Participants: Kenneth Cox
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000816
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01:01 Well, hello, and welcome to Spring Camp Meeting
01:03 right here in Southern Illinois 01:05 at Three Angels Broadcasting Network's Worship Center. 01:08 We welcome all of you. 01:10 Are you enjoying camp meeting? 01:12 Yeah! 01:13 I want to encourage everyone that is viewing over 3ABN. 01:17 When you hear that 01:18 there is camp meeting coming to 3ABN, 01:20 should they make plans to come and attend? 01:23 You're blessed mentally, physically, spiritually, 01:25 emotionally in every area. 01:28 God sees that you're ministered too. 01:30 Well, today we have Pastor Kenneth Cox with us. 01:33 He's going to present the seminar 01:36 that we're about to hear and the messages 01:39 that he has brought so far have moved me. 01:42 How about you? 01:43 Really are encouraging. 01:45 But before Pastor Cox comes, we have Dona Klein with us. 01:48 Dona's been with Pastor Cox for many years. 01:51 We all know her and love her and appreciate her very much. 01:54 And she's going to minister to us today on the organ 01:57 "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." And when she's through, 02:00 Pastor Cox is going to come and minister to you. 02:02 God bless you all. 03:56 Thank you Dona, thank you very much. 03:59 And welcome to each one of you, we're glad that you're here. 04:02 Let's take just a moment 04:03 to invite the Lord's presence to be with us. 04:06 Heavenly Father, we ask that as we look at Your Word, 04:10 and as we open our hearts for guidance and direction, 04:13 and being the witnesses that You want us to be, 04:16 we pray that You will be with us, 04:18 guide and direct us in a special way. 04:20 We pray in your name, amen. 04:23 Well, let's start right out by taking care of some things 04:26 that we need to. 04:27 One is we ran out of manuals, we told you, 04:31 we would try to get some here today. 04:33 And so if you didn't get a manual, 04:36 we're going to ask them to pass them out to you. 04:39 If you raised your hand yesterday 04:41 and said you needed one, 04:42 well, they will pass them out at this time, 04:45 so that everybody, we hope, gets one and all. 04:50 Everybody that raised their hands. 04:54 So we'll just try to see that, if you were here 04:58 and you raised your hand yesterday 04:59 that you needed one, well, please raise them, 05:03 we'll give you another manual. 05:08 While they're doing that, 05:09 let me take care of some other items 05:12 that we'll talk about 05:13 one of the things that I went over 05:16 with you yesterday was on 05:18 "Leading Someone to the Acceptance of Christ," 05:22 and we talked to you about how to do that. 05:24 In the manual, there is an outline 05:28 that outlines helps you understand 05:31 what you need to talk to a person about 05:34 and accepting Christ. 05:35 You'll find that in the manual, 05:37 so we hope that you'll follow that. 05:39 If you want to listen to a gospel presentation 05:45 out at the table, booth, 05:48 there is a little CD 05:49 there called "How to Give a Gospel Presentation." 05:53 Stop there. 05:55 I think they're $5 for the CD. 05:57 If you want to pick one up that tells you 05:59 How to Give a Gospel Presentation. 06:04 What you need to do, folks, 06:05 is not particularly learn it verbatim. 06:09 That's not what we're saying. 06:11 What you need to do 06:12 is you need to understand the outline, 06:15 kind of get a skeleton, 06:17 then put your own meat on it and make it work 06:20 as you give a gospel presentation. 06:23 We're still short of 16, Pastor Cox. 06:25 Huh? 06:26 Well, we had some people that weren't here yesterday then 06:31 that raised their hands for manuals, 06:33 'cause we made more than we had hands raised, 06:37 and now we still run out. 06:40 So we'll have to take it from there the best we can. 06:43 Okay, let's move on and take a look 06:46 at what we're studying here. 06:49 What we're trying to do, folks, is to help you learn 06:53 how to lead somebody 06:56 in understanding following the Lord Jesus Christ. 07:00 And there are certain things that over the years 07:03 that I have found, 07:04 and I found that there are seven points, 07:08 that if people are clear on, 07:10 if you get them clear on these seven points, 07:13 then they progress very well. 07:15 If you don't get them clear on those seven points, 07:19 they're not going to make the step 07:21 that they need to make. 07:23 One of those I told you was the acceptance of Christ. 07:27 They have to accept Christ as their personal Savior. 07:31 If they do not accept Him as their personal Savior, 07:34 then you're not going to get them 07:36 to make that decision 07:37 on down the line. 07:39 So as you're studying with them, 07:42 when they come to the point that they have listened 07:44 to the presentation or may have, 07:47 more than one of them on the acceptance of Christ, 07:50 then you just need to talk to them and need to ask them, 07:54 "Are you clear? 07:55 Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior?" 07:58 If they don't understand, then you need to help them 08:02 understand what it means. 