Participants: Pastor Mark Finley
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000678
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01:01 Our first question for this evening says,
01:04 I know that I should spend time 01:06 alone with God in prayer 01:08 and reading the Bible as a Christian, 01:10 but I don't feel like it, I don't enjoy it, 01:14 I would rather do homework instead. 01:17 What is wrong? 01:18 What I can do so I will enjoy time with my Bible? 01:22 Could I jump in for a moment there, 01:23 I don't want to trivialize the question, 01:25 but I would definitely take stay in the Bible 01:28 over doing homework, 01:30 but maybe one of our panelists has 01:32 a better answer for that. 01:35 Well, if you like, 01:37 if you like to study more than study the Bible, 01:39 you've already accomplished 01:40 something that is harder to do. 01:43 The truth of the matter is that, 01:45 in order to fall in love with someone, 01:48 we need to spend time with that person. 01:50 And sometimes it may take a little time of habit. 01:56 It's a habit that it is a wholesome habit. 01:58 We sometimes don't like what we eat 02:01 or what we eat is not, you know, 02:04 does not set off all kinds of fireworks 02:06 in our minds, oh, we're so enjoying this meal, 02:09 but we need it, in order to eat, 02:11 to be nourished to have strength. 02:13 The Bible works in the same way. 02:15 You do not need to expect it 02:17 to be just a wonderful feast every time, 02:21 what you need is persistence 02:23 and what you need is confidence 02:25 and the fact that God is going to reveal His way 02:27 in you and your life, if you continue to do that. 02:30 I tell you, here's a small council, 02:34 a number of years ago, 02:35 I decided to listen to the Bible on tape 02:39 and that was helpful to me because I was able to see 02:41 the Bible as a bird's eye view, 02:44 in just kind of the whole activity of God 02:47 and that gave me such confidence in Christ, 02:50 perhaps that would be one way to jump 02:52 start your Bible study or your Bible reading. John. 02:56 Yeah, just something else 02:59 I don't know the person who turned this in, 03:01 but one of the things I would do is, 03:02 I would make sure you have a contemporary, 03:04 modern translation of the Bible, 03:06 and so that it's a little easier 03:08 to read than thee, thy, thou that kind of thing. 03:10 And read books that are a little more compelling, 03:14 you know, I love Psalms, Proverbs, the gospels. 03:19 If you start with Leviticus 03:20 it's gonna bog you down a little bit, 03:21 so that's just a little council I would have. 03:25 One of the things I've found helpful 03:26 in my Bible study is this, 03:27 I have a little acronym that I use I call it fim. 03:30 How to put fim, vigor, excitement, 03:32 vitalization into your Bible study? 03:34 And I take the, I am read the gospels 03:37 as John mentioned. 03:39 For example, if I'm reading the story of the disciples 03:43 on the sea and the storm coming up. 03:45 The first thing I do is visualize it my mind. 03:48 What would it be like to be on a boat in the sea 03:51 and the boat's going up and down, 03:53 up and down, so I visualize the story. 03:55 Secondly, I identify with the disciples. 03:58 What if I were Peter? What if I were in that boat? 04:01 What if the wind was blowing in my face? 04:03 What if I thought I was going to go down 04:05 then I mediate on a lesson for me that day. 04:07 Visualize it, identify it, 04:10 identify with it, meditate on it. 04:12 And don't worry about how much you read. 04:15 It's not a speed reading course. 04:16 It's far better to take one story, 04:19 read about it, think about it. 04:21 It's not that you have to spend an hour or two hours. 04:24 It would be better to spend five minutes 04:26 and get something out of it that it would be an hour 04:29 and be bored by it. 04:30 So spend short amounts of time, visualize it, 04:34 identify with what you're reading, mediate on it, 04:37 and get a blessing for that day and move on, 04:39 but be consistent in your devotional life. 04:41 We'll go with Jeffery and then Elder Douglas. 04:43 I just wanted to say is well, 04:45 when I first picked up the Bible I was 17 years old 04:49 and I learned something and that was this. 04:51 I wonder what my life would be like 04:53 if I only did things that initially felt good. 04:57 And I think that I learned that in my mind, 05:00 so long as I was convinced of my need 05:04 to spend time in the word, 05:05 that would transition from just something 05:09 that I was convinced of mentally 05:11 and it would grab hold of my heart. 05:14 And so what did not initially begin 05:16 as like gooey feelings in my heart. 05:19 It only began as a thought I desperately need this, 05:23 and that compelled me to read, 05:25 and it transitioned from that 05:27 and it grabbed hold of my emotions. 05:29 And so now, it's an accelerating experience 05:32 because my mind is involved and my emotions are involved. 05:35 I would say, don't let that hold you back, 05:38 follow mentally what you know you need 05:39 and it'll grab hold of your heart. 05:41 Well, Elder Douglas has something to add I believe. 05:42 I say, amen to everything here. 05:44 Something I've done over the years, 05:46 if I had a challenge, 05:47 especially if it's human challenge of some kind. 05:52 The Lord and I have a bargain. 05:53 I start with the first verse of Proverbs 1, 05:57 and I tell Him, I'm gonna keep reading 06:00 Proverbs until you give me a solution 06:02 to what I'm dealing with. 06:04 Sometimes I go to the fourth Chapter, 06:05 sometimes to the 8th Chapter, 06:07 but I never stop until I know 06:10 what I'm supposed to do that day. Amen. 06:13 One of the things that I'm finding helpful to me 06:15 right now personally is I'm going through 06:19 the Book of Acts and there was many exciting things 06:23 in the Book of Acts, but what I did 06:25 was I took the Acts of the Apostles 06:28 and started reading it and using it 06:33 as supplemental to my Bible study work, 06:36 and it's just so exciting. 06:38 In fact, there are times when I feel like 06:41 I can't wait to get to my morning 06:44 or evening Bible study because it's so exciting 06:47 from the Book of Acts and the Acts of the Apostles 06:50 because it's real, it's real people 06:53 and there are real events and real things happening, 06:55 it's like a story. 06:57 And so you can't put it down 06:59 and I found that just recently 07:01 when I started doing this. 07:03 It really has vitalized 07:05 my own personal worship experience, 07:09 my Bible study, and its enhanced 07:13 and enriched my own life. 07:14 Amen. Amen. 07:15 We're gonna move on, we could, 07:18 we could probably talk on that question 07:19 for quite a while, couldn't we? 07:21 And there are so many aspects of that 07:22 and so many ways that we can -- practical things 07:25 we can do to vitalize or devotional experience. 07:28 I have a question that's particularly pertaining to 07:31 Dr. Clouzet's seminar, but everybody else 07:33 is welcome to jump in as well. 07:35 But the question is how can I tell between God's voice 07:40 or the difference between God's voice 07:41 and impressions of the devil? Amen. 07:45 How can you recognize any one's voice? 07:47 And you begin by spending time listening to that voice. 07:51 The genuine article can only be recognized by being 07:56 so familiar with it 07:58 that everything else then is different. 