Participants: James Rafferty
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000675
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01:01 Welcome back to North Florida camp meeting
01:03 at Camp Kulaqua. We are so glad 01:05 that you are with us. 01:07 Psalm 13:6 says "I will sing unto the Lord, 01:11 because he is dealt bountifully with me". 01:13 Do you feel He has dealt bountifully with you today? 01:16 Amen. Let's sing a new song to Him today. 01:22 Standing on the promises of Christ my King, 01:26 Thru eternal ages let His praises ring, 01:30 Glory in the highest I will shout and sing, 01:34 Standing on the promises of God. 01:38 Standing, standing, 01:42 Standing on the promises of Christ my Savior, 01:46 Standing, standing, 01:52 I'm standing on the promises of God. 01:56 Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord, 02:00 Bound to Him eternally by love's strong cord, 02:05 Overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword, 02:09 Standing on the promises of God. 02:13 Standing, standing, 02:17 Standing on the promises of Christ my Savior, 02:21 Standing, standing, 02:26 I'm standing on the promises of God. 02:31 Standing, standing, 02:35 Standing on the promises of Christ my Savior, 02:39 Standing, standing, 02:45 I'm standing on the promises of God. Amen. 03:06 You are my strength when I am weak 03:09 You are the treasure that I seek 03:12 You are my all in all 03:18 Seeking You as a precious jewel 03:22 Lord, to give up I'd be a fool 03:25 You are my all in all 03:30 Jesus, Lamb of God 03:37 Worthy is Your name 03:43 Jesus, Lamb of God 03:49 Worthy is Your name 03:56 Taking my sin, my cross, my shame 03:59 Rising again I bless Your name 04:02 You are my all in all 04:08 When I fall down You pick me up 04:11 When I am dry You fill my cup 04:14 You are my all in all 04:20 Jesus, Lamb of God 04:26 Worthy is Your name 04:32 Jesus, Lamb of God 04:38 Worthy is Your name 04:44 Jesus, Lamb of God 04:50 Worthy is Your name 04:56 Jesus, Lamb of God 05:02 Worthy is Your name 05:08 Amen. Amen. 05:09 Our theme here this evening has been focused 05:12 on the kingdom bound by the spirit. 05:14 How many of you want to see Jesus come? 05:16 Amen. Amen. 05:18 This is an old familiar hymn, O when shall I see Jesus, 05:22 enjoy and sing along. 05:30 O, when shall I see Jesus and reign with him above 05:36 And shall hear the trumpet sound in that morning? 05:41 And from the flowing fountains 05:44 drink everlasting love 05:46 And shall hear the trumpet sound in that morning? 05:51 O, shout, glory! For I shall mount above the skies, 05:57 When I hear the trumpet sound in that morning. 06:02 O, shout, glory! For I shall mount above the skies, 06:07 When I hear the trumpet sound in that morning. 06:12 Ours ears shall hear with transport 06:15 the host of heaven sing 06:18 And shall hear the trumpet sound in that morning? 06:23 Our tongues shall chant the glories of our immortal King 06:28 And shall hear the trumpet sound in that morning? 06:33 O, shout, glory! For I shall mount above the skies, 06:39 When I hear the trumpet sound in that morning. 06:44 O, shout, glory! For I shall mount above the skies, 06:49 When I hear the trumpet sound in that morning. 07:00 Amen. Praise the Lord. 07:04 I am desperate for Jesus, the longer I'm in this world 07:08 the less everything in it means. 07:12 Let's sing "Desperate for You". 07:33 This is the air I breathe 07:41 This is the air I breathe 07:47 Your holy presence living in me 08:03 This is my daily bread 08:10 This is my daily bread 08:16 Your very word spoken to me 08:30 And I - I'm desperate for You 08:44 And I - I'm lost without You 09:02 This is the air I breathe 09:09 This is the air I breathe 09:15 Your holy presence living in me 09:30 This is my daily bread 09:38 This is my daily bread 09:44 Your very word spoken to me 09:57 And I - I'm desperate for You 10:10 And I - I'm lost without You 10:25 And I - I'm desperate for You 10:39 And I - I'm lost without You 10:53 I'm lost without You 11:00 I'm lost without You 11:07 I'm lost without You 11:15 I'm lost without You 11:22 I'm desperate for You 11:29 Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord. 11:32 Let's stand the final time for our theme song, 11:35 "Open our eyes Lord we want to see Jesus". 11:50 Open our eyes, Lord, 11:55 we want to see Jesus. 12:01 to reach out and touch Him, 12:07 and say that we love Him. 12:14 Open our ears, Lord, 12:20 and help us to listen, 12:26 Open our eyes, Lord, 12:32 we want to see Jesus. 12:38 Open our eyes, Lord, 12:44 we want to see Jesus. 12:51 to reach out and touch Him, 12:57 and say that we love Him. 13:03 Open our ears, Lord, 13:09 and help us to listen, 13:16 Open our eyes, Lord, 13:22 we want to see Jesus. 