Participants:
Series Code: HCAU
Program Code: HCAU180002A
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00:06 And this is eternal life that they may know You,
00:10 the only true God, 00:12 and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent. 00:20 Welcome to 3ABN Australia Homecoming. 00:31 We're so glad that you are joining us 00:34 from all around the world, 00:35 and also those here this evening. 00:38 We want to thank you for taking the time to join us 00:42 at the 3ABN Australia 2018 Homecoming. 00:46 And with me up the front is Jill Morikone, 00:49 she's the general manager for 3ABN USA, 00:53 and it's a pleasure to have you here, Jill. 00:55 We're looking forward to the programs 00:57 that people will be able to enjoy, 00:59 and to be a blessing in your search for the truth, 01:03 and to know God. 01:04 Amen, Thank you so much, John. 01:06 It is a privilege for my husband Greg and I, 01:08 and the rest of the 3ABN team 01:10 who came here down under 01:12 to see what God is doing here in Australia. 01:15 It's a privilege to be here with you and your wife, 01:17 and the team with 3ABN Australia, 01:19 and I love the theme, Knowing God, 01:22 taken from John 17:3, 01:25 "This is life eternal, that they might know 01:27 the only true God in Jesus Christ, 01:31 whom thou has sent." 01:32 So what an incredible theme for this camp meeting. 01:35 It is, and it's been an impression 01:38 by God upon my mind now for two or three years 01:41 that people need to know the reason 01:45 and understand the meaning 01:48 of what God wants for every one of you, 01:51 and everyone sitting here, God wants to spend eternity. 01:55 Did you hear what I said? 01:56 Eternity with you, 01:58 not just the threescore years and ten. 02:02 God wants you because He loves you so much 02:06 to be with Him eternally. 02:07 And tonight, we've got John Lomacang, 02:10 and his presentation is By His Character. 02:15 So knowing God, 02:17 and you're going to be talking about subjects, 02:19 Knowing God by His Character. 02:22 Amen. Absolutely. 02:24 But before Pastor John presents the Word of God, 02:27 we're going to hear the Word of God 02:28 through music. 02:30 And we brought with us Tim Parton, 02:31 he's the general manager 02:33 of the Praise Him Music Network. 02:36 He's a man of God, and a gifted anointed singer, 02:40 and musician, and a personal friend, 02:42 and we're so blessed he will be ministering a song, 02:45 He is to Me. 02:46 Thank you. So we will... 02:48 Next voice you hear after Tim will be John Lomacang. 03:01 He's the Lion of Judah The sweet Rose of Sharon 03:05 The fairest of 10,000 The Ancient of Days 03:09 The Alpha, Omega The King of all glory 03:13 The bright Morning Star And the God of my praise 03:18 Who can describe everything that He is? 03:22 All I can say is He's mine and I'm His 03:27 'Cause the One who walks On the wings of the wind 03:32 Walks beside me 03:35 And the One who's holding The world in His hand 03:40 Holds my heart 03:43 He spoke and the world was created in space 03:48 And yet He was willing to die in my place 03:52 Redeemer, Redeemer, Deliverer 03:55 The ransom who set my soul free 03:59 Hallelujah 04:02 What a Savior He is to me 04:12 He's the strength in my weakness 04:14 The joy in my sorrow 04:16 The peace like a river that flows through my life 04:20 His new morning mercies And hope for the journey 04:24 And love that will conquer the struggle and strife 04:29 Who can describe everything that He is? 04:32 All I can say is He's mine and I'm His 04:38 'Cause the One who walks On the wings of the wind 04:43 Walks beside me 04:46 And the One who's holding The world in His hand 04:51 Holds my heart 04:55 He spoke and the world was created in space 04:59 And yet He was willing to die in my place 05:03 Redeemer, Deliverer 05:05 The ransom that set my soul free 05:11 Hallelujah 05:13 What a Savior He is to me 05:20 Oh, I can't describe everything that He is 05:24 All I can say is He's mine and I'm His 05:30 'Cause the One who walks on the wings of the wind 05:35 Walks right beside me 05:38 And the One who's holding The world in His hand 05:43 Holds my heart 05:47 He spoke and the world was created in space 05:51 And yet He was willing to die in my place 05:55 Redeemer, Deliverer 05:57 Ransom that set my soul free 06:03 Hallelujah 06:05 What a Savior He is to me 06:11 What a Savior He is to me 06:34 Amen. Amen. 06:38 Thank you, Tim. 06:40 Thank you for that message. 06:42 What a Redeemer and Savior, He is to me 06:47 Tonight we're going to turn our minds and our eyes 06:50 to God's Word. 06:52 But before we do that, I'd like to open with a word, 06:56 not with a word of prayer, but with a prayer. 07:00 Recently, I've ran into an older lady 07:02 who said to me, 07:04 "Why do we say a word of prayer, 07:06 and then say more than one word?" 07:09 And she has really messed my mind up. 07:12 So when I say, "Let's have a word of prayer," 07:14 I have to rephrase that until I get to the place 07:16 where I could understand it's not a single word, 07:19 but it is, in fact, an entire phrase. 07:22 So bow your heads with me as I have many words of prayer. 07:27 Loving Father in heaven, as we open Your Word, 07:32 we pray that You will speak to our hearts, 07:37 that You'll transform our minds, 07:38 and You'll help us to understand 07:41 what it means to know God. 07:44 In Your precious and holy name I pray, 07:47 amen. 07:50 Open your Bibles with me to John 17:3. 07:55 It's a very familiar passage, 07:56 one that we have repeated many times before, 08:00 but in looking at it again for the first time, 08:03 I've seen what I didn't see the first time I looked at it. 08:08 John 17:3, and I'm reading 08:11 from the New King James Version. 