08:02 I think that the beginning of 08:04 that is simply reading the Bible. 08:06 We know the God has spoken in the written word. 08:09 If that is something that we can internalize 08:11 and read and read and re-read, 08:14 many times the applied word when we hear God 08:17 in an application mode. 08:19 We will find a real consistency 08:22 with what we have read. 08:23 Now, if we do not know 08:24 what we have read or if we do not, 08:26 if we do not read then we are a lot more liable 08:30 to be in subject to other voices 08:32 that may appear as God, 08:34 but indeed they're not necessarily God. 08:36 And I think, Marquis, 08:37 would you have something to add to that? 08:38 I wanted to kind of piggy back 08:42 on what Dr. Clouzet said. 08:44 Isaiah Chapter 8 verse 20 says 08:45 "To the law and to the testimony, 08:47 if they speak not according to this word, 08:48 there is no light in them. 08:49 " And so everything that you hear, 08:50 all these impressions you must again 08:52 reference back to the Bible and see what the Bible says. 08:55 If these things are consistent with the Bible 08:56 and when you find the lack of consistency, 08:58 you know that this is not the voice of God. 09:00 Sometimes feelings are fooling 09:02 and we have to be careful not to go with feelings, 09:05 I mean, go with the fooling feelings, 09:07 but go with the word of God. 09:09 Last comment and we'll move on. Thank you for that. 09:11 Not everything is always an impression of the devil, 09:13 it maybe a human impulse, that is mean 09:15 the devil's standing next me whispering in my ear. 09:18 So it maybe a human impulse. 09:20 For me, here is the way I distinguish between 09:22 human impulse and divine impression. 09:24 A divine impression is a growing consistent, 09:28 constant, awareness that God wants me to do something. 09:31 A human impulse is flighty. 09:34 If I don't act on it today and I let it go for a week, 09:37 it maybe gone totally. 09:39 So divine impression is regularly consistent, 09:42 it's that voice of God that is in my soul 09:46 in which I have a conviction 09:48 that God wants me to do something, 09:49 but impulse flighty. 09:51 Here today, gone tomorrow, 09:52 but don't think everything that it's not 09:55 a divine impression is whispered you by the devil, 09:58 certainly not, it may be a human impulse. 10:01 Another great question. 10:02 How can the person tell 10:04 if they're supposed to be a missionary? They are. 10:10 Well, let me go back a little bit. 10:12 I really appreciate what you just said. 10:15 I believe that God is calling people 10:17 to serve as missionaries 10:18 and just like Elder Finley was saying, 10:21 it's a growing experience, 10:24 you will hear the Holy Spirit speak to you, 10:25 in one way you'll sense him 10:28 leading you to do certain things, 10:30 you'll look at your life and you'll say, 10:31 you know, why did I do this? 10:32 How, why am I getting this education? 10:34 God has been preparing me to do something special for Him 10:37 and He is calling me to be a missionary. 10:40 And I really encourage you to start, 10:43 you know, if you're sensing that, 10:45 pray about it, investigate resources, 10:49 and see if God will continue to lead you, 10:52 make sure it's not just a human impression. 10:55 I don't think the devil is gonna tempt you 10:56 to be a missionary, but, you know, 11:00 God will confirm this calling for you 11:02 because He wants people to go, 11:04 that's what God is all about is sending people out. 11:07 So the question isn't should I be a missionary, 11:09 but where does God want me to be a missionary? 11:11 Right, and in fact, there was an article I read 11:14 recently in Mission Post Magazine that said, 11:17 we're all missionaries. 11:18 You know, whether it's -- here 11:20 I spoke about this morning. 11:23 This is Jerusalem here, 11:27 Southern Adventist University is Jerusalem, 11:29 then He's calling people to go to Judea, 11:31 which maybe let's say, Chattanooga, 11:33 then He's calling people to go to Samaria 11:35 which I don't know Nashville, New York City, 11:38 and then He is calling people 11:39 to go to the ends of the earth. 11:40 And I believe God leads people in progression, 11:43 He doesn't just say, okay, go here and then, boom, 11:45 you're in the middle of nowhere land. 11:48 So God does want each one of us 11:50 to be a missionary for Him, wherever we find Him 11:52 and then find yourselves 11:53 and then it's listening to His voice to discover 11:55 where He may want us to go. 11:56 And I can see a couple of people wanting to jump in. 11:58 Well, we're gonna move on actually. 12:00 Here, Glenn, I'll pass those off to you. 12:02 Another just excellent question, 12:05 it says, I'm struggling with bitterness. 12:09 How can I give it to Jesus? 12:11 How do I give anything to Jesus? 12:14 We could put guilt, 12:16 we could put anything in that situation. 12:18 How do we give those things to Jesus? 12:20 Bitterness is a very unique phenomenon. 12:24 It's a unique attitude. 12:26 Bitterness often grips your soul, 12:28 ruins your life and sours it. 12:31 If you have felt bitter over a period of time, 12:33 here's my suggestion very practically. 12:35 Sit down and write out a letter, 12:39 that simply says God, I'm writing to You 12:42 why I'm bitter and you write that out. 12:45 Then you say this, Lord, 12:47 I'm giving this to You right now and You tear it up. 12:51 You simply express yourself on paper, 12:54 give all that to God and then tear it up and say, 12:57 Lord, by Your grace, 12:58 You've forgiven me, I'm gonna forgive others. 13:00 I think you also should write a letter 13:02 to the person you're bitter about. 13:04 Not that you're gonna send it, 13:05 but I think you ought to write it out 13:06 as long as you want to make it 13:08 and tell them just why you feel this way. 13:10 And something may happen to you on the third page. 13:14 Or the second sentence. 13:16 Well, I want to thank each one of you 13:18 for joining us for this conference, 13:20 this entire weekend and also for joining us 13:22 as our panelist this evening. 13:23 You know what, it's seems to me as many of these answers 13:26 we've been receiving goes back 13:28 to spending time in God's word. Amen. 13:31 And spending time with Jesus and getting to know Him. 13:34 And I wonder sometimes if the questions we have 13:36 and it's always good to have the questions 13:37 and to ask the questions, but I wonder, 13:40 if sometimes we have fewer questions, 13:42 if we took the time you today 13:44 to spend time getting to know Jesus. 13:46 And so I'm sure it's the encouragement 13:47 of each person up here 13:48 and it's my encouragement to you as well 13:50 is to spend time getting to know Jesus. Amen. 13:53 And you can always take your questions 13:54 directly to Him. Amen. 13:55 I wanna thank you all you again for joining us, 13:57 and thank you for your questions. 13:59 Well, tonight we're gonna open God's word. 14:01 But before we do that, 14:02 I'm gonna invite you to bow your heads 14:04 with me as we pray. 14:06 Father in heaven, we thank You today for Jesus. 