Participants: Pr. John Lomacang (Host), Pr. John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL130010
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00:01 Hello friends, grab your Bible and a friend
00:03 and sit back as we explore God's word together 00:05 on this edition of "House Calls." 00:23 Well, hello and welcome to another edition of "House Calls" 00:26 as they would say in the real world. 00:28 But you know what, I have a secret to share with you, 00:30 don't tell anybody I'm not here by myself. 00:33 Got this big guy sitting over here next to me, 00:36 who has even borrowed my name. 00:37 We share something in common. 00:39 How you're doing, John? 00:40 We do, we do. Good to see you, John. 00:42 The east coast and the west coast has been-- 00:44 see I'm a native New Yorker, he's a native Californian. 00:47 We have the entire nation wrapped up 00:49 in this one program from east to west. 00:53 So get your family members together, 00:55 this is gonna be a great program. 00:57 What are we gonna continue with today, John? 00:59 Just tell us kind of give us a preview. 01:00 We're talking about the work of the Spirit 01:02 in the members of the church. 01:03 Okay, that's right. Is it important? 01:05 Absolutely. Okay. Wow. 01:08 And so you know, what we do in this program 01:10 before we get to our Bible questions and comments, 01:12 we always like to thank you. 01:13 But get your Bibles together, 01:15 invite your family members to sit down. 01:17 Or if you are watching this on Wednesday night, 01:21 hey, welcome to the prayer meeting group. 01:23 Or if you are watching this at home 01:25 with a lot of people in your home, 01:26 hey, thank you for choosing to do so. 01:29 But make sure you have your Bibles, 01:31 a pen if necessary to take down some notes. 01:33 And in just a moment we will give you an email 01:35 where you can send your questions and comments. 01:38 But before we do anything else, we always have prayer. 01:40 John, would you pray for us? Let's pray. 01:43 Gracious Father in heaven, 01:44 we again come before Your throne here seeking Your presence. 01:48 We invite Your spirit to be here with us, 01:51 not only to work in our hearts 01:52 but Lord through our minds 01:54 to bring out Your word in its clarity. 01:57 And especially what Your will is 01:59 for Your church here during this day, 02:01 where You've given us a work to do. 02:04 But we know we've been promised that Jesus is coming soon 02:07 and we believe that. 02:08 But Lord, we-- may we be about Your business, 02:11 as Your people here in these days. 02:13 And may we understand that will all the more clearly. 02:16 In Jesus' name, amen. 02:17 Amen. Thank you, John. 02:20 And by the way before we get our questions, 02:21 if you have any questions or comments 02:23 you like to send to us, you can send them 02:25 to the following email, housecalls@3abn.org. 02:29 That's housecalls@3abn.org. 02:33 And try to make them less condensed as you possibly can. 02:36 Some people send questions which are in fact 02:39 maybe their final will and testament, it's so long. 02:42 We won't be able to answer those questions 02:44 and if you send us too much it overwhelms us 02:47 and then we kind of overlook that. 02:49 If we have to sort it too much to find the question, 02:51 it makes it difficult for us. 02:53 So try not to send us your opinion, 02:55 if you do short and then to the question. 02:58 John, what is our question for today? 02:59 The first one you have. 03:01 Yeah, this first question is from Alison. Okay. 03:05 And she lives in the Caribbean and she says, 03:08 she had a question that came up 03:09 recently in a Sabbath school discussion. 03:12 And so she's wondering if may be we could help with it. 03:15 She says here that they were discussing 03:18 the issue of forgiveness. Okay. 03:20 And the point was made that there was no room 03:23 for restoration in the process of forgiveness. Okay. 03:27 By this they meant that if someone has done you wrong 03:31 and you've forgiven them that word is base-- 03:34 that is basically the end of it that you've forgiven them. 03:37 One person said that when Adam and Eve sin 03:39 in the Garden of Eden although God forgave them, 03:41 He did not restore them to their original position. 03:45 So there is no biblical teaching 03:47 to support the notion of restoring a brother or sister. 03:51 And so anyway she is saying, 03:53 I'd really appreciate your comments 03:54 and your help on this. All right. 03:57 You know, maybe the more appropriate word I would say 03:59 that's part of the forgiveness process 04:01 may not be restoration in its fullness, 04:04 but is reconciliation. 04:09 And they are similar words in that restoring somebody 04:13 can also mean that you've reconciled with them. 04:16 In other words you restore them 04:17 into a position of relationship with somebody. 04:20 So if there's been a fall out among two individuals, 04:25 harsh words were said. 04:27 Then they come to the realization 04:29 that one of them or maybe both of them 04:32 had been in the wrong. 04:33 They might forgive each other 04:35 and then the relationship would be restored. 04:38 What you call typically that process of restoration 04:41 there in that context is reconciliation. 04:44 And the Bible is full of forgiveness and reconciliation. 04:49 So if we're saying that restoration cannot take place 04:53 and we include reconciliation that would be unbiblical. 04:57 Because the biblical view of reconciliation is that 04:59 when God forgives us, He does reconcile with us. 05:03 And in Christ we are made a child of God, 05:06 we are adopted back into the family. 05:09 And in that respect He restores us 05:11 to the family of God, right? It's true. 05:14 But full restoration cannot take place 05:16 and won't take place until the very end of time 05:19 when Jesus comes again, gives us new bodies, 05:21 transforms us into perfect beings 05:24 and we are fully restored. 05:26 And then eventually after 1000 years, 05:28 restored on this earth with a new creation, 05:30 the earth created a new. 05:32 So full restoration will take place eventually. 05:34 So you would say the restoration is a part 05:37 of the biblical model of forgiveness. 05:38 It's just at the end of it. It's true. 05:41 But along the process there is a restoring, 05:43 a restoring of relationships, a restoring of many things 05:47 which is more of the context of reconciliation. 05:51 It begins right at the moment of forgiveness. 05:54 John, I like-- one professor once said 06:00 that forgiveness can be a very challenging topic to understand. 06:07 But he explained it this way. 06:08 He said, let's say I set a forgiveness ball 06:12 here on the table. 06:13 In other words there is dispute between you and I 06:17 which we never had a dispute. Right. 06:19 And we may have disagreed on things, 06:21 but we don't dispute ever, 06:22 but let say we did 06:24 and I wanted to forgive you. 06:29 I would take forgiveness and put it on the table. 06:33 And that is me forgiving you 06:35 regardless of how you respond to that. 06:39 Reconciliation may take place when you pick up 06:43 the forgiveness ball and take it and accept it. 06:46 I got you, it's a good one. 06:47 And then we become friends in the full context 06:51 of how we always were. Right. 