Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP190316A
|
00:13 [ "How Lovely, Lord, How Lovely"
00:15 begins ] 01:19 >> Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we just want to thank you for the 01:25 Sabbath, and thank you for being here with us, for You have said where two or three are gathered, 01:30 there You are also, and we just want to thank You for being here with us. 01:34 So bless us during this hour. In Jesus' name, amen. 01:38 Good morning, and happy Sabbath, church. 01:41 Good morning. As we begin our worship and 01:44 praise, we just invite you to sing the song, this prayer that 01:48 is asking God to open the eyes of our hearts so that we may see 01:52 Him, so that we may hear His voice. 01:54 So stand with us as we sing "Open the Eyes of My Heart." 02:06 [ "Open the Eyes of My Heart" begins ] 04:54 Amen. You may be seated. 04:58 ♪♪ 07:53 ♪♪ 12:10 Amen. Faithful He is and faithful forever He will be, never 12:14 leaving us unequipped for life's challenges. So with that, we have to give 12:19 Him thanks, give Him praise, so at this time, I invite you to come forward if you want to give 12:25 thanks to Him for all that He has done. I just invite you now is the 12:29 time. 12:31 ♪♪ 15:42 >> Amen. Good morning, boys and girls. 15:46 Can you believe this? This is the first Sabbath this 15:49 spring break. And I am so glad you are here. 15:53 You know what I have inside this bag for show and tell today? 15:56 What do I have inside this bag? 16:03 Money? No. No. Coins, no. Seeds, no. 16:09 Okay, you're all off. Okay, no, no rocks. Watch this. 16:14 Inside this bag is a lovely tin, cookie tin, and inside the cookie tin are marbles! 16:28 You said that? Well, you won. That was it. 16:31 Marbles. You know what? When I was a boy growing up in 16:34 Japan, oh, we would play marbles. And we were talking about it in 16:39 the production room before we began. I found out even kids in this 16:43 generation have played marbles. Have you ever played marbles? Ooh, I want to show you about 16:49 marbles because we boys in the little village, oh, we would play marbles, and I began to 16:54 fill my big cookie tin can with marbles. 'Cause here's how you play. 16:58 Now, this is in Japan. I don't know how you play elsewhere. 17:02 But in Japan, you have to have -- first of all, you have to have what they call an 17:07 oidama. You can just look -- oidama. This is the shooter, okay? 17:13 You have to have a shooter. Oh, and I had one, and I kept it in my pocket. 17:16 It was my favorite marble. It would enable -- It was a lucky marble. 17:20 It would do what I needed it to do. Now, here's what you needed to 17:23 do. First, all the boys -- if you sit down -- I think we'll get a 17:26 camera on it. You'll see it. Okay, so, first, the boys say, 17:29 "Okay, you gonna play? You gonna play? You gonna play? 17:31 Yep, yep, yep, all right. Okay, guys, here's a little circle." 17:34 So, there was a little circle in the middle. Okay, if you're gonna play, you 17:38 have to put two marbles in. Okay. There's two. 17:40 Okay, you're gonna play. Good, okay, you too. And everybody has to put in two 17:44 to play, okay? So there are all the marbles. Sometimes there'd be 10 boys. 17:49 How many marbles would that be if there were 10 boys? 20 marbles in the circle. 17:55 I see everybody's coming. Okay. Now, then they do a big circle 17:59 farther back, and you had to get behind the line in that circle and you had to take your oidama, 18:04 and you had to -- this is your shooter -- and you wanted to throw it as close to the -- 18:10 everybody gets one throw. You get one throw to get as close to the circle as you can. 18:14 If it goes inside, oop, you have to put an extra marble in to get your shooter back out. 18:19 And then, wherever your shooter landed, you'd stand there, and you would have to, with the 18:24 shooter, see if you could knock a marble out of the circle. As long as you could knock 18:29 marble out of the circle -- oh, I missed. So you'd stop right there. 18:33 Next guy would get up and say, "Oh, I can do better than that." Oh, he did. 18:37 He knocked it out of the circle. And you get another turn if you knock one out. 18:42 Oh, you missed. And we'd go around and around, and you know what? 18:46 You could end up with more marbles than you started. It's incredible. 18:49 That's what you do. And that's how you win. You just keep knocking these 18:53 out. And I would put the marbles in. I'd knock some more out. 18:57 That American boy, what's he doing? I'd knock some more out. 19:00 Put the marbles in. By the end of the year, I had a big square cookie tin, bigger 19:07 than this, filled to the full with the marbles I had won, and every day I would just let the 19:13 marbles fall through my fingers. It felt so good to win. Oh, it felt so good. 19:18 But you know what? We went back to America. You know what my parents made me 19:24 do? Give my marbles to one of the boys in the village. 19:28 And I had to leave them, and it was so hard to put the lid back on for the last time because I 19:34 won all these. I didn't know it was gambling. I didn't know it was gambling. 19:39 And then I had to give the tin to my Japanese friend, and he had all the marbles. 