Participants: Justin Torossian
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000158
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00:14 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth
00:16 live from the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:25 Welcome to Three Angels' Broadcasting Worship Center 00:29 here in the mighty metropolis of Thompsonville. 00:34 You know, Thompsonville is a growing community. 00:37 We have a gas station, a couple of eating establishments, 00:41 and just recently a Dollar General. 00:45 Have we arrived or what? 00:48 But you know, what really puts Thompsonville on the map 00:52 is that truth filled messages leave the studios of 3ABN 00:58 and literally belt the globe. 01:01 And that's what puts Thompsonville on the map. 01:05 It's the message of Jesus, 01:07 not any establishments of business. 01:10 And we just want to welcome you. 01:12 If you're tuning in to us by television, or internet, 01:17 or radio, we want you to relax and get your Bibles 01:23 and be prepared for a wonderful message tonight. 01:26 A message that is a last day message 01:31 from the book of Revelation. 01:33 The last book of the Bible to the last day generation. 01:37 We have our speaker this evening will be Pastor Justin Torossian. 01:45 Pastor Justin comes to us from California. 01:47 He was raised in northern California. 01:51 And has been employed by the Central California Conference 01:56 of Seventh-day Adventists. 01:59 Pastor Torossian has most recently worked with 02:05 Pastor Stephen Bohr, a presenter on 3ABN. 02:09 And we really appreciate and have enjoyed his messages 02:14 throughout the years. 02:16 And Pastor Torossian worked as an associate in the church that 02:23 Pastor Bohr pastors. 02:27 His message this evening is entitled, 02:31 Wretched, Miserable... Victorious. 02:37 I like the last part. 02:39 The first part, truthful but often a little hard to hear; 02:44 wretched and miserable. 02:45 But we're happy for the ending; victorious. 02:49 This is the third of a series coming to you live. 02:54 And live is often a little bit scary, you know. 02:57 Whatever comes out, that's what it is. 02:59 Warts, wrinkles, and all. 03:01 But it also gives a wonderful dynamic when a message 03:09 comes live over television. 03:12 Puts you a little on edge, but the Lord really blesses. 03:17 And we know that tonight the Lord is going to bless 03:20 Pastor Torossian as he opens the Word for us. 03:24 But before Pastor Torossian comes and speaks, 03:28 we going to be blessed by music from our own 03:33 Yvonne Lewis. 03:35 Yvonne is our manager of Dare To Dream. 03:38 And she is going to sing the song, Wonders Never Cease. 03:46 Yvonne, before you sing though, let me just pause and have a 03:49 word of prayer both for you and for Pastor Justin Torossian. 03:54 Father in heaven, we count it a privilege as the Sabbath hours 04:00 here in Thompsonville are just beginning 04:04 to be able to come apart, sit at Your feet, 04:08 and listen as Your servant speaks, opening the 04:11 Word of God to us. 04:14 We ask that You'll bless our dear Pastor Torossian. 04:17 Give him words from on high. 04:20 And Yvonne Lewis as she presents the gospel 04:25 in melody, in singing. 04:27 We pray that You'll also bless her as she now sings, 04:32 Wonders Never Cease. 04:35 In Jesus' name we ask, amen. 04:58 I heard He walked on water and opened blinded eyes; 05:07 the deaf were made to hear again 05:12 and the dead were called to rise. 05:15 Oh, but when I gave Him all my heart, 05:21 a greater thing took place; 05:25 the Lord of every miracle 05:30 redeemed me by His grace. 05:36 And wonders never cease as long as I believe 05:45 and place my life within the nail scarred hands 05:51 that bled for me. 05:54 And when I think I've seen His best, 05:59 I stand amazed to see 06:05 His glory never ends 06:12 and wonders never cease. 06:32 He still walks on water to calm my trouble seas; 06:39 and in the midst of thunder 06:45 I can hear Him speaking peace. 06:48 And though some believe His miracles 06:53 are just part of yesterday, 06:58 I'm living proof His changing power 07:03 will never passed away. 07:10 And wonders never cease as long as I believe 07:19 and place my life within the nail scarred hands 07:24 that bled for me. 07:28 And when I think I've seen His best, 07:33 I stand amazed to see 07:39 His glory never ends. 07:45 Oh, wonders never cease 07:53 as long as I believe 07:57 and I place my life within the nail scarred hands 08:03 that bled for me. 08:06 And when I think I've seen His best, 08:11 I stand amazed to see 08:17 His glory never ends 08:24 and wonders never cease. 08:30 Oh, His glory never ends 08:37 and wonders never cease. 09:11 Amen. 09:14 Good evening. 09:15 Welcome again to our series, Called, Chosen, Faithful. 09:21 Called, Chosen, and Faithful. 09:22 We've been examining together Jesus' message 09:24 to the church of Laodicea. 09:27 And before we begin again tonight, I'd just like to invite 09:31 you to join me in prayer as we especially ask the Holy Spirit 09:34 to be present to help us to understand 09:37 and apply God's word tonight. 09:39 Let's pray. 09:41 And join me in prayer through song if you know it. 09:46 Spirit of the living God, 09:52 fall afresh on me. 09:58 Spirit of the living God, 10:04 fall afresh on me. 10:09 Break me, melt me, 10:15 mold me, and fill me. 10:21 Spirit of the living God, 10:28 fall afresh on me. 10:34 Father in heaven, this is our prayer tonight. 