Participants: Ty Gibson
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000423
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01:01 I wanna begin our time together this afternoon
01:05 by sharing with you a very fascinating story 01:09 of a man that I met in Missouri. 01:12 His name is Tommy. 01:15 And Tommy and I found ourselves 01:16 sitting together one afternoon 01:19 while a meal was being prepared. 01:22 And I could tell that Tommy wanted to share 01:24 something with me out of the ordinary. 01:27 We weren't friends, we were just acquaintances. 01:29 We didn't know each other really at all, 01:31 but we found ourselves sitting in one 01:34 and others presence. 01:36 And a few time he sat forward on his seat 01:39 as if he wanted to get a little bit more personal 01:44 and then he couldn't work up the courage 01:46 and would sit back in his seat 01:48 and resort to small talk again. 01:53 So I tried to encourage him. 01:55 Finally, I said Tommy, 01:56 it looks to me like there's something 01:57 you might want to share 01:59 and I sure be open to hear whatever it is. 02:02 Feel free to just go ahead 02:04 and open your heart 02:07 and share with me whatever you would like to. 02:10 Now, Tommy had been attending 02:12 a series of meetings that I was conducting. 02:15 And on one of the evenings earlier 02:17 I had shared some of my personal testimony 02:20 about how God had led in my life 02:23 and Tommy felt compelled, 02:25 although he couldn't work up the courage. 02:28 He felt compelled to share with me 02:30 his own personal journey with the Lord. 02:35 And so he begin to unfold 02:37 that story to me at my encouragement. 02:40 Tommy said that as a little boy, 02:42 he was raised by his mother 02:44 and had no mental image of his father. 02:48 He couldn't remember his father 02:50 because there was a separation 02:52 that occurred very young in his little life as a baby, 02:57 and his mother was raising him alone in the state of Oregon. 03:02 And as he began to tell me 03:05 the difficult parts of the story, 03:07 I could see that there were tears 03:09 swelling up in his eyes as he told me. 03:11 He said Ty listen, 03:12 the hardest thing for me growing up was that over 03:15 and over again my mother would tell me two things 03:18 as a little boy up into my teenage years. 03:23 The first thing that she would tell me is, 03:26 Tommy you are such a selfish little brat 03:31 and I wish you were never born. 03:33 Now that's a hard thing for a mom 03:34 to say to a little boy, would you agree? 03:37 Now he didn't hear this once or twice, 03:40 but he heard this over and over again growing up. 03:44 I wish you were never born 03:46 and all kinds of other things joined to that 03:49 and then to complicate matters to make it all the worse. 03:54 The second thing that she would always say 03:56 to Tommy was Tommy you're just like your, 03:59 what do you think? You're just like your dad. 04:02 You're just like your father. 04:04 Now this is very difficult for Tommy, 04:06 because he had never met his father. 04:08 He didn't know who his father was. 04:11 But I can tell you one thing as Tommy told me the story, 04:15 he was quick to add. 04:17 He said, Ty with every passing days 04:20 I grew up my mom raising me with this vivid image over 04:25 and over again reinforced in my mind. 04:28 You're a selfish little brat 04:30 and I wish you were never born. 04:31 Tommy you're just like your dad. 04:34 He said Ty there was something 04:36 that began to grow inside of me 04:37 and it was an intense hatred for my father. 04:41 He said it was the strangest thing, 04:43 because I didn't know my father. 04:45 I've never met my father. 04:46 I couldn't close my eyes 04:48 and even see a picture of his face. 04:50 I didn't know the man at all and yet I hated him. 04:54 I hated him, because I was so much like him. 04:56 And the person that I was--was very unlikable 05:00 to my mother the only person in my life who is meaningful. 05:04 And he said the more I hated my father, 05:07 he said, it seemed the more like him I became 05:11 and life went from bad to worse. 05:13 And Tommy told me 05:14 how he became a very rebellious teenager, 05:18 and finally he enlisted in the marines 05:22 in a desperate effort to bring his behavior 05:25 and his life under discipline and control, 05:27 because he thought, you know, 05:28 something needs to happen with me, 05:30 I'm gonna end up in prison. 05:32 He not only developed a hatred 05:33 for his father whom he had never met. 05:35 but he developed a hatred for his mother 05:37 who reinforced this idea in his mind. 05:41 Finally, Tommy said that he came to the place 05:43 where he hated everyone including himself 05:48 but most he hated his father. 05:52 Well then something strange happened in Tommy's life. 05:56 After he had been in the marines 05:59 for a few years and was out on leave, 06:03 his mother made an announcement to her family 06:06 and friends a rather startling announcement 06:09 that caught everybody by surprise. 06:12 His mother announced that for all these years 06:16 as Tommy was growing up 06:18 that she had been living a secret lifestyle 06:24 that was very compromised on a moral level. 06:28 She had been seeing other woman. 06:31 Now this is only important to the story 06:33 because of how it affected Tommy. 