Participants: C.A. Murray
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000570
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01:00 Hello, and welcome.
01:02 Thank you for joining us today. 01:03 We are here together to worship the name of our Lord 01:06 and Savior Jesus Christ. 01:07 We thank you so much for joining us, and we have with us, 01:11 of course, a worldwide audience. 01:13 We welcome you. Thank you for joining us. 01:15 And we praise the Lord because we are now coming to you from 01:19 the metropolis, as some say, of Thompsonville, Illinois; 01:23 only 600 people, somewhere between 600 and 900 people. 01:27 However, from this little spot in the world we are reaching 01:31 the whole world, via 8 satellites, 01:33 through the Three Angels Broadcasting Network. 01:36 We praise the Lord because our remote crew is here. 01:40 They are normally traveling all over the world 01:43 in different places. 01:45 But normally when they're in the U.S. we are traveling on 01:47 production trucks. 01:48 And we praise the Lord that they are here with us today 01:51 for this special event. 01:52 We have a three part series that we will be having today. 01:56 Our special speaker is Pastor C. A. Murray. 02:00 We will be mentioning a few things about him later, 02:03 but we welcome you. 02:04 And we want to guarantee something to you, 02:07 everyone of you that is here, and everyone that is watching 02:09 on TV, The Lord has a plan to bless you today. 02:14 And the Lord will bless you somehow through the reading 02:17 of the Scripture, through a Bible Scripture that 02:19 Pastor C. A. Murray will share, or through a song that 02:23 you will hear today. 02:25 So we encourage you to focus on what God has intended for you. 02:29 We hope that you have purposed in your heart 02:31 to receive a blessing. 02:32 Because the Lord wants to bless His people. 02:34 And so we want to thank you for joining us. 02:37 And now we would like to invite you for prayer. 02:40 Sister Mollie Steenson will be leading us in prayer. 02:43 Afterwards Brother Matthew Andrew will be sharing 02:48 a Scripture reading with us. 02:50 Pastor Johnny said that he wanted our hearts to be prepared 02:55 to receive the word. 02:56 And I just want to encourage all of you. 02:58 Here at Thompsonville I see some beautiful faces; faces that I've 03:02 never even seen here before. 03:04 So we welcome you from outside the community, 03:07 as well as from our local church. 03:09 But we always encourage you to prepare your hearts 03:12 to receive God's word. 03:14 You know, the Scripture tells us that the purpose for the word 03:17 is that we would produce the fruit thereof. 03:19 Do you know that that's what the Scripture says? 03:20 And the Scripture also tells us in Mark 4 that when the word is 03:26 sown that it goes where? 03:28 It goes into our heart. 03:29 And it gives us two examples. 03:31 One is where the birds come and eat that word, 03:34 and another is where the enemy comes and steals the word 03:37 right out of your heart. 03:38 And I personally don't believe he should 03:39 have that opportunity. 03:40 Are you in agreement with that? 03:42 So we want to pray tonight. 03:44 We want to ask God, by the power of His Spirit, 03:47 to plant His word into your heart. 03:49 That that word will take root, and it will grow, 03:51 and it will produce. 03:52 How many of you want to produce for the kingdom of God tonight? 03:55 Both here, and in our worldwide audience, we want God to do a 03:59 work in our hearts, and in our lives tonight. 04:01 We don't want to leave here the same way we came in. 04:04 We want to be changed by the power of God's word. 04:07 And so let's pray and ask God to have His perfect way 04:10 in our midst tonight. 04:11 Holy Father we come before You in the name of Jesus, 04:14 and we are so grateful, Father, for the power 04:17 that's in Your word. 04:18 And we ask, Father, tonight as that word is sown, 04:21 as Pastor Murray is the sower of Your word, and he sows that word 04:26 and it goes into our heart, Father, that You would guard 04:29 over that word and you would seal it in our heart. 04:31 That that word would take root and it would grow and produce 04:34 not thirty fold, not sixty fold, but a hundred fold return 04:38 on Your word would come forth in our lives, Father. 04:41 And Father, we pray for brother Murray. 04:43 Father that right now that You will anoint him, 04:45 that his words will be anointing. 04:47 As they go forth they will be Spirit, and light, and life, 04:51 and they will produce in us what You would have them produce. 04:54 Father our prayer for Pastor Murray tonight is that you will 04:57 permit him to preach. 04:59 In Jesus name. And everybody in agreement says, Amen. 05:10 Good evening. It's now time to walk out onto the diving board. 05:17 This is where we dive into the word by the Scriptures. 05:21 Would you open your Bible, if you have one? 05:23 Please open your Bibles to the book of Isaiah 3, and we will be 05:31 looking at verses 18 through 26 of chapter 3, and chapter 4, 05:38 verse 1. And I'll be reading from the New King James. 05:45 And the Scriptures say, In that day the Lord will take away the 05:52 finery, the jingling anklets, the scarves, and the crescents, 05:56 the pendants, the bracelets, and the veils, the headdresses, 06:02 the leg ornaments, and the headbands, the perfume boxes, 06:05 the charms, and the rings, the nose jewels, the festal apparel, 06:10 and the mantels, the outer garments, the purses, 06:14 and the mirrors, the fine linen, the turbans, and the robes. 06:19 And so it shall be instead of a sweet smell 06:24 there will be a stench. 06:26 Instead of a sash, a rope. 06:29 Instead of well set hair, baldness. 