came up to me 08:59 and she looked a little agitated. 09:01 Well she was flat mad, I guess. 09:03 But anyway. 09:04 She said, "Pastor, all you do is preach about Jesus." 09:07 I said, "Thank you, ma'am." 09:08 And I went on my way. 09:12 What else is worth preaching? 09:15 Every Bible message should begin and end with Jesus. 09:19 Today's message perhaps will shock you, some of you. 09:23 Perhaps if you like these pretty little messages 09:25 with bubbling brooks and, you know, positive attitudes, 09:29 and sweet and sugary words, this sermon is not for you. 09:34 The Truth About Radical Grace. 09:37 Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. 09:39 Gracious Father, I thank You for the love of Christ. 09:43 The love that brings us together from different walks of life, 09:46 from different churches, 09:49 from different areas of theology, 09:51 to bring us together in one purpose. 09:53 And that's to know Jesus Christ better. 09:56 I pray, God, that You will speak to us through Your Word 09:58 as You spoke unto me as I wrote these words down. 10:02 And now, bless this service to Your honor, to Your glory. 10:05 Until the day we look in Your face. 10:07 In Christ's name, amen. 10:10 And amen. 10:12 My text this morning is taken from the book of Ephesians. 10:15 It's one of the great texts of the entire New Testament. 10:19 In fact, not one text do we have that explains the eternal gospel 10:27 as this text. 10:29 This text describes the good news. 10:32 This text describes and destroys work religion. 10:36 In fact, the Bible says right here in Ephesians 10:39 the second chapter: 10:52 The Bible tells us clearly in those words. 10:56 Some years ago, I had the privilege of attending a 10:58 Sabbath school with my grandson. 11:02 He was 14 years old and he was into the guitar at the time. 11:06 And he had dedicated his guitar to the Lord, 11:09 and so he was going to play special music at Sabbath school. 11:11 So I said, "I'm going to go be with my grandson and 11:14 listen to that magnificent solo." 11:19 And so anyway, I arrived at the Sabbath school and 11:22 he did a great job, let me tell you. 11:25 Because, you see, there's an overriding principle, 11:28 and it comes from the text. 11:30 It's not how perfect its played that matters, 11:35 it's who plays it that matters. 11:38 He's my grandson. 11:42 And that's true of our spiritual life. 11:45 It isn't your ability, it's your relationship. 11:50 I stayed in this class and proudly sat with him 11:54 for the entire lesson. 11:56 A squeaky clean middle aged man, black suit, dull tie, 12:04 and harsh countenance, taught his lesson. 12:09 He thumped away at the kids for 40 minutes. 12:14 The rules and the laws and obedience and the standards, 12:19 and the rules and the laws and obedience; 12:21 character development. 12:23 I still wonder how we can develop bad characters, 12:26 make them better? 12:28 That's English. No, that's Brooklyn East. 12:32 I know it's not good English. But anyway. 12:35 Either is that thinking good theology. 12:38 Well anyway, at the end of the 40 minutes of listening, 12:40 hoping he would end, boring, his lecture on do's and don'ts, 12:48 his cultish Christianity, he ended with this, 12:51 I'll never forget it, "Now remember, boys and girls, 12:55 God loves good boys and girls." 12:59 And he sat down. 13:02 I wanted to stand up. 13:04 I mean, I wanted to refute that gospel. 13:07 Like Paul the apostle did in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 13:12 and verse 4 when he wrote these words and said these things. 13:31 Another gospel. 13:34 I wanted to read the text in Ephesians and numerous other 13:38 texts that totally refute all he was saying to those kids. 13:42 Bible texts, which by the way, was lacking in the presentation. 13:46 Christ, which was lacking in the presentation. 13:51 But I shouldn't have been surprised. 13:54 I mean, it wasn't new to me. 13:56 I've been in this for 50 years. 13:58 I heard it before. 14:00 I heard it from saintly preachers. 14:03 Sanctimonious preachers laying their hands on little kids heads 14:06 saying, "God loves good little boys and girls." 14:10 Sweet sugary words of advice. 14:14 I've been quiet long enough. 14:18 I've watched from a distance. 14:20 I've listened to the crowd. 14:24 And tried to, as my mother said, "Hold your tongue, son." 14:30 But I can't any longer. 14:32 My heart is sick. 14:35 So I cannot be silent any longer. 14:37 I'm totally sick of seeing kids and adults being manipulated, 14:42 emotionally abused, intimidated by some pious fanatic 14:47 who thinks because they have memorized a few quotations 14:50 that they have a right to judge others. 14:54 Injuring godly pastors, injuring godly administrators, 14:59 injuring church members. 15:02 God does love good little boys and good little girls. 15:05 But He loves bad little boys and bad little girls. 15:09 And there are more of them than there are the good. 15:15 Perhaps if the bad little girls and the bad little boys 15:19 knew that, they would be better boys and better girls. 15:24 And that's what makes Christian God so loving 15:27 and so different from all the gods of works. 15:31 You see, this sermon is what I call, "in your face" 15:33 type of sermon. 