10:37 We Thank You that You are more willing to give us 10:40 the Holy Spirit when we ask than Godly good parents are 10:45 to give good gifts to their children. 10:47 Thank You, Lord, for Your presence here with us tonight. 10:51 We ask that as we study Your Word that we would not 10:54 hear the voice of a man, but that we would hear the 10:57 voice of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. 11:00 Speak to each and every one of us tonight through Your Word. 11:03 We pray in Jesus' precious name. 11:05 Let all God's people say amen. 11:11 It began as a normal Thursday. 11:14 But that day would turn out to be anything but normal. 11:19 The men working over 700 meters, nearly half a mile underground, 11:24 were mining for copper and other minerals in the San José mine 11:28 in the country of Chile. 11:30 Around lunch time the men started to feel vibrations. 11:34 And suddenly, it happened. 11:37 There was a massive explosion. 11:40 When the dust cloud finally settled, 11:43 the 33 men found themselves trapped by a mega block of stone 11:47 45 stories tall and weighing twice as much as 11:52 the Empire State Building. 11:54 This block had broken off from the rest of the mountain 11:57 sealing the men in that mine. 12:00 One of the men, his name Luis Urzúa, the crews supervisor, 12:05 looked up at the stone, the flat stone wall as it seemed, 12:09 and said, "It was like the stone that they put over Jesus' tomb." 12:14 Countries from all over the world rushed to help form 12:17 a rescue plan together to get these men out of the mine. 12:21 The rescue team included three large international 12:24 drilling rig teams, the expertise of the NASA 12:27 space agency, more than a dozen multinational corporations 12:31 from nearly every continent. 12:33 The rescue was truly a global effort. 12:37 No one on the surface knew if the men were alive. 12:41 Many people doubted that they were alive. 12:44 And they thought, "Even if they are alive, 12:46 they most likely will have starved to death 12:50 by the time we find them." 12:52 But their family members and friends gathered together 12:54 in a camp above the mine called, Campamento Esperanza; 13:00 Camp of Hope. 13:02 Friends, these family members didn't give up, 13:04 and they continued praying. 13:06 And finally, after 17 days on August 22, a note written 13:13 in bold red letters appeared taped to a drill bit 13:16 when it was pulled to the surface. 13:18 It simply read, "Estamos bien en el refugio los 33." 13:23 "We are well in the shelter, the 33 of us." 13:27 Everyone of those men had been miraculously spared 13:30 and their lives had been spared. 13:32 They were alive. 13:34 Finally on October 13, 2010, an estimated one billion people 13:40 worldwide were watching. 13:42 Maybe you saw it as it happened. 13:45 Finally, after a total of 69 days, the last miner 13:49 was hoisted up to the surface. 13:51 The world rejoiced. 13:54 Paramedics held up a sign to TV cameras reading, 13:57 "Misión cumplida, Chile." 13:59 "Mission accomplished, Chile." 14:03 Everyone recognized that this was truly a miracle. 14:08 This was indeed a miracle. 14:10 A number of books were written. 14:12 And many of them acknowledging that this was indeed a miracle. 14:15 Author Héctor Tobar says that, "All 33 men recognized 14:19 their story was their most precious possession." 14:23 The British newspaper, Daily Mail, said, 14:25 "A deep religious faith powered this rescue. 14:28 Miners and families and rescuers alike believed their prayers 14:32 were answered." 14:34 Chile's president himself stated, 14:36 "Faith has moved mountains." 14:39 When one of the men, Esteban Rojas, stepped out of the 14:42 rescue capsule, he immediately knelt on the ground, 14:45 folded his hands in thanks to God, raised his hands 14:49 into the air, and rejoiced and gave glory to God 14:52 for the rescue that had been accomplished. 14:56 Friends, the world rejoiced because these men who 14:59 were trapped were finally free. 15:02 They were free at last. 15:06 Our message tonight comes to us from Revelation chapter 3. 15:10 We've been examining together Jesus' message to the 15:12 church of Laodicea. 15:14 And we've learned that beyond just a message to those 15:17 first century Christians in the local literal churches 15:20 in Asia Minor, these seven churches and the letters to them 15:24 from Jesus Himself are symbolic of seven time periods 15:27 of church history down through time until Jesus would 15:32 come again in the clouds of glory. 15:35 Friends, as we've seen, the church of Laodicea, 15:39 as the last church on the list, the last letter is to 15:43 the church of Laodicea. 15:44 And Laodicea is symbolic of God's last day people. 15:50 Friends, Laodicea, as we've seen, was a wealthy city. 15:55 They made eye medication and they manufactured garments 15:59 that they reported across the Mediterranean. 16:02 But Jesus said, in spite of this they were spiritually poor, 16:06 spiritually blind, and spiritually naked. 16:10 Last night in our message, The Physician's Prescription, 16:13 we discovered Jesus' spiritual solution to us. 16:16 The gold that is to make us rich, the symbol of faith 16:19 and heavenly love combined. 16:21 The eye salve that gives us wisdom to not only understand 16:24 the Word of God, but to apply it to our lives; 16:28 which is the Holy Spirit that aids us with this grace 16:31 and wisdom that we need. 16:33 And of course, the robe of Jesus' righteousness, 16:36 which not only cleanses us from our sins, 16:40 but transforms our lives so that Jesus lives out 16:44 His own life through us. 16:46 And our characters become more and more like His, 16:49 woven together as one. 16:52 Friends, Christ has supplied the solution for us. 16:56 The message to Laodicea is a message of stern correction. 