Participants: Kelly Linder
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000778
|
01:00 Hello. You got me again.
01:04 I'm gonna be doing a message with you today 01:08 entitled, "Bad Press, Good Press." 01:13 Another very important message. 01:16 As Adventist we should be in tune 01:18 with this sort of a message and hopefully most of us are. 01:22 Okay, but before I begin, 01:25 I need to set the stage a little bit. 01:28 So I want you to turn to 01:30 Deuteronomy 4:5-6. 01:37 Deuteronomy 4:5-6. 01:44 This should be if it's not already 01:46 a famous Adventist text. Chapter 4 verse 5 and 6. 01:54 I love this. 01:56 Moses says to the children of Israel. 01:59 "Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, 02:02 just as the Lord my God commanded me 02:05 that you should act according to them 02:07 in the land which you go to possess. 02:10 Therefore be careful to observe them, 02:14 for this is your wisdom 02:15 and your understanding in the sight of the peoples 02:19 who will hear all these great statutes, and say, 02:22 'Surely this great nation 02:24 is a wise and understanding people.'" 02:28 You know, you think about what's being said there. 02:34 He got through Moses, he's letting the Israelites know 02:37 that if you follow Him, 02:39 you will be such an example of moral goodness and excellence 02:44 that the outside nations are gonna be drawn in. 02:48 You will fulfill your mission 02:50 as a light to the Gentiles, okay. 02:53 That's what you've been called to, 02:55 light to the Gentiles. 02:57 Now this doesn't end here. 03:01 People think, you know, 03:03 Israel separate from modern day Christianity. 03:06 They're two different things. No, no. 03:08 God has always had a plan and the plan has not changed. 03:12 It has not changed. He didn't have to fix it. 03:14 It was never broke. 03:16 And God's law is attractive, if it's understood. 03:20 The law of selfless love. 03:23 Turn to Matthew 5. Matthew 5. 03:34 Matthew 5:14. 03:39 Jesus says, "You are the light of the world. 03:44 A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 03:48 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, 03:52 but on a lampstand, and it gives light 03:55 to all who are in the house." 03:58 This is the good one right here. 04:00 "Let your light shine-- so shine before men, 04:03 that they may see your good works 04:07 and glorify your Father in heaven." 04:12 See, this is good stuff right here. 04:14 I love the Bible. I love the Bible. 04:18 Jesus is saying, "Look, they're gonna see you 04:22 and they're gonna be drawn to your father through you. 04:24 If you really let your light shine in front of people 04:29 and the people will see. 04:31 You don't do it to be seen, 04:33 but you let it be seen that you're a follower of God. 04:38 And when they see that, they'll be drawn to it." 04:41 Okay, now set the stage 04:42 and I just want-- before we move on here, 04:45 I just want to ask for prayer. 04:48 So that they don't mess up, so that my voice holds out, 04:51 and so that I get the message across effectively. 04:55 So let's bow our heads. 04:58 Our dear, precious eternal, Father God, Lord, in Jesus name 05:04 I request that You would pour Your spirit out on me, 05:08 and do help my words to be clear as I pass them on, 05:13 the words that You told me, the words that You taught me. 05:16 Lord, and I thank You for this message 05:18 that I needed to hear. 05:21 And, Lord, I just pray that everybody else will be blessed 05:24 by the message that You give them. 05:27 Father, may we all walk away from here 05:30 with the renewed interest and being the best Christians 05:37 we can be to Your glory and honor. 05:41 And we ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, amen. 05:47 Okay, now as I said before 05:52 the title of this message is "Bad Press, Good Press." 05:59 And I want to begin it with an illustration 06:02 I think you're gonna--I think you're gonna be amused by. 06:05 Now, you know, about 10 years ago, 06:09 maybe a little longer than that, 06:11 I was working at a job in Inkster, 06:13 which is the city I grew up in, on the outskirts of Detroit, 06:16 and I was working as a security guard. 06:20 Now-- and the reason I had the job was 'cause I did-- 06:24 I did a lot of work for my band, you know, I did all the artwork 06:29 and the writing and everything, 06:31 that was pretty, pretty convenient for me. 06:34 And that's why I worked there. 06:36 Now they had another guard 06:38 who worked on the other side of the building, 06:41 they had just hired him, they had just hired. 06:44 I hadn't even met the guy. 06:45 I don't--I had no idea what he looked like, nothing. 06:49 Well, as I'm sitting there one night in my shack, 06:53 I get a phone call, you know, I was working on something, 06:56 I don't know, I might have been on the phone, 06:58 I don't know. 06:59 But he calls, I get on the other line and he says, 07:03 "I'm got to be away from the desk for a few minutes." 07:06 So I said, "Okay." Gets off the phone. 07:09 A couple of hours later he calls me again. 07:13 Now remember I'm not a Christian when this happened. 07:15 He says, "I got to be away 07:17 from the desk again for a few minutes." 07:18 So I said, "Listen, man, 07:20 you ain't got to tell me every time 07:22 you got to go to the bathroom." 07:24 I said, "You just go ahead and go." 07:25 And the guy snaps at me. 07:27 He says, "I was told that I'm supposed to tell you 07:30 every time I go to the bathroom 07:32 and walk away from the desk!" 07:35 And so he snapped at me, so I snapped back. 07:37 And I said, "Listen, you, 07:38 blah-buddy, blah-blah blankety-blank. 07:40 I'll come over to you and blah-buddy, blah-blah." 07:42 And he hangs up the phone on me, okay. 07:44 So that's the end of the story for now, okay. 07:47 Now about 2½ months later, 07:52 my band had done a show out in the Jackson area, 07:55 big show, six bands, crazy, crazy. 07:58 And when my band had got done playing, 08:00 we still had plenty of time to, 08:02 you know, drink and get crazy, etcetera, etcetera. 08:06 And so that's what we did. 08:08 Before the night was over, 08:10 I ended up getting into a wrestling match 08:12 with one of the guys it was there, Nakima. 08:16 And in this wrestling match, I--I went charging at him 08:21 and I grabbed him around the waist. 