13:29 Open our eyes, Lord, 13:34 we want to see Jesus. 13:48 And the people said, amen. Amen. 13:51 You may be seated. 13:54 Tonight, I'd like to welcome you out again 13:56 to Camp Kulaqua's, North Florida camp meeting. 14:00 And I want to ask you a question. 14:01 Has it been a blessing this weekend? 14:03 Amen. Did I hear an amen? amen. 14:06 Think I heard those people watching TV 14:09 a little bit louder than you. 14:10 Did somebody say amen? Amen. Amen. 14:14 You know, it is part of God's special plan 14:17 to bless His people, when they come together 14:19 in these type of convocations. Amen. 14:22 And I believe that God is pouring His spirit out 14:25 on us tonight in this weekend. 14:28 And to get things started, 14:29 we just would like to have a word of prayer at this time. 14:32 Shall we pray? Our loving heavenly Father, 14:39 we praise you, we praise your name. 14:43 And Lord, we wish that our eyes would be open, 14:47 that we might see you clearly, 14:50 that we can behold your love and your goodness. 14:53 We pray Lord tonight that You pour Your power out 14:57 on the speaker and musicians, Lord. 15:00 We feel your presence, 15:01 even now as we've come to this place. 15:05 Thank you, Jesus, be with us, in Jesus name, amen. 15:28 This song is for my hero, the ultimate hero. 15:43 Must have been cold there in my shadow, 15:53 To never have sunlight on your face. 16:02 You were content to let me shine, 16:12 You always walked a step behind. 16:21 I was the one with all the glory, 16:30 While you were the one with all the strength. 16:40 A beautiful face without a name 16:50 I never once heard you complain. 16:59 Did you ever know that you're my hero, 17:09 And everything I would like to be? 17:19 I can fly higher than an eagle, 17:28 You are the wind beneath my wings. 17:42 Might have appeared to go unnoticed, 17:52 But I've got it all here in my heart. 18:01 I want you to know I know the truth, 18:11 Lord, I would be nothing without you. 18:21 Did you ever know that you're my hero, 18:30 And everything I would like to be 18:40 I can fly higher than an eagle, 18:49 You are the wind beneath my wings. 18:59 Did you ever know that you're my hero, 19:09 And everything I would like to be? 19:19 I can fly higher than an eagle, 19:36 You are the wind beneath my wings. 19:45 Lord, you are the wind beneath my wings. Amen. 20:16 Well, I certainly felt like I was flying there 20:18 for a few seconds, praise the Lord. 20:22 Several of you've asked, what was the outcome 20:25 of my lip experience and I forgot to finish that story. 20:29 What happened was I went to the doctor 20:31 and he informed me that I probably ended up eating 20:35 something that my mouth reacted to, something hot. 20:40 And sure enough just a few days before I left 20:43 for South Carolina I had eaten some very hot food. 20:46 It was the kind of food where you eat it and you think oh, 20:48 this is okay. 20:49 And then after you eat it, 20:50 it gets hotter and hotter and hotter. 20:52 It was Indian food, 20:54 and I think that was the situation, 20:57 so everything is okay now though. 20:59 Let's open our Bibles again, 21:00 this evening to Hebrew's Chapter 12. 21:04 I would like to share with you this evening, 21:08 what I believe is one of the greatest dangers 21:10 facing us today as Christians and Adventists. 21:15 It's revealed to us in Revelation 3. 21:17 We don't need to open there. 21:19 But it is the feeling of satisfaction. 21:25 We're blessed in the evening, 21:27 we're blessed in the morning, 21:29 and we're blessed in the afternoon. 21:30 Have you've been blessed? Amen. 21:32 And we can come to the place, 21:34 where we feel spiritually satisfied 21:38 and that is dangerous, 21:42 because God often wants to give us much more 21:47 and we feel like, we have enough. 21:49 You can see it in the Old Testament, 21:50 there was a king there with Elijah, 21:51 who was told to smite the arrows on the grounds. 21:57 And he smote the arrows three times and the prophet said, 22:00 you should have smitten them seven times and more. 22:04 You have limited, you have limited, 22:07 God's ability to bless you, to empower you, 22:10 to strengthen you. 22:11 Do you believe we can limit God? 22:13 The Laodicean Church does that. 22:15 The Laodicean Church says I feel rich. 22:19 Do you feel rich tonight? And increased with knowledge. 22:26 But friends, the reality is we are blind, 22:29 and wretched, and miserable, and poor. 22:32 And we need more of the spirit of God, 22:35 tonight that we've been having all through the day 22:38 and last night, don't we. 22:40 We need more of the spirit of God to fill us 22:43 to over flowing, because we don't want it 22:45 enough not just for us. 22:46 We got to take some home with us. 22:49 We need to share it with others. 