Participants:
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000177A
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00:18 Hello and welcome to Wednesday night, A
00:20 Sharper Focus. Thank you for taking the 00:22 time to tune in and join us for a walk 00:25 through the Bible. Now, wherever you're 00:28 joining us from, it's time to get your 00:30 Bibles and expect the Lord to guide us in 00:33 this study of our greatest need. Now, 00:37 we've been studying this for a while because 00:39 it's our greatest need. Can we get an amen? 00:41 [Amen.] When you are talking about your 00:44 greatest need, you need to know what that 00:46 need is and eyeing out every particular. I'll let 00:50 you know in just a moment how to get 00:51 a copy of the lesson, and we'll sing our theme 00:53 song in just a moment, but before we do 00:55 anything else, we always begin with 00:57 prayer. Bow your heads with us. Loving Father 01:00 in heaven, thank You for the privilege and 01:01 opportunity of our opening Your Word. 01:03 We know that You'll guide our minds as we 01:05 study. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will 01:08 also be our Teacher. Bless the audience 01:11 that's listening and watching. May we not 01:14 only learn, but may we be given the strength 01:16 and the desire, Lord, to serve You with our 01:19 whole heart. In Jesus' name, amen. If you'd 01:24 like a copy of the lesson, go to this 01:26 following website: ASF.3ABN.org 01:32 and there, you'll find lesson #39. We are 01:36 going to be ending lesson #39 and question 01:39 #37, and after this, we'll go to our next 01:42 topic. Lesson #39; what number? 39. 01:48 Why don't we welcome our audience with a hearty 01:49 amen? Can we do that? [Amen.] Here we are in southern 01:53 Illinois, enjoying the changing of the 01:55 seasons. But wherever you're joining us from, 01:57 I hope your weather is good. Tonight, we 02:00 are going to begin by singing our theme 02:03 song. We always like to sing our theme song, 02:06 because our theme song is the overreaching 02:09 message of what we've been studying for 02:12 months-and years! Our theme song is 02:15 called "Victory in Jesus." Let's sing 02:18 that together. 02:27 I heard an old, old story 02:31 How the Savior came from glory 02:34 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:38 To save a wretch like me 02:42 I heard about His groaning 02:45 Of His precious blood's atoning 02:49 Then I repented of my sin 02:53 And won the victory 02:57 Oh, victory in Jesus 03:01 My Savior forever 03:04 He sought me and bought me 03:08 With His redeeming blood 03:12 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:16 And all my love is due Him 03:20 He plunged me to victory 03:23 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:27 I heard about a mansion 03:31 He has built for me in glory 03:35 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:38 Beyond the crystal sea 03:42 About the angels' singing 03:46 And the old redemption story 03:50 And some sweet day, I'll sing up there 03:54 The song of victory 03:56 (Key change!) Oh, victory in Jesus 04:01 My Savior forever 04:05 He sought me and bought me 04:08 With His redeeming blood 04:12 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:16 And all my love is due Him 04:20 He plunged me to victory 04:24 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:27 He plunged me to victory 04:31 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:38 Amen? [Amen.] Victory in Jesus. Tonight's 04:43 topic is the truth about our greatest 04:47 need. [Music starts playing again] I 04:48 guess they want us to sing it again. 04:50 [laughter] That may take a little more 04:52 time than I'm willing to give right now, 04:54 but we enjoy it. You know, people have 04:57 sent us emails, asking for the music. 05:02 A lady sent me an email and she said, "Have you 05:05 recorded that song yet? If you record 05:08 that song, I will buy it." So, we appreciate 05:11 your thoughtful words for us. No, I haven't 05:17 recorded it, but as I see, everyone can have 05:21 an opportunity of singing that song, 05:23 "Victory in Jesus" together. I, tonight, 05:26 want to lay some foundation. We've 05:28 been talking from week to week about our 05:31 greatest need. Now, we've been talking 05:36 about repentance and conversion-not just 05:40 baptism. I want to make a point tonight, because 05:43 there are many people that desire to get 05:45 baptized. Some people do get baptized. Baptism 05:49 is an external expression of an inward commitment 05:54 to Christ. Let's repeat- baptism is an external 05:57 expression of an inward commitment to Christ. 06:02 Baptism doesn't change you. Baptism 06:06 is a public testimony that the Lord has 06:10 come in and made the change. I want you 06:14 to open your Bibles to Ezekiel chapter 37. 06:20 We're going to look at before, during, 06:25 and after. Before, during, and after, 06:32 because there's a picture in the Bible. 06:33 Matter of fact, this passage has received 06:36 so much attention. Ezekiel chapter 37. 06:40 If you know where Daniel is, go back 06:41 one book to Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 37. 06:45 An amazing story. Okay, here we are. 06:52 I told you to turn there and I'm looking 06:53 at you turn... Now, I am there. The vision 06:59 of dry bones. Songs have been sung about 07:04 the knee bone is connected to the... 07:06 ...whatever. Whatever it's connected to. 07:09 It's not connected to the elbow; make sure. 07:10 It eventually gets there. But bones are 07:14 connected to bones. But here's- look at the 07:16 question. Let's look at this picture, and 07:18 we're going to dissect it together. Maybe not 07:23 a good word because it's already dissected. 07:24 Dissected. Well, look at Ezekiel 37:1 "The 07:30 hand of the Lord came upon me and 07:33 brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord 07:36 and set me down in the midst of the valley, 07:39 and it was," together, "full of bones." Every 07:47 church has bones in it. We all have bones. 07:51 But the question is... gonna come up later. 07:57 "Then He caused me to pass by them all, 07:59 all around. And behold, there were very many 08:05 in the open valley, and indeed they were," 08:10 what? "Very dry." Which means- it 08:16 indicates that these bones were dead for 08:18 some time, because bones, they dry out 08:22 a natural process of drying out. If you 08:24 open up a coffin, which, hopefully, 08:28 none of us have had the task to do, but 08:32 if you open up a coffin- and based 08:34 on the date of the person's death, or 08:36 even if you don't know when they died 08:38 and you see a lot of dust in the there 08:39 and the bones are like... You say they've 08:43 been dead for...a long time. The picture is 08:47 presented here. Look at the questions that 08:50 are asked. This is the question that's asked. 