06:54 Many times that doesn't happen, 06:56 but it doesn't mean that we are called by God 06:59 to put down the ball. 07:02 In other words to forgive somebody else, 07:04 regardless of whether or not they pick it up. 07:07 And in the same way, Jesus has done that at the cross. 07:11 He has offered forgiveness to all mankind. 07:15 Only some have picked it up. 07:17 Only some have received that forgiveness. 07:19 Other than that it was kind of an elementary analogy 07:22 but kind of a good picture, 07:23 an interesting picture of forgiveness here. 07:25 And that full restoration may not take place 07:28 but forgiveness is required by God's people. 07:30 God said very clearly, 07:32 "If you do not forgive as I've forgiven, 07:34 then I won't forgive you." That's right. 07:36 And so forgiveness is a requirement 07:38 in the Christian life. 07:39 It is part of who we become of forgiving people 07:42 when God changes our life. 07:44 Full restoration may not take place until the very end 07:47 but in some elements of it there is a restoration 07:50 that does occur and I consider that more of a reconciliation 07:53 that occurs when forgiveness is offered. 07:55 So anyway that's what I have to say 07:56 about at least that topic, 07:58 maybe you have a few things you like to wane on it. 08:01 Forgiveness is something we always want 08:04 people to do for us, 08:07 but not something we always willing to do for others. 08:10 It's really, it's a sad thing but at sometimes when we astray, 08:14 we'll say to people, please forgive us. 08:20 But sometimes we are not as quick to forgive others. 08:23 And I like that as you were closing up that thought, 08:26 John, you made it very clear. 08:28 Forgiveness is reciprocal, think of a revolving door 08:32 as you go into a store. 08:34 You go into forgiveness 08:36 but also forgiveness brings you out, 08:38 brings you into a relationship it allows-- 08:41 in other words if I'm using the analogy correctly 08:44 forgiveness goes both ways. 08:46 If you want somebody to forgive you, 08:48 then you must be willing to forgive someone. 08:51 If you are not willing to extend forgiveness, 08:53 then it's quite honoree to require somebody to forgive you. 09:00 And then the other thing 09:01 you have to keep in mind about forgiveness. 09:03 If you forgive someone don't demand 09:06 that they forgive you, 09:08 because you cannot activate that. 09:09 You see, I have told in counseling to people 09:12 I said, well, you need to forgive your wife All right. 09:15 But she did some wrong things to me too. 09:16 So I got a phone call one day and a lady said, 09:21 you know, my husband came home today 09:24 and ask me to forgive him and I did. 09:27 I mean he came home and apologized to me 09:31 and but then he demanded me 09:35 to apologize to him. He demanded. 09:38 And the problem started all over again. Yeah. 09:41 Because it's not about 09:43 forgiving me or me forgiving him, 09:44 it's about him being in control. 09:47 So let's not use forgiveness as a control to. 09:49 Okay, I've forgiven you now, are you going to forgive me? 09:52 I got time, you know. 09:55 Let's be very, let's be very Christian about it 09:58 because forgiveness is something that is activated 10:00 by the presence of God in a person's life. 10:03 If the presence of God is not in a person's life, 10:07 then the forgiveness may be like 10:09 a single drop of rain on a thirsty soul. 10:12 It really wouldn't do anything, 10:14 but just run right off your skin 10:17 not even given time to be absorbed. 10:20 So make sure that if you forgive 10:24 you do so out of a loving heart. 10:25 Not, and get this, not expecting anything in return 10:32 'cause it doesn't always come back to you. 10:34 That's why when John said, 10:35 he put the ball down I could see that. 10:37 See I'm not gonna look at the ball 10:38 on the table differently from now on. 10:41 If I see a ball on the table I'm gonna think of, 10:43 okay, I put forgiveness on the table, 10:45 but now you got to pick it up. 10:47 And that's a very good analogy, thank you for that. 10:50 Well, we have a question here that may take about an hour, 10:54 but I won't make it that long. 10:57 What does the four beasts represent 11:00 that Daniel dreamed of in Daniel 7. 11:04 Thank you, Ronal, sent from your BlackBerry. Okay. 11:11 And BlackBerry is a device nowadays. 11:13 Used to be a fruit, but now it's a device. 11:16 Daniel 7. 11:18 Now what I like to do 11:19 I'd like to open up Daniel 7 with a caveat of that. 11:24 What's talked about in Daniel 7 11:26 was first introduced in Daniel 2. 11:30 So go with me to Daniel 2, 11:32 then we're gonna get a chance to go to Daniel 7. 11:34 And we're gonna see how God prophecy sometimes 11:38 is say define, 11:43 re-say build, define. 11:46 So let's look first at Daniel 2. 11:49 I'm not gonna read the whole of Daniel 2, 11:51 I'm just gonna simply summarize 11:53 the first part of Daniel 2 by saying, 11:56 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon had a dream. 12:00 He dreamed of gold, silver, bronze or brass and then iron, 12:06 then an image with toes of iron and clay mixed together. 12:11 And then when Daniel was called 12:13 to give the interpretation of the dream, 12:16 he began by reading in Daniel. 12:22 He didn't begin by reading in Daniel, 12:24 but what's written in Daniel 2 12:26 is how Daniel began as he addressed the king. 12:29 Look at Daniel 2:31. 12:33 He speaks to Nebuchadnezzar because he said to them, 12:36 there's a God in heaven who makes this known 12:38 and up until this point none of Nebuchadnezzar's prophets 12:41 and soothsayers and fortunetellers 12:44 could even tell Nebuchadnezzar what he dreamt, 12:47 let alone what it meant. 12:49 But in verse 28, Daniel begins, 12:52 "But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, 12:55 and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar 12:58 what will be in the latter days. 12:59 Your dream, and the visions of your head 13:02 upon your bed, were these." 13:03 And he went ahead and-- go down to verse 32. 13:07 "This image was of fine gold, its chest and arms in silver, 13:12 its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, 13:15 its feet partly of iron and partly of clay." 13:18 And so he begins to describe this image very carefully 13:20 and he goes to verse 38 13:22 and at the end of verse 38, 13:24 he says to Nebuchadnezzar, "You are this head of gold." 13:29 So right away if Nebuchadnezzar represents the head of gold 13:33 and Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom is the kingdom of Babylon, 13:36 then this head of gold represents 13:38 the kingdom of Babylon. 13:40 So now the reason why this is so widely important 13:42 because you're gonna go to Revelation 13:43 and you're gonna see whenever it talks about Babylon, 13:46 it talks about the woman representing Babylon 13:48 having the golden cup in her hand. 13:51 So right away where did that come from? 13:53 It was not just an image given to John the revelator, 13:56 but it was established in the Book of Daniel. 14:00 God first gave that 14:01 and he talks about that in the Book of Ezekiel. 14:04 Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of God. 14:07 So gold and Babylon are synonymous. 14:10 But now let's go to Daniel 7 14:12 and see what else is synonymous about this kingdom of Babylon. 14:16 And now this is during the reign of Belshazzar. 14:21 And Belshazzar is the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. 14:27 It often makes it appears though he is the son, 14:30 but he is the grandson. 