06:36 Because as soon as his mother made this announcement 06:40 about this secret that she had. 06:44 For the first time in Tommy's life 06:46 something occurred to him. 06:49 For the first time in his life he felt the desire 06:52 to meet his father for himself. 06:56 Before that he had only hated his father, 06:59 but he had never experienced 07:01 any kind of desire to meet his father. 07:03 I mean, why would you want to meet someone 07:05 as horrible as Tommy's father was? 07:09 Why would you want to meet someone 07:10 that you hated with such deep resentment and hatred? 07:16 But when his mother came out of the closet so to speak 07:20 and made this announcement to her family and friends. 07:24 Something in Tommy began to stir 07:28 and he wondered, he wondered in his mind, 07:31 because his mother had been living a life 07:33 for so many years. He wondered 07:35 if for chance there were other lies. 07:40 And so Tommy began inquiring among various family members 07:46 and he came up with the name of a town 07:49 in the state of Missouri. 07:52 And why by the use of our great 07:56 telecommunication system in this country, 07:59 it wasn't too hard for Tommy 08:01 to come up with a phone number. 08:03 And he sat staring at the phone one day 08:07 for what seems like a rather long time an hour 08:09 or two he sat, but he just sat there 08:11 debating in his mind shall I dial the number or not. 08:15 And finally he dialed the number. 08:19 His stomach quaking with fear 08:23 and on the other end of the line 08:24 a rather abrupt voice of an elderly gentlemen answered 08:29 and simply said McGregor here. 08:33 Not a very pleasant way to answer the phone 08:37 but that's all the man said. 08:40 Obviously not a man 08:41 who received the lot of phone calls. 08:43 Obviously a man who was not super happy 08:46 about life for meeting people. 08:49 McGregor here he said, 08:51 and then paused in silence waiting 08:52 for the return voice on the other end. 08:55 Tommy trying to work up the courage to speak 08:58 almost hanged up the phone 09:01 and then he began to speak 09:03 and simply said Mr. McGregor, 09:06 my name is Tommy, I am your son 09:11 and I would like to meet you if that would be all right. 09:16 I've never known you sir, 09:19 but I sure would like to meet you for myself. 09:23 And Tommy told me he said Ty, 09:25 I didn't know if the old man was just going to hang up 09:27 or become angry and fly up the handle, 09:31 but then he said the man began to speak 09:35 and his voice was changed. 09:38 Now he seemed to be calm 09:40 and he said I think I even heard tears 09:43 in his voice as Mr. McGregor simply said to Tommy 09:47 on the phone the simple words. 09:49 He said, I will be please to meet you son. 09:54 Well, Tommy secured an airline ticket. 09:57 He made arrangements for a rental car on that end. 10:03 And finally the day of destiny, 10:07 an incredible encounter came. 10:10 Tommy, now an adult man married with children 10:14 took that flight to the nearby city 10:17 of that small town got in the rental car 10:21 and drove out far into the country. 10:24 And there following the directions 10:26 given to him by the old man. 10:29 He came upon an old farmhouse with evidence 10:34 of long years of hard work everywhere to be seen. 10:39 Tommy said that as he drove up to the house 10:42 there was an old tractor propped up 10:45 on a street stump with the front wheels off. 10:49 There were perfectly morn-fields behind the house. 10:56 There was a cattle guard over 10:57 which he had to pass to get on to the property. 11:02 And there were cattle in the distance. 11:05 And Tommy said he came up 11:07 to that door on that creaky porch, 11:10 that old farmhouse and while the fields were perfect 11:14 and the tractor was being cared 11:17 for the house was in ill-repair. 11:21 And Tommy knocked on that door shaking, 11:25 shaking deep inside wondering 11:29 what kind of person am I going to encounter. 11:33 Seething with anger deep inside for the stories 11:36 that he had been told by his mother 11:39 half believing them half wondering 11:41 whether or not any of it was true. 11:45 And then the old man came to the door 11:46 and opened and slightly hunched over 11:50 from long years of labor on the farm. 11:53 The old man pushed the screen door opened 11:56 and invited Tommy 11:57 and Tommy found himself standing before a man 12:01 who had a very striking resemblance 12:04 in facial features to himself. 12:08 Tommy didn't know what to say. 12:11 How to break the ice. 12:13 Do I fly into a rage and tell him everything 12:16 that I ever heard about him. 12:20 Do I give him the benefit of the doubt, 12:21 but the hatred and resentment 12:24 ran deep in Tommy's heart, 12:27 and the words resounded in his mind 12:29 over and over again. 12:30 You are a selfish miserable 12:32 little excuse for a human being 12:34 and I wish you were born. 12:36 Tommy you are just like your dad. 12:42 The old man extended his hand to Tommy. 12:44 They're standing in the living room 12:47 and Tommy reluctantly put out his hand 12:51 to just cordially shake the hand 12:53 of this old man who was his father. 12:57 And when the old man got hold of Tommy's hand not quickly, 13:02 not abruptly, but very calmly 13:05 but with great strength the old man pulled 13:08 inch by inch he pulled Tommy too himself 13:13 and wrapped his arms around him 13:15 and began to weep on his shoulder 13:19 my son, my son I am so happy 13:22 to meet you after all these years. 