17:01 As we've seen, of all the seven churches, the letters to them, 17:05 Jesus said positive things about every single church 17:10 mixed with negative, but nothing positive about Laodicea. 17:15 There was nothing in this strong message to soften the blow. 17:20 Jesus was giving a wake-up, and is giving a wake-up call 17:23 to His people. 17:25 Well friends, as we see, Jesus doesn't do this 17:28 to hurt us, but to help us. 17:30 Revelation 3:19 17:33 Jesus actually tells us this very thing. 17:37 He says, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." 17:42 Or as the ESV puts it... 17:48 Friends, when God gives us a strong message, 17:51 and when loving parents give us a message of correction, 17:54 it's because they care for us. 17:56 And God loves us too much to go on thinking that we're okay 18:00 when we're really spiritually wretched, miserable, 18:03 poor, blind, naked, and lukewarm. 18:07 God wants us to come to Him to recognize 18:10 our desperate need of Him, and not convince ourselves 18:14 that we are okay. 18:16 Praise the Lord that, as we saw, Christ doesn't just 18:18 diagnose our disease. 18:20 But He offers us the spiritual solution. 18:23 Now last night we noticed something that seems rather 18:26 strange in Revelation 3 in verse 18. 18:30 Actually 17 and 18. 18:32 I want you to look at verse 17 with me first. 18:35 We're going to count again together the number of 18:37 adjectives that Jesus gives about Laodicea in verse 17. 18:41 "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy...'" 18:52 How many? 18:53 Five, that's right. 18:55 Now let's look at verse 18 and see how many solutions 18:59 Jesus offers in verse 18. 19:00 And we went through those in our message tonight. 19:20 So we see that in verse 17 Jesus gives five terrible 19:24 descriptions of Laodicea. 19:26 But in verse 18 He only offers three solutions. 19:31 Let me ask you, does God ever do something halfway? 19:35 Absolutely not. 19:36 In fact, we see in the Bible when Jesus healed someone 19:39 who had a withered hand, their hand was as good as the other. 19:42 God never does anything halfway. 19:44 Our God, when He provides a solution, 19:47 it is a complete solution. 19:49 So the question comes, what is the answer 19:53 to being spiritually wretched and spiritually miserable? 19:57 Now, the answer is connected to the last sentence 20:02 of Jesus to Laodicea; verse 21. 20:04 It's not found in this passage, but it's connected to verse 21. 20:09 Verse 21 of Revelation 3 says... 20:22 You may be wondering how are those connected. 20:24 Hold that thought, we're going to come back to it. 20:26 Because you're going to see by the end of this message. 20:29 Friends, you know why Jesus doesn't offer the solution 20:33 in this passage to being wretched and miserable? 20:37 Something I love about the Bible is that it's deep. 20:40 You know, the more we study the Bible, the more we realize 20:44 how little we really know, and how powerful it is 20:47 as not just a book of any kind, but as God's word itself. 20:52 You know, the Bible gives us the answers to what it means to be 20:57 wretched and miserable elsewhere in Scripture. 21:00 God is actually pointing us to the answer elsewhere. 21:03 Listen to this. 21:04 Providentially, the word, "wretched," in Greek 21:07 in this form is, "talaiporos." 21:10 And it's only used in one other place in all the Bible. 21:14 Similarly, the word that is used here for, "wretched," 21:17 in the Greek form as well, "eleeinóteroi," 21:21 this form is only ever used one other place 21:24 in all of Scripture. 21:26 So if we go to these places and study the context, 21:29 we can understand what God is telling us it means 21:32 to be spiritually wretched, spiritually miserable. 21:35 And He can give us the solution there as well. 21:39 Friends, the first thing that we see is that 21:45 we are spiritually wretched. 21:47 And let's turn together to Romans chapter 7. 21:49 Let's go to that one place where this word is used, 21:53 the one other place in Scripture. 21:55 Now before we read it together, remember that in order for the 21:59 gospel to be good news, first we must know the bad news. 22:05 The gospel really can't be good news unless we know 22:09 and until we know the bad news. 22:10 And the bad news is that we are wretched. 22:14 We may look alright on the outside, but many of us inside 22:17 are spiritually dead, wretched. 22:21 Wretched literally means horrendous, terrible, 22:25 atrocious, afflicted, tormented, tortured. 22:31 This is the spiritual state of many, even though on the 22:34 outside they're alright. 22:37 Romans 7 starting in verse 21. 22:40 Here, Paul speaking of the pre-converted man, he says... 23:12 Friends, here Paul describing the pre-converted man, 23:16 the state of the pre-converted man, someone who has 23:19 been awakened to the disgust for sin, 23:23 there has been inside of them awakened a hatred for sin, 23:27 but they're still held captive to it. 23:29 This is a person who loves their sin, yet they 23:32 hate it at the same time. 23:34 To be spiritually wretched, we see from this context 23:37 in Romans 7, means to be held in bondage to sin. 23:43 Friends, you know, sometimes in the battle against sin 23:46 we don't fight very hard. 23:48 You know, part of us, our carnal nature wants to sin. 23:53 That certain sinful part of us. 23:56 And rather than running away from our sin like Joseph 23:59 ran away from Potiphar's wife, we crawl away from our sin, 24:04 half hoping that it will catch us somehow. 