22:52 Hebrews Chapter 11, 22:53 Lets continue our theme on the finisher. 22:57 It is actually a two part series. 22:59 I was thinking that it was going to take me 23:01 a little longer than 30 minutes to share 23:03 the thoughts here, but we left off in verse 4. 23:06 "You have not yet resisted unto blood, 23:11 striving against sin;" 23:13 I believe that we looked at this 23:16 not literally but symbolically. 23:19 We looked at the experience, the only experience 23:22 in the Bible of a man who resisted unto blood 23:24 and we try to understand from the experience of Christ, 23:28 how would is it that we can be strengthened 23:31 to resist unto bloods. 23:33 Wouldn't you in your own experience 23:36 want to be able to resist unto blood. 23:39 We looked in Matthew Chapter 26. 23:43 Let's turn there this evening Matthew Chapter 26 23:48 and we found an outline. 23:50 I'm just going to review them quickly 23:51 of seven basic principles, that Christ experienced 23:56 that prepared Him to resist unto blood. 23:58 Number one, we found in verse 30. 24:02 And by the way I believe that one of the reasons 24:05 why we are so strengthened by these gatherings, 24:08 camp meeting, church, worship, praise, 24:11 fellowship is because they hold for us 24:16 many of the experiences that we are going to be reading 24:18 about here in relation to Christ. 24:21 Number one, for example verse 30, 24:24 "And when he had sung an hymn," 24:27 a song he "went out into the Mount of Olives." 24:29 As Jesus was on his way to the cross, 24:31 on his way to the Gethsemane, He sang. 24:33 We talked about how important music is, 24:35 how powerful music is. 24:37 And when we come to camp meeting, we engage in music, 24:41 perhaps more than we normally do, 24:42 when are in the world doing our work 24:44 or busy with our choice at home. 24:46 And so here we have an opportunity to experience 24:49 parts of what Jesus did in order to resist unto blood. 24:53 And we come away from here and we're strengthened, amen. 24:57 Well, why don't we surround ourselves with spiritual music 25:01 and hymns and songs with tapes and CDs? 25:06 I know today I go into grocery stores and I listen 25:08 to the rock and roll music, 25:09 that my mom didn't want me listen to 25:10 when I was a teenager, right there in the grocery stores. 25:13 And I go out of those stores humming those tunes 25:16 that I used to hum when I was a little kid. 25:19 And the only way I can get those tunes out 25:20 is to put something good and godly in, amen. 25:25 God wants us to take advantage 25:28 of the media technology that we have today, 25:32 use it for our advantage. 25:33 That's why I have an iPod. 25:36 It took me a while, it took me a while to be convinced. 25:38 In fact, it was Ty, my associate, my partner, 25:41 my friend who sold me his old one because 25:44 he wanted to get a new one and I bought it from him 25:47 for a hundred bucks, fifteen gig of storage. 25:51 And once I got it and started experiencing it with the Bible 25:54 and song and books, taking that with me on planes 25:58 and in the car, and listening to it. 26:00 Oh, I regret having not done it sooner. 26:04 Yeah, we can say oh, iPods, those are for kids, 26:06 no, they are not. They are for anyone 26:07 who wants to fortify their minds 26:08 with God's words. Wants to fortify their minds 26:11 with godly music and keep your minds and your spirit 26:15 uplifted and strengthened and prepared 26:16 to resist unto blood, amen. 26:20 Number two, amen. Amen. 26:22 Okay, number two. Number two, you know, 26:25 the reason why I believe we don't always say amen, 26:27 is because I don't think pastor 26:29 is expected to respond sometimes. 26:31 But, I do, I want to encourage you, 26:33 because as you do of course it will reinforce, 26:37 it will reinforce what you are hearing from God's word, 26:40 it will strengthen you personally. 26:41 Number two, we look at this principle on verse 32, 26:44 it was the principle of hope. 26:47 Jesus said after I am crucified, 26:51 I will rise again and go before you into Galilee, amen. 26:55 He knew, He is going to the cross, He knew, 26:57 He is going to Gethsemane, but He had hope 26:59 that He would rise again. Friends, 27:01 we need to have hope. Have you received some hope, 27:04 this weekend, the Sabbath, 27:05 in this worship, in this fellowship? 27:07 We need hope and we need to hold on 27:11 to the promises of God that give us so much hope. 27:14 Number three this one is found in verse 34, 27:17 "Jesus saith unto him" this is Peter, 27:19 "Verily I say unto thee, That this night, 27:21 before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me three times" 27:24 We need the truth, we need to be honest, 27:27 sometimes without others, sometimes with ourselves. 