08:23 And when I did that, he kind of kneeled over me 08:26 and grabbed me around my waist, and then the two of us did 08:29 somewhat of a Charlie Brown spin in the air 08:31 and when we came down, 08:33 he landed so hard on my ribs that they broke. 08:37 He broke my ribs. 08:38 Now for anybody who is listening to this. 08:43 If you've ever had broken ribs, 08:47 you know, I don't need to tell you. It hurts. 08:49 I mean, you can't-- you can't breathe long, 08:53 you can't sneeze, you can't cough, you can't laugh, 08:57 I mean, you can't do anything. 09:00 You can't do anything when you have broken ribs. 09:02 That's horrible. 09:04 So, I mean, I remember laying on the ground 09:05 after it happened the only thing I could say was. 09:09 I mean, I couldn't even talk, I couldn't breathe, nothing. 09:12 So anyway a couple of weeks after I had broken my-- 09:17 I'm serious, not more than two weeks later 09:20 I finally meet that other security guard 09:25 who I had it out with on the phone. 09:26 So I mean here it is three months later 09:28 I've never met him. 09:29 So I'm at work with my broken ribs 09:33 and I show up to work and I go up to my shack, 09:37 my shanty, and this guy is there. 09:42 He is the guy I'm relieving. So he comes out of the shanty. 09:46 And I just tell you, this guy had maded 09:49 greasy hair like he just woke up, 09:52 his uniform was dirty and, you know, 09:57 he just-- he just looked like he was a-- 09:59 he was a wreck as he came out, 10:00 and he had this very demented angry look 10:04 on his face, very angry. 10:07 And as he's coming out he says to me 10:13 "Are you the guy who bowled me out on the phone 10:16 at one time three months earlier?" 10:19 And I said, "Yeah." 10:20 And he goes, "Well, why don't we go 10:22 and discuss this outside of the gate. 10:24 We'll take care of this right now." 10:27 So, you know, I just couldn't back down from this guy, 10:31 I couldn't do it. I said, "All right, let's go." 10:33 So we went outside the gate and I misjudged this guy 10:37 because this guy started throwing those punches. 10:40 I knew immediately I was gonna get beat up, 10:43 and I did. I got beat up. 10:46 I got beat up so bad 10:48 that I finally was just laying on the ground 10:50 trying to guard my broken ribs. 10:52 Now as I'm laying there, I quit, you know, I quit. 10:56 I've got my ribs in this guy just keeps beating me 10:59 and pounding me and kicking me and punching me, 11:02 and I--and you know, I finally yelled up. 11:04 I go, "Get off from me you weirdo!" 11:07 And the guy says to me, and I kid you not. 11:09 This is exactly what he said. 11:10 He stops and I looked at him, I see him and he goes, 11:13 "You're right, I am a weirdo! 11:15 The Bible says we're strange and peculiar people." 11:18 And boom, kicks me again. True story. 11:22 And it was just like that, just like that. 11:25 Now--and the reason I told you the story. 11:28 I've had-- I can't tell you 11:29 how many stories I have that are similar, 11:32 but that one's awful. 11:33 Can you imagine? 11:35 Me having to go back 11:36 and tell all my tough punk rocker and hardcore biker 11:40 and all these different people I hung out." 11:42 Yeah, I got beat up by born again Christian the other day. 11:45 He was trying to convert me. 11:48 Anyway, but the point is this guy, 11:53 he presented me with a false "image" of who God was. 12:01 A false image of who God was. 12:03 But even then, now I wasn't a Christian at the time, 12:07 but even then I knew that he had it wrong. 12:13 I knew this guy had it wrong. And I was not impressed. 12:18 It was a false image, I was not impressed. Okay. 12:22 Well, let's think about the Great Controversy 12:23 for just a second. 12:25 Now God creates all of His creatures with freewill 12:29 because He wants us to love Him freely and intelligently 12:35 to chose to love Him, not just be program to, 12:40 I mean that means nothing. I love you, daddy. 12:43 I love you, daddy. I mean, that means nothing. 12:44 The thing that makes my children's love 12:46 valuable to me is in fact that they could choose to hate me 12:49 if they wanted to, but they don't, 12:52 they chose to love me 12:53 intelligently and willfully, willingly. Okay. 12:58 So God creates all creatures like that, 13:00 but unfortunately the byproduct of freewill 13:06 is the option to rebel. You have that option. 13:10 And God can't take it away, okay. 13:14 Prior to the fall of Satan, 13:18 nobody had ever explored that unexplored option. 13:24 Nobody had ever gone that route. And nobody knows why he did it. 13:28 He's called the mystery of iniquity. 13:30 To give a reason for, it would be to excuse it. 13:33 There is no excuse. 13:35 Why did you go that route? 13:37 How could you have gone that route? 13:39 What in a world were you thinking? 13:41 Where did that come from? 13:43 Okay. But he went that route. 13:46 Now I want you to imagine. 13:48 Satan comes back from exploring that option. 13:52 I mean, I'm just putting it in the nutshell, 13:54 but he shows up and he goes to the angels and he says, 13:59 "All right, listen. Okay, I know you're content." 14:04 By the way, this is a great argument. 14:06 I mean, I can't imagine what it might have been like for me, 14:09 if I'd been there hearing this argument. 14:11 He says, "I know you're content, 14:14 but the only reason you're content 14:16 is because you don't realize 14:18 there's a higher place you can go 14:21 and God does not want you to know 14:23 that you can go there 'cause He's selfish, 14:26 He's hogging all the glory to Himself. 14:29 He wants to keep you shackle down to His standard 14:31 or right or wrong. Right? This is what he comes out. 14:35 And look--he says, "Look, you guys, I have gone there. 14:40 And my eyes have been opened. 14:42 And I've gone to a higher place 14:44 and I'm no longer shackle down to that. 14:46 In spite of his selfishness, I've come to a higher place 14:51 and I have my own standard of right and wrong. 14:53 And look, I'm not dead, I'm not dead. 14:58 Maybe he can't kill me. 15:00 Who knows what he was thinking? 15:01 I mean, who knows what Satan was thinking? 