Participants: Pr. C.A. Murray
Series Code: HHR
Program Code: HHR000011
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04:31 Amen.
04:35 Thank you so very much Tonia. 04:37 Beautifully done. One of my favorite pieces. 04:42 Our subject is The World's Greatest Turkey Dinner - 04:47 Eat It If You Can. 04:50 Going to ask you to turn with me if you will 04:53 to the book of Ezekiel. 04:56 Ezekiel chapter 39... and once you've found that 04:59 then I'm going to ask you to pray with me 05:01 as we ask God's blessing on our study this evening. 05:05 Ezekiel 39. 05:09 I do want to thank Tonia while you're turning 05:13 for the music and Pastor Mike and Dr. Lee Horton 05:16 for being with us 05:18 from the Lake Union Conference. 05:19 And Pastor Horton spent a little time in New York 05:23 Anybody that spent some time in New York is 05:25 all right with me... and so we're happy to have him here. 05:30 Shall we pray. Father God, 05:34 we're turning to Your words yet again. 05:37 We know that there is power in the Word. 05:41 We know that there is life in the Word. 05:45 We know that Jesus is in the Word. 05:48 And so, dear Father, this night give us Jesus. 05:51 Lord, we need to hear from Jesus. 05:53 We need to see Jesus. 05:55 Not man or the words of man or men, 05:59 but the heart, the mind, the soul of Jesus. 06:03 And then help us, Lord, once again to be 06:05 doers and not just hearers of Your Word. 06:11 And we thank you for Your presence and Your power 06:14 in Jesus' name. Amen. 06:16 World's Greatest Turkey Dinner. 06:18 I'm in Ezekiel chapter 39. What book did I say? 06:21 Ezekiel 39 and beginning at verse 17. 06:25 A bit of a lengthy reading 06:27 but I want you to follow along with me if you will 06:29 Ezekiel 39 beginning at verse 17. 06:34 The Word of God says: 07:25 Thus saith the Word of God. 07:41 What is God trying to say? 07:46 What's the message that the Lord wants you and I 07:52 to hear? These shocking words, 07:56 these disturbing words, 07:58 this terrible set of statements. 08:01 What is God trying to say? 08:04 Well, somebody's throwing a party, 08:08 and this is the invitation to that party. 08:12 Everybody loves a party 08:16 and you surely don't want to miss this one. 08:20 Or do you? 08:22 All of the fatlings of Bashan will be there. 08:26 Bashan was a fabulous region 08:28 known for its lofty, sturdy oaks, 08:32 incredible healthy livestock, 08:35 fertile land, 08:36 giant, royal, regal inhabitants 08:40 who lived in walled cities 08:43 and ate and lived off the fat of the land. 08:47 The word Bashan actually means fertile plain. 08:51 Bashan was a place you wanted to live. 08:54 Everybody wanted to get a homestead in Bashan. 08:57 And so God is sending a people - 09:00 a message rather - to a people 09:03 who are or at least think they are doing quite well. 09:09 You know the worst kind of deception, ladies and gentlemen, 09:12 is self-deception. 09:14 I used to have a professor in college 09:18 before I went to Oakwood when I was in junior college. 09:21 He used to say: "You know, as bad as it is 09:24 to breathe second-hand smoke, " 09:26 he used to tell us all the time in school, 09:29 "it is worse to blow smoke up your own nose" 09:32 he used to tell us. 09:33 Basically what he was saying: "As bad as it is to be deceived 09:37 or tricked by somebody else, 09:39 it is worse to be self-deceived. " 09:42 It is worse to deceive yourself. 09:45 But that, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, 09:48 is the nexus... is the root, the heart 09:51 of the Laodicean condition. 09:53 That's the problem with the church today! 09:57 It's a problem that exists in the world 09:59 and it also exists in the church. 10:01 The problem with the church today is it will not take stock 10:06 of itself. 10:07 It is deluding itself 10:11 and deceiving itself as is the world 10:14 that we're doing fine... we're doing all right... 10:17 when really the Bible says we've got problems. 10:24 The world's got problems 10:28 and the church - 10:35 um-hmm - 10:36 has got problems. 10:38 And the only way to fix those problems 10:42 is for the church to fasten its eyes 10:45 squarely upon Jesus. 10:47 You can't look at yourself. 10:49 You can't look at your pastor. 