Participants: Wintley Phipps (Host), Adly Campos, Dr E.T. Stoddart, Ruthie Jacobson
Series Code: PFM
Program Code: PFM000007A
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00:27 Hi, I'm Wintley Phipps,
00:28 and welcome to our program Perfecting Me, 00:32 Becoming More Like Jesus. 00:35 I'm so glad you've joined us. 00:37 My guests today on our program are Ruthie Jacobsen, 00:39 Head of Prime Ministry of the North American division 00:42 of Seventh-day Adventist. 00:43 Pastor Georges Fleurimond, 00:45 pastor of the West Park Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:48 And Mrs. Adly Campos, Speaker and President 00:51 of Family Well-being International. 00:54 You'll hear from them a little later. 00:57 Come with me to the garden of Gethsemane 00:58 and place... 01:00 I have been privileged to visit myself. 01:02 I want you to see the night the Christ was betrayed. 01:05 Christ was in the garden 01:06 and He lowered His head bowed over, 01:08 His spirit in agony, 01:09 His anguish so intense 01:11 that His body was pushing not sweat from His pores 01:14 but drops of blood. 01:16 All around Him was the horror of a great spiritual darkness, 01:20 every sin committed since the dawn of creation 01:23 was by His own choice weighing upon his shoulders. 01:27 The light of the Father's presence 01:29 seem to have been removed from His life 01:32 because of your sin and mine, 01:34 Jesus was experiencing 01:35 the eclipse of His Father's smile and favor. 01:39 At one point, 01:40 Jesus stretched Himself out on the earth 01:42 crying out for our salvation, 01:44 never before had He been in such distress and sorrow. 01:48 He said to his disciples, 01:50 "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful 01:52 even unto death, 01:53 tarry ye here, and watch with me." 01:57 Then Jesus went a little further 01:58 from where they were and prayed, 02:00 He prayed a prayer 02:01 that was wrenched from His soul, 02:03 "O my Father, if it be possible, 02:06 let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will, 02:11 but as thou wilt." 02:13 Then Jesus got up from His prayer, 02:14 He went to His disciples only to find them fast asleep. 02:18 "Wake up!" He said. 02:20 And then turning to Peter, Jesus said, 02:22 "Could you not watch with me one hour?" 02:25 and then Jesus spoke a word to Peter 02:27 but not only to Peter was these words spoken, 02:30 it was spoken to all mankind. 02:32 It is one of the greatest admonitions 02:35 ever spoken by our Lord. 02:37 A timeless strategy for all heaven-bound souls 02:41 in search of a life of victory over sin. 02:44 It is the only approach to victorious living 02:48 for those seeking protection from the devil 02:50 and emancipation from sin. 02:52 Jesus said, "Watch and pray." 03:00 In Mathew 26:41, Jesus said, 03:04 "Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation, 03:09 the spirit indeed is willing 03:12 but the flesh is weak." 03:16 What Jesus said to His disciples 03:17 that night in Gethsemane 03:20 was about so much more than 03:22 staying awake in the middle of church 03:25 or in the middle of a spiritual outpouring. 03:29 That night in Gethsemane, 03:32 Jesus gave to all of us 03:35 a formula He wanted all His followers to live by 03:40 for the rest of their lives. 03:43 Jesus was saying, "Be vigilant, and always in prayer, 03:49 or you will fall into temptation and into sin. 03:53 And remember, your spirit is willing, 03:56 but your flesh is weak." 04:00 For those who want to avoid 04:01 falling into sin and temptation, 04:04 Jesus says, remember this for as long as you live, 04:09 the only way to be victorious 04:13 is to learn how to never tire in watching and praying. 04:19 Watch meaning be alert and observant 04:23 for the tricks of the enemy, 04:25 watch meaning live in a conscious state 04:29 or a spiritual surveillance, 04:31 always watching out for the next temptation 04:35 coming your way, 04:36 the next temptation in your environment 04:38 even in your thoughts and in your thinking 04:41 and in your reflexes, and even what you do naturally. 