Participants:
Series Code: HC
Program Code: HC210005S
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00:01 Three Angels Broadcasting Network
00:02 is pleased to bring you something better, 00:05 a faith inspiring picture of a loving God 00:08 from the Book of Hebrews. 00:11 Welcome to 3ABN's Virtual Homecoming Camp Meeting. 00:16 Hello and welcome back to 00:18 3ABN's Virtual Homecoming Fall Camp Meeting, 2021, 00:24 where the theme is Something Better. 00:26 And I hope that you've been blessed by the presentations, 00:29 blessed by the music thus far, and I hope that you've learned 00:33 that there is something better in store for you 00:36 and for your life and God has a purpose for you. 00:40 The speaker of the hour will be Ryan Day. 00:43 Pastor Ryan Day is a part of 3ABN's Pastoral Department, 00:48 and I came out here ready to share his bio with you, 00:51 but I want to share with you 00:53 what I've observed of Pastor Day. 00:56 Pastor Day's face lights up when he is sharing the gospel, 01:01 whether it's on camera or whether it's off camera. 01:04 He wants to lead people to the kingdom of God, 01:08 and he is passionate about spreading the gospel. 01:12 He's actually my neighbor too 01:14 and I've spent some time with him 01:15 while he's studying with other people, 01:17 and we've studied together 01:19 and it's been nothing short of amazing. 01:22 And I believe that God is going to speak through him 01:26 as he delivers the message Thy Kingdom Come. 01:30 But before he brings us the spoken Word, 01:33 we will be blessed in song by Celestine Dickens 01:36 who will be singing, The Refiner's Fire. 01:56 There burns a fire 01:59 With sacred heat 02:02 White hot with holy flame 02:08 And all who dare pass through its blaze 02:15 Will not emerge the same 02:22 Some as bronze, and some as silver 02:28 Some as gold, then with great skill 02:34 All are hammered by their sufferings 02:41 On the anvil of His will 02:49 The Refiner's fire 02:55 Has now become my souls desire 03:04 Purged and cleansed and purified 03:10 That the Lord be glorified 03:17 He is consuming my soul 03:24 Refining me, making me whole 03:30 No matter what I may lose 03:36 I choose the Refiner's fire 03:53 I'm learning now to trust 03:58 His touch 03:59 To crave the fire's embrace 04:06 For though my past with sin was etched 04:12 His mercies did erase 04:19 Each time His purging cleanses deeper 04:25 I'm not sure that I'll survive 04:31 Yet the strength in growing weaker 04:38 Keeps my hungry soul alive 04:47 The Refiner's fire 04:53 Has now become my souls desire 05:01 Purged and cleansed and purified 05:08 That the Lord be glorified 05:16 He is consuming my soul 05:22 Refining me 05:25 Making me whole 05:30 No matter what 05:34 I may lose 05:37 I choose the Refiner's fire 06:02 Praise the Lord. Amen. 06:05 Celestine, she sings so well. 06:08 I love her voice. 06:09 That's my sister from another minister 06:11 and I love her voice. 06:14 Beautiful song, Refiner's Fire. 06:17 I'm Ryan Day, and it's a blessing to be 06:18 able to present to you at this time a special message 06:21 that the Lord has laid on my heart 06:23 for this camp meeting. 06:24 We're talking, we're going through 06:26 the Book of Hebrews with our main speaker, 06:28 Pastor James Rafferty, 06:29 and much of my message today, 06:31 parts of my message are coming also from the Book of Hebrews. 06:35 But today's message is entitled, 06:38 Thy Kingdom Come. 06:41 Of course, you'll find in just a moment, 06:43 we're pulling these words from the famous prayer, 06:46 the Lord's Prayer in which Jesus taught us 06:49 or teaches us how to pray. 06:52 But we're going to focus in 06:53 on some details from that prayer, 06:54 and we're going to be talking about something today 06:56 that is most definitely salvational. 06:59 It is a life or death situation. 07:00 It's something that we for sure need to 07:03 comprehend during the times that we are living. 07:06 And so before we go any further, 07:08 I just simply want to ask the Lord, 07:10 to lead and guide us through this study, 07:12 to lead me to speak His words. 07:14 And so I'm going to do that right now. 07:15 If you would, my friends, 07:16 please bow your heads as we pray. 07:18 Our Father in heaven. 07:20 Lord, You are so marvelous. 07:23 You're so wonderful. 07:25 And, Lord, You are indeed a Refiner's Fire. 07:28 You are the Refining Fire. 07:30 And we know, Lord, that You are a Cleansing Fire. 07:33 You want to cleanse us, 07:34 to prepare us indeed for Your kingdom. 07:37 Father, You know indeed, 07:39 that that's what this message today is about. 07:42 It's a message of hope, 07:43 a message of salvation, 07:45 a message that we all need 07:47 to comprehend for the times 07:48 that we are living in. 07:50 And I believe, Lord, 07:51 that we are fast approaching the soon return of Jesus. 07:55 And so, Father, I pray that 07:56 as this message goes out, may it bless so many, 07:58 may it draw people to the truth, 08:00 may it draw all of us to Jesus Christ, our Savior. 08:05 And, Father, I ask a special prayer upon myself 08:07 that I only speak Your words today. 08:09 May Your will be communicated, not my own. 08:12 We thank You, Lord, 08:13 and praise You so much for this opportunity, 08:15 again, to spend time with You in Your Word. 08:19 Thank You, Lord, for Your love, Your grace, Your mercy. 08:23 And we ask this in Jesus' holy name. 08:25 Amen. Amen. 08:27 Amen. Thy Kingdom Come. 08:33 Of course, I want to start by saying God has a people. 08:37 I don't think anyone's going to 08:38 deny the fact that the Bible makes it very clear. 08:41 And we see the record of that people 08:43 all the way from Genesis to Revelation. 08:46 Yes, the word church 08:48 is most definitely a New Testament term. 08:50 But I would even submit to you and suggest very clearly that 08:53 the Bible is very clear on the fact 08:56 that God has His people, 08:57 His Church is all the way from the Old Testament, 09:00 even into the New Testament. 09:02 God has His people. 09:04 And, you know, there's a lot of people today, 09:06 some people that have communicated 09:07 or have this very flawed idea 09:11 that you know what, there's no longer a church. 09:13 That God just has a few scattered people 09:15 all over the world, 09:16 but there's not an organized church. 09:18 There's not, God does not have an institution, 09:20 a system of people that is out there, 09:22 representing Him and participating 09:24 in the closing work of salvation 09:27 in these closing moments of earth's history. 09:29 But, my friends, I want to submit to you that 09:30 the Bible is flooded with information. 09:32 It's flooded with text, flooded with passages, 09:35 flooded with beautiful, 09:36 beautiful words throughout God's Word that reminds us 09:39 constantly that God has not abandoned His people, 09:42 that He does indeed have a people. 09:44 In fact, we're going to read that 09:45 in Romans 11:1-5 at this moment. 09:49 Again, Romans 11:1-5, and while I recognize 09:52 that this passage that I'm about to read 09:54 most definitely applies in the literal sense 09:57 to the nation of Israel. 