Participants: Jill Morikone (Host), Pr. Wes Peppers
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000172A
|
00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth,
00:15 live from the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:21 Good evening and welcome to Anchors Of Truth. 00:24 We're at night number two of our five part series. 00:29 We're coming to you live from the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:32 And we just want to welcome you at home. 00:35 Thank you for joining us. 00:36 Thank you for tuning in, for watching, or for listening 00:39 on 3ABN radio. 00:41 And for everyone who is here tonight, so glad that 00:44 you are here tonight. 00:46 And we were blessed last night, weren't we? 00:49 It was incredible. 00:51 I know my heart was ministered to and blessed, 00:53 and I took a lot of notes. 00:54 We have Pastor Wes Peppers here with us for this 00:58 five part Anchors Of Truth series. 01:00 And the overall title that he has is, 01:03 Before Men and Angels: Theater of the Universe. 01:07 And last night's message was incredible. 01:09 He took his main text from Genesis chapter 22, 01:13 talking about Abraham and when he was called to sacrifice 01:17 his son Isaac. 01:19 And He called each one of us. 01:21 Are we willing to give up everything, everything, 01:25 for the Lord Jesus Christ. 01:27 And he said, when we give up everything, 01:31 we are able to truly see the wonder and power of God. 01:35 And I know I'm looking forward to tonight's message. 01:38 It's entitled, Comfortable Culture Versus Fireproof Faith. 01:45 Before he comes to speak we'll have a word of prayer, 01:48 and then we're going to hear from his wife, Marion Peppers. 01:51 She's singing a beautiful song entitled, 01:54 Your Grace Still Amazes Me. 01:57 But first, let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. 02:00 Father, we come into Your presence in the name of Jesus. 02:04 And we thank You for Your presence. 02:07 We just open up our hearts right now. 02:10 Give us ears to hear what You desire to speak 02:14 through Your Word and through Your manservant, 02:16 Brother Wes Peppers. 02:18 In the precious and holy name of Jesus, amen. 02:23 Right now we're going to hear Marion Peppers 02:25 sing that beautiful song, Your Grace Still Amazes Me. 02:29 And then the next voice you will hear is that of our pastor 02:32 and friend, Wes Peppers. 02:53 My faithful Father, 03:01 enduring Friend, 03:05 Your tender mercy's like a river with no end; 03:16 it overwhelms me, 03:23 covers my sin. 03:28 Each time I come into Your presence 03:35 I stand in wonder once again. 03:43 Your grace still amazes me, 03:51 Your love is still a mystery. 03:58 Each day I fall on my knees, 04:07 because Your grace still amazes me. 04:15 Your grace still amazes me. 04:37 Oh, patient Savior, 04:44 You make me whole. 04:49 You are the Author and the Healer of my soul. 04:59 What can I give You? 05:06 Lord, what can I say? 05:11 Every time I look in Your eyes, 05:19 I am amazed by Your grace. 05:27 Your grace still amazes me, 05:34 Your love is still a mystery. 05:42 Each day I fall on my knees, 05:51 because Your grace still amazes me. 05:58 Your grace still amazes. 06:04 It's deeper, it's wider, 06:11 it's stronger, it's higher. 06:19 It's deeper, it's wider, 06:26 it's stronger, it's higher than anything 06:36 my eyes can see. 06:39 Your grace still amazes me, 06:47 Your love is still a mystery. 06:54 Each day I fall on my knees, 07:03 because Your grace still amazes me. 07:10 Your grace still amazes me. 07:45 Good evening, friends. 07:47 It's good to see each one of you here back again tonight. 07:50 And for those that are watching online or on 3ABN, 07:54 we want to welcome you as well. 07:55 We're so glad that you have joined us again 07:57 for night number two of Anchors Of Truth. 08:01 And I've so been blessed by wife's singing. 08:04 How about you? 08:05 I'm so thankful for her, and we believe that we have a ministry 08:09 team together. 08:10 And we are so grateful to be able to just share 08:13 what the Lord has done for us with each one of you. 08:16 And I am excited about our subject tonight. 08:18 I hope that you were blessed last night as we kind of 08:21 laid the foundation for our five part series. 08:24 And tonight's subject, it's a tongue twister, 08:28 Comfortable Culture Versus Fireproof Faith. 08:32 And we're going to see from the Bible, tonight might be 08:35 a little bit of a stronger message. 08:37 And so I hope that you're ready for that. 08:39 But we believe the Lord gives us strong messages in love, amen? 08:43 And He draws us to Him. 08:45 And He wants to continue to transform our hearts 08:48 day by day until we become just like Him. 08:51 We want to be more and more like Jesus 08:54 until we are just like Jesus. 08:56 Amen? 08:58 That's our desire, that's our hearts prayer, tonight. 09:01 So before we begin this evening, we're going to just bow our 09:04 heads once again and ask the Lord's presence to be with us. 09:06 If you would, bow your heads together. 09:08 Father in heaven, we thank You so much tonight 09:10 that we can be here for another night of Anchors Of Truth. 09:14 We are excited, Lord, about what Your word will 09:17 speak to our hearts this evening. 09:19 We pray tonight that You would bless us, 09:21 that Your presence would draw near, 09:23 that Your Holy Spirit would open our eyes and our hearts 09:27 to the truth that You want to speak to us this evening. 09:30 Be near us now and transform our hearts. 09:33 And may we not be the same people when we 09:36 leave as when we came. 09:37 We ask this in Jesus' precious name, amen. 09:41 I want to tell you a story tonight about a young lady 09:44 that was in my church a few years ago. 09:46 I won't tell you which church. 09:48 But she came to the church almost every Sabbath 09:52 very faithfully. 09:53 And one day we got to talking. 