Participants: Pastor Mark Finley
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000677
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01:01 Take off your shoes, the voice of God told Moses
01:04 they were in the Midian desert 01:05 as he approached the burning bush. 01:08 Take off your shoes, God said, 01:10 for the ground on which you stand is holy. 01:13 It wasn't holy because Moses was there that's for sure, 01:18 it was holy because God was there. 01:22 And so this morning when we came into this building 01:26 we stepped on to holy ground. 01:29 Not because we organized a youth conference, 01:33 not because we are here, but because God himself 01:37 the creator of the universe, He is here. 01:43 When God appeared to Moses and he said 01:45 take off your shoes for the ground 01:47 on which you stand is holy, 01:49 He told them the reason why I've come 01:51 and appeared to you is because I've heard 01:55 the cry of my people. 01:58 For they're afflicted and they desire deliverance. 02:01 He says, I've come because I'm going to take them 02:04 out of bondage and I'm going to take them 02:06 to a promised land, and that is exactly 02:08 the same reason why God is here with us this morning. 02:12 Because He too has heard our cry for we long 02:16 for deliverance, we long for a better land. 02:21 And so this morning we stand on holy ground 02:25 because God is here, because He has heard our cry, 02:30 that we long for a better land, we long for deliverance. 02:36 Welcome to holy ground 02:39 and may the Spirit of God fill you 02:41 and move you this morning. 02:52 Let's rise as we sing our opening hymn, 02:55 We Have This Hope. 03:12 We have this hope that burns within our hearts, 03:20 Hope in the coming of the Lord. 03:28 We have this faith that Christ alone imparts, 03:37 Faith in the promise of His Word. 03:45 We believe the time is here, 03:49 When the nations far and near 03:53 Shall awake, and shout and sing 03:58 Hallelujah! Christ is King! 04:05 We have this hope that burns within our hearts, 04:14 Hope in the coming of the Lord. 04:23 We are united in Jesus Christ our Lord. 04:31 We are united in His love. 04:40 Love for the waiting people of the world, 04:49 People who need our Savior's love. 04:57 Soon the heavens will open wide, 05:01 Christ will come to claim His bride, 05:06 All the universe will sing Hallelujah! Christ is King! 05:18 We have this hope, this faith, and God's great love, 05:27 We are united in Christ. 05:46 As we're seated, meditating on God's word 05:49 would you quietly bow your heads as we pray. 05:54 Father in heaven, we've sung a song 05:59 called "we have this hope." 06:03 And we pray that the hope of Jesus return 06:07 would inspire our hearts and lift our vision. 06:10 May it lead us to live the quality lives here 06:14 on this earth today. 06:16 Teach us to be gentle, loving, Christians reflecting 06:22 Jesus to the people that live around us. 06:25 Father, today as we come to this service, 06:28 may we look into the face of Christ. 06:32 May we see His love and be charmed by it, 06:35 may we see His goodness and be won by it, 06:40 may we see His grace and be filled with it. 06:44 Father, as we come to Jesus today, 06:48 help us to have a glimpse of His face 06:51 and seeing His face may we never be the same again. 06:55 We pray it in Christ's name, amen. 07:15 Everyday they pass me by, I can see it in their eyes. 07:27 Empty people filled with care, 07:33 Headed who knows where? 07:38 On they go through private pain, 07:44 Living fear to fear. 07:50 Laughter hides their silent cries, 07:55 Only Jesus hears. 08:01 People need the Lord, people need the Lord. 08:12 At the end of broken dreams, He's the open door. 08:23 People need the Lord, people need the Lord. 08:34 When will we realize that people need the Lord? 08:55 We are called to take His light 09:01 To a world where wrong seems right. 09:07 What would be too great a cost 09:12 To save us all that's lost 09:18 Through His love our hearts can feel 09:23 All the grief they bear. 09:28 They must hear the Words of Life 09:34 Only we can share. 09:39 People need the Lord, people need the Lord 09:50 At the end of broken dreams, He's the open door. 10:01 People need the Lord, people need the Lord. 10:11 When will we realize that we must give our lives, 10:21 For people need the Lord. 10:34 People need the Lord. 11:02 For the last 25 years my wife and I've been traveling 11:05 the world sharing Jesus in some of 11:06 the great cities of our world. 11:09 Now international travel may seem glamorous 11:12 unless you do it. 11:14 It does have its unique challenges. 11:16 One of the challenges that I have found in travel is this, 11:19 I meet thousands and thousands and thousands of people. 11:24 How do you remember all those names? 11:27 They know you but you may not know them. 11:31 And so very regularly at meetings, 11:33 people will come up to me and say, 11:34 do you remember me, I met you 20 years ago 11:38 when I was 10 years old. 11:41 Now the guy is a 100 pounds heavier and balding 11:45 and my mind is doing mental gymnastics saying, 11:49 I think I know this fellow but who is he. 11:53 When I first joined It Is Written television in 1991, 11:57 I asked Pastor Vandeman about this problem. 12:00 When you have so many people coming up to you saying, 12:03 do you remember me, how do you respond? 12:06 Now you have to know Pastor Vandeman 12:07 to appreciate this. 12:09 His wife Nellie remembered about 12:12 every name and every face. 12:14 So they had a little game, and Pastor Vandeman said, 12:18 this is the way we do it. 12:19 As people are walking up to us Nellie will say, 12:22 oh George, here comes Harry and Hilda. 12:27 Well that was the clue, he knew it was Harry and Hilda. 12:30 He had no idea who it was and he would reach out 12:32 and say oh, Harry and Hilda so good to see you. 12:35 Now, my wife and I do it a little differently. 