Participants: John Lomacang (Host), John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL130004
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00:01 Hello, friends.
00:02 Grab your Bible and a friend 00:04 and sit back as we explore God's word together 00:05 on this edition of "House Calls." 00:22 Hello and welcome to another 00:23 "House Calls" program as you can tell. 00:26 You've made the call we're in the house. 00:29 So thank you, for choosing to join us today. 00:32 That's a new word, I say it's catchy. 00:33 I've never done that you made the call we're in the house, 00:35 "House Calls." 00:37 We don't come to your house, 00:38 thank you for coming to our house. 00:40 And for the next hour or so we're gonna sit down 00:41 and discuses the Bible something we absolutely love to do. 00:46 It's a book that never runs out of things to talk about. 00:49 And I have my good friend John here today. 00:51 Good to have you here, John. 00:53 It's great to be here, looking forward to it. 00:54 You know, you went ahead and moved to the upper north-west 00:58 to the Upper Columbia Conference 01:01 and here you left me in the shoe string, 01:04 small part of the mid-west that's okay, its okay. 01:07 I'm not upset. It's all good. 01:10 I love to say. But I'm glad that you're here. 01:13 You know, we started out years ago 01:14 in Northern California Conference together at Fairfield 01:18 and here we are sitting down enjoying something 01:21 that we dreamed of doing 01:23 and that of sharing the Bible with the world. 01:26 And that's a pleasure to have you as my right-hand God. 01:28 You know, I didn't tell you this 01:30 but the reason why we like doing this program together 01:33 is we think so much alike but he is actually-- 01:37 Same way going. 01:38 Ain't that right? Mm-hmm. 01:39 And we--God has unified our minds together. 01:43 Anyway so much for all of that introduction. 01:46 Thank you for tuning and get your Bibles, 01:47 get your friends, get your family and your pens. 01:51 No specific order. 01:52 You're using that last few times too 01:53 like you almost have like a little talk rap there going on. 01:56 Yes, really working now 01:57 and get ready for an exciting program on God's word. 02:02 But before we do anything, you know, we like to pray. 02:05 I always pray off the air just in case you're wondering 02:07 and I'll let John pray on here. 02:09 So John, let's have a prayer to God. 02:10 Happy to do it. 02:12 "Father, again we come before Your throne and ask for grace. 02:16 Grace and strength to open Your word and rightly divided it 02:20 that truth that You've given to us, 02:21 so precious and so dear to each one of us. 02:23 And so we thank You Lord, for this great blessing 02:26 and we pray that You'd attend our ways. 02:29 We look into this special topic of unity 02:32 and what Your desires for Your church today 02:34 and answer all the questions that we have to. 02:37 So Lord, we thank You for all, in Jesus name, amen. 02:40 Amen, amen. 02:42 Now normally John begins the questions. 02:45 But since I have two questions I'm gonna go ahead 02:49 and start with the question today. 02:52 I have been the handler of the snail mail. 02:56 We got a question from Denise in McAdoo, PA. 03:02 I have never heard of McAdoo, it's probably not a huge city 03:06 but if it is forgive me for saying 03:08 that you're not a big city, McAdoo, this person says, 03:14 "I became a Seventh-day Adventist two years ago, 03:17 I was a Catholic for 55 years. 03:20 I was brought to the truth through 03:22 Kenneth Cox Ministries on 3ABN." 03:25 Praise the Lord for the work 03:26 that God is doing through Pastor Kenneth Cox. 03:28 He's been an evangelist for oh, 40, 50 years, 03:33 always on the cutting edge, praise God for that. 03:37 "I could not have believed 03:39 I would have changed my faith a few years ago. 03:44 However Christ is so generous 03:47 with the truth that I was praying for." 03:50 And that's so wonderful. 03:51 You know, when you pray for the truth, 03:53 God never stops guiding and leading. 03:54 And I'm so glad that this person wrote it 03:56 because I want to say this. 03:57 It fits right into our topic. 03:59 In some degree God is looking for the--to unify us 04:01 but not so much on the bases of things 04:04 that we'd like in common but the truth of God's word. 04:07 We're gonna talk about that more 04:08 in the second half of the program. 04:10 But here is where the question comes in. 04:13 "Your program 'House Calls' is excellent 04:15 and so helpful in teaching the Bible. 04:19 I watch all the time and learn so much through it. 04:24 As you always say on the program--" 04:28 And I just want to say this in the context, 04:30 there's some faith that don't read the Bible very much 04:33 and my family being 90% plus Catholic, 04:35 they don't spend a lot of time in reading the Bible. 04:38 So lot of what has been 04:39 communicated has been traditional. 04:41 And so this person after studying the Bible 04:44 decided to change her faith. 04:46 "The reason I'm writing--" 04:48 And here is the question, good getting right down to it. 04:52 "I would like to ask a question. 04:53 When God created man was it being only one family, 04:59 how did God populate the earth?" 05:02 Well, let's go to the Book of Genesis. 05:04 I'm gonna go and lean forth 05:06 because I just had a-- and go ahead, 05:10 go with me to Genesis Chapter 2. 05:15 It's a very simple answer. 05:18 You had Adam and you also had Eve, 05:25 one man, one woman, when God made them both, 05:30 He gave them a commission 05:33 and the commission was very, very carefully communicated. 05:37 He said to them, "Multiply and replenish the earth." 05:44 So when they multiplied they both man and woman, 05:48 they are the progenitors of humanity. 05:52 Only one man, one woman 05:53 and as the races began to multiply 05:55 then in and amongst those, in and amongst those 05:58 that began to multiply the families came out of that. 06:01 That had to be God's original plan 06:03 for there was no one else any other location on the earth 06:07 waiting for Adam and Eve to show up to start repopulating 06:11 because there was more than one family, 06:13 that's clearly the answer. 06:15 I think its Acts 17:26, the Bible says, 06:19 "From one blood came all nations of men." 06:23 So the clear answer and I think that 06:25 what needs to be answered after this is. 06:27 So then why is it that we no longer intermarry today 06:33 or populate cousin with cousin, you know, 06:38 family member with family member. 06:40 As time went on the Lord established clearly that, 06:43 that was no longer a part of His plan, 06:47 but you have to clearly see that when creation began 06:50 there was only-- it's a pretty simple answer 06:52 there was only one man and one woman, 06:55 they had son Cain and Abel 06:57 and you'll discover after Cain killed Abel, 07:01 then you notice that division began to occur significantly 07:05 because what happened after Cain killed Able, 07:09 there was only what? 07:11 Cain was the only son left. 07:13 He had children and then his children had children 07:16 and Adam and Eve had other children 07:18 doesn't give all the names of all the family members 07:21 that they had but that was clearly the way 07:23 that the earth was populated. 07:25 No surprise to us because that's how God began. 07:27 And we're talking about centuries of time here going by. 07:31 You know, lot of people will say, 07:32 "Well, how did Cain, you know, propagate himself. 