15:03 Maybe He can't kill me. 15:05 You know, I've gone to that higher place, I become like God. 15:08 Maybe He can no longer kill me. 15:10 Maybe that's why He wanted to keep me 15:11 away from exploring that option in the first place 15:13 'cause He didn't want me to be equal to Him. 15:15 You know, anyway the point is 15:19 he comes after having explore that option 15:23 and he goes to those angels 15:26 and he presents to them an image of God that he devised, 15:31 a false image that he crafted. 15:34 This is what God's like. This is what God's like. 15:38 And of course, we know a third of them 15:41 were impressed, were impressed. 15:44 Two-thirds of them were not impressed 15:46 and they stayed back. 15:48 They said, we never had a reason to doubt God, 15:49 we're staying back. 15:51 One-third says, "Well, he does have a pretty good argument. 15:53 How do we really know?" 15:54 So they go. Very bad move. Very bad move. 15:58 And then we know he follows to earth. 16:00 He shows up in the garden, same exact argument. 16:04 Eve-- now did God really say 16:09 that you can't eat of every tree in the garden? 16:13 In other words, God's holding back something. 16:16 He's selfish, He's holding back something. 16:20 He's holding back that option. 16:22 She says, now we can eat of all the trees, 16:24 but the one if we eat of that we will die. 16:26 Satan says, "You will not die. 16:29 I'm not dead. I'm not dead. 16:32 But God doesn't want you to know 16:35 that in the day you partake of that fruit, 16:38 your eyes will be open, 16:39 and you'll be like God, knowing good from evil. 16:42 He wants to keep you shackle down. 16:43 He doesn't want your eyes to be open. 16:45 He doesn't want you to know that you can be as high 16:48 and as grand as He is." See, he does the same thing. 16:52 He presents that same false image. 16:54 From the beginning of time, 16:56 Satan has presented a false image 17:00 of who God is meant to make 17:02 a wrong impression or false impression, 17:04 but those who are true, those who are true seekers 17:07 and those who are truly committed 17:09 will not be impressed. Okay. 17:12 Now when it comes to falsely representing God, 17:20 I have to say and I think most people here will agree, 17:25 but the way-- the method he uses. 17:28 The most affective way 17:30 that Satan keeps people away from religion, 17:36 away from God I should say, 17:37 away from Christ is through religion. 17:42 See, we need to, you know, 17:43 I really believe we need to realize this all the time. 17:47 Satan has a vested interest in turning the Adventist Church 17:50 into just another denomination. That's not the case. 17:54 The Adventist Church has a special, special mission. 17:59 We're not just another denomination. 18:02 We can't afford to pretend that we are one. 18:05 We need to realize that. 18:07 Satan's very hard at work through false religion. 18:09 He is a counterfeiter, okay. 18:11 And he uses religion most effectively 18:13 to keep people from finding Christ. 18:16 He creates the false image of who God is in religion. 18:20 It leaves a wrong impression on those who accepted, 18:22 but those who are true seekers 18:24 and committed to Christ will not be impressed. 18:27 When I--back in those days when I was in my band. 18:30 We--we used to make fun of these guys 18:33 who were, you know, they were like 18:35 the Satan worship cheese metal. 18:38 You know, they had the big hair 18:39 and took themselves very serious 18:41 and their skin tightly at large. 18:43 Their black outfits and their upside down crosses. 18:46 We worship the devil, all this kind of stuff. 18:50 My friends and I basically laughed at them. 18:53 I thought, well they're just stupid. 18:55 We just thought what in the world you guys, 18:57 come on, it's a show. 18:59 If I knew them guys now, I would tell them, look, 19:04 "If you really want to serve your master well, 19:07 go join the ministry 19:09 'cause that's where his highest ranking officials are at, 19:13 keeping people away from God. Ministry, ministry." 19:18 I want to give a few examples. Okay. 19:22 You've turned on the TV however many times, 19:25 you find on the TV the "Televangelist." 19:28 The "Televangelists" are the modern day 19:31 equivalence of the-- the traitors in the temple. 19:36 Christ needs to drive them out with a whip. 19:39 These are the traitors in the temple. 19:41 You run into these guys, some of them are fake faith healers, 19:46 we need to call it what it is. 19:48 And I am unapologetic 19:50 when I state they're fake faith healers. 19:54 You have the prosperity preachers 19:56 that think that God's all about you making money, 19:59 that's the richest that Christ wants you to have, wrong. 20:03 It's very shallow, it's very superficial, 20:05 and it's more greedy than it is godly. 20:09 You have the prosperity, name and claim. 20:14 And, guys, when you pray God, give me a Cadillac, 20:16 you tell Him what color. This is ridiculous. 20:23 You know, and then you have people 20:24 who mean well, I think, 20:26 but they actually will reduce the Bible 20:30 to be just a psychology self help book. 20:36 Now I have to say since I've been a Christian, 20:39 I have come to realize 20:41 that this is a psychological self help book. 20:44 It has helped me-- helped me many, many times. 20:47 But with that said, it's way, way, way more than that. 20:52 I mean, that's an aspect of it. 20:54 There are other things that you get from this book. 20:58 A lot of other things. 21:00 So anyway, I see these "Televangelists" 21:02 and I asked myself, you know, even in the old days 21:05 it's just really what Christ had in mind? 21:09 Is this what He had in mind? 21:11 I mean, ask yourself that somebody 21:12 you might watch these-- 21:14 these "Televangelists," and you might enjoy them, 21:15 but you got to ask them always, is this what Christ wanted? 21:22 Oh, yeah, there it is. 21:24 There is Christianity. It was always like that. 21:25 Even in Jesus day, He was just like these "Televangelist." 21:29 I don't think so. This is a method Satan uses. 21:32 This is the false image of God, meant to make an impression, 21:38 but the people of God will not be impressed by it, 21:42 and the true seekers of God will not be impressed by it. 21:45 Another method He uses is fanaticism. 21:49 I, you know, a lot of people don't know it, 21:51 but when I was a teenager for about a year 21:55 I was involved in a fanatical church, 21:57 a huge fanatical church. 