09:59 I believe that the principles, the message, 10:01 the truth behind these verses, 10:03 most definitely apply for us today, even for, 10:08 especially, for us today. 10:10 Romans 11:1-5. 10:12 Notice what the Bible says. 10:15 But this is Paul writing, 10:16 he says, "I say then, has God cast away His people? 10:21 He says, certainly not! 10:22 For I also am an Israelite, and the seed of Abraham, 10:28 of the tribe of Benjamin. 10:30 God has not cast away His people 10:31 whom He foreknew. 10:33 Or do you not know 10:34 what the Scripture says of Elijah, 10:36 how he pleads with God against Israel, 10:38 saying, 'Lord, they have killed Your prophets 10:40 and torn down Your altars, 10:42 and I alone am left, and they seek my life'? 10:45 But what does the divine response say to him? 10:49 He says, 'I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men 10:54 who have not bowed the knee to Baal.' 10:56 Even so then, at this present time 11:00 there is a remnant according to the election of grace.'" 11:05 I love that, that even though 11:06 it's within the context of the nation of Israel, 11:08 even though Israel had appeared 11:10 as if it had fallen as a nation, 11:12 and for sure, we know that God eventually, 11:14 through Paul, would take the gospel to the Gentiles, 11:17 and that as a nation, 11:18 the nation of Israel rejected Christ Jesus. 11:21 And therefore God moved His plan beyond 11:23 that one single nation that He had chosen to be 11:26 His peculiar people, 11:27 His beacon of light to the rest of the world, 11:29 He had not completely abandon them at all. 11:31 In fact, because He had a remnant, 11:34 even in Israel in those days, and, my friends, 11:36 I'm here to tell you today, even today, as we stand here, 11:38 and I go back and read that verse 5 of Romans 11, 11:41 even so then at this present time, 11:43 that's when Paul was writing. 11:44 And this was probably around the mid to late 50s AD, 11:48 first century AD. 11:50 So in the 50s, maybe 57 to 59 AD, 11:53 somewhere around there is when this probably 11:54 would have been written, but nonetheless, 11:56 my friends, in his present time, 11:58 and I'm going to go as far to say that 11:59 even in our present time, let us not forget that 12:04 God indeed has a remnant people. 12:10 And you say, but, Ryan, you know, 12:11 there's a whole lot of talk 12:12 in this passage about Jerusalem. 12:14 It's a talk about Israelites and the Jews. 12:16 But we have to be reminded that even in Galatians Chapter 3, 12:19 and notice we just read from Romans, 12:21 but in Galatians, which Galatians would have been 12:23 written before the Book of Romans, 12:25 even in Galatians 3:26 to 29, 12:29 I only read this just to simply apply 12:31 the truth of the fact that even though there are Jews 12:34 and there are non-Jews, in God's eyes, 12:36 if we are in Christ, then we are spiritual Jews. 12:39 Notice what Galatians 3:26-29 says. 12:43 It says, "For you are all sons of God 12:45 through faith in Christ Jesus. 12:47 For as many of you 12:48 as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 12:53 There is neither Jew nor Greek, 12:54 there is neither slave nor free, 12:56 there is neither male nor female, 12:58 for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 13:01 And if you are Christ's..." 13:03 Here it is, verse 29, 13:04 "If you are Christ's, 13:06 then you are Abraham's seed, 13:08 and heirs according to the promise.'" 13:11 Are you in Christ? 13:12 That's the question 13:14 because it doesn't matter if you are a Jew, 13:15 if you are a non-Jew, it simply does not matter. 13:18 It doesn't matter if you are a male or a female. 13:20 It simply does not matter 13:22 if you have a different color of skin, 13:24 it doesn't matter to God. 13:25 If you are in Christ, then you are Abraham's seed 13:29 and heirs according to the promise. 13:31 In fact, 2 Peter, excuse me, 1 Peter 2:9. 13:35 1 Peter 2:9 also reminds us 13:38 of this beautiful promise 13:40 that not only does God have a people, 13:42 but they are a special chosen people for this time 13:46 that we are living in. 13:47 Notice, 1 Peter 2:9, it says, 13:49 "But you are a chosen generation, 13:51 a royal priesthood, a holy nation, 13:55 His own special people, 13:57 that you may proclaim the praises of Him, 14:00 who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 14:04 My friends, that's a beautiful promise 14:06 that we need to be reminded of every single day, 14:08 every single week. 14:09 That we're not just here by 14:11 some little mealy-nealy little happenstance or coincidence, 14:13 we are here, because God has chosen us. 14:16 He has called us. 14:18 You do not find yourself a believer, 14:20 a member of God's Church in these last days, 14:22 just for any old reason at all. 14:24 You are Christ, He chose you. 14:27 But this brings me to my main point, 14:30 that while we have many promises, 14:32 and many counsels as to how we can prepare 14:35 to be that people that God has called us 14:37 to be in these last days. 14:39 There are many texts, 14:40 many passages that we can go to, 14:42 many wonderful Spirit of Prophecy quotes, 14:44 and we're going to read a few today, 14:46 but I just want to remind you, 14:47 my friends, that sometimes 14:49 even the most simplistic and even most famous texts 14:52 that we often quote, almost as if it's poetry, 14:55 almost as if it's something 14:56 that's kind of secondhand, 14:58 it's inspired, but it's not something 14:59 that we often go to even as like the model prayer, 15:03 or the Lord's Prayer. 15:05 I would like to read that Lord's prayer 15:07 because while there are many counsels 15:09 and many beautiful promises in all of God's Word 15:11 that we can glean from at this moment. 15:13 I believe there are some lessons 15:15 about how we can prepare for Christ's second coming, 15:18 about who we are as His special chosen people, 15:21 and what is possible for us in these last days. 15:25 Remember, the title of this message 15:27 is Thy Kingdom Come. 15:29 Where do we get those words? It's from that model prayer. 15:31 We're going to read it from Matthew 6:9-13. 15:35 Of course, in another part of Scripture 15:37 it makes it very clear that 15:38 the disciples come to Him and they say, 15:40 "Lord, teach us how to pray." 15:42 And this is what He says. 15:44 Matthew 6:9-13, 15:46 "In this manner, therefore, pray: 15:50 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 15:55 Your kingdom come, 15:57 Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 16:02 Give us this day our daily bread. 16:07 And forgive us our debts, 16:10 as we forgive our debtors. 16:14 And do not lead us into temptation, 16:17 but deliver us from the evil one. 16:22 For Yours is the kingdom 16:24 and the power and the glory forever. 16:28 Amen." 16:30 I love that beautiful prayer, all encompassing, 16:34 that if we just often pray that prayer, 16:35 that model prayer, and we have to keep in mind, 16:38 my friends, that again, 16:39 them coming to Jesus and saying, 16:41 "Lord, teach us how to pray. 16:43 Lord, teach us what we ought to say, 16:45 what we ought to pray when we pray to You." 16:47 When Jesus speaks and tells us 16:48 what we ought to pray, we ought to listen, 16:51 because He's so most definitely 16:52 going to pray the most important prayer. 