06:31 Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth. 06:35 The branding instead of beauty. 06:39 Your men shall fall by the sword and your mighty in the war. 06:43 Her gates shall lament and mourn. 06:46 And she, being desolate, shall sit on the ground. 06:50 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, 06:55 saying, We will eat our own food, and wear our own apparel: 06:59 only let us be called by your name, to take away our reproach. 07:06 Amen, and amen. Amen to the reading of God's word. 07:14 I would like to introduce to you a little bit about 07:20 Pastor C. A. Murray. 07:22 Some of us know a little bit about him. 07:24 Our worldwide audience may not know him; some of us. 07:29 And so his journey through life, through ministry, 07:34 has taken him to serve as a pastor in the New York area 07:39 for nineteen years. 07:40 He has also served as a departmental 07:44 director for twelve years. 07:45 And the Lord has blessed him to be able to preach across 07:49 the U.S., South America, Europe, Africa, 07:53 on many college campuses. 07:55 And, of course, he has conducted many weeks of prayer, 08:00 and evangelistic meetings all over the world practically. 08:05 And the Lord has blessed him to be able to author three books. 08:09 He's now working on his fourth book. 08:11 And he's also authored hundreds of articles for 08:16 Signs of the Times, Message magazine, and the Review, 08:22 known as the Adventist Review by most of you. 08:25 He's also a Ph. candidate in mass communications at 08:30 Columbus University. 08:32 But the Lord has also blessed him with a love for people, 08:37 and a love for the Lord. 08:39 And so, because of this, it's a joy to have welcomed him 08:46 to the 3ABN family. 08:48 In January of 2005 he joined us to serve as 08:52 corporate director of marketing. 08:54 And so, praise the Lord, for his ministry, and we want to 08:58 encourage you to pray for him as he ministers to us 09:02 in the preaching of God's word. 09:03 I know that in the short time that I've known him 09:08 is that he loves the Lord, and he believes in prayer. 09:12 And so I've heard him preach before, and I know the Lord 09:15 has used him, and I know that He will use him today. 09:18 So please pray for him. 09:19 Before he speaks, we have with us Brother Darrell Marshall, 09:26 and you know him as also a man that has gone through many 09:30 trials and tribulations. 09:31 But he can say, Praise the Lord. 09:34 And that is the title of the song he will sing, 09:37 Praise the Lord. There is a message in this song. 09:39 And so we encourage Brother Marshall to come with us 09:42 and join us to sing, Praise the Lord. 09:44 And the next voice you will hear after Brother Darrell Marshall 09:48 is Pastor C. A. Murray. May God bless us. 10:12 When you're up against a struggle that shatters all 10:17 your dreams, and your hopes have been cruelly crushed 10:22 by Satan's manifested schemes, and you feel the urge within you 10:30 to submit to earthly fear. 10:34 Don't let the faith you're standing in seem to disappear. 10:41 Praise the Lord. He can work with those that praise Him. 10:49 Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise. 10:56 Praise the Lord, for the chains that seemed to bind you, 11:04 serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you 11:11 when you praise Him. 11:19 Now Satan is alive and he wants to make us think that we are 11:27 paupers, when he knows himself that we're children of the King. 11:34 So lift up the mighty shield of faith for the 11:38 battle must be won. 11:41 We know that Jesus Christ has risen, 11:45 so the work's already done. 11:49 Praise the Lord. He can work with those that praise Him. 11:57 Praise the Lord. For our God inhabits praise. 12:04 Praise the Lord. For the chains that seemed to bind you 12:11 serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you 12:19 when you praise Him. 12:26 Praise the Lord. He can work with those who praise Him. 12:34 Praise the Lord. For our God inhabits praise. 12:41 Praise the Lord. For the chains that seemed to bind you 12:49 serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you 12:56 when you praise Him, praise Him, praise Him. 13:09 When you praise Him. 13:19 When you praise the Lord. 13:50 Hello. How are you? 13:53 I trust everybody is well. 13:56 I want to thank Darrell very, very much. 13:59 A mutual friend of ours, Ruben Carr, asked me when I saw 14:05 Darrel this evening to give him a punch in the stomach. 14:08 And I told him that will have to wait until tomorrow. 14:12 I need him to sing first. 14:14 The punch has to come later. 14:16 I'm so very humbled, and so very glad to be here tonight 14:20 to kick off this time of spiritual emphasis, 14:23 and to share this desk with Pastor Lomacang, 14:26 my pastor and friend. 14:28 I rather see this time as a time of spiritual tune-up. 14:33 You know, we drive these cars, and it is important every now 14:39 and again to take to take them in for maintenance; 14:41 for a tune-up. You need to change the oil, 14:43 and check the tires, and do all of those kinds of things 14:47 to avoid a major problem down the road. 14:50 And so this little exercise, the three sermons this weekend 14:54 and next week, we will call a little spiritual tune-up, 14:58 a little course correction, a little adjusting, 15:00 a little changing of the oil, as it were, 15:02 checking of the tires to make sure that we are in good 15:06 running condition to run the race that leads to glory. 15:10 Can you say Amen? Now in order to do that I'm 15:13 going to need your help. 15:14 I have some exercises for you to do this week; a little homework 15:18 for you to look at this week. 15:19 I'll be preaching this weekend, Pastor Lomacang following. 