19:45 You know what? When you win, it's a very wonderful feeling. 19:49 And guess what. Jesus says we should win. I didn't make that up. 19:53 In a verse I'm gonna share with your mom and dad in just a moment, Jesus says, "Now, to 19:58 those who win like I won, you get to sit with me on my throne one day." 20:04 Whoa! You win! We don't win against each other. 20:08 We win against the enemy. And who's the enemy? Who's the enemy? 20:13 Oh, we -- Jesus says, "I want to win through you against Satan." So here's our prayer every day. 20:20 Jesus, would you please win today through me? Can you say that prayer? 20:24 Let's try. Let's try that together. Jesus, would you please win 20:29 today through me? Let's do it one more time. Jesus, will you please win today 20:36 through me? And He says, "But of course, because you and I are friends." 20:42 Aren't you glad, number one, Jesus won the big battle when he died on the cross? 20:46 Yep. And with the other hand, how many want to say, "I'll pray 20:49 that prayer. I want to pray that prayer." Jesus, would you win through me 20:53 today? Amen. Who would like to thank Jesus 20:56 for being the winner who wins through us? All right, I saw your hand. 21:00 Here comes a microphone. Come on over here. Can you get through there? 21:04 What's your first name? >> Marin. >> Marin? 21:07 Come a little closer. Mary? >> Marin. 21:11 >> Marin. Let's close our eyes with Marin. She's gonna thank Jesus. 21:16 >> Thank you, Jesus, for this day, and thank you that all of us are here, and please help us 21:23 to be good in all this church. We love you in Jesus' name. Amen. 21:28 >> Amen. Beautiful prayer, Marin. Amen, boys and girls, as you go 21:33 quietly back to your seats. Yes, Jesus, thank you for being the winner in my life. 21:40 Amen. 21:45 >> I'm going to pray with you. Then we're going to plunge into this teaching. 21:49 This is -- This is a teaching that needs a lot of prayer. Just like we prayed over little 21:58 Abigail a moment ago. You guys are so lucky, Seth and Cara. 22:03 Yeah. So we need God to hold us close. Want to hear. 22:06 So let's pray together. Father, we've been much in worship. 22:11 It's not like we're just kicking into gear now. This is what we do for the final 22:16 moments. The sun is streaming through these stained-glass windows. 22:21 We believe that spring is coming, and there's a joy in the air, as the choir just sang. 22:28 This teaching make it clear. Don't -- Let it be Your voice. There are a lot of other voices 22:34 in us, but let it be Your voice, not the preacher's voice that finally gets through. 22:39 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 22:45 Once upon a time, Jesus had a hometown. 22:51 But they didn't believe in Him. And so He performed no miracles 22:56 there. Once upon another time, Jesus 22:59 had a home church. But they didn't believe in Him. 23:04 And so he performed no miracles there. 23:07 Hometown Nazareth, home church Laodicea, two very sad stories. 23:14 What's up with that? No faith. Both the hometown and the home 23:21 church kept him out. "You stay out there. We'll call you when we need 23:26 you." And they never needed Him. But don't be sad because the 23:30 good news is one of the two stories is still being written as we speak. 23:35 It has a letter, and at the very end of that letter is a promise that is dynamite. 23:44 I want to share that ending. It's the last letter of the Bible. 23:49 To the last faith community on Earth. Don't make the same mistake. 23:54 Believe. Go ahead and believe in Him. And look at the gift. 23:58 Open your Bible with me, please, to Revelation chapter 3. As we move to the end, this is 24:04 the first time I preached in spring break ever. Usually take these two Sabbaths 24:08 off, but you know what? We started a journey, and we got to finish it. 24:12 The last letter, the last letter in the Apocalypse, the last letter in the whole Bible. 24:17 Revelation chapter 3. Seven churches, seven letters, the last faith community on 24:21 Earth gets the last letter, and look at this dynamite promise that the one who dictated the 24:28 letter, that would be the Lord Jesus, the risen Christ. Look at this promise right near 24:33 the end. What is this -- verse 21. Revelation 3:21. 24:37 To him, to her who overcomes. We just talked about winning, didn't we? 24:43 To him, to her who wins, to him, to her who triumphs. Jesus says, "I will grant to sit 24:51 with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne." 24:59 That's a promise with one condition. Come on, scribble it down. 25:02 There should be in your worship bulletin a study guide for today. 25:06 Pull that out and scribble it down. 25:09 Put that -- the title slide on the screen for those of you 25:12 watching somewhere. You see our website, 25:16 www.newperceptions.tv. Go to that website. 25:21 You're looking for a series that is about to end. 25:23 It ends next Sabbath with the biggest secret of all, next 25:26 Sabbath. But this one's entitled "Game of 25:29 Thrones, Crown of Thorns part 1," okay? 25:31 Let's go. We just read a promise. 25:34 What's the promise? Scribble it down. 25:37 You will sit with Me on My throne one day. 25:43 This is no mythical game of thrones here. 25:44 This is the real deal. We're talking about the real 25:47 deal throne, all right? So what's the promise? 