21:59 I had a good friend in the church with me 22:01 by the name of Dave, okay. 22:03 Now Dave and I we didn't act fanatical, 22:07 but the truth is we felt guilty because we didn't act fanatical. 22:11 We thought we didn't have any guts. 22:13 We thought that we were shame to the gospel, 22:15 because we didn't act fanatical. 22:18 And there was a guy we knew in the church, name Bell, 22:20 who was a serious fanatic 22:24 and he was regarded highly in the church 22:27 because he was fanatical. 22:29 And we decided, well maybe this is the guy 22:32 we should hangout with, maybe some of him will rub off on us. 22:35 So we hooked with this guy 22:37 and we decided to go to the Fairlane mall over Inkster, 22:40 I mean over in Dearborn, and we walked into this place 22:45 and it was absolutely horrifying. 22:47 I mean, it was just awful. 22:49 This guy was walking up to every person he's seen. 22:53 I went, just wanted to go buy some records 22:55 or you know, look at some clothes or something. 22:58 He is walking up to every person he sees in the mall 23:02 and getting in their face and saying, 23:03 "Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?" 23:05 Brother, 'cause I'm telling you, if you don't there's gonna be 23:08 repercussions etcetera, etcetera. 23:09 And people are looking at him like he's insane 23:12 and here's Dave and I were embarrassed out of our mind 23:14 and feeling guilty for being embarrassed. 23:19 Well, now I look back and I'm glad 23:21 that I was embarrassed, I'm glad. 23:23 Now I want to read. 23:27 Fanaticism is a serious deadly spiritual condition. 23:31 I just want to say that. 23:33 Fanaticism is false zeal, counterfeit zeal. 23:37 I have to say, you know, 23:39 when I'm giving Bible studies, especially in prophecy, 23:42 when I'm teaching prophecy, 23:44 can I go deep into prophecy with people. 23:46 And I want them to be firmly rooted in it, 23:49 either church members or outsiders, 23:51 I want them to see who we are. 23:53 When I start teaching prophecy, I can tell you now. 23:55 Sometimes my-- I can start out lethargic 23:59 and as the study goes, my blood starts to-- 24:01 starts to flow and then pretty soon I'm standing up 24:04 and I'm doing body language 24:06 and I'm--I'm just-- I'm hammering it in. 24:08 My actual physicality is altered by the truth. 24:12 And I call tell you it's not fanatical, it's genuine zeal. 24:15 Matter of fact, I have to calm myself down 24:19 so that I don't look ridiculous. 24:20 I have to go, take it easy, take it easy. 24:24 So I mean, I'm really, really into it. 24:26 But that's different, that's different. 24:28 Fanaticism is counterfeit zeal, 24:30 and you can spot it, you can see it. 24:32 When you see counterfeit zeal, you know, it's counterfeit. 24:36 I want to read this from Life Sketches page 85. 24:40 Fanaticism. 24:41 You wanna hear what a problem fanaticism is. 24:45 I was so happy when I came in the church and read this. 24:48 She says, "As I returned to Portland, 24:50 there were increasing evidences 24:52 of the desolating effects of fanaticism. 24:55 Some seemed to think that religion 24:56 consisted in great excitement and noise. 24:59 They would talk in a manner that would irritate unbelievers, 25:03 and have an influence to arouse hatred against themselves 25:06 and the doctrines they taught. 25:08 Then they would rejoice that they suffered persecution. 25:12 Unbelievers could see no consistency in such a course. 25:16 The brethren in some places were prevented 25:19 from assembling for meetings. 25:20 The innocent suffered with the guilty. 25:24 I carried a sad and heavy heart much of the time. 25:26 It seemed so cruel 25:28 that the cause of Christ should be injured 25:30 by the course of these injudicious men. 25:33 They were not only ruining their own souls, 25:35 but placing upon the cause-- 25:38 placing upon the cause a stigma not easily removed. 25:43 And Satan loved to have it so. 25:45 It suited him well to see the truth 25:47 handled by unsanctified men, to have it mixed with error, 25:51 and then all together trampled in the dust. 25:54 He looked with triumph upon the confused, 25:57 scattered state of God's children." 25:59 And you know, what's interesting? 26:01 She says, "They're placing upon the cause 26:03 a stigma not easily removed." 26:07 What would she think now if she lived in our time? 26:09 What would she say? She was so right, so right. 26:14 So fanaticism, for me, that's a big one, that's a big one. 26:18 I absolutely despise it to be honest with you. 26:21 It makes me sick. Okay, I--all right. 26:26 Now I want to talk about the hell doctrine, okay. 26:31 You know, I think I said before in my testimony. 26:34 I had prayed to God that He would show me the right way. 26:37 I said, "God, I don't know the right way. 26:40 I know You exist. 26:41 Intellectually, it's undeniable." 26:43 Though it's unfathomable, it's also undeniable. 26:46 So but what-- what do I know? 26:48 I don't know the right way to go, 26:49 I need You to show me. 26:51 I throw my hands up and say, show me, show me the way. 26:57 And I also said, this is the point. 27:00 "Give me an indicator 27:03 that this is something worth looking into. 27:06 Adventism showed up in my life very soon after that 27:10 and the indicator God gave me 27:13 as a part of my prayer request answered was the hell doctrine. 27:19 I discovered that Adventist don't teach it 27:22 and they show me the truth about hell. 27:24 And when they show me that truth, 27:26 Christianity look that much more plausible." 27:29 And I said, "Maybe this is God's answer. 27:31 Maybe I should look into this." 27:32 And I looked into it and it was the right way. 27:35 But hell, I'm just saying I feel so, 27:38 so strongly about this. 27:41 Hell, the idea of the hell burns forever and ever 27:44 torturing you for all eternity 27:46 is so absolutely horrifying and so evil. 27:51 I mean, it would drive a person 27:53 absolutely out of their mind to try to comprehend it, 27:56 try holding a hot match to your finger for three seconds, okay. 28:01 Now imagine your whole body. 28:02 Imagine you putting your kids in-- 28:06 you know, taking your kid's hand 28:08 and putting on the stove for five seconds. 