14:32 In the first year, Belshazzar, king of Babylon, 14:35 Daniel now has the dream. 14:37 Now the reason for the dream 14:39 is God once again gives the vision, 14:41 gives the interpretation. 14:43 Now He gives Daniel the vision 14:44 and He gives the reinterpretation 14:46 or the further expansion of what Daniel had already 14:50 told Nebuchadnezzar about Nebuchadnezzar's dream. 14:53 So let's look at Daniel 7:4, or verse 3. 14:57 "And four great beasts came up from the sea, 15:00 each different from the other. 15:02 The first was like a lion." 15:04 Verse 5. "The second like a bear." 15:06 Verse 6, "And there was another like a leopard 15:11 with four heads and four wings." 15:16 The second was like a bear with ribs in his mouth. 15:19 The first one like a lion that had eagle's wings. 15:22 And then verse 7, "After this I saw in the night visions, 15:25 and behold a fourth beast 15:27 dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. 15:29 It had huge iron teeth it was devouring, breaking in pieces, 15:35 and trampling the residue with its feet." 15:39 But it says something here, 15:41 "It was different from all the beasts that were before it, 15:45 and it had ten horns." 15:47 So you find John, I mean Daniel now 15:50 let's make the connections, gold, lion. 15:55 After the kingdom of Babylon, 15:59 you've got to ask yourself the question, 16:00 what kingdom came next? 16:03 Well, let's look at Daniel 6 and we will see, 16:08 we will see exactly what happened in Daniel 6. 16:12 Well, Daniel 6 is the continuing 16:15 the end of the reign of Belshazzar. 16:18 In Daniel 5:30, "That very night Belshazzar, 16:22 king of the Chaldeans was slain." 16:25 Daniel 5:30. 16:27 "And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, 16:30 being about 62 years old." 16:33 So what happened, right after the Babylonian kingdom, 16:36 you had the kingdom of the Medes. 16:40 But this kingdom was a kingdom that was diverse. 16:44 Look at Daniel 6:8, okay. 16:50 "Now, O king, establish the decree, 16:53 sign the writing so that it cannot be changed, 16:55 according to the law of the Medes and the Persians." 16:59 So you see Daniel-- while Darius the Mede began, 17:03 you had Cyrus the Persian. 17:05 And this is also talked about in Daniel 8. 17:08 This was talked about as the kingdom with two horns, 17:11 one came up first, but the one that came up second 17:13 was greater than the one that came up first. 17:15 So now we have established two things. 17:17 We have Babylon, then we have Medo-Persia. 17:21 But then there's gonna be another one 17:23 because the third one that Daniel dreamed off 17:25 was the kingdom of bronze. 17:27 And then in Daniel 7 17:29 this kingdom was referred to in Daniel 7 17:32 as a kingdom with-- like a leopard 17:37 and on its back had four wings of a bird. 17:40 Also had four heads dominion was given to it. 17:43 So now we find out, well, who is this? 17:46 Well, when you begin to see what kingdom came 17:49 after the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians, 17:53 you find that there is a kingdom that came after that, 17:56 that in prophecy it's referred to as the kingdom of Greece. 18:00 And we know that king to be Alexander the great. 18:03 Now why is the four heads and four wings talk about there, 18:05 because when Alexander died 18:07 four generals took over the kingdoms 18:10 that were under Alexander's control. 18:13 And I have those names, 18:14 Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy and Seleucus. 18:18 So that's where the four heads and four wings come in. 18:21 But then you have the last kingdom 18:23 and I'll spend a little bit more time on this one 18:25 because the kingdom that came right after the Grecian empire 18:29 was the kingdom of Rome, 18:31 this iron, powerful, dominant kingdom. 18:35 And by the way, but I don't want to spend time now 18:39 to talk about this because these programs 18:41 I don't want to add a time frame to them. 18:44 But let's look at something very important here. 18:46 This fourth kingdom represented a kingdom 18:48 that existed throughout all of the New Testament. 18:53 A kingdom that existed through the reign, 18:56 through the earthly ministry of Christ. 18:58 A kingdom that existed 19:00 through the ministry of the disciples 19:01 and the apostles of the New Testament 19:03 and a kingdom that is still existing today. 19:06 Now, John, tell us just to change the voice tone 19:10 what is that kingdom? 19:11 Well, each kingdom that succeeded that came after-- 19:17 actually that came after from Babylon on 19:20 was the one that conquered it. 19:22 So you have Medes and Persians conquered Babylon. 19:24 You had the Greece 19:25 that conquered the Medes and Persians. 19:27 Both actually identified in Daniel 8, 19:30 specifically by name. That's right. 19:32 What's not identified by name is the fourth beast. 19:37 But if we follow the same principles 19:38 as who conquered the one before it, 19:41 then we have to ask who conquered Greece? Right. 19:45 And the nation that conquered Greece was Rome. That's right. 19:48 And the connection there, 19:49 very quickly I'll turn it back to you. 19:51 The connection there that we find in both visions, 19:54 Nebuchadnezzar's visions and Daniel's vision, 19:56 Nebuchadnezzar talks about the image having legs of iron. 20:02 And Daniel in Daniel 7 talks about this image 20:05 having huge iron teeth, iron, iron. Right. 20:10 So the same kingdoms that are being talked about, 20:13 the same kingdom that's been talked about. 20:15 And if you look at any historical reference, 20:18 Rome was known as the iron kingdom, 20:21 not as valuable as Babylon. 20:22 Gold and iron is not the same in value. 20:24 You don't have iron being sold, 20:27 people not trading and buying iron 20:29 and trying to store up iron, you know, buy things with iron. 20:32 But gold is lot more valuable. 20:35 So here's the key, depreciating in value 20:39 but increasing in strength. 20:41 Iron, right now we exist, 20:43 we are existing under the iron kingdom of Rome. 20:46 And this kingdom, the Bible says, 20:48 will trample the residue of its feet. 20:51 In other words all of humanity 20:53 is one day going to be under the reign, 20:57 under the power, under the influence 21:01 of this final and fourth kingdom, 21:03 the kingdom of Rome. 21:05 So in a nutshell that's what Daniel 7 primarily is. 21:08 And it says that a little horn grew up amongst that 21:11 along with other horns. 21:14 There were 10 horns originally 21:15 but a little horn came out there became most prominent, 21:18 uprooted three horns and basically ruled 21:21 the rest of those kingdoms represented by horns 21:25 and drove this fourth beast down to the very end of time. 21:29 So we have the fourth beast existing today, Rome 21:33 but it's in the form of this little horn power 21:36 which is religious and political at the same time 21:39 which is why its different than the other beasts. 21:42 So if you read through here you will see that 21:44 it was a long period of time that this fourth beast 21:48 and a little horn existed and was in power, 21:52 because you find it all the way down 21:54 to the end of Daniel essentially. 21:57 That's right. 21:58 And you have to admit today that the in the kingdom of Rome 22:03 and we don't often refer to Rome 22:05 in proper like Rome as a kingdom. 22:08 But in Rome there's a kingdom within Rome. 22:12 This Vatican City, 22:13 it's a kingdom within a fourth kingdom. 