15:24 And to sort of keep you in spiritual tune we've developed 15:29 a little tune-up homework assignment for you. 15:31 And if you have a pen you can write this down. 15:33 They're going to be up on the board. 15:35 The spiritual tune-up; they will be in the bulletin on tomorrow. 15:37 These are things we need you to do each day of the week 15:41 to sort of keep you in spiritual shape as we go through the week. 15:44 Let's go through them together. 15:46 First one, on Sunday: 15:55 So find a new text that gives you comfort and encouragement. 15:59 We don't want a text about judgment, or burning in hell. 16:02 None of those kinds of texts. 16:03 We want a text that lifts you up, that you can share 16:06 with somebody, that gives you comfort and encouragement. 16:10 Begin to memorize that text, and rehearse it in your spirit. 16:13 So this week the first thing you're going to do on Sunday, 16:15 find a text that gives you encouragement and comfort. 16:19 Let's go to Monday. 16:27 Write them down: five people who have been a blessing 16:30 to you this year, since January. 16:32 Five people that have touched your life, 16:34 that have been a blessing. 16:36 It doesn't need to be anything big. 16:37 They didn't have to give you a million dollars. 16:39 Sometimes just a smile, just a kind word, just food, 16:42 just letting them come over and watch your television set 16:46 on Sunday, those kinds of things, a blessing this year. 16:49 Alright that's your Sunday assignment. 16:51 On Tuesday we want you to: 16:54 Preferably all five. 17:00 Call them. If they work near you seek them out and tell them, 17:04 You have been a blessing to me this year. 17:07 That's your Tuesday assignment. 17:12 Amen! Pastor John Stanton will be leading out. 17:16 And we want you to give a report of praise. 17:19 Now I'm saying a report of praise, not a praise report. 17:22 There's a difference. 17:24 A report of praise is a positive report of praise. 17:27 Now we don't want... 17:28 You know, we've got problems, but we don't want to hear about 17:30 your sacroiliac, or your aching feet, or your bunion. 17:33 Not this Wednesday. 17:34 This Wednesday we want all reports of praise, Amen? 17:37 Positive report of praise when you come to prayer meeting 17:40 on Wednesday night. 17:44 And you determine who that is: your wife, your husband, 17:46 your children, a friend at work. 17:47 Pray for your best friend, and those five people that you 17:50 identified on Monday who are a blessing to you. 17:53 Pray that God will share that blessing 17:56 through you, and through them. 17:57 That's for Thursday, and Friday: 18:03 That's your spiritual homework this week. 18:07 And you'll see those again on tomorrow. 18:10 The sermons that we're going to be dealing with this week 18:14 all are drawn from war, and the experience of war. 18:19 They are war stories. 18:21 Tonight's message is called, interestingly enough, 18:26 Cheap Date. Uh huh. Ha ha. 18:32 Tomorrow, The Ishbibenob Incident. 18:36 And tomorrow afternoon we're going to revisit Any person, 18:42 Any Situation. Return with me, if you will, 18:48 to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 4:1. 18:58 We want to deal with tonight the cost of discipleship. 19:02 We want to set some groundwork. 19:05 What does it cost to be a follower of Jesus? 19:08 The cost of discipleship. 19:13 And I'm reading Isaiah 4:1 from the New King James. 19:18 The Word of God reads: And in that day seven women shall 19:26 take hold of one man. 19:29 It's every man's fantasy, perhaps. 19:34 Saying we will eat our own food, wear our own apparel, 19:40 only let us be called by your name, to take away our reproach. 19:49 Cheap Date! Father God, We ask You now to speak to us. 19:58 Let us know Your will, and give us the strength to do it. 20:04 In Jesus' name, Amen. 20:08 I have read through the Bible countless numbers of times 20:14 and I never cease to be amazed by the intricacy of this book. 20:21 It is a marvelous book that grows with you. 20:27 When you're a brand new Christian you read at one level. 20:31 But as your Christian experience grows, the Bible grows with you. 20:36 And every time you read the Bible it is truly 20:39 and brand new book. 20:42 The Bible is for the student; a window on the soul of humanity. 20:50 You've got questions? 20:52 God's got answers. 20:55 And the answers are in His word. 20:59 There are things in the Bible that shock us sometimes, 21:03 and disturb us, but Bible study is a good thing. 21:08 In fact my favorite author says that Bible study is designed 21:15 by God to increase the intelligence. Amen. 21:21 You know, you may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, 21:24 but if you study the word of God, you can get smart. 21:28 It will increase your intelligence 21:32 and shed light on your life. 21:34 And so we need to set some historical parameters, 21:37 some theo historical parameters dealing with 21:40 this particular text. 21:41 Polygamy, many wives, was not and is not 21:50 God's plan for His people. Amen. 21:54 God never intended any man to have more than 21:58 one wife, uh huh, at a time. 22:04 Now there are circumstances under which you can 22:06 have several wives. 22:07 But God intended for you to only have one at a time. 22:11 Polygamy was practiced by the nations surrounding Israel, 22:17 but they also practiced polytheism. 22:20 They worshipped many gods; they had many wives. 22:25 And somehow the Jews were always attracted throughout 22:30 their history, throughout the Old Testament, 22:32 to certain aspects of Canaanite worship. 22:36 They were irresistibly, or almost irresistibly, allured by 22:42 Canaanite worship, and Canaanite women, 22:45 and the Canaanite way of life. 22:47 All throughout their history they struggled with this 22:50 attraction to the ways of the Canaanite people. 