16:54 And I just want to highlight a few things in this prayer. 16:57 Because again, my friends, 16:59 I don't know if you believe in prayer 17:01 as much as I believe in prayer, 17:02 but prayer is essential. 17:04 Brother Kenny just brought that out to us in the previous hour, 17:07 and in the previous message about 17:08 how important it is to pray. 17:10 Even Pastor Lomacang brought that out, 17:12 are you a praying people? 17:14 Because when we pray, 17:15 we're opening up, 17:16 we're opening the doors of heaven, 17:18 we're opening up the pathways of communication 17:20 between us and God. 17:22 And it's a beautiful thing to know that God hears us, 17:25 He understands us, 17:26 and He wants to communicate with us. 17:30 And in this case, Jesus says to Him, 17:33 Thy Kingdom come, of course, 17:34 I read New King James Version earlier, 17:36 but I love the wording, 17:37 the Old English wording in the King James Version, 17:39 Thy Kingdom come, 17:43 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 17:49 Have we stopped to consider for a moment what in the world 17:53 Jesus is saying 17:54 when He's teaching us to pray that prayer? 17:58 Your will be done, God. 18:00 Thy will be done on earth 18:03 as it is in heaven. 18:07 In other words, Christ is saying when you pray, 18:11 when you ask for divine guidance, 18:13 when you ask for divine help, 18:16 when you are seeking to communicate and lay out 18:19 what it is that you desire 18:20 more than anything from God Your Father, 18:23 you pray and ask Him, 18:24 "Lord, just as it is in Your Kingdom, 18:27 may it be done right here in my life on earth." 18:33 But I believe, I'm convinced that 18:36 many, many Christians enrages 18:37 because of how I talk, I spend time with many people. 18:41 More and more people are becoming more and more 18:45 convinced by a lie, 18:46 a lie of the fact that you know what? 18:48 We certainly cannot be what God wants us 18:51 to really be 18:52 while we are here on this earth. 18:54 We can't really be heavenly minded as we will be in heaven. 18:58 We can't really be of the character of God, 19:00 like we will be in heaven. 19:02 Of course, we're so subject to this fallen nature, 19:05 and therefore we're going to be subject to it according 19:07 to many people's twisted gospel, 19:10 then we're going to be subject to it all the way 19:12 until Jesus comes unto the point to 19:14 where we're just going to continue to live, 19:16 live, live in this sin and be completely enslaved 19:20 to sin all the way until Jesus comes back. 19:22 But I wonder why Jesus counsels us, 19:24 Thy Kingdom come, 19:27 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 19:31 In fact, He goes on to say in verse 13, 19:33 "And do not lead us into temptation, 19:35 but deliver us from the evil one." 19:40 My friends, are we praying that? 19:42 Do we believe that now on this earth right now 19:47 that God can deliver us from the evil one? 19:50 That He can deliver us from sin? 19:54 We're talking about victory over sin. 19:55 I'm just going to put it out there. 19:57 The question I'm going to be asking throughout 19:59 this entire presentation 20:00 is what is possible for us. 20:02 If we're going to pray, if Jesus counsels us to pray, 20:05 Lord, Thy Kingdom come, 20:07 Thy will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. 20:10 Do we really believe those words? 20:12 Do we really believe that 20:14 we can have complete victory over sin 20:16 as Jesus gained victory over the sin of the world? 20:22 You see, it can only come through Christ. 20:25 And while there's a lot 20:27 that can be said about that beautiful model prayer. 20:29 And by the way, I'm probably going to build 20:31 a big series on this Thy Kingdom, 20:34 it's going to become a much larger series. 20:36 I've done a smaller series on this, 20:37 and this is a single presentation 20:39 entitled Thy Kingdom Come. 20:40 You're getting a juiced version of just a couple of elements, 20:44 from what can spring 20:45 from under that umbrella of you know, 20:47 Thy Kingdom come, 20:48 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 20:50 There's so much more that 20:51 can be said about that model prayer, 20:53 and how we can understand it and manifest it in our life. 20:57 But today, I want to ask the question, 20:59 Lord, can we indeed experience the victory 21:04 just as Christ experienced the victory 21:06 when He was here on this earth? 21:08 Can we have the victory on this earth as He did, 21:11 and as we will, and as it is, in heaven? 21:15 Of course, we know that that can only come through Christ. 21:18 Christ is our ultimate example. 21:20 God sent His son. 21:22 He robed Him in sinful, fallen human flesh, 21:27 so that He might be able to sympathize with us 21:31 and understand exactly what we go through 21:34 in this fallen sinful human flesh 21:36 here on earth. 21:39 Hebrews 2:14-18, confirms this very clearly. 21:44 Notice what Hebrews 2:14-18 says. 21:47 It says, "Inasmuch then as the children 21:49 have partaken of flesh and blood, 21:52 He Himself likewise shared in the same, 21:56 that through death He might destroy him 21:59 who had the power of death, that is the devil, 22:03 and release those who through fear of death 22:06 were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 22:10 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, 22:13 but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 22:17 Therefore, in all things 22:18 He had to be made like His brethren, 22:21 that He might be a merciful 22:23 and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, 22:27 to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 22:30 For in that He Himself," 22:32 notice this, "has suffered, 22:34 being tempted, 22:35 He is able to aid those who are tempted." 22:38 Now I just have to back up here 22:40 because there's a particular verse from what I just read 22:42 from the New King James Version. 22:44 And while I understand, 22:46 while it was translated this way, 22:48 in verse 16 of Hebrews 2, 22:50 I like what the King James Version says, 22:53 because I believe it really amplifies 22:55 the seriousness of this passage, 22:57 so that we can relate and have no excuse to know 23:00 that Jesus Christ is indeed our true minister, 23:04 our true high priest, our true intercessor. 23:08 King James Version of Hebrews 2:16, says, 23:11 "For verily, He took not on Him the nature of angels, 23:16 but He took on Him the seed of Abraham." 23:19 My friends, what this passage is reminding us is that 23:22 Jesus Christ understands. 23:25 We cannot show up on heaven shore, 23:27 we cannot be in the presence of our God 23:29 on judgment day and say, 23:30 "Oh, Lord, You don't really understand. 23:32 You weren't really tempted like I was, 23:35 you don't really know what it means to be subjected 23:38 and in bondage and wrapped up in this sinful, 23:41 fallen human flesh." 