22:16 So and the little mouth speaking great things 22:20 represents the head of the Vatican the pope himself. 22:24 So that power going from Pagan Rome to Papal Rome. 22:27 So today we have Papal Rome 22:29 or as it would be referred to as the holy sea. 22:32 But the holy sea is seen in the world 22:34 as political on one side and religious on the other. 22:37 As is the case, governments and leaders 22:40 of all nations around the world 22:41 acknowledged his political powers, 22:43 but at the very same time it's a religious power. 22:47 And that's why when the Bible says, 22:48 it shall be different from all the others, 22:50 it is very different from all the others. 22:52 While there were religious elements in Babylon 22:55 because worship was something that Nebuchadnezzar 22:57 was seeking to enforce upon its population. 23:00 It was not a religious kingdom. 23:02 It was not one that had parlayed religion and politics together. 23:06 But in the kingdom of Rome, 23:08 religion and politics are on equal footing. Yeah. 23:11 So anyway, one more--you have one more question? Yeah. 23:14 This one comes from Coleen. 23:17 And she says I wonder if you could perhaps explain this. 23:19 We know that the Ark of the Covenant 23:22 was kept in the holy of holies, the most holy place 23:25 in the temple until the exile of the Babylon. 23:29 Also that the temple was rebuilt 23:31 when they returned after 70 years in Jerusalem. 23:34 Was anything else then placed in the holiest place? 23:37 Because they hid the Ark of the Covenant 23:40 before Babylon's captured and they did not put that 23:45 ark back into the temple that was rebuilt. 23:49 So was there anything else put there? 23:52 Also did the priest still 23:54 enter there on the Day of Atonement? 23:56 Was God's presence still there without the original ark 23:59 containing the Ten Commandments? 24:01 So let's answer those questions first. 24:03 Some of them we don't have an explicit statement, 24:05 what we have are old testaments by. 24:10 And I'm not saying the Old Testament, 24:11 I'm saying their old books 24:13 that were written by those back in the day, 24:16 in fact I think you go back to what it is Josephus. 24:18 Josephus, historian. 24:20 Who was a historian 24:21 and he has some commentary on this as well. 24:25 You have also some non-canon Jewish writings. 24:29 Non-canon to, its Christians that is Jewish writings 24:31 that talk about things 24:32 and where could the temple be today. 24:34 I mean the Ark of the Covenant be today. 24:37 But none of them really expressly says 24:39 here is what was in the second apartment 24:42 during the time of Jesus. 24:44 So we don't know. 24:46 We can say that God's glory, the Shekinah Glory wasn't there 24:50 because it dwell between the ark and the ark wasn't there. 24:53 Furthermore Jesus 24:56 was the Shekinah Glory of the Old Testament. 24:59 He's there now in person, 25:00 He's the Son of Man and the Son of God. 25:03 So He's the express image of His person, 25:06 what is that the Colossians. Yeah. 25:08 And that's--actually Hebrews, Hebrews 1:3, 25:13 "Who being the brightness of His glory 25:15 and the express image of His person." 25:18 And so you find and this is something else 25:21 as I continue to consider the whole aspect, 25:25 one of the aspects of the services 25:30 that continue there, 25:33 even in the time of the ministry of Jesus 25:37 when His crucifixion was about to, 25:41 was about to occur, 25:44 the priests were about to take the life of a lamb. 25:48 Symbolizing they had a temple still established 25:52 in which sacrifices were carried out. 25:56 Thereby meaning they still had a high priest. 25:59 So but what was so widely important 26:02 and I'm getting back down to the Shekinah Glory, 26:05 because one of the ways that the children of Israel 26:07 knew that God was in their presence, 26:10 is His glory was radiating above the most holy place. 26:15 Whenever they saw the glory of God there, 26:16 they knew that God in the cloud had descended 26:20 and His presence was there. 26:23 But what was the purpose of the coming of Christ? 26:27 You find something very important 26:29 to tie this two together. 26:31 Matthew 1:23, it says, "Call his name Immanuel" 26:35 which is translated, "God with us." 26:38 So he asked the question. 26:39 Is God in the-- 26:41 is God reflecting His presence among the people 26:43 in the Shekinah Glory in the temple 26:46 or is God's presence expressed among the people 26:49 through the person of Christ. 26:51 And I would say that the image of 26:54 or the presence of God is now expressed 26:56 and set up in a building made with hands, 26:59 it's now expressed in the person of His son 27:02 who has come as Colossians 2:9 says, 27:06 "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." 27:11 So for those who are still involved 27:13 in the temple services 27:14 were missing the very point that, hey, 27:16 the glory of God is right here in the person of His son. 27:21 And they rejected that glory 27:23 that was to be displayed in the person of His son. 27:26 The last part of this question says. 27:28 Did the Levites regularly washed 27:30 the curtain between the two sections, 27:32 refers to two apartments 27:34 where the blood of the sacrificed animals 27:36 was continuingly sprinkled, 27:38 because it must have been a bit heavy. 27:40 Well, Coleen is right here 27:44 and I found in one of the extra biblical writings 27:48 that Jewish writings it says here that 27:50 when the second temple was built. 27:52 This is after the captivity in Babylon, 27:56 that overtime it became very unclean 28:02 and needed to be washed. 28:03 And it says 300 priests were needed for the job 28:07 to take down the temple veil, wash it and bring it back 28:11 after it's been dried and putting it back up again. 28:14 So of course--again this is extra biblical material, 28:17 it's not here but we can say that 28:20 yes, they did probably washed that there 28:22 and it took 300 priests just to take it down 28:25 and move it to be able to wash it. 28:27 Anyway I hope that helps a little bit. 28:29 It doesn't provide absolute answers 28:31 that are all from God's word, 28:33 but I think it is pretty-- 28:36 good indication of what happened. 28:38 That's why when you think about all these washings, 28:41 these washings that were some, in some case, 28:43 not speaking about the temple curtain 28:45 but washings that were ceremonial. 28:47 You find that how does the Lord prepare His church? 28:52 By the washing of the word. 28:54 So if you could add to that component 28:56 washings still happens today. 28:59 The people of God are not only cleansed 29:00 by the blood of Christ, all this is temple language. 29:04 Not only cleanse by the blood of Christ 29:05 and the sins been forgiven by His shed blood. 29:09 But the church is also washed, washed by the water of the word. 29:14 See, washed, washing of water by the word. 29:18 Ephesians 5:26 that's how we are cleansed today, 29:22 that's how the church is cleansed. 29:23 And so as you study the word of God, 29:25 there is a continual cleansing 29:27 that is taking place in your life 29:29 because the word of God 29:31 or even though it is the bread of life, 29:33 it is also the water of life 29:36 continuing to wash and purify us. 29:39 And so that's a beautiful, that's a beautiful analogy 29:41 when you think about how the Lord has-- 29:46 in the word built in not just the receiving of knowledge, 29:50 but the cleansing of the body temple 29:54 as was the case in the earthly temple. 