24:06 Friends, God wants us to flee temptation. 24:10 The Bible says in James 4:7 to submit to God 24:14 and resist the devil, and he will flee from us. 24:17 But often times we do the opposite. 24:20 We resist God and we submit to the devil, 24:23 and we end up choosing to sin. 24:26 Friends, God wants to grant us victory over temptation. 24:32 And if we give ourselves to Him, He'll give us victory 24:35 over the devil and his wiles. 24:37 Now Paul said, "O wretched man that I am, 24:40 who will deliver me from this body of death?" 24:44 Now Paul was speaking of course of the nature, 24:49 the carnal nature that is naturally drawn 24:52 to things that are wrong. 24:54 But it's very interesting that historians and 24:56 Bible commentators actually note that in Paul's day 25:01 Roman soldiers would sometimes chain a wounded enemy soldier 25:06 who they found on the battlefield to a corpse. 25:10 They would chain a soldier to a dead body so that this soldier 25:16 would be stuck next to this corpse, and no doubt end up 25:20 being eaten by wild animals or catching a disease and dying. 25:24 Many commentators suggest that Paul, when he was saying, 25:28 "Who will deliver me from this body of death," 25:31 was talking about this and making this kind of parallel. 25:35 It's like he was saying that before a person receives 25:37 the power of the Holy Spirit into their lives, 25:40 it's like we're stuck, chained to our sinful selves 25:45 just waiting to die. 25:48 Paul is talking here about the battle against sin, 25:52 the battle against self. 25:54 And you know, the battle against self, the battle against sin, 25:57 is the greatest battle ever fought. 26:00 Alexander the Great conquered the world, 26:03 but he died at the age of 32 in drunkenness because he 26:07 could not conquer the enemy of self. 26:11 By the way, did you know that all sin is selfishness? 26:16 All sin, if you boil it down to its core, is selfishness. 26:21 You know, don't take my word for it. 26:22 Let's see it together from Scripture. 26:24 Now I want to share an equation with you. 26:27 Don't worry, it's not a mathematical equation. 26:30 It's a linguistic equation. 26:32 It's a word equation. 26:34 But it's going to help us clearly understand 26:36 the two opposing principles in the great controversy 26:39 between Christ and Satan. 26:42 I want to show you this equation as it's empty. 26:46 Now love; 1 Corinthians 13:5, tells us that, 26:50 "Love seeketh not her..." What? 26:53 "...her own." 26:54 So love, we could then say, is selfless, right? 26:58 So love is synonymous with selflessness. 27:02 This is one of the definitions. 27:05 It is what Biblical agape love really is. 27:10 So another word for love is selflessness. 27:13 Now in Matthew 22:37-39, when the lawyer asked Jesus 27:18 what the greatest commandment was, Christ said, 27:21 "Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart..." 27:32 So we see here that love is synonymous with law-keeping. 27:39 This is what Paul said in Romans 13 when in verses 27:42 8 through 10 he summarized five of the Ten Commandments, 27:45 and in verse 10 he said... 27:54 So friends, we see that love... 27:55 And we can plug this into our equation. 27:57 ...love results in law-keeping. 28:00 Is that clear from the Bible? Amen. 28:03 This is why Jesus said in John 14:15, 28:05 "If you love Me..." What? 28:08 "...keep My commandments." 28:10 So we see that love, true love, true selflessness, 28:14 leads to not law-breaking, but law-keeping. 28:18 Now let's continue filling in our equation. 28:21 Remember with me the very first time... 28:24 Before we do that, what is the opposite of selflessness? 28:29 Selfishness, right? 28:31 The opposite of selflessness would have to be selfishness. 28:35 These are the two opposing principles, by the way, 28:38 in the great controversy. 28:40 Love and sin. 28:42 Selflessness and selfishness. 28:45 Now what is the opposite of law-keeping? 28:50 Law-breaking. 28:51 Now remember the very first on earth that someone 28:55 broke God's law, when was it? 28:58 In the Garden of Eden. Right? 28:59 Eve saw the fruit, she was tempted by Satan 29:02 through the serpent, and she took the fruit for herself. 29:07 She took it for herself. 29:09 This was founded in selfishness. 29:12 Now our last verse of the equation is 1 John 3:4 29:17 where the Bible says, a familiar verse to many of us, 29:19 that sin is transgression of the law. 29:23 Sin is defined as law-breaking. 29:26 So here we see our equation is completely filled in. 29:30 Sin is selfishness, which leads to law-breaking. 29:35 Friends, these are the two opposing principles 29:38 in the great controversy. 29:39 The one on top; love, selflessness, law-keeping. 29:44 That is from above, it's from heaven. 29:47 The other principle; sin selfishness, law-breaking. 29:51 They are from Satan's side in this great controversy. 29:56 They're from the enemy. 29:57 So here we see these two opposing principles 30:00 in this great controversy. 30:02 And we've seen from the equation that all sin 30:05 is synonymous with selfishness. 30:08 Ellen White echoes this when she says 30:11 in 7 volume, Manuscript Releases... 