14:11 We thank You that there is something big for us 14:14 to be involved in. 14:16 We're thankful that, we're thankful that 14:17 the littleness and the shallowness 14:19 of the world does not entice us. 14:24 But we're thankful that we can give our talents 14:27 and our abilities and the gifts 14:29 that you've given us to the big cause of God 14:32 to cooperate with Christ, and sharing His love 14:36 in the message of His truth with the lost world. 14:39 Thank You, Lord, that our eyes are on something bigger 14:43 than the things of this world. 14:45 There are men and women and boys and girls 14:48 who are lost and need to know Christ, 14:51 need to know the message of His soon return, 14:54 need to know the message of His truth 14:55 and grace before He comes. 14:57 So consume us and fill us 15:01 with that desire to share Your love, 15:03 we pray thee in Christ name, amen. 15:06 It was in 1988, 15:07 I was the Minister of Secretary, 15:08 the Trans-European Division with headquarters 15:11 in St. Albans, England, 15:12 and went into the office one day 15:14 and I noticed a copy of the London Times 15:17 that was sitting there on the little table 15:19 in the entry way. 15:20 I don't know why I picked it up, 15:21 I had a little time before my first appointment 15:23 at the office and I picked it up. 15:24 And I noticed the fascinating story 15:27 of a Seventh-day Adventist Church 15:28 in Bucharest, Romania. 15:30 At this time, Nicolae Ceausescu 15:33 was the ruthless dictator who hated religion 15:37 in Romania in Bucharest. 15:41 He had ordered Seventh-day Adventist 15:44 to leave this church 15:46 and under the pretext of wanting to build a bridge 15:49 over that section of the city and put a new road through. 15:55 He ordered Adventists out of the church 15:56 and he was going to bulldoze the church down. 16:00 Now the national news picked up the story for this reason. 16:03 The Adventist said to the dictator, 16:05 Nicolae Ceausescu, we are more than happy to cooperate, 16:09 we are faithful citizens of the state, 16:11 we do not want to defy law. 16:13 If you'll replace our land and replace our church 16:16 and just give us another facility 16:17 and that seems logical, we don't want anymore money 16:20 than what the land and building is worth. 16:23 We will gladly move. 16:24 Although the church has 16:27 certain sentimental value to us, 16:29 we many of us have worshiped there for years, 16:32 we will move. 16:33 The dictator said nothing doing do it. 16:34 The church is mine, the state is seizing it, 16:37 we're not giving you a penny for it, 16:39 and we're not replacing it for you. 16:42 The Adventist believed that that was a violation 16:44 of their religious rights. 16:46 So, in 1988, they went down into the church 16:49 and they said, if you knock down the church, 16:51 you've got to knock it down with us in it. 16:54 The dictator surrounded the church with his militia 16:58 and he also got prisoners out of prison 17:01 and brought them down to the church. 17:03 Our believers prayed in the church, 17:04 they sang hymns in the church. 17:06 And on the order of the dictator, 17:08 these militia came and broke down 17:10 the doors of the church, 17:11 pulled the Adventist out of the church 17:13 and totally destroyed the church, 17:16 a great defeat for the true God. 17:21 About 15 years later, I was visiting Romania 17:25 and I had visited Romania many times 17:27 in the ensuring15 years by visiting Romania 17:29 and I remembered the story, God brought it to my mind. 17:32 And I asked our Union President, 17:33 who at the time was Adrian Bocaneanu 17:35 and I said, Adrian, 17:36 what about that Church that I read about in 1988, 17:40 that was destroyed. 17:42 I was there to hold a satellite 17:43 of evangelistic series in 2000 17:45 in a place got Salo Plato, 17:47 which was the Former Communist Center, 17:50 their former communist party building. 17:52 And I said, Adrian, what about that Church 17:53 that Nicolae Ceausescu knocked down, 17:55 I'm interested in. 17:57 He said, Mark, I want to take you to the new facility 18:02 that we built not far from the place 18:04 where they knocked down that Church. 18:06 there's an interesting story behind that. 18:09 Although the devil apparently may win a battle, 18:13 he never wins the war. Amen. 18:15 And he said this Church is the nicest Church 18:19 in Bucharest today. 18:22 And he said, I want you to talk to the people 18:24 that were actually in the church during the days 18:29 that they were pulled out, and how they came back 18:32 to that very site that was rubble and broken glass 18:36 and steel and how they prayed there and they said, 18:40 God we know that you want a house of God 18:42 to the glory of your name in this area of the city 18:45 and how God led them to another piece of property. 18:48 Now, Mark, I want to tell you something. 18:49 The dictator is dead in the revolution 18:53 of 1989 and 2000, 1989 and 1990. 18:59 The dictator tried to flee, he was shot and he is dead, 19:02 but we have a new Church and do you know what 19:05 the name of the street of that new Church is on? 19:07 I said, no, I don't know. 19:08 He said, it's on Winner Street. Amen. 19:11 And he said, you know, what number the Church is? 19:13 It's a number seven Winner Street. 19:17 A dictator tries to destroy the Adventist Church 19:21 and to the glory of God 19:23 you can do nothing against the truth, 19:24 but follow the truth. 19:26 To the glory of God, 19:27 all things work together for good. 19:29 To the glory of God, 19:30 in Christ we are more than conquerors. 19:32 To the glory of God, a new temple for the worship of God 19:36 is built on number seven Winner Street 19:39 because the truth of the matter is this. 19:41 In the battle between good and evil, 19:44 Christ has called you to be a winner, not a loser. 19:48 In the battle between good and evil, 19:50 there is no power that is greater than 19:53 the power of Christ. 19:54 I am not concerned about the devil, 19:57 I'm concerned about the power of the living God. 20:00 Too many Adventist Christians 20:01 today are putting more thought 20:03 into what the devil is doing, 20:05 then what more than the thought 20:06 into what God is doing. 20:08 Too many Adventist Christians today are talking about 20:10 the power of the devil, the power of Satan. 20:13 I remember, I was helping a man quit smoking one night, 20:16 and we gathered all his cigarettes up 20:19 and I read him First John Chapter 5, 20:21 this is the confidence that I have in Him 20:23 the confidence in Christ, the confidence in His power 20:26 that if I ask anything 20:27 according to His will, He hears us. 20:29 And I read that text and I said look, 20:31 it doesn't say, 20:33 this is the confidence that I have in Him, 20:34 if I ask anything according to His will 20:36 except quit smoking. He hears me. 20:38 I said my brother, you can come 20:40 with all of your weakness, 20:42 you can come with your tobacco laden blood, 20:46 you can come with tobacco saturating 20:49 the cells in your body, 20:50 you can come and cry out to God 20:52 and He will give you the power to overcome. 20:54 So we knelt down and began to pray. 20:56 And this man prayed like this, 20:57 oh, dear Lord, I'm so weak. 20:59 Dear, Lord, the devil is so strong. 21:01 Dear Lord, I can't overcome 21:03 because the devil is so strong, 21:05 but please Lord help me. 21:06 About halfway through his pray I got tried, 21:07 I shook the man, stop praying brother, stop praying. 21:10 You're gonna be worse at the end of the prayer 21:12 then at the beginning. 