29:57 Lot of comparisons there, but when you understand 30:00 the sanctuary services, 30:01 it jumps out even more carefully. 30:03 Well, thank you for your questions 30:05 and your comments 30:06 and if you like to send any more questions to us, 30:08 even to clarify something we have asked or talked about. 30:12 Send them to housecalls@3abn.org. 30:15 That's housecalls@3abn.org and we thank you very much. 30:20 Now John, we've got about little less than 30 minutes, 30:24 so let's continue on our topic today 30:27 and I like you to open the can there for us. 30:30 It's a good can by the way, not a can of worm. 30:33 Let's-- very good topic 30:35 and let me just-- I just told you open up. 30:37 Let me just say something as you do so. 30:40 One of the reasons why this is important 30:42 in the capacity of the work that you are participating 30:45 is because you are involved in the evangelism 30:48 and personal ministries, am I right? Yes. 30:50 Let me just say that without stumble, 30:52 evangelism and personal ministries 30:53 in the Upper Columbia Conference. 30:55 And one of the challenges that the church faces, 31:00 no matter where it's located 31:02 is activating its members to be involved in the ministry, 31:07 but a lot of members think that 31:08 the minister is the one who's involved in ministry. Right. 31:12 Or the pastor, so to speak. Yeah. 31:14 Not realizing that there are roles 31:16 that God established in scripture 31:19 for the equipping of the saints. 31:21 So now let's get back to this 31:23 and talk about some of the aspects 31:24 of why we feel that ministry 31:27 is so widely important for the individual Christian. 31:31 Well, you know, the original plan 31:33 and especially when you look at the Book of Acts, 31:36 you find that it wasn't just pastors 31:39 that were going around staying in churches 31:42 and helping to lead out in churches. 31:43 The elders were appointed for that, 31:45 the deacons were to help with that. 31:48 There were definitely some church leadership 31:52 established to provide oversight for local churches. 31:56 But it wasn't necessary supposed to be just the pastor. 31:58 Right. Or even a pastor. 32:01 But pastors also identified in Ephesians 4, 32:07 we will read again. 32:09 Apostles, pastors, evangelists 32:13 and prophets are the ones identified there, 32:17 but they were ones constantly on the move. That's true. 32:20 Constantly on the move doing training 32:22 and teaching and preaching and helping the members 32:25 find the ministry which would include then 32:28 elders, deacons and those that were involved 32:30 in the work of the church. 32:31 The ones doing ministry according to that passage 32:33 Ephesians 4 is the members. That's right. 32:37 It's not that the leaders weren't doing ministry, 32:40 but their ministry wasn't focused 32:42 on the local communities. 32:44 Their ministry was a constantly moving ministry 32:48 that would help to equip and train those in many areas. 32:50 And we've gotten away from that to a great degree. 32:55 And not just one specific church has done that, 32:57 but in Christianity in general has basically set up pastors 33:00 as the head of the church and people looked at the pastor 33:02 rather than the elders as ministry goes on there 33:05 and they often become the spectators from the crowd 33:10 rather than the ones actively involved. 33:12 Now I'm not saying that's the case in all cases 33:14 and if you are part of a church 33:15 where the members are all doing ministry, 33:18 praise God for that. 33:19 That is God's original intent when He established His church. 33:22 But for those who haven't, for those who feel like, 33:26 you know, I've been, I've been-- 33:28 I've accepted Jesus as my Savior 33:30 but I've never really gotten involved in the work. 33:32 The biblical model is 33:35 that God has called you to get involved in ministry some way 33:39 and that ministry happens after you've been transformed 33:42 by the fruit of the Spirit 33:43 and had been given a Christ like character, 33:46 then you are giving a ministry through the gifts of the Spirit. 33:49 Two different things that come from the Spirit. 33:51 The second one is the gifts of the Spirit to then go forward 33:54 and to do the work of God and that is ministry 33:57 just as much as it is for anybody else doing it. 34:01 Once statistic that jumps out of me, 34:02 John, in research 34:05 and I'm not gonna speak specifically of any church 34:09 although the Adventist church is very much similar 34:11 to every other church in this respect. 34:14 And that is this, 34:16 upwards of 80% to 85% of our membership 34:21 and members anywhere have never personally 34:24 been involved in bringing someone 34:26 to know Jesus and to baptism. 34:29 That's a sobering number, 34:32 80% to 85% have never been involved 34:36 in winning somebody to Christ and seeing them baptized. 34:40 Wow. That's huge. 34:41 Which would include Bible studies 34:43 and other things that happened. 34:44 There's something wrong with that picture 34:46 when the charge of God is 34:49 an instruction given to all members of the church 34:53 to go there for preach, teach, baptize, right? That's right. 34:58 That I could read from one statement here 35:00 from Desire of Ages, 8:22, "The Savior's commission 35:03 to the disciples includes all believers to the end of time." 35:07 Not just the disciples. 35:08 And you know, there's a wonderful story 35:11 in the Bible in the Book of Acts 6. 35:13 I want to go there with you to look at this 35:15 because this is showing you exactly the very same thing. 35:18 If the members feel--and members don't necessary say this, 35:23 I don't want to indict anybody by saying 35:25 making this blanket statement that members think this way. 35:28 But in some places the hesitancy 35:31 could be because of the perception 35:33 brought out in this particular story. 35:35 In Acts 6:1 it says, "Now in those days, 35:41 when the number of the disciples was multiplying, 35:45 there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists 35:50 because their widows were neglected 35:52 in the daily distribution. 35:55 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples 35:59 and said, 'It is not desirable 36:02 that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables. 36:06 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you 36:09 seven men of good reputation, 36:11 full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, 36:14 whom we may appoint over this business, 36:17 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer 36:21 and to the ministry of the word.'" 36:24 Notice what kind of ministry is talked about there. 36:26 First of all, he's looking for leaders, 36:28 he's looking for people to put in charge. 36:30 And then he says we are involved in the ministry of prayer 36:34 in prayer and the ministry of the word. 36:36 Now, John, this sounds really strange 36:38 but if I said to my members, 36:41 my job is just to pray 36:44 and to be involved in the ministry of the word. 36:47 They will say, well, then who's gonna visit so and so? 36:50 Well, who is gonna visit so and so? 36:55 And I say what about you? 37:01 But I'm not paid for that. 37:04 See the ministry that God calls Christians to 37:08 is not salary ministry, 37:11 but the ministry of ambassadorship, 37:13 we are ambassadors. 