30:17 And you know, if we really understood this, 30:19 especially as Christians, we would be guarded against 30:23 not only lawlessness and law-breaking, 30:25 but we would be guarded against legalism as well. 30:29 Think about it. 30:30 Legalism is us trying to earn our own way to heaven 30:34 by keeping God's law in our own strength. 30:37 Legalism is "us" focused. 30:40 But friends, the very principle of the law 30:42 is selflessness, not selfishness. 30:45 So if we are keeping the law trying to do it in our 30:48 own power, and trying to gain and earn heaven, 30:52 friends, that is breaking the law in principle. 30:55 So legalism is actually breaking God's law. 30:58 This is why it's been said that he who attempts to earn heaven 31:02 by keeping the law in his own strength 31:04 is attempting an impossibility. 31:06 Also because it's impossible to keep God's law 31:09 in our own strength. 31:10 We need the help of the Holy Spirit. 31:12 We need Jesus dwelling in our heart. 31:15 And friends, when He does, Jesus the law giver 31:18 becomes Jesus the law keeper in you and through you. 31:24 Friends, when we keep God's law out of love for Him, 31:28 with Christ swelling in our hearts by faith, 31:31 it is Christ focused. 31:33 And when our eyes are focused on Christ, 31:35 we can keep His law in His strength. 31:38 So we've seen from Scripture that all sin 31:40 is actually selfishness. 31:43 You name it, whether it's arrogance, pride, self-pity, 31:48 whether it's anger, impatience, lying, lust, laziness, 31:53 you name it, this is the fruit, but the root is selfishness. 32:00 You know, as I was growing up my grandparents, 32:03 Daniel and Gladys Kubrock gave tours at Elmshaven, 32:07 Ellen White's last home in northern California. 32:10 And they gave tours as well as took care of the gardens. 32:13 I remember going out with them and helping them 32:16 weed in the garden sometimes. 32:18 And friends, if you've ever weeded in a garden, 32:21 you know that if you just rip off the top of that weed, 32:24 even if you can't really see much of it at all 32:27 or much of the roots, you know that is only creating 32:31 a temporary solution to a deeper problem. 32:35 That weed is just going to grow right back, isn't it. 32:38 Now friends, it's the exact same in our lives. 32:41 If we try to stop our sinful outward habits 32:44 but don't allow Christ to show us the root of the problem 32:47 and allow Him to remove it from our hearts, 32:49 then it's just going to come back in one way or another. 32:54 As we submit ourselves to Him, only Christ as the heavenly 32:59 Gardener, can weed and pull the weeds of habit 33:03 out of our hearts and give us a heart of selflessness and love. 33:08 And you know, right in the middle of that word, 33:10 "selflessness," is the word, "less." 33:14 And that should be our prayer. Amen? 33:16 Lord, may there may be less of me and more of You. 33:19 This was the prayer of John the Baptist. 33:21 He said, "He must increase and I must decrease." 33:27 Now friends, this will be our prayer when the Holy Spirit 33:30 is working in our lives. 33:32 Paul recognized that divine help from Jesus 33:35 through the Holy Spirit was the only answer 33:38 to captivity to sin, our wretchedness. 33:42 In verse 25 of Romans 7 he discovered the answer, 33:46 he mentions the answer. 33:52 Friends, Paul recognized that the answer, the solution, 33:55 was in Christ. 33:57 He is the only one who can provide the solution 34:00 to our disease of sin, to change our selfish hearts. 34:05 This gospel reality was beautifully put in the book, 34:08 Christ's Object Lessons, page 254. 34:11 There it says... 34:41 Friends, only God can do that. 34:42 That is the miracle that we need from Him. 34:45 You know, you may have habits that you've tried to kick, 34:49 habits that you've tried to get rid of. 34:51 And you've tried and you've failed. 34:54 And you've tried and you've failed. 34:57 Tried again and you've failed. 34:59 Friend, don't give up. 35:02 In the strength of Jesus, confess that sin. 35:05 Ask for forgiveness, and then take the righteous 35:07 right hand of Jesus and let Him help you up. 35:10 And keep walking in Christ. 35:12 Friends, the answer when we fall into sin 35:16 is to come to our Savior, who is the Advocate for us. 35:19 If we sin, 1 John 2:1, we have an Advocate with the Father; 35:23 Jesus Christ the righteous. 35:26 Praise the Lord that if you have fallen, 35:29 you can know that if you confess your sins to Him, 35:31 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 35:35 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 35:38 But that blood of Jesus doesn't just cleanse us. 35:42 It also transforms us. 35:44 You know, just the other night, last night actually, 35:48 a friend of mine who I met here, he told me, 35:52 he said, "You know, I stopped smoking many times, 35:54 but I only quit once." 35:57 Friends, if we fall and we confess our sins to Him, 36:01 we take His hand, we get up, and we keep walking 36:05 in His strength. 36:07 There is power in the blood of Jesus when we come to love Him. 36:12 This is the key. 36:14 When we come to love Him, there develops in our heart 36:17 a hatred for sin. 36:19 Because it's the sin that crucified our Savior. 36:23 Remember two points about Jesus' solution to our wretchedness. 36:26 The first is this. 36:28 When we develop a love for Jesus, we gain a hatred for sin; 36:33 and the struggle begins. 36:35 And when we hear that word, "struggle," it doesn't bring up 36:38 positive imagery in our minds. 