13:24 And Tommy couldn't control himself 13:27 pushed the old man back from him 13:30 and proceeded to unload the heavy emotional burden 13:33 that was resting upon him. 13:36 What do you mean old man he said, to try to imagine 13:41 that everything is okay after all these years. 13:45 How could you abandon mom and myself? 13:49 Now you're trying to pretend like you give a rip, 13:51 like you care, like you actually think 13:54 I am meaningful to you. 13:57 But years have passed by, never a birthday card, 14:01 never a phone call on a holiday. 14:04 Not one letter, nothing. 14:07 I have heard nothing from you. 14:10 And all the sudden out of nowhere 14:12 you want everything to be okay. 14:14 You want me to reciprocate your affection. 14:17 Well, it's not gonna happen. 14:19 How could you possibly claim to be a father 14:23 after what you did to us? 14:27 The old man Tommy said was 14:30 visibly startled by this new information. 14:35 And simply responded to Tommy speechless 14:39 at first pointing over to a photo 14:45 that was propped up 14:48 on the mantle over the fireplace. 14:52 Tommy went close to the photo 14:53 and he looked at it and it was a young woman 14:57 it was a younger woman than Tommy 15:02 presently had impressed upon his mind. 15:06 It was in fact his mother. 15:09 And Mr. McGregor said, I've never loved 15:12 any woman but your mom 15:14 and I have waited here on this farm 15:16 all of these years refusing to relocate 15:20 or move hoping that some day 15:24 may be she would comeback. 15:26 And then when I knew she would never return, 15:28 I stayed here hoping that may be some day 15:32 you would become an adult and that you my son 15:34 would find me because I couldn't find you. 15:38 Why no cards? Why no letters? 15:40 Why no phone calls? I would have relocated 15:43 to live in the same area, so that I can see you 15:46 everyday of my life my son. 15:49 But your mother took you away as a babe. 15:54 And I have no idea where she took you. 15:58 And asked questions and I searched 16:02 but I could never find you. 16:05 And so I have stayed here. 16:06 I have never remarried there was not another woman. 16:09 I don't know why she told you that but she just left 16:15 and I've waited here all these years. 16:21 Tommy then told me with tears in his eyes 16:25 the conclusion of the story. 16:28 Tommy said Ty, it was very difficult 16:32 to meet my father that day and it took me a little while 16:37 to really feel like he was genuine 16:40 in the story he was telling me. 16:44 But he said Ty, he said my conclusion was that 16:49 my dad is the finest old hillbilly gentleman 16:53 I have ever met in my life. 16:57 And I have relocated my family and my children 17:01 are now growing up near the grand dads farm. 17:08 My dad is the finest old hillbilly gentleman 17:11 I have ever met in my life. 17:15 that was a major paradigm shift for Tommy. 17:19 That was a radical reconstruction of an image 17:23 that had been damaged in his mind, in his emotions. 17:28 This was a young man that was raised 17:32 with one lie after another told to him. 17:35 And a youngman who almost uncontrollably 17:40 began to reflect the image of his father, 17:43 though that image that was painted 17:45 before his mind was an ugly image. 17:49 Tommy said, the strangest thing 17:50 that's ever happened to me in my life 17:54 was that I became like the father I hated 18:01 against my better judgment, but I became like that image. 18:06 Why do I share Tommy's story with you? 18:08 because I believe with all my heart 18:11 and I want you to listen very carefully now, 18:13 because if there is one thing that I want to come through 18:17 very clear today it's this. 18:22 That the single most vital issue 18:25 that you and I will ever grapple within our lives 18:29 is the picture we hold in our hearts 18:31 of the character of God. 18:34 Who is God in your minds eye? 18:40 What kind of picture of God 18:42 has been constructed in your emotions? 18:47 Who is your heavenly Father? 18:53 Well, I would venture to say 18:56 that you like the whole human race to one degree 18:59 or other, you and I we've been lied to. 19:02 We've been told things about God 19:04 that are entirely untrue as a legacy 19:08 from the fall of mankind from our first parents 19:11 Adam and Eve, we have received pictures 19:14 and images and angles on the person of God 19:18 that are in fact forced images masquerading in our minds 19:23 as the true image of God. 19:26 And so when we fail, we tremble because we assume 19:32 that God is standing toward us in an attitude of condemnation. 19:36 And when other people fail, we stand toward them 19:40 in an attitude of condemnation and can't accept 19:43 and forgive others, because in fact we can't see 19:46 God accepting and forgiving us 19:50 We're deeply hurt and we're damaged inside, 19:54 and we're in need of deep and lasting healing. 19:57 We're in need every one of us 20:00 of radical and permanent paradigm shift 20:03 regarding our picture of God. 20:07 There's no question in my mind 20:09 and I'd like to persuade you of the same today. 20:13 That the single most vital issue that you will ever, 20:16 ever struggle within your life is the picture 20:21 you hold in your heart of the character of God. 20:24 And the reason it's so vital that this issue be dealt 20:28 with is because of a basic foundational principle 20:33 that operates in the psyche and in the emotional 20:36 make up of every human being. 