04:46 Jesus was saying to us, 04:48 if we don't want to fall into temptation, 04:51 we have to be constantly watching 04:54 for the next deception of the devil. 04:59 Brothers and sisters, 05:00 all of us have terrible temptations 05:03 that are ahead of us. 05:05 And we need strength and protection to endure them. 05:10 And that day in the garden, Jesus gave to us 05:13 a vital key to strengthen character 05:17 and yes, protect the purity of Christian character, 05:20 He said watch and pray. 05:24 And both activities, surveillance and communion, 05:30 communion with God, they need to be constant, 05:33 surveillance and communion need to be constant 05:36 to be effective. 05:39 Here Jesus says, 05:40 a prerequisite for all spiritual victories 05:45 is to watch. 05:47 1 Peter 5:8 says, 05:49 "Be sober, be vigilant 05:52 because your adversary the devil 05:54 as a roaring lion walketh about seeking 05:58 whom he may devour." 06:00 So watch, to tell the truth, 06:04 watching out for and living in anticipation of temptations 06:08 that are sure to come 06:10 was not something I was ever taught to do 06:12 in my Christian life 06:14 but with God's help, 06:16 I've learned to watch and sometimes, 06:19 I've had to learn to watch the hard way. 06:23 In learning how to watch, 06:25 the first thing I had to understand was 06:27 there is no end to watching because the devil never lets up 06:33 with his bombardment of temptations. 06:35 Watching is an all day, everyday, 06:40 if you are up all day, 24/7 activity. 06:44 From the time you open your eyes in the morning 06:46 to the moment you close them at night, 06:49 you can be sure of one thing 06:52 that moment by moment, hour by hour, every day, 24/7 06:57 the devil is on his job 07:00 bringing another temptation your way. 07:04 He does it on your job, in your home, 07:08 through your phone, your computer, 07:11 he even tempts you in church. 07:14 And you have to recognize that for you, 07:17 there will be no let up, 07:19 no break from the temptations 07:21 the devil will constantly throw at you. 07:25 That's why Jesus said, 07:27 you better become excellent at watching 07:31 and know that until the day you die 07:34 or until Jesus appears in the clouds 07:36 whichever comes first, 07:38 there will be in your life a relentless barrage 07:42 and onslaught of urges and desires and temptations 07:45 and there'll be no let up 07:48 in the offers of pleasure from the devil. 07:51 So watch, watch and pray. 07:57 I want you to see this video from my friends at the 700 club 08:03 that will help strengthen you as you watch and pray, 08:09 watch and pray. 08:21 Traffic was stopped, 08:22 and I actually go right up to 08:24 the remains of this green Mercedes 08:26 and it was on its side 08:29 with the roof facing me as I pulled up. 08:33 On August 4, 2013, 08:35 Deputy Richard Adair 08:37 of the Ralls County sheriff's department 08:38 in Missouri responded to an accident 08:41 involving two cars in a head on collision. 08:46 It was obvious as this was a really bad accident. 08:50 It wouldn't be surprising if it wasn't fatal. 08:53 The girl is the driver, Katie. 08:55 All you can see was the top of her head 08:57 and one hand that was sticking out. 09:01 I actually held her hand and talked to her 09:03 and tried to calm her. 09:05 But none of his training or 30 years of experience 09:08 prepared him for what came next. 09:11 She said she wanted to pray out loud 09:14 and then I became mortified. 09:18 Richard had grown up in church 09:20 but to him prayer was just an empty ritual 09:23 to a far away uncaring God. 09:27 I didn't know how to pray out loud. 09:29 I knew Him, God Father and knew Hail Mary, 09:35 I didn't know how to pray out loud. 09:36 That for me personally was mortifying. 09:40 Curtis White the gentlemen there I asked, 09:42 "Can you pray with her?" 09:44 "Yes, no problem." 09:45 And he took her hand and I made the excuse 09:47 to go check the other driver in the other vehicle. 