10:51 You can't look at the deacons, the elders, 10:53 the conference president, because like it or not 10:56 sooner or later they might let you down. 10:59 So you've got to fasten your eyes on Christ 11:02 who will never let you down. Amen! 11:04 And only in Jesus can you see yourself 11:07 as you really are. 11:08 Amen? Amen! 11:10 and Amen. So we need to look at and assess and redress 11:14 our own spiritual condition. 11:16 I'm in the book of Revelation. What book did I say? 11:18 Revelation chapter 3, and I want to take a look at 11:21 verse 17. Revelation chapter 3 verse 17. 11:24 Let's read the Word of God. The Bible says: 11:41 That's the true state of the church and the world. 11:46 Jesus says: "Wake up, please, and assess the situation. 11:52 Don't be fooled. " 11:55 God, ladies and gentlemen, has one eternal, everlasting 12:00 all-encompassing message for the human family. 12:04 It is above all, it is in all, 12:07 it undergirds all, 12:08 it drives all that God is and that God does for us. 12:13 The message is the same now as it has always been: 12:17 simple words... "I love you. " 12:22 That's God's message, 12:26 and it is a message that we tend to neglect oft times. 12:30 In this world where the word love may be among the most 12:34 over-used, over-rated, over-saturated, 12:40 over-sentimentalized, 12:42 under-valued, under-appreciated, 12:44 word in this absolute junk yard of a human race 12:48 that we have, God still resorts to three simple words: 12:53 "I love you. " 12:56 No other way to state it. 12:59 No better way that it can be stated. 13:01 Simple, sweet: God loves us! 13:06 Can you say Amen? 13:08 God maintains "I still love you. 13:12 I have always loved you. 13:14 I always will love you. " 13:16 Now let me re-state something 13:19 that I have alluded to before 13:21 and that I suspect you already know. 13:24 Love is risky business. 13:29 It is! 13:32 Loving somebody is risky business. 13:36 See Pastor and Sister, Pastor and Sister, Pastor and Sister 13:41 Kioshina, conference secretary. 13:45 Everybody sitting close to their wives. 13:50 That's risky business. 13:54 Um-hmm. 13:56 Love puts you at risk. 14:00 Love makes you vulnerable. 14:02 Amen? It does! 14:05 You can get hurt loving people. 14:09 Sheila, Raquel... you can! 14:17 When you give someone your heart, 14:20 the first thing you give them is the ability to hurt you. 14:24 Did you know that? 14:26 Before you give the flowers, the candy, all of those sweet things 14:29 the moment you yield your heart 14:31 you place in that person's hands the ability to hurt you. 14:35 Huh? And the ability 14:39 to inflict pain 14:41 is directly proportional 14:43 to the amount of love you give that person. 14:46 So if you give them a lot of love 14:48 they could hurt you real bad! 14:53 Huh? That's why when we were children 14:56 and we used to like the little girls in our classroom, 14:58 you know, we would never tell them we liked them. 15:00 Because when you tell a girl that you like her 15:02 she can mess with you. 15:05 Want to get your lunch money... you know. 15:09 So we never told them. 15:12 In fact, the way you could... when I was growing up, 15:14 if you liked a girl you punched her. 15:20 Dark Ages... what can I say? 15:23 But loving a person puts you at risk. 15:26 It makes you vulnerable. 15:28 Great love unrequited causes great pain. 15:34 Let me show you something beautiful. 15:35 Let's go to the book of Ephesians. 15:37 What book did I say? Ephesians chapter 3. 15:39 I want to begin at verse 16. I'll turn with it... 15:42 turn with it... turn with... turn with it... turn to it 15:47 also. Ephesians chapter... Ephesians... 15:50 I want Ephesians chapter 3 verse 16. 15:53 I will turn to it with you. 15:55 Amen! 15:58 I knew I'd wake you up! 16:42 That's makes you just want to kind of just breathe in 16:47 and breathe out, you know. 16:48 It's a good text. God is saying He wants a kind of relationship 16:52 so that you can know the unknowable. 16:55 So that you can see the unseeable. 16:57 So that you can understand those things that cannot be 17:01 understood. God is saying 17:03 "I want you to know what you cannot know unless you have 17:05 a loving relationship with Me. 17:07 I want to fill you with My love. 17:09 I want to surround you with My love. 17:10 I want to drown you in My love. 17:12 I want to just encompass you with My love. 17:15 But you don't want it. You haven't positioned yourself 17:18 to get it. I want to give you a relationship that is so close 17:21 and so wonderful and so satisfying 17:24 that you'll never need anything else. " 17:26 Amen! 17:27 "But you've got to want that relationship. " 17:30 God is offering us a relationship the height, 17:34 the width, the depth of the world cannot understand. 