3ABN On the Road

Preparing Your Home For The 2nd Coming, Part 2

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Jay Rosario

Home

Series Code: OTR

Program Code: OTR001006


01:00 Well we bid you good morning. That's a good morning.
01:04 for the first of a number of presentations that will come
01:07 today as we move towards the sacred Sabbath hours
01:11 I like Friday because we get a chance to prepare
01:14 for the Sabbath and the antici- pation that comes with
01:18 with the Sabbath day. So we bid you good morning and welcome
01:22 once again to the 3ABN Worship Center which houses the
01:26 Thompsonville SDA Church and to Camp Meeting 2012. We are having
01:32 a wonderful time, do you not agree? And the Spirit of God
01:36 has been with us in a mighty way through all of the presentations
01:38 Our speaker this morning is Pr. Jay Rosario, he is a pastor
01:42 in the Central California Conf- erence. He pastors the Cambrian
01:47 Park and Los Gatos SDA churches there in California,
01:52 and, you know, as we've been talking you know, you get to
01:55 meet the guys and talk to them, spend sometime with them
01:58 This is a nice young man. I call him young man because
02:02 he is still single, though I'm told dating voraciously
02:07 though the object of his amor is quite a ways away,
02:13 but as a young pastor, we like to see our young pastors
02:18 married so they can round out their ministry. You know
02:23 when I was ordained, I was ordained as a single pastor
02:27 and Pr. George Earl, back in the North East Conference
02:30 _we're giving you a break on this one
02:32 but you need to get married. You know they like to have the
02:34 brethren married. So I was teasing him back stage
02:38 just a little bit but he's going to be talking about preparing
02:41 family for the second coming. This is Part 2 of a presentation
02:44 that he began yesterday morning and I'm sure will be a blessing
02:47 to us also. We like Jay Rosario He's a GYC guy. You know
02:53 God has given that group of young people a very special
02:56 mission and message and they're on fire for the Lord.
03:01 He is, and I want to get this right, the VP for networking
03:03 for GYC Latino. And GYC, Generation of Youth for Christ
03:08 has spread literally around the world. There is Australian GYC.
03:11 There are GYCs in other countries. Latino has a large
03:14 and growing GYC in this country and he was on the ground floor
03:18 of that movement, and God has really used him in a marked
03:22 and mighty way. The song I'm gonna sing is one that
03:26 here at 3ABN they sort of hear ad infinitum ad nauseum
03:30 They say you're singing that song again?
03:32 Yeah I'm singin it because I like it. I don't know if I do it
03:36 particularly well. You know some times the Lord gives you a song
03:39 that ministers to you. It says something to you when you do it
03:42 and when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer some years ago
03:45 there were two songs that the Lord gave me, one says
03:48 When you lift up Jesus, Jesus lifts you up
03:50 And I tend to sing that a lot, and the other one is
03:53 I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian
03:54 And I say if I ever go to sleep early I will go to sleep telling
04:00 the world that I'm a Christian. I just like that message.
04:02 So, yeah you're gonna hear it again because it ministers to me
04:08 early in the morning. Let's have a word of prayer.
04:12 I'll sing and then the next voice you'll hear
04:13 will be that of our friend, Pr. Jay Rosario.
04:16 Father God, we do praise you and thank you for Jesus.
04:22 Truly He is the author and finisher of our faith.
04:26 He's the center and circum- ference of all that we do
04:29 and all that we are. He is the reason that we live and move and
04:33 and have our being. We love you Lord and we ask for strength
04:38 to love you even more. We pray a special blessing upon Jay
04:43 as he preaches to us just now and we ask for open and
04:48 receptive ears and hearts because we wanna know what
04:53 Christ would have us to know, so that we can do
04:56 what Christ would have us to do.
05:04 Dear God bless us just now, in Jesus' name. Amen.
05:22 I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian
05:29 I'm not ashamed His name to bear
05:36 I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian
05:43 I'll take Him with me anywhere
05:51 I'll tell the world how Jesus saved me
05:58 And how He gave me a life brand new
06:05 And I know that if you trust Him
06:12 That all He gave me He'll give to you
06:22 I'll tell the world that He's my Savior
06:30 No other one could love me so
06:38 My life my all is His forever
06:45 And where He leads me I will go
06:55 I'll tell the world Jesus is coming
07:02 And it may be near or far far away
07:10 But we've gotta live as if that coming
07:17 Could be tomorrow or today
07:24 For when He comes and life is over
07:31 For those who love Him there's more to be
07:39 I have never seen the wonder
07:46 That He is preparing for you and me
07:56 Go tell the world that you're a Christian
08:03 Don't be ashamed His name to bear
08:10 Just tell the world that you are a Christian
08:18 And take Him with you everywhere
08:27 I'll tell the world how Jesus saved me
08:36 And how he gave me a life brand new
08:43 And I know that if you trust Him
08:50 That all He gave to me He'll give to you
09:01 I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian
09:08 And I'm not ashamed His name to bear
09:15 I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian
09:22 I'll take Him with me everywhere
09:55 Hello 3ABN. How are you enjoying your time thus far?
09:58 I've been super, super blessed being here and of course I'm
10:04 dreading the time when I have to leave.
10:06 Always looking forward to the next occasion to be part of this
10:09 wonderful group of people. This morning we have an exciting
10:13 presentation, Part 2 of our previous presentation yesterday
10:17 does anybody remember what the title was?
10:21 Preparing your home for the second coming of Christ
10:24 And I'm really really excited. We have lot of materials
10:26 to cover so let us bow our heads and invite the real teacher.