21:14 Now he had not had a preacher tell him that, 21:15 but it was the truth, it was the truth. 21:18 He was reinforcing his defeatist attitude in prayer. 21:22 And psychologically he was conditioning 21:24 his mind for failure 21:26 and I couldn't let that happened as a minister. 21:27 So I have to shake him, brother, stop praying. 21:31 You're gonna be worse at the end of your prayer. 21:33 You are telling God how the strong the devil is 21:35 that all that's happening is reinforcing 21:37 your defeatist attitude in your mind. 21:39 Now, brother, pray like this. 21:41 Dear Lord, I know that on the cross of Calvary 21:44 you defeated Satan. 21:46 I know that in Jesus and by Jesus 21:48 and through Jesus I can be more than 21:50 an overcomer through Christ. 21:52 I know that His blood and He is great-- 21:54 His blood is shed to cleanse me for my past sins 21:58 and the grace that flows from Calvary empowers me 22:01 to live a positive abundant Christian life today. 22:05 And that man prayed like that. 22:07 And by the grace of God, 22:08 Jesus gave him victory over tobacco. 22:10 He became a deacon in one of our churches 22:12 in Boston, Massachusetts. 22:13 I want to talk to you today 22:16 about being an overcomer in Christ. 22:17 Take your Bible and turn 22:18 to Revelation Chapter 12 verse 11. 22:22 The grace of God pardons our past. 22:26 The grace of God provides freedom 22:30 from the guilt and shame of sin, 22:32 but the grace that justifies me 22:35 is also the grace that sanctifies me. Amen. 22:38 The grace that pardons me 22:39 is also the grace that cleanses me. 22:43 Rock of Ages cleft for me, let me hide myself where? 22:49 In thee. 22:51 Be of sin the what? Be of sin the what? 22:54 Double what? 22:56 Cure save me from its, what? 22:59 Guilt and power, 23:01 and any gospel that doesn't save me 23:03 from guilt and power is not the real gospel 23:07 because the gospel is the gospel, 23:10 when it is the gospel, and if it's not the gospel, 23:13 it's not the gospel. 23:14 The gospel is not only the good news 23:16 what Jesus did for me on the cross 23:19 and He did a great deal for me there, 23:21 but it's the good news what He is doing for me today 23:23 in heaven sanctuary. Amen. 23:25 There is a Jesus in heaven sanctuary. Amen. 23:28 And from that sanctuary, He applies His death 23:32 on the cross to my life today. 23:34 And I see that sin brought Him 23:37 and nailed Him to the cross, 23:38 and I see the horror of my sin 23:43 and through His grace and by His power, 23:45 I'm changed from the gutter most to the uttermost, 23:49 from the depths of despair 23:50 to the delights of discipleship. 23:52 Revelation Chapter 12, and we look at the verse 11. 23:57 And they overcame Him, and they did what? 24:00 What did they do? 24:02 They overcame, they tried to overcome him. 24:05 They thought it might be possible to overcome him. No. 24:08 They wish they could overcome him, 24:10 but he was too strong and they could not. Amen. 24:14 Is that what the text says? No. 24:16 What does it say? 24:18 And they overcame him, 24:20 but it's impossible to overcome, right? 24:23 And they did what? 24:25 Overcame him. 24:26 The Bible said it and I believe it. 24:29 What about you? Amen. 24:30 And they overcame him how? 24:32 By the blood of the lamb 24:34 and by the word of their testimony, 24:35 they did not allow their lives to death. 24:38 Now notice the text says they overcame him. 24:41 Throughout the Book of Revelation 24:44 this idea of overcoming is used 10 times 24:48 in the seven Churches, of the Church of Ephesus. 24:51 To him who overcome, to the Church of Smyrna 24:53 to him who overcomes, 24:55 to the Church throughout Thyatira 24:59 and Philadelphia and Sardis, and Laodicea. 25:03 You go through the seven Churches, 25:05 Pergamos, all the churches, to him who overcomes, 25:08 to him who overcomes, to him who overcomes. 25:10 What is the message to the seven Churches? 25:13 It's possible to be an overcomer. 25:16 Revelation Chapter 17 verse 14. 25:20 Whatever you are struggling with today, 25:23 whatever attitudes that have gripped you today, 25:26 whatever habits are choking out 25:28 your spiritual life today through grace, 25:31 by grace, in grace, you can be an overcomer. 25:35 You don't have to be bound in that sin 25:38 and fold out it again 25:40 and again and again and again. 25:42 Somebody says, are you talking about 25:44 some super perfectionism? 25:46 I'm not talking about some super perfectionism. 25:49 I'm talking about what the Bible says. Amen. 25:51 The Bible says, it's possible to overcome. 25:54 That's biblical theology. 25:56 Revelation Chapter 17 verse 14. 25:59 "These will make war with the Lamb, 26:02 and the Lamb will overcome them. 26:04 " Jesus is going to overcome 26:07 all the evil foes of wickedness 26:09 and through your life by His grace 26:13 you can be an overcomer. 26:15 Revelation, we look there at the Book of Revelation, 26:19 again Revelation Chapter 21 and verse 6. 26:25 Revelation Chapter 21 verse 6 and 7. 26:29 "And he said to me, it is done. 26:31 " It will never be done in verse six 26:34 until the reality of verse 7 occurs. 26:38 He will never say it is done in verse six 26:40 until the reality of verse seven occurs, 26:43 and he said them it is done. 26:45 I'm Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. 26:48 I will give him of the water of life freely, 26:50 him who thirst, he who overcome 26:53 shall inherit all things and I will be his God, 26:55 and he shall be my son, but the cowardly 26:58 and the unbelieving and the abominable 26:59 and the murderers and the sexual 27:01 and the sexually immoral, sorcerers and idolaters, 27:04 and all liars shall have their part 27:06 in the lake of fire. 27:07 " What happens to those in verse eight? 27:09 They do not overcome. 27:11 What happens to those in verse seven? 27:13 They do overcome. 27:14 Tonight, I have good news for you. 27:16 This is incredibly good news. This is wonderful good news. 27:20 Grace is greater than sin. Amen. 27:24 It is not about gritting your teeth 27:26 and clenching your fists and trying to bear it 27:29 and resist evil. 27:30 That is the formula for failure every time. 27:34 It is not about what you can do. 27:36 It is not about what your will power it does. 27:39 It is not about choosing merely 27:41 to fight Satan in your strength, 27:43 but Revelation says, He who overcomes in Jesus, 27:47 through Jesus, by Jesus, and with Jesus. 27:50 You can be an overcomer 27:53 because grace is greater than sin. 27:55 The power of Jesus is greater than 27:57 the power of bondage in your life. 27:59 Whatever that bondage is, whatever attitude, 28:02 whatever habit, Jesus is greater, 28:04 but our text in Revelation 11. 28:07 Revelation 12, let's go back to it 28:09 because we want to look at that text, 28:11 word by word, phrase by prhase. 28:14 Revelation Chapter 12, and we look there. 28:18 The 12th Chapter, the Book of Revelation 28:21 and the 11th verse, notice what the Bible says. 28:24 Revelation 12 verse 11. 28:26 "And they overcame him. 28:28 " Point one, possible to overcome. 28:31 Do never accept some sin in your life 28:36 as genetically inherited or environmentally 28:41 that it's a predisposition of your environment. 28:45 You see, if I wasn't a Christian, 28:47 I would believe in the deterministic philosophy 28:50 in psychology of life. 28:52 I would say, you are what you are largely 28:54 because of your heredity or environment. 