23:42 Jesus will stand up 23:43 and He will say, "Oh, yes, I do. 23:46 I know it a little too well, I know it all too well." 23:49 In fact, He knows it even more than 23:51 what we ever could possibly know. 23:54 Notice what the Bible tells us in Hebrews Chapter 4. 23:57 Again, we're in the Book of Hebrews 4:15-16. 24:00 Again, Hebrews 4:15-16. 24:03 It says, "For we do not have 24:04 a high priest who cannot sympathize 24:06 with our weakness," 24:07 I love this, "but was in all points 24:11 tempted as we are, yet without sin." 24:15 And in verse 16, "Let us therefore come boldly 24:18 to the throne of grace, 24:20 that we may obtain mercy 24:21 and find grace to help in time of need." 24:25 In other words, Jesus, I can depend on you. 24:29 Jesus, You have proven that 24:32 You have overcome, You can overcome and, Lord, 24:35 we can be absolute, absolute to know that 24:40 we can come to You 24:41 and we can place ourselves at Your feet, 24:44 we can place ourselves 24:45 at the feet of the cross, 24:47 at the foot of the cross, 24:48 at the throne of grace and know that 24:50 because You have went through exactly 24:51 what we have went through. 24:53 You understand what we've went through. 24:56 But yet, Lord, you did it without sin. 24:58 God, we want that power. 25:00 Remember Thy Kingdom come, 25:01 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven? 25:06 Jesus had to be completely 100 dependent. 25:09 He had to be 100% dependent 25:12 on the will of His Father, not His own will, 25:14 but the will of His Father in heaven, 25:16 so that what He was doing on earth 25:19 would be a reflection of that of the Heavenly. 25:23 I love what Desire of Ages, page 49, 25:25 it confirms all of what we've been talking about. 25:27 It says, "It would have been 25:28 an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God 25:32 to take man's nature, 25:34 even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. 25:37 But Jesus accepted humanity 25:39 when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. 25:44 Like every child of Adam, He accepted the results 25:47 of the working of the great law of heredity. 25:51 What these results were is shown 25:54 in the history of His earthly ancestors. 25:57 He came with such a heredity 26:00 to share our sorrows and temptations, 26:03 and to give us the example," 26:05 notice this, "of a sinless life." 26:11 Wow. 26:12 Now we're getting a little deeper. 26:14 Not only was Christ our example, 26:16 and we're going to repeat that in just a few moments, 26:18 we got to keep coming back to that. 26:20 We got to always be reminded 26:21 that Jesus Christ is our example. 26:24 But not only was He made like 26:26 unto us to experience everything 26:29 that we experience, to be tempted in every way that 26:32 we was tempted, yet without sin. 26:34 Notice in the closing moments 26:36 or the closing remarks of that passage 26:38 that I just read from Desire of Ages, page 49. 26:41 It said, to give us the example of a sinless life, 26:46 well, hold on. 26:49 But that's not possible, right? 26:52 You see, when you start to talk about sinlessness, my goodness, 26:57 everyone gets nervous. 26:59 You're talking about 27:01 the most divisive topic in all of Christianity. 27:03 When you're talking about 27:05 the nature of Christ, perfection. 27:07 We're going to talk about perfection in a moment. 27:09 We're asking the question, Lord, what is possible for us? 27:12 If you tell us to pray, Lord, 27:14 Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth 27:17 as it is in heaven. 27:21 And do not lead us into temptation. 27:23 But notice, what did he say? 27:25 What's the scripture say? 27:27 Beautifully here? 27:29 But deliver us from the evil one. 27:32 Well, if you're delivering Your people from the evil, 27:34 when You're delivering them from sin, 27:36 is it possible for God's people to be sinless? 27:41 Oh, that's a touchy subject. 27:44 I want to clarify a few things today, my friends. 27:47 I want to clarify, 27:49 when we talk about sinlessness, we talk about perfection. 27:51 When we talk about 27:52 what is possible for us here on earth as it is in heaven, 27:57 let's talk about that. 27:58 I know it's a touchy subject. 28:00 I know it's one of those things 28:01 there's so much division and so many different opinions, 28:04 but at the end of the day, 28:06 we're going to rely on what the Bible 28:07 and the Spirit of Prophecy says for us today. 28:09 Of course, it's a very deep subject. 28:11 In the remaining 30 minutes 28:12 that I have in this presentation, 28:14 there's no way possible 28:15 that I'm going to be able to cover every aspect 28:17 of this message in its fullness, 28:19 but certainly give you enough information 28:22 and give you some beautiful nuggets of truth 28:24 that will get you to thinking, maybe leads you 28:26 in a deeper study of this subject. 28:29 And we want to clarify a few things 28:31 so that we certainly make it known that 28:33 we are in no way form or fashion, 28:36 like Jesus Christ in the sense 28:38 that He was perfect and divine in every sense. 28:41 And I also want to make it very clear that 28:43 even though it seems like we're making it out to be that 28:45 He was only 100% human, 28:48 yes, He was indeed 100% human. 28:50 He took 100% of the human fallen nature 28:53 when He was here on this earth. 28:55 But, my friends, make no mistake, 28:56 and I want to yell this loud and clear to the world, 28:58 He was absolutely 100% divine. 29:02 He was the divine Son of God. 29:04 In fact, not only was 29:05 He tempted in all ways that we were, 29:08 but He was tempted in a way that 29:09 you and I can't even begin to imagine, 29:11 because He was tempted, 29:13 because He had access just simply by word. 29:16 It was there as He spoke this world into existence, 29:20 even wrapped and robed in sinful fallen human flesh. 29:23 Jesus Christ could have spoken the Word. 29:25 He had access, 29:27 full access to His divine unfallen nature, 29:31 in the sense that 29:33 He could have easily just spoke the Word 29:34 and those stones could have 29:36 turned into bread right there in Matthew Chapter 24 29:39 when He was in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil. 29:42 You and I can't speak to stones and they turn into bread. 29:45 Jesus was tempted in all points 29:46 the way that we are, 29:48 but yet He was tempted even more than you 29:50 and I can't even begin to imagine. 29:52 He was tempted to use His own will, 29:56 to depend on His own will, 29:58 His own divine power, 30:00 something that you and I can't even begin to fathom. 30:05 Thy Kingdom come, Jesus says, 30:08 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 30:13 What is possible for us? 30:15 Desire of Ages, page 24, 30:17 I want you to hear this very, very quick, very simple, 30:21 swift but very profound. 