10:31 Father we thank you for the Spirit that has inspired this
10:34 wonderful book called the Bible and we invite His presence here
10:37 so that He may inspire our minds to be able to understand
10:41 its mysterious content. Father hide me behind the cross
10:45 we would see Jesus and we ask it in His name. Amen
10:48 Our message is entitled, Preparing your home for the
10:52 Second coming of Christ and we did talk about the
10:54 sub-title, when the dragon knocks on your door, and
10:58 previously we talked a little bit about how Satan has been
11:02 trying to invade our homes, yeah trying to take over our
11:05 our living rooms, trying to, little by little, inch by inch
11:08 take over our family circle and we talked a little bit about the
11:12 Trojan horses that he introduces into our home that many,many
11:15 times go unnoticed. And we're dressed different
11:19 spiritual themes and details that Satan uses in order to
11:25 kind of quench spirituality in the home. I want to continue
11:31 take it to the next level because the Bible is full of
11:34 different examples of indivi- duals who prepared their homes
11:38 yeah, for spiritual victories during a time of apostasy
11:45 and during a time of crisis. And ladies and gentlemen, I think we
11:50 live in a time of apostasy today and I think we definitely live
11:54 in a time of crisis and it's only going to get more difficult
11:58 would you say so? I invite you to open your Bibles to
12:01 Revelation 12 which was the first text that we read
12:04 in our first presentation. Revelation chapter 12,
12:07 and we're gonna begin reading in verse 17, when you're there
12:11 please say Amen. Revelation 12:17, the Bible says,
12:15 and the dragon, there it is, was enraged with the woman
12:18 who represents the church and he went to make war with the rest
12:23 of her offspring who keep the commandments of God
12:25 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. So the Bible tells us
12:28 that the dragon is angry, yeah the dragon's got beef
12:31 with the church, amen. And of course the church, we have
12:36 interpreted to be a collection of people, yeah that come into
12:40 the church by units and we call those units families, and
12:45 and families spend the bulk of their time together
12:47 underneath the same roof called the home.
12:51 So what we've identified is the devil attacks
12:54 primarily in the home when our guard is down, yeah
12:58 after the sun goes down, after the Sabbath hours are over
13:01 after the gentlemen loosen their ties, and after the ladies take
13:04 their heels off, that's usually when the dragon starts
13:09 to growl, amen. We need to be very, very careful and
13:12 very, very vigilant in our homes
13:14 There are two different examples in Scripture that I think are
13:16 so amazing that show exactly how you and I
13:20 can prepare our homes for the coming crisis.
13:23 And particularly for the second coming of Christ.
13:25 I want you to run with me to the old testament book of Joshua
13:29 Joshua, chapter 2. Joshua is one of the recent books
13:32 that I've been very, very fascinated by
13:33 and of course anybody knows what Joshua means?
13:37 It means Jesus. So we're really going to the book of Jesus.
13:41 Amen. It's kinda exciting. So open your Bibles
13:44 to the book of Jesus, Joshua chapter 2 and we're gonna take
13:47 a look at a careful situation that was taking place
13:50 when God's people, yea, were trying to take over an empire.
13:55 A particular nation. Remember there are two sides to this
13:59 battle between good and evil. We talked about how the dragon is
14:02 trying to reign in our homes, but the Bible is also telling us
14:07 that Jesus would also like to reign in our homes, amen.
14:10 And it all depends what choices we make in life that will
14:14 determine which one of those two powers will actually do so.
14:17 Joshua, chapter2 and when you're there please say amen.
14:20 The Bible says, now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men
14:24 from Acacia Grove to spy secretly saying,
14:27 Go view the land, especially Jericho. So they went
14:30 and came to the house of the harlot named Rahab.
14:33 And they lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho
14:36 saying, Behold men have come here tonight from the children
14:38 of Israel to search out the country, so the king of Jericho
14:41 sent to Rahab saying, bring out the men who have come to you
14:45 who have entered your house, for they have come to search out
14:48 all the country. Some of you are familiar with the stories
14:50 how the Israelites sent two representatives to spy out
14:54 the land of Jericho, yeah to do a kind of investigative judgment
14:57 amen. And basically what had taken place is that they found
15:02 refuge in the home of Rahab who didn't have the best reputation
15:05 in the town. Somehow the word spread that there was these two
15:09 spies and for some reason Rahab was the one that they suspected
15:13 that was housing these two men. So when you continue reading in
15:17 Joshua, chapter 2 and you come to verse 8, it's interesting
15:22 because the men came, they were interrogating her, they were
15:25 talking, they were trying to find where these men were
15:27 because they wanted to eliminate these men so that they can spare
15:31 the empire of Jericho. In verse 8, the Bible tell us, now before
15:36 they lay down she came up to them on the roof, and
15:39 said to them. Rahab speaking to the spies, I know that the Lord
15:44 has given you the land. Now remember where is Rahab living?
15:48 Jericho. What type of city was Jericho?
15:52 There wasn't any ABCs in Jericho amen. You get the idea.
15:58 Jericho was not the most spiritual nation in the ancient
16:01 world, so how does she know that the Lord had given them the land
16:07 I know, she says, that the Lord has given you the land.
16:10 That the terror of you has fallen on us and that all the
16:13 inhabitants of the land are faint hearted because of you.
16:15 It's in verse 10. For we have heard, she says, how the Lord
16:20 dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came up
16:23 out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the
16:26 Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan
16:28 Sihon and Og whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as
16:32 we heard these things our hearts melted, neither did there remain
16:36 any more courage in anyone because of you for the Lord
16:39 your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
16:42 How in the world did Rahab hear about all of these amazing
16:44 things that God had done? I mean they didn't have Facebook back
16:47 in those days, amen. They didn't have status updates.
16:50 Or Twitter, etc. How did she hear about them? Somehow the
16:55 word spread and the news came to the city limits of Jericho
17:00 and they were all very well acquainted with what God had
17:03 done and she knew exactly what was going to take place
17:06 she knew the Lord was going to take over the city of Jericho.