12:38 She has pretty good tendency to remember 12:40 names and faces so when I see them coming, 12:43 I'll say who's that, and she will whisper it in my ear 12:46 and we're pretty good. 12:48 Now but my classic though is when I'm not 12:51 with my wife somebody says, 12:52 do you remember me and I say something like this, 12:55 how could I ever forget that face. 13:00 You and I may see one another 13:03 and we may forget one another's faces, 13:06 but once you look into the face of Jesus Christ 13:10 you never forget His face. 13:12 Once you stare into the face of Jesus 13:15 it has an imprint on your life forever. 13:19 My topic this morning is the "Face of Christ." 13:22 Now we've no digital pictures that will tell us 13:25 what Christ face really looked like. 13:27 We've no instant Polaroid camera prints of Jesus face. 13:33 We don't have many drawings of Jesus face 13:36 that date back past the second century, 13:39 a few tomb drawings on the Catacombs 13:41 that may go back early second century, 13:44 but we've very little that would tell us 13:46 what Christ face looked like. 13:48 I want to study with you this morning 13:50 what Jesus Himself says about His face 13:53 and what the Bible writers say about the face of Christ. 13:56 We take a glimpse that five snapshot pictures 14:00 of the face of Christ. 14:02 The shining face, the steadfast face, 14:06 the soiled face, the smitten face, the smiling face. 14:10 I invite you to take your Bibles 14:11 and turn to Matthew the 17 Chapter. 14:15 Five snapshots of the face of Christ, 14:17 when we look into the face of Christ, 14:20 when we pause long enough to gaze into the face of Christ, 14:23 we're never the same again. 14:26 Looking into the face of Christ we're transformed, 14:29 looking into the face of Christ we're changed, 14:32 looking into the face of Christ, we are renewed. 14:34 The first passage that we look at is Matthew 14:36 the 17th Chapter and we find it there in 14:39 Matthew Chapter 17 verse 1 and 2. 14:42 The shining face, Matthew 17, verse 1 and 2. 14:47 "Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, 14:50 and John his brother, 14:52 and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves, 14:54 and was transfigured before them. 14:57 His face shone as the sun, and His clothes became 15:02 as white as the light. 15:03 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to Him, 15:06 talking with Him." 15:07 Notice what the Bible says, 15:09 that Jesus face shined or shone as the sun. 15:13 Before Jesus was the cross, 15:15 before Him lay Calvary's mountain, 15:18 the crown of thorns, the agony of Golgotha. 15:21 Before Him lay the nails, before Him lay rejection 15:25 by Peter and denial by Judas, 15:29 before Him lay the crying of 15:33 the crowd and the rubble rousers. 15:36 All before Jesus lay that trauma, 15:41 the agony of crucifixion. 15:43 And the Bible says that before all of that, 15:47 before the betrayal and ridicule and mockery 15:50 that Jesus spent time alone with the Father, 15:54 there in prayer His face shone as the sun. 15:59 Christ found strength for the journey, 16:03 Christ found strength for what He was going to go through, 16:07 because He spent quite time in prayer 16:11 and as He did two people appeared to Him. 16:14 Who were they? 16:15 The Bible says in verse 3, and Moses and Elijah 16:19 appeared to Him, talking with Him. 16:22 I wonder why Moses, why Elijah. 16:26 What did Moses and Elijah say? 16:30 Now you recall that Moses died and was resurrected 16:33 from the dead, the Bible talks about Jesus battling 16:38 with Satan over the body of Moses. 16:41 Deuteronomy says that the Israelites looked 16:43 for the body of Moses and didn't find it. 16:45 So this is no disembodied spirit. 16:48 Moses died, was resurrected, 16:50 and came to give Christ encouragement 16:54 before Christ's death. 16:56 Elijah was translated without seeing death. 16:59 I wonder what they said, do you have any idea 17:03 what Moses and Elijah whispered into Jesus ear. 17:08 We do, take you Bible and turn to the Book of Luke. 17:11 What was the discussion like, what did they say to Christ, 17:16 what did the Father tell Moses and Elijah to say 17:21 to Jesus just before Jesus crucifixion, 17:25 that would give encouragement to the Savior's heart. 17:28 What did they say to Him that would lift His spirits 17:32 in the most traumatic moment of His life. 17:35 What did they whispered in His ear that would give Him 17:40 the steadfast courage to face the nails 17:43 and the lash of the whip and the crown of thorns. 17:47 Luke the 9th Chapter verse 29 and 30 and 31. 17:52 Luke 9 Verse 29, 30, and 31. 17:56 "And as they prayed the appearance of 17:58 His face was altered, His robe became white and glistening." 18:03 Jesus entered into that moment of prayer 18:06 with the trauma of the future hanging 18:08 over His head like a dark cloud. 18:11 Jesus entered into that moment of prayer 18:14 looking to the future and sensing the agony 18:17 and the pain and the suffering of it all. 18:20 He sensed that He would soon bear 18:22 the condemnation of the sins of the world 18:24 and it would be the sins of the world that would crush out 18:27 His life not the crown of thorns 18:30 or the nails in His hands. 18:32 But the Bible says as He entered into that 18:34 moment of prayer His very physical 18:37 essence was transformed. 18:40 Verse 30, "Then behold, two men talked with Him, 18:44 who were Moses and Elijah." 18:45 Now what did they say "Who appeared in glory 18:49 and spoke of His decease which He was about 18:52 to accomplish at Jerusalem." 18:53 What did they speak about, 18:54 what did Moses and Elijah speak about. 18:56 What was it His what, His what? His decease. 19:00 What's that His decease, what's that talking about? 19:03 His death. They talked about His death. 19:06 Moses who had gone into the grave 19:08 and came out I suppose said something like this, 19:11 Lord, You're gonna die, 19:13 but because You die and You are resurrected thousands, 19:18 tens of thousands and millions 19:20 who die down the ages past until you come again 19:23 will be resurrected. 