07:36 You know, how was there procreation on his line?" 07:38 Well, Adam and Eve had many more sons and daughters 07:42 and some of those daughters did also rebel, 07:45 join Cain's clan and from there, 07:48 there's an entire linage of Cain that goes from that. 07:52 And so, I mean, the answer is fairly easy, 07:53 we just have to think intelligently and understand 07:55 the amount of time it goes by, it was many centuries. 08:01 And so really right here in verse 28 of Genesis 1, 08:04 "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 08:07 'Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, 08:12 have dominion over the fish of the sea, 08:14 over the birds of the air and over every living thing 08:17 that moves on the earth.'" 08:19 That was the command that God made very, very clear. 08:22 Obviously after sin entered the world that wasn't simple 08:25 because in Genesis 3:16, the Lord said, 08:27 "In sorrow you will multiply your conception 08:32 I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception." 08:36 So the only difference was after sin, 08:39 having children was more painful, before it wasn't. 08:44 But--I think that's a straight forward answer right there. 08:48 But this person has a second answer, John or second question 08:52 which I would like to go to the Book of Exodus. 08:54 Exodus Chapter 20. 08:56 Anything you want to add to that by the way 08:58 before I segue to the next question? 08:59 No, they were good. All right. 09:02 Exodus, what? Exodus Chapter 20. 09:09 And putting back--putting this back into the context 09:12 of the question that's being asked by Denise. 09:17 Remember she came out of the Catholic faith 09:20 and I know traditionally they are relics 09:23 that are so much part of the worship 09:25 of the imagery worship in the Catholic faith. 09:30 Now, people don't-- and I want to, 09:32 and I want to try to be very delicate here 09:35 take into consideration 09:37 many of my family members are Catholic 09:40 and I love them dearly. 09:41 I think people are wonderful regardless 09:43 of what faith they choose 09:45 understanding also the tenets of each person's faith 09:50 that is traditionally some are more driven by tradition, 09:54 others are more driven by what the Bible actually says. 09:57 And in some place they try to mix 09:59 tradition and scripture together, right. 10:01 But in the context of tradition there are those 10:04 who in the chanting of their prayers 10:07 or in the repeating of their prayers, 10:10 they would say this in the crucifix 10:12 that is often used either the cross 10:15 which is referred to the crucifixion 10:17 or the rosary which has the crucifix at the end of it. 10:20 Their prayers that are repeated 10:23 and then every ten beats then you have one more 10:27 that different prayers said. 10:29 And this person asked the question 10:30 in the context of the use of the crucifix. 10:36 "I understand \that the statement-- 10:41 that the statues and images are against the Ten Commandments, 10:45 however is it also forbidden 10:48 to have a cross or crucifix in my home?" 10:52 Now, I would say that the image itself 10:58 is not an offensive image. 11:00 The image itself doesn't make you saved or lost 11:03 but here is where the dividing line comes in. 11:06 In Exodus Chapter 20, when the Lords says in verse 4, 11:10 "You shall not make for yourself any carved image, 11:15 or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, 11:17 or that is in the earth beneath, 11:18 or that is in the water under the earth." 11:21 And here is where the difference, 11:22 here is where the dividing line comes in. 11:24 And read verse 5, John, 11:25 just so we could give a different tone of voice 11:28 and may be that could... 11:30 "You shall not bow down to them or serve them, 11:33 for I the Lord your God, I am a jealous God, 11:37 visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children 11:40 to the third and the fourth generation 11:41 of those who hate me." 11:43 Okay, so here is the key. 11:45 I know that in the practice and I have seen this happen 11:48 and I'm gonna be very vague, 11:51 in the church where my family attends. 11:54 When they climb the steps to the church 11:56 some people as they get to the image of Mary 11:59 right at the entrance of the church they bow down 12:01 and they do sign of the cross 12:02 and then they--I think the phrase the word genuflect, 12:06 we call it bow down but there is a certain terminology used 12:10 and they do the sign of the cross and then they go in. 12:13 And that is taught traditionally that that is the way 12:16 that they revere these images. 12:19 But specifically they are not worshiping the wood and stone 12:22 but they are worshiping what that represents. 12:24 So they say, they believe in the--that Mary still exists 12:28 and that she's somehow involved in the mediatory work of Christ. 12:31 So they pray "Holy Mary, Mother of God, 12:34 pray for sinners now and at the hour of their death." 12:37 Well, according to the Bible and this opens so many doors, 12:41 John, really does. 12:42 According to the Bible, 12:43 Mary though chosen by God is not a mediator. 12:49 There's only one Man between us and God 12:52 and that is the Man Christ Jesus. 12:54 There's only on mediator between God and man 12:57 and that is the Man Christ Jesus. 12:59 And there is no other name given among men 13:01 whereby we must be saved then the name of Jesus. 13:05 He shall save His people from their sins. 13:07 So there is nobody else that is between us and God, 13:11 not Saint Peter, not Luke, not Thomas, 13:15 none of these are to be mediatorially involved 13:20 in the work between us and God, only Christ. 13:23 So in that context the crucifix 13:27 being an image of representation, 13:30 if you can have that in your home and not worship it, 13:34 I don't see that the having of that image in fact 13:36 will cause there to be any kind of condemnation. 13:40 But I would caution carefully, when you have images of statues 13:45 that have eyes, but they can't see, 13:47 hands but they can't touch, ears but cannot hear. 13:49 The Bible specifically forbids that kind of thing, 13:52 it really does not to make any graven images 13:55 and to have any representations of anything in heaven above 13:58 or that is in earth beneath. 14:00 So let's be very careful. 14:01 There's a very fine line there 14:03 but I think it's even more delicate 14:04 when the religion that this person has had most of her life 14:09 included this forms in worship. 14:11 And, you know, she is a fairly new Adventist 14:15 and there is also going to be some implications 14:20 here with regard to your fellowshipping 14:22 with your church family now, your new church family 14:25 and you want to be cognizant of, 14:27 of their ideas as far as this crucifix and another things too. 14:32 So you want to be careful where you place it, 14:35 how you keep it and especially some will object 14:37 because it's mere fact that it was for the purpose of worship 14:40 before and because it was made as a graven image 14:44 I would be very careful in, 14:46 in allowing it to continue to remain in place 14:49 where it could look like it was still in a place of worship 14:53 and so you need to be little careful there. 14:55 One of the specific councils from the word of God is, 14:58 "Do not be the stumbling block in your brother's way." 15:02 It could become a stumbling block to your growing in faith 15:06 and your bonding with your new family 15:07 if they think there're some still some Catholic roots 15:09 held on to there with regard to the worship. 15:12 And I don't think you're saying that 15:13 and I don't think that Denise is saying it all. 15:16 But at least just be aware of how it might be perceived 15:19 and then, you know, respond accordingly. 15:23 So I would not personally, 15:28 I would not keep a statue of Mary in my house 15:31 because Mary's not to be even thought of as rev being revered. 