08:04 The second point that we talked about 08:06 was after the acceptance of Christ, 08:09 the next decision they need to make is, what? 08:12 Baptism. Baptism. 08:14 Bible ties baptism 08:16 to the acceptance of Jesus Christ. 08:18 And so when that person accepts Christ, 08:21 they need to be making the decision 08:24 to follow the Lord in baptism. 08:26 That doesn't mean 08:28 they have to go in the water immediately. 08:30 But it means that they need to make that decision 08:33 that they're going to follow the Lord in baptism. 08:36 So you need to help them 08:38 and the manual will go through that with you 08:40 and tell you what needs to be done there. 08:43 I have tried 08:44 and today I will try to hit the high points. 08:48 There are a lot of details in the manual 08:50 you need to pay attention to in working with the person. 08:54 For instance, 08:55 when you're taking videotapes to people, 08:58 if you're taking them to more than one person, 09:01 and like I told you one set 09:03 will take care of about three homes, 09:05 you need to keep some kind of records 09:07 or you're going to get all mixed up. 09:10 So the manual will show you how to do that, 09:13 and you need to take care of that. 09:15 All right. 09:16 As I mentioned, there are seven points. 09:20 Over the years, I've found 09:22 that if a person accepts these seven points, 09:27 they'll accept all the rest. 09:30 So if you get them clear on those seven points, 09:34 they'll come right on through. 09:36 And I mentioned the two to you. 09:39 The third one is the question of the Sabbath, okay? 09:44 Third one is the question of the Sabbath. 09:47 Now, folks, there are two decisions 09:50 that are different than all the rest. 09:53 Two decisions that are different than 09:55 all the other decisions. 09:58 Do you know what two decisions those are? 10:01 Sabbath and prayer. 10:02 Sabbath... 10:04 Prayer? 10:05 No. 10:07 Most times state of the dead comes up, 10:09 but that's not it. 10:11 Health. Health. 10:14 Sabbath and health are the two decisions 10:18 that are different than all the other decisions. 10:21 And the reason for that is what? 10:26 It requires that person to change lifestyle. 10:32 Therefore, you cannot just talk to that person 10:36 and ask them if they're clear on this. 10:40 If they're clear on the Sabbath, 10:41 they may say, "Yes." 10:43 You can't stop there. 10:45 You've got to say that person 10:47 does this creative problem for you. 10:50 And they might say, "Yes, 10:53 I understand what the Bible says about it, 10:55 but I have to work on the Sabbath." 10:57 See, you've got to take it a step further, 11:00 and find out if it creates a problem for them. 11:05 So if you go to a home, and the person 11:08 has watched the video on the Sabbath, you ask them 11:12 if they have any questions about it. 11:14 And they may say, "No, I understand the Sabbath, 11:18 clear on it." 11:19 And then if you say to them 11:21 "Well, so created problem for you?" 11:24 Then they say, "Yes, I have to work on the Sabbath." 11:26 What do you do then? 11:30 What do you do then? 11:32 Do you just say, "Well, I'll pray for you"? 11:37 Is that what you do? 11:40 How am I going to be a help to this person 11:44 to keep the Sabbath? 11:47 Well, what you have to do 11:50 is you have to become faith for them. 11:57 You have to become faith for them. 12:01 How do you do that? 12:03 Simply by beginning to tell them 12:06 stories of other people 12:08 who face the same problem and how God intervened. 12:14 In other words, you're telling them stories 12:16 about other individuals that had this problem 12:19 and how God answered 12:20 their prayer and what He did for them. 12:23 This is what you have to do. 12:26 And as you tell them these faith stories, 12:28 it will increase their faith. 12:33 Okay, couple things about this. 12:37 One, do not ask them 12:40 to do something you won't do. 12:45 Do not ask them do something you won't do. 12:51 What do I mean by that? 12:52 Well, we have this lady coming to the meetings, 12:56 spoke on the Sabbath. 13:00 Visitation team went out to see her, talk to her. 13:03 She was perfectly clear on the Sabbath, 13:05 understood what the scripture said and all. 13:08 And when they asked her, if she had a problem, 13:10 she said, "Yes, 13:11 I have to work on the Sabbath."` 13:13 Well, the visitation team talked with her. 13:16 They asked her what they could do to help her, 13:18 if they could go and talk to her employer 13:20 with if she wanted him to. 13:22 They did everything and everything. 13:24 She said, "No." 13:27 She said, "I don't want you talking to my employer. 13:29 I don't want you to do this." 13:32 So they came back and told me, 13:33 I went out and visited the lady. 13:36 I went through the whole thing with her, perfectly clear, 13:40 understood the Sabbath, believed it everything. 13:43 But when it came down 13:45 to getting her work worked out for, 13:50 she didn't want to do anything. 13:52 Finally, I said, "I don't understand." 13:55 She said, "Why don't you understand?" 13:56 I said, "You tell me, you understand the Sabbath, 13:59 you're clear, you know that's what the Bible teaches, 14:01 and yet you're not willing to do 14:02 something about it. 14:04 I don't understand that." 14:05 And she said, "Well, 14:07 the problem is," she said, "I have cancer." 