28:57 Heredity does play a nature factor in your personality. 29:01 Environment, how you've been brought up 29:03 does play a major factor, but I say to you today, 29:07 there is something stronger than heredity. 29:10 There is something stronger than environment. 29:13 As Christians we do not deny 29:15 the effect of heredity environment, 29:17 but what we say is the power of the Gospel 29:20 of Christ is stronger than your heredity 29:23 and stronger than your environment. 29:25 I don't know what kind of home you were brought up Him. 29:27 I don't know what kind of background you had. 29:29 I don't know what kind of code 29:31 dysfunction came out of your family, 29:33 but I will say this to you today. 29:35 You can live a happy, joyous life in Jesus Christ 29:39 because whatever the dysfunction is, 29:42 He will give you greater function through His grace. 29:46 Whatever the scar is, 29:48 He is-- there is a balm in Gilead 29:51 that heals the sin-sick soul. 29:53 Jesus is stronger than your heredity. 29:56 Jesus is stronger than your environment. 29:58 Revelation Chapter 12 verse 11, 30:00 "And they overcame Him. Point one, you can overcome. 30:01 Now you list three ways to overcome, 30:04 three reasons you can overcome, 30:06 and they overcame him verse 11, 30:08 first by the blood of the lamb. 30:11 It's an understanding of what happened 30:13 at the cross that enables you to overcome. 30:16 Now the cross is like a multi-faceted diamond 30:20 that the more you look at it in your hand 30:23 the more the sun irradiates off the sides of that diamond 30:27 and the more beautiful it becomes. 30:29 You can approach the cross from a variety of ways. 30:32 There is one aspect of the cross 30:35 and I acknowledge, I get into it, 30:36 it's only one aspect of the cross that I want to look at. 30:39 And it's this aspect, when Jesus died on the cross, 30:43 He gave a death blow to Satan 30:46 and He defeated the principalities 30:49 and powers of hell in His death. Now that is scriptural. 30:53 First I'd like you to take your Bible please 30:55 and turn to Colossians Chapter 2, 30:57 Colossians Chapter 2, "They overcame him 31:00 by the blood of the lamb." And my question is this. 31:04 How can an understanding of the blood of Christ 31:08 enable you to be victorious day by day? 31:12 What does that mean practically 31:15 in the Christian life? Colossians Chapter 2, 31:19 Colossians Chapter 2, 31:21 and we're going to look there at verse 15. 31:24 Colossians Chapter 2 verse 15, 31:28 "This is describing what Jesus did on the cross and He says, 31:32 'Having disarmed principalities and powers.' 31:36 " Having disarmed principalities and powers, 31:38 He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them. 31:42 That is triumphing of all the powers of hell, 31:45 triumphing over all the powers of wickedness, 31:48 triumphing over all the temptations of Satan. 31:51 In it, that is in the cross Jesus gave a death blow 31:55 to Satan as was predicted in Genesis 31:59 where Jesus would have a bruise in His heel, 32:01 but He would crush Satan's head. 32:05 Because Jesus died on the cross. 32:07 Satan has no control over your life. 32:11 When you feel tempted, 32:12 when you're struggling to do something, 32:14 you know it's not right. 32:16 When there are attitudes in your mind 32:18 of jealousy and bitterness and lust, 32:20 you get on your knees, cry out to God and say, 32:22 Jesus, I believe by faith. 32:24 You triumphed over all the powers of hell on the cross. 32:27 Jesus by faith, I claim the victory that you came for me. 32:31 And therefore, I claim Romans Chapter 8. 32:34 Take the Bible, quote Jesus promises back to Him 32:38 and find strength and power in what Christ did for you 32:41 on the cross at Calvary. 32:43 Romans Chapter 8, look there please 32:45 in Romans 8 verse 32, verse 37. 32:48 Romans Chapter 8 verse 37, 32:53 we look there to get the background in verse 35 and 36 32:57 and we come down to verse 37. 32:59 Romans 8, background, verse 35 and 36, 33:02 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" 33:05 Shall tribulation, shall distress, 33:07 shall persecution, shall famine, 33:09 or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" 33:10 Think about those things tribulation, 33:12 everything that troubles me from without. 33:14 Distress, everything that hassles me from within. 33:18 Persecution, every physical, 33:22 every physical sickness in my body, 33:25 every physical pain in my body. 33:27 Famine, hunger, nakedness, peril, sword, 33:30 what else separate us from the love of Christ? 33:32 Tribulation, distress, persecution, 33:34 famine, nakedness, peril, sword as it is written. 33:37 For your sake, we killed all day long 33:39 where counting sheep for the slaughter. 33:42 Verse 37, Yet at all these things in what for, 33:46 and all these things in tribulation, distress, 33:48 persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword, 33:51 in all these things, we are more than what? 33:54 We're more than what? Conquers through Him that loved us. 33:57 Can you believe that this afternoon? 33:59 On the cross Jesus dealt a death blow to Satan. 34:04 So when you're hassled by the devil, 34:06 when you feel that the temptations are too strong, 34:11 speak to Jesus in His own words. 34:12 Say Lord, you said in Colossians Chapter 2 verse 15, 34:15 you triumph over all the powers of hell. 34:17 Lord, give me your grace. By faith I receive it today. 34:22 When you're hassled by Satan, 34:23 when temptations seem to be out of control 34:26 in your life say, Lord, you've said 34:27 we're more than conquerors and today I believe it 34:30 that through Your blood I can be an overcomer. 34:32 I've seen God work incredible miracles. 34:35 One thing that I love about evangelism is that 34:38 as I preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, 34:40 I see Jesus transformed the attitudes of men and women. 34:43 I was in Eastern City a number of years ago 34:45 and it was the last Sabbath of our evangelistic meetings 34:49 and I saw her walking to the baptismal pool. 34:51 Her name was Maria. Her eyes just sparkled 34:54 and she had this look of peace and joy 34:57 and serenity on her face, 34:58 and this sense that she was one with Jesus. 35:01 I stood next to one of my pastoral friends 35:03 watching Maria walk into the baptismal pool 35:05 and I said to my friend, 35:07 this girl is the picture of one who has come to Jesus. 35:10 Look at that radiant face, look at that smile, 35:14 look at the glow of joy in her life. 35:16 And he said, if you only knew. 35:18 I said, what do you mean? He said, if you only knew. 35:22 I said, after the baptism I really want 35:23 to learn something about Maria, 35:25 I want to learn about her life and her story. 35:27 And so we sat down and my pastor friend said, 35:30 Maria, it was at the time in her mid 30s, 35, 36, 35:35 he said, Maria was married at 17. 35:38 She had her first child at 18 and her second child 35:42 when she was a little older than 19. 35:44 So by the time she was 20, she had two kids. 35:47 Her husband divorced her for another woman 35:50 and so she had to bring up the two children alone. 35:54 For just about 13 years, she decided 35:58 that she would not date anybody, 36:01 but poured her life into the children. 