09:56 And she told me that she had grown up in the faith, 09:59 she had been born into the church, 10:01 and she was now in her early twenties. 10:04 But she finally realized in her life that she really didn't 10:08 understand, really didn't know exactly what she believed. 10:12 She said, "I've been raised in the church, 10:14 I am familiar with the churches beliefs, 10:16 but I don't know if it's really a part of me." 10:19 She said, "I follow the truth, I believe the truth, 10:22 but I'm not sure that I really have that element of faith 10:27 that will save me in earth's final moments." 10:32 And so we talked about that. 10:33 And she told me that she had never studied the 10:36 book of Revelation, she had never studied Bible prophecy. 10:40 There were the spirit of prophecy books, 10:43 a number of books; The Great Controversy and Desire Of Ages. 10:47 And she told me that she had never read those books. 10:50 And so we were actually, ironically, I believe it was 10:53 divine intervention, that we were actually having a 10:56 Revelation seminar coming up in about one month. 10:59 And so I encouraged her to come to that seminar 11:02 and learn about the truths that she had always wondered about. 11:06 So it's amazing to me that someone can grow up 11:09 in a church, and become even an adult in the church, 11:12 and still not know what they believe. 11:15 Have you ever met somebody like that? 11:17 Friends, I meet them all the time. 11:19 And so she came to the Revelation seminar, 11:21 and she was blown away. 11:23 Previous to that, in that same conversation, she told me, 11:26 she said, "I'm not really sure that I even belong 11:29 in this church. 11:30 I'm not even sure if this church is right for me." 11:33 And so she came to the Revelation seminar, 11:35 and she said, "Man, this stuff just blew me away." 11:38 She said, "I never knew that this is what 11:41 our church believed." 11:43 She heard the beautiful message of the three angels 11:47 of Revelation chapter 14. 11:49 She heard the gospel for the first time. 11:51 And she told me that she had had a dream 11:54 at one point in her life that Jesus was coming back 11:58 to this earth, and as He came back, she had the sudden terror 12:03 that she was not ready to meet Jesus when He came. 12:07 And she said, "I saw His face coming in the clouds of heaven." 12:10 And she said, "I was not ready." 12:12 And she said, "I woke up in a sweat, 12:14 and it scared me to death." 12:16 So I encouraged her to go down to the book store 12:21 and by a copy of, The Great Controversy, which she did. 12:24 And she read through that book, and she was absolutely amazed 12:29 at what she learned. 12:31 And she said, "Through that book and through studying the Bible, 12:33 through studying the prophecies that reveal Jesus 12:37 and His plan for this world and our lives," she said, 12:40 "I now have confidence that I have, not just a culture, 12:46 but a true Bible believing eternally saving 12:51 faith in Jesus Christ." 12:53 Amen? 12:54 And that's what we're going to talk about this evening. 12:56 You see, there's always been a war, a battle, 12:59 since the Garden of Eden, since Adam and Eve 13:01 took that first bite of that piece of fruit, 13:04 there has always been a war between faith and the world. 13:08 Yes or no? 13:09 Isn't it true? 13:11 Always been a battle between what is spiritual 13:13 and what is fleshly, 13:15 what is righteous and what is unrighteous. 13:17 There has always been that struggle in the world. 13:19 But there is actually a growing crisis in these last days 13:24 that promises to leave many, I believe, unprepared 13:28 for the soon return of Jesus if there is not a transformation 13:32 that takes place in their lives. 13:35 God's church has always suffered attacks from the world, 13:39 the outside world. 13:41 The world has always sought to influence the church, 13:44 influence God's people. 13:46 But this is not actually the battle that I'm 13:49 talking about this evening. 13:51 There is a deeper, sinister, I believe, deception 13:55 that is creeping upon God's church in these last days. 13:59 And it's a very, very dangerous thing for God's people 14:03 in these final moments of earth's history. 14:06 There are those, this battle is those who have a biblical faith 14:13 versus a biblical culture adopted in their lives. 14:17 Now we could go a bit further, and I will tonight, 14:19 by saying, an Adventist faith versus an Adventist culture. 14:26 And before I go any further, I want to make plain 14:29 that I'm not saying that there's anything wrong 14:32 with Adventist culture. 14:33 Can we make sure that we understand that, okay? 14:36 But if an Adventist culture is not rooted in an 14:39 Adventist faith, that's a big problem. 14:44 Now some people say, "Well, what does it mean, 'Adventist'?" 14:46 What does that mean? Very simple. 14:48 An Adventist simply means, someone who clings to the Bible 14:52 and believes that Jesus is coming soon. 14:53 In fact, the word, "Adventist," means, someone who is looking 14:57 for or waiting for someone to return or to arrive. 15:01 And as Seventh-day Adventists, we are Bible believing 15:04 Christians, we believe in the true gospel, 15:06 and we believe that Jesus is coming back 15:09 to the earth for His people. 15:10 How many can say amen to that? 15:12 So today there's this challenge, there's this struggle within 15:16 God's church between those who have an Adventist culture 15:20 and those who have an Adventist faith. 15:22 Is that clear so far? 15:24 Alright, so we're going to dive into that this evening. 15:28 Alright, this division is not a new one. 15:30 And we're going to go to a story tonight all the way 15:33 back in the book of Genesis. 15:34 We're going to the book of Genesis again tonight. 15:36 We'll be going to several places in the Bible this evening. 15:38 But if you would join me in Genesis chapter 25, 15:41 there's an ancient old struggle, and we're going to see how this 15:46 struggle has played out down through time, 15:49 and how it's playing out in our church today in the last days. 15:53 Genesis chapter 25. 