30:23 It says here in Desire of Ages, page 24, 30:25 it says, "He exercised in His own behalf, 30:29 no power that is not freely 30:33 offered to us." 30:38 My friends, please grasp this. 30:41 I have people all the time 30:43 I get into conversations with about the... 30:46 Just the fundamentalness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 30:52 When we're talking about what is sin, 30:55 what nature did Christ come in? 30:57 When we start talking about 30:59 the details of the gospel justification by faith, 31:01 sanctification, and then, 31:03 of course, eventually glorification, 31:05 and all those other big words that we use, 31:07 that describes the different 31:08 aspects of the gospel experience. 31:10 My friends, do we realize, 31:12 I talk to people all the time, 31:14 who tried to communicate to me, 31:15 oh, you know, there's no way that we could have 31:18 the same power that Christ had. 31:19 Christ came with a little bit different equipment. 31:22 He had access to a little bit different stuff that we did. 31:26 He certainly did in the sense that 31:27 He could have depended on His own will. 31:29 But that was a part of the situation, 31:31 my friends, that He could not have. 31:33 If He was going to gain the victory over sin, 31:36 He had to deny Himself 31:39 and His divine power, 31:42 just as we must learn to deny self 31:46 and depend on His divine power in our life. 31:51 Desire of Ages, page 24, right there, I just read it. 31:53 He exercised in His own behalf, 31:55 no power that is not freely offered to us. 31:58 What that tells us, my friends, 32:00 is that every single ounce of power 32:02 that Christ had access to that helped Him 32:05 overcome the sin of the world, 32:07 so that He lived a life of sinlessness, 32:10 or He matured in the stature in the fullness 32:13 of His character to the point that He never sinned. 32:16 That same power that Jesus Christ had, 32:18 we're told, is we have access to it. 32:21 There's no excuses. 32:24 Jesus has provided it for us. 32:28 Selected Messages, book one, 32:30 page 409, notice what this says, 32:32 beautiful message. 32:33 Again, Selected Messages, book 1, page 409, 32:36 "Christ laid hold on the throne of God, 32:39 and there is not a man or woman 32:42 who may not have access 32:44 to the same help through faith in God. 32:48 Man may become a partaker of the divine nature." 32:53 Are we understanding this? 32:56 So when someone comes to me and says, 32:57 "Oh, Ryan, you know, I'm going to continue to 32:59 sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, 33:01 all the way until Jesus comes back." 33:03 Of course, what I'm describing, 33:05 when a person says those things or they're of that mentality, 33:08 what they're saying is that 33:10 they don't really gain true victory over sin, 33:12 that they're still slaves 33:15 to that habitual sin in their life. 33:18 They're slaves to it, it becomes their god, 33:21 it becomes their master, 33:23 because they depend more on themselves 33:25 more than they depend on the power of God 33:28 that He has given them access to. 33:32 There are so many different texts. 33:33 In fact, I'm about to read through 33:35 these very quickly. 33:37 I'm going to read through these texts. 33:38 It's going to seem like 33:39 we're just reading one text after another, 33:41 but there's a point. 33:42 I'm going to go through it rapid fire, 33:44 and it's about perfection. 33:45 All of these, all of these texts 33:46 are mentioning in some way form or fashion, 33:48 perfection, or what it means to be 33:50 perfected in God, 33:51 and then we're going to clarify what that means. 33:53 Okay? Romans 12:1-2, here we go. 33:56 "And do not be conformed to this world," 33:59 Paul says, "but be transformed 34:01 by the renewing of your mind that you may prove 34:03 what is that good and acceptable and," 34:05 there it is, "perfect will of God." 34:08 You'll notice almost all, 34:09 every single one of these texts 34:11 are coming from Paul's writings, 34:12 who wrote the majority of the New Testament. 34:14 Right? 34:15 His writings are comprised 34:16 or the New Testament is comprised 34:18 from the vast majority of Paul's writings. 34:19 Paul believed in something known as perfection. 34:23 But what did he mean? 34:24 What does it mean 34:25 when we say it's possible for us 34:27 to be perfect? 34:28 We're going to clarify that. 34:29 Let's continue to read the text. 34:31 1 Corinthians 1:10. 34:32 I'm going to read through these quickly, 34:33 so you may just want to jot down the references 34:35 and go back and read them. 34:36 1 Corinthians 1:10, it says, 34:38 "Now I plead with you, brethren, 34:39 by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, 34:41 that you all speak the same thing, 34:43 and that there be no divisions among you, 34:45 but that you be," there it is, 34:46 "perfectly joined together in the same mind 34:50 and in the same judgment." 34:52 That was beautiful. 34:54 Now we go on to 2 Corinthians 7:1. 34:57 2 Corinthians 7:1, 34:59 "Therefore having these promises, 35:00 beloved, let us cleanse ourselves 35:03 from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit," 35:05 notice the next word, "perfecting holiness 35:09 in the fear of God." 35:11 Paul believes something about perfection. 35:13 He uses it over and over 35:14 and over and over in his writings, 35:17 perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 35:20 Oh, I love this next one. 35:21 This is probably one of the key ones. 35:22 You definitely gonna want to write this one down. 35:24 Ephesians 4:13. Ephesians 4:13. 35:28 This is what it says, 35:30 "Till we all come to the unity of the faith, 35:33 and of the knowledge of the Son of God." 35:37 and there is this, "to a perfect man." 35:41 There it is, to a perfect man to the measure. 35:46 And then it describes 35:47 what this perfect man looks like, 35:49 to the measure 35:50 of the stature of the fullness of Christ. 35:54 Do we fully understand what that means, 35:56 to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ? 36:00 What does that mean to 36:02 become a perfect man to measure up in the stature, 36:05 in the fullness of Christ? 36:07 We're going to talk about that in a moment. 36:08 Keep with us, Colossians 1:28. 36:11 Colossians 1:28 says, "Him we preach, 36:14 warning every man 36:15 and teaching every man in all wisdom, 36:18 that we may present every man," 36:21 there it is again, "perfect in Christ." 36:24 Notice how the perfection only comes in Christ. 36:29 Don't think for a moment 36:30 as I'm reading through these texts, 36:31 oh, Ryan's up there preaching perfection. 36:33 He thinks that we all can be perfect in and of ourselves. 36:35 No, no, no, no, no, no. 36:37 There's not a person alive today 36:40 that I believe is absolutely perfect. 36:42 We're going to talk about that in a moment. 36:43 We're not perfect in and of ourselves. 36:45 We can't obtain perfection in and of ourselves. 36:48 But notice, as it says, from Colossians 1:28, 36:50 that every man be perfect in Christ Jesus. 36:54 That's the key. Beautiful. 36:56 Colossians 4:12. 