15:37 The little images of Thomas, I know, 15:40 I can't remember all the meanings of them 15:42 but some people driving their car 15:43 and they have a little plastic statue on their dashboard 15:47 and they say well, this is a saint that protects me. 15:51 This is the saint of protection. 15:53 That's not supported by the Bible at all. 15:55 That in fact is a violation of the commandment 16:00 where it says, "Thou shall have no other Gods before me." 16:03 That's right, that's right. What do you have, John? 16:06 I have a question that comes from Ron from Phoenix. 16:10 And he says here let's see, 16:14 being sealed by the Holy Spirit is a spiritual transaction 16:19 done outside of ourselves and not of ourselves. 16:22 And it is a quote from him and a very appropriate quote 16:25 because spiritually, we are sealed 16:28 not being anything that we can do 16:29 but the Holy Spirit is who seals us. 16:33 We are then or are we then, excuse me, 16:35 capable of doing something in the physical life 16:37 in and of ourselves to unseal ourselves? 16:42 This seems to be an impossibility, is it? 16:47 And so anyway just wanted to look at a few texts 16:50 here with you in regards to this, 16:53 the verse that was brought up here 16:56 that you mentioned at the beginning 16:57 I didn't read that part was from Ephesians 1:13 17:02 and so we'll start with that. 17:04 Ephesians 1:13 which says 17:09 "In Him, you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, 17:13 the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, 17:16 you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 17:20 who is the guarantee of our inheritance 17:23 until the redemption of the purchased possession, 17:26 to the praise of His glory." 17:28 And so what we find here is that 17:32 upon accepting Christ as our Lord and as our Savior, 17:36 there's a process of once being justified, 17:39 now you're being sanctified, 17:41 set apart for holy use 17:42 and the Holy Spirit then comes down 17:45 and fills our lives, fills our heart 17:47 and seals us in so to speak to the truth 17:50 that we have now accepted and we now live by 17:53 which has as its head Jesus Christ, 17:56 not only the head of the church 17:57 but the head of our body 17:58 and the head of our life, our Master and Lord. 18:01 And so the sealing is a very individual experience. 18:07 It's something that comes from God as result or response 18:10 to our declaration of faith and our commitment to live 18:12 according to Him and usually follows baptism by water 18:16 which is the death of the old life 18:18 and the resurrection of the new life 18:19 we have now in Jesus Christ. 18:23 There are a couple of things just to talk about here 18:25 and we have some verses that I'll bring up 18:28 just to mention in regard to the sealing. 18:30 There's a sealing that happens individually by the mere fact 18:33 that the Holy Spirit does come into our life 18:35 and does seal us in as Christians 18:37 committed and faithful to God. 18:40 But there's a greater sealing 18:41 that happens in the context of prophecy. 18:44 In that--the Book of Revelation indicates 18:46 that at the very end of time, 18:48 as we find a polarization of two camps, 18:53 one that worships God and it's faithful to Him 18:55 and one that worships the enemy and is unfaithful to God. 18:59 And included within that camp 19:01 are fairly pretty much two groups, 19:03 one that believes they're still worshiping God 19:06 and those that never really claimed God 19:08 but are going along for the ride essentially, 19:11 for the last events that happen in this world's history. 19:14 Those that are committed to God and faithful to God are sealed 19:18 with a greatest sealing of settling us into truth. 19:23 Sealing us and to protect us from anything 19:25 that would happen during persecution 19:28 from the certain point on. 19:29 So while we are sealed in our life as committed Christians, 19:33 we're also to a greater degree sealed 19:35 in for this last great time of persecution, 19:40 the time as such as never been mentioned in the Book of Daniel, 19:43 mentioned by Christ Himself, which is soon to come, 19:46 the time of tribulation that ends all things. 19:49 And so with that sealing, I just want you to see in that context, 19:53 Revelation Chapter 7 which describes that sealing, 19:57 an end time sealing. 19:59 Revelation 7:2, "Then I saw another angel ascending 20:03 from the east, having the seal of the living God. 20:07 And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels 20:09 to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, 20:12 'Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees 20:15 till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.' 20:20 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 20:22 a hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes 20:24 of the children of Israel were sealed." 20:26 Of course, there's a lot of symbology there, 20:28 there's a lot of symbolism there that is happening 20:30 that we don't have time to go into. 20:32 But clearly we're finding a group here, 20:34 as the four winds are about to be released. 20:36 That is the winds of strife coming upon this earth 20:39 that are sealed in by God's Spirit 20:41 to a greater degree of settling them in, 20:44 securing them into the faith and the truth, 20:47 so they cannot be moved. 20:49 And so that is to come, today though 20:53 we're individually experiencing a sealing 20:55 by God's Spirit dwelling within us, 20:57 that is growing us as a sanctified individual 21:00 set aside for the purpose of glorifying God. 21:04 And there's some other ones here too, 21:05 we have--I think the other part of the question here, 21:09 and the main part of question is there's something 21:11 we can do to unseal ourselves? 21:13 Now, in the context of our being sealed by the Holy Spirit 21:16 as He grows us spiritually, 21:18 there is something that can happen 21:20 and I'm gonna bring up a couple of text here, 21:22 one is from the Book of Ephesians. 21:24 So let's go back to that Book of Ephesians 4:30. 21:35 Hey, here we are. 21:37 Which says "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, 21:41 by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." 21:46 Do not grieve, that word grieve is to push away, to make, 21:52 to make sad enough to depart. 21:55 The grieving is to push away and to cut off 21:58 the influence of the Holy Spirit 22:00 in his work in our lives as Christians. 22:04 Paul also spoke of that in 1 Thessalonians 5:19. 22:11 Do not quench the Holy Spirit. 22:14 So this quenching, this grieving is something that we do, 22:17 it's a command not to do that. 22:19 And if you read little further on it, 22:20 essentially what this grieving is or this quenching is, 22:24 is allowing sin to come back into the life 22:28 which then with this practice of sin, grieves the Holy Spirit, 22:31 it crowds the Holy Spirit out of our life, 22:33 so that we begin to fall back into the world 22:36 that we had once left 22:38 to commit our life to Christ, to follow Christ. 22:41 So we have to be sure that we're not allowing these sins 22:43 that we're very careful to watch 22:45 and to pray and to read scripture 22:47 and to make sure that God's growing us 22:49 and feeding that spiritual nature 22:51 that He's given us to avoid the Holy Spirit 22:56 grieved by our sin that we might allow into our life again. 23:00 And, you know, one person said that one way to crowd out sin 23:05 is to feed the righteousness, feed the Holy Spirit, 23:09 what He wants to do and what He wants to bring into your life, 23:13 and one way to allow sin to come back in 23:15 is to feed the old nature, the carnal nature. 