15:55 And it's the story of Jacob and Esau. 15:59 Jacob and Esau; we're going to begin in verse 21. 16:03 So we're in Genesis 25:21. 16:06 The Bible tells us, "Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD 16:08 for his wife, because she was barren; 16:11 and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 16:15 But the children struggled together within her." 16:18 Notice that phrase. What did they do? 16:21 It says that the children struggled within her. 16:26 "And she said, 'If all is well, why am I like this?' 16:29 So she went to inquire of the LORD. 16:32 And the LORD said to her, 'Two nations are in your womb. 16:37 Two peoples shall be separated from your body; 16:40 one people shall be stronger than the other, 16:43 and the older shall serve the younger.'" 16:46 And I want to propose tonight that it wasn't just simply 16:49 two nations or two different people, but there was actually 16:53 two different natures in those young men. 16:58 One was spiritual and one was fleshly, of the flesh. 17:04 We're going to continue here. 17:05 It says in verse 24, "So when her days were fulfilled 17:09 for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 17:12 And the first came out red. 17:14 He was like a hairy garment all over; 17:16 so they called his name Esau. 17:19 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of 17:23 Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob." 17:26 Which means deceiver or supplanter. 17:30 Now why was that the case? 17:32 Because he had reached out his foot. 17:34 Already from the womb that struggle began 17:36 of who would become what? 17:38 First, right? Who would be first. 17:41 It says, "So the boys grew," in verse 27. 17:43 "And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; 17:46 but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 17:50 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, 17:53 but Rebekah loved Jacob." 17:55 Now the Bible tells us about these two young men. 17:58 And it's very interesting, as you study through 18:01 this passage you find very similar 18:04 characteristics about the young men. 18:05 I'm going to name those. 18:07 Number one, both were raised in the church, so to speak. 18:11 How many of you understand that phrase? 18:13 "We were raised in the church." 18:14 And both were raised in the church and in the faith. 18:18 Both knew the truth. 18:20 You know that phrase as well, right? 18:22 Both had the same knowledge of God, 18:26 and both sons were the prince of God. 18:30 They were both set to be princes, right? 18:33 Yet Esau, very interestingly, sold his birthright 18:38 for a very temporal satisfaction, 18:42 even though he was still in the house of faith. 18:47 Think about that for just a minute. 18:50 Esau was still in the house of faith under his father's 18:55 direction, under his father's roof, and yet while being 18:59 in the house of faith, in the church, 19:04 he sold his birthright. 19:07 Think about that. Let that sink in. 19:10 So my question would be then, is it possible that there are 19:12 many within the church today who are members of the church 19:16 who have sold their birthright 19:19 as the sons and daughters of God? 19:21 What do you think, do you think that's a possibility tonight? 19:24 I think it's more than a possibility. 19:26 I think it's a fact. 19:28 Now let's keep reading here, verse 29. 19:30 It says, "Now Jacob cooked a stew; 19:32 and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 19:34 And Esau said to Jacob, 'Please feed me with that 19:37 same red stew, for I am weary.' 19:40 Therefore his name was called Edom. 19:41 But Jacob said, 'Sell me your birthright as of this day.' 19:45 And Esau said, 'Look, I am about to die; 19:47 so what is this birthright to me?' 19:49 Then Jacob said, 'Swear to me as of this day.' 19:52 So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 19:55 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; 19:58 then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. 20:01 Thus Esau despised his birthright." 20:04 This man, at the first temptation outside of his 20:10 religious upbringing, to satisfy a fleshly urge, 20:15 he sold his birthright that God had given to him 20:21 for a bowl of soup. 20:23 That may sound silly to some people. 20:26 But the reality is that there is a very, very important lesson. 20:30 Because often times the people of God, 20:34 the sons and daughters of God, you and I, 20:36 we sell our birthright and we sell our blessing 20:41 over to Satan for some earthly, fleshly pleasure. 20:49 How often do you think that breaks the heart of God? 20:52 I think it breaks the heart of God on a regular case. 20:56 In Genesis 27, Jacob deceives Isaac into giving him 21:02 the blessing. 21:04 So there was some deception going on with Jacob, 21:07 wasn't there? 21:08 But it's very interesting, because even though Jacob 21:11 was deceitful in the way he went about it, 21:15 there was a difference between Esau and Jacob. 21:17 Because Esau didn't really care. 21:19 He said, "What is that birthright to me. 21:21 I don't really care about it. 21:22 It doesn't really impact me that much. 21:24 It doesn't really matter." 21:27 But Jacob, even though he was deceiving, 21:29 he was seeking that blessing. 21:33 He was seeking that birthright. 21:35 Now he had a little conversion to go through, you see. 21:38 Because he didn't go about it the right way. 21:40 But the thing he was seeking was the right think, yes or no? 21:43 It was the right thing. 21:49 Jacob, though Esau sold his birthright, Jacob, 21:55 when Jacob stole his birthright, it altered 21:59 the course of the rest of his life. 22:03 It's very interesting, friends, because when we give in, 22:05 when we sell ourselves out for an earthly desire 22:10 or an earthly gain, it becomes very difficult to get back on 22:15 the right track, doesn't it? 22:18 And that one decision, one moment of pleasure, 22:21 one moment of unsanctified indulgence, 22:25 can actually change the course of our lives 22:28 for the rest of our lives. 