14:11 And she said, "The only insurance I have 14:15 is with my employer. 14:17 If I lose my job, I lose my insurance. 14:24 And I don't want to take that chance." 14:29 So what do you tell her? 14:32 Well, I told her, "When you accepted Jesus Christ 14:38 as your personal Savior, 14:41 you accepted Him for life and for death. 14:47 You did not accept Him just for life. 14:51 You turned your life over to Him. 14:54 Therefore you must trust Him in this situation." 14:59 Well, she said "Okay." 15:03 And she went to her employer, talk to them, 15:05 they gave her the Sabbath off. 15:07 And she moved ahead 15:09 and started keeping the Sabbath, 15:11 lived probably a couple years and then passed away. 15:15 But what I'm saying is don't sit there 15:17 and ask that person do something you won't do. 15:21 You need to settle that in your own heart and soul. 15:25 You know, that this is what I believe, 15:27 this is what I do under those circumstances 15:30 before you ask that person to do that. 15:33 Also be very careful 15:38 'cause sometimes people make the Sabbath 15:41 a smokescreen. 15:44 Okay? 15:45 They make the Sabbath a smokescreen. 15:48 What do I mean by that? 15:49 This couple was coming to the meetings. 15:53 Accepted everything beautifully, 15:54 we got to the Sabbath. 15:56 And Larry, he just accepted the Sabbath came around, 16:02 but Caroline, you can see she was putting on the brakes. 16:06 I mean, really putting on the brakes. 16:08 And I went out to see them, and talk to them a little bit. 16:14 And I said, "Do you have any questions?" 16:15 And she said, "Yes." 16:16 She said, "I'm not clear on this Sabbath business." 16:19 And I said to her, I'll tell you what? 16:21 I said, "You scoot your chair over here by me, 16:24 and I'll get you clear on the Sabbath." 16:26 And she scooted the chair over there. 16:28 And I said, "Now Caroline, before we talk about Sabbath, 16:32 let's have word of prayer." 16:34 And I just bowed my head and start praying. 16:37 And as I was praying, the Holy Spirit said, 16:39 "That's not her problem." 16:42 That's not her problem. 16:44 So when I finished praying, I said to her, 16:47 I said, "Caroline, 16:48 are you to the place spiritually, 16:51 where if you were to die, 16:54 you would have assurance of eternal life?" 16:57 Man, you would have thought that I had broken her anger. 17:01 I mean, she started crying. 17:02 I'm not talking about weeping. 17:04 I'm talking about booing. 17:05 You know, I mean, she just really crying, 17:09 and just had to do sit there for quite a while 17:12 until she got control of herself. 17:15 And finally, she said, "No, 17:17 I don't have any assurance of eternal life." 17:20 And so I just gave her a gospel presentation, 17:24 explained to her what it meant to accept Jesus. 17:27 And she very beautifully accepted the Lord, 17:29 gave her heart to the Lord. 17:32 After we had done that, and we were through, 17:35 I said to her, I said, "Now, Caroline, 17:38 I'll try to answer any questions 17:39 you have on the Sabbath." 17:41 She said, "I don't have any questions on the Sabbath. 17:44 You see, that was not the problem. 17:46 The problem was the surrender of her heart to the Lord. 17:49 And she needed to do that. 17:51 So you have to watch when you're doing that and see 17:54 if this is really a problem. 17:57 You cannot, folks, 18:00 you cannot answer excuses. 18:06 You can answer objections, but you cannot answer excuses. 18:12 And when people start making excuses, 18:15 you're not going to be able to answer that. 18:17 You just will to pray with them, 18:19 do what you can, 18:21 but if you try to answer, you can't. 18:25 So you just need to get them clear 18:28 on the question of the Sabbath. 18:31 So they understand it, that they realized 18:34 that they need to step out in faith 18:36 and start keeping the Sabbath. 18:38 Okay? 18:40 After you have cleared them on the Sabbath, and by the way, 18:43 if you're taking them through the DVDs, the studies, 18:48 this is the order they come in. 18:51 They're going to take the people 18:52 to the acceptance of Christ. 18:54 They're going to take him to baptism, 18:56 then they're going to take him to the Sabbath. 18:58 That's the order it's going to go in. 19:00 After the Sabbath, 19:02 then we're going to clear people 19:04 or present to the people the question of the state 19:07 of the dead. 19:09 Okay? 19:11 And we're going to teach that. 19:12 Now, state of the dead, folks, 19:14 is strictly a matter of intellect. 19:19 It's not a question, it doesn't change my lifestyle. 19:23 All it does is change how I understand it. 19:27 That's what it's for. 19:28 You face some real challenges here 19:31 because there's so much today that comes out 19:33 over the television and other places 19:36 that teaches the opposite. 19:38 And so you're faced with that kind of thing. 19:41 But what you've got to do is take him back 19:43 to the Word of God over and over and over. 19:48 What you must not do 19:52 is tell somebody who said, 19:54 "Well, " like the lady told me, she said, 19:59 "Mother told me 20:02 that when grandmother died, 20:05 she saw grandpa who had died years before 20:08 standing at the end of the bed." 20:11 Now, folks, you cannot tell people 20:14 that is of the devil. 