17:38 They can't know it; they can't see it; 17:41 they can't feel it; they can't touch it; 17:43 they can't taste it; they cannot understand it; 17:46 they cannot hear it; they cannot accept it; 17:48 they cannot enter into it... 17:50 but YOU CAN through Jesus Christ. 17:53 God is offering us a supernatural, superhuman, 17:58 all-encompassing, rock-solid, 18:00 everlasting love relationship, 18:02 and you can have it any time you want it. 18:08 Amen! 18:11 Jeremiah 31:3. What book did I say? 18:13 Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 3. 18:18 Let's read the Word of God. Jeremiah 31:3. 18:21 Give you a second to find it. Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 3. 18:25 The Bible says: 18:38 God is saying: "This is not a new thing. 18:40 I've always loved you... I've loved you from afar. 18:42 I've love you from near. I've loved you when 18:44 you're running towards Me; I've loved you when you're 18:46 running away from Me. I've always loved you. 18:47 I love you now and I always will love you. " 18:51 That's God's first and foremost message. 18:56 If no one else loves you, 19:01 God loves you... and He always will. 19:05 His second message: "My grace is sufficient for you. " 19:11 So I'm not just going to stand by and say 19:15 "Hey, I love you! " 19:16 "I want you to know whatever you're going through 19:20 My love, My grace, is enough 19:24 to keep you. " Can you say Amen? 19:26 All God's biddings are enablings. 19:29 And so when God asks you to do something, 19:31 He gives you the power, the authority - 19:33 as we said our last evening or rather two evenings ago - 19:35 to do exactly what He asks us to do. 19:38 If He asks us to live sinless lives, 19:40 it's because with His help, His grace, we can do exactly that. 19:45 That's God's second message. 19:48 Listen. Romans 8:26... God even helps us in our 19:52 prayers through the Holy Spirit. 19:53 The Bible says the Lord takes our prayers, 19:55 dresses it up with moanings and groanings... 19:57 The Holy Spirit, rather, takes our prayers, 19:59 dresses them up with moaning and groaning, 20:01 and brings them before God and says: 20:02 "Hey, God, you've got to help this little sinner 20:04 because he needs it so badly. " 20:08 So His grace is sufficient. 20:10 Number 1: God loves us. 20:12 Number 2: Grace sufficient for all of your needs. 20:16 You got problem? God's got the answer. Can you say Amen? 20:20 And He's waiting to give it to you. 20:21 Number three: In the context with one and two, 20:25 Number 3: God says: "Obey My law. " 20:29 Amen? Amen. What's number three? 20:32 Obey My law. I love you, 20:35 My grace is sufficient, obey My law. 20:38 "For not just the hearers of the Word are just before God 20:41 but the doers of the law will be justified. " 20:44 Now, let's look at what God is now doing. 20:49 I'm in Matthew chapter 23. What book did I say? 20:52 Matthew 23 and verse 34. 20:55 And I'm getting a little antsy 'cause I'm looking at that clock 20:58 already and I've got a lot to go, Raquel. 20:59 I'm trying. 21:01 She's my clock-watcher here. 21:16 That's God's messenger. 21:19 God is saying: "I'm trying to get this message through 21:22 so I'm sending you My Word. I'm sending you prophets, 21:25 but you seem to be a little stiff-necked 21:28 or hard of hearing. And for some reason 21:31 you're not wanting this relationship 21:33 that I'm trying to offer you. 21:35 I've sent you prophets, but you have rejected them. 21:38 What do I need to do more? " 21:41 So then God sends His Word. 21:43 Psalms chapter 119:158. What book did I say? 21:47 Psalms... the book is Psalms 21:48 chapter 119, the verse 158. 21:52 Let's read from the Word of God. 22:00 God said: "I send My prophets. 22:04 I send people to talk to you. 22:05 I send preachers; I send teachers. 