22:53 God told them that if you intermarry, these women will 22:57 draw you away from Me. 22:59 And yet somehow they couldn't resist. 23:02 There are two notable examples: Delilah and, of course, Jezebel. 23:08 But if you break down and digest Canaanite worship to its least 23:14 common denominator, really theologians will tell you that 23:18 Canaanite worship was basically sex and drugs. 23:22 And it's interesting that the devil has not changed 23:26 his tactics in 3,500 years. 23:28 You look at what's on the TV set, and in the movie screens, 23:32 it's pretty much the same things: sex, and drugs, 23:35 and violence. And the devil's no fool. 23:38 It's been working for 3,500 years. Why change? 23:41 But God's people were irresistibly attracted to this. 23:48 But that was not God's design for His people. 23:51 God wanted one man, one woman, one God. 23:55 Here O Israel, the Lord your God is One Lord. Mark 12:23. 24:03 Coming from the mouth of Jesus Himself. 24:05 And if the truth be told, gentlemen, if we males can 24:10 disabuse ourselves of our own misguided machismo, 24:14 if we could let go of our predilection to self 24:18 aggrandizement, and the sexual hubris of the male ego, 24:24 if we get real with ourselves, the irreconcilable truth is the 24:28 unavoidable, unassailable, irrefutable, undeniable truth is 24:32 that one good woman is more than enough for any man. 24:41 If you can't say Amen, say Ouch! 24:45 And Solomon says, One bad woman is too much. 24:52 And if you're putting the requisite time and energy 24:59 that it takes to keep this ultra complex psychosocial 25:02 sociological machine that is woman functioning properly 25:06 and happy, you'll forgive my prerogative English: 25:09 You ain't got time for nobody else. 25:13 Women are work. Praise God. 25:18 But it is a happy task. 25:23 And don't get hung up by popular culture 25:28 sitting home watching The Bachelor. 25:30 That's not reality. 25:32 The Bachelor is not real, so you keep the one you've got, 25:37 and praise the Lord. 25:39 If you read the book of Ecclesiastes we find that 25:42 Ecclesiastes is Solomon's diary. 25:45 It is his doctoral thesis on life. 25:47 And in chapter 2, verse 10, he says, Anything I wanted I got. 25:52 You know the story: 700 wives, 300 girlfriends. 25:57 And just seven verses later, chapter 2, verse 17, he says: 26:01 Therefore I hated my life. 26:03 Thought I was riding high and ended up 26:08 wishing that I was dead. 26:09 Proverbs 31:10, same writer, Solomon says, Who can find a 26:15 virtuous woman? Her worth is far above rubies. 26:19 And so God's plan was that you find a good one, 26:23 and you stay with that good one through thick and thin, 26:27 and you stick it out. 26:30 When our Scripture lesson today speaks of desperate times, 26:36 it is a time of war. 26:37 A time when Israel is at war with a nation, 26:43 not just any nation, but one of the cruelest, most war like 26:47 nations of the ancient middle east. 26:50 Their kings were like the Adolph Hitler's of their day. 26:55 Their names read like a veritable Who's Who of 26:59 blood thirsty, war mongering tyrants: Tiglath-Pileser III, 27:04 Shalmaneser V, Sargon II, Esarhaddon, and Sennacherib; 27:08 men who fought for the shear pleasure of fighting. 27:13 Men who conquered just because they could, and for the joy 27:17 of watching people die. 27:19 If you fought the Assyrians they killed you. 27:23 If you surrendered to the Assyrians they killed you. 27:26 They took no prisoners. 27:29 And they had no POW problems. 27:31 The Assyrians were renowned for implacable cruelty, 27:35 and bloodthirsty living. 27:38 They spared no one. 27:40 And Israel fought the Assyrian empire for twenty plus years. 27:46 And the price they paid in dead soldiers was staggering. 27:51 Everybody eligible was in the Army. 27:55 And everybody in the Army was at war. 27:59 And there simply were not enough men to go around. 28:03 Isaiah gives us a view of societal trauma. 28:09 The cities were filled with women; lonely, desperate women: 28:15 Army widows, women who were once married, and whose husbands 28:20 went off to war and never returned. 28:23 Young women who were hoping to get married: 20 somethings 28:29 whose biological clock was ticking. 28:31 And they were hoping to latch on to some eligible man 28:34 before the alarm went off. 28:36 These were desperate times, and in desperate times desperate 28:42 people do desperate things. 28:44 Now I need to stop here and state parenthetically, 28:49 if you will allow me to use the words of an old commercial, 28:53 You've come a long way baby. 29:02 Those were not perfect, and I would not be so presumptuous 29:04 as to say that they are. 29:06 Women in this country have come a long way, and God has blessed. 29:12 Now things are not perfect. 29:14 There are still pay gaps, and classes of men, racism, 29:19 and sexism, and there is unequal pay, but things are a lot better 29:26 than they used to be. Can you say Amen? 29:28 Now I'm a black American, but more importantly I'm a 29:31 Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 29:32 So anytime you say anything about equal, I'm on board. 29:36 Equal rights, equal opportunity, equal pay, equal access, 29:39 equal employment; I like that idea. 29:42 I like working at 3ABN. 29:44 Our founder, of course, is a male, but our chief of 29:46 operations is a female. 29:48 Our production coordinator is a female. 29:51 The associate is a female. 29:53 There are women involved in every strata of 3ABN. 29:57 We can, I think, be proud of the involvement of women here. 30:00 But it's not that way in all places. 