19:24 When You're hanging on the cross, 19:26 when the sins of humanity are crushing out Your life, 19:29 when You feel the condemnation, 19:31 the shame, the guilt of it all, 19:33 when in every nerve and tissue of Your body, 19:35 You're in physical pain and mental pain 19:37 and psychological pain Lord, remember this 19:40 that Your death will accomplish something 19:42 and millions will be resurrected 19:45 and live with You in heaven forever. 19:47 And Elijah comes down he says, Lord, 19:49 remember when the cloud of sin in shame 19:53 and condemnation shuts out the Father's face, 19:56 remember, by faith look through that all, 19:59 all of it because there will be thousands 20:01 that will be translated without seeing death like 20:05 I was translated because of Your death. 20:07 Now there is something very interesting here, 20:09 if you look at verse 31 it says, 20:12 "Who appeared in glory," that's Moses and Elijah 20:14 "And spoke of His decease." 20:17 Now the root word for decease or death 20:21 in the original Greek language of the New Testament 20:24 is the same root word from the Hebrew called Exodus, Exodus. 20:29 Moses who went on an Exodus a journey 20:32 into the unknown knew that Jesus was going to 20:36 go on to His Exodus, His journey into the unknown. 20:39 So before Jesus went into His journey of the unknown, 20:42 before He delved into the domain of death, 20:45 the domain of darkness with the condemnation of sin. 20:49 A domain that He had never entered into before, 20:52 the creator of all the universe, 20:54 the one that spoke and worlds came into existence 20:57 was going to go into an area, 20:59 a domain of darkness, a domain of death 21:01 that He had never experienced as God before. 21:05 He would bear the condemnation of 21:06 the sins of the world, 21:07 He would be cursed as a sinner 21:09 and take that curse upon himself. 21:11 He was going to go into an Exodus, 21:13 a journey into the unknown. 21:15 And there on the Mount of Transfiguration, 21:17 He received strength for His journey, 21:19 away from the hustle of the crowd, 21:22 away from the pressure of the crowd, 21:24 His face shone as the sun. 21:28 This week you will go on your Exodus. 21:33 This week you will go on your journey into the unknown. 21:38 Sitting here today not one of us knows 21:43 what this week will bring. 21:46 Not one of us knows what it'll bring. 21:49 A relationship that we've cherished for years breaks up. 21:53 One phone call from home, dads out of work, 21:57 can't afford to help you with your tuition anymore. 22:01 One car ride, missing a stop sign 22:04 because you're tired coming home from work 22:06 and the screeching wheels of the other car hit your car 22:09 and you're paraplegic for the rest of your life. 22:12 You see we journey into the unknown 22:15 every single week of our lives, 22:19 but before Jesus journeyed into the unknown. 22:22 Before He delved into the rejection 22:25 and ridicule and the mockery and crown of thorns 22:28 and the nails and the condemnation 22:30 and shame of sin, before all of that 22:34 He heard the call, the quietness. 22:38 He heard the call to meditation, 22:41 He heard the call to prayer. 22:44 And away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd. 22:48 Jesus came and found strength. 22:53 When my journey is long 22:57 and when work piles up on my desk 23:00 at the General Conference or is it had done, 23:02 that is written and there just seems to be too much work 23:07 and too little time. 23:09 My head is spinning trying to get 23:11 the next thing accomplished, make the next appointment, 23:14 write the next article, prepare for the next sermon, 23:19 prepare the next TV script, 23:22 raise a little more money for this project or that project. 23:26 I hear the gentle voice of the spirit calling me 23:31 to look into the shining face of Christ. 23:36 Calling me to rest in His love, 23:39 calling me to rest in His care, 23:42 calling me to receive strength for my journey 23:46 into the unknown as we kneel before Him 23:50 and look into the shining face, 23:52 our face shines as the sun. 23:54 As our prayers ascend to the very throne room of God, 23:58 He dispatches angels to our side. 24:02 John Bunyan once said, 24:04 "you can do a lot after you pray but, 24:08 nothing until you pray." 24:11 I like the way Ellen White puts it, 24:13 second Selected Messages, page 377. 24:17 She's talking about prayer and its efficacy, 24:20 she's talking about prayer and its power, 24:22 and she's talking about what happens 24:24 when we kneel in our dormitory rooms in pray. 24:27 When we kneel at our homes and pray and she says, 24:31 "Ministering angels are waiting about the throne 24:34 to instantly obey the mandate of Jesus Christ 24:38 to answer every prayer offered in living faith." 24:42 I love that reference. 24:43 Angels are waiting about the throne of God. 24:47 So you're on your knees praying about a situation at home 24:50 you're on your knees praying about a brother or a sister. 24:53 You're on your knees praying about a relationship. 24:56 And as you pray, your prayers ascend 24:59 to the very throne of God. 25:01 And Jesus looks over at some angel and He says, 25:05 go, go and the angel descends 25:08 from heaven to bring light and encouragement 25:12 and hope to that one you're praying for 25:14 or turn your own soul when you pray. 25:17 That angel descends and works on the heart of that 25:20 secular person in ways that we can't imagine. 25:24 Looking into the face of Christ, 25:28 in the busyness of my life. 25:30 Looking into the face of Christ 25:32 in the hectic activities of my life. 25:35 Looking into the face of Christ, 25:37 my face too shines 25:39 as the Sun and I receive new strength for the journey. 25:43 I may forget your face, you may forget my face 25:47 but looking into the face of Christ we can never forget 25:50 the strength that He imparts as we look into His face 25:54 in the busyness of our Life. 25:56 Five glimpses the face of Christ. 