15:34 I mean, it's a kind of sermon that won't be accepted by some. 15:38 I mean, especially the self righteous, 15:40 the pious, the holier than thou. 15:43 I mean, it's not for the super spiritual elder 15:46 that I found in one camp meeting recently 15:49 who told me he hadn't sinned in 5 months. 15:53 I said, "You just did. 15:54 The Bible says that if you say you have not sinned, 15:56 you're a liar and the truth is not in you. 15:57 Excuse me." And I walked away. 16:02 I walked away. 16:04 They wouldn't listen anyway. 16:06 It's not for the minister who abuse their children 16:09 by dressing them as if they lived in another century, 16:11 another age, humiliating them. 16:13 I mean, acting as if there dress will assure them 16:16 a place in the kingdom of God. 16:20 They wouldn't listen anyway. 16:23 It's not for the conference employee who thinks himself 16:25 or herself, or church leader themselves, important 16:28 and godly because they run the church. 16:30 I mean, they wouldn't listen anyway. 16:33 It's not for those who stayed away from the crowd or the world 16:36 afraid that they might become like the world 16:38 instead of changing the world. 16:42 They wouldn't listen anyway. 16:44 It isn't for the red hot zealot who boasts all the time 16:47 about his good works and the commandments 16:48 I've kept from my youth. 16:50 I mean, we've read that in the Word. 16:51 It's not for the fearless or the tearless. 16:55 It's not for the complacent or the hoisting over their 16:57 shoulders a tote bag full of honors and degrees, 17:00 as if education, as if knowledge will get them into 17:03 the kingdom of heaven. 17:05 They won't listen anyway. 17:08 It's not for the legalist, surely, who would rather 17:10 do it right than do it at all, who sweat it out, 17:13 who work it out, who try harder and harder and harder. 17:16 I mean, and make it harder on us. 17:24 Who live by the laws and rules as if the laws and rules 17:27 give them right to enter the kingdom of God. 17:33 Thinking they're right and everybody else is wrong. 17:36 And they're good and everybody else is evil. 17:39 Who are fanatical and who are not really faithful. 17:42 I mean, strong in the way they feel about things, 17:45 but not strong in the way they feel about people's feelings. 17:49 They won't listen anyway. 17:51 Then who is this message for? 17:53 As you listen and look at it on television and 17:56 listen to the Word of God on radio, 17:58 then who is this message for? 17:59 It's the beat up. 18:02 It's for the bruised. 18:04 It's for the battered. 18:06 It's for the burned out and the burdened. 18:09 It's for the inconsistent. 18:12 It's for the wobbly, weak kneed, church member and leader 18:15 and Christian who don't have it all together. 18:18 I mean, it's for the poor and the weak and the 18:20 hereditary faults that limit talents. 18:24 I mean it's for people, ordinary people like you and me, 18:27 everyday people, earthen vessels who shuffle along 18:31 on feeble feet of clay. 18:34 Who is this message for? 18:36 It's for the bent over people, the bruised people. 18:40 It's for that mother in the tenement who's trying to raise 18:42 five kids in a Christian atmosphere in a world 18:45 of crack cocaine, in a world of drive by shootings, 18:49 in a world... 18:53 It's for those who feel there lives are a 18:58 grave disappointment to God. 19:01 And it's for those who know they're stupid, 19:04 and down deep they know they're scalawags. 19:07 Because they do look in the mirror. 19:11 Now for you today, this message will either 19:12 bring joy and hope. 19:14 To those it will bring joy and hope. 19:17 But others, only anger. 19:20 Most of all, it will be the truth. 19:23 By the way, present truth. 19:25 For Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 19:31 And it's called, radical grace. 19:34 It's what brought Sims to know Christ. 19:38 I went to Hawaii. 19:39 The other night I told you how the brethren use to 19:42 send me to the hard cities and they'd go to the Philippines. 19:46 They'd go to 10,000, they'd send me to preach to 100 19:50 in the inner city. 19:51 But anyway, my friend called me to Hawaii. 19:54 And I went to Hawaii, and as I do in all my 19:56 evangelistic crusades, I prayer walk. 20:00 And I always pray for the meanest, toughest, 20:02 snortenest, fightenest person in the city. 20:04 Because they make the best disciples. 20:08 And so I was praying that God would bring the meanest, 20:10 toughest, snortenest, fightenest person to the meeting 20:14 and that they might get saved and give their life to Christ. 20:17 About the second night in walked Sims, a Samoan. 20:23 I mean, a big Samoan. 20:25 And those Samoans are really big. 20:28 If you're listening to me in Samoa, listen, you are big. 20:34 And he came, boom, boom, boom, down to the front. 20:37 I said, "Lord, here's the meanest, toughest, 20:39 lookenest, snortenest. 20:41 You answered my prayer." 20:44 All that night I preached, I preached only to the Samoan. 20:47 There were 1200 people there, yet I preached to the Samoan. 20:53 And after the meeting, he came out. 20:55 And I'm usually a hugger, but whoa, this guy. 21:01 It took me days to get enough courage to put my arms 21:03 half way around him, that Samoan. 