22:07 I send individuals to explain the Word of God to you, 22:10 but you don't want to hear. 22:12 So I send now My Word. 22:13 I send the Word. There is power in the Word. 22:16 There is life in the Word. 22:17 There is joy in the Word. 22:20 The Spirit of God is in the Word, 22:22 but you're not reading the Word. 22:24 You don't want to hear and you don't want to read... 22:26 and I want to love you, I want to take care of you, 22:29 I want to save you, I want to be with you... 22:31 but you're ignoring Me. 22:33 What more do I need to do? " 22:35 II Peter chapter 2 verse 8. 22:37 What book did I say? I'm in II Peter chapter 2 22:40 and verse 8. Let's read the Word of God: 22:55 And so He's saying - the Word of God is saying - 22:58 "I'm sending you preachers, I'm sending you teachers, 23:03 I'm sending words I'm asking you to do, 23:06 and you're not doing. " 23:08 You know, years ago I was studying with a family. 23:10 I remember... you know, you come out of college. 23:12 You come out with a head of steam. 23:13 You think you can save the world. 23:15 You're young and sometimes kind of foolish. 23:17 And I was giving a Bible study with a whole family 23:19 and I studied with them for six weeks... 23:21 every Wednesday - one hour - six weeks. 23:24 I got the son to see, and the Lord... had him 23:29 give his heart to the Lord. 23:30 The daughter who was 18 gave her heart to the Lord. 23:32 And after a while the mother gave her heart to the Lord. 23:34 And this father just didn't want to do it. 23:37 Oh my goodness, he was just... he just fought against it. 23:40 And we'd go over the doctrines 23:41 and I said: "Do you see it? Do you understand? " 23:44 He said: "I just don't see it. I just can't see it. " 23:47 And the wife was getting a little short-tempered, 23:50 and the daughter said "Daddy, it's really plain. 23:53 We want to go to this church; we want to serve the Lord 23:55 and we want to get baptized. " 23:57 He said: "Well, I just don't see it. " 23:58 And the mother is saying: "Well, I don't know if I want to 24:00 get baptized if he's going to be fighting against it. " 24:02 And after six weeks the mother just got frustrated. 24:05 She said: "Why don't you just give your heart to the Lord 24:07 and stop being a knucklehead? " 24:08 And I heard myself say: "Yeah, man. Stop being a knucklehead. " 24:12 And I said: "Oh! " 24:16 I said: "I shouldn't have said that! " 24:17 And the wife said: "That's OK because he is a knucklehead! " 24:20 Said "Yeah, you can call him a knucklehead... but I can't; 24:22 I shouldn't. " And I apologized. 24:24 And you know, apologizing to him 24:25 for calling him a knucklehead did it! 24:27 True story. 24:29 I apologized to him. I said: "I'm sorry for... " 24:30 I said: "that's ungodly. I shouldn't have called you 24:33 a knucklehead. I apologize. " And right after he said: 24:35 "OK. You know what, I'm going to give my heart to the Lord. " 24:39 And I said: "Lord, thank you for taking my mistake 24:43 and turning it into gospel. " 24:44 Because that's not what you're supposed to do. 24:46 That's self... that's not Jesus. 24:48 But my point is, God is doing so much for us 24:52 and sometimes some of us can be a little stiff-necked. 24:55 We reject His love, reject His message. 24:58 We reject His Word. What else can God do? 25:01 You know, you've got to fight to walk away from God. 25:06 It's tough to ignore the Spirit of God. 25:08 It is not an easy thing to hear the gospel 25:11 and turn your mind off to the gospel and to the Spirit of God 25:15 which is prodding your heart. 25:17 Remember I told you the other day you feel a little something 25:18 in the pit of your stomach - just a little tickling down in 25:20 the pit of your stomach - that's the Holy Spirit? 25:22 That's His job to just quietly... 25:24 if you get a little squirmy in those cushions, 25:28 it is the Spirit's job to stick a little pin up 25:31 through the bottom of those cushions 25:32 and prick your conscience. That's the Spirit's job. 25:35 So if you feel a little nervous, the Spirit's doing His work 25:38 and you need to respond to the Spirit of God. 25:41 Can you say Amen? 25:42 As bad as it is to believe that God does not exist, 25:46 it is worse to believe that God does exist 25:50 and then live like He does not. 25:53 Amen. 25:56 Running from God is like running from yourself. 25:59 It is like running in a circle. 26:01 You cannot outrun God. 26:02 You can't run too fast, you can't run too far. 26:05 Wherever you go, God is already there. Amen! 26:09 So you might as well serve Him 26:10 because you cannot run away from Him. 26:14 If you read the Word of God, you will be convicted, 26:17 ladies and gentlemen... because the convicting power 26:19 is in the Word. I'm in II Timothy chapter 2. 