36:58 Colossians 4:12, says Epaphras, one who is among you, 37:04 a bondservant of Christ, 37:06 greets you always laboring fervently 37:08 for you in prayers that you may," 37:10 hear it is, "stand perfect 37:13 and complete in all the will of God." 37:16 There it is again we see it coming up 37:17 over and over and over and over, 37:19 stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 37:23 1 Thessalonians 3:10, 37:25 "Night and day praying exceedingly 37:28 that we may see your face and," 37:30 notice, "perfect what is lacking 37:33 in your faith." 37:35 Is it possible to have perfection 37:37 in our faith? 37:39 Well, not in and of ourselves, but it can happen in Christ. 37:42 We'll explain it in a moment. 37:43 Hebrews Chapter 6, we're going back to, 37:45 in fact, the last three texts 37:46 I'm going to read pertaining to perfection 37:48 comes from the Book of Hebrews. 37:49 Hebrews 6:1, it says, 37:52 "Therefore, leaving the discussion 37:53 of the elementary principles of Christ, 37:55 let us go on to," 37:57 there it is again, "perfection, 38:00 not laying again the foundation of repentance 38:03 from dead works and faith toward God." 38:05 Let us, notice, let us go on to perfection. 38:09 But wait a second, Ryan, we can't be perfect. 38:11 I can hear someone screaming into the television, screaming 38:15 into their computer screen, 38:16 screaming into their iPhone or their smartphone, 38:18 their Android, whatever you're watching this on. 38:20 Ryan, it's impossible. 38:21 There's no way that we can be perfect. 38:23 There's no way that 38:25 we can reach perfection in Christ Jesus. 38:27 Then, my friends, if you believe that, 38:29 then you are not in harmony with what the Bible teaches. 38:32 Hebrews 10:14, "For by one offering He has," 38:35 there it is again, "perfected forever 38:37 those who are being sanctified." 38:40 And lastly, Hebrews 12:23, 38:43 "To the general assembly and church of the firstborn 38:47 who are registered in heaven," 38:48 okay, here it is, "to God, the Judge of all, 38:52 to the spirits, and just men made perfect." 38:57 There it is, the just men made perfect. 39:01 So let's just go ahead 39:02 and address the elephant in the room. 39:04 When we're talking about perfection, 39:05 what in the world are we really talking about? 39:08 Let me just put it out there plain and clear. 39:10 There's only one absolute, 39:14 perfect individual. 39:18 When we're talking about one form of perfection, 39:20 we're talking about absolute perfection. 39:23 And there is none of us created 39:25 beings that can reach absolute perfection. 39:29 Only God is absolutely perfect. 39:33 He is all loving, He is all knowing, 39:36 He is all powerful. 39:38 And we in our finite human knowledge 39:41 and our finite human abilities, 39:42 we cannot ever be absolutely perfect 39:45 in any way form or fashion. 39:47 Only God can obtain absolute perfection. 39:50 So if you come to me and say, 39:52 "Ryan, do you claim to be perfect? 39:53 Do you think you're a perfect man?" 39:55 Okay. 39:56 It's only the right response that a person 39:58 who's led by the Holy Spirit 39:59 should sound alarm aloud and say absolutely not. 40:02 I'm far from it. 40:04 I'm no way perfect in any way form or fashion. 40:07 But here it is, I'm striving for perfection in Jesus Christ. 40:14 You see when we're talking about perfection, 40:17 being made perfect, being made perfect in Christ, 40:22 measuring up to the fullness 40:23 and the stature of Jesus Christ, 40:26 we're talking about character perfection. 40:30 See, we all have physical imperfections. 40:34 We certainly don't have... 40:35 We're not all knowing, all powerful, 40:37 all loving like God, right? 40:38 We can't be fully perfect like Him. 40:41 We have emotional imperfections, 40:44 mental imperfections. 40:45 There's so many different forms of imperfections 40:48 we can talk about when it comes to our humanity. 40:52 But the one thing God is striving for in His people, 40:55 again, Thy Kingdom come, 40:58 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 41:01 Lord, what are You asking me to pray? 41:03 He says, I want you to be heavenly minded. 41:08 I want your character to be transformed 41:10 and made like unto heaven here on earth. 41:14 Now, if Jesus the Son of God was able to complete it, 41:18 because He depended upon the will of His Father, 41:20 and not His own will, 41:22 the power of heaven to work through Him 41:24 to will and to do 41:26 and to overcome the sin of the world, 41:27 that same power, as we have already read, 41:29 is given to us, it's made access to us. 41:33 We're talking about character surrender. 41:36 Character surrender brings about in a process, 41:41 character perfection. 41:44 I'm going to read something to you 41:45 that's quite interesting. 41:46 You can't avoid these texts, you can't avoid these quotes, 41:49 because they're powerful, and there's truth in them. 41:52 The Upward Look, page 303. 41:55 Listen to this, the Upward Look, 41:57 page 303, "Christ took humanity 42:02 and bore the hatred of the world, 42:04 that He might show men and women 42:08 that they could live 42:10 without sin." 42:15 Does that come from Ryan Day? 42:17 No, that comes from the prophet. 42:20 That comes from the inspired Spirit of God. 42:23 He took on humanity 42:25 and bore the hatred of the world 42:27 that He might show men and women 42:28 that they could live without sin. 42:30 But how? 42:32 That's what the majority of Christians are saying, 42:33 it just doesn't seem possible. 42:35 How? 42:37 How can we ever claim to be sinless? 42:40 I don't think we're ever going to claim, 42:42 in fact, I'm going to read a quote to you 42:43 in just a moment 42:44 where you'll never claim to be sinless. 42:46 The more you gain yourself, in other words, 42:50 He increases and you increase, 42:51 you gain in maturity in Christ Jesus. 42:54 You're going to see more and more and more 42:55 of your defects, 42:56 you're never going to feel appropriate for heaven. 42:58 You're never going to feel like you're worthy for heaven. 43:01 Because the more you become 43:03 completely wrapped up in Jesus Christ, 43:05 the worse you feel about who you are. 43:07 You see His righteousness, you see your filthy rags, 43:11 and you say, "Lord, I'm not worthy." 43:13 But in God's eyes, 43:14 you certainly can be perfect in character. 43:19 You see, when we talk about living without sin, 43:21 we're talking about not that 43:22 we have not ever sinned, 43:23 because the Bible we have to be reminded that, 43:25 1 John Chapter 1 makes it very clear that 43:27 he who says he has no sin is a liar. 43:30 And now if I, if you ever meet a person 43:32 and he says, you know, "Hey, I'm sinless. 43:33 I haven't sinned in three years. 43:35 I'm perfect." 43:36 Hey, run in the opposite direction, 43:37 because that person is full of the devil. 43:39 I'm just telling you. 43:41 No one's going to say that 43:42 they're perfect and that they're sinless. 43:43 Because the truth is, we have all sinned, 43:45 we've come short of the glory of God. 43:46 But let me read you this beautiful, beautiful quote 43:49 from Education, page 105 and 106. 43:52 So Education, page 105 and 106. 