21:09 But I wish you'd been there when God took hold of his heart. 21:13 It's for the Sims' of the world. 21:15 When God came into his life and Jesus took control of his life, 21:19 I wish you had been there. 21:21 You didn't need to tell him what to do. 21:23 Why are we trying to take away the work of the Holy Spirit? 21:28 The great problem with the church today; 21:30 you don't want to catch fish, you want to clean them. 21:34 That was worth coming to church for. 21:39 Sims came forward and gave his life to Christ. 21:42 And you know, I don't have five day plans, 21:44 ten day plans, to help people with their tobacco, 21:46 their alcohol, their drugs. 21:48 I have a five minute plan. 21:49 It's found in the book of James. 21:51 The anointing. 21:53 I wish you'd been there when he brought his crack 21:55 and he brought his marijuana. 21:57 I wish you'd been there when he brought his fists and alcohol. 22:00 I wish you'd been there when he brought his shopping bag, 22:02 and he wanted to be saved and set free from that. 22:07 I wish you'd been there when I prayed and tears streamed 22:09 down his face. 22:10 I wish you had been there... 22:17 ...when the Lord delivered him. 22:20 That young man, in his first year with the youth group, 22:24 they baptized over a hundred people in the kingdom of God. 22:28 I just got a phone call a few months ago. 22:30 He started an evangelistic meeting. 22:32 He called me just a few weeks ago. 22:33 He said, "Pastor Ron, I really feel burdened 22:36 to go into ministry. 22:38 Will you pray for me." 22:39 I'm praying for him that God will provide for him 22:41 so he can go and become a minister of the 22:43 gospel of Jesus Christ. 22:44 I tell you, it's for the down and out. 22:46 It's for the down trodden. 22:47 It's for those who realize in their heart that without God 22:50 they're lost, they're damned, they're doomed, 22:52 and they're bound for hell. 22:57 He discovered radical grace. 23:00 Something the church in many quarters have yet to discover. 23:04 May quarters of the church today accepts grace in theory, 23:07 but denies it in practice. 23:09 We say that we believe in the reality of grace, 23:12 but we don't act it. 23:13 The first time I saw grace, I was a little boy in Brooklyn. 23:17 And I was always in trouble. 23:19 My mother use to say to me, "You're always in trouble." 23:22 And I was walking by the school, it was after school hours. 23:26 And I saw a big rock and I picked it up. 23:28 And I saw the windows, you know. 23:32 And I stood back and threw the rock through the window. 23:35 And I started to laugh and I started to run. 23:37 And I ran right into the arms of the Irish cop 23:39 for 60th precinct. 23:43 He lifted me up, and my legs and feet were still moving. 23:48 Still moving. 23:50 And he said, "Young man, you just threw 23:51 a rock through the window." 23:52 I said, "I didn't do that, officer." 23:54 Come on now. 23:56 He said, "I saw you. 23:58 You're going down to the precinct. 24:00 You're going to jail, young man." 24:02 Jail. 24:05 And as he was carrying me towards the 60th precinct, 24:07 my feet moving, he said and I thought, "Whoa, jail? 24:14 Black and white stripes. 24:18 My dad would come down. Oh no." 24:24 But then I thought, "Oh, no not my dad. 24:27 My mom will come down." 24:32 And up the steps to the 60th precinct. 24:33 And just as we got to the door, he set me down. 24:37 He looked in my eyes and he said, 24:39 "Young man, will you ever do that again?" 24:40 "No, officer. No." 24:42 He said, "Alright, go ahead." 24:44 And I ran as fast as I could, and I ran toward home. 24:48 Never again, come on. 24:52 Grace. 24:55 An Irish cop taught me grace. 24:59 Unconditional. 25:01 "Go on now. 25:04 Don't do it again." 25:08 Grace is the unmerited favor of God given... What? 25:13 ...freely to sinners. 25:15 We all know that. We quote it. 25:17 We use it to our own benefit. 25:21 But in all practicality, we deny the unconditional giving 25:26 and such unconditional love. 25:28 We talk glibly about grace as a gift, 25:30 and then go on with the buts, "But, but what's my part." 25:34 "But what's... but, but, but, but." 25:36 The character stuff. 25:38 We're like the Wall Street Exchange of works 25:42 where our gospel is just for the elite. 25:47 The elite are honored and the ordinary are ignored. 25:52 David G. Benner, in his book, Surrender To Love, 25:55 page 46, says this. 25:57 Listen carefully. 25:59 "Grace is totally alien to human psychology." 26:04 He goes on to explain. 26:06 "We want to get our house in order..." 26:08 Come on now. 26:09 "...and then let God love and accept us. 26:12 The psychology of works, righteousness, 26:15 and self certification is fundamental or foundational 26:19 to human psyche and totally at odds with grace." 26:24 You don't say you believe in grace and spend the 26:26 rest of your life trying to pay for it. 26:31 But unconditional love always demands surrender. 26:34 Example, a person wanted to be baptized. 26:36 He delays it, he puts it off. "Don't know enough." 26:39 As if knowledge would give him the kingdom of heaven. 26:42 "Oh, I can't live that life." 26:45 As if our living, our living, will give us that life. 26:51 "Well, I have too many sins in my life." 26:53 As if everybody baptized didn't have sin. 26:57 I guess that's the reason I'm baptized, because I have sin. 27:02 "Oh no, I can't be baptized." 