08:53 I'm going to come back to this story throughout 08:54 the study tonight, because in each 08:56 juncture of the story, another section of 08:59 this question that's presented to us is 09:01 going to be answered in this story. Here 09:04 it is. "And He said to me, 'Son of man-'" 09:08 let's read the next four words together, 09:10 "'can these bones live?' So I answered, 'O Lord 09:16 God, You know.'" In other words, "Only 09:19 You know!" When we think of the picture 09:23 that is being presented here, this picture is 09:26 not a one-sided picture. It's not just talking 09:29 about people that don't know the Lord; 09:31 it's also presenting a picture of people that DID know 09:34 the Lord. But somewhere along the way, their 09:37 experience died. So whatever category 09:41 you're in, whether you don't know the 09:43 Lord or whether you knew the Lord and 09:45 your experience died, the question is asked 09:48 the same. "Can these dead bones live?" 09:51 Who's the only One that knows? Tell me. 09:57 "O Lord God, You know." Let's look at some 10:02 of the parameters. 10:04 Go to question #27. We're going to milk 10:07 this story, because you're going to see- 10:13 well, I'm going to go back and refer to 10:14 particular portions of the story that 10:17 fit into the context of the questions 10:20 we're going to answer. Now, if we've gone 10:22 over some of them, be patient with me 10:23 because I want to bring this story into the 10:26 questions that we may have covered 10:29 already. Okay, question #27. 10:36 What else? Let's go to Acts 3:19. 10:39 Let me ask you a question. Does baptism 10:44 change us? No. If you're not changed 10:48 prior to that-if you've not invited the Lord 10:51 to come in-you get wet, you go blow-dry 10:54 your hair, and you go home the same way 10:55 you got there. That commitment has to 10:58 be made ahead of time. Baptism doesn't 11:00 ch- and there are some people that 11:01 say, "I got to get baptized! I got to get 11:03 baptized!" What we need first is a changed 11:04 life, and then that baptism says, "I'm 11:08 ready for this new journey." The new 11:10 journey starts. You see, Jesus knew 11:13 His mission before He was baptized. He 11:16 didn't get baptized to wash away His 11:17 sin, because He was sinless. There's 11:20 a pattern you find in scripture. That's 11:23 also a custom in the Jewish religious world 11:29 (when I speak in antiquity). Baptism 11:33 was something that they entered into 11:35 prior to beginning the work in the 11:38 priesthood. So in the same way, Jesus 11:42 entered into baptism before He began His 11:44 ministry. So what makes us any different? 11:47 You cannot begin a ministry with Christ 11:50 unless you enter into baptism. Baptism is 11:54 something significantly important. We're not 11:55 talking about it in this particular topic; 11:57 let's go and answer the question first, 11:58 and then I'll show you how it fits. Here's 12:01 the answer. What else besides repentance does 12:04 the Bible describe for a changed life? Here 12:06 it is- let's read this first one together. 12:21 So, when you know that your past is blotted 12:25 out, when you know that your record is 12:28 expunged, when you know that your sentence 12:31 has been commuted, you don't say, "Aw, man! 12:34 My sentence was commuted." What do you do? Come 12:39 on. "My sentence has been commuted! My 12:42 crime has been paid for! My record has been 12:45 expunged." But the conversion part, it 12:52 comes, "Repent and be converted." So often, 12:56 people enter into a relationship through 12:59 baptism, but they don't repent of 13:01 anything, and then therefore, if you 13:02 don't repent, conversion doesn't happen. 13:04 Repentance is really a change of direction. 13:08 The person is living their lives, going to 13:11 the left or, in the wrong direction (I 13:13 use the word 'left' because the Bible 13:15 always prescribes Jesus on the right 13:16 hand of the Father). But if anyone lives 13:18 their life going to the left, and that's 13:20 the category the goader on the left...and when 13:25 they accept Christ, they don't continue 13:26 in the same direction. Repent- they recognize 13:30 that they are going in the wrong direction, 13:32 and that's where studying God's Word comes in. 13:34 God's Word points out the direction your 13:37 life is headed. It reveals whether or not you're 13:40 going in the wrong direction. It says, "You 13:41 are going in the wrong direction. You need to 13:43 make a change." But let me make a point- 13:45 making the change without committing 13:49 your life to Christ is like putting old 13:51 wine- it's like putting new wine in old 13:54 wine skins. Now, we don't know what 13:56 that is because we don't drink wine (most of us 13:59 don't)... I just wanted to see 14:03 if you would respond. None of us do! Amen? 14:05 [laughter] None of us drink wine. Grape 14:09 juice, yes. Fruit of the vine. But we 14:14 don't drink wine. But the Bible's 14:15 analogy is if you put new wine in 14:18 old wineskins, what happens is the 14:19 wineskins, after a while, they become hard. 14:22 By continually putting wine, the 14:24 leather of the skin starts to absorb 14:26 immediately. The ingredients are in the 14:30 fruit. When it's empty, it dries 14:33 out. Put more in, it absorbs more, 14:36 it dries. And after a while, you could 14:38 tap onto the leather that was supple in 14:40 the very beginning, but all of a sudden, 14:42 it's really, really hard. Well, what's 14:44 happening is, every time they put new 14:47 wine in that, in the matter of a day, 14:50 the wine starts a natural process of 14:53 fermentation. So it's expanding the skin 14:56 even more. When something new comes into 15:00 your life, the Lord wants to expand 15:02 your horizon, expand your understanding. 15:05 But if He tries to expand your understanding 15:07 and you haven't changed, you're gonna bust! 15:10 You can't contain it. Don't put new wine 15:14 in old wineskins. New wineskins happen 15:19 in the person's life who has repented 15:20 and is converted, not just baptized. Amen? 15:24 So write that down. What else besides 15:26 repentance does the Bible prescribe for a 15:28 changed life? What it is - converted. 15:31 Repent and be converted. Go to Luke 9:23. 15:36 Keep Ezekiel there because we're going 15:38 to see some components in there. Go to Luke 9:23; 15:40 let me just show you. Couple of things here. 15:44 Luke 9:23. It's important when you're thinking 15:51 about committing your life to Christ 15:53 and then following that commitment in baptism 15:56 that you do the right thing. And what do you 16:00 do that's right? Let's look at Luke 9:23. 