23:17 What we feed tends to be the direction 23:19 that we go as Christians. 23:21 And so although Christ is sealing us 23:24 and does that through the spirit, 23:25 we can quench or grieve the Holy Spirit 23:28 and essentially push him out. 23:29 We did it a recent program on once saved always saved 23:32 and the different aspects of that. 23:34 And this ties in very similarly here that we make, 23:36 can make the choice to allow sin back in 23:39 and to crowd out Christ 23:41 if we're not careful to make sure 23:42 that we're staying on that narrow road 23:44 and following Him and the vow 23:46 that we made to commit our lives to Him. 23:49 When you think of-- and I think the initial question 23:52 is what can I do to be unsealed? 23:56 So much have flooded into my mind 23:58 and I give God the glory for that 24:00 because we don't really just sit down here and say, 24:03 well, what else do I remember? 24:05 Yeah, exactly. God lead us in. 24:07 When you think of the days of the antediluvian, 24:11 and if that word is not familiar with-- 24:13 to you that is before the flood. 24:18 The Bible says in Genesis Chapter 6, go there with me. 24:23 Genesis Chapter 6 and the Bible makes it 24:29 very, very clear in verse 3, "The Lord says 24:33 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever,'" 24:37 or if you have the King James, 24:39 "shall not always strive with man, for he indeed is flesh, 24:42 yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." 24:46 And it talks about the condition of the earth 24:48 and it got to the point where it says in verse 6, 24:51 well, let's read verse 5. 24:53 "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man 24:57 was great in the earth, and that every intent, 25:00 that is thought, every intention of the thoughts 25:04 of his heart was only evil continually." 25:06 Yes, that's something that you can 25:08 by having continually evil thoughts, 25:12 the spirit of God will not always strive with you. 25:15 He won't stay there 25:17 because your thoughts are only evil continually. 25:19 Just think of that in the context of an evil, 25:20 a child whose evil continually, parent will say, 25:24 I don't know what else to do? 25:26 I've done everything I possibly can, 25:28 I'm just gonna let you follow your own natural course, 25:31 you do what you want to do 25:33 and whatever happens is in your responsibility, 25:38 it's in your hands to do that. 25:39 And so you find here, it got to the place 25:42 where the Bible says in verse 6 of Genesis 6 25:44 and the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth 25:48 and He was grieved in His heart. 25:50 Now the reason why that came 'cause you mentioned grieve not, 25:53 sometimes we tend to separate grieving the Holy Spirit 26:00 from grieving God and say, 26:02 as long as we don't grieve God, we're okay. 26:05 But if we grieve the Holy Spirit, 26:06 man, we're in trouble. 26:08 I want to point you to a section of the Bible 26:11 where you'll clearly see that you're endangered. 26:14 And, John, I don't know, did you read Matthew 12:31? 26:17 Read Matthew 12:31 and then I'm gonna go ahead 26:21 and add another component to that 26:24 in other section of the Bible. 26:25 Remember here, what had happened in the antediluvian world 26:28 is they grieved God and because of that he says, 26:32 My Spirit, it's not always gonna be hanging around, 26:35 My Spirit is not gonna always appeal to their heart 26:36 because I'm grieved. 26:38 So God was grieved and the work of the Holy Spirit was hindered. 26:42 So they could by their evil, continual evil they can grieve 26:47 the Spirit of God by their continually evil thoughts 26:50 and if you look at the world today, 26:51 it's kind of getting into that point. 26:53 In some cases, God see us already that way 26:55 in some people's lives but we can't determine. 26:58 Read Matthew 12:31 and this is what I think 27:00 that happened in the days of the antediluvians 27:03 where God gave them up. 27:05 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy 27:08 will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy 27:10 against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 27:14 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, 27:16 it will be forgiven him, 27:17 but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, 27:20 it will not be forgiven him, 27:21 either in this age or in the age to come." 27:24 And so you see clearly there is a line of division 27:28 but now go with me to Acts Chapter 5-- 27:30 Well, we do think alike, don't we? 27:32 Verse 3 and 4. 27:33 I'm gonna let you read that since you're going there. 27:35 And I'll lay the foundation for this 27:37 because in this particular story, 27:38 you have two people Ananias husband, Sapphira the wife. 27:43 I preached this sermon many years ago, 27:45 I wish I could say I was original 27:46 but I got this from a dear pastor of mine 27:48 who is now deceased, it was called 27:49 heart attacks in holy places and Pastor Leroy McCarty, 27:55 who is now resting in the Lord 27:58 preached that sermon and I was so fired up 28:00 as a young man when I heard that. 28:02 It came back to my mind years later and it was amazing. 28:05 But look at the content of these verses, 28:09 verses 3 and verse 4 28:10 and you'll see how we cannot say, 28:13 well, I can't--we can't come to the conclusion 28:17 that if I grieve God, I'm saved 28:20 but if I grieve the Holy Spirit, I'm in trouble. 28:24 Read this, John, Acts 5:3-4. 28:27 "But Peter said, 'Ananias, 28:29 why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit 28:32 and keep back a part of the price of the land for yourself? 28:36 While it remained, was it not your own? 28:39 And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? 28:42 Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? 28:44 You have not lied to men but to God.'" 28:47 Notice, Holy Spirit, verse 3, God, verse 4. 28:53 He doesn't separate the two and what we have to keep in mind 28:56 and this is where the line sometimes 28:59 we don't want to refer to grey 29:00 because the Bible is not grey at all. 29:02 But where we can become grey in our thoughts of saying 29:04 oh, as long as I don't say anything against 29:07 the Holy Spirit, I could call God, 29:08 I could put God's name in a curse, 29:11 I could use God's name in vain, 29:12 I could repeat God's name over and over, I'm still safe. 29:15 Oh, don't venture down that road because these two individuals 29:19 Ananias and Sapphira they made a pledge to give God 29:22 whatever you blessed them with, they had good intentions. 29:25 But I think this statement may have come from, 29:27 the road to hell is paved with good intentions. 29:31 But their intentions changed 29:32 after God had abundantly blessed them. 29:36 And the Bible says, 29:37 "Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin 29:41 and say before God, it was a mistake." 29:43 And that's what happened here. 29:44 They came and they plotted together 29:47 when they went into church to return to God 29:50 where He blessed them with and Ananias said, 29:53 here's what God, God gave me $30 for this 29:56 and Peter said, did He really? 29:59 Yeah, when God really gave him a $100 for that. 30:03 And he lied and he lost his life 30:05 and his wife came and not too long after 30:07 and she lost her life. 30:08 Because here, he lied to the Holy Spirit, 30:12 and he says you've not lied to man, 30:14 but you've lied to God. 30:15 You cannot separate divinity, so be very, very careful 30:18 when you think one is safe and one is not safe. Right. 