25:49 You will sit with Me on My throne one day. 25:51 What's the condition? Jot it down. 25:52 You must first overcome today. Not one day, but today. 25:56 You must first overcome. Seven letters. 25:59 Every single one of the seven ends with that promise that 26:03 begins with the condition to the one who overcomes, to him, to 26:07 her, to them. 26:09 actually, the Greek reads "to the one who keeps on overcoming." 26:14 To the one who keeps on winning, to the one who goes on from victory to victory day after 26:20 day. In the Greek, the tense is continuous action. 26:26 By the way, a rather dramatic action because this is the word straight off the battlefield. 26:30 You want to talk about battle? This is battlefield language. When you win a war, this is the 26:35 language of winning a battle as you move on to win a war. Same word. 26:42 It's hardly a game of thrones. This is mortal combat. 26:45 Listen to Sigve Tonstad. Put it on the screen, please. 26:49 Let him help us to that metaphor. 26:52 On the screen, you see it. "Awareness of conflict changes 26:55 the way we construe victory and defeat. 26:57 While Jesus makes promises to everyone who conquers with no 27:00 object in the sentence --" it just says conquers. 27:03 Conquers what? Conquers who? 27:04 Conquers where? It doesn't say. 27:06 While He makes that promise to everyone, the tenor of conflict 27:10 is better preserved if we translate it "to everyone who 27:13 overcomes in the war." Write that down. 27:16 In the war. "It is not wrong to say that the 27:18 believers overcome or conquer," of course, "but it is implied 27:22 throughout that they are engaged in a war." 27:26 What war are you talking about? We're talking about the greatest cosmic, the bloodiest 27:30 intergalactic battle in the collective history of the universe, bar none. 27:33 The Book of Revelation is all about it. We'll go to just one chapter in 27:36 Revelation. Let me run these by you. Speaking of the war, Revelation 27:39 chapter 12, on the screen. 27:40 Beginning with verse 7. "And war broke out in heaven. 27:43 Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his 27:45 angles, and the dragon and his angels fought back." 27:47 It's obviously a war. "But he was not strong enough, 27:50 and they lost their place in heaven. 27:51 He," the dragon, "was hurled to earth, and his angels with him." 27:55 Who's the dragon? It's the devil. 27:58 Go down to verse 12. "But woe to the inhabitants of 28:01 the earth and the sea, for the devil has gone down to you 28:04 having great wrath." The NIV reads he's filled with 28:08 fury. He was hurled because he knows. 28:10 Don't let that misreading catch you by surprise. 28:13 Let me come back to that. For the devil has gone down to 28:17 you having great wrath because he knows that his time is short. 28:22 And wouldn't you know it, as his fury intensifies, the end of 28:26 time accelerates. So this thing is just shoop! 28:29 One more line at the end of the chapter, verse 17. 28:32 "And the dragon was enraged now." 28:34 This is at the end. "And the dragon was enraged with 28:36 the woman." She's the symbol of the seven 28:39 churches of Christianity, 2,000 years. 28:41 "He was enraged with the woman and he went to make war with the 28:44 rest of her offspring," the remnant. 28:46 These would be the people in the last church, the last faith 28:49 community, and who are they? Who keep the commandments of God 28:52 and have the testimony of Jesus. 28:55 The people who keep the commandments. What commandments? 28:57 The Ten Commandments, obviously. I suppose. Fourth Commandment, yep. 29:02 Seventh Day Sabbath, remember it and keep it holy. I suppose. 29:05 Who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. The last war. 29:10 Some call it the great controversy between Christ and Satan. 29:13 This is no mythical struggle. This is the real deal thing. I want to share a quotation with 29:20 you. Just came across this stunning depiction last week. 29:26 Put it on the screen. "If the curtain could be rolled 29:28 back, and each one of us could discern the constant activities 29:34 of the heavenly family to preserve the inhabitants of the 29:37 Earth from Satan's seductive wiles, they -- we -- would see 29:41 that the armies of heaven are in continual warfare with satanic 29:44 agencies to obtain victories in behalf of those who do not sense 29:48 their danger and who are passing on in unconscious indifference." 29:52 I mean, look. You and I are sitting here. 29:55 We just had great music. 29:57 But there's this war going on at this very moment. Man, the sun is out. 30:03 The music was great. I'm glad to be alive. Having no clue that if our ears 30:09 would open and this curtain would be drawn aside, there is this massive struggle for every 30:17 human being, baby, boy, man, woman, all the way through life right now. 30:26 We don't take the war seriously. Come on, let's be honest. We just don't. 30:31 We're so used to being here and we love it here, and why not? Right now, for us, everything's 30:37 coming up roses. Wait a day or two, and life changes, of course. 30:43 Yeah. 30:46 So, keep going. "Angels are belting the world." 