16:03 9:23. "He said to them all, if anyone 16:10 desires to come after me, let him do," what? 16:15 "Deny himself and take up his cross," 16:18 how often? "Daily," and do what? "Follow 16:22 Me." Have you ever had to deny yourself 16:24 of something? We have a health team; 16:27 they do blood pressure checks and blood checks 16:29 on Wednesday nights. My wife got hers done 16:31 tonight. I'm not going to tell the world what 16:33 her sugar level is, but some denial is 16:41 on the way. [laughter] Love you, honey! You 16:46 know, I say to her, "The reason why your 16:48 sugar's so high is because you hugged 16:49 me before we came to church." And that's 16:51 probably why we- she's sweet and I'm 16:53 very sweet... Anyway. A little laughter 16:57 is not bad. [laughs] So I said, "Honey, 17:01 if we're going to church, you're going to get 17:02 your blood checked. Do not hug me or 17:04 kiss me; your blood pressure's gonna go 17:05 up!" Or your sugar levels... Where did 17:09 that come from. I have no idea. Forgive 17:12 me... But let us get to the place 17:18 where when we know what is not good for 17:19 us spiritually... Let's go to the next 17:23 levels. Physically... Appetite, entertainment, 17:33 way of life... What happens is the body 17:36 and the mind get used to a certain way of life. 17:39 Just imagine a person doing something for 17:42 10 years, 11 years, 12 years, in their 17:45 adult years and they're now maybe in their 17:47 20s or 30s or 40s, and they've lived 17:49 a certain way all the time, and they got 17:51 baptized and they say, "I'm so excited! 17:53 I just got baptized." But that means he 17:56 just made a U-turn. The journey begins 17:58 in the right direction now. And a lot of 18:01 the things that you passed on the way 18:03 going the wrong way, you pass on the way 18:06 going the right way. But that's why it's 18:08 called, "Deny yourself," because you're going to 18:10 pass it. "Deny yourself" says, "I see it, but 18:14 I'm not getting off." [inhales repeatedly] 18:18 "I smell it, but I'm not eating it." 18:23 "Should I go to that show-... No, I'm 18:25 not going." Deny yourself. Denial is 18:28 not a natural thing. How does it happen? 18:34 How often should we deny ourselves? 18:36 [Daily.] Go to 1 Corinthians 15:31. 18:47 1 Corinthians- did I say 15? Yeah. 18:53 15:31. Okay. 19:00 Look at 1 Corinthians 15:31. It says, "I 19:05 affirm by the boasting in you, which I have 19:09 in Christ Jesus our Lord..." What are 19:11 the next three words? "I die...daily." So 19:16 this whole thing about repenting and being 19:18 converted... The conversion happens 19:21 gradually! It doesn't happen in one decision. 19:24 Right? Have you ever rejoiced? Say you say, 19:27 "Okay, I stuck to my plan today." It could 19:30 be diet, it could be a project you have, 19:33 it could be building a project, it could 19:35 be writing a book... It could be anything, 19:39 but you said, "I wrote it all down 19:41 and I got it done today." And you 19:42 feel really, really good. You get up 19:44 the next day with the commendation of the 19:46 last day on our shoulder and you feel really, 19:48 really good, and you say, "What time is 19:52 it?" And you realize you are not on 19:55 schedule to accomplish what you did the day 19:57 before. So, this whole denial process, 20:00 this whole process of repentance and 20:03 daily conversion and dying to self-daily 20:06 starts in the morning. Starts when? [In the 20:09 morning.] You gotta get some spiritual 20:11 food in your mind in the morning, because 20:14 we cannot be converted with natural things. 20:16 Natural things will leave you in a 20:18 natural condition, but spiritual things will put 20:20 you in a spiritual condition. I said 20:22 to somebody once who was having a difficult 20:23 time reading their Bibles- I said, 20:25 "Read your Bible because you have to, 20:27 and then you'll get to the place that you 20:29 read it because you WANT to." I had a 20:31 lady in one of our meetings, she said, 20:33 "I HATED reading my Bible, but since 20:35 these meetings began, I started reading 20:37 it after you did the topic on the 20:39 book that breeds." She said, "You know 20:41 what? I'm starting to love it again." When 20:43 you start to condition your mind- and it comes 20:46 to foods, it comes to changing the diet, it 20:49 comes to- didn't mean to point to you, Luis. 20:50 It comes to anything you do! Any time 20:53 you do something that you haven't done before, 20:55 repetition starts to create a habit. 20:58 A habit starts to create a character. 21:00 A character starts to determine a 21:02 destiny. An action creates a...habit. 21:06 Habit creates a character, and 21:08 character determines a destiny. So you 21:10 have to do that daily denial. Am I 21:12 right? Let's go to the very next one. 21:14 We're going to see some of these things, 21:16 but I'm not going to go back to Ezekiel 21:18 yet. Question #28. 21:25 I'm not going to spend a ton of time 21:27 on this one because we did cover it before, 21:29 but I'm just going to go ahead and touch 21:30 it and keep going. How important is the need 21:33 for a converted life? Look at this. And this- 21:36 I talked about this in the context of a 21:38 different way last time, but I'm going to add 21:41 a different bend to it this time. Alright? 21:44 Here's Matthew 18:3. The Bible says, 21:57 Now, we talked about different aspects of 21:59 little children. They forget quickly, 22:01 they forgive quickly and all that... But you 22:03 know, the best time to teach a person is 22:04 when they are young. The best time to 22:09 create new habits in your life is when your 22:11 Christian experience is new. When it's what? 22:15 New. Because sometimes, people get baptized- 22:18 I've seen this happen, I think, in each one 22:21 of our lives and maybe somebody listening 22:23 and watching. Each one of our lives, we 22:25 start out, we get excited- I remember 22:27 the story of a pastor who- in his church, 22:29 there was a lady that was so excited every 22:31 week. She was SO excited every week. 22:33 "Amen" for everything. She was always happy, 22:35 always positive. And the members who 22:39 had already settled in- old wineskins-said, 22:42 "Give her time. She's always 22:45 saying positive things. Give her time." So 22:47 one of the members, just not content with 22:49 the "give her time" statement, they tried 22:50 to get her to say something negative. 