36:04 And so for 13, 14 years, she poured her life 36:06 into these kids. She took them to school. 36:09 She stayed with them for extra curricular activities. 36:13 She would take them to piano lessons. 36:15 She worked 40-50 hours a week 36:17 to supply their needs in their humble home. 36:21 When she was about 34, 36:23 her girls now were 16, 17 years old, 36:28 and she said, you know, I've pulled my life 36:32 into my girls and she met a fellow that she thought, 36:36 she might be interested and they began dating 36:38 and dated for about a year 36:40 and she now had quite a bit of confidence, say amen. 36:43 She often worked late to 6 or 7 O'clock at night 36:45 and he came often over to the house at 4. 36:49 What she did not know is that he isolated the girls, 36:54 found out when one of them would be home alone 36:56 and he raped both of them. 36:58 At different times, the girls were too afraid 37:00 to say anything about it. 37:02 What she also didn't know was that he was HIV positive 37:04 and infected both of her girls. 37:08 Maria was incredibly devastated when she found out, 37:12 of course, the authorities were brought in 37:14 and this man's AIDS, the HIV positive was so far long 37:19 that he was dying of AIDS. 37:21 He was in a hospital because of it. 37:24 Maria was bitter, that's not her real name obviously 37:28 I wouldn't use that, but she was bitter, 37:30 she was angry. She said, 37:31 God, I spent 14 years of my life, 37:35 15 years, 16 years 37:38 raising my girls and now this happens. 37:42 Lord, where are You? 37:43 Lord, don't You have pity on a widow? 37:46 Don't You have pity on a single mother? 37:48 Angry, bitter, couldn't face life. 37:51 And she was walking down the street one day 37:54 and heard about our meetings and walked in, 37:57 and that night I was speaking about the Grace of God. 38:00 How, whatever pain you've gone through in your life, 38:03 when your head can't understand, 38:05 your heart can still in embrace His grace. 38:09 There is a peace that passes all understanding. 38:13 There are many things in life that have no good answers. 38:16 You can't figure them out, 38:19 but as you open your heart to God's grace, 38:21 there is an inner healing 38:22 even when your head can't understand, 38:25 your heart can be open to God's grace 38:27 and they can be a healing. 38:29 That night in that meeting, Maria knelt on the floor 38:33 and cried her eyes out with hundreds of others. 38:37 And something miraculous happened to her life 38:40 and she discovered that Jesus is going 38:44 to enable her to be a conqueror. 38:45 That Jesus is going to enable her to be an overcomer. 38:49 She continued to come to the meeting, 38:51 she continued to take Bible studies. 38:53 She was a new woman in Christ. 38:55 She was ministering to her daughters 38:57 now in different ways. 38:59 Three or four days before her baptism, 39:01 she learned that the man who infected 39:03 her daughters was in a hospital dying 39:07 and she knew that she had to go 39:11 to that hospital room and forgive him. 39:14 And so she said, I came to the hospital room 39:17 and I wanted to lash out, I wanted to yell, 39:20 I wanted to scream, I wanted to say, 39:23 look what you've done to me and my life? 39:28 But Jesus changed me. I felt only pity for him now. 39:32 I felt only sorrow for him. 39:34 And I thought, if Jesus could say on the cross, 39:37 Father forgive them for they don't know 39:39 what they have done. If Jesus could forgive 39:43 those who harmed Him, 39:44 if Jesus the divine Son of God, 39:46 the one who was so incredibly pure and sinless and spotless. 39:51 If He could forgive and if He has forgiven me I can forgive. 39:56 So she said, contrary to all my feelings, 40:00 contrary to all of my inner bitterness. 40:05 You see forgiveness is not justifying the act of another, 40:09 forgiveness is not condoning their sin, 40:13 forgiveness is releasing another 40:15 from your condemnation because Christ has released 40:18 you from His condemnation. Forgiveness is not justifying 40:24 their behavior, but it is releasing them 40:27 from all of the anger, bitterness, 40:29 and condemnation in you because if they hurt you once, 40:33 there is no need to let them continue to hurt you 40:37 by being bitter because as Confucius said, 40:39 an angry man is always full of poison. 40:42 And so she said, I went and sat on the edge of his bed 40:44 and I looked him in the eye and I said to him honestly, 40:47 she called them by name, his name wasn't John, 40:49 but I'll use that honestly, John. 40:52 You've hurt me, honestly you've ruin with my life, 40:55 the life of my girls, but I want to tell you something. 40:58 I found Jesus, and I've been telling 41:00 to my girls about Jesus. 41:02 And although our lives will never be the same again, 41:05 and although we've gone through intense pain, 41:07 I want to tell you, Christ has given me joy in my pain. 41:12 Christ has given me peace in my pain. 41:15 Christ has transformed me and because He's forgiven me 41:19 I want you to know before you die, 41:22 that just as Jesus forgave those who nailed Him 41:25 to the cross I forgive you. 41:28 He began to cry and she walked out. 41:31 She said, pastor, when I walked out, 41:34 it was like a burden was lifted. 41:36 All the bitterness and anger was gone. 41:40 All of the psychology in the world 41:43 could not have accomplished that. 41:45 But the blood of Christ 41:47 enabled her to be an overcomer. 41:50 And they overcame Him by what? 41:54 Revelation 12 verse 11, look at the text. 41:58 One text that bares its way into our mind, 42:02 one text that burrows its way 42:05 into our heart, one text that fills our soul, 42:09 Revelation 12 verse 11, they overcame Him 42:12 in Christ and by Christ and through Christ 42:14 you can be an overcomer. By the blood of the Lamb, 42:17 coming to the cross we come to Jesus 42:23 and He enables us through the cross 42:27 because He broke down all of the principalities 42:29 and powers of hell to be an overcomer, 42:33 and they overcame Him. How did they overcome Him? 42:36 Three ways. First, by the blood of the lamb. 42:38 Second, by the word of their testimony. 42:42 They overcame Him, how? By the word of what? 42:47 Their testimony. What He is saying here? 42:51 When you come to Christ and share your faith 42:55 by the word of their testimony they overcame. 42:59 In other words, the more I love Jesus 43:03 the more I will witness about that love. 43:05 And the more I witness about that love 43:07 the more I will love Jesus. 43:10 There is a direct relationship 43:11 between my love for Jesus and my witness. 43:14 The more I love Him the more I'm gonna witness, 43:16 but the more I witness the more I'm going to love Him. 43:19 That's why Ellen White says 43:21 in Acts of the Apostles, page 105, 43:23 "Strength to resist evil is best gained 43:26 through aggressive service." 43:27 Now that's rather fascinating. 43:28 He does not say strength to resist evil 43:30 is best gained through prayer. 43:31 Although prayer is incredibly important, 43:33 it doesn't say strength resist evil 43:35 is best gained through Bible study, 43:36 although Bible study is incredibly important. 