20:37 You're no exception, I am no exception, 20:40 every human being without exception 20:44 is governed by an internal principle 20:48 that the Bible calls the law of beholding. 20:52 Translated into may be some more modern 20:55 and understandable terms every single one of us 20:58 without exception, you and me 21:01 and every person that we every meet 21:03 all of us ultimately under pressure 21:06 act out our picture of God. 21:10 Doesn't matter who you are? 21:12 It doesn't matter how strong your willpower is. 21:15 It doesn't matter even on the surface 21:19 what you think you believe about God. 21:22 On an emotional level what you do in fact believe about God 21:27 ultimately will come out in the way you treat other people. 21:31 And ultimately it will come out in the way you treat yourself 21:35 which becomes a very serious issue, 21:38 because ultimately the Bible teaches 21:40 that every person will stand in what is called the judgment. 21:45 I like to explore this principle 21:49 with you in greater detail. 21:50 If you brought a Bible with you 21:51 turn to John Chapter 5 and verse 19. 21:53 I am going to move in rapid fire succession 21:55 through three scriptures in the gospel of John. 22:00 John 5:19 states the principle in the clearest possible terms 22:05 as Jesus talks about His own relationship to the father 22:10 and how this principle plays out in his own life. 22:13 Listen to these simple words as Jesus speaks about Himself. 22:19 Verse 19, of John 5, "Then Jesus answered 22:22 and said to them, "Most assuredly, 22:25 I say to you, that the Son can do nothing of Himself, 22:31 but what He sees the Father do, 22:35 for whatever the Father does, 22:38 the Son does in like manner." 22:42 We're familiar with the common statement 22:45 in our culture "like father like son." 22:49 Well, Jesus states the principle here 22:52 as a very serious psychological reality 22:58 for humanity and for himself. 23:01 I want you to notice particularly in this verse 23:04 that Jesus says "what I see, I do." 23:08 Notice the words 'see' and notice the word 'do'. 23:12 Jesus says, "whatever I see the Father doing" 23:17 "I also do in like manner." 23:20 Do you remember when Jesus was healing 23:22 on the Sabbath day and the Pharisees 23:24 and Sadducees wanted to condemn Him. 23:27 And on one occasion His answer 23:30 to their condemnation was simply this. 23:32 He said, "my Father has not stopped working 23:36 and so I won't stop working, I will continue to do good, 23:39 because I see that my Father never stops doing good. 23:43 In other words Jesus clearly points out here. 23:47 Jesus says, "of My own self in and of Myself I can do" 23:53 what did he say, how much? 23:55 Nothing, I can't do anything of myself. 23:58 In another words, my behavior does not 24:01 have its spring of origin in Myself. 24:06 My behavior is the outworking of the picture of God 24:10 that I hold in my heart. 24:11 I believe that God is love therefore I love. 24:16 I believe that God is merciful therefore I extend mercy. 24:20 I believe that God is accepting therefore I accept others. 24:26 I see and so I do. 24:30 That's what Jesus says in this verse. 24:33 It's an inescapable reality, even for Jesus in his humanity. 24:40 I do what I see. 24:41 Now the principle also applies to you and me. 24:44 Look at John, Chapter 8 now. 24:46 You're in the gospel of John 24:47 look at Chapter 8 and verse 38, 24:51 Jesus states the same exact principle, 24:53 but now He's not talking about Himself. 24:55 He's talking about you and me and every other human being. 24:58 He says in Verse 38 of John 8, 25:02 "I speak what I have seen with my Father, 25:06 and you do what you have seen with your father." 25:11 Look at verse 41, "You do the deeds of your father." 25:16 Look at verse 44, "You are of your father the devil, 25:20 and the desires of your father you will do." 25:26 Isn't that exactly what He just stated. 25:28 In John 5:19, with regards to Himself. 25:31 "He said I can do nothing of Myself 25:33 whatever I see the Father doing I do likewise." 25:37 Now Jesus comes to you and me 25:39 and He says, you do whatever you see. 25:44 The same principle operates in your mind and in your heart. 25:47 Whatever you see that's what you do. 25:50 And you're acting out the image of your Father 25:55 who just happens to be the devil, 25:58 which is a very, very serious thing to say, 26:01 because they believe that their Father is who? 26:06 God, so these people are acting out an image, aren't they? 26:13 They're acting out a picture. 26:16 And if they were to label that picture 26:18 that the hold in their hearts, 26:19 they would call that picture God, the heavenly Father. 26:25 Jesus comes along and He says, 26:27 you're not worshipping God at all. 26:29 You think you're worshipping God, 26:31 but your image looks more like the devil. 26:35 You call it God but the attributes 26:37 and characteristics that you have pulled 26:40 together to compose this picture. 26:44 If I would ask you to explain your God to me, 26:48 to define your God to me, to portray in words, 26:53 what kind of character God has? 26:56 You would be describing the devil and not God at all. 27:00 And so you will do the deeds of your Father. 27:07 Every one of us operate under this principle. 27:11 Whatever we believe about God 27:14 will come out in the way we live, 27:16 in the way we behave. 