22:31 And yet, how often do we fling that off just like Esau did? 22:35 Yet Jacob found a life altering power through a new birth 22:41 experience from his faith and submission to God at Bethel. 22:46 Once he fled his home, he went to Bethel. 22:49 And there he was transformed, there he was converted, 22:55 and he had a new heart. 22:58 And that's the experience that we have, amen, that we need. 23:01 So between Esau and Jacob there was this wrestling, 23:03 there was this challenge, between culture and faith. 23:06 And they both started out with the same spiritual foundation. 23:10 They were both in the church, they were both in the truth, 23:12 they were both in their father's house, 23:13 So what made the difference? 23:15 Very simply, Esau was immersed in the faith of his father 23:18 as a child, but he preferred the culture of his faith 23:23 rather than possessing faith itself. 23:28 Think about that for just a minute. 23:29 Esau preferred the blessings and the earthly gain of the culture 23:34 rather than actually having his father's faith. 23:39 Jacob sought the opposite. 23:41 So Esau sought the blessing of God and the benefit of the 23:45 earthly culture simply for the personal gain that he would get. 23:51 Do you think it's possible today that there are many 23:55 within the church who are having the same mindset 23:59 and the same temperament? 24:01 What do you think? 24:02 Let's keep going. Go with me to Matthew chapter 3. 24:05 Matthew chapter 3. 24:07 And we're going to see another story that illustrates 24:10 this same point. 24:11 Matthew chapter 3. 24:13 And the Bible is very powerful, this is a very powerful chapter. 24:18 And I'm going to start in verse 1. 24:21 The Bible says, "In those days John the Baptist came preaching 24:25 in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 'Repent, for the 24:28 kingdom of heaven is at hand!' 24:30 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, 24:33 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 24:35 "Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight."' 24:38 Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, 24:41 with a leather belt around his waist; 24:43 and his food was locusts and wild honey. 24:46 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan 24:49 went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, 24:52 confessing their sins. 24:54 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees 24:57 coming to his baptism, he said to them, 'Brood of vipers! 25:01 Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 25:04 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance...'" 25:09 Now this is not exactly something that you would 25:11 want to say to your baptismal candidates when they 25:14 come to church to be baptized, right? 25:16 They came to be baptized, and he said essentially, 25:20 "You dirty little snakes in the grass. 25:22 Who told you to come down here and get baptized? 25:25 You need to bear fruits worthy of repentance." 25:28 Oh that a minister would have the ability to read the 25:31 hearts of those people, right, when we baptize them. 25:34 Because sometimes they do need fruits of repentance. 25:37 But it's very interesting that if you consider the 25:42 life of John, John is kind of like 25:46 a mini final generation of people. 25:49 Does that make sense? 25:51 John was sent to bear a special message to the people 25:54 of the earth in his day; that Jesus was coming 25:56 for the first time, correct, as a Man upon the earth 25:59 to live His life perfectly and then to 26:01 die on the cross for our sins. 26:02 Correct? 26:03 And God's final people have a message, the three angels' 26:08 message, that includes the everlasting gospel; 26:11 that Jesus lived, died, and rose again. 26:14 We proclaim that message. 26:16 But that He's also coming back to this world very soon. 26:19 And that in this hour we are living in the judgment, 26:23 the final judgment of earth's history. 26:25 Correct? Do we have a message? 26:27 Now John dressed a certain way, didn't he? 26:31 Isn't it interesting? 26:32 It says that he wore a leather tunic. 26:35 Not a tunic, but he was clothed with camel's hair, 26:38 and a belt around his waist. 26:40 Very simplistic, simple, modest dress, yes or no? 26:46 Now it also says that his food was locusts and wild honey. 26:50 So he also had a very simple diet, yes or no? 26:55 Now there are some people... 26:56 Now does God call His last day people to have that same 26:59 message, yes or no? 27:01 He has, hasn't He? 27:02 He's called us to live simple lives, He's called us to 27:05 eat a certain way, to dress a certain way, 27:07 to live godly lives in light of earth's final judgment, correct? 27:11 Now it's very interesting, because I meet people today 27:14 who say, "Oh well, you know, if I dress a certain way 27:18 or I eat a certain way, people are going to 27:21 think that I'm weird." 27:23 Ever had people tell you that before? 27:25 "Oh, we can't do that. 27:27 We have to do as those people do, 27:30 as the people of the world do as Christians, 27:32 because if we don't, we're not going to fit in." 27:35 Now let's see what happened to John when he did this, 27:39 when he stood out in the crowd. 27:41 The Bible says he had that camel's hair. 27:43 I'm not suggesting that we wear camel's hair, you understand. 27:46 And he was eating locust and wild honey. 27:48 I'm not suggesting that we eat only locust and wild honey. 27:51 I'm sure he ate other things. 27:52 But the Bible says in verse 5... 27:54 Even though John didn't fit in to the popular culture 27:59 of the day, look what happened. 28:01 "Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan 28:05 went out to him and were baptized by him..." 28:08 They went out to hear John's preaching. 