25:57 First, the shining face, secondly, the steadfast face. 26:01 Take your Bible please and turn 26:03 to Luke Chapter 9 verse 51, 26:05 Jesus left the mountain that day 26:07 and he set His face towards Jerusalem. 26:10 He was a man on a mission, a mission of redemption, 26:12 a mission of salvation, a mission of reconciliation, 26:16 a mission of eternal life. 26:18 Jesus left the mountain that day 26:20 and He was on His way to Jerusalem 26:21 and the Bible says, Luke Chapter 9 verse 51. 26:25 In the busyness of my life I look at the shining face 26:28 and receive strength and courage for the Exodus, 26:31 the journey into the unknown. 26:33 When I'm weak, when I'm frail, 26:36 when I'm about ready to give up, 26:37 when I'm about ready to thrown in the towel. 26:39 When the journey seems long and the mountain seems high 26:42 and the days seem rough I look into 26:46 the steadfast face of Christ and hold fast. 26:50 Luke the 9th Chapter the 51 verse, 26:52 "Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him 26:55 to be received up, that He steadfastly 26:58 set His face to go to Jerusalem." 26:59 I love the word steadfast, you know, 27:01 there is nothing wimpy about that. 27:04 No spineless jellyfish here, 27:07 no one who is like a leaf blown 27:10 with the social winds this way and that way here. 27:14 The scripture says that He steadfastly set His face 27:20 to go to Jerusalem, knowing that He'd be rejected, 27:25 knowing that He'd be ridicule, knowing that He'd be mocked, 27:28 knowing that nails will be driven through His hands 27:31 and a crown of thorns jammed upon His face, 27:33 and His back lashed. 27:35 Knowing that He would hang on the cross 27:37 for the sins of humanity and experience 27:39 the hiding of the Father's face. 27:41 Steadfastly, He did not give up. 27:46 You know, one of the things to me that I observed 27:50 in current Christianity in North America is this, 27:53 it's pretty easy going. 27:55 Oh, do you know what she said about me, 27:58 if she has said that I'm never going back to church. 28:03 Do you know what that Elder did to me, 28:06 if he did that I'm never going back to church. 28:08 I mean what kind of soft Christianity 28:11 is that kind of business. 28:14 Because somebody said something that somebody said 28:17 they thought they heard somebody said about you, 28:22 and you get so offended you're not gonna go back to church. 28:27 I mean is that Christianity or is that a pansy. 28:30 That's some kind of wimpy pansy to me. 28:34 Jesus was steadfast. 28:37 You know all of us have people in our lives 28:38 who greatly influence us and since 1983 that I, 28:41 when I made my first trip to Eastern Europe 28:43 I had been greatly influenced 28:44 by those who have gone through the suffering 28:47 and oppression of the communist lifestyle, 28:51 under the social conditions of communism. 28:53 And there have been many people that have greatly 28:55 influenced my life, great strong Christians. 28:57 Remember when I first met Elder Mikhail Kulakov. 29:00 Elder Kulakov and I have became very close friends. 29:03 We've just collaborate on a biography on his life 29:05 and we've spent hours and hours and hours talking 29:08 about his life and what that was like under communism. 29:11 He was the President of the work 29:13 at the Seventh-day Adventist Church 29:15 for many, many years in the former Soviet Union. 29:18 At one time his father was in prison for his faith, 29:21 his brother was in prison and he was in prison, 29:25 at one time all three of them 29:26 he and his father and his brother. 29:28 Well all imprisoned at the same time. 29:30 His mother, in those years, 29:32 the communist didn't feed them well in prison at all. 29:35 And his mother would prepare food and send food baskets 29:37 to three different prisons for her husband and two sons. 29:40 Pastor Kulakov told me the story of his father's trial. 29:44 And the trial went on for two or three weeks 29:46 and he was a young man at the time, late teens. 29:50 And he and his mother went to the court room 29:53 where his father was being was tried, 29:55 and they were not allowed in, 29:56 the family was not allowed 29:57 into the court room at the time. 29:59 And so his mother and he often would look through 30:03 the door and they would just look through 30:05 the crack in the door see father being tried. 30:07 In those days the Soviet government tried religious 30:12 dissidence as anti Soviet, 30:16 as anti of the Soviet state. 30:18 And so he listened to the trial and he heard 30:22 that his father was going to be sentenced to Siberia, 30:24 and he wondered if he would ever see his father again 30:27 as he was exiled to Siberia. 30:30 And so he said to me, Mark, 30:31 I knew that I had just a moment, 30:32 and as my father was taken out of the courtroom 30:36 he was taken to a cell beneath the courtroom 30:40 before he was transferred to the city jail. 30:43 And Pastor Kulakov said, I looked up and down 30:46 the hall and I saw that there was a young man 30:49 in his 20s guarding my father's cell 30:51 and nobody else was there. 30:53 So I went down to him and I said, 30:54 please can I spend five minutes with my father. 30:57 Just five minutes, he said, Mark, 30:58 I never knew if I would ever see him again in my life. 31:01 And so I said, can I just have five minutes. 31:04 And the guard said okay I'll give you five minutes. 31:06 And I said to him, Pastor Kulakov, 31:09 in that moment I want to know in those five minutes 31:14 what you said to your father. 31:18 If I knew that I had five minutes with my father 31:23 and I would never see him again, what would I tell him. 31:27 He said, Mark, I put my arms around him 31:29 and I cried on is shoulder and I said, father, father, 31:33 thank you for bringing me up in a Christian home, 31:36 thank you for bringing me up in a Christian home, 31:38 thank you that I know Jesus. 31:41 Father, I know I'm gonna be praying for you. 31:44 And he said my father looked in my eyes and he said, 31:46 Mikhail, stand fast, hold fast. 31:50 Mikhail, don't give up your faith and he said, 31:52 then he ran his fingers through my hair and he said, 31:56 Mikhail, one of our number is a Judas. 