43:55 This is powerful, because it describes to us 43:57 what this character perfection looks like. 43:59 How do we gain perfect characters in Christ 44:03 so that we live without sin in His eyes, again, 44:06 not in our own, but in His eyes? 44:08 Here it is, Education, page 105 and 106. 44:11 It says, "The germination of the seed 44:14 represents the beginning of spiritual life. 44:18 And the development of the plant 44:19 is a figure in the development of character. 44:23 There can be no life without growth. 44:26 The plant must either grow or die. 44:30 As its growth is silent and imperceptible." 44:35 Did you hear that? 44:36 "As its growth is silent and imperceptible, 44:41 but continuous, 44:43 so is the growth of character. 44:47 At every stage of development, our life may be perfect." 44:51 Did you hear that? 44:53 "At every stage of development, our life may be perfect, 44:58 yet if God's purpose for us is fulfilled, 45:01 there will be constant advancement." 45:04 You see, you go take a seed. 45:06 I'm going to use an example here, 45:08 and I'm going to say, an apple seed. 45:10 I don't know, you want to plant an apple seed, 45:12 and you want to grow an apple tree, 45:14 you don't go out there and throw that into the ground 45:17 and walk out the next day 45:18 and just expect it to be a big old apple tree 45:20 that's gonna sprung up out of the ground, right? 45:22 See, many people see the relationship 45:23 just like that. 45:25 They see it as something that's instantaneous, 45:27 that sanctification, that glorification, 45:30 that everything about the gospel experience 45:32 in perfecting of the saints' character 45:34 is instantaneous. 45:36 You just set go from, 45:37 from sinfulness to sinlessness all in one big giant leap. 45:42 Mrs. White says no, that's not how it works. 45:44 And she likens it into a plant. 45:46 That you plant the seed, and then it springs forth. 45:50 And in every stage of development, 45:52 you can walk up 45:54 into the half point stage and say, 45:56 "Oh, it's about halfway there." 45:57 But is it there yet? No, it's not. 46:00 But is it perfect in every state? 46:03 In God's eyes it is because even though 46:05 it may not be ultimately mature yet, 46:09 even though it may not be producing the fruit 46:11 that it needs to be producing just yet, 46:14 it's growing, it's advancing. 46:16 And as it's growing, 46:17 and it's advancing in God's eyes, 46:19 as it's advancing forward, 46:21 it's perfect in every stage 46:23 of the growing development of that seed. 46:26 My friends, the same thing 46:27 for the character of a Christian. 46:29 We are perfect in the measure, 46:31 and in the fullness of the stature of Christ, 46:34 we become a perfect man in every growing stage. 46:37 We don't want to move backward, 46:39 we don't want to return to the vomit, 46:41 we don't want to live and continuously be a slave 46:44 to our habitual sin in life. 46:46 We want Christ to give us victory, day by day. 46:50 In fact, notice what Acts of the Apostles, 46:52 page 483 says. 46:56 It says, "He who would build up a strong symmetrical character, 47:01 he who would be a well-balanced Christian, 47:04 must give all and do all for Christ, 47:08 for the Redeemer 47:09 will not accept divided service." 47:12 And then notice these words, 47:13 "Daily, he must learn the meaning of self-surrender." 47:17 Self-surrender, that's what it is, 47:19 character surrender. 47:20 He must study the Word of God, 47:22 learning its meaning and obeying its precepts, 47:25 thus, he may reach 47:27 the standard of Christian excellence. 47:31 And how do we do that? Is it one big giant leap? 47:33 Is it one big moment that it just happens overnight? 47:36 No, she says, day by day, 47:39 God works with him, perfecting the character 47:43 that is to stand in the time of final test. 47:47 And day by day the believer is working out 47:50 before men and angels, a sublime experiment showing 47:54 what the gospel can do for fallen human beings. 47:58 Man, this gets me excited. 48:01 I don't have to wake up tomorrow and go, 48:03 "Oh, I'm so depressed." 48:04 Because Lord, even though I can look back and see that 48:08 I'm not where I used to be. 48:09 Praise God, I look forward and I get depressed 48:11 because I'm not where I need to be. 48:13 God says it's okay. 48:15 All I want you to do is surrender to me daily. 48:18 Just surrender your will to Me daily. 48:20 That's all I want you to do is just walk with Me. 48:22 It's not one big giant leap. 48:24 That was the point He was making 48:25 in the latter verses of Luke 5, 48:27 when He was telling the parable of the new wine 48:29 and the old wine, and the old wineskins 48:31 and the new wineskins. 48:32 He eventually goes on to say that 48:34 no one having drunk old wine immediately 48:38 desires the new for He says the old is better. 48:41 You see, when you read that text, 48:43 what does that text provides hope, 48:45 because it doesn't say there 48:46 that he will never learn to like the new wine. 48:48 He will never have that new wine experience. 48:50 No, no, no. 48:51 It says that, even though he likes 48:53 the old wine, 48:54 he won't immediately desire the new. 48:56 That means, guess what? It doesn't immediately happen. 49:00 It involves a process. It takes time. 49:04 When we're talking about character perfection, 49:06 perfection, sinlessness. 49:08 My friends, now again, 49:09 no one's going to claim to be sinless. 49:11 But at the end of the day, 49:12 my friends, we need to be walking 49:13 in a day by day relationship with Christ. 49:16 It can only happen through Christ Jesus. 49:19 That's why Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, he says, 49:23 "I have been crucified with Christ. 49:26 It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. 49:30 And the life which I now live in the flesh, 49:32 I live by faith in the Son of God 49:35 who loved me and gave Himself for me. 49:39 It's no longer I that lives, but Christ lives in me." 49:42 Do we believe in the power of God to overcome sin? 49:45 Sometimes I believe we often believe more 49:48 in the power of God, 49:49 excuse me, the power of the devil 49:50 to cause us to sin than we believe 49:52 in the power of God to help us overcome sin. 49:54 When I hear Christians say, 49:56 "Oh, we're going to continue to sin 49:57 all the way to the Second Coming." 49:58 You know what? 50:00 There may be some truth to that. 50:01 I think often we may stumble, as the Bible says in Proverbs, 50:03 it says the righteous man may fall seven times, 50:05 but the difference between the righteous 50:07 and the unrighteous is that the unrighteous 50:09 stays down and falls into destruction, 50:11 but the righteous man though he may fall, 50:14 just as that beautiful text says 50:16 that my beautiful children, 50:18 I encourage you, I counsel you not to sin, 50:21 but if you sin, 50:23 you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. 50:25 A righteous man may fall seven times 50:27 but he gets back up, my friends. 50:30 It's a daily walk. 50:31 Philippians 4:13, 50:33 I can do some things through Christ 50:35 who gives me strength? 50:37 Is that what the text says? 50:38 I can only overcome a few sins 50:40 in Jesus Christ who gives me strength. 