43:38 Can you think of any group of people 43:40 that prayed most of the day 43:41 and study the Bible most of the day, 43:42 but they will be lost. 43:45 Who is it? You know, who is it? 43:46 They prayed mostly all day. Oh, they had prayer life. 43:50 They studied the Bible mostly all day 43:52 and they actually drove a few nail. 43:54 They shout to crucify Him and they prompted the Romans 43:57 and drive a few nails through the hands of Jesus. 43:59 Who are these people? 44:01 They were called the Pharisees, weren't they? 44:02 Did the Pharisees pray? 44:04 Was the problem with the Pharisees 44:05 they didn't pray enough. 44:07 If you were counseling a Pharisee, 44:08 would you go say pray some more? 44:11 What about if you're giving counsel to a Pharisee, 44:13 would you say go study the Bible some more? 44:15 Did the Pharisees study the Bible? 44:16 Did some of the Pharisees memorize 44:18 the first five books of the Bible, 44:19 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy? 44:21 Did they know the Old Testament? 44:23 What was the problem with the Pharisees? 44:26 They were self-centered egotists. 44:29 And religion consisted of trying 44:33 to live to save themselves. 44:36 Christianity is not giving up bad things, 44:40 so that I can be saved. Amen. 44:43 It's giving up at time good things so others can be saved. 44:47 How much bad was up there in heaven? 44:48 Was there a lot bad up in heaven? 44:50 The Jesus gave up before He came to earth, 44:52 that He give up tobacco and alcohol 44:55 and the honky-tonk and rock music, 44:56 and come to earth, is that what Jesus did? 44:59 There was nothing bad up in heaven. 45:00 Jesus gave up the worship of the angels, 45:02 and He gave up the fellowship of the Father 45:05 and He gave up the glory of the cherubims and seraphims 45:08 and the fellowship with unfallen worlds. 45:10 Jesus gave up nothing bad, so He could be saved. 45:13 He gave up that which is good so we could be saved. 45:16 Christianity is not praying all day so you can be saved. 45:22 And it's not studying the Bible all day, 45:24 so you know more than others, 45:25 so you can win some theological argument. 45:29 Christianity has to do with coming to Jesus. 45:32 And falling in love with Him and sensing the grace 45:36 that He gives to us, sensing the power 45:39 that he imparts in our life, 45:41 and being activity involved in service. 45:44 If you are not involved in some aspect 45:47 of service for Christ, you can't grow spiritual. 45:52 Our spiritual growth is intimately linked to service. 46:00 Do you have a prayer list? 46:02 Is your mind going out of yourself? 46:06 And are you praying for somebody else? 46:09 Are you giving out literature? 46:11 Sharing tapes with somebody else, 46:13 giving a Bible study. 46:14 Do you have some small group in your home? 46:16 Are you calling a friend or neighbor on the telephone 46:19 and inviting them to meetings. 46:21 What are you doing to be actively involved in service? 46:25 Not to save others merely, 46:28 but so that your own soul will grow. 46:32 The reason the Lord led me into evangelism 46:33 was maybe not to save others, but to save me, 46:37 because He knew that this man's heart is selfish, 46:41 and this man's heart is egotistical. 46:44 And He knew that I needed the disappoint of faith 46:48 sharing to grow spiritually. 46:53 Are you involved in some form, 46:56 wherever you're watching in the world, 46:59 are you involved in some form of witness activity? 47:03 You say, I could never do anything for Jesus. 47:06 What can I do? You know sometime ago just in October, 47:10 I was down in Curitiba, Brazil, 47:12 and there in Curitiba I was coming to hold 47:14 a satellite evangelistic meeting 47:15 and the church was involved, 47:17 people out giving Bible studies, 47:18 they had small groups in their home and a little group, 47:21 a small group of children, 47:23 they were seven, eight, nine years old, 47:24 they heard Pastor Finley was coming. 47:25 And so they said, Pastor Finley is coming, 47:27 we want to be involved in service for Jesus. 47:29 We want to do something. 47:31 And the adults said, you know, these kids seven years old, 47:33 six years old, what can they do? 47:34 One bright adult got this idea. 47:37 Let's get balloons and the stamp on the balloons 47:41 Revelation of hope prophecy seminar with Pastor Finley. 47:44 And let's blow up the balloons the kids would like that. 47:46 Let's take a hand bill, roll it up, 47:49 stick it inside a balloon and we'd go up on a mountain 47:52 with these hand bills in the balloons, 47:54 and now the windy day will send hundreds 47:55 and through the city and we'll pray about it 47:58 and these little kids will get involved. 47:59 So the kids were excited Pastor Finley is coming, 48:02 you know, kids anyway five, six years older 48:03 excited about these balloons and so they sent 48:06 the balloons off and the balloons are blowing 48:08 by the hundred across Curitiba, Brazil. 48:10 Now, Curitiba is a very, it's a kind of a secular city, 48:13 it's a very affluent city in Brazil 48:15 and the balloons are blowing over the place. 48:18 In one man's home, he and his wife and children 48:21 are praying, Dear, Lord, we don't know truth. 48:24 Dear, Lord, we want to know the Bible. 48:26 Dear, Lord, send us some messages, 48:29 if you have to send from the sky, send it, Lord. 48:33 Don't get ahead me in the story, please. 48:37 I can just imagine the angels. 48:39 One angel flying on one side of the balloon, 48:42 and the other angel flying on the other side of the balloon, 48:44 one angel says, laughed his wings, 48:46 the balloon goes this way. 48:47 No brother, that way. 48:49 The angel goes this way then they get over the guys house 48:52 and the angel says, down draft, 48:54 the balloon goes right down the guys yard. 48:56 I actually believe that angels guided that balloon into them. 48:59 And the balloon is bouncing in the guy's front yard. 49:02 That morning the guys out walking for walk, 49:04 walks out and here comes the balloon. 49:06 The guy looks at it, picks it up, 49:08 take that balloon for my kids, 49:09 revelation of hope, he pops the balloon, 49:12 pulls out the hand bill, 49:13 I mean, this isn't some preacher story, 49:15 this is the truth. No, I mean, you know, what I mean. 49:19 I mean, I witness this, this actually happened. 49:23 Pulls that hand bill out of the balloon, 49:24 revelation of hope, Pastor Mark Finley. 49:27 Answers to the promises of life. 49:29 How can you have hope meaning 49:31 and purpose in your life? He says, this is our answer. 49:34 The whole came to our meetings. 49:36 We've baptized two family members so far, 49:39 the other three under the baptismal class, 49:41 getting ready for baptism. Amen. 49:43 God looks for your availability, 49:48 not your ability. With God, He can take 49:53 a seven-year-old child who on their knees, 49:56 prays and guides a balloon to a house 49:59 and they can be more of a effective 50:01 soul winner than some egotistical. 50:05 I was gonna, than some egotistical Pharisaical 50:11 Church member that thinks they know how to do it all. 50:15 Give me an army of young people 50:18 and adults who are humble, who love Jesus 50:24 and who have the passion for witness 50:26 and you'll turn Chattanooga around. 50:28 You'll turn Tenseness around, you'll turn the South around, 50:31 you'll turn the United States around, 50:32 you'll turn the world around. 50:34 God is looking for your availability. 