22:52 "What could you say positive about the 22:54 devil?" "Huh?" She said, "He sure is busy!" 22:59 [laughter] She wouldn't say anything negative 23:04 about anybody-even the devil! "He sure 23:06 is busy!" Are you? That's a bright- 23:11 that's a good attitude, right? It's really 23:13 good to see the positive side of 23:14 everything. But the point of the matter 23:16 is, don't- when a person is happy 23:18 in Jesus, don't try to quench their 23:21 spirit. We ought to be joyful! Sometimes, 23:25 people who I call- an Adventist could 23:29 become a Sadventist if they forget the 23:32 message. If you think you've heard it so 23:35 many times, it becomes, "Oh, I've heard that. 23:37 The second coming, yeah, I heard about 23:38 that before. Whatever, yeah, 23:40 I know. Three angels' messages, yeah, whatever." 23:42 And you become a Sadventist and you 23:44 lose your joy! And somebody else comes 23:47 in and says, "I've never heard the three 23:50 angels' message!" And they're excited and you 23:52 say, "Yeah, well, I've heard it before." 23:54 And you kind of pour water on their joy. 23:56 In order- when you know that Jesus is 23:59 soon to come and you've been given the privilege 24:01 to be a part of that reunion or that union 24:04 with Christ, that ought to bring you daily joy! 24:06 Amen? So, we have to teach- and this is 24:10 the reason I'm adding a different bend to this 24:12 rather than about forgiveness and 24:14 forgetting the past is the best time to 24:16 establish habits in your life is when your 24:19 experience with Christ is new. Now, for those 24:22 of you that have said, "But I've been 24:23 Christian for x amount of years!" Here's 24:26 a good opportunity. God's mercies are 24:29 new every morning, so make today the 24:33 first day of the rest of your life. 24:35 Even if you fail terribly! Go to bed 24:38 tonight, confess that thing, give it to the 24:41 Lord, and get up in the morning and say, 24:44 "Good morning, self! Today, you and I are 24:48 going to read the Bible! 'Cause I know if you 24:50 get out of this bed-" talk to yourself. 24:52 "'Cause I know if you get out of this bed 24:54 and take me with you and we don't read 24:56 the Bible, we gonna do some terrible things!" 24:58 Am I right? Have you been there before? 25:01 I mean, this is not an unusual scenario. 25:04 But if you say, "You know what, I cannot 25:05 get out of the bed because I remember the 25:07 commitment I made. Lord, talk to me this 25:12 morning." And when you open God's Word- 25:14 and even when you end your day! Sometimes 25:17 we end our day with news, what just happened- 25:19 a car crash, taxes are going up, there's 25:23 a new issue in the White House... If you 25:26 end your day with Jesus in your mind, you know 25:30 what you have, Nori? The Bible says, "He 25:33 will keep you in perfect peace whose 25:35 mind is stayed on Him." And you have sweet 25:38 sleep if you don't go to bed with the 25:40 world on your shoulder. So my wife and I- 25:42 if she's tired, I read; if I'm tired, 25:44 she reads. Sometimes, we kind of say... 25:48 "Let's read something before we go to bed." 25:50 Just do it. And sometimes, like 25:53 last night, I did that and she said, 25:55 "Yeah, I need something." I need something. 25:57 'Cause you get exhausted sometimes. 26:00 Don't lose that daily opportunity to connect 26:04 with Christ. Amen? Let's look at another 26:06 one. Go to #29. So when you write that 26:08 down (how important is the need for a 26:12 converted life), if you're not converted, 26:14 you won't enter the kingdom of heaven. 26:15 Day by day conversion- and I want to tell 26:18 you something. A habit is not difficult 26:21 to establish. But it first has to 26:25 happen by principle before it happens 26:27 naturally. Somebody said, "Every time I 26:31 see you, you have your Bible." "I forgot 26:33 I had it with me." Because the first 26:36 time you took it, it was like, "Hope 26:38 nobody sees it." But after like, 26:41 four months, it's like, I don't care 26:44 who sees it! Yeah, take it- in the train 26:49 to New York City, I had my Bible on 26:50 the way to work in Wall Street, read my 26:52 Bible. I've had people in my church say, 26:56 "You read your Bible on the train?" I'm 26:59 thinkin', people are listening to their 27:00 music on the train, somebody else is 27:02 cussin' on the train, somebody else is 27:04 arguing "Get out of my way" on the train, 27:06 why don't I keep my mind on the Lord? 27:08 And I noticed when I did that, my mind was stayed 27:11 on the Lord and I found wonderful peace. 27:15 Let's look at the transcript of life. 27:16 The transcript- we're going to go a little 27:18 more quickly now. The transcript of 27:19 life. Question #29. 27:32 Alright? Psalm 19:7. I'm going to hit 27:36 this one and move on pretty quickly 27:37 'cause I'm going to take you back to 27:39 Ezekiel. Let me just keep going a 27:41 little further. Let me keep going a little 27:43 further. Alright? Let's look at that. 27:45 Psalm 19:7. So it was amazing to me when 27:50 somebody says, "God's law was changed/ 27:52 nailed to the cross." This text doesn't 27:54 even indicate any desire or need to get 27:56 rid of it. Look at Psalm 19:7. Here's 27:59 what the Bible says. Let's read this one 28:01 together. Are you ready? Here we go. 28:14 The law of the Lord is what? Perfect. 28:16 If you follow what's perfect, you'll 28:21 eventually learn how to live within the 28:24 lines. Do you remember when you 28:27 first learned how to color? Any kids here? 28:32 Nana? Know how to color? Different 28:35 color coloring book? Yeah, maybe not. 28:38 But we all used to be children! 28:40 Do you remember that? Long before grey 28:42 hair. But I remember my first coloring book. 28:50 ...To say I remember my first coloring book 28:51 is like, very sketchy, 'cause it was not 28:54 yesterday. But I think I'm not- I don't think 28:58 I'm different from other kids, but have you 29:00 ever seen a little kid get their first 29:02 coloring book? What do they do? 29:05 [laughter] No, no; his face 29:09 is not blue. [more laughter] 29:10 "No, no! Don't use- no, no. His hands 29:13 are not green. His hand and his face 29:15 are the same color," and you're looking 29:17 at them. The OCD person who's stressin' 29:24 over the kid with a coloring book- the 29:26 other spouse says, "It's his coloring book! 29:28 Let him do what he wants." And as time 29:31 goes on, they notice the lines. And then 29:35 after a while, you say, "You did that 29:39 yourself?" "Yeah, I did that." "Did anybody 29:41 show you?" "No." When you follow God's 29:46 law, He'll keep us in the lines. Our 29:52 lives won't be like this. He'll start 29:54 changing us. Like those pictures years 29:57 ago-one other example- remember years ago, 29:59 you didn't know what the picture was but 30:01 you just followed the numbers? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 30:04 6, 7, 8, 9... Dots, right? Follow the 30:08 dots. Now all you guys are going to go home 30:10 and download a dot picture off the internet. 30:12 [laughter] But remember the dots? And then you 30:15 say, "Wow, it's an eagle!" You can 30:17 never tell. If you follow the line that 30:19 God establishes, your life's picture 30:22 begins to develop more beautifully than 30:24 you imagined. Converting the soul one dot 30:27 at a time. But you can't do it if you 30:30 go outside the lines! So the law of God 30:33 is not a bad thing because it keeps us 30:36 within the lines- converting the soul. 30:39 Go ahead to the next one. So, 30:41 write that down- converting the soul. 30:43 Now, we're going to peak back into 30:44 Ezekiel. Here we are. Let's read the question 30:48 and then we're going to go back to Ezekiel. 30:49 Okay? 30:55 Okay, we're going to dive into Ezekiel really 30:58 quickly here, and we're going to answer 31:00 the question first. But Ezekiel 36. 31:03 Ezekiel 36 is where the answer's going to 31:07 be found. Ezekiel 36:26. All right, here it is. 31:12 We're back in Ezekiel now. Before 31:15 you put the answer on the screen for 31:17 our audience, I want to go ahead and dive into 31:19 the story some, because you remember the last 31:20 question we asked- or the last question 31:23 asked was, "Can these dead bones 31:26 live?" And the answer was- who's the only 31:28 One that knows? Only God knows! 31:31 But now, let's look at this. This is an amazing- 31:35 I began to see this in the context of the 31:39 entire gospel, because what's the 31:41 first thing that happens to get these 31:44 bones back to life? Look at verse 4. 31:46 "Again, he said to me, 'Prophesy-'" Ezekiel 37 31:51 is where I am, sorry. Ezekiel 37. Go to 31:55 Ezekiel 37. We'll go to 36 and get the 31:57 picture here. Alright? But Ezekiel 37. I want 32:01 you to see the value of dry bones. Thank 32:03 you, honey. "Again, he said to me, 32:07 'Prophesy to these bones and say to 32:09 them, "Oh, dry bones, hear the,"'" what? 32:13 "'"The word of the Lord."'" One of the- 32:16 the word 'prophesy' here is not just, 32:19 "Oh, I have a prophecy to give to you." The 32:22 word here really is, "Preach to these 32:24 bones." And what do you say to the 32:26 bones? "Listen to God's Word!" I know what 32:32 Ezekiel feels like. Some Sabbath morning- 32:35 and I know this is not always the case, 32:38 but- some Sabbath mornings, when the 32:40 preacher is ready to prophesy, "The bones 32:42 are really dry." And you say, "Unbelievable. 32:46 Look at that valley." [laughter] "Can these 32:48 dead bones live? Wake up!" But you 32:51 can't wake them up! They are like, "We 32:55 are very dry." But the first part of conversion 33:00 is, they've got to hear the Word of 33:01 the Lord! They gotta do what? Hear the 33:03 Word of the Lord. You cannot have life without 33:08 the Word of the Lord! You can't find it anyplace 33:12 else beside the Word of the Lord. 33:14 Going on- and look what happens. "'Thus,' 33:17 says the Lord to these bones, 'Surely, 33:20 I will cause breath to enter into you 33:24 and you shall live.'" Where would the 33:26 life that we need come from? Where 33:28 would it come from? From the Lord! See, 33:32 the Lord's Word is the living power. It's 33:37 giving us direction. But the Lord says, 33:39 "You need more than just the Word; you 33:41 need the Holy Spirit." That's why He says 33:44 here, "I will surely cause breath to enter 33:48 into you, and you shall live." But 33:52 then, now, he begins to go to the next 33:53 level. Notice the picture coming 33:55 together. Then verse 6! "I will put sinew on 33:59 you and bring flesh upon you, cover you 34:04 with skin, and put breath in you." And 34:07 what will happen? "You shall live. Then, 34:12 you shall know that I am the Lord." The 34:14 process. You have to allow the Lord 34:16 to do it. That's why Paul says in 34:18 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ, 34:23 he is a new creation; all things have passed 34:25 away. Behold, all things will become 34:27 new." All things HAVE become new. 34:29 If anyone is in Christ- the whole in-Christ 34:33 motif- nothing could happen. No changes 34:34 could take place in our lives outside 34:36 of Christ-NO changes. We may make an 34:40 attempt, but if the Word of God is not 34:42 there, if you're not praying for the daily 34:43 in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit, it's not going to 34:46 happen, because the Lord is the only One 34:48 that can give us breath, sinew, muscle, 34:51 skin, and cause us to live. The rest of the 34:55 story, we'll go to that in just a moment; 34:57 but let's get the answer to this question. 34:59 It's on the screen. Let's read it together, 35:01 what the Lord promised to do in response to 35:03 the question. "In what way does the Bible 35:07 describe the transaction of conversion?" Let's 35:09 read it together. 35:22 That means, people that have been hard... 35:26 hard, mean... Yeah, bitter, no joy- 35:34 that's why it's not good. Even when you're 35:36 a Christian, a bad advertisement is a 35:39 mean Christian. "Where you goin'?" "I'm goin' 35:43 to church." [grunts] 35:49 I've seen some people that come to church 35:51 wholly angry, and they think it's a 35:55 good thing. They call it, 'righteous 35:57 indignation.' I call it a bad spirit, because 36:00 there should be joy. The fruit of the Spirit 36:03 is love, joy. You should never say, 36:08 "Oh, don't talk to him." And we should never 36:10 make excuses for people that- in 36:12 so many congregations, people say, "Well 36:15 that's just how he is." That's a sad reality, 36:18 because people that don't know Jesus will 36:20 come in and look for an example of Jesus, 36:23 and they'll run into brother...[grunt] 36:26 "And that's how he is. He just- 36:29 he's always that way. That's him!" And when 36:31 he dies, at the funeral, they'll say, "He was 36:33 such a nice guy!" [laughter] 36:37 Right? You know? "He was so patient," 36:40 no- he MADE patience. [more laughter] So 36:44 you gotta live right. Don't lie at people's 36:46 funerals! [laughter] [Thank you!] Live 36:48 right. I know some people that are just- 36:52 you know, we want to give them a good 36:54 send-off, but they're only going to the 36:57 cemetery. 'Send-off,' that's not a good word. 37:03 The point I'm trying to make- it's okay 37:06 to smile, but the point I'm trying to make 37:07 is, only when the Lord puts His Spirit 37:10 in you can you be a joyful person. 37:11 Right? Christianity doesn't make you 37:14 sour. Some people think you gotta be 37:16 sad and all bent over and wear black all 37:19 the time. It's like... "It's a joyful, sunny 37:26 day!" "What color you wearin' today?" 