20:18 If you do, you're going to lose them. 20:21 Okay? 20:22 So what do you do with people who have had 20:27 some kind of experience like this? 20:31 I'll tell you what I tell them. 20:34 I tell them, one, 20:37 that sometimes 20:38 when people are in the throes of death, 20:42 God does certain things for them. 20:45 Sometimes God gives them, sends the angels. 20:51 Sometimes God sends the angels to their side to comfort them. 20:55 Can you think of a case in Scripture? 21:01 Well, what about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? 21:05 Then He sent an angel there? 21:06 Yes. 21:08 Clearly send an angel to comforting. 21:10 Sometimes people in the time that they're dying, 21:15 see visions, 21:18 see certain things. 21:20 Can you think of a case? 21:24 Huh? 21:25 Light at the end of the tunnel. 21:27 Light at the end of the tunnel, we'll see things, yes. 21:30 Can you think of a case in Scripture? 21:33 Yeah, Stephen. 21:36 He said, "I see heaven open. 21:38 I see the Son of man 21:40 standing at the right hand of His Father. 21:43 Sometimes, have you ever had the experience 21:47 where you walked into a room, 21:49 where you have never been before 21:52 and had this feeling that you've been there? 21:55 Now this is when your mind 21:56 just takes a lot of different things 21:58 and puts that all together. 22:00 To this person who is dying, 22:03 the mind simply takes over and puts together things 22:08 that they feel or that they see. 22:11 Help them understand this is what happens, 22:14 but it does not change the Scripture, 22:18 that the Scripture is clear. 22:20 And when it says, "The dead know not anything, 22:23 " it means exactly what it says. 22:26 So you just help them understand that 22:29 and take that step and understand it. 22:32 You're clearing them on that. 22:36 Okay, the next step that you need to clear people 22:41 is the question of health. 22:44 Question of health. 22:46 This is probably, 22:49 how should I put it maybe one of the hardest. 22:52 Not particularly the hardest for them to accept 22:55 but the hardest 22:56 for Seventh-day Adventist to do right. 23:00 Most of the time they do wrong. 23:05 To begin with, you are not there dear friend, 23:09 I'm sorry. 23:11 And if I upset you, my apologies, 23:14 but you are not there at this point in time 23:18 to make them vegetarians. 23:23 If you can help that person, get off of alcohol, 23:29 get off of tobacco and get off of unclean meats, 23:34 that is a miracle. 23:36 Okay? 23:38 And you don't need to take them any farther. 23:41 Okay? 23:42 That doesn't mean 23:43 that I don't believe in vegetarianism, 23:45 it doesn't mean that I don't believe 23:47 that people should do that, 23:48 I just think they need to be given a little time to grow. 23:53 And you and I need to give them that opportunity to grow, 23:58 you know. 23:59 So don't try to dump the whole load on them 24:04 at one time, 24:06 give them a chance to grow. 24:09 Now, how do you do that? 24:12 Well, we'll talk about health, and that's on the DVD. 24:17 And we'll go through 24:18 what the Scripture talks about it and all. 24:22 When it comes to working with people... 24:25 And by the way, let me just tell you right now, 24:28 when you go to the home and take the DVD, 24:31 if they're sitting there in the living room, 24:34 smoking a cigarette and drinking a bottle of beer, 24:37 don't get upset. 24:40 And, you know, 24:42 and, how should I say this, folks? 24:44 You cannot let 24:47 the circumstances that's in that home 24:51 dictate to you 24:52 how you're going to treat that person. 24:55 You cannot do that. 24:58 I don't care 24:59 what the situation in the home is. 25:05 I'm telling you that if you walk into a home 25:10 that is filthy, 25:13 then you are not to let that 25:16 determine how you treat that person. 25:21 I've gone into homes, forgive me, 25:25 but I've gone into homes where I could not step, 25:27 where a dog had messed. 25:32 I've gone in homes where I've sit down 25:34 on the couch and cockroaches ran 25:36 across my feet, not my legs. 25:42 I've gone into homes where they were so dirty, 25:46 that when I left that home, 25:47 I went straight home and took a shower. 25:52 But let me tell you something, God can clean them up. 25:58 God can clean them up. 25:59 And so it's your responsibility, 26:01 my responsibility and mind to present the gospel. 26:06 We are to present the Word of God. 26:08 God does the cleaning up. 26:11 And God's Word will do its work, 26:13 if you and I will let it. 26:16 So just take it to them. 26:18 Don't say, "Well, 26:20 because he's in there smoking and drinking beer, 26:23 I'm not going to go there, 26:24 or I'm not going to go there 26:26 because he's smoking a cigarette. 26:30 Dear friend, you need to surrender some things, 26:34 and you need to go in there and talk to that, 26:36 so because he's a soul that Christ died for, 26:40 and you need to make the presentation to him. 26:43 And so as they go through the tapes, 26:45 you're going to have to develop their friendship, 26:47 you're going to have to get acquainted with them, 26:49 you're going to have to become their friend, 26:53 work with them. 26:55 When you are working with the intemperate, 27:02 when you're working with the intemperate, 27:07 you must pick them up, pick them up, 27:11 pick them up and pick them up. 27:15 They will fall, time and time again. 