30:48 Ooh, angels are belting the world, refusing Satan his claims 30:52 to supremacy. You remember that little village 30:54 called Dothan and the boy who's a sidekick to the prophet 30:58 Elisha. Went out one early morning and 31:00 he looked and said, "Oh, no, the enemy, the Assyrians have 31:03 surrounded that village." They're gunning for Elisha. 31:06 He goes racing back and, "Master, Master, get up, wake 31:09 up! You're not gonna believe." 31:10 Elisha goes, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he stands and 31:14 he looks and he says, "This poor boy." 31:16 He said, "Oh, God, open the boy's eyes." 31:18 You remember that? And the boy looks when his eyes 31:21 are open. And he sees the hills covered 31:25 with these -- what was it? Chariots of fire. 31:29 Covered, surrounded. You're always a majority, even 31:34 when you're standing alone. You are always a majority, even 31:38 when you're standing alone. So don't be afraid to stand up 31:42 all by yourself. Angels belt the world, refusing 31:46 Satan his claims to supremacy. Keep reading. 31:48 "We hear not the voices. We see not with natural sight 31:51 the work of these angels, but their hands are linked about the 31:55 world, and with sleepless vigilance, they are keeping the 31:58 armies of Satan at bay." Ladies and gentlemen, we are in 32:01 a war and the battle is intensifying. 32:04 Read it again. Verse 21, Revelation 3. 32:09 To him, to her, to them who overcome, I will grant to sit 32:12 with Me on My throne as I also overcame and sat down with My 32:16 Father on His throne. Unbelievable promise. 32:21 But it's that condition. To him who overcomes, to her who overcomes. 32:31 Would you jot that down, please? Because what Jesus is really saying is "to the one who 32:35 overcomes as I overcame." This is nothing new. This is no new territory. 32:40 Somebody's already been over this ground. "To the one who overcomes as I 32:44 overcome." And, by the way, as promises, we will overcome in the very same 32:48 way. Could it be any clearer? John 16:33 -- What did Jesus 32:54 say? "In this world --" this is just before his execution. 32:57 This is late Thursday night. "In this world, you're gonna suffer. 33:00 You're gonna suffer trouble. You're gonna have tribulation, but take heart." 33:05 I like it in the NIV. But cheer up. I have what? 33:09 I have overcome the what? I've overcome the entire world. I've overcome. 33:14 Yeah, yeah. We needed that amen, Pastor José, right at that 33:19 moment. Couldn't be any clearer. Hey, look. 33:23 Look, folks. The issue here is an end game. War, all right? 33:30 And at the heart of the issue is faith. There's no faith in a hometown 33:35 called Nazareth. Is there any faith in a home church this end faith community, 33:39 is there any faith in a home church called Laodicea? No lepers were healed in 33:46 Nazareth. How many sinners are getting healed in Laodicea? 33:54 You say no sinners healed, Dwight? I'm not suggesting that. 33:57 But the reality is Laodicea doesn't believe -- It doesn't believe that it can actually be 34:03 healed of sin. No. Either because they keep trying 34:09 to heal themselves on their own power or because they really don't think it's possible to be 34:13 healed from sinning in this life. But what if -- here's the 34:15 question. What if Jesus could heal us from sinning? 34:21 What if he could help us from sinning? I have a book given to me by a 34:28 friend years ago. The author of the book wrote it under the pseudonym -- here's 34:33 the pseudonym -- Vaughn Allen. I understand, having read through the book, I understand 34:38 why he didn't want his name on the cover. But in the book, amazing. 34:44 He -- Let me give the title of the book first. "The War Is Real: And So Is the 34:49 Victory." Now, I want to share a line or two. 34:52 Now, he's speaking of overcoming and why more Christians don't live victorious lives today, and 34:57 he suggests two reasons. Jot these down. See what you think, okay? 35:01 Reason number one why there isn't more victory in my life. Reason number one -- we don't 35:06 fully appreciate the sinfulness of sin. Could that be it? 35:12 Vaughn Allen writing. "We do not realize how utterly 35:16 detestable sin is. We do not comprehend how 35:19 contrary sin is to God's character and how terribly 35:22 offensive it is to Him. We have lived with sin and its 35:26 results so long and have toyed with sin so much" that it's no 35:32 big deal to us. True or false? 35:36 It's true. I mean, what's that? 35:39 Look, once in a while, it's not that big a deal. 35:45 "Steps to Christ," that little classic, that Christian classic 35:48 on the screen. "We shall not renounce sin 35:51 unless we see its sinfulness." Vaughn Allen again. 35:57 Oh, this is good. In fact, I wish you'd just 36:00 circle this whole quotation. You have it in your study guide. 36:03 "The absolute horror of sin can be seen only when we look at the 36:07 cross. It would be well for us each day 36:11 to pray --" two prayers. Here are the two prayers he 36:14 suggests. Prayer number one that God would 36:16 give us a genuine abhorrence of sin, and prayer number two that 36:20 God would give us a hatred for it because of what it did to the 36:23 Son of God and because of what it does to us. 36:27 End quote. 