27:07 The real reason... 27:11 ...is our fear of love. 27:16 Our nature resists unconditional love. 27:21 We want to contribute to the deal... 27:24 Come on now. 27:26 ...of eternal life. 27:27 My faith, my effort, my love, my belief. 27:32 But the bottom line is that perfect love, grace, 27:36 grace love meets me where I am. 27:38 And as only I open my heart to receive the love which 27:42 I long for, which I need. 27:43 I mean, surrender is the hardest thing for us. 27:50 And because we do not really trust in God's grace, 27:54 our love is stifled, 27:58 our freedom is shackled. 28:01 Our lives refute our faith. 28:04 Now there are something things obvious about the text. 28:05 You don't have to be a theologian 28:07 or think you need a theologian. 28:10 It's clear as clear, that we often overlook it. 28:13 Men especially suffer from this; overlooking things. 28:16 Come on. 28:19 You know, looking for something and not finding it. 28:22 "Honey," here I am at the drawer, "I can't find my socks." 28:29 She comes in... 28:33 "Dear, where are my keys?" 28:37 54 years of this. 28:40 "Here." 28:45 Something right in front of you that you're missing. 28:46 Come on. 28:49 Let's look at the text carefully with open minds, open hearts. 28:53 Listen. 28:55 Put away your prejudices. 28:58 Your this group and this is this group and that's that group. 29:01 And then the liberals, and then the moderates, 29:03 and then the conservatives. 29:04 And who's who and who's what. 29:05 Forget that stuff. 29:07 And let's look at the text from a heart in need. 29:12 Because we may not all sin alike, but alike we all sin. 29:18 I should have more "amens" here, but maybe I'm 29:20 speaking to the wrong group. 29:25 I want you to have spiritual insight and clear vision. 29:30 To define grace, simply let me tell you a story. 29:34 Jesus had a way of doing that. 29:36 He took complicated things and made them simple. 29:39 We too, evangelists today, we take simple things and 29:42 make them complicated. 29:43 Have you noticed that? Come on. 29:46 We spend more time talking about angels than we do about Christ. 29:51 We spent more time about the Pope than about Christ. 29:53 We know more about the 144,000, so we think, 29:57 than we do about Christ. 30:00 Let me tell you a true story. 30:01 It happened in my city, New York, a long time ago. 30:04 Mayor LaGuardia, he served as mayor of New York City 30:10 through World War II. 30:13 He was called "Little Flower" because he wore a 30:15 little button flower here on his lapel. 30:18 He wore a sombrero. 30:19 So you know he was a different individual. 30:24 He was a colorful character. 30:25 He use to ride the New York City fire trucks, 30:28 and he use to raid the speakeasy's with the police. 30:31 I mean, he was so unusual, yet everyone loved him. 30:38 He'd take whole orphanages to the ball game. 30:42 That's Mayor LaGuardia. 30:45 And when the newspaper went on strike, 30:49 he read the funnies over the radio to the 30:51 little children throughout the city. 30:53 I mean, he was well loved. 30:54 And you can understand why. 30:57 One bitterly cold night in January 1935, 31:00 the mayor turned up at a night court 31:02 that served the poorest ward of the city. 31:05 LaGuardia dismissed the judge and took the place. 31:09 There, a tattered old lady came and was brought in before him 31:14 charged with stealing a loaf of bread. 31:19 She told LaGuardia that her daughter's husband 31:21 had deserted her, her daughter was sick, 31:23 and her two grandchildren were starving. 31:25 So she stole the loaf of bread. 31:30 Now the shopkeeper, he was very angry because he was 31:32 getting ripped off, I guess. 31:34 And he said, "She has to be shown, your Honor. 31:37 She has to be punished to teach other people a lesson." 31:43 LaGuardia sighed. 31:45 He turned to the woman and said, "I have to punish you. 31:49 The law makes no exception. 31:52 Ten dollars, ten days in jail." 31:55 But before he finished the sentence, he was reaching 32:00 for his wallet. 32:02 And he took out ten dollars and dropped it in the sombrero. 32:05 And then he said, "I'm going to fine every one of you 32:08 fifty cents each for making it that a little old lady 32:14 has to steal a loaf of bread in our city 32:17 to feed her starving grandchildren." 32:19 That is grace. 32:22 Do you get it? 32:23 You get the drift? 32:26 That is grace. 32:30 Give and give him a standing ovation. 32:35 Because the people, when he had said that, 32:38 stood and applauded Mayor LaGuardia. 32:46 You see, if you really understand the gospel, 32:48 the true gospel, not the false gospel but the true gospel, 32:52 you'll understand that good works 32:55 is just a standing ovation for what God has already done, amen. 33:01 What God has already done; that's grace. 33:04 Now, three important things about our text in Ephesians 2 33:07 verses 8 and 9. 33:08 There are three very important things. 33:11 First of all, the need of salvation. 33:15 "By grace..." 33:17 It is the means of grace that we go to heaven. 33:19 Secondly, the way is by faith; the act of grace. 33:25 And then there is the reward of our salvation; 33:27 which is the reward of grace. 