37:15 That's a beautiful word used in the Bible, 37:19 you are an ambassador, I'm an ambassador. 37:21 The people sitting in the congregation 37:24 they all are ambassadors. 37:25 Ambassadors of what? Of the heavenly kingdom. 37:30 So wherever they go 37:31 they represent the kingdom of God in life, 37:33 in work, in practice and teaching and reaching out. 37:35 So this whole point of ministry, 37:38 what we're talking about here is 37:39 God has called us to be ambassadors. 37:42 And so if a person receives the title of ambassador, 37:46 but doesn't function as an ambassador. 37:49 Is he or she an ambassador? 37:52 And the answer is actually ineffective ambassador. 37:57 But an ambassador nevertheless, supposed to be. 37:59 But must be accountable for his or her ambassadorship. 38:03 What have you become? 38:04 Why are you in the position but necessarily not functioning? 38:08 And this is why Ephesians talks about the need to train, 38:12 the need to equip, 38:13 the need to furnish the membership 38:15 with the knowledge of what their call is all about 38:18 and how that call should be carried out. 38:22 There is a parable. All right. 38:25 In Matthew 25 that speaks 38:27 exactly about the gifts of the Spirit. 38:30 Now remember in the last program part one, 38:32 we talked about fruit and gifts. 38:34 The two things that come from the Spirit 38:37 as we pray and ask Jesus to pour out the Spirit on us. 38:40 As John, we have been doing, praying for revival. Right. 38:45 I think sometimes we pray for revival 38:46 and don't know what to expect. 38:48 But here is what you should expect 38:50 when you pray for revival. Right. 38:52 Transform characters 38:53 because the fruit becomes prominent in the life 38:56 which is the Christ likeness 38:58 about the Christian life that we have. 39:01 But also the work of the gifts of the Spirit, 39:04 the work of ministry begins to exponentially grow 39:07 as a result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 39:09 That's right. 39:11 So we should be able to see more Christ likeness 39:13 and more people getting involved 39:16 in the prayer that Christ said that we should pray for, 39:18 pray for laborers to work in the field, right. 39:21 We should see more laborers, more workers for God. 39:24 But notice this in Matthew 25, this parable. 39:30 And it's about the talents and gifts are talents, 39:34 amen. It's true. 39:35 And so here's what it says 39:37 and we don't have time to read all of that. 39:39 But essentially, "The kingdom of heaven--" verse 14, 39:42 "Is like a man traveling to a far country, 39:44 who called his own servants 39:45 and delivered his goods to them." 39:48 In other words Jesus traveling to a far country, 39:50 this earth getting His disciples together and giving them, what? 39:55 Giving them goods, 39:57 so that they can serve their servants, 39:59 serve Him, right? 40:01 And to one he gave five talents, 40:03 to another two and another one. 40:05 So there's three individuals that he gave, talents to. 40:08 It says at least in this story, 40:09 five, two talents and one talent. 40:12 Well, the one that had five 40:13 was faithful in using those five talents 40:15 and he was given five more. 40:18 The one that was two was also faithful 40:19 in using their two talents and was given more. 40:21 Now these are spiritual gifts. 40:23 These are the gifts given to them 40:24 for the work of ministry in serving God's kingdom. 40:29 But the one that had one talent was not faithful. 40:33 That he went and buried in the ground 40:35 so when Jesus came back he said, 40:37 well, I know you're harsh man 40:38 and you're very judgmental man, 40:39 so I just wanted to make sure that it was taken care of. 40:41 I put it in the ground and here you go. 40:43 Right. I want to make sure that I kept it for you. 40:46 And what's the response? 40:47 Unfaithful. 40:49 Yeah, you wicked and unfaithful or slothful servant. 40:54 And I find that interesting slothful, lazy. 40:57 That means unwilling to work. 41:00 Do we have members that say, 41:03 I don't really have much to offer 41:05 I don't have many talents, what can I do? 41:08 They aren't using their gifts, 41:09 their talents that God is given them in ministry. 41:12 You know, what so pertinent about that story 41:13 and I think that you may have caught that 41:15 while John was reading that. 41:16 The one that only had one thing to do didn't do it. 41:20 The one that had the ability to do one thing, one gift, 41:24 didn't exercise it and was accountable for that one gift, 41:28 but then also lost the blessing of even holding on to that gift. 41:33 And that's why the Bible talks about, 41:35 if we have something and we don't use it, we'll lose it. 41:37 That's the case. 41:39 You lose things that you don't use. 41:40 You know, what also jumped out of me at this John, 41:41 the one that had the one talent, 41:43 the talent was taken from him 41:44 and it was given to the one that had the most. 41:46 That's right. 41:47 The one that was using the most talents. 41:49 We have within the church those who are blessed 41:52 who are preachers, who are evangelists, 41:55 who are able to win hearts 41:56 and are out there working diligently and faithfully. 42:00 And then we have on the other end of spectrum, 42:02 people that just aren't doing much of anything. 42:04 Why not in the middle, why don't we all share 42:07 and work together unified in God's work 42:10 and all of us doing our part, 42:11 so the one doesn't have to do so much 42:14 and the one is doing nothing can do a little bit of the work, 42:17 so that we all do it together in hasting God's return. 42:21 Looking for and hastening 42:22 for the return of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 42:27 All of us can be involved in that work. 42:29 And so this is God's will for us. 42:32 And the other thing you have to keep in mind Romans 11:29, 42:35 this is something that's really kind of tap on the back. 42:39 "The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." 42:44 In other words, He is not gonna say, 42:45 well, I've given John, the gift to preach, 42:48 ah, I'll take it back. 42:50 No. 42:52 Because you have the gift to preach 42:53 and He's not taken it back, 42:55 He's in essence saying, you are accountable for that gift. 42:58 You're steward of these gifts. 43:00 So somebody can't, nobody could say, 43:02 well, I don't preach anymore. 43:06 Well, God didn't take it back, 43:07 so who chose to not exercise the gift that God has given. 43:12 The person who had the gift chose not to exercise. 43:14 And this 80% to 85% that's not involved in the work can't say, 43:19 well, there's nothing I can do. 43:20 God's holding us accountable 43:21 to use the one gift He has given us to do. 43:23 He said, I haven't taken it back, 43:25 so for you to say that you don't really do anything 43:29 or you're not actively involved in the work 43:31 is to indict yourself 43:33 because it goes on in Romans 11:26, 43:36 it says, Romans 12 sorry in verse 6. 43:40 You know, I'm going to Romans 12, 43:42 if you want to hold it just a little bit, 43:43 because this is where we kind of need to transition to 43:46 is being the will of God. 43:48 But I do want to say this, 43:49 right now just recently, probably some churches 43:52 have gone through the nominating community process. 