26:21 What book did I say? 26:23 II Timothy chapter 2 verse 16. 26:33 Gentlemen, I don't think that's what I want. 26:35 Let me just turn here. 26:37 Let me just... 26:46 That is not the one I want. 26:56 I think I may have given my gentlemen the wrong text 26:58 and I'm trying to... 27:03 find it... 27:11 Ah, here we go. 27:14 What I want is I Timothy 3:16. 27:27 Ah, no... I want I Timothy 4:16. 27:31 That's what I want. Here we go: 27:32 "Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. 27:35 Continue in them for in doing this 27:38 you will save yourself and those who hear you. " 27:41 Amen? So God is giving us a call. 27:43 God is giving us a call to stand by and stay in 27:47 and live for Jesus. In doing so, 27:50 we save ourself, we save our families, 27:52 we save those who are around us. 27:53 See, it's not just about gettin' you saved. 27:56 It's about getting all of those who you have influence over 27:58 saved also. That also is our responsibility. 28:01 God has given us inspiration. 28:03 The inspiration is in His Word. 28:04 We need to read the Word. 28:06 Now, God then sends us the Holy Spirit. 28:09 Hebrews chapter 10 verse 29. 28:11 Hebrews 10:29. 28:14 This is a text that we've 28:15 looked at before, but it is a 28:17 powerful one 28:18 and an important one. 28:35 God is saying: "I'm doing all I can 28:39 including sending God the Holy Spirit 28:42 to get you to listen, to get you to hear, 28:45 to get you to understand how much I love you 28:48 and how much I want to be with you. " 28:50 Lastly, God sent Jesus. 28:55 Amen? I'm in Acts chapter 3. 28:58 What book did I say? 29:00 Acts chapter 3 verses 13 through 15. 29:03 Let's read the Word of God: 29:31 And so Paul is again re-emphasizing this case. 29:36 What more can God do to His church and to this world? 29:40 He sent preachers; He sent teachers; 29:42 He sent prophets; He sent His Word; 29:44 He sent the Holy Spirit; 29:46 lastly He sent Jesus Christ Himself. 29:49 God has done all that heaven can do 29:52 and is doing all that heaven can do 29:56 to save His people. Can you say Amen? 29:58 When we reject the Word of God, 30:01 the prophet of God, the Spirit of God, 30:04 the Son of God, we put ourselves I say again 30:06 in dangerous, dangerous... in a dangerous position. 30:11 I'm in Hosea chapter 4 and verse 6. 30:14 Hosea chapter 4 and verse 6: 30:31 Powerful text. 30:33 God says: "There's no reason not to know 30:35 because I want you to know. 30:37 I have given you My Spirit so you can know. 30:39 I want you to be with Me. 30:41 I want you to love Me. 30:43 I want to be with you; I've got a plan for you. " 30:46 "I know the plans I have for you" Jeremiah 29 says. 30:51 "But you wouldn't do it 30:53 because you have forgotten 30:55 the love of your God. " 30:57 Psalms 119:126. 31:00 Psalms the 119th chapter 126. 31:03 I know we're doing a lot of text-hopping tonight. 31:05 Trying to prove my point. 31:16 God is saying: "The time for judgment is about to come. 31:22 The time of the end is about to be upon us. 31:26 I've done all of these things. 31:29 I am doing all of these things. 31:31 I will continue to do all of these things for you, 31:34 but the truth is: it's coming to an end, 31:38 ladies and gentlemen, and we've got to be ready. 31:41 We have got to be ready. 31:43 All the drinking, all the smoking, all the destroying, 31:47 all the rejection of God's law... 31:49 it's going to come to an end. 31:51 The people who deny His existence, 31:54 the people who don't want to hear, 31:56 the people who just don't care. 31:58 Good friend of mine called us from New York the other day, 32:02 was talking to my wife. And she was saying: "You know, my 32:04 two daughters grew up in the church. 32:06 Both atheists. Both have turned their hearts 32:08 against God. Both want nothing to do with God. 32:10 God has blessed them; they've got really good jobs. 32:12 Really well-paying jobs; really nice careers. 32:15 And their thanks to God is saying 'I don't believe 32:17 You even exist. I reject You. ' " 32:19 That's a dangerous statement to make, ladies and gentlemen. 32:22 You've got atheists... people who deny that God exists. 32:26 People who say: "OK, He exists. 32:31 but... so what? " 32:34 They call themselves agnostics. 