28:10 Could you do that? 28:11 That is so unbelievably cruel 28:13 and yet God, our Father is gonna put us 28:16 into a place of eternal torment for all eternity. 28:18 I don't think so. 28:20 Now when I used to do door-to-door work. 28:25 I had a question on my survey, okay. 28:28 And I did a real survey. 28:29 I wanted to find out what people thought. 28:31 And on my survey, one of my questions was, 28:35 "Do you find it difficult to reconcile supposedly loving God 28:39 with the God that sentences sinners to an eternity 28:43 in the torturing flames of fire." 28:45 And I thought this was a good question. 28:47 I thought this will get a lot of people interested. 28:50 I was surprise. 28:51 I was shocked to find out 28:53 that probably about 90% of the people 28:56 I talked to said, "No, I don't have a problem with it. 28:59 They chose to go to hell." And I'd say, "No, they didn't. 29:04 Nobody would choose to go to hell." 29:06 And if God was as merciful as He says He is, 29:09 He wouldn't put them there. 29:11 He would just take the life away. 29:12 What's the point in teaching them a lesson 29:16 from which they could never had benefited from having learnt. 29:19 There's no point. 29:21 So anyway the hell doctrine, 29:23 I had a debate with a guy, one of my old jobs 29:26 and he and I were talking about this very subject, 29:31 and at the end of the conversation he says, 29:33 "All right, Kelly, tell me this. 29:35 If there is no hell, why should I be a Christian? 29:38 Why should I go on being a Christian?" 29:40 I said, "Man, if the only reason that you're Christian, 29:44 is because you're afraid of God frying you for all eternity, 29:46 then you're not one." It's true. 29:49 How can you be a Christian if that's your motivation?" 29:53 I mean, Romans 2:4 says, "It's the goodness of God 29:57 that leads us to repentance." The goodness of God. 30:01 See, I'm attracted to God's character, 30:03 that's what wins me over, 30:05 has nothing to do with punishment. 30:07 Well, there is-- there is a little bit, 30:09 there is a little bit of motivation there, 30:10 but by enlarge God's character has really won me over. 30:16 I see God is the most excellent thing 30:18 that it is possible to obtain. 30:20 I mean, it's everything I believe in it, 30:23 it's everything I want to be, okay. 30:26 So anyway Romans 2:4. 30:31 "The goodness of God leads you to repentance not hell." 30:33 The hell doctrine is Satan creating a false image 30:36 of who God is which makes a wrong impression, 30:40 but the true people of God 30:41 and the true seekers of God are not impressed. 30:44 They're not impressed. Okay. Cheap grace, legalism. 30:50 Cheap grace, I can earn my salvation, legalism. 30:54 I mean, cheap grace, Christ died 30:56 so that I can conveniently go on sinning 30:58 and still expect to eat from the tree of life. 31:01 Legalism, I can earn my salvation. 31:03 Righteousness by works, 31:05 but we know righteousness is not by works, it is by faith. 31:08 I have been won back over to Christ. 31:11 I have been won back over the evidence. 31:14 The witness is that God is good. 31:17 I've been won back to Him, He's reconciled me. 31:20 These two doctrines, cheap grace 31:22 and legalism are another false image, 31:26 meantally make a wrong, a false impression on people, 31:29 but the true people of God 31:31 and the true seekers of God are not impressed. 31:34 And finally, 'cause I can go on and on all day. 31:37 But this is the final one I wanna use. 31:38 During the Dark Ages, the church, 31:41 "The Church" in the name of "Christ" 31:45 murdered so many-I mean, think about the martyrdom 31:48 and the tortures, Spanish inquisition, 31:50 the imprisonment, the fines, the war etcetera. 31:54 I mean, so many evil things. 31:57 I don't know if anybody here has read the book, 31:59 "Foxe's Book of Martyrs." 32:01 I did and I can say it was hard reading 32:04 not because it was wordy, 32:05 but because it was so absolutely horrifying. 32:09 I had to stop reading at two-thirds of the way, 32:11 I had to put it away 'cause 32:13 it was too hard to read, you know. 32:15 These are the things we're looking at. 32:17 Satan uses these things. 32:19 I've heard people say, "More wars have been in fought 32:21 in the name of Christianity than any other reason." 32:24 And sadly, that's the truth. 32:27 Okay, the devil misrepresents God, 32:29 does it through religion. 32:30 He creates a false image, 32:32 he crafts a false image of who God is, 32:36 meant to make a false impression, 32:38 but the true people of God 32:40 and the true seekers of God are not impressed, okay. 32:45 Satan in attempting to ruin God's image, 32:47 he creates a false image of who God is 32:49 with the intension of leaving a wrong impression 32:52 or making a mark on those 32:54 who accept this inaccurate portrayal. 32:57 There's two kinds of people that are impressed by this. 33:00 First, there is the people who accept this false image 33:03 and worship this false image, 33:05 but then there is the other group. 33:06 And these people are the ones 33:08 who are repelled by this false image 33:10 and they throw the baby out with the bathwater. 33:13 Satan loves it. Satan loves it. 33:16 Some people reject religion for all the right reasons, 33:19 and Satan loves it when they do. 33:23 Okay, now turn to 2nd Peter 2:1-2. 33:29 2nd Peter 2:1-2. 33:39 It says, therefore--I'm sorry, I'm on the wrong one. 33:42 2nd Peter 2:1-2. 33:48 It says, "But there were also false prophets among the people, 33:52 even as there will be false teachers among you, 33:55 who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, 33:58 even denying the Lord who bought them, 34:01 and bring on themselves swift destruction." 34:03 You deny God with your actions. 34:05 You can claim to be a Christian and pay Him lip service all day, 34:07 but you deny Him with your actions. 34:09 Action speak louder than words. 34:13 Verse 2, "And many will follow their destructive ways, 34:18 because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed." 34:24 These are the false prophets that are in the church, 34:26 they're among you and because of whom 34:30 the way of truth will be blasphemed. 34:33 Satan's false image makes its mark on the mind, 34:37 the core, the heart, the character. 