33:30 There is need of grace, act of grace, and reward of grace. 33:33 Too many people think that justification comes by 33:36 faith and by grace, but then sanctification 33:39 is the work of a lifetime. 33:41 No, it's not the work of a lifetime. 33:43 It's the work of God working on our life for a lifetime. 33:48 It's still grace. 33:50 It's still grace, the unmerited favor of God. 33:53 We don't deserve it. None of you deserve it. 33:59 I don't deserve it. 34:01 I deserve to be lost. 34:03 But this gracious loving caring God I've been talking about 34:06 this week, this gracious God, He gives us grace, 34:10 He gives us the unmerited favor. 34:12 He gives us what He deserves so that we might 34:16 give Him our hearts. 34:21 Unmerited giving. 34:26 It's a gift from above. 34:27 Never forget that. 34:28 Acceptance based upon the need and the desire 34:30 of one who receives it. 34:32 It's a new standing before God. 34:35 I was saved, by the way, in 1954. 34:39 I was 16 years old. 34:42 I was a ruffian kid in the streets of Brooklyn. 34:45 God saved me that moment. 34:47 By the way, I was not saved to a degree and now more saved. 34:52 God didn't put a down payment on your house. 34:55 He paid for it. 34:56 Why do you think you have to pay a mortgage? 35:02 If He only paid the part and you have to pay the rest, 35:04 then it's no longer a gift, is it. 35:07 You don't say to your kid, "Here's you a little bicycle. 35:12 It's 42 dollars. 35:13 I paid 30 dollars of it, I want you to pay the rest." 35:17 It's no longer a gift. 35:19 Don't you understand that it's so simple 35:21 it's like the nose on your face? 35:24 And yet, we get so mixed up. 35:27 You see, listen to me. 35:31 I was ready for heaven the moment I gave my life to Christ. 35:38 I'm no more ready now after 50 years of serving Him. 35:42 And by the way, some people say, "I like the works." 35:44 Hey, you like works? 35:45 Then I'm way ahead of you. 35:48 I've spend 50 years living in hotel rooms, and 35:53 going into the barrios, and preaching the Word of God 35:56 and baptizing 15,000 people in the kingdom of Christ 35:59 and this church. 36:00 Listen to me, if good works then I'm ahead of you. 36:03 Thank God it's grace. 36:06 Thank God it's grace. 36:09 The unmerited favor of God. 36:11 I mean, whew. 36:14 I'm very suspicious of people who try to lay a heavy burden 36:17 upon other people in these last days. 36:20 "Oh, we've got to be different, last days." 36:22 No, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 36:25 Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord, never forget it. 36:28 I mean, "We need to be better, purer, 36:31 because we live in the last days." 36:32 What heresy. 36:33 God does not change. "I change not." 36:36 His salvation was by grace through faith, 36:38 and it is a gift. 36:39 It was a gift in the beginning, it is a gift now. 36:42 Even at this moment as I receive Him as the gift. 36:47 In Matthew 24 verse 37, you'll notice what the Bible says. 36:57 Notice, "the Son of man," what? 37:00 As the days of Noah, it shall be. 37:02 Genesis 6 verse 8 tells us: 37:07 By the way, he needed to find grace. 37:09 He comes out of the Ark, he gets drunk, 37:11 he lies naked before his children. 37:13 Surely, Noah needed grace. 37:18 He found grace. 37:20 Hmm, boat builder found grace. 37:26 He's an example of our generation. 37:27 Because the Bible says, "As was in the days of Noah, 37:29 so shall it be in the..." What? 37:30 "...days of the coming of the Son of man." 37:35 And yet, this perfect person gets out of the Ark 37:39 and he gets drunk and lays naked. 37:42 His nakedness was covered by grace. 37:45 Our generation will be like that generation. 37:47 Do you hear me? You'll be like that generation. 37:50 Grace rescues us. 37:51 Take a look at that powerful text found in Colossians 37:54 the second chapter. 37:55 The second chapter of Colossians. 37:57 And I'm reading here. 38:09 God made you alive. 38:11 I became alive when grace came. 38:15 God forgave you. 38:16 I was forgiven when God came. 38:18 I mean, the debt was cancelled when God's grace came. 38:21 God took away the record. 38:23 I mean, God stripped the spiritual rulers. 38:25 God won the victory. 38:27 Why walk around like losers? 38:29 You are victorious because Christ is victorious. 38:36 God shows the whole world the way to victory. 38:40 The question is, who is active? You or I? 38:44 Well, God. 38:46 Who is trapped? 38:48 And who comes to rescue us, you or God? 38:53 Who throws a life preserver? 38:54 Many read books about life saving. 38:59 We've read all the books about life preservers. 39:02 But you never had to wear one. 39:09 Trapped. 39:12 You know something? 39:14 I'm not more saved now than I ever was 39:16 when I first found the Lord. 39:18 I enjoy my walk better. 39:22 Romans chapter 1 verses 16 and 17. 39:24 Listen to the Word of God. Listen to what it says. 39:58 He calls it, "faith to faith." 40:01 What is faith? Faith is trusting Jesus Christ for your salvation. 40:06 Faith to faith is trusting on a continuing bases in salvation. 40:10 For everyday faith, it is the spirit that gives me faith. 40:14 It's the spirit filled life that fills me with faith to faith. 