32:36 You've got deists: people who say "He's there 32:40 but He doesn't really care about us. 32:42 We've got to run it on ourselves because God's on vacation. " 32:46 You've got humanists: people who say He's 32:49 there but our logic is enough to run this world. 32:52 He is irrelevant and we just don't need Him. " 32:56 You've got secularists 32:58 who say: "Who cares if He's there or not? 33:01 We don't need Him. We're doing fine all by ourselves. " 33:05 I heard a famous talk-show host in this city 33:10 tell a woman on her program: "You know, you've got... 33:12 You lack spirituality. " 33:15 Now she said: "I don't mean religion. 33:16 I'm not talking about going to church. 33:18 You have to be spiritual. 33:19 You need to get in touch with your spiritual self, " 33:22 she said. 33:23 You see, that kind of pseudo- spiritual, sanctimonious 33:26 psychobabble is confusing people. 33:29 Um-hmm. 33:32 That doesn't make you spiritual. 33:35 That makes you metaphysical. 33:37 That makes you New Age. 33:39 That takes you away from God. 33:41 That has you looking for the answers within. 33:44 And Paul says the answers to the questions we have 33:49 are not within... they're... 33:53 in Jesus. 33:55 So instead of looking for God, 33:57 we're looking for the answers within. 33:59 We are functioning under the illusion that mankind is 34:02 still basically good. 34:04 It's an illusion. 34:06 It's not a delusion. 34:07 There are those who think... basically... 34:10 we're good. 34:11 And Paul says: "I know... " Romans 7... 34:14 "in me dwells no good thing. " 34:17 The truth is: it is the Spirit of God 34:21 and His angels that keep this world from exploding 34:24 and destroying itself. 34:26 We look at the nightly news every night 34:29 and yet we are deluded - if not downright deceived - 34:33 that we're good. 34:36 We're not! 34:38 And by the way, we ain't so smart, either. 34:42 Huh? 34:43 God didn't invent guns; God didn't invent bombs; 34:46 God didn't invent hand grenades; 34:48 God didn't invent war. 34:49 We're not so smart. 34:51 Not really. 34:54 Not as smart as we pretend to be. 34:56 But for the power of the Spirit of God, 34:58 this world would have been destroyed long ago. 35:02 We are not yet as post-Christian as Western Europe 35:05 but we are on the way. 35:07 Let me give you in the time that remains to me 35:09 the four mindsets, the four characteristics 35:11 of modern-day society. 35:12 I was playing with this just the other day. 35:15 First you've got the philosophy that we call ontology. 35:20 It is the philosophy that deals with the concept of 35:23 reality... the nature of being. 35:25 It says man owes his existence to no one. 35:29 This is what you find in the world. 35:31 Man owes his existence to no one. 35:34 What I have, I deserve. 35:38 What I am, I make of myself. 35:43 I owe no outside force. 35:46 You know, it's like in the Bible days 35:47 the Sadducees believed that. 35:49 No angels, no miracles, no divine intervention. 35:51 These are modern-day Sadducees. 35:53 They call themselves ontologists. 35:55 Basically they say this: "God is not in charge, 35:59 and what I have I'm responsible for. 36:01 I don't have to thank anybody because it's mine. " 36:04 We call that Nebuchadnezzar disease. 36:06 Heard that before? 36:08 Nebuchadnezzar disease is when you go out to your car. 36:10 You've got a brand new car 36:12 and you look at that car and you say: "You know who got that car? 36:14 I did. " 36:16 "Know whose car that is? Mine. " 36:19 You look at your nice house and you say: 36:22 "You know who works for this house? I do. " 36:24 "You know whose house this is? Mine. " 36:28 "You know who I give credit to and thanks to? Me. " 36:32 That's Nebuchadnezzar disease. 36:34 You go in the closet. You see your suits, your clothes, 36:39 your shoes and you say: "You see all of these clothes? 36:42 You know who bought those clothes? I did. " 36:46 "You know whose money paid for those clothes? Mine. " 36:50 "You know whose clothes those are? Mine. " 36:54 "You know who I have to thank for those clothes? Me. " 36:59 That's ontology. 37:02 "I don't have to thank God for a good job. 37:04 I worked for that job. My job! " 37:09 The second is autonomy. 37:11 We are an independent society. 37:15 We owe no one anything. 