28:10 And why did they do this? Very simple. 28:13 Because despite how he looked, despite how he ate, 28:18 despite how he stood out in the crowd, 28:20 there was such a power in his preaching, 28:24 there was such a power in his message, 28:27 because he proclaimed Christ, he lived Christ, 28:30 and he breathed Christ, and he believed in Christ. 28:34 And Christ was exuberating through him to the people. 28:38 And because of that, there was a power in his message 28:42 and in his life that drew the people to him 28:46 despite the fact that he looked different, 28:48 he ate different, he lived different. 28:50 How many of you can say amen? 28:52 And that same truth is true for us today. 28:54 If we live our lives faithful to God in every circumstance 28:59 that we can, God is going to give us a power, 29:03 He's going to give us a sweetness about our life, 29:06 a kindness, a love, and a directness that's going to 29:09 draw people to the Savior through our lives. 29:13 How many of you want to have that experience? 29:16 We must submit ourselves to God, amen? 29:19 So John comes and he says to the people, 29:23 to the Pharisees and Sadducees that came, 29:26 and he said, "Brood of vipers! 29:28 Who warned you to flee..." 29:29 And look in verse 9. 29:31 Here is the point of the culture. 29:33 He says, "...and do not think to say to yourselves, 29:36 'We have...'" Who? 29:38 "'We have Abraham as our father.' 29:41 For I say to you that God is able to raise up children 29:43 to Abraham from these stones." 29:48 The Pharisees and the Sadducees were relying upon 29:51 their religious culture rather than having 29:55 true godly simple earnest faith in Christ Jesus. 30:04 And John the Baptist said, "Don't even think about 30:08 saying that, 'We are the sons of Abraham.'" 30:13 And you know, there are people today 30:16 in God's church who will say, "Well I'm a fifth generation 30:21 Seventh-day Adventist." 30:24 "I'm a fourth generation." 30:26 "I'm a direct descendant of..." Fill in the blank. 30:31 And sometimes people, I think, have this exuberant 30:34 pride about that. 30:37 And they think to themselves that somehow because they 30:40 have a cultural ancestral genetic connection 30:44 or multi-generational lineage that it somehow gives them 30:50 a ticket into heaven. 30:54 But let me tell you what, friends, and don't forget this, 30:58 God does not have grandchildren. 31:06 God does not have grandchildren. 31:10 He only has children. 31:13 How many can say amen? 31:16 We cannot get into heaven based upon 31:21 the coat tails of our parents faith, or our grandparents, 31:25 or whoever. 31:27 Only by knowing Jesus Christ ourselves personally 31:31 and being transformed by His grace personally 31:33 will we find our way into heaven. 31:35 Are you with me? 31:39 Someone, a wise pastor, told me once, 31:42 and it's a powerful statement, 31:45 he said, "Being born in the truth is not the 31:49 same as being true." 31:52 "Being born in the truth is not the same as being true." 31:56 There's only one way to be true, friends. 31:59 And that's to look to the true God 32:01 and to have faith in what His Son has done 32:04 and can and will do in our lives. 32:06 By putting our faith and trust wholly in Him 32:10 and nothing else, and no one else. 32:13 Now let's go quickly to John chapter 6. 32:16 John chapter 6, another powerful story here that illustrates 32:20 the difference between faith and culture. 32:24 John chapter 6, Jesus had just fed the five thousand. 32:30 Right? You know the story? 32:32 In verses 1 through 14, He feeds the five thousand. 32:36 And then later in the chapter He comes back and He's 32:40 speaking to the folks again. 32:42 And He says in verse 26, "Jesus answered them and said, 32:47 'Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because 32:51 you saw the signs, but because you ate of the 32:54 loaves and were filled.'" 32:58 And then He says, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, 33:01 but for the food which endures to everlasting life, 33:04 which the Son of Man will give you..." 33:08 What a beautiful promise. 33:10 "'...the Son of Man will give you because God the Father 33:14 has set His seal upon Him.' 33:17 And then they said to Him, 'What shall we do, 33:19 that we may work the works of God?' 33:21 And Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, 33:26 that you believe in Him whom He has sent.'" 33:32 And then He goes on, down in verse 31, 33:34 they begin to argue with Him. 33:36 And they say, "'Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; 33:38 and He gave them something to eat.' 33:40 Then Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, 33:42 Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, 33:45 but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33:47 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven 33:51 and gives life to the world.'" 33:55 That's the true bread. 33:57 That's the true thing to have faith in, amen? 34:00 Then the beautiful words that He says in verse 35, 34:03 "And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. 34:06 He who comes to Me shall never hunger, 34:08 and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 34:12 But I said to you that you have seen Me 34:16 and yet do not believe.'" 34:19 Very interesting. 34:20 The Jews in Jesus' day, they were following a culture 34:23 because it had brought great prosperity, 34:26 but they missed the point that the culture that they lived 34:29 was to lead them to have faith. 34:33 And they didn't have the faith, but they were 34:35 boasting in the culture. 