30:21 Very true. Okay. 30:23 And one last reference 30:25 just to write it down 1 Samuel 18:12, 30:27 Saul, the King of Israel, the Lord departed from him 30:32 but he didn't even know it. 30:34 And what took over an evil spirit, 30:36 because he exposed himself to the Witch of Endor 30:41 and then evil spirit now is working in his life. 30:43 And the spirit of the Lord departed from him. 30:46 1 Samuel 18:12. 30:47 So be really careful, 30:49 because that led to his demise and his death. That's right. 30:51 Well, thank you for your questions and comments. 30:53 As you can tell we really enjoy that, 30:55 and the first step of our program is always 30:58 the work that you do. 30:59 So keep doing the work that you do 31:00 and send us the Bible questions and your comments. 31:03 And you can send them to housecalls@3abn.org 31:06 that's housecalls@3abn.org 31:09 and we surely will get back to you as soon as possible can 31:12 and thank you for your patience 31:13 and your kind support of this network. 31:16 John, take us back into this topic. 31:18 One you put together, I really appreciate it. 31:20 I thought we're gonna be able to go through it quickly 31:22 but it's very deep. Yeah, it is. 31:24 And it's about unity in the faith 31:26 and making sure that within the church 31:28 God's body here on this earth, 31:30 the visible church we're talking about, 31:32 that the members are unified in purpose. 31:35 And the mission of the church 31:38 and it's sharing of the everlasting gospel, 31:41 proclamation of the gospel to all the world. 31:43 The biggest thing that Satan does 31:46 as we mentioned this in the last program 31:47 is that he looks to divide and then conquer. 31:50 If he can divide us within the church, 31:51 he knows that we cannot complete the mission 31:53 that God has given us to do. That's right. 31:55 And so it just extends his time, 31:57 but if we're unified and we stay together, 31:59 in spite of the diversity that we have, 32:01 the diversity of views and the diversity of styles, 32:06 worship, lifestyles, other things, 32:10 then we can complete our mission. 32:12 You know, John, I think as we were getting there 32:15 toward the end of the last program 32:16 we talked about, reading from Christ words 32:20 and His prayers specifically in John Chapter 17. 32:24 And so Jesus definitely had a vision 32:26 for what His people would be doing 32:28 once He returned to heaven. That's right. 32:30 As they were sharing this wonderful gospel with the world. 32:35 And so we want to start with that here today 32:38 from John Chapter 17, we'll begin with verse 20. Okay. 32:41 And I will go ahead and read that John, 32:43 and then we can dive into various aspects of it 32:46 because there's an actually a lot here. 32:48 Verse 20, "I do not pray for these alone." 32:53 In other words Jesus had prayed first for Himself 32:55 for strength to be able to overcome 32:58 this challenge of the cross coming 32:59 to that He's about to face. 33:02 Then He prayed for His disciples. 33:03 That's right. And now He's praying for us. 33:06 And so as He's praying for us, 33:07 he says, "I do not pray for these alone, 33:09 but also for those who will believe in Me 33:11 through their word, that they may all be one, 33:15 as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, 33:19 that they also may be one in Us, 33:22 that the world may believe that You sent Me. 33:25 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, 33:28 so that they may be one just as We are one, 33:32 I in them, and You in Me, 33:35 that they may be made perfect in one, 33:38 and that the world may know that You have sent Me, 33:41 and have loved them as You have loved Me." Beautiful. 33:44 Two things connected here, John, I don't want to miss out on. 33:48 Unity and love. That's right. 33:51 They are absolutely inseparable. 33:54 You cannot be disunified, divided and love. 33:59 You cannot love and not be united. 34:02 They go hand in hand. Think of any marriage. Right. 34:05 When a husband and woman are united in marriage 34:08 they're proclaiming a bond of love. 34:12 Unity and love. These go hand in hand. 34:15 And when we're talking about the church, 34:17 the oneness of the church and unity of the church, 34:19 we must be talking about love 34:20 and how we share that love between each other. 34:23 As Jesus said, they will know you by your love 34:26 for one another. Right. And so that is the clear thing. 34:29 I think mentioned-- we mentioned last time 34:31 that kind of our foundational picture of this, 34:36 one of the text we used to it 34:37 to kind of spring of it was from 1 Peter 4:8, 34:42 "And above all things have fervent love for one another". 34:47 And I really like that because it's saying 34:49 He's really saying that love this unity and this love 34:53 that we have is the greatest focus of the church 34:56 as we work together for God's kingdom. 34:58 What are the things that we have to be careful 34:59 of it's not to major in minors and minor in majors. 35:03 A lot of times we look at the ancillary practices of our faith 35:09 and make them the major focal point rather than-- 35:14 rather than the fabric. 35:17 Let me use example, you could have on a suit, 35:20 but you could focus on all the buttons. Right. 35:23 Well the most important thing is that, 35:25 your clothed is the real focal point here. 35:28 We don't want to become button Christians 35:30 when in fact the suit is the most important aspect of it. 35:34 Okay, if you loose one button on a suit, 35:36 you still have on the whole suit. 35:38 My analogy there simply saying this, 35:40 there are some individuals 35:42 and as a pastor, now we're going to 26 years here. 35:46 Wow, okay I just got over this. 35:51 I have seen all kinds of internal divisions. 35:55 For example we were at Fairfield together. 35:57 Sometimes we had a person at our church there 36:01 that whenever we had fellowship lunch, 36:03 they will go through and say, okay what's in that, 36:05 what's not in that, what's in that, 36:07 well we say its vegetarian. They will say, okay. 36:10 And they may have had intolerance to certain things 36:12 that are acceptable for vegetarians 36:14 like gluten intolerance and all, 36:16 when I talk about health issues. 36:18 But sometimes, what had happen is-- 36:21 they had become the food inspector 36:24 and they started rubbing people the wrong way. 36:28 It started irritating people 36:29 to the point where even if a guest came, 36:33 they will say to the guest, now, what did you put in it? 36:36 What kind of oil did you use? 36:38 Was it canola oil, was it vegetable oil, 36:40 was it virgin olive oil? 36:41 What was, you know, did the oil, was it Crisco 36:45 and it got to the place 36:48 where there were majoring in minors 36:50 and minoring in majors. 36:52 And the thing that John brought out as a major is 36:54 having love one for the other. 36:57 Because we hadv a very amazing example here at our church 37:02 a number of years ago when one of our members 37:04 who is now deceased just came to be a member of our church 37:08 in that fellowship lunch 37:09 and understand what I am saying here. 37:11 I am not saying that we should ignore what we eat or drink. 37:13 That's not at all. 37:15 But my--the focal point here is sometimes, 37:19 sometimes we can major so much in the minors 37:21 that we could loose someone before Christ 37:23 even gains access to them fully. 37:26 This particular person brought beans to fellowship lunch 37:30 three weeks in a row. 37:31 And it was one of the first things to be gone 37:33 and before he even learned about all the tenets of the faith. 37:36 He said, wow, what did you make out of these? 37:39 And he said, well I just put 37:40 a little slice of bacon in there. 37:43 I love it. It's too funny. 