27:30 If we are going to be prepared for temptation, 27:33 we need to be honest with ourselves, 27:34 we need to be honest with others. 27:36 When we are honest with God, 27:38 because He can read our hearts, 27:40 He can give us the strength and the grace and the power 27:42 that we need. Let's not, 27:44 let's not walk in this facade anymore. 27:46 Let's not pretend that we're Christians. 27:48 Let's be open and let's be honest with God 27:50 and allow Him to empower us to be Christians, 27:54 to be followers of Jesus Christ. 27:56 Sometimes we're afraid to be honest, 27:57 because we don't want to be humiliated, 27:59 we don't want to have others see what we're really like. 28:03 I am sure Peter felt this way. 28:04 Jesus said to Peter, and the others you all gonna deny me. 28:07 Peter said not me, no way, I am not going to do it. 28:11 Sometimes we feel uncomfortable, 28:13 when God reveals ourselves to ourselves. 28:15 We're not sure what others will think. 28:17 Friends, it doesn't matter what others think. 28:19 What matters only is what God thinks. 28:22 And God knows your heart, so allow yourself 28:25 to open up and be honest with God. 28:28 Number four, this one is found, 28:31 right here in verse 36. 28:33 Jesus says here to His disciples, 28:36 I want you to come with Me and I want you to sit here, 28:40 I'm going to over there and pray 28:41 and I want you to pray for Me. 28:43 He took James, and John, and Peter 28:45 and He asked them to pray with Him, and for Him. 28:48 Prayer is so important, amen. 28:52 I know when I spend that time in prayer, 28:55 how does the song go, that hymn go. 28:57 Oh, what needless pain we bare, 28:59 all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. 29:05 When I spend that time in prayer, 29:07 the burdens are released. 29:09 The burdens are released, 29:10 and peace comes back into the hearts. 29:12 Strength comes back into the hearts, 29:15 direction, God's presence, prayer. 29:19 Number five, verse 37, "Again he took with him Peter 29:24 and the two sons of Zebedee, 29:25 and began to be sorrowful and very heavy." 29:27 We need not only to pray ourselves, 29:30 but we need to seek the help of others. 29:33 And that's another thing that I like about camp meeting. 29:35 We spend time here getting into God's word 29:38 into the truth. We spend time here singing. 29:40 We spend time here in prayer. 29:42 And we spend time encouraging one and another, amen. 29:47 We are coming together as brothers and sisters 29:49 to uplift and encourage and bear one another's burdens 29:53 and Jesus needed that. He needed the disciples to bare, 29:59 or help bare His burdens. 30:02 Where they there for Him? No, they weren't. 30:06 But God was there for Him. 30:07 And God sent Jesus, an angel from heaven. 30:11 Do you think God will do that for us? 30:13 You may not have anyone, that is there for you, 30:17 but that does not mean that 30:19 you are forsaken of heaven, amen. 30:22 God will always be there for you. 30:25 The Bible says in Jeremiah Chapter 23 and verse 2 30:28 that there are pastors, who have not visited the flock, 30:32 they have not fed and visited the flock of God. 30:35 But God says, I'll raise pastors, 30:37 I'll raise pastors who visit you, in fact, 30:40 all through the New Testament we find Jesus Christ 30:43 modeling the essence of ministry. 30:45 You know what He did? 30:47 He walked and He visited a lot more than He preached. 30:51 You know that don't you? In fact in Luke, 30:54 if you look here in the Book of Luke, Chapter 8, 30:57 I think its verse 2. Luke, Chapter 8 and verse 2, 31:00 this is powerful really when you look 31:01 at the life of Christ. Luke 8 and verse 1 31:07 "And it came to pass afterwards that He went 31:09 throughout every city and village preaching 31:13 and showing the glad tidings of the Kingdom of Gods." 31:17 Jesus Christ went everywhere, He visited everyone. 31:23 John Chapter 1, bares this out "Jesus Christ" 31:27 in John Chapter 1 "went out of His ways," excuse me, 31:31 John Chapter 4 "went out of His way 31:34 to visit a woman in Samaria." 31:38 It says here Verse 3, "He left Judah," 31:41 John 4 Verse 3, "He departed again into Galilee 31:44 Verse 4 here it is, "and He must needs 31:47 go through Samaria." His disciple said to Him, 31:52 Jesus you've got a big crowd of people here in Capernaum 31:55 and they really like You and they are ready to support 31:58 Your kingdom and to get behind You. 32:01 And Jesus said I can't stay here. 32:03 But you are popular here. Doesn't matter. 32:06 Jesus didn't come to this earth to be popular 32:10 and accepted and supported. 