36:40 But let me ask, is it good if someone is struggling 36:43 against sin or not? 36:46 Actually, let me ask it this way. 36:49 If you were on a river and you were there on a little boat 36:57 on this river, and you saw someone floating down 37:01 this river and they were face down in the water, 37:04 just a body floating down, would you rather see that 37:07 or would you rather see someone who's, "Help, help." 37:10 Blub, blub, blub, blub. 37:12 "Help." Blub, blub, blub, blub. 37:13 Going back under the water. 37:14 Which would you rather see? 37:17 The second one. 37:18 Someone who is struggling. 37:20 Because the struggle is a sign of life. 37:22 Friends, the struggle is a sign of life. 37:24 And when we are struggling against sin, it means that 37:27 God has placed in us a desire to be free from that thing. 37:31 And when we realize that the only solution is in Christ, 37:34 we'll come to Him. 37:36 We'll ask Him to transform us, to change us, as only He can. 37:42 Struggle is a sign of life. 37:46 You know, sometimes we fall and mess up. 37:49 And rather than taking Jesus' hand and getting back up, 37:52 we excuse it and we say, "Well, you know, I'm only human." 37:57 Or maybe someone else messes up and we say, 37:59 "Well, they're only human. 38:02 What can we expect?" 38:04 Friends, if you're only human, 38:07 then you're not really a Christian. 38:11 If you're only human, you're not really a Christian. 38:16 Don't take my word for it. 38:17 Let's go to 2 Peter 1, 2 Peter 1:3-4. 38:22 This is beautiful. 38:24 Let's start in verse 2. 38:25 "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of 38:28 God and Jesus our Lord as His divine power has 38:31 given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, 38:35 through the knowledge of Him who has called us 38:36 by glory and virtue..." 38:38 Here it is. 38:39 "...by which have been given to us exceeding great 38:42 and precious promises, that by these you might be 38:46 partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption 38:50 that is in the world through lust." 38:52 Friends, as Christians, we have the privilege 38:54 of being partakers of the divine nature. 38:57 That means that the divinity of Christ, as He lives in our 39:01 hearts, is lived out in our humanity. 39:03 And things can take place, victory can happen, 39:06 when we failed and tried, and failed and tried, and failed. 39:10 Jesus can grant us the victory. 39:14 Friends, praise the Lord that when Christ comes 39:16 to dwell in our hearts, all things are possible. 39:19 Christ's Object Lessons, page 333, 39:22 "As the will of man cooperates with the will of God..." 39:36 Friends, we serve a fair God. 39:38 And He doesn't require of us anything that is not 39:40 possible in His strength. 39:43 You know, when Christ dwells in our hearts, 39:46 the One who is Omnipotent is there. 39:49 And He can grant us the victory that we could 39:51 never have on our own. 39:54 You know, His blood not only offers us pardon from the past, 39:57 but power for victory now in the present. 40:02 To follow Jesus means that we'll be signing up for the greatest 40:06 battle that was ever fought. 40:08 It's the battle against self. 40:11 But Christ guarantees us the victory. 40:14 And the reason He can guarantee us that victory is because 40:17 He Himself has won that battle. 40:19 You see, Jesus walked this earth, lived in human flesh, 40:23 experienced temptations beyond what we will ever feel 40:26 because He had capacities and abilities far above 40:30 what we have, but Jesus never sinned in one single point. 40:34 He lived a perfect sinless life. 40:37 John 14:30, Jesus said, "The prince of this world is coming, 40:41 and he has nothing in Me." 40:43 Hebrews 4:15 says, "He was tempted in all points 40:46 like as we are, yet without sin." 40:49 1 Peter 2:22, "He did no sin, neither was guile 40:54 found in His mouth." 40:55 Brothers and sisters, Jesus can give us the victory over sin. 40:59 Because He Himself won the battle against sin 41:04 in human flesh. 41:06 Friends, praise God that Christ has walked more 41:09 than a mile in our shoes. 41:11 He knows what it's like to struggle. 41:13 But friends, the same victory that He won 41:17 He wants to grant to us by living out His life within us. 41:23 Every time He was tempted to sin, He prayed, 41:25 "Not My will, Father, but Thy will be done." 41:30 Friends, His heart of love, as we behold Christ on Calvary, 41:36 the ultimate display of selfless love, 41:38 His heart of love for us awakens love in our hearts for Him. 41:47 In the words of Romans 5:5, "The love of God is 41:50 shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit." 41:53 You know, right after that verse, as we mentioned, 41:56 in Romans 7:25, Paul launches into Romans chapter 8 42:00 which is all about victory that Christ offers us 42:03 through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 42:06 And go check out that chapter. 42:07 It is powerful. You will be blessed. 42:10 Now remember, as we behold Christ, the sinless One, 42:13 we gain a hatred for sin; and the struggle begins. 42:17 Second thing to remember about our wretchedness, 42:20 the blood of Jesus not only offers us pardon from the past, 42:23 but power for victory in the present. 42:27 Jesus Himself has won the victory over sin, 42:30 and He is able to weed the sins out of your heart 42:33 as well as out of mine. 42:35 So we've discovered the answer to the first of the 42:38 two dilemma's about wretchedness. 42:42 The first of the two dilemma's, which is being 42:44 spiritually wretched. 42:46 Now what about spiritually miserable? 