32:00 When I baptized you Mikhail at night 32:02 with five or six others there was a communist infiltrator 32:05 that was baptized. 32:07 He has been the one who betrayed me but, 32:11 Mikhail, he also has betrayed you 32:14 and you will be tried next. 32:17 And he said, he ran his fingers through 32:19 my jet black hair and said they gonna cut off 32:21 all your hair when you go to prison 32:23 but don't worry about it, son, it will grow back. 32:27 Be faithful to God. 32:29 Mikhail Kulakov was arrested, 32:33 he was sentenced to life exile 32:37 and God worked miracles in his exile. 32:40 Like Jesus, he held fast because he looked 32:44 into the steadfast face of Christ. 32:48 Echoing down the centuries are the lives of those 32:52 that would not give up. 32:54 Those that held fast, those that sickness 32:58 and suffering and death and trial 33:01 and temptation could not break their hold upon Christ. 33:06 They looked into the face of Christ 33:09 and from Jesus received steadfastness to hold fast. 33:14 I remember the first time I met Robert Wong. 33:16 Robert Wong was a young man in his 20s. 33:19 He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for preaching 33:22 the gospel many years ago in the country of China. 33:25 The first five years Robert Wong 33:28 was in solitary confinement. 33:31 He had no contact with the outside world, 33:33 he was in a cell for five years. 33:35 He was allowed later once a month to read, 33:38 write 100 Chinese characters. 33:40 100 Chinese characters a month, 33:42 that's all he could write. 33:44 After five years he was allowed 33:46 once a month to see his family. 33:49 As he began to see his family 33:51 and as he began to write to them, 33:52 he thought only if I had a Bible and one day 33:56 he was in the prison yard and he said, 33:57 Pastor Mark, I was in the prison yard that day 34:00 I heard somebody call out, prisoner number 115, 34:03 because every prisoner had a number. 34:06 Prisoner 115, and the prisoner said, yes, 34:10 he responded and all of 34:12 a sudden it hit him in the mind he said, 34:14 Robert Wong said to me, Pastor Mark. 34:16 He said, 115 that was the hymn 34:19 in the Chinese hymnal, give me the Bible. 34:23 He said by this time I was writing once a month 34:27 So I just wrote I just remember 115 34:30 and his mother read 115, what's he is trying to say, 34:34 trying to give us a message. 34:35 Give me the Bible. 34:37 Oh, I know what I'll do. 34:39 The families would often bring soap, 34:43 large bars of soap because they didn't 34:44 give them out in the prison. 34:46 So she made a large bar of soap haggled out 34:47 the center, put a little New Testament in it wrapped it 34:50 in a plastic bag brought him the Bible. 34:52 He had that Bible and it sustained him 34:54 through all of his prison time. 34:57 When I see the story of Mikhail Kulakov, 34:58 when I heard the story of Robert Wong, 35:00 when I hear the story of men and women down through 35:02 the ages that have stood steadfast 35:04 for their faith in spite of what they've gone through. 35:07 Some of you sitting here today are gonna through 35:09 incredible trials in your life. 35:11 They'll be trials in your family, 35:12 there will be difficulties in your health. 35:14 I'm not a naysayer, I'm not a doomsday prophet 35:17 but I recognize that in a group of this large 35:19 in this coming year somebody 35:21 here is gonna go through a trial. 35:22 And I say to you, look into the face of Christ 35:27 and His steadfastness will become yours. 35:31 Look into the face of Christ 35:33 and your weakness will become strength. 35:35 Look into the face of Christ and your frailty will become 35:39 enduring might, looking into the shining face, 35:44 in my busy life I'm called to prayer, 35:46 looking into the steadfast face, 35:49 in my weakness I'm called to courage. 35:52 I'm called not to give up, 35:54 I'm called to hang on until He comes. 35:56 The shining face, the steadfast face. 35:59 Matthew Chapter 26 verse 39, the soiled face. 36:03 The shining face, the steadfast face, 36:07 and the soiled face. 36:10 He's in Jerusalem now and He faces Golgotha's mountain. 36:14 He's in Jerusalem now and He faces Calvary's Hill. 36:17 He's in Jerusalem now and He faces the ridicule 36:21 and the mockery and the shouting of the crowd. 36:24 He's in Jerusalem now 36:26 and He faces the greatest agony of His life 36:31 as He hangs upon a cross. 36:33 But before all of that, again He comes to the Father. 36:37 Matthew Chapter 26 verse 39, Matthew 26 verse 39, 36:43 "He went a little farther, 36:45 and fell on his face and prayed, saying," 36:49 that's interesting, isn't it? 36:51 Since He went a little farther and fell on his face 36:53 and prayed saying. 36:54 Doesn't say He fell on His face and prayed thinking. 36:57 There are times to think your prayers, 37:00 there are times to dart a prayer up to God. 37:03 You're driving the car before it test, 37:05 but there are also times on your knees to pray aloud. 37:08 You know, Ellen White makes an interesting statement 37:10 Our High Calling page 130 she says 37:11 "Learn to pray aloud where only God can hear you." 37:14 Jesus prayers often were out loud. 37:16 Have you ever been praying and your mind 37:19 and you've been thinking your prayer 37:20 and your mind has wandered during prayer. 37:23 Has that ever happened to you? 37:25 All the dishonest people keep your hands down. 37:28 You know, I mean, who has that not happened to. 37:30 Hasn't it happened to all of us? 37:32 We're praying and occasionally our mind wanders 37:34 and then two minutes down the road 37:35 we recognize our mind is wandering, 37:37 we didn't know it was wandering 37:38 for the first two or three minutes. 37:39 We say, hey wait a minute, my mind is wandering. 37:41 I got to bring it back, right. 