08:15 "And this is eternal life that they may know you, 08:20 the only true God and Jesus Christ, 08:24 whom you sent, 08:27 knowing God by His character." 08:30 Tonight, come with me on a digital journey 08:34 with mind blowing realities. 08:38 Whether we realize it or not, 08:40 we live in the most prolific information age 08:43 known to humanity 08:44 where we are surrounded, 08:47 whether conscious or unconscious 08:49 by a world that has taken us captive, 08:53 by its creative abilities. 08:56 And by the time we notice the impending digital tsunami 08:59 escaping it is futile. 09:02 I've noticed how the world has changed around me 09:04 in just my short life, 09:07 and as my hair gets grayer by the moment, 09:11 I discovered that this world is becoming less and less 09:13 of a place that I want to spend eternity, 09:16 and I'm looking forward to eternity with Christ. 09:19 But tonight I want you to walk with me 09:21 through the development of the age 09:22 in which we live to understand in a very real way 09:28 why we are becoming less and less informed 09:33 of the most effective ways of getting to know God. 09:37 According to Steven E. Schoenherr, 09:40 who wrote in 2004, 09:42 a book entitled The Digital Revolution, 09:45 he says the following words. 09:48 "The Digital Revolution, 09:49 also known as the Third Industrial Revolution, 09:54 is a shift from the mechanical and analog technology 09:59 to do digital electronics which began anywhere 10:03 from the late 1950s to the late 1970s." 10:08 He also goes on to suggest that the revolution 10:10 did not just start about 50, or 60, or 70 years ago, 10:15 but it predates even the Industrial Revolution. 10:20 And he states that the foundation 10:22 that we are now standing on 10:24 in the creative world around us began some 100 years ago. 10:29 He says, in less than 100 years, 10:31 the rising tide of revolution has transformed us 10:36 from the Agricultural Revolution 10:39 and the Industrial Revolution 10:41 to the Digital Revolution that has overwhelmed us 10:45 by the information age. 10:48 I was standing in front of a professor one day, 10:51 and he says, "If we can gauge the environment 10:55 that we now live in..." 10:56 If tonight we had the ability to show you the radio waves 11:01 that are flying around this room, 11:02 you'll duck for fear of your life. 11:07 With infrared technology and wave perceiving technology, 11:11 right now we are surrounded by a world that we had no idea 11:16 would capture our minds 11:17 and take our intellect on a journey 11:19 without our permission. 11:22 But the information age 11:23 is the information age that has come to us. 11:26 And the one thing that is left out 11:27 is the information about who God really is. 11:32 And so here we are locked 11:34 into an age where our devices 11:37 are incessantly and continuously 11:39 becoming smarter than we are. 11:44 Joseph Schumpeter, an Austrian economist 11:49 and professor of Harvard University 11:50 wrote in 1939 the following words. 11:53 He said, "The notion of the Digital Revolution 11:58 is part of the theory of socioeconomic evolution." 12:04 Listen carefully, 12:05 "Which consists of an incessant process 12:09 of creative destruction." 12:12 He says our computers, and our cell phones, 12:14 and the Internet has pulled us 12:17 into a process called creative destruction. 12:21 Sounds like an oxymoron. 12:22 How do you create and destroy at the very same time? 12:26 But follow closely, 12:28 he says, "The process of creative destruction 12:31 is the process of industrial mutation." 12:35 You'll get it in the moment. 12:37 "Incessantly revolutionizing the economic structure 12:41 from event, incessantly destroying the old, 12:45 and incessantly creating the new." 12:48 And that's where the phrase comes in, 12:50 "Out with the old, and the new." 12:52 If you've been around long enough, 12:53 you know that the world 30 years ago, 12:56 40 years ago is not the same world today. 12:58 Can I get an amen? 13:00 The world has changed tremendously. 13:03 Creative destruction, however, 13:05 demands an answer to the question, 13:07 what is being created, and what is being destroyed? 13:09 Let me suggest to you 13:11 before I go to the professionals 13:12 that what is being destroyed in our world today 13:15 is a personal relationship with Christ, 13:19 and the continual relationship with the devices 13:22 that cannot communicate back to us. 13:24 I said to one young person sitting in my office, 13:27 if you would turn off your cell phone and look at it, 13:29 when it's in the off position, 13:31 you will see a reflection 13:32 of the only person that matters, 13:34 and that's you. 13:37 But you have to turn your devices off 13:40 to make that connection. 13:42 I had two young ladies sitting on my couch 13:43 in my office at the church, 13:45 and they were sitting very close to one another. 13:47 And in the quiet, hood of my office, 13:49 as I was looking through my mail, 13:50 one turned to the other and said, "Did you get it?" 13:55 And the other one said, "Get what?" 13:57 And they said, "The message I just sent to you." 14:00 And I said, "Why don't you just talk to her 14:04 rather than sending her messages 14:05 through a cell phone." 14:08 We live in an age now that has taken us away 14:10 from communication face-to-face 14:15 to communication with digital devices. 14:18 But it gets even deeper than that. 14:23 Roy Debjani, in a book entitled, 14:27 Cinema in the Age of the Digital Revolution, 14:30 he says, "Central to the focus of the revolution 14:33 is mass production, 14:36 and the widespread creative destruction 14:39 of the environment around us. 14:43 The process of creative destruction 14:45 has so permeated our world to such an extent 14:49 that it is continually destroying one reality 14:53 and replacing it with another. 