37:45 You know I tell you-- 37:46 And I laugh at his innocence. I mean he was innocent. 37:48 He was so innocent, he was so innocent. 37:50 Now we didn't say, well, keep doing that. 37:53 We realized-- That's right. 37:54 We need to tell him now 37:56 that this is not what we eat. Right. 37:58 When that was a health principle outlined by the Bible 38:00 that we should not put those things in our body. 38:03 But this person out of the desire 38:05 to just simply contribute 38:07 didn't understand and did not know. 38:10 And then we had a another example 38:11 and I am talking about these because 38:12 these are the issues that sometimes causes 38:14 to major in minors and minor in majors. 38:16 That person learned and that did not happen again 38:19 and surely we are careful about what we do eat 38:21 and what we drink because we recognize our bodies 38:23 to be God's temple in honor of the Lord. 38:26 But I visited a country number of years ago 38:29 and the people in that country 38:31 didn't have access to all other vegetarian substitutes 38:33 we have here access to in America. 38:35 And they invited us to their home 38:37 and Adventist Pastor and his wife 38:39 and she labored all day to make a really, 38:42 really special dish for my wife and I. 38:46 And it was just amazing and I am sitting there 38:50 and we sit on with our plate, we have the dinner 38:53 and we have the prayer 38:55 and we cut open this thing look like a nice pastry 38:59 and I looked on the inside and I thought-- 39:02 well, sometimes aren't we make things 39:03 that look like beef maybe it's not. 39:05 And we bit into it 39:06 and I hadn't had beef in so many years. 39:08 I have forgotten how long it was. 39:09 And I bit into it and I look that anti and cheek 39:11 kind of similar to the same thing. 39:13 We looked at each other 39:14 and then the wife caught a glimpse of our face 39:16 and the husband realized what it happened at that moment. 39:18 He's pastoring, they're both members of the Adventist Church 39:21 and they looked at us and instantly she saw that 39:26 she felt the pain of, oh, I didn't even ask them, 39:29 if they were vegetarian or not. 39:30 And we looked at them and we thought, 39:32 this is one of those moments 39:34 where we could offend this lady terribly. 39:36 Well thank her and you know what she said, 39:38 you don't have to eat the whole thing. 39:40 But you know we thought, its not gonna kill us, 39:43 now this wasn't unclean 39:45 and that was the first time in probably 20 plus years 39:47 that I had any beef. 39:49 And she understood, but here's what I am saying, 39:54 I am not saying lower your guard 39:56 on health reform or become so stringent 39:59 that you examine every aspect of what's placed before you. 40:03 But what John is saying is these are the things 40:06 that sometimes in the church, in the Adventist church 40:09 can becomes such points of division 40:11 that it makes, it creates barriers 40:13 for somebody who even wants to examine your fate. That right. 40:15 And so you become the people of what don't you do 40:18 rather than the people of what you do. Yeah. 40:20 All right, that's what I think what you're talking about. 40:22 You know, even the one admonition 40:25 within Romans Chapter 14 is in regard to the practices 40:29 of what we eat and don't eat. That's right. 40:31 And it says in verse 19, 40:33 "Therefore let us pursue the things 40:35 which make for peace 40:37 and the things by which one may edify another. 40:41 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food." Right. 40:46 And, you know, I--I won't tell you who it is 40:50 but someone in our family. 40:52 We are sitting there at the table 40:54 and they've been practicing 40:56 very strict vegetarianism for years, many years. 41:01 And so we're talking 41:03 and where the subject of meat comes up. 41:07 This couple that was eating meat 41:08 and they were surprised by that. 41:10 Anyway so I made the simple comment. 41:11 I thought it was very simple. 41:13 I said well, eating meat is not a sin. 41:17 And individual went like this. 41:23 Because he knew it was right. According to the scriptures. 41:26 But the immediate reaction was 41:28 that's the way they felt about it. 41:31 And we can feel so strongly about 41:33 something that we can start to equate it as sin or not sin 41:36 rather than a lifestyle choice. Right. Which is what it is? 41:39 In fact, according to the Bible, yeah. 41:43 Eating meat clean is not sinful. No. 41:48 But when you start making it the issue, 41:52 then you even the one that doesn't eat it 41:55 can become sinful in forcing a very strict practice 41:59 on somebody else going beyond 42:01 the boundaries that God has called you go 42:03 in your relationships within the church. 42:07 And at the same time I have an individual 42:09 that in a church I pastored not to long ago 42:13 who really battled with this idea of labeling food. 42:18 I mean there are lots of not even in the church, 42:20 there are lots of vegans and vegetarians 42:22 and lacto-ovo and non strictly vegan and things-- 42:26 and one person came with the suggestion saying, 42:30 you know, it really will be helpful 42:31 if we could label foods because, I have certain allergies 42:34 and I can't eat anything that has nuts in it. 42:38 And it wasn't just peanuts, it was several kinds of nuts. 42:41 And he said it really be helpful for us to do it. 42:43 So we started talking about labeling. 42:45 You know, just putting little toothpick in there. 42:46 This is, you know, has nuts in it or whatever. 42:49 And someone say, well, we should be basically label 42:51 so we can allow our, 42:52 some of our vegan eaters to come back 42:54 and contribute to the potluck and things to. 42:56 And there's a whole discussion debate over labeling food. 42:59 And I said, wait a minute. 43:00 Why are we so opposed to just labeling food. 43:04 I mean its just giving someone a courtesy 43:07 as to what's in this dish and what's not in this dish. 43:09 And they do that in a lot of restaurants. 43:11 And in doing that it allowed 43:12 vegans to participate in the potluck. 43:15 Those are just vegetarians to participate in the potluck. 43:18 And those are with food allergies 43:20 to participate in the potluck. 43:21 Of course some of them are what is the new one, 43:23 it's really strong as the gluten intolerant. 43:27 They're gluten intolerant. Gluten intolerant. 43:29 And that happens today, yeah. 43:30 So, anyway I just bring this up 43:32 because these issues of lifestyle also its not-- 43:38 they don't stand alone, 43:39 there's issues of music as a worship style, 43:42 there's issues of all kinds of practices within the church 43:45 that we fight over that, we shouldn't be fighting over. 43:50 And it is causing a significant not only division in the church 43:54 but it's causing us to be crippled from the mission 43:56 that God has given us. 43:58 So, John, let's look at the early church 43:59 and maybe go through some of the things, 44:01 that that they did. 44:04 Some evidence here is to what they experience as a church 44:06 because we're not just because 44:08 we're living in the day we live, doesn't mean that 44:12 back then that they didn't have a same kind of issues. 44:14 Nothing is new under the sun, we've the same issues, 44:16 that they were grappling with back them. 44:18 And the Bible has a lot to speak about all those. 44:20 You know, Paul addressed 44:21 some of these things in Romans 14, 44:22 that's a Romans 14 by the way is a very familiar passage 44:26 that people try to use in a small component 44:29 to want to whether or not you should eat 44:31 or eat clean or unclean. 44:33 They tried to say, that doesn't really, really matter. 