43:53 Yeah, we're actually-- 43:55 And it's like pulling teeth to get someone 43:57 to step up to do a ministry. Yeah. 44:00 Well, I don't know, I just didn't that too much. 44:01 My schedule doesn't-- 44:03 They don't see it the biblical way, 44:04 the ministry that-- the community is giving them 44:07 to do or asking them to do, 44:09 may not be the one God called them to do, 44:11 but instead of saying, no, I'm not gonna do that 44:13 why don't you say, I'm willing to do something else though. 44:17 Rarely do I hear well, you know what, 44:18 I just don't feel like I'm equipped for that. 44:20 What else can I do? 44:22 It's usually, I don't want to do anything. 44:25 That's the problem. 44:27 Well, I don't know, I just gonna take a break this year. 44:29 Take a break from ministry? It's irrevocable. 44:32 You got to use that talent somewhere. 44:34 The thing that we don't do to man, we do to God. 44:38 There are some people that have been working for 30 years 44:40 or maybe not 30 44:41 but probably some people work for 25, 15 years. 44:46 And then they say to their boss, 44:48 you know what, I'm taking this year off 44:50 as I've been doing the same thing for the last 15 years. 44:53 I'm taking this whole year off, 44:56 I'll be back same time next year fully. 45:00 But what I like you to do during that whole year, 45:02 you still give me a salary. 45:03 I want all my benefits, I want my health insurance coverage, 45:09 I don't want anybody to mess with anything at my desk, 45:12 I want to make sure that everything 45:13 that I have now will be there for me 45:15 and continue in the benefits of every area financially both 45:18 and health wise, throughout the entire year. 45:22 Can you imagine such a thing? 45:24 And as I'm saying this, people saying, 45:26 you're gonna find a job like that. 45:28 Yeah, it's called Christianity. 45:30 They want benefits all year long. 45:33 They want the benefit of worship and fellowship, 45:36 they want life protection, they want God's protection, 45:39 they want to have God furnish all the things 45:41 He promises to their family and bless their children, 45:44 but they wanted to do absolutely nothing 45:47 to advance the kingdom of God 45:49 and they're expecting all the benefits 45:52 to be bestowed upon them. 45:53 And there are two kinds of ministries to point out here 45:55 within these gifts realm. 45:57 Ministry for the church which is done with other Christians 46:00 and ministry individually which is what you can do 46:04 in your everyday work for your co-workers, 46:06 whether your friends, maybe family, 46:09 in your social life whatever that may be, 46:11 those are the two kinds of ways that we minister. 46:13 So when the church comes calling for you 46:15 to do ministry instead of, may be saying, 46:18 well, I don't know if I'm really, 46:19 I don't want to do that. 46:21 Say, I'm not sure that's my gift, 46:24 but I'm willing to do something. 46:25 Here's what my gift is, 46:26 can you find something else for me to do. 46:28 I've never known a pastor or an elder or church leadership 46:32 that had said to someone when they say, 46:34 I want to do something for Jesus, no. No. 46:38 And God doesn't say no. Right. 46:41 On this subject, John, of gifts, 46:45 you just mentioned it from Romans 11:29. Okay. 46:48 He continues that topic in 12 and look at verse 1. 46:51 All right. I'm going there right now. 46:54 "I beseech you therefore, brethren," 46:55 in other words Paul is pleading, right? 46:59 That word, beseech is I beg of you, 47:01 I plead with you, brethren. 47:04 "By the mercies of God," he is so merciful to us 47:07 "That you present your bodies a living sacrifice." That's right. 47:12 "Holy, acceptable to God, 47:14 which is your reasonable service." 47:16 In other words, this is the way you serve God, 47:19 to present your body to Him and say, I am here to serve. 47:24 "And do not be conformed to this world," 47:26 Verse 2, "But be transformed by the renewing of your mind." 47:29 In other words it's got to start here first. 47:30 You got to make a conscious decision. That's right. 47:33 Now the interesting thing about that word "reasonable service," 47:35 John, I did some more study on this. 47:36 It's a reasonable service, what it's really saying there 47:40 it's an act of the will. 47:42 It's a decision reason out in the mind that God has saved me, 47:46 I must serve Him. That's right. 47:49 That's why it's a reasonable service, 47:50 it's stepping forward and saying, I am going to serve 47:52 because I've reason that it's the right thing to do 47:56 because of what you have done for me, Lord. Yeah. 47:59 And do--don't be--of course, we've talked about transform 48:01 by the renewing of your mind that you may prove 48:04 what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 48:08 Someone might ask, Well, I don't know 48:09 what the will of God is for my life. 48:11 You know, I can give you an answer in simple terms 48:13 along these lines, this context. 48:16 The will of God is that you serve Him, 48:19 in whatever capacity that is, 48:20 whatever gift He has given you 48:22 that you use those gifts to serve Him. 48:25 That is His will for you and you prove it by giving yourself, 48:30 your body as a living sacrifice and agreeing to go on 48:33 that mission for God and be used by Him. 48:37 The interesting thing about this passage is, 48:39 then you move into a subject about everyone being dealt 48:44 with the measure of faith. 48:45 Verse 3, "Many members but all one body." 48:48 Verse 4, "The church" and then look at verse 6, 48:51 "Having then gifts differing according to the grace 48:55 that is given to us, let us use them." 48:59 This whole topic, John, of Romans 12:1-2 49:03 about offering our bodies, it's a reasonable service, 49:06 it's a thing we should do, 49:07 it's the will of God is all about spiritual gifts. 49:11 That's right. 49:13 And we've got people in the church that say, 49:14 "Praise God" and we should say 49:16 this that God has saved me 49:18 and He has changed me and He has made me new. 49:20 But now let's move to the other side of the equation, 49:22 the balance of the gospel which is, 49:23 Lord, now what do you want me to do? 49:25 Oh, here's the text, John, I was-- 49:27 the Lord impressed me, came back to my mind. Please. 49:30 Romans, sorry, Psalms 116:12, 49:36 "What shall I render to the Lord 49:38 for all His benefits toward me?" 49:42 That is huge. Yes. 49:44 If somebody says, you're gonna have full dental, 49:46 you're gonna have full medical coverage, 49:48 all your rents going to be paid, 49:49 all your travel expenses covered. 49:51 You don't have to worry about your light bill, 49:52 your gas bill, your phone bill, 49:54 we'll pay your car insurance 49:55 and we'll cover all of your fuel. 49:57 We'll have your education for your children covered 50:00 and I tell you what I am going to be building your home 50:02 so that when this life is done, 50:04 you'll have a home, completely paid for 50:06 and it's going to be better than the home 50:07 you even have down here. 50:09 I'll protect you when you travel. 50:10 I am going to provide all your need 50:11 according to my wealth and my riches in glory. 50:13 Okay, stop. What? 50:16 Shall I render to you Lord for all your benefits toward me? 50:19 What can I do? I got to do something. 