17:09 Now it's fascinating because in this impending, this creeping
17:16 judgment upon Jericho notice what in verse 12 Rahab continues
17:21 to say. She's basically saying, I know the ultimate fate of
17:25 Jericho. Therefore, verse 12, Now therefore I beg you she says
17:31 swear to me by the Lord since I have shown you kindness
17:35 that you also will show kindness to my father's house
17:39 and give me a true token, she says. And, what? spare my father
17:46 spare my mother, spare my brother, spare my sister
17:51 and all that they have and deliver our lives from death.
17:54 Wbat is she doing? What is Rahab doing in this situation?
17:58 Rahab is interceding for her family. A pagan woman
18:06 is interceding for the physical, the literal and the spiritual
18:12 salvation of her family members. Why? because there was an
18:16 approaching crisis, there was an approaching judgment that was
18:19 gonna take place and she knew that the only thing she had left
18:23 in Jericho was her home. Ladies and Gentlemen, is it possible
18:30 that we need to adopt the same attitude that Rahab adopted
18:34 during the time of crisis? I think what's fascinating is that
18:38 during the time of crisis, a lot of the things that currently
18:40 are in your priority all of a sudden disintegrate into nothing
18:44 Promotions at work, who's gonna win the playoffs?
18:50 Right? A lot of these things kinda disintegrate into
18:54 nothingness when you know there is a serious crisis approaching.
18:58 And usually what comes to your mind is the people you value.
19:03 Amen. And that's exactly what was happening to Rahab.
19:07 She understands that judgment is basically coming upon the city
19:10 of Jericho and the only thing that comes to her mind
19:15 is her family. She says, please I beg of you, she's pleading
19:19 she's interceding for her family Now it's fascinating because
19:23 those of you who have studied the book of Joshua know
19:25 exactly what happened to the city of Jericho.
19:27 You remember what happened to the city of Jericho?
19:29 How was the city of Jericho destroyed?
19:33 There was a lot of shouting right? They had the priests,
19:36 what did they do? They went around how many times?
19:39 Seven times. You do a careful study of this, it's actually
19:43 a symbol of the second coming of Christ.
19:48 When Christ will come and the nations and the empires
19:51 will be destroyed. And it's fascinating because if you run
19:53 with me to chapter 6, you're in Joshua 2, go ahead
19:57 just 4 chapters, come with me to chapter 6. Joshua chapter 6
20:01 and notice what verse 16 and 17 say. Particularly
20:05 during the time of destruction. Joshua 6:16, the Bible says
20:09 and the seventh time it happened
20:10 when the priests blew the trumpets, where else do we know
20:14 about a trumpet being blown
20:17 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinth- ians 15 when Christ comes
20:21 the trumpet shall be blown, that Joshua said to the people
20:24 Shout for the Lord has given you the city.
20:27 Judgment. Verse 17. Listen to what it says, now the city shall
20:31 doomed by the Lord to destruct- ion, it and all who are in it
20:38 we're talkin about total destruction, yeah?
20:40 We're talkin about total victory on the part of God's people.
20:45 But notice what it says, only Rahab the who? the harlot
20:56 Remember we talked about her reputation being on the ground?
21:00 Only Rahab the harlot shall live but not only her, she and all
21:08 who are, where? with her in the house
21:12 So the Bible tells us that every body in Jericho was destroyed
21:18 every citizen in Jericho, the only survivors
21:24 were those who were underneath Rahab's rooftop
21:31 Ladies and Gentlemen, Rahab was the only survivor
21:34 in the destruction of Jericho. This text tells us why.
21:38 It tells us she was the only survivor, yeah. Rahab the harlot
21:42 shall live, she and all who are with her in the house
21:44 why? because she did what? hid the messengers that we sent.
21:53 Ladies and Gentlemen, what do messengers carry?
21:57 A message. So essentially what Rahab did is she allowed the
22:01 messengers of God's people. She allowed the messengers of heaven
22:07 to enter into her home with a particular message of salvation.
22:11 And it is interesting because there was a red cord involved.
22:14 You guys remember the red, the scarlet cord?
22:16 What does scarlet represent? The blood of Jesus, right?
22:19 There's a lot of symbolism there But essentially what you have is
22:22 that Rahab opened her doors, she opened her house to heavenly
22:27 influences and she was never the same and because of that
22:32 she was saved. But it wasn't just her, it was those
22:36 who were part of her family.
22:40 She was the only survivor. There is a TV show called Survivor
22:44 You guys have heard of that one?
22:46 And I have a song called Survivor and they're singing
22:47 I'm a survivor. Ladies and Gentlemen, no they're not, amen.
22:52 Because the Bible tells us that the only people that survive
22:54 are those who hide the messeng- ers of God in their home
22:59 The million dollar questions is do you have spies
23:03 in your house today? Are they hiding in your rooftop?
23:06 Do you have spies in your closet Because if you don't,
23:12 ladies and gentlemen, we need to ask God to send those
23:15 spies to our homes, amen. We need to ask God, send these two
23:18 spies into our homes because this is what is going to make us
23:23 safe in the time of crisis. So many people invest in
23:31 alarm systems, right? Do you have heaven's alarm system
23:37 in your home? amen. so when people are investing in security
23:41 in physical security, I'm not saying this is a bad thing,
23:43 I'm just saying that is it possible that we have neglected
23:46 the spiritual alarm system that we need?
23:49 The only survivors in Jericho was the woman who allowed
23:52 heavenly messengers to hide in her home during a great
23:56 controversy between good and evil.
23:59 And the only survivors in the last days are those who allow
24:01 the messengers of God to enter into their homes.
24:04 And it's fascinating because there's two of them, right?
24:07 Two spies. Not a hundred percent sure what the theological
24:11 significance of it but the Bible does talk in the book of
24:14 Revelation about two witnesses And what are those two witnesses
24:19 The Old and New Testaments. Not a hundred percent sure
24:22 that is a healthy application, but wow, that would be
24:25 amazing if there is a healthy application to this story of
24:29 Joshua saying that in our homes we need to have the
24:32 Old Testament spy and the New Testament spy. amen!
24:36 And how in the world is it that we can experience the spies?