37:28 "Black." [laughter] I'm trying to stay 37:35 serious. Stop it. [more laughter] 37:39 Pray for a new spirit. Amen, somebody! 37:41 [Amen!] Because if you want a new walk in 37:44 Christ, you have to have the right attitude! 37:48 Attitude makes a difference. You know 37:50 what I mean by that? You go to the store 37:51 and there are people that don't even know 37:52 Christ and they say, "Hey, good to see you! 37:54 How was your day?" [Yes!] And you say... 37:57 [mouth gapes] 38:00 I'm not lettin' them come to my church. 38:02 [laughter] 'Cause they gonna kill this 38:04 joy!" And I believe this statement- 38:08 I believe inspiration tells- I'll find the 38:10 quote. But one of the reasons why the Lord 38:12 doesn't some people to join certain churches 38:14 is because they would not find them there! 38:18 The valley is so dry and they resist any 38:21 new birth! I- I was about to 38:24 testify, but I'm not going to do it. And 38:26 it's not about my church; praise God for that. 38:28 Not talking about this church at all. 38:29 We've had some experiences in the 38:31 past where you're trying to do new things, 38:33 and- here's how you know when a place is 38:36 dead or near death. This is the phrase 38:39 you hear. "We always do it that way." 38:44 "We've never done that before." And then 38:50 they get nostalgic. "I remember when 38:52 this church used to be full." 38:58 "When was the last evangelistic series 38:59 you had?" "...40 years ago." 39:05 But these are signs of people that are 39:08 dying. When you start getting nostalgic 39:10 and you don't have any forward-looking 39:12 vision of what you can be and you 39:14 only look back at what you were, and when 39:17 your joys are behind you, you're dying. 39:19 We should have joy every day. Amen? 39:22 The only way that can happen is if 39:24 you allow the Lord to put that Spirit 39:25 in you. Look at this quotation. 39:27 This quotation is very important; 39:29 look at this. 40:01 [Amen.] What are you? I pray that you say, 40:05 "I'm a Christian Seventh-Day Adventist." 40:09 Not, "I'm a Baptist. I'm a Presbyterian. 40:12 I'm a Methodist. I'm a Presby-..." What 40:15 does that mean? Do you know Jesus? 40:18 If you don't know Him, your life is 40:20 going to be dried up. You're going to blow 40:22 away. First thing: when you know Jesus 40:26 and then you ask for the Holy Spirit to 40:29 come into your life, then you know that 40:30 the power of God is going to come back 40:32 into your life. Alright? But if that doesn't 40:34 happen, then you know that your life 40:38 has moved in the wrong direction. 40:40 You know that your life has moved in the 40:42 wrong direction. But if it does happen, then you 40:45 know things are going to be just fine. All 40:48 right? Okay. Let's go to the next question, 40:52 #32. 41:02 What percentage of character change 41:04 qualifies us as converted? 41:20 Here it is. 2 Corinthians 5:17. Let's go ahead 41:25 and move on. We're going to kind of 41:26 pick it up now. Pick it up now. I like 41:29 this passage because this is completely 41:31 inclusive. It doesn't leave anybody out. 41:33 "Therefore, if-" what's the next word? "Anyone 41:37 is in Christ." It doesn't really matter. 41:39 "He is a new creation." What's passed away? 41:42 "Old things have passed away; behold, all things 41:46 have become new." Whenever I read this 41:50 passage, it makes me want to inventory my 41:53 life. You know what inventory is? Go 41:57 through the closet. You know, like we 42:00 go through the closet. If you've been married 42:01 as long as my wife and I have... We have 42:03 clothes...that we need to get rid of. 42:09 Anybody? No testimonies, but- if you're at 42:12 home, raise your hand; I'll probably 42:14 see it. If you haven't worn it in a year, 42:17 two years, 3 years, 5 years... If it SMELLS 42:24 like you haven't worn it in 5 years...get 42:27 rid of it. [Amen.] 'Cause so many of 42:31 us have stuff in our lives that shouldn't 42:32 even be there. But you know we do- just 42:35 like old habits, we say, "I would throw out 42:38 that shirt but I might wear it one 42:40 day." And in the very same way, we 42:43 fall in love with our way of life, so we 42:46 keep the paraphernalia of our old life 42:49 around us just in case we want to 42:51 revisit it. Nobody here is saying amen. 42:57 [laughter] Because this is true. So, we 43:00 have to inventory our lives. Like the guy 43:03 that smokes- get rid of the lighter 43:06 and the cigarette and the ashtray, and the 43:09 pack under the seat in the car, or the 43:11 one hidden in the toilet roll in the bathroom. 43:15 [laughs] They're everywhere! I had 43:18 a guy that used to drink once, and he- 43:23 the Lord visited him and converted him 43:25 before his wife knew it. He invited me to 43:27 his house. He'd wake up during the night 43:29 and he'd see his- the bed is empty. 43:31 He'd wonder where his wife was, and 43:33 he'd peak in the living room and he'd see 43:34 his wife praying for him during the night. 43:37 And one day, he called me over because his 43:38 wife, a few years before, said, "Please 43:40 do not leave our church until you 43:42 baptize my husband." And I made altar 43:44 call after altar call, the year after year 43:46 after year after year, and he was still there 43:47 and one day, he invited me over. 43:49 I said, "Are you doing okay?" and 43:51 he said, "Yeah, I'm going to be late 43:53 for work today intentionally, but 43:55 yesterday, I couldn't find my keys and 43:57 I was really upset until after I found 43:59 my keys and realized when I was on my 44:01 way to work, that if I had left when I did, 44:03 I would have been in a terrible car 44:05 accident. I realized my wife's prayers 44:08 were being answered. He said, "I've been 44:11 making some changes in my life out of 44:14 conviction." He said, "See that wall bar 44:19 right there? Turn it around. My 44:21 wife does not know I got rid of every 44:23 bottle of alcohol in this house 'cause 44:26 I never move it. She thinks they're still 44:28 back there. I didn't tell her yet. I'm 44:30 letting you know. And, by the way, I 44:32 want to be baptized. I know the message, 44:36 been coming for a number of years, 44:37 but I'm ready now, 'cause I inventoried 44:40 my life and I realize I can't go forward- 44:42 I can't keep the past in my house." 44:45 I think it was a few Sabbaths before we left 44:48 that church or a few months before we 44:49 left that church, and he was baptized. 44:50 His wife said, "Until my husband is baptized, 44:55 I ain't havin' no kids with him. 45:00 I'm not having a child with him 45:02 till he's baptized 'cause I'm not having 45:04 him raise that kid the way he livin'." 45:07 They had a child after he got baptized. 