27:19 Think of the Dark Ages for a moment. 27:22 You know the history of those Dark Ages, don't you? 27:25 You remember, what happened there? 27:26 Somewhere upwards towards 50 to 60 million people 27:33 were put to death in the name 27:36 of the devil to promote atheism. 27:43 Now 50 to 60 million people put to death 27:46 in the name of Jesus, in the name of God. 27:51 They were burning them in the city squares 27:55 right there for everyone to see. 27:59 And we say that make no sense. 28:01 How could you burn people at the stake for God. 28:04 Will it make perfect sense if you have a theology 28:07 that tells you that God burns people for ever and ever? 28:12 If you believe in a eternally burning hell and a God 28:16 who in His core character is a tormentor, 28:21 who would torture people. 28:25 Well it makes perfect sense to torture 28:26 some people to try to save their souls. 28:29 Like the priests said, I don't know 28:31 if you're that familiar with the story 28:33 of the reformer, William Tyndale. 28:37 But there is one episode of his story 28:39 that is very fascinating, because Tyndale as a young man 28:42 was translating the scriptures 28:44 into the common language of the people. 28:47 And Tyndale sat at his table one evening 28:50 as dinner was being served in his own home 28:53 as some priests were visiting on this occasion 28:57 to issue a warning to Tyndale. 29:00 And as the meal was prepared and served 29:03 and they began to eat, the priest looked 29:05 across the table at William Tyndale and said, 29:09 young Tyndale be sure that you understand one thing. 29:14 Tyndale said, what is that? 29:17 And the priest said, there are fires in hell 29:21 and there are fires on earth. 29:24 Be sure that the one is not needful to spare the other. 29:30 Loosely translated, if you don't start translated 29:34 the Bible into English, we're gonna burn you 29:36 at the stake in an effort to save your soul 29:38 from eternally burning hell. 29:42 Now how could they do that? 29:44 How could they actually torture people, 29:48 execute people, and think they were doing God a favor. 29:52 Well there's only one way that a human being 29:54 could ever do something like that. 29:56 You must first have a theological construct 30:01 that allows you to do 30:03 that kind of thing in the name of God, 30:05 because you believe God himself is that kind of person 30:08 and will be happy with you for doing those things for him. 30:14 When you come to the book of Revelation at the end of time. 30:17 That's really what the final issue is all about. 30:20 You got the whole world divided into two camps. 30:23 Those who persecute, coheres and force 30:26 and those who are the objects of that force 30:29 in that wrath and that murder. 30:32 And guess what, the biblical picture 30:35 is not of all the atheists in the world 30:37 ganging up against all the Christians. 30:40 It's of Christianity itself being divided 30:43 and one group of Christians acting out their theology 30:47 by forcing the conscience and threatening 30:50 with economic boycott and death, if you don't comply. 30:55 That's Revelation 13 in a nutshell. 30:57 You comply with this image of the beast, this image of God. 31:04 You come into harmony with this picture of God 31:09 or we will execute you. 31:11 And then you have the others, 31:13 who are receiving that persecution in the name of God, 31:17 but they have a different picture of God. 31:19 The gospel of Jesus Christ has deeply healed their hearts 31:24 and their souls and they believe that God is love. 31:29 And that his love led him not to condemn, 31:33 but to give Himself for the salvation of all mankind. 31:38 They have a picture of God in which they believe 31:41 that God went to great lengths 31:43 even to the giving of his own life 31:45 to preserve human freedom and never to coheres it, 31:50 never to force the will, or to force worship. 31:55 They have a totally different picture of God. 31:57 They believe that only by love is love awakened. 32:04 They believe that God is truly powerful. 32:08 but that the power that God uses to win 32:12 the loyalty of his subjects 32:13 is the power of His self sacrificing love, 32:16 and that God never resorts 32:18 to force in order to get His way. 32:22 And because they believe that God's whole universe 32:24 operates on the foundation of love, 32:28 because they believe that God preserves freedom. 32:34 They could never join in persecuting others 32:37 who don't believe like they believe. 32:39 They could never join in condemning others 32:42 for what they believe. 32:44 They could never join in a movement of condemnation 32:48 or corrosion because why. 32:50 Why can't they join the persecuting movement? 32:54 Because they hold dear in their hearts 32:58 a picture of the character of God 33:01 that is now coming out under pressure in their behavior, 33:04 and they find themselves like Steven under the rocks 33:09 saying Father, lay not the sin to their charge 33:12 as the persecution is happening. 33:14 They find themselves like Jesus praying 33:19 at the hand of their persecutors. 33:22 Father, forgive them. 33:24 They don't know what they're doing. 33:27 They find themselves exemplifying 33:30 the spirit and character of Moses. 33:32 When Moses said to the Lord, 33:34 Lord forgive these rebellious stiff necked people 33:39 or blot my name out of the book of life 33:41 which you've written. Lord, 33:42 I would rather be lost with them 33:45 than to be saved without them. 33:47 What an incredible level of love 33:50 level of love that Moses had for those people. 