36:28 Hey, listen, guys. I know this is not a comfortable subject. 36:32 I mean, who talks about sin anymore? Who wants to talk about sin? 36:36 Please. Jesus is our savior, and that's all you need to tell us. 36:40 Except that Jesus Himself, in the very last letter to the last faith community on this planet, 36:45 says, "No, there's more I need to tell you. You overcome." 36:50 To him, to her, to you who win. I give you the right to sit on My throne with Me forever and 36:59 ever. It's got to be a big deal. Two reasons why the Laodiceans 37:03 are not gaining the victory over temptation and sin. Reason number one -- we do not 37:07 fully appreciate the sinfulness of sin. And write it down. 37:10 Here's the other one. We are not convinced that victory over sin is possible in 37:14 this life. In fact, Vaughn Allen writes, "Many are convinced that such 37:19 victory is impossible." No posible. You cannot do it. 37:26 Ah. Here's -- Let me go for a moment to that apocalyptic classic 37:31 "Great Controversy." 37:32 Look at this. You have to fill it in. 37:35 "If those who hide and excuse their faults --" Look, you're 37:41 talking about me. I'm not talking about you. 37:44 I'm talking about me. God, it's not that big a deal. 37:48 Do you understand that? I know, I know. 37:51 But it's just -- It's not that big an issue. 37:56 Don't worry about it. I'll get over it. 37:58 By the end of my life, I'll have it all dealt with. 38:02 "If those who hide and excuse their faults could see how Satan 38:06 exults over them, how he taunts Christ and holy angels with 38:10 their course." Yo, God, have you seen Dwight 38:12 lately? Talk about a piece of work. 38:15 Look at him. Big with the lips, but look at 38:18 his life. How he taunts Christ and the 38:21 holy angels with our course. We would make haste if we knew. 38:24 We would make haste to confess our sins and to put them away. 38:27 I don't want it anymore, anymore. 38:29 Don't need it. I don't have to live with this. 38:31 Through defects in the character, my character, Satan 38:34 works to gain control of the whole mind, and he knows that if 38:36 these defects are cherished, he'll succeed. 38:38 Therefore he's constantly seeking to deceive the followers 38:41 of Christ -- now, here it comes, the punch line -- with his 38:44 fatal -- right in the word "fatal" because you know what 38:46 fatal means? It's deadly. 38:48 It'll kill you. His fatal sophistry. 38:49 Boy, that's an old word. What's that mean? 38:51 It means deception. His fatal deception. 38:54 He's constantly seeking to deceive the followers of Christ 38:57 with his fatal deception that it is impossible for them to 39:00 overcome. You can't do it. 39:02 I'm telling you. There are people that even teach 39:05 that. I mean, there are people that 39:07 even preach that. You don't get over it. 39:09 You don't get over in this life. Maybe something -- boom -- for 39:13 the final generation at the end -- shoop -- something 39:16 disappears, but you never get over it. 39:19 I'm just wondering. Did Jesus miss something here? 39:26 He said to the ones who win. Continuous action, day after day 39:29 after day. He could've just said "to the 39:32 ones who win at the very end." No, day after day, if you win, 39:37 I'm gonna let you sit with Me on My throne. 39:41 Stupendous promise. But could it be we have failed 39:46 so many times we have concluded it cannot be done? 39:51 In my power. Can't be done. 39:53 Listen to this -- another line on the screen. 39:56 "Without Christ, we cannot subdue a single sin or overcome 39:59 the smallest temptation." Jesus himself declared -- come 40:02 on, let's read it out loud together, John 15:5 -- "Without 40:07 Me, you can do" how much? Come on, let's do that again. 40:11 "Without me, you can do nothing." 40:14 Zero, nada. You cannot do a thing without 40:18 Me. Mm. 40:21 The reasons why we Laodicean Christians don't live with overcoming. 40:24 Number one, we don't fully appreciate the sinfulness of sin. 40:28 Number two, we're not convinced that victory over sin is even possible in this life. 40:32 But you know what? Come on. Given Jesus' clear command to 40:37 the one who overcomes day after day after day, I'll give you the throne. 40:43 Given that it's apparent that Jesus believes you can win with Him, that means this sophistry, 40:54 this deception about it's impossible, it's impossible not to sin is what it is -- a 41:02 bald-faced lie whispered by the deceiver of the human race. Yeah, you're not gonna win this. 41:09 Don't even try. You know how long you have struggled with this thing? 41:13 Make peace with it. Just, you know, there's some things you just shake hands and 41:17 say, "All right, we'll go together." It's a lie. 41:25 How do I know? Look at this. Philippians 4:13, come on. 41:30 Let's read this out loud. This is too good. We can't just keep this to 41:33 ourselves. Read it out loud with me. "For I can do all things through 41:38 Christ who strengthens me." Ladies and gentlemen, how many things can I do through Christ? 