37:42 Does that ever happen to you or am I only one 37:44 that ever happens to. 37:47 When you pray aloud 37:51 the mouth engages the brain 37:53 and when you stop praying aloud you know 37:56 your mind is wandering, it's easy to bring it back. 37:59 Jesus very often found quite places 38:03 and He poured His soul out to God alone. 38:06 And the scripture says in verse 39, 38:08 he went a little further, and fell on his what? 38:10 Face, and prayed, saying, the soiled face. 38:15 He fell on His face in the dirt, 38:17 the earth stained face "O my Father, 38:22 if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, 38:25 nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." 38:28 Three times he fell on His face, 38:31 the earth stained face, the soiled face, 38:35 calls me from my will to do His will. 38:39 It calls me from what I want to what He wants. 38:43 Christianity is not viewing 38:47 God as a cosmic Santa Claus 38:50 that will give me whatever I want. 38:53 There is an American view of the gospel 38:55 that is not biblical. 38:58 It is the prosperity, riches, and health gospel, 39:02 and that kind of gospel says something like this, 39:04 and it accommodates an easy going Crossless Christianity. 39:08 A Christianity that doesn't ask you for commitment, 39:12 a Christianity that doesn't ask you for surrender, 39:14 and it is a counterfeit, sugar coated, 39:17 candy cotton gospel. 39:21 I was going to use some others but I thought better not, 39:23 better stop, maybe step on somebody's toes. 39:25 It's a candy cotton gospel, it's a superficial gospel, 39:29 maybe I ought to step on a few people's toes. 39:32 This gospel says, all you need to do is pray 39:36 and money is gonna rain out of heaven, 39:38 you'll be rich, you'll be wise, 39:41 you'll be healthy, you'll never get sick, 39:43 you'll never have any problems in your life, 39:45 and that it becomes an egocentric 39:49 consumer based gospel. 39:52 The New Testament gospel is a gospel in Gethsemane 39:56 where Jesus Christ is on His knees and He says, 39:58 Father, not my will but your will. 40:01 It is no picnic going to the cross. 40:03 Do you think Jesus looked forward 40:04 to the crown of thorns, 40:05 do you think Jesus looked forward to the nails 40:07 through His hands, do you think Jesus looked forward 40:09 to rejection and denial and mockery 40:12 and cursing and swearing? 40:14 Absolutely not. 40:16 Jesus didn't march to the cross 40:18 singing about the joys of life. 40:23 This was a trial, this was difficulty, 40:27 but Jesus on His knees said, Father, 40:30 I want to know your will and if my suffering, 40:34 if my heartache, if abandon me, 40:37 rejection is part of a divine plan to save humanity, 40:41 Lord, in my life that what I want to know is not 40:44 what makes me happy but what makes you happy. 40:46 Because in the long run if I surrender my will to Him 40:49 and put my life in His hands 40:51 He will take care of my happiness, 40:53 He will take care of my joy. 40:55 But if I run off trying to make myself happy, 40:59 I end up with a devastated life. 41:02 Lord, what's your will? 41:03 The fundamental Christian, 41:05 question in Christianity is this, 41:08 I look into the soiled earth stained face of Christ. 41:13 And I say, Lord, what's your will? 41:15 Whatever pleases you, I want to do it. 41:20 Tom and Carol began to study about 41:23 the deeper Christian life, they began to study 41:27 about the earth stained face of Christ. 41:31 They began to study about the essence Christianity 41:35 is seeking God's will and not my own. 41:38 I can safely trust Him to put my life in His. 41:44 And as they studied about that, 41:46 they had about 12 to $15,000 credit card debt. 41:49 They were newly married and these weren't school bills 41:52 these were pleasure bills. 41:55 And as they studied about the deeper Christian life 41:57 they said, look, let's make this practical, 41:59 let's make it practical. 42:01 Tom and Carol one day in their worship together said, 42:04 look, we're getting in conflict in our marriage 42:07 because of our high consumer debt. 42:10 Why don't we do this, why don't we destroy 42:11 all credit cards except one and commit 42:14 that we will never use that credit card 42:16 unless we ask the question, Jesus, 42:19 is this your will for us to purchase this thing. 42:24 Why don't we make a decision in our lives 42:26 that we're gonna pray about every purchase 42:28 we make in the light of the fact towards such debt. 42:30 So they did and their consumer debt began to come down. 42:34 Down from 12, 13, 14,000 42:37 where it was, down to 11, 10. 42:40 They loved skiing, Tom and Carol were just 42:43 ski buffs and they really, really loved it. 42:46 So they decided that they'd at least go look 42:49 at skis because it was off season 42:51 and that's when you get them at lower price. 42:53 So they went to one of their favorite ski shops 42:57 and as they were going by, wouldn't you believe it, 42:59 skis were now in the off season at 50% off 43:04 and ski boots 50% off and jackets 60, 70% off, 43:09 they were amazed. 43:10 They went into the shop they said, 43:11 we'll just look and they looked and they got outfitted 43:17 for a jacket and boots and skis and they'r gonna 43:21 put the bindings on and they were checking out 43:23 there with their jackets and boots. 43:25 And Tom brought out his credit card 43:28 gave it to the clerk and Carol looked at him 43:30 and they were smiling, then all of a sudden it hit Tom, 43:35 we made a decision and our decision was 43:38 we would not go into any more consumer debt 43:40 before unless we asked if this is God's will. 43:43 We didn't pray, we didn't ask if this is God's will. 43:45 So he said to the clerk, I'm sorry but I can't give 43:47 you my credit card right now, 43:48 and Carol looked at him and she winked 43:50 because she knew exactly what was going through Tom's mind. 43:54 And she said, yeah, we've got to consult 43:57 with somebody first. 43:59 And so they walked out into the mall 44:01 and held hands and went and sat on a little bench, 44:04 and Tom said you remember that commitment we made, Carol. 