50:42 No, no, no, the text says, 50:43 "I can do all things through Christ." 50:46 That's the key, through Christ, not my own power, but His. 50:50 Through Christ who gives me strength. 50:52 Jude 24, beautiful promise, Jude verse 24. 50:56 It says, "Now to Him Christ, 50:58 to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, 51:01 Him who is able to keep you from falling, 51:04 it says, and to present you faultless 51:07 before the presence of His glory 51:08 with exceeding joy." 51:10 Who's going to present you? Christ is going to present you. 51:13 How is He going to present you? 51:14 He's going to present you faultless. 51:16 Don't come to me with that idea and say, 51:18 "Oh, we're not going to be 51:20 able to overcome sin in this life. 51:21 We're going to continue to live, live, live, live, live 51:23 in sin, sin, sin until Jesus comes." 51:24 No, no, no. 51:26 While I believe it's a journey, 51:27 while I believe there's a possibility that 51:29 from time to time we may stumble and fall, 51:31 Christ wants to give us complete victory now. 51:34 He wants to provide us complete victory now. 51:36 But how does that happen? 51:38 It's not a one big giant leap into a perfect life. 51:41 It happens by a day by day relationship. 51:43 That's why Paul writes, day by day, 51:46 from faith to faith, from glory to glory, 51:49 that means it's not immediate. 51:51 It involves a process and it takes time. 51:55 2 Peter 2:9 says, "Then the Lord knows 51:57 how to deliver the godly out of temptations." 52:01 Have you allowed God 52:02 to deliver you out of temptations? 52:05 The devil wants you to believe that 52:07 there's fault with the lawgiver. 52:09 He wants you to believe that 52:10 if sin is transgression of the law, 52:12 oh, you can't keep that law. 52:13 It's impossible. 52:15 Therefore, they must be fought with the law giver. 52:17 Get out of here with that nonsense, 52:21 because there is no fault with our law giver. 52:23 The only problem is with self 52:26 and the lies that we allow the devil to tell us. 52:31 You see, we can't overcome sin on our own. 52:34 We can't keep the law perfect on our own. 52:38 But by the power of the indwelling Christ, 52:41 we certainly can. 52:43 My friends, I want to read to you 52:44 here some final statements. 52:48 This is powerful, because these final statements 52:51 really amplify the point that I was getting here today. 52:56 It says here in Maranatha, page 240. 52:59 Maranatha page 240, it says, "Now is the time to prepare. 53:04 The seal of God will never be placed upon the forehead 53:07 of an impure man or woman. 53:09 It will never be placed upon the forehead of the ambitious, 53:11 world-loving man or woman. 53:13 It will never be placed upon the forehead 53:15 of the men and women of false tongues 53:17 or deceitful hearts. 53:19 All who receive the seal must be 53:22 without spot before God." 53:26 Christ's Object Lessons, page 69, says, 53:29 "Christ is waiting with longing desire 53:32 for the manifestation of Himself in His church. 53:34 When the character of Christ shall be perfectly," 53:37 there it is again, 53:38 "perfectly reproduced in His people, 53:39 then He will come to claim them as His own." 53:42 But let me end with this. 53:44 I want to end with this last one. 53:45 We don't have a slide for this one, 53:46 but I want you to listen very clearly to these words. 53:48 You see, I talk a lot about perfection. 53:51 Thy Kingdom come, Lord, 53:52 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 53:55 Lord, save us from the evil one. 53:56 Don't lead us into temptation, 53:58 but deliver us from the evil one. 53:59 How does that come about? 54:01 It comes about by the power of God, 54:03 my friends, a surrendering of our will to Him 54:06 on a daily basis. 54:08 It's a process. It takes time. 54:11 It doesn't happen immediate. 54:15 But it's interesting that in the Sanctified Life, 54:18 page seven, this is what it says, 54:19 listen very carefully. 54:22 It says, "Those who are really seeking 54:24 to perfect Christian character 54:26 will never indulge the thought that they are sinless." 54:31 Oh, I love that. 54:33 "Their lives may be irreproachable. 54:36 They may be living representatives of the truth 54:39 which they have accepted. 54:41 But the more they discipline 54:43 their minds to dwell up on the character of Christ..." 54:46 Do you see that? 54:47 Who are we beholding? Who are we? 54:49 Who are we, our minds are dwelling upon? 54:52 It's Christ character. 54:53 It says, "And the nearer 54:55 they approach to His divine image, 54:59 the more clearly will they discern 55:02 its spotless perfection, and the more deeply 55:06 will they feel their own defects." 55:10 What does that tell us? 55:12 You see, when you're truly walking in Christ Jesus, 55:15 I do believe that God will have a final generation of people 55:19 who will stand proudly, 55:20 who will stand firm in a godly sense, 55:23 proudly in a spiritual loving Christlike sense, 55:27 who will stand firm, who will stand confident 55:30 at the appearing of Jesus in a sinless state. 55:34 I believe that. 55:36 But don't think for one moment according to this passage here 55:39 that those individuals will be standing there thinking, 55:41 "Oh, look at me world, how perfect and sinless I am. 55:45 Look at me as your example." 55:47 A good Christian who does no more sin, 55:50 we will never be so arrogant to have those thought. 55:52 In fact, it says here that the closer you come to Christ, 55:55 and the more you behold His righteous character, 55:58 the more you will see your own defects. 56:01 That means there's still going to be 56:02 defects probably in us all the way till Jesus comes, 56:05 but we will be perfect in God's eyes, 56:07 because we are advancing and maturing in Christ Jesus 56:11 day by day. 56:12 Not absolute perfection, but character perfection 56:16 that is only possible by Jesus Christ, our Lord. 56:21 Thy Kingdom come, 56:24 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 56:31 My friends, Jesus wants to do a work in your life right now, 56:36 and make you just like that heavenly version, 56:39 that you're going to be like one day 56:41 when you walk through heaven's gates, 56:43 walk on to heaven shore, 56:44 and dwell in the presence of the Almighty. 56:47 Do you believe it? 56:49 Do you believe this is possible for us? 56:51 Remember, all things are possible 56:53 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 56:55 He does indeed sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. 56:59 And He wants to purify us for these times, 57:02 to prepare us to stand 57:04 before the world to be representatives of Christ, 57:07 and to stand before the world, as they look at us, 57:11 they see the reflection of Jesus 57:13 just as a silversmith would look into that silver 57:16 and see his image, his reflection. 57:19 My friends, we have access to that power. 57:21 All you got to do is call out to Jesus now 57:24 and ask Him to come into your heart. 57:26 I hope you do that today. 57:28 God bless you, my friends. We'll see you soon. |
Revised 2021-11-29