41:42 How many things? I suppose that could also mean I can overcome through Christ who 41:46 strengthens me. True or false? It's got to be true. 41:48 If I can do all things through Christ and that surely includes winning day after day after day, 41:53 you're saying, "Dwight, you're never gonna sin?" I'm not saying you're never 41:56 gonna sin. I'm talking about winning. I'm tired of focusing on 41:59 sinning. He doesn't say -- He doesn't end the letter to Laodicea "and all 42:05 those who quit sinning will sit with Me on the throne." No, He doesn't put it in the 42:08 negative. He says, "Let me give it to you in the positive. 42:11 All those who win day after day, you'll sit with Me on the throne." 42:16 I'm not talking about wimping out. I'm talking about winning out 42:20 until the very end. You say, "Dwight, you're still talking about an impossibility." 42:24 Well, take that up with Paul in Philippians 4:13. And, by the way, here's one 42:28 more. Just in case you had a question about Philippians 4:13, look at 42:31 Jude 24, next to the last book of the Bible on the screen. "Now to Him who is able to keep 42:35 you from" what? From what? From falling, and to present you 42:39 faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. He can keep you and me from 42:45 losing. That falling isn't just stumbling around. 42:48 Come on, Dwight. It doesn't mean keep you from sinning. 42:51 It means exactly what you said, stumbling around. Oh, really? 42:56 I keep with all my Bibles on the page for Jude 24 this one-liner. 43:01 Put it on the screen as well. "He who has not sufficient faith 43:04 in Christ --" you see, this whole thing is about faith. 43:06 Do you believe it or not? Nazareth didn't believe it. 43:09 Laodicea didn't believe it. That's why He's outside. 43:11 They kept Him out. Are you keeping Him out now? 43:16 Are you keeping Him out now? Sophisticated mind and life that 43:21 you are, are you keeping Him out when He wants to come in? 43:27 Okay, how's this go here? "He who has not sufficient faith 43:32 in Christ to believe that He can keep him from sinning" -- write 43:36 that in -- "He can keep you from sinning has not the faith that 43:39 will give him an entrance into the kingdom of God." 43:43 Hey, listen, that's a no-brainer because if you don't believe that Jesus can keep you from 43:47 sinning today, why would you -- How would you have enough faith to say "I believe He can take me 43:53 to heaven"? If you believe that He can take you to a place you have never 43:56 seen but do not believe that He can help you with a problem you can see, why would you go there 44:01 when you can't deal with it here? Without that faith. 44:08 We don't have faith enough to enter heaven. We're no better than the people 44:12 of Nazareth, and there would be no miracles among us because there's no overcoming within us. 44:20 To the one who overcomes, as I overcame. Declares the Lord of Laodicea. 44:31 I want to go to 1 John 2 because the writer of Revelation wrote a letter just near the end of the 44:36 Bible. I wish you could've been here during Sabbath school. 44:39 This place was full, from the center aisle forward, filled with our kids, and our Sabbath 44:44 school leaders, God bless our Sabbath school leaders. I'm so proud of them -- 44:48 Glynis Bradfield and her team. I think it was from zero up to fourth or fifth grade. 44:52 And they brought a chemistry professor in who said, "I'm gonna talk about 1 John." 44:56 Well, my ears perked up because that's exactly what we were gonna talk about this morning. 45:01 So, we snapped some pictures -- a little fuzzy, but this happened about 60 minutes ago 45:06 in this space. When he -- David Randall -- This is David Randall, one of 45:10 our chemistry professors on campus. He said, "Hey, I want to show 45:13 you something." Let me see that picture of David Randall. 45:16 All right, but I need to see -- did you get a picture of the flask? 45:19 We haven't even had a chance to look at these. Apparently, they're not changing 45:23 it. But he stood up here -- Oh, yeah, the flask is in his 45:25 other hand. I'm sorry. You see that dark thing in his 45:27 other hand? That's a glass cannister. You see that? 45:30 And he put iodine in it. He says, "This is sin. This is sin. 45:33 Hey, kids, this is sin." And so he put -- it looks like this, and he took -- I don't 45:37 know what it was, but he poured it in, and voilà -- there's not a shred of that darkness left. 45:44 And he says, "That's what God does with your sins." [ Chuckles ] You go. 45:48 You go, Professor. That's precisely the Gospel. If we confess our sins, He's 45:53 faithful and just to what...? Forgive us our sins and... cleanse us of all 45:57 unrighteousness. That's just been written, and now we go to -- 46:00 Let's put 1 John 2:1 on the screen. 46:02 So, John says, "Hey, I want to -- I want to write to you 46:07 followers of Christ." "My little children, these 46:10 things I write to you, so that you may not --" what? -- 46:15 "so that you may not sin." We know this verse. 46:17 You've seen this verse all your life. 46:19 "...these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. 