27:21 What you got to do is pick them up, 27:24 brush them off, encourage them to go on. 27:31 I'm going to share something with you, 27:32 probably it's a shock to most of you. 27:40 Couple was coming to the meetings. 27:43 Pastor and I went out to visit them. 27:46 Got out there and they said, "Brother Cox, 27:49 we're very happy you came to see us. 27:52 We appreciate you coming. 27:54 But you're wasting your time." 27:58 And I said, "Well, 28:00 why am I wasting my time?" 28:03 They said, "Because we're lost." 28:07 And they said, "There is no hope for us. 28:10 We're lost." And I said, "What? 28:13 What do you mean?" 28:16 They said, "Well, 28:17 we've gone to the meetings before. 28:20 This isn't the first meetings we've been to. 28:22 We've been to several meetings. 28:25 We've tried over and over to quit smoking. 28:29 We've never been able to quit," 28:32 said "we've even gone to five day plans. 28:35 They even sent out a Bible worker to work with us. 28:38 They've done all that they can and we just can't quit. 28:42 And so we're lost." 28:45 Said, "There's not any hope for us." 28:48 And I said, "Well, I didn't come out here 28:51 to ask you to join the church." 28:54 And they said, "Well, 28:56 why did you come out here for?" 28:59 And I said, "I came out here 29:00 to ask you to accept Jesus Christ." 29:04 And they said, "Are you trying to tell us 29:07 that we can accept Christ to smoke?" 29:10 And I said, "That's exactly what I'm telling you." 29:14 And they said, "Well, 29:15 let's hear what you have to say." 29:18 So I just gave them a gospel presentation, 29:21 explain to them what it meant to accept Jesus Christ. 29:25 And both of them accepted 29:27 the Lord very, very beautifully. 29:30 With this little bit, and I got ready to go 29:32 and they said, "Brother Cox, thank you for coming." 29:36 Said, "You don't know what that's done for us." 29:39 And I said, "You're just more than welcome." 29:41 They said, "What about our cigarettes?" 29:45 And I said, "Smoke, if you want to smoke." 29:50 And I walked out the door. 29:54 They came to the meeting that night. 29:57 They said, "You don't know what a burden's off our back." 30:01 They said, "It just took a burden off of us 30:03 like you can't believe." 30:06 They said, "This is wonderful!" 30:09 They said, "We just didn't think 30:12 there was any hope for us at all." 30:15 And I said, "I'm glad you've accepted Christ." 30:20 And they said, "But, Brother Cox, 30:22 what about our cigarettes?" 30:26 And I said, "Smoke if you want to smoke." 30:33 And left. 30:36 Next night, they came back. 30:38 They said, "We never had a day like this." 30:41 They said, "The sky is blue, the birds sing." 30:44 They said, "Everything is wonderful, Brother Cox." 30:46 They said, "You just don't know the joy 30:49 that's filled our hearts 30:50 and all that's taking place in our lives." 30:52 They said, "This is wonderful!" 30:54 And I said, "That's great." 30:56 They said, "What about our cigarettes?" 31:01 I said, "Smoke if you want to smoke." 31:06 The fourth night they came back. 31:10 They said, "Brother Cox, 31:12 our hearts are just rejoicing, 31:15 rejoicing in the Lord, what He's done for us?" 31:19 They said, "What about our cigarettes?" 31:23 And I said, 31:24 "Well, smoke if you want to smoke." 31:25 They said, "It's run us nails." 31:27 And I said, "Well, quit if you want to quit." 31:30 They quit. 31:41 There's a little secret there you see. 31:44 You cannot put that person under condemnation 31:50 and them quit. 31:52 It won't work. 31:54 You've got to lift it, then they can gain the victory. 32:01 And many people today never quit, 32:06 because they feel condemned. 32:09 They can't break through 32:11 that so that they no longer feel condemned. 32:14 And so they feel condemned all the time, 32:16 and they fail all the time. 32:19 You see, sin would rather be thought of badly 32:24 than not to be thought of at all. 32:28 So you have to help them, help them take that step. 32:32 And as they do, they'll move ahead. 32:35 But your responsibility and my responsibility 32:39 is to love them, 32:41 care for them, pick them up, 32:45 time, time, time again, 32:49 and they'll make the grade eventually. 32:52 I can tell you 32:57 when we first started in this message, folks, 33:03 back as we came out 33:05 from 1844 and all, 33:09 the health message wasn't there. 33:12 Did you know that? 33:15 Did you know that they carried beer 33:20 in their lunch pails to the Review and Herald? 33:30 Right. 33:33 So the health message, folks, was something 33:36 that came in gradually, and they accepted. 33:39 And all those people didn't quit in one day. 33:43 It didn't happen. 33:45 And so you and I, same thing, no, 33:48 we don't dilute the message but we love the people, 33:53 care for them, help them. 33:55 That's what God expects us to do. 33:59 Okay. 34:00 So you clear them on health. 