44:06 Yeah, I remember it. 44:09 We made a commitment that we would not going to 44:10 any more consumer debt unless we ask Jesus 44:16 if it was His will. 44:17 And so they're in the mall with the stuff lying back 44:23 at the counter in the shop. 44:25 They prayed, Lord, all we want to know is Your will. 44:28 If it is Your will we're gonna go ahead with this purchase. 44:32 Lord, give us some kind of indication, 44:35 give us some kind of moving of your spirit. 44:38 After they prayed, both of them 44:40 looked at one another said, 44:41 we feel uncomfortable at this purchase. 44:42 We just feel uncomfortable. 44:43 They went back into the store they said, you know what? 44:47 We're not gonna go ahead with this purchase. 44:49 They walked out and Tom said, 44:50 it was like a big burden rolled off me. 44:52 It was like I was light, 44:53 it was like I made a decision not what I wanted, 44:55 I made a decision not in my will, 44:58 I made a decision not to satisfy my ego. 45:00 I made a decision for God. 45:03 And they said later, Carol said, you know what, 45:06 we had the best ski season of our life. 45:08 We used our old skis, we were economical 45:11 in our choices of where we went skiing 45:13 and we had the greatest ski season of our life. 45:18 Looking into the shining face of Jesus, 45:22 from the busyness of my life I'm called to prayer. 45:25 Looking into the steadfast face of Jesus 45:27 when I'm about ready to give up and I'm too weak, 45:31 he places strength in my heart, 45:33 and with courage I face the Christian journey. 45:36 Looking into the soiled face of Jesus, 45:41 on my knees I say, Lord, 45:43 teach me what Christianity is all about. 45:46 Lord, if what I want in this relationship 45:50 as a your person at Southern is not what you want 45:54 in this relationship, 45:56 I surrender the relationship with you. 45:59 How do you know if you're willing to follow God's will? 46:04 You know if you're willing to follow God's will, 46:08 if you're willing to give up the thing 46:11 that you want more than anything else. 46:13 If you're willing to trust God with that thing, 46:17 you can be confident that you are willing to do God's will. 46:21 I look into the soiled face of Christ and I say, 46:25 Lord, whatever pleases you I want to do it. 46:27 The shining face, the steadfast face, 46:30 the soiled face, the smitten face. 46:33 Take your Bible please and turn to Matthew, 46:36 turn to the Gospel of Luke. 46:38 The smitten face. Luke Chapter 22 verse 63 and 64. 46:44 He is the son of God, Luke Chapter 22, 46:47 He is the one worshiped by the very angels. 46:50 He is the one at whose very name angel sang 46:52 holy, holy, holy. 46:54 He is the one that cherubim and seraphim sang Hallelujah, 46:57 He is the one that all the universe worshiped, 47:01 the smitten face. 47:03 But we see Him now beaten and bruised, 47:06 we see cruel men spitting in His face, 47:09 we see them taking a fist and hitting him in the face. 47:12 Luke Chapter 22 verse 63 and 64, the smitten face. 47:17 "Now the men who held Jesus, mocked him and beat Him 47:21 and having blindfolded Him they stuck Him on the face." 47:26 Can you imagine, puny men, can you imagine it, 47:30 weak men, can you imagine it, 47:32 men created by the creator approach 47:36 the creator as creatures and hit Him in the face, 47:39 they striked Him in the face, they bloody His nose, 47:42 they bloody His lips, they blacken His eyes, 47:46 they hit Him in the face. 47:47 Who is this? Whom they hit is Jesus. 47:52 The divine Son of God, the one that has existed 47:56 for millenniums and millions of years and trillions of years, 48:00 the one who never had a beginning 48:02 and will never have an ending. 48:03 The alpha and the omega, the first and the last. 48:07 Who is this, whom they hit in the face, 48:10 these puny man, these created men, 48:13 who are infinite, who approach, who are finite, 48:16 who approach the infinite who are they and who is this. 48:21 They are sinful humanity and they hit him in the face. 48:22 They strike him in the face. 48:25 Have you ever hit Him in the face? 48:29 Have you ever slapped Him across the face? 48:34 Education page 263, 48:37 "The cross is a revelation to our dull senses, 48:40 of the pain that sin from its very inception has brought 48:43 to the heart of God." 48:45 Every deed of cruelty, every departure 48:49 from right brings grief to Him. 48:52 Zechariah Chapter 12 says, 48:54 "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced 48:59 and they shall mourn for him." 49:01 The truth for the matter is that I was there that night 49:06 and you were there that night. 49:08 We were in the shadows then, 49:10 we too hit Him in the face, 49:12 we too slapped Him in the face. 49:15 You see every time I lose my temper, 49:18 every time I think lustful thoughts, 49:21 every time I'm dishonest, every time that I'm selfish 49:26 and greedy and lustful, it brings pain to Him. 49:31 And the sins of this world still bring pain, 49:35 they still bring sorrow to Him. 49:37 And the greatest motivation to be done 49:40 with sin is not the fear of hell 49:44 and not the joy of heaven, 49:47 although both of those are real. 49:50 The greatest motivation to be done 49:52 with sin is that I'm hurting, bringing pain to somebody 49:56 who loves me with an incredible love. 49:59 Somebody who loves me so much that 50:01 you'll do anything for to be in heaven with me. 50:04 I don't want to bring pain to Him, 50:06 I don't want to hurt Him. 50:08 Anything in my life that's not in harmony 50:10 with His will I want to turn lose with, 50:12 I cannot bring pain. 50:14 In the Vietnam war, a young lieutenant 50:18 had five young men that he had been 50:20 with for four or five years in the war. 50:24 And he said to them, my top priority is to get you home, 50:28 that's my priority. 50:29 More than anything else I want to get you home. 50:35 One day there was a firefight, North Vietnam, 50:39 Vietcong surrounded his little unit. 50:42 One of his men were out in the field, 50:44 was out in the field and shot in the legs couldn't get back. 50:47 Vietcong were approaching closer and closer 50:49 and he knew that they would gut this fellow. 