30:04 There is a pay gap, as I said before, and a gender gap, 30:07 and yet things are getting better. 30:10 A certain daytime talk show host just passed the 1 billion 30:16 dollar net worth about a year ago. 30:19 Sixteen percent of college and university presidents are women. 30:23 Fourteen percent of Congressional and Senatorial 30:27 seats are held by women. 30:29 Women make up fifty-one percent of the population, and forty-six 30:34 percent of the labor force. 30:37 CNBC president is a woman. 30:40 Hewlett Packard's president is a woman. 30:43 March, I just found out, is actually Women's History Month. 30:48 They've got their own month, praise the Lord. 30:50 But if you think things are bad now, things were much 30:59 worse in Bible times. 31:01 In the Canaanite cultures young girls were routinely 31:06 sold to pay bills. 31:08 You know, you get a little behind on your Master Card, 31:11 you sell your daughter. 31:13 It was routinely done. 31:15 In the ancient near east in the Samarian culture, 31:20 a wife also had to sleep with her brother-in-law. 31:25 In Greece, in Sparta, and in certain parts of the Hittite 31:31 nation, it was mandated that a wife be given a beating 31:36 at least once a year. 31:38 Part of the culture. 31:40 Now Jewish women had it a little bit better. 31:44 But even they could be divorced for what we would 31:47 call trivial offenses. 31:49 A Jewish wife could be divorced for nagging too much. 31:53 A Jewish wife could be divorced for laziness. 32:02 You were expected to share the burden. 32:05 And if you didn't share the burden, you could be divorced. 32:07 That nagging and laziness. 32:10 She could be divorced for not cooking dinner. 32:17 She could be divorced for staying out too late. 32:24 She could be divorced for talking to a man for too long. 32:34 Women couldn't have a job that put them in a position over men. 32:38 For the most part they couldn't inherit wealth. 32:41 There was a long list of prohibitions concerning 32:47 even Jewish women. 32:49 Their wealth came from the man. 32:52 Their social status came from the man. 32:55 Their societal image came from the man. 32:58 Their worth in society came from the man. 33:01 Their religion came from the man. 33:03 Their standing in the community came from the man. 33:06 The theological clock ticked much faster in those days, 33:12 as did the biological clock. 33:14 You had to find a man, marry a man, and stay married by 33:18 your eighteenth birthday. 33:19 Many scholars believe that Mary married Joseph somewhere between 33:24 the ages of twelve and fourteen. 33:26 So this then is the background for Isaiah chapter 4. 33:32 It is a time of war with the Assyrian empire. 33:35 It is a bad time. All or most of the eligible 33:42 bachelors are gone. 33:43 All of the good catches are dying in war, 33:47 and there just aren't enough men left. 33:51 And to be without a man was to be without 33:54 respect in Bible times. 33:56 It was to be without social standing. 33:59 It was to be without a future. 34:00 And desperate people do desperate things. 34:03 So these women had to have a husband, 34:06 even if it was a husband in name only. 34:10 So they would go to the few eligible men left 34:14 with this proposition: We will take care of ourselves. 34:18 You don't have to feed us. 34:21 You don't have to provide for us. 34:23 You don't really have to be a husband. 34:27 We will do it all. 34:30 Just give us your name to take away our reproach 34:36 so that when we go to the market we're not laughed at, 34:40 so that when we walk down the streets we have 34:43 respect in the community, so that when we shop 34:48 and do other kinds of things we can hold our head up high. 34:51 We don't need any sustenance. 34:53 All we want is your name. 34:59 And I see in this odd little text a compelling parallel 35:03 to the Christian world today. 35:06 Jeremiah 6:2, God likens the daughters of Zion to the church. 35:12 And without pointing fingers, I have a problem with some of 35:21 the Christianity that I see today. 35:24 I have a problem with that brand of Christianity that says, 35:28 God is here to serve us, not we to serve Him. 35:33 For the Bible message is that we are the 35:37 servants of a loving God. 35:38 And I am convinced in my mind, and convicted in my spirit, 35:42 that the Christian ranks today are far too populated by people 35:47 who really don't want to serve Jesus. 35:50 All they want is the name. 35:54 And they don't want to carry the weight 35:57 that comes with that name. 35:59 I submit to you in all humility that there are people across 36:04 this world and in this country who have said, not so much 36:09 by their words but by their actions and deportment, 36:12 Jesus, I'm only going to give You so much. 36:16 Talking about the cost of discipleship. 36:19 I don't intend to suffer, Jesus. 36:23 I don't intend to be too uncomfortable, Jesus. 36:26 I don't intend to sweat, or be disenfranchised, 36:33 or to sacrifice for my faith. 36:34 Jesus, all I want is Your name. 36:41 Look Jesus, you're only going to get so much energy. 36:44 You're only going to get so much time. 36:46 You're only going to get so much of my talents and abilities. 36:49 I'm drawing the line here. 36:51 All I want really, Jesus, is the name. 36:54 I want the name Christian. 36:56 I don't want the weight that comes with that name. 37:00 I'll wear my own clothes. 37:02 I'll make my own food. 37:04 I'll live my own life. 37:06 You keep the rules, Jesus. 37:09 You keep the regulations, Jesus. 37:11 You keep the do's and don'ts. 37:13 All I want is Your name. 37:16 You know, it occurs to me that what the world really wants is 37:21 no sweat religion. 37:23 They want easy religion. 37:26 Let me ask you a question. 