14:56 But in order for creative destruction, 14:59 and is marched to continue, 15:01 it must abandon each fading generation 15:04 and embrace the emerging generation. 15:08 Simply said, 15:10 "Young people today are smarter than we are." 15:15 You don't have to say amen, it's a fact. 15:21 Consider Exhibit A of the incessant 15:25 creative destructive march. 15:28 In February 2004, three young men, 15:31 and I'm going to give their first names. 15:33 One named Eduardo, another named Chris, 15:36 and the third one name Dustin, 15:39 under the guidance 15:40 of a university dropout named Mark 15:44 launched a small startup company 15:46 code named Facebook. 15:50 Beginning in March 2004, 15:54 Facebook journeyed from Harvard, to Stanford, 15:58 to Yale, to Colombia University, 16:01 and finally the Palo Alto, California. 16:05 By December 2004, 16:07 Facebook broke the ceiling with 1 million members. 16:13 By 2005, 16:16 Facebook broke the ceiling with 5 million members. 16:23 In 2006, 16:26 Facebook exploded to 12 million members. 16:31 That's just a year later. 16:33 By 2012, 16:37 Facebook had 36 million members. 16:44 By 2014, they had 360 million members. 16:50 And one year later, they broke a half billion mark 16:53 in June of 2015 with 500 million members. 16:59 That's in June. 17:00 But by December, 17:02 they had added 100 million more, 17:04 as December 2015 came to a close. 17:08 So that I could end the insanity quicker. 17:11 By December... 17:15 By June 2018, 17:19 that's this year, 17:21 Facebook now has 2.23 billion users, 17:26 28.7% of the world's population. 17:30 The question once again is, what are they creating 17:31 and what are they destroying? 17:34 The suggestion is that the more information we get, 17:37 the more intelligent we become. 17:39 But what I'm seeing in the world today 17:41 is the more information we get, 17:43 the more incapacitated we become. 17:45 If the information that's permeating our minds 17:48 is not coming from God's Word, 17:49 we are not becoming more intelligent by design, 17:53 we are becoming more complacent by intent. 17:56 Our world is creating the environment 17:59 to get us to pay less attention to the book, 18:04 and may we pay attention 18:06 or more attention to the Facebook. 18:09 It's in this generation 18:10 that God is saying to the Facebook generation, 18:13 it is time to get back to the real book. 18:15 Can I get an amen? 18:17 God is saying to us 18:20 that it is not more information that we need, 18:22 but it is more transformation that we need. 18:27 But the billion dollar question behind the repetitive behavior 18:31 of this digital revolution was introduced 18:37 by a recalcitrant Pharaoh of Egypt. 18:41 If you have your Bibles, read it with you tonight, 18:43 turn to Exodus Chapter 5. 18:45 Notice the question he posed. Notice the question he posed. 18:54 Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh said, 18:57 "Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice 19:00 to let Israel go? 19:03 I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go." 19:07 Pharaoh answered the question or asked the question, 19:12 "Why should I obey the voice of God 19:14 if I do not know Him?" 19:17 Now follow that very carefully. 19:19 He suggested that if we spend more time 19:23 getting more information about God, 19:25 then we become aware of who He is. 19:27 But in reality, 19:29 Pharaoh cancelled His obedience to God by simply saying, 19:34 "If I knew more about Him, 19:36 it'll be a lot easier for me to obey Him." 19:38 But what I'd like to suggest tonight 19:41 that it is not knowing more about God, 19:44 but knowing God that makes the difference 19:48 between obeying and disobeying God. 19:51 Might I suggest tonight that the text in John 17:3 19:55 is not saying that we should know more 19:57 about God before we get to obey Him, 20:01 but when we obey Him, 20:03 we get to know more about God. 20:07 It is in the obedience 20:08 that the revelation of God is revealed, 20:11 not in the information about God that the revelation 20:14 of the relationship of God is born, 20:16 but it's in the obedience to the voice of God 20:22 that the relationship of God with God is built. 20:26 Go to 1 Samuel 3:8, 9, 20:30 so that I can make my point clear. 20:35 We peek it at the life of a young man, 20:38 a young man by the name of Samuel. 20:41 1 Samuel 3:8, 9, 20:45 As Samuel was taking his evening rest, 20:47 not too far distant from where Eli was resting, 20:51 he continued to hear a voice that he was not familiar with, 20:54 and we pick the story up 20:57 in 1 Samuel 3:8, 9, 21:02 "And the Lord called Samuel again the third time," 21:05 the what time? 21:07 The third time. 21:09 "So he arose and went to Eli and said, 21:12 'Here I am, for you did call me.' 21:18 Then Eli perceived 21:19 that the Lord had called the boy. 21:22 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, 21:24 'Go lie down, and it shall be, 21:28 if He calls you that you may say," 21:32 together, 21:33 "speak, Lord, for your servant hears.' 21:37 So Samuel went and laid down in his place.'" 21:41 Ellen White said that Samuel was just the youth, 21:43 and we understand the story. 21:45 He was a boy, the Bible says, he was a boy. 21:46 Even though he was dedicated to the Lord 21:48 when he was just a child, 21:50 God had not yet directly spoken to Samuel, 21:53 so Samuel was not familiar with the voice of God, 21:57 but he was told by the experience 21:58 and the age of Eli that the next time 22:00 you hear the voice of God, 22:01 the next time you hear that voice, 22:03 it's going to be the voice of God, 22:05 simply say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant heareth." 22:09 But notice carefully what the text is saying. 