09:51 The other driver suffered minor injuries 09:53 but had been drinking and charged with a DUI. 09:57 As for Katie, it took fire crews two hours 10:00 to safely cut her out of the tangled wreckage, 10:02 put her on a chopper to the nearest trauma unit. 10:07 Meanwhile, Richard couldn't stop thinking 10:10 about the young woman 10:11 who despite being in an excruciating pain 10:14 and holding on to life, 10:15 continued asking people to pray. 10:18 Katie never screamed, she never cried out loud, 10:22 she never cursed, she never was angry, 10:25 what she did was pray out loud. 10:28 And I just couldn't believe that as a 50-some year old man 10:33 how that young girl had that much faith in God, 10:36 and I didn't. 10:39 That's because over the past year, 10:41 Richard had being trying to come to terms 10:43 with the disappointments and failures in his own life 10:46 and was searching for meaning and purpose. 10:49 You know, I wanted to go to church. 10:52 I guess I was looking for something I was missing. 10:56 Then later, Richard and his wife Debbie 10:58 visited Katie and her family 10:59 at Blessing Hospital in Quincy, Illinois. 11:05 I looked at my wife and I said, 11:07 "I can't believe how happy everybody is 11:09 like it's almost like we are at a birthday party." 11:13 And her mother looked at me, she said, 11:14 "We could be planning a funeral right now, 11:16 and Katie is alive and because of God's grace, 11:20 Katie is alive." 11:22 Finally, Richard understood what he'd been struggling with. 11:26 I was missing a relationship with God. 11:28 I had no relationship with God. 11:32 Soon afterwards, Richard and Debbie 11:34 went to a local church service. 11:36 I knew that the first time I was there, 11:38 when we were talking about God and Jesus and just it clicked. 11:45 I don't know how to explain it. It just... 11:47 I knew that moment, 11:49 it was like someone opening rice for the first time. 11:54 In the coming months, 11:56 Richard started reading the bible and praying, 11:58 as he did, he came to understand 12:01 and accept God's love and forgiveness. 12:03 During that time, 12:05 he committed his life to Jesus Christ. 12:07 I realized that I had to become right with God 12:12 and correct things. 12:14 I had to click over anger that I held against others, 12:18 just let it go, it's not that for me to judge, 12:22 it's over, release that, let it go. 12:26 As he grew in his relationship with God, 12:28 the people he felt he needed to share his new face 12:31 with the most were his children. 12:34 I've never even talked to my own children about God. 12:39 I mean, they went to parochial schools, 12:42 they did all the sacraments that a religion had to do, 12:46 things I failed to teach them, and that was hard, 12:51 it's not easy going to your children, 12:56 you're growing children and saying, "Hey, I messed up. 12:59 I didn't know God and didn't know how to show you 13:02 who God was." 13:06 As Richard lived out his faith, Debbie and his children 13:09 also made a commitment to Jesus Christ. 13:13 I'm a 53-year old man with 30 years as a cop 13:16 and I'm filling up 13:17 because it's emotional and it's hard to explain, 13:24 it sometimes is hard to put into words. 13:26 God used Katie that day in her suffering. 13:31 And it's all because of a young woman, a stranger, 13:34 who had the faith to pray. 13:37 It's a simple prayer. 13:39 It's just talking to God 13:41 and having a relationship that you'll be able to that. 13:49 Joining us again, and my guests Ruthie Jacobsen, Adly Campos, 13:53 and Pastor George Fleurimond. 13:56 We're talking about Christ giving us the blessing 14:02 and the gift of His righteous character. 14:06 When we surrender our lives to Jesus, 14:08 He gives us the greatest gift 14:11 that any human being can ever have, 14:13 and that is His character. 14:16 And as He gives us His character, 14:18 we now then have a responsibility 14:21 to protect it from being stained. 