32:11 He came to this earth, to go to every village, 32:13 every city and the remotest places 32:17 and to tell people about Gods. 32:19 And so He went this Samaritan village, 32:22 where there was a woman, who was living in adultery 32:24 had been married five times, a Samaritan woman. 32:28 And He sat down and He began to talk to this woman 32:30 about Kingdom of Gods. Friends, 32:33 God knows who you are and where you are? 32:36 And even if there is another person on the earth, 32:38 you have Jesus and He will visit you personally. 32:42 He will minister to you personally. 32:45 Paul, the author of the New Testaments 32:49 began to visit the churches on a consistent basis. 32:52 And when He got done visiting all the churches 32:54 that he had raised up, he started all over again. 32:57 He went back and he started visiting the churches again. 32:59 And when they put him in jail, he continued visiting 33:02 the churches through letters, didn't he? 33:04 He wrote letters to all the churches and that's why 33:06 we have, most of the New Testament, 33:08 because Pa l believed in visitation. 33:11 And I guess this is a message to the pastors tonight 33:15 as well as to each one of us as members 33:17 we need to visit people. We need to visit people. 33:22 We need to show them that we care about them, 33:25 by going to see them where they are? Visit people. 33:30 So Jesus Christ in Matthew 26 was prepared to resist 33:35 unto bloods. As He reached out for help 33:37 from others and got their help because 33:39 they went there for Him from heaven itself. 33:41 Number six, verse 39. "And He went a little further 33:45 and He fell on His face, and He prayed, 33:47 and He said Oh, Father if it be possible 33:51 let this cup pass from me, 33:56 nevertheless not as I will, 34:01 but as thou wilt." Jesus Christ was human. 34:06 Jesus Christ took upon Himself our fallen human nature. 34:12 How do I know that? Because He says right here that, 34:16 he didn't want to do His will, 34:18 He wanted to do whose will? 34:19 Gods will, and you and I are in the same predicament. 34:23 Jesus came right where we are. 34:25 No He didn't have propensities to sin. 34:27 He didn't had inclinations to sin. 34:29 Jesus Christ hated sin it was opponent to Him. 34:34 But He did have the fallen will. 34:36 He did have a will that was not naturally inclined 34:40 to do what God wanted Him to do. 34:41 If Jesus would have done His will, 34:43 He wouldn't have gone to the cross. 34:45 He wouldn't have gone to Gethsemane. 34:47 He wouldn't even gone to the wilderness 34:48 to fast for 40 days. His human nature shrank 34:51 from all of this as decidedly as ours does, amen. Amen. 34:56 See, Jesus Christ came to fight our battles 34:59 and the greatest battle that was ever fought 35:02 is the surrender of the will. Friends, 35:06 it's really important for us to understand this. 35:08 Jesus Christ was prepared to resist unto blood 35:12 by saying to the Father openly, simply, 35:14 and frankly, I am weak. 35:17 I have a will that is weak. 35:19 My will does not incline to do your will, amen. 35:23 And God is telling us tonight confess it. 35:27 Don't come in here and try to say that you are seeking 35:29 after God, that you're righteous 35:30 and that you're good. 35:31 There is no one that's good not one 35:33 and don't be discouraged, because you see 35:35 your real self, because you realize that you are sinful 35:39 and evil don't be discouraged. 35:40 There is none good, no not one. 35:42 No one is seeking after God, but praise Him, 35:45 He can deliver this wretched man, amen. 35:48 As we cry out to Jesus, 35:50 Jesus Christ has promised to deliver us. 35:54 And to bring us to number seven, 35:55 and what was number seven? 35:57 Christ submitted His will to God. 36:01 Not my will He says, but thy will be done. 36:07 Praise the Lord. Praise God. Hebrews Chapter 12, 36:12 there is a beautiful picture that we have here. 36:15 A picture that's in a very real sense gets our focus 36:19 on heaven, the theme and bonds us in the spirits. 36:23 The spirit that has been working and developing faith 36:27 in God's people down through time. 36:30 We looked at it Friday night, Hebrews Chapter 12, 36:33 where for seen that we are surrounded 36:36 with so great accord of witnesses, let us lay aside 36:40 every weight and that sin that's so easily entangle us 36:44 and run with patience to race that is set before us. 36:48 That word race is actually battle, 36:50 it's actually the contest that is taking place. 36:53 Martin Luther put it this way when he said, 36:55 I fear self more than I fear the Pope and all his bishops. 37:01 That battle is the battle against self and the only way 37:04 that we can have the victory over self 37:06 is by looking unto, who? Jesus. 