22:13 He's not saying, 22:15 "Have God give you more information about Himself 22:17 before you say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant heareth.'" 22:20 He's saying, "As soon as God speaks, 22:25 be obedient to His voice 22:28 that you may get to know who He is." 22:32 It was his immediate obedience to the voice of God 22:36 that created in Samuel the kind of life that he lived. 22:38 And as you follow the life of Samuel, 22:40 he existed from king to king, 22:42 he existed on the platform of stern integrity, 22:46 unshakeable faith, 22:49 because he made the decision to listen to the voice of God 22:54 the moment he heard it, 22:56 not needing any more information about God, 22:58 but simply saying, "Speak, Lord, 23:01 for your servant heareth," 23:03 which we pick up the story 23:06 to understand the segue. 23:07 He said, "And now the Lord came, 23:09 and stood, and called at other times, 23:12 Samuel, Samuel! And this time Samuel said, 23:16 'Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.'" 23:20 It is in first responding to the voice of God 23:23 that we get to know the character of God. 23:27 Let me say it again. 23:30 It is in responding first, when? 23:34 First to the voice of God 23:37 that we become familiar with the character of God. 23:40 Because really the question is 23:41 why would I listen to the voice of someone that I don't know? 23:47 But I'm suggesting when it comes to God, 23:50 if you listen to the voice of God first, 23:54 then you get to know who God is. 23:57 That's why the Christian walks by faith.` 24:00 We walk not by information, we walk by faith. 24:04 When we walk by faith 24:06 then God sees fit to reveal to us information. 24:12 But if we say like Pharaoh did, I don't know God, 24:14 I don't understand Him, 24:16 I've never heard His voice before, 24:17 therefore I cannot be obedient. 24:18 We are in essence saying, 24:20 obedience is based on an abundance of information. 24:23 But obedience is not based on an abundance of information, 24:26 obedience is based on faith in the voice of God. 24:32 The voice of God today being the Word of God, 24:35 not impressions, 24:37 not somebody else's words about God, 24:40 but simply speaking, 24:42 simply having God speak to us directly, 24:45 and being willing to hear the voice of God. 24:48 In 2 Timothy 3:7, turn in your Bible there. 24:52 You see, the information age has enrolled us 24:54 in an endless pursuit for knowledge, 24:56 but look at the words of the Apostle Paul 24:59 to Young protégé, Timothy. 25:03 He is saying the information age 25:05 tries to convince us 25:06 that the intellectual pursuit is necessary 25:09 before we understand to know God. 25:12 But you look at the life of the disciples, 25:15 they didn't go to institutions of learning, 25:18 they did not have degrees, 25:20 they did not spend time in places 25:23 where training and knowledge was proliferated, 25:27 they spent time in the presence of God 25:30 through Jesus Christ, 25:32 and that's what made the difference 25:34 between information and transformation. 25:39 They were called an ignorant, 25:41 and unlearn, and unintellectual, 25:45 but when they saw the power of God 25:47 through the lives of the disciples, 25:48 they knew that they had been in the presence of Jesus. 25:52 Let me suggest, we have... 25:55 I can't say we have become but we have been for some time, 25:58 our church of higher learning, 26:00 and there is nothing wrong with higher learning. 26:04 But I like to suggest to you, as Jesus said to Martha, 26:09 the best place to be is at the feet of Jesus. 26:13 The place where we are elevated from the common days, 26:16 and the common ways of life to the place 26:18 where we can become an instrument 26:20 in the hand of God 26:22 is when we spend time in the presence of God. 26:25 It is not more information that we need, 26:28 but it's transformation 26:30 that makes the information about God 26:32 a point of growth. 26:34 Notice what the Apostle Paul says 26:35 in 2 Timothy 3:7, 26:37 he says, 26:38 "Ever learning and never able to come 26:42 to the knowledge of the truth." 26:44 So the information age, the digital age, 26:48 that's a tongue twisting word, the digital age, 26:52 is not an age that brings to us 26:54 more information about God, 26:56 but it's a creative destructive age 26:59 attempting to take away the information 27:01 that God has already made known to us 27:04 because I would say to you that if all the electricity 27:07 in the world had gone off for two weeks, 27:15 all the communication devices had ceased to operate, 27:21 and the internet was nonexistent, 27:25 the generation I was born for the last 24 years 27:29 would end into pandemonium and chaos 27:33 But those of us that have gray hair 27:36 would simply pick up our Bible and say, 27:37 "Speak, Lord, for thou server heareth." 27:41 Amen. 27:43 I think that we need to have a blackout 27:46 to find the light again. 27:50 I think that we need to get these smart devices 27:53 to stop working, 27:54 so that our minds could start working. 28:00 I think we need to trust less in what man is showing us, 28:04 and what God has already shown us, 28:07 so that we can come back to center stage 28:09 in getting to know God. 28:11 It's amazing what Paul continues to say because, Paul, 28:15 when he went to Rome, 28:17 he entered into a philosophical society 28:19 that was highly intellectual. 28:21 When he exposed himself to the Greeks, 28:23 he exposed himself to men of deep learning, 28:28 men of experience, men of great minds of science, 28:32 and psychology, and great arguments, 28:36 and he had very little success. 28:38 When he got to Rome, 28:39 he changed his approach to intellectual stimulation, 28:43 and he said, "I desire to know nothing, 28:45 but Christ and Him crucified." 