33:52 It was the very love of God coursing through his emotional 33:55 veins toward those people. 33:56 It was the very love of Jesus acted out toward those people, 34:01 because Moses had earlier said Lord show me Your glory. 34:07 And the Lord said, I will make all my goodness to pass 34:09 before you and I will proclaim the name of the Lord. 34:12 I will be merciful and kind to sinners and offenders. 34:18 And Moses having received that picture of God, 34:22 Moses having received deep into his inner psyche 34:25 and into his emotions that beautiful picture 34:28 of God of love and pardon and mercy. 34:31 Moses, when the people were stiff necked 34:34 and rebellious found that in his heart 34:38 he would rather be lost with them 34:40 than to be saved without them. 34:44 And those in time people they will act out 34:47 the same spirit that actuated 34:49 Paul in Romans Chapters 9 and 10. 34:51 When Paul prayed Lord, 34:54 "I wish that I myself could be a curse 34:58 eternally lost for my kinsmen according to the flesh. 35:03 My fellow Israelites." The only way that Paul 35:07 could love his rebellious people with that kind of love 35:11 is because Paul had received insights 35:15 into the love of Jesus for his own soul. 35:19 And that love of God that had so permeated his heart 35:24 and his mind now came out in his attitude 35:29 and his spirit toward those most unworthy 35:34 of that love and forgiveness. 35:37 You see, that's really what it's all about. 35:41 Everything in your life and mine hinges on the picture 35:46 we hold in our hearts of the character of God. 35:49 Do you find it in your heart difficult 35:52 to forgive those who sin against you? 35:55 Do you find in your heart that you just cannot get over 35:59 what so and so did to you so many years ago? 36:05 Well I read on a bathroom wall one time some wisdom 36:09 and I don't recommend reading things on bathroom walls, 36:11 but sometimes there is something 36:14 that seems to have come from someone like Solomon there. 36:18 And on this particular bathroom wall it said this. 36:22 It said, if you refuse to forgive others, 36:27 you burn the bridge over 36:29 which you yourself must pass some day. 36:34 In other words, do you see how this works 36:38 on a psychological and emotional level? 36:41 By refusing to love others you set yourself up 36:47 to be incapable of perceiving God's love for you. 36:52 A refusal to forgive others sets you up 36:57 psychologically and emotionally, 36:59 so that you can see God's forgiveness for you. 37:04 This is really what Jesus meant 37:06 in that very strange statement that He made. 37:11 In Luke, Chapter 6, when He said, 37:13 "Judge not that you be not judged." 37:17 Do not condemn so that you're not condemned. 37:21 Now you can read that scripture one of two ways. 37:24 You can either, read Jesus saying, 37:26 listen if you judge other people, 37:28 if you condemn other people God will judge and condemn you. 37:33 Which means that if we are ugly and mean and cruel, 37:36 God reflects our ugly image back to us. 37:39 That if we are condemnatory, God's condemnatory. 37:42 If we are judgmental, God's judgmental. 37:45 You can interpret it that way if you want, 37:46 and most Christianity interprets it that way. 37:51 Don't judge people or God will judge you. 37:52 Don't condemn people or God will condemn you. 37:55 But you know what the previous verse says. 37:57 The previous verse says or previous verses 38:00 say things like this, love your enemies. 38:04 Do good to those who despitefully use and abuse you. 38:06 Pray for your enemies. 38:07 If someone takes something from you, 38:11 don't require it back. 38:14 Forgive those who offend you 38:16 and then you know what Jesus says, 38:18 Jesus then says then you will be like your Father 38:22 which is in heaven. You will be sons 38:24 and daughters of the Most High God if you live like that. 38:27 If you treat people like that, 38:29 you will be like your Father in heaven. 38:32 Then He says this, just before those words 38:34 about judging and condemning. 38:36 Jesus says "Be merciful just as your Father in heaven 38:42 is merciful for he is kind to the evil and unjust." 38:50 Judge not that you be not judged. 38:52 Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. 38:55 Then first verse 38 unravels the mystery of this text. 39:00 Verse 38 Jesus says, give and it shall be given unto you. 39:05 Press down shaken together and running over 39:09 shall be given into your bosom 39:11 for with what measure you measure others, 39:14 it shall be measured back to you again. 39:18 Do you hear what Jesus is really saying here? 39:20 He is not saying, be nice to other people 39:25 or God won't be nice to you. 39:28 He is not saying, don't condemn 39:30 or God's going to change His attitude 39:32 and become condemnatory toward you. 39:34 He is not saying God's being so merciful all along, 39:37 but if you don't become merciful, 39:39 He's gonna start being merciful. 39:40 No, God never changes to reflect 39:43 our ugly image back to us. 39:45 Yeah. When we're unkind, 39:46 God doesn't become unkind to us. 39:48 God remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. 39:52 With him there is no variableness, 39:54 not even a shadow of turning. Amen. 39:56 I am the Lord, I change not He declares through Malachi. 