37:10 But we can also find help. Friends, 37:13 I believe that Hebrews Chapter 12, 37:17 lay's out for us parts of the way that we can be prepared 37:22 to resist unto bloods. Hebrews Chapter 12, 37:27 points us back to Hebrews Chapter 11 37:30 and Hebrews Chapter 11 gives us the help 37:35 not just of angels, not just of brethren here today, 37:37 but the help of all the faithful 37:40 that have gone before us. Hebrews 12, 37:43 and the victory that God wants us to have today 37:45 is based upon Hebrews Chapter 11. 37:48 Wherefore because of this, you can't go forth, amen. 37:53 Do you believe that it is difficult, 37:57 or perhaps you come to the conclusion 37:58 that it is impossible to overcome sin? 38:00 It's impossible to walk so closely with God 38:03 that we can be translated from this earth. 38:05 We'll go back to Hebrews Chapter 11 38:07 and look at verse 5. 38:08 "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death, 38:13 and was not found because God had translated him, 38:16 for before His translation he had this testimony 38:19 that He,' What? 'Pleased Gods.'" 38:22 Enoch was walking with Gods and everyday in his walk, 38:28 it would get little bit longer, a little bit longer, 38:31 they get a little bit closer to heaven and look further 38:33 from Enoch's place. And finally one day 38:35 God said Enoch, you know, we are closer to My place 38:40 today then we are to your place. 38:41 Why don't you just come home with me? 38:44 If you have been discouraged, if you have been fed 38:47 the lie that you cannot overcome, 38:49 that you cannot please God, then you need to look back 38:52 right here at the experience of Enoch. 38:55 Enoch pleased God or maybe you feel 38:59 that you have doubted for too long. 39:02 Maybe you feel that you have doubted for too long, 39:04 that you are too weak that it's no good 39:05 that you just can't do it any longer. 39:08 Well look at Abraham, look at Sarah. 39:11 How many years where they doubting the promise of God? 39:14 How many years, five, ten, fifteen, twenty? 39:18 Twenty five years, they doubted the promise of God. 39:23 But Enoch excuse me, but Abraham, 39:25 stands with the faithful. 39:27 He stands within it Enoch he stands right here 39:30 in the Chapter of faith. Abraham and Sarah, 39:36 overcame 25 years of doubt. 39:39 Friends, these are given for us to encourage us that 39:43 we too struggling with doubt. We too feeling overcome. 39:48 We too feeling like its no use. 39:50 We too can get the victory by faith. 39:54 We can get that victory. 39:55 How about Isaac? Other times when you feel 40:00 like the sacrifice is too great 40:02 look at the experience of Isaac. 40:04 He was willing to give His life to allow His father 40:10 to sacrifice Him to God, or how about the Moses? 40:14 Do you struggle with the worlds, 40:16 the influence of the worlds, 40:18 all of the pleasures of the world? 40:20 Yes, the pleasures of sin, 40:21 that's what it says right here in Chapter, 40:25 excuse me in verse 23, of Chapter 11. 40:27 It says by faith, verse 24, 40:31 "When Moses was come to years, 40:33 he refused to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter, 40:36 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people 40:40 of God then to enjoy' what?' 40:43 The pleasure's of sin for a season." 40:48 Now friends, that is the problem with sin, 40:52 did you know that? It's only for a season. 40:56 God never intended that we would have pleasure 41:00 for a season. The Bible says that 41:03 at God's right hand there are pleasures. 41:08 Can you finish that? 41:10 Forever. Forever more. 41:12 Sin only offers us pleasure for a season. 41:16 And Moses saw this, he got his focus on heaven and said, 41:19 you know what? I think I am going to trade in my pleasure 41:24 of sin for a season for pleasures for evermore. 41:28 And so Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh. 41:31 He turned away from everything in the world 41:34 and he accepted the offer of eternal pleasure and salvation 41:41 that God was giving to Him as a gift. 41:44 Where would Moses be today, 41:46 if he had not made that decision? 41:49 Where would he be? Well, most likely, 41:52 Moses would be in a museum with all of his entourage 41:56 of stuff that he gave up heaven to hold onto 42:00 and we be paying big bucks to go and see Moses 42:03 and all of his stuff, isn't that right. 42:06 He would have been a Pharaoh. 42:08 He would have been in a tomb, 42:09 we would have unearthed him and put him in a museum 42:11 and say oooh, aahh, wow. Where is Moses today, 42:19 yeah, he is in heaven. He is at God's right hand. 42:23 He is right now today enjoying pleasures 42:28 for evermore. Praise God. 42:31 So if the world is crowding in friends. 42:35 If the world is trying to take from you the salvation, 42:38 the gifts, the pleasure that God offers you look at Moses. 