28:49 And then the gospel in the Book of Romans 28:52 became one of the most beautifully proclaimed 28:56 and powerful messages of the age. 28:58 To this very day, my favorite book in the Bible 29:00 is the Book of Romans. 29:02 Because Paul began Romans by saying, 29:04 "You keep your philosophy, you keep your intellect, 29:07 just give me God, and that's all I need." 29:11 "I desire to know nothing, but Christ and Him crucified." 29:14 You see, if all we have is God, the only one we need is God. 29:21 That's what He said to Jeremiah, 29:23 "You will seek Me, and you will find Me, 29:27 when you search for me with," how much? 29:30 "All your heart." 29:31 Jeremiah 29:13, Paul said to the Romans, 29:36 as intellectual as they were, "There is none who understands, 29:42 there is none who seeks after God." 29:44 This is the age, 29:46 and I'm watching it from an American standpoint, 29:49 but I've understood that here in Australia 29:51 it's just about the same. 29:53 You know, one of the first things 29:54 we do when we get off a plane 29:56 is we try to find ways to connect. 30:00 You know, we bring off our smartphones from America, 30:04 and it just becomes kind of disheartening 30:08 when you get off the plane and you can't connect. 30:12 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 30:15 But go back about 30 years. 30:17 Sorry, go back about 40 years, 30:20 when if you were disembarked from a plane, 30:25 you didn't think about connecting, 30:27 you just want to get in your car and drive home. 30:30 And all we got to do nowadays to be abnormal 30:34 is to have a Bible and no device. 30:42 All we've got to do nowadays to connect to God 30:45 is to disconnect from the world. 30:49 All we've got to do today 30:51 as one young man said to his father and mother 30:56 because when they had the lights on 30:57 the electricity was working, the daughter was in her room, 31:00 the son was in his room, the mother was on the couch, 31:04 and the dad was in his, in his man cave, 31:08 and they were all connected to some kind of device. 31:12 When the power went off, and it didn't come back on 31:14 in the next two minutes, his son ran down 31:16 the steps and says, "Mom, Dad, what do we do?" 31:20 And they said, "Let's get to know each other." 31:24 And for the next three days, 31:27 all they did was look each other in the face, 31:32 and talk to one another. 31:35 And after three days when the power came back on, 31:39 the son discovered the parents that he had never known 31:43 because prior to that, 31:46 he thought that information on a cell phone, 31:50 on the internet, on the television 31:53 would enhance his life. 31:55 But the only information that we need today 31:57 to enhance our lives 31:59 is the information found in the Word of God. 32:02 You see, what is happening in our world today 32:04 is Satan is seeking to accomplish 32:07 among the Israel of the last days 32:10 that which he accomplished 32:11 among the Israelites of the early days. 32:14 In the book, Acts of the Apostles, 32:17 Ellen White said on page 13 that, 32:22 "God chose Israel to reveal His character to men. 32:27 He desired them to be as wells of salvation 32:30 in the world. 32:32 To them were committed the oracles of heaven, 32:34 the revelation of God's will. 32:37 In the early days of Israel, the nation of the world, 32:42 through their corrupt practices had lost the knowledge of God." 32:46 The nations that surrounded Israel 32:49 so had permeated Israel's mindset 32:51 that the message to which God had entrusted them, 32:54 the message that He had entrusted to them 32:57 had lost its power 33:00 because they chose not to hear the voice of God, 33:03 they chose not to receive the revelation of God. 33:05 In Romans 1:21 says it this way. 33:09 He says, "Although they knew God, 33:10 they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, 33:14 but became vain in their imaginations, 33:16 and their foolish hearts were darkened." 33:20 And so I'm going to say this because this is not true, 33:25 but if I were the devil. 33:30 And you smile because you know, it's not true, praise God. 33:34 But if I were the devil, 33:36 and I knew that the message that God has given to us 33:39 is the message that will prepare the world 33:42 for His second coming, 33:43 I would create 33:45 every possible diversion that I can 33:49 to get a people with the message 33:53 to not share the message 33:55 or not to even express interest in the message. 34:00 And they would cancel that interest by saying, 34:04 "If I only had more information about the message, 34:09 then I'd be able to share it." 34:11 And today, our church 34:16 is locked in a pursuit 34:19 of the wrong kind of information. 34:22 And I would suggest to you that we simply get back 34:28 to the business that God has called us to, 34:31 proclaiming the threes angels' messages 34:35 that there will be such a unity in God's Church, 34:39 not new information, not new technology, 34:44 but the everlasting gospel. 34:45 Can you say amen? 34:47 The gospel from the Garden of Eden, 34:49 the gospel from the Mount of Sinai, 34:52 the gospel from the wilderness journey 34:55 of the Israelites, it's the same gospel. 34:57 There's salvation in only one person, 34:59 His name is Jesus. 35:00 If we would get back 35:02 to the proclamation of that gospel, 35:04 I believe the world will be warned, 35:07 and Jesus would come. 35:09 I mean, can you imagine? 35:10 Think about the whole context, 35:12 the Lord turned the world upside down in just a short, 35:16 about 34 years 35:18 through the lives of just 12 disciples. 