42:50 Come with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 42:52 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is the one other place in Scripture 42:56 where this word is mentioned, this word, "miserable." 43:01 Now it's in the context, and let's start in 43:04 verse 16 together. 43:05 1 Corinthians 15 starting in verse 16. 43:23 Friends, in verse 19 it continues on and it says... 43:33 This is that same word. 43:35 And it's in the context of death. 43:38 First of all, we are wretched. 43:40 And that is in the context of bondage to sin. 43:43 The second word, "miserable," is in the context of death. 43:46 So here, miserable means that we are facing the death sentence. 43:52 We are facing the death penalty. 43:53 But friends, praise the Lord for the good news of verse 20. 43:57 Let's read verse 20 together. 44:07 Friends, death got Methuselah at 969. 44:11 It got Abraham at 175. 44:14 Death got Adam at 930. 44:16 It got Jesus at 33, but He rose again. 44:20 Friends, death could not hold down the giver of life. 44:24 He rose from the dead. 44:26 And praise the Lord that He did. 44:28 Matthew chapter 28, the women came to the tomb. 44:31 They waited to embalm His body because it was a lot of work. 44:34 The Bible says they rested according to the commandment 44:37 on the Sabbath day. 44:38 When they came to the tomb, the earth had quaked. 44:41 An angel of the Lord had descended, rolled back 44:44 the stone from the door of the tomb. 44:46 The Bible says His countenance was like lightening. 44:49 His clothing was white as snow. 44:52 In verse 5, the angel said to the women... 45:10 Friends, you know why Jesus didn't open the door 45:14 and roll back the stone from that tomb Himself? 45:17 Because when Jesus rose from the dead, 45:19 He rose as King of kings and Lord of lords. 45:22 And Kings don't open doors. 45:25 Servants open doors for them. 45:27 And the angel, His servant, opened that door for Jesus. 45:31 Friends, Christ conquered death. 45:34 Death could not keep Him down. 45:39 Death could not keep down our Savior. 45:43 "For God so loved the world that He gave 45:46 His only begotten Son..." 45:54 Friends, when Jesus died and rose again, 45:58 He did not just conquer the first death, the death of sleep 46:03 that we die when we fall asleep in death here. 46:07 Jesus conquered the second death. 46:09 This famous verse, John 3:16, we all know people who have 46:12 given their lives to Christ, but who have fallen asleep in death. 46:16 This verse is talking about the second death that Jesus 46:19 conquered and won the victory over. 46:22 Hebrews 2:14 mentions this. 46:24 It says, "For as much then as the children are partakers 46:27 of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise 46:30 took part of the same; that through death 46:33 He might destroy him that had the power of death; 46:36 that is, the devil." 46:38 Friends, Christ, through His death, destroyed 46:43 the power of the devil, and the power of death itself. 46:47 Revelation 20:14 speaks of the future reality 46:51 that death itself will cease to exist. 46:57 Praise the Lord for the day that death will die. 47:00 "Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire." 47:04 This is what the Bible tells us will be a future reality. 47:08 Death itself will die. 47:10 Friends, when Jesus rose from the dead, He dealt 47:14 the deadly blow to the devil. 47:16 He established the day that death would die. 47:20 He gave death the death sentence. 47:23 Death will cease to exist. 47:25 Friends, praise God from whom all blessings flow, 47:29 that death itself will one day soon be no more. 47:34 Friends, on that day this will be a reality; Revelation 21:3-4. 47:42 "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men..." 48:08 Friends, because Jesus rose from the dead, 48:11 we too can rise from the dead. 48:15 We too can receive victory over sin and over death itself 48:20 if we have united our lives to Him through baptism. 48:25 Friends, we can receive victory over death. 48:29 And you know, when He returns with all the angels 48:31 and completes His rescue mission to those who are 48:35 trapped in this darkened world here below, 48:37 we will all praise God for the answers to prayer 48:40 that have resulted in our deliverance. 48:43 And when we, with the redeemed from all ages, 48:45 arrive in heaven, I imagine that the rescue workers, 48:49 the holy angels, will have banners that say, 48:51 "Mission complete. 48:53 Planet earth, mission complete." 48:57 Now friends, when we have entered into His kingdom, 49:00 no doubt like that man, like Esteban Rojas, 49:06 we will have made it into the kingdom 49:09 just like he made it out of that Chilean mine, 49:12 and we'll fall on our knees and we'll raise our hands, 49:16 and we'll give glory to God, for we will have overcome. 49:22 Friends, because Christ received the victory 49:28 through His resurrection, He's given us the victory over death. 49:34 Praise the Lord for the gift that He has 49:36 given us in eternal life. 49:40 Jesus' final words to the Laodiceans are for you. 49:46 Revelation 3:21 says... 50:03 Friends, let me ask you, what if the last man 50:07 trapped in that Chilean mine in 2010 50:11 sent back word to the top that he didn't want to come back up? 50:20 What if the last man said, 50:22 "You know, I kind of like it down here." 50:26 That would be ridiculous. 50:29 But friends, what Christ has done in the rescue mission 50:34 for us, to offer us eternity, is infinitely greater. 