40:18 And that allows me to visualize, 40:19 accomplish mountain moving faith. 40:22 It originates in my soul only as a gift of God. 40:29 Salvation is always by faith. 40:31 And that is why he says, "faith to faith." 40:34 We begin our walk by trusting. 40:37 Then somehow we get all messed up in our heads, somehow. 40:40 Maybe it's us preachers who have been filling you with this. 40:44 Sorry. 40:47 Sorry. 40:50 We get so messed up and start trying. 40:53 You talk about a person, "How's your spiritual life?" 40:55 "Oh, I'm trying." 40:59 As if trying is going to help. 41:02 As if receiving and keeping salvation is 41:04 two different things. 41:08 I don't receive it by faith and keep it by works. 41:11 "Not by works, lest any should..." What? 41:13 "...boast." 41:15 Self effort, self sanctification, 41:18 self justification is not the way of faith. 41:20 The way of faith is what He inspires in us. 41:22 The process is so clear we overlook it. 41:24 God forgives us, accepts us, establishes us 41:27 in a right relationship. 41:28 He then goes on from faith to faith. 41:34 He engenders a hunger in us. 41:38 A hunger. 41:41 When I first came to know Christ, 41:43 I had a hunger in my heart. 41:47 You didn't have to tell me. 41:51 In fact, I'm tired of you tell me. 41:55 You didn't have to tell me. 41:57 The Holy Spirit told me. 42:00 Don't tell me, "You've got to give up this, give up that." 42:02 The Holy Spirit moves. 42:06 Not by works, self justification. 42:09 Listen to me, faith to faith. 42:11 We cannot force ourselves to have faith. 42:15 Faith can only originate in the soul by the gift of God. 42:18 And by the way, it comes by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. 42:20 You can't have faith without the Holy Spirit. 42:23 Don ever think you're going to live without the Holy Spirit. 42:25 You can't have faith without the Holy Spirit. 42:27 You can't cry out to God without the Holy Spirit. 42:30 You can't say your prayers without the Holy Spirit. 42:33 It's the Spirit that convicts you and brings you to faith. 42:41 In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, if I had time I'd read it for you. 42:45 But they have me on a clock. 42:48 In this passage, we have nineteen gifts of the Spirit. 42:51 Did you notice? 42:53 Kathismata, the grace gifts. 42:58 The indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 43:01 We study the Holy Spirit like it's a class; Holy Spirit 101. 43:05 It's not a class. 43:07 It's an experience. 43:11 It's sensing Him, it's feeling Him in your heart. 43:14 It's being convicted when you get up off your knees. 43:17 I mean, it's the Holy Spirit that enwraps around you. 43:20 It's the Holy Spirit that makes you look towards Christ. 43:23 It's the Holy Spirit that makes you want to pray. 43:25 It's the Holy Spirit that makes you want to do for God. 43:28 It's the Holy Spirit. 43:29 Give Him glory and credit too. 43:36 No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. 43:48 If you are of the belief that someday you'll live without 43:50 the Holy Spirit, you are a deluded people. 43:54 That is what Paul said. 43:56 You will not be able to say in that day, "Come, Lord Jesus." 44:00 Because it's the Holy Spirit that puts it in your mouth. 44:04 It's the Holy Spirit that puts it in your eyes. 44:09 It's the Holy Spirit that puts it in your ears 44:11 so you hear God. 44:16 It's nurtured and grown by faith and trust and belief. 44:22 It means those of us who have been given the capacity to 44:25 trust Christ unreservedly for our salvation are now 44:28 afforded a special confidence to believe what He can and 44:32 will do in our circumstances. 44:33 It's a mountain moving faith. 44:36 The faith that does not shrink from the task. 44:39 The faith that sees what God wants to be done, 44:41 and sees that it's done. 44:46 I always marvel at this station here. 44:49 Because when you first started, 44:53 vision, you saw something. 44:57 The leaders saw something. 45:00 It was out of that magnifying faith 45:05 you see what's happening now. 45:08 You see, the person who has the gift of faith 45:11 asks, "What does God want?" 45:14 "What does He want in this particular situation?" 45:17 "What would Jesus do in this particular situation?" 45:21 "What does He expect in particular circumstances?" 45:24 First, faith asks it. 45:25 Secondly, faith has the courage to believe that it will be done. 45:29 We all live on the edge of some complexity. 45:31 Listen to me. 45:32 Most of us expect little from God. 45:35 And that's why we're not disappointed. 45:40 The majority of Christians I know do not have 45:41 a lively expectancy which comes from faith. 45:45 Faith seen is the gifted life. 45:48 They have enough faith to accept Christ at Calvary. 45:50 But they don't have enough faith to accept Him 45:52 in our culture, in our moment with our need. 45:58 Now the question is, how do I get it? 46:01 Well, the answer is clear as the nose on your face. 46:04 More of the Holy Spirit. 46:08 The One who enables to believe in the beginning will help you 46:15 meet the challenge of the future. 46:16 The moving of faith to faith to faith to faith to faith. 46:23 Not faithful, mind you. To faith. 46:28 "Got to be more faithful if I'm going to have this." 46:30 Faith. 