34:40 And ultimately it's revealed in the behavior of those 34:44 who are impressed by it, 34:46 but God's people who truly know Him will not be impressed, 34:49 it will not make its mark on them. 34:52 God's people are to be a courtroom witness 34:54 of the true character of God. 34:56 They're to remove the obstacles of belief 34:58 and bring the baby back, bring the baby. 35:02 You don't wanna throw this away. 35:04 Now I believe and I know 35:06 that God will have people at the end of time. 35:09 An end time Elijah 35:10 who does a work of reform and restoration. 35:12 Jesus said, "Elijah is coming and he will restore all things." 35:17 And he's already come. Jesus said that. 35:19 We know there is an end time Elijah, right? 35:24 End time Elijah does a work of reform and restoration. 35:27 Elijah restores all things, working in correlation 35:31 with the cleansing of the sanctuary. 35:32 He repairs the altar, literally Elijah 35:36 and restores God's image in the minds of the people. 35:41 He prepares the way for Elisha, a type of Christ. 35:45 John the Baptist, another Elijah restores religion 35:50 and prepares the way for the first coming of Christ. 35:52 End time Elijah working in correlation 35:55 with the cleansing of the sanctuary 35:57 restores the true image of God in the minds of the people 36:02 paving the way for the second coming of Christ, okay. 36:06 Elijah restores God's image in the mind of the people 36:09 and gives glory to the true God of heaven. 36:13 Turn to Revelation 14:6-7. 36:20 Revelation 14:6-7. 36:29 Okay. 36:30 "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven 36:33 having the everlasting gospel 36:35 to preach to those who dwell in the earth, 36:38 to every nation, tribe, tongue and people. 36:41 Saying with a loud voice, fear God, and give glory to him 36:47 for the hour of his judgment has come. 36:51 Fear God, and give glory to him 36:55 for the hour of his judgment has come 36:57 and worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, 37:00 and springs of water, give glory to him 37:03 the hour of His judgment has come." 37:05 What does it mean? 'Cause this is end time Elijah. 37:08 What does it mean to give glory to God? 37:12 Bible Commentary Volume 7 page 979, 37:17 that's Bible Commentary Volume 7 page 979, 37:22 "To give glory to God 37:24 is to reveal His character in our own, 37:28 and thus make Him known. 37:30 And in whatever way we make known the Father 37:33 or the Son, we glorify God." That's so important. 37:37 And I'm gonna read it again. 37:40 "To give glory to God 37:42 is to reveal His character in our own, 37:46 and thus make Him known. 37:48 And in whatever way we make known the Father 37:51 or the Son, we glorify God." 37:56 In what way does the true character of God 37:59 manifested self in us. 38:01 Jesus says, "By their fruits you'll know them." 38:04 And He also said, 38:05 "By this all men will know that you are my disciples 38:07 that you have love one for another." 38:10 Okay, it's the actions of love, the fruits of the spirits. 38:17 If anybody here has ever heard the quote 38:20 so and so is too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good. 38:26 Well, you know, I've heard it 38:28 and I understand what they mean by that quote. 38:31 What they're talking about there is, 38:32 the religious person who really doesn't go in the outside world, 38:36 really doesn't do anything, but go to church meetings, 38:38 go to church and, you know, as a part of all these 38:41 church functions etcetera, etcetera. 38:43 Yeah, I can understand that respect. 38:45 But the true, the person who is truly heavenly minded 38:50 will not be of no earthly good. 38:52 Let me read this. Another CS Lewis quote. 38:57 Okay, let me just find it here real quick. 39:02 Okay, 178. 39:04 He says, "If you read history 39:06 you will find that the Christians 39:08 who did most of the present world, 39:09 for the present world were just those 39:13 who thought the most of the next. 39:15 The Apostles themselves, who set on foot 39:18 in the conversion of the Roman Empire, 39:20 the great men who built up the Middle Ages, 39:22 the English Evangelicals 39:24 who abolished the slave trade all left their mark on earth, 39:28 precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven. 39:32 It is since Christians have largely ceased 39:34 to think of the other world that they have become 39:37 so ineffective in this. 39:39 Aim at heaven and you will get this world thrown in." 39:43 Free of charge. 39:44 Aim at earth and you will get neither. 39:47 And I couldn't agree more, couldn't agree more. 39:51 The Galatians 5:22-23. 39:59 Galatians 5:22-23. 40:07 The fruits of the Spirit. 40:12 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, 40:17 longsuffering, kindness, goodness, 40:20 faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 40:24 Against such there is no law." 40:26 Character, the character of God, okay. 40:30 1st Corinthians 13:4-8. 40:34 I'm just gonna rattle off a few here. 40:37 1st Corinthians 13:4-8. Okay. 40:42 "Love suffers long and is kind love does not envy 40:46 love does not parade itself, is not puffed up, 40:49 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, 40:52 is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, 40:57 but rejoices in the truth, 40:58 bears all things, believes all things, 41:01 hopes all things, endures all things. 41:04 Love never fails." 41:08 You see, that's beautiful, that's beautiful. 41:10 Love is powerful. 41:11 It's been reduced in this world to be fluffy, 41:15 emotionalism and it does include emotion, 41:18 but love is powerful. Love is God. 41:23 Love is the character of the true God, okay. 41:28 Philippians 4:8. 41:32 Philippians 4:8. 41:34 I just got a couple more, so bear with me. 41:39 Philippians 4. I forget where it's at. 41:47 Oh, oh. Well, I'll just read it. I got it written right here. 41:53 It says, "Finally brothers." 41:54 One of my favorite text, 41:56 I guess I should know where it's at. 41:57 "Finally brethren, whatever things are true, noble, 42:01 just, pure, lovely, credible, virtuous, praiseworthy, 42:09 meditate on these things." 42:12 Christ reveals God's character by coming from the highest place 42:16 to take the lowest place. 