14:26 It's, you know, when the Bible talks about washing our robes 14:30 and making sure our robes are white, 14:33 it's really saying, 14:35 make sure that the righteous character 14:37 that God gives us is not stained. 14:40 And we all know that temptation 14:43 and falling into sin stains our character. 14:49 And we want to talk about that a little bit. 14:51 And, Sister Campos, I want to ask you, 14:54 this how do you think falling into sin 14:58 stains character? 15:00 Because, you know, when Jesus said, 15:02 "Watch and pray", 15:04 He didn't just say watch and pray, He said, 15:06 "Watch and pray that you don't enter 15:09 or that you don't fall into temptation." 15:12 He was trying to protect us from staining that character. 15:15 What are your thoughts about that? 15:19 My thought is that 15:20 if He's telling us to watch because it can happen. 15:25 Yes. 15:27 And we must do something to avoid for it to happen. 15:32 Do something, take certain measures 15:35 that it will not happen, 15:37 and that's when he says, "That we need to watch, 15:40 that we might not fall into temptation." 15:43 Temptation will always come 15:45 but we don't have to fall into it. 15:47 Yes. And the only way to avoid it 15:49 is by a constant communion and watch and pray 15:55 on our behalf, on our part, 15:57 in order to avoid falling into temptation. 16:01 Pastor Fleurimond, 16:02 what are your thoughts about that? 16:05 Well, similarly, I believe that watching is us being vigilant, 16:10 I think that would be a good word to describe 16:14 watching to be vigilant 16:16 because the enemy is going to, as you said, 16:20 tempt us but that to be vigilant means 16:23 that we take the proper necessary precautions 16:27 so that we are ready for 16:30 when the enemy does show up, 16:32 we have a way of escaping 16:34 or not staining the character of Jesus Christ. 16:37 Yeah. 16:38 And it's not a question of will he try to do it, 16:44 it's how soon, you know, how soon. 16:46 How soon. 16:48 Because it's going to happen, that is his goal. 16:51 Can you imagine that since heaven, 16:56 since he was thrown out of heaven, 16:58 the one thing the devil has been trying to do 17:00 is searching the earth 17:02 for wherever he can find the character of God 17:05 being manifest in the life of a human being or any place, 17:09 and he just wants to go after that 17:11 to destroy it and to deface it. 17:16 And so, Sister Ruthie, how do you see 17:19 and what do you think we can do and must do 17:22 to avoid staining the character 17:25 that is given to us? 17:29 Well, I think this is something so vitally important 17:35 and I believe that the enemy is strong 17:39 and he's stronger than we are. 17:40 Yes. 17:42 And someone has said, 17:43 "Until you know you are in a war, 17:45 you don't know what prayer is for." 17:47 But prayer makes the devil tremble. 17:51 And so even though we're weaker than the enemy, 17:54 our great God is so much stronger, 17:57 and I think that being watchful and vigilant 17:59 is keeping our eyes on Jesus 18:01 and realizing that 18:02 we have someone much stronger than we are 18:06 that we can call on any time, any movement. 18:08 And this is why I think it's so vitally important 18:11 that we pray every hour. 18:14 We just stop and say, "Lord, I need you, I thank you, 18:19 and I thank you for fighting my battles." 18:22 Yes. 18:23 Sister Campos, how do you think watching and praying 18:27 helps you to develop character? 18:31 Develop Christ character. The more I... 18:34 Okay, the more I pray, 18:36 the closer I am in communion with God, 18:39 and the more He is able to protect me 18:43 from committing sin, 18:45 staying away from that that is so awful to Him, 18:49 so awful that made His son go to the cross and suffer 18:53 what He suffered in agony in that Golgotha, 18:57 so it is so important 18:59 that we maintain that constant watchfulness. 19:05 What do I mean? 19:06 Are we going to be on our knees whole day long 19:09 and not do anything else? 19:10 No, it's the attitude of prayer. 