44:35 The whole purpose of Romans 14 44:36 is not to put you in one camp or the other 44:39 but the very context of Romans 14 is in verse 1. 44:42 Romans 14:1, it says 44:44 "Receive one who is weak in the faith," 44:47 but do not "but not to disputes over doubtful things. 44:53 For one believes he may eat all things, 44:57 but he who is weak eats only vegetables." 45:00 You see lot of people read this and say, 45:03 I could eat anything, 45:04 it really doesn't matter what I eat, 45:06 because I don't want to offend anybody 45:08 I'll just eat whatever is before me. 45:10 When you look at the whole context of this, 45:14 we--it tells us that we don't live onto ourselves, 45:17 but we live onto the Lord. 45:18 So we're accountable before the Lord. 45:20 But the issue that was being addressed 45:22 here among the Romans is 45:24 that they were minoring in majors 45:27 and majoring in minors. 45:29 And I thought it was really interesting 45:30 that the whole issue of 45:31 the issue of judging one another. 45:35 One esteems one day above the other, 45:37 one esteems, the other esteems all day is alike. 45:40 This was the ceremonial issues that were becoming a problem 45:43 in and among the Roman believers. 45:46 And it was by no means speaking about the Sabbath. 45:48 But there were many ceremonial observances 45:50 in the transitional period 45:52 between the ceremonial law being done away with 45:55 and the Christian church being established 45:57 many people were not yet sure. 45:59 Well, do we still do that? 46:01 I said, no. Done away with. 46:04 Do whatever-- no that is ceremonial,. 46:08 No that was ceremonial. 46:10 And they were struggling over these issues. 46:12 And that's why it says well one person esteems 46:14 one day above another, verse 5 46:16 and another one esteems every day alike. 46:18 Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. 46:21 And so for time, John, if you follow the practices 46:24 they were many that continued 46:26 certain aspects of the ceremonial law 46:28 that wasn't a hindrance to their faith 46:32 but for their own security, Paul didn't say to them, 46:37 you know, this is kind of really make you be lost. 46:40 Like for example, some of them still observe Passover, 46:43 some of them still observe aspects of their faith 46:46 that was part of their tradition. 46:48 And they're still some today 46:50 and I want to bring up this issue. 46:51 They're still some today they said, 46:53 well, should we keep the feast 46:55 or should we not keep the feast. You see what I am saying? 46:58 If they want to keep the feast, let's go ahead. Fine. 47:01 You want to keep the feast, there's one more thing 47:02 that you don't have to do, but if you want to, 47:05 there are some object lessons in that, 47:07 that would not tend to take away 47:10 or add to your salvation. That's right. 47:12 So that's what we're talking about. 47:14 The issue is when people want to make them salvational 47:18 that everybody has to do what they are doing. Right. 47:20 Which really then crosses the line 47:24 into in the enemies territory. Right. 47:26 Now I was going to read some verses here 47:28 but in the essence of time though from Acts. 47:32 I'll just mention a few of the verses, 47:33 if you look Acts 2:1, Acts 2:46-47. 47:37 Why don't you read those? 47:38 Well, because there's so much here for 10 minutes left. 47:40 You read verse 46 and 47, that was really good. 47:42 Okay, Acts 2:46-47, "So continuing daily 47:46 with one accord in the temple, 47:48 and breaking bread from house to house, 47:50 they ate their food with gladness 47:51 and simplicity of heart, 47:54 praising God and having favor with all the people. 47:57 And the Lord added to the church 47:58 daily those who were being saved." 48:00 The Lord was adding to the church 48:03 that was unified in purpose. 48:06 That was--you know eating their food 48:09 with gladness and simplicity of heart. 48:11 Not making a complicated issue about foods. 48:13 God was adding to those even in their diversity daily 48:17 because they were in one accord 48:18 and that's the thing to remember. 48:20 And these verses are repeated throughout Acts, 48:22 aren't they John? 48:23 I mean Acts 2, we talk about one accord all the time. 48:26 It starts with Acts 1 even they 48:27 got together to pray in one accord. 48:30 Acts 4, prayed and assemble together in one accord, 48:34 they were filled with Holy Spirit. 48:36 Principle there is unless you're in one accord 48:38 the Holy Spirit cannot operate. That's right. 48:41 Corporately that is. 48:42 He be blessed person individually 48:44 but you rob the church of the blessing, 48:46 that's why, when Akiane was in the camp, 48:48 the Lord removed Akiane and his family from the camp, 48:50 because the blessing of protection 48:51 was taken from church individually. That's right. 48:53 She says, that's the vision 48:54 that could rob us of our blessing. Okay. 48:57 Another one--okay you wanna-- No, go ahead. 48:59 Another one that you bring out and so far we've talked about 49:02 something about laws of dietary things that, 49:05 we gave a couple of examples. 49:06 But here another one that could cause division 49:08 and you had this on the other page Titus 3:9-11 49:12 and that was beautiful. 49:13 "But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, 49:16 and strivings about the law, 49:18 for they are unprofitable and useless. 49:21 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, 49:25 knowing that such a person is warped 49:27 and sinning, being self-condemned." 49:30 Wow, that's-- That's pretty powerful. 49:34 That's amazing because its saying, 49:35 there are some people that in Mathew 18 principle 49:37 and this where Mathew 18 comes in. 49:39 There are some people that are so bent 49:42 on having their way 49:43 that they're suspicious about everything the Pastor does. 49:47 And they'll say, see 49:48 did you hear that word in the sermon? 49:50 He was aiming at that. 49:51 Disputes, contention strivings right there. 49:53 And they--and they and so you go to them 49:55 and that's why it says after the first and second admonition, 49:57 that's the principle of Mathew 18. 49:59 Go to that person first, then take another witness 50:02 and then the third time bring it before the church 50:04 and after that they don't listen, 50:06 deal with them as heathen. 50:08 Because you got to savor the things as Paul says, 50:12 "Mark those that cause division among you and avoid them." 50:15 Did you see? 50:17 And so sometimes as a leader, 50:19 you have to take a stand against it because, 50:21 if you don't take a stand 50:22 against those things that divide, 50:24 you give license to the division, 50:25 don't you think so? Absolutely. 50:27 What's another one here? Roman 16:17 and 18. 50:30 "Now I urge you, brethren, 50:31 note those who cause divisions and offenses, 50:34 contrary to the doctrine 50:36 which you learned, and avoid them." 50:37 In other words these things are contrary 50:41 to the oneness we have in Christ. Right. 50:43 "So note those that are causing this divisions" 50:46 for those verse 18, 50:48 "For those who are such do not deserve our Lord Jesus Christ, 50:51 but their own belly, and by smooth words 50:54 and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple." 50:57 You know, I find that some of this false doctrines 50:59 that are coming in we find some of the-- 51:03 about you had Shepherd's Rod 51:05 that kind of came and they pulled many away. 51:08 You had your Brinsmeads, Davidians. 51:10 Davidians, yeah, even now 51:11 you have the Mill Millerite Movement. 51:14 The Mill Millerite Movement is really becoming fairly, 51:16 fairly strong and causing divisions in places. 