34:37 And when the essence of all faith came and stood 34:41 in their midst, they did not recognize Him. 34:44 They did not know Him. 34:45 Is it possible today that some are so enriched 34:48 in an Adventist culture that we have forgotten 34:52 the One whom we worship and the One who's coming soon? 34:55 We've forgotten the very purpose and the very essence 34:58 and the very reason that we exist as God's church 35:02 in the last days; is to proclaim to the world 35:05 to have living faith in the Christ who died for them 35:08 and who is coming again soon in the clouds of 35:09 heaven to take them home. 35:12 Have we forgotten this? 35:13 They follow Jesus because of the loaves and the fishes, 35:18 not for His presence in their lives. 35:22 They ate from His hands but not from His heart. 35:30 And dear friends, we must partake of the heart of Jesus. 35:37 Because in His heart is the place where you and I 35:43 are to spend eternity. 35:46 There's only one you, and there's only one me. 35:51 No one else can take your place in God's heart, 35:56 in God's kingdom. 35:58 We must have that personal connection with Him. 36:03 But the Jews followed Jesus to have their stomachs 36:06 filled with the bread rather than their hearts 36:08 filled with His spirit. 36:10 And I pray to God, and I know that there are many today 36:14 who are having that same experience 36:17 while looking at the Scriptures and saying, 36:19 "How could those Jews possibly do that," 36:22 while they themselves are living the same lie. 36:28 And when He revealed who the bread really was, they scoffed. 36:33 They scoffed. 36:35 And they wanted to make Him king because He would feed them 36:41 and fill their bellies, not because He could 36:45 change their hearts. 36:47 That is not what they wanted. 36:49 Religious culture, dear friends, wishes to sit at Jesus' feet, 36:52 but only to be fed conveniently in this life without any 36:57 discomfort or preparation for the next life. 37:03 If we embrace a culture without the faith, 37:05 this is what we will do. 37:06 There are those who wish to be fed in this life only 37:09 while sitting at Jesus' feet, and they want Jesus 37:11 to feed them physical bread but not spiritual. 37:15 And biblical faith, true biblical faith, 37:17 true Adventist faith, will seek the spiritual bread 37:21 even at the expense of the temporal bread, 37:26 of the earthly bread. 37:29 People who are truly hungry, people who are truly thirsting, 37:32 will even reject the physical bread, if need be, 37:36 to embrace that which is spiritual. 37:39 How many of you want to have that kind of mindset? 37:41 Dear friends, some of us are earthly and fleshly. 37:44 I know myself, if I don't stay close to the Savior, 37:47 it doesn't matter that I'm a pastor, 37:49 I will begin to drift. 37:50 Pastors have no special power. 37:53 They have no special ability, no special connection. 37:56 We have the same connection that Jesus had. 37:59 If Jesus had no advantage over us, then how does 38:02 the pastor have any advantage? 38:03 You understand? 38:05 We must seek that spiritual bread. 38:06 And it must become the priority and the number one thing 38:09 that consumes our lives. 38:10 Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first the..." What? 38:15 "...the kingdom and all His righteousness, 38:17 and all these things will be added unto you." 38:21 And now we draw to the bottom; our time today. 38:25 We went from Genesis, to the gospels, 38:29 and now our time today. 38:31 In Matthew chapter 25, if you will turn there with me, 38:35 Matthew chapter 25 tells the parable of the ten virgins. 38:40 And these virgins... 38:42 I will just paraphrase this, but you can read it on your own. 38:45 Matthew chapter 25, these ten virgins took their lamps out 38:49 to meet the bridegroom. 38:50 And it's a symbol of God's people in the last days 38:53 who are preparing for the second coming of Jesus, you understand. 38:57 It says that they had their lamps and went out to meet him. 39:00 "Five were wise and five were foolish. 39:02 And those that were foolish took their lamps 39:04 and took no oil with them. 39:06 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 39:08 And while the bridegroom was delayed, they all 39:10 slumbered and slept. 39:12 And at midnight a cry was heard, 39:13 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; 39:15 go out to meet him!' 39:17 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 39:19 And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, 39:21 for our lamps are going out.' 39:23 But the wise answered saying, 'No, lest there should not be 39:27 enough for us and for you; but go rather to those who sell, 39:31 and buy for yourselves.' 39:34 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, 39:36 and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; 39:39 and the door was shut." 39:41 These ten virgins are a symbol of God's church 39:44 in the last days, very simply. 39:45 The lamps they carry, in Psalm 119 it says that, 39:49 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." 39:53 The lamp is a symbol of the word of God 39:55 that they had in their hand. 39:56 And if you noticed that all ten of the virgins 40:00 had lamps, yes or no? 40:02 All ten had lamps. 40:03 So in other words, all ten had the word of God. 40:07 In other words, all of God's people knew the truth 40:10 in the last days. 40:12 But only five had oil, five did not. 40:14 Oil being a symbol of the Holy Spirit, correct? 40:18 It's very interesting. 40:20 It prophetically describes the distinct division that exists 40:25 between God's people in the last days. 40:27 And dear friends, there is a division in the church today. 40:30 I mean, our churches are united on the core beliefs, 40:32 but there are different divisions that 40:35 take place in the church. 40:36 But just because we have difference of opinion 40:38 doesn't mean we're not united, right? 40:40 But this is talking about a division of 40:42 faith versus culture. 40:44 Very interesting. 40:46 There are those Adventists today, and I would call them 40:49 cultural Adventists, cultural Christians... 40:52 No matter what faith they are, there's always true and false 40:55 in every bunch, isn't that true? 40:58 Cultural Adventists who have secluded themselves 41:01 from the world have understood truth but still enjoy 41:06 the world's pleasures. 