37:30 How many believe that God wants us to be happy? 37:36 Everybody says Amen. 37:38 Now how happy does God want you to be? Happy as you can. 37:45 And how important is your happiness to God? 37:48 We all agree that He wants us to be happy, 37:52 and that our happiness is important. 37:56 So what's the problem? 37:58 I have a Korean friend. 38:02 He owns three dry cleaners. 38:05 We met at a Christian businessman's luncheon 38:07 some time ago, and I figure I'll go to your church, 38:12 and you come to mine. 38:14 I've been to several of his services; 38:16 never got him to come to mine. 38:17 His reasoning is to me, God wants me to be happy. 38:26 I'm happy when I make money. 38:31 I make most of my money on Saturday. 38:36 And if I'm not open on Saturday, I don't make money. 38:44 And if I don't make money, I'm not happy. 38:48 So God wants me to close on Saturday, 38:53 cause He wants me happy. 38:55 And I'm only happy when I'm making money. 38:58 So how happy does God want you to be? Huh? 39:06 You see, we see happiness as a destination, as a goal, 39:15 as somewhere to get to. 39:17 God sees happiness as a by product of a 39:22 relationship with Him. 39:24 You don't seek for happiness, you seek for Jesus. 39:29 And when you find Jesus, Jesus will make you happy. 39:34 You see, it's not a goal. 39:36 If happiness is a brand new sports car, 39:40 when your car is new, you're happy. 39:44 But three years down the road your sports car is old. 39:49 So you've got to get another sports car or you're not happy. 39:54 Amen. But God says happiness is a by product 40:01 of a relationship. 40:02 John 13:7, If you know these things, 40:07 happy are ye if ye do them. 40:10 So happiness is never a goal, it's a by product 40:14 of a relationship with Jesus. 40:16 And more than that, God not only guarantees you happiness, 40:21 he guarantees you joy. 40:23 Can you say Amen? Amen. 40:24 Because you know there are some days when you're just not 40:27 going to be happy. 40:28 Some days you get up; this is not going to be a happy day. 40:32 Huh? You know, some days you get up, uh um, 40:35 not going to be a happy day. 40:36 You don't feel good. 40:37 Something is hurting that didn't hurt last night. 40:39 It's hurting this morning. 40:40 It's not coming, and you go to work and somebody says: 40:42 How are you doing ugly? Ha ha! 40:44 And they're just, they're playing. 40:45 You know they're just playing with you. 40:47 Yesterday you would have laughed; today that's not funny. 40:50 So it's not going to be a happy day. 40:52 You get a bad doctor's report. 40:54 It's not going to be a happy day. 40:56 But Jesus says you can have joy even when you're not happy. 41:01 Psalm 16:11. Let's look at that real quick. 41:04 Psalm 16:11. Let me just find that real fast. 41:09 Psalm 16:11, 16:11. 41:13 You will show me the path of life: in your presence 41:19 is fullness of joy. 41:22 So as long as you're in Jesus, you've got joy, 41:25 even though you may not be happy. Amen? 41:28 Because some days you just can't be happy. 41:30 But as long as you've got Jesus, you've got joy. 41:32 In fact we're so accustomed to the Laodicea condition 41:38 that when we see really happy people in the midst of trial, 41:43 we think that's great. 41:44 Just got a report of cancer, but I'm praising God. 41:49 Something wrong with you? 41:51 No, that's Jesus! That's what Jesus can do. 41:54 I told a story the other day about my conference president, 41:56 and a good friend of mine Trevor Baker. 41:58 He came down one day; came downstairs from his apartment, 42:01 and all four of the doors on his Oldsmobile were gone. 42:04 They just took the car doors. 42:05 And he went upstairs and began to play, Jesus, Savior, 42:09 pilot me on the piano. 42:11 And his wife said, What is the matter with you? 42:13 I'm happy! Got joy in my heart! 42:18 It's alright, because as long as you've got Jesus, 42:21 you got, you got joy. Praise His name. 42:24 Being a child of God, being a Christian, means more than just 42:28 carrying the name. 42:29 It means more than just the name. 42:33 It's having Jesus within. 42:34 I remember years ago coming to New York, Pastor Lomacang, 42:37 and I just got to New York, driving through 42:39 the Lincoln Tunnel, and traffic was merging down to one lane, 42:43 and a fellow had a Honk if you love Jesus bumper 42:45 sticker on his car. 42:46 So I pulled up right beside of him, and I just laid 42:49 on the horn: beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. 42:52 Big mistake! The fellow rolled down the window 42:56 and threw a gesture at me. 42:59 And I could see the way his mouth was 43:00 going he was not happy. 43:01 And he sure didn't love Jesus. Ha ha! 43:03 So being in Christ means more than just bumper 43:07 stickers on your car. 43:08 It means more than just carrying the name of Jesus. 43:11 It means having Jesus down inside, doesn't it? 43:14 Praise God! Let's do a little Bible searching. 43:17 Luke 9, Luke 9. Let's find it real quick: Luke 9. 43:22 I'm going to read verses 23 through 25. Luke 9:23-25. 43:29 Luke 9:23-25. Then he said to them all, If anyone desires 43:36 to come after me, let him do what? deny himself, and take up 43:41 his cross daily, and follow me. 43:45 For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it: 43:48 but whoever loses his life for my sake shall save it. 43:51 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, 43:55 and is himself destroyed or lost? 44:00 I'm in Matthew 10:38, Matthew 10:38. 44:10 Matthew 10:38, the word of God says: And he who does not take 44:14 his cross and follow me is not worthy of me, 44:20 says the word of God. 44:22 That's not a message that we like to embrace, 44:28 if we tell the truth. 