40:01 God doesn't change to reflect our image back to us, never. 40:05 What Jesus is defining here 40:07 is a deep and serious psychological 40:10 and emotional law of our being and that law is this. 40:15 That by our condemnation of others, 40:20 we set up a psychological paradigm, 40:24 a lens through which we then see 40:27 what we think to be the character of God. 40:30 In other words when we live in condemnation 40:34 and a lack of mercy toward others, 40:36 we can't help but believe 40:37 that that's the way God relates to us. 40:40 We can't help but believe, that God relates to us 40:43 the way we relate to others. 40:47 Have you read the book Pilgrim's Progress. 40:51 Do you remember in the book 40:53 when Christian comes to the house of the interpreter 40:56 which is a symbol in the book for the Holy Spirit. 41:00 Christian comes to the house of the interpreter 41:03 and the interpreter shows him many different symbols 41:06 and wonders that Christian is very interested to learn about. 41:10 And Christian comes upon 41:12 one particular sight that shakes him. 41:17 It's the man in the iron cage. 41:19 Do you remember him? 41:20 If you haven't read Pilgrim's Progress, 41:22 I highly recommend it. 41:24 You will learn much from that book. 41:26 He comes to the man in the iron cage 41:29 and Christian says to the interpreter, 41:31 he says my good sir, 41:33 why is this man shut up in this iron cage? 41:38 And then the interpreter says to Christian, 41:40 ask him he will tell you. 41:43 And so Christian runs over to the iron cage 41:45 and he says good sir, 41:47 why are you shut up in this iron cage? 41:50 To which the man in the iron cage responds 41:52 and says ah God have shut me up in this iron cage. 41:57 Christian runs back to the interpreter 41:58 and says interpreter, 42:00 why has God shut this man up in this iron cage? 42:06 And the interpreter says, God be not the builder of cages. 42:11 So Christian runs back to the man in the iron cage 42:14 and says, God doesn't build cages. 42:16 God didn't shut up in this iron cage. 42:19 To which the man in the iron cage says, 42:23 God can never forgive me after what I have done. 42:31 Christian runs to the interpreter 42:34 and says, dear interpreter, 42:37 why will God not forgive him 42:40 and set him free from the cage. 42:43 To which the interpreter says, 42:47 God cannot achieve what man cannot believe 42:53 and there in lies the secret of this truth 42:56 that we're exploring right now. 43:00 God is eager and always standing toward us 43:04 in an attitude of forgiveness 43:05 and love and mercy and pardon. 43:08 God doesn't turn on compassion, God is compassionate. 43:12 God doesn't become loving as some part of the day 43:15 or some part of your experience and then turn his love off 43:18 at some other part of your experience. 43:20 The Bible doesn't say God is loving. 43:23 The Bible says God is love, it is the very essence 43:27 and core of His being and His character. 43:31 It is the most unique statement in scripture 43:33 about God the statement God is love. 43:36 The Bible makes no other statement 43:37 to define the character of God like this. 43:39 The Bible never says for example God is justice. 43:43 Only God is just. The Bible never says God 43:47 is kindness itself but kind. 43:52 The Bible never says God is patience, but God is patient. 43:58 This is the only statement about God in all of scripture 44:02 that points to what seems to be an attribute of character 44:06 and says God is love not loving, but love itself. 44:11 And all the other attributes patience, 44:14 kindness, justice, mercy everything else 44:17 that you can say about God comes under 44:19 that one over arching attribute 44:22 God is love therefore He's patient. 44:24 God is love therefore He's merciful. 44:27 God is love therefore He's just 44:30 and so on with every other good attribute. 44:34 God is love and God stand toward you and me 44:39 with a attitude of love and mercy 44:43 that is constantly at 1000 percent strength 44:49 and never ever fluctuates or changes. 44:53 God is love full throttled paddle to the metal 44:57 loves toward you and me all the time. 44:59 He never lets up on the gas touches the brake-- 45:03 God's love is a constant static reality always 45:09 at its zenith point toward you and me, 45:13 and it never dims in its brightness or its intensity. 45:19 God is love and the man in the iron cage 45:25 has failed to understand that reality. 45:30 The man in the iron cage is not in the iron cage 45:32 because God put him there. 45:34 God be not the builder of cages as the interpreter said. 45:39 The man has build this cage out of his own sin 45:43 and has convinced his own mind 45:45 that God cannot forgive him 45:47 when in fact reality is that God 45:50 is as eager to forgive him now as he as ever been. Amen. 45:56 The only time that a human being ever comes to the place 46:00 when forgiveness is out of reach 46:04 is when that human being cannot believe that God forgives. 46:10 But God never turns it off toward him. 46:12 God never changes toward the individual, 46:15 but change occurs in the person not in God. 46:19 And so when Jesus says, judge not that you be not judge, 46:24 condemn not that you be not condemned, 46:26 He is simply saying with what measure you measure, 46:30 it shall be measured back to you. 46:32 You by refusing to love and forgive others, 46:36 you set up a psychological parameter 46:40 in your mind beyond which you can't see. 46:44 God still loves you, but you can't see it anymore. 