34:05 Encourage them, help them to take the step. 34:10 The six points you need to clear them on 34:12 is the question of what happens to the wicked 34:15 when they die that they do not burn 34:20 through the ceaseless ages of eternity. 34:24 That is contrary to Scripture. 34:28 Bible doesn't teach that. 34:30 It teaches that the wicked will be burned up. 34:36 Okay. 34:37 Now, let me just share 34:39 a couple things with you on that, 34:41 because it's very, very important 34:43 that you understand. 34:48 What do I have to do? 34:53 Oh, let me back up. 34:55 What is the penalty for sin? 35:02 Penalty for sin is... 35:04 Death. Are you sure? 35:06 You're confident in that? 35:10 Yeah, penalty for sin is death. 35:14 That's what the Scripture says, right? 35:18 If, listen to me, 35:21 if the penalty for sin 35:25 was to burn in hell for eternity, 35:31 then Jesus didn't pay it. 35:37 Are you following me? 35:40 If that's the penalty for sin, then Jesus did not pay it, 35:46 because Jesus died for your sins and mine, 35:51 for the sins of the world. 35:53 He died. 35:54 He paid the penalty for sin. 35:57 So when people say the penalty for sin 36:00 is to be burned in hell for eternity, 36:04 Christ didn't pay that. 36:06 Okay, what do I have to do? 36:11 What do I have to do to receive eternal life? 36:21 What do I have to do to receive eternal life? 36:33 The only way on earth 36:36 that you can receive eternal life 36:39 is by acceptance of Jesus Christ. 36:43 The Bible says, "He that hath the Son has life. 36:48 He that does not have the Son 36:51 does not have life." 36:53 Only way I can get eternal life 36:56 is in Jesus Christ. 37:01 Therefore, it is totally impossible 37:05 to get eternal life in hell. 37:11 It's the only way I can get 37:12 eternal life is in Jesus Christ, 37:15 then I certainly can't get eternal life in hell. 37:20 Just doesn't go together. 37:22 And so you just need to help these people understand 37:26 what the Bible teaches on those points. 37:29 The seventh point is the Coming of Jesus Christ. 37:35 That I need to help the individual understand 37:38 that the Coming of Jesus 37:40 is something that you will hear. 37:44 The Coming of Jesus is something that you will see. 37:48 The Coming of Jesus 37:49 is something in which Jesus Himself 37:53 personally is coming back, 37:56 and there will be a glory connected with it 38:00 like this world has never seen. 38:05 Need to get them clear, simply on their belief 38:09 concerning the Coming of Jesus Christ. 38:12 If you clear this person 38:17 on acceptance of Christ, 38:19 you clear them on baptism, you clear them on the Sabbath, 38:24 you clear them on the state of the dead, 38:27 you clear them on the question of health? 38:29 You clear them 38:31 on the destruction of the wicked 38:32 and the Second Coming of Christ, 38:35 if those people accept that, 38:37 they'll come right on through. 38:41 Okay? 38:43 That is what you have to do to lead a person step by step. 38:47 Now I want to make clear something, folks. 38:52 I am a Seventh-day Adventist. 38:56 Glad to be one. 38:59 I am not a Seventh-day Adventist 39:05 because there is a Seventh-day Adventist Church. 39:11 I am a Seventh-day Adventist, 39:13 because that's what the Bible teaches. 39:17 And I will always be that. 39:20 I'll never be anything else. 39:22 Because my faith is built on the Word of God, 39:26 and that's where my belief is. 39:29 I hear these people saying, 39:30 well, "I just didn't feel comfortable at church, 39:35 or they just weren't ministering to me 39:38 like I thought I needed to be ministered to. 39:41 And so I went to another church." 39:43 Something wrong! 39:46 Something wrong! 39:47 The basis of their foundation 39:50 and what they should believe is wrong. 39:54 Let me tell you something. 39:56 I'm going to go out there and sit in a desert, on a rock, 40:02 before I will change my belief. 40:07 I believe must be established on the Word of God. 40:13 And these people that you're studying with, 40:15 you have to help them 40:17 build their belief on the Word of God. 40:20 You do not say, "I believe this 40:23 because the church believes this." 40:26 No. 40:27 I believe it because the Word of God teaches it. 40:30 And that's where our belief has to be. 40:34 I just got a call here. 40:37 Oh, it's been a month or two ago now. 40:41 Back in 1984, I held a meeting. 40:47 This man came to the meeting. 40:48 What had happened is a few weeks before 40:52 the meeting started, 40:55 this man had been led 40:58 to the acceptance of Christ as his personal Savior 41:01 by a Methodist minister. 41:03 And then a week after that, after he had accepted Christ, 41:09 he got the brochure in the mail about our meeting. 41:12 Not knowing much about the Bible, 41:14 he wanted to learn more. 41:17 And so he came to the meetings, went along fine. 41:22 He had given his heart to the Lord. 41:24 He understood what it meant to accept Christ. 41:27 I preached on baptism. 41:31 He decided he needed to be baptized. 41:35 Showed up at the meeting one night and came up to me 41:37 and shook my hand said, "Guess what?" 41:39 I said, "What's that?" 41:41 He said, "I'm going to be baptized next Sunday." 