44:29 That's not a message that warms our heart. 44:33 That's not a message that we'd like to wrap our arms around. 44:36 We like to know that we're victorious, don't we? 44:38 Well, you are. We like to know that we're over comers. 44:42 And you are. We like to know that we're champions; 44:46 which you are. We like to know that we have authority; 44:50 which you do. We like to know that we are 44:53 more than conquerors. All that, too. 44:56 We like to know that God will bless us abundantly more 45:00 than we can ask or think. 45:02 And that, of course, is true. 45:03 But it comes with a price, ladies and gentlemen. 45:07 The word of God says, If you want the crown, 45:10 you have to bear the cross. 45:14 Let's read 1 Peter 4:12, 1 Peter 4:12, 1 Peter 4:12. 45:26 Beloved, think it not what? strange concerning the 45:33 fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing 45:37 happened unto you. 45:38 Now I can see the wheels turning in your minds. 45:40 I can see the depression etched on your faces. 45:42 You've got a little depressed. 45:43 I can see you saying, fiery trial! 45:47 I don't want fiery trial. 45:49 Is that what following Jesus means; fiery trial? 45:53 I don't want to go through fiery trial. 45:55 I don't like fiery trial. 45:57 I'm scared of fiery trial. 46:00 I don't want to have fiery trial. 46:01 Well, God's got good news for you, my brother, my sister. 46:05 One verse later, just one verse later. 46:09 Look at what it says in verse 13. 46:12 But rejoice. I like that word, but. 46:14 You know, but is an interesting word. 46:16 It is a conjunction, it is a verb, it is an adverb, 46:18 it is a noun, and a pronoun. 46:19 It's all of the above. 46:20 But rejoice, God says, to the extent that you are partakers 46:26 of Christ's what? sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, 46:32 you may be glad with exceeding joy. 46:37 There's that word again, joy. 46:39 Praise God for joy! 46:41 The Bible says rejoice. 46:44 She rejoice is jumping joy. Amen? 46:48 Rejoice is animated joy. 46:50 Rejoice is articulated joy. 46:51 I looked it up in the dictionary just a little while ago. 46:55 The dictionary says rejoice is to experience joy and 46:58 gladness to a high degree. 47:00 Rejoice is loosed joy. 47:03 It is joy unchanged. 47:05 It's joy on steroids. 47:07 It's taking a bath in joy. 47:09 It's being baptized in joy. 47:11 Rejoice is hallelujah joy. 47:14 Rejoice is Praise the Lord joy. 47:17 Rejoice is drinking from my cup because my cup overflowed joy. 47:23 You know, rejoice is feel good all over joy. 47:26 Rejoice is joy unbounded, and unfettered, and uninhibited, 47:32 and unashamed. Rejoice is drowning in joy. Amen! 47:38 It's joy all over! 47:40 And God says rejoice. 47:43 The Bible says hang in there through the 47:47 rough times with Jesus. 47:49 Because when glory rolls around you're going to get, not a 47:54 spoonful of joy, you're going to get exceeding 47:57 joy the Bible says. 47:59 You see, it's not all shame. 48:01 It's not all pain. 48:02 It's not all suffering. 48:04 It's not all heartache, and ridicule, and hard times, 48:07 and sacrifice, and blood, sweat, and tears. 48:10 Psalm says weeping may endure for a night, 48:13 but in the morning you're going to get joy. Amen! 48:18 Jesus promises joy. 48:21 1 Corinthians 10:13; you know the text. 48:25 It says basically that God will put no more on you 48:27 than you can bear. 48:28 But with that make a way of escape that you may be 48:32 able to bear it, because God wants to get you in, 48:37 and God wants to save you. 48:38 You've got a husband that won't talk. 48:40 You've got a wife that won't stop talking. 48:42 You've had an affair. 48:44 You are an abuser or an abuse victim. 48:48 You've got a drug problem. 48:49 You've a victim of pornography. 48:51 You've got a non-Christian spouse. 48:53 You've got wayward children, bad marriage, failing in school. 48:55 You hate your boss; boss hates you. 48:57 Dead end job, you're addicted, you got a bad medical diagnosis. 49:02 All of these things are bad, but brothers and sisters, 49:04 they are not new. And somebody else has gone through them. 49:08 And somebody else has been victorious over them. 49:11 And just like they were victorious, 49:13 so you can be victorious, too. 49:15 God says, Don't worry; hang in there. 49:18 Because after the trial comes the triumph. 49:21 And after the triumph comes joy! 49:23 Because God is faithful. 49:26 God doesn't want you to think that heaven is easy, 49:30 but He wants you to know that heaven is very possible, 49:33 very, very possible. 49:36 And Jesus wants you to give Him your all, 49:39 because He paid His all. 49:41 Jesus did, indeed, pay it all. 49:43 So you have to give Him your all. 49:45 It's more than just carrying the name, 49:47 it's carrying the weight. 49:48 You know that story, that old story from the 49:51 Army of Alexander? 49:52 There was a soldier in Alexander's Army 49:54 who was a goof off. 49:55 Had the same name; his name was also Alexander. 49:57 And he had made so many mistakes that Alexander called him in 50:00 and he said, What is your name? 50:01 And the soldier said, Alexander. 50:02 He said, The same name as yours. 50:03 And Alexander told him, You can't carry my name. 50:08 So you either have to change your ways, 50:10 or you've got to change your name. 50:11 And it's the same way in the Christian experience. 50:15 If you're going to be with Jesus, you've got to either 50:17 change your ways, or change your name. 50:19 Can't carry the name of Jesus unless you're willing to 50:23 carry the cross before you get the crown. 50:27 Jesus promises that you will be able to make it through. 50:31 Our time is running away. 50:32 Let me just close with something very, very quick. 