42:43 There may not be a pastor, 42:44 there may not be another person in your church 42:46 there may not be someone in your family, 42:48 there may not be anyone that can encourage you, 42:49 but Moses can encourage you, Enoch can encourage you, 42:52 Abraham and Sarah they want to encourage you. 42:56 You are surrounded by these people. 42:58 Just before this meeting I was back there in the corner 43:02 with the singers and pastor and a few other people 43:06 and they surrounded me, they put in the middle 43:08 and they surrounded me and they laid their hands 43:10 upon me and they prayed for me. 43:14 And I felt the support and the strength 43:18 not only of them but of Gods. Friends, 43:20 we are surrounded and these, these faithful of all 43:25 are placing their hands upon us not literally of course, 43:28 but spiritually and they want to encourage us, 43:32 they want to strengthen us, through their experiences 43:35 and through their words. 43:37 They want to tell us, you can do it if you look unto Jesus, 43:43 because He is the author and the finisher. 43:46 Well, maybe you feel like you're totally unworthy. 43:52 You're totally unworthy because of your life of sin. 43:56 You tried, you failed, you tried, you failed, 43:58 you tried, you failed. 43:59 You've just been out there, out there, out there. 44:03 Well, look at Rahab. 44:05 The Bible records are right here, 44:07 in the faith Chapter of Hebrew 11 verse 31. 44:11 She was a harlot, a prostitute. 44:15 She was out there, she was out there, 44:18 selling her body day after day, week after week, 44:21 month after month, year after year. 44:23 Selling her body for sin and sometimes 44:26 we've done things like her to our bodies. 44:29 Maybe not in the same way, maybe its been drugs 44:32 that we've been selling our bodies to, 44:35 maybe it's been the indulgence of appetite 44:37 that we have been selling our bodies to either way. 44:41 Many of us struggle with self worth. 44:45 Rahab wants to encourage us this evening. 44:48 Rahab wants to speak to us this evening 44:50 of her testimony, of here faith. 44:52 She wants to tell us don't give up. 44:55 Don't give up, don't give up, because I am here 44:59 not only in the Chapter of Faith, 45:01 but I am in the line of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. 45:06 He came down through me as what she is saying to us. 45:10 So how about Samson? 45:12 Talk about a guy that had it all and gave it up. 45:15 Talk about someone who should have done better 45:18 and known better. 45:19 Are you that kind of a person raised in the church, 45:23 raised in the good Christian home, 45:25 threw it all out of the window, went out and did whatever, 45:28 thinking maybe that you can't come back to the Lord tonight. 45:33 Friends, whoever you are, wherever you are, 45:37 God wants to encourage you right now. 45:40 He is the author and the finisher of our faith 45:45 or maybe you have been like David, 45:47 maybe you are feeling a little overwhelms 45:50 with the mistakes you have made in your life, 45:53 maybe you feel like you have lost 45:54 the respect of family or friends. 45:56 David is there in the Chapter of Faith 46:00 and I am telling tonight if David is there 46:02 and if Samson is there and if Rahab is there 46:04 and if Abraham is there and Sarah is there, 46:06 I am telling you that each one of us can be there too. 46:10 We are surrounded, we are surrounded by these faithful 46:16 of past ages who are waiting for us. 46:20 Here's what it says right here in Verse 39 of Hebrews 11 46:23 "And all these having obtained a good reports 46:28 through faith, received not the promise." "God" verse 40, 46:36 "having provided some better things for us 46:40 that they without us should not be made." 46:45 What's the word? "Perfect or complete." 46:50 Do you know that there is something 46:52 about our understanding of the second death 46:57 and of sleep that brings a lot of meaning 47:01 to these two verses we just read. 47:04 These faithful of vows other than the couple of exceptions 47:08 like Enoch and Moses are waiting. 47:12 They haven't received the promise Hebrews 4:1, 47:15 of entering into His rest, 47:17 entering into that Heavenly Canaan. 47:20 There are not yet walking in the streets of Jerusalem 47:25 and if we have the opportunity to ask them, 47:29 Abraham, Sarah, would like to be in the heaven right now? 47:36 They might say hesitantly yes, 47:40 yes but not without them, not without them. 47:48 I don't want to be there without 47:51 the rest of God's people. And friends, 47:56 that is the message that God wants to leave 47:58 with us this evening. 48:01 Do you want to be in heaven? 48:03 Oh, I long for all of this to ends. 48:07 I long for the sin to be done. 48:09 I long for the temptation to cease. 