46:22 And if anyone sins --" how's it go? -- "we have an 46:27 Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 46:31 You know what? We're so excited about the second half of that -- the 46:35 second half of that verse that we totally miss the first half. Well, we do a little something 46:40 about the Greek tenses in 1 John, and we say, "Well, this is continuous sinning, and 46:45 that's what you stop doing, but you go on sinning, you know, every now and then." 46:49 And I know what we're doing -- we're wanting to preserve. We're wanting to preserve the 46:56 focus on our Lord Jesus Christ. But Jesus, at the ending to the letter at Laodicea says, 47:02 "Oh, by the way, when you win day after day after day, as I won, you'll sit with Me one 47:11 day on the throne of the universe." Now, John, in fact, talks about 47:15 this a little further. Go down to -- Drop down to 1 John 5. 47:19 Put it on the screen. "For this is the love of God --" 47:21 verses 3 and 4 -- "that we keep His commandments. 47:23 And His commandments are not burdensome. 47:26 For whoever is born of God overcomes the world. 47:29 And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. 47:32 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that 47:35 Jesus is the Son of God." Jesus says, "Listen, guys, I 47:37 know -- in this life, you'll have trouble. 47:39 It's gonna be hard. 47:41 I wish I could tell you that you're just gonna skate through this. 47:45 You're not gonna skate through it. It's gonna be hard. 47:48 But take heart, be of good cheer -- I have overcome the world." 47:54 So, the question that begs asking is, how do we Laodiceans overcome? 47:58 How are we to overcome as Jesus overcame? In the last letter, He tells us, 48:03 plain as the nose on your face -- "Why haven't I seen this before?" 48:06 I'm gonna show you something. Watch this. Now, the verse we've just read 48:10 is verse 21. Let's read it again. 48:12 "To him/To her who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on 48:15 My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on 48:19 His throne." I never saw this before, but do you realize that just before 48:23 Jesus had -- Jesus speaks these words that we've been focusing on this morning -- just before 48:29 He speaks it, before He breathes a word about overcoming, about winning, about victorious 48:35 living, He speaks a very clear word about Himself. I want you to catch verse 20. 48:41 We've read verse 20 before. But here it is again. 48:44 Just before He calls us to win day after day after day, He 48:48 says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 48:50 I'm outside. Lookit -- I'm outside. 48:51 I need to come in. Just if -- I'm knocking at the 48:53 door. Before I stand at the door and 48:55 knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come 48:58 in to him/to her and dine with them, and they will dine 49:03 with Me." 49:04 Would you jot this down, please? Before Jesus ever commands Laodicea to overcome the devil, 49:13 He invites us first to open up the door. Not a word -- [Chuckling] 49:20 Not a word about overcoming until first, He says, "Hey." [ Tapping ] 49:25 "Hey. Psst, psst, psst, psst! I'm trying to get your attention. 49:28 Anybody in there? Yo! If you can hear me, if you would just open this door, I 49:33 will come in to you, and then you and I together -- We overcome day after day after 49:40 day." Ladies and gentlemen, verse 20 precedes verse 21. 49:46 The promise is in 21, but the power is in verse 20. You see that? 49:53 Am I making something up? Before the overcoming -- before a word, the promise. 50:01 "Open up the door, and I will come in to you. I stand at the door and knock." 50:07 That's faith. I mean, anybody that would hear His voice -- that's faith. 50:11 Anybody that opens the door -- that's an act of faith. Faith invites Him in. 50:16 And faith says, "All right, You start winning in my life." The issue is faith. 50:30 The issue is believing. It's trusting. And by the way, Jesus said, "You 50:36 will overcome as I overcame." How did Jesus overcome? You scan the Gospels -- 50:41 four Gospels. It's not rocket science. Scan the Gospels, and you will 50:45 see two predominant practices in the life of Jesus, and, particularly, they intensify 50:50 when He goes hand-to-hand and face-to-face with the enemy. Now, you and I never go 50:55 face-to-face with the enemy, but we go hand-to-hand every single day -- we just don't see 50:59 him, right? Two practices of Jesus -- you want to know what they are? 51:07 This is so simple, I'm embarrassed, but they're these. 51:10 Number one -- Jesus spent much time in prayer with His Father. He'd get up early in the 51:18 morning, late at night -- sometimes, He'd pray all night. Why? 51:24 Because overcome -- overcoming necessitates these two practices. 51:28 Much time in prayer -- in practice number two -- Jesus consumed the Word as if it 51:33 were bread. He feasted on it. He ate that Word. 51:37 He prayed. He read. He prayed. He read. "As I overcame him, 51:45 you'll overcome him." Does that seem too simplistic? Not a huge solution. 52:02 Complicated? Not at all. But what if it were possible? 