50:33 I heard a story some time ago that I really, really liked. 50:41 And I'm going to close with this. 50:42 The story of a man who had, interestingly enough, 50:47 a pet goat. And I don't know how you develop such a close 50:53 relationship with a goat, but this fellow did. 50:54 It was a pet. He would put a plate of food by the back door. 50:58 The goat knew how to kick the door open, come into the house, 51:03 and eat food right there in the kitchen. 51:04 And every day at four o'clock the goat would come in, 51:06 kick the door open, and eat from the plate of food. 51:09 And the fellow would sit at the table, and the goat would eat. 51:11 And they would eat together. 51:12 And his wife had gone; children grown up. 51:16 He lived on a farm. 51:17 And he developed this relationship with this goat. 51:19 They just sort of bonded. 51:21 He had on that farm a well that had dried up. 51:28 And you know, sometimes you make promises to do something, 51:31 but time gets away from you, so you just never get 51:33 a chance to do it. 51:34 He kept saying, I need to fill this well in. 51:35 Because this goat, among other things, is rather nosey. 51:39 One day he's going to just nose around this well, 51:42 and maybe he'll fall in. 51:44 But you make promises to yourself, 51:46 and he never got a chance to do it. 51:48 So one day four o'clock came along. 51:49 He put the food there for the goat. 51:51 The goat did not eat, he did not come, he did not show up. 51:53 And so the man began to hunt around; 51:55 looking, looking, looking, wondering why the 51:57 goat did not come. 51:58 And he said, Well, let me just check the well. 52:01 And sure enough, when he's shown his flashlight down 52:03 in the well, there at the bottom of the well was that goat. 52:06 And he was so very, very saddened he said, Well, now I 52:10 guess I'll just fill it in. 52:12 And what was a hole will now become his cemetery. 52:17 So he went and got his backhoe. 52:19 He fired up the engine and sadly begins to throw 52:22 dirt into the hole. 52:23 But you know that goat was not dead. 52:27 He had just been stunned by the depth of the fall. 52:31 And when the first shovel full of dirt hit him he revived. 52:37 And he stood up and he called out. 52:40 But the noise of the engine was drowning out his call. 52:44 And so now this man is burying his friend alive. 52:50 But that goat had watched humans for a long period of time, 52:54 and he was no dummy. 52:55 Because every time a shovel full of dirt fell on him, 53:00 do you know what that goat did? 53:01 He shook it off, and he packed it down, 53:05 and he rose up a little higher. 53:07 He shook it off, packed it down, and rose up a little higher. 53:12 And after awhile of shaking dirt off and packing it down, 53:18 he was high enough to where he could leap out 53:20 of the hole and be safe. 53:22 When I heard that story years ago, I thought about the 53:26 Christian experience. 53:28 Because so many times in our life people, 53:31 and the devil himself, and circumstances will throw dirt 53:36 on our Christian experience. 53:38 They'll tell you you're too old, you're too black, 53:41 you're too white, you're too fat, you're too thin, 53:44 you don't have enough education. 53:45 You know, all of the kinds of excuses that they can give us 53:47 for not being successful. 53:49 And it occurs to me that God has promised us success 53:53 in Him, so why should we go around under the abuse 53:58 of someone else's disappointment? 54:00 When somebody tells you you can't, do you know what 54:04 you should do? Shake it off, and pack it down. 54:09 And do you know what will happen to you? 54:11 You'll rise up a little higher. Amen! 54:13 Why should you labor under someone else's disillusionment? 54:17 Why should you take the devil when the devil says, 54:21 You can't make it, you tell him, I won't take it. 54:24 Shake it, pack it down, rise up a little higher in Jesus, 54:34 and carry the name of Jesus. 54:36 Now I know you are all conservative 54:37 Seventh-day Adventist Christians. 54:38 Stand up with me. Stand up with me, please. 54:42 The devil is going to tell you you can't make it. 54:46 What are you going to do? 54:47 Shake it, and pack it, and rise up. 54:53 One day you'll get so high you'll be looking right into 54:56 the face of Jesus. Amen! 54:57 And He will say to you, Come thou blessed of My Father. 55:02 What's in a name? 55:03 There is a name I love to hear. 55:06 I love to sing its worth. 55:08 It sounds like music in my ear; the sweetest name on earth. 55:16 Oh how I love Jesus! 55:21 There is no other name given among men 55:27 whereby we must be saved. 55:30 At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, 55:38 that Jesus is Lord. 55:42 Just give us your name, O yes, but take the world 55:49 and give me Jesus. 55:53 That's the cost of discipleship. 55:56 You've got to give up a lot, but you get so much more. 56:02 And in exchange for now, you get eternity. 56:09 In exchange for three score and ten, 56:12 Jesus will give you forever. 56:17 Pretty good trade, don't you think? 56:19 Take the name of Jesus with you wherever you go. 56:26 And He will be with you until He calls you from labor to reward. 56:33 Shall we pray? Father God, we thank You Jesus. 56:37 We praise You. We love You Lord. 56:40 We know we've had to make sacrifices, 56:43 but Jesus is with worth it all, because Jesus paid it all; 56:50 all to Him we owe. 56:53 Sin left a crimson stain, dear Lord, 56:57 but you washed it white as snow. 57:00 We owe all to You, and now we give all to You. 57:05 Keep that which we now give to You until Jesus comes again. 57:11 We love You, we praise You, and we thank You. 57:16 In Jesus' name, Amen. |
Revised 2015-05-21