50:40 But some of us are content to stay in our sin, 50:44 in our state of wretchedness. 50:47 The Bible says, Luke 4:16, Jesus' first words 50:51 in His public ministry, He quoted the book of Isaiah 50:54 where it says that He came to set at liberty 50:57 those who are oppressed. 51:01 Friend, tonight will you accept the victory 51:03 over sin that He's offering you? 51:07 You know, Christ will enable us, He'll grant us 51:10 the ability to overcome. 51:13 His promise is sure. 51:15 If we surrender to Him, He'll live out His life 51:18 through us and in us. 51:22 Tonight there's something in your life that 51:23 you're struggling with. 51:26 There's a certain sin that keeps pulling you down. 51:29 You've tried and you've failed. 51:32 You've tried and you've failed. 51:36 And friends, you know that you cannot enter those pearly gates, 51:40 you cannot enter into His kingdom 51:41 with this still in your life. 51:45 Maybe it's an addiction. 51:48 Something that's holding you in chains, and you feel like 51:52 you can't break free. 51:55 Maybe it's a sexual addiction. 51:57 Maybe it's a drug addiction. 51:59 Maybe it's an addiction to gambling. 52:01 Maybe it's video games. 52:04 Friends, maybe it's something that's become a part of you 52:09 and engrained in your habit life. 52:11 Maybe it's lying. 52:13 Maybe it's swearing, impatience. 52:17 You name it. 52:19 Christ can give you the victory over that sin. 52:23 Christ came to set the captives free. 52:26 And He's coming back for a people who will have overcome 52:29 by His blood, who will have surrendered to Him to the 52:33 point that they would rather die than sin against their God. 52:38 Maybe it's a combination of these things, friend, 52:40 but whatever you're struggling with, 52:42 the Lord has brought it to your mind just now. 52:47 If you want to say in this moment, 52:49 "Lord, take this from me. 52:54 Break me free from these chains. 52:57 Lord, I submit myself to You and I trust You to do the 53:01 work that only You can do. 53:04 God, break me free from this sin." 53:06 If there's something in your minds that you want victory for, 53:11 and tonight you want to say, "God, I give myself to You. 53:15 Live out Your life within me. 53:17 Break me free from this. 53:20 I want to be in Your kingdom. 53:22 I want to be there for the welcome party. 53:25 I want to see Jesus and spend eternity with Him. 53:29 Break me free from this sin." 53:30 If that's your desire, I want to invite you to raise 53:32 your hand where you are 53:34 to say, "Lord, break me free from these chains. 53:37 I trust You to do so." 53:39 Amen. Amen. 53:45 Maybe you've seen tonight for the first time 53:49 that through His death and His resurrection 53:52 Jesus can grant us victory over both the first death 53:56 and the second death. 53:59 Friends, I want to share something very important. 54:01 Please listen closely. 54:03 God is a God of courtesy. 54:06 He never forces Himself on anyone. 54:11 It's against His nature of love. 54:13 And the victory over death for us, eternal life, 54:18 can only come to us through a very special union with Jesus. 54:23 I want to invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to Romans 6. 54:28 The Bible talks about this special union. 54:33 Romans 6 starting in verse 4. 55:01 Friends, do you want the assurance tonight 55:04 that if you were to fall asleep in the sleep of death, 55:09 that when Christ returns in the clouds of glory 55:13 that you would be raised to life to spend eternity with Him? 55:19 Maybe you haven't given your life into the Lord's hands yet 55:24 and given yourself completely to Him through baptism, 55:29 and you want to say tonight, "Lord, I want to 55:31 be united with Christ through baptism. 55:35 I want to be united with Him in this symbol of death and rebirth 55:39 so that if I should die before He comes, 55:42 I would be raised to life to go home for eternity." 55:47 Friend, if that is your desire tonight, 55:50 I want to invite you where you are to just stand. 55:54 If you have not yet been baptized or you want to be 55:57 re-baptized because you've strayed from the Lord, 56:01 I want to invite you to stand where you are. 56:02 Praise the Lord. 56:04 Amen, amen. 56:06 And if you're joining us from home and you want to study 56:09 toward your baptism, please call the number on your screen. 56:13 Someone from the team here at 3ABN will put you in contact 56:16 with someone who can come and study the Bible with you 56:19 and introduce you to more of the truth of God's word, 56:22 so that you, one day very soon, can go through those 56:25 sweet waters of baptism and have the assurance of eternal life. 56:31 Victory, not only over the sin that binds you, 56:34 but victory over death itself when Christ comes very soon. 56:39 Amen. 56:40 Friends, let's seal our decision with prayer. 56:47 Our Father God, we thank You for the victory that You offer us. 56:52 Lord, we are wretched and miserable. 56:56 We are battling sin and facing death. 56:59 But we thank You that Christ, through the indwelling of His 57:02 Holy Spirit, can live out His life within us. 57:06 That Jesus can give us victory over the chains that bind us. 57:09 He can set the captives free. 57:13 God, tonight some of us have made commitments 57:16 for baptism into Christ. 57:19 We pray that You will seal those decisions 57:21 for now and for eternity. 57:23 May each of us be there on that day when You return, 57:28 and we can go home to heaven with You for eternity. 57:33 In Jesus' name we pray, amen. |
Revised 2015-12-10