24:39 We talked a little bit about that in our first presentation
24:43 Family worship, family prayer. What is it that we spend our
24:48 time talking about in our homes?
24:52 Now maybe you feel discouraged about your home.
24:54 About the spiritual condition of your home. Remember Rahab
24:57 ladies and gentlemen. I don't think anybody here is as worse
24:59 as Rahab. Why? Because she was a harlot. Amen. If there is hope
25:04 for a harlot I believe there is hope for you, amen.
25:07 She had a horrendous reputation and she could've made all the
25:11 excuses in the world not to let these men inside.
25:16 But she didn't allow her reput- ation to get in the way of
25:18 her salvation and even though you may be frustrated at the
25:22 condition of your home because it's been perpetually, kind of
25:25 unspiritual, there is still hope for you. Parents if you want
25:30 your children to live forever, you need to allow these spies
25:33 to enter into your home. You need to allow the messengers
25:36 of God to have an active role in your house. You need to hide
25:41 them in your refrigerator, amen. Put those spies in there
25:44 You need to include them in your DVD selections.
25:47 You need to hide them in your living room so that when
25:51 necessary they can pop out. We need those spies to pop out
25:56 occasionally in our homes, amen. I know I do in my home
25:58 I need spies all over the place right.
26:00 we need spies, we need these heavenly messengers to come in
26:03 There's only two types of people in the last days
26:05 according to Joshua. Those who have the spies of God
26:09 and those who have the king of Jericho's men.
26:13 Because immediately after Rahab allowed these men to come into
26:16 her home, the next individuals who knocked on her door
26:21 were the king of Jericho's men who were controlled by who?
26:24 The dragon. We talked about the dragon knocking on our homes
26:29 and that is exactly what happened to Rahab.
26:31 Who do you have in your home right now?
26:34 Now some of you are getting nervous coz you're here.
26:38 And if you're here it means nobody's there.
26:41 So you're like nobody! Obviously I'm referring to the spiritual
26:45 Who do you have in your home right now. Is it possible
26:49 Is it possible to have a home full of heavenly influences
26:54 in the midst of a wicked and evil neighborhood?
26:58 Some people are like, well the reason we're like this is
27:00 because of our influences outside. Well, look at Rahab.
27:03 Amen. Rahab proves that it is possible to have heavenly
27:08 influences in your home in spite of the idolatrous culture around
27:13 Jericho was the capital of idolatry and that's part of the
27:15 reason why it was destroyed. Is it possible to live in the hood
27:20 yet have a holy home in the hood amen. And not allow bad
27:24 influences to creep through your door or your windows
27:27 Not only do we need to be vigilant about what comes thro
27:30 our doors, we need to be vigilant about what comes thro
27:33 our windows. Joshua chapter 2 3,4,5,6, this whole story of the
27:38 the destruction of Jericho is simply a microcosm, it is
27:42 an example of that which will be repeated in the last days.
27:46 You and I live in a planet called Jericho and the heavenly
27:51 trumpet is gonna come and is gonna approach our atmosphere
27:55 and is gonna blow and when it blows, the walls of this evil
27:59 empire will be destroyed and the only survivors
28:02 in that particular time are those who have the spies of
28:06 heaven in their homes. It's not about job security, amen
28:09 because I don't know how much money you got in stocks
28:12 it's all about how have you invested in the spiritual
28:17 welfare of your family. That's the only thing that's gonna
28:19 matter in the last days, amen. And if that's the case
28:23 then the million dollar question is what have I done today in the
28:26 here and now to make sure that in the end I will be
28:28 indeed a survivor. The final showdown between good and evil
28:32 will take place right in your home and if we wanna win
28:35 we have to have the right visitors, the right guests
28:39 in our homes. Joshua chapter 2 is the first example where
28:42 we see a clear evidence of somebody that prepared their
28:45 home, yeah, for a great catastrophe that took everybody
28:49 else, every other home in the block and they were the only
28:53 ones that survived. But the Bible is full of many different
28:56 examples. Run with me to the book of Genesis, chapter 19
29:01 In Genesis 19, we just talked about Jericho which was an
29:05 idolatrous sinful empire, nation city, in Genesis 19 there's
29:09 another evil city called Sodom. Many of you are familiar with
29:13 the story in Genesis 19, the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah
29:17 Genesis 19, when you're there say amen. Beginning in verse 1
29:21 the Bible says, now the two angels came to Sodom
29:24 in the evening and Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom
29:28 When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and he bowed himself
29:32 with his face toward the ground and he said, hear now my lords
29:35 please turn into your servant's house and spend the night
29:40 wash your feet then you may rise early and go on your way.
29:42 And they said, no we will spend the night in the open square
29:45 in verse 3, he insisted strongly he pleaded with them
29:51 so they turned in to him and entered his house
29:54 Then he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread
29:58 and they ate. Genesis 19 tells us about an evil city called
30:01 Sodom and it tells us about two angels, isn't that interesting?
30:05 Joshua, chapter 2 there were two spies, Genesis 19 we have
30:08 two angels and they're basically visiting the city of Sodom
30:10 Lot encounters them, pleads with them to come into his home
30:15 they said no we're going to hang out in the open square, he says
30:17 no, no, no, no you have to come into my home because
30:19 Lot understood the spiritual darkness that existed in this
30:23 particular area. When you read the subsequent verses you find
30:27 that when they went into Lot's home there was a mob outside
30:33 yeah, and they wanted to rush into the home, yeah?
30:36 You guys remember that story? Who were these people controlled
30:39 by? The dragon. Remember we talked about the king of Jericho
30:43 representatives knocking on the door immediately after the spies
30:46 knocked on Rahab's door controlled by the dragon?