42:18 Reveals God's love and self sacrifice 42:21 and God's just integrity in His life 42:23 of perfect obedience to God's law of selfless love. 42:28 And why did He do it? 42:29 Well, it's like we've been talking about. 42:31 He did it to duplicate God's image in us. 42:36 His excellence, His courage, His faithfulness, 42:39 His dignity, His purity, His integrity, His concern 42:43 and love even for His enemies. Okay. 42:47 On the other hand, down here at the end 42:50 we don't want to be caste in with the mainstream 42:56 who published the bad press, the bad press. 43:02 2nd Timothy 3:1-5. 43:08 2nd Timothy 3:1-5. 43:17 "But know this, 43:18 that in the last days perilous times will come. 43:21 For men will be lovers of themselves, 43:23 lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, 43:28 disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, 43:33 unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, 43:37 brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, 43:42 lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 43:44 having a form of godliness." You see that's the catch. 43:49 See, everybody reads and they think, 43:50 oh, these are worldly people. Well, yeah, they are worldly. 43:54 But they hide behind the title of Christianity. 43:58 They take the name Christianity and they take that name in vain. 44:04 They have a form of godliness, but they deny its power. 44:08 Of course they do. 44:09 All those actions speak louder than words. 44:11 They deny its power. Okay. 44:16 And then Paul goes on to say, 44:18 "From such people turn away." 44:21 Now that might seem harsh, 44:23 I mean we sometimes we compromise, 44:25 you know, we want to join our ranks 44:28 with people that are, from these, 44:33 you know, these other belief systems now. 44:37 It's our greatest privilege 44:39 to partake in the divine nature, okay. 44:42 And we want to do that, 44:44 but we can't damage our credibility. 44:47 That's why Paul says, I've nothing to do with them 44:50 because if I show up for study with somebody, 44:55 you know, somebody that I know 44:56 and bring with me somebody like that, 45:00 you know, like what we just described here. 45:03 What does that do for my credibility? 45:05 This person is claiming to be a Christian 45:07 and yet they are acting totally different 45:09 and I'm going oh, yeah, he's my buddy, 45:10 we're brothers in Christ. No, we're not. No, we are not. 45:15 And I'm not going to damage God's name by doing that. Okay. 45:20 And I'm not talking about struggling with sin, 45:21 we're all strugglers. 45:23 And I'm talking of our blatant disregard of God's law 45:26 out loud in the open. 45:28 I won't damage my credibility 45:30 by taking a person like that to a study with me, okay. 45:35 As I said before, our greatest privilege 45:37 to partake of the divine nature 45:39 and present Christ to the world through our own character 45:42 and allow God's true image to be reproduced in us. 45:48 And as God's press agents 45:49 we look for every opportunity for God's image 45:53 to be vindicated as it is reproduced in us. 45:57 People will see your good works 45:58 and glorify your Father in heaven. 46:01 See, I hope when I'm not around, I hope people will say, 46:04 Kelly Linder, yes, I know that guy. 46:07 Yeah, he's a Christian, but he's real, you know, 46:09 I mean he's a real Christian, you know. 46:12 He's the real thing, or you know, 46:15 Charlotte, she's a true Christian. 46:17 She's friendly, she's affectionate. 46:21 Pastor Bill, here's a guy, here's a Christian 46:23 who actually makes God look good. 46:26 Here's Jennifer Dollarhide. 46:28 She always looks for the best in other people. 46:30 She is always understanding. Okay. 46:34 Jose Skrobowski, my friend, okay. 46:37 He really knows how to back up his belief. 46:41 He has a reason that he can share with you 46:43 for his belief, okay. 46:45 And I can go on and on and on. 46:46 My wife Sonia Linder, you know, 46:49 people say behind her back people say, 46:52 wow, your wife is something else 46:54 and that's because as a Christian, 46:56 she always, always goes out of her way, 46:59 she always goes the extra mile. 47:02 And she does it unselfishly, not for the praise of others, 47:05 she does it unselfishly. 47:07 See, this speaks to people about our God. 47:11 These traits say something about the God we worship, you know. 47:15 See, I hope that when we're not around, 47:19 I hope people will say, I like those 47:23 Seventh-day Adventists, I like them. 47:27 They really seem to be genuine, 47:29 they seem to be true Christians. 47:32 What they promote make sense. 47:34 What they promote is attractive 47:36 and I'm attracted to their God, see. 47:39 And actually, you know, by saying that. 47:43 You know, the fact is that's what 47:45 our mission is down here at the end. 47:48 Our mission is to serve Christ in such a way 47:53 that when we're not around, the public opinion will be, 47:58 yeah, like the Adventists, 48:00 they have a bright light shining, you know. 48:03 The nations will say, surely this is a wise 48:06 and understanding people, you know. 48:09 Elisha is to restore that, 48:11 that's what end time Elisha does, 48:13 you know, This is what, this is what we need to realize 48:17 that our mission is down here at the end. 48:20 Okay, we're preparing the way for the second coming. 48:23 We're doing a work of reform and restoration. 48:29 And I've an appeal, okay. I've an appeal. 48:33 You know, a lot of people know me that one of the strongest 48:35 aspects of my ministry is and I believed God called me to is-- 48:41 the fact that I can't, that I have a very hard time 48:43 stomaching what to me appears to be 48:47 just counterfeit in religion just, I mean, 48:50 you know, sometimes its so obviously counterfeit 48:53 and it makes God look so, so bad. 48:58 So I have to make the appeal, you know. 49:02 If you are in the church and you live a mediocre life, 49:09 you know, you attend all the church meetings. 49:16 You say all the right things. 49:18 You wear the clothes, you know, 49:21 you talk the talk etcetera, etcetera, okay. 49:25 You know, you're just another cog in the machine, 49:29 you know, just another conformist. 49:31 Your personality has been checked at the door, 49:34 you just come in and assimilated yourself to the collective. 