35:23 If the Lord can turn the world upside down 35:26 and reach the ends of the earth through a small handful of men 35:30 filled by the power of God, 35:32 what will He be able to do if the church get back, 35:37 if the church gets back 35:39 to the message that God has given us 35:42 for the last 135 years? 35:47 But here we are, 35:51 and don't misunderstand me because I am writing a book. 35:56 But the last thing we need is another book. 36:00 But when it come out, I hope you buy it. 36:04 All the information necessary for salvation 36:07 can be found between the heirs 36:10 of Genesis and Revelation. 36:15 If we would simply get back to this age, 36:19 to the age of turning pages, 36:23 to the age of spending time in the Word of God, 36:28 to the age of beginning our day and ending our day 36:31 in the presence of God, at the feet of Jesus. 36:37 If we would get back to the devotional life 36:40 of living our lives in the presence of a holy God, 36:46 if we would pray more 36:49 and work for the advancement of God's kingdom, 36:53 there will be no more information 36:54 that we would need, 36:56 but it will be transformation that we would experience 37:00 My wife and I, over the last couple of years 37:04 have prayed for God to transform our lives. 37:07 And he has done it 37:09 in a powerful and a very real way. 37:14 We begin our day in prayer, and the study of His Word, 37:19 we end our day in prayer or devotional thought, 37:21 and the study of God's Word. 37:23 We travel and we carry our Bibles with us. 37:26 Whenever I travel, I have three. 37:29 I have... 37:30 My travel itinerary 37:31 has three very important components. 37:35 My wife... 37:41 I should put it in the order of priority. 37:44 My God, my wife, and my Bible. 37:54 And I've learned that when I carry my God, 37:58 my wife, and my Bible, 38:03 I really don't care 38:07 what's happening in the world around me. 38:11 I was invited to South Africa a number of years ago, 38:17 and only one ticket was being purchased for my 38:20 attending this large camp meeting, 38:23 I was going to be the speaker there, 38:26 and they said, 38:27 "We're looking forward to you coming," 38:29 and I said, "Can you purchase the ticket 38:32 for my wife to be there?" 38:33 They said, "We can't afford it." 38:36 I said, "How many people am I going to be speaking to?" 38:38 They said about 9,000. 38:40 I said, "You mean to tell me that 9,000 people 38:42 can't afford one more ticket? 38:44 They said, "No, it's not in our budget." 38:46 I said, "Then cancel me." 38:50 They said, "But you're in the advertising." 38:53 I said, "Well, I'll come 38:55 if you pay for my wife to go with me. 38:58 'Cause I have my Bible, I have my God, 39:00 but that's only two items in my itinerary, 39:03 I need all three. 39:04 Come on, married people, say, amen. 39:08 So I ran into a very strong South African lady, 39:14 who had every answer to every argument 39:17 that I raised until I said to her, 39:21 "I'm not coming unless you buy a ticket for my wife." 39:26 She asked me the question, she said, 39:28 "So if you bring your wife with you, 39:30 what is she going to do?" 39:32 I said, "She's going to be my wife." 39:37 'Cause after I'm done talking to you, 39:39 I need to go back home and balance myself. 39:43 Because it is not what happens 39:45 in the public arena that creates us, 39:49 but it's what happens in the quiet moments 39:52 when the lights are off, when the music is not playing, 39:59 and when nobody is paying attention 40:01 to my voice except my God, 40:06 and my wife, 40:08 and I'm listening to God's voice, 40:11 and I'm listening to the my wife's voice. 40:14 And it's so good to know that 40:15 because of her relationship with God, 40:17 there's no conflict there. 40:25 Isaiah 30:21, 40:30 "The foundation 40:33 of being able to reveal the character of God." 40:40 Let me preface it by saying 40:42 it's responding to God's voice first 40:44 that we become familiar with the character of God. 40:49 Your ears shout, Isaiah 30:21, 40:53 "Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, 40:59 'This is the way, do," what? 41:02 "Walk ye in it.'" 41:03 Whenever you turn to the right hand 41:06 or whenever you turn to the left, 41:09 and in Christ's Object Lessons, page 289, 41:12 servant of the Lord says, 41:14 "As an obedience to His natural laws, 41:18 the earth produces its treasures. 41:21 And so also in obedience to God's moral laws, 41:26 the heart of the people of God 41:30 are to reflect the attributes of His character. 41:35 Listen carefully to that. 41:37 The earth listens to the voice of God, 41:40 obedient to the laws that God put in place, 41:43 and it produces a harvest. 41:46 If we would listen to the voice of God, 41:50 the very revelation of the character of God 41:54 would be revealed to the world 41:55 because I've learned in my studies, 41:57 and this is why the Lord continually said to the Jews 42:00 when they asked for a sign, 42:01 when Moses asked, "Show me Your glory." 42:03 One of the reasons why the Lord 42:05 did not show any of them His glory 42:08 is because the glory of God is not to be revealed to us, 42:12 the glory of God is to be revealed through us. 42:18 That's why the Lord said to His disciples, 42:20 "Have I been with you so long 42:22 that you have not seen the Father." 42:23 Jesus came to be the express revelation of the character 42:26 and the person of God, but Jesus is not here. 42:30 And then He said, 42:31 "A greater works than these you'll do." 42:33 Now here's what He meant. 42:35 And I'm learning this. 42:36 After 31 years of pastoring and preaching, 42:38 I'm learning this in a more beautiful way. 42:41 He's in essence saying, 42:43 "The more you get to know Me by obeying My voice..." 42:48 I'm not speaking about information, 42:50 I'm speaking about transformation. 