30:48 Here are a group of individuals controlled by the dragon
30:52 and they're trying to tear thro those walls. In verse 4, before
30:56 they laid down the men of the city, the men of Sodom both
30:58 old and young all surrounded the people from every quarter
31:01 surrounding the house and when you keep reading down you find
31:04 that they insisted they wanted to go inside the house,
31:08 they wanted to go inside the house and finally in verse 9
31:11 the Bible says, stand back this one came into stay here and
31:16 he keeps acting as a judge now we will deal worse with you than
31:19 with them. So they pressed hard against the man Lot and came
31:21 near to break down the door. Ladies and gentlemen, the dragon
31:25 wants to break down your door amen. In other words it will be
31:30 a challenge to resist influences of evil in your home.
31:35 Don't expect it to be a breeze because it will be a challenge.
31:38 The forces of evil are trying to break down your door, the men
31:41 reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house
31:43 with them and shut the door. Amen. The angels, verse 11
31:47 And the angels struck the men outside at the doorway of the
31:51 house with blindness both small and great so that they became
31:54 weary trying to find the door. Amen. Lot had heaven's alarm
31:59 system installed in his home. Amen. When the evil influence
32:03 came in, boom they were blinded. And that's exactly what we
32:08 also need to invest in. so when you read carefully and read all
32:10 the way down from verse 12 on- wards, then the men said to Lot
32:14 have you anyone else here, son- in-law, sons, your daughters and
32:18 and whoever you have in the city, take them, where?
32:23 out of this place. Ladies and gentlemen even though its true
32:26 to have a spiritual home in the hood, even if it's possible
32:32 to have a spiritual house in an evil neighborhood, sometimes
32:35 you just, it's time to move out. Amen. and this is exactly what
32:39 we see here in this story in Genesis 19, the angel says
32:41 is there anybody else that lives here, ok you need to send them
32:44 a text message to come over here pack their bags, coz we need to
32:47 leave this house today, yeah? Sometimes we just have to move
32:52 out of a particular area that is jeopardizing the spirituality
32:56 of our family. why? verse 13 because we will destroy this
33:01 place because the outcry against them has grown great before the
33:04 face of the Lord and the Lord has sent us to destroy
33:07 So Lot went out and spoke to his son-in-law who had married
33:10 his daughters, and said get up, get out of this place
33:12 for the Lord will destroy this city. So Lot was doing his thing
33:15 he was trying to spread the word but to his sons-in-law
33:17 he seemed to be what? he seemed to be jokin if you have the NKJV
33:22 isn't that interesting? Oh Lot stop it, relax. You're so
33:26 sensational, right? Relax. So they didn't listen to him
33:31 When the morning dawned, v.15 the angels urged Lot to hurry
33:34 saying, Arise, take your wife, your two daughters who are here
33:37 lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city
33:40 And while he lingered, v.16, that is critical, while he
33:46 hesitated, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand
33:49 the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful
33:51 to him and they brought him out and set him outside of the city
33:54 So, it came to pass when they had brought him outside
33:57 they said escape for your life, do not look behind nor stay
34:02 anywhere in the plains, escape to the mountains lest you be
34:04 destroyed. Genesis 19 we see the story of a crisis, yeah
34:09 we see the story of judgment upon a particular city
34:12 and we see one particular home that professed to be followers
34:14 of Christ, yeah and the heavenly messengers were saying
34:17 listen, it's time to go, it's to leave, it's time to save
34:20 your family. The Bible says, while Lot lingered
34:24 you do a careful study of 'while Lot lingered' you will discover
34:27 that the reason why his wife turned into a pillar of salt
34:30 and was basically lost, it was because Lot hesitated
34:34 during a time when he needed to move into action.
34:40 So really the responsibility rested upon Lot, why? because
34:43 he was the spiritual priest of the home and when he hesitated
34:47 it brought the spiritual morale down and that is one of the
34:51 things that led his wife to be lost. Husbands, are you listenin
34:54 are you listening carefully to this? Fathers are you listening
34:57 carefully to this? There is a huge responsibility resting
35:02 on your shoulders. To maintain a spiritual health of your home
35:07 How many homes, unfortunately, are lacking this leadership
35:12 role in the home, in the family circle. I remember when I was in
35:15 in Canada, I lived in Canada for five years prior to moving to
35:18 California and I was visiting a particular academy that I
35:21 absolutely love, Fountain View Academy, beautiful,
35:24 some of you know, somebody said Praise the Lord
35:26 I guess they've been there before. Beautiful school
35:29 I remember I was there with our team, the regular team
35:32 we were doing a Week of Prayer and I was kinda running around
35:34 the boys dorm, ironing and getting a few things ready
35:37 before the Sabbath and as I was walking out I overheard a
35:41 conversation of a young man on the phone talking to his father
35:43 This young man, his name is Rick he's a good friend of mine
35:46 he was talking to his father and then he said to his father
35:49 Dad you know I've been reading in my morning devotions
35:52 about Matthew 25 about the 10 virgins. You know its interestin
35:56 because he was talking about the things he was reading
35:58 and he said, Dad what do you think about that?
36:01 And the conversation was going back and forth and
36:04 I literally was eavesdropping, I feel terrible, even
36:06 kind of confessing this openly, and I thought to myself
36:12 That is incredible. Now obviously, unfortunately I've
36:18 not been blessed by a father that was spiritual
36:21 not that he was even around in my childhood
36:23 although He has blessed me with spiritual fathers, in the church
36:26 I thought to myself, when was the last time you have ever
36:30 heard a high school student having a conversation with
36:33 his father about understanding the Bible? amen.
36:38 and about the things he's been reading in his morning devotions
36:40 That was such a huge blessing to me, that little conversation
36:44 that I was eavesdropping in, and I thought to myself
36:46 we need more of this in our homes. We need more fathers
36:50 to be asking their children questions about the Bible. amen.
36:54 And they need to be leading by example. One of my spiritual
36:57 fathers, his name is Michael Johnson, he's the one that led
36:59 me and my brothers to the Lord. On one particular occasion
37:02 his daughter was assigned to draw, I think it was in school,
37:06 she loves to draw, a phenomenal artist, and she had to draw
37:10 somebody in her family that she appreciated, doing something
37:13 that they loved. So the person that she drew was her father
37:18 and she drew her father, she thought what does my father
37:23 love to do? She drew her father in front of a table
37:28 with a big book in his hand, and he was reading it.