49:42 You know, this is mediocrity, you know. 49:44 We've been called to higher standard 49:46 and if you're person who is religious 49:50 and doesn't care whatsoever, 49:52 has no concern with how God 49:54 is misrepresented by these injudicious men. 50:00 Then just keep doing the same thing you've always done, 50:04 because if you're unwilling to surrender, 50:09 all of these boring selfish character traits. 50:16 If you're unwilling to surrender those to Christ, 50:20 nothing is going to change. 50:22 It's not going to change. 50:24 And I would say, you might as well not be a religious person, 50:28 you might as well just go indulge and get married, okay, 50:32 because God wants the best from His people. 50:37 Daniel and his friends were found 10 times better. 50:43 This is what God calls us to. 50:45 Not boring mediocrity, not just going, 50:49 you know, going the extra mile, 50:51 that's what we're called to do, going the extra mile. 50:56 Always have it in mind, always think. 50:59 Christ is in my presence right now. 51:01 God is with me right now. How do I look to the people? 51:06 Not selfish, not. 51:08 How do I look, you know, that's totally different. 51:11 I'm saying, how do I look to the glory of God? 51:16 How do I look to the glory of God? 51:19 So if you're one of those people that just really doesn't care. 51:25 You just, you show up to church, 51:27 you're just a pew warmer, you know. 51:31 You are one of the choir that's been preached to. 51:33 Again just keep doing the same thing you've always done. 51:39 But the rest of you, 51:42 the rest of the people in this church, in God's church, 51:46 whether they're in the Adventist church 51:48 or whether they're in the other churches. 51:51 In your heart stand up 51:54 or even physically stand up and make your decision. 51:59 We want to be beautifully Christian. 52:02 We want to do incredible amazing 52:05 miraculous things in the name of Christ. 52:10 We want to have the fruits of the Sprit. 52:14 We want to be that light shinning on the hill. 52:19 A light of the world, the salt of the earth. 52:22 We want to be the light to the Gentiles, true Israel, 52:25 that we would have these character traits, 52:29 these laws, these statutes, 52:31 all these wonderful, wonderful characteristics of God. 52:36 This is who we want to be. 52:39 We want to surrender all of our weak, 52:41 cowardly, lazy, proud, unloving, 52:44 uncaring petty imperfection at His feet 52:48 to have Him to modify the deeds of our human nature, 52:53 our fleshly human nature to rise above human nature 52:59 and to partake in the divine nature to the glory of God. 53:05 To be true witnesses representatives of Him 53:09 to present to the world, the true image of God. 53:17 This is our prayer, isn't it? 53:18 Every morning, I want to-- actually I want to write out 53:21 every beautiful, incredible, 53:25 character trait that God has to offer, 53:27 when I write them all on a piece of paper 53:29 as many as I think of top to bottom. 53:32 This is what I want to do, I need to pray this prayer. 53:35 I need it, I need that excellence. 53:37 God give me that excellence. 53:38 And I want to fold it up and I want to lay it down 53:40 and I want to pray over God, 53:42 make me like this to Your glory. 53:45 I want to be Daniel. 53:47 May I dare to be Daniel to Your glory. 53:51 May people in this world look at us and go, 53:54 wow, I like these people, I like these people, you know. 53:58 You know what, in Proverbs, Proverbs 2. 54:03 We really want to read this, okay. 54:07 Proverbs 2. Going in the wrong way. 54:11 Hurrying, going to fast. 54:13 Proverbs 2, sorry, okay. 54:22 Sorry Proverbs 3:1-3. 54:28 "My son, do not forget my law, 54:30 but let your heart keep my commands, 54:34 for length of days and long life 54:36 and peace they will add to you. 54:39 Let not mercy and truth forsake you, 54:44 bind them around your neck, 54:46 Write them on the tablet of your heart, 54:49 and so find favor and high esteem 54:54 in the sight of God and man." 54:59 This is the design right here. 55:01 You know I want to mention. 55:03 Christ had credibility with those tax collectors, 55:05 sinners, prostitutes, drunkards and publicans. 55:09 He had credibility with them. 55:11 Religion has lost all credibility with them. 55:13 But when they met Him, 55:15 they said, whoa, this guy is different. 55:17 This guy is different. They saw He had an authority. 55:19 Actually that was my experience when I came into this church, 55:22 I said, this is different. 55:24 I saw an authority in here, I didn't see anywhere else. 55:27 I'm not going to apologize for saying that, 55:29 I'm not being arrogant, I'm stating a fact. 55:30 I was won over for a reason. Okay. 55:34 We want to partake in divine nature. 55:36 We want to be like Christ, plain and simple. 55:41 'Cause we may we publish the good press, 55:44 'cause down here at the end of time, 55:46 there is going to be a movement 55:47 that present a false image of who God is. 55:53 There is going to be a large number of people 55:54 that worship that false image. 55:57 They're going to force, try to force everybody 55:59 to worship that false image and whoever doesn't, 56:03 who doesn't receive that mark, 56:05 will go through a terrible trial. Okay. 56:09 We need to stand up and be those instruments of excellence, 56:12 so that we won't sell out and fall 56:15 when that testing time comes. That's what I want, okay. 56:19 I don't know if I'm there, but that's what I want. 56:21 Let's pray. 56:23 Dear heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for hearing us today. 56:27 We desire to be the best Christians You can make us. 56:31 We love You. We honor You. 56:33 We are absolutely won over to you. 56:36 Our God, You are so much more than the world can know, 56:39 so much more than we can know. 56:42 Lord, touch our hearts and strengthen us. 56:45 Fill us with Your Spirit we ask. 56:49 Help us to truly know and understand 56:53 exactly who You are and to be inspired by that 56:57 to become more and more like Jesus everyday 57:00 to have that dignity and that excellence and goodness. 57:07 Father, be with us, 57:09 we pray in Jesus name. Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17