41:44 He said, "My minister is going to baptize me." 41:47 Well, you know, 41:48 I didn't turn flips over that. 41:51 And he said, "That bothers you, doesn't it?" 41:53 And I said, "Yes, it does." 41:55 He said, "You think I'm going to be sprinkled, don't you?" 41:58 And I said, "That's what's going through my mind." 42:01 And he said, "Now," 42:02 he said, "I've talked to my minister, 42:04 " and he said, "I'm going to be immersed." 42:06 And I said, "Well, that's great, Max." 42:10 I said, "Have you learned anything 42:11 in last couple weeks?" 42:13 "More than I've ever learned in my life," he said. 42:16 And I said, "Well, maybe you ought to have 42:19 your baptism at the close of the meeting rather than now, 42:24 because in the next three weeks, 42:26 you might learn some more." 42:28 He said, "Yeah, it's probably a good idea." 42:30 He said, "I'll tell my minister, 42:32 we'll do it at the close in the meetings." 42:34 And I said, "That's fine, Max." 42:39 I don't know probably week past. 42:42 He came up to me and he said, 42:44 "I've been thinking about this," 42:46 and he said, "I've decided, 42:48 I want to be baptized in the Crusade Baptist 42:50 with everybody else." 42:52 And I said, "Fine." 42:54 He said, "Am I going to have to be a Seventh-day Adventist?" 43:01 Now what are you going to tell a person like that? 43:05 If you say, no, you're not telling the truth. 43:09 If you say yes, you're causing him 43:13 to make a premature decision. 43:16 So you can't say yes. 43:18 You can't say no. 43:22 So I just looked at him and I said, "Max, 43:24 all we're asking you to do is to follow the Scripture. 43:29 That's all." 43:31 He said, "Okay." 43:34 Man, it was every other night, 43:38 he'd come up at the end of the meeting 43:40 and say to me, 43:42 "I'm really looking forward to being baptized. 43:44 Am I going to have to be a Seventh-day Adventist?" 43:49 And I'd say, "All you got to do is follow the scripture, Max." 43:53 That went on for the next two weeks. 43:57 He got down to Friday night, 44:00 before the baptism was to take place 44:02 the next morning. 44:05 He came up to me and he said, "I'm really looking forward 44:07 to being baptized tomorrow." 44:10 He said, "I'm really looking forward to that." 44:13 He said, "Am I going to have to be a Seventh-day Adventist?" 44:17 And I said, "Max, 44:20 have you given your heart to the Lord?" 44:22 He said, "Absolutely. 44:24 No question." 44:26 I said, "You're clear 44:27 that you want to be baptized by immersion." 44:29 He said, "Absolutely. 44:31 He said, "I'm really looking forward to that." 44:34 I said, "Max, 44:36 are you clear on the question of the Sabbath? 44:40 Do you understand that Saturday, 44:42 seventh-day of the week is the Sabbath?" 44:44 He said, "Yes." 44:46 He said, "I am perfectly clear on that." 44:48 I said, "Are you clear enough 44:50 that you can go to church?" 44:52 He said, "Oh, yes." 44:53 He said, "I plan to go to church." 44:55 I said, "There's a creative problem?" 44:56 He said, "No, don't have to work on it. 44:59 I said, "Fine." 45:01 I said, "Max, are you clear 45:03 that when a person dies, he doesn't go to heaven 45:06 or he doesn't go to hell 45:07 that he's asleep until Jesus comes?" 45:10 He said, "Absolutely." 45:12 I said, "Do you understand that your body is God's temple? 45:16 And that you're to keep it as healthy as you can for Him? 45:19 He said, "Yes." 45:20 I said, "Do you have a problem with tobacco?" 45:22 He said, "No." 45:24 "Have problem with alcohol?" He said, "No." 45:26 I said, "What about unclean meats?" 45:27 He said, "My wife 45:28 and I cleared the refrigerator this week." 45:30 He said, "I don't have any unclean 45:33 in my refrigerator anymore." 45:35 I said, "Good." 45:36 I said, "Do you understand 45:38 that the wicked are not going to burn 45:39 through the ceaseless ages of eternity?" 45:41 He said, "The best news I ever heard." 45:44 He said, "Absolutely clear on that." 45:47 I said, "Do you understand that Jesus is coming back?" 45:51 He said, "Yes." 45:52 And I said, "Well, Max, 45:53 if you're clear on all those things, 45:55 you're clear enough to be baptized." 45:56 He said, "Yeah, 45:58 and I'm a Seventh-day Adventist too." 46:05 You see, it has to be 46:09 based on the Word of God, friends. 46:12 And people have to understand 46:13 this is what you build your belief in. 46:17 I don't build my belief on how well, excuse me, 46:22 I don't build my belief on how well I'm treated. 46:30 I build my belief on the Word of God. 46:34 And I stay in there. 46:36 And that's what you have to help 46:37 these people understand. 46:40 So if they accept these points that we've talked about, 46:44 and you get down the end, then there's not going to be 46:47 a problem of them becoming a member of the church. 46:51 And you take them right, on in, step by step that way. 46:56 Okay. 46:57 Let me give you just a few suggestions. 47:04 When you invite that person that you are studying 47:08 with to come to church, 47:11 you invite them to go to church with you. 47:15 Some things you've got to watch, 47:18 you may need to offer to pick them up 47:21 and take them to church. 47:23 And the reason for that is it's very difficult 47:25 for people who have never been in a church to walk 47:30 into it by themselves, cold turkey. 