46:47 God is still forgiving and merciful, 46:49 but you can't believe it anymore. 46:53 That's the dangerous thing about sin by the way. 46:57 That's the serious thing about sin. 46:59 Not that God can't forgive, but that eventually 47:03 we come to the place if we persist in sin 47:10 where we can't believe in God's love anymore. 47:15 And so this principle holds true 47:17 for every one of us without exception. 47:20 You see it everywhere people saying, no it's not true 47:24 but it's true by beholding we do become changed. 47:27 Whatever we believe about God 47:29 and whatever we believe about many other things 47:31 in life is reflected in our behavior. 47:33 Some of you saw Finding Nemo. 47:36 How many of you saw Finding Nemo? 47:37 Be honest come on some of you saw Finding Nemo. 47:41 Not one of you saw that cartoon 47:42 that just came out Finding Nemo. 47:45 Well in the cartoon Finding Nemo, 47:50 there was a little baby fish that got lost at sea 47:53 and his father and a bunch of other fish went looking for him 47:59 and somewhere in the story Nemo 48:01 finds his way back into the ocean through-- 48:05 I hate to say getting flushed down a toilet. 48:09 So now there is an epidemic of calls 48:11 through out the United States, 48:13 the Roto Rooter, because little kids 48:15 across the nation are flushing their houses 48:18 aquarium fish down the toilet in hopes 48:21 that those fish will find their way back 48:23 to the ocean to help in search for Nemo. 48:27 By beholding we do become changed. 48:30 Back in the 1950s when Gone 48:32 with the Wind was the in vogue movie. 48:39 The star of that particular movie did something 48:44 that was never done on the silver screen before. 48:47 He unbuttoned three buttons and it was clear 48:50 he was not wearing an undershirt. 48:54 And at that point in American history 48:57 as Gone with the Wind aired over and over again 49:00 and theatres were flooded with people. 49:03 This is a fact that t-shirts sales 49:05 for Fruit Of The Loom, and Hanes dropped 49:08 so drastically in the United States, 49:10 men stopped wearing t-shirts to look as cool 49:13 and suave as that guy on the screen. 49:16 T-shirts dropped in America 49:20 and for a while there it was thought 49:22 that this United States could only 49:24 support one t-shirt company. 49:28 By beholding we do become changed. 49:32 Television companies, movie making companies 49:35 have argued for years that people's behavior 49:38 is not affected by what they see on television 49:41 in order to not take responsibility 49:44 for some of the behavior 49:46 that is evident throughout society. 49:49 In the one breadth they have said 49:51 what people see does not affect their behavior 49:53 and in the next breadth 49:54 they are making multimillion dollar 49:56 deals with advertising companies, 49:58 because for 30 seconds we'll sell more Budweiser 50:03 than you can ever sell any other way 50:05 and people will pay millions of dollars 50:07 for 30 second commercial while they're also saying 50:10 that it doesn't affect what anybody does. 50:15 Well my topic today has nothing to do with television, 50:18 because I did see Finding Nemo. 50:22 But my point is this that the Bible clearly teaches 50:28 that as a man thinketh in his heart so is he 50:33 and the most vital thing that we need to get clear 50:36 in our minds and in our hearts is the picture 50:39 we hold in our hearts of the character of God. 50:42 Every one of us to varying degrees 50:45 when we come under the pressure, 50:47 we act out of picture of God. 50:50 It is absolutely vital that we allow 50:53 the beautiful image of Jesus to inform our minds 50:58 and our emotions as to the truth about God. 51:02 Jesus alone is the definitive revelation of who God is. 51:06 How God thinks? How God feels? 51:09 And how God behaves? 51:11 Jesus according to Hebrews Chapter 1 51:13 is the express image of God's person 51:16 and the brightness of His glory. 51:18 Jesus by His own testimony in John 14:9 said, 51:22 "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." 51:26 He's just like Me I am just like Him. 51:28 There is no difference between the two of us. 51:31 The character of Jesus 51:33 is in fact the character of the Father. 51:38 And so all that we see in his life and ultimately 51:41 all that we see on that hill faraway 51:46 as he hung on an old rugged cross, 51:48 crying out from the depths of his agony, 51:50 "Father forgive them." 51:53 Because they don't know what they're doing, 51:56 all that we see in Jesus 51:57 hanging on the cross is a true and accurate 52:02 and beautiful revelation of the character of God. 52:05 And as we look to the cross 52:07 we are persuaded that God is love, 52:12 unselfish other centered love toward 52:16 every member of the human family, all the time. 52:21 And if you believe that picture of God, 52:25 if you believe that God is just like Jesus. 52:31 Then you will begin out of that wellspring of life 52:35 and that belief system you will begin to love 52:38 other people the way God loves people. 52:40 You will begin to forgive other people 52:43 the way God has forgiven you. 52:46 You will begin to extend your heart and your life 52:50 and expand your energy to bring others to the Savior. |
Revised 2014-12-17