42:52 "The more you are willing to be obedient to My voice, 42:55 the more equipped you would be to reveal to the world 42:58 that character that I possess." 43:02 God is not wanting to reveal to the world information, 43:05 He's wanting to reveal to the world transformation 43:08 through the lives of those who have come in contact 43:11 with the only one 43:13 that can cause the light of His glory 43:16 to shine to the world. 43:17 That's why Jesus said, 43:18 "Let your light so shine before men, 43:20 that they may see your 43:23 good works and glorify Your Father, 43:25 which is in heaven." 43:27 When Jesus came, the Father was hid in His Son. 43:32 And so also the character of God 43:36 was revealed through His Son. 43:38 Servant of the Lord says, 43:39 "As the character of God was revealed through 43:43 the life of His Son, 43:45 so also the character of God is to be revealed 43:49 through the life of His people." 43:52 So this idea of knowing God by His character. 43:57 He's not asking God to reveal to us His character, 44:01 but asking God to reveal to the world 44:03 His character through us, 44:08 which brings me to my second and last point, 44:11 we get to reveal the character of God by first, 44:15 allowing His glory to be revealed through us. 44:18 Exodus 3:2 is where you're turning. 44:22 Exodus 3:2, 44:37 "And the angel of the Lord appeared to Him 44:40 in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. 44:46 So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, 44:49 but the bush was not consumed." 44:52 When you look at the story, 44:54 Moses was arrested by an unusual spectacle. 44:58 The burning of the bush was not what captured his attention? 45:01 What captured Moses' attention was the phenomena 45:04 that the bush was burning, but the bush was not consumed. 45:10 Some writers suggest that the bush 45:12 was not really burning, 45:14 but that it was the angle of the sun reflecting off 45:16 the odd leaves of the bush, 45:18 but I don't believe that theory. 45:20 I believe that God can make any tree burn 45:23 without being consumed. 45:24 Come on, somebody say amen. 45:26 And you'll understand in just a moment 45:27 why I say that. 45:29 You see, the burning bush 45:30 was an antitypical representation 45:31 of the character of God. 45:33 And Moses only got a glimpse of that, 45:35 and just a light glimpse 45:38 of the glory of God revealed on that mountain, 45:40 when God said to Moses, "Hide in the cleft of the rock, 45:43 and when I pass by, just peek." 45:46 And the peeking... 45:49 Oh, if we can see the glory of God, 45:50 just the peek, he peeked, 45:53 and God revealed just enough for Moses 45:56 to know that He is God, 45:57 and the glory was so abundant that when he came down, 46:03 he had his own personal shades, 46:08 so that His glory could be peeked. 46:12 Now follow this carefully. 46:15 When Moses got a glimpse of God's glory, 46:19 the glory of God was transferred to Moses. 46:24 When we are given a glimpse 46:28 of God's glory in our daily lives, 46:33 there's a transformation that takes place, 46:35 not an abundant insertion of information, 46:39 but a transforming power that can only come 46:44 when we are in the very presence of God. 46:48 And I would like to suggest to you 46:50 that the presence of God is revealed 46:52 in the written word of God, 46:55 a book that needs to be in our presence 46:57 more than it really is. 47:01 The unattractive nature of the bush 47:04 was a forecast of how God 47:06 will be revealed through Christ. 47:08 But look at verse 3, 4. 47:11 Because when Moses began to investigate the bush, 47:15 the bush began to investigate Moses. 47:18 "Then Moses said, 'I will now turn aside 47:20 and see this great site, why the bush does not burn?' 47:26 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, 47:29 God called to him from the midst of the bush 47:32 and said, 'Moses, Moses,' and he said, 'Here I am.'" 47:35 When Moses began to investigate the bush, 47:39 the bush began to investigate Moses. 47:44 Now what does it have to do with the character of God? 47:49 And as I close, I don't see a clock. 47:51 Okay, great. 47:52 As I close, the clock just appeared. 48:00 Thank you for the clock. 48:04 As I close, I want you to absorb this 48:07 'cause I'm going to unpack it 48:08 in the next nine minutes that I have. 48:13 It was from a seemingly worthless bush 48:20 that Moses was reminded 48:22 that he was in the presence of Almighty God, 48:27 and that brief revelation did not inform Moses, 48:32 but it transformed Moses. 48:36 So I'll throw some questions into the pot 48:40 that I'll pose in just a moment. 48:45 The experience of the bush was anything but simple. 48:49 What happened to the bush? 48:51 It was anything, but homely. 48:54 And what was reflected through the bush 48:55 was anything but common place. 48:58 Because that day 48:59 the most powerful revelation of God's character 49:02 was revealed in the message of the burning bush. 49:06 But the question I pose to you tonight 49:07 because we are the ones that are called 49:10 to reveal to the world the character of God, 49:13 and the question is how we're going to do that? 49:15 How could a God, that is so profound, 49:17 choose a bush that is so common? 49:22 How could a God, that is so abundant, 49:23 select the bush that is so barren? 49:27 How could the inadequate reflect the divine? 49:33 And how could the homely reveal the heavenly? 49:37 I had to grapple with those questions. 49:39 Before I post them to you, 49:41 I had to grapple with them in my life. 49:42 And I came to discover 49:44 that the story of your life and mine 49:47 is not what we know, 49:51 but it's who we know. 49:54 The power of the ministry to which we are called 49:58 is not in our information, 50:02 but it is in our transformation. 