50:52 Slit his throat, gut him, hang him from a tree. 50:55 He knew the brutality and the torture 50:57 that this young marine would go through 51:00 and so at the risk of his own life he crawled out, 51:03 fire coming over his head, 51:05 put his arms around this young marine, 51:07 bleeding profusely brought him back to the fox hole. 51:11 Rolled in him and as he did the Lieutenant was 51:13 shot in the back of the head, 51:14 shot in the neck and was instantly killed. 51:17 When the Vietnam war was over, 51:19 the parents of this young lieutenant that died 51:23 to save this guy, invited the fellow that 51:26 was saved to their home. 51:28 They wanted to talk to him about 51:30 the last moments of their son's life and his heroic act. 51:35 They wanted him to recount that for them 51:37 for some healing. 51:40 As they, and they lived out in Seattle. 51:42 The young marine who was saved lived on the east coast, 51:45 he flew out to Seattle, 51:46 the parents paid for his plane ticket. 51:48 And as he came out, came into the home 51:51 he had been drinking much of the day. 51:53 I don't know whether the pain of the war had affected him 51:57 greatly or what the reason was but he was drinking 51:59 most of the day and then he came into the home 52:01 and it was a horrible experience. 52:04 The husband and wife whose son had died had prepared 52:07 a beautiful meal this guy burped beer halfway 52:09 through the meal, made very few comments 52:12 about the food or about the son, 52:14 made a few off color jokes. 52:16 After the meal they try to sit around and talk 52:18 but it just wasn't going anywhere and 52:22 the young marine said, I've got to leave and he left. 52:26 The father walked him to the car, 52:28 tires spinning peeling off and the young marines took off. 52:32 Father walked back into the house, 52:34 mother was sitting on the couch crying 52:36 and she was just balling her eyes out. 52:38 She looked up at her husband and she said, 52:42 John, our son, 52:46 our precious son died for that thing. 52:53 It was the height of ingratitude to give so little 53:00 for one who gave so much. 53:02 Height of ingratitude. 53:04 When I look into the face of Christ 53:08 dying for me on the Calvary's cross, 53:11 bearing the sins of humanity, 53:15 is the height of ingratitude to yarn and say 53:20 what difference does it make and walk away. 53:23 His love breaks my heart, his love transforms my life, 53:28 I cannot slap him in the face. 53:30 All I can do is kneel at the foot of the cross and say, 53:34 Lord, my heart, my life is Yours. 53:38 The shining face calls me to prayer, 53:40 the steadfast face calls me to courage, 53:42 the soiled face calls me to surrender my will. 53:48 The smitten face calls me to turn from the cherished idols 53:52 in my heart and cast them down at the foot of the cross, 53:58 because I don't want to bring pain to His heart any longer. 54:01 The Book of Revelation gives us 54:02 one more glimpse of his face. 54:04 One more glimps of his face. 54:06 Revelation and we find it there in 54:09 Revelation the 22nd Chapter, 54:14 Revelation Chapter 22, one more glimpse of His face. 54:19 Revelation 22 verse 4, "They shall see his face, 54:24 and his name shall be on their foreheads." 54:26 They shall see his face, the smiling face, 54:30 one day He will come again. 54:32 One day the earth will shake, one day the grace will open, 54:36 one day the sky will be illuminated 54:37 with the glory of God, 54:39 one day we will look on His face 54:40 and we'll say, it's worth it all. 54:42 The smiling face, we will feel His warm and brace, 54:45 we will hear the words, well done good 54:48 and faithful servant. 54:49 We will see our friend and we will live 54:52 and we will live with Him forever 54:53 and ever and ever and ever and ever. 54:55 I look forward to that day, don't you? 54:57 To see my friend, to meet my friend. 54:59 I love that song, what a friend 55:01 we have in who, in who? 55:04 Jesus, oh, my sins and griefs to bear, 55:07 what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. 55:10 Have you trails and temptations, 55:13 is there trouble in anywhere. 55:14 What a friend we have in Jesus. 55:16 Would you like to stand and sing that song, 55:18 what a friend we have in Jesus. 55:19 Let me tell you about song. 55:21 The song was written, the words by Joseph Scriven. 55:27 Joseph Scriven, was an Englishman 55:30 brought up in London. 55:32 Christian young man, dating a find Christian girl, 55:37 two weeks before their marriage she drowned, 55:41 she drowned two weeks before the marriage. 55:45 He left England came to Canada, 55:47 began working in the woods. 55:49 First said, I'll never get married again, 55:51 ten years later he met a marvelous, marvelous woman. 55:55 They were engaged, three months before the marriage 55:58 she got pneumonia and died. 56:01 He gave his life rather than becoming bitter 56:04 to chopping trees, preparing lumber. 56:07 Helping people built houses that were poor 56:10 and couldn't afford it. 56:11 He got word that his mother was dying in London, 56:16 couldn't go to the funeral, had no money. 56:19 So he said, mom, I'll write you a poem, 56:21 and this was the poem he wrote. 56:22 Momma, momma, through all my trails what a friend 56:26 we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. 56:31 What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. 56:34 Have we trails and temptations, 56:37 is there trouble anywhere. 56:41 What a friend we have in Jesus, 56:43 look into the face of Jesus today and find him 56:48 the best friend that anybody could ever have. 56:51 Let's sing together. 57:07 What a friend we have in Jesus, 57:14 All our sins and griefs to bear! 57:20 What a privilege to carry 57:27 Everything to God in prayer! 57:33 Oh, what peace we often forfeit, 57:40 Oh, what needless pain we bear. |
Revised 2014-12-17