41:12 They have forgotten that we are pilgrims in this world. 41:18 In this world as Christians, we are simply 41:21 passing through. 41:23 Yes or no? 41:25 We are passing through. 41:26 We are not making roots, we are not making anchors. 41:29 How ironic, Anchors Of Truth, right? 41:31 We are not putting anchors in this world, 41:33 but we are passing through. 41:35 And so if we are passing through, we need not 41:38 anything that is weighing us down, yes or no? 41:41 Nothing that's weighing us down. 41:43 Those who profess Christ without having a testimony 41:49 of a changed life by divine grace can truly only 41:54 testify that they are a part of a nice culture 41:59 rather than a divine faith. 42:02 And let me tell you, friends, I have met many of them. 42:05 You probably have too. 42:08 Sometimes they may appear to be drinking from the 42:12 water of Gilboa, the hills of Gilboa, but they're as dry 42:17 as the valley of dead bones and as whitewashed 42:21 as the tombs and the Pharisees that Jesus called 42:26 whitewashed tombs. 42:28 I hope tonight that none of us fall into that camp. 42:32 But there may be those, and I know that there are those 42:35 within in the church, because in every church 42:37 in every age there have been them, who have been dry, 42:41 who have been unconverted, who have not sought repentance 42:45 and true faith in Christ. 42:47 They've embraced a nice culture, but they have not embraced 42:50 the living Christ. 42:52 And we need to have that experience. 42:53 What do you think tonight? 42:55 So without an entire surrender of the will, 42:57 we do not experience Christ. 42:59 And without this, they neither come to Christ 43:03 nor deny themselves to lead others to Christ. 43:06 You know, friends, one of the greatest evidences 43:08 of a transformed changed life is someone who will tell 43:12 someone else about Jesus. 43:15 To be able to witness and to testify of His 43:17 goodness in your life. 43:19 To be able to share the truth, to be excited to share the 43:22 truth with those around them. 43:23 That is a fruit of a converted life. 43:26 And I find many people... 43:27 Now it's okay, sometimes people are shy, amen? 43:30 You can still be shy and excited about sharing 43:33 Jesus in some way, amen? 43:35 But if people are, "Well, you know, I don't know if I'm..." 43:37 No, friends, when we are changed and we have the grace of God 43:40 in our lives, we want to share Jesus with others, don't we? 43:42 We are excited and we are thrilled to do this. 43:46 This is very interesting that a culture wants deliverance 43:50 from evil but not from sin. 43:57 Think about that. 44:00 And consequently, when this happens they seek their own 44:03 kingdom rather than God's. 44:06 Rather than God's. 44:09 The new heart actively seeks to share Jesus in everything. 44:16 It actively seeks to promote His kingdom and not our own. 44:22 The new heart is filled with the power of God 44:24 and the power of grace because it is under the 44:26 direct leadership of Christ. 44:30 What about your life tonight? 44:33 Whoever you are or wherever you're watching, 44:34 what about your life? 44:37 Which camp do you fall into? 44:41 I pray today that we have all searched our hearts 44:45 and we know which place we're at. 44:48 And if we find ourself in the camp of culture only, 44:54 that we will flee to Christ and seek repentance. 44:58 Amen? 45:04 True biblical faith uses God's commandments and counsel 45:06 not merely as church rules, but as beautiful truth 45:11 from Christ Himself, amen? 45:13 Because Jesus is the Word. 45:15 It will also accept the plain truth of the Bible and the 45:19 spirit of prophecy with joy, recognizing that sometimes 45:22 God's gives us direct rebukes and He brings cutting truth 45:26 to our hearts because He loves us and He wants to set us 45:30 on the right path. 45:32 How many of you are thankful for that? 45:33 There are some people that see the direct rebuke from God 45:38 or a hard thing, and they say, "Man, that's too hard. 45:41 Surely we serve a God of grace, and He doesn't believe in 45:44 those kind of hard things anymore." 45:46 Well we're told in, Testimonies For The Church, 45:49 that one of the last deceptions, one of the last attempts 45:53 of the enemy in the last days is that he will try to get 45:56 people to believe that the requirements of God 45:59 are not as stern and strict as they once were. 46:03 Very interesting. 46:05 But through the power of grace, through Jesus living within me, 46:08 is it not possible to live by every word that precedes 46:11 out of the mouth of God? 46:13 If Jesus truly lives within me by faith, 46:16 then nothing is impossible in my life. 46:18 What do you think? 46:20 And if Jesus lives within, that means I'm surrendered to Him. 46:24 Anything less, dear friends, of these things 46:28 is a sure indicator that one is merely a cultural Adventist, 46:34 a cultural Christian, that does not possess Adventist faith. 46:41 We need Adventist faith, don't we? 46:44 Not just a culture. 46:45 Now I have a chart here that's very interesting. 46:47 I want to share it with you. 46:49 And we're going to go through some of the different tenants 46:52 of culture versus faith. 46:54 Are you ready for this? 46:55 They're going to be on the screen as well. 46:57 The Adventist culture will say, "I believe in the Bible." 47:00 It sounds good, doesn't it? 47:02 The Adventist faith will say, "The Bible has changed me." 47:07 Adventist culture will say... 47:10 The Adventist faith will say... 47:25 An Adventist culture will say... 47:32 But an Adventist faith says... 48:15 How many of you can say amen? 48:22 I hear people all the time say, 48:24 "I'm so thankful for my Sabbath." 48:26 And I'm not saying that's necessarily wrong or evil. 48:29 You understand? But it's the mindset. 