45:10 And that kid is a blessing in the church! 45:13 If you see that young man preach- little 45:15 boy, preaching; little kid, singing, 45:17 leading-I'm thinking, "Boy!" She said, 45:21 "Pastor," (and this is kind of nice). 45:23 She said when I announced that I 45:24 was leaving, it was a sad thing- you 45:26 know? Remember the church? She said, 45:27 "I give you permission. You can leave now, 45:29 'cause my husband's baptized." Beautiful 45:33 to see people's lives change! But you gotta 45:36 inventory. Is there anything old still 45:38 hanging around? Because if you have 45:40 it around in case of an emergency, one 45:43 day, when you fail to die to self, you're 45:46 going to be... [whistles] 45:55 You're going to be walking in direction 45:57 of old things because you had them hanging 46:00 around. Yeah, "oldies but goodies;" yeah. 46:04 Walmart, they try to- and be careful 46:06 when you go to the store! Am I right? 46:08 I'm kind of getting practical today with 46:10 you. Be careful when you go to the store, 46:11 because you go to the store- and those of 46:13 you from the Elvis era... The Top 100 Hits of Elvis 46:19 Presley. "For 3 easy payments of $19.95, 46:23 you'll get all of Elvis' Blue Suede Shoes, 46:24 his Green Suede Shoes..." You walk through the 46:27 store and you hear that song... [plays air guitar] 46:31 And you thought, "I remember where I was when we first 46:35 heard it. Honey, let's just get that for 46:36 old time's sake." And before you know 46:38 it, you're not reading the Sabbath School 46:40 lesson, you hear Elvis echoing off all 46:42 the walls in the house... Resist the 46:47 devil and he will flee from you. Even when 46:50 you're in the car and you're going to 46:53 the station on the way to your favorite 46:55 station 95.9, 3ABN radio... [laughter] FM. 47:01 And you stop at 98.6 and you... "Whoa." 47:07 [more laughter] And you realize 47:10 you stayed there a little longer than you 47:11 need to. You know what I've discovered? 47:13 This is true- I'm talking about the 47:15 practical things of life. You go to 47:16 work and you work at a Christian organization, 47:19 but you hear yourself humming songs that 47:20 don't belong there! And usually, the thing 47:23 that you did last before you left the 47:25 house is what stays with you during the 47:26 day. Have you noticed that? If the last song 47:30 you heard before you left the house was... 47:32 ...whatever it is. I don't even know the 47:33 new songs nowadays. 47:37 Fly Me to the Moon? Is that what you said? 47:39 [Fly Me to the Moon.] That's a Frank Sinatra! 47:42 Are you that old? [laughter] But anyway, 47:46 whatever it is, whether it's Fly 47:47 Me to the Moon or There's a Thin Line 47:49 Between Love and Hate or whatever the song 47:51 is. "It's your thing, whatever it is..." 47:55 Having been a former disc jockey, I have 47:57 to institute more prevention, because 48:01 all I did was play music! Whatever your 48:03 former addiction was, you gotta institute 48:07 more... You gotta say, "Lord, I need 48:10 an extra push to turn this channel." 48:15 And when you do it, your spirit says, 48:19 "That's a good thing. Don't feel bad about 48:21 it." Deny yourself. Take up your cross 48:24 and deny yourself. The reason why it's 48:27 important is because the Lord is getting 48:29 us ready for something. The Lord is getting 48:31 us ready for something. Let's go to the next 48:33 one. Let's see what He's getting us 48:34 ready for. The answer was old things. What 48:37 percentage of the character qualifies 48:39 us as converted? ALL the old things 48:42 have passed away. If it hasn't passed 48:43 away, if it's still around your house 48:45 and if you can hear it or you know it's 48:47 in there, get it out. 33. 33; look at this. 49:01 Woo! This is a different twist, here. 49:03 Ephesians 2:10. How does complete conversion 49:06 take place? Now, I'll qualify this 49:13 because I don't want you to think that 49:14 work changes you. Okay? I want to 49:18 make that clear. But let's look at Ephesians 49:20 2:10. Here it is. 49:27 That's why I highlighted that; we are created 49:30 in Him. But what are we created in Him 49:32 for? For what? Good works, which 49:35 God prepared beforehand that we should walk 49:38 in them." Okay- how does complete 49:42 conversion take place? We are created in 49:44 Christ Jesus. That's what I highlighted. 49:46 But when you are created in Christ 49:48 Jesus, you don't get created- nobody 49:51 creates a car to stay in the show room. 49:54 Nobody creates a plane to stay in the 49:57 hanger. And the Lord does not create 49:59 a Christian to stay in the pew. [Amen.] 50:04 Everybody has a work to do! And the sad 50:11 reality- somebody once said, "The best 50:14 way for a brand new airplane to die is 50:16 not to fly it. The best way for a car to die 50:21 is not to drive it." Now you see why the 50:25 Lord, when He gave that young man one 50:27 talent and he hid it... That's why the Lord 50:30 was so angry. He said, "But I only have one." 50:32 He said, "If you had just planted it, it 50:35 would've multiplied." Something would've 50:37 come good out of it. The seed that does not 50:38 fall onto the ground and die can never 50:41 produce a harvest. Can never produce 50:45 a harvest. Can NEVER produce a harvest. 50:47 Okay? So, let's write this down. How does 50:50 complete conversion take place? Instead 50:52 of the word 'works,' "created in Christ 50:54 Jesus." That's how it happens. Created 50:57 in Christ Jesus. But when you are created 50:59 IN Christ Jesus, the work is going to take 51:01 place in your life. Satan finds work 51:03 for idle hands to do. Is that true? [Yes.] 51:07 Yeah. He said, "What happened to you?" 51:08 "I haven't been working lately." 51:10 "Have you been looking for work?" "Naw, I've 51:13 been just taking a break between the 51:14 last job and this one." "Have you LOOKED 51:16 for a job?" "Well, I'm going to do that." 51:18 "Have you put any applications out?" 51:20 "Well, a few," which really means no. 51:26 "You gettin' social security?" "Well, 51:28 I know how much I'm going to get." "Well, 51:30 have you filed the paperwork?" "No." 51:32 "Are you getting an appointment?" "Well, 51:34 not yet." "Why?" "I know how much I'm 51:36 going to get, but I just haven't done 51:37 the paperwork." Some people 51:39 are waiting for things to happen in their 51:40 lives and they're not producing any action. 51:42 The best way to get nothin' is DO nothin'. 51:46 For every action- this is the reciprocal law. 51:50 For every action, there is an equal and 51:52 opposite reaction. If you do nothing 51:54 and expect something, it's not going to happen! 