48:11 I long to be changed from this mortal 48:12 into this immortal that God has promised us 48:16 and to walk the street of gold where there is no more pain, 48:18 suffering, or death, where gold doesn't matter anymore, 48:22 its just pavement, but I don't want to go without them. 48:30 Are you with me tonight? 48:32 I don't want to go without them, 48:35 without the David's and the Job's, 48:41 without the Mary's and the Judes, 48:44 without the multitudes of people in every nation, 48:47 kindred, tongue and people for whom Jesus Christ 48:53 has given His life. I don't want to go without them. 48:56 Jesus didn't count heaven a place 48:59 to be desired without us. 49:03 And I don't want to go without them. 49:06 God longs for us not to love the worlds 49:13 in the sense of pleasure and sin, 49:16 but to love the world the way Jesus loved the world. 49:18 And when we love the world as Christ loved the world, 49:22 then for us His mission is accomplished. 49:25 We are fitted for heaven, 49:27 because we have heaven in our hearts. 49:30 And tonight God is calling us each one of us 49:33 get your focus of yourselves, get your focus of others, 49:37 and get your eyes on Jesus. 49:39 Verse 15 of Hebrews Chapter 12, 49:41 "Consider Him or look at Him diligently lest any man fail 49:46 of the grace of God and lest any root of bitterness 49:50 springing up trouble you and many be defiled." 49:53 Tonight there are people here right now 49:55 who are struggling with roots of bitterness. 49:58 Tonight there are people here who have through 50:00 terrible experiences with the church, 50:02 with their families in the worlds. 50:05 And the God is telling us 50:06 there is a remedy for your soul. 50:07 There is a bomb in Gilead and the bomb is 50:09 to get your eyes on Jesus, 50:11 to look diligently at Jesus Christ. 50:14 And when you focus on Him, 50:16 all of these roots of bitterness 50:18 will be yanked out, will be removed by the grace of God 50:24 and those around you will not be defiled. 50:27 God will work through you, God will move through you, 50:30 God will speak through you, 50:31 and you will say not without them, not without them. 50:37 I'm not ready to go, not without them. 50:40 And then will be fulfilled the words of Christ 50:44 in Matthew 24 in verse 14. 50:47 When this Gospel of the Kingdom is preached 50:51 in all the worlds as a witness, 50:58 then shall the end come. 51:02 God is going to have the people then 51:05 who will be so filled with His love. 51:08 That we'll be prepared to make this Gospel 51:13 so powerfully a part of our experience that people 51:17 will be impacted and drawn to Jesus Christ 51:21 and then we can go to heaven with them 51:27 and all the people say it, amen. Amen. 51:40 Are you ready to go home? 51:44 The sky shall unfold, preparing His entrance, 51:58 The stars shall applaud Him with thunders of praise. 52:11 The sweet light in His eyes shall enhance those awaiting, 52:26 And we shall behold Him, then face to face. 52:40 We shall behold Him. We shall behold Him, 52:55 Face to face in all of His glory. 53:05 We shall behold Him, 53:11 Yes, we shall behold Him, 53:19 Face to face, our Savior and Lord 53:32 The angels shall sound the shout of His coming, 53:46 And the sleeping will rise from their slumbering place. 53:59 And those who remain shall be changed in a moment, 54:14 And we shall behold Him then face to face. 54:25 I can't wait for that journey. 54:30 We shall behold Him. 54:36 Yes, we shall behold Him, 54:44 Face to face in all of His glory. 54:55 We shall behold Him. 55:01 Yes, we shall behold Him, 55:09 Face to face, our Savior and Lord. 55:28 Face to face, our Savior and Lord. 55:55 Amen, amen. 56:02 Tonight as we in this convocation here, 56:06 I believe that God is doing something special 56:09 in our midst. I believe that He wants us to enter 56:13 into that experience of righteousness by faith, 56:17 because Jesus is not just the author, 56:20 but He is the finisher of our faith. 56:23 Praise Him, praise Him. At this time, 56:26 we just want to close with a word of prayer 56:29 and so shall we pray together. 56:33 Our loving Lord, you have been here 56:38 and we've felt your presence and Lord 56:42 we believe Your promises with all of our hearts 56:45 we believe you. And Lord, 56:49 we know we can't fix much in our lives, 56:51 but we can fix our eyes on You. 56:54 Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for coming 56:58 and seeking after us even when we were straying away 57:04 from You. We praise You God for Your love. 57:09 Bless the people now as we go from this place, 57:12 go within, fill them with Your power in Jesus name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17