48:31 But an Adventist faith will say... 49:00 We're all sinners. Amen? 49:04 Not amen. 49:05 But amen that Jesus gives us the victory, yes? 49:08 Amen. Alright. 49:12 "He knows my heart. 49:13 I don't have to worry about all these things." 49:15 But an Adventist faith will say... 49:18 "He owns me, He knows me." 50:04 I might say, "faith," when I should say, "culture." 50:07 You'll forgive me. You'll know what I mean. 50:48 Culture will say, "I am not into prophecy. 50:51 I don't really care for it. 50:52 I don't like it, it's scary to me." 50:55 But faith says... 51:35 Dear friends, there is a big difference between 51:39 culture and faith living in these last days. 51:43 An Adventist culture is worthless 51:47 in the judgment of God. 51:51 It cannot give an answer for your sins in the judgment. 51:56 An Adventist culture does not empower us to live 52:00 above the world, but only comfortably in it. 52:04 But an Adventist faith in Christ Jesus and Him alone 52:08 can take us to new heights and give us victory after victory 52:12 in our lives when we place our lives and our wills 52:15 in God's hands. 52:19 A culture sits in the pew week after week not being changed 52:23 or seeking to help others. 52:25 And a culture will ultimately deny Christ. 52:31 A culture knows it should trust completely in God, 52:33 but a faith actually does it. 52:37 A culture is indifferent to the church, 52:40 and sometimes maybe will just come for Sabbath church 52:45 and not Sabbath school, or whatever. 52:48 We don't come to prayer meeting. 52:49 We're just kind of hunky-dory. 52:52 We just kind of float through life. 52:56 But a living faith has the deepest interest of the 52:59 church in mind in every decision that we make in this life. 53:07 Sometimes we can say, "I'll just take my nap 53:12 in the afternoon on Sabbath. 53:15 I'll pay my tithes. 53:18 I'll do my duty. 53:21 And then I'm done." 53:25 Let me remind you, dear friends, that there's nothing wrong with 53:30 biblical culture, Adventist culture, as long as it is 53:34 driven by Adventist faith. 53:38 And if we have faith in Jesus, and Jesus by faith is living 53:43 within us, our faith will be fireproof. 53:47 And there is nothing that Satan can bring against us 53:51 that will prosper, amen? 53:53 Nothing at all. 53:55 For many of us today we are living in Laodicea, 53:58 and we need a powerful revival in our lives. 54:01 How many of you want to have revival in your life? 54:03 How many of you want to look to Jesus first? 54:06 And dear friends, that is the only thing that's going to 54:08 pass us from this life to the next. 54:11 So are you experiencing today merely a culture 54:16 or are you experiencing living faith in your life? 54:19 Are you walking with Jesus day by day as we are marching 54:23 one step and one step into eternity? 54:29 It's my prayer today that we are having that experience. 54:34 And our answer today is of eternal consequence. 54:39 You see, to have an Adventist faith, to have a living faith, 54:42 to be in Jesus' presence daily, this is the remedy 54:47 for Laodicea today. 54:49 To be renewed, to be revived, to be re-energized 54:53 by the Holy Spirit coming into our hearts and transforming us 54:58 by divine grace. 55:00 We must have it. 55:03 Is that your experience today? 55:05 I pray tonight that it is. 55:07 And if it's not, dear friends, there is great hope, amen? 55:10 Because we can flee to the Lord Jesus. 55:13 And if we flee to Him, He will bring that faith into our hearts 55:19 and He will transform our lives into all that He wants us to be, 55:22 if we will just come to Him. 55:24 So if you find yourself in that camp tonight, and you say, 55:26 "I've had just culture, I don't have faith. 55:29 I don't know what to do. 55:30 I'm unsure about what I believe." 55:33 Just take a step to Jesus tonight. 55:36 Just reach your hand out to Him wherever you are, 55:39 whatever circumstance you're in. 55:41 You may have been in the church for 30, 40, 50 years. 55:44 There is a man one time in the church, and he said, 55:47 "You know," he went to the pastor and said, 55:49 "I'm afraid I'm not converted." 55:51 And the pastor said, "Yes, I know. 55:52 I've been praying for you for many years." 55:54 And that day he found Christ. 55:56 Just take one step towards Jesus. 55:58 He'll take a step towards you. 56:00 He'll reach you where you're at. 56:01 Reach out your arm in faith to Him 56:04 and He'll take you by the hand and He won't let go. 56:07 I remember, friends, when I sick with cancer. 56:11 I was on my deathbed. 56:12 I told you that story last night. 56:15 And after God healed me, I went about and I thought, 56:18 "You know, God, You raised me up to preach Your word, 56:22 to preach Your message." 56:24 And then later I read a letter that was to a man, 56:27 and the letter said that God... 56:30 It was to another man who had been on his deathbed. 56:32 And the letter said, "God did not raise you up because of 56:35 any virtue in yourself, but because you were 56:38 unprepared to die. 56:41 And there was only by the mercy of God 56:45 that He saved your life." 56:47 And when I read that letter, friends, I wept and I cried. 56:52 And I poured my heart out to God. 56:54 And that day, He changed my life forever. 56:58 I knew what it meant to have a living faith in Christ. 57:02 My whole life was dependent upon Him. 57:04 How about you tonight? 57:05 Do you want your life to be totally dependent upon 57:08 the Lord Jesus and nothing else, nothing less, 57:14 than Christ Himself? 57:15 Is that your desire? 57:17 Let's pray tonight. 57:18 Father, we thank You so much for the promise of living faith, 57:21 for the hope of eternal life. 57:22 I pray tonight that wherever we are, 57:24 whoever is watching this evening, 57:26 they would put their faith and their trust in You, 57:29 and You would give them that living faith that we all need 57:31 to pass in the judgment. 57:33 This is our prayer tonight. 57:34 We pray it in Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2016-04-05