37:33 It was the Bible. Ladies and gentlemen, we need a revival
37:38 in our homes, amen. If our fathers, if our parents
37:42 were in the word, leading by ex- ample your children will follow.
37:47 And I believe that is what we see here in this particular
37:49 situations. We see a lot of hesitating, bringing them
37:52 _ down, unfortunately his wife is lost in the process,
37:57 while he lingered. Fathers it is very important not to hesitate
38:02 when God says go, amen. It is very important when God is
38:06 wooing you into action, to not hesitate because in the process
38:09 of hesitating somebody's spirit- ual experience maybe jeopardized
38:13 Today we live in a situation where darkness is hovering
38:17 around our homes and is trying to break into our houses.
38:20 And the question is are there angelic beings inside our homes?
38:24 That are influencing the minds, influencing the decisions
38:29 And yeah, Lot he did a lot of bad things, right?
38:32 We gotta give Lot some credit. He pleaded with the angels to
38:35 come into his home, amen. That was the first good thing.
38:38 And even though Lot did things that were bad, we tend to kinda
38:43 pick on Lot and we point fingers at Lot, Lot what are you doing?
38:46 But a lot of us have lots of Lot in us. Pretty profound, right?
38:54 We have lots of Lot in us. When you read the story of Lot
38:58 it's kinda like looking in a mirror, the inconsistencies
39:01 of God's people, amen. Because Lot allowed these messengers
39:06 into his home he saved himself, his children and almost his wife
39:12 Fathers you have a significant responsibility on your shoulders
39:15 and it is very important for the men in the homes
39:21 to fulfill the responsibilities as spiritual leaders
39:24 And I see it all the time when you go into the church. When
39:28 you see a family that has spiri- tual leadership you can tell.
39:31 Amen. You can tell. And I believe that God is calling the
39:36 men to take positions of spirit- uality because, unfortunately
39:41 when in our churches that is one of the biggest lack that we have
39:44 Because the reality is that in some churches there are families
39:49 where there is no father, right? And I was fortunate enough to
39:54 be baptized into a particular church where I had many fathers
39:58 One particular father that I had never let me off
40:02 of prayer meetings. Every Wed- nesday, his name is Campbell
40:06 he called me, Hey Jay I'm comin over. No no no I'm a little busy
40:09 I have an exam tomorrow in Math No no I'm comin over get ready.
40:13 I, uh ok. Right and I'd get and he'd honk the horn and he'd be
40:18 downstairs and I'd kinda shuffle go inside, we drive to church
40:22 he'd drop me off and everytime he interrupted my plans
40:26 I was thankful. I said I want to thank you for interrupting my
40:30 plans because tonight this is exactly what I needed.
40:33 And Ladies and Gentlemen, it's because of men of this calibre
40:36 that's the reason why I believe I'm still a Christian.
40:40 It's because I've had spiritual men, took the role of spiritual
40:44 fatherhood, yeah and they were leaders in the church and they
40:48 looked out for those who were fatherless, amen and they
40:51 decided to be a blessing to them and that's why it's so
40:54 significant for the fathers to take it so seriously.
40:57 It is very very critical for us to remember this.
41:00 Now the million dollar question is yeah, sure, wonderful
41:03 we need to prepare our homes but how do we do that?
41:06 Right? Very easy to show Biblically speaking
41:10 the need to do that but how do we do that? Well obviously
41:13 there's probably 117 points that we could go through.
41:17 But I think one of the main points, if there was one point
41:20 that I would have to choose is the point from Revelation 12
41:25 Go back with me to Revelation 12 I know we read it earlier
41:27 We're not gonna read 12:17, we're gonna read right before
41:31 12:17 and we're gonna read what is Satan's motivation, yeah
41:35 for attacking the people of God Rev 12:17 says that the dragon
41:38 was wroth with the woman, went to make war with her
41:41 wanted to destroy her, why was he so motivated to do this?
41:44 and, unfortunately, why is he doing such a great job?
41:47 Well if you read a few verses before verse 17, you will come
41:51 to verse 12. It says therefore rejoice O heavens and you who
41:58 dwell in them, woe to the inhabitants of the earth
42:00 and the sea, why? because the devil has come down to you
42:03 having great wrath. Well why does he have great wrath?
42:06 Where does his motivation come from, are you ready?
42:08 Because he knows he has what? A short time. And this is the
42:14 irony of it all. Because he knows he has a short time
42:17 he invests a lot of time, you follow that? Because he knows
42:23 that he has a short time he invests a lot of time in what?
42:26 in destroying homes, in destroying families.
42:32 I have no time. Because you have no time you should be
42:37 investing what? more time in the very thing you have no time for.
42:43 Amen and by the way when people say I have not time, essentially
42:46 what they're confessing is not that they don't have enough time
42:48 it's that they don't know how to manage their time.
42:52 Because how many of you have more than 24 hours a day
42:57 Right? All of us have the same time. Granted we all have
42:59 different levels of responsib- ilities, sure especially mothers
43:02 who have like 3-4 kids, wait a second, I don't have as much
43:05 time as everybody else I gotta take care of these kids, true
43:07 we all have different levels of responsibilities, but the point
43:10 is we need to learn to manage our time. Why? Because Satan is
43:15 so motivated to destroy families to destroy people and to destroy
43:20 homes because he recognizes that his time is very limited
43:23 Because he knows his time is limited he invests more time
43:27 yeah, because he doesn't have a lot of time. Almost sounds
43:30 like a contradiction. And I think we're unfortunately
43:34 not doing the same. If we were to do the same, if we were to
43:37 have the same motivation that Satan has for evil, yeah
43:40 if we had for good, ladies and gentlemen we would live in a
43:44 different world. We would live in a very, very different world.