50:37 And the more you get involved in witness and they, 50:41 what's our text say, and they what? 50:43 What do they do? Overcame and is it-- 50:45 possible to overcome? Yes or no? Amen. 50:47 By the what? Blood of the Lamb. 50:49 Is grace greater than sin? Yes or no. Yes. 50:52 And they overcame and by the blood of the lamb and by what? 50:55 The word of their testimony. 50:57 As you get involved in witness, 50:58 you will grow spiritually. 51:00 Desire of Ages 143, in order to develop 51:02 a character like Christ, they must work as Christ works. 51:08 Steps to Christ, page 80, 51:10 if we go to work as Jesus designed 51:12 there would be a breath and mind, 51:13 the nobility of purpose or strength and character, 51:15 as it's not seen in our times. 51:17 If you want to grow spiritually, 51:19 get off your knees and get out in the street. 51:22 If you want to grow spiritually, 51:23 get your nose out of the Bible 51:25 and go share it with some lost sinner. 51:27 Amen. Amen, amen. 51:28 And Jesus Christ will empower you 51:32 and you will sense spiritual growth 51:35 and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, 51:38 by the word of their testimony 51:39 that was one more aspect to this look at it, 51:40 please, Revelation Chapter 12 verse 11, 51:42 we stay in the one text today. 51:44 They overcame him verse 11 is possible overcome. 51:47 By the blood of the Lamb, of the cross at Calvary, 51:48 the principalities empowers of hell were crushed. 51:51 And by the word of their testimony, 51:52 the more you witness, the more you love Jesus. 51:55 The more you share your faith because the Bible says, 51:57 it is more blessed to do what? 51:59 Give then to do what? Receive. 52:01 Who is more blessed? The one that goes out 52:03 tomorrow afternoon and gives out the health brochures 52:07 or the one who receives the health brochure 52:09 is more blessed to do what? Give then it is to receive. 52:12 Were you not blessed at GYC when you went out 52:16 and gave out the Bible study cards, 52:17 you know, not you more doubly blessed 52:19 when you know that there are some 14, 15 hundred people 52:22 that signed those cards and they're waiting 52:24 for Bible studies now. Will you not be more blessed? 52:28 As you go out and give a Bible study. 52:31 Wherever you are it is more blessed 52:32 to give than it is to receive. 52:33 Now last point, here it is. 52:35 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, 52:36 by the word of their testimony, 52:38 they did not love their lives to the death." 52:43 They did not love their lives to the death. 52:45 What is this talking about? 52:48 It is talking about early New Testament Christianity 52:52 that is passionate about pouring out 52:56 their lives for Christ, about sacrificing self 53:02 on the altar for Jesus. 53:04 In every heart there is a cross and there is a throne. 53:07 And if self is on the throne of your heart 53:11 Jesus is on the cross of your heart. 53:13 He is crucified of getting in your heart, 53:15 but if self is on the cross 53:18 Jesus is on the throne of your heart. 53:21 So in every heart there is a cross and throne. 53:23 Where is Jesus tonight? In your heart. 53:26 Is He on the cross because self is on the throne 53:30 or is He on the throne because self is on the cross. 53:34 They overcame him and they loved not their lives to death 53:39 that is to say, they said, 53:40 Jesus what do You want me to do? 53:43 And I will do it. That is to say Jesus, 53:46 I want to give my life for You. 53:49 And whatever that is, I want to do it, 53:51 comeback with me please to 1948, '49 and '50, 53:56 we're in the country of the Ukraine. 53:58 Communism dominates the land, 54:01 it's against the law to own a typewriter, 54:03 so Seventh-day Adventists know 54:06 that if they're gonna preserve the Bible, 54:08 they have to love their lives not to death. 54:10 They know if they're gonna preserve God's word, 54:12 they have to secretly type the messages of Jesus Christ. 54:16 Mrs. Olga Galan, Conference President's wife 54:19 in the days of communism received a typewriter, 54:23 it was smuggled into her and she dedicated 54:26 35 years of her life to secretly typing 54:29 and typed over 2,000 copies of Desire of Ages 54:32 and went blind typing. For about 15 years, 54:35 she spent under a table in the living room, 54:37 she go into the table, 54:38 they would put a quilt over the table. 54:41 So that nobody would hear 54:42 a tick, tick, tick, tick, tick of typing 54:44 and they're underneath that table. 54:46 She would type day after day, hour after hour, 54:49 Sabbath school lessons, Bible passages, 54:51 memory verses, Desire of Ages, 54:53 but it became too dangerous in the later years 54:56 particularly in Stalin years, so they put padding, 55:00 quilt padding in a closet and she type in the closet 55:03 until she went blind typing, could not see. 55:08 Hoping that through Jesus and by Jesus that those books 55:13 would make an impact, she sacrificed to her life, 55:17 poured out her life, 35 years, 55:19 many people say it's a waste, why do that, 55:22 would freedom ever come? 55:25 In 1954, Khrushchev came 55:28 to the Communist Cultural Palace in the City of Kiev 55:34 and he stood behind the lectern, 55:36 walked on the wooden bound, wooden slats of the platform, 55:41 and Khrushchev said, in 25 years 55:45 they were not be one Christian in the Former Soviet Union, 55:49 directed materialism will triumph, 55:52 humanism will triumph, we will destroy 55:54 the myth of God. Then he said, 55:57 there will be one Christian that remains 56:01 and when he dies we'll stuff him like a deer, 56:04 will stuff him like an animal and bring him up to Moscow 56:07 and there that Christian will be in a museum 56:10 for other generations to see because the Christian, 56:13 because Christians will be extinct 56:15 and at least we need a preserve one. 56:19 A few months ago, I walked 56:23 into the Kiev Cultural Center 56:26 and I stood there on that platform 56:30 and the cameras were turned on 56:33 and through the Hope Channel, 56:37 we satellited to all of the Former Soviet Union, 56:43 the message of Jesus Christ as I was standing 56:47 on the same boards that Khrushchev said 56:50 made his statement for the Christians 56:52 would become extinct. And thousands of people 56:55 with the word of God in their hands, 57:00 thousands of people listened to God's word, 57:04 accepted Jesus Christ, they were baptized. 57:07 The seeds that Mrs. Olga Galan 57:11 and hundreds and thousands of other faithful 57:14 Christians sowed, because they love God 57:17 their life to death came to harvest, 57:21 they overcame Him through the blood of the Lamb. 57:26 Satan is a defeated foe, they overcame him 57:30 by the word of their testimony, 57:32 Satan is a defeated foe. Would you share Christ? 57:35 You will grow, they overcame him 57:37 because they sacrifice their lives not unto death, 57:40 unto death. Are you willing to say to Jesus today, 57:43 Lord, everything I have is Yours, my life is Yours today, 57:48 my heart is Yours today, my mind is Yours today. 57:53 Who I am and what I am about is Yours today. 57:57 Would you like to say that to Jesus today? 57:59 How many of you like to say Jesus I'm Yours today? 58:01 Who I am? What I am about? 58:03 My time is Yours, my talents are Yours, 58:06 my treasure is Yours, everything about me today Lord 58:10 is Yours and through Christ and in Christ, 58:13 I can be more than a conqueror through Jesus. |
Revised 2014-12-17