52:06 What if it were possible that Jesus is right, that we really can overcome, 52:15 that we can win this thing with Him inside, of course -- we could win this thing day 52:23 after day after day? What if He were right? And maybe there'll be a faith 52:28 community like Laodicea at the very end of the line that, one day, wakes up and says, "Man. 52:36 [ Chuckling ] I've been saying it's impossible. I've been telling others it's 52:41 impossible -- you can't do this." And Jesus comes along and says, 52:45 "It's not impossible. I did it. I want you to do it through Me." 52:50 She who overcomes day after day. He who overcomes day after day. Now, let me end with this, and 52:57 then I'll tell you a short story. 52:59 Quotation on the screen -- "John pointed the people --" 53:02 that's John the Baptist -- "pointed the people to 53:04 the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world. 53:07 He said, 'Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away 53:09 the sin of the world.' There is a great deal in that 53:12 'taketh away.'" He takes it away. 53:15 If you've been carrying something around your ankle like a ball and chain, something that 53:20 you've dragged through your life to this very day, behold the Lamb of God who takes away 53:29 the sin of the world. Oh, there's a great deal in those words -- "takes away." 53:33 "The question is --" keep reading -- 53:34 "The question is, Shall we keep on sinning as 53:36 though it were an impossibility for us to overcome?" 53:39 That's a rhetorical question. No. 53:40 Well, then, the next question -- "How are we to overcome?" 53:42 Answer -- "As Christ overcame, and that is the only way. 53:46 He prayed to His heavenly Father." 53:48 That was the practice -- He just prayed. 53:50 "He prayed to His heavenly Father. 53:52 We can do the same... When tempted to speak wrong or 53:54 do wrong, resist Satan and say, I will not surrender my will to 53:56 your control. I will cooperate with divine 53:59 power and through grace be a conqueror." 54:02 End quote. 54:04 That's it. Just like Jesus. He prayed to His Father... 54:10 and was given the power to overcome, to win. "I want you to overcome as I 54:17 overcame, then come and sit on the throne with Me." The question is, 54:23 is, can't you make this any more practical? I can. 54:27 Let me end with this story. 54:30 There was a little girl who invited Jesus into her heart. 54:33 She was so excited that Jesus had come into her heart that she 54:36 was just telling everybody. Well, one day, a grumpy grown-up 54:39 came along, and grown-ups tend to be grumpy with children. 54:42 And the grown-up looked down at this little girl, and he said, 54:44 "Yeah, but how do you deal with temptation?" 54:46 She didn't -- She didn't miss a beat. 54:48 A smile still on her face, and she cheerily replied, "Well, 54:51 now that I've invited Jesus into my heart, when Satan comes 54:55 knocking, I send Jesus to the door." 54:58 [ Laughter ] Brilliant little girl. She got it. 55:03 That's it. That's all you have to know. Today's message -- 55:07 the teaching ends with this -- you invite Jesus in, and when the devil comes back, 'cause 55:12 he'll be back -- when the devil comes back and you hear that knocking, just send Jesus to the 55:17 door. Works every time. She got it. 55:23 And you know what, Laodicea? It is time for us to get it, too. 55:29 We can't keep blowing off this sin thing and saying, "I'll get over it someday." 55:36 You don't have someday -- you have today. You have today, and that's all 55:41 you have. So why would you put it off? He says, "If you overcome as I 55:48 overcome, you win! Get Me inside, and when the devil comes back -- remember, 55:56 now, our little secret -- you have Me to answer the door." Works every time. 56:05 Overcome. [ Chuckles ] Win -- you can because He can. 56:12 Yes, you can because he can. Don't you let nobody tell you you can't stop that sinning. 56:22 Whatever that sinning is, you can stop it through Christ. Amen. What do you say? 56:30 >> Amen. >> Amen. Come on, guys. This is a tough subject, but we 56:34 had to deal with it -- we couldn't skip it because God's waiting. 56:38 [ Chuckles ] The planet is a mess. Jesus is coming soon. 56:43 There is going to be a faith community on this planet symbolized by this Laodicea, 56:49 and this faith community is going to rise up and say, "You know what? 56:53 Count me in. You come in, and then count me in. 56:57 We'll do this battle thing together." And you'll win. 57:01 I promise you -- you'll win. 57:07 >> We've been really blessed by the financial support that comes 57:09 from our viewers, and we've made a conscious decision not to 57:12 continually appeal to you for that support. 57:15 The fact is, as everyone in the industry will tell you, we're 57:18 needing to make constant upgrades to our technology. 57:21 So if God has blessed you and you'd like to further the work 57:24 of this ministry, we invite you to partner with us. 57:26 Not a single penny of your donation will go to me. 57:29 Every bit of your gift goes to the mission of blessing your 57:33 community and our world. You can donate on our website, 57:36 newperceptions.tv. Or call the number. 57:39 You know the number -- 877-HIS-WILL. 57:41 Again, that number is 877 -- the two words "HIS-WILL." 57:45 And may the God who has blessed you continue to pour into your 57:48 life the gifts of His joy and His hope. 57:51 Thank you. And I'm looking forward to 57:53 seeing you, right here, again, next time. 58:01 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:21 ♪♪ |
Revised 2019-03-27