19:14 I can be talking with my God, with my Lord Jesus, 19:18 with my Holy Spirit all the time 19:20 no matter what I'm doing 19:21 because my thought can be connected to Him 19:24 constantly if I choose to do so. 19:27 Sister Ruthie, you had a thought. 19:30 Well, I was just going to say 19:31 the beautiful thing about our God 19:34 is that even if you don't feel like praying, 19:39 even if you don't even realize your need, 19:41 even if you don't have the desire 19:45 for prayer or Bible study, 19:47 you can go to the Lord and say, 19:48 "Lord, give me that hunger, give me that thirst for you, 19:52 for your presence, for your Holy Spirit. 19:54 And teach me how to pray with the authority 19:58 in the name of Jesus." 20:00 And I just believe he's waiting to hear those prayers 20:03 and answer them. 20:05 Yes. And, Pastor Fleurimond, when you watch and pray, 20:08 really it's also an opportunity for you 20:13 to behold Jesus. 20:17 Amen. It is. 20:18 Really, it's always not just watching again for... 20:23 I call it sin detection, you know, 20:25 you're in sin detection mode, you know, you're vigilant. 20:29 And you really have to be, hey, in the world we live in today, 20:32 you have to have all your antenna out, 20:35 you have to be very mindful 20:38 because the encroachments are so subtle, 20:41 the devil is so slick, so smart, 20:44 sometimes he can do it with your eyes closed, 20:48 you know, he can get to you with your eyes closed, 20:51 you don't have to have your eyes open, 20:53 He'll bring memories back, you know. 20:55 But when you watch and you pray, 20:58 you are communing with God and beholding 21:00 and of course, you know, the word of God says, 21:03 "By beholding, we are changed." 21:05 I don't know if you have any thoughts on that. 21:06 Yes. 21:07 Oh, that's exactly I was going to go next. 21:10 Sister Campos I believe her name is. 21:12 Campos, yes I was saying that... 21:13 Yeah, Campos... 21:15 speaking about prayer and I think it's so vital 21:17 because when we pray, we are drawn closer to God, 21:20 we are in proximity of God, 21:23 and that allows us to behold him, right? 21:26 And so it's kind of like 21:28 the more we spend time with God, 21:30 the more we spend time in prayer to Jesus, 21:32 the more His character rubs off on us, right? 21:36 Right. 21:37 So that when the enemy attacks us 21:40 or when temptations comes our way, 21:42 we're able to exhibit some of the things 21:45 that Jesus would do 21:46 because as a result of us 21:48 having spent that time with him. 21:51 Amen. Now I must tell you... 21:53 Go ahead, Ruthie, you have a thought? 21:56 Well, I was just going to say 21:57 scripture prepares you for prayer. 21:59 Yes. It's... 22:01 we can't really read the Word of God 22:04 with an open heart, without being drawn to prayer 22:08 because God is there in His Living Word. 22:10 Yes. 22:12 I've got to tell you honestly, 22:16 out of all my 40 years of pastoring 22:18 and preaching and teaching, 22:21 I don't know of any other way 22:24 to break a bad habit. 22:28 I don't know of any other way to get victory. 22:33 So what Jesus was giving us there in Gethsemane 22:38 was a formula for victory. 22:42 It was really the only formula, 22:45 I mean, you can go to the psychiatrist 22:47 if you want to and try to get victory 22:49 or you can go to the psychologist 22:52 to get victory, you might get a pill 22:54 or you might get some strategies to unlearn, 22:57 learn behavior, 22:59 but the only way I know to finally 23:03 get the victory over anything 23:06 that the devil uses to chain you 23:09 is watching and praying. 23:13 So watching and praying is key 23:16 to protecting the integrity of the character God gives us. 23:21 Sister Campos, can you think of an instance in your own life 23:26 perhaps or another person's life 23:29 where watching and praying got them the victory? 23:34 Yes. 23:36 I can think of so many couples 23:38 that have being in deep problems, 23:42 marital problems, 23:44 and when they finally go to their knees, 23:47 they fall on their knees, 23:49 humble themselves before the Lord 23:52 and allow the Lord to work in their lives, 23:56 surprised at the change, 23:58 the transformation that comes as a result of prayer. 