43:49 Time. I believe one of the biggest things that is keeping
43:54 our homes from being prepared for the second coming of Christ
43:57 is not investing enough time in the home. And ladies and
44:02 gentlemen, this goes beyond the lay people. This even involves
44:05 clergy. Amen. I remember when I was in high school, my first
44:09 year in a Christian High School when my best friend, his father
44:13 was a pastor and I said to him you know, you're so blessed
44:19 to have a father who is a minister, and he says 'Jay
44:22 no I'm not. I said what do you mean? He said, Jay how I wish
44:26 I was like you. I'm like, why? My father was never around
44:29 my parents are not Christian. He said exactly, my father saves
44:33 the whole world but I can never have a conversation with him.
44:36 Because he's too busy saving the whole world I can't even enjoy
44:40 his presence. I don't even know who he is really.
44:42 And ladies and gentlemen, unfor- tunately my good friend
44:45 is experiencing a certain spiri- tual aftermath of a neglected
44:50 time with his father and with the home.
44:52 Lack of time is going to breed a lot of unhealthy experiences
44:57 in the home. Now why is time so significant?
44:59 Well, because everything in life takes time. amen. Somethings
45:06 take more time than others. For example, how many of you like
45:09 architecture? Raise your hand. How many of you have been to
45:13 different places in the world and were able to see some of
45:15 the amazing monuments that you've seen like the Taj Mahal
45:18 the Machu Pichu, the Eiffel Tower. Well as beautiful as
45:23 these things are, a lot of these things take a lot of time and
45:27 anybody been to Barcelona? There is a famous church in Barcelona
45:31 called La Sagrada Familia and they've never been able to
45:34 finish it. It's literally still under construction. I don't know
45:38 if any of you have had a chance to see it but there's like a
45:40 little hole in the top and it's been there like for decades
45:43 Things take time. And even beautiful, wonderful monuments
45:48 and great accomplishments require time. Yeah?
45:52 First it starts as an idea in the brain, this is what we would
45:56 like to see, this is the monu- ment we'd like to see, but
45:58 then it requires an execution of action, not overnight
46:02 you can't build the Empire State Building overnight, yeah?
46:04 It has to be in small dosages of time consistently invested
46:10 over a long period of time, amen and that's how you accomplish
46:13 these beautiful monuments. Learning an instrument.
46:16 Any musicians in the house? I remember when I started taking
46:19 piano, I took two lessons and then I quit
46:27 Few years later I got a little inspiration to start all over
46:30 again, I took two lessons and then I quit.
46:35 I don't know what it is with the third lesson I can't
46:37 get this third lesson in. Any piano teacher we'll talk after
46:40 the program. It takes a lot of time. When you have these great
46:46 piano virtuosos like lang lang and Beethoven and Chopin
46:50 and Johan Sebastien Bach, when did these people start training
46:55 in the piano. A few weeks ago? When they were this tall.
47:00 Right? Invested a lot of, what's the T word, TIME
47:04 But they didn't become virtuosos overnight, it was in small doses
47:09 there were frustrations, yeah, there were mistakes. The point
47:12 is they consistently invested little dosages of time and then
47:16 in the long run, lo and behold they were piano virtuosos.
47:20 The point is that everything good, even musically speaking
47:23 requires time. We've been blessed right at 3ABN with
47:26 wonderful musicians. Amen. I can guarantee you some of them
47:30 granted some of them have naturally been given a gift
47:32 towards music but some of them have to invest time, yeah?
47:35 in perfecting the gift that they have. Learning a new language
47:39 Anybody has attempted to learn a new language?
47:41 I'm actually taking Mandarin Chinese, right now.
47:43 Ni hau, that's about it. I'm just kidding.
47:50 It takes a lot of time. Okay Lot of time. Lot of memorization
47:57 I know a few more words than Ni Hau but it's very difficult
48:00 to try to perfect it, yeah. Everything in life takes time
48:03 Learning how to ride a bike. You guys remember that?
48:07 Some of you had it naturally some of you didn't.
48:09 I won't ask who you were that didn't have it naturally
48:13 I remember when my mother taught me how to ride a bike. She would
48:16 grab me like this, she'd run and alright Jay i'm gonna let you go
48:19 Crash! And I won't let you know what happened after that.
48:23 Coz it wasn't a pretty scene. Point is it took a lot of time
48:28 To learn how to ride a bike it took me a long time.
48:31 Learning how to drive. Oh we're on dangerous ground.
48:35 Some of us need to invest more time. Some of us drive and we
48:39 don't even know how to drive. Young people that are here
48:42 studying and getting to the point of graduating.
48:46 Takes a lot of time, right? You don't graduate overnight.
48:50 You have to invest time in your studies you have to turn off
48:54 your phone, you have to put Facebook off, yeah
48:56 you have to remove the distrac- tions and invest time,
48:59 that's just the way life works. What is my point in all of this?
49:02 Simple. Everything in life takes time. Yeah, you wanna do well
49:08 academically, it takes time. You wanna do well professionally
49:11 it takes time. Is there anything wrong with getting a good
49:13 education? No. Is there anything wrong with developing a good
49:17 status in your Corporation? No Does God want us to be
49:20 successful people financially? Yes! All of these things take
49:24 time, but this is my point. If everything in life takes time
49:28 Are we taking our diplomas to heaven, yes or no?
49:32 Ok. Are we taking our promotions to heaven, yes or no?
49:38 So, if we're not taking these things that are earthly
49:41 to heaven, why is it that we invest so much time in it?
49:44 Let me ask you this follow up question. Is it possible for us
49:49 to take our homes to heaven? Is it possible for us to take our
49:53 families to heaven? Yes! So if it's possible that the only
49:59 thing that will endure eternity in our life is our family
50:02 why is it that we spend so much time in investing in things that
50:06 are simply gonna become nothing rather than spending time
50:10 with our families? Don't mis- understand me, I'm not saying
50:13 we shouldn't invest time in our education and in our profession
50:16 Absolutely, but let us not do it to the neglect of our families.