47:33 That's hard for a lot of people, 47:35 so you may need to take them. 47:38 And if you have become their friend, 47:40 then this is not too difficult. 47:43 So you need to just invite them, 47:45 take them to church with you. 47:47 When you get to church with them, 47:52 watch out. 47:55 Be very, very careful, because there are 48:00 church members that will kill them. 48:08 They absolutely will. 48:11 All you need to do 48:12 is have some dear brother or sister, 48:15 because this person that you're bringing 48:17 to church might have some jewelry on. 48:22 And they're going to come up and have a word to say 48:25 to them about it, which is totally wrong time, 48:29 out of place, wrong thing to do. 48:34 But you just can't turn them to lose. 48:37 You've got to stay by their side. 48:40 You've got to help them. 48:42 So don't just bring the church and set them somewhere 48:46 'cause you put them in danger, okay? 48:53 Also they don't understand 48:58 your language, 49:02 you speak a different language. 49:06 You see, you talk about Sister White, 49:12 and they think that's the little Catholic nun. 49:20 You talk about investment, and they think 49:23 you're playing the stock market. 49:26 You use words that they just don't understand, folks. 49:32 And so you've got to be there to help them, 49:35 to help them understand what they're talking about. 49:38 You say Spirit of Prophecy, and they think that's a book. 49:44 I've had people go and try to buy the book, 49:46 Spirit of Prophecy. 49:49 You've got to help them 49:50 understand the language that you use. 49:55 But you got to stay close to them. 49:58 You have to love them, care for them, 50:01 take them, 50:04 introduce them to your pastor. 50:10 Take them and introduce them 50:13 to your pastor. 50:18 Tell them, "This is my pastor. 50:21 He's a wonderful man. 50:24 He will be great help to you spiritually. 50:29 You need to build him up." 50:33 So they have confidence in your pastor. 50:38 That's what you need to do. 50:39 That they've got to come there, 50:41 they've got to feel part of what's there. 50:44 I don't know how many of you, like myself, 50:49 were not raised in the church, 50:52 but came in to the church 50:56 from some evangelistic meeting or from Bible studies or what. 51:00 But if you remember when that time was, 51:04 you remember everything was wonderful. 51:09 Man, when I studied that, I mean, this was wonderful. 51:12 And I looked up on everybody that was at the church 51:17 that they were perfect. 51:22 They were wonderful people. 51:25 And you need to help these people 51:27 because they look at it the same way. 51:31 And it's wonderful, it's joyous to them, 51:34 that they have finally found something that makes sense 51:38 and it all fits together. 51:41 And they rejoice in it. 51:43 So stay close to them, love them, care for them, 51:48 study with them. 51:50 And the Lord will help you 51:53 as you continue to work with them. 51:54 But dear friend, make a commitment, 51:59 make a commitment to win somebody to the Lord. 52:04 Pray about it. 52:06 Ask God to give you guidance, give you direction, 52:09 help you find somebody 52:10 that you can bring to Christ, you know. 52:15 Don't just treat it as an everyday thing, 52:19 make it a burden. 52:22 Do you know what I mean, 52:23 if I say covet somebody to the Lord? 52:27 In other word I'm saying, get on your knees, 52:30 pray for that person, pray for them by name. 52:35 Pray for them by name and then go out 52:38 and do what you can to lead that person to Christ. 52:43 Talk to them, encourage them, do what you can, 52:47 but do something to share the message. 52:51 Because I'll tell you for sure, 52:54 you don't have a lot of time left. 52:59 What you do not do now, 53:06 you're going to do 53:08 under some very adverse circumstances 53:15 or else you're not going to be there, you know. 53:19 If you don't have 53:22 a love in your heart for souls, 53:32 then you probably won't be in the kingdom. 53:38 You probably won't be there. 53:41 Because it makes it clear 53:44 that I must have a love in my heart. 53:50 As I said to you the other night, by this, 53:54 you may know that you are My disciples, 53:59 if you love one another, 54:02 have to have a burden on your heart for selves. 54:07 We don't want Jesus Christ passing us by. 54:12 Listen as Dona plays 54:14 "Pass Me Not Oh Gentle Shepherd." 56:28 Let's bow our heads for prayer. 56:31 Father in Heaven, 56:33 we realize that You're sending now, 56:36 sending us out as lambs among wolves. 56:41 But, Lord, we also realize that You're sending with us, 56:44 Your angels, that You promised to be with us, 56:49 to care for us, to strengthen us. 56:52 Lord, I pray that You will 56:57 take us as weak and frail as we are. 57:02 And fill us, give us the words to say, 57:07 give us the faith that we need and as we go forth, 57:13 we might speak to others of Jesus, 57:17 what He's done for us. 57:20 And that men and women 57:22 may come to a knowledge of You 57:26 that there will be men and women 57:27 in Your kingdom because we have spoken to them 57:32 and encouraged them to accept You 57:34 and follow You, 57:36 for this we ask in Christ's name, amen. |
Revised 2019-08-22