50:05 And only as we are transformed can we understand 50:09 that God uses the mundane to reveal the miraculous. 50:14 God uses the common to reveal His character. 50:18 God uses those things that seemed to have no value 50:22 to expose and reveal to the world infinite value. 50:26 Let me make my point, go to 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. 50:31 Here it is, I entered into evidence, 50:33 the words of the Apostle Paul. 50:35 Notice what he says, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, 50:47 "But God has chosen the," what kind of things, friends? 50:52 "The foolish things of the world 50:55 to put to shame the wise." 50:57 When I read that, I realized I do did not know 51:00 that the Apostle Paul said anything about me, 51:04 until I read that. 51:07 Because I grew up, I was very foolish. 51:11 And, well, I want to insert you into my story, 51:16 but I would like to suggest you that we all at one time 51:19 or another did foolish things. 51:20 Come on, say, amen. 51:22 "But God in His mercy chose the foolish things of the world 51:26 to put to shame the wise," the burning bush, 51:29 "and God has chosen the weak things of the world 51:32 to put to shame the things which are mighty," 51:34 the burning bush, 51:36 "and the base things of the world, 51:40 and the things which are despised, 51:42 God has chosen. 51:43 And the things which are not to bring to nothing, 51:47 the things that are, 51:49 and that no flesh should glory in His presence." 51:53 You see the glory of God, 51:55 the character of God was revealed 51:59 through the burning bush. 52:02 After 31 years of marriage, after 31 years of ministry, 52:07 and 35 years of marriage, 52:10 I'm coming to discover that when God found 52:14 my wife and I in New York City as young teenagers, 52:20 that He was choosing 52:21 the foolish things of the world, 52:23 the weak things of the world, 52:26 the base things of the world, 52:32 the things which are despised, 52:38 so that I would never use 52:44 His gifts 52:47 to rob Him of His glory. 52:52 And so when we travel and come to places like Australia, 52:56 and wherever else God sends us, 53:00 we sometimes come with the humble recognition 53:02 that there's something about us that must make us special. 53:07 I want to tell you tonight... 53:12 I'm simply a burning bush. 53:16 And only by God's grace, have I not yet been consumed. 53:21 But there's a reason for that 53:23 because God has chosen this bush 53:27 not to burn for my glory, 53:31 but to burn for His glory. 53:36 When the Lord appeared to Moses in that burning bush, 53:40 the bush was burning with fire, 53:42 but the bush was not consumed. 53:47 How will the Lord appear 53:48 to the world except He lights a fire in us? 53:52 How will the character of God be revealed to the world 53:57 except the character of God will be revealed to the world 54:00 through us. 54:02 He's just saying amen, don't pay any attention to him. 54:06 I wish I got some amens from you. 54:12 How will they see the character of God 54:16 except it is reflected through us? 54:20 How will they hear the salvation, 54:22 and the message of God, except they hear it through us. 54:27 But our pitfall is to think that we were chosen 54:31 because we were special. 54:33 But the reality is, 54:35 we became special after we were chosen. 54:40 When Jesus found me, I was a dried up bush, 54:43 no glory to speak of, no fruit to brag of. 54:47 But only Jesus can turn a barren bush 54:51 into a fruitful tree. 54:52 Come on, say amen. 54:54 In the ministry we get caught up in 54:56 and try to be so many things to so many people, 54:59 now I just want to be a burning bush. 55:02 That's all I want to be, a burning bush. 55:04 Come on, burning bushes, say amen. 55:06 I don't want to be a bush. 55:07 I don't want to have a whole lot of leaves, 55:09 I don't want to be pretty, 55:10 I just want to be a burning bush. 55:12 I just want the glory of God in somehow to be revealed 55:16 through this mediocre mundane frame, 55:21 so that when my name is forgotten, 55:24 the glory of God and the character of God 55:27 will be remembered. 55:29 I spent so many years trying to avoid the flame 55:32 until I read this story about the burning bush. 55:37 I finally realized that 55:40 we are called to embrace the fire, 55:42 so that the character of God 55:44 could burn away anything that is not about Him, 55:48 so that the world can finally see 55:50 the character of God that is Him. 55:54 The fire refines us, 55:58 and consumes whatever does not reflect 56:00 the character of God. 56:02 And, friends, I say in closing, 56:05 Jesus did not come to burn us up, 56:08 He came to light us up. 56:11 He did not come to consume us, He came to ignite us. 56:17 So why is the character of God so vitally important? 56:20 If you spend all your time receiving your information 56:22 from a digital device, 56:24 except you're reading your Bible through it 56:27 or maybe reading the writings of the servant of the Lord, 56:31 you'll never get the ammunition you need to reflect 56:34 the most beautiful character that is the glory of God. 56:37 The servant of the Lord says in Christ's Object Lessons, 56:39 page 67, "Christ is waiting and longing. 56:42 Christ is waiting with a longing desire 56:45 for the manifestation of Himself and His church. 56:49 And when the character of Christ 56:51 shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, 56:55 then He will come to claim them as His own. 56:58 If you want the character of God 57:00 to be revealed in your life, 57:02 pray for your life to become 57:04 nothing but a burning bush to the glory of God. 57:08 Let us pray. 57:13 Father in heaven, 57:14 consume us 57:16 that the glory of God may be seen through us. 57:20 In Jesus' name I pray, amen. |
Revised 2019-02-04