46:36 If you haven't asked Jesus Christ for eternal salvation, 46:38 ask Him now. 46:40 You can, right at this moment. 46:43 You can ask Him now. 46:44 Boldly claim the gift of faith. 46:47 And if you've never known the enabling power of faith, 46:49 you who are here at church, you've never known the 46:51 indwelling, the overflowing of the Holy Spirit in your life, 46:54 then ask it now. 46:58 There's a wonderful story about a first grader. 47:00 A little boy, he was leaving the class his last day 47:04 and he shook the hand of the teacher and he said, 47:06 "Teacher, I really like you. 47:10 I sure wish I could stay here forever. 47:13 But I've been promoted. 47:15 Boy, I wish you knew enough to teach me in the second grade." 47:24 We laugh at that. 47:26 And then we know the Holy Spirit who gave us the gift 47:28 of primary faith knows more than enough to 47:31 give us powerful faith. 47:35 For instance, what is faith? 47:38 Well if I had a chair, I'm sitting on a chair 47:41 and there's a chair over there. 47:42 I'd say, "Will that chair hold me?" 47:44 You say, "Well, I don't know." 47:46 Well, you'd have to get up and walk over and 47:48 sit on that chair, right? 47:49 You see, I get up off the chair and I walk over and 47:51 I sit on that. 47:52 Before I knew Christ, before I knew salvation, 47:55 before I knew the gift of eternal life, 47:57 I was sitting on myself. 47:59 I was depending upon myself. 48:01 And then all of a sudden, it dawned on me. 48:03 I needed to go over and I needed to put my weight 48:06 on Jesus Christ. 48:14 And that's powerful faith. 48:17 The faith that unshackles us. 48:19 I was a pastor in Cleveland, Tennessee and I worked 48:21 in prison ministry. 48:24 I worked with a young man at the prison and 48:25 he gave his life to Christ. 48:28 There was a real transformation of his life. 48:31 You can't come into the presence of Jesus and not be changed. 48:37 His life was changed. 48:39 One day when I was visiting him, he said, "Pastor Ron," 48:41 he said, "I really want to be baptized." 48:44 And so I went to the prison officials and I said, 48:47 "He needs to be baptized." 48:48 "Well, we don't have a baptistery here." 48:50 I said, "Well, I have one in my church." 48:52 They said, "Well, I don't know if we can do that." 48:54 I said, "No, the man..." 48:55 And they saw a transformation. 48:58 And so they said, "Alright, Thursday afternoon." 49:01 So I went and filled up the water and got it ready and 49:06 in walked the prisoner, shackled. 49:11 Shackled. 49:13 He walked in and I said, "Take those shackles off him. 49:16 He's a born again Christian. He's new in Christ." 49:19 They said, "Well, I don't know if we can." 49:21 But they did. 49:24 He went down in the water, baptized in the kingdom of God. 49:26 He came up; the glow, the beauty in his face. 49:31 He went back to prison to serve his term. 49:35 And I moved away from the church, but the church would 49:37 get a tithe envelope every so often from this 49:40 box number in Tennessee. 49:44 And they'd send it, the name. 49:47 One day, the church was sanctimoniously sitting 49:49 in a board meeting wondering what the church manual says 49:52 about a person who doesn't attend church. 49:55 They forgot they should have asked Immanuel. 50:00 Get the drift? But anyway. 50:04 And so they said, "Well, where is this person. 50:07 We never see him at church." 50:09 And then the treasurer said, "Oh, he sends faithfully 50:12 offerings and tithes from a box number." 50:16 A few years later, a man walked into the church in a cheap suit. 50:24 And they said, "Oh, are you a visitor, a guest?" 50:26 And he said, "No, I'm a member." 50:29 He told them the story. 50:31 Unshackled. 50:34 Unshackled. 50:36 That's the story of grace. 50:39 And that's the story of quantum grace. 50:42 Bill Tamerly talks about quantum grace. 50:43 I like that. 50:45 Listen to what he says. 50:46 "Barely visible mustard seed, mover of mountains. 50:51 Ever smaller, we search for the ultimate indivisible. 50:55 We find unimaginable force from an atom split. 50:58 Yet even electrons, neurons, and beyonds 51:01 infinitesimal, invisible, and still divisible 51:05 by the lowest and the highest common denominator. 51:09 Faith, the smallest and the greatest, 51:12 the evidence of things hoped for, 51:13 the substance of things not seen, 51:15 the building block of all that matters, 51:17 the power of the infinite, at our disposable." 51:21 I like that. 51:24 That's grace through faith. 51:26 The unmerited gift of God's giving, of God's giving. 51:34 Years ago... 51:35 And I tell this story wherever I go. 51:37 You've heard it, perhaps. 51:38 If you haven't, you should. 51:39 If you have, it's gets better with the telling. 51:44 I was sent to Harlem. 51:46 The brethren were sent to the Philippines. 51:48 Get the drift? 51:50 And so I was there in January in Harlem. 51:52 January. 51:54 And I was to preach the Word of God. 51:58 The first night, I stood up to preach and 52:00 the church was packed out. 52:03 They had to get on the subway, and they had to go through 52:05 the snow, and they had to get on buses, those people. 52:08 But they were faithful. 52:09 If the rain drops are falling, we stay home. 52:12 We can see it on 3ABN. 52:14 Give me a break. 