37:18 If it's good, it's on me. 37:21 If it's bad, it's on me. 37:23 God then is unnecessary and irrelevant. 37:27 I am the captain of my ship, 37:30 the master of my soul, 37:32 the determiner of my fate, 37:34 and God has nothing to do with it. 37:38 And I've heard people say that. 37:40 The third is relativity. 37:43 And I don't mean relativity like Einstein's theory of relativity. 37:47 I mean everything is relative. 37:49 Nothing is fixed. 37:51 There are no permanent moral absolutes... 37:54 sometimes called situational ethics. 37:56 Right and wrong are not moral goalposts, 38:00 they are just general parameters. 38:02 They are guidelines just like a football game. 38:05 The goalposts move depending on what team is on the field. 38:09 So what's right today may not be right tomorrow 38:12 and if I get in a pinch, I'm going to lie, 38:14 cheat, steal... do whatever I have to do 38:17 to get out of that fix. 38:19 Well that basically denies the power of God 38:22 to rearrange circumstances. 38:24 You see, the Christian says: "When I get in a pinch, 38:26 I know that Jesus is in the pinch with me. " 38:30 So rather than figuring out how am I going to get out of this 38:33 I turn to Jesus and say: "Jesus, 38:35 How are You going to get us out of this problem? " 38:40 Because everything that touches us touches Christ. 38:44 And everything that concerns you concerns Him, 38:46 and you are never alone. Hebrews 13:5. 38:49 You can boldly say God is your helper. 38:53 And the last is temporality. 38:55 We live in a world where the world view is that 38:58 everything is transitory... everything is passing away. 39:01 Every law, every rule, every relationship, 39:05 every moral marker can be and should be 39:08 and will eventually be moved. It is temporary. 39:12 It is only here for a short while. 39:13 That includes contracts, marriages, 39:16 umm, stipulations, any kind of agreement. 39:19 It's all temporary... nothing is forever. 39:22 You'd better get it today because tomorrow it may be gone 39:25 or someone else will have it. 39:27 Get it while it lasts. 39:29 They've come up with this new idea... I heard it on 39:30 TV just the other day... 39:32 the more you spend the more you save! 39:34 And I'm trying to figure out how in the world 39:35 does that make sense? 39:38 Get it now because it may be gone. 39:42 The more you spend the more you save. 39:44 Spend a lot... save a lot. 39:48 And I'm saying the way to save a lot 39:51 is just keep your wallet in your pocket. 39:56 All of these philosophies dismiss the presence 40:01 and power of God. 40:02 That's why Romans chapter 1 verse 22 40:06 says it very plainly: 40:14 Say it again ladies and gentlemen: 40:16 we humans... we're not so smart. 40:20 "The fool hath said in his heart 40:24 there is no God. " 40:28 So God now has done all of this: 40:32 God has sent His Word; God has sent His preachers; 40:36 His teachers; His messengers. God has sent the Holy Spirit. 40:41 God has sent Jesus Christ, His Son. 40:45 What more can God do? 40:48 I say again ladies and gentlemen it's coming to an end. 40:53 So let's talk about the punishment. 40:58 I'm in the book of Isaiah. What book did I say? 41:00 Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 19. 41:04 Isaiah 2:19... we'll read the Word of God: 41:17 and verse 19. 41:21 Give you a second to find it. 41:24 I'm in Isaiah 2 and verse 19. 41:28 "They shall go into the holes of the rocks 41:34 and into the caves of the earth 41:37 from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty 41:43 when He arises to shake the earth mightily. " 41:48 Isaiah is giving us a clue to what's coming. 41:51 God is going to shake this old earth. 41:55 This world cannot and WILL NOT last much longer. 42:00 You can feel it; you can see it. 42:03 It's in the very air we breathe: 42:05 Jesus is coming soon and God is going to call a halt 42:10 to the history of this earth as we know it. 42:13 Something momentous, catastrophic, 42:17 incredible is about to happen. 42:20 Christ is going to end time 42:23 and begin eternity. You've got to be ready. 42:26 I'm in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah. What book did I say? 42:29 Jeremiah chapter 25. You were in Isaiah, 42:32 over to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 25 beginning at verse 30. 