24:03 That is all we need to do, just surrender ourselves 24:07 and fall on our knees, and say, "Lord, I can't," but you can, 24:11 "And I am giving myself to you that you will transform me." 24:15 Many marriages at the border of divorce 24:19 have had the victory in Jesus 24:22 because they started to pray together. 24:25 Right. 24:27 Morning, noon, evening together in prayer, prayer, 24:32 that's the only thing that can help us to be changed, 24:35 to be transformed. 24:37 Beautiful. Sister Ruthie, we just have a few seconds, 24:40 do you have a thought on that? 24:43 Well, I do, and that is from 2 Chronicles 16:9. 24:47 Yes. 24:49 "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro 24:50 throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong 24:56 behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." 24:59 So no matter what the need is, no matter what the need, 25:03 if we look to him in faith, 25:05 he's going to show himself strong, 25:08 that's an exciting impossibility. 25:10 Nothing is impossible. Yes. 25:12 Pastor Fleurimond, last word, just a quick word. 25:16 Definitely. 25:18 When it comes out down to prayer, 25:19 I believe wholeheartedly in a powerful prayer 25:21 and sometimes, you know, 25:23 God would allow the delay to His response 25:27 to become for us our spiritual conditioning mechanism right. 25:31 Oh, yeah. 25:32 That forces us to continue and to strive into prayer. 25:37 And at the end of the day, the Bible's clear, 25:39 Jesus said to His disciples, when we pray, 25:41 if you have faith you can even command mountains to be moved. 25:44 Absolutely, that's right. And to be cast into the sea... 25:46 So prayer is the efficacious, 25:49 but we have to be fervent in our prayer life. 25:53 Thank you so much for being with us today. 26:00 The reason that we must watch 26:02 is because the enemy is deceitful. 26:05 A man got a job as a night watchman 26:07 at a factory one day 26:08 and there have been a lot of thefts by workers 26:10 on the night shift. 26:12 And so every morning when the night shift workers 26:14 passed through his gate, 26:16 it was his job to check their bags and pockets 26:19 to make sure that nothing was being stolen. 26:21 Things were going really well the first night on the job 26:25 until a man pushing a wheel barrel of newspaper 26:28 came through his gate. 26:29 "Uh-huh!" he thought, that man thinks 26:31 he can cover up what he's stealing 26:32 with that newspaper. 26:34 So he removed the newspaper 26:35 only to find there was nothing there. 26:38 Still he felt the man was acting strangely, 26:40 so he questioned him about the paper, the man said, 26:43 "I get a little extra money from newspapers, I recycle, 26:46 so I go into the lunch room, pick up all the ones 26:48 people have thrown away." 26:50 And so the guard said, "Okay," and he let him pass. 26:53 But he decided to keep a close eye on him. 26:55 The next night it was the same thing, 26:57 night after night, week after week, 26:59 it went on, month after month, 27:00 the same guy would push the wheel barrel of newspapers, 27:03 pass the guard's checkpoint. 27:05 The guard would always check the newspapers 27:07 and find nothing. 27:09 Then one night about a year later, 27:10 the guard reported for work only to find a message 27:14 that had been left for him, telling him 27:15 to report to his supervisor. 27:17 He walked into the supervisor's office 27:19 before he could say a word, the boss said, "You're fired." 27:21 He said, "Fired? 27:23 Why am I fired? 27:24 What did I do? 27:26 I've checked and nothing has been stolen." 27:29 And the boss said, 27:31 "But what about those 365 wheel barrels 27:35 that have gone missing?" 27:37 Our enemy is deceitful, 27:41 and so we have to watch and pray. 27:45 I'm Wintley Phipps, and remember to be a Christian 27:52 means to be Christ-like 27:55 all day, every day. 27:59 No excuses. |
Revised 2018-02-07