52:15 I hope the second coming comes through 3ABN, 52:18 or else some of you will be left behind. 52:25 And so I was preaching, and I noticed in the second row 52:29 a woman with a gold afro. 52:35 A big gold afro. 52:37 Now I teach preaching in some of our colleges. 52:41 And I told my preachers, don't keep looking at the same people, 52:44 or else they'll think you're preaching about them. 52:46 And so, I looked and a gold afro. 52:48 I mean, you could hardly miss it. 52:50 So I tried to turn away. 52:51 But everywhere I turned, I looked and... 52:55 ...I saw that gold afro. 52:58 And on the way out, as the people coming by are 53:01 shaking their hands, she shook my hand. 53:03 She said, "Hi, I'm Goldie." 53:04 I said, "Yea." 53:07 She went out in the night and the deacon came over. 53:10 He said, "You know who she is?" 53:11 I said, "Yea, Goldie." 53:12 He said, "No, she's the prostitute from 145th Street, 53:15 Amsterdam Avenue." 53:16 Now I never knew how the deacon knew that. 53:18 But anyway. 53:21 And so me being who I am, I did a holy dance. 53:25 Can't show you Adventists, but when I get to heaven 53:27 I'll show you it. 53:30 I went home and prayed that night. 53:32 Couldn't sleep that night. 53:33 All night I prayed for Goldie, that she'd come back 53:35 and listen to the Word of God, that Jesus would take her heart. 53:38 Next night, she was there. 53:39 And the next night and the next night and the next. 53:41 By that time, I'm in the third heaven, preaching from 53:44 the third heaven. 53:47 And one night she comes out and I said, 53:48 "Goldie, I'm going to come visit you." 53:50 Her head dropped. 53:53 She said, "Preacher, you don't want to visit me where I work. 53:55 Because where I work, I live." 53:57 You see, I never read in the Scripture, 53:59 "Office hours between 10 and 12." 54:01 Give me a break here. 54:03 What's happened to us? 54:06 We're so professional. 54:08 What's happened to us? 54:11 I said, "No." I didn't even know where. 54:13 "I'm going to come." 54:14 She said, "Pastor, I work where I live and I live where I work." 54:17 I said, "That's alright. I'll be there. 54:18 Would Thursday afternoon be alright, 2 o'clock?" 54:21 On the way home, I said to my wife, 54:22 I said, "Honey, I'm going to a house of prostitution 54:24 on 145th Street on Thursday. 54:26 Would you like to come?" She said, "Yea." 54:35 Drove out on Thursday, my wife parked the car. 54:37 I took my Bible; you keep out of trouble with your Bible. 54:41 I told you the other night, when I'm visiting the 54:43 inner cities, whether it's in the barrios of Los Angeles, 54:45 or San Bernardino, I carry my Bible. 54:48 They've got to shoot through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus 54:50 to get to me. 54:52 I said to my wife, I said, "Pray," 54:55 She kept the car running, and praying. 54:57 I ran up the stairs, down the hall. 54:58 The customers were waiting. 55:01 I knocked on the door. 55:02 They said, "Hey man, where you going?" 55:03 I said, "I'm going to see Goldie." 55:04 I gave them my best Christian smile. 55:06 They said, "So are we." 55:07 I said, "Yea, but for the wrong reason; I'm a preacher." 55:09 That got them nervous. 55:12 I knocked on the door. 55:13 She said, "Who is it?" 55:15 I said, "Brother Ron, Pastor Ron." 55:18 She said, "Oh Pastor, wait." 55:19 And I waited for a customer to go out. 55:21 And I went in. 55:22 What do you say? What do you preach? 55:25 Come on, 2300 days? 55:28 Come on. 55:29 What do you talk about? Healthful living? 55:31 Come on. 55:34 What do you preach about? The Sabbath? 55:36 Get real. 55:38 You tell them that there's a God in heaven that loves them. 55:41 And this God doesn't want them to perish. 55:45 And He loved them with such a cost He gave His own Son. 55:49 You tell them that there's a God who loves them. 55:51 I said, "Goldie, Jesus loves you." 55:54 And she started to cry. 55:56 And I started to cry too, big lug. 55:59 She said, "You know, I learned something in Sunday school." 56:01 By the way, I met prostitutes from Sunday school 56:03 and I met some from Sabbath school. 56:08 And she said, "I learned something in 56:10 Sunday school when I was a little child." 56:11 I said, "What is it?" "A song." 56:13 I said, "A song? What is it?" 56:14 "Jesus loves me, this I know. 56:19 For the Bible tells me so. 56:22 Little ones to Him belong." 56:26 I said, "That's it." 56:28 The older I get, the more I understand. 56:34 That's it. 56:37 That's it. 56:39 Jesus loves me, this I know. 56:43 And there I led her to her knees to pray. 56:45 And I said, "Goldie, say a prayer." 56:47 She said, "I can't, I don't know how to pray." 56:49 I said, "Well just talk to Jesus, He loves you. 56:51 Just talk to Jesus as you love." 56:53 She said, "I don't know how to love." 56:56 I said, "Just tell Him what's in your heart." 56:59 I heard the most beautiful prayer I've ever heard 57:01 this side of glory. 57:04 A prostitute on 145th Street, Amsterdam Avenue; Goldie. 57:09 A few days later, she came forward to 57:13 give her life to Christ. 57:15 She received the unmerited favor of God. 57:18 And she became a Bible worker to serve God now, 57:23 and be with God forever. 57:28 The unmerited giving is yours. |
Revised 2014-12-17