51:56 God does not make Christians workers 51:58 that don't want to be actively involved 52:00 in the mission. Makes a difference. Makes 52:06 a difference. Makes a difference. Look at 52:09 the next question. Look at som- this 52:11 is really amazing. That's why- this 52:13 next one is so powerful. 52:17 Here it is- question #34. 52:22 Let's go to Colossians 3:5-7. This could 52:28 be in the category of denial, also. 52:31 It's in the category of denial, also, but 52:33 let's read it together. Here it is. I want 52:35 you to walk with me through it. I'm going 52:37 to have it on the screen, and those of 52:38 you that are watching, you can look along 52:39 with me. Here it is. Notice this phrases, 52:42 "Therefore-" what are the next three 52:44 words? "Put to death your members-" it's not 52:48 church members; these are your faculties. 52:53 These are the way you think, the things you 52:55 do with your hand, what do you with 52:56 your mouth, what you do with your body, 52:58 the things you practice... "Put to death your 53:02 members!" Don't do that. "Which are on the 53:05 earth," which are these! Look! 53:07 "Fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and 53:13 covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of 53:16 these things, the wrath of God is coming 53:19 upon the sons of disobedience, in 53:21 which you yourselves once walked..." Amen. 53:27 "When you lived in them." If you're still 53:32 walking that way, you're not denying 53:34 yourself. And the more you don't deny 53:36 yourself, the easier it becomes not even to 53:39 want to. When you don't create an 53:42 action to do right, you know what you do? 53:43 You're not neutral; you create an action 53:46 to do wrong. There's not right, wrong, 53:50 and neutral. There's only wrong and right! 53:55 Nobody is a yellow line in the highway 53:57 of Christianity. The yellow line means 54:00 absolutely nothing. So you have the right 54:03 and you have the wrong. If you're not practicing 54:05 right, what are you doing by default? 54:07 Practicing wrong. If you're not feeding 54:09 yourself good things, what are you feeding 54:11 yourself? Bad things. If you're not eating 54:15 good stuff- you may not be eating anything 54:18 at all- but if you're not eating good things, 54:20 you'll not get good nourishment. You 54:22 get no nourishment at all which, in fact, 54:24 will be a negative impact on your 54:26 body. And when the body is not well, 54:29 the mind is not well. There are some people 54:32 that binge on television. "Have you eaten?" 54:35 "No, I'm on my 6th series of..." Whatever. 54:41 Some people record their shows and they 54:44 stay in the house all weekend in bed and 54:46 watch it, from Friday to Sunday. "Whatever 54:51 happened to so-and-so?" "Oh, they're catching 54:53 up on their stories." Or they tape all 54:57 of their sitcoms and they'll be watching 55:00 it. I heard a horrible story that's happened 55:03 in Japan; true story. In Japan, there are 55:08 video arcades where the gamers-you know, 55:11 gamers- gamers are drug addicts. In 55:14 this particular arcade- I don't know if they 55:18 sell them there or if it's a practice, 55:19 but I heard the story that some of the 55:21 gamers wear diapers. These are young kids. 55:23 They wear diapers because they don't 55:26 get up to use the bathroom! Because 55:28 they're connecting to the internet network, 55:30 and so they're playing these war 55:31 games and they're on like- they have 6 55:33 guys in their war brigade, and each 55:36 one of them is a particular- so, if 55:37 you're being attacked in the war in the 55:39 virtual world in whatever game you're 55:43 in, if you're not playin', then your 55:45 platoon could get killed. So, a guy's 55:47 fighting with a guy that's living in 55:48 Seattle, another one living in Orlando, another 55:50 one living in South America, and they're 55:52 all in the same team and they're all 55:53 together... If you stop to go to the 55:55 bathroom, your team could get killed and 55:57 they think so real in their mind... 55:59 There was a guy that died in his 56:01 seat and they found him after two days! 56:04 19 years old! He was dead for two days. 56:08 There were so many stations in this 56:09 arcade. They were in private rooms 56:11 where they do virtual networking. Two 56:16 days he was dead at his station! 56:18 Found him two days later. Young man, 56:22 died... And there are some kids that've had 56:29 heart attacks because the body has been 56:32 held up so long, they're playing for 56:34 24 and 28 and 30 hours-they don't 56:36 move-and these places, as long as they're 56:39 getting paid, they don't really care. 56:41 They bring you your drinks, "You want 56:42 your soda? You want your pizza?" They 56:44 bring it to you, you sit right there, and 56:45 they're surrounded by all the accoutrements 56:46 of their addiction, which is not drugs, 56:48 but electronics, and they die. A virtual 56:54 death leads to a literal death. And 56:58 that's why I'm saying we have to be really 56:59 careful, 'cause this is the day and age of 57:01 electronic drug abuse. The world is stitched 57:05 in it. Electronic drug abuse. That's 57:08 why I'm using it, because, "Put away- 57:10 put to death your members." If you 57:12 are a video addict or a movie addict, 57:16 you could- there are some people that 57:18 have like, 9,000 channels! They got 57:22 the top package of everything! "Did you 57:25 see-" and that's all that- when you meet 57:27 them- "Did you see? Did you see? Did you 57:28 see?" "No." "Well, you ought to see 57:31 that!" "See what?" "Well, the latest- 57:34 I got tickets for it. My family's going 57:35 this weekend." "Aren't you a Christian?" 57:38 "Yeah, but, you know, this is really 57:39 a good show." [laughter] 57:43 And they go to church and they fall asleep 57:45 because they have not nurtured a spiritual 57:46 life. They've not nurtured a spiritual 57:48 life. We're talking about putting to death 57:50 that old life, and I've been very practical 57:53 tonight in a lot of other areas, because 57:54 I know that everybody has somebody in their 57:57 family, or you may even be that person, 58:00 that's struggling with something that is 58:02 really killing you. We're hoping that, 58:05 by God's grace, you could be delivered, 58:06 because the Lord wants us to live a 58:08 spiritual life in a natural body. He 58:10 wants us to experience that new life, but 58:13 you can't live a new life without the old 58:16 life being put to death. So, as 58:19 you keep studying the Word of God, remember, 58:21 it's going to make sense. It's going to 58:23 come into fruition, but I tell you, friends- 58:25 if it hasn't made sense yet, keep 58:27 on studying. One day, it'll come into a 58:29 sharper focus. |
Revised 2018-10-11