43:46 A frightening text. A sobering text. 43:50 The Bible calls this God's "strange act" 43:54 because punishment is so unlike the Lord. 43:57 And yet the Bible says one day soon and very soon 44:01 calamity is coming upon this earth 44:04 and God is pleading. While you hear His voice, 44:07 when you hear His voice, 44:08 when you feel the moving of His Spirit, 44:11 harden not your hearts... 44:14 follow Him. I'm in Jeremiah - Jeremiah chapter 4 verse 24. 44:19 Same book of Jeremiah. You're just backing up 44:21 several verses for Jeremiah 4 and 24. 44:26 Jeremiah chapter 4 and 24. 44:29 Let's read the Word of God. 44:31 Jeremiah chapter 4 and verse 24: 44:40 "I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled 44:44 and all the hills moved back and forth. " 44:47 God's going to shake this world, ladies and gentlemen. 44:50 The calamity that was spoken of 44:53 as coming to Jerusalem 44:54 is a type of the calamity that 44:56 is going to come upon this whole world. 44:58 You know, back in the 1800-1900s 45:01 pastors used to preach what they called hell fire sermons. 45:04 You know, my favorite author - Ellen White - says 45:07 "every now and again you need to hold the saints 45:08 over the flame and let them feel the heat. " 45:11 But we don't preach that much anymore because it's unpopular. 45:13 Folks don't like to talk about judgment. 45:15 They don't like to talk about spankings. 45:17 You know we didn't like to get spankings when we were children. 45:19 You didn't like to see the belt come out. 45:21 But Ellen White says that as there are rewards - 45:25 there is a reward called heaven, 45:27 there is a reward called everlasting life - 45:29 there's also going to be punishment come Judgment Day. 45:31 And every now and again we've got to pull out the truth. 45:33 It makes you uncomfortable... 45:35 not something you like to hear... 45:36 but it's part of the Word of God. 45:40 Calamity is coming on this earth 45:42 and Ezekiel says: "Pastor CA Murray, 45:44 Pastor Mike Horton, 45:46 Pastor Ruel Backus, 45:48 Pastor Richard Pinero, 45:49 Pastor Ernesto Sanchez, 45:50 if you don't preach it, I hold you accountable. 45:53 I require their blood at your hand. " 45:57 So I'm preaching it. Not just because I like to 45:59 preach about hell fire and judgment... 46:01 I'm delivering my soul from hell. 46:03 I'm preaching it because God says: "Preach it... 46:05 or if they don't hear I'm going to hold you accountable 46:08 for telling them everything's going to be fine, 46:10 it's all going to be nice, 46:12 when you KNEW judgment was coming. " 46:15 Amen? Amen! 46:17 So let's close with these three texts. 46:18 Jeremiah 7:33. What did I say? 46:20 Book is Jeremiah... chapter 7 verse 33. 46:23 Let's do it real quick. 46:33 Talking about Judgment Day 46:35 when the scattered of the Lord will be all over the ground. 46:37 Ezekiel chapter 39 verses 17 through 19. 46:40 We began with this one... let's read it again: 47:19 The last one: Revelation chapter 19. 47:22 Let's go quickly to Revelation 19 verse 17. 47:58 It's a summons to the birds. 48:02 It's a summons to all of us 48:04 for a great turkey dinner. 48:08 The problem is... if you go, 48:12 you're not going to be the guest... 48:15 you're going to be the dinner. 48:20 God is saying to His people 48:22 "Come now... while you can. 48:28 In the day that I'm calling, hear My voice 48:34 and respond. 48:36 Don't look to the person on your right. 48:39 Don't look to the person on your left. 48:41 Look to Jesus. 48:44 I love you; My grace is sufficient. 48:50 Obey My law... walk with Me 48:54 and I'll walk with you. 48:57 Stand up for Me and I'll stand up for you. 49:02 Follow Me and I'll lead you through the gates 49:08 into the city. " 49:09 How many love Jesus tonight? 49:12 How many are determined in your mind and in your heart 49:15 I'm going to follow Jesus come what may? 49:18 I don't want to go to this particular party 49:21 because there's another party 49:23 going to be held somewhere up there. 49:26 That's the party I want to go to. 49:28 The one that's going to be held on the sea of glass. 49:30 The one where we stand around the throne 49:32 and sing the victory song of Moses and the Lamb. 49:35 The one where we'll receive our crowns and our white robes. 49:38 The one where we get a personal hug and kiss 49:40 from Jesus Christ Himself. 49:42 That's the party I want to crash! 49:44 That's the one I want to go to. How about you? |
Revised 2014-12-17