51:19 Same kind of thing it ends up pulling people away 51:22 and then separating from the church. 51:24 But this happening is, we should note these divisions 51:28 that offences and that they are not of God. Right. 51:31 And, you know, John, what's amazing about 51:32 that we're living in day and age and I want--I don't want 51:34 to cause you to be frighten about the Adventist church 51:36 because as were said by the prophet of old, 51:41 "They that be with us are more than that 51:42 they with them. "That's right. 51:44 The church is a whole is secure in its foundation, 51:48 in its institutions, in its belief, in its practices. 51:52 But as in the case in any denomination 51:54 you've got always those individuals 51:56 that want to have people following after themselves. 51:59 And Paul warned against it. 52:01 He says, grievous wolves will enter in, 52:03 not sparing the flock. 52:04 Why to draw away disciples after themselves. 52:08 So that's where the contention comes in. Yeah. 52:10 And these-- In fact the next two verses 52:12 we have here from 1 Corinthians 52:14 are all within the same context of this happening. 52:17 That there was an argument within the church, 52:18 some were saying, well, I'm of Paul, 52:20 well, I'm of Apostle. 52:22 You know and so and this-- we're gonna share here 52:24 from 1 Corinthians, 1 and 1 Corinthians 3, 52:26 they're all in the context of that contention. 52:28 Yeah, do that. 52:30 "Now I plead with you, brethren, 52:31 by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 52:32 that you all speak the same thing, 52:35 and that there be no divisions among you, 52:37 but that you be perfectly joined together 52:39 in the same mind and in the same judgment. 52:42 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, 52:44 by those of Chloe's household, 52:46 that there are contentions among you." 52:49 Of course then you have some other verses there 52:50 and things within the same context 52:52 chapter 3:1 it says, he continues on 52:55 "And I, brethren, could not speak to you 52:57 as to spiritual people, but as to carnal, 52:59 as to babes in Christ. 53:01 In other words, with these contentions, they are babies. 53:04 What can I do? 53:05 They are not growing, I have to speak to his babies 53:07 because you don't understand any other language. 53:10 "I fed you with milk and not with solid food, 53:13 for until now you were not able to receive it, 53:15 and even now you are still not able, 53:17 for you are still carnal. 53:19 For where there is envy, strife, and divisions among you, 53:21 are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?" 53:26 I mean basically when you see some one divisive 53:28 and angry and deviling you know, 53:30 separating from someone else and criticizing things. 53:33 They are carnal, they are acting out of their carnal nature. 53:35 They are not spiritual beings 53:37 even though they may claim to be high and mighty 53:39 in their spirituality. That's right. 53:40 I want to read Galatians 5, but I don't-- 53:42 I'm gonna leave that as a capstone. 53:44 Look at James 4:11, 53:46 another thing that causes division. 53:47 And it could be doctrinal 53:49 but sometimes it could just be the malice of a person's heart. 53:52 James 4:11 " Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. 53:55 He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, 53:58 speaks evil of the law and judges the law. 54:01 But if you judge the law, 54:03 you are not a doer of the law but a judge." 54:06 There are some people that will magnify 54:07 the fault in somebody else's life 54:09 thinking that will minimize the fault in their own lives 54:12 and that is so divisive. 54:15 But Romans 12:10 54:16 "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, 54:20 in honor giving preference to one another.' 54:22 That's Romans 12:10. 54:24 And that is the amazing part. That's right. 54:25 Giving preference to one another. 54:27 The same chapter a few verses later, 54:29 "Be of the same mind toward one another. 54:31 Do not set your mind on high things, 54:32 but associate with the humble. 54:33 Do not be wise in your own opinion." 54:35 Verse 16 Romans 12. 54:36 So you're seeing, not only are we talking about 54:39 what the issues are but we are saying there 54:40 are remedies to that. 54:42 But when you analyze, 54:43 you go to a doctor and he analyzes your condition. 54:46 He also gives you a prescription to remedy that. 54:49 To the church of Laodicea, Jesus says 54:51 "Buy of me gold tried in the fire, 54:52 that you may be rich 54:55 and that the shame of your nakedness may not appear." 54:57 I know your eyes what I saw that you may see, see what? 55:00 See your own condition. 55:02 See instead of the condition of our brother 55:03 and our sister and the answer there, 55:05 I was gonna bring up is Galatians 5:25-26 55:08 on the first page, John. 55:10 This is the answer to all this division. 55:12 "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 55:17 Let us not become conceded, provoking one another, 55:20 envying one another." 55:22 When the spirit is involved, 55:24 what is the law of this spirit? 55:25 The foot of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, 55:29 gentleness, meekness, patience against such there's no law. 55:35 So when we have the spirit leading, 55:37 we're not contending to have the best seat 55:40 or contending to always be praised 55:42 or contending to be, oh you, oh you're really good. 55:45 We're not contending for that. 55:47 We're giving preferences to the other person. 55:48 We're not saying could I do that program? 55:50 Could I do that? 55:51 We're giving preferences to the other person 55:53 and God is glorified by that. 55:56 It says very well in Philippians 55:58 same concept Philippians 2:3-5. 56:00 Yeah, read that one. 56:02 "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition 56:03 or conceit, but in lowliness of mind 56:05 let each esteem others better than himself." 56:09 "Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, 56:11 but also for the interest of others. 56:13 Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus. 56:18 That mind of humility giving preference to the other." 56:21 Thank you for putting in the context by the way 56:23 because so many people read verse 5, 56:25 but don't read what he's meaning about the mind being in unity, 56:29 about the mind that Christ being in us. 56:32 Christ was not conceded, He was not selfishly ambitious, 56:34 He was lowly of mind. 56:36 He did not looked for His own interest. 56:37 Did he John? No, no, no. 56:40 And so you see clearly there. 56:42 I think we have time for one more scripture. 56:43 Go for it. Colossians 3:12-13. 56:46 "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, 56:49 put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, 56:52 meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another, 56:55 and forgiving one another, 56:56 if anyone has a complaint against another, 56:58 even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 57:01 That's the love for the brethren 57:03 and for the sake of unity to keep Christ 57:06 as the head of the church 57:08 and the church moving forward in its mission. 57:10 Thank you, John, for putting this together. 57:12 This is a wonderful topic as often time 57:13 we think of doctrinal issues. 57:15 Most cases are not doctrinal issues 57:17 that are separating people that have the same doctrines, 57:20 it's the majoring in minors and the minoring in majors. 57:23 Let us do what Christ says, 57:24 "If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto Myself." 57:29 May you do that today and be unified in Christ. 57:32 God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17