50:22 Amen. Because in the end the only thing that is gonna matter
50:27 is not the fancy diploma in your office, it's not the paycheck
50:30 that you get every 15 days it's when you look at the people
50:34 the family members that live underneath your roof.
50:36 Time Magazine wrote a fascina- ting article that I don't have
50:39 time to get into. It's called the Magic of Family Dinners
50:45 June 4, 2006 issue. Very, very simple. Actually I'll read one
50:50 one line of it in the few minutes we have left.
50:53 The Magic of Family Dinners. Social sciences say
50:56 such communion, family dinners acts as a kind of vaccine
51:01 protecting kids from all manner of harm. Studies show that the
51:05 more often families eat together the less likely kids are to
51:09 smoke, drink, do drugs, get depressed, develop eating
51:14 disorders, consider suicide and the more likely they will
51:18 do well in school, eat their vegetables, learn big words
51:21 and know which fork to use. Amen,
51:25 When you carefully read this this article it is literally
51:28 mind blowing. They're literally saying the reason why a lot of
51:32 the things in our culture have been disintegrating is simply
51:35 because we don't eat together as a family anymore.
51:39 The Magic of Family Dinners. Ladies and Gentlemen
51:42 if you wanna be practical, alright preacher I want
51:45 something tangible that I can do You know what you can do
51:48 Start spending time eating together as a family.
51:52 Now it's gonna be awkward at first, right? Your young people
51:55 are gonna be playing with their food, this is weird.
51:57 Right? But remember it's not gonna be fixed overnight.
52:01 Right? Remember what we talked everything in life requires time
52:06 but it is in small dosages, it is in small increments of time.
52:13 It turns out that when kids help prepare a meal
52:17 they're much more likely to eat it, the article says.
52:22 And it's a useful skill that helps to build self esteem
52:24 Research on family meals does not explore whether it makes a
52:27 difference if dinner is with two parents or one or even
52:30 whether the meal needs to be dinner
52:32 for families whose schedules make evenings together
52:35 a challenge, breakfast or lunch may have the same value.
52:38 So pull up the chairs, lose the TV, let the phone go unanswered
52:45 and see where the moment takes you. And that's the end of the
52:48 article. The Magic of Family Dinners. We need to resurrect
52:51 spending quality time in our homes. Many people in the home
52:55 you live together but you're total strangers.
53:00 Everybody is too zoned out and tuned into their own different
53:04 worlds, we don't even say hello anymore, right? Good morning
53:07 how's your day? Good evening how was your day?
53:10 We simply just forget about all of these things, right?
53:13 And God is asking us to take our experience to the next level
53:17 In Genesis 6, in closing, Genesis 6, our final text
53:24 We have another father, amen who takes his responsibility
53:29 seriously as being priest in the home. The world is corrupt
53:33 the culture has disintegrated to evil, every thought and
53:37 imagination of man is wicked but Noah found grace
53:41 in the sight of the Lord. In Genesis 6, the Bible tells us
53:45 My spirit, in verse 3, shall not always strive with man
53:49 forever for he is indeed flesh. Yet his days shall be 120 years
53:56 And when you read later, you will discover that Noah
54:00 in the New Testament is referred to as preacher of righteousness
54:04 He was instructed by God, yeah, to build a massive ark
54:10 remember that story, in specific detail as to what he needed
54:13 to do in order to get this ark into existence.
54:16 Now, did God say I want you to do this overnight?
54:22 No. How much time did God give him? 120 years. Every day
54:28 Noah contributed a little, a little, a little, a little
54:38 and in the course of 120 years the final product was this
54:42 massive ark, amen. And Noah was instructed to take his family
54:48 inside the ark. Why? Because there was going to come a
54:52 destruction that was gonna wipe out all of the evil civilization
54:57 Amen, And Noah did exactly that he spent 120 years, yeah
55:02 and every day there was a nail that went in, every day there
55:06 was another piece of wood that was added and in the end
55:09 it was this glorious monument called Noah's Ark
55:11 and because of Noah's ark, Noah was able to save his family.
55:16 Ladies and Gentlemen, God does not expect you to face all
55:19 of your home issues overnight. Amen. Some of us have a lot
55:24 of issues that go back generat- ions, amen and it's gonna take
55:28 sometimes a lifetime to fix it. The point is that Noah invested
55:32 a small portion of his day to assist in the preparation
55:37 of the ark. Why? So that in the end his family could be saved.
55:42 All the Bible is telling us is simple, take some time everyday
55:48 to spend time together as a family, to pray together
55:52 as a family, to read the word of God together as a family
55:55 10-15 minutes. You're thinking 15 minutes, what's that gonna do
55:59 Well if you multiply 15 minutes with 15 years, amen. That's the
56:07 greatest educational institu- tion on the planet.
56:10 And people will come out of your homes and they will be
56:13 spiritual champions, yeah. They will understand how to resist
56:17 temptations, they will know how to make intelligent decisions
56:20 in life, and we will essentially be contributing, to the world
56:24 And in the end, people will say Wow! Christian homes are amazing
56:29 What is your secret? Ladies and Gentlemen we should be at the
56:33 forefront of healthy homes. We should be at the forefront
56:36 of healthy marriages. God is calling us like Noah
56:40 God is calling us to be like Rahab. God is calling us
56:43 to be like Lot, to allow these two angels to come into our home
56:45 To allow the two spies to come into our home
56:48 God is asking us to build that ark, I don't expect you to do it
56:50 overnight. I don't expect you to finish this monument overnight
56:53 But what I expect you to do is to invest a little bit of time
56:57 every single day, and in the long run, in the course of life
57:01 at the end when you look back you will say Praise God
57:05 I'm so happy that I allowed the spies in, the messengers
57:09 of God in, I'm so happy I allowed Jesus in. How many of
57:12 you want to raise your hand to make that decision?


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