50:21 If somebody came up to you and gave you 50:23 a check for a million dollars and you accepted it, 50:28 you will say, is there anything, 50:29 is there anything if you ever want me to do anything 50:34 just give me a call. 50:35 Don't we say that, John? Yes we do. 50:37 But the Lord who gave His only begotten Son, 50:41 the Lord who sent His Son to die for us, 50:44 God the Father who gave His Son to die for us 50:48 that we might have everlasting life. 50:51 Do we even say, what shall I render to the Lord 50:54 for all His benefits toward me? 50:55 What can I do Father? 50:57 What can I do to show you that I really appreciate 50:59 what you've done for me? 51:01 The problem today, John, in the finishing of the work 51:05 is not the harvest. 51:07 It's not the difficult opposition out there. 51:10 We often look at that. 51:12 The issue is with workers. 51:15 Jesus said in Matthew 9:36, "But when he saw the multitudes, 51:19 He was moved with compassion for them, 51:21 because they were weary and scattered, 51:23 like sheep having no shepherd." 51:25 Verse 36. "Then he said to his disciples, 51:27 'The harvest truly is plentiful but the labors are few. 51:33 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest, 51:35 to send out labors into his harvest.'" 51:39 Pray for more workers. That's right. 51:42 The reason the gospel is not finishing is not-- 51:44 we're not able to finish the work 51:46 because we don't have enough laborers. 51:48 We are not taking serious the accountability 51:50 we have to God and the talents given to us 51:53 to return to Him service and to work for His kingdom. 51:56 Notice 10:1, Matthew 10:1. 51:59 What is Jesus doing in response to their encouraging them 52:02 to pray for laborers? 52:04 It says, "And when he had called his twelve disciples to Him, 52:07 He gave them power." 52:11 What did He do? He gave them power. That's right. 52:13 If you say, I just-- I can't do anything, pray for power. 52:18 Pray for strength from God. 52:19 This is the response, the biblical response 52:22 to needing more laborers. 52:24 Come to Jesus and Jesus will give you the power to-- 52:29 over unclean spirits, to cast them out, 52:32 to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 52:35 Essentially what Jesus is saying is all authority 52:38 has been given to Me, I now give you that power, 52:41 that authority to go forwardand make disciples of all people, 52:44 of all nations and baptize them, 52:46 preach and teach and fulfill the commission 52:48 I've given to you to do. 52:50 It seems pretty to the point 52:54 but I think what's happening is the human heart here. Yes. 52:57 The issue is the human heart. 53:00 When the Bible says, "Unthankful" 53:04 we always think that it means unthankful toward 53:06 mom and dad and aunty and uncle and friends 53:10 that gave you, you know, a apple pie 53:13 or somebody brought you a Corvette, 53:14 but it's also unthankful towards God. Yeah. 53:17 Unthankful, unholy. 53:19 They are not saying, God has done so much 53:22 and we forget that Revelation 22:11 which says-- 53:26 well, Revelation 22:12 that says, 53:28 "Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, 53:31 to give to everyone according as his work shall be." 53:33 Proverbs 24:29 says, 53:37 "I will render to the man according to his work." 53:41 Do not say, "I will do to him just as he has done to me, 53:46 but I will render to the man according to his work." 53:49 So when the Lord returns 53:53 and by the way He will return sooner 53:56 if there are more workers doing the work. 53:59 How fast will the harvest be gathered in, 54:04 only as fast as the people 54:06 that are involved in the work of harvest. 54:09 You see, I know, New York City, 54:10 John, whenever New Year's Eve came by there in Time Square 54:16 it seems like the entire sanitation department 54:19 of the city of New York was there. 54:21 And you look at all that confetti and all those balloons 54:23 and all the paraphernalia all over the ground 54:26 and while the program has ended 54:28 and people or the million of people have gone home, 54:32 you wake up and you go out there 54:33 the next morning you think how on the earth 54:37 did they get rid of all this stuff so quickly. 54:39 Because the laborers were not few, they were many. 54:43 In the world we've got military laborers, 54:45 we've got social laborers, 54:47 we've got laborers in the workplace 54:49 and we talk about the unemployment rate going down. 54:52 Well, I tell you what, 54:54 unemployment is higher in God's church 54:55 than any place else on the earth. 54:57 And you don't need a new pastor or labor 54:59 or you don't need a new this or that. 55:00 You need to just step forward and say, I will be a laborer. 55:04 What did Isaiah says when the Lord talked about-- 55:06 "Here am I, send me." 55:08 Here I am. He didn't say, "Isaiah, would you go for me?" 55:11 Because you know, sometimes you feel obligated 55:13 when Lord says, "John, will you go for me?" 55:17 Okay, I'll go. Yeah, sure. 55:19 Look at the context there is Lord was saying, 55:21 I need somebody. Right. 55:22 And Isaiah said, "I am here, send me." Right. 55:26 The Lord is saying, I need somebody 55:27 why don't you say, send me. 55:29 Right, two words that will change your life. 55:31 And in your talk-- and I like what you said. 55:33 This is the issue of the heart 55:34 because I at times don't feel like ministry. 55:38 We are right with you sometimes and we need to cry to God 55:42 as David did as well create in me a clean heart 55:45 oh God and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10. 55:49 We need to pray that prayer. 55:51 Listen to this, this is an amazing testimony. 55:56 The Christian has desire, when he is changed by God. 56:01 A desire to live for-- no desire to live for self, 56:05 he delights to consecrate all that he has 56:07 and is to the Master's service. 56:09 He is moved by inexpressible win, 56:11 a desire to win souls to Jesus. 56:14 And listen to this, those who have nothing of this desire 56:17 might be better concerned for their own salvation, 56:20 let them pray for the spirit of service. 56:24 Pray for the spirit of service. 56:25 When I read that I said, you know what, 56:28 I need more of the spirit of service. 56:31 I don't have the desire to win souls 56:34 like God wants me to. 56:36 At times, yes, it's wonderful in the moment 56:39 when you are doing ministry, 56:40 but there are times where we all struggle. 56:43 Lord, I pray for the spirit of service, 56:45 change my heart and make me new, 56:47 so I can love people like you love people. 56:51 That is the quandary 56:53 that the church finds itself in nowadays, John. 56:55 So since this topic has been something you introduced. 57:00 Give me a few more words before I close the program up. 57:02 What do we do? 57:03 You know, I'd say our churches don't need a new program. 57:05 They don't need a new method. 57:07 They don't need new this or that or any pastor. 57:08 What they need is a new heart. Wow. 57:10 And they need a new desire for service and step forward 57:13 to answer God's call for laborers. 57:16 We can all be part of this finishing work. 57:19 Well, friends, as you can see we surely do believe in the call 57:22 that God has placed upon our lives. 57:24 And so when the call of God comes to you, 57:26 we encourage you to respond to it 57:28 because this is the one thing that will transform you. 57:31 So if it comes today, we ask you to respond to it. 57:35 God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17